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ALEXANDER  BEGG 
C.C. 


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Alexander  Begg 


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HISTORY 


OF 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA 


FROM    ITS   EARLIEST   DISCOVERY   TO   THE 
PRESENT   TIME. 


ALEXANDER    BEGG 

C.C.,    F.R.C.I. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


TORONTO: 
WILLIAM      BRIGGS. 

MONTREAL:  C.  W.  COATES.  HALIFAX:   S.  F.  HUESTIS. 

1894. 


Entered,  according  to  the  Act  of  the  Parliament  of  Canada,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  ninety-four,  by  ALEXANDER  BEGG,  C.C.,  Victoria,  B.C.,  at  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Ottawa. 


PREFACE. 


IT  HAS  BEEN  REMARKED  that  "a  man  may  be  ignorant  of  the  laws 
•of  his  country,  but  with  ordinary  intelligence  he  is  not  excusable,  if 
he  be  unacquainted  with  its  history."  This  remark  should  only  be 
.applied  to  those  who  have  the  means  of  becoming  well  informed,  and 
neglect  to  avail  themselves  of  opportunities  within  their  reach. 

HISTORICALLY,  British  Columbia  has,  hitherto,  had  comparatively 
an  unwritten  record.  It  is  true,  that  within  the  last  thirty  years, 
many  pamphlets  and  books  respecting  the  Province  have  been  written, 
but  they  were  principally  confined  to  climatic,  geographical  and 
•descriptive  matters ;  hence  the  present  effort  of  the  Author  to  search 
for,  gather,  and  compile,  from  such  sources  as  were  available,  as  full 
And  complete  a  record  as  possible  of  this  interesting  portion  of  the 
Dominion.  The  result  is  this  work  now  placed  before  the  public,  in 
the  hope  that  it  may  interest  and  benefit  the  reading  community. 

The  "modern  history"  relating  to  the  recent  official  visit  of  the 
-Governor-General  to  British  Columbia,  is  given  at  some  length,  as  it 
refers  to  many  provincial  topics  of  importance,  and  gives  evidence  of 
the  continued  loyal  feeling  of  the  people  of  the  Province  to  Queen 
Victoria  and  the  British  throne. 

The  lamented  death  of  the  Premier  of  Canada,  at  Windsor  Castle, 
12th  December,  1894,  is  noted.  Hon.  Mackenzie  Bowell,  Minister 
-of  Trade  and  Commerce,  favorably  known  in  British  Columbia,  re 
Australian  Trade  and  the  Pacific  Cable,  at  the  request  of  Lord 
Aberdeen,  accepted  the  Premiership. 

A  new  historical  feature,  namely,  THE  APPENDIX  MAP,  showing  the 
line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  across  the  continent,  also  the 


IV  PREFACE. 

routes  used  by  the  brigades  of  the  early,  fur-traders,  from  the  Pacific 
coast  and  New  Caledonia  to  Hudson  Bay  and  Montreal,  will  be  found 
useful  and  instructive. 

The  thanks  of  the  author  are  due  to  not  a  few  in  the  city  of 
Victoria  who  have  assisted  in  supplying  material  for  this  history  ; 
especially  the  Deputy  Provincial  Secretary  for  affording  access  to  the 
provincial  records  and  archives ;  to  the  Provincial  Auditor  and  the 
Assistant  Auditor  for  the  warm  interest  they  manifested  in  the  early 
progress  of  the  work. 

ALEXANDER  BEGG,  C.C. 

December,  1894. 


ERRATA. 


Page  122— For  "  1847,"  read  "  1860." 
u    124      it    "March,"  read  "June." 
ii    131      ..     "1832,"  read  "1830." 

,,  167— Instead  of  "travelled  along  with  the  annual  express,"  read  "  followed  the  Koofcenav 
Pass  through  the  Rockies." 

,,  176— Read  "  Dr.  McLoughlin  retired  from  the  service  in  1846." 

u  177 — Instead  of  "Chief  Factor  John  Lees,"  read  "John  Lee  Lewis." 

ii  178— Read  ".Mr.  Anderson  married  Miss  Birnie  in  1836." 

u  183        ii     "Chief  named  Tranquille,"  instead  of  "Wanquille." 

u    201        ii     "Chief  Justice  Cameron  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Needham  in  1865,  who,  in  1870, 
was  transferred,  etc. 

it  202— In  obituary  notice  (tenth  line  from  bottom),  instead  of  "Judge  of  the  Court  of  the 
Colony  of  Vancouver  Island,"  read  "Colony  of  British  Columbia";  and  instead  of 
"simultaneously,  &c.,"  note  that  Mr.  Begbie  was  created  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Mainland  of  British  Columbia  by  "  An  Ordinance  to  regulate  the  Supreme  Courts 
of  Justice,"  passed  1st  March,  1869,  which  also  denned  the  title  of  the  Chief  Justice 
of  Vancouver  Island  then  held  by  Mr.  Needham.  That  Ordinance  provided 
that,  upon  a  vacancy  of  the  office  of  either  of  the  then  Chief  Justices,  the  two 
Supreme  Courts  should  be  merged  into  one,  the  remaining  Chief  Justice  to  preside 
over  it,  to  be  known  as  the  Chief  Justice  of  British  Columbia.  The  resignation  of 
Chief  Justice  Needham  created  a  vacancy,  which  was  filled  by  Chief  Justice  Begbie, 
under  an  Ordinance  passed  22nd  April,  1870,  when  both  Supreme  Courts  were 
united,  under  the  Chief  Justiceship  of  Sir  Matthew  B.  Begbie. 

n    203 — For  "Carej7,"  read  "Gary." 

,,    207— For  "  Joseph  Yates,"  read  "  James  Yates." 

u      u        u    "Yates  and  Skinner,"  read  "Skinner,  No.  2,"  and  "Yates,  No.  4." 

,,  233  u  "  two  officers,  one  Staff  Assistant  Surgeon,  and  eighteen  non-commissioned  officers 
and  men,"  read  "  three  officers,  one  Staff  Assistant  Surgeon,  and  one  hundred  and 
eighteen  non-commissioned  officers  and  men." 

ii  245      M     "  Sankster,"  read  "Sangster";  also  in  page  246. 

u  248      M    "A.  J.  Dallas,"  read  "A.  Grant  Dallas." 

ii  373      u    "Bouce,  Henry,"  read  "Bruce,  Henry." 

,,      ,,        M    "Medure,  John,"  read  "Maclure,  John." 

,,      ,,        i,    "June,  John,"  read  "  Jane,  John." 

H      M        u    "  Simple,  Robert,"  read  "  Semple,  Robert." 

,.  386      i,     "  Philip  Hawkin,"  read  "Philip  J.  Hankin." 

u  388      u    "  Edward  Howard  Saunders,"  read  "Edward  Howard  Sanders." 

n      u      After  "Montague  Tyrwhitt  Drake,"  insert  "John  Sebastian  Helmcken." 

ii      u      Omit  the  word  "Hon."  before  "John  Robson." 

n  393— For  "  Bernard,"  read  "  Carroll." 

„  406      „    "William  Smith,"  read  "  William  Smithe." 

,,  407      n     "Mr.  Reed,"  read  "Mr.  James  Reid." 

n  443      n    "  Alex.  Graham,"  read  "  James  Allan  Grahame." 

it  444 — Omit  the  word  "  Chief"  before  "  Commissioner." 

u  447— For  "George  C.  Turnstall,"  read  "George  C.  Tunstall." 

H      H        n    "  T.  Fannin,"  read  "  J.  Fannin." 

n  449      n    "Captain  John  Irvine,"  read  "Captain  John  Irving." 

it    466— After  "  Mr.  Cridge  "  (third  line  from  top),  read  "  now  Bishop  Cridge  " ;    for  1^3  aw  "  (line 

11),  read  "Burr." 

n    469 — For  "Miss  Vieuseaux,"  read  "Mrs.  Vieuseaux." 
n    470      ,,    "  Robert  C.  Carey,"  read  "  Herbert  C.  Carey." 
u    473— Read  "the  number,  &c.,  equals  the  demand." 
H    474— After  "  Hector  M.  Stramberg,"  read  "  B. A." 
n      n      In  last  line,  for  "  High  Schools,"  read  ^  Public  Schools." 
n    475 — In  fourth  line  from  top,  read  "monthly"  instead  of  "quarterly." 
n    494— For  "Rev.  T.  P.  Jenns,"  read  "Rev.  P.  Jenns." 
n    495      i,     "  H.  C.  Tiedman,"  read  "H.  O.  Tiedemann." 
it    497— Third  line  from  top,  for  "  Owen  Sound,"  read  "  Collingwood." 
"    499— Second  line  from  top,  after  "held,"  read  "their  first  meeting  in  St.  Andrew's  Church, 

Vancouver;    their  second   meeting,"  &c.,    "and  their  third  in   Knox  Church, 

Calgary,  May  2nd,  1894." 

,i    536— Read  "  Hon.  J.  H.  Turner  and  Mrs.  Turner." 
n     546 — Instead  of  "  John,"  read  "  Alexander"  Rocke  Robertson. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

PAGE 

1-A  continuous  history.  2-Arranged  in  chronological  periods. 
3-The  pre-historic  period.  Early  navigators.  Captain  Cook 
(1778).  4-The  fur-trading  period.  5-Francis  Drake.  6- 
The  first  arrival  at  Nootka.  7-The  second  British  navigator. 
8-Captain  John  Meares  (1788).  9-The  great  navigator,  Cap- 
tain George  Vancouver  (1792-3-4).  10-Alexander  Mackenzie 
(1793).  11-The  North- West  Company  and  New  Caledonia 
(1808).  12-Union  of  the  companies  (1821).  13-Lease  of 
Alaska  (1839).  14-Fort  Camosun  selected  (1842).  15-Fort 
Victoria  erected  (1843).  16-First  officer  in  charge  (1844). 
17-Gold  discovered  (1848).  18-The  colonial  period  (1849). 
19- Colonization,  settlement  and  representative  govern- 
ment (1856).  20- A  second  crown  colony  (1858).  21-British 
Columbia.  22-Its  boundaries  defined  (1858  and  1863).  23- 
Governor  Douglas  knighted  (1863).  Succeeded  by  Captain 
Kennedy  (1864).  24-Union  of  the  Colonies  (1866).  Frederick 
Seymour  (1864-66,  1869).  25-The  Royal  City  (1859).  26- Vic- 
toria surveyed.  Its  boundaries  (1852).  27,  28,  29-The  beau- 
ties of  Victoria  (1862).  30-Other  beautiful  scenery— New 
Westminster.  31-Nanaimo — Its  spacious  bay.  32- Vancouver 
City.  33-Kamloops.  34- The  last  of  the  colonial  governors — 
Anthony.  Musgrave  (1869-71)-  35- What  comes  afterwards? 
The  Confederation  period  (1871-94) 7-15 


SECTION  I.— EARLY  DISCOVERIES. 

OHAPTER  I. — Captain  Cook's  third  voyage— His  commission  and 
instructions — Reward  of  £20,000— Reached  Nootka,  1778 —  ' 
Indian  village  and  surly  chiefs  —  Captain  Cook  leaves 
Nootka — On  the  northward  voyage  finds  a  different  type 
of  natives — The  North-West  passage  improbable — Among 
the  walruses — Returns  south  along  the  coast  of  Russia  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands — Death  of  Captain  Cook— Captain 
Clerke  returns  north — His  death— Captain  Gore  succeeds  to 
the  command  of  the  expedition — Lieutenant  King  becomes 
captain  of  the  Discovery — The  expedition  reaches  England, 
having  lost  both  commanders 17-24 


SECTION  II.— THE  FUR-TRADING  PERIOD. 

OHAPTER  I. — Expeditions  organized  —  Pioneer  trader  Hanna 
reaches  Nootka,  1785 — British  navigators :  Scott,  Meares, 
Portlock,  Dixon — Barclay,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Barclay — 
Two  British  vessels  arrive  under  command  of  Captain 
Strange,  1786 — United  States  flag  and  traders — Gray  and 
Kendrick,  1788— Meares  at  Friendly  Cove,  1788— John  Me- 


VI  CONTENTS. 


Kay  remains  at  Nootka — Maquilla  and  Callicum — Their  fleet 
—Indian  music — Presents  and  building  site — House  building 
— Fortification — Friendly  natives — !Sad  end  of  Callicum — 
Inhuman  conduct  of  a  Spanish  officer.  .....  25-31 

CHAPTER  II. — Memorial  from  Captain  Meares — Seizures  by  the 
Spaniards — Launch  of  the  North-West  A merica— Message 
from  King  George  III.  to  the  House  of  Commons — Approved 
by  the  House  of  Lords. 32-41 

CHAPTER  III. — The  Spanish  reply — Extravagant  claims — Special 
Pleading — Reply  by  the  British  ambassador— Spain  and 
France  combine  against  Britain — Preparations  for  war — 
Family  compact — Fitz Herbert's  proposals  accepted.  .  .  42-5O 

CHAPTER  IV. — Captain  Vancouver's  appointment — Officers  under 
his  command — The  ships  leave  the  Thames,  taking  the 
route  via  Cape  of  Good  Hope — Call  at  the  Sandwich  Islands — 
Reach  Straits  of  Fuca,  April,  1792 — Explorations  commenced 
at  Puget  Sound — Meet  Spanish  vessels — Circumnavigate  the 
large  island  (now  Vancouver  Island) — Reception  at  Nootka, 
August,  1792 — The  Spanish  question  discussed  by  Quadra 
and  Vancouver — Death  of  Quadra.  .....  50-54 

CHAPTER  V. — Important  state  papers — Fresh  evidence — Com- 
missioners appointed  to  assess  damages  sustained  by  Cap- 
tain Meares — Withdrawal  of  the  Spanish  fleet — Kendrick 
attempts  to  secure  large  tracts  of  land — Surveys  of  1793— 
Fur  trade  along  the  coast — Winter  at  Sandwich  Islands.  .  55-59 

CHAPTER  VI. — Mackenzie's  overland  journey  to  the  Pacific — His 
qualifications  and  enterprise — The  westward  route—  Alex- 
ander McKay — Head-waters  of  Peace  River — He  reaches  a 
river  flowing  southerly —  Supposes  it  to  be  the  river 
Columbia — Alarming  intelligence — Mutiny  threatened — They 
leave  their  boat  and  proceed  on  foot 60-68- 

CHAPTER  VII. — Mackenzie's  trouble  with  guides — He  shaves  his 
beard — Hugging  and  hospitality — Reaches  the  Pacific  shore 
— Inscription  on  the  rock— Dr.  Sandford  Fleming's  opinion 
— Mackenzie  knighted — Later  particulars  from  Dr.  Masson, 
of  Edinburgh. 69-81 

CHAPTER  VIII.  —  Vancouver's  explorations  continued  —  His 
voyage  and  surveys  north — The  Nootka  difficulty  settled  — 
The  British  flag  unfurled  at  Nootka  over  the  land  restored 
— The  sea-otter  trade — Great  profits — Trouble  with  the 
Indians — Their  tactics — Capture  of  the  Boston— Jewett's  ac- 
count— Another  attack — Russian  project — Astoria  founded 
on  the  Columbia  River,  1810— The  Tonquin — Alexander 
Mackay — Intoxicating  liquor.  ......  81-91 

CHAPTER  IX. — Explorations  and  fur-trading  on  the  mainland — 
Simon  Eraser's  great  exploit — His  journal — Reaches  the 
great  river  in  1806 — Supplies  arrive,  1807—  Preparations  com- 
pleted, 1808— Fraser's  journal — Cascades,  canyons  and  whirl- 
pools— Thompson  River — Jackass  Mountain— Spuzzum.  .  92-95- 


CONTENTS.  vii 

VAGB 

CHAPTER  X. — David  Thompson,  the  astronomer — .Joins  the 
North- West  Company — Crosses  the  Rockies  at  Bow  River 
Pass  in  1800— Howe's  Pass  in  1807— Kootenay,  1809— Mouth 
of  Columbia,  1811 — Fort  Kamloops— Simon  Eraser's  retire- 
ment— Sandford  Fleming's  reference  to  David  Thompson — 
North-West  Company — Original  partners— Plan  of  operations 
— Great  success  in  1783 — The  X.  Y.  Company — Long  credit 
— Founders  of  the  fur  trade — Business  in  1798 — Guides, 
equipment,  canoes  and  crews — The  early  traders  deserve  credit  95- 104 

CHAPTER  XI. — Operations  on  the  Columbia  River — Establishment 
of  Astoria — The  new  administration — Alexander  Henry — Ross 
Cox — Donald  MacTavish — Flathead  Indians — Alexander 
Ross,  a  passenger  on  the  Tonqnin — Gabriel  Franchere's  nar- 
rative— The  war  sloop  Racoon — Cause  of  the  war — The  rivalry 
which  existed — Brought  before  Parliament — Reconciliation  .  105-110 

CHAPTER  XII. — Union  of  the  North- West  Company  and  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company— Charter  of  H.  B.  Co.,  1670— The 
new  Governor,  Sir  George  Simpson — Explorations  and  geo- 
graphical discoveries — Division  of  departments — Classification 
of  officers— Growth  of  H.  B.  Co.  from  1789  to  1856.  .  .  111-114 

CHAPTER  XIII. — Native  tribes  and  civilization — Indian  popula- 
tion in  1852  and  1892 — Educational  grants  to  industrial 
schools — Superintendent's  report — Deserted  villages.  .  .  115-119 

CHAPTER  XIV. — Primitive  Indian  regulations — The  systems  con- 
trasted— Wars  and  massacres — Policy  of  the  British  fur  com- 
panies— Servants  held  responsible — "Daughters  of  the  Land  " 
—Half-breed  women  and  children  in  1817.  .  .  119-121 

CHAPTER  XV. — Fort  Vancouver — An  extensive  concern — A  well- 
managed  farm — Walla  Walla — Annual  accounts  made  up  at 
Fort  Colville — Annual  expeditions — Convention  of  1818 — 
Supplementary  license — The  Alaska  boundary  impracticable 
— Trade  with  Russia  and  the  interior  of  New  Caledonia— No 
money  required — Equivalents  in  1733  and  a  hundred  years 
later — Evidence  before  the  House  of  Commons  in  1857 — Death 
of  Dr.  J.  Rae,  the  explorer.  .  .  122-128 

CHAPTER  XVI. — Sundry  expeditions — Kamloops  and  Fort  Lang- 
ley — Sir  George  Simpson  at  Fort  St.  James,  18213 — Stuart 
Lake — James  Douglas — From  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific— 
The  route  and  time  occupied — A  former  journey  mentioned — 
David  Douglas — The  Douglas  fir — Robert  Campbell — Dr. 
Dawson — Early  experience  of  James  Douglas  (afterwards  Sir 
James) — His  experience  in  New  Caledonia — Fort  Connolly — 
Tragedy  at  Fort  St.  James— Hairbreadth  escapes — McLough- 
lin  and  Douglas — Promotion  for  Douglas— Russian  Fur  Com-./'' 
pany — Alaska  Treaty — Lease  of  Alaska  from  Russia  (1838-9)^ 
to  Hudson  Bay  Co. — Armed  fleet — Settlers  arriving — Ban- 
croft  moralizes — The  boundary  question — A  noble  act 
Douglas  rescues  Lassertes — Roderick  Finlayson — Arrival  at 
Vancouver — Fort  Langley — Took  possession  of  Fort  Stickeen 
—Douglas  at  Sitka— Fort  Taku  built,  1840-1— Narrow  escape 
of  Finlayson — Return  of  the  Beaver  to  Puget  Sound.  .  .  128-145 


Vlll        •  CONTENTS. 

PAQB 

CHAPTER  XVII. — Sir  George  Simpson's  visit,  1841 — His  route — 
Edmonton  —  Fort  Colville  —  Fort  Vancouver  —  Interesting 
visits — "Confusion  of  tongues"  at  Cowlitz  River — Puget 
Sound  farms — North  to  Fort  Simpson  and  Stickeen — Sitka — 
Governor  Etholin — Immense  trade — Fur  seals — Teetotalism 
— Permission  to  marry — Change  of  headquarters — Foit  Van- 
couver described — Large  farms  in  1841 — Settlement,  1839 — 
Sandwich  Islands— Thence  to  Sitka 146-153 

CHAPTER  XVIII. — Fort  Camosun  (Victoria)  selected — Forts  Taku 
and  .Stickeen — Flags  half-mast — No  more  rum — The  year 
1843,  a  semi-centennial  mark — Mackenzie  and  Vancouver, 
1793 — Fort  Victoria  built — Expedition  from  Fort  Vancouver 
—Father  Bolduc — Men  from  the  north — Expeditious  work — 
The  very  best  men — Douglas  and  McLoughlin — Roderick 
Finlaysori — Cowichins  help  themselves — Covetous  chiefs — 
How  Finlayson  dealt  with  them — The  pipe  of  peace  smoked 
—Ships  direct  from  England  to  Victoria,  1845— Whalers.  .  154-166 

CHAPTER  XIX. — The  territory  to  be  divided — Captain  Gordon's  ., 
arrival — Royal  Engineers —  Warre  and  Vavasour — ' '  Fifty-four  6^ 
forty  or  fight " — Sir  Rich.  Pakenham — United  States  claims — 
Great  Britain's  arguments — Oregon  boundary,  1827 — Conven- 
tion of  1790 — Oregon  treaty  passed,  1846 — Free  navigation 
of  the  Columbia — Correspondence  relative  to  Straits  of  Fuca 
boundary — A  fair  proposition  from  Mr.  Crompton,  1848 — 
Delayed  until  1856 — H.  B.  Co.'s  business  flourishing  at  Vic- 
toria under  Mr.  Finlayson — Paul  Kane — Dr.  McLoughlin 
retires — Alexander  Mackay's  widow — Hudson  Bay  Company 
indemnified — A.  C.  Anderson— High  duties— Discovery  of 
gold  in  California — Gold  nuggets — Removal  of  Factor  Doug- 
las and  family  to  Victoria,  1849 — First  notice  received — Great 
excitement — Coal  discovered — J.  W.  Mackay — Forts  Langley 
ancLYale — Fort  Thompson — John  Tod — Horse  flesh  used  for 
food.  .  .  .  166-184 

CHAPTER  XX. — Colonization  introduced — Immigration  and  miners 
— Proposal  to  colonize — Grant  of  Vancouver  Island,  1849 — 
Rent,  seven  shillings  per  annum — Circular  issued  by  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company — Conditions  of  settlement — Report  to 
be  made  every  two  years  to  Secretary  of  State.  .  .  .  184-188 


SECTION  HI.- THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

CHAPTER  I.— Governor  Blanshard  appointed,  1849— Reaches  Vic- 
toria, 1850 — Pessimistic  remarks  by  "Bancroft" — Fort  Rupert 
— The  Muir  family — Coal  mining  in  1853 — Governor  Blan- 
shard visits  Fort  Rupert — Dr.  Helmcken  appointed  first 
magistrate  in  the  colony — Desertion  of  sailors — Three  men 
%  murdered — Rewards  offered — Dr.  Helmcken  and  Blenkinsop 
—Petition  from  the  settlers — Provisional  Council  nominated 
—  Captain  Grant's  colony — A  large  reserve — Another  grievance 
— Governor  Blanshard  dissatisfied — He  departs  for  England, 
September,  1851 — Governor  Douglas  sworn  in,  November, 
1851 — Complimentary  notice — Lieutenant-Govern  or  of  Queen 
Charlotte  Islands.  .  .  .  189-200 


CONTENTS.  ix 

PAGB 

CHAPTER  II. — Governor  Douglas  nominates  his  Council — Chief 
Justice  Cameron  appointed — Chief  Justice  Needham — Chief 
Justice  Begbie — Petition  from  the  settlers — Licenses  for 
revenue— Legislature  established,  June,  1856— The  first  elec- 
tions— Dr.  Helmcken's  speech — Meeting  of  the  Legislature — 
Speech  from  the  Throne  by  Governor  Douglas— The  "happy 
family" — Group  of  the  pioneer  legislators  (Skinner  should 
have  been  No.  2  and  Yates  No.  4) — Rev.  Robert  J.  Staines 
— Reminiscences .  .  .  201-219 

CHAPTER  111. — Charter  and  license  repealed— The  monopoly — The 
subject  before  the  British  Parliament,  1857  — Gold  excitement 
on  Fraser  River— Governor  requested  for  the  mainland — Lord 
Lytton's  despatches— Governor  Douglas  is  made  Governor  of  t 

the  mainland  by  a  separate  Commission  for  the  colony  of 
British  Columbia  —  Full  instructions — Royal  Engineers — 
Colonel  Moody— Captain  Parsons. 219-232 

CHAPTER  IV. — Further  instructions  and  appointments — Aborigines 
Protection  Society — Judge  Begbie 's  Commission — Lord  Lyt- 
ton's confidence  in  Governor  Douglas — Collector  of  Customs 
— Miners'  licenses — Military  assistance — Road  construction — - 
Peter  Brown's  murder — The  murderer  produced — Tried  to 
shoot  the  Governor — Marines  and  blue  jackets.  .  .  .  232-239 

CHAPTER  V. — The  San  Juan  Boundary  Question — Straits  of  Fuca 
—The  Boundary  Commissioners — Captain  Prevost's  view — 
Mr.  Campbell's  contention — Lord  Russell's  despatch — Squat- 
ters on  San  Juan  Island — Collectors  Sankster  and  Ebey — 
Senator  W.  J.  Mucdonald — Sheep  sold  to  pay  taxes — The  two 
national  flags  unfurled — Doubtful  characters— General  Harney 
—Difficulty  about  Cutler's  pig— Mr.  Dallas,  Dr.  Tolmie  and 
Mr.  Fraser— Mr.  Griffin's  letter  and  reply 240-250 

CHAPTER  VI. — A  collision  prevented  by  Governor  Douglas — Vis- 
count Milton — Captmi  Pickett — Joint  occupation  of  San 
Juan  Island — The  peace-maker  !  —  Additional  letters  —  A 
double  game — Ready  for  a  broidside — Casey's  report — Pre- 
paring for  war — Harney  supers  3ded — General  Scott's  instruc- 
tions— Lord  Lyons  to  Mr.  Cass — Joint  military  occupation 
pending  settlement — Whiskey  sellers  cause  trouble — The 
decision  of  the  Emperor  of  Germany 251-262 

CHAPTER  VII. — The  gold  discoveries — Rapid  spread  of  mining 
news — Thompson  and  Fraser  Rivers — The  natives  jealous — 
Golden  "aurora  borealis  " — Crews  desert  vessels — Well  orga- 
nized—Overland route— Indian  fortifications — Fires  and 
counter  fires — The  prowling  savages  follow — Over  thirty  thou- 
sand people  — Gold  dust  on  deposit — Tovvnsend  and  Whatcom 
— Rates  of  passage — War  vessels — Governor  Douglas  visited 
the  mainland — The  fur  trade  superseded — A  standard  license — 
Provisions  scarce  Indians  dislike  the  "  B<  ston  men  "—Party 
of  miners  formed  -  A  skirmish — Peace  restored — Conference 
at  Government  House — Decision  of  the  Council  on  navigation 
laws  and  Fraser  River.  .  263-273 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VIII. — Second  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  1858 — Water 
supply — Bill  of  Supply  for  the  year — Education — Schools 
examined  by  Mr.  Cndge — Impromptu  speech  by  Governor 
Douglas  to  the  miners — Free  port  of  Victuria — Public  notices 
— Search  after  gold — Graphic  description.  ....  274-283 

CHAPTER  IX. — Mining  regulations — Puget  Sound  Agricultural 
Company — The  African  race—  Spirituous  liquor— -Difficulties 
between  the  miners  and  natives — Governor  Douglas  and  party 
proceed  to  the  mainland — Commissioners  appointed — New 
map  of  Victoria — Streets  named — Road-cutting  expedition — 
Fort  Langley — Whiskey,  powder  and  shot — Governor  Douglas 
resigned  Hudson  Bay  Company  factorship — Proclaimed  Gov- 
ernor of  British  Columbia — Ceremonies  at  Fort  Langley — 
Proclamations  issued — Sale  of  Langley  town  lots — Name 
changed  to  Derby 284-291 

CHAPTER  X.— Increased  trade — Comparative  view  of  imports — 
The  current  year  of  1858 — New  buildings — Colonel  Moody's 
arrival — Lieut.  Mayne  of  the  Plumper — Desperate  characters 
at  Hills  Bar — Royal  Engineers — Marines  and  blue  jackets — 
FoyXXangley  and  Fort  Hope— Canoe  trip — Floating  ice — 
Narrow  escapes — Struck  on  Cornish  Bar — Hospitable  treat- 
ment at  Yale.  ....  .  .  .  291-297 

CHAPTER  XL — Colonel  Moody  holds  church  service— Orderly  and 
attentive  congregation  of  miners — Edward  McGowaii  com- 
mits an  assault — Explanations — Peace  restored — McGowan 
obliged  to  flee — Salute  at  Fort  Hope — Captain  Lewis — Site  of 
New  Westminster  examined  and  selected — Derby  abandoned 
— Romantic  Sapperton — Queensborough — Sale  of  lots.  .  .  297-302 

CHAI;TER  XII. — Missionary  Duncan-  -His  great  success  among  the 
natives — H.M.S.  Satellite — Free  passage — Sailed  December, 
1856,  reached  Vancouver  Island  June,  1857 — The  first  Pro- 
testant missionary — Roman  Catholic  priests — Their  mode  of 
teaching — ]£o.rjb  .Simpson — Attempt  to  murder  Duncan — Un- 
welcome visitors — Onerous  duties — Indian  schools — Assist- 
ance for  Duncan — He  chooses  a  new  site — Met-lah-kat-lah — 
Mr.  Tugwell. 302-307 

CHAPTER  XIII. — New  Year  receptions — New  school-house — New 
missions  established — Queensborough  surveyed  by  the  Royal 
Engineers — First  public  service— Express  companies — Postal 
rates — Colonel  Moody's  residence— Public  Buildings  in  Vic- 
toria, 1859 — Parliament  and  public  buildings  in  progress  of 
construction,  1893— United  States  currency — Messages  from 
Governor  Douglas 307-316 

CHAPTER  XIV.— Gold  plentiful— Details  of  gold  mining— The 
prospector's  pan — How  it  is  used — The  "  rocker  "  or  "cradle  " 
— How  worked — Sluicing— Mining  at  Hills  Bar — Water  regu- 
lations—An inch  of  water — Hydraulic  mining— Scientific 
mining. 316-321 


CONTENTS.  XI 


CHAPTER  XV. — Large  gravel  deposits — Hydraulic  mining  in 
Cariboo — Similar  work  in  California — Quartz  mining — Other 
rich  gold  regions — Mode  of  treating  the  ora—  Quartz  mill — 
Rush  of  miners  not  as  great  in  1859 — Queens  borough  pro- 
claimed port  of  entry — Settlement  on  Vancouver  Island — 
Land  sold  by  auction— Queensborough — Name  changed  to 
New  Westminster,  July,  1859 — Report  and  despatch,  October, 
1859,  from  Governor  Douglas  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle — 
Expedition  to  Queen  Charlotte  Islands — Major  Downie's 
report— Skeena  River — Babine  Lake,  one  hundred  miles  long 
— "  Hunting  for  gold  " — Coast  Indians — Small-pox — The  men 
dissipated  and  dangerous — The  women  degraded — A  grateful 
husband — Polygamy.  ...  ....  321-328 

CHAPTER  XVI.— The  Clergy  Reserve  question — Rev.  E.  Cridge — 
Salary  of  the  chaplain— Agreement  with  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany— A  startling  fact — Opposition  to  Clergy  Reserves — Sun- 
dry opinions — Rev.  Wm.  F.  Clark — Public  sentiment  re- 
spected— The  second  general  election,  1860 — Judge  Begbie's 
report — Non-residence  of  officials — Mount  Baker.  .  .  329-333 

CHAPTER  XVII. — Gold  mining  transactions  and  returns — Five 
thousand  men  employed  in  1861 — In  the  Cariboo  country, 
1,500 — The  earnings — The  lucky  ones— Value  of  the  gold 
dust— The  official  table,  1858  to  1893,  inclusive.  .  .  .  334-336 

CHAPTER  XVIII. — Missionary  work — Various  denominations — 
Church  of  England — Methodist — Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel — Duncan —Cridge — Crosby — Tugwell — Rev. 
Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson — His  account  of  Mr.  Duncan's  early  life 
— Duncan's  arrival  at  Fort  Simpson — Tsimpsean  Indians, 
2, 300 — Human  depravity — Medicine-men — Dog-eaters — Fire- 
water— Singing  and  dancing — School  opens,  1858 — Removal 
to  Met-lah-kat-lah  in  1862— The  regulations  adopted— Old 
ties  broken — Bishop  Hills  visits  the  village  in  1863 — Bap- 
tizes fifty-seven  adults — One  thousand  people— Band  of 
twenty -four  instruments — Mission  at  Massett — Average  atten- 
dance at  church  service,  350 — Mr.  Collison,  1878 — Rev. 
George  Sneath — Death  of  a  chief — Alert  Bay  Mission.  .  .  337-344 

CHAPTER  XIX. — Royal  Engineers — Extensive  surveys — Reports 
made  by  Lieutenants  Mayne  and  Palmer — Mayne's  journey 
along  the  Thompson  and  other  rivers — Fort  Kamloops — How 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company  officers  live — Their  character— 
Shuswap  chief — The  dwelling  or  hut— Walter  Moberly,  C.E., 
arrives — Hardships — Tries  mining — Return  trip  and  poor 
luck — Receives  appointment  from  Colonel  Moody — Heavy 
bill  at  a  country  hotel — Partner  with  Mr.  Dewdney — Public 
works — Proclamation — Cariboo  Road  and  Royal  Engineers, 
1861— Messrs.  Trutch  and  Spence  hold  (1862)  contracts  to 
build  portions  of  the  road.  .......  345-351 

CHAPTER  XX.— ^A  resident  governor  asked  for — Delegation  waits 
on  Governor  Douglas — A  representative  assembly  wanted 
(1861) — Petition  to  the  Crown — A  lengthy  and  exhaustive 
reply  to  the  memorial  in  twenty-six  paragraphs  .  .  .  352-358- 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

PAOK 

CHAPTER  XXI. — Roads  and  salaries — Expenditure  for  roads — 
Separate  governors  proposed — Despatch,  Juno  15th,  1863 — 
Legislative  council  to  be  constituted  in  British  Columbia — 
Salaries  of  officers  in  Vancouver  Island  colony — Salaries  in 
British  Columbia — A  difficult  problem— A  new  legislature  to 
be  elected  and  convened  similar  to  that  already  existing  in 
Vancouver  Island  colony — Ey~officio  members  nominated  .  358-361 

CHAPTER  XXII. — Governor  Douglas  knighted,  1863 — His  com- 
mission as  governor  of  Vancouver  Island  colony  lapses — A 
popular  governor — Commission  as  governor  of  British  Colum- 
bia terminates  in  1864 — Closes  his  term  at  New  Westminster 
— Enthusiastic  farewell  procession  —Governor  Kennedy  to 
succeed  Douglas  in  Vancouver  Island— He  arrives,  March, 
1864  —  Governor  Seymour  succeeds  Douglas  in  British 
Columbia — He  arrives,  April,  1864 — A  proposition  to  unite 
both  colonies  under  one  governor — Resolutions  passed  at 
public  meetings  for  and  against  the  union — Victoria  and  New 
Westminster  agree  to  be  united — Legislative  Assembly,  1865, 
passes  union  resolutions — Despatch  transmitted  by  Governor 
Kennedy  to  Colonial  Secretary — Amor  de  Cosmos  .  .  362-367 

CHAPTER  XXIII. — Governor  Seymour  opposes  union — Despatch 
to  Secretary  Cardwell — He  writes  from  Paris — On  his  mar- 
riage tour — Petition  from  445  residents  in  British  Colombia 
in  favor  of  union — Effort  to  have  permanent  seat  of  govern- 
ment at  New  Westminster — Royal  Engineers  disbanded,  1863 
—Those  remaining,  1894  ...  ...  368-373 

CHAPTER  XXIV. — Further  surveys  for  roads  and  railways — Mr. 
Moberly  instructed  to  superintend  the  work — The  Columbia 
River  route — The  "  Big  Bend  "  and  Yellow-head  Pass — Gov- 
ernor Seymour  ceases  to  oppose  the  union  of  the  colonies — 
His  speech,  1808 — Confederation  memorial  from  Victoria, 
1868,  to  the  Governor-General  of  Canada— Hon.  S.  L.  Tilley's 
reply — Discussions  on  the  Pacific  Railway — Alfred  Wadding- 
ton — Bute  Inlet  route — Confederation  League  formed — The 
Dominion  takes  action — Open-air  meeting  at  Barkerville — 
Rousing  speeches — Babbitt  and  Booth — Delegates  appointed 
to  attend  the  Yale  convention 374-381 

CHAPTER  XXV. — Preparations  for  Confederation — Convention  at 
Yale — Committee  appointed — They  report  in  favor  of  the 
immediate  admission  of  British  Columbia  into  the  Dominion 
— Contrary  vote  in  the  Legislative  Council — Legislature  pro- 
rogued, March,  1869— Death  of  Dr.  Davie— Death  of  Gover- 
nor Seymour —Governor  Musgrave  appointed — His  early 
career— Trip  to  Cariboo — Despatch  from  Lord  Granville— 
Legislature  meets,  February,  1870 — Postage  rate,  six  cents.  .  382-387 

CHAPTER  XXVI. — Union  with  Canada — Resolutions  framed — The 
Legislature  of  British  Columbia — Ready  for  work  of  1  he  ses- 
sion— Outline  of  terms  of  union — The  great  Confederation 
debate — Discussion  lasts  from  9th  March  to  23rd  April— Dele- 
gates Dr.  Helmcken,  Trutch  and  Bernard  chosen  by  the 
Executive  to  present  terms  of  union  to  Commons,  Ottawa  — 
Terms  agreed  on,  July  7th,  1870 — Afterwards  ratified  by 
British  Columbia.  .  388-397 


CONTENTS.  xil! 

PAGB 

CHAPTER  XXVII. — Terms  of  Union  guarantee — Change  in  the 
Constitution  of  British  Columbia— -Railway  to  be  completed 
in  ten  years — Electoral  districts  formed — The  new  council, 
elected  November,  1870,  meets  January  5th,  1871 — Speaker- 
ship  declined — Legislature  opened  by  Governor  Musgrave — 
Important  considerations — Address  to  the  Queen— Responsi- 
ble Government— Old  map  discovered — Motion  by  Dr. 
Helmckeii— Map  called  in — British  claims  admitted — A  big 
threat — Admission  of  British  Columbia  to  the  Union — Ban- 
quet to  Mr.  Truich  at  Ottawa — Explanations  —  Sandford 
Fleming  appointed  Chief  Engineer  to  Pacific  Railway — Clos- 
ing remarks  by  Governor  Musgrave — Harmonious  relations — 
Complimentary  addresses — Created  a  knight — Civil  Engineers 
Moberly,  Maclennan,  etc. — Marcus  Smith — Various  Impor- 
tant surveys. 397-404 


SECTION  IV.— THE  CONFEDERATION  PERIOD. 

CHAPTER  I. — The  first  Lieutenant-Governor — Visit  of  Hon.  Mr. 
Langevin  —Cariboo— His  report — First  Legislative  Assembly 
under  Confederation — List  of  members — Bills  passed — Sena- 
tors appointed  —  Representatives  at  Ottawa — Richardson's 
report  of  surveys — Marcus  Smith  —  Seymour  Narrows  — 
Yellow-head  Pass — Sandford  Fleming — Memoir — Pacific  Rail- 
way— Ocean  to  ocean — Principal  Grant — Professor  Macoun — 
The  Pacific  Ocean  cable  405-414 

CHAPTER  II. — Three  routes  surveyed — Source  of  Fraser  River- 
Route  to  Burrard  Inlet  selected — Cost  of  survey  up  to  1878 — 
Subsidy  and  land  grant — Charter  applied  for — Sir  Hugh 
Allan — Huntingdon's  statement — Committee  to  investigate — 
Mackenzie's  administration — Meeting  of  British  Columbia 
Legislature,  1873— Esquimalt  dry-dock— Visit  to  England  by 
Mr.  De  Cosmos — Protest  against  the  continued  breach  of 
terms  of  Union — Hon.  Mr.  Walkem  proceeds  to  England  to 
present  petition — The  "Carnarvon  terms" — Mr.  Edgar's 
mission — Further  railway  surveys.  .....  415-422 

CHAPTER  III. — Surveys  in  the  interior — Mr.  Jarvis — Great  hard- 
ships— Meeting  of  Legislature,  1876  —Resignation  of  Walkem 
government — The  Mongolian  question— Lord  Dufferin's  visit 
— Would  not  pass  under  an  objectionable  arch — Declined  to 
receive  an  address  from  a  deputation  —  Public  feeling  — 
Poetry  on  the  subject — Mackenzie  defended— Lord  Dufferin's 
tour — His  celebrated  speech — Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  again 
premier. 423-428 

CHAPTER  IV.  —  A  new  syndicate  —  Terms  of  construction  — 
Subsidy — First  sod  on  Canadian  Pacific  turned,  1880 — Bridge 
across  the  Fraser — Seven  thousand  men  employed — A  daring 
feat — Esijuimalt  and  Nanaimo  railway — The  railway  belt — 
Dry-dock  transferred  to  the  Dominion — Conditions— Captain 
Devereaux — Impregnable  fortifications 429-434 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

I'AGK 

CHAPTER  V. — Transfer  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway — The 
general  manager — Lord  Lome  and  the  Princess  Louise — Visit 
to  British  Columbia — Sir  Charles  Tupper — Lord  Lansdowne's 
visit — Party  of  railway  directors — Union  of  east  and  west — 
Ceremony  of  driving  the  "golden  spike  "— The  first  through 
train.  .  434-440 

CHAPTER  VI. — New  management  of  Hudson  Bay  Company — 
Members  of  Board — Messrs.  Work,  Dr.  Tolmie,  Mactavish 
and  Grahame — Chief  commissioner — Messrs.  Charles  and 
Munro— Thomas  R.  Smith— Robert  H.  Hall— C.  C.  Chipman.  440-444 

CHAPTER  VII. — New  route  of  travel — Geological  examinations — 
Dr.  Selwyn's  extended  explorations — Gold  seekers  in  1862 
— Ninety  Red  River  carts — Yellow-head  Pass — An  unfortu- 
nate trip — The  survivors— Public  museum — Mr.  Fannin — 
Captain  Palliser's  report  adverse — Dr.  G.  M.  Dawson,  1875, 
1877  and  1879— Valuable  geological  reports  ....  445-449 

CHAPTER  VIII. — Travel  and  trade  facilities — The  Canadian  Navi- 
gation Company — Manager  John  Irving — Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  Company's  line — The-  three  Empresses — Log  of  the 
Empress  of  India — Around  the  world — Canadian  and  Austra- 
lian line — The  proposed  Pacific  cable — Hon.  Mr.  Bowell — 
Sandford  Fleming — Trade  of  Hawaiian  islands — Northern 
Pacific  Steamship  Company — Pacific  Coast  Steamship  Com- 
pany— Puget  Sound  and  Alaska  Steamship  Company — The 
Comox  line — The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway — Three  of  the 
directors  created  knights — The  steamer  Beaver — First  on  the 
North  Pacific — Comparative  size  of  the  present  steamships — 
View  of  Beaver  and  Indian  canoes  (see  also  page  501  for 
canoes  and  totems)  ........  449-457 

CHAPTER  IX. — Railways,  coal  deposits  and  gold  -Railways  in 
course  of  construction — Projected  lines — Nakusp  and  Slocan 
railway — Nicola  Valley  railway — Extraordinary  coal  deposits 
— Analysis — Seam  thirty  feet  thick — Abundant  supply — Van- 
couver island  mines— Nanaimo — Mining  for  gold — Dredging 
for  gold — West  Kootenay  district  rich  in  ores — East  Kootenay 
gives  great  promise  —  Assays  —  Nelson  —  Skylark  mine  — 
Kootenay  triumphs 458-463 

CHAPTER  X. — Education — Hudson  Bay  Company  provide  first 
teachers  for  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island — Robert  J. 
Stain  es  and  wife  arrive,  1849— Mr.  Staines  proposes  to 
return  to  England  in  1853,  but  is  drowned — Rev.  Mr. 
Cridge  (now  Bishop)  arrives,  1855 — The  agreement  made 
with  the  Hudson  Bay  Company — Appointed  honorary  super- 
intendent of  education — His  report  of  examinations,  1&61 — 
Alfred  Waddington,  superintendent,  1865— Governor  Sey- 
mour refuses  any  aid  to  public  schools,  after  union  of  colo- 
nies— After  Confederation  Provincial  Government  organized 
a  non-sectarian  school  system — Mr.  Jessop  first  superinten- 
dent after  Confederation— Visit  of  Lord  Dufferin,  1876,  to 
public  schools  of  Victoria — Promised  three  medals — C.  C. 
Mackenzie  next  superintendent  of  schools,  1878— S.  D. 


CONTENTS.  XV 

PAOR 

Pope,  present  superintendent,  appointed  1884 — The  "school- 
master's friend  " — Great  increase  in  school  attendance  —  A  most 
efficient  board  of  examiners — Free  education — No  separate 
schools— Synopsis  of  amended  School  Act,  1894 — Two  school 
inspectors — Prize  medals  continue  to  be  distributed  by  the 
Dominion  Governors — The  prize  medallists — High  schools — 
Value  of  school  property — View  of  two  Victoria  schools— 
Craigflower  school,  1861 — Minister  of  Education,  Col.  Baker 
— Death  of  Hon.  John  Robson,  referred  to  in  school  report 
of  1892  .  .  .  464-476 

^CHAPTER  XI. — Ecclesiastical — Roman  Catholic  missionaries  early 
in  the  field — Bishop  Demers — Father  Lootens  (now  bishop) — 
Father  J.  B.  Bolduc— The  Oblate  missionaries — First  Catholic 
school  —  Many  churches  —  The  "  Mother  House  "  —  Bishop 
D'Herbomez— Bishop  Seghers— St.  Joseph  hospital — Bishop 
Brondel — Bishop  Seghers  assassinated — Bishop  Lemmens — 
Old  and  new  cathedral — Separation  of  the  mainland— First 
"Vicar  Apostolic" — See  of  Westminster — Bishop  Durieu — 
Eighty  churches  in  Westminster  diocese — Schools  in  charge 
of  Oblate  fathers — Industrial  schools  for  Indian  children — 
Communities  of  religious  women  ......  477-484 

•CHAPTER  XII. — Methodist  work  begun  in  British  Columbia, 
1859,  by  Dr.  Evans — Revs.  White,  Robson  and  Browning — 
Governor  Douglas  lays  corner-stone  of  first  Methodist  church 
— Rev.  D.  V.  Lucas  arrives,  avssistant  missionary,  in  1862 — 
Five  congregations  in  1893,  in  Victoria — Rev.  Mr.  Browning, 
Nanaimo — The  mainland — Methodist  Conference  organized, 
1887— Places  of  worship  in  the  Province,  1893— Rev.  Thomas 
Crosby — Successful  amongst  the  natives  at  Fort  Simpson — 
Church  built — School  established — Mrs.  Crosby  and  Miss 
Knott — Industrial  fair — Revival,  winter  of  1877-8 — Mission 
extends  to  Kit-a-mart,  150  miles  south  of  Fort  Simpson — 
Potlatch — Nitinat  Indians — Rev.  J.  Stone — Coqualeetza  In- 
dian Institute — Rev.  E.  Robson — College  founded  at  New 
Westminster,  1892.  .  .  484-492 

•CHAPTER  XIII. — Presbyterian — Mission  field,  1858 — First  mis- 
sionary, 1861 — Rev.  John  Hall — First  Presbyterian  Church, 
Victoria,  1863— Second  missionary  stationed  at  New  West- 
minster, Rev.  Robert  Jamieson,  1862 — Nanaimo,  1864 — Revs. 
Aitken,  Clyde,  Anderson  and  Miller,  until  1889— Rev.  D.  A. 
McRae  installed,  1891— Rev.  Mr.  Hall  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Nimmo,  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Victoria,  1865 — 
Rev.  J.  Reid,  1876— Rev.  Mr.  Smith,  1881— Rev.  Mr. 
Gamble,  1882— Rev.  Donald  Fraser,  1884— Rev.  Dr.  Camp- 
bell, 1892,  the  present  pastor— Rev.  Mr.  Somerville,  1868— 
Second  congregation  formed,  St.  Andrew's,  1869 — Rev.  Mr. 
McGregor— R.  Stephen— Rev.  P.  McF.  McLeod,  1888— New 
St.  Andrew's,  1890— Central  Church,  1894— D.  McRae,  St. 
Paul's,  Victoria,  1891— Hev.  R.  G.  Murison,  1894— Rapid 
progress  in  Vancouver  city — Four  Presbyterian  churches — 
—Presbytery  of  Columbia,  1886— General  Assembly,  1887— 
New  Presbytery  of  Calgary,  181)4 492-499 


xvi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XIV. — Anglican— Rev.  H.  Beaver — Rev.  Robert  Stain es 
—Rev.  E.  Cridge — Bishop  Hills  arrives  at  Es  ]uimnlt,  Janu- 
ary, 1860— St.  John's  (iron)  Church— Present  cathedral  con- 
secrated, 1872 — Diocesan  Synod,  1875 — Diocese  divided,  1879 
— Bishop  Hills  resigns,  1892 — Succeeded  by  Bishop  Perrin, 
1893 — Clergy  endowment — Industrial  Indian  school,  Alert 
Bay— Diocese  of  New  Westminster— Bishop  Sillitoe— Christ 
Church,  Hope,  1>60 — Other  churches — Diocese  of  Columbia 
—Bishop  Ridley— William  Duncan— Industries  in  1882-3.  .  499-503 

CHAPTER  XV. — Baptist — Organized  in  British  Columbia,  1877 — 
Wm.  Carne,  first  pastor,  Victoria — Calvary  Church — Em- 
manuel Church,  1886 — Olivet  Church,  New  Westminster — 
First  Baptist  Church,  1886— Second  Church,  1891— Third 
Church,  1894— Nanaimo,  1890— Membership  in  British 
Columbia.  ...  .  504-505 

THE  REFORMED  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. — Organized,  1875-6 — Rev. 
Bishop  Cridge,  1875— Consecrated  1876— Site  for  church 
granted  by  Sir  James  Douglas 505-506 

CHINESE  MISSIONS. — The  per  capita  tax — 7,500  in  British  Columbia 
— School  opened,  1885 — Converts — "Girls'  Rescue  Home" — 
Mr.  Gardiner — Rev.  Mr.  Lipscombe — Rev.  Mr.  Winchester 
—Mr.  Brodie.  .  506-507 

THE  SALVATION  ARMY. — "Attacking  force"  in  1887—  " Fighting 
force"  in  1894 — The  officers  in  British  Columbia — Meetings 
of  the  "Army" — Attendance  at  meetings — Barracks  at 
Nanaimo— Victoria  is  headquarters  of  British  Columbia — 
War  Cry  circulation — Brass  band — "Poor  Man's  Shelter"  at 
Vancouver — "  Rescue  Home  "  in  Victoria.  ....  508 

THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  JEWS. — The  ancient  church — Synagogue  in 

Victoria— The  Rabbi 508 

CHAPTER  XVI.— Lord  Stanley  of  Preston— Lady  Stanley,  1889— 
Loyally  received  at  Vancouver  city  and  New  Westminster — 
"Stanley  Park,"  named  after  his  Excellency — Crosses  to 
Victoria — Cordially  welcomed — Guests  of  Lieut. -Govern or 
Nelson — A  civic  banquet  given — A  "superlative"  speech — 
The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway — Mishap  to  the  Ampkion. — 
Narrow  escape  of  the  vice-regal  party — Lord  Aberdeen  and 
the  Countess  of  Aberdeen  visit  British  Columbia,  1894 — Mar- 
ried in  1877 — Visit  to  the  Coldstream  ranch e— Address  from 
the  pioneers— The  Kootenay  country — The  maple  leaf — The 
party  reach  Vancouver  city — Hotel  Vancouver— His  Excel- 
lency and  the  Countess  on  the  balcony— Three  addresses  pre- 
sented and  replied  to — The  Halloween  banquet — Characteristic 
address  from  the  chairman— Suitable  reply — The  toasts  of  the 
evening— Excellent  speeches— Sandford  FJeming  and  Mr. 
Mercer — The  Pacific  cable — Canadian  enterprise — Mackenzie 
Bowell— Lady  Marjorie,  the  youngest  editress — Visit  to  the 
schools  and  the  court  house— Competition  medals  promised 
by  the  Governor-General — Art  and  science.  .  .  509-526 


CONTENTS.  XV11 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XVII. — Arrival  at  Victoria — Guard  of  honor — Sir  Wil- 
liam Wallace  Society — Sunday  services — Board  of  Trade — 
Important  address — Provincial  topics — Agriculture  the  "  back- 
bone industry  " — Sons  of  Erin — Compliment  to  the  Countess 
of  Aberdeen — Public  schools'  welcome — Dignity  of  teaching — 
The  Minister  of  Education — Address  by  the  Countess — Wee 
Willie  Winkie— The  Alexandra  Ladies'  Club.  .  .  .  526-535 

CHAPTER  XVIII. — Visit  to  Duncan's  station — Addresses  from 
farmers  and  Indians — Lord  Aberdeen  on  farming — Compli- 
mentary to  the  railways — An  evening  party — The  set  of  honor 
and  Scotch  reels — Jubilee  hospital — Chinese  missions — Royal 
Marine  Artillery — Boys'  Brigade — Special  medals — Women 
of  Canada — Address  in  the  theatre — National  Council  of 
Canada — Victoria  Branch — Farewell  to  Victoria — Wellington 
mines — -At  Nanaimo,  the  coal  metropolis — Enthusiastic  recep- 
tion— Vancouver  Coal  Company's  works — The  vice-regal  party 
leave  for  Vancouver  on  steamer  Joan — Kamloops — List  of 
governors  and  lieutenant-governors 536-545 

CHAPTER  XIX. — Parliamentary — Members  of  Executive  —  Six 
parliaments — Premiers,  presidents  of  council  and  speaker — 
Opening  of  the  Seventh  Parliament  by  Lieutenant-Governor 
Dewdiiey — List  of  members — A  critique — Motion  on  "the 
Fisheries" — Revenue  for  the  year — Appropriation  to  suf- 
ferers by  flood  in  Fraser  River.  ......  546-554 

CHAPTER  XX. — Fur  sealing  and  the  Alaska  boundary — Claims  by 
Sealers— Treaty  of  1892— Arbitration  in  Paris,  1893— Annual 
seal  catch  since  1890 — President  Cleveland's  message,  1894 — 
Photo- topography — Mount  St.  Elias  lost  to  the  United  States 
— Mount  Aberdeen — United  States  charts — Portland  Canal 
beyond  the  treaty  limit — Revilla  Gigedo — Death  of  Sir  John 
Thompson 555-559 

CHAPTER  XXI. — Condition  of  the  Province — Sources  of  and 
Excess  of  Expenditure  over  Revenue — Loans,  how  applied — 
Inscribed  stock — Increase  in  Revenue — Expenditure  for  seven 
years — Exemption  from  taxes — New  buildings — The  ocean 
docks — Marine  railway — Manufactures — Industrial  Establish- 
ments— Arts  and  sciences — The  artists — Astronomy — Fruit 
trees  and  Forestry — Lumber  trade —Temporary  stringency — 
Growth  and  possibilities  of  trade — Colonization  and  free  home- 
steads— A  great  MARITIME  PROVINCE 560-568 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  Author Frontispiece, 

Captain  Cook 18 

Captain  Meares 28 

Launch  of  the  "N.-W.  America."     33 

Captain  Vancouver 50 

Sir  A.  Mackenzie 60 

Sir  George  Simpson 112 

Dr.  Dawson 133 

Sir  James  Douglas  (2nd  Governor).   134 

Roderick  Finlayson 143 

Fort  Victoria  (views) 160 

A.  C.  Anderson 176 

John  Tod  (Council) 183 

Richard  Blanshard  (1st  Governor).   189 

John  Muir  (Council) 191 

Nanaimo  (view,  1853) 192 

Chief  Justice  Cameron 201 

Chief  Justice  Begbie 202 

Captain  Cooper  (Council)    204 

Members  1st  Legislature  V.I.C. .  .   210 
Sir  Edward  Bulwer  (Lord)  Lytton  221 

Straits  of  San  Juan  de  Fuca 242 

Senator  W.  J.  Macdonald 245 

Chief  Factor  A.  J.  Dallas. 248 

Colonel  R.  Moody 294 

William  Duncan 303 

New  Parliament  Buildings   312 

Cary  Castle 333 

Governor  Kennedy  (3rd  V.I.C.). .   364 

Amor  de  Cosmos 366 

Dr.  Davie 385 

Governor  Seymour  (2nd  &  4th  B.C.)  386 
Governor  Musgrave  (5th  B.C.). . .   386 

Lieut.  -Governor  Trutch 405 

Hon.  J.  F.  McCreight    406 

Lieut. -Governor  Cornwall 407 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald 408 

Marcus  Smith 409 

Sandford  Fleming 411 

Principal  Grant       413 

Hon.  Alex.  Mackenzie 419 

Hon.  Robert  Beaven 421 

George  A.  Walkem 424 

A.  C.  Elliott 424 

F.  G.  Vernon   425 

Lieut. -Governor  Richards 425 

Lord  Dufferin  (Governor) 428 

Sir  William  Van  Home 434 

Marquis  of  Lome  (Governor) 435 

The  Princess  Louise .   435 

Marquis  of  Lansdowne  (Governor).  437 

Group,  Driving  Last  Spike 438 

Hon.  John  Work 440 

Dr.  W.  F.  Tolmie 441 

Dugald  Mactavish 442 

Alexander  Grahame   443 

Captain  Irving,  M.  P.  P 449 

Steamer  "Islander  " 450 

Steamer  "  Empress  of  India" 451 


Steamer  ' '  Beaver  " 456 

Indian  Canoes 457 

Rev.  Bishop  Cridge 465 

Craigflower  School 466 

Dr.  Pope,  LL.D 470 

North  Ward  School,  Victoria 475 

South  Ward  School,  Victoria  ....   475 

View  of  Victoria,  1892 476 

Bishop  Demers 477 

Bishop  Lootens 478 

Roman  Catholic  Cathedral  (old) . .  481 
Roman  Catholic  Cathedral  (new)..  481 

Rev.  E.  Robson 486 

Rev.  Thomas  Crosby 487 

Duncan's  Indian  Church   488 

Duncan's  Indian  Band 489 

Methodist  Church,  Victoria  (old)..  490 
Methodist  Church,  Victoria  (Met.)  490 
Indian  Methodist  Church  .....  491 
Indian  Institute,  Coqualeetza. .  . .  491 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  Vic. . .  493 
Old  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Vic. . .  494 
New  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Vic. . .  497 

St.  Andrew's,  Vancouver 498 

Bishop  Hills 499 

St.  John's  (Iron  Church),  Victoria  500 

Christ  Church,  Victoria 500 

Indian  Village  and  Totems,  etc. . .  501 
Y.M.C.A.  Build'g,  New  Westmn'r  502 

Met-lah-kat-lah  Village 503 

Emmanuel  Baptist  Church 504 

Reformed  Episcopal  Church 505 

Lord  Stanley  (Governor) 509 

Lieut.  -Governor  Nelson 509 

Earl  of  Aberdeen  (Governor) 510 

Countess  of  Aberdeen  .    510 

Hotel  Vancouver 513 

First  Presbyt'n  Ch.,  Vancouver. .  518 
Homer  St.  Meth.  Ch.,  Vancouver.  518 

East  End  School,  Vancouver 520 

West  End  School,  Vancouver 520 

Central  School,  Vancouver 524 

High  School,  Vancouver 524 

Court  House,  Vancouver 526 

Harbor  of  Nanaimo ; 543 

J.  Rocke  Robertson 546 

A.  E.  B.  Davie 546 

Wm.  Smithe 547 

C.  E.  Pooley  (President  of  Council).  547 
J.  H.  Turner  (Min.  of  Finance). . .   548 

John  Robson 548 

Robert  Dunsmuir 548 

Colonel  Baker  (Min.  of  Education).  549 

Theodore  Davie  ( Premier) 549 

G.  B.  Martin  (Com.  Lands,  etc) ,  .   549 

D.  W.  Higgins  (Speaker) 550 

Lieut.  -Governor  E.  Uewdney  ....   550 

W.  F.  King 557 

Fruit  Cannery,  Victoria '  566 


INTRODUCTORY. 


1.  A  CONTINUOUS  HISTORY. — Although  many  valuable  and  interest- 
ing works  have  been  written  concerning  BRITISH  COLUMBIA,  or  NEW 
OALEDONIA,  as  a  portion  of  it  was  formerly  designated,  yet,  for  the 
most  part,  each  was  devoted  to  some  special  object,  and  did  not  furnish 
a  continuous  history  of  this  portion  of  the   British   Empire ;    so  it 
is,  that  up  to  the  present  no  work  has  been  published  which  furnishes 
a  consecutive,  comprehensive,  readable  history  of  the  country. 

2.  RISE  AND  PROGRESS. — To  provide  the  public  with  such  informa- 
tion is  the  object  of  the  present  undertaking.     It  proposes  to  place 
on  record  and  elucidate  to  a  certain  extent,  the  rise  and  progress  of 
British  Columbia  from  its  earliest  discovery  to  the  present  time.     To 
accomplish  this  in  a  manner  which  will  be  convenient  to  the  reading 
public,    events    will   be    arranged    in  chronological    periods.      These 
periods  for  reference  and  perspicuity,  will  be  divided  into  sub-divi- 
sions to  mark  epochs  as  they  occur,  and  to  point  out  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Province  from  its  former  condition  as  a  wilderness  to  its 
present  prosperous  state. 

3.  THE  PRE-HISTORIC  PERIOD. — Of  the  pre-historic  period,  that  is, 
prior  to  the  arrival  of  Captain  JAMES  COOK,  on  the  north-west  coast 
of  America,  little  need  be  said.     The  fact,  however,  is  well  estab- 
lished, that  when  Captain  Cook  and  other  early  navigators  visited 
the  shores  of  the  Pacific  in  this  latitude,  a  very  large  population  of 
aborigines  existed  on  the  coast.     Alexander  Mackenzie,  in  his  expedi- 
tion across  the  unexplored  portion  of  the  North  American  continent 
to  the  Pacific,  in  1793,  also  found  along  his  route  a  numerous  popu- 
lation in  the  interior.     But,  like  their  brethren  on  the  coast,  they  did 
not  possess  any  written  records.     Their  traditions  were  mythical; 
and,  though  carved  emblematically  on  totems  of  enduring  cedar  in 
their   villages    along   the    seaboard,   these  emblems    have    not   been 
deciphered  so  as  to  throw  any  light  on  the  origin  of  the  native  tribes. 


8  INTRODUCTORY. 

The  number  of  the  aborigines,  since  the  advent  of  traders  amongst 
them,  has  diminished  greatly,  and  continues  to  decrease  year  after 
year. 

4.  THE   FUR-TRADING   PERIOD. — The   second,   or    the   fur- trading 
period,  is  full  of   interest  and   importance,   whether  considered    in 
connection  with  sea  or  land.     It  may  be  said  to  extend  from  1778  to 
1858,  and  embraces  a  variety  of  subjects.     At  the  outset,  it  has  to 
deal  with  the  claims  of  Spain  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  whole  west  coast 
of  America,  from  Cape  Horn  to  the  sixtieth  degree  of  north  latitude, 
which  was  the  assumed  limit  of  Russian  occupation  on  the  Continent 
of  America.      The   Spaniards   in  Mexico   claimed   that   they  made 
a  voyage  of  exploration  north  from   Gil  Bias,  1774  or   1775,  when 
they  touched  at  three  points  on  the  coast.     The  most  northerly  was 
57°  18'  or  nearly  in  the  latitude  of  Sitka ;   the  next  mentioned  was 
47°  21',  which  is  south  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca  :  consequently  they  did 
not  land,  during  the  voyage,  on  any  portion  of   the  coast  which  is 
now  included  in  the  western  frontier  of  British  Columbia. 

5.  FRANCIS  DRAKE. — The  voyage  of  Francis  Drake  around  Cape 
Horn,  in   1579,  to  the  North  Pacific  Ocean,  is  so  apocryphal  in  its 
description  of  the  northern  limit  he  claims  to  have  reached,  that  it 
seems  very  doubtful  if  that  voyage  can,  in  any  way,  be  connected  with 
British  Columbian  history. 

6.  THE  FIRST  ARRIVAL  AT  NOOTKA. — Captain   COOK'S  voyage,  in 
1778,  therefore,  gives  the  earliest  authentic   record  of  the  discovery 
by  him  of  that  portion  of  the  west  coast  of  America  now  known  as 
Vancouver  Island.     He  landed  at   Nootka,  near  the  centre  of  the 
west  coast  of  the  island,  and  gave  the  place  of  his  landing  the  name 
which  it  still  retains.     After  Captain  Cook's  departure,  Nootka  con- 
tinued to  be  the  rendezvous  for  vessels  trading  on  the  west  coast. 

O 

7.  THE  SECOND  BRITISH  NAVIGATOR. —  Captain  JAMES  HANNA  is 
said  by  Meares,  in  his  narrative,  to  have  been  the  second  British 
navigator  who  arrived  at  Nootka.     He  sailed  from  China  in  1785, 
in  a  vessel  of  only  seventy  tons  burden,    which  was  equipped  by 
merchants  there  and  placed  under  his  command  with  a  crew  of  less 
than  thirty  men.     The  narrative  says,  they  "  set  sail  in  her  to  seek  the 
distant  coast  of  America ;  to  explore  its  coasts,  and  to  open  such  an 
intercourse  with  the  inhabitants  as  might  tend  to  a  future  commercial 
establishment  with  them."     On  his  arrival  at  Nootka,    "the  natives 
presuming  upon  the  inferior  size  of  the  vessel  and  the  limited  number 
of  her  crew,  made  a  desperate  attack  upon  her,  which  was  repulsed  by 


INTRODUCTORY.  & 

the  superior  bravery  and  good  conduct  of  their  new  visitors.  The 
hostilities  soon,  however,  ended  in  commercial  friendship,  and  a 
quantity  of  sea-otter  skins  was  obtained  from  them." 

8.  ANOTHER  TRADING  EXPEDITION. — Captain  JOHN   MEARES,  for- 
merly a  lieutenant  in  the  British  navy,  next  occupies  a  prominent 
and  important  position  in  the  early  history  of  British  Columbia.     He 
arrived  at  Nootka,  from  China,   on  a  trading  expedition,  in  1788. 
His  friendly  disposition  and  kind  treatment  of  the  natives  made  him 
a  great  favorite  with  them.     He  formed  a  settlement  at  Nootka,  and 
built  a  vessel  there.     Subsequently,  in  his  absence,  his  ships  were 
seized  by  order  of   the  Spanish  officer  who  had  arrived  and  taken 
possession  of  the  harbor,  and  had  destroyed  the  houses  built  by  him. 
The  treatment  which  he  had  received,  and  also  his   losses,  Captain 
Meares  represented  to  the  British  Government,  who  promptly  inter- 
fered in  the  matter  both  for  the  protection  of  their  subjects,  and  to 
uphold  the  honor  of  the  British  flag. 

9.  THE    GREAT   NAVIGATOR. — Captain   GEORGE   VANCOUVER   was 
appointed    by   the    British    Admiralty  to   proceed    to    Nootka   and 
ascertain  the  amount  of  losses  which  had  been  sustained  by  Captain 
Meares,  and  the  indemnification  due  to  the  owners  of  the  vessels 
which  had  beeen  seized  by  Spain.     The  result  was  that  soon  after 
Vancouver's  arrival  at  Nootka,  in  1792,  the  Spanish  fleet  withdrew, 
and  the  difficulty  was  settled  by  arbitration  between  the  courts  of 
Great  Britain   and    Spain.     That   decision   secured   to   the    British 
Crown  all  the  north-west  coast  from  what  was  known  as  California 
to  the  Russian  trading-posts  in  Alaska. 

10.  ROUTE  TO  THE  PACIFIC. — In  1793,  ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE,  a 
partner   in   the  North- West    Company,  commenced   his  memorable 
journey.     Starting  from  Lake  Athabaska,  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, at  the  most  westerly  station  then  belonging  to  the  Company,  he 
traversed  the  unknown  region  westward  across  the  Continent,  thereby 
pointing  out  the  future  route  to  the  Pacific  coast,  and  earning  for 
himself  undying  fame. 

11.  THE  NORTH-WEST  COMPANY.  —  Soon   afterwards    the   North- 
West  Company  followed  up  Mackenzie's  explorations.     They  opened 
trails,  built  and  established  forts  in  the  interior  of  that  vast  region, 
which  was  then  named    "New  Caledonia."     They  traced  the  great 
rivers  of  the  Pacific  slope — the  Fraser,  and  the  Thompson,  one  of  its 
principal  affluents,  and  also  the  Columbia  River — from  their  sources 
to  their  outlets  at  the  ocean.      They  advanced  along  the  Columbia 


10  INTRODUCTORY. 

River  and  made  their  headquarters  at  Astoria  (afterwards  Fort 
George),  which  was  continued  as  such  until  1824,  when  Fort  Van- 
couver was  built  on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia  River, -nearly 
opposite  the  southern  end  of  Puget  Sound.  Astoria,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia  River,  remained  as  an  outpost  whence  goods  and  furs 
were  conveyed  along  the  Columbia  to  the  interior  and  Montreal. 

12.  UNION  OF  THE  FUR  COMPANIES. — An  immense  trade  was  thus 
established  and  carried  on  in   New  Caledonia  by  the  North- West 
Company.     In  1821,  the  North- West  Company  and  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  amalgamated.     By  so  doing  they  extended  and  made  more 
profitable  the  trade  that  had  been  carried  on  by  them  at  some  points 
at  a  loss,  under  the  keen  rivalry  which  had  existed.     The  consoli- 
dated companies  retained  the  name  of  "  The  Hudson  Bay  Company." 

13.  LEASE  OF  ALASKA. — Nothing  transpired  after  the  union  of  the 
companies  to  disturb  the  traders   or  hinder  their  prosperity,  until 
about  the  year  1839,  when  settlers  began  to  arrive  in  Oregon  from 
the  older  portions  of  the  United  States.     About  this  time,  also,  a 
portion  of  the  Alaskan   coast  was  leased  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany from  the  Russian  Government.     The  terms  were  stipulated  at 
an  annual   rental  of  $2,000,  and  were  concluded  during   a  conference 
at  Sitka,  between  the  Company's  chief  factor,  JAMES  DOUGLAS,  and 
ETHOLIN,  the  Russian  governor. 

14.  OREGON  TREATY. — Doubts  now  existed  as  to  where  the  dividing 
line  separating  the   United  States  from  British  territory  would  be 
located,  as  formerly  the  northern  portion  of  Oregon  territory  had 
been  held  in  common  by  traders  of  both  countries.     It  was,  there- 
fore, thought  prudent  to  prepare  for  the  removal  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company's   headquarters   on  the   Columbia  River,  to  a  site   on  the 
seaboard  in  British  territory.     After  full  examination   and  careful 
deliberation,   Mr.    Douglas  decided  to  choose  the  site   at  CAMOSUN, 
where  the  city  of  Victoria  now  stands.     That   place   was  selected  on 
account  of  its  convenient  position  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  as  well  as  for 
the  ease  with  which  it  could  be  reached  from  trading-posts  on  the 
mainland. 

15.  FORT  VICTORIA  COMMENCED. — The  erection  of  a  fort  was  decided 
on,  the  building  of  which  was  commenced  in  1843.     A  palisaded 
enclosure,  one  hundred  yards  square,  in  which  were  eight  log  houses, 
bastions,  etc.,   was    completed,   ready    for    occupation    and    defence, 
within  seven  months  of  the  date  of  the  commencement  of  laying  out 
the  grounds.      The  name   "Carnosuii"  was  continued    until    1846, 


INTRODUCTORY.  11 

when  it  was  changed  to  Victoria.  Since  the  settlement  at  Nootka, 
in  1788,  by  Captain  Meares,  the  natives  had  remained  in  undisturbed 
possession  until  this  time. 

16.  THE  FIRST  OFFICER  ix   CHARGE. — Fort  Victoria  was,  on  its 
completion   in  1843,  placed   in  charge  of  Charles  Ross,  who  died  in 
1844.    He  was  succeeded  by  Roderick  Finlayson,  who  had  been  second 
officer  in  the  fort  since  the  commencement  of  its  building,  and  who 
remained  in  command  until  1849.    At  this  time  the  Company's  head- 
quarters were  removed  from  Fort  Vancouver  to  Fort  Victoria,  and 
Factor  Douglas  assumed   command.     He  was  accompanied  by  Chief 
Factor    Ogden    from   Fort  Vancouver.     Mr.    Dugald   McTavish  re- 
mained at   Fort  Vancouver  to  look   after  the  Company's   extensive 
stock-raising  and  farming  interests  in  the  Columbia   District  and  on 
Puget  Sound. 

17.  GOLD  DISCOVERIKS. — Attention  having  been  drawn  to  the  pro- 
gress of  settlement  in  Oregon,  it  was  considered  proper  that  the  British 
possessions  to  the  north  of  that  territory  should  have  similar  advan- 
tages.    The  discovery  of  gold  in  California  in  1848  strengthened  the 
opinion  in  Great  Britain  that  the  time  had  arrived  when  the  Pacific 
coast  and  New  Caledonia  should  become  more  than  a  mere  fur-hunt- 
ing preserve.     To  promote   settlement,  a  grant  of  the  whole  of   Van- 
couver Island  was  made  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  on   certain 
conditions.       The   Company  withdrew   its  trading-posts  from  Sitka 
and  other  places  on  the  north   coast   except  Fort   Simpson.       The 
fur-trading  period  was  evidently  drawing  to  a  close. 

18.  CROWN  COLONY  FORMED. — The  third — "The  colonial  period" — 
dates  from  1849.     In  that  year  Vancouver  Island  was  constituted  a 
Crown  Colony   by  the  appointment  of  RICHARD   BLANSHARD  to  the 
Governorship.     He  arrived   at  Victoria,  from  England,  via  Panama, 
in  1850  ;  but  not  finding  the  position  what  he  expected,  he  returned 
the  next  year  to  London.      He  was  succeeded  by  JAMES  DOUGLAS,  in 
1851.     Governor  Douglas  retained   his  then  position  of  Chief  Factor 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.     At  the  time   of  his   appointment  as 
Governor  of  the  Colony  of  Vancouver  Island,  he   was  raised  to   the 
dignity  of  "  C.B." 

19.  COLONIZATION  AND  SETTLEMENT. — Representative  government 
was  introduced  into  the  colony  in   1856.     Colonization  and  settle- 
ment made  slow   progress.     Roads,  however,  were  constructed  and 
surveys  extended  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  people  who  arrived 
in  connection  with  the  gold  discoveries  on  Fraser  River,  and  remained 


12  INTRODUCTORY. 

on  the  Island ;  but  as  the  mainland  was  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island,  it  was  found  necessary  to  constitute 
that  immense  territory  into  an  independent  colony. 

20.  A  SECOND  CROWN  COLONY. — This  was  accomplished  in  1858. 
The  governorship  of  the  new  colony  was  vested  in  Governor  Douglas, 
and  added    to    that  of    Vancouver    Island.      NEW   CALEDONIA  was 
merged  into  BRITISH  COLUMBIA,  by  which  designation   the  mainland 
was  thereafter  to  be  known. 

21.  NEW  CALEDONIA. — The  boundaries  of  New  Caledonia  formerly 
included  the  whole  region  from  Peace  River  and   the   Rocky  Moun- 
tains to  the  Pacific  Ocean.     Its  southern  boundary  was  reckoned  to 
be  the  Columbia  River  from   the  outlet  of  that  river  on  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  following  its   course   eastward  to  Fort  Colville  ;  thence  along 
the   Kootenay  and  Flathead  Rivers,  embracing  Tobacco  Plains,   to 
the  Kootenay  pass  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.      Its  northern  boundary 
was  not  defined,    but  reached  to   the  Russian  possessions    on    the 
north-west. 

22.  BRITISH  COLUMBIA  BOUNDARIES  DEFINED. — The  Imperial  pro- 
clamation dated  2nd  August,  1858,  which  constituted  British  Colum- 
bia a  colony,  defined  that  it  should  be  bounded  on  the  south  by  the 
frontier  of  the  United  States  of  America ;  to  the   east  by  the  main 
chain  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  ;  to  the  north  by  Simpson  River  and 
the  Finlay  branch   of  Peace  River ;  and  to  the  west  by  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  including  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  but  no  part  of  the   colony 
of  Vancouver  Island. 

An  Imperial  Act  was  passed  in  1863  to  define  more  particularly 
the  boundaries  of  the  colony  of  British  Columbia,  specifying  the 
western  boundary  to  be  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  the  frontier  of  the 
Russian  territories  in  North  America ;  the  north  to  be  the  sixtieth 
parallel  of  latitude;  and  the  east,  the  120th  meridian  of  west 
longitude  and  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

23.  GOVERNOR  DOUGLAS  RETIRES. — GOVERNOR  DOUGLAS  having  in 
1863   expressed  a  desire  to  retire  from  public  life,  and  his  term  of 
office    terminating  in   1864,   was  rewarded    with   the  distinction    of 
knighthood,    by   the   Crown,    for  his    services.     CAPTAIN    KENNEDY 
succeeded    him    as    Governor   of    Vancouver    Island,    and    retained 
that  office  until  the  union  of  the  two  colonies  in  1866. 

24.  UNION  OF  THE  COLONIES,    1866.  — In    1864,   Mr.    FREDERICK 
SEYMOUR   was   appointed    by   the    Imperial    authorities   to   succeed 
Governor  Douglas  as  Governor  of  British  Columbia,  which  position 


INTRODUCTORY.  13 

he  occupied  until  the  union  of  the  colonies  in  1866.  Thereafter  Mr. 
Seymour  continued  as  Governor  of  the  United  Colonies  until  his  death 
in  1869. 

25.  THE  ROYAL  CITY. — The  site  of  the  present  city  of  New  West- 
minster was  proclaimed  the  capital  of  the  colony  of  British  Columbia 
in  1859,  but  after  the  union  of  the  colonies,  a  proclamation  dated 
May   25th,   1868,  declared  the  city  of  Victoria  to  be  the   seat  of 
government. 

26.  VICTORIA    SURVEYED.  —  Between    the  years   1859    and   1866, 
marked   progress   was  made    in   and    around    the  city  of   Victoria. 
Building  operations  and  improvements  were  carried  on  everywhere. 
In   1852,   the   town   was    surveyed    and   laid   out   into    streets;  its 
boundaries  then  being  the  harbor  on  the  west,  the  present  Govern- 
ment Street  on  the  east,  Johnson  Street  on   the  north,  and  Fort 
Street  on  the  south.     In  1862,  it  is  estimated  that  at  least  1,500 
substantial  buildings  had  been  erected,  where  but  two  or  three  years 
previously  the  forest  had  stood.     That  same  year  the  city  was  incor- 
porated,  with  a  white  population  of  over  3,500.     In   1863,  it  had 
increased  to   6,000,   exclusive  of  the  large   number  of  miners  who 
made  it  their  winter  headquarters. 

27.  THE  BEAUTIES  OF  VICTORIA. — A  prize  essay  on  the  resources 
and  capabilities  of  Vancouver  Island,  by  Charles  Forbes,  Esq.,  M.D., 
a  surgeon  on  one  of  the  ships  of  the  navy  at  Esquirnalt,  was  published 
by  the  Government  in  1862.     It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  quote 
his  description  of  the  neighborhood  of  Victoria  as  it  appears  in  that 
publication.     It  reads  : 

"  On  a  clear,  crisp,  autumnal  or  spring  morning,  from  the  northern 
side,  a  beautiful  and  interesting  scene  meets  the  beholder's  eye. 
Immediately  before,  and  somewhat  below,  him,  lies  the  town  in 
repose,  the  only  evidence  of  life  the  thin  blue  smoke  which,  from 
numerous  hearths,  floats  upwards  in  the  motionless  air.  The  group- 
ing of  the  houses,  with  the  tone  of  the  coloring  that  prevails,  is 
most  pleasing.  In  the  first  faint  light  of  the  morning,  the  various 
styles  of  architecture  assume  fantastic  shapes,  pointed  gables  and 
ornamented  roofs  standing  out  clear  and  sharp ;  the  shadows  dark 
neutral,  the  lights  cool  grey,  the  whole  warmed  by  the  depth  of 
color  of  the  brick  houses  and  other  edifices.  Away  on  the  left,  in 
the  east,  Mount  Baker  and  the  Cascade  Range  have  caught  the 
sun's  first  rays,  and  a  blush  of  pearly  light  is  stealing  over  the 
heavens.  The  sea,  still  and  unruffled,  stretches  over  to  the  foot  of 
1 


14  INTRODUCTORY. 

the  great  Olympian  range,  which,  clear  and  defined  against  the 
southern  sky,  stretches  its  massive  dark  blue  length  along,  and  far 
on  the  right,  where  hang  the  heavy  clouds,  night  is  gathering  his 
mantle  around  him,  and  is  disappearing  in  the  west. 

28 "As  the  day  passes  on,  and  the  sun  approaches 

the  zenith,  the  same  clear,  fresh  air  plays  around,  and  an  elasticity  of 
mind  and  body  is  felt  by  all.  The  character  of  the  scene  has  changed, 
however  :  a  busy  hum  fills  the  air,  and  man  is  at  his  daily  toil.  The 
sea  is  like  a  mirror ;  numerous  tiny  craft,  with  drooping  sails,  dot  its 
surface,  and  seem  at  the  same  time  suspended  in  the  air  by  the 
refraction  which  elevates  and  brings  into  view  the  cliffs  at  Dunge- 
ness,  reminding  the  observer  of  the  chalk  cliffs  of  old  England. 

29.  GLORIOUS    LIGHT    AND    SHADE.      "  The  mountain  range    has 
become  a   cloud;    stretched  along  midway  are  lengthened  lines  of 
strati,  drawn  clear  and  sharp  against  the  heavy  dark  blue  mass,  while, 
piled  heap  upon  heap,  resting  on  the  lofty  summits,  are  masses  of 
cumuli  and  cumuloni,  seeming  fit  abode  for  the  Olympian  Jove.     As 
the  sun  goes  west,  cirri  and  cirro-strati  begin  to  float  off  into  the  upper 
air,  and  before  the  warm  westerly  breeze  the  wondrous  cloud  dis- 
appears ;  the  light  is  reflected  in  sparkling  rays  from  the  waters  of 
the  winding  reaches  of  the  upper  harbor ;  the  shadows  become  purple, 
and  in  the  pine  woods,  black.     The  whole  sky  on  the  right  is  one 
blaze  of  crimson  and  deep  orange  hues ;  and  as  the  sun  sinks  in  the 
western  ocean,  he  pours   a   flood   of  yellow  light  along  the  narrow 
strait,    such   as   Turner   would    have    loved    to    paint ;    touches   the 
Olympian  peaks  with  a  rosy  hue,  and  resting  for  a  moment  on  the 
summit  of  the  tower  on  the  Race  Rocks,  with  a  golden  gleam,  seems 
there  to  leave  '  the  flashing  light,'  the  seaman's  safeguard  against  the 
dangers  of  the  night." 

30.  OTHER  CITIES  INLAND. — It  need  not  be  supposed  that  VICTORIA 
is  the  only  city  in  British  Columbia  which  possesses  beautiful  natural 
scenery.     The  other  cities  which  have  sprung  into  existence  since  the 
foregoing  description  was  written,  also  have  delightful   scenic   sur- 
roundings.    The  Royal  City — NEW  WESTMINSTER — has  a  charming 
situation.     On  the  south-eastern  horizon,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach, 
Mount  Baker  looms  up  in  majestic  grandeur  to  a  height  of  nearly 
eleven  thousand  feet.     Illuminated  by  the  first  rays  of  the  morning 
sun,  its  silvery  top  is  burnished  with  gold.     Almost  at  the  feet  of  the 
beholder    flows    the    great    Fraser    River,    abounding    with    several 
varieties  of  the  best  salmon,  losing  itself  towards  the  right  in  the 


INTRODUCTORY.  15 

fertile  delta,  past  Lulu  Island.  Looking  up  the  river  from  classic 
Sapperton,  the  primitive  camp  of  the  Royal  Engineers  in  early  days, 
under  Colonel  Moody,  the  view  is  superb.  On  the  left  the  "  golden 
ears,"  and  the  massive  "shoulders"  of  the  coast  range  delight  the  gaze 
of  the  enraptured  visitor. 

31.  THE  COAL  MINES. — The  BLACK  DIAMOND  CITY  (so  named  owing 
to  its  extensive  coal  mines) — NANAIMO — has  many  beautiful  views- 
Built  partly  on  a  rugged  promontory,  it  nestles  in  the  bosom  of  a 
spacious  bay,  which  is  dotted  with  islands  covered  with  verdure  and 
evergreens  to  the  water's  edge.     Its  harbor  is  ample,  and  with  its 
ships,  shipping  appliances,  chutes  and  tramways  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  coal  trade,  presents  an  interesting  picture  of  enterprise, 
industry  and  prosperity.     In  the  back-ground,  the  Island  range  of 
mountains  stands  out  in  sufficient  relief  to  give  pleasing  effect  to 
that  appearance  of  comfort  and  repose  which  seemingly  belong  to  the 
city. 

32.  VANCOUVER — the  terminal  city  of  the  great  Canadian  trans- 
continental  railway — although  not  ,yet  in  her  teens,  can,   as  well 
as  her  older  sisters,  boast  of  a  panorama  of  great  beauty.     Towering 
mountains  and  peaks  flank  her  spacious  harbor  and  inlet.     Neither 
have  local  adornments  and  improvements  been  neglected.     Her  parks 
and   public   buildings   are  most  attractive,   and  are  appreciated  by 
travellers  and  visitors  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 

33.  KAMLOOPS,    and    other    rising    cities   in   the   interior   of    the 
Province,  have  their  special  natural  attractions  which  require  only 
to  be  seen  to  be  admired.     In  fact,  British  Columbia  may  be  termed 
a  "land  of  mountain  and  of  flood" — similar  in  that  respect  to  the 
mother, — "Caledonia  stern  and  wild." 

34.  THE  LAST  OF  THE  COLONIAL  GOVERNORS. — ANTHONY  MUSGRAVE 
succeeded  GOVERNOR  SEYMOUR  in  1869,  and  occupied  the  position  of 
Governor  until  1871,  when  British  Columbia  became  an  integral  part 
of  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 

35.  WHAT  COMES    AFTERWARDS?— The   warm,   able    and   lengthy 
debates  which  immediately   preceded  the  confederation   of   British 
Columbia  with  Canada,  together  with  the  events  which  have  occurred 
since  showing  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  the  Province,  will  in  due 
course  be  referred  to  in  THE  CONFEDERATION  PERIOD. 


History  of  British  Columbia. 


SECTION  I. 

EARLY   DISCOVERIES 


CHAPTER  I. 

COOK'S  THIRD  VOYAGE. — There  are  no  other  authentic  records 
available  for  reference,  regarding  discoveries  by  Europeans  or  occu- 
pation by  them,  on  that  portion  of  the  coast  of  North  America  which 
now  forms  the  western  frontier  of  Canada,  until  Captain  Cook's  third 
voyage,  which  dates  from  1776. 

FOR  THE  BENEFIT  OF  MANKIND. — The  expedition  for  that  voyage 
was  fitted  out  by  the  British  Admiralty,  to  continue  the  efforts  which 
had  been  made  by  the  Government  of  Great  Britain  to  add  to  the 
knowledge  already  attained  in  science,  navigation,  geography,  and  the 
intercourse  of  mankind  with  each  other.  It  consisted  of  the  ships 
Resolution,  of  462  tons  burden,  and  112  men  under  Captain  JAMES 
COOK,  and  the  Discovery,  of  300  tons  burden  and  80  men,  under 
Captain  CHARLES  CLERKE. 

His  COMMISSION  AND  INSTRUCTIONS. — Captain  Cook  received  his 
commission  to  command  the  expedition  on  the  9th  of  February,  1776. 
His  instructions  were  to  proceed  to  the  Pacific  via  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  touching  at  Otaheite  and  the  Society  Islands,  and  to  commence 
his  researches  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  in  latitude  65°; 
and  not  to  lose  time  in  exploring  inlets  or  rivers  until  he  reached 
that  latitude.  The  Resolution  was  not  ready  to  sail  from  England 
until  the  llth  of  July.  The  Discovery  sailed  on  the  1st  of  August, 
and  overtook  the  Resolution  at  Cape  of  Good  Hope  on  the  10th  of 
November. 


18 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


COOK'S  SECOND  VOYAGE. — Captain  Cook 
had  only  returned  in  July,  1775,  from  his 
second  voyage  in  the  southern  seas,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  exploring  the  Antarctic 
regions  and  circumnavigating  New  Zealand. 
This  work  occupied  three  years  and  eighteen 
days.  His  success  during  that  voyage  was 
such  that  it  is  recorded  that  no  expedition 
fitted  out  for  the  purpose  of  maritime  dis- 
covery, had  ever  equalled  that  from  which 
he  had  just  returned,  in  the  magnitude 
and  arduous  nature  of  its  peculiar  object. 
The  Earl  of  Sandwich,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  Admiralty,  was 
disposed  to  reward  liberally  one  whose  courage  and  skill  had  so  well 
justified  the  expectations  of  those  who  had  patronized  the  under- 
taking. 

His  SERVICES  APPRECIATED. — Cook  was  immediately  raised  to  the 
rank  of  post-captain,  and  obtained  a  more  substantial  mark  of  favor, 
being  appointed  one  of  the  captains  of  Greenwich  Hospital,  which 
afforded  him  a  liberal  maintenance  and  repose  from  his  professional 
labors.  He  was  also  elected  a  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  and 
received  the  Society's  medal  for  having  performed  the  voyage  just 
concluded  with  a  company  of  118  men,  throughout  all  the  climates, 
from  latitude  52°  N.  to  71°  S.,  with  the  loss  of  only  one  man  by 
sickness. 

REWARD  OF  £20,000. — A  special  object  was  in  view  by  the 
Admiralty  at  this  time  relative  to  the  plan  to  be  adopted  in  this 
expedition,  and  as  to  who  should  be  the  commander.  The  hope  of 
finding  a  north-west  passage  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans 
had  not  been  abandoned.  The  Act  of  Parliament  which  had  been 
passed  in  1745,  securing  a  reward  of  £20,000  to  any  of  his  Majesty's 
ships  or  subjects  who  should  make  the  proposed  discovery,  at  first 
only  referred  to  ships  passing  through  Hudson  Bay,  but  had  been 
amended  to  apply  to  ships  passing  in  any  direction.  Consultations 
were  held  by  Lord  Sandwich  with  Sir  Hugh  Palliser  and  other 
experienced  officers  relative  to  the  matter.  Captain  Cook,  they 
admitted,  had  earned  by  his  eminent  services  the  privilege  of  honor- 
able repose,  and  no  one  thought  of  imposing  on  him  foi;  the  third 
time,  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  a  voyage  of  discovery  round  the 
world;  i>ut  being  invited  to  dine  with  Lord  Sandwich,  in  order  that 


EARLY    DISCOVERIES.  19 

he  might  lend  the  light  of  his  valuable  experience  to  the  various 
particulars  under  discussion,  he  was  so  iired  with  the  observations 
that  were  made,  that  he  voluntarily  offered  to  take  the  command  of 
it  himself. 

REACHED  NOOTKA,  MARCH,  1778.— Owing  to  great  delay  in  visiting 
several  South  Sea  islands,  including  Van  Diemen's  Land,  New  Zealand, 
€tc.,  and  leaving  sheep,  goats,  and  pigs  on  them  for  breeding  purposes, 
Captain  Cook  did  not  reach  the  north-west  coast  of  America  until  the 
7th  of  March,  1778,  when  land  was  seen  from  seventy  to  eighty 
miles  distant,  in  latitude  44°  33'  N.,  and  longitude  235°  20'  E.  (Sic.) 
The  previous  day  two  sails  and  several  whales  were  seen.  Stormy 
weather  made  it  necessary  to  stand  to  sea,  and  run  southward  to 
latitude  42°  45'.  Calms  and  storms  tossed  the  mariners  about  until 
the  29th  of  March,  when  the  Resolution  anchored  in  Hope  Bay, 
Nootka.  The  Discovery  also  arrived  and  anchored  there  the  same 
day. 

SPEECHES  AND  SONGS. — Canoes  with  natives  soon  gathered  round 
the  ships  to  the  number  of  thirty-two,  carrying  from  three  to  seven 
persons  each,  men  and  women.  Their  leaders  made  long  speeches, 
but  as  not  a  word  of  them  was  understood,  they  soon  ceased.  One 
sung  a  very  agreeable  air  with  a  degree  of  melody  which  was  not 
expected.  Although  seemingly  not  afraid,  none  of  them  could  be 
induced  to  come  on  board  the  ships.  A  group  of  about  a  dozen  of 
the  canoes  remained  alongside  the  Resolution  the  greater  part  of  the 
night. 

LIEUTENANT  JAMES  KING. — Next  day  Captain  Cook  sent  out  three 
armed  boats,  under  the  command  of  his  lieutenant,  Mr.  James  King, 
to  search  for  a  commodious  harbor.  A  snug  cove  was  found  into 
which  the  ships  were  removed.  On  the  day  following  they  were 
moored,  head  and  stern,  fastening  the  hawsers  to  the  trees  on  shore, 
and  carpenters  were  set  to  work  to  make  such  repairs  as  were 
necessary. 

FIVE  HUNDRED  VISITORS. — The  fame  of  the  arrival  of  the  ships 
brought  a  great  concourse  of  natives  to  see  them.  At  one  time  there 
were  about  one  hundred  canoes,  which  were  supposed  to  contain  an 
average  of  five  persons  each,  for  few  of  them  had  less  than  three  on 
board;  many  had  seven,  eight  or  nine,  and  one  was  manned  with 
seventeen.  Amongst  the  visitors  were  many  who  had  arrived  for  the 
lirst  time,  as  was  judged  from  their  orations  and  ceremonies  as  they 
approached  the  ships. 


20  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

ARTICLES  FOR  SALE  AND  BARTER. — The  distrust  or  fear  which  they 
showed  at  first  was  soon  laid  aside.  They  came  on  board  the  ships 
and  mixed  amongst  the  sailors  with  the  greatest  of  freedom.  It  was 
soon  discovered  that  they  were  expert  thieves.  In  trade,  however,  they 
were  strictly  honest.  The  articles  which  they  offered  for  sale  or 
barter  were  the  skins  of  bears,  wolves,  foxes,  deer,  raccoons,  polecats, 
martins,  and  in  particular  the  sea-otters.  The  narrative  of  the  voyage 
states,  that  "  besides  the  skins  in  their  native  state,  they  also  brought 
garments  made  of  them,  and  another  sort  of  clothing  made  of  the 
bark  of  a  tree  or  some  plant  like  hemp ;  weapons,  such  as  bows, 
arrows  and  speai-s,  pieces  of  carved  work,  beads  and  several  other 
little  ornaments  of  thin  brass  and  iron,  shaped  like  a  horseshoe, 
which  they  hang  at  their  noses.  But  the  most  extraordinary  of  all 
the  articles  which  they  brought  to  the  ships  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." 

VISIT  TO  A  NATIVE  VILLAGE. — For  a  fortnight  the  weather  con- 
tinued stormy.  By  the  19th  of  April,  however,  the  top-masts,  yard 
and  rigging  were  again  up.  Next  day  being  fair,  a  visit  was  made 
by  Captain  Cook  and  a  party  to  the  village  at  the  west  point  of  the 
sound.  They  found  the  people  numerous  and  courteous.  The  houses 
were  large,  each  containing  several  families.  The  methods  of  curing 
and  drying  fish  were  explained,  mats  were  spread  for  the  party  to  sit 
on,  and  every  mark  of  civility  shown.  The  party  next  proceeded  up 
the  west  side  of  the  sound  for  two  miles,  by  an  arm  of  the  sea. 

A  SURLY  CHIEF. — A  mile  farther  they  found  the  remains  of  a 
deserted  village.  From  that  point  they  crossed  to  the  east  side  of  the 
sound  and  landed  at  another  village.  There  they  met  with  rather  a 
cold  reception.  The  surly  chief  did  not  wish  them  to  enter  the 
houses.  Presents  were  offered  to  him  which  he  took,  but  they  did 
not  have  much  effect  in  changing  his  behavior.  The  young  women 
of  the  village,  'however,  showed  more  hospitality.  They  dressed 
themselves,  the  narrator  relates,  "expeditiously,  in  their  best  apparel, 
and  welcomed  us  by  joining  in  a  song  which  was  far  from  harsh  or 
disagreeable." 

FRESH  ARRIVALS — INTRODUCTORY  CEREMONIES. — Repairs  on  the 
vessels  were  now  nearly  completed.  By  the  21st  the  mizzen-masf  was 
finished  and  in  its  place  and  rigged.  The  following  day  some  ten  or 
twelve  canoes  arrived  from  the  southward.  At  about  two  hundred 


EARLY   DISCOVERIES.  21 

yards  from  the  ship  they  remained  for  about  half  an  hour  preparing  for 
their  introductory  ceremony.  They  then  advanced  standing  in  their 
oanoes  and  began  to  sing,  accompanying  their  notes  with  the  most 
regular  motion  of  their  hands,  or  beating  in  concert  with  their 
paddles  on  the  sides  of  the  canoes,  and  making  other  very  expressive 
gestures.  Some  of  their  songs  were  slow,  others  in  quicker  time. 
At  the  end  of  each  song  they  remained  silent  for  some  time  and 
ceased  paddling,  then  again  commencing  they  generally  concluded  by 
forcibly  pronouncing  the  word  "  hooee ! "  as  a  chorus.  This  pro- 
gramme continued  for  over  half  an  hour,  when  they  came  alongside 
the  ships  and  bartered  what  they  had  to  dispose  of. 

APPEARANCE  OF  THK  NATIVES. — The  natives  are  described  as  "  in 
general  under  the  common  stature,  but  not  slender  in  proportion, 
being  commonly  pretty  full  or  plump  though  not  muscular.  Both 
men  and  women  are  so  encrusted  with  paint  and  dirt  that  their 
color  could  not  positively  be  determined.  The  children,  whose  skins 
have  never  been  stained  by  paint  or  discolored  by  smoke,  are  nearly 
as  fair  as  Europeans.  Their  dress,  made  of  mats  and  skins,  is,  upon 
the  whole,  convenient,  and  would  by  no  means  be  inelegant  were  it 
kept  clean;  but  as  they  rub  their  bodies  over  constantly  with  a  red 
paint  of  a  coarse  ochrey  or  clayey  substance,  their  garments  contract 
a  rancid,  offensive  smell,  and  a  greasy  nastiness,  so  that  they  make  a 
very  wretched  dirty  appearance."  During  Captain  Cook's  stay  at 
Nootka,  the  weather  continued  more  or  less  stormy;  yet  he  and  his 
officers  made  several  excursions  to  various  parts  of  the  Sound,  but 
only  found  two  villages.  Judging  from  the  canoes  seen  around  the 
ships,  and  other  observations,  he  computed  the  inhabitants  to  number 
two  thousand. 

PARTING  TOKENS  OF  FRIENDSHIP. — Being  ready  for  sea  on  the 
26th  of  April,  although  the  barometer  was  low,  the  moorings  were 
cast  off,  the  boats  towed  the  ships  out  of  the  cove,  attended  by  a  large 
number  of  the  natives,  some  on  board  and  others  in  their  canoes. 
One  of  the  chiefs  who  had,  some  time  before,  become  attached  to 
Captain  Cook,  was  about  the  last  to  leave  the  ship.  In  return  for  a 
small  present  given  him,  he  gave  a  beaver  skin  of  much  greater  value. 
Captain  Cook  made  another  small  present  to  the  chief,  which  pleased 
him  so  much  that  he  insisted  in  giving  in  return  the  beaver  skin 
cloak  which  he  then  wore.  The  narrator  states  :  "  Struck  with  this 
generosity,  and  desirous  that  he  should  be  no  sufferer  by  his 
friendship  to  me,  I  presented  to  him  a  new  broadsword,  with  a  brass 


22  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

hilt,  the  possession  of  which  made  him  completely  happy.  He  also, 
and  many  of  his  countrymen,  importuned  us  to  pay  them  another 
visit,  and  by  way  of  encouragement  promised  to  lay  in  a  good  stock 
of  skins.  I  make  no  doubt  that  whoever  comes  to  this  place  will  tind 
the  natives  prepared  with  no  inconsiderable  supply  of  an  article  of 
trade  which  they  could  .observe  we  were  eager  to  possess,  and  which 
we  found  could  be  purchased  to  great  advantage."  Thus  was  the 
foundation  of  the  fur  trade  on  the  west  coast  laid  in  the  most 
harmonious  manner. 

THE  VOYAOK  NORTHWARDS. — No  sooner  had  the  expedition  left 
Nootka  Sound  than  a  gale  sprung  up.  The  storm  continuing,  they 
were  obliged  to  bear  away  from  the  land  northwesterly.  Rough  and 
hazy  weather  prevented  them  from  again  seeing  land  until  the  1st  of 
May.  Kaye's  island  was  reached,  latitude  60°,  on  the  10th,  where 
Captain  Cook  landed,  and  states  that  "  at  the  foot  of  a  tree  on  a  little 
eminence,  not  far  from  the  shore,  he  left  a  bottle  with  a  paper  in 
it,  on  which  were  inscribed  the  names  of  the  ships  and  the  date  of 
the  discovery,  along  with  two  silver  twopenny  pieces  of  his  Majesty's 
coin  of  the  date  1772."  From  this  point  many  landings  and  surveys 
were  made  by  Lieutenant  Gore,  Mr.  Roberts,  one  of  the  mates,  and 
Surgeon  Anderson,  who  attended  to  the  scientific  portion  of  the 
explorations.  The  intervening  time,  until  August,  was  occupied  in 
this  work.  Along  the  coast  they  found  many  native  villages.  The 
inhabitants  generally  were  well  disposed  and  willing  to  enter  into 
trade,  but  required  continual  watching  to  keep  in  check  their  thieving 
propensities. 

A  DIFFERENT  TYPE  OF  NATIVES. — In  Prince  William  Sound  the 
natives  were  found  in  dress,  language  and  physical  peculiarities, 
similar  to  the  Esquimaux  of  Hudson  Bay.  Their  canoes  were  not 
constructed  out  of  one  portion  or  trunk  of  a  tree  as  at  Nootka,  the 
frame  only  being  slender  strips  of  wood,  skins  of  seals  or  other 
animals,  like  the  "oomyaks,"  or  women's  canoes  of  the  Greenlanders, 
as  described  by  the  late  Dr.  Rae,  of  Arctic  renown.  The  most 
westerly  coast  of  the  American  continent  was  reached  on  the  9th 
August,  distant  only  about  seventy  miles  from  the  opposite  shores 
of  Asia.  To  this  headland  was  given  the  name  Cape  Prince  of 
Wales. 

THE  ASIATIC  COAST.— Crossing  the  strait  to  the  western  shores, 
Captain  Cook  anchored  near  the  coast,  which  he  found  to  extend 
many  degrees  farther  to  the  east  than  the  position  assigned  hi 


EARLY   DISCOVERIES.  23 

the  maps  of  that  day.  He  thus  ascertained  distinctly  the  width 
of  the  strait  which  separates  Asia  from  America;  for  though  Behring 
had  sailed  through  it  before,  he  had  not,  owing  to  thick  weather, 
seen  the  shores  of  the  latter  continent  at  that  time. 

AMONG  THE  WALRUSES. — Next  proceeding  eastward  and  north 
the  navigators  coasted  along  the  west  shore  of  America  until 
the  19th  of  August,  when,  in  latitude  70°44',  they  saw  ice  before 
them,  extending  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and  forming  a 
compact  wall  of  about  six  feet  high.  On  nearer  approach  the  ice 
was  found  to  be  covered  with  multitudes  of  walruses  or  sea-horses. 
Cook's  narrative  says:  "They  lay  in  herds  of  many  hundreds  upon 
the  ice,  huddling  one  over  the  other  like  swine,  and  roar  or  bray 
very  loud,  so  that  in  the  night  or  foggy  weather  they  gave  us  notice 
of  the  vicinity  of  ice  before  we  could  see  it.  We  never  found  the 
whole  asleep,  some  being  always  upon  the  watch  and  communicated 
the  alarm  to  the  others."  The  dimensions  and  weight  of  one  of  them 
is  given :  Length  from  the  snout  to  the  tail,  9  ft.  4  in.  ;  length  of 
neck  from  snout  to  shoulder-bone,  2  ft.  6  in. ;  height  of  shoulder, 
5  ft. ;  length  of  fore-fin,  2  ft.  4  in.  ;  hind-fin,  2  ft.  6  in. ;  breadth  of 
fore-tin,  1  ft.  2|  in. ;  hind-tin,  2  ft.  ;  circumference  of  the  neck  close 
to  the  ears,  2  ft.  7  in.  ;  ditto,  body  at  the  shoulder,  7  ft.  10  in.  ; 
ditto,  near  the  hind-fins,  5  ft.  6  in.  ;  weight  of  carcass  without  the 
head,  skin  or  entrails,  854  pounds;  head,  41 J  pounds;  skin,  203 
pounds. 

CLOSE  OF  THE  CRUISE  NORTHWARDS. — Before  midnight  a  thick 
fog  came  on  and  the  ships  were  surrounded  with  loose  ice.  The 
fog  having  cleared  by  ten  o'clock  next  day,  in  latitude  69°32',  and 
the  main  body  of  ice  not  far  distant,  and  with  the  Continent  of 
America  within  five  leagues'  distance,  the  prospect  of  finding  the 
north-west  passage  was  improbable.  Cruising  until  the  29th,  large 
quantities  of  ice  appeared  northward.  The  narrative  here  states 
"  that  as  the  season  was  now  so  far  advanced  and  frost  expected 
soon  to  set  in,  it  was  not  considered  consistent  with  prudence  to 
make  further  attempts  to  find  a  passage  into  the  Atlantic."  Capt. 
Cook  then  crossed  to  the  Asiatic  side.  He  had  completed  his 
mission  and  fulfilled  his  instructions.  He  concludes  his  narrative 
by  saying :  "  We  were  now  upwards  of  520  leagues  to  the  westward 
of  any  part  of  Baffin's  or  Hudson's  Bay,  and  whatever  passage  there 
may  be,  or  at  least  part  of  it,  must  lie  to  the  north  of  latitude  72°." 


24  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

ALONG  THE  EAST  COAST  OF  RUSSIA. — In  September  he  shaped  his 
course  southwards,  gathering  much  information  on  the  Russian 
coast.  About  the  end  of  October  he  left  the  Asiatic  coast  for  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  which  he  made  the  rendezvous  to  meet  Captain 
Clerke,  in  the  event  of  the  Discovery  parting  company  with  the 
Resolution  on  the  voyage  south.  The  Sandwich  Islands  were 
reached  in  January,  1779. 

DEATH  OF  CAPTAIN  COOK.— In  February  the  great  navigator  was 
killed  in  a  melee  whilst  assisting  or  directing  a  party  of  his  men  to 
recover  one  of  the  ship's  boats  that  had  been  stolen  by  the  natives. 
After  Captain  Cook's  death  the  command  devolved  upon  Captain 
Clerke.  He  removed  on  board  the  Resolution  and  appointed 
Lieutenant  Gore  to  be  captain  of  the  Discovery. 

CAPTAIN  CLERKE'S  FURTHER  EXPLORATIONS. — The  expedition  did 
not  arrive  in  England  until  October,  1780.  The  delay  in  returning 
is  accounted  for  by  Captain  Clerke  having,  during  the  spring  of 
1779,  made  another  trip  to  Behring  Sea  to  make  a  further  attempt 
to  find  the  north-west  passage.  He  penetrated  as  far  as  70°  30'  N"., 
when  the  same  obstacles  prevented  his  progress  as  were  met  by 
Captain  Cook  the  preceding  year.  They  encountered  a  firm  barrier 
of  ice  seven  leagues  farther  south  than  Captain  Cook  had.  The. 
impossibility  of  finding  a  passage  to  the  north  was  now  thought 
to  be  sufficiently  proved ;  it  was  therefore  resolved  to  proceed 
homewards. 

DEATH  OF  CAPTAIN  CLERKE. — When  the  ships  leached  Kamtschatka, 
Captain  Cierke  died  of  a  decline.  Captain  Gore  now  succeeded  to 
the  command  of  the  expedition,  and  Lieutenant  King  took  command 
of  the  Discovery.  The  expedition,  although  successful  in  adding 
greatly  to  geographical  knowledge  and  in  opening  up  the  fur  trade  of 
the  North- West,  returned  to  England  in  mourning,  having  lost  both 
their  commanders.  They  were  replaced  by  able  men.  Some  of  the 
distinguished  officers  who  served  under  Captain  Cook  and  learned 
the  arduous  duties  of  their  profession  from  him,  such  as  Vancouver, 
Broughton,  Bligh,  Burney,  Colnett.  Portlock,  Dixon,  etc.,  afterwards 
became  leading  men  in  the  nautical  world,  and  shortly  after  the 
lamented  death  of  Captain  Cook,  assisted  in  opening  up  the  trade 
of  the  North-West  and  completing  the  explorations  which  he  had 
begun. 


SECTION  II. 

THE  FUR-TRADING  PERIOD. 
CHAPTEE   I. 

EXPEDITIONS  ORGANIZED. — As  soon  as  particulars  of  Captain  Cook's 
voyage  and  discoveries,  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America  were 
known,  and  that  such  a  large  supply  of  otter  skins  and  other  furs 
could  be  obtained  from  that  hitherto  unknown  region,  a  spirit  of 
adventure  and  commerce  was  created.  In  1786,  four  expeditions 
were  organized  in  different  parts  of  the  globe  to  engage  in  this  new 
trade,  without  any  knowledge  of  eacli  other's  designs. 

THE  PIONEER  TRADER.— -The  first  to  arrive  on  the  north-west  coast 
of  America  in  connection  with  this  new  enterprise,  was  Captain 
JAMES  HANNA.  His  vessel,  a  small  craft  of  only  seventy-two  tons 
burden,  with  a  crew  of  under  thirty  men,  had  been  equipped  in 
China,  in  1784-85,  by  English  merchants.  This  skilful  seaman  and 
brave  commander  pursued  his  course  along  the  coast  of  Japan,  thence 
eastwards  until  he  reached  Nootka  in  August,  1785.  On  arriving 
there,  the  natives,  judging  from  the  small  size  and  appearance  of  the 
vessel  compared  with  Captain  Cook's  outfit,  made  an  attack  upon 
Captain  Hanna  and  his  limited  crew.  They  were,  however,  speedily 
repulsed.  •  Hostilities  were  soon  ended  and  a  brisk  trade  commenced, 
which  resulted  in  Captain  Hanna  obtaining  a  large  number  of  sea-otter 
skins,  which  netted  him  $26,000  in  China. 

HANNA'S  SECOND  AND  LAST  VOYAGE. — Captain  Hanna  left  Nootka 
in  September.  On  his  return  northward  he  examined  the  coast, 
named  Sea-otter  Harbor  and  Fitzhugh  Sound,  reaching  Macao  in 
December.  He  made  a  second  voyage  to  Nootka  in  1786,  in  the  Sea- 
otter^  a  vessel  of  120  tons;  but  two  British  ships  having  arrived 
before  him,  his  second  commercial  venture  was  not  nearly  as 
profitable  as  that  of  the  preceding  year.  Captain  Meares,  referring 


26  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

to  Hanna's  voyages,  says  :  "  Before  he  could  engage  in  a  third,  this 
able  and  active  seaman  was  called  upon  to  take  that  voyage  from 
whence  there  is  no  return."  , 

TRADING  AND  SCIENTIFIC  EXPEDITION. — The  two  British  vessels 
referred  to  as  arriving  in  1786,  were  the  Captain  Cook  and  the 
Experiment,  sailing  under  the  flag  of  the  East  India  Company,  fitted 
out  by  Bombay  merchants,  David  Scott  being  the  principal  owner. 
They  were  under  the  supervision  of  James  Strange,  and  sailed  from 
Bombay,  arriving  at  Nootka  in  June,  1786.  They  obtained  six 
hundred  sea-otter  skins.  Returning  they  sailed  northward,  and 
probably  gave  the  name  Gape  Scott  to  the  north-western  point 
of  Vancouver  Island  after  David  Scott,  the  chief  owner  of  the  vessels. 
The  expedition,  at  his  own  request,  left  one  of  their  men,  John 
McKay,  at  Nootka,  under  the  chief's  protection,  to  .act  as  a. 
"drummer  "or  agent  for  the  fur-traders.  He  was  well  treated  by 
the  savages,  and  lived  with  a  native  wife  for  more  than  a  year 
amongst  them. 

A  FRENCH  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION. — The  French  navigator,  La 
Perouse,  set  out  on  an  exploring  expedition  in  1785.  His  discoveries 
were  published  too  late  to  be  of  special  value,  apart  from  that 
furnished  by  other  navigators  who  visited  those  seas  and  wrote  about 
what  they  had  seen.  Bancroft  says:  "Especially  were  his  discoveries 
unimportant  as  touching  the  north-west  coast."  His  explorations 
were  made  in  1786,  but  as  his  maps  were  not  published  until  1798, 
they  were  superseded  by  later  and  more  complete  surveys. 

LICENSED  TO  TRADE  IN  TEAS,  ETC. — Another  expedition,  formed  by 
the  ships  King  George  and  Queen  Charlotte,  left  England  in  1785. 
They  were  fitted  out  in  London  and  placed  under  Lieutenant  Portlock 
of  the  Royal  Navy,  with  license  from  the  South  Sea  Company  to 
trade  in  teas  from  China.  They  were  also  supplied  with  large 
quantities  of  stores,  and  had  appliances  to  "  form  factories,"  to 
build  vessels,  and  had  authority  to  make  settlements.  Both  the 
commanders,  Lieutenants  Nathaniel  Portlock  and  George  Dixon, 
had  previously  served  under  Captain  Cook,  and  were  prepared  to 
engage  both  in  geographical  discoveries  as  well  as  to  attend  to  the 
fur  trade.  They  sailed  around  Cape  Horn  and  touched  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  reaching  Cook's  River  in  July,  1786.  It  was 
their  intention  then  to  coast  southwards  and  winter  at  Nootka. 
After  touching  at  various  points  from  fifty-five  degrees  north  to 


THE   FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  27 

Nootka,  the  weather  became  stormy  and  the  expedition  returned 
to  the  Sandwich  Islands  to  winter. 

PORTLOCK  AND  DIXON,  1786-87. — Next  season  they  left  for  Prince 
William  Sound.  By  the  end  of  July,  Captain  Dixon  had  reached 
the  northern  end  of  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  which  he  named  after 
the  vessel  he  commanded,  as  well  as  after  the  Queen  of  that  name. 
He  named  the  straits  between  the  islands  and  the  mainland,  "Dixon's 
Straits,"  after  himself.  Captain  Dixon  received  a  large  number  of 
sea-otter  skins  (1,821)  on  Queen  Charlotte  Islands.  The  number  of 
sea-otter  skins  obtained  during  the  season  by  both  vevssels  is  given  at 
2,552,  for  which  they  received  in  China,  $54,857.  Bancroft  states 
that  the  other  traders  for  the  season  together  only  obtained  2,481 
skins. 

CAPTAINS  BARCLAY  AND  DUNCAN,  1787. — The  expeditions  of  the 
ships,  Princess  Royal,  Captain  Duncan,  Prince  of  Wales,  Captain 
Colnett,  and  The  Imperial  Eagle,  Captain  Barclay,  arrived  in  1787. 
The  two  former  vessels  were  fitted  out  by  the  King  George  Sound 
Company,  which  had  sent  out  Portlock  and  Dixon  ;  the  latter 
sailed  under  the  flag  of  the  Austrian  East  India  Company,  in  1786, 
arriving  at  Nootka  in  1787.  Captain  Barclay  explored  Barclay 
Sound,  to  which  he  gave  his  name.  His  boat,  with  an  armed  crew, 
explored  the  Straits  of  Fuca.  He  is  said  to  have  received  much 
local  information  from  the  Mr.  McKay  who  had  been  residing 
at  Nootka  amongst  the  Indians  for  over  a  year.  Mrs.  Barclay 
accompanied  her  husband  on  this  voyage,  and  was  probably  the  first 
European  lady  who  visited  the  north-west  coast  of  America. 

CAPTAINS  KENDRICK  AND  GRAY,  1788. — A  large  number  of 
voyagers  and  navigators  met  at  Nootka  in  1788,  amongst  whom 
were  Captain  John  Meares,  of  the  Felice,  Wm.  Douglas,  of  the 
Iphigenia,  John  Kendrick,  of  the  Columbia,  Robert  Gray,  of  the 
Lady  Washington.  The  two  latter  vessels  were  the  first  that  appeared 
under  the  flag  of  the  United  States  on  the  waters  of  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean.  They  were  equipped  by  Boston  merchants  and  their 
crews  called  "Bostons,"  and  as  the  war  of  the  independence  of  the 
United  States  had  just  been  concluded,  the  "  Bostons "  did  not 
regard  the  "  King  George  men  "  with  the  most  friendly  feeling. 

UNITED  STATES  FLAG,  1788. — The  first  fur-trading  expedition 
from  the  United  States  was  fitted  out  by  a  company  of  six  Boston 
merchants,  who  were  influenced  by  the  glowing  reports  of  Captain 
Cook's  discoveries  and  the  possible  trade  with  China.  The  voyage 


28 


HISTORY    OF    BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


of  the  Lady  Washington  occupied  a  year  from  the  time  of  leaving 
Boston  until  her  arrival  at  Nootka.  That  vessel  was  towed  into 
Nootka  Sound  by  the  aid  of  boats  from  the  Felice  and  the  Iphigenia, 
which  were  lying  at  anchor  there. 

CAPTAIN  JOHN  MEAKES. — The  Felice, 
Captain  John  Meares,  was  a  vessel  of  230 
tons  burden,  with  a  crew  of  tifty  men, 
comprising  artificers,  Chinese  smiths 
and  carpenters  as  well  as  European 
artizans;  Iphigenia,  Captain  Douglas, 
a  vessel  of  200  tons  burden,  with  a  crew 
of  forty  men,  composed  of  the  same 
classes  of  people,  artizans  and  sailors. 
Both  ships  were  well  built  and  copper- 
bottomed.  "  The  Chinese  were,"  Cap- 
tain Meares  states,  "  shipped  as  an 

CAPTAIN    .TOIIX    MKAKRS. 

experiment ;  they  have  been  generally 

esteemed  a  hardy  and  industrious,  as  well  as  ingenious,  race  of  people. 
They  live  011  tish  and  rice,  and,  requiring  but  low  wages,  it  was  a 
matter  of  economical  consideration  to  employ  them,  and  during  the 
whole  voyage  there  was  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  their  ser- 
vices. The  expense  of  fitting  out  the  expedition  was  borne  by  several 
British  merchants  resident  in  India,  in  conjunction  with  Captain 
Meares,  who  had  been  formerly  a  lieutenant  in  the  British  navy. 
On  the  13th  of  May,  1788,  they  reached  Nootka  and  anchored  abreast 
of  the  village  in  "  Friendly  Cove,"  in  four  fathoms  of  water,  after  a 
passage  of  three  months  and  twenty-three  days  from  China.  They 
were  well  received  by  the  natives.  The  principal  chiefs,  Maquilla 
and  Callicum,  were  absent  on  a  visit  to  Wican-an-ish,  a  powerful 
prince  of  a  tribe  to  the  southward.  That  locality  is  now  known  as 
Clayoquot  Sound. 

MAQUILLA'S  FLEET. — "On  the  16th  of  May,"  Captain  Meares  in 
his  narrative  states,  "  Maquilla  and  Callicum  returned,  and  entered 
the  cove  accompanied  by  a  number  of  war  canoes.  They  moved  or 
rowed  (paddled)  around  the  ship  with  great  parade,  singing  at  the 
same  time  a  song  of  a  pleasing  though  sonorous  melody.  Maquilla's 
fleet  consisted  of  twelve  war  canoes,  each  of  which  contained  about 
eighteen  men  ;  the  greater  part  of  whom  were  clothed  in  the  most 
beautiful  skins  of  the  sea  otter,  which  covered  them  from  their  neck 
to  their  ankles.  Their  hair  was  powdered  witli  the  white  down  of 
birds  and  their  faces  bedaubed  with  red  and  black  ochre,  in  the  form 
of  a  shark's  jaw,  and  a  kind  of  spiral  line,  which  rendered  their 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  29 

appearance  extremely  savage.  In  most  of  these  boats  there  were 
eight  rowers  (paddlers)  on  a  side,  and  a  single  man  sat  at  the  bow. 
The  chief  occupied  a  place  in  the  middle,  and  was  distinguished  by  a 
high  cap,  pointed,  at  the  crown  and  ornamented  at  the  top  with  a 
small  tuft  of  feathers. 

INDIAN  Music. — "  We  listened  to  their  song,"  continues  Mr. 
Meares,  "  with  an  equal  degree  cf  surprise  and  pleasure.  It  was, 
indeed,  impossible  for  any  ear  susceptible  of  delight  from  musical 
sounds,  or  any  mind  that  was  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  tone  ;  nor  did  a 
dissonant  note  escape  them.  Sometimes  they  would  make  a  sudden 
transition  from  the  high  to  the  low  notes,  with  such  melancholy 
turns  in  their  variations,  that  we  could  not  reconcile  to  ourselves  the 
manner  in  which  tl*;y  acquired  or  contrived  this  more  than  untaught 
melody  of  nature.  There  was  something  for  the  eye  as  well  as  the 
ear,  and  the  action  which  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  or  stanza  they 
pointed  with  extended  arms  to  the  north  and  to  the  south,  gradually 
sinking  their  voices  in  such  a  solemn  manner  as  to  produce  an  effect 
not  often  attained  by  the  orchestras  in  our  quarter  of  the  globe. 

OIL  REFKESHMENTS.  —  "  They  paddled  around  our  ship  twice  in  this 
manner,  uniformly  rising  up  when  they  came  to  the  stern  and  calling 
out  the  word  '  wacush,  wacush,'  or  friends.  They  then  brought  their 
canoes  alongside,  when  Maquilla  and  Callicum  came  on  board. 
The  former  appeared  to  be  about  thirty  years,  of  a  middle  size,  but 
extremely  well  made  and  possessing  a  countenance  that  was  formed 
to  interest  all  who  saw  him.  The  latter  seemed  to  be  ten  years 
older,  of  an  athletic  make,  and  a  fine  open  arrangement  of  features, 
that  united  regard  and  confidence.  The  inferior  people  were  very 
proper  and  personable  men.  A  sealskin  filled  witli  oil  was  immedi- 
ately handed  on  board,  of  which  the  chiefs  took  a  small  quantity., 
and  they  ordered  it  to  be  returned  to  the  people  in  the  canoes,  who 
soon  emptied  the  vessel  of  this  luxurious  liquor. 

MEARES  GIVES  AND  RECEIVES  PRESENTS. — "A  present,  consisting 
of  copper,  iron  and  other  gratifying  articles,  was  made  to  Maquilla 
and  Callicum,  who  on  receiving  it  took  off  their  sea-otter  garments, 
threw  them  in  the  most  graceful  manner  at  our  feet,  and  remained  in 
the  unattired  garb  of  nature  on  the  deck.  They  were  each  of  them 
in  turn  presented  with  a  blanket,  when  with  every  mark  of  the 
highest  satisfaction,  they  descended  into  their  canoes,  which  were 
paddled  hastily  to  the  shore. 

A  BUILDING  SITE  SECURED. — "Maquilla  not  only  readily  consented 
to  grant  us  a  spot  of  ground  in  his  territory,  whereon  a  house  might 
be  built  for  the  accommodation  of  the  people  we  intended  to  leave 
there,  but  had  promised  us  also  his  assistance  in  forwarding  our 


3U  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

works  and  his  protection  of  the  party  who  were  destined  to  remain 
at  Nootka  during  our  absence.  In  return  for  this  kindness,  and  to 
insure  a  continuance  of  it,  the  chief  was  presented  with  a  pair  of 
pistols,  which  he  had  regarded  with  an  eye  of  solicitation  ever  since 
our  arrival.  Callicum,  who  seemed  to  have  formed  a  most  affectionate 
attachment  to  us,  was  also  gratified,  as  well  as  the  ladies  of  his 
families,  with  suitable  presents  ;  indeed  it  became  our  more  immediate 
attention  to  confirm  his  regard,  as  he  had  been  appointed  by  Maquilla 
to  be  our  particular  guardian  and  protector,  and  had  the  most 
peremptory  injunctions  to  prevent  the  natives  from  making  any 
depredations  on  us. 

HOUSE  BUILDING  PROGRESSES. — "  Great  advances  were  made  in 
building  the  house,  which  on  the  28th  was  completely  finished.  In 
the  very  expeditious  accomplishment  of  this  important  work,  the 
natives  afforded  us  all  the  assistance  in  their  power,  not  only  by 
bringing  the  timber  from  the  woods,  but  by  readily  engaging  in  any 
and  every  service  that  was  required  of  them.  When  the  bell  rang 
for  our  people  to  leave  off  work  in  the  evening,  the  native  laborers 
were  always  assembled  to  receive  their  daily  pay,  which  was  dis- 
tributed in  certain  proportions  of  beads  and  iron.  Such  a  proceeding 
on  our  part  won  so  much  upon  their  regard  and  confidence,  that  we 
could  not  find  employment  for  the  numbers  that  continually  solicited 
to  engage  in  our  service.  The  house  was  sufficiently  spacious  to 
contain  all  the  party  intended  to  be  left  on  the  Sound  (Nootka).  On 
the  ground  floor  there  was  ample  room  for  the  coopers,  sail  makers 
and  other  artizans  to  work  in  bad  weather  ;  a  large  room  was  set 
apart  for  the  stores  and  provisions.  The  armorer's  shop  was  attached 
to  one  end  of  the  building  and  communicated  with  it.  The  upper 
story  was  divided  into  an  eating-room  and  chambers  for  the  party. 
On  the  whole,  our  house,  though  it  was  not  built  to  satisfy  a  lover  of 
architectural  beauty,  was  admirably  well  calculated  for  the  purpose 
to  which  it  was  destined,  and  appeared  to  be  a  structure  of  uncommon 
magnificence  to  the  natives  of  King  George's  Sound. 

A  FORTIFICATION  ERECTED. — "A  strong  breastwork  was  thrown 
up  round  the  house,  enclosing  a  considerable  area  of  ground,  which 
with  one  piece  of  cannon,  placed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  command 
the  cove  and  village  of  Nootka,  formed  a  fortification  sufficient  to 
secure  the  party  from  intrusion. 

THE  NATIVES  ARE  FRIENDLY. — "The  good  harmony  and  friendly 
intercourse  which  subsisted  between  us  and  the  natives,  will,  we 
trust,  be  considered  as  a  proof  that  our  conduct  was  regulated  by 
the  principles  of  humane  policy  ;  while  the  generous  and  hospitable 
demeanor  of  our  faithful  allies  will  convey  a  favorable  idea  of  their 
character,  when  treated  with  that  kindness  which  unenlightened 
nature  demands,  and  is  the  true  object'  of  commercial  policy  to 
employ. 

THEY  POSSESS  GRATITUDE  AND  AFFECTION.— "  The  various  offices 
of  personal  attachment  which  we  received  from  many  individuals  of 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  31 

these  people  were  sufficient  to  convince  us  that  gratitude  is  a  virtue 
well  known  on  this  distant  shore,  and  that  a  noble  sensibility  to 
offices  of  kindness  was  to  be  found  among  the  woods  of  Nootka. 
Callicuni  possessed  a  delicacy  of  mind  and  conduct  which  would  have 
done  honor  to  the  most  improved  state  of  our  civilization.  A  thousand 
instances  of  regard  and  affection  towards  us  might  be  related  of  this 
amiable  man,  who  is  now  no  more,  and  the  only  return  that  we  can 
make  for  his  friendship  is  to  record  it,  and  with  every  expression  of 
horror  and  detestation  of  that  inhuman  and  wanton  spirit  of  murder 
which  deprived  his  country  of  its  brightest  ornament,  the  future 
navigator  of  a  protecting  friend,  and  drove  an  unoffending  and 
useful  people  from  their  native  home  to  find  a  new  habitation  in  the 
distant  desert." 

INHUMAN  CONDUCT  BY  A  SPANISH  OFFICER. — Captain  Meares  adds 
the  following  explanatory  note:  "This  amiable  chief  was  shot 
through  the  body  in  the  month  of  June,  1789,  by  an  officer  on  board 
one  of  the  ships  of  Don  Martinez.  The  following  particulars  were 
received  from  the  master  of  the  North-West  America,  a  young 
gentleman  of  the  most  correct  veracity,  who  was  himself  a  witness  of 
the  inhuman  act : 

"  Callicum,  his  wife  and  child,  came  in  a  small  canoe  alongside  the 
Princessa,  the  commodore's  ship,  and  the  fa'sh  being  taken  from  him 
in  a  rough  and  unwelcome  manner  before  he  could  present  it  to  the 
commodore,  the  chief  was  so  incensed  at  this  behavior  that  he 
immediately  left  the  ship,  exclaiming  as  he  departed,  'peshae,  peshae,5 
the  meaning  of  which  is  'bad,  bad.'  This  conduct  was  considered  so 
offensive  that  he  was  immediately  shot  through  the  heart  by  a  ball 
from  the  quarter-deck.  The  body  on  receiving  the  ball  sprung  over 
the  side  of  the  canoe  and  immediately  sank.  The  wife  was  taken 
with  her  child,  in  a  state  of  stupefaction,  to  the  shore  by  some  of  her 
friends,  who  were  witnesses  of  this  inhuman  catastrophe.  Shortly 
afterwards  the  father  of  Callicum  ventured  on  board  the  Spanish 
ship  to  beg  permission  to  creep  for  the  body  beneath  the  water,  when 
this  sad  request  of  parental  sorrow  was  refused  till  the  poor  afflicted 
savage  had  collected  a  sufficient  number  of  skins  among  his  neighbors 
to  purchase  of  Christians  the  privilege  of  giving  sepulture  to  a  son 
whom  they  had  murdered,  The  body  was  soon  found  and  followed 
to  its  place  of  interment  by  the  lamenting  widow,  attended  by  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Sound,  who  expressed  the  keenest  sorrows  for 
a  chief  whom  they  loved,  and  to  those  virtues  it  becomes  our  duty 
to  give  the  grateful  testimony  of  merited  affection." 


32  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEK  II. 


MEMORIAL  FROM  CAPTAIN  MEARES. 

EVIDENCE  ON  THE  SUBJECT. — The  foregoing  extracts  will  serve  to 
show  the  animus  of  the  Spaniards  towards  the  natives,  and  will 
prepare  the  reader  to  expect  little  else  from  them  than  the  outra- 
geous manner  in  which  they  treated  Captain  Meares's  men  and  confis- 
cated and  destroyed  his  property.  The  circumstances  are  fully 
explained  in  the  memorial  which  he  had  presented  to  the  British 
House  of  Commons  on  the  13th  of  May,  1790.  The  action  which 
the  British  Government  felt  called  upon  to  take  to  protect  British 
subjects  and  their  property  ultimately  resulted  in  securing  to  Great 
Britain  the  whole  of  the  north-west  coast,  between  what  was  at  that 
time  known  as  California  and  the  Russian  outposts.  The  evidence 
was  so  clear  and  strong  that  neither  sophistry,  subterfuge  nor  special 
pleading  could  maintain  Spain  in  her  extravagant  claims.  The  docu- 
ments now  submitted  form  the  basis  of  the  early  history  of  British 
Columbia ;  therefore  they  are  given  at  some  length  : 

"  The  memorial  of  JOHN  MEARES,  Lieutenant  in  his  Majesty's 
navy,  most  humbly  sheweth  : 

"That  earlv  in  the  year  1786,  certain  merchants  residing  in  the 
East  Indies,  and  under  the  immediate  protection  of  the  Company, 
desirous  of  opening  a  trade  with  the  north-west  coast  of  America  for 
supplying  the  Chinese  market  with  furs  and  ginseng,  communicated 
such  design  to  Sir  John  MacPherson,  the  Governor-General  of  India, 
who  not  only  approved  of  the  plan,  but  joined  in  the  subscription  for 
its  execution,  and  two  vessels  were  accordingly  purchased  and  placed 
under  the  orders  and  command  of  your  memorialist. 

"That  in  the  month  of  March,  your  memorialist  despatched  one  of 
the  said  vessels,  which  he  named  the  Sea-otter,  under  the  command 
of  Mr.  Tipping,  to  Prince  William's  Sound,  and  followed  her  on  the 
other  ship,  which  he  named  the  Nootka. 

"That  on  your  memorialist's  arrival  in  Prince  William's  Sound,  in 
the  month  of  September,  he  found  the  Sea-otter  had  left  that  place  a 
few  days  before ;  and  from  intelligence  he  has  since  received,  the  ship 
was  soon  after  unfortunately  lost  off  the  coast  of  Kamtschatka. 

"  That  your  memorialist  remained  in  Prince    William's   Sound  the 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  33 

whole  of  the  winter,  in  the  course  of  which  time  he  opened  an 
extensive  trade  with  the  natives ;  and  having  collected  a  cargo  of 
furs,  he  proceeded  to  China  in  the  autumn  of  1787. 

"That  in  the  month  of  January,  1788,  your  memorialist  having 
disposed  of  the  Nootka,  he,  in  conjunction  with  several  British 
merchants  residing  in  India,  purchased  and  fitted  out  two  other 
vessels,  named  the  Felice  and  Iphigenia  ;  the  latter  he  put  under  the 
direction  of  Mr.  William  Douglas.  That  your  memorialist  proceeded 
from  China  to  the  port  of  Nootka,  or  King  George's  Sound,  which  he 
reached  in  the  month  of  May,  and  the  Iphigenia  arrived  in  Cook's 
River  in  the  month  of  June. 

"  That  your  memorialist,  immediately  on  his  arrival  in  Nootka 
Sound,  purchased  from  Maquilla,  the  chief  of  the  district  contiguous 
to  and  surrounding  that  place,  a  spot  of  ground  whereon  he  built  a. 


LAUNCH   OK   THE   "  NORTH-WEST   AMKKICA." 

house  for  his  occasional  residence,  as  well  as  for  the  more  convenient 
pursuit  of  his  trade  with  the  natives,  and  hoisted  the  British  colors- 
thereon ;  that  he  also  erected  a  breast-work  which  surrounded  the 
house,  and  mounted  one  3-pounder  in  front.  That  having  done 
so,  your  memorialist  proceeded  to  trade  on  the  coast,  the  Felice 
taking  her  route  to  the  southwards,  and  the  Iphigenia  to  the  north- 
wards, confining  themselves  within  the  limits  of  60°  and  45°30' 
north,  and  returned  to  Nootka  Sound  in  the  month  of  September. 
That  on  your  memorialist's  arrival  there,  his  people  whom  he  had 
left  behind,  had  nearly  completed  a  vessel,  which,  previous  to  his- 
departure,  he  had  laid  down  ;  and  that  the  said  vessel  was  soon  after 
launched  by  your  memorialist  and  called  the  North- West  America^ 
3 


34  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

measuring  about  forty  tons,  and  was  equipped  with  all  expedition  to 
assist  him  in  his  enterprises. 

"  That  during  the  absence  of  your  memorialist  from  Nootka  Sound 
he  obtained  from  Wicananish,  tbe  chief  of  the  district  surrounding 
Port  Cox  and  Port  Essingham,  situated  in  the  latitudes  48°  and  49°, 
in  consequence  of  considerable  presents  the  promise  of  a  free  and 
-exclusive  trade  with  the  natives  of  the  district,  and  also  his  permission 
to  build  any  storehouses  or  other  edifices  which  he  might  judge 
mecessary  ;  that  he  also  acquired  the  same  privilege  of  exclusive 
trade  from  Tatootche,  the  chief  of  the  country  bordering  on  the  Straits 
<of  Juan  de  Fuca,  and  purchased  from  him  a  tract  of  land  within  the 
said  strait,  which  one  of  your  memorialist's  officers  took  possession  of 
in  the  King's  name,  calling  the  same  Tatootche,  in  honor  of  that  chief 

"That  the  Iphigenia,  in  her  progress  to  the  southward,  also 
visited  several  ports,  and  in  consequence  of  presents  to  the  chiefs  of 
the  country,  her  commander  had  assurances  given  to  him  of  not  only 
a  free  access,  but  of  an  exclusive  trade  upon  that  coast,  no  other 
European  vessel  having  been  there  before  her. 

"  That  your  memorialist,  on  the  23rd  of  September,  having 
•collected  a  cargo  of  furs,  proceeded  in  the  Felice  to  China,  leaving 
the  Iphigenia  and  the  North-West  America  in  Nootka  Sound,  with 
orders  to  winter  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  to  return  to  the  coast 
in  the  spring.  That  your  memorialist  arrived  in  China  early  in  the 
month  of  December,  where  he  sold  his  cargo  and  also  the  ship  Felice. 

"That  a  few  days  after  your  memorialist's  arrival  in  China,  the 
ships  Prince  of  Wales  and  Princess  Royal,  fitted  out  from  the  port  of 
London  by  Messrs.  John  and  Cadman  Etches  &  Co.,  came  to  Canton 
'from  a  trading  voyage  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America  ;  and  your 
memorialist,  finding  that  they  had  embarked  in  this  commerce  under 
licenses  granted  to  them  by  the  East  India  and  South  Sea  Companies, 
which  would  not  expire  until  the  year  1790;  and  apprehending  at 
the  same  time  that  the  trade  would  suffer  by  a  competition,  he  and 
his  partners  associated  themselves  with  the  said  Messrs.  Etches  A: 
Co.,  and  a  formal  agreement  was  executed  in  consequence  between 
your  memorialist  and  Mr.  John  Etches,  then  supercargo  of  the  two 
ships,  making  a  joint  stock  of  all  the  vessels  and  property  employed 
in  that  trade ;  and  under  that  firm  they  purchased  a  ship,  which  had 
been  built  at  Calcutta,  and  called  her  the  Argonaut. 

"  That  the  Prince  of  Wales,  having  been  chartered  to  load  teas  for 
the  East  India  Company,  soon  after  returned  to  England  :  and  the 
Princess  Royal  and  Argonaut  were  ordered  by  your  memorialist  to 
sail  for  the  coast  of  America,  under  the  command  of  James  Colnett, 
to  whom  the  charge  of  all  the  concerns  of  the  Company  on  the  coast 
had  been  committed. 

"  Mr.  Colnett  was  directed  to  fix  his  residence  at  Nootka  Sound, 
and  with  that  view,  to  erect  a  substantial  house  on  the  spot  which 
your  memorialist  had  purchased  in  the  preceding  year. 

"  That  the  Princess  Royal  and  Argonaut,  loaded  with  stores  and 
•provisions  of  all  descriptions,  with  articles  estimated  to  be  sufficient 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  35 

for  the  trade  for  three  years,  and  a  vessel  on  board  in  frame,  of  about 
thirty  tons  burden,  left  China  accordingly  in  the  months  of  April  and 
May^  1789.  They  had  also  on  board,  in  addition  to  their  crews, 
several  artificers  of  different  professions  and  nearly  seventy  Chinese, 
who  intended  to  become  settlers  on  the  American  coast,  in  the  service 
and  under  the  protection  of  the  associated  Company. 

"That  on  the  24th  April,  1789,  the  Iphigenia  returned  to  Nootka 
Sound,  and  that  the  North-  West  America  reached  the  place  a  few  days 
after  ;  that  they  found  on  their  arrival  in  that  port  two  American 
vessels  which  had  wintered  there ;  one  of  them  was  called  the  Columbia, 
the  other  the  Washington  ;  that  on  the  29th  of  the  same  month  the 
North-West  America  was  despatched  to  the  northward  to  trade,  and 
ulso  to  explore  the  archipelago  of  St.  Lazarus. 

"That  on  the  6th  of  May,  the  Iphigenia  being  then  at  anchor 
in  Nootka  Sound,  a  Spanish  ship  of  war,  called  the  Princessa, 
commanded  by  Don  Stephen  Joseph  Martinez,  mounting  twenty-six 
guns,  which  had  sailed  from  the  port  of  San  Bias  in  the  Province  of 
Mexico,  anchored  in  Nootka  Sound,  and  was  joined  on  the  13th  by  a 
Spanish  '  snow'  (a  vessel  equipped  with  two  masts,  resembling  the 
main  and  fore-masts  of  a  ship,  and  a  third  small  mast  just  abaft  the 
main  mast,  carrying  a  try-sail)  of  sixteen  guns,  called  the  San  Carlos, 
which  vessel  had  also  sailed  from  San  Bias,  loaded  with  cannon  and 
other  warlike  stores. 

"  That  from  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  Princessa  until  the  14th 
of  May,  mutual  civilities  passed  between  Captain  Douglas  and  the 
Spanish  officers,  and  even  supplies  were  obtained  from  Don  Martinez 
for  the  use  of  the  ship  ;  but  on  that  clay  he,  Captain  Douglas, 
was  ordered  on  board  the  Princessa  and,  to  his  great  surprise,  was 
informed  by  Don  Martinez  that  he  had  the  king's  orders  to  seize  all 
ships  and  vessels  he  might  find  upon  that  coast,  and  that  he,  the 
commander  of  the  Iphigenia,  was  then  his  prisoner ;  that  Don 
Martinez  thereupon  instructed  his  officers  to  take  possession  of  the 
Iphigenia,  which  they  accordingly  did,  in  the  name  of  his  Catholic 
Majesty,  and  the  officers  and  crew  of  that  ship  were  immediately 
conveyed  as  prisoners  on  board  the  Spanish  ships,  where  they  were 
put  in  irons  and  otherwise  ill-treated. 

"  That  as  soon  as  the  Iphigenia  had  been  seized,  Don  Martinez 
took  possession  of  the  lands  belonging  to  your  memorialist,  on  which 
his  temporary  habitation  before  mentioned  had  been  erected,  hoisting 
thereupon  the  standard  of  Spain  and  performing  such  ceremonies  as 
your  memorialist  understands  are  usual  on  such  occasions  ;  declaring 
at  the  same  time  that  all  the  lands  comprised  between  Cape  Horn 
and  the  sixtieth  degree  of  north  latitude  did  belong  to  his  Catholic 
Majesty;  he  then  proceeded  to  build  batteries,  storehouses,  etc.,  in 
the  execution  of  which  he  forcibly  employed  some  of  the  crew  of  the 
Iphigenia,  and  many  of  them  who  attempted  to  resist  were  very 
severely  punished. 

"  That  during  the  time  the  commander  of  the  Iphigenia  remained 
in  captivity,  he  had  frequently  been  urged  by  Don  Martinez  to  sign 


36  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

an  instrument,  purporting,  as  he  was  informed  (not  understanding 
himself  the  Spanish  language),  that  Don  Martinez  had  found  him  at 
anchor  in  Nootka  Sound,  that  he  was  at  that  time  in  great  distress, 
that  he  had  furnished  him  with  everything  necessary  for  his  passage 
to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  that  his  navigation  had  in  no  respect 
been  molested  or  interrupted  ;  but  which  paper,  on  inspection  of  a 
copy  thereof  delivered  to  Mr.  Douglas,  appears  to  be  an  obligation 
from  him  and  Mr.  Viana,  the  second  captain,  on  the  part  of  their 
owners,  to  pay  on  demand  the  valuation  of  that  vessel,  her  cargo,  etc., 
in  case  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain  should  adjudge  her  to  be  a  lawful 
prize  for  entering  the  port  of  Nootka  without  the  permission  of  his 
Catholic  Majesty,  and  he  frequently  refused  to  accede  to  this  propo- 
sal ;  but  that  Don  Martinez,  partly  by  threats  and  partly  by  promises 
of  restoring  him  to  his  command  and  of  furnishing  him  with  such 
supplies  of  stores  and  provisions  as  he  -might  stand  in  need  of,, 
ultimately  carried  his  point ;  and  having  so  done,  he,  on  the  26th  of 
the  same  month,  was  restored  to  the  command  of  the  Iphigenia,  but 
restrained  from  proceeding  to  sea  until  the  return  of  the  North-West 
America,  insisting  that  he  should  then  dispose  of  her  for  four  hundred 
dollars,  the  price  which  one  of  the  American  captains  had  set  upon 
her. 

'.'That  during  the  time  the  Spaniards  held  possession  of  the 
Iphigenia,  she  was  stripped  of  all  the  merchandise  which  had 
been  provided  for  trading,  as  also  of  her  stores,  provisions,  nautical 
instruments,  charts,  etc.,  and,  in  short,  every  other  article  (excepting 
twelve  bars  of  iron)  which  they  could  conveniently  carry  away,  even 
to  the  extent  of  the  master's  watch  and  articles  of  clothing. 

"That  notwithstanding  what  had  been  insisted  on  by  Don  Martinez, 
respecting  the  sale  of  the  North-  West  America,  he  had  constantly 
refused  to  dispose  of  that  vessel  on  any  ground,  alleging  that,  as  she 
did  not  belong  to  him,  he  had  no  right  to  dispose  of  her;  that  the 
North-West  America  not  returning  so  soon  as  was  expected,  he, 
Captain  Douglas,  was  told  by  Don  Martinez,  that  on  his  ordering 
that  vessel  to  be  delivered  to  him  for  the  use  of  his  Catholic  Majesty, 
he  should  have  liberty  to  depart  with  the  Iphigenia;  that  he 
accordingly  on  the  1st  of  June,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  master  of  the 
North-West  America,  but  cautiously  avoided  any  directions  to  the 
effect  desired,  and  availing  himself  of  Don  Martinez's  ignorance  of 
the  English  language,  he  instantly  sailed  from  Nootka  Sound,  though 
in  a  very  unn't  condition  to  proceed  on  such  a  voyage,  leaving  behind 
him  the  two  American  vessels,  which  had  been  suffered  to  continue 
there  unmolested  by  the  Spaniards  from  the  time  of  their  first 
arrival;  that  the  Iphigenia  proceeded  from  thence  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  and  after  obtaining  there  such  supplies  as  they  were  able  to- 
procure  with  the  iron  before  mentioned,  returned  to  China  and 
anchored  there  in  the  month  of  October,  1789. 

"Your  memorialist  thinks  it  necessary  to  explain,  that  in  order  ta 
evade  the  excessive  high  port  charges  demanded  by  the  Chinese  from 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  37 

all  other  European  nations  excepting  the  Portuguese,  he  and  his 
associates  had  obtained  the  name  of  Juan  Cawalho  to  their  firm, 
though  he  had  no  actual  concern  in  their  scock  ;  that  Cawalho,  though 
by  birth  a  Portuguese,  had  been  naturalized  at  Bombay,  and  had 
resided  there  for  many  years  under  the  protection  of  the  East  India 
Company,  and  had  carried  on  an  extensive  trade  from  thence  to  their 
several  settlements  in  that  part  of  the  world. 

"  That  the  intimacy  subsisting  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 
permission  that  the  two  ships  above  mentioned,  in  case  should  it  be 
found  convenient  to  do  so,  should  be  allowed  to  navigate  under,  or 
claim  any  advantages  granted  to,  the  Portuguese  flag. 

"That  this  permission  had  answered  the  purpose  of  your  memorial- 
ist, so  far  as  respected  the  port  charges  of  the  Chinese,  until  the 
return  of  the  Iphigenia ;  but  the  Portuguese  governor  dying  soon 
after  her  departure,  and  Cawalho  becoming  a  bankrupt,  his  creditors 
demanded  an  interest  in  that  ship ;  that  the  governor  had,  in 
consequence,  investigated  the  transaction,  and  finding  that  Cawalho 
had  no  actual  concern  or  interest  in  the  property,  obliged  her  to 
•quit  the  port  :  that  this  proceeding  had  subjected  the  Iphigenia  at 
once  to  the  increased  port  charges  which  were  instantly  demanded  by 
and  paid  to  the  Chinese. 

"  Your  memorialist  has  stated  this  transaction  thus  fully,  in  order 
to  show  that  the  Iphigenia  and  her  cargo  were  actually  and  bonafide 
British  property,  as  well  as  to  explain  the  occasion  of  the  orders 
which  were  given  to  her  commander  (extracts  of  which  accompany 
this,  and  are  referred  to  in  the  journal  of  that  ship,  having  been 
under. the  inspection  of  Don  Martinez). 

"Your  memorialist  further  begs  to  state  that  after  the  departure 
of  the  Iphigenia,  Don  Martinez  became  apprized  of  the  letter  with 
which  he  had  been  furnished,  and  that  on  the  return  of  the  North- 
West  America  off  the  port  of  Nootka,  on  the  9th  of  June,  she  was 
boarded  and  seized  by  boats  manned  and  equipped  for  war,  com- 
manded by  Don  Martinez;  that  he  did  tow  and  convey  the  said 
vessel  into  the  sound,  and  anchoring  her  close  to  the  Spanish  ships 
of  war,  did  then  take  possession  of  her  in  the  name  of  his  Catholic 
Majesty  as  good  and  lawful  prize ;  that  the  above  mentioned  vessel 
was  soon  after  hauled  alongside  of  the  Spanish  frigate ;  and  that  the 
officers  and  men,  together  with  the  skins  which  had  been  collected, 
amounting  to  215,  of  the  best  quality,  and  also  her  stores,  tackle 
and  furniture,  articles  of  trade,  etc.,  were  removed  on  board  the 
Spanish  frigate ;  that  the  commander  of  the  North-  West  America, 
his  officers  and  men,  were  accordingly  made  prisoners,  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Barnett,  one  of  the  officers  of  that  vessel,  and  some  of  her 
men,  were,  as  appears  by  the  affidavit  of  William  Graham,  one  of  the 
seamen  belonging  to  that  vessel,  afterwards  put  in  irons. 

"  That  the  Princess  Royal  arriving  a  few  days  after  the  seizure  of 


38  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

the  North-West  America,  and  being  allowed  to  depart,  the  skins 
collected  by  the  last  mentioned  vessel  (excepting  twelve  of  the  best 
quality,  which  Don  Martinez  thought  tit  to  retain)  were  returned  to 
the  master,  and,  with  the  permission  of  Don  Martinez,  were  shipped 
on  board  the  Princess  Royal  for  the  benefit  of  the  owners ;  and  that 
ship,  as  appears  by  her  journal,  put  to  sea  on  the  2nd  of  July  to 
pursue  the  trade  upon  the  coast. 

"That  Don  Martinez,  after  seizing  the  North-West  America  in  the 
manner  and  under  the  circumstances  above  stated,  employed  her  on 
a  trading  voyage,  from  which  she  returned  after  an  absence  of  about 
twenty  days,  with  seventy-iive  skins  obtained  by  British  merchan- 
dise which  had  either  been  found  in  that  vessel  at  the  time  of  her 
capture,  or  had  been  taken  from  the  Iphiyenia ;  and  that  the  value 
of  the  furs  so  collected  cannot,  upon  a  moderate  calculation,  be 
estimated  at  less  than  $7,500,  and  which  Don  Martinez  had  applied 
to  his  own  advantage. 

"That  the  Argonaut  arrived  off  the  port  of  Nootka  on  or  about 
the  3rd  of  July,  1789;  that  Don  Martinez,  on  observing  her  in  the 
offing,  boarded  her  in  his  launch  and  with  expressions  of  civility, 
promised  Mr.  Colnett,  her  commander,  every  assistance  in  his  power; 
that  before  the  Argonaut  entered  the  sound,  Mr.  Thomas  Barnett 
(who  belonged  to  the  North-  West  America,  and  was  then  a  prisoner) 
came  off  in  a  canoe  and  informed  Mr.  Colnett  of  the  proceedings 
which  had  taken  place,  and  of  the  danger  to  which  he  was  exposed  ; 
but  that  under  the  assurances  given  by  Don  Martinez  that  the 
Argonaut  should  remain  unmolested,  and  being  in  want  of  refresh- 
ments for  the  crew,  Mr.  Colnett  proceeded  into  Nootka  Sound. 

"  That,  notwithstanding  the  assurances  given  by  Don  Martinez, 
lie,  the  next  day,  sent  the  lieutenant  of  the  Princessa  with  a  military 
force  to  take  possession  of  the  Argonaut ;  and  that  ship  was  accord- 
ingly seized  in  the  name  of  his  Catholic  Majesty  ;  the  British  flag 
was  hauled  down  and  the  Spanish  flag  was  hoisted  in  its  stead. 

"That  on  the  seizure  of  the  Argonaut,  her  officers  and  men  were 
made  prisoners,  and  Mr.  Colnett  was  threatened  to  be  hanged  at  the 
yard-arm  in  case  of  his  refusing  compliance  with  any  directions 
which  might  be  given  to  him. 

"That  on  the  13th  of  July,  the  Princess  Royal,  as  stated  in  her 
journal,  again  appeared  off  the  port  of  Nootka  ;  that  her  commander 
approaching  the  sound  in  his  boat  in  expectation  of  finding  there  the 
commander  of  the  expedition  (from  whom  he  was  desirous  of 
receiving  instructions  for  his  future  proceedings),  was  seized  and 
made  prisoner  by  Don  Martinez,  and,  under  threats  of  hanging  him 
at  the  yard-arm,  forced  him  to  send  orders  to  his  officers  to  deliver 
up  the  Princess  Royal  without  contest. 

"  That  a  Spanish  officer  was  despatched  into  the  offing  with  these 
orders,  and  that  the  vessel  was  accordingly  seized  in  the  name  of  his 
Catholic  Majesty  and  brought  into  port ;  that  her  crew  were  in 
consequence  made  prisoners,  and  that  her  cargo,  consisting  of  473 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  39 

skins,   including   203   which  had   been   put  on   board   her  from   the 
North-West  America,  was  seized. 

"That  Mr.  Colnett,  from  the  circumstances  of  his  capture,  became 
so  deranged  that  he  attempted  frequently  to  destroy  himself,  and 
that,  according  to  the  last  accounts  received,  the  state  of  his  mind 
was  such  as  to  render  him  unfit  for  the  management  of  any  business 
which  might  have  been  entrusted  to  his  care ;  that  in  this  melancholy 
situation,  however,  Don  Martinez,  notwithstanding  the  vessel  and 
cargo  had  before  been  formally  seized,  attempted  to  procure  from  him 
the  sale  of  the  copper,  of  which  a  principal  part  of  the  cargo  of  the 
Princess  Royal  had  been  composed,  and  that  such  sale  would  actually 
have  taken  place  had  not  the  other  officers  of  that  vessel,  seeing 
Colnett's  insanity,  prevented  it. 

"Your  memorialist  further  begs  leave  to  represent  that  the 
American  ship  Columbia,  intending  to  proceed  to  China,  the  crew 
of  the  North-  West  America  were  ordered  by  Don  Martinez  on  board 
her,  principally,  as  your  memorialist  understands,  for  the  purpose  of 
assisting  in  her  navigation  to  China ;  the  greater  part  of  her  crew, 
as  well  as  of  her  provisions,  having  been  previously  put  on  board  the 
Washington  in  order  that  she  might  be  enabled  to  continue  on  the 
coast. 

"That  the  Columbia  having  reduced  her  provisions  considerably 
from  the  supplies  she  had  spared  to  her  consort,  was  furnished  from 
the  Argonaut  by  order  of  Don  Martinez  with  what  was  necessary  for 
her  voyage,  said  to  be  intended,  however,  for  the  supply  of  the  North- 
West  America ;  that  previous  to  the  departure  of  the  Columbia, 
ninety-six  skins  were  also  put  on  board  her  to  defray  the  wages  of  the 
officers  and  crew  of  the  North-West  America,  under  a  supposition 
that  their  late  employers  would  be  unable  to  liquidate  their  demands,, 
first  deducting,  however,  thirty  per  cent,  from  the  sales,  which  Don 
Martinez  had  agreed  should  be  paid  for  the  freight  on  the  said  skin& 
to  the  American  commanders. 

"That  the  Columbia  thus  supplied,  left  Nootka  Sound  accordingly,, 
and  proceeded  to  the  southward  ;  that  a  few  days  after  she  entered, 
Port  Cox,  where  she  was  joined  by  her  consort,  the  Washington,  from 
whom  she  received  a  considerable  number  of  skins,  conceived  to  be 
the  whole,  excepting  the  ninety-six  before  mentioned,  which  had 
been  collected  by  the  Spaniards  as  well  as  by  British  traders,  and 
with  which,  after  sparing  a  further  quantity  of  provisions  to  the 
Washington,  the  Columbia  proceeded  to  China,  where  she  arrived  on 
the  2nd  of  November,  and  landed  the  crew  of  the  North-West 
A  merica. 

"That  the  crew  of  the  North-West  America  saw  the  Argonaut 
proceed  as  a  prize  to  San  Bias  ;  that  her  officers  and  men,  who  were 
Europeans,  were  put  on  board  her  as  prisoners  ;  that  the  Princess 
Royal  was  shortly  to  follow  with  her  crew  in  confinement  in  the 
same  manner.  The  Washington,  on  joining  the  Columbia  in  Port 
Cox.  gave  information  that  the  Princess  Royal  had  also  sailed  for 
San  Bias. 


40  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

"  That  Don  Martinez  had  thought  tit,  however,  to  detain  the 
Chinese  and  had  compelled  them  to  enter  into  the  service  of  Spain, 
and  that  on  the  departure  of  the  Columbia  they  were,  employed  in 
the  mines,  which  had  then  been  opened  on  the  lands  which  your 
memorialist  had  purchased. 

"  Your  memorialist  begs  leave  to  annex  a  statement  of  the  actual 
as  well  as  the  probable  losses  which  he  and  his  associates  have 
sustained  from  the  unwarrantable  and  unjustifiable  proceedings  of 
Don  Martinez,  in  open  violation  of  the  treaty  of  peace  subsisting 
between  this  country  and  the  Court  of  Spain,  and  at  times  and  in 
situations  where,  according  to  the  common  laws  of  hospitality,  they 
might  have  expected  a  very  different  conduct. 

"Your  memorialist  therefore  most  humbly  begs  leave  to  submit 
the  case  of  himself  and  his  associates  to  the  consideration  of  the 
Government,  in  full  confidence  that  the  proper  and  necessary 
measures  will  be  taken  to  obtain  that  redress  which  he  and  his 
associates  have,  as  British  subjects,  a  right  to  expect. 

"  (Signed)     JOHN  MEARES. 

"LONDON,  30th  April,  1790." 

LOSSES  BY  CAPTAIN  MEARES. — The  statement  referred  to  in  the 
foregoing  memorial  places  the  actual  losses,  given  in  detail,  at 
$153,433,  and  the  probable  losses  at  $500,000. 

Prompt  action  was  taken  by  the  British  Government  relative  to 
the  high  handed  proceedings  of  the  Spaniards.  On  the  25th  of  May, 
1790,  the  following  message  from  his  Majesty  King  George  III., 
relative  to  the  capture  of  certain  vessels  by  the  Spaniards  in  Nootka 
Sound,  was  presented  to  both  Houses  of  Parliament : 

MESSAGE  FROM  KING  GEORGE  III. — "GEORGE  R.  His  Majesty 
has  received  information  that  two  vessels  belonging  to  his  Majesty's 
subjects,  and  navigated  under  the  British  flag,  and  two  others,  of 
which  the  description  is  not  hitherto  sufficiently  ascertained,  have 
been  captured  at  Nootka  Sound,  on  the  north-western  coast  of 
America,  by  an  officer  commanding  two  Spanish  ships  of  war ;  that 
the  cargoes  of  the  British  vessels  have  been  seized,  and  their  officers 
and  crews  have  been  sent  as  prisoners  to  a  Spanish  port. 

"  The  capture  of  one  of  these  vessels  had  before  been  notified  by 
the  ambassador  of  his  Catholic  Majesty,  by  order  of  his  court,  who 
at  the  same  time  desired  that  measures  might  be  taken  for  preventing 
his  Majesty's  subjects  from  frequenting  these  coasts,  which  were 
alleged  to  have  been  previously  occupied  and  frequented  by  the 
subjects  of  Spain.  Complaints  were  already  made  of  the  fisheries 
carried  on  by  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  the  seas  adjoining  to  the 
Spanish  continent,  as  being  contrary  to  the  rights  of  the  crown  of 
Spain.  In  consequence  of  this  communication,  a  demand  was 
immediately  made  by  his  Majesty's  order,  for  adequate  satisfac- 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  41 

tion,  and  for  the  restitution  of  the  vessel,  previous  to  any  other 
discussion. 

"By  answer  from  the  Court  of  Spain  it  appears  that  this  vessel 
and  her  crew  had  been  set  at  liberty  by  the  viceroy  of  Mexico;  but 
this  is  represented  to  have  been  done  by  him  on  the  supposition  that 
nothing  but  the  ignorance  of  the  rights  of  Spain  encouraged  the 
individuals  of  other  nations  to  come  to  these  coasts  for  the  purpose 
of  making  establishments,  or  carrying  on  trade,  and  in  conformity  to 
his  previous  instructions,  requiring  him  to  show  all  possible  regard  to 
the  British  nation.  No  satisfaction  is  made  or  offered,  and  a  direct 
claim  is  asserted  by  the  Court  of  Spain  to  the  exclusive  rights  of 
sovereignty,  navigation  and  commerce  in  the  territories,  coasts  and 
seas  in  that  part  of  the  world. 

"  His  Majesty  has  now  directed  his  minister  at  Madrid  to  make  a 
fresh  representation  on  this  subject,  and  to  claim  such  full  and 
adequate  satisfaction  as  the  nature  of  the  case  evidently  requires. 
And  under  these  circumstances  his  Majesty,  having  also  received 
information  that  considerable  armaments  are  carrying  on  in  the  ports 
of  Spain,  has  judged  it  indispensably  necessary  to  give  orders  for 
making  such  preparations  as  may  put  it  in  his  Majesty's  power  to 
act  with  vigor  and  effect  in  support  of  the  honor  of  his  crown  and 
the  interests  of  his  people.  And  his  Majesty  commends  it  to  his 
faithful  Commons,  on  whose  zeal  and  public  spirit  he  has  the  most 
perfect  reliance,  to  enable  him  to  take  such  measures  and  to  make 
such  augmentation  of  his  forces,  as  may  be  eventually  necessary  for 
this  purpose.  • 

"It  is  his  Majesty's  earnest  wish  that  the  justice  of  his  Majesty's 
demands  may  ensure  from  the  wisdom  and  equity  of  his  Catholic 
Majesty  the  satisfaction  which  is  so  unquestionably  due ;  and  that 
this  aflair  may  be  terminated  in  such  a  manner  as  may  prevent  any 
grounds  of  misunderstanding  in  future,  and  to  continue  and  confirm 
that  harmony  and  friendship  which  has  so  happily  subsisted  between 
the  two  courts,  and  which  his  Majesty  will  always  endeavor  to 
maintain  and  improve  by  all  such  means  as  are  consistent  with  the 
dignity  of  his  Majesty's  crown  and  the  essential  interests  of  his 
subjects.  G.  R," 

THE  HOUSE  OF  LORDS  APPROVED  TEIE  KING'S  MESSAGE. — On  the 
26th  May  an  "  humble  address  of  the  Right  Honorable  the  Lords 
Spiritual  and  Temporal,  in  parliament  assembled,"  was  passed, 
approving  of  his  Majesty's  message. 


42  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEE  III. 


EXTRAVAGANT  CLAIMS  OF  SPAIN. 

THE  SPANISH  REPLY. — The  Court  of  Spain  was  immediately  com- 
municated with.  This  brought  out  the  following  elaborate  document 
from  Count  Florida  Blanca,  the  Spanish  minister : 

MEMORIAL  OF  THE  COURT  OF  SPAIN,  delivered  June   13th,  1790,  to 
Mr.  Fitzherbert,  the  British  ambassador  at  Madrid  : 

"  By  every  treaty  upon  record  betwixt  Spain  and  the  other  nations 
of  Europe,  for  upwards  of  two  centuries,  an  exclusive  right  of 
property,  navigation  and  commerce  to  the  Spanish  West  Indies  has 
been  universally  secured  to  Spain,  England  having  always  stood 
forth  in  a  particular  manner  in  support  of  such  right. 

"  By  Article  8th  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  (a  treaty  in  which  all 
the  European  nations  may  be  said  to  have  taken  part),  Spain  and 
England  profess  to  establish  it  as  a  fundamental  principle  of  agree- 
ment, that  the  navigation  and  commerce  of  the  West  Indies,  under  the 
dominion  of  Spain,  shall  remain  in  the  precise  situation  in  which  they 
stood  in  the  reign  of  his  Catholic  Majesty  Charles  II.,  and  that  rule 
shall  be  invariably  adhered  to,  and  be  incapable  of  infringement. 

"  After  this  maxim,  the  two  powers  stipulated  that  Spain  should 
never  grant  liberty  or  permission  to  any  nation  to  trade  or  introduce 
their  merchandise  into  Spanish  American  dominions,  nor  to  sell,  cede, 
or  give  up  to  any  other  nation,  its  lands,  dominions  or  territories,  or 
any  part  thereof.  On  the  contrary,  and  in  order  that  its  territories 
should  be  preserved  whole  and  entire,  England  offers  to  aid  and 
assist  the  Spaniards  in  re-establishing  the  limits  of  their  American 
dominions,  and  placing  them  in  the  exact  situation  they  stood  in  the 
time  of  his  said  Catholic  Majesty  Charles  II.,  if  by  accident  it  shall 
be  discovered  that  they  have  undergone  any  alteration  to  the  prejudice 
of  Spain,  in  whatever  manner  or  pretext  such  alteration  may  have 
been  brought  about. 

"  The  vast  extent  of  the  Spanish  territories,  navigation  and 
dominion  on  the  Continent  of  America,  isles  and  seas  contiguous  to 
the  South  Sea,  are  clearly  laid  down  and  authenticated  by  a  variety 
of  documents,  laws  and  formal  acts  of  possession  in  the  reign  of  King 
Charles  II.  It  is  also  clearly  ascertained,  that  notwithstanding  the 
repeated  attempts  made  by  adventurers  and  pirates  on  the  Spanish 
coasts  of  the  South  Sea  and  adjacent  islands,  Spain  has  still  preserved 
her  possessions  entire,  and  opposed  with  success  those  usurpations  by 
constantly  sending  her  ships  and  vessels  to  take  possession  of  such 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  43 

settlements.  By  these  measures  and  reiterated  acts  of  possession, 
Spain  has  preserved  the  dominion,  which  she  has  extended  to  the 
borders  of  the  Russian  establishments  in  that  part  of  the  world. 

"The  viceroys  of  Peru  and  New  Spain  having  been  informed  that 
these  seas  had  been,  for  some  years  past,  more  frequented  than 
formerly;  that  smuggling  had  increased;  that  several  usurpations 
prejudicial  to  Spain  and  the  general  tranquillity  had  been  suffered  to 
be  made,  they  have  orders  that  the  western  coasts  of  Spanish  America, 
and  islands  and  seas  adjacent  should  be  more  frequently  navigated 
and  explored. 

"  They  were  also  informed  that  several  Russian  vessels  were  upon 
the  point  of  making  commercial  establishments  upon  that  coast.  At 
the  time  that  Spain  demonstrated  to  Russia  the  inconveniences 
attendant  upon  such  encroachments,  she  entered  upon  the  negotiation 
with  Russia  upon  the  supposition  that  the  Russian  navigators  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean  had  no  orders  to  make  establishments  within  the  limits 
of  Spanish  America,  of  which  the  Spaniards  were  the  first  possessors 
(limits  situated  within  Prince  William  Sound),  purposely  to  avoid  all 
dissentions,  and  in  order  to  maintain  the  harmony  and  amity  which 
Spain  wished  to  preserve. 

"The  Court  of  Russia  replied,  that  it  had  already  given  orders 
that  its  subjects  should  make  no  settlement  in  places  belonging  to 
other  powers  ;  and  that  if  those  orders  had  been  violated,  and  had 
any  been  made  in  Spanish  America,  they  desired  the  king  would  put 
a  stop  to  them  in  a  friendly  manner.  To  this  pacific  language  on 
the  part  of  Russia,  Spain  observed  that  she  could  not  be  answerable 
for  what  her  officers  might  do  at  that  distance,  whose  general  orders 
and  instructions  were  not  to  permit  any  settlements  to  be  made  by 
other  nations  an  the  Continent  of  Spanish  America. 

"  Though  trespasses  had  been  made  by  the  English  on  some  of  the 
islands  of  those  coasts,  which  had  given  rise  to  similar  complaints 
having  been  made  to  the  Court  of  London,  Spain  did  not  know 
that  the  English  had  endea\ored  to  make  any  settlements  on  the 
northern  part  of  the  Southern  Ocean,  till  the  commander  of  a  Spanish 
ship,  in  the  usual  tour  of  the  coasts  of  California,  found  two  American 
vessels  in  St.  Lawrence,  or  Nootka  Harbor,  where  he  was  going  for 
provisions  and  stores.  These  vessels  he  permitted  to  proceed  on  their 
voyage,  it  appearing  from  their  papers  that  they  were  driven  there  by 
distress,  and  only  came  in  to  refit. 

"He  also  found  there  the  Iphigenia  from  Macao,  under  Portuguese 
colors,  which  had  a  passport  from  the  governor  ;  and  though  he  came 
manifestly  with  a  view  to  trade  there,  yet  the  Spanish  admiral,  when 
he  saw  his  instructions,  gave  him  leave  to  depart  upon  his  signing  an 
engagement  to  pay  the  value  of  the  vessel,  should  the  Government  of 
Mexico  declare  it  a  lawful  prize. 

"  With  this  vessel  there  came  a  second,  which  the  admiral  detained, 
and  a  few  days  after,  a  third,  named  the  Argonaut,  from  the  above 
mentioned  place.  The  captain  of  this  latter  was  an  Englishman. 
He  came  not  only  to  trade,  but  brought  everything  with  him  proper 


44  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

to  form  a  settlement  there  and  to  fortify  it.  This,  notwithstanding 
the  remonstrances  of  the  Spanish  admiral,  he  persevered  in,  and  was 
detained,  together  with  his  vessel. 

"  After  him  came  a  fourth  English  vessel,  named  the  Princess 
Royal,  and  evidently  for  the  same  purposes.  She  likewise  was 
detained  and  sent  to  Port  St.  Bias,  where  the  pilot  of  the  Argonaut 
made  away  with  himself. 

"  The  viceroy,  on  being  informed  of  these  particulars,  gave  orders 
that  the  captain  and  vessels  should  be  released,  and  that  they  should 
have  leave  to  refit,  without  declaring  them  a  lawful  prize  ;  and  this 
he  did.  on  account  of  the  ignorance  of  the  proprietors,  and  the  friend- 
ship which  subsisted  between  the  Courts  of  London  and  Madrid. 

"  He  also  gave  them  leave  to  return  to  Macao  with  their  cargo, 
after  capitulating  with  them  in  the  same  manner  as  with  the  Portu- 
guese captain,  and  leaving  the  affair  to  be  finally  determined  by  the 
Count  de  Revillagigado,  his  successor,  who  also  gave  them  their  liberty. 

u  As  soon  as  the  Court  of  Madrid  had  received  an  account  of  the 
detention  of  the  first  English  vessel  at  Nootka  Sound,  and  before  that 
of  the  second  arrived,  it  ordered  its  ambassador  at  London  to  make  a 
report  thereof  to  the  English  minister,  which  he  did  on  the  10th  of 
February  last,  and  to  require  that  the  parties  who  had  planned  these 
expeditions  should  be  punished,  in  order  to  deter  others  from  making 
settlements  on  territories  occupied  and  frequented  by  the  Spaniards 
for  a  number  of  years. 

"  In  the  ambassador's  memorial,  mention  was  only  made  of  the 
Spanish  admiral  that  commanded  the  present  armament,  having 
visited  Nootka  Sound  in  1774,  though  that  harbor  had  been  frequently 
visited  both  before  and  since,  with  the  usual  forms  of  taking  possession. 
These  forms  were  repeated  more  particularly  in  the  years  1755  and 
1779,  all  along  the  coasts,  as  far  as  Prince  William's  Sound,  and  it 
was  these  acts  that  gave  occasion  to  the  memorial  made  by  the  Court 
of  Russia  as  has  been  already  noticed. 

"The  Spanish  ambassador 'at  London  did  not  represent  in  this 
memorial  at  that  time,  that  the  right  of  Spain  to  these  coasts  was 
conformable  to  ancient]  boundaries  which  had  been  guaranteed  by 
England  at  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  deem- 
ing it  to  be  unnecessary  ;  as  orders  had  been  given  and  vessels  had 
actually  been  seized  on  those  coasts  as  far  back  as  1692. 

';  The  answer  that  the  English  ministry  gave,  on  the  26th  of 
February,  was,  that  they  had  not  as  yet  been  informed  of  the  facts 
stated  by  the  ambassador,  and  that  the  act  of  violence,  mentioned  in 
his  memorial,  necessarily  suspended  any  discussion  of  the  claims 
therein,  till  an  adequate  atonement  had  been  made  for  a  proceeding 
so  injurious  to  Great  Britain. 

"  In  addition  to  this  haughty  language  of  the  British  minister,  he 
further  added,  that  the  ship  must  in  the  first  place  be  restored  ;  and 
that  with  respect  to  any  further  stipulations,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  wait  for  a  fuller  detail  of  all  the  circumstances  of  this  affair. 

"The  harsh  and   laconic   style  .in  which  this  answer   was   given, 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  45 

made  the  Court  of  Madrid  suspect  that  the  King  of  Great  Britain's 
ministers  were  forming  other  plans  ;  and  they  were  the  more  induced 
to  think  so,  as  there  were  reports  that  they  were  going  to  fit  out  two 
fleets,  one  for  the  Mediterranean  and  the  other  for  the  Baltic.  This 
of  course  obliged  Spain  to  increase  the  small  squadron  she  was 
getting  ready  to  exercise  her  marine. 

"The  Court  of  Spain  then  ordered  her  ambassador  at  London  to 
present  a  memorial  to  the  British  ministry,, setting  forth  that  though 
the  Crown  of  Spain  has  an  indubitable  right  to  the  continent,  islands, 
harbors  and  coasts  in  that  part  of  the  world,  founded  on  treaties  and 
immemorial  possession,  yet  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  had  released  the 
vessels  that  were  detained,  tlws  king  looked  upon  the  affair  as 
concluded,  without  entering  into  any  disputes  or  discussions  on 
the  undoubted  rights  of  Spain  ;  and  desiring  to  give  a  proof  of  his 
friendship  for  Great  Britain,  he  should  rest  satisfied  if  she  ordered 
that  her  subjects  in  future  respected  those  rights. 

"As  if  Spain,  in  this  answer,  had  laid  claim  to  the  empire  of 
that  ocean,  though  she  only  spoke  of  what  belonged  to  her  by 
treaties,  and  as  if  it  had  been  so  grievous  an  offence  to  terminate 
this  affair  by  restitution  of  the  only  vessel  which  was  then  known 
to  have  been  taken,  it  excited  such  clamor  and  agitation  in  the 
parliament  of  England  that  the  most  vigorous  preparations  for  war 
had  been  commenced  ;  and  those  powers  disinclined  to  peace,  charge 
Spain  with  designs  contrary  to  her  known  principles  of  honor  and 
probity  as  well  as  to  the  tranquillity  of  Europe,  which  the  Spanish 
monarch  had  in  view. 

"  While  England  was  employed  in  making  the  greatest  armaments 
and  preparations,  that  court  made  answer  to  the  Spanish  ambassador 
(upon  the  5th  of  May)  that  the  acts  of  violence  committed  against 
the  British  flag  'rendered  it  necessary  for  the  sovereign  to  charge 
his  minister  at  Madrid  to  renew  the  remonstrances  (being  the  answer 
of  England  already  mentioned),  and  to  require  that  satisfaction  which 
his  Majesty  thought  he  had  an  indisputable  right  to  demand.' 

"  To  this  was  added  a  declaration  not  to  enter  formally  into  the 
matter  until  a  satisfactory  answer  was  obtained ;  '  and  at  the  same 
time  the  memorial  of  Spain  should  not  include  in  it  the  question  of 
right,'  which  formed  a  most  essential  part  of  the  discussion. 

"The  British  administration  offer,  in  the  same  answer,  to  take 
the  most  effectual  and  pacific  measures  that  the  English  subjects 
shall  not  act  'against  the  just  and  acknowledged  rights  of  Spain,  but 
that  they  cannot  at  present  accede  to  the  pretensions  of  absolute 
sovereignty,  commerce  and  navigation  which  appeared  to  be  the 
principal  object  of  the  memorial  of  the  ambassador,  aud  that  the 
King  of  England  considers  it  as  a  duty  incumbent  upon  him  to 
protect  his  subjects  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  right  of  continuing  their 
fishery  in  the  Pacific  Ocean.' 

"If  this  pretension  is  found  to  trespass  upon  the  ancient  boundaries 
laid  down  in  the  reign  of  King  Charles  II.  and  guaranteed  by 


46  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

England  in  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  as  Spain  believes,  it  appears  that 
that  court  will  have  good  reason  for  disputing  and  opposing  this 
claim ;  an  1  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  equity  of  the  British 
administration  will  suspend  and  restrict  it  accordingly. 

"  In  consequence  of  the  foregoing  answer,  the  charge  d'affaires  from 
the  Court  of  London  at  Madrid  insisted,  in  a  memorial  of  the  IGth  of 
May,  on  restitution  of  the  vessel  detained  at  Nootka  and  the  property 
therein  contained;  of  an  indemnification  for  the  losses  sustained,  and 
on  a  reparation  proportioned  to  the  injury  done  to  the  English 
subjects  trading  under  the  British  flag,  and  that  they  have  an 
indisputable  right  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  free  and  uninterrupted 
navigation,  commerce  and  fishery;*  and  to  the  possession  of  such 
establishments  as  they  should  form  with  the  consent  of  the  natives 
of  the  country  not  previously  occupied  by  any  of  the  European 
nations. 

"An  explicit  and  prompt  answer  was  desired  upon  this  head,  in 
such  terms  as  might  tend  to  calm  the  anxieties  and  to  maintain  the 
friendship  subsisting  between  the  two  courts. 

"  The  charge  d'affaires,  having  observed  that  a  suspension  of  the 
Spanish  armaments  would  contribute  to  tranquillity  upon  the  terms 
to  be  communicated  by  the  British  administration,  an  answer  was 
made  by  the  Spanish  administration  that  the  king  was  sincerely 
inclined  to  disarm  upon  the  principles  of  reciprocity,  and  proportioned 
to  the  circumstances  of  the  two  courts,  adding  that  the  Court  of 
Spain  was  actuated  by  the  most  pacific  intentions  and  a  desire  to 
give  every  satisfaction  and  indemnification,  if  justice  was  not  on 
their  side,  provided  England  did  as  much  if  she  was  found  to  be  in 
the  wrong. 

"This  answer  must  convince  all  the  courts  of  Europe  that  the 
conduct  of  the  king  and  his  administrators  is  consonant  to  the 
invariable  principles  of  justice,  truth  and  peace. 

"  (Signed)    EL  CONDE  DE  FLORIDA  BLANCA." 

Mr.  FITZHERBERT  replied  as  follows  : 

"SiR, — In  compliance  with  your  Excellency's  desire,  I  have  now 
the  honor  to  communicate  to  you  in  writing  what  I  observed  to  you 
in  the  conversation  we  had  the  day  before  yesterday.  The  substance 
of  these  observations  are  briefly  these  : 

"  The  Court  of  London  is  animated  with  the  most  sincere  desire  of 
terminating  the  difference  that  at  present  subsists  between  it  and  the 
court  of  Madrid,  relative  to  the  port  of  Nootka  and  the  adjacent 
latitudes,  by  a  friendly  negotiation ;  but  it  is  evident,  upon  the 
clearest  principles  of  justice  and  reason,  that  an  equal  negotiation 
cannot  be  opened  till  matters  are  put  in  their  original  state  ;  and 
as  certain  acts  have  been  committed  in  the  latitudes  in  question 
belonging  to  the  royal  marine  of  Spain,  against  several  British 
vessels,  without  any  reprisals  having  been  made,  of  any  sort,  on  the 
part  of  Britain,  that  power  is  perfectly  in  the  right  to  insist,  as  a 
preliminary  condition,  upon  a  prompt  and  suitable  reparation  for 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  47 

those  acts  of  violence ;  and  in  consequence  of  this  principle,  the 
practice  of  nations  has  limited  such  right  of  reparation  to  three 
articles,  viz.,  the  restitution  of  the  vessels,  a  full  indemnification  for 
the  losses  sustained  by  the  parties  injured,  and,  finally,  satisfaction 
to  the  sovereign  for  the  insult  offered  to  his  flag  ;  so  that  it  is 
evident  that  the  actual  demands  of  my  court,  far  from  containing 
anything  to  prejudice  the  rights  or  dignity  of  his  Catholic  Majesty, 
amount  to  no  more,  in  fact,  than  what  is  constantly  done  by  Great 
Britain  herself,  as  well  as  every  other  maritime  power,  in  similar 
circumstances. 

"Finally,  as  to  the  nature  of  the  satisfaction  which  the  Court  of 
London  exacts  upon  this  occasion  and  to  which  your  Excellency 
appears  to  desire  some  explanation,  I  am  authorized,  sir,  to  assure 
you  that  if  his  Catholic  Majesty  consents  to  make  a  declaration  in 
his  name,  bearing  in  substance  that  he  had  determined  to  offer  to 
his  Britannic  Majesty  a  just  and  suitable  satisfaction  for  the  insult 
offered  to  his  flag,  such  offer  joined  to  a  restitution  of  the  vessels 
captured,  and  to  indemnify  the  proprietors,  under  the  conditions 
specified  in  the  official  letter  of  Mr.  Merry  on  the  16th  of  May,  will 
be  regarded  by  his  Britannic  Majesty  as  constituting  in  itself  the 
satisfaction  demanded  ;  and  his  said  Majesty  will  accept  of  it  as 
such  by  a  counter-declaration  on  his  part. 

"  I  have  to  add  that  as  it  appears  uncertain  if  the  vessels,  the 
North- West  America,  an  American  vessel,  and  the  Iphiyenia,  had 
truly  a  right  to  enjoy  the  protection  of  the  British  flag,  the  king  will 
with  pleasure  consent  that  an  examination  of  the  question,  as  well  as 
that  relative  to  the  just  amount  of  the  losses  sustained  by  his 
subjects,  may  be  left  to  the  determination  of  the  commissioners  to 
be  named  by  the  two  courts. 

"  Having  thus  recapitulated  to  your  Excellency  the  heads  of  what 
I  observed  to  you  in  conversation,  I  fatter  myself  you  will  weigh 
the  whole  in  your  mind  with  that  spirit  of  equity  and  moderation 
which  characterizes  you,  that  I  may  be  in  a  condition  of  sending  to 
my  court,  as  soon  as  possible,  a  satisfactory  answer  as  to  the  point 
contained  in  the  official  paper  sent  to  Mr.  Merry  on  the  4th  of  this 
month,  and  which  for  the  reasons  I  have  mentioned  cannot  be 
regarded  by  his  Britannic  Majesty  as  fulfilling  his  just  expectations. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  etc., 

"  ALLEYNE  FITZHERBERT." 

SPAIN  AND  FRANCE — FAMILY  COMPACT.- -At  this  critical  juncture  in 
the  history  of  Spain,  in  virtue  of  the  Family  Compact  which  existed, 
France  came  forward  to  support  her  neighboring  ally  against  Great 
Britain.  On  the  16th  of  June,  Count  de  Fernan  Nunez,  Secretary 
of  the  Foreign  Department  of  France,  sent  a  despatch  from  Paris  to 
the  Court  of  London,  notifying  the  Government  of  Britain  of  the 
support  of  his  Government  to  the  claim  of  Spain  to  all  the  west 


48  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

coast  of  North  America,  as  far  north  as  the  61st  degree  of  latitude, 
in  Prince  William  Sound.  A  decree  was  passed  on  the  1st  of 
August  in  the  National  Assembly  of  France  on  behalf  of  the  Family 
Compact,  to  renew  former  treaties,  offensive  and  defensive,  with 
Spain,  giving  orders  that  the  French  marine  should  be  increased  to 
forty-five  ships  of  the  line,  with  a  proportionate  number  of  frigates 
and  other  vessels. 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  WAR. — Spain  continued  to  make  preparations 
for  war,  but  depended  greatly  on  support  from  the  allied  powers. 
That'support,  however,  was  not  to  be  relied  on  to  the  extent  required. 
In  the  interim  the  ambassadors  were  engaged  in  discussing  the  ques- 
tion pro  and  con.  Couriers  were  constantly  employed  carrying 
despatches  between  Madrid  and  London.  Mr.  Fitzherbert  claimed 
for  Britain  the  right  to  trade  and  settle  on  any  part  of  the  coast  not 
actually  occupied.  The  Spanish  minister  proposed  to  admit  the  right 
north  of  latitude  51  degrees,  and  for  a  distance  of  twenty  leagues 
into  the  interior.  Subsequently  other  boundaries  were  suggested. 

BRITISH  PROPOSITIONS. — The  British  ambassador  consented  to  the 
line  of  40  north  latitude  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Missouri  River, 
beyond  which  line  the  territory  should  be  free  to  all  nations — the 
subjects  of  each  having  access  to  the  settlements  of  the  other.  The 
Spaniards  declined  that  proposition.  At  length,  on  the  28th  of 
October,  Mr.  Fitzherbert  submitted  a  new  proposition,  which  after 
discussion  and  modifications,  and  after  having  been  brought  before  a 
junta  of  high  Spanish  officials,  was  agreed  upon  by  both  plenipoten- 
tiaries. The  following  is  a  portion  of  the  document.  It  saved  Spain 
from  plunging  into  a  war  which  she  had  neither  credit  nor  money  to 
carry  on.  It  proceeds  : 

MR.  FITZHERBERT'S  PROPOSAL. — "Their  Britannic  and  Catholic 
Majesties,  being  desirous  of  terminating  by  a  speedy  and  solid  agree- 
ment, the  differences  which  have  lately  arisen  between  the  two 
crowns,  have  adjudged  that  the  best  way  of  obtaining  the  salutary 
object  would  be  that  of  an  amicable  arrangement,  which,  setting 
aside  all  retrospective  discussion  of  the  rights  and  pretensions  of  the 
two  parties,  their  true  interests,  as  well  as  to  the  mutual  desire  with 
which  their  said  majesties  are  animated,  of  establishing  with  each 
other,  in  everything  and  in  all  places  the  most  perfect  friendship, 
harmony  and  good  correspondence.  In  this  view  they  have  named 
(the  plenipotentiaries)  who  have  agreed  upon  the  following  articles  : 

"  ARTICLE  I. — It  is  agreed  that  the  buildings  and  tracts  of  land, 
situate  on  the  north-west  coast  of  the  Continent  of  North  America,  or 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  49 

.on  islands  adjacent  to  that  continent,  of  which  the  subjects  of  his 
Britannic  Majesty  were  dispossessed,  about  the  month  of  April, 
1789,  by  a  Spanish  officer,  shall  be  restored  to  the  said  British 
subjects. 

"  ARTICLE  II. — And  further  a  just  reparation  shall  be  made, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  case,  for  all  acts  of  violence  or  hostility, 
which  may  have  been  committed  subsequent  to  the  month  of  April, 
1789,  by  the  subjects  of  either  of  the  contracting  parties  against  the 
subjects  of  the  other  ;  and  that,  in  case  any  of  the  said  respective 
subjects  shall,  since  the  same  period,  have  been  forcibly  dispossessed 
of  their  lands,  buildings,  vessels,  merchandise,  and  other  property 
whatever,  on  the  said  continent,  or  on  the  seas  or  islands  adjacent, 
they  shall  be  re-established  in  the  possession  thereof,  or  a  just  com- 
pensation shall  be  made  to  them  for  the  losses  which  they  have 
sustained. 

"  ARTICLE  III. — And,  in  order  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of  friend- 
ship, and  to  preserve  in  future  a  perfect  harmony,  etc.,  it  is  agreed 
that  their  respective  subjects  shall  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  coasts  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  settlements  there  ;  the 
whole  subject,  nevertheless,  to  the  restrictions  specified  in  the  three 
following  articles  : 

"ARTICLE  IV. — His  Britannic  Majesty  engages  to  take  the  most 
effectual  measures  to  prevent  the  navigation  and  fishery  of  his 
subjects  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  or  in  the  South  Seas,  from  being  made 
a  pretext  for  illicit  trade  with  the  Spanish  settlements ;  and  with  this 
view,  it  is  moreover  expressly  stipulated  that  British  subjects  shall 
not  navigate,  or  carry  on  their  fishery  in  the  said  seas,  within  the 
space  of  ten  sea  leagues  from  any  part  of  the  coasts  already  occupied 
by  Spain. 

"  ARTICLE  V. — It  is  agreed,  that  as  well  in  the  places  which  are  to 
be  restored  to  the  British  subjects,  by  virtue  of  the  first  article,  as  in 
all  other  parts  of  the  north-western  coasts  of  North  America,  or  of 
the  islands  adjacent,  situated  to  the  north  of  the  parts  of  the  said 
coast  already  occupied  by  Spain,  wherever  the  subjects  of  either  of 
the  two  powers  shall  have  made  settlements  since  the  month  of  April, 
1789,  or  shall  hereafter  make  any,  the  subjects  of  the  other  shall 
have  free  access,  and  shall  carry  on  their  trade  without  any  disturb- 
ance or  molestation. 

"  ARTICLE  VI. — No  settlements  to  be  made  by  subjects  of  either 
power  on  coasts  and  islands  of  South  America,  south  of  parts  already 
occupied  by  Spain ;  yet,  subjects  of  both  powers  may  land  for 
purposes  of  fishery  and  of  erecting  temporary  buildings  serving  for 
those  purposes  only. 

"ARTICLE  VII. — In  all  cases  of  complaint  or  infraction  of  the 
articles  of  the  present  convention,  the  officers  of  either  party,  without 


50  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

permitting  themselves,  previously  to  commit  any  violence  or  act  of 
force,  shall  be  bound  to  make  an  exact  report  of  the  affair,  and  of  its 
circumstances  to  their  respective  courts,  who  will  terminate  such 
differences  in  an  amicable  manner. 

"  ARTICLE  VIII. — Convention  to  be  ratified  in  six  weeks  or  sooner 
from  date  of  signature.     (Signed,  etc.)     FITZHERBEBT  and  BLANCA." 


CHAPTER  IV. 


NEW  DISCOVERIES  AND  EXTENSIVE  SURVEYS. 

CAPTAIN  GEORGE  VANCOUVER  APPOINTED. — To  carry  into  effect 
the  decision  relative  to  the  right  of  sovereignty  and  other  affairs  at 
Nootka,  which  had  just  been  agreed  on  and  accepted  by  Great 
Britain  and  Spain,  the  British  Admiralty 
selected  and  appointed  Lieutenant  GEORGE 
VANCOUVER  to  take  charge  of  an  expedition 
to  the  north-west  of  America.  His  commis- 
sion was  made  out  in  December,  1790,  requir- 
ing him  to  take  command  of  two  vessels  then 
fitting  out  for  the  purposes  mentioned,  and 
that  he  should  proceed  to  the  north-west 
coast  of  America,  there  to  be  placed  in  pos- 
session, by  the  Spaniards  residing  at  Nootka, 
of  the  districts  and  parcels  of  land  occupied 

CAPTA.X  GEORGE  VANCOUVER.       b?  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  1789;  and  also 
to  make  a  close  examination  of  the  coast  from 

latitude  30°  north  to  60°  north,  more  especially  with  respect  to  any 
water  communication  between  the  west  coast  and  the  country  upon 
the  opposite  side  of  the  Continent. 

QUALIFICATIONS  AND  CHARACTER  OF  VANCOUVER. — That  Captain 
Vancouver  was  eminently  fitted  for  the  discharge  of  the  important 
duties  included  in  his  commission  and  instructions,  is  evident  from 
the  fact  that  having  joined  the  British  navy  in  1771,  when  only 
thirteen  years  of  age,  he  was,  by  his  good  conduct  and  efficiency, 
promoted  step  by  step,  from  "  able-bodied  seaman  "  to  midshipman, 
under  the  celebrated  navigator,  Captain  Cook,  on  the  ships  Resolution 
and  Discovery  ;  and  that  he  passed  as  lieutenant  in  October,  1780, 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  51 

under  certificates  from  Captains  Cook,  Gore,  Clerke  and  King ;  and 
that  on  account  of  his  excellent  character,  the  ordinary  delay  of 
promotion  was  dispensed  with  by  order  of  the  Admiralty.  He 
afterwards  served  as  lieutenant  under  Lord  Rodney  in  the  West 
Indies,  and  thus  gained  a  thoroughly  practical  training  and  nautical 
experience  of  about  twenty  years.  The  able  and  diplomatic  manner 
in  which  he  dealt  with  the  Spaniards  at  Nootka  is  proof  of  his  ability 
and  tact  in  that  respect,  whilst  the  extension  and  accurate  surveys 
which  were  subsequently  made,  showed  that  he  and  his  officers  were 
admirably  fitted  for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  assigned  to  them  in 
that  department  by  the  British  Admiralty. 

THE  OFFICERS  OF  THE  "DISCOVERY"  AND  "CHATHAM." — The  ships 
of  which  he  was  given  command  were  the  Discovery  and  Chatham; 
the  former  a  small,  ship-rigged  vessel  of  340  tons,  armed  with  ten 
4-pounders  and  ten  swivels;  the  latter,  a  brig  of  135  tons,  armed 
with  four  3-pounders  and  six  swivels.  The  swivels  were  small 
cannons  fitted  in  a  socket  in  the  bulwarks,  permitting  them  to  be 
turned  in  any  direction.  The  crew  of  the  Discovery  numbered,  in  all^ 
one  hundred  ;  the  crew  of  the  Chatham,  forty-five,  the  following  being 
the  officers  :  H.M.S.  Discovery — Captain,  George  Vancouver ;  First 
Lieutenant,  Zacheriah  Mudge ;  Second  Lieutenant,  Peter  Puget ; 
Third  Lieutenant,  Joseph  Baker ;  Master,  Joseph  Whidby ;  three 
master's  mates,  surgeon,  boatswain,  carpenter,  gunner,  and  six 
midshipmen.  H.M.S.  Chatham — Commander,  Lieutenant  W.  R. 
Broughton;  Lieutenant,  Jas.  Hanson;  Master,  Jas.  Johnstone;  two 
master's  mates,  surgeon,  boatswain,  gunner  and  four  midshipmen. 

THE  SHIPS  LEAVE  THE  THAMES,  1791. — The  ships  left  the  Thames 
on  January  26th,  1791,  and  Falmouth  on  April  1st,  taking  the  route 
via  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Captain  Vancouver  arrived  on  the  western 
ooast  of  Australia,  September  27th,  and  remained  on  that  coast  until 
October  23rd,  discovering  and  naming  certain  portions  which  had 
been  passed  by  Captain  Cook.  He  proceeded  via  Van  Diemen's  Land 
to  New  Zealand,  where  a  stay  was  made,  for  refitting,  from  the  2nd 
to  the  22nd  November,  in  Dusky  Bay.  The  vessels  then  sailed  for 
the  Society  Islands,  where  they  remained  until  January,  1792. 

AT  THE  SANDWICH  ISLANDS. — The  course  was  next  shaped  for  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  where  they  made  a  stay  until  the  16th  of  March. 
Sail  was  then  set  for  the  north-west  coast,  which  was  sighted  on  18th 
of  April,  in  latitude  39°  N.  Coasting  northwards,  at  daylight  April 
29th,  a  sail  was  sighted,  the  first  they  had  seen  for  eight  months. 


52  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

The  stranger  hoisted  United  States  colors,  and  fired  a  gun  to  the 
leeward.  On  being  spoken,  she  proved  to  be  the  ship  Columbia,  of 
Boston,  commanded  by  'Robert  Gray,  who  reported  having  been  nine 
days  off  the  mouth  of  a  large  river,  but  which  he  could  not  enter 
owing  to  strong  currents. 

CAPE  FLATTERY,  29TH  APRIL,  1792. — Captain  Vancouver  reached 
Cape  Flattery  by  noon  on  the  29th.  Proceeding  up  the  Straits  of 
Fuca,  the  Indian  village  of  Classett  was  noticed,  and  about  two  miles 
beyond  the  village  a  small  bay  with  a  little  island  lying  off  to  its 
eastern  side,  was  passed.  This  is  now  known  as  Neah  Bay.  The 
high  shores  of  the  northern  side  of  the  straits  could  only  be  indis- 
tinctly seen  through  the  rain,  and  the  weather  became  more 
unpleasant  as  the  day  advanced,  the  wind  veering  to  the  S.  E.  This 
obliged  the  vessel  to  keep  close  along  the  southern  shore,  and  at  seven 
in  the  evening  they  came  to  anchor,  one  mile  from  the  beach  and  in 
twenty-three  fathoms  of  water,  about  eight  miles  within  the  entrance 
of  the  straits. 

A  CENTURY  AFTERWARDS. — A  competent  navigator  and  a  modern 
writer  on  Vancouver's  centenary,  says :  "  The  following  morning, 
April  30th,  with  a  gentle  breeze  from  the  N.  W.,  clear  and  pleasant 
weather,  the  vessels  steered  to  the  eastward  at  a  distance  of  about 
two  miles  from  the  southern  shore.  At  noon  the  latitude  was 
observed  as  48°  19' north,  and  during  the  afternoon  the  delightful 
serenity  of  the  weather  and  the  smoothness  of  the  sea  enabled  lunar 
observations  to  be  taken  for  ascertaining  the  longitude.  From  these 
observations  the  position  of  Cape  Flattery  was  determined  as  48° 
23^'  N.,  and  125°  45'  W.  This  position  speaks  well  for  the  exactness 
of  Vancouver's  observations,  as  the  latitude  here  is  correct  and  the 
longitude,  the  great  bugbear  in  navigation  in  those  days,  only  23 '  too 
far  east.  In  many  other  instances  in  his  work  the  latitude  and  longi- 
tude of  notable  places  are  given,  and  in  nearly  all  the  latitude  is 
correct  and  the  longitude  not  deviating  more  than  15'  from  what  is 
assigned  to  those  positions  now.  Vancouver  had  three  chronometers 
with  him,  made  by  the  best  makers  of  the  day,  one  of  them  having  been 
previously  round  the  world  with  Captain  Cook.  However,  not  much 
confidence  could  be  placed  in  their  performance,  and  they  were 
principally  used  to  carry  on  one  set  of  lunar  observations  to  another. 
The  smallest  rate  was  a  gaining  one  of  21"  per  day  and  the  largest 
40",  very  large  rates  when  compared  with  good  chronometers  of  the 
present  day. 

MOUNT  BAKER. — "  As  the  day  advanced,  the  wind  and  weather, 
which  was  delightfully  pleasant,  accelerated  their  progress,  and  at 
five  in  the  afternoon,  a  very  low  sandy  spit  was  observed  projecting 
from  the  cliffy  shores  into  the  sea,  and  at  the  same  time  away  to  the 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  53 

north-eastward  a  high  conspicuous  mountain  was  seen  towering  above 
the  clouds  and  covered  with  snow.  As  the  third  lieutenant  was  the 
first  to  see  it,  the  mountain  was  named  in  honor  of  him  Mount  Baker. 
[This  officer  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant  in  1794. — ED.]  Just 
inside  the  sandy  spit  the  vessels  anchored  for  the  night,  and  as  the 
low  point  bore  a  great  resemblance  to  Dungeness  in  the  British 
channel,  it  was  named  New  Dungeness. 

EXPLORATIONS  COMMENCED. — "Tuesday,  May  1,  1792,  was  ushered 
in  by  weather  delightfully  fine,  and  the  boats  of  the  Discovery  were 
got  out  for  explorations  along  the  coast.  They  returned  at  night 
with  the  knowledge  that  a  short  distance  farther  to  the  eastward  was 
a  large  bay  with  an  island  protecting  its  entrance,  and  to  this  bay 
the  ship  sailed  next  morning,  Vancouver  naming  it  Port  Discovery 
after  his  ship,  and  the  island  Protection  Island. 

THOROUGH  WORK  WAS  PERFORMED. — "  The  ships  securely  moored 
in  Port  Discovery,  the  boats  were  again  got  ready  for  explorations, 
and  on  the  morning  of  May  7  the  Discovery's  yawl,  with  Captain 
Vancouver,  the  launch,  Lieutenant  Puget,  and  the  Chatham's  cutter, 
Mr.  Johnstone,  left  for  the  eastward.  The  boats  separated  and  all  of 
them  rejoined  the  next  day,  having  made  the  circuit  of  a  very  safe 
and  more  capacious  harbor  than  Port  Discovery,  and  rendered  more 
pleasant  by  the  high  lands  being  at  a  greater  distance  from  the  water 
side.  To  this  port  was  given  the  name  of  Port  Townsend  in  honor 
of  the  noble  marquis  of  that  name. 

INLETS,  BAYS,  AND  BASINS. — "  By  the  end  of  the  month  an  exam- 
ination and  preliminary  survey  were  completed  of  those  hitherto 
unknown  inlets,  bays,  and  basins,  whose  shore  lines  are  now  known 
to  measure  1,800  miles.  Captain  Vancouver  named  that  wonderfully 
situated  branch  of  the  Pacific  Ocean — Puget  Sound — after  Mr.  Puget, 
one  of  his  lieutenants,  whose  assistance  in  tracing  its  sinuous  shores, 
he  says,  he  found  of  very  great  value. 

Two  SPANISH  VESSELS. — "On  completing  the  survey  of  Puget  Sound, 
Vancouver  continued  his  voyage  northward,  surveying  Burrard  Inlet, 
Howe  Sound,  etc.  In  an  inlet  near  Gray's  Point,  June  22,  he  found  two 
Spanish  vessels  of  forty-five  tons  burden,  with  twenty -four  men  each, 
under  command  of  Senor  Don  D.  Galiano,  and  Senor  Don  C.  Valdez, 
who  were  engaged  in  surveying  those  channels,  having  come  from 
Nootka  by  the  north  end  of  the  island.  They  received  Vancouver  with 
great  courtesy,  and  informed  him  that  at  Nootka  there  were  three 
Spanish  frigates  and  a  brig  awaiting  his  arrival.  They  gave  him  copies 
of  their  charts,  which  facilitated  his  voyage  northward.  He  rounded 
Cape  Scott,  the  north-west  point  of  Vancouver  Island,  on  the  25th, 
and  reached  Nootka  on  the  27th  of  August.  At  the  entrance  of  the 
harbor  he  was  met  by  a  Spanish  officer  and  a  pilot,  who  brought  the 
Discovery  to  anchor  near  where  '  His  Catholic  Majesty's'  brig  Active 
was  riding,  bearing  the  broad  pennant  of  Sen.  Don  Juan  Francisco 
de  la  y  Bodega  Quadra,  commandant  of  the  marine  establishment  of 
San  Bias  and  California." 


54  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

QUADRA  AND  VANCOUVER, — As  Senor  Quadra  lived  on  shore, 
Lieutenant  Puget  was  sent  to  acquaint  him  of  Vancouver's  arrival, 
and  to  inquire  if  a  royal  salute  to  the  flag  would  be  accepted.  A 
polite  reply  in  the  affirmative  was  returned,  and  a  salute  of  thirteen 
guns  exchanged.  Vancouver  afterwards  went  ashore  and  was 
received  with  great  cordiality.  Many  visits  were  exchanged  between 
Quadra  and  Vancouver.  The  situation  was  fully  discussed.  On  the 
one  hand  Vancouver  had  instructions,  in  accordance  with  the  first 
article  of  the  late  convention,  to  receive  from  Quadra  the  buildings 
and  tracts  of  land  of  which  British  subjects  had  been  dispossessed  in 
1789.  On  the  other  hand,  Quadra  desired  delay  as  he  had  not 
received  special  instructions  from  his  Government  on  the  subject. 
His  predecessor,  and  those  who  favored  his  views,  were  anxious  to 
shut  out  British  traders. 

DEATH  OF  QUADRA. — The  representatives  of  Britain  and  Spain 
continued  to  act  in  amity.  It  was  agreed  between  them  that  the 
whole  matter  relative  to  the  transfer  should  remain  in  abeyance  until 
further  instructions  were  received,  and  that  in  the  meantime  the 
large  island  which  Vancouver  had  just  circumnavigated,  should  for 
the  time  being  be  named  "  Quadra  and  Vancouver  Island."  Quadra 
and  his  fleet  left  Nootka  on  the  22nd  of  September,  1792,  for  his 
Mexican  headquarters  at  San  Bias  ;  and  Vancouver,  as  soon  as  he  had 
completed  arrangements  for  storing  supplies,  etc.,  left  Nootka  on  the 
12th  of  October  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  he  wintered.  Senor 
Quadra  died  the  following  March,  greatly  regretted  by  Captain  Van- 
couver. He  was  succeeded  by  General  Jose  Manuel  de  Alva,  who 
was  appointed  commander  of  the  San  Bias  establishment  and  as 
commissioner  at  Nootka. 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  55 


CHAPTEK  V. 


IMPORTANT   STATE   PAPERS. 

FRESH  EVIDENCE. — Before  Vancouver  left  Nootka,  Mr.  Duffin 
(first  officer  on  the  Felice),  one  of  the  men  who  had  been  employed 
by  Captain  Meares,  opportunely  arrived  and  gave  evidence  as  follows. 
His  evidence  probably  formed  part  of  the  despatches  sent  by  Van- 
couver to  England  via  China  by  an  envoy.  It  furnished  direct  facts 
from  an  eye-witness  : 

To  Captain  George  Vancouver,  Commander  of  his  Britannic  Majesty's 
ships,  "Discovery"  and  "  Chatham"  now  lying  in  Friendly  Cove, 
King  George's  Sound. 

"  SIR, — Whereas  different  reports  have  been  propagated  relative  to 
what  right  Mr.  Meares  hnd  for  taking  possession  of  the  land  i  i 
Friendly  Cove,  Nootka  Sound,  I  shall  state  with  that  candor  and 
veracity  which  always  influence  me  on  such  occasions,  an  impartial 
account  of  Mr.  Meares's  proceedings  in  the  above  mentioned  port. 

"Toward  the  close  of  1787,  a  commercial  expedition  was  under- 
taken by  Henry  Cox,  Esq.,  &  Co.,  merchants,  then  residing  at  Macao, 
who  accordingly  fitted  and  equipped  two  ships  for  the  fur  trade  on 
the  north-west  coast  of  America.  The  management  of  this  expedi- 
tion was  reposed  in  John  Meares,  Esq.,  as  commander-in-chief  and 
sole  conductor  of  the  voyage,  and  who  was  likewise  one  of  the 
merchant  proprietors.  These  vessels  were  equipped  under  Portu- 
guese colors,  with  a  view  to  mitigate  those  heavy  port  charges 
imposed  on  ships  of  every  nation  (the  Portuguese  only  excepted), 
which  circumstance  is  well  known  to  all  commercial  gentlemen 
trading  in  that  part  of  the  world.  Under  those  circumstances  the 
said  vessels  fitted  out  in  the  name  and  under  the  firm  of  John 
Cavallo,  Esq.,  a  Portuguese  merchant  then  residing  at  -Macao.  He 
had  no  property  in  them  whatsoever — both  their  cargoes  being 
entirely  British  property  and  the  vessel  navigated  solely  by  the 
subjects  of  his  Britannic  Majesty. 

"  On  our  arrival  the  first  time  in  the  above  port  in  Nootka  Sound, 
which  was  in  May,  1788,  the  two  chiefs,  Maquilla  and  Calicum,  were 
absent.  On  their  return,  which  was  either  on  the  17th  or  the  18th 
of  the  same  month,  Mr.  Meares,  accompanied  by  myself  and  Mr. 
Robert  Funter,  second  officer,  went  on  shore  and  traded  with  the 
said  chiefs  for  the  whole  of  the  land  that  forms  Friendly  Cove,  in 


56  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

his  Britannic  Majesty's  name.  He  accordingly  bought  it  of  them 
for  eight  or  ten  sheets  of  copper  and  several  other  trifling  articles. 
The  natives  were  fully  satisfied  with  their  agreement.  The  chief  and 
likewise  the  people  did  homage  to  Mr.  Meares  as  their  sovereign, 
using  those  formalities  that  are  peculiar  to  themselves  and  which  Mr. 
Meares  has  made  mention  of  in  his  publication.  The  British  flag 
was  displayed  on  shore  at  the  same  time,  and  those  formalities  were 
used  as  is  customary  on  such  occasions,  and  not  the  Portuguese  flag 
as  has  been  insinuated  by  several  people  who  were  not  present 
at  the  time ;  consequently  they  advanced  those  assertions  without 
foundation. 

"On  taking  possession  of  the  cove  in  his  Britannic  Majesty's  name 
as  before  mentioned,  Mr.  Meares  caused  a  house  to  be  erected  on  the 
very  spot  where  the  Chatham's  tent  is  at  present,  it  being  the  most 
convenient  part  of  the  cove  for  our  intentions.  The  chiefs  with 
their  subjects  offered  to  quit  the  cove  entirely  and  reside  at  a  place 
called  Tashees,  and  leave  the  place  to  ourselves  as  entire  masters  and 
owners  of  the  whole  cove  and  lands  adjacent ;  consequently  we  were 
not  confined  merely  to  that  spot  but  had  full  liberty  to  erect  a  house 
in  any  other  part  of  the  cove,  but  chose  the  spot  we  did  for  the  above 
mentioned  reason. 

"  Mr.  Meares  appointed  Mr.  Robert  Funter  to  reside  in  the  house, 
which  consisted  of  three  chambers  for  the  officers,  and  the  proper 
apartments  for  the  men,  and  a  mess-room.  The  said  apartments 
were  elevated  about  five  feet  from  the  ground,  and  under  these  were 
apartments  for  keeping  our  stores  in.  Exclusive  of  these  were  sheds 
and  outhouses  for  the  convenience  of  the  artificers  to  work  in.  On 
Mr.  Meares's  departure  the  house  was  left  in  good  condition,  and  he 
enjoined  Maquilla  to  take  care  of  it  until  his  return  or  any  of  his 
associates  on  the  coast  again. 

"  It  has  been  reported  that  on  the  arrival  of  Don  Jose  Estevan 
Martinez  in  the  cove,  there  was  not  the  least  vestige  of  the  house 
remaining.  However  that  might  be,  I  cannot  say,  as  I  was  not  at 
Nootka  at  the  time. 

"On  our  return  in  July,  1789,  in  the  said  cove,  we  found  it 
occupied  by  the  subjects  of  his  Catholic  Majesty.  There  was  like- 
wise some  people  belonging  to  the  ship  Columbia,  commanded  by  Mr. 
John  Kendrick,  under  the  flag  and  protection  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  who  had  their  tents  and  outhouses  erected  on  the  same 
spot  on  which  our  house  formerly  stood,  but  I  saw  no  remains  of  our 
former  architecture. 

"  We  found  lying  in  the  cove,  at  anchor,  his  Catholic  Majesty's 
ships  Princessa  and  Don  Carlos  ;  likewise  the  ship  Columbia  and 
sloop  Washington ;  and  the  second  day  after  our  arrival  in  the 
Argonaut,  we  were  captured  by  Don  Jose  Estevan  Martinez.  The 
Americans  were  suffered  to  carry  on  their  commerce  unmolested. 

"  This  is  the  best  information  I  can  give  you  that  might  tend  to 
elucidate  the  propriety  of  Mr.  Meares  taking  possession  of  the  village 
of  Nootka  and  Friendly  Cove. 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  57 

"Should  anyone  doubt  the  truth  of  this  protest,  I  am  always 
ready  to  attest  it  before  any  court  of  jurisdiction,  or  any  peison  duly 
authorized  to  examine  me. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  esteem,  etc., 

"  (Signed)     ROBT.  DUFFIN. 

"That  the  above  was  the  identical  truth,  was  sworn  before  me 
this  21st  September,  1792. 

"  (Signed)     GEO.  VANCOUVER." 

COMMISSIONERS  APPOINTED. — On  behalf  of  Spain,  Don  Manuel  de  la 
Heras  was  appointed  a  commissioner  to  determine  the  amount  of 
losses  to  be  paid  to  British  subjects  as  compensation  for  their  losses 
caused  by  the  seizure  of  their  vessels,  etc.,  in  1789.  Mr.  Rudolph 
Woodford  was  appointed  on  behalf  of  Great  Britain.  They  met  at 
Whitehall,  London,  and  agreed  that  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  ten 
thousand  dollars  in  coin,  should  be  paid  by  Spain  in  full  of  all  claims. 
The  agreement  was  signed  on  the  12th  of  February,  1793.  Bancroft, 
in  his  history  of  the  North-West  Coast,  states  it  was  ratified  the 
same  day  by  the  British  monarch.  He  adds  sneeringly  :  "  Presum- 
ably the  money  was  paid  without  delay,  greatly  to  the  satisfaction  of 
Meares  and  his  associates,  who  if  they  got  half  the  amount  named, 
though  their  original  claim  had  been  six  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  had  every  reason  to  be  content." 

BANCROFT'S  BIAS. — The  historian  just  quoted,  when  dealing  with 
British  affairs,  displays  a  marked  bias  and  anti-British  feeling.  A 
similar  spirit  appears  to  have  existed  amongst  the  fur  traders  from 
Boston,  011  their  arrival  at  the  west  coast.  They  seemed  ready  to 
enter  into  league  with  Martinez,  who  accommodatingly  gave  them 
supplies  from  the  British  ships  he  had  seized  ;  and  from  their  sea-otter 
skins  he  deducted  30  per  cent.,  for  freight  after  appropriating  a  dozen 
of  the  best  skins  for  his  own  use.  The  folio  wing  paragraphs  from  the 
same  author  are  rather  suggestive  : 

BOSTON  TRADERS  VERY  FRIENDLY  WITH  THE  SPANIARDS. — "The 
Columbia  arrived  the  day  after  Meares's  departure,  and  the  Americans, 
eager  to  get  rid  of  their  rivals  in  trade,  gladly  aided  in  the  prepara- 
tions for  departure.  The  house  on  shore,  if  we  may  credit  Gray  and 
Ingraham,  was  demolished,  part  of  the  material  being  put  on  board 
the  English  vessels,  and  the  rest  given  to  Captain  Kendrick.  Cap- 
tain Kendrick's  vessel  wintered  at  Nootka.  .  .  .  Just  outside 
the  entrance  of  the  sound,  Martinez  met  Gray,  of  the  Washington, 
and  in  a  friendly  interview  made  many  inquiries  about  the  vessels 
within,  and  announced  his  intention  of  capturing  the  English  craft. 
.  .  .  Martinez  went  up  the  sound  to  spend  a  few  days  with 


58  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

Kendrick.  .  .  .  The  Englishmen  suspected  that  Kendrick  had 
instigated  the  seizure ;  and  I  have  little  doubt  that  he  did  so,  at  least 
to  the  extent  of  putting  the  Iphigenias  peculiar  papers  in  their  worst 
light,  and  encouraging  the  Spaniards'  worst  suspicions.  . 

THEY  WERE  NOT  INTERFERED  WITH. — "  It  has  already  been 
noticed  that  throughout  this  whole  affair  relations  between  the 
Spaniards  and  Americans  were  so  friendly  as  to  suggest  a  secret 
understanding.  There  was  not  the  slightest  interference  with  the 
Columbia,  or  Washington,  though  Martinez  could  hardly  have  been 
unaware  of  the  orders  issued  in  Mexico  for  the  seizure  of  those  very 
vessels,  if  they  should  enter  a  Spanish  port.  It  was  afterwards 
stated  that  the  Columbia  was  detained  until  some  doubtful  expressions 
in  her  papers  had  been  explained,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  such 
was  the  case.  Martinez's  interview  with  Gray  and  visit  to  Kendrick 
just  before  the  seizure  of  the  Iphigenia,  as  I  have  said,  caused  Cap- 
tain Douglas  to  suspect,  very  naturally,  that  the  Americans  had 
instigated  the  act,  though  Captain  Kendrick  denied  it.  Subsequently 
a  close  intimacy  continued  ;  interviews  were  frequent ;  American 
officers  were  companions  and  witnesses  for  the  Spaniards  in  all  their 
transactions  with  the  English  ;  Mr.  Coolidge  took  charge  of  one  of 
the  prizes  for  a  trading  cruise,  presumably  on  joint  account.  Captain 
Gray  willingly  carried  the  captive  men  and  stores  to  China  ;  the 
Americans  became  later  most  friendly  witnesses  in  defence  of  Mar- 
tinez's acts.  It  by  no  means  follows,  however,  that  the  Americans 
took  any  dishonorable  advantage  of  the  quarrel.  Their  own  interests 
and  duty  to  their  owners  required  them  to  get  rid  of  rival  traders 
and  to  secure  Spanish  protection  for  their  own  enterprise  :  legally, 
the  Spaniards  were  prima  facie  in  the  right,  and  their  opponents  in 
the  wrong  ;  and  I  know  of  no  reason  why,  under  the  circumstances, 
sympathy  should  have  been  contrary  to  interest.  Individually,  and  in 
the  disposition  of  property,  there  may  have  been  instances  of  dishonor- 
able action  on  the  part  of  both  Americans  and  Spanish  ;  Vmt  the 
testimony  is  not  sufficient  for  a  conclusion  on  that  point." 

ELISA  SUCCEEDED  MARTINEZ. — Nootka,  after  the  recall  of  Martinez 
in  1791,  was  placed  in  charge  of  Commander  Elisa,  who  had  a  fort 
built  and  the  old  fortification  restored.  When  Captain  Kendrick 
returned  from  his  trip  to  China  he  landed  in  the  north  at  Barrel 
Sound,  Queen  Charlotte  Island.  There  he  had  a  skirmish  with  the 
natives.  He  repulsed  them,  killing  a  large  number  and  carrying 
away  their  furs.  Coming  south  to  Nootka  he  appears  to  have 
fallen  into  disrepute  with  the  new  commander,  as  after  reaching  his 
old  anchorage  some  distance  along  the  cove  beyond  the  fort,  he  was 
ordered  not  to  trade  or  anchor  in  Spanish  ports.  He  obeyed  and 
left  next  morning,  by  the  northern  passage,  with  his  cargo  of  eight 
hundred  sea-otter  skins,  preferring  not  to  risk  a  second  exposure  to 
the  guns  of  the  fort. 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  59 

KEXDRICK  PURCHASES  LANDS. — He  proceeded  to  Clayoquot  where 
he  procured  an  additional  number  of  skins,  and  is  said  to  have 
purchased  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  Nootka  region  from  the  chiefs 
Maquinna  and  Wicananish.  Bancroft,  in  a  foot-note  of  considerable 
length,  gives  a  list  of  the  deeds.  The  areas  of  land  embraced  in  them 
were  estimated  to  include  about  240  square  miles  (153,600  acres). 
Those  purchases  or  grants  from  the  natives  were  never  realized  or 
acted  upon,  although  as  late  as  1840  the  subject  was  revived  and 
brought  before  Congress,  but  without  any  satisfactory  results  to  the 
heirs  of  Kendrick. 

SURVEYS  OF  1793. — After  spending  the  winter  at  the  Sandwich 
Islands  as  he  proposed,  Vancouver  returned  to  Nootka  in  the  spring 
of  1793.  He  only  remained  there  three  days.  The  Chatham  was 
then  commanded  by  Peter  Puget,  who  was  promoted  from  the  third 
lieutenancy  of  the  Discovery  to  nil  the  vacancy  caused  by  Captain 
Broughton's  absence  as  special  envoy  to  London.  No  despatches 
having  arrived  for  Vancouver,  he  proceeded  on  a  northern  cruise  to 
continue  his  survey  along  the  mainland,  from  where  it  had  been 
discontinued  the  former  season.  The  Spanish  occupants  at  Nootka 
had  passed  the  winter  in  erecting  a  small  fort  on  Hog  Island,  on 
which  they  mounted  eleven  guns — 9-pounders.  An  earthquake  is 
recorded  to  have  taken  place  there  on  the  17th  of  February.  In 
May,  Fidelgo  was  succeeded  in  his  command  by  Alferez  Ramon 
Saavedra,  who  arrived  from  Sari  Bias  in  the  San  Carlos,  whicli 
replaced  the  Princessa. 

THE  FUR  TRADE  ALONG  THE  COAST  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
as  brisk  in  1793  as  in  1792.  Several  British  vessels,  however,  were 
seen  by  Vancouver  during  his  summer's  survey.  The  islands  and  the 
wonderful  inlets  and  canals  of  the  mainland  were  carefully  surveyed. 
A  complete  chart  of  these  islands  and  of  the  east  side  of  Queen 
Charlotte  Island  was  made,  and  as  the  Discovery  and  Chatham 
returned  south  by  the  west  or  outside  of  the  island,  Captain 
Vancouver  had  an  opportunity  of  taking  correct  bearings.  He 
arrived  at  Nootka  on  the  5th  of  October,  and  was  received  by  Senor 
Saavedra,  in  charge  of  the  port,  with  usual  ceremonies  and  salutes. 
As  no  despatches  had  arrived  from  England  for  him,  after  three  days 
he  sailed  for  Monterey,  en  route  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  to  winter 
there. 


60 


HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEE  VI. 


MACKENZIE'S  OVERLAND  JOURNEY. 

ANOTHER  GREAT  EXPLORER. — Whilst  Vancouver  was  engaged  in 
making  his  survey  northward  from  Queen  Charlotte  Sound,  another 
explorer  was  making  his  way  from  the  east  overland  to  the  Pacific 
coast.  This  was  ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE,  a 
native  of  Stornoway,  Scotland,  who  emigrated 
to  Canada  about  the  year  1779.  On  his 
arrival  in  Montreal,  he  entered  the  service  of 
Mr.  Gregory,  an  extensive  fur  dealer.  In 
this  employment  he  continued  for  five  years, 
and  afterwards  for  a  short  time  carried  on 
business  on  his  own  account.  When  the 
North-West  Fur  Company  was  formed,  he 
became  one  of  the  partners.  After  much 
experience  and  successful  dealing  with  the 
natives,  we  find  him,  in  1789,  at  Fort  Chipe- 
weyan,  on  Lake  Athabasca  or  Lake  of  the 
Hills,  near  the  north-eastern  limit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  This 
fort  was  then  the  principal  western  trading-post  belonging  to  the 
Company. 

His  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE. — Mackenzie  is  described  as  being 
possessed  of  a  vigorous  mind  and  a  fine  physique.  In  form,  he  was  of 
medium  stature  and  of  square,  muscular  build,  very  strong,  lithe  and 
active,  and  capable  of  enduring  great  fatigue.  His  features  were 
regular,  eyes  bright  and  searching,  nose  and  mouth  Grecian, 
and  his  forehead  high,  intellectual  and  crowned  with  dark,  wavy 
hair.  Firmness  and  weight  marked  the  man  in  every  attitude  and 
expression.  Lips,  chin  and  facial  illumination,  all  implied  the 
possession  of  a  will  which  would  never  rest  satisfied  until  its  purposes 
were  accomplished.  In  thought,  he  was  as  refined  and  noble  as 
in  outward  expression  he  was  dignified.  His  energy  was  mild ; 
not  of  the  impatient,  fretful  order,  and  therefore  well  suited  to  his 
self-imposed  task.  His  large,  gentle  eyes  imparted  to  his  decisive 


ALEXANM)ER   MACKENZIE. 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  61 

features  a  suavity  of  expression  of  the  utmost  importance  to  him  in 
dealing  not  only  with  his  own  men,  who  were  sometimes  inclined  to 
be  mutinous,  but  also  with  affrighted  savages,  who  in  him  beheld  the 
first  white  man  they  had  ever  seen. 

His  QUALIFICATIONS  AND  ENTERPRISE. — Such  a  noble  character, 
doubtless,  was  Alexander  Mackenzie.  His  was  a  mind  bent  on 
enterprise,  and  filled  with  zeal  for  the  benefit  of  his  partners  in  trade 
and  with  a  desire  for  the  well-being  of  mankind  in  general.  He 
knew  the  extent  of  the  great  Saskatchewan  River  and  its  outlets 
through  Lake  Winnipeg  and  the  Nelson  River  in  Hudson  Bay ;  and 
he  determined  to  know  all  that  could  be  known  of  the  great  river  of 
the  north,  which,  flowing  out  of  Great  Slave  Lake,  connected  with 
Athabasca  Lake  and  Peace  River.  He  resolved  to  explore  its  length 
as  far  as  practicable.  It  might  be  that  his  efforts  would  be  the 
means  of  solving  the  problem  of  a  northern  water  communication 
between  the  Pa9ific  and  Atlantic  Oceans.  He  weighed  the  matter 
thoroughly,  and  with  the  consent  of  his  partners  formed  an  expedition 
in  1789,  consisting  of  four  Canadians,  two  of  whom  were  accom- 
panied by  their  wives,  and  a  German.  An  Indian  and  his  two  wives, 
in  a  small  canoe,  formed  part  of  the  expedition,  also  two  young 
Indians  in  another  small  canoe.  Those  men  were  engaged  to  serve 
in  the  twofold  capacity  of  interpreters  and  hunters. 

EXPLORED  MACKENZIE  RIVER. — Leaving  Fort  Chipeweyan,  on  the 
south  side  of  Athabasca,  or  the  Lake  of  the  Hills,  he  crossed  that 
lake  with  his  party,  and  joining  Peace  River  at  Salt  Springs,  followed 
the  river  to  Great  Slave  Lake.  Crossing  that  lake  diagonally  to  the 
west  corner,  he  debouched  into  the  great  river  of  the  north  and 
followed  it  to  its  outlets  in  the  Arctic,  or  Frozen  Ocean.  The  party 
were  obliged  to  put  up  with  considerable  hardships  during  the  trip, 
which,  including  the  return,  occupied  one  hundred  and  two  days,  but 
without  any  loss  of  life  or  any  serious  difficulty  with  the  natives. 
After  the  expedition  had  gone  but  a  short  distance  north,  they  met 
tribes,  though  not  numerous,  who  had  never  seen  a  white  man 
before.  The  river  which  Mackenzie  had  explored  he  named  after 
himself,  "  Mackenzie  River,"  a  name  which  it  still  bears.  From 
what  he  had  seen  in  his  journey  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  it  was  evident, 
he  concluded,  that  no  navigable  water  channel  could  exist  between 
the  Pacific  and  the  Atlantic  Oceans  farther  north  than  the  outlet  of 
Mackenzie  River  in  the  Arctic  Ocean ;  he  therefore  resolved  to  find 
a  route  westward  across  the  Continent  direct  to  the  Pacific,  by  way 


62  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

of  Peace  River   as   far   as  the  watershed  or   height   of   land    which 
formed  the  head  waters  of  that  river. 

HE  CONSULTED  HIS  PARTNERS. — In  Montreal,  shortly  afterwards, 
he  consulted  his  partners,  and  pointed  out  to  them  the  advantages 
which  must  follow  by  the  extension  of  their  trade  westward  to  the 
Pacific.  He  proposed  to  visit  London  to  ascertain  from  the  reports 
of  the  latest  discoveries  by  Captains  Cook,  Meares,  and  others,  the 
corresponding  latitude  and  longitude  with  Fort  Chipeweyan  and 
Peace  River  ;  and  by  studying  astronomy  and  navigation,  he  could 
so  shape  his  course  and  record  his  journeys  and  location  that 
permanent  advantages  would  be  secured.  They  approved  of  his 
proposition  and  he  proceeded  to  London,  where  he  was  well  received 
and  afforded  every  opportunity  to  obtain  the  required  information 
and  instruction.  Being  an  apt  student,  he  was  not  very  long  in 
acquiring  the  knowledge  of  which  he  was  in  quest. 

THE  WESTERN  JOURNEY. — In  1792,  we  find  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
returned  from  England,  after  having  crossed  and  recrossed  the 
Atlantic  and  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Continent  of  America,  again 
at  Fort  Chipeweyan  and  prepared  to  embark  on  his  proposed  western 
journey  over  the  unknown  portion  of  the  North  American  continent. 
On  the  10th  of  October  he  left  Fort  Chipeweyan  and  proceeded  again 
northerly  across  Lake  Athabasca  to  Peace  River.  This  time  he 
turned  westward  up  stream,  with  the  intention,  before  the  frost  set 
in,  of  reaching  the  most  westerly  of  the  trading  establishments  which 
then  occupied  Peace  River — they  extended  along  the  river  a  distance 
of  about  two  hundred  miles.  He  intended  to  winter  there  and  prepare 
for  a  start  as  soon  as  spring  would  open.  This  he  accomplished, 
arriving  at  New  Establishment  Post  on  the  20th  of  October. 

THE  WINTERING  PLACE. — By  the  1st  of  November  lie  reached  the 
proposed  wintering  place  at  Fort  Fork,  a  short  distance  west  of 
where  the  east  branch  of  Peace  River  joins  the  main  river.  To  this 
point  Mackenzie  had  sent  forward  two  men  early  in  the  season, 
to  clear  the  ground  and  prepare  square  timber  for  buildings  and 
palisades  for  an  enclosure.  Tents  were  used  by  Mr.  Mackenzie  and 
party  until  the  buildings  were  completed,  which  they  were  not  until 
the  23rd  of  December.  The  cold  by  that  time  was  intense.  Food 
and  firewood,  however,  were  in  abundance,  so  time  wore  the  winter 
away  not  unpleasantly.  No  sooner  was  the  river  clear  of  ice  in  the 
spring,  than  Mr.  Mackenzie  records  he  "  closed  the  year's  business  by 
writing  up  his  accounts,  and  despatching  six  fur-laden  canoes  to  Fort 
Chipeweyan." 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  6^ 

ALEXANDER  MACKAY,  OF  RKAY.  —  All  things  being  in  readiness,  on 
the  9th  of  May,  1793,  Mackenzie  and  his  party  embarked  in  one 
canoe,  which  is  described  as  being  "  twenty-five  feet  long,  with  four 
and  three-quarters  feet  beam  and  twenty-six  inches  hold."  This 
small  vessel  was  all  that  was  provided  to  carry  the  whole  party, 
numbering  ten  persons,  "  with  all  their  equipage,  arms,  ammunition, 
provisions,  goods  for  presents,  and  baggage,  in  weight  not  less  than 
three  thousand  pounds,  yet  was  so  slight  that  two  men  could  easily 
carry  her  three  or  four  miles  without  stopping  to  rest."  The  principal 
man  of  the  expedition,  next  to  the  leader,  was  Alexander  Mackay,  a 
native  of  Reay,  Sutherland  shire,  Scotland.  This  young  man  was  an 
expert  boatman  and  hunter,  and  shared  the  responsibility  throughout 
with  Mackenzie.  He  divided  keeping  night  watches  with  his  leader, 
when  amongst  natives  who  could  not  safely  be  relied  on. 

DIFFICULT  NAVIGATION. — During  the  first  nine  or  ten  days,  navi- 
gation, although  against  a  strong  current,  was  comparatively  easy. 
On  the  north-western  bank  of  the  stream  vast  herds  of  elk  were 
feeding  and  great  numbers  of  buffalo,  with  their  young  frisking 
around  them.  Mackenzie,  describing  the  country,  says  :  "  This 
magnificent  theatre  of  nature  had  all  the  decorations  which  the  trees 
and  animals  of  the  country  can  afford,  and  displayed  an  exuberant 
verdure.  Trees  which  bear  blossom  were  advancing  fast  to  that 
delightful  appearance,  and  the  velvet  rind  of  their  branches  reflecting 
the  oblique  rays  of  a  rising  or  setting  sun,  added  a  splendid  gaiety  to 
the  scene."  As  the  current  increased  it  was  necessary  to  use 
propelling  poles  more  than  paddles.  Rapids  and  cascades  now 
became  frequent,  and  sharp  rocks  threatened  destruction  to  the 
canoe.  On  both  sides  of  the  river  the  banks  were  more  steep.  A 
band  of  Rocky  Mountain  Indian  hunters  were  met  at  this  point. 
They  seemed  distressed  at  parting  with  their  two  friends,  who  went 
as  interpreters  along  with  the  expedition.  Mackenzie  assured  them 
that  in  three  moons  they  would  return  to  them.  As  the  party 
proceeded,  the  route  became  more  difficult.  Their  boat  in  some 
places  had  to  be  pulled  up  by  the  men  laying  hold  of  the  overhanging 
branches,  in  other  places  by  pulling  on  ropes  fastened  to  trees ; 
sometimes  trees  had  to  be  cut  down  to  afford  a  footing  along  the 
bank  of  the  river. 

HEAD  WATERS  OF  PEACE  RIVER. — Not  far  from  the  head  waters 
of  Peace  River,  the  expedition  encountered  a  band  of  Rocky 
Mountain  Indians  who  fled  at  the  approach  of  the  white  men.  They 


64  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

returned,  however,  when  assured  by  the  interpreters  that  the  party 
were  friendly.  With  great  persuasion  and  not  a  few  presents,  one 
of  the  natives  consented  to  accompany  the  party  as  guide,  as  he 
appeared  to  have  some  knowledge  of  the  rivers  and  country  beyond 
the  height  of  land  which  they  were  now  approaching.  Proceeding 
slowly  and  toilsomely,  they  came  to  a  lake  two  miles  in  length,  at 
the  upper  end  of  which  they  landed  and  unloaded.  This  was  the 
12th  of  June,  1793.  Mackenzie,  in  his  journal,  says  :  "  This  I  con- 
sider as  the  highest  and  southernmost  source  of  the  TJnjigah  or  Peace 
River,  latitude  54°  24'  north,  longitude  121°  west  of  Greenwich, 
which,  after  a  winding  course  through  a  vast  extent  of  country, 
receiving  many  large  rivers  in  its  progress  and  passing  through  Slave 
Lake,  empties  itself  into  the  Frozen  Ocean  in  70°  north  latitude  and 
about  135°  west  longitude."  This  point  might  with  propriety  be 
called  the  source  of  the  Mackenzie  River,  as  he  had  explored  both 
rivers  from  their  sources  to  outlets. 

LAKES  AND  PORTAGES. — A  portage  over  a  low  ridge  of  land,  along 
a  beaten  path  for  eight  hundred  and  seventeen  paces,  had  now  to 
be  made.  Another  small  lake  was  then  reached,  on  which  they 
embarked.  Thence  they  entered  Bad  River,  from  which,  on  account 
of  its  shallowness  and  rocky  bottom,  they  were  obliged  to  land, 
unload  and  encamp.  They  now  had  begun  to  navigate  down  stream, 
which  is  far  more  dangerous  in  canoe  navigation  than  ascending 
unknown  streams  on  which  are  frequent  rapids  and  cascades.  A 
road  had  to  be  cut  to  portage  around  the  rapid.  On  launching 
again,  the  swift  current  caught  the  canoe  and  drove  it  broadside 
upon  a  bar.  All  hands  jumped  into  the  icy  cold  stream,  which 
so  lightened  the  canoe  as  to  enable  it  to  clear  the  bar.  The 
men,  clinging  to  the  craft,  jumped  in  as  they  best  could.  Before 
they  were  fairly  seated  they  were  driven  against  a  rock,  which 
shattered  the  stern  and  threw  the  boat  to  the  opposite  shore, 
breaking  the  bow  in  pieces.  The  foreman  caught  some  overhanging 
branches,  but  was  jerked  out  of  the  boat  in  an  instant  and  swung 
on  shore.  In  another  moment  they  were  in  the  midst  of  a  cascade, 
the  rocks  breaking  through  the  bottom  of  the  canoe,  which  now  filled 
with  water. 

NARROW  ESCAPE. — Fortunately  an  eddy  caught  the  boat,  bringing 
it  into  shallow  water.  There  it  struck  a  rock,  on  which  it  remained 
until  unloaded  of  such  effects  as  were  not  swept  away  by  the  water. 
The  powder  in  the  boat  fortunately  escaped  damage.  Mackenzie 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  05 

stood  in  the  water,  holding  the  boat  in  position  until  the  stuff  was 
unloaded.  It  was  then  dragged  ashore  in  a  very  bad  state  and  was. 
repaired  next  day.  Another  road  had  to  be  cut  to  the  foot  of  the 
rapids  and  across  a  swampy  piece  of  ground,  making  a  portage  as 
direct  as  possible  to  the  great  river  which  was  not  very  far  distant. 
The  expedition  in  this  part  of  the  journey  only  progressed  at  the  rate 
of  two  or  three  miles  a  day.  The  Indian  guide,  seeing  those  difficulties, 
became  disheartened  and  deserted. 

SUPPOSED  HE  HAD  REACHED  COLUMBIA  RIVER. — The  banks  of  the 
great  river  were  at  last  reached.  The  explorer  imagined  he  had 
reached  the  great  Columbia  River,  which  he  had  heard  of  when  in 
England.  The  mistake  was  natural  for  him  to  make.  The  course 
and  outlet  of  the  river  was  not  explored  until  1806-8,  when  Simon 
Fraser  followed  its  course  to  the  outlet,  and  gave  it  the  name  Fraser 
River.  Mackenzie  found  the  great  river  was  taking  him  too  far  south 
for  the  latitude  in  which  he  wished  to  reach  the  Pacific  Ocean.  On? 
the  21st  of  June,  Mackenzie  records  in  his  journal  that  being  "  very 
sensible  of  the  difficulty  of  procuring  provisions  in  this  country,  he 
thought  it  prudent  to  guard  against  any  possibility  of  distress  of  that 
kind  on  our  return.  He,  therefore,  ordered  ninety  pounds  weight  of 
pemmican  to  be  buried  in  a  hole  sufficiently  deep  to  admit  of  a  fire 
being  built  over  it  without  doing  any  injury  to  the  hidden  treasure, 
and  which  would  at  the  same  time  secure  it  from  the  natives  of  the 
country,  or  the  wild  animals  of  the  woods." 

MET  ARMED  NATIVES. — Mackenzie's  progress  was  now  rapid,  but 
he  found  the  river  was  carrying  him  farther  south  and  easterly  than 
his  desired  latitude.  He,  therefore,  after  consultation  with  a  tribe  of 
natives,  concluded  to  return  to  a  point  near  West  Road  River  which 
he  had  formerly  passed  during  a  fog.  There  he  saw  a  canoe  in  which 
was  a  single  occupant.  This  individual  gave  a  shrill  whistle,  which 
immediately  brought  a  crowd  of  other  natives  to  the  bank  of  the 
river.  They  came  armed,  and  with  warlike  antics  and  whoops 
indicated  that  Mackenzie's  boat  should  not  land.  He  ordered  his 
boatman  to  turn  and  take  a  position  on  the  bank  opposite,  the  cur- 
rent in  the  meantime  carrying  them  past  where  the  Indians  had 
assembled.  Mackenzie  then  landed  alone,  and  walked  up  the  bank 
displaying  trinkets  and  beckoning  for  them  to  come  over  to  him. 
He  had  directed  one  of  his  hunters  to  land  and  slip  into  the  woods, 
carrying  two  guns  with  him,  that  in  the  event  of  an  attack  he  would 
be  ready  to  assist. 
5 


66  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

PACIFIED  THEM  WITH  TRINKETS.— Two  natives  in  a  canoe  after 
some  time  ventured  to  cross  the  stream,  but  stopped  within'  about  a 
hundred  yards  of  Mackenzie.  He,  with  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the 
Indian  character,  beckoned  them  to  approach,  holding  out  towards 
them  beads  and  looking-glasses.  Slowly  and  timidly  the  wild  men 
&hoved  their  canoe,  stern  foremost,  toward  the  bank  until  within  full 
view  of  the  alluring  trinkets.  Finally  they  gathered  courage  to  land 
and  seat  themselves  beside  the  white  man,  at  whom  they  gazed  in 
awe  and  admiration,  astonished  at  the  looking-glass.  Mackenzie's 
hunter  now  joined  him,  which  startled  the  two  savages  somewhat ; 
nevertheless  their  fears  were  soon  quieted,  and  to  the  great  joy  of  the 
explorer  he  found  that  his  hunter  could  converse  with  them.  After 
a  short  stay,  during  which  the  hunter  did  all  in  his  power  to  win 
their  confidence,  and  declining  an  invitation  to  visit  the  white  man's 
canoe,  the  savages  signified  their  desire  to  depart,  which  was  cordially 
permitted  by  their  entertainer.  Shooting  their  boat  across  the  stream, 
the  two  daring  natives  were  received  by  their  brethren  as  from  the 
jaws  of  death.  After  consulting  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  the  natives 
invited  the  white  men  to  visit  them,  an  invitation  which  was  promptly 
accepted.  Presents  were  distributed,  and  then  Mackenzie  set  about 
gathering  information  of  the  route  westwards. 

ALARMING  INTELLIGENCE. — He  was  informed  by  the  natives  that 
"the  river  was  long,  the  current  rapid  and  dangerous,  in  places  indeed 
impassable,  rushing  furiously  between  rugged  rocks  ;  it  ran  towards 
the  midday  sun,  and  at  its  mouth  they  had  been  told  were  white  men 
building  houses.  The  people  below  were  a  malignant  race,  and  lived 
in  subterranean  dens.  They  had  iron  arms,  and  to  go  among  them 
was  certain  death."  Thus  they  attempted  to  dissuade  the  strangers 
from  their  purpose.  But  although  this  alarming  intelligence  was  by 
no  means  to  be  disregarded  wholly  as  a  fiction,  yet  it  did  not  materially 
change  the  explorer's  plans.  He  requested  an  intelligent  native  to 
draw  a  plan  of  the  river,  which  was  done  with  readiness  and  skill. 
Next  morning  the  explorer  embarked  accompanied  by  two  of  the 
natives,  and  dropped  down  the  river  fourteen  miles.  On  their  way 
they  landed  near  a  house,  the  roof  of  which  only  appeared  above  the 
ground.  The  inhabitants  fled  at  the  approach  of  strangers,  but 
returned  as  soon  as  they  understood  that  no  harm  was  likely  to 
follow. 

FIERCE  AND  FEROCIOUS-LOOKING  SAVAGES. — Some  distance  farther, 
natives  were  encountered  more  ferocious  and  fierce-looking  than  any 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  67 

they  had  yet  seen.  Yet  Mackenzie,  with  his  great  tact,  soon  made 
them  friendly.  He  found  among  them  four  strangers  belonging  to 
the  nation  adjoining.  One  of  those  was  an  elderly  man  of  prepossessing 
appearance.  To  him  Mackenzie,  as  was  his  custom,  applied  for 
information  respecting  the  country.  The  old  man,  taking  a  piece  of 
bark,  drew  a  map  with  the  river  running  to  the  east  and  south,  with 
many  tributaries,  dangerous  rapids  and  impracticable  carrying-places. 
Their  iron,  brass  and  copper  came  from  their  neighbors  to  the  west. 
In  that  direction  the  distance  was  not  far  from  the  sea.  If  they 
kept  to  the  west  between  the  mountains,  the  route  is  not  difficult, 
there  being  a  well-beaten  path,  which  they  had  often  travelled,  with 
assisting  links  of  lakes  and  rivers.  There  were  three  points  of 
departure — one  where  they  then  were  (that  is,  near  the  Quesnell 
River),  one  at  West  Road  River,  and  one  beyond  that  point. 

MUTINY  THREATENED. —  Here  was  a  quandary.  Which  course 
should  he  pursue  1  Provisions  and  ammunition  were  becoming  low, 
and  his  men  were  on  the  point  of  mutiny.  He  made  up  his  mind 
that  although  he  should  not  be  able  to  return  to  Athabasca  that 
season;  though  he  should  never  return;  though  he  should  be  deserted 
by  his  men  and  left  to  find  the  western  sea  alone — yet  he  would 
find  it.  This  was  his  resolve,  and  so  he  notified  his  men.  It  was 
evident  that  the  short,  beaten  path  to  the  west  was  preferable  and 
less  hazardous  than  the  perilous  river  of  unknown  limits  to  the  south. 
He  had  passed  the  point  where  the  proper  overland  route  lay,  and  to 
that  point  they  must  now  return.  One  of  the  natives  at  the  last 
encampment  promised  to  be  their  guide  ;  hence,  the  next  day,  the 
23rd  of  June,  the  course  of  the  party  was  changed  to  retrace  their 
route  to  West  Road  River. 

A  NEW  CANOE  REQUIRED. — The  canoe  had  now  become  so  dilapi- 
dated that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  construct  a  new  one.  This 
operation  occupied  from  the  28th  of  June  until  the  1st  of  July.  It 
was  now  necessary  to  put  the  men  on  short  allowance,  which,  with 
the  desertion  of  the  guide,  did  not  assist  to  restore  their  good  humor. 
The  explorer's  position  was,  therefore,  an  exceedingly  critical  one, 
yet  he  did  not  recede  in  the  least  from  his  determination  to  proceed 
westward.  The  men  had  shown  a  disposition  to  take  the  lead  and 
return  to  Athabasca ;  they  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  load  the 
canoe  preparatory  to  embarking,  without  instructions  from  their  chief 
officer.  It  was  high  time  for  Mr.  Mackenzie  to  place  his  deter- 
mination squarely  before  them.  He  learned  with  some  satisfaction 


68  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

that  they  had  not  definitely  fixed  on  any  plan  of  return.  He  argued 
the  case  calmly  with  them.  He  reminded  them  of  the  promises  of 
fidelity  they  had  made.  A  modern  writer  paraphrasing  this  portion 
of  Mackenzie's  journal  says  :  "Pointing  to  the  western  path,  he  tells 
them  he  is  going  to  try  it.  His  calm  persistence  wins.  Though 
beset  with  dangers  and  hardships,  habit  is  too  much  for  them,  their 
master  is  before  them.  Once  more  they  promise  their  support.  The 
manifestation  of  moral  power  is  apparent.  Place  things  the  right 
way  before  men  and  they  will  die  for  their  leader ;  if  he  bungles, 
peradventure  they  will  make  him  die.  Herein  consists  the  difference 
between  born  commanders,  and  men  only  fit  to  govern  cattle." 

HEAVY  BAGGAGE  LEFT  BEHIND. — As  it  was  concluded  they  must 
now  proceed  on  foot,  it  was  necessary  to  leave  behind  everything 
they  could  not  carry ;  therefore,  it  was  considered  prudent  to  hide 
some  provisions  and  such  articles  as  were  considered  valuable.  To 
do  this  with  safety  Mackay  and  the  Indians  were  sent  on  ahead. 
In  the  first  hiding-place,  Mackenzie  explains  here,  were  placed  a  bag 
of  pemmican,  two  bags  of  wild  rice,  and  a  gallon  keg  of  gunpowder. 
In  the  second  hiding-place  were  put  two  bags  of  Indian  corn,  or 
maize,  and  a  bale  of  different  articles  of  merchandise  rolled  in  oil- 
cloth and  dressed  leather.  Their  friends  were  overtaken  at  "  the 
entrance  of  a  small  rivulet,  where  Mackay  had  agreed  to  wait.  At 
this  place  it  was  decided  to  leave  the  canoe.  A  stage  was  prepared, 
qn  which  the  canoe  was  placed  bottom  upwards  and  shaded  by  a 
covering  of  small  trees  and  branches  to  keep  her  from  the  sun.  An 
oblong  hollow  square  was  then  built,  ten  feet  by  five,  of  green  logs, 
in  which  was  placed  every  article  necessary  to  be  left,  and  the  whole 
covered  with  large  pieces  of  timber." 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  69 


CHAPTEK  VII. 


MACKENZIE'S  JOURNEY  WEST.— CONTINUED. 

THEY  TRAVEL  ON  FOOT. — At  noon  all  was  in  readiness  for  a  start 
to  enter  the  woods.  The  stuff  to  be  carried  consisted  of  four  bags 
and  a  half  of  pemmican,  weighing  from  eighty-five  to  ninety  pounds 
each ;  the  case  of  astronomical  instruments  ;  a  parcel  of  goods  for 
presents,  weight  ninety  pounds,  and  a  parcel  of  ammunition  of  the 
same  weight.  The  Indians  had  about  forty-five  pounds  weight  of 
pemmican  to  carry  besides  their  gun,  etc.,  with  which  they  were  very 
much  dissatisfied ;  and,  Mackenzie  adds,  "  if  they  dared,  they  would 
have  instantly  left  us.  They  had  hitherto  been  very  much  indulged, 
but  the  moment  was  now  arrived  when  indulgence  was  no  longer 
practicable."  His  own  load,  and  that  of  Mr.  Mackay,  consisted  of 
twenty-two  pounds  of  pemmican,  some  rice,  a  little  sugar,  etc., 
amounting  in  the  whole  to  about  seventy  pounds  each,  besides  their 
arms  and  ammunition.  Mackenzie  says  he  had  the  tube  of  his 
telescope  swung  across  his  shoulder,  which  was  a  troublesome 
addition  to  his  burden.  It  was  determined  that  only  two  meals  a 
day  should  be  eaten.  This  was  "  regulated  without  difficulty,  as  the 
provisions  did  not  require  the  ceremony  of  cooking." 

TROUBLE  WITH  THE  GUIDES. — The  journey  commenced  by  a  steep 
ascent  of  about  a  mile,  along  a  well-beaten  path.  The  country  was 
rugged  and  ridgy  and  full  of  wood.  Twelve  miles'  march  under  rain, 
which  began  early  in  the  afternoon,  brought  them  to  an  Indian 
camp,  where  was  their  guide  who  had  preceded  them.  The  natives 
were  friendly  and  proposed  to  send  two  of  their  people  on  in  advance 
to  notify  and  prepare  the  natives  for  Mackenzie's  arrival.  This  was 
agreed  to,  and  some  presents  were  given  to  the  couriers  that  they 
might  be  favorably  prepossessed.  Here  were  found  two  half-pence, 
one  of  King  George  III.  and  the  other  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts, 
coined  in  1787.  They  had  been  hung  as  ornaments  in  children's  ears, 
and  were  exchanged  for  other  coins  by  Mackenzie.  During  this 
portion  of  the  journey  Mackenzie  had  much  trouble  with  his  guides, 
who  were  exceedingly  vacillating.  To  prevent  one  of  them  from 


70  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

deserting,  Mackenzie  records  he  took  one  of  them  to  sleep  with  him. 
"The  Indian's  beaver  robe,  although  a  nest  of  vermin,  was  spread 
under  them — Mackenzie's  camlet  cloak  was  spread  over  them.  His 
companion's  hair  being  greased  with  fish-oil,  and  his  body  smeared 
with  red  earth,  the  sense  of  smelling,  as  well  as  that  of  feeling, 
threatened  to  interrupt  his  rest ;  notwithstanding  these  inconven- 
iences, he  yielded  to  his  fatigue  and  passed  the  night  in  sound  repose." 
Mr.  Mackenzie  took  the  lead  each  day  in  the  march,  to  clear  the 
branches  of  the  wet  which  continued  to  hang  on  them,  after  the  rain 
had  ceased. 

REDUCED  RATIONS — GREAT  HARDSHIPS.  — As  this  part  of  the 
country  was  destitute  of  game,  to  provide  for  their  return  another 
half-bag  of  pemmican  was  buried.  The  weather  continued  rainy, 
which  produced  great  discomfort  from  wet  clothing.  The  party  had 
to  cross  several  rivers  ;  some  they  waded,  on  others  they  used  rafts. 
On  the  10th  of  July  they  reached  several  huts  and  friendly  inhabi- 
tants, who  said  the  distance  from  the  sea  was  from  four  to  eight  days. 
They  all  declared  they  had  been  to  the  coast.  This  was  cheering 
news.  Fearing  provisions  might  not  be  sufficient,  it  became  neces- 
sary to  diminish  the  consumption.  The  allowance  to  each  was  reduced 
by  one-third.  This,  although  unwelcome  news,  was  put  into  imme- 
diate practice.  It  produced  great  dissatisfaction.  The  weather  was 
cold,  when  the  sun  was  not  shining,  as  snow-clad  mountains  were  on 
every  side.  The  people  proposed  to  return,  but  were  prevailed  upon 
to  proceed.  Soon  after  starting  in  the  morning,  they  arrived  at  a 
house  which  was  inhabited.  Mackenzie  pushed  on  ahead.  As  he 
entered  the  house  the  man  fled  with  all  speed  by  a  back  door,  leaving 
the  terrified  women  and  children,  who  made  a  terrible  outcry,  expect- 
ing they  were  to  be  massacred.  They  soon  became  pacified,  and  the 
man  eventually  returned  and  acted  in  a  friendly  manner.  From  the 
natives  the  party  received  a  good  supply  of  fish,  which  was  a  welcome 
relish. 

MODE  OF  SEPULTURE.—"  A  tomb  was  observed  near  to  every  resi- 
dence. The  grave  was  always  kept  clear  of  grass  and  weeds.  The 
guide  explained  that  the  people  had  two  ways  of  disposing  of  their 
dead.  It  was  their  practice  to  burn  the  bodies  of  their  dead,  except 
the  larger  bones,  which  are  rolled  up  in  bark  and  suspended  on  poles 
near  the  grave.  Some  tribes,  he  said,  bury  their  dead.  When 
another  member  of  the  family  dies,  the  remains  of  the  person  who 
was  last  interred  are  taken  from  the  grave  and  burned,  so  that  the 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  71 

members  of  a  family  are  thus  successively  buried  and  burned  to  make 
room  for  each  other,  and  one  tomb  proves  sufficient  for  a  family 
through  succeeding  generations." 

A  PREPOSSESSING  PARTY. — Near  this  place,  along  the  route  they 
overtook  a  party  from  the  north  going  towards  the  sea-coast.  Mac- 
kenzie describes  them  as  of  pleasant  aspect.  The  women's  hair  was 
neatly  parted  in  the  middle,  and  being  plaited,  was  tied  in  loose  knots 
over  the  ears.  The  men  were  clothed  in  leather,  with  their  haiv 
nicely  combed.  Their  complexion  was  fairer,  or  perhaps  it  may  be 
said  with  more  propriety  that  they  were  more  cleanly  than  any  of  the 
natives  whom  they  had  yet  seen.  Their  eyes,  though  keen  and  sharp, 
were  not  of  that  dark  color  so  generally  observable  in  the  various 
tribes  of  Indians  •  they  were,  on  the  contrary,  of  a  grey  hue,  with  a 
tinge  of  red.  There  was  one  man  amongst  them  at  least  six  feet  four 
inches  in  height ;  his  manners  were  affable,  and  he  had  a  more  pre- 
possessing appearance  than  any  Indian  yet  met  with  on  this  journey. 
He  was  about  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  and  was  treated  with  parti- 
cular respect  by  his  party.  Every  man,  woman  and  child  carried  a 
proportionate  share  of  the  travelling  baggage.  In  camp  Mackenzie's 
guide  and  one  of  the  party  amused  themselves  in  a  game  of  chance. 
They  each  had  a  bundle  of  about  fifty  small  sticks,  of  the  size  of  a  quill, 
neatly  polished,  and  about  five  inches  long.  A  certain  number  of 
these  sticks  had  red  lines  around  them.  One  of  the  players  rolled  up 
a  number  in  dry  grass.  According  to  the  judgment  of  his  antagonist 
respecting  their  number  and  marks,  he  lost  or  won.  On  this  occasion 
the  guide  was  the  loser,  as  he  had  to  part  with  his  bow  and  arrows, 
and  with  several  articles  he  had  formerly  received  from  Mr.  Mackenzie.. 

MACKENZIK  SHAVES  HIS  BEARD. — Next  morning  the  northern  party 
took  a  more  southerly  course.  Mackenzie  and  his  guide  proceeded 
westerly.  A  deer  was  shot,  and  a  heartier  meal  made  than  for  many 
days  previously.  Mackenzie  records  that  there  he  took  off  his  beard 
and  changed  his  linen,  and  that  his  people  followed  "the  humanizing 
example."  Towards  night  they  reached  a  river,  on  the  banks  of 
which  there  was  an  Indian  village.  The  guide  went  ahead  to  prepare 
the  natives  for  the  arrival  and  surprise.  Mackenzie  arrived  before 
the  others,  and  was  cordially  received.  He  was  invited  to  enter  the 
large  house,  the  people  in  the  smaller  huts  being  engaged  in  cooking 
fish.  The  large  house  was  erected  on  posts  at  some  distance  from  the 
ground.  A  broad  piece  of  timber  with  steps  cut  in  it  led  to  a  plat- 
form level  with  the  floor.  By  this  sort  of  ladder  a  door  was  reached 


72  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

ut  the  end  of  the  house.  Three  fires  were  burning  on  the  floor  at 
«qual  distances  apart.  The  inmates  were  seated  on  a  bench  at  the 
upper  end.  Mackenzie  having  shaken  hands  all  round,  was  offered 
a  mat  to  sit  on.  The  rest  of  his  party  having  arrived,  another  mat 
was  spread  alongside  for  Mackay.  The  men  were  seated  around  and 
regaled  with  roasted  salmon — a  whole  salmon  for  each  of  the  leaders, 
Mackenzie  and  Mackay,  and  half  a  salmon  to  each  of  the  rest  of  the 
party  The  women  had  retired  for  the  night  behind  a  recess  formed 
of  wide  boards. 

A  HOSPITABLE  CHIEF. — Although  the  chief  had  indicated  that  the 
party  might  sleep  inside  the  house,  Mackenzie  preferred  to  sleep 
outside.  Learning  this,  the  chief  had  a  fire  built,  and  boards  placed 
on  the  ground.  Soon  a  large  dish  of  salmon  roes,  pounded  tine  and 
beat  up  with  water  so  as  to  have  the  appearance  of  cream,  was 
brought.  A  seasoning  had  been  added  which  gave  it  a  bitter  taste. 
Another  dish  soon  followed,  the  principal  ingredient  of  which  was 
also  salmon  roes,  with  a  large  proportion  of  gooseberries,  and  an  herb 
which  appeared  to  be  sorrel.  This  was  more  agreeable  to  the  taste 
than  the  former  preparation.  Mackenzie  concludes  this  account  by 
stating  that  "having  been  regaled  with  these  delicacies,  for  such  they 
were  considered  by  that  hospitable  spirit  which  provided  them,  we 
laid  ourselves  down  to  rest  with  no  other  canopy  than  the  sky  ;  but  I 
never  enjoyed  a  more  refreshing  rest,  though  I  had  a  board  for  my 
bed  and  a  billet  for  my  pillow." 

AN  INDIAN  BREAKFAST. — At  five  o'clock  next  morning  the  Indians 
had  replenished  the  tire  and  were  out  sitting  beside  it.  The  chief 
had  brought  roasted  salmon  and  berries — gooseberries,  whortleberries, 
and  raspberries,  of  very  fine  quality.  Dried  roes  were  also  brought 
to  eat  with  the  berries.  Fish  is  the  only  sort  of  animal  food  of  whicli 
this  tribe  partakes.  "Flesh,"  says  Mackenzie,  "they  never  taste. 
One  of  their  dogs  which  had  picked  up  and  swallowed  part  of  a  bone 
remaining  from  the  venison  our  party  had  left,  was  beaten  by 
his  master  till  he  disgorged  it.  A  bone  of  the  deer  having  been 
thrown  into  the  river,  a  native  who  had  observed  the  circumstance 
immediately  dived  and  brought  it  up,  and  having  consigned  it  to  the 
fire,  instantly  proceeded  to  wasli  his  polluted  hands.  A  difficulty 
occurred  in  procuring  a  canoe  from  the  chief  on  account  of  our  having 
venison  along,  which  he  explained  the  fish  would  smell  and  abandon 
the  river,  so  that  he,  his  friends  and  relations  would  starve.  The 
venison  \vas  given  to  some  flesh-eating  strangers  present,  and  two 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  73 

canoes  procured  which  brought  the  party  to  the  next  village  before 
evening." 

A  FISH  TRAP — HUGGING. — On  the  way  down  they  passed  a  fish- 
weir  of  elaborate  construction.  Mackenzie  was  surrounded  by  the 
natives  on  his  arrival  with  every  mark  of  friendship.  An  elderly 
man  broke  through  the  crowd  and  took  Mackenzie  in  his  arms.  He 
was  turned  away  by  another  man  without  any  ceremony,  who 
went  through  the  same  hugging  performance.  These  embraces, 
although  rather  surprising,  were  their  way  of  expressing  regard  and 
friendship.  Space  was  opened  to  allow  a  young  man  to  approach. 
On  being  offered  Mackenzie's  hand,  he  broke  the  string  of  a  handsome 
robe  of  sea-otter  skin  which  lie  had  on  and  placed  it  on  Mackenzie, 
who  considered  it  the  most  flattering  gift  which  could  be  made,  as  it 
came  from  the  chief's  son.  The  party  were  next  conducted  to  the 
house,  where  a  feast  of  salmon  and  oil  was  prepared.  A  portion  of 
the  inner  rind  of  hemlock  bark  mixed  with  salmon  oil,  saved  whilst 
the  salmon  is  being  baked,  was  supplied  as  a  very  great  delicacy. 
This  feast  and  reception  lasted  three  hours.  The  young  chief  was 
presented  with  a  blanket  in  return  for  the  robe.  A  lodge  was  erected 
for  the  reception  of  the  party  during  the  night.  Abundance  of 
salmon  were  caught  at  the  foot  of  the  weir,  with  dipping-nets.  A 
pair  of  scissors,  amongst  other  articles,  were  given  to  the  chief,  who 
immediately  began  to  crop  his  beard,  which  was  of  considerable 
length. 

A  GREAT  FEAST  AND  HOSPITALITY. — The  village  buildings  were 
visited,  and  are  described  at  length  in  Mackenzie's  journal  He  esti- 
mated the  number  of  inhabitants  at  two  hundred.  He  describes  their 
mode  of  preserving  salmon  as  follows  :  "Before  the  door  of  the  chiefs 
residence  were  four  heaps  of  salmon,  each  of  which  contained 
between  three  and  four  hundred  fish.  Sixteen  women  were  employed 
in  cleaning  and  preparing  them.  They  first  separate  the  head  from 
the  body,  the  former  of  which  they  boil ;  they  then  cut  the  latter 
down  the  back  on  each  side  of  the  bone,  leaving  one-third  of  the  fish 
adhering  to  it,  and  taking  out  the  entrails.  The  bone  is  roasted  for 
immediate  use,  and  the  other  parts  are  dressed  in  the  same  manner, 
but  with  more  attention,  for  future  provision.  While  the  roasting  is 
proceeding  before  the  fire,  troughs  are  placed  under  to  receive  the 
oil.  The  roes  are  also  preserved."  In  his  journal  Mackenzie  also 
remarks :  "  Soon  after  I  retired  to  rest  last  night,  the  chief  paid  me 
a  visit  to  insist  on  my  going  to  his  bed-companion  and  taking  my 


74  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

place  himself ;  but  notwithstanding  his  repeated  entreaties,  I  resisted 
this  offer  of  the  height  of  hospitality." 

SEVERAL  VILLAGES  AND  HOUSES  PASSED. — The  voyage  was  continued 
next  day,  accompanied  by  four  of  the  natives  in  a  large  canoe.  A  short 
call  was  made  at  a  house  occupied  by  parties  of  some  importance.  A 
repast  was  provided.  The  stay  was  made  as  short  as  possible.  In  a 
very  short  time  the  rapidity  of  the  current  carried  the  canoe  to 
another  large  house.  The  natives  received  the  party  kindly,  but  did 
not  offer  any  refreshments.  They  were  all  actively  employed  at 
various  branches  of  industry — beating  the  inner  rind  of  cedar  bark  to . 
a  fine  fibre,  spinning,  weaving,  and  the  men  fishing.  Proceeding 
onwards  they  came  to  a  cascade,  and  afterwards  to  a  large  fall,  above 
which  the  canoe  was  left.  The  luggage  was  carried  along  a  road  for 
a  hundred  yards  to  a  village,  consisting  of  six  large  houses  erected  on 
posts  twenty-five  feet  from  the  ground.  From  these  houses  Mackenzie 
could  perceive  the  termination  of  the  river,  and  where  it  entered  into 
a  narrow  arm  of  the  sea.  They  remained  during  the  night  in  one  of  the 
outhouses.  From  a  note  in  the  journal  it  appears  that  Mr.  Johnstone, 
one  of  Vancouver's  officers,  had  been  at  those  houses  on  the  first  of 
June.  It  would  have  been  a  happy  meeting  if  the  two  great  explorers 
(Vancouver  and  Mackenzie)  had  happened  to  arrive  at  the  same  time. 

HE  REACHES  THE  SHORE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. — After  some  difficulty  in 
arranging  with  the  natives  for  a  canoe,  a  start  was  made  for  the  goal, 
which  was  reached  by  eight  o'clock;  and  Mackenzie,  on  the  20th  of 
July,  1793,  stood  on  the  shore  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  situation 
was  satisfactory,  but  not  exhilarating.  The  tide  was  out.  A  strong 
wind  was  blowing  from  the  west.  The  swell  was  so  high  that  they 
could  not  proceed  against  it  with  the  leaky  canoe.  They  landed  in  a 
small  cove  at  the  right  side  of  the  bay,  and  remained  until  morning. 
One  of  the  Indians  greatly  wishing  to  return  was  permitted  to  go, 
as  provisions  were  not  in  great  abundance.  The  stock  on  hand  was 
only  twenty  pounds  of  pemmican,  fifteen  pounds  of  rice,  and  six 
pounds  of  flour  among  ten  half -starved  men,  with  a  leaky  canoe  on  a 
barbarous  coast.  The  Indian  was  desired  to  inform  his  friends  that 
the  party  would  return  within  three  nights. 

INSOLENT  NATIVES. — At  forty  minutes  past  four,  on  the  morning 
of  the  21st,  it  was  low  water.  The  tide  had  fallen  fifteen  feet  from 
from  high  water  mark  of  previous  night.  Being  anxious  to  obtain  an 
observation,  Mackenzie  left  the  mouth  of  the  river  (Bella  Coola)  at 
6  a.m.,  steered  W.S.W.  for  seven  miles,  had  a  view  down  a  channel 


THE    FUR-TRADING~PERIOD.  75 

which  opened,  trending  to  the  S.S.W.  twelve  miles;  this  passage  had 
been  named  by  Vancouver,Burke  Channel.  Keeping  along  the  northerly 
shore  of  King  Island,  a  course  was  steered  W.N.W.  along  Labouchere 
Channel.  They  were  met  by  three  canoes  with  fifteen  men  in  them. 
One  of  the  men  was  insolent,  and  informed  Mackenzie  that  a  large 
canoe  had  lately  been  in  the  bay,  and  that  one  of  them  whom  he 
called  Macubah  (Vancouver)  had  fired  on  him  and  his  friends,  and 
that  Bensins  (Johnstone)  had  struck  him  on  the  back  with  the  flat 
part  of  his  sword.  Seeing  some  sheds  on  shore,  Mackenzie  landed 
there  and  found  them  to  be  ruins  of  a  village.  They  were  followed 
to  that  spot  by  ten  canoes,  each  of  which  contained  from  three  to  six 
men. 

TOOK  REFUGE  ox  A  ROCK. — For  protection  Mackenzie  and  party 
took  possession  of  a  rock,  where  there  was  not  space  for  more  than 
twice  their  number,  and  which  could  be  defended  to  advantage  in  the 
event  of  being  attacked.  The  people  in  the  first  three  canoes  were 
the  most  troublesome,  but  after  doing  their  utmost  to  irritate  they 
went  away,  stealing  a  hat,  handkerchief,  and  a  few  other  articles. 
He  warned  his  people  to  be  on  their  guard  and  to  defend  themselves 
to  the  last  if  violence  should  be  offered.  About  sunset  the  other 
boats  left.  A  fire  was  kindled,  "and  as  for  supper  there  was  little  of 
that,  for  the  whole  daily  allowance  did  not  amount  to  what  was 
sufficient  for  a  single  meal."  The  natives  did  not  return  during  the 
night — a  close  watch,  however,  was  kept  two  by  two  in  turn.  Next 
day  two  canoes  arrived  having  some  pieces  of  raw  seal's  flesh.  Hunger 
compelled  the  men  to  purchase  some  at  a  high  price.  Mr.  Mackay 
lighted  a  bit  of  touchwood  with  a  burning-glass,  in  the  cover  of  his 
tobacco  box,  which  so  surprised  the  natives  that  they  exchanged 
the  best  of  their  otter  skins  for  it.  An  observation  was  taken  at  noon 
which  gave  52°  20'  48"  N. 

THE  INSCRIPTION. — The  party  being  very  anxious  to  leave  the 
place,  departed  after  having  the  following  inscription  in  melted  grease 
and  vermilion  painted  on  the  face  of  the  rock  at  the  foot  of  which 
they  slept  the  previous  night :  "  ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE,  FROM 
CANADA,  BY  LAND,  THE  TWENTY-SECOND  OF  JULY,  ONE  THOUSAND 
SEVEN  HUNDRED  AND  NINETY-THREE." 

THE  RETURN  COMMENCED— NEW  DANGERS. — A  landing  was  next 
made  at  a  cove  north-east  three  miles,  where  they  could  not  be  easily 
seen,  and  where  they  could  only  be  attacked  from  the  front.  Having 
completed  his  observations  Mackenzie  returned  by  the  way  he  had 


76  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

come,  and  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  Bella  Coola  River  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  22nd.  After  a  very  light  breakfast  they  walked 
through  the  woods  to  the  first  village,  carrying  their  baggage, 
Mackenzie  ahead.  He  met  two  men  advancing,  shouting  and 
flourishing  daggers.  Divining  their  purpose  he  at  once  threw  down 
his  cloak  and  presented  his  gun  towards  them.  Fortunately  for  him 
they  knew  the  effect  of  firearms,  and  instantly  dropped  their  daggers. 
.Several  other  natives  soon  joined  them,  and  among  them  Mackenzie 
recognized  the  man  who  had  formerly  been  so  troublesome,  and  who 
now  repeated  the  names  "Macubah"  and  "  Bensins."  The  crowd 
then  got  so  near  that  one  of  them  contrived  to  get  behind  Mackenzie, 
and  grasped  him  in  his  arms.  He  soon  disengaged  himself,  but  could 
not  think  how  the  native  did  not  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity  he 
had  of  stabbing  him  with  the  dagger.  They  certainly  might  have 
overpowered  him,  and  although  two  or  three  of  them  might  have  been 
killed,  doubtless  Mackenzie  would  have  fallen  at  last.  Had  he  fallen 
the  whole  party  would  certainlv  have  been  slaughtered,  and  as 
Mackenzie  moralizes,  "  not  one  would  have  returned  to  tell  of  the 
horrid  fate  of  his  companions."  As  soon  as  Mackenzie's  men 
appeared  out  of  the  woods  the  natives  fled. 

MACKENZIE  SHOWED  A  BOLD  FRONT — RASCAL  VILLAGE. — Recol- 
lecting the  articles  which  they  had  stolen,  Mackenzie,  now  to  show  he 
did  not  fear  them,  drew  up  his  men,  ordering  them  to  prime  their  guns 
afresh,  and  calling  the  young  chief  who  then  appeared,  demanded  that 
all  the  articles  previously  purloined  from  them  should  be  returned,  and 
a  supply  of  fish  as  an  indemnity.  After  explanation  a  reconciliation 
took  place,  the  articles  were  restored,  and  some  fish  handed  over  with 
them.  They  also  supplied  poles  for  pushing  up  against  the  current, 
and  presented  two  salmon.  Everything  else  received  had  been  paid 
for.  Mackenzie  took  an  observation  of  the  place  before  he  left.  He 
found  it  52°  24'  43"  N.,  and  named  it  Rascal  Village. 

KIND  TREATMENT  AT  FRIENDLY  VILLAGE. — The  progress  up  the 
river  was  very  slow.  The  men  wished  to  take  a  course  over  the  moun- 
tains. To  this  Mackenzie  objected,  showing  them  the  difficulty  of 
ascending  the  mountains,  and  the  small  amount  of  provisions  left, 
which  two  days  would  exhaust.  He  urged  the  folly  of  being  alarmed 
at  the  danger  from  the  natives  which  might  not  exist,  but  with  which 
they  could  grapple.  Toiling  all  day,  they  persevered,  pulling  the 
canoe  against  the  current  frequently  by  overhanging  branches.  At 
length  arrived  at  a  house,  they  were  gratified  to  find  their  young 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  77 

Indian  coming  with  some  natives  to  meet  them.  A  strict  watch  was. 
kept  that  night.  Thus  day  after  day  they  toiled  up  stream,  generally 
obtaining  supplies  of  fish  from  the  natives,  as  well  as  delicious  berries 
of  various  kinds.  They  passed  many  large  cedar  trees  as  they  went 
along.  On  the  night  of  the  25th,  the  party  camped  beside  the  river, 
keeping  a  watch,  that  the  vacillating  natives  might  not  take  advantage 
of  the  night.  Next  morning  they  arrived  safely  at  FRIENDLY  VIL- 
LAGE, where  they  had,  on  their  westward  journey,  been  so  well  received 
and  hospitably  treated.  The  same  kindness  was  repeated.  Roasted 
salmon  was  offered  in  abundance.  The  women  were  actively  engaged 
in  boiling  berries  and  salmon  roe. 

ARRANGED  THEIR  PACK-LOADS. — Leaving  the  village,  all  the  men 
accompanied  them  for  nearly  a  mile.  Soon  after  the  natives  returned 
a  halt  was  made  to  make  a  division  of  the  fish  which  had  been  gener- 
ously furnished.  Each  man  was  allotted  about  twenty  pounds  weight, 
except  Mackenzie  and  Mackay,  who  were  content  with  a  smaller 
allowance.  They  had  also  a  little  flour  and  a  small  quantity  of  pem- 
mican  left.  A  fork  of  the  river  was  reached  shortly  after  noon,  which 
had  to  be  forded.  It  was  three  feet  deep,  and  rapid.  The  sick 
Indian  had  not  recovered  sufficiently  to  wade  across,  and  Mackenzie 
carried  him  across  on  his  back.  They  were  now  ascending  the  moun- 
tains, by  the  same  route  followed  in  the  outward  journey.  On  the  28th 
they  reached  the  spot  where  they  had  slept  on  the  16th,  and  found 
the  buried  pemmican  in  good  condition.  Continuing  the  route  with 
tine  weather,  they  saw  none  of  the  natives.  All  the  hidden  provisions 
were  recovered.  On  the  4th  of  August  the  place  was  reached  which 
had  been  left  a  month  before.  The  progress  so  far,  although  very 
fatiguing,  was  gratifying.  They  at  length  reached  their  canoe,  which 
had  been  left  at  the  Great  River.  It  was  found  perfectly  safe,  nor 
had  any  of  the  articles  been  disturbed.  Here,  Mackenzie  says,  they 
pitched  their  tent,  made  a  blazing  fire,  and  he  treated  himself  as  well 
as  his  people  to  a  dram.  They  had  not  taken  any  spirits  along  with 
them  to  the  sea-coast.  The  canoe  was  sent  with  five  men  to  procure^ 
the  provisions  and  goods  which  had  been  hidden  farther  down  the 
river.  These  were  all  found  intact. 

ABUNDANCE  OF  SALMON. — Several  parties  of  natives  now  arrived 
from  the  upper  and  lower  parts  of  the  river.  A  number  of  beaver 
robes  were  purchased.  Knives  were  preferred  in  exchange.  The 
Indians  who  had  charge  of  the  goods  and  canoe  which  had  been  left 
were  rewarded  with  such  presents  as  were  most  acceptable  to  them. 


78  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

The  run  of  salmon  ascending  the  river  was  very  large.  "They  were," 
says  the  journal,  "driving  up  the  current  in  such  large  shoals  that 
the  water  seemed,  as  it  were,  to  be  covered  with  the  fins  of  them." 
The  water  in  the  river  had  (August  7)  risen  at  least  a  foot  and  a  half 
in  the  last  twenty-four  hours.  A  week  of  incessant  toil  and  suffering 
from  cold  and  wet  brought  the  party  on  the  16th  to  the  carrying 
place  which  leads  to  the  first  small  lake  on  the  height  of  land  where 
are  the  sources  of  the  great  rivers,  the  Peace  River  and  the  Fraser 
River,  which  Mackenzie  supposed  was  the  Columbia.  After  portaging 
the  canoe  and  effects,  they  launched  on  the  waters  of  Peace  River  and 
glided  down  this  in  good  spirits  and  with  grateful  hearts.  They 
came  down  stream  in  one  day  a  distance  which  required  seven  days 
to  come  up..  Afterwards  several  portages  had  to  be  made  to  avoid 
heavy  falls.  Mackenzie  and  party  arrived  at  Fort  Chipeweyan  on 
the  24th  of  August,  1793,  after  an  absence  of  eleven  months. 

DR.  SANDFORD  FLEMING'S  OPINION. — One  of  the  best  living  autho- 
rities, Dr.  Sandford  Fleming,  writing  on  this  subject,  says  :  "  Every 
page  of  Mackenzie's  journal  shows  that  his  explorations  were  not 
effected  without  constant  toil  and  great  privations.  The  discourage- 
ments arising  from  the  difficulties  and  dangers  he  experienced,  and 
they  were  incessant,  had  no  influence  on  his  cool  determination  and 
dauntless  spirit.  The  many  tedious  and  weary  days  of  physical  labor 
and  mental  strain,  the  gloomy  and  inclement  nights  to  which  he  was 
constantly  exposed,  were  not,  however,  passed  in  vain.  He  gained 
his  great  reward  in  the  knowledge  that  lie  had  in  the  interests  of  his 
country  attained  the  object  of  his  design.  He  had  penetrated  a  vast 
continent,  for  the  most  part  in  a  condition  of  wild  nature ;  he  had 
overcome  the  obstacles  imposed  by  rapid  rivers  previously  unknown, 
by  rugged  mountain  ranges,  by  distance,  by  intervening  forests,  and 
by  the  extremes  of  a  variable  climate.  From  time  to  time  obstacles 
presented  themselves  in  the  enmity  of  hostile  native  tribes,  who  had 
never  before  looked  upon  the  face  of  a  white  man  ;  but  on  the  day  he 
arrived  on  the  Pacific  coast  he  had  the  unqualified  satisfaction  of 
feeling  that  his  undertakings  had  been  crowned  with  complete  success." 

A  LONG  AGITATED  QUESTION  SETTLED. — His  discoveries  settled  the 
dubious  point  of  a  practical  "  north-west  passage."  He  set  at  rest 
this  long  agitated  question  with  the  disputes  which  had  arisen  regard- 
ing it;  he  added  new  regions  to  the  realm  of  British  commerce,  and 
in  doing  so  extended  the  boundaries  of  geographical  science.  He  did 
much  more,  although  the  full  effect  of  all  he  had  accomplished  was 


THE   FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  79 

unknown  to  him.  We  can  now,  however,  attribute  to  the  enterprises 
to  which  Mackenzie's  discoveries  led,  that  the  territory  became  a 
British  province.  Indeed  it  is  problematical  whether,  in  the  absence 
of  his  discoveries,  any  portion  of  that  country  would  at  present  con- 
stitute part  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 

THE  SERVICES  of  this  famous  explorer  were  appreciated  by  his 
sovereign,  King  George  III.,  who  bestowed  on  him  the  dignity  of 
knighthood.  On  July  20th,  1893,  a  public  meeting  of  pioneers  and 
others  was  held  at  Victoria,  in  centennial  commemoration  of  his 
overland  explorations  to  the  Pacific  coast.  It  was  resolved  that  a 
portrait  of  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  should  be  painted  and  placed  in 
the  new  legislative  buildings  now  in  course  of  erection  in  Victoria, 
the  capital  of  British  Columbia.  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
carry  the  resolution  into  effect.  The  portrait  was  completed  without 
delay. 

The  following  particulars,  fuller  than  hitherto  published,  have  been 
furnished  the  author  by  an  old  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  D.  Masson,  of 
Edinburgh,  who  is  a  native  of  Ross-shire,  in  the  north  of  Scotland, 
and  an  enthusiastic  student  of  archaeology  and  historic  lore.  He 
wrote  under  date  of  May  4th,  1894,  that  he  had  just  returned  from 
a  visit  to  his  aged  mother  in  the  "  Black  Isle  of  Ross,"  whose  home, 
he  says,  is  barely  five  miles  from  Fortrose,  where  Sir  Alexander 
Mackenzie's  last  surviving  son  died  a  few  weeks  ago.  There  he  met 
Sir  Alexander's  grandson.  For  years  the  family  have  occupied  the 
old  deanery  of  Fortrose,  which  for  many  generations  belonged  to  Dr. 
Masson's  wife's  family — the  old  Mathesons,  of  Bennetsfield.  Young 
Mackenzie  showed  the  reverend  doctor  several  relics  of  his  grandfather. 
The  portrait  of  Sir  Alexander,  with  many  other  tine  portraits,  still 
adorns  the  wall  of  the  old  house. 

Dr.  Masson  states  that  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  was  born  in 
Stornoway,  Island  of  Lewis,  and  was  connected  with  the  old  Mac- 
kenzies,  of  Seaforth,  from  whom  Stornoway,  with  the  whole  island 
of  which  it  is  the  capital,  passed  more  than  fifty  years  ago  to  its 
present  proprietors,  the  Mathesons  of  Achay  and  Ardross.  The 
doctor  says:  "The  journal  of  Sir  Alexander's  great  voyages  is  full  of 
peril  and  adventure ;  is  a  record  of  brave  work,  indomitable 
endurance,  and  ready,  resourceful  reliance,  such  as  the  annals  of 
very  few  nations,  ancient  or  modern,  can  display.  Unlike  the 
modern  war  correspondent,  Sir  Alexander  did  not  'write  in  pictures.' 
He  was  a  man  of  action,  whose  literary  style  is  bare  and  unadorned. 


80  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

He  set  down  the  stirring  events  of  the  day  in  his  journal,  with  as 
little  thought  of  color  and  effect  as  if  he  were  still  sitting  at  his  desk 
in  the  Company's  counting-house,  calmly  entering  the  details  of 
prices  and  peltries." 

According  to  Dr.  Masson,  Mackenzie's  journal  was  one  of  the 
favorite  books  of  the  first  Napoleon.  He  had  it  translated  into 
French,  and  a  copy  of  the  translation  in  three  volumes  was  found  in 
his  library  at  St.  Helena.  Through  the  courtesy  of  Sir  Alexander's 
grandson,  the  Doctor  was  enabled  to  examine  these  interesting 
volumes,  and  also  to  read  a  most  interesting  manuscript,  in  autograph, 
which  throws  new  light  on  Napoleon's  secret  schemes  in  the  various 
adjustments  and  readjustments  of  his  plan  of  campaign  against  Great 
Britain.  Whilst  reading  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie's  journal,  he 
conceived  the  idea  of  distracting  the  affairs  of  Britain  by  attacking 
her  in  her  Canadian  possessions,  not  by  a  direct  descent  upon  them, 
but  by  a  route  which  he  expected  would  take  England  by  surprise, 
and  indeed  prove  infallible.  A  key  of  this  plan  of  invasion  was  to 
be  found  in  Sir  Alexander's  huge  quarto,  a  copy  of  which  was 
procured  in  France  "  through  the  smugglers,"  and  translated  into 
French  for  the  use  of  Napoleon's  right  hand  tactician.  This  was 
Bernadotte,  father  of  the  king  of  Sweden,  who  himself  told  the  story 
at  Stockholm  to  a  near  descendant  of  Sir  Alexander's  family.  The 
documentary  evidence  of  this  curious  bit  of  missing  history  the 
Doctor  carefully  examined.  A  full  copy  of  it  will  be  found  in  the 
appendix  to  "  Ballantyne's  Pioneers,"  published  in  1888,  by  James 
Nisbet  &  Co.,  London. 

Referring  further  to  this  brave  Scottish  Highlander  and  heroic 
explorer,  Dr.  Masson  states  that  "Mackenzie  was  for  a  time  the 
travelling  companion  in  America  of  the  Duke  of  Kent,  the  father  of 
our  Empress-queen.  In  acknowledgment  of  his  brave  exploits  and 
great  public  services  he  was  honored  with  knighthood  at  a  time  when 
knighthood  was  not  so  common  a  thing  as  it  has  come  to  be  in  our 
own  day.  Returning  to  Scotland,"  the  Doctor  continues,  "  he 
married  one  of  the  most  beautiful  women  I  ever  saw — the  heiress  of 
the  Mackenzies  of  Avoch.  As  a  Highland  proprietor  and  country 
gentleman  he  was  eminently  enterprising  and  popular.  It  looked  as 
if  he  would  leave  his  mark  upon  the  Highlands  as  a  great  agricultural 
improver.  But  on  March  12th,  1820,  his  eventful,  illustrious  and 
most  useful  life  was  suddenly  closed.  When  returning  from  London 
by  postchaise  he  was,  at  Moulin  (the  modern  summer  resort  of 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  81 

Pitlochry),  suddenly  seized  with  an  internal  inflammation,  which 
speedily  culminated  in  death.  His  remains  lie  in  the  old  churchyard 
at  Avoch,  beside  those  of  his  gifted  and  beautiful  wife,  Lady 
Geddes  Mackenzie,  who  survived  him  until  1860." 

A  Scottish  newspaper,  in  an  obituary  notice  of  the  death  of  Sir 
Alexander's  son,  says :  "  On  Wednesday  night  (28th  March,  1894), 
another  link  of  the  past  was  broken  by  the  death  of  Mr.  A.  G. 
Mackenzie,  of  Avoch.  The  old  laird,  as  he  was  affectionately  and 
respectfully  called,  was  a  very  great  favorite  in  the  district,  where  he 
had  endeared  himself  by  many  acts  of  kindness,  not  only  during  his 
residence  for  the  past  few  years,  but  on  the  former  occasion  in  which 
he  lived  at  Avoch  House.  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  the  elder  son  of  the 
well-known  American  explorer,  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  of  Avoch, 
and  to  whom  belonged  the  honor  of  discovering  the  great  Mackenzie 
River  in  1789,  the  river  being  appropriately  named  after  its  famous 
discoverer.  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  born  in  1818,  and  had  thus 
considerably  gone  beyond  the  allotted  threescore  years  and  ten. 
He  is  survived  by  three  sons  and  two  daughters." 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 


VANCOUVER'S  EXPLORATIONS,  ETC.— CONTINUED. 

His  VOYAGE  NORTH. — Returning  to  his  proceedings  in  1794,  we 
find  that  Captain  Vancouver,  after  spending  the  winter  at  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  proceeded  north  direct  to  the  Alaskan  coast  to  thoroughly 
examine  those  portions  of  the  mainland  southwards  which  had  not 
formerly  been  surveyed  by  him.  This  occupied  the  whole  season. 
He  was  enabled  to  report  conclusively  that  no  navigable  channel 
intersected  the  continent  south  of  the  latitudes  which  had  been 
explored  by  Captain  Cook  and  himself,  and  that  the  conjectured 
hyperborean  ocean  did  not  exist.  He  returned  to  Nootka  in  Septem- 
ber, where  he  remained  repairing  his  vessels  until  October.  During 
that  time  he  enjoyed  the  companionship  of  the  Spanish  commander, 
Alva,  and  exchanged  hospitalities  with  him.  They  together  paid  a 
visit  to  Chief  Maquinna,  who  prepared  a  great  feast  for  them. 


82  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

RETURN  TO  ENGLAND. — No  despatches  having  arrived  from  England 
or  the  Continent  of  Europe,  both  commanders,  at  nearly  the  same 
•date,  left  Nootka  for  Monterey,  where  despatches  would  first  arrive 
by  the  overland  route.  It  was  understood  there  that  no  alteration 
would  be  made  from  the  wording  of  the  first  article  of  the  Convention 
of  1790.  Vancouver,  therefore,  proceeded  to  England  via  Cape  Horn. 
He  reached  his  destination  in  October,  1795,  his  mission  having  been 
highly  successful ;  and  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  reporting  that  during 
"the  long  absence  of  four  years  and  nine  months,  the  Discovery  had 
only  lost  one  man  by  disease  out  of  the  complement  of  one  hundred 
men,  and  that  the  Chatham  had  not  lost  one  man  either  by  illness  or 
accident. 

A  GOOD  REPORT  OF  THE  NATIVES. — He  also  could  report  that  in 
his  extensive  dealings  with  the  Indians  along  many  hundred  miles  of 
the  coast,  he  was  not  under  the  necessity  of  using  harsh  measures 
•with  them.  His  principles  were  based  on  humanity  and  justice. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  other  British  explorers,  who  combined  trade 
•with  geographical  discoveries,  as  did  Meares,  Portlock,  Dixon  and 
Broughton,  who  had  been  trained  and  disciplined  officers  in  the 
British  navy,  and  were  qualified  to  control  the  conduct  of  their  sub- 
ordinates. Not  so  were  many  of  the  other  adventurers,  who  were  of 
the  Kendrick  stamp  and  ready  to  take  undue  advantage  of  the 
unsophisticated  natives.  This  was  felt  by  Vancouver,  as  the  natives 
began  to  discover  how  they  had  been  treated  by  unscrupulous  traders. 
When  on  the  northern  coast  in  1794,  before  leaving  for  Nootka,  he 
remarks  that  he  was  just  in  time  for  the  accomplishment  of  the 
arduous  and  hazardous  task  in  which  they  had  been  so  long  engaged. 
The  very  unjustifiable  conduct  of  the  traders  had  so  encouraged  and 
provoked  acts  of  hostility,  that  even  the  means  he  possessed  to  repel 
their  attacks  would  in  all  probability  have  been  insufficient,  had  it 
been  their  lot  to  have  been  obliged  to  try  the  experiment  one  year 
later. 

His  DEATH  IN  MAY,  1798. — Soon  after  Vancouver's  return  to 
England,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  post-captain,  which  is  next 
to  that  of  rear  admiral,  and  generally  secured  some  lucrative 
-appointment.  Unfortunately,  however,  his  health  failed  before  the 
work  he  had  prepared,  which  gave  an  account  of  his  voyage,  had  been 
published.  This  was  attended  to  by  his  brother.  He  died  near 
Petersham  on  the  Thames,  about  twenty  miles  west  of  London,  in 
May,  1798,  at  the  early  age  of  forty  years.  He  was  buried  in  the 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  XX 

cemetery  of  the  ancient  church  of  Petersham.  The  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  in  1841,  placed  in  the  old  church  a  handsome  tablet,  which 
is  an  enduring  and  graceful  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Vancouver.  A 
fac  simile  of  the  tablet  and  a  sketch  of  the  church  were  made  by 
Mrs.  Beeton,  wife  of  the  agent-general  for  British  Columbia  in 
London,  and  appeared  in  the  Illustrated  London  News  of  3rd  Decem- 
ber, 1892.  A  copy  of  Vancouver's  portrait,  from  an  oil  painting  in 
the  National  Gallery,  London,  was  presented  by  Mr.  Beeton  to  the 
Board  of  Trade  in  Victoria,  from  which  the  portrait  in  this  work  was 
photographed.  Captain  Vancouver  named  Lynn  Canal,  on  the 
north-west  coast  (now  Alaska),  after  Lynn,  his  birthplace,  Norfolk, 
England. 

THE  NOOTKA  DIFFICULTY  SETTLKD. — On  the  llth  of  January,  1794, 
the  Nootka  difficulty  was  definitely  settled  at  a  convention  held  at 
Madrid.  The  agreement  was  signed  by  the  British  and  Spanish 
ministers,  St.  Helens  and  the  Duke  of  Alcudia.  It  was  to  the  effect 
that  commissioners  should  meet,  as  soon  as  possible,  on  or  near  the 
spot  where  stood  the  buildings  formerly  occupied  by  British  subjects, 
and  there  to  exchange  declaration  and  counter-declaration  as  literally 
prescribed  in  the  document,  which  provided  that  the  preliminaries 
having  been  complied  with,  the  "British  officer  shall  unfurl  the 
British  flag  over  the  land  thus  restored,  as  a  sign  of  possession,  and 
after  these  formalities  the  officers  of  the  two  crowns  shall  retire 
respectively  to  their  people  from  the  said  port  of  Nootka." 

COMMISSIONERS  FOR  SPAIN  AND  BRITAIN. — The  commissioners  ap- 
pointed to  carry  into  effect  the  agreement  between  Spain  and  Britain 
in  1794,  were  Lieutenant  Cosme  Bertodano,  on  behalf  of  Spain,  and 
Lieutenant  Thomas  Pierce,  of  the  Marines,  on  behalf  of  Britain. 
They  sailed  from  Monterey,  with  Brigadier-General  Alva  aboard  the 
Activa,  for  Nootka,  on  the  22nd  of  March,  1795.  Lieutenant  Pierce 
reports  to  his  superior  officer  as  follows :  "  In  obedience  to  your 
instructions  I  proceeded  from  Monterey  to  Nootka  in  company  with 
Brigadier-General  Alva,  the  officer  appointed  on  the  part  of  the  Court 
of  Spain,  for  finally  terminating  the  negotiations  relative  to  that  port  ; 
where,  having  satisfied  myself  respecting  the  state  of  the  country  at 
the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  preparations  were  imme- 
diately made  for  dismantling  the  fort  which  the  Spaniards  had  erected 
on  an  island  that  guarded  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  and  embarking 
the  ordnance.  By  the  morning  of  the  28th,  all  the  artillery  were 
embarked,  part  on  board  of  his  Catholic  Majesty's  ship  Activa^  and 


84  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

part  on  board  of  the  San  Carlos  guard  ship.  Brigadier-General  Alva 
and  myself  then  met,  agreeably  to  our  instructions,  on  the  place 
where  formerly  the  British  buildings  stood,  where  we  signed  and 
exchanged  the  declaration  and  counter-declaration  for  restoring  those 
lands  to  his  Majesty,  as  agreed  upon  between  the  two  Courts,  after 
which  ceremony  I  ordered  the  British  flag  to  be  hoisted  in  token  of 
possession,  and  the  General  gave  orders  for  the  troops  to  embark." 
Before  next  year  Maquinna  and  his  subjects  had  transferred  their 
village  to  the  site  of  the  abandoned  Spanish  post.  No  settlement  of 
white  men  has  since  been  made  at  Nootka. 

THE  BRITISH  FLAG. — This  simple  act  of  restoration  by  hoisting  the 
British  flag  at  Nootka,  as  mentioned,  completed  one  of  the  greatest 
victories,  although  bloodless,  which  has  ever  been  won  by  Great 
Britain.  Spain,  by  it,  gave  up  all  her  exclusive  and  arrogant  claims 
to  the  north-western  part  of  tne  Continent  of  America.  From  the 
tenor  of  the  elaborate  memorial  from  the  Court  of  Spain  to  the 
Convention  of  1790,  it  is  plain  that  then  she  had  no  intention  of 
abandoning  these  claims. 

CONFLICTS  WITH  COLONISTS. — This  was  a  critical  period  in  the 
history  of  the  North  American  continent.  Great  Britain  had  been 
engaged  in  seven  bitter  conflicts  with  France  and  her  own  colonists 
on  the  Atlantic  coasts.  The  latter  had  withdrawn  her  forces  and 
garrison  from  the  citadel  of  Quebec  and  ceded  Canada  to  the  British. 
The  colonists  had  formed  themselves  into  an  independent  government 
which  styled  themselves  "  The  United  States  of  America ; "  so  that 
the  whole  of  the  continent,  north  of  Mexico,  with  the  small  strip  of 
coast  claimed  by  Russia,  was  then  in  possession  of  Great  Britain  and 
her  seceded  colonists.  To  define  and  settle  the  boundaries  which 
should  belong  to  each  required  time  and  deliberation.  No  inland 
settlements  of  white  population  had  as  yet  been  made.  The  whole  of 
the  unexplored  region  north  of  California  was  termed  Oregon. 

OBJECTIONABLE  CONDUCT  OF  TRADERS. — Along  the  whole  coast  of 
the  Pacific,  north  of  the  settlements  of  the  Spaniards,  which  did  not 
reach  beyond  San  Francisco,  fur  traders  were  now  at  liberty  to  carry 
on  their  traffic  in  any  way  they  considered  most  profitable.  The 
good  examples  hitherto  shown,  and  the  humane  treatment  of  the 
natives  by  Captains  Cook,  Meares,  Vancouver,  and  other  early 
British  explorers,  were  neither  followed  nor  practised  by  subsequent 
dealers.  As  the  coast  became  better  known,  and  without  any 
restraining  influence,  those  traders  rushed  from  cove  to  village,  taking 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  85 

every  advantage  of  the  unsophisticated  natives  to  obtain  the  coveted 
furs.  Intoxicating  liquor  of  the  vilest  sort  was  freely  introduced. 
Demoralization  and  disease  followed.  The  cupidity,  greed  of  gratifi- 
cation and  recklessness  of  the  Indians  induced  them  to  capture,  in 
season  and  out  of  season,  the  valuable  sea-otters,  which,  notwith- 
standing their  great  numbers,  before  long  showed  the  effect  of 
incessant  and  indiscriminate  hunting.  Other  evils  followed.  The 
natives,  finding  themselves  over-reached  in  trade,  and  often  ill-used, 
became  suspicious  and  revengeful.  Their  plan  of  redress  generally 
was  to  inflict  punishment  on  the  first  party  who  came  to  hand, 
whether  they  were  the  offenders  or  not. 

THE  SEA-OTTER  TRADE. — Chief  Maquinna  still  retained  the  reins 
of  power  at  Nootka.  There  is  little  to  be  said  concerning  the  year 
1796.  The  sea-otter  trade  was  continued,  chiefly  northward.  Captain 
Broughton,  who  formerly  was  with  Captain  Vancouver,  arrived  at 
Nootka  during  the  summer.  On  his  way  from  the  Sandwich  Islands 
he  made  a  few  surveys  on  the  Asiatic  coast,  and  completed  certain 
work  north  of  Queen  Charlotte  Islands.  He  remained,  making 
repairs,  two  months  at  ISTootka  and  neighborhood ;  also  visiting  the 
Straits  of  Fuca  and  Neah  Bay.  During  1797  and  1798,  the  vessels 
which  arrived  on  the  north-west  coast  were  chiefly  from  Boston. 
Two  years  were  generally  required  by  them  to  complete  their  trips. 
Richard  J.  Cleveland,  in  a  vessel  from  Massachusetts,  obtained  a 
very  large  quantity  of  prime  sea-otter  skins,  in  1797,  from  Queen 
Charlotte  Islands. 

GREAT  PROFITS. — The  number  of  sea-otter  skins  from  the  north- 
wetet  coast  sold  in  China,  in  1785,  '6,  '7,  not  including  those  secured 
by  Meares's  operations,  is  stated  to  have  been  5,800,  value  $160,700. 
From  1799  to  1802  inclusive,  the  numbers  for  each  of  those  years 
respectively  are  given  at  11,000,  9,500,  14,000,  and  14,000,  or  a  total 
of  48,500,  which,  at  an  average  of  $30  per  skin,  amounts  to  nearly 
one  and  a  half  million  dollars.  Frequently  the  profits  were  enormous. 
A  celebrated  trader,  named  Sturgis,  states  that  he  had  personally 
collected  6,000  skins  in  a  single  voyage,  and  that  he  once  purchased 
560,  of  prime  quality,  in  half  a  day.  In  1801,  which  was  the  most 
flourishing  period  of  the  trade,  fifteen  United  States  vessels  were 
engaged  trading  on  the  west  coast,  but  only  one  British.  During  this 
year  the  United  States  vessels  brought  18,000  skins  to  China.  In 
succeeding  years  the  catch  became  smaller  and  smaller  until  the  year 
880,  when  the  trade  was  centred  in  San  Francisco.  The  average 


86  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

catch  then  was  5,500  per  annum,  which  at  an  average  price  of 
per  skin,  would  equal  $440,000. 

PARTICULARS  RESPECTING  SEA-OTTERS. — Captain  William  Sturgis, 
of  Boston,  the  trader  already  mentioned,  speaking  of  otter  skins,  says  : 
"  A  full  grown,  prime,  which  has  been  stretched  before  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  color  when 
blown  open.  Those  are  esteemed  the  finest  which  have  some  white 
hairs  interspersed  and  scattered  over  the  whole  surface,  and  a  per- 
fectly white  head.  .  .  .  Otters  are  sometimes  seen  many  leagues 
from  land,  sleeping  on  their  backs  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  with 
their  young  ones  reclining  on  their  breast.  .  .  .  The  cubs  are 
incapable  of  swimming  until  they  are  several  months  old.  .  .  .  She 
will  not  leave  her  young  ones  in  the  moment  of  danger,  and  therefore 
shares  their  fate.  .  .  .  They  are  unable  to  remain  under  water 
longer  than  two  minutes.  .  .  .  The  male  otter  is,  beyond  all  com- 
parison, more  beautiful  than  the  female.  .  .  .  Skins  of  this  animal 
taken  in  the  Corean  and  Japan  seas  are  superior  to  those  of  Russia 
or  the  north-western  coast  of  America.  .  .  .  Nothing  can  be  more 
beautiful  than  one  of  these  animals  when  seen  swimming,  especially 
when  on  the  look-out  for  any  object.  At  such  times  it  raises  its  head 
quite  above  the  surface."  The  number  now  caught  on  the  coast  of 
British  Columbia  is  very  limited.  A  prime  skin  is  sold  as  high  as 
one  hundred  and  thirty  dollars. 

THE  FATE  OF  DESERTERS. — The  ship  Manchester,  of  Philadelphia, 
touched  at  Nootka,  in  1802.  She  had  a  rich  and  valuable  cargo, 
which  was  obtained  in  England.  Seven  of  her  crew  deserted  whilst 
at  Nootka,  and  placed  themselves  under  Maquinna's  protecting  care. 
Shortly  afterwards  they  attempted  to  desert  to  another  chief  tain  r 
but  were  captured  and  put  to  death  in  the  most  cruel  manner. 

TROUBLE  WITH  CHIEF  MAQUINNA. — Next  year,  1803,  the  ship 
Boston,  Captain  John  Salter,  sailed  from  Boston  and  reached  Nootka, 
direct  without  calling  at  any  other  port.  She  anchored  a  short  dis- 
tance along  the  cove  beyond  Maquinna's  village,  and  the  crew  were  for 
several  days  engaged  in  obtaining  wood  and  water.  In  the  meantime 
Maquinna  and  his  people  visited  the  ship  daily,  and  were  entertained 
as  was  usual  in  such  cases.  To  Maquinna  the  captain  presented  a 
double-barrelled  fowling-piece,  with  which  he  expressed  himself  well 
pleased.  After  the  ship  was  nearly  ready  to  depart,  Maquinna  came 


THE   FUR-TKADING    PERIOD.  87 

aboard  with  a  gift  of  wild  ducks,  bringing  back  the  gun  with  one  of 
the  locks  broken,  remarking  that  it  was  peshak,  or  bad.  Captain 
Halter  took  offence  at  the  expression,  told  the  chief  he  was  a  liar,  and 
adding  some  other  opprobrious  terms,  took  the  gun  from  him  and 
tossed  it  indignantly  into  the  cabin.  Maquinna,  who  knew  enough 
of  English  to  understand  what  the  captain  said,  did  not  utter  a  word 
in  reply,  but  smothered  his  rage  ;  and  when  the  captain  was  speak- 
ing, repeatedly  put  his  hand  to  his  throat,  and  rubbed  it  across  his 
breast.  This  he  did,  as  he  afterwards  told  Jewitt,  "  to  keep  down  his 
heart,  which  he  said  was  rising  in  his  throat  and  choking  him." 

INDIAN  TACTICS. — Soon  afterwards,  Maquinna  went  ashore  full  of 
vengeance  for  the  insults  which  had  been  offered  to  him.  He  con- 
nected the  present  with  former  bad  usage  which  he  had  received  from 
other  parties,  and  thought  it  would  be  a  good  opportunity  to  wipe  out 
old  scores.  Several  of  his  chiefs  had  been  killed  by  the  Spaniards 
and  by  peshak  whites,  who  during  his  absence  had  carried  off  forty 
otter  skins,  had  frightened  his  women  and  had  committed  sundry 
offences.  He  resolved  to  .capture  the  Boston,  and  slaughter  all  on 
board.  They  were  all  guilty  from  his  point  of  view.  On  the  follow- 
ing morning  the  natives  came  aboard  with  salmon,  and  remained 
around  the  deck  as  usual.  About  noon,  Maquinna  and  several  subor- 
dinate chiefs  arrived,  and  being  examined  as  was  customary,  were 
allowed  on  board.  At  an  interview  with  Captain  Salter,  Maquinna 
expressed  contrition  for  his  conduct  on  the  preceding  day.  He  asked 
and  received  permission  to  have  a  dance  and  frolic  with  his  followers, 
to  make  up  for  the  past  misunderstanding.  It  was  arranged  that 
nine  of  the  ship's  men  should  go  and  procure  salmon  some  distance 
away.  Maquinna  was  dressed  fantastically  for  the  dance.  He  had 
on  a  frightful  mask  and  carried  a  whistle  in  his  hand.  He  appeared 
remarkably  gay  and  good-humored. 

CAPTURE  OF  THE  "  BOSTON." — As  soon  as  the  ship's  boats  had  left, 
the  performance  commenced;  the  Indians  capered  around  the  deck, 
entertaining  the  crew  with  all  sorts  of  antics  and  gestures,  keeping 
time  with  the  music  of  the  chief's  whistle.  Other  Indians  were 
allowed  to  come  aboard  the  ship  to  see  the  sports.  The  armorer  of 
the  ship,  John  R.  Jewitt,  gives  the  following  particulars  in  a  book 
published  in  1807,  in  Boston:  "Shortly  after  the  departure  of  the 
boats,  I  went  down  to  my  vise-bench  in  the  steerage,  where  I  was 
employed  in  cleaning  muskets.  I  had  not  been  there  more  than  an 
hour,  when  I  heard  the  men  hoisting  in  the  long  boat,  which  in  a  few 


88  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

minutes  after  was  succeeded  by  a  great  bustle  and  confusion  on  deck. 
T  immediately  ran  up  the  steerage  stairs,  but  scarcely  was  my  head 
above  deck,  when  I  was  caught  by  the  hair  by  one  of  the  savages, 
and  lifted  from  my  feet.  Fortunately  for  me,  my  hair  being  short, 
and  the  ribbon  with  which  it  was  tied  slipping,  I  fell  from  his  hold 
into  the  steerage.  As  I  was  falling  he  struck  at  me  with  an  axe, 
which  cut  a  deep  gash  on  my  forehead  and  penetrated  the  skull ;  but 
in  consequence  of  his  losing  his  hold,  I  luckily  escaped  the  full  force 
of  the  blow.  I  fell  stunned  and  senseless  on  the  floor." 

JEWITT'S  ACCOUNT. — On  regaining  consciousness,  Jewitt  found  the 
hatch  closed,  and  by  the  yells  of  the  savages  concluded  they  were  in 
possession  of  the  ship.  Presently  he  was  brought  before  Maquinna, 
and  promised  his  life  on  condition  of  becoming  a  slave  and  making 
weapons  for  his  master.  On  the  quarter-deck  he  was  shown,  in  a 
ghastly  line,  the  heads  of  twenty-five  murdered  companions,  and  was 
ordered  to  identify  each  by  name.  John  Thompson,  sail-maker,  was 
discovered  in  the  hold  along  with  Jewitt,  where  he  had  concealed 
himself.  His  life  was  spared,  Jewitt  representing  him  as  his  father. 
The  ship  was  then  towed  to  Friendly  Cove  and  beached,  when  the 
cargo  was  taken  out  and  distributed  among  the  tribe.  In  a  few  days 
afterwards  the  vessel  was  burned. 

ARRIVAL  OF  THE  "  LYDIA." — The  two  survivors  lived  among  the 
savages  in  Maquinna's  service  until  1805,  when  the  Lydia,  Captain 
Hill,  anchored  at  Nootka.  Since  the  massacre  of  the  crew  of  the 
Boston,  traders  avoided  the  place.  Maquinna,  desirous  of  renewing 
old  commercial  relations,  got  Jewitt  to  write  a  letter  of  introduction 
to  Captain  Hill,  the  chief  himself  to  be  the  bearer.  The  letter, 
however,  contained  a  request  that  Maquinna  should  be  held  a  captive 
until  Jewitt  and  Thompson  were  released,  which  was  required  to  be 
done  without  delay.  The  request  was  complied  with.  The  two  men 
now  free,  proceeded  along  with  the  Lydia,  and  reached  Boston  via 
China  before  the  end  of  1807.  Jewitt  was  an  Englishman  only 
twenty  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  capture. 

ANOTHER  ATTACK. — In  1805,  a  Boston  ship,  Captain  Porter,  was 
attacked  by  the  savages  in  Millbank  Sound.  A  number  of  them  were 
on  board  trading,  when  the  captain  noticed  some  of  them  cutting  the 
cable  by  which  the  ship  was  secured.  He  fired  his  blunderbuss,  killing 
six  of  the  natives.  In  the  scrimmage  which  succeeded,  the  captain 
and  six  seamen  were  killed,  after  which  the  other  seamen  succeeded 
in  repelling  the  assailants  and  saving  the  vessel.  Captain  Porter  was 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  89 

stabbed  in  the  back  and  thrown  overboard.  This  year  the  United 
States  explorers,  Lewis  and  Clarke,  readied  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River  overland  from  the  head  waters  of  the  Missouri.  A 
Russian  vessel,  the  Juno,  Captain  DeWolf,  also  made  a  visit  along 
the  western  coast,  calling  at  Nootka  and  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia. 

A  RUSSIAN  PROJECT. — The  trade  of  shipping  spars  from  the 
Columbia  River  was  initiated  in  1806,  by  the  Lydia,  on  her  return 
from  the  cruise  north  with  Jewitt  and  Thompson  aboard.  The  same 
year  the  Russian  inspector,  Rezanof,  purchased  the  Juno  for  his 
company  at  Archangel.  He  urged  on  his  company  and  his  govern- 
ment the  importance  of  founding  a  Russian  establishment  on  the 
Columbia  River,  with  a  view  of  gaining  exclusive  possession  of  the 
fur  trade.  To  accomplish  this,  he  considered  it  would  be  necessary 
to  build,  as  soon  as  possible,  an  armed  brig  to  drive  away  the 
"  Bostonians  "  from  this  trade'forever.  "  From  the  Columbia,"  he  said, 
"  we  could  gradually  advance  toward  the  south  to  the  port  of  San 
Francisco.  I  think  I  may  say,"  he  continues,  "  that  at  the  Columbia 
we  could  attract  population  from  various  localities,  and  in  the  course 
of  ten  years  we  should  become  strong  enough  to  make  use  of  any 
favorable  turn  in  European  politics  to  include  the  coast  of  California 
in  the  Russian  possessions." 

TRADING-POST  ON  THE  COLUMBIA. — The  Russians  now  took  an  active 
part  in  the  trade  of  the  coast,  and  made  arrangements  with  certain 
traders  to  hunt  on  shares.  The  "  Winships,"  wealthy  ship-owners, 
continued  to  carry  on  an  extensive  trade  in  1808,  '9,  '10,  and  had 
planned  a  permanent  settlement  or  trading-post  on  the  Columbia 
River.  A  site  was  selected  at  a  place  called  Point  Oak,  on  the 
southern  bank,  about  forty  miles  from  the  mouth.  After  considerable 
progress  had  been  made  on  a  building,  and  in  preparing  land  for 
crops,  an  inundation  forced  them  to  move  to  a  higher  spot  near  by. 
The  hostile  attitude  of  the  Indians  caused  the  project  to  be  abandoned 
altogether,  although  the  Indians  might  have  been  easily  controlled 
during  the  ship's  presence,  it  was  not  deemed  safe  to  leave  a  small 
party  exposed  to  such  danger. 

ASTORIA  FOUNDED. — John  Jacob  Astor,  of  New  York,  who  had 
accumulated  a  considerable  fortune  in  fur  dealing,  instituted  in  1810 
the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  with  Astoria,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
River,  as  its  emporium.  He  hoped  to  establish  a  line  of  posts  across 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  within  the  United  States  territory,  and  so 
become  the  great  fur  monopolist  of  the  whole  country.  After  the 


90  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

war  of  1812  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  British 
fur-traders  were  prohibited  by  Congress  from  carrying  on  their 
business  within  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  so  that  Mr.  Astor 
found  himself  with  no  more  advantages  than  others. 

THE  ILL-FATED  SHIP  "ToNQUiN." — To  supply  Mr.  Astor's  establish- 
ment at  Astoria,  the  ship  Tonguin,  Captain  Jonathan  Thorn,  left 
.New  York  in  September,  1810,  and  entered  the  Columbia  in  March, 
1811.  Captain  Thorn  had  for  principal  officer,  Alexander  Mackay, 
who  had  in  1792-93  accompanied  Alexander  Mackenzie  in  his  journey 
to  the  Pacific  coast.  After  landing  the  Astoria  portion  of  the  cargo 
and  arranging  the  preliminary  work  of  the  post,  Captain  Thorn 
departed  on  a  trading  voyage  northward  with  a  company  of  twenty- 
three  men,  including  officers.  They  sailed  until  they  reached 
Vancouver  Island  and  Clayoquot  Sound,  which  was  then,  the  report 
says,  inhabited  by  a  powerful  tribe — the  Wah-en-ishes.  These  people 
came  aboard  to  barter  furs  for  merchandise,  and  conducted  themselves 
in  the  most  friendly  manner  during  the  first  day.  The  same  evening 
information  was  brought  on  board  by  an  Indian,  whom  the  officers 
had  engaged  as  an  interpreter,  that  the  tribe  was  ill-disposed  and 
intended  attacking  the  ship  next  day.  Captain  Thorn,  whose  conduct 
during  the  voyage,  arid  especially  during  the  short  stay  made  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  showed  him  to  be  tyrannical  and  obstinate,  affected 
to  disbelieve  the  news. 

DEATH  OF  ALEXANDER  MACKAY. — Next  morning  the  savages  came 
around  the  vessel  in  great  numbers.  Mackay  advised  caution,  and 
ordered  seven  men  aloft  to  unfurl  the  sails.  In  the  meantime  the 
captain  permitted  about  fifty  Indians  to  come  on  board.  They 
immediately  began  to  exchange  otter  skins  for  blankets  and  knives. 
The  blankets  they  threw  into  their  canoes,  but  secreted  the  knives. 
As  had  been  previously  arranged  by  them,  when  armed  they  moved 
from  the  quarter-deck  to  different  parts  of  the  vessel,  so  that  when 
everything  was  in  readiness  they  were  so  distributed  that  at  least 
three  savages  were  opposite  to  every  man  on  the  ship.  At  a  given 
signal  they  rushed  on  their  prey,  and  notwithstanding  the  brave 
resistance  of  the  crew  on  deck,  every  individual  was  butchered  in  a 
few  minutes. 

FIVE  OF  THE  CREW  RETREATED  TO  THE  CABIN. — The  men  aloft,  in 
attempting  to  descend,  lost  two  of  their  men,  besides  one  mortally 
wounded,  who,  notwithstanding  his  weakened  condition,  made  good 
his  retreat  with  the  four  others  to  the  cabin.  The  interpreter  escaped 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  91 

and  was  secreted  by  the  women.  He  afterwards  reached  Astoria 
and  reported  the  affair.  Those  in  the  cabin  found  loaded  arms,  and 
began  firing  on  their  savage  assailants  through  the  skylights  and  the 
companion-way,  which  had  the  effect  of  clearing  the  ship  in  a 
short  time,  and  long  before  night  the  five  men  had  full  possession. 
Whether  from  lack  of  ability  to  navigate  the  vessel  back  to  the 
Columbia  River  or  want  of  courage,  the  four  men  who  were  unhurt 
left  in  the  long  boat  early  the  following  morning.  They  wished  the 
wounded  man  to  accompany  them,  but  he  refused,  saying  he  must 
die  before  Jong  and  was  as  well  in  the  vessel  as  elsewhere. 

MAGAZINE  BLOWN  UP. — Soon  after  sunrise,  the  Tonquin  was 
surrounded  by  a  great  number  of  Indians  in  canoes.  They  came  for 
the  purpose  of  unloading  her,  but  from  the  warm  parting  they  got  on 
the  previous  day,  did  not  seem  forward  in  boarding.  The  wounded 
man.  however,  showed  himself  at  the  railing,  made  signs  that  he  was 
alone  and  wanted  their  assistance,  on  which  some  ventured  on  board 
and  found  what  he  said  was  true.  They  spoke  to  their  people,  who 
then  came  aboard  quickly,  so  that  in  a  very  short  time  the  deck  was 
considerably  thronged,  and  they  proceeded  to  undo  the  hatches 
without  any  further  ceremony.  No  sooner  were  they  completely 
engaged  in  this,  than  the  only  survivor  of  the  crew  descended  to  the 
cabin,  and  having  everything  in  readiness,  set  tire  to  the  magazine, 
containing  nearly  nine  thousand  pounds  of  gunpowder,  which,  in  an 
instant,  blew  the  vessel  and  everyone  on  board  to  atoms.  The 
Indian  nation  acknowledged  having  lost  one  hundred  warriors,  beside 
a  vast  number  of  wounded,  by  the  explosion,  which  included  those  in 
canoes  around  the  ship.  The  four  men  who  set  off  in  the  long  boat 
were,  two  or  three  days  afterwards,  driven  ashore  in  a  gale  and 
massacred  by  the  natives.  The  interpreter  was  detained  two  years 
in  slavery  before  he  effected  his  escape. 

INTOXICATING  LIQUOR  PLAYS  HAVOC. — Whilst  on  the  sea-board  of 
the  Pacific,  the  natives  were  yearly  becoming  more  demoralized, 
more  passionately  fond  of  intoxicating  liquor,  which  was  supplied  to 
them  ad  libitum  by  many  of  the  masters  of  trading- vessels  to  whom 
the  demoralization  of  the  people  was  a  matter  of  indifference  so  long- 
as  they  were  enabled  to  fill  their  ships  with  furs,  the  North-West 
Company  were  extending  their  trade  westward,  following  at  first  the 
course  of  travel  which  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  took  in  his 
exploratory  trip  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1792-93. 


92  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEK   IX. 


FURTHER   EXPLORATIONS    AND    FUR-TRADING. 

THE  NORTH-WEST  COMPANY. — Mr.  Simon  Fraser's  explorations 
next  come  in  order.  They  have  exercised  considerable  influence  on 
the  history  of  British  Columbia.  Fraser  entered  the  service  of  the 
North- West  Company  in  1792,  at  the  age  of  nineteen;  ten  years 
later  he  became  a  partner.  In  1805  a  conference  was  held  at  Fort 
William,  north  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  to  discuss  the  advisability  of 
extending  the  operations  of  the  Company  beyond  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, for  the  purpose  of  occupying  the  territory.  This  action  was 
taken  to  anticipate  the  United  States  explorers  and  traders  who 
might  advance  northward  and  establish  a  claim  to  ownership  by 
right  of  discovery  and  occupation.  It  was  decided  that  trading-posts 
should  be  established  in  the  then  unknown  territory,  and  possession 
should  in  this  way  be  taken  of  it.  The  duty  of  carrying  out  this 
project  was  assigned  to  Mr.  Fraser.  He  soon  afterwards  left  Fort 
William,  made  his  way  to  Lake  Athabasca,  and  ascended  Peace  River 
to  a  suitable  place  in  the  mountains,  where  he  established  a  trading 
post,  which  he  named  Rocky  Mountain  Portage.  Placing  men  in 
charge,  he  continued  his  journey  to  McLeod  Lake,  which  he  discov- 
ered, and  where  he  established  Fort  McLeod. 

STUART  RIVER  AND  LAKE. — He  portaged  to  Fraser  River  in  1806. 
At  that  date  it  was  regarded  as  the  main  stream  of  the  Columbia,  or 
one  of  its  principal  affluents.  Leaving  the  Fraser  River,  he  ascended 
a  tributary  flowing  from  the  westward,  now  known  as  Stuart  River, 
and  so  named  from  a  companion  in  the  service,  Mr.  John  Stuart. 
He  traced  this  stream  to  Stuart  Lake ;  he  here  established  a  trading- 
post,  the  present  Fort  St.  James.  He  penetrated  to  Fraser  Lake, 
another  of  his  discoveries,  and  there  also  he  established  a  trading- 
station. 

ARRIVAL  OF  CANOES  AND  SUPPLIES. — In  1807,  two  canoes  with 
goods  from  Athabasca  reached  him,  under  the  charge  of  Messrs. 
Quesnel  and  Parries ;  at  the  same  time  he  received  letters  urging  him 
to  carry  on  his  explorations  to  the  ocean,  by  the  river  flowing  through 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  93 

the  country  to  the  south,  in  anticipation  of  parties  from  the  United 
States  who  were  displaying  some  activity  at  this  date ;  Lewis  and 
Clark  having  been  sent  out  by  the  United  States  government  to  the 
Pacific  coast.  This  year  Mr.  Fraser  established  another  post,  Fort 
George,  on  the  main  stream.  The  name  New  Caledonia  was  applied 
to  the  whole  territory. 

PREPARATIONS  COMPLETED. — In  the  spring  of  1808,  Mr.  Fraser, 
with  Messrs.  John  Stuart,  Jules  Maurice  Quesnel,  and  a  crew  of 
nineteen  men  and  two  Indians,  embarked  in  four  well-furnished 
canoes  to  explore  the  unknown  waters,  which  were  regarded  as  the 
main  affluent  of  the  Columbia.  They  left  Fort  George  on  May  26th, 
where  the  river  is  described  as  three  hundred  yards  wide,  with  a 
strong  current.  They  reached  its  mouth  on  July  1st,  and  found  the 
latitude  to  be  about  49°,  establishing  that  the  river  was  a  separate 
and  distinct  stream  and  not  the  Columbia,  which  it  was  then  known 
entered  the  ocean  in  46°  20'. 

FRIENDLY  INDIANS. — For  a  few  days  after  leaving  Fort  George, 
the  expedition  made  rapid  progress.  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  had, 
fifteen  years  earlier,  passed  over  some  extent  of  the  distance  to  the 
point  where,  on  the  advice  of  the  Indians,  he  turned  back,  to  follow 
a  trail  westward  to  the  sea.  The  Indians  whom  Mr.  Fraser  met 
were  friendly,  and  gave  him  similar  advice;  they  informed  him  that 
the  descent  of  the  river  was  extremely  dangerous,  that  he  could  not 
go  on,  and  that  the  whole  party  would  meet  destruction  if  they  made 
the  attempt.  The  object  of  the  undertaking  being' to  follow  the  river 
to  the  mouth,  Fraser  declined  to  turn  back.  The  verification  of  the 
Indian  description  of  the  navigation  was  not  long  delayed,  for  in  a 
short  time  appalling  difficulties  were  encountered. 

FRASER'S  JOURNAL. — A  narrative  of  the  journey  in  Fraser's  journal, 
published  a  few  years  ago  by  Senator  Masson,  furnishes  the  following 
extracts:  "On  June  1st,  five  days  after  they  started,  the  river  nar- 
rowed to  a  canyon,  in  which  they  lost  one  of  their  three  canoes."  On 
the  5th,  the  river  contracted  to  a  width  of  not  over  thirty  yards, 
between  precipices,  the  water  "turbulent,  noisy  and  awful  to  behold." 
They  made  a  portage  of  a  mile  over  most  difficult  ground,  leaving  the 
men  harassed  by  fatigue.  On  the  6th,  finding  a  cascade  and  whirl- 
pool hemmed  in  by  huge  rocks,  to  avoid  portaging  they  lightened  the 
canoes  and  ran  the  rapids.  On  the  9th,  "the  .channel  contracted  to 
about  forty  yards,  and  is  enclosed  by  two  precipices  of  immense 
height,  which,  bending  towards  each  other,  make  it  narrower  above 


94  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

than  below.  The  water  which  rolls  down  this  extraordinary  passage 
in  tumultuous  waves  and  with  great  velocity,  had  a  frightful  appear- 
ance. However,  it  being  absolutely  impossible  to  carry  canoes  by 
land,  all  hands  without  hesitation  embarked  as  it  were  a  corps  perdu 
upon  the  mercy  of  the  awful  tide.  .  .  .  Skimming  along  as  fast  as 
lightning,  the  crews,  cool  and  determined,  followed  each  other  in 
awful  silence,  and  when  we  arrived  at  the  end,  we  stood  gazing  at 
each  other  in  silent  congratulation  on  our  narrow  escape  from  total 
destruction." 

ABANDONED  THE  CANOES. — Eraser's  journal  further  states  :  "This 
afternoon  the  rapids  were  very  bad  ;  two  in  particular  were  worse,  if 
possible,  than  any  we  had  hitherto  met  with,  being  a  continual  series 
of  cascades,  intercepted  with  rocks  and  bounded  by  precipices  and 
mountains  that  seemed  at  times  to  have  no  end."  At  last  they  found 
the  navigation  wholly  impracticable,  while  the  precipitous  river  sides 
had  a  most  forbidding  aspect.  Even  men  of  their  nerve  could 
proceed  no  further  on  the  foaming  stream.  On  the  10th  they  were 
compelled  to  abandon  the  canoes  and  many  articles  not  absolutely 
required.  They  started  to  travel  the  rugged  banks  on  foot,  each 
with  a  load  of  eighty  pounds. 

REACHED  THE  CONFLUENCE  OF  A  LARGE  RIVER. — To  describe  the 
walking  would  baffle  description  ;  only  those  who  know  the  river  can 
imagine  what  these  travellers  endured,  passing  along  the  declivity  of 
mountains,  ascending  and  descending  rugged  rocks,  crossing  ravines 
and  climbing  precipices.  Thus  they  continued  for  nine  days,  until 
they  reached  a  large  and  rapid  river  flowing  from  the  east.  This  was 
named  Thompson  River,  after  David  Thompson,  astronomer  to  the 
North-West  Company,  who  shortly  afterwards  founded  Fort  Kamloops 
at  some  distance  up  the  river. 

JACKASS  MOUNTAIN. — That  part  of  the  bank  now  known  as  Jackass 
Mountain  was  reached  on  the  20th.  The  journal  reads  :  "  The  ascent 
was  dangerous;  stones  and  fragments  of  rocks  were  continually  giving 
way  from  our  feet  and  rolling  off  in  succession.  The  ascent  (on  the 
25th)  was  perfectly  perpendicular ;  one  of  the  Indians  climbed  to  the 
summit,  and  by  means  of  a  long  pole,  drew  us  up  one  after  the 
other.  This  work  took  three  hours  ;  thus  we  continued  our  course, 
up  hills  and  down,  and  along  the  steep  declivities  of  mountains, 
where  hanging  rocks  and  projecting  cliffs  at  the  edge  of  the  bank  of 
the  river,  made  the  passage  so  small  as  to  render  it  at  times  difficult 
for  one  person  to  pass  sideways." 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  95 

SPUZZUM. — They  arrived  at  what  is  now  called  Spuzzum,  on  the 
26th  ;  on  the  29th  they  emerged  from  the  canyon,  and  were  for- 
tunate enough  to  obtain  a  canoe  from  the  Indians  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, by  means  of  which  they  reached  tide  water  on  July  1st. 
The  Indians  on  the  coast  were  exceedingly  troublesome,  so  Fraser 
was  obliged  to  hasten  his  departure.  With  his  party  he  started  on 
July  3rd,  returning  by  the  route  they  name,  and  reached  their 
starting-point,  Fort  George,  on  the  6th  of  August. 


CHAPTEE  X. 


ROUTE  TO  THE  PACIFIC. 

DAVID  THOMPSON,  THE  ASTKONOMER. — Communication  to  the  in- 
terior of  New  Caledonia  from  the  Pacific  was  not  rendered  available  by 
the  Columbia  River  route  until  after  David  Thompson,  already  men- 
tioned, had  reached  Fort  Astoria,  which  he  did  in  1811,  but  not  by 
the  route  from  Athabasca.  Mr.  Thompson  was  of  Welsh  parentage. 
He  was  born  in  1770,  and  received  his  education  at  "The  Grey  Coat 
School,"  London.  He  entered  the  service  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany in  1789,  and  proceeded  to  Fort  Churchill,  where  he  remained 
five  years.  During  the  succeeding  nine  years  he  was  engaged  in 
making  surveys  of  the  Rivers  Nelson,  Churchill,  Saskatchewan  and 
their  tributaries,  frequently  visiting  York  Factory  during  that  period. 

JOINED  THE  NORTH-WEST  COMPANY. — Having  completed  his  en- 
gagement with  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  he  joined  the  North- West 
Company  in  1797,  when  he  went  to  the  Grand  Portage,  near  Lake 
Superior.  Following  his  duties  as  astronomer  and  geographer  to  the 
Company,  for  a  number  of  years  he  was  present  with  the  Mandan 
Indians  in  Missouri,  at  Lac  La  Biche,  Lake  Athabasca,  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  nearly  all  the  stations  of  the  Company  throughout 
the  vast  territory. 

NUMEROUS  AND  DIFFICULT  JOURNEYS. — He  made  several  attempts 
to  cross  the  Rocky  Mountains  farther  south  than  the  Peace  River 
Pass  used  by  Mackenzie  and  Fraser.  In  1800,  he  entered  the  moun- 
tains at  the  head  waters  of  the  Bow  River  by  the  same  pass  as  that 
now  followed  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  He  descended  one 


96  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

of  the  branches  of  the  Columbia,  but  was  compelled  by  hostile  Indians 
to  return.  In  1807,  he  was  again  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  passing 
by  what  is  now  known  as  Howe's  Pass.  This  time  he  reached  the 
Columbia  River,  and  ascended  it  to  the  source,  where  he  built  Fort 
Kootenay.  In  1808,  he  descended  River  Kootenay  to  Kootenay 
Lake,  where  he  entered  into  trade  relations  with  the  Flathead 
Indians  of  that  country.  He  returned  to  Fort  Kootenay  by  another 
route,  descended  the  Columbia  to  Blackberry  River,  and  recrossed 
the  mountains  by  Howe's  Pass.  His  party  had  collected  a  consider- 
able quantity  of  furs,  which  they  brought  to  Rainy  Lake  House, 
which  they  reached  August  2nd.  His  party  and  himself  suffered 
much  hardship  on  the  expedition. 

KICKING  HORSE  PASS. — Mr.  Thompson  again  started  west  on 
August  4th,  and  arrived  at  the  Columbia  River,  October  3rd  ;  this 
time  probably  by  Kicking  Horse  Pass,  now  used  by  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  as  in  his  notes  he  mentions  that  rapid  river  as 
flowing  westward.  He  went  as  far  as  Kootenay  and  made  explorations 
in  that  region,  and  collected  furs  which  his  party  brought  east  with 
them.  There  is  some  confusion  of  dates  in  Mr.  Thompson's  account 
about  this  time,  but  it  appears  that,  late  in  the  autumn  of  1810,  he 
ascended  Athabasca  River  to  its  source,  and  crossed  the  mountains  by 
what  is  now  known  as  the  Athabasca  Pass  to  the  Columbia,  where  he 
arrived  early  in  January,  1811.  He  spent  the  remainder  of  the  winter 
at  the  mouth  of  Canoe  River,  at  the  Big  Bend  of  the  Columbia,  and 
early  in  the  spring  left  for  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  but  he  did  not 
follow  the  stream  with  the  current  as  was  the  general  method,  but 
ascended  the  river  to  its  source,  crossed  McGillivray  portage  and 
descended  Kootenay  River,  thence  by  Pend  d' Oreille  and  Spokane 
Rivers.  On  June  19th  he  reached  the  falls  of  the  Columbia  at  the 
point  where  Fort  Colville  was  subsequently  erected,  and  thence 
followed  the  main  river  to  the  Pacific  coast,  where  he  arrived  on 
July  15th. 

THE  PACIFIC  FUR  COMPANY. — Mr.  Thompson  was  kindly  received 
by  the  officers  of  the  Pacific  Fur-  Company,  who  had  arrived  a  few 
weeks  earlier,  and  were  then  establishing  Fort  Astoria.  He  remained 
a  few  days,  and  returned  as  he  came  to  Fort  Colville,  thence  by 
Arrow  Lakes  and  the  Columbia  to  the  mouth  of  Canoe  River,  the 
point  whence  he  had  started  a  few  months  previously.  It  is  probable 
that  before  he  returned  east  he  proceeded  to  the  Thompson  River, 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  97 

located  Fort   Kamloops,  and  defined  the  future   route   to  and  from 
Athabasca  through  New  Caledonia. 

DEPENDENT  ON  INDIANS  FOR  FOOD.  —  In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Fraser's 
colleagues  were  actively  engaged  in  extending  the  trade  of  the  Com- 
pany in  the  interior.  It  was  demonstrated  by  Mr.  Fraser  that  a 
portion  of  Fraser  River  was  impracticable  for  navigation  and  could 
not  be  used.  This  will  readily  be  conceded  by  modern  travellers  on 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  as  they  are  carried  comfortably  in  the 
train  which  runs  along  the  Fraser  from  the  confluence  of  the  Thomp- 
son, and  as  they  look  with  astonishment  and  awe  on  the  frowning 
precipices  along  which  Mr.  Fraser  and  his  party  made  their  toilsome 
and  dangerous  way.  That  journey  throughout  had  required  the 
greatest  nerve  and  courage.  The  travellers  on  the  lower  section  of 
the  route  were  dependent  on  the  Indians  for  food,  which  consisted  of 
dried  fish,  berries  and  roots.  Except  on  the  upper  section  of  the 
interior  previously  visited  by  Mackenzie,  none  of  the  tribes  on  the 
route  had  ever  before  seen  the  face  of  a  white  man.  Great  caution 
and  prudence  were  required  to  avoid  awakening  the  enmity  of  the 
natives. 

SIMON  FRASER'S  RETIREMENT. — Mr.  Fraser  remained  in  the  service 
of  the  Company  for  some  years  after  the  exploration  of  the  river  which 
has  been  named  in  his  honor.  After  his  retirement  from  the  position 
which  he  occupied  he  was  offered  a  knighthood,  but  declined  the  title 
on  account  of  his  limited  wealth.  He  died  at  St.  Andrews,  near 
Montreal,  in  1863,  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine.  Mr.  Sandford  Fleming, 
in  a  paper  read  before  the  Royal  Society  of  Canada,  8th  May,  1889, 
states  that  Mr.  Fraser  died  poor,  leaving  no  provision  for  his  family, 
three  of  whom  survive  him,  viz.,  his  daughter,  Catherine  Harriet 
Fraser,  who  resides  in  Cornwall,  Province  of  Ontario,  and  her  two 
brothers — William,  who  lives  in  Hamilton,  Ont.,  and  Roderick,  in  St. 
Andrews,  county  of  Stormont. 

SANDFORD  FLEMING'S  REFERENCE  TO  DAVID  THOMPSON. — In  the 
same  interesting  paper,  Mr.  Fleming,  referring  to  Mr.  David 
Thompson,  says  that,  in  1799,  he  married  Charlotte  Small,  aged 
fifteen.  He  lived  to  be  eighty-seven,  dying  at  Longueuil,  opposite 
Montreal,  in  extreme  poverty.  His  widow  followed  him  to  the 
grave  in  a  few  weeks.  Bancroft  says  of  David  Thompson  :  "  No 
man  performed  more  valuable  services  or  estimated  his  achievements 
more  modestly."  He  was  well  educated,  and  his  meteorological  and 
astronomical  observations  to  this  day  command  respect.  Three  of  his 


98  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

daughters  survive :  Mrs.  G.  E.  Shaw,  of  Peterborough,  Ontario ;  Mrs. 
R.  Scott,  Evansville,  Indiana,  and  Miss  Thompson,  Ivanhoe,  Ohio. 

BANCROFT'S  OPINION. — The  North- West  Company  had  thus  obtained 
a  footing  in  New  Caledonia,  and,  through  their  enterprising  leaders 
and  explorers,  were  in  a  position  to  increase  their  trade.  Bancroft 
speaking  of  them  pays  them  the  following  high  compliment :  "Of  all 
associations  formed  at  any  time  or  place  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
the  skins  of  fur-bearing  animals,  the  North- West  Company,  of 
Montreal,  was  the  most  daring,  dashing,  audacious  and  ultimately 
successful.  It  energy  was  only  surpassed  by  the  apathy  of  its  great 
chartered  rival  which  had  been  in  existence  113  years.  Canada  had 
been  twenty  years  in  British  possession  when  it  was  organized, 
without  assistance,  privileges,  or  government  favors,  by  a  few  Scotch 
•Canadians  for  the  better  prosecution  of  a  business  with  which  they 
were  all  more  or  less  familiar." 

SCOTTISH  SHREWDNESS  AND  ENERGY. — "  Infusing  into  their  traffic 
the  spirit  of  adventure  and  enterprise,  these  associates  pushed  the 
fur  trade  beyond  Lake  Superior  to 'Winnipeg,  Saskatchewan  and 
Athabasca,  and  finally  overspread  the  then  new  North- West.  It  was 
they  who  found  the  River  Mackenzie  and  followed  it  to  the  Frozen 
Ocean ;  it  was  they  who  ascended  Peace  River,  crossed  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  planted  posts  upon  their  western  slopes,  and  traversed 
the  country  to  the  Pacific ;  it  was  they  who^  by  their  Scotch  shrewd- 
ness and  resistless  energy,  after  absorbing  the  Canada  trade  took 
possession  of  the  north-west  coast,  swept  Astor  from  the  Columbia 
and  brought  the  monster  monopoly  itself  upon  its  knees.5' 

FORMATION  OF  THE  COMPANY. — The  Company  was  formed  in  the 
winter  of  1783-4,  by  the  larger  part  of  the  wealthiest  and  most 
influential  of  the  merchants  of  Montreal.  The  number  of  shares 
originally  was  sixteen.  Among  the  partners  were  Simon  McTavish, 
Benjamin  and  Joseph  Frobisher,  MacGillivray,  Recheblave,  Fraser 
•and  others.  Messrs.  Pond,  Pangman,  Gregory,  McLeod  and  the 
afterwards  famous  Alexander  Mackenzie  were  admitted  to  the 
partnership  in  1787,  and  the  number  of  shares  was  increased  to 
twenty.  The  company  then  included  the  best  mercantile  men  in  the 
country — the  choicest  of  Canadian  ""fur-traders.  The  partners  were 
not  required  to  pay  any  money  into  the  concern,  but  every  partner 
must  be  a  strong  man  in  some  one  particular  branch  of  the  business. 

PLAN  OF  OPERATIONS. — It  was  worked  in  this  way  :  The  two 
wealthiest  commercial  establishments  in  Montreal  were  those  of  the 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  99 

Messrs.  Frobishers  and  Simon  McTavish.  These  two  distinct  houses, 
while  continuing  their  regular  business,  acted  conjointly  as  agents  of 
the  North-West  Company  in  Montreal.  They  were  to  supply  the 
necessary  capital  for  conducting  the  business,  and  were  to  receive 
interest  on  the  money  actually  used  in  the  Company's  transactions. 
They  were  to  obtain  supplies  from  England,  have  the  goods  on  hand 
in  Montreal,  according  to  the  requirements  of  the  trade,  and  packed 
and  shipped  to  the  Grand  Portage,  on  the  north  of  Lake  Superior, 
where  the  French-Canadians  formerly  had  a  rendezvous,  and  where  the 
North-West  Company  then  made  their  headquarters ;  bringing  there 
every  spring  the  furs  collected  and  sending  thence  fresh  supplies  for 
the  interior.  To  this  rendezvous  two  of  the  Montreal  agents  pro- 
ceeded every  year  to  attend  to  the  transfer  business,  for  which  service 
the  Montreal  partners  received  a  commission  in  addition  to  dividends 
on  their  shares. 

WINTERING  PARTNERS. — The  other  proprietors  were  to  spend  their 
time  in  the  Indian  country,  managing  the  business  with  the  assistance 
of  clerks,  remaining  during  the  winter  in  the  fur-trading  districts,  and 
were  termed  "wintering  partners."  They  were  not  obliged  to  furnish 
capital,  but  ability  and  energy  ;  and  even  then  such  was  the  skill  and 
influence  of  some  of  them  that  they  held  two  shares,  with  one  of  which 
they  might  at  any  time  retire  from  active  service,  each  naming  a  clerk 
as  his  successor,  who  was  entitled  to  the  other  share.  It  was  a  perfect 
system — an  admirable  combination  of  skill  and  capital — founded  not 
on  speculative  theory  but  on  actual  experience  and  practical  necessity. 

PARTNERSHIP. — It  was  no  easy  matter  to  obtain  admission  into 
this  partnership.  It  could  only  be  accomplished  by  long  and  arduous 
service  ;  money  was  no  object,  ability  was  everything.  It  was  what 
the  candidate  could  perform,  not  his  relationship  which  secured  him 
the  position.  Clerks  succeeded  to  partnership  after  a  five  or  seven 
years'  apprenticeship,  receiving  one  hundred  pounds  sterling  for  the 
term,  according  to  priority  and  merit.  If,  at  the  expiration  of  their 
apprenticeship,  there  was  no  immediate  vacancy  in  the  partnership, 
a  salary  of  from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred  pounds  per  annum, 
was  allowed  according  to  merit,  until  they  could  take  their  place 
as  partners. 

INTERPRETERS  RECEIVE  EXTRA  PAY.  —  Apprentices,  during  their 
initiation  term  sometimes  added  to  their  duties  the  office  of  inter- 
preter, receiving  extra  pay  therefor.  Shares  could  only  be  sold  to 
servants  of  the  Company,  whose  admission  as  partners  was  secured 


100  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

by  vote ;  the  seller  of  a  share  received  only  its  value  based  upon 
actual  earning  irrespective  of  probable  dividends.  This  held  out 
to  meritorious  young  men,  who  had  served  a  five  or  seven  years' 
apprenticeship,  the  prospect  of  some  day  obtaining  shares  without 
the  payment  of  a  premium ;  and  if  worthy,  they  were  seldom  disap- 
pointed. Each  share  was  entitled  to  a  vote,  and  a  two-thirds  vote 
was  necessary  to  the  carrying  of  a  measure.  Thus,  by  a  liberal  and 
intelligent  policy  interest  was  aroused  and  emulation  sustained,  and 
the  affairs  of  the  Company  were  no  less  wisely  ordered  than  efficiently 
executed. 

GREAT  SUCCESS  IN  1788. —  From  such  a  complete  organization, 
signal  success  was  obtained.  In  1788,  the  gross  return  of  the  trade 
was  .£40,000.  It  reached  three  times  that  amount  in  eleven  years. 
The  partnership  having  in  1790  expired  through  lapse  of  time,  was 
renewed.  Some  of  the  former  partners  retired  ;  others  were  admitted, 
and  the  shares  were  increased  to  the  number  of  forty-six.  A  new 
firm  was  formed  by  the  retired  partners  and  others,  who  built  a 
new  fort,  and  styled  themselves  the  X.  Y.  Company.  So,  for  a  time, 
there  was  an  additional  powerful  company  in  the  field  ;  but  in  1805, 
yielding  to  the  dictates  of  interest,  the  two  companies  united.  The 
new  fort  was  named  Fort  William,  after  William  MacGillivray  who 
originated  the  measure,  which  first  in  the  North- West  Company  and 
later  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  made  every  efficient  clerk  in  due 
time  partner  or  shareholder.  The  demolition  of  the  old  fort  and  the 
building  of  the  new  was  in  consequence  of  the  boundary  line  between 
the  United  States  and  Canada  having  been  determined,  the  old  fort 
having  been  found  to  be  on  United  States  ground.  The  Company, 
therefore,  built  the  new  fort  forty-five  miles  to  the  northward,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Katninistiqua  River,  flowing  into  Thunder  Bay,  on 
the  shore  of  Lake  Superior. 

THE  X.  Y.  COMPANY. — The  routine  of  the  Company's  business  was 
as  follows  :  In  October  of  each  year  the  agents  at  Montreal  ordered 
goods  from  London,  which  were  shipped  the  following  spring  and 
reached  Canada  in  the  summer.  Those  goods  consisted  of  coarse 
woollen  and  cotton  cloths,  calicoes,  blankets,  silk  and  cotton  hand- 
kerchiefs, hats,  hose  and  shoes,  thread  and  twine,  brass  kettles,  cutlery 
and  other  hardware,  arms  and  ammunition.  Tobacco,  liquors  and 
provisions  were  obtained  in  Canada.  No  money  was  directly  em- 
ployed in  the  purchase  of  furs  from  the  natives  :  Indians  scarcely 
ever  knew  what  money  was. 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  101 

SHIPPED  TO  LONDON. — Next  winter  the  cloth  was  made  into  such 
articles  as  suited  the  trade  with  the  natives.  The  stock  required 
was  then  put  into  packages  of  ninety  pounds  each,  and  sent  from 
Montreal  the  following  May,  reaching  the  wilderness  market  the 
winter  following — two  years  from  the  date  of  ordering.  Goods  for 
the  trading-posts  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Pacific  were 
still  longer  in  reaching  their  market.  Goods  were  frequently  kept 
over  a  year  or  two  at  the  interior  forts,  and  thus  furs  did  not  reach 
Montreal  until  the  autumn  following  the  winter  of  their  purchase. 
Then  they  were  shipped  for  the  most  part  to  London  and  sold  ;  but 
payment  was  not  received  until  the  succeeding  spring  and  summer, 
three  years  at  least  from  the  shipment  from  England  of  the  goods 
with  which  they  were  purchased,  and  sometimes  four  or  five  years. 

LONG  CREDIT  GIVEN.— Allowing  the  Montreal  agents  twelve  months' 
credit  in  London,  they  were  still  obliged  to  carry  for  two  years  the 
outlay  for  the  goods  and  the  expenses  attending  their  sale.  Those 
expenses  were  about  equivalent  to  the  first  cost  of  the  goods.  So 
that  when  the  traffic  was  £80,000.  or  £120,000  per  annum,  the 
amount  required  to  be  carried,  especially  for  those  times,  was  enor- 
mous ;  and  although  profits  were  large,  expenses,  risk  and  wages  were 
also  large.  At  first  the  goods  for  New  Caledonia  and  Astoria  were 
transported  in  boats,  on  men's  backs  and  on  horseback,  at  immense 
cost  and  labor.  Later  they  were  shipped  round  Cape  Horn  and 
brought  up  the  Columbia  and  Fraser  Rivers. 

FOUNDERS  OF  THE  FUR  TRADE. — Such  were  the  enterprising, 
energetic  and  able  men  who  first  introduced  trade  and  civilization  into 
New  Caledonia, : and  such  was  the  admirable  and  complete  system 
which  enabled  them  to  control  the  natives  and  deal  with  them  so 
successfully.  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  Simon  Fraser  and  David 
Thompson  had  discovered  the  routes.  The  Columbia  River  route, 
although  lengthy  and  difficult,  was  adopted  as  the  best  connecting 
with  the  great  emporium,  Montreal.  In  1813,  they  had  extended 
their  operations  to  Astoria,  and  purchased  that  trading-port  on  the 
Pacific,  thus  occupying  the  whole  region  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, including  the  trade  which  belonged  to  the  tributaries  of  the 
Columbia  from  the  Flathead  country,  which  extended  to  near  the 
head  waters  of  the  Missouri  River.  That  river  had  been  previously 
surveyed  by  David  Thompson  in  defining  the  boundary  between  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  and  which  necessitated  the  removal  of  the 
fort  at  Lake  Superior  to  Fort  William,  as  already  referred  to.  The 


102  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

writer  of  this  visited  one  of  their  forts  at  Fort  Benton,  in  1883.  It 
was  substantially  built  of  adobe,  and  had  it  been  kept  in  repair,  could 
have  been  occupied  to  the  present  time.  So  it  thus  appears  that  the 
North-West  Company  was  in  possession  of  the  whole  of  the  northern 
portion  of  the  Continent,  with  the  exception  of  that  occupied  by  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  whose  headquarters  were  at  Norway  House, 
and  the  strip  on  the  extreme  north-west  coast  where  the  operations 
of  the  Russian  Fur  Company  were  carried  on. 

BUSINESS  IN  1798. — The  following  statement  of  the  North  West 
Company's  business  for  1798,  gives  106,000  beaver;  2,100  bear; 
5,500  fox  ;  4,600  otter  ;  17,000  musquash  ;  32  marten  ;  1,800  mink  : 
600  lynx;  600  wolverine;  1,650  fisher;  100  racoon;  3,800  wolf; 
700  elk  ;  1,950  deer  ;  and  500  buffalo  skins.  In  the  foregoing  list 
there  was  only  a  very  small  quantity  from  New  Caledonia.  The 
employes  of  the  Company  were:  50  clerks,  1,120  canoe-men,  and  35 
guides.  Of  these,  350  boatmen,  18  guides  and  5  clerks  were  employed 
between  Montreal  and  Fort  William. 

GUIDES,  EQUIPMENTS,  ETC. — 'As  compensation  for  the  trip,  the 
guides  received,  besides  expenses  and  the  privilege  of  trading  on  their 
own  account,  $160  and  their  equipment;  foremen  and  steersmen, 
$90  ;  middlemen,  $70,  and  a  shirt,  trousers  and  blanket.  Those  who 
wintered  at  the  upper  end  of  the  route  received  double  pay.  All 
other  employes  were  engaged  by  the  year  or  a  term  of  years.  A 
first-class  equipment  consisted  of  fourteen  pounds  of  tobacco,  two 
blankets,  two  shirts,  two  pairs  of  trousers,  two  handkerchiefs,  and 
some  trinkets  for  trading;  second  class,  ten  pounds  of  tobacco  and 
other  articles ;  third  class,  half  the  quantity  of  second  class.  To  the- 
north-men,  as  the  employes  who  wintered  in  the  forest  were  called, 
were  attached  more  than  seven  hundred  native  women  and  children, 
victualled  at  the  Company's  expense.  During  the  height  of  their 
power,  two  thousand  voyagers  were  employed  at  an  average  wage  of 
$200  per  annum.  The  gross  annual  return  of  the  trade  at  that  time 
was  about  $750,000.  A  writer  (Umfreville)  asserts,  "  that  while  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  through  false  economy,  endeavored  to  make 
boatmen  of  the  Indians,  and  ground  their  servants  down  to  £15  per 
annum,  the  Canada  merchants  paid  theirs  £40.  Yet  the  former 
stigmatized  the  latter  as  pedlers,  thieves  and  interlopers,  because 
they  went  where  trade  was,  instead  of  waiting  for  it  to  come  to  them." 

BRIGADES— How  FITTED  OUT. — It  may  be  interesting  at  the 
present  time  to  learn  how  those  brigades  were  fitted  out.  The  start 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  103 

was  made  from  Lachine,  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  eight  miles  above 
Montreal,  in  the  month  of  May,  when  the  lakes  and  rivers  are  nearly 
free  from  ice.  At  a  cost  of  about  $60  each,  the  requisite  number  of 
canoes  were  provided,  say,  thirty,  in  which  case  the  squadron  was 
divided  into  three  brigades,  each  having  its  guide  or  pilot,  whose 
business  it  was  to  point  out  the  course,  take  charge  of  boats  and 
property,  attend  to  all  repairs,  and  act  as  commander  or  admiral,  to 
whom  the  voyagers  stood  in  the  relation  of  common  sailors. 

FOREMAN  AND  STEERSMAN. — In  each  boat  were  eight  or  ten  men 
with  their  baggage,  six  hundred  pounds  of  biscuit,  two  hundred 
pounds  of  pork,  three  bushels  of  pease — these  as  ship's  stores ;  with 
sixty-five  packages  of  goods  as  freight.  The  equipment  of  the  canoe 
consisted  of  two  oilcloths  with  which  to  cover  the  goods,  a  sail  and 
sailing  tackle,  an  axe,  a  towing  line,  a  kettle  for  cooking  purposes,  a 
sponge  for  bailing,  and  some  gum,  bark  and  waptae  for  repairs.  To 
the  inexperienced  observer  of  these  frail  craft,  thus  crowded  with 
men  and  heaped  with  goods,  three  or  four  tons  in  each,  until  the 
gunwale  was  within  six  inches  of  the  water,  it  seemed  that  destruction 
was  inevitable,  especially  when  winds  and  swift  currents  were  con- 
sidered. But  so  experienced  and  expert  are  these  Canadian  boatmen, 
that  loss  of  life  and  property  was  comparatively  rare,  although 
accidents  were  frequent.  Two  picked  men,  a  foreman  and  a 
steersman,  were  placed,  the  one  in  the  bow  and  the  other  in  the 
stern  of  every  canoe.  Those  who  simply  plied  the  paddle  were  called 
middlemen.  A  sail  was  hoisted  whenever  the  wind  was  favorable. 

SMALLER  CANOES  AND  BOATS  USED  WESTWARD. — Above  Fort 
William  and  the  Grand  Portage,  the  boats  used  were  only  about  half 
the  size  of  those  used  from  the  east,  and  were  managed  by  four,  five 
or  six  men.  They  carried  about  thirty-five  packages,  twenty-three  of 
which  were  for  purposes  of  trade,  and  the  remainder  for  luggage  or 
stores.  Ninety-pound  packages,  from  long  experience,  were  proved 
to  be  the  most  convenient  weight.  The  usual  load  for  one  man  was 
two  packages,  but  if  the  way  was  exceedingly  rugged,  one  sufficed, 
although  an  ambitious  boatman  would  sometimes  carry  three.  These 
were  slung  upon  the  back,  and  there  supported  by  a  strap  placed 
across  the  forehead.  The  cargoes  were  thus  carried  to  some  point 
above  the  fall  or  rapid,  to  which  the  canoes  were  towed  by  a  strong 
line  or  carried  on  the  men's  shoulders.  The  carrying-place  or 
*'  portage "  passed,  the  boats  were  again  loaded  and  the  party 
proceeded.  So  methodical  and  expert  did  these  boatmen  become  by 


104  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

practice,  that  a  portage  was  made  in  an  incredibly  short  time,  from 
twelve  to  twenty  being  frequently  passed  in  a  single  day.  The 
length  of  the  portage  varied  greatly,  extending  from  sixty  yards  to  six 
miles,  or  even  twice  or  thrice  that  distance.  Round  a  perpendicular 
fall  the  way  was  usually  not  far.  In  crossing  from  one  stream  to 
another  the  carrying-places  were  longest. 

THE  EARLY  TRADERS  DESERVE  CREDIT. — Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie, 
in  his  journal,  says  :  "  The  tract  of  a  transport  occupies  an  extent  of 
from  three  to  four  thousand  miles,  through  upwards  of  sixty  large 
lakes  and  numerous  rivers,  and  the  means  of  transport  on  slight  bark 
canoes.  It  must  also  be  observed  that  these  waters  are  intercepted 
by  more  than  two  hundred  rapids,  along  which  the  articles  of 
merchandise  are  chiefly  carried  on  men's  backs,  and  over  one  hundred 
and  thirty  carrying-places,  from  twenty-five  paces  to  thirteen  miles 
in  length,  where  the  canoes  and  cargoes  proceeded  by  the  same 
toilsome  .  and  perilous  operation."  Contrast  this,  then  the  only 
available  and  best  method  of  transit  of  goods  and  travel  less  than 
one  hundred  years  ago,  with  the  present  railway  and  steamboat 
accommodation,  and  the  changes  which  are  found  to  have  taken 
place  are  marvellous.  When  the  distance  from  Athabasca  Pass  to 
Astoria  is  added,  with  its  accompanying  difficulties,  it  will  readily 
be  conceded  that  those  early  traders  deserve  more  credit  than  is 
generally  awarded  to  them. 

COLUMBIA  RIVER  BOATS. — The  birch  bark  canoe  was  not  the  kind 
generally  used  in  New  Caledonia.  A  boat  specially  for  the  trade  of 
the  Columbia  River,  was  made  at  Okanagan.  It  was  modelled  after 
a  whale-boat,  and  clinker  built,  with  all  the  timbers  flat,  and  so  light 
that  it  could  be  easily  carried.  In  the  construction,  pine  gum  was 
used  instead  of  pitch.  It  was  a  bateau,  thirty-two  feet  long,  six  and 
a  half  feet  amidships,  made  of  thin  pine  boards,  both  ends  sharp, 
without  keel,  and  propelled  either  with  oars  or  paddles.  Between 
points  of  communication,  after  leaving  the  Columbia  and  some  of  the 
northern  trading-posts  to  Athabasca,  it  was  not  uncommon  in  some 
of  the  passes  of  New  Caledonia  to  see  a  train  of  two  hundred  horses, 
each  laden  with  two  packages  of  furs,  winding  with  the  narrow  trail 
round  cliffs  and  through  passes,  on  their  way  to  canoe  navigation. 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  105 


CHAPTEE  XI. 


OPERATIONS  ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER. 

ALEXANDER  HENRY. — A  fur  trader  of  some  note,  Alexander  Henry, 
is  connected  with  the  history  of  this  period  at  Astoria  (Fort  George). 
He  was  present  there  when  Captain  William  Black  and  officers  of 
the  war-sloop  Racoon  landed  in  1813  and  took  possession  of  the 
country  in  the  name  of  his  Britannic  Majesty.  This  had  now 
become  the  place  of  rendezvous  for  a  large  number  of  fur  traders, 
who,  since  the  treacherous  and  most  barbarous  massacre  of  the  crew 
of  the  Boston  by  Maquinna,  had  avoided  N"ootka.  Mr.  Henry  first 
left  Montreal  in  1799.  For  ten  years  or  so  he  was  engaged  in  the 
Red  River  and  Saskatchewan  Districts,  going  south  of  Pembina  to 
Fort  Abercrornby,  and  also  visited  the  forts  on  the  Missouri.  From 
1811  to  his  death  in  1814,  his  mission  was  in  New  Caledonia.  He 
was  drowned  during  a  heavy  storm  whilst  crossing  the  river."  In  the 
boat  were  Mr.  Henry  and  Mr.  Donald  MacTavish,  two  partners  of 
long  standing  and  high  reputation  in  the  North- West  Company's 
service,  and  six  men.  All  hands  perished  by  the  swamping  of  the 
boat,  with  the  exception  of  one  man,  John  Little,  who  swam  to  shore. 
The  accident  took  place  in  broad  daylight,  opposite  the  fort,  but  was 
not  perceived  or  known  for  some  hours  after,  until  the  man  who  was 
saved  arrived  at  the  fort  and  communicated  the  sad  news. 

Ross  Cox. — The  second  ship  sent  from  New  York  by  the  Pacific 
Fur  Company,  the  Beaver,  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  on 
May  9th,  1812.  Among  the  passengers  was  Mr.  Ross  Cox,  who, 
having  obtained  a  clerkship  in  the  service  of  the  Company,  had 
proceeded  to  Astoria  to  assume  his  duties.  In  a  narrative  which  he 
published,  he  describes  his  adventures  on  the  Pacific  coast  and  his 
journey  overland  to  Montreal.  In  this  publication  he  refers  to  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  David  Thompson,  on  July  15th,  1811,  in  a  canoe  with 
nine  men.  Mr.  Cox,  during  the  summer  of  1812,  left  for  the  interior 
to  trade  with  the  Spokane  Indians.  The  following  year  he  returned 
to  Astoria,  to  find  a  complete  revolution.  The  Pacific  Fur  Company 
had  met  with  a  series  of  misfortunes,  in  the  loss  of  the  Tonqmn  and 


106  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

otherwise.  Mr.  John  George  MacTavish  and  Joseph  La  Rocque,  with 
sixteen  men  of  the  North- West  Company,  had  arrived  and  entered 
into  an  agreement  to  purchase  all  the  eflects  of  the  Pacific  Fur 
Company  at  a  valuation,  and  to  give  such  of  the  Company's  servants 
as  desired  to  return,  a  free  passage  home  by  Cape  Horn  or  overland. 

FLATHEAD  INDIANS. — Mr.  Cox  was  one  of  those  who  joined  the 
new  administration.  He  left  Astoria,  October  ^8th,  to  spend  the 
winter  in  trading  with  the  Flathead  Indians  in  the  interior.  The 
following  year  he  returned  to  headquarters,  by  that  time  named  Fort 
George,  where  he  remained  two  months.  On  August  4th  he  left  for 
Spokane  House.  Between  1815  and  1817  he  was  in  charge  at  Fort 
Okanagan,  and  in  the  spring  of  the  latter  year  he  was  again  at  Fort 
George,  whence  he  took  his  departure  on  April  16th,  with  a  party 
consisting  of  eighty-six  men  who  embarked  in  two  barges  and  nine 
canoes. 

THE  NEW  ADMINISTRATION. — The  brigade  ascended  the  Columbia 
to  Canoe  River,  and  thence  crossed  the  mountains  by  the  usual  route 
by  Lesser  Slave  Lake,  He  a  la  Crosse,  to  Cumberland  House.  They 
descended  the  Saskatchewan,  passed  across  Lake  Winnipeg,  Lake  of 
the  Woods  and  Rainy  Lake,  and  arrived  at  Fort  William  on 
August  16th.  At  that  date  Captain  Miles  Macdonrtell,  formerly  ot 
the  Queen's  Rangers,  then  connected  with  the  expedition  of  Lord 
Selkirk,  and  others  were  at  the  fort.  There  was  encamped  a  motley 
gathering  of  voyageurs,  soldiers,  Indians  and  half-breeds.  Besides 
natives  of  Canada  and  the  United  States,  Mr.  Cox  states  he  saw  men 
from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  two  negroes,  and  an  East  Indian  from 
Bengal.  Proceeding  by  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  French  River  and  the 
Ottawa,  Mr.  Cox  reached  Montreal,  September  19th,  five  months  and 
three  days  from  the  date  of  leaving  the  Pacific  coast. 

ALEXANDER  Ross. — Another  of  the  pioneers  of  New  Caledonia  was 
Mr.  Alexander  Ross.  He  was  one  of  the  twenty -eight  Canadians 
who  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  in  1811,  in  the  ill-fated 
Tonquin.  Mr.  Ross  relates  his  adventures  during  the  fifteen  years 
he  remained  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  published  in  1849  and  1855  a 
narrative  of  his  expedition  across  the  Continent.  When  in  Upper 
Canada  he  was  invited  by  Mr.  Alexander  Mackay,  the  senior  partner, 
to  join  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  then  being  organized  by  Mr.  Astor. 
He  proceeded  with  several  Canadians  to  New  York,  and  there 
embarked  for  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  The  Company  comprised 
thirty-three  persons,  all  but  three  of  whom  were  British  subjects. 


THE   FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  107 

Mr.  Ross  was  present  when  Astoria  was  established,  and  when  David 
Thompson,  of  the  North-West  Company,  arrived  there  a  few  weeks 
later.  He  describes  the  circumstances  which  led  during  the  follow- 
ing summer  to  the  breaking  up  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  and  the 
transfer  of  the  stores,  merchandise  and  buildings  to  the  North- West 
Company.  Mr.  Ross  entered  the  service  of  the  latter  company,  and 
proceeded  to  discharge  the  duties  assigned  him  in  the  interior.  He 
spent  the  following  twelve  years  trading  with  the  Indian  tribes, 
amongst  whom  he  had  many  adventures,  and  not  a  few  hair-breadth 
escapes. 

GABRIEL  FRANCHERE. — Mr.  Gabriel  Franchere,  another  of  the 
passengers  of  the  Tonquin,  who  fortunately  remained  at  Astoria, 
relates  his  experience  in  a  narrative  published  by  him  on  his  return. 
His  statement  agrees  with  that  of  Mr.  Alexander  Ross  as  to  the 
number  of  passengers  being  thirty-three,  thirty  of  whom  were  British 
subjects,  and  of  these  who  had  formerly  been  in  the  North- West 
Company,  including  Alexander  Mackay,  who  had  accompanied  Sir 
Alexander  Mackenzie  on  his  overland  travels.  On  the  12th  of  April, 
a  site  was  selected  for  a  building  in  which  the  business  of  the  com- 
pany could  be  carried  on.  The  establishment  broke  up  in  two  years, 
and  on  October  16th,  1813,  the  Canadian  North- West  Company  pur- 
chased the  effects  and  accepted  the  transfer  of  the  fort.  Some  of 
the  clerks  who  had  been  engaged  by  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  were 
re-engaged  during  the  winter  by  the  new  company.  The  others 
returned  to  Canada,  among  whom  was  Gabriel  Franchere  who  started 
overland  the  spring  following.  He  left  Fort  George  on  April  4th,  1814, 
in  company  with  some  of  his  companions,  who  had  doubled  Cape  Horn 
three  years  earlier,  and  who  were  deprived  of  employment  by  the 
turn  of  affairs  on  the  Columbia.  They  embarked  as  passengers  with 
a  North- West  Company  brigade,  consisting  of  ten  canoes,  each  with 
a  crew  of  seven  men,  in  all  ninety  persons,  some  of  whom  were  going 
to  posts  in  the  interior.  They  were  all  well  armed  to  protect  them- 
selves against  the  hostile  tribes  of  Indians  along  the  river.  They 
ascended  the  Columbia  to  the  Great  Bend,  which  they  reached  on 
May  4th.  Making  their  way  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  they 
reached  the  upper  waters  of  Athabasca  River,  which  they  followed  to 
Little  Slave  Lake.  Their  route  from  this  point  carried  them  to  Fort 
Cumberland,  Lake  Winnipeg  and  Fort  William,  where  they  arrived 
on  July  14th.  Mr.  Franchere  reached  his  home  in  Montreal  on  the 
1st  of  September. 


108  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

THE  WAR-SLOOP  "  RACOON." — The  war  which  broke  out  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  in  1812  naturally  affected 
Canada,  and  was  felt  in  the  far  west  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  visit 
of  the  war-sloop  Racoon,  with  twenty-six  guns,  to  the  Columbia  River, 
was  with  the  intention  of  capturing  Fort  Astoria,  or  of  seizing  any 
vessels  which  might  be  there  belonging  to  the  United  States.  For- 
tunately for  them  they  were  all  absent,  and  Astoria  had  recently  been 
transferred  to  the  North-West  Company,  which  was  British.  Trading 
vessels  belonging  to  the  United  States  had  been  warned  by  their 
Government  to  remain  in  neutral  ports  if  they  wished  to  avoid  seizure. 
This  had  the  effect  of  stopping,  for  the  time  being,  the  sea-otter  fur 
trade,  as  Boston  and  other  east-coast  vessels  were  the  most  numerous 
and  persistent  in  following  up  that  trade  which  had  already  been 
well-nigh  ruined  on  the  Vancouver  and  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  by  the 
reckless  manner  in  which  they  supplied  the  natives  with  intoxicating 
liquor,  demoralizing  them  and  increasing  their  improvidence. 

CAUSE  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1812. — It  will  afford  information  to  many 
to  state  the  cause  of  the  war  of  1812,  referred  to.  This  may  be 
briefly  explained  by  mentioning  that,  in  1793,  Britain  began  a  war 
with  France,  which,  with  a  short  interval  in  1802-3,  had  been  con- 
tinued against  the  power  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  as  general  and 
emperor.  When  Napoleon  had  conquered  nearly  all  Europe,  he 
issued  a  decree  from  Berlin,  to  the  effect  that  British  goods  should 
not  be  bought  or  sold  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  that  other 
nations  should  nob  trade  with  Britain.  ''England,  who  had  for 
many  years  been  mistress  of  the  sea,  retaliated  and  issued  an  "  Order- 
in-Council "  forbidding  all  neutral  nations  to  trade  with  France,  and 
threatening  these  vessels  with  seizure  if  they  did  not  call  at  English 
ports."  Under  these  restrictions,  United  States  vessels  could  not 
trade  with  either  France  or  Britain  without  being  liable  to  seizure. 
Britain,  also  anxious  to  secure  men  for  her  navy,  stopped  United 
States  vessels  on  the  open  seas,  and  searched  them  for  runaway 
sailors  and  British  subjects.  This  was  looked  upon  by  the  United 
States  Government  as  a  pretext  to  take  United  States  sailors  to  man 
British  warships. 

THE  YOKE  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. — The  Democratic  party  then  in 
power,  which,  since  the  Revolution,  had  been  hostile  to  Great  Britain 
and  friendly  to  France,  declared  war  in  June,  1812.  General  Hull 
crossed  the  river  from  Detroit  to  Canada  and  issued  a  proclamation 
inviting  Canadians  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  Great  Britain.  The 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  109 

invitation  was  not  accepted.  The  attack  was  made  along  the  frontier 
at  principal  points  from  Detroit  to  Quebec.  The  struggle  between 
the  two  countries  was  carried  on  with  varying  success  and  great  loss 
of  life  on  both  sides,  until  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane  was  fought, 
July  25th,  1814,  between  three  thousand  Canadian  and  four  thousand 
United  States  troops.  The  battle  raged  from  five  o'clock  a.m.  until 
midnight.  A  Canadian  historian  writes  :  "The  utmost  stubbornness 
and  courage  were  shown  by  both  armies  in  the  fierce  struggle  for  the 
British  guns.  General  Riall  was  taken  prisoner,  and  Scott,  Brown 
and  Porter,  three  United  States  generals,  were  wounded.  At  last, 
worn  out  in  vain  effort  to  force  the  British  position,  the  United 
States  troops  retreated,  leaving  their  dead  to  be  burned  by  the 
victors,  for  the  number  of  slain  was  so  great  that  burial  was  impos- 
sible. The  loss  to  the  enemy  was  nearly  nine  hundred,  to  the  British 
about  the  same  number." 

AN  OLD  STATUTE  IN  FORCE. — In  a  newspaper  despatch  from 
Washington,  D.C.,  dated  September  12th,  1893,  a  curious  fact  is 
stated  as  having  been  developed  in  connection  with  certain  arrests 
made  in  New  York  the  previous  day,  at  the  request  of  the  Navy 
Department,  of  sailors  charged  with  desertion  from  the  United 
States  cruiser  Chicago,  in  England.  An  effort  was  made  to  secure 
the  arrest  of  the  deserters  while  they  were  in  England,  but  it  was 
ascertained  that  while  the  extradition  law  included  deserters  from 
merchant  vessels,  it  did  not  avail  in  case  of  deserters  from  men-of- 
war,  and  the  Navy  Department  was  compelled  to  keep  the  men  under 
surreptitious  surveillance,  in  the  hope  that  they  would  return  to 
America.  The  inquiry  at  the  State  Department  into  the  extradition 
laws  in  connection  with  deserters,  brought  out  the  fact  that  the 
feeling  over  one  of  the  causes  of  the  war  of  1812,  viz.,  the  seizure  of 
United  States  seamen  for  service  in  the  British  navy,  had  served  to 
prevent,  unto  this  day,  a  diplomatic  arrangement  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States,  for  the  mutual  apprehension  and 
extradition  of  sailors  from  the  navy  of  one  country,  who  desert  in  the 
possessions  of  the  other  country. 

THE  RIVALRY  WHICH  EXISTED.— After  the  extension  of  the  North- 
West  Company's  trade  to  the  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  of  which 
they  had  a  monopoly,  an  enormous  and  profitable  business  was  carried 
on.  Events,  however,  were  transpiring  in  the  east  which  brought 
about  a  radical  change.  The  rivalry  which  existed  between  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  and  its  energetic  rivals  had  become  so  intensified 


110  HISTOKY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

that  a  skirmish  took  place  between  the  parties,  in  1816,  at  Red 
River,  near  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Winnipeg.  Governor 
Sample,  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  was  killed  on  that  occasion. 
His  tragic  end  is  described  as  follows  :  "The  amiable  and  mild  Mr. 
Semple,  lying  on  his  side  (his  thigh  was  broken)  and  supporting  his 
head  upon  his  hand,  asked  Mr.  Cuthbert  Grant  to  try  and  get  him  to 
the  fort,  as  he  was  not  mortally  wounded.  The  unfortunate  gentle- 
man was  left  in  charge  of  a  Canadian,  who  afterwards  told  how  an 
Indian  came  up  and  shot  the  governor  through  the  breast.  No 
quarter  was  given  ;  the  knife,  axe,  or  ball  put  a  period  to  the  exist- 
ence of  the  wounded.  Out  of  a  band  of  twenty-eight,  twenty-one 
were  killed  and  one  wounded,  but  escaped." 

BROUGHT  BEFORE  THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT. — This  lamentable 
state  of  affairs  was  brought  before  the  British  Parliament  in  1819. 
Both  companies  were  suffering  from  the  fierce  competition  which 
existed — they  were  almost  ruined.  One  writer  says  :  "The  interests 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  suffered  so  much  that  between  1800 
and  1821  their  dividends  were  for  the  first  eight  years  reduced  to 
four  per  cent.;  during  the  next  six  years  they  could  pay  no  dividend 
at  all,  and  for  the  remaining  eight  years  they  could  only  pay  four  per 
cent."  Sir  George  Simpson,  in  a  report  to  the  House  of  Commons, 
lamented  the  general  demoralization  of  Indians  and  whites  arising  from 
the  rivalry  between  the  two  companies,  and  said,  "It  was  uncertain 
for  a  long  time  which  of  them  lost  most  money  ;  neither  of  them 
gained  money." 

READY  FOR  RECONCILIATION. — Both  companies  were,  therefore, 
ready  for  reconciliation.  In  1804,  Edward  Ellice,  then  a  partner  in 
the  North- West  Company,  offered  Sir  Richard  Neave,  Governor  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  £103,000  for  the  whole  concern,  that 
being  the  capital  stock  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  at  that  time ; 
but  part  of  the  stock  being  the  property  of  minors,  the  bargain  was 
not  consummated.  As  early  as  1801,  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie 
advocated  a  union  of  the  companies,  and  pointed  out  the  advantages 
which  would  result  from  such  an  arrangement. 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  Ill 


CHAPTEE  XII. 


THE  CONFEDERATED  COMPANIES. 

UNION  OF  THE  COMPANIES,  1821. — An  Imperial  Act  was  passed 
2nd  July,  1821,  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Ellice,  by  which  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  the  new  company  formed  by  the  coalition  of  the 
two  combined  companies,  were  continued  under  the  name  of  THE 
HUDSON  BAY  COMPANY.  The  Act  also  regulated  the  fur  trade,  and 
established  a  criminal  and  civil  jurisdiction  in  certain  parts  of  North 
America.  The  arrangement  under  which  the  companies  were  united 
in  March,  1821,  was  exceedingly  fair  and  acceptable  to  both  parties. 
The  North- West  made  over  its  property  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
and  in  return  the  members  of  the  former  became  partners,  and  its 
servants  were  taken  into  the  employment  of  the  consolidated  company. 
The  territory  east  and  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  not  included  in 
the  old  charter,  was  granted  to  the  new  company,  with  the  exclusive 
right  to  trade  for  twenty -one  years. 

CHARTER  OF  H.  B.  C.,  1670. — The  first  charter  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  was  granted  in  1670  by  King  Charles  II.,  to  his  trusty 
and  well-beloved  cousin,  Prince  Rupert,  and  others,  under  the  name 
of  "  The  Governor  and  Company  of  Adventurers  of  England  trading 
in  Hudson  Bay."  This  famous  and  long-lived  corporation  was 
ostensibly  established  as  mentioned  in  the  charter,  "  for  the  discovery 
of  a  new  passage  into  the  South  Sea,  for  the  finding  some  trade  for 
furs,  minerals  and  other  considerable  commodities,"  and  also  for 
"  Christianizing  the  Indians."  The  charter  granted  the  "  adventurers 
a  monopoly  of  t^ade  with  plenary  powers,  executive  and  judicial,  in 
and  over  all  seas,  straits,  lands,  etc.,  lying  within  the  entrance  of 
Hudson  Straits,  and  the  rivers  entering  them  not  already  occupied  by 
any  other  English  subject  or  other  Christian  power  or  state."  In 
return  they  were  to  yield  and  pay  therefor  two  elks,  and  two  black 
beavers,  whenever  his  Majesty  or  his  heirs  should  set  foot  in  the 
territory. 

THE  FIRST  TWENTY  YEARS.— The  early  operations  of  this  monopoly 
were  confined  to  the  vicinity  of  Hudson  Bay  and  James'  Bay.  As 
will  be  seen  from  the  following,  the  profits  of  the  fur  trade  were 


112  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

enormous  :  "  Daring  the  first  twenty  years  of  its  existence,  the 
profits  of  the  Company  were  so  great  that,  notwithstanding  losses 
sustained  by  the  capture  of  their  establishments  by  the  French, 
amounting  in  value  to  £118,014,  they  were  enabled  to  make  a  pay- 
ment to  the  proprietors,  in  1684,  of  fifty  per  cent,  and  a  further 
payment  in  1689  of  twenty-five  per  cent.  In  1690,  the  stock  was 
trebled  without  any  call  being  made,  besides  affording  a  payment  to 
the  proprietors  of  five  per  cent,  on  the  increased  or  newly  created 
stock.  From  1692  to  1697,  the  Company  incurred  loss  and  damage 
to  the  amount  of  £97,500  from  the  French.  In  1720,  their  circum- 
stances were  so  far  improved,  that  they  again  trebled  their  capital 
stock  with  only  a  call  of  ten  per  cent,  from  the  proprietors,  on  which 
they  paid  dividends  averaging  nine  per  cent.,  for  many  years  showing 
profits  on  the  originally  subscribed  capital  stock,  actually  paid  up,  of 
between  sixty  and  seventy  per  cent,  per  annum  from  the  year  1690 
to  1800." 

NEW  GOVERNOR. — As  has  been  stated,  the  trade  of  both  com- 
panies had  been  greatly  interfered  with  and  rendered  unremunerative 
by  the  bitter  rivalry  which  existed  between 
the  parties.  With  the  union,  however,  there 
was  an  end  to  rivalry  in  trade,  and  to  deeds 
of  rapine  and  violence.  A  new  era  was 
entered  upon  under  the  governorship  of  Mr 
(afterwards  Sir)  George  Simpson,  who  filled 
that  responsible  office  for  nearly  forty  years, 
until  his  death  in  1860.  Born  in  Ross-shire, 
Scotland,  George  Simpson,  while  still  a  youth, 
removed  to  London,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
sm  GEORGE  SIMPSON.  commercial  pursuits  for  nearly  eleven  years. 

The  ability,  shrewdness  and  energy  of  young 

Simpson  had  marked  him  out  for  a  wide  sphere  of  labor,  under  a  far 
distant  sky.  In  1819,  when  the  companies  were  still  battling  furiously, 
Mr.  Simpson  was  invited  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany. Early  in  1820,  therefore,  he  sailed  from  England  for  Montreal 
by  way  of  New  York,  and  in  May  he  was  on  the  road  from  the  Canadian 
city  to  the  North- West.  During  the  winter  of  that  year  he  was 
stationed  at  Athabasca,  where  he  endured  many  hardships  and 
privations,  although  he  managed  to  carry  on  the  rivalry  in  the  fur 
trade  with  evident  tact  and  energy.  The  Ross-shire  lad  of  twelve 
years  before  had  already  made  his  mark,  and  assured  for  himself 
future  fame  and  fortune  ;  and  when  peace  was  at  last  concluded  by 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  113 

amalgamation,  Simpson's  talent  had  indicated  him  as  the  best  man 
to  preside  over  the  vast  operations  of  the  united  company.  After 
serving  a  short  time  as  Governor  of  the  Northern  Department,  he 
received  his  appointment,  and  became  Governor-in-Chief  of  Rupert's 
Land,  and  General  Superintendent  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's 
affairs  in  North  America. 

EXPLORATION  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL  DISCOVERIES. — The  responsible 
position  which  Governor  Simpson  so  long  occupied  required  special 
qualifications,  and  these  he  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree.  He  was 
a  man  of  consummate  tact  and  address,  and  at  once  set  about  healing 
up  old  wounds,  reconciling  discordant  interests,  and  removing  old 
prejudices  and  jealousies  from  amongst  the  people  and  former 
employes.  He  was  the  first  Hudson  Bay  governor  who  fulfilled,  on 
behalf  of  the  Company,  that  duty  imposed,  as  a  condition,  by  the 
charter — the  task  of  exploration  and  geographical  discovery.  Although 
as  keenly  alive  to  the  material  interests  of  his  employers  as  the  most 
unreasonable  shareholder  could  expect,  Governor  Simpson  never  lost 
sight  of  the  higher  claims  of  science  on  his  time,  as  well  as  on  his 
energies.  To  his  skilful  direction  and  the  eagerness  with  which  he 
assisted  Franklin,  Richardson,  Ross,  Back  and  other  explorers,  the 
most  valuable  results  were  due.  It  was  he  who  sent  out  Dease, 
Thomas  Simpson,  Rae,  Anderson  and  Stewart  upon  the  path  of 
research,  and  at  every  fort  or  factory  controlled  by  Governor 
Simpson,  any  explorer  was  sure  of  shelter,  supplies,  information 
and  advice.  Also,  during  his  long  tenure  of  office,  the  profits  of  the 
Company  steadily  increased  year  by  year. 

FOUR  DEPARTMENTS. — The  entire  country  north  of  the  Columbia 
and  tributaries,  and  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  was  now  under 
the  control  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  The  territory  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  was  known  commercially  as  the  western  depart- 
ment. The  whole  trading  territory  was  divided  into  four  departments, 
viz.,  Montreal,  the  southern,  the  northern  and  the  western.  There 
were  four  factors  for  each.  In  the  western  department  all  were 
under  the  direction  of  one  man,  who  was  subject  to  the  governor  of 
all  the  departments. 

CLASSIFICATION  OP  OFFICERS. — The  following  classification  of  officers 
and  men  in  the  active  service  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  will  tend 
to  show  how  perfect  and  complete  was  the  organization:  "Apart  from 
the  governor  and  board  of  directors  in  London,  there  was  first  a  local 
governor,  residing  in  Canada,  having  his  headquarters  at  first  at 


114  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Prince  of  Wales  Fort,  afterward  at  York  Factory,  and  later  at  Fort 
Garry  (now  Winnipeg).  This  governor  had  full  jurisdiction  of  all  the 
establishments  of  the  Company.  Second  under  him  there  were  chief 
factors,  who  might  have  charge  of  a  department  or  of  a  factory, 
supplying  the  lesser  forts  of  a  district;  third,  chief  traders,  usually 
in  charge  of  some  single  but  important  post;  fourth,  chief  clerks, 
who  were  sent  with  a  crew  of  voyageurs  on  frequent  expeditions,  or 
placed  in  charge  of  minor  posts ;  fifth,  apprenticed  clerks,  a  kind  of 
-forest  midshipmen,  raw  lads,  fresh  from  school,  full  of  fun,  spiced 
'with  mischief,  who  write,  keep  store,  and  wait  upon  their  seniors ; 
«ixth,  postmasters,  usually  laborers  promoted  for  good  behavior  to 
the  rank  of  gentlemen,  and  often  placed  in  charge  of  a  small  station 
or  outpost;  seventh,  interpreters,  generally  laborers,  with  a  smattering 
of  the  native  dialects  in  their  vicinity ;  eighth,  voyageurs,  or  boatmen; 
•ninth,  laborers,  employed  in  various  ways,  as  in  chopping,  carrying, 
mending,  trapping,  fishing,  rough  carpentering,  blacksmi thing,  or 
boat-building.  The  laborer  could  not  rise  higher  than  postmaster, 
while  the  apprenticed  clerk  might  become  chief  factor,  or  even 
governor.  Five  years  of  intelligent,  faithful  service  entitled  the 
apprentice  to  a  clerkship ;  and  after  from  ten  to  twenty  years  further- 
service,  he  became  chief  trader,  who  was  a  half  shareholder,  and 
in  a  few  years  thereafter,  chief  factor  or  shareholder.  Speaking 
generally,  the  chief  factor  directed  the  affairs  of  the  Company,  and 
the  chief  trader,  acting  under  the  chief  factor,  managed  traffic  with 
the  natives."  The  system  was  the  outcome  of  the  experience  of  both 
^companies  and  was  admirably  executed. 

GROWTH  FROM  1789  TO  1856. — A  glance  at  the  equipment  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  shows  that  in  1789  they  had  only  315  men  in 
their  employ,  which  included  seventy-five  seamen,  who  navigated  two 
ships  and  one  sloop  annually  each  way,  which  constituted  the  ocean 
service.  In  1846,  it  is  stated,  there  were  513  articled  men  and 
fifty -five  officers,  which  with  a  network  of  trading-routes  between 
posts  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  gave  them  not  only 
extraordinary  influence  with  the  natives  and  the  trade  monopoly 
of  the  North- West,  but  the  actual  domination  of  those  regions, — 
religious,  political  and  social.  In  1856,  the  affairs  of  152  establish- 
ments were  managed  by  a  governor,  16  chief  factors,  and  29  chief 
traders,  assisted  by  5  surgeons,  87  clerks,  67  postmasters,  500 
voyageurs,  and  1,200  permanent  servants,  besides  sailors  on  sea-going 
-vessels  and  persons  temporarily  employed — about  three  thousand 
men  in  all. 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  115 


CHAPTEE  XIII. 


THE  NATIVE  TRIBES  AND  CIVILIZATION. 

PRIMITIVE  CONDITION  OF  THE  INDIANS. — Yery  different,  at  the 
present  time,  is  the  position  and  circumstances  of  the  Indians  from 
the  natives  met  by  Captain  Cook  at  Nootka,  or  those  passed  by 
Alexander  Mackenzie  on  his  expedition  to  the  Pacific  coast.  There 
is  a  vast  difference  also  in  their  numbers.  They  were  then  numerous, 
nourishing,  and  apparently  contented  with  their  lot.  "  Then,"  says 
a  writer,  "  in  this  region  nature's  wild  magnificence  was  yet  fresh  ; 
coast,  lake  and  river  abounded  with  plenty  ;  primeval  forests  were 
unprofaned  ;  numerous  villages  dotted  shores  and  valleys ;  from  the 
warrior's  camp-fire  the  curling  smoke  never  ceased  to  ascend,  nor  the 
sounds  of  song  and  dance  to  be  heard  ;  then,  bands  of  gaily-dressed 
savages  roamed  over  every  hillside— humanity,  unrestrained,  vied  with 
bird  and  beast  in  the  exercise  of  liberty  absolute.  This  is  no  history  : 
alas!  they  have  none;  it  is  but  a  sun  picture,  and  to  be  taken 
correctly  must  be  taken  quickly. 

"Nor  need  we  pause  to  look  back  through  the  dark  vista  of 
unwritten  history,  and  speculate  who  and  what  they  are,  nor  for  how 
many  thousands  of  years  they  have  been  coming  and  going,  counting 
the  winters,  the  moons  and  the  sleeps,  chasing  the  wild  game  or 
fur-bearing  animals,  pursuing  and  being  pursued,  killing  and  being 
killed.  All  knowledge  regarding  them  lies  buried  in  an  eternity  of 
the  past,  as  all  knowledge  of  their  successors  remains  folded  in  an 
eternity  of  the  future.  We  came  upon  them  unawares,  unbidden, 
and  while  we  bargained  our  worse  than  useless  commodities,  they 
melted  away.  The  infectious  air  of  civilization  penetrated  to  the 
remotest  corner  of  their  solitudes.  Their  ignorant  and  credulous 
nature,  unable  to  cope  with  the  intellect  of  a  superior  race,  absorbed 
only  its  vices,  yielding  up  its  own  simplicity  and  nobleness  for  the 
white  man's  diseases  and  death.  Savagism  and  civilization  will  not 
coalesce  any  more  than  light  and  darkness." 

INDIAN  POPULATION,  1852  AND  1892. — In  a  report  by  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  to  the  House  of  Commons,  presented  in  1857,  the 


116  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

following  trading-posts  and  the  number  of  Indians  frequenting  them 
are  mentioned.  They  were  included  in  what  is  now  within  the 
boundaries  of  British  Columbia.  The  population  about  that  time,  or 
say,  in  1852,  in  round  numbers  is  given  at  seventy-five  thousand.  The 
Annual  Report  of  the  Department  of  Indian  Affairs  for  189 2,  published 
a  return  of  the  last  Dominion  census,  showing  the  number  of  resident 
and  nomadic  Indians  in  British  Columbia  ;  it  also  shows  the  religious 
denominations  to  which  they  belong.  A  synopsis  of  that  return, 
giving  the  totals,  is  appended  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  return 
for  comparison,  as  follows  : 

VANCOUVER  ISLAND — Fort  Victoria,  5,000;  Fort  Rupert,  4,000;. 
Nanaimo,  3,000.  FRASEB  RIVER — Fort  Langley,  4,000.  NORTH- 
WEST COAST— Fort  Simpson,  10,000 ;  Northern  tribes,  35,000. 
THOMPSON  RIVER — 2,000.  NEW  CALEDONIA — Stuart  Lake,  McLeod 
Lake,  Fraser  Lake,  Alexandria,  Fort  George,  Babines,  and  Connoly 
Lake,  12,000.  Making  an  approximate  total  of  75,000. 

The  Department  of  Indian  Affairs  gives,  for  1892,  the  following 
list  of  agencies  : 

1.  West  Coast  Agency — number  of  Indians,  2,872,  in  18  tribes  or 
bands,  of  whom  639  are  Roman  Catholics,  and  2,233  pagans. 

2.  Fraser   River   Agency — 4,278,  in  49  bands  ;    547  Protestants, 
3,719  Roman  Catholics,  and  12  pagans. 

3.  Kamloops   Agency — 2,327,    in    44   bands;    1,175   Protestants,. 
1,084  Roman  Catholics,  68  pagans. 

4.  Okanagan   Agency— 852,    in    13    bands;    46   Protestants,    73ft 
Roman  Catholics,  and  70  pagans. 

5.  Cowichan  Agency — 2,044,  in    34  bands.       In  this  agency  the 
majority  have  been  baptized  into  the  Catholic  Church ;  many  attend 
Wesleyan  and  English  missions,  but  a  large  number  attend  no  church 
whatever  ;  in  fact  are  pagans. 

6.  Kawkewlth  Agency — 1,678,  in  17   bands;    1,355  Protestants, 
323  pagans. 

7.  William  Lake  Agency— 1,813,  in  20    bands;    48  Protestants. 
1,765  pagans. 

8.  Kootenay  Agency — 638,  in  5  bands ;  all  Roman  Catholics. 

9.  North-west  Coast    (mainland)    Agency — 4,049,    in    25    bands ; 
3,004  Protestants,  1,045  pagans. 

10.  Babine  and  Upper  Skeena  Agency — 2,612,  in  25  bands;  7^ 
Protestants,  1,499  Roman  Catholics,  1,038  pagans. 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  117 

No  agent  at  Hiletsuck,  2,274;  Tahelie,  1,000;  other  bands  not 
visited,  8,522. 

Total,  34,959. 

PROGRESS  AT  THE  AGENCIES. — The  Indians  in  Agency  2  are  re- 
ported by  the  visiting  superintendent  to  possess  real  and,  personal 
property  to  the  value  of  $1,312,545  (the  real  property  is  inalienable, 
and  belongs  conjointly  to  the  tribe) ;  to  have  3,673  acres  of  land 
under  cultivation;  to  own  103  ploughs,  62  waggons  and  carts;  to 
have  raised  22,035  bushels  of  potatoes,  11,456  bushels  of  oats,  3,222 
bushels  of  wheat,  2,436  bushels  of  barley,  2,643  bushels  Indian 
corn,  and  150  bushels  buckwheat,  and  cut  3,118  tons  of  hay; 
that  they  own  986  horses,  478  cows,  253  sheep,  and  2,400  pigs. 
Agency  1  is  credited  with  having  $70,300  in  personal  property ; 
value  of  furs  taken,  $66,600;  raise  1,500  bushels  of  potatoes. 
Agency  3 — value  of  real  and  personal  property,  $206,487  ;  acres 
under  cultivation,  930;  horses  number  2,'202;  cows,  292;  pigs, 
279;  young  stock,  347;  value  of  furs  taken,  $10,045;  other 
industries,  $53,200;  corn,  523  bushels;  wheat,  1,908;  oats,  3,020; 
beans,  1,261  bushels;  potatoes,  19,180;  tons  of  hay  cut,  1,231. 
Agency  4 — real  and  personal  property,  $208,992  ;  furs,  $2,635 ;  other 
industries,  $20,200;  corn,  963  bushels;  wheat,  8,460  bushels;  oats, 
4,255  bushels ;  peas,  1,460  bushels;  beans,  585  bushels;  onions,  218 
bushels;  potatoes,  13,679  bushels;  hay,  727  tons.  The  other  agen- 
cies are  reported  upon,  and  show  varied  results,  according  to  the 
industrious  habits  or  situation  of  the  tribes. 

EDUCATIONAL  GRANTS.— Twenty-five  Indian  schools  in  British  Col- 
umbia received  educational  grants  from  the  Dominion  Government 
in  1893,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  $40,434.  The  sums  range 
from  $504  for  each  of  sixteen  schools;  Coqualeetza,  $1,300;  Yale, 
.$1,500;  St.  Mary's,  $2,400;  Kamloops,  $3,250;  Alert  Bay  and 
Kuper  Island,  each  $4,450;  Metlahkathla,  $5,270;  and  Kootenay, 
-$6,500.  Several  of  these  schools  are  conducted  on  the  industrial 
plan,  under  the  Anglican,  Presbyterian,  Roman  Catholic,  and  Meth- 
odist Churches. 

ANNUAL  REPORT. — The  visiting  superintendent  in  his  report  states 
"  that  the  advancement  and  general  condition  of  the  native  population 
has  been  highly  satisfactory.  .  .  .  The  discontent  which  had  been 
noticeable  for  years  past  in  some  of  the  agencies,  engendering  feelings 
hostile  to  the  Government  and  to  the  Department,  and  therefore  to 
their- own  advancement,  seemed  to  be  happily  dying  out,  and  to  be 


118  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

gradually  replaced  by  a  more  trusting  spirit  and  a  desire  to  work  in 
harmony  with  those  who  labor  for  their  good.  ...  A.  steady  im- 
provement in  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  natives  is  observable.  .  .  . 
Much  has  yet  to  be  learned  and  accomplished  in  that  direction  by 
many  of  the  bands.  ...  In  four  of  the  agencies,  epidemics  (measles, 
influenza,  and  quinsy)  appeared,  and  caused  several  deaths,  mostly 
amongst  young  people.  .  .  .  Throughout  the  remaining  agencies  the 
general  health  was  exceptionally  good,  and  an  increase  of  the  Indian 
population  is  observed.  ...  In  visiting  the  Indians  throughout  the 
Province, — was  much  pleased  with  the  signs  of  advancement  to  be 
seen,  and  by  noticing  to  a  great  extent  the  increase  of  different  indus- 
tries amongst  them,  and  the  consequent  comfort  and  contentment 
visible.  .  .  .  For  years,  Indians,  with  their  wives  and  families,  and 
many  of  the  young  men,  on  account  of  the  opportunities  of  earning 
money  so  easily  at  the  hop-fields,  and  the  excitement  produced  by 
travel  and  a  constant  change,  have  been  in  the  habit  of  abandoning, 
for  the  greater  portion  of  the  summer  and  autumn,  their  reserves, 
to  the  utter  neglect  of  their  gardens  and  other  home  industries.  .  .  . 
They  also  contract  immoral  habits,  and  diseases  of  mind  and  body, 
which  prove  fatal  to  their  advancement  and  to  the  welfare  of  their 
offspring.  Such  being,  mostly,  the  outcome  of  these  annual  peregrina- 
tions, any  change  in  such  a  course  of  life  cannot  but  prove  a  blessing 
to  those  concerned.  ...  In  the  Kamloops  and  Okanagan  Agencies, 
large  numbers  of  the  natives  have  been  employed  on  the  Pacific  rail- 
road. They  continue  to  give  every  satisfaction  to  their  employers 
and  the  public  by  their  peaceful  and  orderly  conduct,  and  by  their 
steady  and  faithful  work.  .  .  .  At  Fort  Steele,  Kootenay,  a  skilled 
physician  is  subsidized  by  the  Provincial  Government,  whose  presence 
is  prized  by  aborigines  and  white  settlers." 

DESERTED  VILLAGES. — From  the  foregoing  statements,  it  appears 
that  during  the  past  forty  years  the  Indian  population  has  decreased 
from  75,000  to  35,000,  more  than  fifty  per  cent.  The  decrease  on 
the  sea-coast  is  doubtless  more  than  proportionate  in  some  places. 
For  example,  on  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  early  writers  on  the  subject 
state  that  from  ten  to  twelve  large  bands  existed  there.  From  the 
remains  of  villages  of  great  extent,  the  statement  need  not  be  doubted. 
Now  only  three  villages — Massett,  with  a  population  of  401  ;  Skide- 
gate,  194  ;  and  Clew,  once  the  populous  and  powerful  Nishgar  nation, 
with  a  remnant  of  only  84 — remain.  On  either  side  of  the  entrance 
of  Cumshewa  Inlet  to  Clew,  their  present  station,  are  the  ruins  of 


THE   FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  1191 

two  of  their  former  villages.  These  relics,  along  with  many  others- 
along  the  coast  of  these  islands  are  sad  evidence  of  the  decay  and 
almost  extinction  of  what  was,  less  than  one  hundred  years  ago,  the 
most  robust  and  warlike  of  the  tribes  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Contact 
with  what  is  called  civilization,  has  led  to  their  destruction.  Without 
any  restraint,  their  reckless  improvidence  and  love  of  intoxicating 
drink  fostered  licentiousness  and  produced  disease.  Small-pox  and 
measles  carried  off  thousands.  Many  tribes  have  become  extinct,, 
others  are  bordering  on  extermination. 


CHAPTEK  XIV. 


THE  TWO  SYSTEMS  CONTRASTED. 

PRIMITIVE  INDIAN  REGULATIONS. — Under  the  management  of  the 
two  great  fur  companies  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  the  result  has 
been  different.  Their  treatment  of  the  natives  was  humane  and 
protective.  They  set  up  certain  standards  of  trade,  and  acted  up  to 
them  fairly.  They  preserved  order,  and  were  ready  to  assist  and 
protect  those  who  lived  up  to  the  required  standard,  and  as  ready 
and  determined  to  punish  offenders.  A  stolen  article  must  be- 
restored.  The  tribe  harboring  a  thief  was  cut  off  from  commercial 
intercourse.  Bancroft  says :  "  Unlike  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  the  British  North  Americans  did  not  seek  to  revenge  them- 
selves upon  savage  wrongdoers,  after  the  savage  fashion.  When  an> 
offence  was  committed  they  did  not  go  out  and  shoot  down  the  first 
Indians  they  met;  they  did  not  butcher  innocent  women  and  children; 
they  did  not  scalp  or  offer  rewards  for  scalps."  The  following  extract 
from  the  legislative  journals  of  Idaho  Territory  shows  to  what  depths 
of  cruelty  and  inhumanity  the  citizens  of  that  state  had  reached  : 
"  Resolved,  that  three  men  be  appointed  to  select  twenty-five  men  to 
go  Indian  hunting,  and  all  those  who  can  fit  themselves  out  shall 
receive  a  nominal  sum  for  all  scalps  that  they  may  bring  in ;  and  all 
who  cannot  fit  themselves  out,  shall  be  fitted  out  by  the  committee,, 
and  when  they  bring  in  scalps  it  shall  be  deducted  out.  That  for 
every  buck  scalp  be  paid  $100,  and  for  every  squaw  $50,  and  $25 
for  everything  in  the  shape  of  an  Indian  under  ten  years  of  age. 


120  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

That  such  scalp  shall  have  the  curl  of  the  head,  and  each  man  shall 
make  oath  that  the  said  scalp  was  taken  by  the  company." 

WARS  AND  MASSACRES. — This  barbarous  mode  of  action  could  not 
but  rouse  the  most  vindictive  feelings  amongst  the  natives.  The 
result  is  that  five  hundred  million  dollars  has  been  spent  by  the  United 
States  in  Indian  wars.  This  is  the  statement  of  Bancroft,  the  United 
States  historian,  who  adds,  "between  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific,  in  United  States  territory  there  is  not  a  hundred-mile 
patch  on  which  white  men  and  red  men  have  not  fought ;  and  during 
our  hundred  years  of  national  history  each  successive  score  may  count 
its  great  Indian  battle,  and  some  scores,  three  to  five.  ...  North 
of  the  Canadian  line,"  he  continues,  "  where  dominate  the  same 
avaricious  Anglo-Saxon  race  over  the  same  untamed  element  of 
humanity,  there  never  have  been  Indian  wars  or  massacres,  such  as 
have  been  almost  constant  on  the  United  States  border ;  not  a  single 
encounter  such  as  we  could  call  a  bloody  battle,  and  no  money  spent 
by  the  Government  to  keep  the  natives  in  peaceful  subjection. 

BRITISH  FUR  COMPANIES — POLICY. — "  The  reason  is  plain.  In  the 
latter  instance  the  natives  are  treated  as  human  beings,  and  their 
rights  in  some  measure  respected.  Being  amenable  to  law  they  are 
protected  by  the  law.  Of  crimes  among  themselves,  of  their  wars 
and  atrocities,  the  fur  companies  did  not  feel  called  upon  to  take 
special  notice,  though  without  direct  interference  they  used  their 
influence  to  prevent  barbarities  and  maintain  the  peace,  for  the  men 
could  not  hunt  and  trade  while  fighting.  By  preventing  the  coalition 
of  neighboring  nations;  by  fostering  petty  jealousies;  by  refusing 
arms  and  ammunition  for  purposes  of  war;  by  dividing  clans;  by 
setting  up  one  chief  and  deposing  another  ;  by  weakening  the  strong 
and  strengthening  the  weak — the  fur  companies  held  the  balance  of 
power.  The  British  fur  companies  found  it  to  their  pecuniary  interest 
to  be  just  and  humane  in  their  dealings  with  the  natives. 

CERTAINTY  OF  PUNISHMENT.  —  "  If  an  Indian  murdered  a  white 
man,  or  any  person  in  the  employ  of  the  Company,  the  tribe  to  which 
he  belonged  were  assured  that  they  had  nothing  to  fear ;  that  King 
George  men  (the  Indian  appellation  for  Englishmen)  were  single- 
hearted  and  just ;  that  unlike  the  Indians  themselves,  they  did  not 
deem  it  fair  to  punish  the  innocent  for  the  deeds  of  the  guilty,  but 
the  murderer  must  be  delivered  to  them.  This  demand  was  enforced 
with  inexorable  persistency.  This  certainty  of  punishment  acted 
upon  the  savage  mind  with  all  the  power  of  a  superstition.  Felons 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  121 

trembled  before  the  white  man's  justice  as  in  the  presence  of  the 
Almighty. 

SERVANTS  OF  THE  COMPANY  HELD  RESPONSIBLE. — "  In  all  that  vast 
realm  which  they  ruled,  there  was  not  a  mountain  distant  enough, 
nor  forest  deep  enough,  nor  icy  cave  dark  enough,  to  hide  the  felon 
from  their  justice,  though  none  but  he  need  have  aught  to  fear.  The 
officers  and  servants  of  the  Company  were  ordered  to  go  to  any  trouble 
or  expense  in  seeking  and  punishing  an  offender,  and  they  were  never 
to  cease  their  efforts  until  the  end  was  accomplished.  Employes  of 
the  companies  were  unlike  the  United  States  border-men,  inasmuch 
as  they  were  trained  to  the  business  and  held  to  a  strict  account- 
ability for  every  act,  whether  in  their  intercourse  with  white  men  or 
Indians.  They  were  no  more  allowed  to  shoot  or  ill-treat  savages 
than  to  murder  or  swindle  their  own  comrades.  The  free  trapper,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  often  a  rough  character  who  escaped  from  home 
in  early  life  or  from  later  questionable  transactions.  Governed  solely 
by  his  passions,  and  responsible  to  no  one ;  all  cases  to  him  were 
simple  questions  of  expediency  ;  when  he  thought  of  shooting  an 
Indian  for  the  beaver  skin  he  carried,  it  was  well  enough  to  consider 
the  chances  of  capture  and  escape." 

"DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  LAND." — In  the  early  days  it  was  customary 
for  the  servants  of  the  companies  to  take  to  wife  "  the  daughters  of 
the  land."  "  By  this  means  two  objects  were  secured  :  the  more 
powerful  native  tribes  were  allied  to  the  trader's  interest,  and  the 
servants  of  the  companies,  as  offspring  came  on,  became  fixed  in  the 
country.  Further  than  this,  gross  immorality  was  thus  in  a  measure 
prevented.  No  civilized  marriage  rites  attended  these  unions.  The 
father  of  the  bride  was  usually  solicited,  and  presents  were  made, 
after  the  Indian  fashion  ;  the  delighted  women  thus  taken  were,  as  a 
rule,  affectionate  and  obedient,  and  to  the  honor  of  the  fur-hunters,  be 
it  said,  they  were  treated  by  the  men  with  kindness  and  often  with 
show  of  respect.  The  fur  companies  have  generally  acknowledged 
the  claims  of  the  half-breed  children  to  protection  and  sustenance,  and 
this  class  has  never  been  forced  into  savagism.  Attached  to  the 
North- West  Company  in  1817  were  fifteen  hundred  half-breed  women 
and  children ;  so  many,  indeed,  that  the  Company  forbade  their 
servants  taking  new  wives  from  the  forest.  Several  thousand  doljars 
were  subscribed,  about  that  time,  by  the  partners  and  clerks  of  the 
North- West  Company  to  establish  a  school  at  Rainy  Lake,  or  Fort 
William,  for  the  education  of  the  children." 


122  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 


GREAT  INCREASE  OF  TRADE. 

FORT  VANCOUVER. — After  the  union  of  the  companies,  retaining  the 
name  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  trade  rapidly  grew  and  widened. 
It  was  found  that  the  site  of  Fort  George  (formerly  Astoria),  on  the 
Columbia,  was  too  far  west  for  convenience.  It  was,  therefore, 
changed  in  1824-5,  to  a  location  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  six 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  Williamette  River.  The  building,  which 
was  named  Fort  Vancouver,  was  located  on  the  fir-skirted  brow  of  a 
gently  sloping  prairie,  about  one  mile  from  the  river;  but  the  distance 
proving  an  obstacle  to  transport  and  communication,  it  was  moved,  a 
few  years  afterwards,  to  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  stream. 
This  site  was  also  chosen  for  its  convenience  to  the  traffic,  which  was 
carried  on  to  and  from  Puget  Sound.  The  fort  continued  in  the 
occupation  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  until  1847,  when  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Company  were,  removed  to  Victoria. 

AN  EXTENSIVE  CONCERN. — The  new  fort,  Vancouver,  was  an  exten- 
sive concern.  Built  in  the  usual  parallelogram  shape,  it  measured 
750  feet  in  length  and  500  feet  in  breadth,  enclosed  by  a  picket  wall 
of  large  and  closely  fitted  beams,  over  twenty  feet  in  height,  secured 
by  buttresses  on  the  inside.  The  interior  was  divided  into  two  courts, 
with  about  forty  buildings  ;  ail  of  wood,  except  the  powder  magazine, 
which  was  constructed  of  brick  and  stone.  In  the  centre,  facing  the 
main  entrance,  stood  the  governor's  residence,  with  the  dining-room, 
smoking-room,  and  public  sitting-room,  or  bachelors'  hall,  the  latter 
serving  also  for  a  museum  of  Indian  relics  and  other  curiosities. 
Single  men,  clerks  and  others  made  the  bachelors'  hall  their  place  of 
resort.  Strangers  were  sent  there  ;  it  was  the  rendezvous  for  pastime 
and  gossip.  To  these  rooms  artizans  and  servants  were  not  admitted. 
The  governor's  residence  was  the  only  two-story  house  in  the  fort,  and 
before  it  frowned  two  old  mounted  1 8-pounders.  The  quarters  of  the 
chief  factor  were  provided  in  like  manner  with  two  swivel-guns. 

RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP. — A  prominent  position  was  occupied  by  the 
Roman  Catholic  chapel,  in  which  a  majority  of  the  employes 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  123 

worshipped ;  while  the  smaller  congregation  of  Episcopalians,  etq., 
made  use  of  the  dining-room  for  religious  gatherings.  The  other 
buildings  consisted  of  dwellings  for  officers  and  men  ;  school,  ware- 
houses, and  retail  stores,  and  artizans'  shops  of  all  descriptions.  The 
interior  of  the  dwellings  exhibited,  as  a  rule,  an  unpainted  board 
panel,  with  bunks  for  bedsteads,  and  a  few  other  simple  pieces  of 
furniture.  A  short  distance  from  the  fort,  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
lay  a  village  of  about  sixty  neat  and  well-built  houses — laid  out  in 
rows  so  as  to  form  streets — for  the  married  mechanics  and  servants. 
In  the  group  were  also  the  hospital,  boat  house  and  salmon  house, 
and  near  by  were  barns,  threshing  mills,  granaries  and  dairy 
buildings. 

A  WELL-MANAGED  FARM.— The  plain  around  the  fort,  and  along 
the  river  as  far  as  Calapooya  Creek,  for  about  nine  square  miles,  was 
occupied  by  a  well-managed  farm,  fenced  into  grain  fields,  pastures 
and  gardens — the  latter  quite  renowned  for  their  large  variety  and 
tine  specimens  of  plants.  Fully  fifteen  hundred  acres  were  under 
cultivation.  The  live  stock  numbered  about  three  thousand  head  of 
cattle,  twenty-five  hundred  sheep,  and  three  hundred  brood  mares. 
On  the  dairy  farm  were  upwards  of  one  hundred  cows,  and  a  still 
greater  number  supplied  the  dairy  on  Wapato  Island,  the  produce 
being  chiefly  absorbed  by  the  Russian  colonies  in  the  north.  About 
six  miles  up  the  Columbia  a  grist  mill  and  a  saw  mill  were  in  operation. 
Lumber  and  flour  were  shipped  to  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

WALLA  WALLA. — Another  principal  trading-post  was  Fort  Walla 
Walla.  It  was  erected  on  a  promontory  about  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  from  the  junction  of  the  Walla  Walla  River  with  the  Columbia. 
The  place  was  originally  called  Fort  Nez  Perce,  and  was  first  built  to 
protect  Ogden's  party  of  fur  traders,  about  the  year  1818.  The 
attack  was  repelled,  but  the  necessity  for  a  strong  place  became 
apparent  in  case  of  future  hostilities.  Timber  being  scarce,  it  wan 
brought  from  a  great  distance.  "The  wall  was  formed  of  sawed 
timber,  twenty  feet  long,  two  feet  and  a  half  wide,  and  six  inches 
thick,  forming  an  enclosure  two  hundred  feet  square.  Within  the 
walls  were  stores  and  dwellings  for  servants,  and  in  the  centre  another 
enclosure  twelve  feet  in  height,  with  port-holes  and  slip-doors,  a  fort 
within  a  fort.  Beside  the  outer  gate,  moved  by  a  pulley,  the  entrance 
was  guarded  by  double  doors,  and,  for  further  security,  the  natives 
were  not  admitted  within  the  pickets,  but  carried  on  their  trade 
through  a  small  opening  in  the  wall  which  was  protected  by  a  small 


124  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

door.  The  war  material  consisted  of  four  pieces  of  ordnance  of  from 
one  to  three  pounds,  ten  swivel  guns,  and  a  supply  of  muskets,  pikes 
and  hand-grenades. 

ACCOUNTS  MADE  UP  AND  CHECKED. — Fort  Colville,  the  last 
important  post  on  the  Columbia  River,  before  leaving  for  the  moun- 
tains, was  situated  some  distance  south  of  the  present  boundary  line. 
At  that  station  the  accounts  of  the  whole  country  were  made  up.  The 
accountants  from  the  minor  forts  either  came  or  sent  their  accounts 
there,  where  they  were  checked  and  included  in  the  general  statement 
for  the  year,  to  be  transmitted  with  the  annual  express  brigade.  This 
brigade  left  Fort  Vancouver  so  as  to  reach  Norway  House  about 
the  middle  of  March,  where  the  great  council  met  every  summer. 
It  was  in  charge  of  a  confidential  officer.  This  service  was  conducted 
for  several  years  by  Chief  Factor  James  Douglas.  A.  C.  Anderson 
had  charge  of  the  brigade  in  1842.  There  were  several  brigades 
which  arrived  and  departed  regularly  from  Fort  Vancouver.  From 
that  fort  were  supplied  the  upper  and  interior  posts  as  far  as  Fort 
James  on  Stuart  Lake,  via  Thompson  River. 

ANNUAL  EXPEDITIONS. — Every  autumn  trapping  and  trading  expe- 
ditions were  sent  out  from  nearly  all  the  principal  forts,  who  returned 
with  their  catch  the  following  spring  or  summer.  These  parties 
consisted  of  from  five  to  thirty  natives  with  their  families ;  or  were 
composed  wholly  or  in  part  of  half-breeds  or  white  men,  sometimes 
under  the  guidance  of  a  servant  of  the  Company  but  as  often  alone, 
and  that  after  having  procured  their  outfit  on  credit.  Two  of  these 
parties,  much  larger  than  from  the  minor  posts,  from  fifty  to 
seventy-five  men  each,  set  out  from  Fort  Vancouver  every  year,  one 
proceeding  south  ward  as  far  as  San  Francisco  Bay,  the  other  eastward 
toward  the  Flathead  country  and  the  Colorado. 

RIVER  COLUMBIA  BARGES. — -In  conveying  goods  or  furs  up  or  down 
the  Columbia,  barges,  each  of  five  or  six  tons  burden,  were  employed. 
They  were  manned  by  six  French-Canadians,  sometimes  called  Iro- 
quois,  as  they  were  generally  half-breeds  of  the  Iroquois  tribe.  The 
barges  were  steered  by  a  paddle,  and  both  goods  and  the  barges  were 
carried  over  the  portages.  For  a  small  quantity  of  tobacco  to  each 
native  Indian,  twenty-five  of  them  were  always  willing  and  ready  to 
transfer  boats  and  goods  from  one  landing  to  the  other.  The  tobacco 
sold  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  is  said  to  have  been  obtained  mostly 
from  Brazil.  It  was  twisted  into  a  rope,  one  inch  in  diameter,  coiled 
and  sold  by  the  inch.  Usually  the  trapper  required  credit,  and  his 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  125 

ability  to  pay  depended  on  his  success,  which  risk  the  Company  was 
obliged  to  take.  The  Indians  were  readily  trusted,  the  original  cost 
of  the  articles  credited  being  so  small  in  proportion  to  expected 
returns,  that  the  Company  could  well  afford  to  make  the  venture. 

CONVENTION  OF  1818. — At  the  time  when  the  coalition  of  the  rival 
companies  was  effected  in  1821,  a  license  of  exclusive  trade  in  such 
Indian  territory  as  was  not  included  in  the  original  charter  was 
granted  them  by  the  British  Government  for  a  term  of  twenty-one 
years.  This  license  was  granted  under  an  agreement  made  at  a 
convention  signed  in  London,  October  20,  1818,  which  stipulated 
that  any  portion  of  the  country  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America, 
westward  of  the  Rocky  (or  Stony)  Mountains,  shall  be  free  and  open 
for  the  term  of  ten  years  from  the  date  of  the  convention  to  the 
subjects  of  the  two  powers  .  .  .  and  is  not  to  be  construed  to  the 
prejudice  of  any  claim  which  either  of  the  two  contracting  parties 
(Great  Britain  and  the  United  States)  may  have  to  any  part  of  the 
said  country  ;  the  only  object  of  the  high  contracting  parties,  in  that 
respect,  being  to  prevent  disputes  among  themselves." 

SUPPLEMENTARY  LICENSE  IN  1838. — In  1827,  another  convention 
was  signed  in  London,  August  6th,  by  which  the  above-mentioned 
provisions  were  extended  indefinitely,  subject  to  abrogation  upon 
twelve  months'  notice  by  either  party  ;  but  "shall  not  be  construed 
to  impair  of  in  any  manner  affect  the  claims  which  either  party  may 
have  to  any  part  of  the  country  westward  of  the  Stony  or  Rocky 
Mountains."  This  led  to  a  trading  license  in  1838  being  granted, 
supplementary  to  the  former,  extending  this  absolute  power  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  over  the  whole  of  the  region  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

THE  ALASKA  BOUNDARY  IMPRACTICABLE. — From  this  must,  how- 
ever, be  excepted  that  portion  of  the  North-West  claimed  by  Russia, 
the  boundary  of  which  between  Great  Britain  and  Russia  is  defined 
by  the  treaty  concluded  in  1825,  as  follows  : 

"  ARTICLE  III. — The  line  of  demarcation  between  the  possessions 
of  the  high  contracting  parties  upon  the  coast  of  the  Continent  and 
the  Islands  of  America  to  the  north-west,  shall  be  drawn  in  the  man- 
ner following  :  Commencing  from  the  southernmost  point  of  the  island 
called  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  which  lies  in  the  parallel  of  54°  40' 
north  latitude,  and  between  the  131st  and  the  133rd  degree  of  west 
longitude  (meridian  of  Greenwich),  the  said  line  shall  ascend  to  the 
north  along  the  channel  called  Portland  Channel,  as  far  as  the  point  of 
the  continent  where  it  strikes  the  56th  degree  of  north  latitude  ;  from 


126  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

this  last-mentioned  point  the  line  of  demarcation  shall  follow  the 
summit  of  the  mountains  situated  parallel  to  the  coast  as  far  as  the 
point  of  intersection  of  the  141st  degree  of  west  longitude  (of  the 
sa'iie  meridian)  ;  and,  finally  from  the  said  point  of  intersection,  the 
said  meridian  line  of  the  14 1st  degree,  in  its  prolongation  as  far  as 
the  Frozen  Ocean,  shall  form  the  limit  between  the  Russian  and 
British  possessions,  on  the  Continent  of  America  to  the  north-west. 
—From  the  Report  by  Colonel  D.  R.  Cameron,  R.A.,  C.M.G.,  Sep- 
tember, 1886. 

"  ARTICLE  IV. — With  regard  to  the  boundary  lines  established  in 
the  preceding  article,  it  is  understood  that  the  island  named  Prince 
of  Wales  belongs  entirely  to  Russia,  and  that  whenever  the  summit  of 
the  mountains  running  parallel  with  the  coast  from  56th  degree  of 
north  latitude,  to  the  point  of  intersection  with  the  141st  meridian, 
shall  be  more  than  ten  leagues  from  the  shore,  the  boundary  line  of  the 
British  possessions  shall  run  parallel  with  the  coast  line  at  a  distance 
of  not  greater  than  ten  leagues,  the  land  between  such  line  and  the 
coast  to  belong  to  Russia." 

The  interpolation  of  the  three  words,  "  called  Portland  Channel," 
has  rendered  the  wording  of  the  treaty  obscure  and  the  boundary 
impracticable,  as  described  south  of  the  56th  degree  of  latitude.  A 
joint  commission  of  both  the  "  high  contracting  parties  "  has  been  at 
work  for  the  past  two  years,  arranging  for  the  proper  settlement  of 
"  the  line  of  demarcation."  Their  labors  will  likely  terminate  in  a 
convention  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  Why  the 
words,  "called  Portland  Channel,"  should  have  been  introduced  has 
not  so  far  been  understood,  neither  can  they  be  reconciled  with  Van- 
couver's survey  (1793-4),  on  which  the  treaty  was  based,  nor  with 
the  description  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  boundary  "  from  the 
southernmost  point  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  from  south  to  north." 

The  next  reference  on  this  question  is  a  map  of  North  America 
published  in  Paris,  dated  1815,  which  shows  the  boundary  between 
Great  Britain  and  Russia  was  then  understood  to  be  the  56th  degree 
of  north  latitude.  A  Russian  atlas,  published  in  1849,  places  the 
boundary  in  Portland  Canal,  which  it  reaches  by  going  east  to 
Observatory  Inlet  and  then  north. 

THE  "  BEAVER  "  AND  "  LABOUCHERK." — An  extensive  trade  with 
Russia  was  subsequently  carried  on.  In  1837,  a  strip  along  the 
Alaskan  coast  was  leased  by  the  Russian-American  Fur  Company  to 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  This  arrangement  was  not  only  to  enable 
the  Company  to  obtain  furs,  but  also  to  enable  them  to  supply  the 
Russian  with  beef,  butter,  and  other  products  and  goods  which  were 
shipped  from  Fort  Vancouver  in  large  quantities.  The  steamer 


THE   FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  127 

Beaver  was  tirst  employed  in  the  trade.  Afterwards  the  Labouchere, 
a  much  larger  steamer,  was  required.  Five  well-armed  sailing  vessels 
were  also  engaged  in  this  service.  They  ranged  from  one  hundred 
to  three  hundred  tons  each. 

TRADE  WITH  THE  INTERIOR.— The  former  fur  trade  was  also  con- 
tinued with  the  interior.  It  is  surprising  that  such  an  enormous 
traffic  could  be  maintained  with  the  natives  without  the  use  of  money. 
The  North- West  Company  once  established  a  paper  currency.  It 
soon  depreciated,  and  eventually  went  out  of  use.  At  the  Red  River 
settlement  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  circulated  a  paper  currency  in 
conjunction  with  silver,  which  continued  to  be  used  there  until  the 
Company  transferred  its  territorial  rights  to  the  Dominion  of  Canada 
in  1869.  It  may  interest  the  reader  to  know  how  the  primitive 
trade  was  carried  on. 

No  MONEY  REQUIRED. — A  beaver  skin  was  usually  made  the 
standard,  and  all  other  values,  European  merchandise  as  well  as 
other  skins,  were  measured  by  it.  In  1733,  near  Hudson  Bay,  a 
native,  for  a  full-grown  beaver  skin,  could  buy  half  a  pound  of  beads, 
or  one  pound  of  Brazil  tobacco,  or  a  half  pound  of  thread.  A  gallon 
of  brandy  cost  four  beaver  skins  ;  broadcloth,  two  beaver  skins  a 
yard ;  blankets,  six  beaver  skins  each  ;  powder,  one  and  a  half 
pounds,  and  of  shot  five  pounds  for  a  beaver  skin ;  and  so  on  through 
a  long  list,  the  quantity  of  goods  for  a  beaver  skin  varying  according 
to  remoteness  and  competition. 

At  the  time  and  place  last  mentioned,  three  martens  were  counted 
as  one  beaver ;  one  fox,  one  moose,  two  deer,  one  wolf,  ten  pounds 
of  feathers,  one  black  bear,  were  each  equivalent  to  one  beaver.  At 
this  time  beaver  skins  were  selling  in  London  at  five  or  six  shillings 
a  pound  ;  marten,  eight  shillings  each ;  otter,  six  shillings ;  bear, 
sixteen  shillings  ;  fox,  from  six  to  ten  shillings  ;  elk,  seven  shillings ; 
deer,  two  shillings ;  wolf,  fifteen  shillings ;  and  wolverine,  eight 
shillings  each. 

A  HUNDRED  YEARS  LATER  we  find  a  blanket  worth  ten  beaver 
skins ;  a  gun,  twenty ;  a  worsted  belt,  two ;  eighteen  bullets,  one 
beaver  skin.  The  gun  cost  twenty-two  shillings,  and  the  twenty 
beaver  skins  were  then  worth  in  London,  £32  10s.  A  gill  of  powder, 
costing  one  and  a  halfpenny,  or  a  scalping  knife  costing  fourpence, 
or  a  dozen  brass  buttons,  were  exchanged  for  one  beaver  skin  worth 
£1  12s.  6d.  An  axe  sold  for  three  skins,  a  tile  for  two,  and  a  pair  of 
pantaloons  costing  four  dollars,  for  nine  skins  worth  seventy  dollars. 


128  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

The  evidence  before  the  House  of  Commons  in  1857,  given  by  Dr. 
J.  Rae,  the  Arctic  explorer,  who  died  22nd  July,  1893,  says:  "A 
blanket  was  four  beavers,  but  if  you  got  the  value  of  it  in  musk-rats 
you  would  not  have  above  a  shilling  or  two  profit,  which  would  not 
cover  the  expense.  Ten  rats  go  for  a  beaver.  Ten  rats  would  sell  in 
London,  a  few  years  ago,  for  about  three  shillings ;  they  are  higher 
now.  The  tariff  is  formed  in  a  peculiar  way,  and  necessarily  so. 
The  sums  given  for  furs  do  not  coincide  with  the  value  of  the  furs 
traded  for  with  them,  because  the  musk-rat  or  the  less  valuable  furs 
are  paid  for  at  a  higher  rate.  Were  the  Company  to  pay  for  the 
finer  furs  at  the  same  rate,  the  Indians  would  hunt  up  the  finer  furs 
and  destroy  them  off,  as  has  been  done  all  along  the  frontier,  and  we 
should  then  require  to  reduce  the  price  for  the  musk-rat  and  the 
inferior  furs,  and  the  Indians  would  not  hunt  them  at  all." 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


EXPLORATIONS  AND  FORT  BUILDING. 

SUNDRY  EXPEDITIONS. — Amongst  the  expeditions  which  were  made 
across  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  the  early  days,  that  of  Sir  George 
Simpson,  in  1828,  is  worthy  of  special  mention.  As  resident  governor 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  he  made  frequent  visits  to  the  territory 
of  Rupert's  Land  and  the  North-West,  in  order  to  examine  into  the 
condition  of  the  several  posts  and  superintend  the  affairs  of  the  Com- 
pany over  which  he  presided. 

On  this  occasion  his  journey  was  from  Hudson  Bay  to  the  Pacific. 
Starting  from  York  Factory,  he  ascended  Hayes  River,  passing 
through  what  was  known  as  the  boat  route  to  Lake  Winnipeg,  at  the 
northern  end  of  which  is  Norway  House.  Skirting  the  north  shore 
of  the  lake,  he  passed  to  the  Saskatchewan  River,  which  he  ascended 
to  Cumberland  House.  From  this  point  he  went  northward  through 
the  chain  of  lakes  and  streams  until  he  reached  Churchill  River, 
which  he  followed  to  Methage  Portage — the  height  of  land.  By 
Clearwater  River  he  entered  the  Athabasca,  following  its  waters  to 
Athabasca  Lake  and  Peace  River.  He  ascended  Peace  River, 
passing  through  the  main  Rocky  Mountain  chain,  and,  with  the  aid 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD. 

of  horses,  crossed  the  plateau,   a  distance  of  eighty -three  miles,  to- 
Fort  St.  James  on  the  east  of  Stuart  Lake. 

SIB  GEORGE  SIMPSON  was  careful  on  all  occasions  to  enter  the  forts 
he  visited  with  his  men  clean  and  dressed  in  their  best.  He  was. 
accompanied  by  a  piper,  who  also  acted  as  his  servant.  At  Fort 
St.  James  the  same  ceremony  was  observed  ;  a  gun  was  fired,  the  bugle 
sounded,  and  the  piper  led  the  march.  There  was  to  be  a  meeting 
held  here  of  the  chief  officers,  among  whom  Chief  Factor  James 
Douglas  (afterwards  Sir  James,  governor  of  British  Columbia)  was  ' 
present,  and  amid  a  discharge  of  small  arms,  went  out  to  meet  Sir 
George.  Mr.  Connolly,  the  chief  of  the  Pacific  Department,  was  also 
expected.  He  liad  not  arrived.  Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  the 
governor,  however,  a*  canoe  appeared  on  the  lake,  and  in  twenty 
minutes,  amid  a  salute  of  firearms,  Mr.  Connolly  entered  the  fort.. 
Chief  Factor  Archibald  MacDonald,  in  his  journal,  records  the 
singular  coincidence  which  then  happened  :  '  Sir  George  Simpson  left 
Hudson  Bay  on  July  12th  ;  Mr.  Connolly,  the  Pacific  on  the  12th  of 
the  same  month." 

KAMLOOPS  AND  FORT  LA.NGLEY. — From  Lake  Stuart,  Sir  George? 
Simpson  passed  along  Stuart  River  and  Fraser  River  to  Fort 
Alexandria.  Horses  were  taken  at  this  place  and  the  country  crossed 
to  Kamloops,  a  distance  of  215  miles.  At  Kamloops,  water  naviga- 
tion was  resumed  in  a  canoe  with  twelve  men  paddling.  After 
passing  through  Lake  Kamloops  to  its  outlet,  they  entered  the  Lower 
Thompson,  which  they  descended  to  its  junction  with  the  Fraser, 
From  this  point  they  reached  tide  water  by  nearly  the  same  route  as 
that  which  was  explored  by  Simon  Fraser  twenty  years  earlier.  They 
left  Kamloops  early  on  October  6th.  1828,  and  reached  Fort  Langley,. 
on  the  Fraser,  about  twenty -five  miles  from  its  mouth,  on  the  10th,, 
the  distance  being  264  miles. 

FROM  THE  ATLANTIC  TO  THE  PACIFIC. — From  York  Factory,  the 
whole  journey  occupied  ninety  days,  of  which  sixteen  were  passed  at 
the  trading-posts ;  consequently  the  whole  time  en  route  was  seventy- 
four  days.  One  remarkable  feature  of  this  journey  was  the  short 
time  in  which  it  was  made.  Sir  George  was  well  known  for  his 
rapidity  of  movement.  Ninety  miles  a  day  was  no  uncommon 
occurrence  with  him.  The  canoes  would  start  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  with  rests  for  breakfast,  dinner,  and  supper.  The  men. 
paddled  until  a  late  hour,  which  the  long  days  of  the  northern  lati- 
tudes permitted,  sometimes  until  eight  or  ten  at  night.  The  averages 
9 


130  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

distance  was  fifty  miles  a  day.  In  some  instances,  seventy-five, 
eighty,  and  even  over  ninety  miles  were  covered.  The  journey  now 
recorded  was  made  across  the  Continent  from  the  tide  water  of  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  Jt  was  carried  out  without  any  of  the 
accessories  of  modern  locomotion,  in  so  short  a  time  that,  if  the  facts 
were  not  sustained  by  indisputable  evidence,  the  record  might  be 
considered  an  exaggeration. 

A  FORMER  JOURNEY  EAST. — It  would  appear  from  a  work  published 
l»y  Alexander  Ross,  already  mentioned,  that  Sir  George  Simpson  had 
previously  visited  the  Columbia.  Mr.  Ross  states  that  in  the  spring 
of  1825,  in  company  vwith  Sir  George,  he  set  out  on  his  return  to 
Canada.  The  party  followed  the  Columbia  to  the  Great  Bend, 
known  as  "  Boat  Encampment ; "  they  ascended  by  the  Athabasca 
Pass  to  a  small  lake,  to  which  the  name  of  the  "Committee's  Punch 
Bowl"  was  given.  On  reaching  the  main  source  of  the  Athabasca, 
they  followed  the  course  of  that  river  to  Fort  Assiniboine  ;  here  they 
changed  canoes  for  horses,  and  struck  south-easterly  across  the  country 
for  Edmonton.  At  this  post  they  remained  two  weeks.  During 
their  stay  a  grand  ball  was  given  in  honor  of  Governor  Simpson. 
The  party  left  by  a  brigade  of  boats  to  float  down  the  swift  Sas- 
katchewan. They  halted  at  Fort  Carlton  and  Cumberland  House. 
At  the  latter  place  they  found  the  Franklin  advance  party  ;  farther 
down  the  river  they  met  Captain  Franklin  and  Dr.  Richardson  on 
their  overland  Arctic  expedition.  The  travellers  readied  Lake 
Winnipeg  and  visited  Norway  House,  then  a  place  of  considerable 
business  and  activity.  There  the  traders,  on  their  return  from  the 
posts  of  the  Company — from  Lake  Superior  on  the  south,  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  New  Caledonia  on  the  west,  and  Mackenzie  River  on 
the  north — annually  collected  the  fruits  of  their  labor  to  be  despatched 
to  York  Factory  on  Hudson  Bay. 

DAVID  DOUGLAS,  THE  BOTANIST. — Another  distinguished  traveller 
visited  I^ew  Caledonia  in  1825,  namely,  David  Douglas,  the  cele- 
brated botanist.  He  spent  a  number  of  years  in  the  country,  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  extending  from  Oregon  northwards.  In  1824.  Mr. 
Douglas  started  from  England  by  sea,  and  reached  Fort  Vancouver 
in  April,  1825.  He  is  mentioned  by  Chief  Trader  John  McLeod,  as 
a  fellow-traveller  up  the  Columbia,  in  1826.  In  that  year  he  crossed 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  reached  Hudson  Bay,  where  he  met  Sir  John 
Franklin,  and  returned  with  him  to  England. 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  131 

THE  DOUGLAS  FIR. — In  the  autumn  of  1829,  Mr.  Douglas  again 
.sailed  from  England  for  the  Pacific  coast  of  North  America.  Between 
the  date  of  his  arrival  and  1834,  his  explorations  extended  generally 
through  the  country  drained  by  thp  Columbia  and  the  Fraser  Rivers. 
The  last  two  years  of  his  life  were  devoted  to  scientific  examinations 
in  British  Columbia.  In  his  travels  through  the  country  he  obtained 
the  knowledge  of  many  plant's,  birds  and  mammals  hitherto  unknown. 
His  discoveries  include  the  "Douglas  Fir,"  which  will  always  bear 
his  name.  David  Douglas  was>  born  at  Scone,  Perthshire,  Scotland, 
in  1798.  He  was  gored  to  death  by  a  wild  bull,  in  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  July  12th,  1834. 

ROBERT  CAMPBELL. — The  last  of  the  explorers  under  the  old  regime 
was  Robert  Campbell,  a  native  of  Glenlyon,  Scotland.  He  was  the 
discoverer  of  the  Pelly-Yukon,  the  largest  river  flowing  into  the  Pacific 
from  the  American  continent.  He  entered  the  service  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  in  1832.  In  1834,  he  was  transferred  to  the  Mackenzie 
River  district.  In  1838,  he  established  a  trading-post  at  Dease  Lake, 
-one  of  the  sources  of  the  River  Liard,  an  important  tributary  of 
Mackenzie  River.  On  this  occasion  he  passed  over  to  Stickeen  River, 
which  flows  into  the  Pacific  near  Fort  Wrangel,  now  well  known  in 
connection  with  the  "  Cassiar  "  gold  fields  of  British  Columbia. 

Soon  afterwards  Mr.  Campbell  and  several  of  his  men  left  Dease 
Lake  and  crossed  to  the  Stickeen  River,  and  had  descended  it  for 
some  distance,  when  they  fell  in  with  a  large  party  of  coast  Indians, 
who  took  them  prisoners.  They  succeeded  in  escaping,  and  reached 
the  Indian  bridge,  over  which  they  crossed,  chopping  it  down  so  as  to 
prevent  the  Indians  following  them.  A  few  weeks  later  some  Indians 
crossed  Dease  Lake  and  along  with  other  Indians  belonging  to  that 
country  attacked  the  post  and  pillaged  it,  and  sent  Mr.  Campbell  and 
his  people  out  of  the  country.  Within  a  few  years  after,  he  explored 
the  main  branch  of  the  Liard  River  to  its  source,  Lake  Francis,  where 
he  established  a  post.  He  then  pushed  across  the  height  of  land  and 
discovered  the  Pelly  River,  and  established  a  post,  calling  it  Pelly 
Banks. 

In  1840,  Campbell  travelled  up  the  northern  branch  of  the  Liard. 
Leaving  Fort  Halkett,  on  the  latter  river,  in  May,  with  seven  men, 
he  ascended  the  branch  several  hundred  miles  into  the  mountains  to 
a,  lake  which  he  named  Lake  Francis  ;  and  some  distance  farther  to  a 
second  lake,  in  about  latitude  62°  N.,  longitude  130°  W.,  which  he 
•called  Lake  Finlayson.  From  this  point  he  passed  to  the  western 


132  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

slope,  and  in  two  days'  travel  he  discovered  a  wide  stream,  which  he/ 
styled  the  River  Pelly. 

In  1843,  Mr.  Campbell  left  Lake  Francis,  recrossed  the  mountain 
to  Pelly  River,  which  he  descended  for  sorne  distance.  This  riverf 
discovered  by  him,  proved  to  be  identical  with  the  Yukon,  which 
flows  into  the  Pacific  far  north.  Three  hundred  miles  from  the 
sources  of  the  Pelly,  Fort  Selkirk  was  established,  and  the  river  was 
explored  by  Campbell  seven  hundred  miles  to  Fort  Yukon,  which  was 
established  in  1846  by  J.  Bell,  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  150 
miles  within  the  Alaska  boundary.  From  Fort  Yukon,  situated 
almost  directly  on  the  Arctic  circle  and  about  longitude  145°  W.,  Mr. 
Campbell  ascended  the  River  Porcupine  to  its  eastern  sources,  and 
crossed  the  height  of  land  to  Peel  River,  a  small  tributary  of  the- 
Mackenzie,  not  far  from  its  outlet  in  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Following 
the  tributary  to  the  main  stream,  he  ascended  Mackenzie  River  to 
Fort  Simpson,  his  starting-point  at  the  mouth  of  the  Liard. 

In  1848,  he  descended  the  Pelly  by  canoe  to  the  junction  of  the 
Lewis  River,  from  whence  the  river  takes  the  name  of  Yukon.  This 
was  the  first  time  a  white  man  had  been  at  the  source  of  this  river. 
In  the  following  year  he  returned  with  a  party  of  men  and  established 
a  post  at  this  junction  which  was  named  Fort  Selkirk.  This  post 
was  pillaged  by  the  Chilcats  in  1851.  When  Selkirk  was  p  llaged, 
Mr.  Campbell  went  with  two  of  his  men  back  by  the  way  of  Francis 
Lake  and  down  the  Liard  to  Fort  Simpson  and  headquarters.  When 
winter  set  in  he  started  on  snow-shoes  and  walked  down  to  Fort 
Garry,  about  two  thousand  miles,  and  after  spending  two  or  three 
days  there,  continued  his  journey  on  foot  to  Red  Wing,  Minn.,  about 
forty  miles  below  St.  Paul. 

Mr.  CAMPBELL  made  a  remarkable  journey  from  the  Yukon  country 
•to  England,  in  1852-3.  He  left  White  River,  near  the  Alaskan 
boundary,  on  September  6th  ;  ascended  the  Pelly  to  one  of  its- 
sources ;  crossed  the  mountains  to  a  branch  of  the  Liard,  which  he- 
followed  to  Fort  Simpson,  arriving  October  21st.  Winter  having  set 
in,  he  started  on  snow  shoes  to  make  a  journey  to  Crow  Wing,  on  the- 
Mississippi,  extending  over  sixteen  degrees  of  latitude  and  twenty- 
seven  degrees  of  longitude.  He  had  with  him  three  men  and  a  train* 
of  dogs;  these  were  changed  at  the  Hudson  Bay  posts  on  his  route 
as  he  arrived  at  them.  His  course  lay  by  Great  Slave  Lake,  L?ike- 
Athabasca,  He  a  la  Crosse,  Carlton  House,  Fort  Pelly,  Fort  Garry,, 
and  Pembina.  On  March  13th,  Mr.  Campbell  reached  Crow  Wing,, 
where  he  obtained  horses  for  the  journey  to  Chicago. 


THE   FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  133 

FROM  CHICAGO  he  started  eastward  and  arrived  a,t  Montreal  on 
April  1st,  and  such  was  his  despatch  that  he  was  enabled  to  report 
himself  in  London,  at  the  Hudson  Bay  House,  on  the  18th  of  that 
month.  From  his  starting-point  on  the  Pelly-Yukon,  Mr.  Campbell 
had  made  a  continuous  journey  of  9,700  miles,  nearly  half  of  which 
was  through  an  uninhabited  wilderness,  and  of  this  distance  some 
three  thousand  miles  were  passed  over  in  the  dead  of  winter  and 
much  of  it  walked  on  snow-shoes.  In  the  annals  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company's  service,  long  winter  journeys,  under  circumstances  similar 
to  the  one  described,  are  not  uncommon.  Possibly  the  long  tramps 
of  the  intrepid  Dr.  Rae,  in  1851,  and  of  Admiral  Sir  Leopold  (then 
Commander  McClinton)  in  1853,  both  in  connection  with  the 
4*  Franklin  Search "  expeditions,  are  to  some  extent  comparable 
with  them. 

He  returned  to  the  Mackenzie  River,  and  afterwards  he  took 
charge  of  the  Athabasca  district,  and  continued  there  until  1863, 
when  he  was  appointed  to  the  charge  of  Swan  River.  At  this  place 
he  continued  until  he  left  the  service  in  1872,  having  been  in  the 
employ  of  the  company  forty  years. 

In  1880,  he  removed  to  Strathclair,  in  Manitoba,  where  he 
resided  until  his  death,  in  the  summer  of  1894,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  nearly  ninety  years.  A  writer  in  1889  said:  "Mr.  Camp- 
bell is  still  living  and  enjoys  excellent  health  on  his  ranch  in 
Manitoba.  His  name  comes  close  to  the  end,  in  a  long  list  of 
-active  and  undaunted  men,  who  from  the  days  of  Mackenzie  traversed 
the  mountains  and  unknown  wilds.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  their 
peers  in  courage  and  endurance  in  any  service." 

DR.  G.  M.  DAWSON,  in  connection  with 
the  Geological  Survey,  in  1887  and  '8S, 
visited  the  field  of  Mr.  Campbell's  discov- 
eries. He  entered  the  interior  from  the 
Pacific  coast  by  the  River  Stickeen,  passed 
over  to  the  Liard,  and  thence  to  the  Pelly- 
Yukon.  He  returned  by  the  River  Lewis, 
to  the  Lynn  Canal,  on  the  coast.  The 
journey  proved  exceedingly  fatiguing  and 
not  a  little  perilous.  His  associates,  Messrs. 
DR.  DAWSON.  McConnell  and  Ogilvie,  remained  in  the 

•district  to  carry  on  astronomical  observations  and  field  explorations 
•during  the  following  winter  and  summer. 


134 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


SIR  JAMES  DOUGLAS. 


SIR  JAMES  DOUGLAS. — Reference  has  already  been  made  to  Factor 
James  Douglas  as  having  met  and  received  Governor  Simpson  at  Fort 
St.  James  in  1828.  The  important  position  which  he  (afterward  Sir 
James  Douglas)  has  occupied  in  the  history  of 
British  Columbia,  entitles  him  to  a  special 
notice.  According  to  the  best  available 
authority,  he  was  born  at  Demarara  on  the 
14th  August,  1803.  His  father  was  a  scion 
of  the  noble  Scotch  family  of  Douglas,  Earl 
of  Angus,  and  had  emigrated  from  Scotland 
to  British  Guiana  a  few  years  before  the  birth 
of  James,  who  was  left  an  orphan  at  an  early 
age.  The  family  soon  after  the  mother's  death 
returned  to  Lanark,  Scotland,  where  the  sons 
were  educated. 

When  little  more  than  twelve  years  of  age, 
young  Douglas  accompanied  an  elder  brother  across  the  Atlantic,  to 
push  their  fortunes  in  Canada.  The  rivalry  between  the  Hudson 
Bay  and  the  North-West  Companies  was  at  that  time  extremely  keen. 
After  a  short  interval  in  Montreal,  engaged  in  office  work,  the  lad 
was  entered  as  an  apprentice  clerk  in  the  service  of  the  North-West 
Company.  He  formed  one  of  a  brigade  to  Fort  William,  on  Lake 
Superior,  to  be  placed  under  Chief  Factor  John  McLoughlin. 

WAS  AN  APT  STUDENT. — In  the  discharge  of  the  duties  there  required 
of  him,  he  displayed  great  aptitude  in  learning,  and  with  the  short 
practice  he  formerly  had  in  Montreal,  became  well  acquainted  with 
the  French  language.  Hev  possessed  a  bold  and  resolute  spirit,  and 
remarkable  physical  strength  and  powers  of  endurance.  Those  quali- 
tie"s  were  developed  and  strengthened,  as  he  grew  to  manhood,  by 
the  character  of  the  arduous  and  varied  services  in  which  he  was 
engaged.  He  also  soon  began  to  display  those  rare  intellectual  quali- 
ties of  prudence,  determination  and  executive  capacity,  which  were 
appreciated  by  his  employer,  and  early  marked  him  a  born  leader  of 
men.  His  business  faculties  and  the  tact  he  exhibited  in  his  inter- 
course with  the  Indians,  secured  his  rapid  advancement  to  posts  of 
increased  responsibility. 

After  the  coalition  of  the  companies,  two  young  men,  brothers  of 
Douglas,  in  the  same  service,  returned  to  Scotland,  and  wished  James 
to  return  with  them.  The  chief  factor,  however,  who  remained  in. 
the  service,  and  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Columbia 


THE   FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  135 

Department,  having  taken  a  fancy  to  the  young  man,  persuaded  him 
to  remain.  McLoughlin  wrote  to  the  Company's  directors  in  London 
for  permission  that  Douglas  should  accompany  him  there,  which 
request  was  granted. 

EXPERIENCE  IN  NEW  CALEDONIA.  —  Before  crossing  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  Douglas1  remained  in  the  Athabasca  district  until  1824, 
when  he  went  to  Fort  St.  James,  on  Stuart  Lake,  in  company  with 
James  Connolly.  McLoughlin  proceeded  to  Fort  Vancouver.  His 
object  in  leaving  Douglas  in  the  north  was  to  give  him  an  opportunity 
of  becoming  familiar,  in  the  most  minute  detail,  with  the  working  of 
the  machinery  of  the  united  companies.  To  this  end  it  was  necessary 
that  he  should  have  experience,  and  first  of  all  in  New  Caledonia. 
From  the  warm  friendship  which  existed  between  Mr.  McLoughlin 
and  Douglas,  the  latter  had  all  the  assistance  and  advice  which  it  was 
possible  to  give  him.  He  was  already  familiar  with  the  ordinary 
branches  of  the  business,  and  as  an  accountant  had  no  superior  in 
the  service. 

HE  BUILDS  FORT  CONNOLLY. — Without  delay,  on  his  arrival  at 
Fort  St.  James,  he  set  himself  to  study  the  condition  of  the  country, 
its  geography,  hydrography  and  topography,  and  the  languages  and 
characteristics  of  the  various  tribes  of  natives  with  whom  he  would 
have  business  dealings.  During  the  four  years  which  he  remained  in 
the  interior  of  New  Caledonia,  he  founded  several  forts.  One  of  these 
was  built  in  18*26,  on  Bear  Lake,  at  the  head,  of  one  of  the  branches 
of  Skeena  River,  and  named  Fort  Connolly,  in  honor  of  James  Con- 
nolly, whose  daughter,  Nellie  Connolly,  a  beautiful  maiden  of  "sweet 
sixteen,"  young  Douglas,  along  with  his  other  duties,  found  time  to 
"  woo  and  win,"  and  who  in  due  time  became  his  wife,  and  latterly 
Lady  Douglas. 

A  TRAGEDY  AT  FORT  ST.  JAMES. — Whilst  at  Fort  St.  James,  a 
tragedy  was  enacted  in  which  Douglas  acted  a  leading  part.  It  is 
described  in  a  book  published  in  1849,  by  John  MacLeari,  who  had 
been  in  the  service  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  for  twenty-five  years, 
He  states  that  the  interpreter,  named  Waccan,  informed  him  that 
w^hen  Fort  St.  James  was  under  the  command  of  Douglas,  a  native 
from  Fraser  Lake  had  murdered  one  of  the  Company's  servants.  The 
murderer  concealed  himself  for  some  time,  but  110  notice  having  been 
taken  of  the  affair,  he  thought  there  was  nothing  to  fear,  and  returned 
to  his  village.  At  length  he  was  led  by  his  evil  genius  to  visit  the 
Indian  village  at  Stuart  Lake.  Douglas  heard  of  his  being  there, 


136  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

-and  though  he  had  but  a  weak  garrison,  determined  that  the  blood  of 
the  white  man  should  not  be  unavenged.  The  opportunity  was 
favorable,  as  the  Indians  of  the  village  were  out  on  a  hunting  excur- 
sion, and  the  murderer  was  nearly  alone.  He  proceeded  to  the  camp, 
accompanied  by  two  of  his  men,  and  "  slew  "  the  murderer. 

INDIAN  STRATAGEM. — On  their  return  in  the  evening  the  Indians 
learned  what  had  happened.  A  council  was  held,  and  it  was  decided 
that  they  should  retaliate.  Aware,  however,  that  Douglas  was  on 
•his  guard,  and  that  the  gates  were  shut  and  could  not  be  forced,  they 
resolved  to  employ  Indian  stratagem.  The  old  chief  accordingly 
proceeded  to  the  fort  alone,  and,  knocking  at  the  gate,  desired  to  be 
•admitted,  which  was  permitted.  He  immediately  stated  the  object  of 
liis  visit,  saying  a  deed  had  been  done  in  their  village  which  subjected 
liimself  and  his  people  to  a  heavy  responsibility  to  the  relatives  of  the 
dead  ;  that  he  feared  the  consequences,  and  hoped  that  a  present 
would  be  made  to  satisfy  them. 

DOUGLAS  OUTWITTED. — Continuing  to  converse  thus  calmly, 
Douglas  was  led  to  believe  that  the  matter  could  easily  be  arranged. 
Another  knock  was  now  heard  at  the  gate.  "  It  is  my  brother,"  said 
the  chief,  "you  may  open  the  gate;  he  told  me  he  intended  to  come 
-and  hear  what  you  had  to  say  on  this  business."  The  gate  was 
•opened,  and  in  rushed  the  whole  Nekasly  tribe ;  the  chief's  brother 
at  their  head.  The  men  of  the  fort  were  overpowered  ere  they  had 
time  to  stand  on  their  defence.  Douglas,  however,  seized  a  wall-piece 
that  was  mounted  in  the  hall,  and  was  about  to  discharge  it  on  the 
crowd  that  was  pouring  in  upon  him,  when  the  chief  seized  him  by 
the  arms  and  held  him  fast. 

THE  INTERPRETER'S  WIFE. — For  an  instant  his  life  was  in  the 
utmost  peril,  surrounded  by  thirty  or  forty  Indians ;  their  knives 
drawn,  and  brandishing  them  over  his  head  with  frantic  gestures,  and 
calling  out  to  the  chief  :  "Shall  we  strike  1  shall  we  strike  ?"  The 
chief  hesitated  ;  and  at  this  critical  moment  the  interpreter's  wife 
stepped  forward  and,  by  her  presence  of  mind,  saved  him  and  the 
establishment. 

Observing  one  of  the  inferior  chiefs,  who  had  always  professed  the 
greatest  friendship  for  the  whites,  standing  in  the  crowd,  she 
addressed  herself  to  him,  exclaiming  :  "  What,  you  a  friend  of  the 
whites,  and  not  say  a  word  in  their  behalf  at  such  a  time  as  this  ! 
Speak  !  you  know  the  murderer  deserved  to  die ;  according  to  your 
own  laws  the  deed  was  just;  it  is  blood  for  blood.  The  white 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  137 

men  are  not  dogs,  they  love  their  kindred  as  well  as  you  do; 
why  should  they  not  avenge  their  murdered."  The  moment  the 
heroine's  voice  was  heard  the  tumult  subsided  ;  her  boldness  struck 
the  savages  with  awe.  The  chief  she  addressed,  acting  on  her 
suggestion,  interfered,  and  being  seconded  by  the  old  chief,  who  had 
no  serious  intention  of  injuring  the  whites,  was  satisfied  with 
showing  them  they  were  fairly  in  his  power.  Mr.  Douglas  and  his 
men  were  set  at  liberty,  and  an  amicable  conference  having  taken 
place,  the  Indians  departed  much  elated  with  the  issue  of  their 
enterprise. 

HAIRBREADTH  ESCAPES. — The  duties  attached  to  the  service  in 
which  Douglas  was  engaged  in  the  northern  interior  were  severe  and 
often  perilous.  Once  he  was  made  captive  by  one  of  the  tribes  and 
detained  for  many  weeks.  After  enduring  severe  hardships,  he 
contrived  at  length  to  effect  his  escape,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  one 
of  the  Company's  forts  in  an  exhausted  condition.  His  reappearance 
was  hailed  with  mingled  delight  and  astonishment,  for  he  had  been 
.given  up  for  dead.  His  many  hairbreadth  escapes  from  death,  aided 
by  his  coolness  and  courage,  were  often  marvellous. 

McLouGHLix  AND  DOUGLAS. — In  1828vhe  was  transferred  to  Fort 
Vancouver,  that  he  might  there  render  more  immediate  assistance  to 
his  friend  Mr.  McLoughlin,  which  the  increasing  requirements  of  the 
service  demanded.  In  his  new  position  he  rose  rapidly,  and  soon 
stood  second  only  to  his  chief  in  all  New  Caledonia.  At  this  place  he 
had  great  advantages  and  abundance  of  time  to  become  proficient  in 
all  the  minutest  details  of  the  service — not  in  theory  alone,  but  in 
practice.  He  revised  and  greatly  improved  the  system  of  accounts, 
which  required  all  the  trading-posts  on  the  Pacific  to  make  annual 
returns  to  Fort  Vancouver. 

MADE  CHIEF  TRADER,  ETC. — After  being  only  a  short  time  at  Fort 
Vancouver,  lie  was  made  chief  trader  (in  1830),  and  in  1833,  was 
appointed  chief  factor ;  was,  in  fact,  the  chief  agent  for  the  whole 
region  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  greater  portion  of  his 
time  was  now  employed  in  selecting  sites  and  superintending  the 
-establishment  of  trading  establishments.  Annual  visits  of  inspection 
were  made  by  him  to  the  several  stations  in  the  interior  and  on  the 
seaboard.  It  is  recorded  that  "  he  was  fast  becoming  famous  for  his 
geographical  and  practical  knowledge."  In  proceedings  connected 
with  the  Treaty  of  Washington,  he  was  pronounced  "one  of  the  most 


138  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

enterprising  and  inquisitive  of  men,  famous  for  his  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  every  crevice  on  the  coast." 

ALASKA  TREATY. — With  Factors  McLoughlin  and  Ogden  at  Fort 
Vancouver,  and  Douglas,  as  counsellor,  along  with  them,  the  business 
of  the  Company  was  in  a  flourishing  condition.  In  1839,  preparations 
were  made  to  proceed  to  Alaska  to  arrange  a  difficulty  there  with  the 
Russian  Government.  The  Anglo-Russian  Treaty  of  1825,  already 
mentioned,  provided  for  the  free  navigation  of  streams  crossing 
Russian  territory  in  their  course  from  the  British  possessions  to  the 
ocean.  Taking  advantage  of  that  proviso,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
had  pushed  forward  their  trading-posts  to  the  Stickeen  River.  In 
1833,  they  fitted  out  the  brig  Dryad  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a 
permanent  station  on  that  river. 

RUSSIAN  FUR  COMPANY. — Information  of  these  proceedings  having 
been  conveyed  to  Governor  Wrangel,  at  Sitka,  he  notified  the  man- 
agers of  the  Russian  Fur  Company,  at  St.  Petersburg,  asking  them 
to  induce  the  Imperial  Government  to  rescind  the  clause  in  the  treaty 
under  which  the  British  Company  encroached  on  Russian  territory. 
As  a  further  motive  for  this  request,  the  governor  reported  that  the 
British  Company  had  violated  the  agreement  to  abstain  from  selling 
firearms  and  spirituous  'liquor  to  the  natives.  The  Emperor  granted 
the  petition,  and  the  British  and  United  States  Governments  were 
notified  of  the  fact.  Both  protested  through  their  ministers  at  St. 
Petersburg,  but  in  vain ;  the  reply  of  the  Russian  foreign  office 
being  that  the  objectionable  clause  would  terminate  in  the  following 
year. 

RUSSIAN  MANOEUVRES. — Without  waiting  to  be  informed  of  the 
success  or  failure  of  his  application,  Baron  Wrangel  despatched  two 
armed  vessels  to  the  mouth  of  the  Stickeen  River.  There,  on  a  small 
peninsula,  a  fortified  station  was  established.  The  fort  was  built  on 
the  site  of  an  Indian  village,  near  the  town  of  Wrangel.  These  war- 
like preparations  were  unknown  to  the  officials  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  and  when  the  Dryad  approached  the  mouth  of  the  Stickeen, 
the  men  on  deck  were  surprised  by  a  puff  of  white  smoke  and  a  loud 
report  from  the  densely  wooded  shore,  followed  by  several  shots  from  a 
vessels  in  the  offing.  The  brig  was  at  once  put  about,  but  anchored 
just  out  of  range  ;  whereupon  a  boat  was  sent  from  shore,  carrying 
an  officer  who,  in  the  name  of  the  Governor  of  the  Russian  colonies 
and  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  protested  against  the  entrance  of  a 
British  vessel  into  a  river  belonging  to  Russian  territory.  All 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  1391 

appeals  on  the  part  of  Hudson  Bay  Company's  agents  were  ineffec- 
tual. They  were  informed  tint  if  they  desired  to  save  themselves, 
their  property  and  their  vessel,  they  must  weigh  anchor  at  once. 
After  a  brief  delay,  the  Dryad  sailed  for  Fort  Vancouver. 

CONVENTION  IN  1839. — The  authorities  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
lost  no  time  in  sending  reports  of  this  affair  to  London,  accompanied 
with  a  statement  that  the  loss  incurred  through  this  interference  with 
their  project  amounted  to  £20,000  sterling.  The  British  Govern- 
ment immediately  demanded  satisfaction  from  Russia,  but  the  matter 
was  not  finally  settled  until  1839,  when  a  convention  met  in  London 
to  settle  the  points  of  dispute  between  the  two  corporations,  and  in  a 
few  weeks  solved  difficulties  which  experienced  diplomatists  had 
failed  to  unravel  in  years.  The  claim  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  was 
waived  on  the  condition  that  the  Russian  CoYnpany  grant  a  lease  to 
the  former  of  all  their  continental  territory  lying  between  Cape 
Spencer  and  latitude  54°  40'.  The  annual  rental  was  fixed  at 
two  thousand  land-otter  skins,  and  at  the  same  time  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  agreed  to  supply  the  Russian  colony  with  a  large  quantity 
of  provisions  at  moderate  rates.  The  agreement  gave  satisfaction  to 
both  parties.  At  the  end  of  the  term  first  agreed  on,  the  lease  was 
renewed  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  and  twice  afterwards  for  periods 
of  four  years. 

AN  ARMED  FLEET. — Extensive  farming  operations  and  stock-raising 
were  being  carried  on  in  Williamette  valley  by  this  time;  settlements 
were  also  commenced  at  The  Dalles,  Walla  Walla,  Clearwater  and 
Spokane.  '  Trade  and  the  coast  service  had  so  increased  that  five 
vessels  were  required  for  the  traffic.  They  were  :  The  bark  Columbia, 
310  tons,  6  guns  and  24  men  ;  the  bark  Vancouver,  324  tons,  6 
guns,  24  men;  ship  Nerid,  283  tons,  10  guns,  26  men;  schooner 
Cadboro,  71  tons,  4  guns,  12  men;  and  steamer  Beaver,  109  tons,  5 
guns,  26  men.  The  Beaver  was  the  first  steamer  on  the  Pacific 
coast ;  built  at  Blackwall,  London,  in  1835  ;  reached  the  Columbia 
River,  round  Cape  Horn,  as  a  sailing  vessel,  in  1836  ;  had  machinery 
fitted  in,  and  was  in  Puget  Sound  in  1837.  This  fleet  being  armed 
and  equipped  for  defence,  constituted  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's 
navy. 

SETTLERS  ARRIVING. — New  Caledonia  and  the  Oregon  region  were 
as  yet  undivided,  but  the  time  had  arrived  when  settlers  from  the 
east  began  to  come  in.  The  boundary  question  between  the  north 
and  the  south  was  agitated  and  discussed.  The  advent  of  settlers 


140  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

was  a  cause  of  uneasiness  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  Although 
settlement  was  inimical  to  their  interests  as  fur  traders,  they  were 
powerless  to  prevent  it.  The  chief  factor,  McLoughlin,  being  a  man 
of  humane  disposition,  befriended  the  immigrants  in  many  instances, 
and  was  blamed  for  so  doing  by  the  directors  of  the  Company  in 
London.  The  incoming  settlers  to  Oregon  were  of  a  class  totally 
different  from  any  McLoughlin  had  hitherto  seen.  Many  of  them 
were  conscientious  and  honest.  Most  of  them  were  pecuniarily  irre- 
sponsible ;  too  many  were  unreliable  in  their  word,  and  some  few 
were  downright  dishonest. 

BANCROFT  MORALIZES. — Moralizing  on  the  character  of  the  two 
great  leaders,  McLoughlin  and  Douglas,  Bancroft  says  :  "  Douglas 
would  satisfy  the  requirements  of  a  merciless  corporation  better  than 
McLoughlin  ;  for  McLobghlin's  duty  was  always  on  the  side  of 
-charity,  while  the  charity  of  Douglas  was  made  subservient  to  duty. 
In  guile,  McLoughlin  was  an  infant ;  in  everything  covert  or  cun- 
ning he  was  unsophisticated.  He  had  spent  his  life,  or  at  least  the 
greater  part  of  it,  among  responsible  men  whose  words  were  single, 
whose  assurances  signified  something.  They  were  business  associates, 
business  brethren,  strict  in  their  dealings,  slower  to  promise  than 
to  perform.  Thus  the  cold,  keen  world  and  the  darkest  side  of 
humanity  had  remained  hidden  from  him.  He  had  not  found  it  in 
the  forest  or  the  camp.  In  the  singleness  and  noble  purity  of  his 
soul,  he  could  not  but  believe  that  most  men  were  honest  ;  he  could 
not  believe  that  men  are  as  bad  as  they  are,  and  lie  never  regretted 
.having  befriended  the  unfortunate.  To  the  end  he  was  gentle  and 
tolerant,  though  his  sensitiveness  to  ingratitude  and  wrong  was  often 
manifest.  .  .  .  Neither  Douglas  nor  McLoughlin  ever  did  a  base 
or  ignoble  act ;  and  side  by  side,  even  as  in  life  they  were  so  often 
found,  their  names  shall  forever  stand  unsullied  in  the  annals  of  the 
.great  North- West." 

FARMERS  BROUGHT  OUT. — For  the  encouragement  and  develop- 
ment of  trade  as  well  as  to  hold  land  convenient  to  the  trading- 
posts,  and  to  furnish  supplies  for  the  Russian  Fur  Company,  the 
settlements  formerly  mentioned  were  opened.  In  1839,  English  and 
Scotch  farmers  were  brought  from  Canada,  across  the  mountains,  and 
placed  in  most  favorable  places.  French-Canadians  and  half-breeds 
retiring  from  the  service  of  the  Company,  were  encouraged  to  settle 
on  those  lands,  which  could  be  had  free  of  cost.  In  the  vicinity  of 
Fort  Vancouver,  the  areas  of  agriculture  were  soon  greatly  enlarged, 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  141 

and  grist  mills  erected  for  the  several  grades  of  flour  required  for  the- 
Russian-American  trade.  More  sheep  and  cattle  were  being  driven 
north  from  California,  and  swine  from  the  Sandwich  Islands  were 
imported.  They  increased  rapidly.  The  plains  near  Fort  Nisqually 
were  turned  into  sheep  and  cattle  ranges,  and  the  Puget  Sound  Agri- 
cultural Company  was  inaugurated.  Hence,  it  was  not  long  before 
wheat,  flour,  butter,  pork  and  other  articles  in  large  quantities  were 
ready  for  shipment  to  the  Russian  ports  on  the  Alaskan  coast  and 
also  on  the  Asiatic  coast.  Four  barks,  of  eight  hundred  tons  each, 
were  built  in  London  for  the  exportation  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company's  produce. 

THE  BOUNDARY  QUESTION. — In  the  midst  of  all  this  stir  and  exten- 
sion of  trade  and  traffic,  the  Company  did  not  lose  sight  of  the 
approach  of  the  partition  of  the  territory  which  was  inevitably  drawing; 
nigh.  The. joint  occupancy  must  cease  ;  and  to  be  safe,  it  was  decided 
that  another  fort  should  be  erected,  to  be  used  instead  of  Fort  Van- 
couver, as  headquarters  of  the  Company  if  necessary.  If  the  decision. 
of  the  Governments  should  be  that  the  international  boundary  would 
be  the  extension  of  that  on  the  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  on  the 
49ih  parallel  of  latitude,  it  would  then  be  necessary  to  have  the 
location  of  the  new  fort  north  of  that  line,  and  also  convenient  to  the 
sea-going  trade,  as  well  as  to  accommodate  the  trade  of  the  interior.. 
The  Columbia  River  could  no  longer  be  used  as  the  main  artery  of 
travel. 

DOUGLAS  PROCEEDS  TO  SITKA. — The  island  of  Vancouver  was  chosen 
as  the  most  suitable  place,  after  careful  examination  by  Mr.  Douglas 
and  others.  Preparations  were  made  to  have  the  work  proceeded  with 
as  soon  as  convenient.  In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Douglas  found  it 
requisite  to  proceed  north  to  Sitka  in  connection  with  the  lease  of  a 
p  rtion  of  Alaska  from  the  Russians,  to  take  possession  of  the  trading 
post  at  Stickeen  River,  and  the  building  of  another  post  on  the  Taku 
River,  all  in  Russian  territory.  A  party  was  organized,  leaving  Fort 
Vancouver,  to  proceed  overland  to  Puget  Sound,  where  they  were  to- 
take  the  steamer  Beaver.  Douglas,  who  had  been  made  a  chief  factor 
in  1833,  was  the  leader  of  the  expedition. 

A  NOBLK  ACT. — An  incident  occurred,  as  the  party  were  fording 
the  Nisqually  River,  which  was  then  swollen  (April,  1840).  It  is 
narrated  by  Bancroft,  and  illustrates  the  character  of  Douglas.  He 
introduces  the  occurrence  by  the  remark:  "There  is  something  sub- 


142  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

lime  in  that  quality  inherent  in  noble  natures  which  cannot  overlook 
a  duty,  even  though  its  performance  leads  to  death."  It  appears  that 
Lassertes,  the  man  foremost  in  crossing  the  river,  was  by  some  mishap 
swept  from  his  horse,  and  carried  some  distance  down  the  river.  Just 
before  reaching  a  drift  of  logs  and  debris,  under  and  through  which 
the  furious  water  was  surging,  threatening  instant  destruction  to  any 
on  whom  it  might  once  lay  its  grasp,  he  caught  the  end  of  a  fallen 
tree  and  held  to  it  as  his  only  hope  of  life.  Even  to  those  accustomed 
to  daily  dangers,  and  to  prompt,  unflinching  action  whenever  a 
comrade  needed  help,  the  position  of  Lassertes  was  so  perilous,  the 
destruction  of  whomsoever  should  attempt  his  rescue  so  probable,  that 
the  bravest  of  these  brave  men  drew  back  appalled.  The  air  and  water 
were  so  icy  cold  that  the  limbs  would  be  quickly  benumbed,  and  prob- 
ably render  effort  powerless.  "  Fear  fell  upon  the  company,"  says 
Douglas  in  his  journal  "  Lassertes  was  every  moment  growing  weaker- 
He  was  apparently  a  doomed  man.  The  contagion  weighed  upon  my 
own  mind,  and  I  confess  with  shame  that  I  felt  not  that  cheerful 
alacrity  in  rushing  to  the  rescue  as  at  other  times."  Douglas  saw  that 
if  he  did  not  make  the  attempt  no  one  would.  It  were  easy  enough 
to  hold  back  ;  to  dally  ;  to  seek  for  means  less  venturesome  than  such 
extreme  personal  peril;  that  man's  life  was  not  worth  half  as  much  as 
his  own  ;  no  blame  could  by  any  possibility  ever  be  attached  to  him 
—  let  him  go. 

DOUGLAS  RESCUES  LASSERTES. — Douglas  could  not  do  it.  His 
nature  was  not  formed  that  way.  "  Even  then,"  he  writes  in  his 
journal,  "I  could  not  allow  a  fellow-creature  to  perish  without  an 
effort  to  save  him,  while  the  inactivity  of  all  present  was  an  additional 
incentive  to  redouble  my  own  exertions.  With  a  sensation  of  dread, 
and  almost  hopeless  of  success,  I  pushed  my  horse  with  spur  and  whip 
nearly  across  the  river,  sprung  into  the  water,  and  rushed  towards 
the  spot  where  the  nearly  exhausted  sufferer  was  clinging,  with  his 
head  above  water,  to  a  tree  that  had  fallen  into  the  river.  Upon 
its  trunk  I  dragged  myself  out  on  all  fours,  and  great  was  our  mutual 
joy  when  I  seized  him  firmly  by  the  collar,  and  with  the  aid  of  a 
canoe  that  arrived  soon  after,  landed  him  safely  on  the  bank,  where  a 
blazing  tire  soon  restored,  warmth  to  both.  And  to  my  latest  breath 
may  I  cherish  the  remembrance  of  Lassertes'  providential  rescue  from 
a  watery  grave,  as  I  could  never  otherwise  have  enjoyed  tranquillity 
of  mind  " 


THE    FUR-TRADJNG   PERIOD.  143 

RODERICK  FINLAYSON. — Attached  to  this  party  another  historic 
name  should  lie  mentioned — that  of  Roderick  Finlayson.  In  his 
•autobiography  he  states  that  he  was  born  in  Ross-shire,  Scotland,  in 
1818.  His  father  held  a  sheep  and  stock 
farm.  He  left  home  at  the  age  of  nineteen, 
sailed  from  Glasgow  in  July,  1837,  reaching 
New  York  after  a  passage  of  forty  days. 
Through  the  influence  of  a  relative  he  re- 
ceived an  appointment  as  apprentice-clerk 
in  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  After  a 
short  time  at  the  desk  in  the  head  office  at 
Lachine,  he  was  detailed  to  a  station  near 
Ottawa,  where  he  remained  during  the 
winter  of  1837-38. 

RODERICK   F1XLAVSON.  -n 

YOUNG  JMNLAYSON  was  next  ordered  to 

join  a  brigade  in  the  spring  of  1838,  which  consisted  of  four  large 
canoes,  with  forty  officers  and  men  who  were  to  proceed  direct  to  the 
Columbia  district,  to  take  possession  of  a  portion  of  the  Russian 
territory  which  had  been  leased  from  the  Russian  Fur  Company. 
He  describes  the  route  travelled  via  Lake  of  the  Woods,  Lake  Winni- 
peg and  Norway  House.  From  Norway  House  they  followed  the 
Nelson  River  to  York  Factory.  At  the  depot  there  they  remained 
a  fortnight,  replenishing  the  stock  and  preparing  for  the  western 
portion  of  the  journey. 

ARRIVED  AT  VANCOUVER. — The  party  left  York  Factory  under  the 
command  of  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  then  chief  factor  in  charge  of  the 
Columbia  district — calling  at  Norway  House,  Fort  Carlton,  tfort 
Pitt  and  Edmonton,  on  the  Saskatchewan.  At  Fort  Edmonton  they 
left  the  boats  and  took  horses  across  to  Fort  Assiniboine  on  the 
Athabasca  River,  where  they  again  took  boats  and  worked  mostly  by 
poling  a  steep  ascent  up  the  river  to  Jasper  House  ;  then  again  took 
horses  to  Boat  Encampment,  at  the  great  bend  of  the  Columbia  River. 
Boats  were  here  ready,  and  calling  at  the  various  stations  along  the 
Columbia  River,  the  party  arrived  at  Fort  Vancouver  in  November. 

IN  CHARGE  OF  MILLS. — Shortly  after  his  arrival  Finlayson  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  grist  and  saw  mill  about  five  miles  up  the 
river  from  the  fort,  where  he  had  a  gang  of  twenty  men  to  look  after. 
From  the  saw  mill  were  shipped  lumber  and  spars  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  At  this  work  he  remained  until  the  spring  of  1840,  when 
he  was  ordered  to  join  the  party  under  Chief  Factor  Douglas,  who  on 


144  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

going  north  at  that  time  rescued  the  man  Lassertes  from  drowning, 
At  the  head  of  Puget  Sound  they  found  the  steamer  Beaver,  Captain- 
McNeill,  in  waiting.  On  the  way  north  they  called  at  Fort  Langley 
on  Fraser  River.  That  fort  had  recently  been  destroyed  by  firer 
which  was  unfortunate,  as  a  supply  of  salted  provisions  were  expected 
to  have  been  obtained  there.  Fort  McLoughlin,  at  Milbank  Sound,. 
was  visited,  and  also  Fort  Simpson,  at  each  of  which  places  furs, 
potatoes,  cord  wood,  etc.,  were  secured. 

FORT  STICKEEN  TAKEN  POSSESSION  OF. — From  Fort  Simpson  they 
proceeded  to  the  mouth  of  Stickeen  River,  where  according  to  previous 
arrangement  they  received  possession  of  the  fort  there,  which  was 
evacuated  by  the  Russians  on  their  arrival,  and  the  British  flag 
hoisted.  After  matters  were  all  satisfactorily  arranged,  Factor  Douglas 
left  eighteen  men  and  an  officer  in  charge,  and  proceeded  along  with 
the  rest  of  the  party  to  Sitka.  There  they  were  most  cordially 
received  by  the  Russian  governor,  Etholin.  A  salute  of  nine  guns 
was  fired  by  the  Russian  vessels  in  the  harbor,  which,  says  Finlaysonr 
"the  Beaver  returned  in  grand  style." 

DOUGLAS  AT  SITKA. — Factor  Douglas  remained  at  Sitka  ten  daysr 
during  which  time  he  settled  various  matters  relative  to  the  future 
trade  of  the  coast  with  the  Russians  and  with  the  native  tribes. 
When  leaving  for  the  gulf  and  River  Taku,  a  parting  salute  was  given 
and  returned.  A  new  fort  was  to  be  erected  and  a  site  selected  on 
the  Taku.  After  considerable  searching  a  place  was  found  about  fifty 
miles  up  the  river  and  a  fort  built,  which  was  named  Fort  Durham 
in  honor  of  Lord  Durham,  then  Governor-General  of  Canada. 

FORT  TAKU  BUILT. — As  soon  as  the  new  fort  was  put  in  a  proper 
state  of  defence,  with  bastions,  etc.,  a  party  consisting  of  eighteen 
men  and  two  officers  was  placed  in  charge.  Roderick  Finlayson  was 
second  in  command.  Before  leaving  Taku  River,  the  Beaver,  with 
Factor  Douglas,  made  several  cruises  to  the  neighboring  inlets  to 
examine  and  understand  more  thoroughly  the  position  and  temper  of 
the  natives,  who  were  inclined  to  be  troublesome.  The  Beaver  then 
returned  to  Nisqually,  calling  at  the  various  landing-places,  and 
trading  from  the  deck  of  the  vessel,  as  was  customary  where  no  posts 
were  established 

NARROW  ESCAPE  OF  FINLAYSON. — Roderick  Finlayson  describes  the 
location  of  the  new  fort  as  being  "as  dismal  a  place  as  could  possibly 
be  imagined.  The  journal  kept  showed  rain  and  snow  for  nine 
months  out  of  the  twelve.  Trade  was  opened  with  the  natives,  but 


THE   FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  145 

being  fierce  and  treacherous,  only  one  at  a  time  was  allowed  to 
enter  the  gate  of  the  fort.  An  incident  occurred  not  long  after 
the  establishment  of  Fort  Durham  which  might  have  terminated 
fatally  with  Finlayson.  He  relates  that  a  few  years  previously,  a 
vessel  from  Boston  came  to  trade  in  the  neighborhood,  and  had  a 
quarrel  with  the  natives,  in  which  a  large  number  of  them  were  killed. 
According  to  the  Indian  law  of  revenge,  the  natives  agreed  among 
themselves  to  capture  the  fort  and  murder  all  the  inmates.  With 
this  view  a  party  of  warriors  one  day  arrived,  and  one  of  them  partly 
forced  his  way  through  the  gate,  against  the  gate-keeper,  who  was  a 
Kanaka,  or  Sandwich  Islander.  Finlayson  came  to  assist,  and 
succeeded  in  driving  the  Indian  out,  but  in  doing  so  was  struck  a 
heavy  blow  with  a  bludgeon  by  another  Indian.  In  the  heat  of  the 
affray  Finlayson  went  outside  the  gate,  arid  was  immediately  seized 
by  a  party  of  the  savages  who  were  hiding  close  by,  and  forced  a 
distance  from  the  gate.  He  called  to  his  men  inside  to  open  blank 
cartridge  to  frighten  them.  In  the  meantime  Finlayson  managed  to 
get  his  back  against  a  tree,  and  drawing  his  pistols,  kept  them  at  bay 
until  he  gained  the  fort.  For  several  days  the  fort  was  besieged,  but 
the  natives  finding  trade  suspended  came  to  a  parley,  when  it  was 
explained  that  the  man  whom  they  had  injured  was  not  a  Boston  man, 
and  that  they  should  pay  an  indemnity  for  the  outrage.  A  large 
bundle  of  furs  was  brought  and  accepted.  Peace  was  declared  and 
trade  resumed.  Dr.  Kennedy  was  in  charge  of  the  fort  at  the  time 
when  the  contretemps  took  place^ 

'The  Beaver  returned  to  Puget  Sound,  trading  with  the  natives 
at  the  various  villages  en  route.  Factor  Douglas  was  then  of 
opinion  that  the  business  along  the  coast  could  be  more  profitably 
carried  on  by  itinerant  visits  than  by  continuing  the  established  forts. 
This  view  was  apparently  concurred  in  by  Governor  Simpson,  who 
arrived  at  Fort  Vancouver  in  August,  1841,  on  his  memorable 
journey  around  the  world,  overland.  The(  Governor-in-Chief  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  in  the  work  which  describes  the  journey,  gives 
a  minute  description  of  the  tour,  which  partook  of  a  visit  of  inspec- 
tion of  the  trading-posts  of  the  Company  stationed  along  his  route. 
Governor  Simpson  and  party  remained  a  week  at  Fort  Vancouver 
before  proceeding  north  to  Sitka.  Commodore  Wilkes  was  then  at 
the  Fort  in  command  of  the  United  States  exploring  squadron. 


10 


146  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEE  XVII. 


PARTICULARS  OF  THE  JOURNEY. 

Reference  may  be  made  here  to  Sir  George  Simpson's  visit  to 
British  Columbia,  in  connection  with  his  memorable  journey  round 
the  world,  in  1841-42.  He  left  England  on  March  3rd,  1841,  and, 
landing  at  Boston,  made  his  way  to  Montreal.  His  outfit  was  com- 
pleted at  Lachine,  the  headquarters  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  in 
Canada.  The  expedition  started  from  that  village  on  4th  May; 
on  the  16th  of  the  month  the  party  arrived  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 
After  some  detention  by  ice  on  Lake  Superior,  Sir  George  reached 
Thunder  Bay,  and  ascended  by  the  Kaministiqua  to  the  height  of  land. 
He  traversed  the  chain  of  lakes  and  rivers  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods, 
and  arrived  at  Fort  Alexander,  near  the  mouth  of  River  Winnipeg, 
on  June  8th.  On  the  third  day  following,  Sir  George  Simpson  was 
at  Fort  Garry,  having  accomplished  the  journey  of  two  thousand 
miles  in  thirty-eight  days. 

There  was  an  ordinary  trail  from  Fort  Garry  to  Fort  Edmonton. 
It  passed  from  point  to  point  across  the  prairie,  and  was  used  by  the 
Red  River  carts  for  the  transportation  of  merchandise.  It  was  not 
always  in  good  condition,  but  was  easily  followed  along  the  banks  of 
the  Assiniboine  to  Fort  Ellice,  thence  to  Fort  Carlton,  Fort  Pitt  and 
Edmonton.  On  July  23rd,  Sir  George  left  Edmonton,  taking  a 
south-western  course.  He  crossed  Battle  River,  Red  Deer  River 
and  Bow  River.  Ascending  by  a  tributary  of  the  latter,  he  gained 
the  height  of  land  at  the  Kananaskis  Pass,  in  about  50°  30'  latitude. 
Descending  a  tributary  of  the  Kootenay  to  the  main  river  of  that 
name,  the  party  directed  its  course  to  Kulispelm  Lake,  the  source  of 
the  Pend  d'Oreille  River,  which  was  followed  to  the  Columbia. 

Reaching  Fort  Colville,  Sir  George  writes :  l£  Here  terminated  a 
long  and  laborious  journey  of  nearly  two  thousand  miles  on  horse- 
back, across  plains,  mountains,  rivers  and  forests.  For  six  weeks 
and  five  days  we  had  been  constantly  riding,  or  at  least  as  constantly 
as  the  strength  of  our  horses  would  allow,  from  eariy  dawn  to  sunset, 
and  we  had,  on  an  average,  been  in  the  saddle  about  seven  hours  and 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  147 

a  half  a  day.  From  Red  River  to  Edmonton,  one  day's  work  with 
another  amounted  to  about  fifty  miles,  but  from  Edmonton  to  Colville 
we,  more  generally  than  otherwise,  fell  short  of  forty." 

From  Fort  Colville  the  Columbia  was  descended  by  canoe.  The 
travellers  passed  the  Company's  post  at  Okanagan  and  reached  Fort 
Vancouver. 

INTERESTING  VISITS. — Whilst  at  Fort  Vancouver,  Governor  Simpson 
and  party  visited  the  Company's  dairy,  which  was  located  on  an 
island  or  delta,  fifteen  miles  long  by  seven  miles  wide,  formed  by  a 
branch  of  the  Williamette  River.  At  the  dairy  they  found  about 
A  hundred  milch  cows,  which  were  said  to  yield,  on  an  average,  about 
sixty  pounds  of  butter  each  in  a  year.  There  were  also  two  or 
three  hundred  cattle  left,  merely  with  a  view  to  breeding,  to  roam 
about  at  will.  They  next  cr.ossed  the  River  Columbia  and  ascended 
the  Cowlitz  River  in  a  large  bateau,  with  a  crew  of  ten  men.  "  The 
ere**,"  Governor  Simpson  remarks,  "  was  as  curious  a  muster  of  races 
-and  languages  as  perhaps  had  ever  congregated  within  the  same  com- 
pass in  any  part  of  the  world.  There  were  Iroquois,  who  spoke  in 
their  own  tongue  ;  a  Cree  half-breed,  of  French  origin,  who  appeared 
to  have  borrowed  his  dialect  from  both  his  parents;  a  north  Briton, 
who  only  understood  the  Gaelic  of  his  native  hills ;  Canadians  who, 
of  course,  knew  French  ;  and  Sandwich  Islanders,  who  jabbered  a 
medley  of  Chinook,  English,  and  their  own  vernacular  jargon.  Add 
to  all  this  that  the  passengers  were  natives  of  England,  Scotland, 
Russia,  Canada,  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  territories,  and  you 
have  the  prettiest  congress  of  nations,  the  nicest  confusion  of  tongues 
that  has  ever  taken  place  since  the  days  of  the  Tower  of  Babel."  He 
further  remarks  that  when  he  "  descended  the  Cowlitz  in  1828,  there 
was  a  large  population  along  its  banks  ;  but  since  then  the  intermittent 
fever,  which  commenced  its  ravages  in  the  following  year,  had  left 
but  few  to  mourn  for  those  that  fell." 

PUGET  SOUND  FARMS. — At  the  landing-place,  about  sixty  miles 
from  Puget  Sound,  Mr.  Douglas  had  procured  horses  from  the  Cowlitz 
farm,  ten  miles  distant,  ready  to  convey  the  party  to  Puget  Sound. 
"\Yhen  this  tract  had  been  explored,  a  few  years  previously,  the 
Company  established  two  farms  upon  it,  which  were  subsequently 
transferred  to  the  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Association,  formed 
under  the  Company's  auspices,  with  a  view  to  producing  wheat,  wool, 
hides  and  tallow  for  exportation.  On  the  Cowlitz  farm  there  were 
already  about  a  thousand  acres  of  land  under  the  plough,  besides  a 


148  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

large  dairy,  an  extensive  park  for  horses,  etc.  The  crops  that  season 
amounted  to  8,000  or  9,000  bushels  of  wheat,  4,000  of  oats,  with  due 
proportions  of  barley,  potatoes,  etc.  The  other  farm  was  on  the- 
shores  of  Puget  Sound  ;  and  as  its  soil  was  found  better  fitted  for 
pasturage  than  tillage,  it  had  been  appropriated  almost  exclusively 
to  the  flocks  and  herds,  so  that  then  with  only  200  acres  of  cultivated 
land,  it  possessed  6,000  sheep,  1,200  cattle,  besides  horses,  pigs,  etc. 

NORTH  TO  FORT  SIMPSON  AND  STICKEEX. — After  a  visit  of  about 
a  week  at  Fort  Vancouver,  on  the  6th  of  September,  the  party, 
including  Factor  Douglas,  embarked  at  Nisqually  on  board  the 
Beaver  for  Sitka.  They  took  wood  and  water  near  Point  Douglas, 
where  there  was  a  large  camp  of  about  a  thousand  savages,  inhabi- 
tants of  Vancouver  Island,  who,  Governor  Simpson  states,  periodically 
crossed  the  gulf  to  Fraser  River  for  the  purpose  of  fishing.  A  great 
number  of  canoes  assisted  in  bringing  over  the  wood  and  water  from 
the  shore.  Some  of  the  canoes  were  paddled  entirely  by  young  girls 
of  remarkably  interesting  and  comely  appearance.  The  people  offered 
salmon,  potatoes,  berries  and  shell-fish  for  sale.  Continuing  north- 
ward, the  Beaver  passed  several  villages,  and  was  successful  in  trading. 
Before  leaving  the  northern  end  of  Vancouver  Island,  furs  were 
secured  to  the  value  of  about  five  hundred  pounds  sterling,  consisting 
of  martens,  racoons,  beavers,  bears,  lynxes,  and  both  kinds  of  otters. 
They  were  paid  for  in  blankets,  tobacco,  vermilion,  tiles,  knives,  a 
small  quantity  of  cloth,  and  two  guns.  The  governor  and  party  visited 
and  inspected  Fort  McLoughlin,  and  passing  through  Milbank  Sound, 
reached  Fort  Simpson  in  due  time.  This  fort  was  originally  built  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Naas  River.  It  was  then  a  vast  resort  of  Indians- 
of  various  tribes,  amounting  to  about  fourteen  thousand.  Fort 
Stickeen  was  next  reached,  and  the  party  warmly  welcomed  by  Mr. 
McLoughlin,  Jun.  Between  4,000  and  5,000  Indians,  young  and  old, 
were  then  depending  on  that  fort  for  supplies.  Fort  Taku  or  "  Fort 
Durham  "  was  also  visited.  At  this  time  the  governor  learned  of 
Finlayson  the  difficulty  with  the  Indians.  The  party  remained  there- 
nearly  four  days  weather-bound.  Fully  one-third  of  the  population 
on  that  coast  were  then  held  as  slaves  by  the  tribes,  having  been 
taken  in  war,  but  some  of  them  were  born  to  continue  in  slavery. 
They  were  treated  by  their  owners  with  the  most  wanton  cruelty. 

WELCOME  TO  SITKA. — On  reaching  Sitka  harbor,  the  party  found 
there  five  sailing  vessels,  ranging  between  two  hundred  and  three 
hundred  and  fifty  tons,  besides  a  large  bark  in  the  offing  in  tow  of  a. 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  149 

steamer,  which  proved  to  be  the  Alexander,  from  Ochotsk,  bringing 
a 'vices  from  Petersburg  down  to  the  end  of  April.  Before  coming 
to  an  anchor,  an  officer  came  off,  conveying  Governor  Etholin's  com- 
pliments and  welcome.  Salutes  being;  exchanged,  Governor  Simpson 
and  Mr.  Douglas  were  accompanied  by  the  officer  to  His  Excellency's 
residence,  situated  on  the  top  of  a  rock.  They  only  paid  a  compli- 
mentary call,  and  returned  to  the  steamer  for  the  night. 

VISIT  OF  GOVERNOR  ETHOLIN. — Next  morning,  Governor  Etholin, 
in  full  uniform,  came  on  board  in  his  gig,  manned  by  six  oars  and  a 
•coxswain,  and  was  received  with  a  salute.  After  a  short  visit,  he 
returned  to  the  fort  accompanied  by  Governor  Simpson  and  Mr. 
Douglas — the  fort  and  the  Beaver  exchanging  salutes  simultaneously. 
The  visitors  then  had  the  honor  of  being  introduced  to  Madame 
Etholin,  a  native  of  Helsin<>fors,  in  Finland.  Says  Governor  Simpson, 
"this  pretty  and  lady-like  woman  had  come  to  this,  her  secluded 
home,  from  the  farthest  extremity  of  the  Empire." 

IMMENSE  TRADE. — A  very  large  trade  was  carried  on  between  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  and  the  Russian- American  Company,  of  which 
Sitka  was  the  principal  depot.  At  the  time  of  Governor  Simpson's 
visit,  the  operations  of  the  Company  were  becoming  more  extensive 
than  they  had  previously  been.  Their  exclusive  license  had  been 
extended  for  a  further  term  of  twenty  years  ;  the  direction  was  about 
to  be  remodeled,  and  generally  an  improved  order  of  things  was  in 
progress.  The  return  of  their  trade  is  given  at  10,000  fur  seals, 
1,000  seal-otters,  12,000  beaver,  2,500  land-otters,  and  20,000  sea- 
horse teeth. 

FUR  SEALS. — Governor  Simpson's  remarks  on  the  fur  seal  will 
doubtless  be  interesting  at  the  present  time.  His  views  are  sound 
and  appropriate.  He  says  : 

"  Some  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago  (1810  or  1820),  there  was  a  most 
wasteful  destruction  of  the  fur  seal,  when  young  and  old,  male  and 
female,  were  indiscriminately  knocked  on  the  head.  This  imprudence, 
as  anyone  might  have  expected,  proved  detrimental  in  two  ways.  The 
race  was  almost  extirpated,  and  the  market  was  glutted  to  such  a 
degree,  at  the  rate  for  some  time  of  200,000  skins  a  year,  that  the 
prices  did  not  even  pay  the  expenses  of  carriage.  The  Russians,, 
however,  have  now  adopted  nearly  the  same  plan  as  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  pursues  in  recruiting  any  of  its  exhausted  districts,  killing 
only  a  limited  number  of  such  males  as  have  attained  their  full 
growth,  on  a  plan  peculiarly  applicable  to  the  fur  seal,  inasmuch  as 
its  habits  render  the  system  of  husbanding  the  stock  as  easy  and 
certain  as  that  of  destroying  it. 


150  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

"  In  the  month  of  May,  with  something  like  the  regularity  of  an 
almanac,  the  fur  seals  make  their  appearance  at  the  island  of  St.  Paul, 
one  of  the  Aleutian  group.  Each  old  male  brings  a  herd  of  females, 
under  his  protection,  varying  in  number,  according  to  his  size  and 
strength ;  the  weaker  brethren  are  obliged  to  content  themselves 
with  half  a  dozen  wives,  while  some  of  the  sturdier  and  fiercer  fellows 
preside  over  harems  that  are  two  hundred  strong.  From  the  date  of 
their  arrival  in  May  to  that  of  their  departure  in  October,  the  whole 
of  them  are  principally  ashore  on  the  beach.  The  females  go  down 
to  the  sea,  once  or  twice  a  day  ;  while  the  male,  morning,  noon  and 
night,  watches  his  charge  with  the  utmost  jealousy,  postponing  even 
the  pleasures  of  eating  and  drinking  and  sleeping  to  the  duty  of 
keeping  his  favorites  together. 

"  If  any  young  gallant  venture  by  stealth  to  approach  any  senior 
chief's  bevy  of  beauties,  he  generally  atones  for  his  impudence  with 
his  life,  being  torn  to  pieces  by  the  old  fellow  ;  and  such  of  the  fair 
ones  as  may  have  given  the  intruder  any  encouragement  are  pretty 
sure  to  catch  it  in  the  shape  of  some  secondary  punishment.  The 
ladies  are  in  the  straw,  about  a  fortnight  after  they  arrive  at  St. 
Paul's ;  about  two  or  three  weeks  afterwards,  they  lay  the  single 
fpundation,  being  all  that  is  necessary  of  next  season's  proceedings  ; 
and  the  remainder  of  their  sojourn  they  devote  exclusively  to  the 
rearing  of  their  young. 

"  At  last  the  whole  band  departs,  no  one  knows  whither.  The 
mode  of  capture  is  this :  at  the  proper  time,  the  whole  are  driven 
like  a  flock  of  sheep,  to  the  establishment,  which  is  about  a  mile 
distant  from  the  sea;  and  there  the  males  of  four  years,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  that  are  left  to  keep  up  the  breed,  are  separated 
from  the  rest  and  killed.  In  the  days  of  promiscuous  massacre,  such 
of  the  mothers  as  lost  their  pups  would  ever  and  anon  return  to  the 
establishment,  absolutely  harrowing  up  the  sympathies  of  the  wives 
and  daughters  of  the  hunters,  accustomed  as  they  were  to  such  scenes,, 
with  their  doleful  lamentations. 

"The  fur  seal  attains  the  age  of  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  but  not 
more.  The  females  do  not  bring  forth  young  till  they  are  five  years 
old.  The  hunters  have  frequently  marked  their  ears  each  season, 
and  many  of  the  animals  have  been  notched  this  way  ten  times,  but 
very  few  of  them  oftener.  Under  the  present  system  the  fur  seals 
are  increasing  rapidly  in  number.  Previously  to  its  introduction,  the 
annual  hunts  have  dwindled  down  to  three  or  four  thousand.  They 
have  now  gradually  got  up  to  thrice  that  amount,  and  they  are  likely 
soon  to  equal  the  full  demand  of  the  Russian  market,  not  exceeding 
thirty  thousand  skins. 

"  Latterly  the  sea-otters  have  again  begun  to  be  more  numerous  on 
the  north-west  coast,  between  latitude  60°  and  65°  on  the  Aleutian 
and  Kurile  Islands,  and  on  the  shores  of  Kamschatka.  To  the  south 
of  the  parallel  of  60°,  they  have  become  pretty  nearly  extinct.  In 
California  in  particular,  where  they  were  once  extremely  numerous, 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  151 

they  were  destroyed  with  unusual  facility,  inasmuch  as  they  were 
generally  found  in  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  and  other  inlets,  whereas 
to  the  northward  they  delighted  in  the  most  exposed  situations  so  as 
to  render  the  pursuit  of  them  a  service  of  danger. 

"  It  was  the  lamented  Cook,  or  rather  his  crews  after  his  death, 
that  introduced  the  sea-otter  into  the  civilized  world.  Though  from 
1788  to  1795,  the  British  shared  in  the  fur  trade  which  their  country- 
men thus  opened,  yet  from  the  latter  date  to  1828,  the  Russians  and 
the  United  States  (Bostons)  between  them  monopolized  nearly  the 
whole  of  it.  Since  1828,  however,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  came 
with  energy  on  the  coast ;  and  now  while  the  Russians  confine  them- 
selves to  their  own  territory,  not  a  single  United  States  vessel  is 
engaged  in  the  branch  of  commerce  in  question." 

TEETOTALISM. — Another  subject  of  importance  occupied  the  atten- 
tion of  the  governors,  namely,  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  in 
trading  with  the  Indians.  The  Russians  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
allowing  it  to  be  used  as  a  medium  of  traffic.  In  the  neighboring 
posts  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  were  in  a  manner  obliged  also  to 
permit  its  use.  It  was  suggested  to  Governor  Etholin,  and  promptly 
acceded  to  by  him,  that  on  or  before  the  last  day  of  the  year  1843, 
both  companies  should  entirely  abandon  the  practice  of  trading 
with  the  savages  in  spirituous  liquors.  They  would  have  fixed  an 
earlier  limit,  had  it  not  been  considered  necessary  that  the  estab- 
lishments would  meanwhile  require  to  be  strengthened,  in  order  to 
provide  against  the  possibility  of  any  consequent  outrages  among 
the  involuntary  "teetotalers"  of  the  coast. 

PERMISSION  TO  MARRY. — The  party  commenced  their  return  trip  to 
Fort  Vancouver  on  September  13th,  calling  at  Stickeen,  where  four- 
teen or  fifteen  of  the  employes  there  asked  permission  to  take  native 
wives.  "  Leave  to  accept  the  worthless  bargains,"  says  Governor 
Simpson,  "  was  granted  to  all  such  as  had  the  means  of  supporting  a 
family.  These  matrimonial  connections  are  a  heavy  tax  on  a  post 
in  consequence  of  the  increased  demand  for  provisions,  but  form,  at 
the  same  time,  a  useful  link  between  the  traders  and  the  savages." 
Calling  at  the  various  trading-posts  along  the  route,  and  halting  to 
trade  at  convenient  places,  the  party  reached  Nisqually  on  the  18th 
of  October. 

CHANGE  OF  HEADQUARTERS.— Whilst  at  Fort  Vancouver,  during 
November  and  the  latter  part  of  October,  there  was  ample  time  for 
the  Governor-in-Chief  and  Chief  Factors  McLoughlin,  Ogden  and 
Douglas  to  discuss  the  affairs  of  the  Company.  It  was  then  arranged 
to  establish  a  new  fort  on  the  southern  coast  of  Vancouver  Island, 


152  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

and  make  that  headquarters  instead  of  Fort  Vancouver,  should  the 
boundary  line  be  run  on  parallel  49°  as  was  surmised.  Douglas  was 
instructed  to  make  the  requisite  examination  of  the  locality  and  com- 
plete the  arrangements.  The  governor  was  fully  acquainted  with  the 
details  of  the  vast  trade  which  had  grown  up  to  the  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  He  had  visited  the  neighboring  settlements,  and  saw 
the  encroachments  which  the  colonists  from  the  east  were  making,  and 
the  changes  which  must  take  place  in  the  fur  trade  by  their  advent. 

FORT  VANCOUVER  DESCRIBED. — The  Company's  grand  depot  (Fort 
Vancouver)  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  Governor  Simpson  describes 
as  "  situated  about  ninety  miles  from  the  sea,  the  Columbia  in  front 
of  it  being  about  one  mile  in  width.  Within  an  oblong  enclosure  of 
upwards  of  six  hundred  feet  by  two  hundred,  which  is  surrounded  by 
pickets,  there  are  contained  several  houses,  stores,  magazines, 
granaries,  work-shops,  etc.,  while  the  dwellings  of  the  servants,  the 
stables,  the  hospital,  etc.,  form  a  little  village  on  the  outside  of  the 
walls.  The  people  of  the  establishment,  besides  officers  and  native 
laborers,  vary  in  number,  according  to  the  season  of  the  year,  from 
one  hundred  and  thirty  to  two  hundred.  They  consist  of  Canadians, 
Sandwich  Islanders,  Europeans  and  half-breeds,  and  among  them  are 
agriculturalists,  voyagers,  blacksmiths,  tinsmiths,  carpenters,  masons, 
tailors,  shoemakers,  etc.  Their  weekly  rations  are  usually  twenty- 
one  pounds  of  salted  salmon  and  one  bushel  of  potatoes  for  each  man  ; 
and  in  addition  to  fish,  also  venison  and  wild  fowl,  with  occasionally 
a  little  beef  and  pork. 

THE  RISING  GENERATION. — "Most  of  the  men  are  married  to 
aboriginal  or  half-breed  women  ;  and  the  swarms  of  children  in  the 
little  village  already  mentioned,  present  a  strongly  suggestive 
contrast  with  the  scantiness  of  the  rising  generation  in  almost  every 
native  village  on  the  Lower  Columbia.  Amid  so  large  a  population, 
the  surgeon  of  the  establishment  finds  ample  employment ;  to  the 
hospital,  already  mentioned,  the  most  serious  cases  are  removed, 
seldom  exceeding  eight  or  ten  in  number,  and  generally  consisting  of 
fevers,  fractures  and  neglected  syphilis. 

LARGK  FARMS  IN  1841. — "The  farm  of  Fort  Vancouver  contains 
upwards  of  twelve  hundred  acres  under  cultivation,  which  have  this 
year  (1841)  produced  four  thousand  bushels  of  wheat,  three  thousand 
five  hundred  of  barley,  oats  and  pease,  and  a  very  large  quantity  of 
potatoes  and  other  vegetables.  The  wheat,  which  has  yielded  ten 
returns,  is  of  very  fine  quality,  weighing  from  65  to  68J  Ibs.  per 


THE    FUR-TKADING    PERIOD.  153 

bushel.  There  are,  moreover,  fifteen  hundred  sheep,  and  between 
four  and  five  hundred  head  of  cattle." 

WILLIAMETTE  SETTLEMENT.  —  At  the  time  of  Governor  Simpson's 
visit,  the  Wilhamette  settlement  extended  from  the  Falls  for  a 
considerable  distance  up  both  banks  of  the  stream,  containing  about 
.a  hundred  and  twenty  farms,  varying  in  size  from  a  hundred  to  five 
hundred  acres  each.  The  produce  that  season  was  about  thirty-five 
thousand  bushels  of  excellent  wheat,  with  due  proportion  of  oats, 
barley,  pease,  potatoes,  etc.  The  cattle  were  three  thousand,  the 
horses  two  thousand  five  hundred,  and  the  hogs  an  indefinite 
multitude. 

SUPPLIES  FROM  THE  HUDSON  BAY  COMPANY. — The  settlement  was 
begun  about  the  year  1839,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  as  a  retreat  for  its  retiring  servants.  These  were 
principally  French-Canadians,  with  their  half  breed  families  ;  there 
were,  in  1841,  sixty-five  new  settlers  from  the  United  States,  most  of 
them  with  wives  and  children.  The  whole  population,  therefore, 
-amounted  to  about  five  hundred  souls,  besides  about  a  thousand 
natives  of  all  ages,  who  had  been  domesticated  as  agricultural 
servants.  Of  wheat,  the  Company  purchased  from  the  settlers  that 
year  four  thousand  bushels ;  and  from  the  Company  every  settler 
received  his  supplies  of  imported  goods  at  prices  not  much  higher 
than  those  paid  by  their  own  servants. 

GOVERNOR  SIMPSON  RESUMES  His  JOURNEY. — On  the  30th  of 
November,  Governor  Simpson  left  Fort  Vancouver  to  proceed  on  his 
journey  around  the  world.  The  bark  Cowlitz  was  in  readiness  to 
convey  him  first  to  California,  then. to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and 
thence  back  to  Sitka.  From  Sitka  he  was  to  sail  for  Russia  in 
Europe,  and  to  St.  Petersburg  and  London.  On  embarking  on  the 
Cowlitz,  Governor  Simpson  moralizing,  says:  "Hitherto  I  had,  with 
few  exceptions,  traversed  scenes  which,  to  say  nothing  of  their 
comparative  barrenness  of  interest,  were  either  in  themselves  familiar 
to  me  or  differed  only  in  degree  from  such  as  were  so.  But  from 
Astoria  my  every  step  would  impart  the  zest  of  novelty  to  objects 
essentially  attractive  and  important.  In  California  I  had  before  me 
a  fragment  of  the  grandest  of  colonial  empires  ;  in  the  Sandwich 
Islands  I  was  to  contemplate  the  noblest  of  all  triumphs,  the  slow 
but  sure  victory  of  the  highest  civilization  over  the  lowest  barbarism ; 
and  to  Russia  I  looked  forward  with  the  peculiar  feelings  of  an 
Englishman,  as  the  only  possible  rival  of  his  country  in  the  extent 
and  variety  of  moral  and  political  influence." 


154  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEK  XVIII. 


FORT  CAMOSUN  (VICTORIA)  SELECTED. 

THE  NEW  SITE  DECIDED. — Factor  Douglas,  in  the  early  summer  of 
1842,  made  a  careful  preliminary  survey  of  the  southern  end  of 
Vancouver  Island,  and  found  that  a  more  suitable  place  for  the  new 
fort  could  not  be  found  on  the  coast.  He  reported  favorably  on  the 
site  and  surroundings,  including  Esquimalt,  which  he  said  was  one  of 
the  best  harbors  on  the  coast.  The  report  was  submitted  by  Douglas 
on  his  return  to  Fort  Vancouver  in  July,  and  after  due  consideration 
by  the  factors  and  traders  there  assembled,  it  was  decided  to  commence 
operations  at  that  point  as  early  as  practicable  the  following  spring. 

THE  SANDWICH  ISLANDS. — In  the  meantime  Governor  Simpson  had 
completed  his  visit  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  left  there  for  Sitkar 
where  he  arrived  April  16th.  He  recounts  his  journey  for  the  past 
tive  months  from  London,  and  says  :  "  I  have  threaded  my  way 
round  nearly  half  the  globe,  traversing  about  two  hundred  and 
twenty  degrees  of  longitude  and  upwards  of  a  hundred  of  latitude ; 
and  in  this  circuitous  course  I  have  spent  more  than  a  year,  fully 
three-fourths  on  the  land  and  barely  one-fourth  on  the  ocean." 

FLAGS  HALF-MAST. — As  the  vessel  in  which  he  was  to  proceed  tc- 
Ochotsk  would  not  sail  for  two  or  three  weeks  after  the  time 
expected,  he  determined  to  visit  Forts  Taku  and  Stickeen.  On 
arriving  at  Fort  Taku  he  noticed  the  two  national  flags — the  Russian 
and  the  British — -hoisted  at  half-mast  high,  and  on  landing  was 
informed  of  the  tragic  end  of  Mr.  John  McLoughlin,  jun.,  the 
gentleman  recently  in  charge.  On  the  night  of  the  20th,  a  dispute 
had  arisen  in  the  fort,  while  some  of  the  men  were  in  a  state  of 
intoxication.  Several  shots  were  tired,  by  one  of  which  McLoughlin 
fell.  The  fort  was  thus  deprived  of  its  leader.  There  were  about 
two  thousand  savages  assembled  near  by,  so  the  arrival  of  Governor. 
Simpson  at  that  time,  with  two  vessels,  was  fortunate,  as  the 
garrison  was  in  a  state  of  insubordination.  If  the  fort  which  the 
natives  had  proposed  to  attack  had  fallen,  not  only  would  the  whites, 
twenty-two  in  number,  have  been  destroyed,  but  the  stock  of 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  155 

ammunition  and  stores  would  have  made  the  captors  dangerous  to 
the  other  establishments  on  the  coast. 

FUTURE  GOOD  BEHAVIOR. — A  council  was  called,  at  which  four 
leading  chiefs  appeared.  An  explanation  of  their  intentions  was 
demanded.  They  repudiated  any  design  on  the  establishment  on 
their  own  part;  they  admitted,  however,  that  an  attack  on  the  fort 
had  been  recommended  by  some  rash  youths,  but  had  been  opposed 
by  the  older  and  wiser  heads.  Governor  Simpson,  while  congratu- 
lating them  on  not  having  committed  any  overt  act  of  hostility, 
pointed  out  that  had  they  done  so  they  would  have  been  most 
severely  punished,  both  by  the  Russians  and  by  the  Company.  They 
promised  that  in  future  they  would  so  conduct  themselves  that  they 
and  their  people  would  not  only  merit  the  approbation  of  the 
Company,  but  would  be  security  against  any  attacks  on  the  part  of 
the  neighboring  tribes. 

AN  INDIAN  STABBED. — An  Indian  brawl  was  witnessed  by  the 
Russian  governor  and  Governor  Simpson  from  the  fort  in  the  village 
below,  which  resulted  in  one  of  the  natives  stabbing  the  other  through 
the  lungs  with  his  dagger.  About  a  thousand  savages  turned  out 
with  horrible  yells  to  revenge  the  death.  Governor  Etholin,  on  the 
battery,  endeavored  in  vain  to  appease  the  fury  of  the  mob ;  happily, 
the  approach  of  night  prevented  civil  war.  Nexjb  day  two  slaves 
were  killed  to  atone  for  the  death  of  the  Indian  who  was  slain. 

No  MORE  RUM. — As  this  scene  of  violence  and  the  recent  tragedy 
at  Stickeen  were  clearly  the  result  of  drinking  to  intoxication,  both 
Governor  Etholin  and  Governor  Simpson  then  determined,  on  behalf 
of  their  respective  companies,  to  discontinue  the  use  of  intoxicating 
or  spirituous  liquors  in  trading  with  the  natives.  The  agreement 
formerly  alluded  to  was  entered  into  to  that  effect,  to  come  into 
operation  at  Sitka  from  the  date  of  signature,  and  at  every  other 
post  from  the  day  on  which  it  might  become  known.  The  treaty  at 
Sitka  was  immediately  put  to  the  test.  In  order  to  drown  all 
remains  of  former  animosity,  the  savage  combatants  made  applica- 
tion, as  a  matter  of  course,  without  delay  for  another  supply  of  rum. 
No  doubt  the  miserable  creatures  were  greatly  astonished  to  find  that 
without  their  consent  they  had  been  made  to  take  the  pledge  of  total 
and  perpetual  abstinence.  They  retired  in  sullen  silence,  and  doubt- 
less many  a  grave  council  was  held  on  the  north-west  coast  to  devise 
means  of  removing  the  obnoxious  restriction.  Governor  Simpson 
left  Sitka  on  the  9th  of  May  for  Oohotsk.  The  voyage  occupied 
forty-four  days. 


156  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

The  year  1843  is  a  semi-centennial  mark  in  the  history  of  British 
•Columbia.  In  that  year  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  fort,  Camosun, 
afterwards  named  Victoria,  was  built,  and  formed  the  basis  of  the 
present  capital  of  the  Province.  Just  fifty  years  prior  to  that  time, 
in  1793,  Alexander  Mackenzie  led  his  memorable  expedition  across 
the  Continent  to  the  Pacific  coast,  by  way  of  Peace  River,  through  an 
unknown  country  amongst  tierce  savages  who  had  never  befoie  seen 
a,  white  man.  The  celebrated  Captain  Vancouver  in  that  year  com- 
pleted some  of  his  most  important  surveys  on  the  north-west  coast, 
a  portion  of  which  has  since  formed  the  basis  of  the  Alaska  bound- 
ary question.  In  1893,  the  centenary  of  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie's 
great  achievement  was  celebrated  in  the  city  of  Victoria,  as  already 
referred  to,  and  his  portrait  painted  and  placed  in  the  Pioneers'  Hall, 
to  be  transferred  to  the  Provincial  Parliament  Buildings  now  in 
course  of  erection.  The  Sir  William  Wallace  Society,  of  Victoria, 
took  a  leading  part  in  the  centennial  celebration  and  in  having  the 
portrait  completed. 

A  GLIMPSE  OF  CAMOSUN. — It  having  been  decided  to  locate  a  new 
fort  on  the  southern  end  of  Vancouver  Island,  an  expedition  of  some 
fifteen  men  was  ready  on  the  1st  of  March,  1843,  to  leave  Fort  Van- 
couver, under  command  of  Factor  Douglas.  They  remained  at  the 
Cowlitz  farm  and  Nisqually  for  a  week,  obtaining  supplies,  which 
were  placed  on  board  the  Beaver,  which  awaited  them.  They  left  for 
the  north  on  the  13th,  and  anchored  next  day  opposite  that  which  is 
now  the  outer  harbor.  "  The  view  landwards  was  enchanting.  Before 
them  lay  a  vast  body  of  land  upon  which  no  white  man  then  stood. 
Not  a  human  habitation  was  in  sight ;  not  a  beast,  scarcely  a  bird. 
Even  the  gentle  murmur  of  the  voiceless  wood  was  drowned  by  the 
gentle  beating  of  the  surf  upon  the  shore.  There  was  something 
specially  charming,  bewitching  in  the  place.  Though  wholly  natural, 
it  did  not  seem  so.  It  was  not  at  all  like  pure  art,  but  it  was  as 
though  nature  and  art  had  combined  to  map  and  make  one  of  the 
most  pleasing  prospects  in  the  world. 

THE  ISLAND  LANDWARDS. — "So  park-like  in  appearance  was  the 
region  round  and  back  of  the  harbor  that  the  European  first  landing 
would  scarcely  have  manifested  surprise  had  he  encountered  work- 
men, who,  while  subduing  that  which  was  evil  or  ungainly,  were  yet 
subordinating  art  to  nature,  and  striving  with  their  artificial  changes 
still  to  preserve  nature's  beauties.  The  fertile  vales,  warm  groves, 
and  glassy  slopes  of  the  rolling  plateau  were  intersected  by  serpentine 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  157 

ribbons  of  glistening  water,  and  bound  round  by  rocks  as  smooth  and 
symmetrical  as  if  placed  there  by  design.  These  gave  the  ground  a 
substantial  air  and  a  warning  to  the  encroaching  sea,  as  if  progress 
had  specially  prepared  the  place  and  the  foundations  of  civilization 
were  there  already  laid. 

THE  OLYMPIAN  HEIGHTS  HEAVENWARDS. — "Never  danced  clearer,, 
purer  water  in  the  sunlight  than  that  which  rippled  in  the  coves  and 
bays  around  ;  and  the  Olympian  Heights  from  this  standpoint,  with 
the  glistening  water  for  a  foreground  and  cloud-cut  midway  above 
their  base,  as  they  often  are,  seemed  translated  heavenwards.  Never 
were  mountains  more  aptly  named  than  those  by  the  early  explorer 
Meares ;  and  if  there  be  anywhere  a  spot  on  which  an  American 
Jove  might  fitly  hold  his  court,  it  is  on  these  high,  uplifted  hills, 
their  base  resting  on  clouds,  and  their  white  tops  bathed  in  celestial 
glory." 

A  FORTIFIED  VILLAGE. — The  village  of  the  natives — the  Songhies 
— was  not  visible  from  the  vessel  at  anchor.  It  was  situated  on  the 
western  side  of  the  entrance  to  the  harbor  and  about  a  mile  distant. 
They  also  had  a  fortified  place  within  stakes,  enclosing  an  area  of 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  square  at  the  head  of  the 
harbor.  This  was  to  protect  them  from  the  fierce  Cowichins,  who 
had  a  habit  of  creeping  down  the  strait  stealthily  in  their  canoes, 
entering  villages  at  night,  massacring  the  men  and  carrying  the 
women  and  children  into  slavery. 

FIRST  SALUTE. — Soon  after  the  Beaver  came  to  anchor,  two  canoes 
were  seen.  On  the  discharge  of  a  cannon  a  swarrn  of  savages 
appeared  on  the  bank,  confusedly  moving  hither  and  thither  like  the 
disturbed  inhabitants  of  an  ant-hill.  No  work  was  attempted  to  be 
done  that  day.  The  night  passed  quietly.  The  following  morning  a 
swarm  of  canoes  surrounded  the  steamer. 

MR,  DOUGLAS  SET  OUT  EARLY  on  the  15th  of  March  to  select  a 
site  for  the  fort  and  to  procure  timber  for  the  building.  On  the  shore 
directly  opposite  the  anchorage,  the  trees  were  short,  crooked  and 
not  at  all  suitable.  He  was  anxious  to  secure  straight  cedar  trees  as 
being  most  desirable  for  pickets,  being  lighter  and  more  durable 
under  ground.  These  had  to  be  brought  from  some  distance. 

FATHER  BOLDUC. — Along  with  the  expedition,  according  to  Bancroft, 
came  a  Jesuit  missionary,  J.  B.  Z.  Bolduc,  who  claimed  to  have  been 
the  first  priest  to  set  foot  on  Vancouver  Island.  On  the  same  day 
that  Douglas  landed,  Father  Bolduc  accompanied  him  to  where  the 


158  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

savages  had  congregated  up  the  channel.  There,  it  is  recorded 
by  the  historian,  "the  priest  was  immediately  embraced  by  six 
hundred  souls,  which  number  swelled  to  twelve  hundred  before  his 
departure.  Men,  women  and  children  all  must  touch  the  hem 
of  his  garment,  all  must  shake  hands  with  him  and  absorb  in 
their  being  some  of  that  divine  afflatus  that  flows  from  the  Lord's 
anointed." 

MASS  WAS  CELEBRATED  on  the  19th.  A  rustic  chapel  was  impro- 
vised— a  boat's  awning  serving  as  a  canopy,  with  branches  of  fir 
trees  enclosing  the  sides.  A  great  gathering  was  there — Songhies, 
Clallams  and  Cowichins.  On  the  24th,  Father  Bolduc  purchased  a 
canoe,  and  was  conveyed  by  Chief  Tsilaltchach  and  ten  warriors  to 
Whidbey  Island.  Next  day  and  the  following  day  he  is  said  to  have 
shaken  hands  with  over  one  thousand  natives,  chiefly  Skagits.  They 
erected  for  him  a  building  as  a  church,  twenty-five  feet  by  twenty- 
eight,  of  logs  which  they  cut  within  two  days.  The  building  was 
lined  inside  with  mats  and  covered  with  cedar  bark.  On  the  3rd  of 
April  the  missionary  left  them,  returning  to  Nisqually,  naively  remark- 
ing, "that,  although  the  heathen  hereabouts  gladly  received  the  Word, 
he  was  not  sure  they  fully  comprehended  it ;  for  when  he  attempted 
to  reform  their  morals  they  straightway  relapsed  into  indifference." 

NATIVE  HELPERS. — Factor  Douglas  having  determined  on  a  site, 
put  his  men  to  work,  cutting  and  squaring  timber,  and  six  of  them 
at  digging  a  well.  He  explained  to  the  natives,  who  had  assembled 
in  considerable  numbers,  "that  he  had  come  to  build  among  them, 
and  to  bring  them  arms  and  implements,  clothing  and  beautiful 
ornaments,  which  they  might  have  for  skins.  Whereat  they  were 
greatly  pleased,  and  eagerly  pressed  their  assistance  upon  the  fort- 
builders,  who  were  glad  to  employ  them  at  the  rate  of  one  blanket 
for  every  forty  pickets  they  would  bring.  The  pickets  were  to  be 
twenty-two  feet  Jong  and  three  feet  in  circumference.  Axes  were 
furnished,  but  to  be  returned." 

MEN  FROM  THE  NORTH. — Having  commenced  the  new  fort,  Mr. 
Douglas  went  north  on  the  Beaver,  trading  along  the  coast  as  he 
went,  to  close  Forts  Taku,  Stickeen  and  McLoughlin.  This  he  accom- 
plished, taking  Mr.  Roderick  Finlayson  from  Fort  Simpson  and 
replacing  him  by  another  officer  ;  Fort  Simpson  was  allowed  to  remain 
intact  as  the  headquarters  of  the  northern  interior,  which  position 
it  yet  continues  to  hold.  Mr4  Charles  Ross  was  in  charge  at  Fort 
McLoughlin  before  it  was  abandoned,  as  above  mentioned. 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  159 

THE  RETURN  PARTY,  numbering  about  thirty-five,  arrived  from  the 
north  on  the  1st  of  June,  with  the  stores,  etc.,  from  the  abandoned 
posts.  Not  much  progress  had  been  made  in  building  since  the 
departure  of  the  Beaver.  The  stores  were  yet  without  shelter  on  the 
shore,  but  rapid  progress  was  made  after  the  reinforcements  from  the 
north.  Buildings  begun  were  soon  completed,  the  goods  were  all 
landed  and  stored  in  them  ;  the  men  protecting  themselves  the  best 
way  they  could  until  other  buildings  were  ready  for  their  accom- 
modation. 

ARRIVAL  OF  NATIVES. — From  the  neighboring  islands  and  along 
the  coast,  and  from  the  mainland  the  natives  nocked  in  to  see  the 
work  which  was  being  carried  on.  They  camped  near  the  new  fort, 
and  were  all  well  armed;  but,  being  without  their  wives  and  children, 
were  looked  upon  with  suspicion  by  the  party  engaged  in  building 
and  were  closely  watched.  The  Hudson  Bay  Company's  force  then 
.at  Camosun  numbered  about  fifty  men,  all  trained  to  the  use  of  arms 
and  active,  and  constantly  on  their  guard  against  surprises.  The 
natives  did  not  attempt  any  attack,  but  contented  themselves  with 
pilfering,  which  seemed  to  come  natural  to  them. 

EXPEDITIOUS  WORK. — Three  months  after  the  arrival  of  the  parties 
from  the  north,  the  stockade,  with  bastions  at  the  angles,  and  store 
and  dwelling-houses  within,  was  completed.  The  schooner  Cadboro 
arrived  with  supplies  and  goods  from  Fort  Vancouver.  Charles  Ross, 
the  senior  officer  in  charge  of  Fort  McLoughlin  at  the  time  of  its 
abandonment,  was  placed  in  command,  with  Roderick  Finlayson  as 
second.  Mr.  Douglas  announced  the  new  establishment  capable  of 
self-defence,  and  departed  with  the  Beaver  and  the  Cadboro  and  their 
men  in  October,  amid  long  and  hearty  cheers  from  those  on  shore. 

THE  WINTER  PASSED  without  any  outbreak  or  hostilities.  Unfin- 
ished work  was  proceeded  with  on  the  inside  of  the  stockade,  which 
was  formed  of  cedar  pickets  eighteen  feet  above  ground.  The  enclosure 
was  150  yards  on  each  side,  witli  two  block-houses  or  bastions  at  the 
angles,  and  dwellings  and  store-houses  within.  The  buildings  within 
the  fort  proper  were  considered  complete  during  1844.  This  agrees 
with  Mr.  Finlayson's  autobiography. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  FORT. — James  Deans  describes  the  fort  as  he 
saw  it  in  1853  as  follows:  "The  bastions  were  of  hewn  logs  some 
thirty  feet  in  height,  and  were  connected  by  palisades  about  twenty 
feet  high.  Within  the  palisades  were  the  stores,  numbered  from  one 
to  five,  and  a  blacksmith's  shop,  besides  dining-hall,  cook-house  and 
-chapel.  The  ground,  to  the  extent  of  an  acre,  was  cleared  and 


160 


HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 


THK    S01TH    BASTION. 


enclosed  by  a  palisade  forming  a  square.  On  the  north  and  south 
corners  was  a  tower  containing  six  or  eight  pieces  of  ordnance  each 
(Finlayson  says,  9-pound  ers).  The  north  lower  served  as  a  prison, 
the  south  one  for  firing  salutes.  In  the  centre  of  the  east  and  west 
sides  were  main  gateways,  each  having  a  little  door  to  let  people  out 
or  in  after  hours.  On  the  right,  entering  by  the  front,  or  south  gate, 
was  a  cottage  in  which  was  the  post-office.  It 
was  kept  by  an  officer  of  the  Company,  a  Captain 
Sangster.  Next  in  order  was  the  smithy.  Next 
and  first  on  the  south  side,  was  a  large  store- 
house, in  which  fish-oil,  etc.,  were  stowed  away. 
Next  came  the  carpenter's  shop.  Close  to  this, 
was  a  large  room,  provided  with  bunks,  for  the 
Company's  men  to  sleep  in.  Next  and  last  on 
that  side  was  a  large  building,  a  sort  of  bar- 
racks for  new  arrivals.  Between  this  corner  and 
the  east  gate  were  the  chapel  and  chaplain's  house.  On  the  other  side 
of  the  gate  was  a  large  building  which  served  as  a  dining-room  for 
the  officers  ;  adjoining  this  were  the  cook-house  and  pantry.  On  the 
fourth  side  was  a 
double  row  of  build- 
ings for  storing  furs 
previous  to  ship- 
ment to  England, 
and  goods  before 
taking  their  place 
in  the  trading-store. 
Behind  these  stores 
was  a  fire-proof 
building,  used  as  a 
magazine  for  stor- 
ing gunpowder.  On 
the  lower  corner 
was  another  cot- 
tage, in  which  lived 
Finlayson  and  his 
family,  who  was  then  chief  factor.  On  the  other  side  of  the  front, 
or  west,  gate  was  the  flagstaff  and  belfry.  The  central  part  of  the 
enclosure  was  open,  and  was  always  kept  clean.  Through  this 
enclosure  ran  the  main  road,  leading  from  the  two  gates. 

"  If  a  fort  was  to  be  built  Douglas  would  specify  the  number  of 
men  to  be  employed,  the  tools  to  be  used,  among  which  the  never- 
failing  Canadian  chopping-axe  was  always  promim-nt,  if  indeed  it 
was  not  the  only  one,  if  a  few  augers,  saws  and  chisels  be  excepted. 
Finlayson  had  been  the  pupil  of  Douglas,  as  Douglas  had  been  the 
pupil  of  McLoughlin.  Under  the  influence  of  Douglas,  Finlayson 
had  imbibed  similar  ideas ;  so  that  when  ordered  to  build  Fort 
Camosun,  without  a  single  nail,  he  did  it.  Strange  as  it  may  appear, 


INSIDE    BUILDINGS    AND    BASTION    OK    FORT    VICTORIA    IN    1853. 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  161 

houses,  palisades  and  bastions  were  erected  without  the  use  of  one 
iron  nail  or  spike,  wooden  pegs  alone  being  employed." 

THE  VERY  BEST  MEN. — There  is  no  doubt  but  the  site  of  Fort 
Victoria  was  the  best  selection  which  could  have  been  made  on  the 
coast,  not  only  for  fur-trading  purposes,  but  for  subsequent  trade  and 
commerce  when  the  country  became  settled.  A  writer  on  the  subject 
says :  "  The  life  of  a  fur  trader  or  factor  was  one  perpetual  lesson  in 
observation.  To  study  well  the  country,  its  configuration  and  con- 
tents, was  their  daily  occupation.  Hence  the  location  of  the  chief 
city  of  British  Columbia  was  not,  as  has  been  so  many  times  the  case 
in  city  building,  the  result  of  accident.  The  very  best  place  that  the 
the  very  best  men,  after  due  deliberation  and  examination  could  find, 
was  chosen,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  result  of  this  sound  judgment 
their  descendants  forever  may  call  them  blessed.  Those  to  whom  more 
immediate  thanks  are  due  are,  James  Douglas,  John  McLoughlin, 
Roderick  Finlayson,  John  Work,  Anderson,  Tolmie  and  McNeill. 
Governor  Simpson  and  the  London  management  were  only  secondary 
as  to  their  influence  as  to  location.  It  was  the  chief  factors  and 
chief  traders  of  the  day  who  really  determined  matters." 

DOUGLAS  AND  DR.  MCLOUGHLIN. — The  leading  man  among  them 
was  James  Douglas.  His  colleague  and  former  leader,  McLoughlin, 
was  now  in  his  decline.  He  had  been  the  leader  in  North- West  affairs 
for  about  eighteen  years;  but  on  account  of  his  favorable  leanings 
towards  outside  settlers  who  were  arriving,  it  was  determined  by 
the  directors  in  London  that  he  should  retire.  His  mantle  fell  on 
Douglas. 

BANCROFT  ON  FINLAYSON. — The  officer  in  charge  of  the  new  fort, 
Charles  Ross,  died  early  in  1844.  Finlayson,  being  next  officer,  was 
appointed  chief  in  command.  Speaking  of  him  Bancroft  says : 
"Though  always  a  leading  man  in  the  Company  and  in  the  colony,  he 
has  not  been  so  prominent  as  to  have  excited  to  any  general  extent 
jealousy  or  obloquy  by  reason  of  his  position.  Among  business  men, 
among  those  who  have  met  him  almost  daily  for  a  period  of  forty 
years,  or  are  intimate  with  his  course  and  character,  he  is  pronounced 
a  shrewd,  practical,  clear-headed  Scotchman,  who,  though  sometimes 
seeking  office  and  assuming  public  duties,  meddles  little  with  his 
neighbor's  affairs,  but  attends  to  his  own  business,  and  does  it  so  well 
and  thoroughly  as  usually  to  command  success.  Kind,  honorable, 
and  exceedingly  courteous,  showing  himself  by  instinct  a  gentleman 

in  the    highest  sense  of    that   much  misapplied  word,    he  possesses 
11 


162  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

neither  the  genius  nor  the  weakness  of  McLouglilin,  nor  the 
chivalrous  strength  or  the  cold,  calculating  formality  of  Douglas.  He 
is  not  wholly  self  abandoned  in  his  well-doing  like  the  one,  nor 
snow  capped,  by  reason  of  his  moral  or  political  elevation,  like  the 
other.  Being  not  so  great  a  man  as  either,  his  faults  do  not  stand 
out  so  conspicuously." 

STOCK  FOR  THE  ISLAND. — On  the  return  trip  of  the  Beaver,  after 
landing  Factor  Douglas  and  party  from  the  new  fort,  cattle  and  horses 
were  brought  from  Nisqually.  The  cattle  were  chiefly  of  Mexican 
origin  and  were  wild  and  unmanageable.  When  first  turned  loose 
from  the  steamer,  with  head  and  tail  erect  they  darted  hither  and 
thither,  then  plunged  into  the  thicket,  and  it  was  with  no  small 
difficulty  that  they  were  finally  corralled  and  controlled.  In  due 
time,  however,  a  sufficient  number  for  hauling  timber  and  farming 
purposes  were  subdued  and  brought  under  the  yoke,  and,  when  not 
at  work,  were  turned  out  to  graze  along  with  the  horses  and  other 
cattle. 

INDIANS  OBJECT  TO  CATTLE. — This  new  method  of  having  such  work 
performed  by  animals,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  savages,  should  be 
done  by  women,  did  not  meet  with  their  approval.  In  their  way  of 
thinking  the  women  would  become  idle  and  lazy  and  too  proud  to  work, 
consequently  would  so  fall  in  value  as  materially  to  affect  the  comfort 
of  those  who  might  be  in  possession  of  six  or  ten  wives;  besides,  this 
large,  fat  game,  so  easily  caught,  was  very  desirable.  Their  logic 
was  convincing  to  themselves,  although  the  white  men  had  warned 
them,  under  penalty  of  severe  displeasure,  not  to  interfere  with  the 
civilized  game. 

COWICIIINS  HELP  THEMSELVES. — Temptation  was  too  strong.  A 
band  of  Cowichins,  under  Chief  Tsoughilam,  who  had  come  down  from 
the  north  on  a  plundering  expedition,  had  encamped  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  fort.  They  quietly  helped  themselves  to  some  of  the  best  of 
the  work-oxen  and  lived  sumptuously.  The  fort-builders  having  need 
of  their  cattle,  found  only  the  remains  of  their  faithful  assistants 
with  traces  of  the  carcasses  having  been  conveyed  to  the  Cowichin 
camp. 

Finlayson  despatched  a  message  to  the  chief  demanding  delivery  of 
the  offenders  or  payment  of  the  slain  animals.  The  savage  indignantly 
replied :  "  What,  these  animals  yours  !  Did  you  make  them.  I 
consider  them  all  the  property  of  nature,  and  whatever  nature  sends 
me,  that  I  slay  and  eat,  asking  no  questions." 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  163 

The  messenger  replied:  "These  cattle  were  brought  from  beyond 
the  great  sea ;  they  belong  to  those  who  brought  them,  and  unless 
you  make  proper  restitution  the  gates  of  the  fort  will  be  closed 
against  you."  "  Close  your  gates,  if  yo-i  like,"  shouted  the  chief  in  a 
great  rage,  "  and  I  will  batter  them  down.  Close  your  gates, 
forsooth  !  Think  you  we  did  not  live  before  the  white  man  came  1 
and  think  you  we  should  die  were  he  swept  from  these  shores  V 

COVETOUS  CHIEFS. — Tsoughilam  made  no  idle  threat.  He  calcu- 
lated on  assistance  from  the  chieftains  and  their  warriors  in  the 
neighborhood.  Tsilaltchach,  the  greatest  and  bravest  among  the 
Songhies,  had  watched  many  days,  with  itching  palms,  the  good 
things  carried  in  behind  the  palisades,  and  would  not  scruple  in  the 
least  to  attempt  to  secure  some  of  them.  The  Cowichin  chief  called 
a  council,  and  in  effect  said  to  them  :  "  Reptiles  have  crept  hither ; 
reptiles  with  strange  stings,  whom  it  were  well  to  crush  upon  the 
*  spot,  lest  they  should  soon  overspread  the  whole  island.  The  reward 
of  our  work  may  be  found  behind  the  palisades." 

ADVOCATE  THEIR  RIGHTS. — Tsilaltchach,  the  chief  of  the  Songhies, 
next  spoke  and  said :  "  We  and  our  forefathers  have  lived  in 
happiness  upon  this  island  for  many  ages  before  the  existence  of 
these  strangers  was  known.  We  have  eaten  of  the  fruits  of  the 
earth,  have  bathed  in  the  waters  and  in  the  sunshine,  have  hunted 
our  forests  unquestioned  of  any,  and  have  fought  away  our  enemies 
manfully.  Is  all  now  to  be  taken  from  us  1  " 

Another  brave  sprang  to  his  feet  shouting  :  "  We  will  meet  this 
intruder  as  we  have  met  those  of  the  past.  We  can  do  without  their 
trinkets,  or,  what  is  better,  we  can  take  them  without  asking."  A 
deep  grunt  of  applause  went  around  the  council,  and  war  was 
declared. 

WATCH  KEPT.— From  the  messenger's  report  it  was  considered 
necessary  that  within  the  fort  watch  should  be  kept  night  and  day  to 
prevent  surprise.  After  two  days,  a  large  force  assembled  round  the 
fort  to  make  the  threatened  attack.  The  bastions  were  manned. 
Soon  amid  savage  yells  and  terrifying  antics,  a  shower  of  musket 
bullets  came  rattling  against  the  fort,  riddling  the  stockade  and 
rattling  on  the  roofs  of  the  houses.  Finlayson  ordered  that  not  a 
shot  was  to  be  returned,  though  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  he 
could  restrain  his  men.  The  savages  continued  their  fire  for  full 
half  an  hour,  when  seeing  no  prospect  of  surrender,  they  ceased  firing 
to  save  their  ammunition. 


164  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

HE  GAVE  THE  WORD. — Then  the  commander  of  the  fort  appeared 
on  the  parapet  of  the  bastion,  and  beckoning  the  chief  of  the 
Cowichins  to  come  within  speaking  distance,  said  :  "  What  would  you 
do  1  What  folly,  with  your  peppery  guns,  to  think  to  demolish  our 
stronghold  ?  What  evil  would  you  bring  upon  yourselves  ?  Know 
you  not  that  with  one  motion  of  my  finger  I  could  blow  you  all  into 
the  bay  1  And  I  will  do  it,  too.  See  your  houses  yonder  !"  And 
instantly,  upon  the  word,  a  9-pounder  belched  forth,  with  astounding 
noise,  a  large  load  of  grape  shot,  tearing  into  splinters  the  cedar 
lodge  at  which  it  was  pointed. 

THE  INTERPRETER'S  SIGNAL. — The  astonished  and  affrighted  savages 
ran  howling  towards  their  camp,  from  whence  arose  howls  of  despair 
from  the  women  and  children.  No  one  was  injured,  however,  as  the 
terrified  husbands  and  fathers  supposed  they  were.  Finlayson  had 
no  desire  to  hurt  them,  only  to  teach  them  a  lesson.  Before  the 
parley,  and  while  the  bullets  were  falling  thick  around,  he  had  formed 
the  plan  of  training  them  without  doing  them  injury.  He  ordered 
his  interpreter  to  slip  from  the  back  gate  and  run  to  the  camp,  as  if 
escaping  from  a  foe,  and  oh  arriving  at  the  chiefs  lodge,  to  warn  the 
inmates  to  instant  flight,  as  the  fort  was  preparing  to  tire  upon  them, 
and  to  signal  back  to  him  by  swinging  a  handkerchief  when  they  had 
removed.  Hence  no  damage  was  done,  save  the  shivering  to  splinters 
of  some  pine  slabs. 

A  PARLEY  REQUESTED. — Within  an  hour  a  deputation  of  the 
principal  men  of  the  attacking  party  appeared  at  the  fort  and 
requested  a  parley  with  the  white  chief.  FinJayson  told  them  they 
might  come  within  the  stockade,  and  as  a  guarantee  of  good  faith  he 
agreed  to  send  out  two  of  his  men  as  hostages.  The  offer  was 
accepted.  It  was  fully  explained  to  them  how  he  could  destroy  them 
if  he  wished.  To  impress  them,  he  showed  them  his  men  fully 
accoutred,  his  big  guns  and  his  little  guns,  and  powder  and  balls,  and 
knives  and  swords.  He  assured  them  he  only  wished  to  do  them 
good  ;  but  he  insisted  that  those  who  killed  the  oxen  should  be  given 
up  for  punishment,  or  the  cattle  paid  for.  They  preferred  the  latter 
alternative. 

THE  PIPE  OF  PEACE  SMOKED. — Before  nightfall  they  returned  with 
furs  to  the  full  amount  of  the  damages.  The  pipe  of  peace  was  then 
smoked,  and  promises  of  friendship  exchanged.  Thus  the  first  battle 
on  Vancouver  Island,  between  the  whites  and  the  aborigines,  was 
ended  without  bloodshed. 


THE   FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  165 

A  CRACK  SHOT. — Next  day  the  natives  were  anxious  to  see  the 
great  gun  tried  again.  Finlayson  told  them  he  would  give  them  a 
sample  of  hosv  he  could  destroy  canoes,  if  they  would  place  an  old 
one  on  the  water.  This  was  no  sooner  done,  and  the  cannon  trained, 
than  bang  went  the  ball,  and  after  smashing  a  hole  in  the  boat, 
bounded  along  the  surface  of  the  water  to  the  opposite  shore.  This 
increased  their  astonishment  and  respect  for  the  white  man's  power. 

PLUNDER  RESTORED. — Not  long  after  these  extraordinary  events 
in  the  eyes  of  the  savages,  a  tribe  from  Whidbey  Island  came  to 
Camosun  to  trade.  Their  business  having  been  completed,  they 
started  for  their  boats  with  the  goods.  It  so  happened  a  feud  existed 
between  this  tribe  (the  Skagits)  and  the  Songhies  of  Camosun,  so  the 
latter  fell  upon  the  Skagits  and  stripped  them  of  their  purchases. 
The  plundered  party  returned  to  the  fort  and  told  of  their  misfortune. 
Finlayson  ordered  immediate  restoration  of  the  stolen  goods,  which 
was  at  once  complied  with,  and  promises  made  of  better  behavior. 
By  a  judicious  balance  of  power  and  a  few  friendly  presents  to  the 
chiefs,  Mr.  Finlayson  in  a  short  time  obtained  their  confidence  and 
ultimately  their  respect. 

SHIPS  DIRECT  TO  VICTORIA. — The  next  year  after  Finlayson  was 
placed  in  full  command,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  production  of 
food.  The  demand  for  provisions  to  supply  the  Russian  contract 
required  all  the  spare  time  of  the  employes  at  the  fort  to  produce 
them.  The  natives  also  assisted  as  laborers  and  herdsmen,  and 
were  paid  at  the  same  rate  as  whites  for  labor  performed. 
Business  was  progressing  smoothly.  The  new  fort  would  certainly 
soon  become  the  first  depot  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  goods  on 
the  Pacific  coast.  Outward-bound  ships  from  England  now  had 
orders  to  sail  direct  for  this  port,  and  after  landing  here  all  the  sjoods 
destined  for  the  coast  trade,  to  proceed  to  the  Columbia  with  the 
remainder. 

GOODS  VIA  CAPE  HORN. — The  first  vessel  to  enter  Victoria  harbor 
direct  from  England  was  the  Vancouver,  in  1845.  There  were  then 
three  vessels  in  the  Company's  employ,  between  London  and  the 
north-west  coast,  the  Vancouver,  the  Cowlitz,  and  the  Columbia, 
These  ships  made  yearly  voyages,  bringing  supplies  always  twelve 
months  in  advance,  which  enabled  the  forts  to  have  on  hand  from 
one  to  two  years'  supply.  The  coast  trade  was  still  to  be  confined  to 
the  coast  tribes,  but  Victoria  would  soon  become  the  distributing 
point  instead  of  Fort  Vancouver.  At  first  a  few  goods  had  been 


166  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

brought  over  the  mountains  from  eastern  poi  ts,  but  so  difficult  and 
expensive  was  that  mode  of  transport  that  it  was  abandoned,  and  all 
supplies  for  the  western  slope  were  brought  from  England  to  Fort 
Vancouver,  round  Cape  Horn.  The  inland  trade  continued  to  be 
supplied  by  the  old  route  from  Fort  Vancouver,  up  the  Columbia  to 
Okanagan,  Kamloops,  and  Fort  St.  James.  A  change  had  now 
taken  place,  especially  as  far  as  the  coast  supply  was  concerned. 

WHALERS. — Also,  in  1845,  a  fleet  of  five  United  States  whalers 
called  at  Fort  Victoria  for  supplies — the  name  "  Camosun  "  having 
been  changed  first  to  Fort  Albert,  and  then  to  Fort  Victoria.  The 
whaling  fleet  continued  to  call  at  Fort  Victoria  until  the  port  of 
San  Fiancisco  was  established. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


THE  TERRITORY  TO  BE  DIVIDED. 

OCCUPATION  IN  COMMON  MUST  CEASE. — Outside  pressure  was  now 
being  applied  to  bring  on  a  division  of  Oregon  territory,  the  ownership 
of  which  was  btill  unsettled.  It  was  evident,  as  settlers  were  arriving 
in  considerable  numbers  from  the  United  States  and  elsewhere,  that 
the  country  could  no  longer  be  kept  wholly  as  a  game  preserve.  This 
partnership  or  occupation  in  common  by  the  representatives  of  two 
powerful  nations,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  must  soon  be  dissolved. 
It  was  impossible  to  prevent  settlement  ;  it  was  not  expedient,  nor 
could  it  be  expected  that  the  officers  and  servants  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  would  treat  settlers  as  enemies,  for  they  were,  as  a 
rule,  just  and  humane  men.  But  in  sentiment  and  in  policy,  the 
subjects  and  citizens  of  the  two  powers  were  to  some  extent 
antagonistic.  Still  more  so  were  the 'private  interests  of  the  fur 
company,  who  down  nearly  to  the  time  under  review  had  dominated 
the  whole  territory.  They  knew  it  was  impossible  to  conduct  a 
successful  peltry  business  in  the  face  of  increasing  settlement. 
Hence  their  wisdom  in  making  provision  in  the  dividing  line,  which 
might  not  shut  out  the  Company  from  using  the  Columbia  River  as 
the  principal  channel  of  communication  with  the  northern  interior, 
as  it  formerly  was. 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  167 

CAPTAIN  GORDON'S  ARRIVAL. — Her  Majesty's  ship  America  arrived. 
Th'is  vessel  was  under  command  of  the  Hon.  Captain  John  Gordon, 
brother  of  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen,  then  Prime  Minister  of  Britain. 
The  object  of  the  visit  was  to  obtain  information  regarding  the  coast 
•and  the  country  to  assist  the  British  Government  in  settling  the 
boundary  question  then  pending.  Mr.  Finlayson  was  sent  for  and 
consulted.  It  was  decided  by  Captain  Gordon  not  to  anchor  in 
Esquimalt  harbor,  as  he  wished  to  send  two  of  his  officers  to  examine 
and  report  on  Puget  Sound,  Fort  Vancouver  and  the  Columbia  River 
country.  They  therefore  sailed  to  Port  Discovery,  from  which  point 
Captain  Parke,  of  the  Marines,  and  Lieutenant  Peel,  son  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  were  sent  by  way  of  the  Cowlitz  to  the  Columbia,  the 
ship  to  remain  at  anchor  in  Port  Discovery  until  their  return. 

HE  SEES  THE  COUNTRY. — Captain  Gordon,  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Finlayson,  recrossed  the  straits  to  Fort  Victoria  in  the  ship's  long 
boat.  He  remained  there  for  two  weeks,  until  his  officers  returned 
from  Fort  Vancouver.  Several  excursions  were  made  on  horseback, 
hunting,  and  to  examine  the  country.  On  one  occasion,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Cedar  Hill,  Mr.  Finlayson  mentions  in  his  autobiography, 
they  fell  in  with  a  band  of  deer,  which  soon  disappeared  in  a  thicket, 
to  the  disappointment  of  Captain  Gordon,  who  was  a  noted  deer- 
stalker in  Scotland.  On  their  return  to  the  fort  through  the  partially 
open  country,  with  the  native  grass  as  high  as  the  horses'  knees,  Mr. 
Finlayson  made  the  remark,  "What  a  fine  country  this  is  !  "  to  which 
the  Captain  replied,  •' he  would  not  give  one  of  the  barren  hills  of 
Scotland  for  all  he  saw  around  him."  Officers  Parke  and  Peel 
returned  from  the  Columbia,  accompanied  by  James  Douglas,  and 
%ifter  a  short  delay,  the  America  returned  to  England. 

ROYAL  ENGINKERS. — The  arrival  of  two  Royal  Engineers,  Lieuten- 
ants Warre  and  Vavasour,  at  Fort  Vancouver,  required  that  Mr. 
Douglas  should  return  there.  These  officers  were  commissioned  by 
the  British  Government  to  make  a  special  report  on  the  resources 
and  condition  of  the  country.  They  travelled  across  the  Rocky 
Mountains  along  with  the  annual  express  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany from  York  Factory,  which  that  year  (1845)  was  in  charge  of 
Chief  Factor  Ogden.  Their  report  was  not  very  nattering  to  the 
country  through  which  they  had  passed  ;  indeed,  from  the  waterways 
not  much  could  be  seen  on  which  to  base  a  very  favorable  report. 
Joseph  W.  McKay,  who  then  had  general  supervision  of  the  north 
coast  establishments,  and  who  was  detailed  to  attend  the  British 


108  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

officers  in  their  examination  of  the  district,  to  take  charge  of  bag- 
gage and  provide  animals,  guides,  etc.,  testifies  that  with  regard  to 
the  Cowlitz  district,  and  the  region  between  the  Columbia  and  the 
Straits  of  Fuca,  they  declared  it  should  be  held  at  all  hazards. 

"  FIFTY-FOUR  FORTY  OR  FIGHT." — At  this  time  a  cry  was  raised  in 
the  United  States  of  ''fifty-four  forty  or  fight,"  which  was  interpreted 
to  mean  that  if  Great  Britain  did  not  yield  peaceable  possession  of  all 
the  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  between  the  possessions 
of  Mexico  on  the  south  and  Russia  on  the  north  (by  them  said  to  be 
latitude  54°  40'),  the  United  States  would  fight  for  it.  This  was 
a  game  of  bluff,  and  most  unreasonable,  for  in  the  negotiations  of 
1826,  the  United  States  plenipotentiaries  proposed  that  the  navigation 
of  the  Columbia  should  be  made  free  to  both  parties,  and  conceding 
the  entire  left  bank  of  the  Columbia  River  as  far  as  the  49th  parallel, 
thereby  giving  up  to  them  the  exclusive  possession  of  the  Lewis  and 
Clarke  Rivers,  and  the  intermediate  territory. 

STRONG  LETTER  FROM  SIR  RICHARD. — Sir  Richard  Pakenham,  who 
was  negotiator  on  behalf  of  Great  Britain,  says  in  a  letter,  September 
12th,  1844:  "It  is  believed  that  by  this  arrangement  most  ample 
justice  would  be  done  to  the  claims  of  the  United  States,  on  whatever 
ground  advanced,  with  relation  to  the  Oregon  territory.  As  regards 
extent  of  territory,  they  would  obtain,  acre  for  acre,  nearly  half  of 
the  entire  territory  to  be  divided.  As  relates  to  the  navigation  of 
the  principal  river,  they  would  enjoy  a  perfect  equality  of  right  with 
Great  Britain ;  and  with  respect  to  harbors,  Great  Britain  shows 
every  disposition  to  consult  their  convenience  in  this  particular.  On 
the  other  hand,  were  Great  Britain  to  abandon  the  line  of  the 
Columbia  as  a  frontier,  and  to  surrender  the  right  to  the  navigation 
of  that  river,  the  prejudice  occasioned  to  them  by  such  an  arrange- 
ment would,  beyond  all  proportion,  exceed  the  advantage  accruing  to 
the  United  States  from  the  possession  of  a  few  more  square  miles  of 
territory.  It  must  be  obvious  to  every  impartial  investigator  of  the 
subject,  that  in  adhering  to  the  line  of  the  Columbia,  Great  Britain  is 
not  influenced  by  motives  of  ambition,  with  reference  to  the  extension 
of  territory,  but  by  considerations  of  -utility,  not  to  say  necessity, 
which  cannot  be  lost  sight  of,  and  for  which  allowance  ought  to  be 
made  in  an  arrangement  professing  to  be  based  on  considerations  of 
mutual  convenience  and  advantage.'' 

OTHER  UNITED  STATES  CLAIMS. — The  claims  of  the  United  States 
were  based  on  the  title  of  Spain  to  the  north-west  coast.  The  third 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  169 

article  of  the  convention  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain,  in  1818,  states  "  that  any  country  that  may  be  claimed  by 
either  party  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  westward  of  the 
Stony  (Rocky)  Mountains,  shall,  together  with  its  harbors,  bays  and 
creeks,  and  the  navigation  of  all  rivers  within  the  same,  be  free  and 
open,  for  the  term  of  ten  years  from  the  date  of  the  signature  of  the 
present  convention,  to  the  vessels,  citizens  and  subjects  of  the  two 
powers ;  it  being  well  understood  that  this  agreement  is  not  to  be 
construed  to  the  prejudice  of  any  claim  which  either  of  the  two  high 
contracting  parties  may  have  to  any  part  of  the  said  country  ;  nor 
shall  it  be  taken  to  affect  the  claims  of  any  other  power  or  state  to 
any  part  of  the  said  country,  the  only  object  of  the  high  contracting 
parties  in  that  respect  being  to  prevent  disputes  and  differences 
among  themselves." 

GREAT  BRITAIN'S  ARGUMENTS. — Afterwards  the  United  States 
claimed  :  "The  first  discovery  of  the  mouth  of  the  River  Columbia  by 
Captain  Gray,  of  Boston,  in  1792;  the  first  discovery  of  the  sources 
of  that  river,  and  the  exploration  of  its  course  to  the  sea,  by  Captains 
Lewis  and  Clarke,  in  1805-6,  and  the  establishment  of  the  first  posts 
and  settlements  in  the  territory  in  question."  They  also  based  claims 
on  Fort  Astoria,  which  were  discussed  along  with  the  Spanish  title  at 
great  length. 

The  arguments  in  support  of  the  claim  of  Great  Britain  were  : 
That  the  River  Columbia  was  not  first  discovered  by  Gray  in  1792, 
who  had  only  entered  its  mouth  ;  but  that  it  was  discovered  in  1788 
by  Lieutenant  (Captain)  Meares,  of  the  British  navy;  that  in  1792-93, 
Vancouver  or  his  officers  explored  the  river  for  some  distance  from 
the  mouth,  and  was  the  first  to  make  a  correct  map  of  the  coast, 
including  Puget  Sound  ;  that  the  explorations  of  Lewis  and  Clarke, 
in  1805-6,  were  only  of  that  portion  of  the  Columbia  west  of  the 
rivers  named  after  them,  not  far  from  Walla  Walla  in  latitude  46°, 
and  could  not  be  considered  as  confirming  the  claim  of  the  United 
States,  because,  if  not  before,  at  least  in  the  same  and  subsequent 
years,  the  British  North-West  Company  had,  by  means  of  their 
agents,  already  established  posts  on  the  head  waters  or  main  branch 
of  the  river. 

OREGON  BOUNDARY.  1827. — An  attempt  was  made  in  1827  to 
settle  the  boundary  question.  Great  Britain  was  represented  by 
Messrs.  Huskisson  and  Addington.  The  following  is  a  summary  of 
the  arguments  they  advanced  : 


170  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

"That  Great  Britain  did  not  claim  exclusive  sovereignty  over  any 
portion  of  the  territory  on  the  Pacific,  between  the  42nd  and  49th 
parallels  of  latitude.  Her  present  claim,  not  in  respect  to  any  part, 
but  to  the  whole,  is  limited  to  a  right  of  joint  occupancy  in  common 
with  other  states,  leaving  the  right  of  exclusive  dominion  in  abey- 
ance ;  and  her  pretentions  tend  to  the  mere  maintenance  of  her  own 
rights,  in  resistance  to  the  exclusive  character  of  the  pretentions  of 
the  United  States. 

CONVENTION  OP  1790. — "That  the  rights  of  Great  Britain  are 
recorded  and  defined  in  the  convention  of  1790.  They  embrace  the 
right  to  navigate  the  waters  of  those  countries,  to  settle  in  and  over 
any  part  of  them,  and  to  trade  with  the  inhabitants  and  occupiers  of 
the  same.  These  rights  have  been  peaceably  exercised  ever  since  the 
date  of  that  convention  ;  that  is,  for  a  period  of  nearly  forty  years. 
Under  that  convention,  valuable  British  interests  have  grown  up  in 
these  countries.  It  is  admitted  that  the  United  States  possess  the 
same  rights,  although  they  have  been  exercised  by  them  only  in  a 
single  instance,  at  Astoria,  the  restitution  of  which,  in  1818,  was 
accompanied  by  express  reservations  of  the  claims  of  Great  Britain 
to  that  territory  ;  and  that  the  titles  to  the  territory  in  question, 
derived  by  the  United  States  from  Spain,  amounted  to  nothing  more 
than  the  rights  secured  to  Spain  equally  with  Great  Britain  by  the 
Nootka  Sound  Convention  of  1790. 

UNITED  STATES  DORMANT  SINCE  1813. — "That  whilst,  since  the 
year  1813,  the  United  States  had  not  exercised  any  of  the  rights 
alluded  to,  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  have  had  for  many  years 
numerous  settlements  and  trading-posts  in  the  territory  in  question  ; 
several  of  these  posts  are  on  the  tributary  waters  of  the  Columbia, 
several  upon  the  main  river,  some  to  the  northward  and  others  to  the 
southward  of  that  river,  and  they  navigate  the  Columbia  as  the  sole 
channel  for  the  conveyance  of  their  produce  to  the  British  stations 
nearest  to  the  sea,  and  for  its  shipment  thence  to  Great  Britain ;  and 
it  is  also  by  the  Columbia  and  its  tributary  streams  that  these  ports 
and  settlements  receive  their  annual  supplies  from  Great  Britain. 

"  That  to  the  interests  and  establishments  which  British  industry 
and  enterprise  have  created,  Great  Britain  owes  protection  ;  and  both 
as  regards  settlement  and  freedom  of  trade  and  navigation,  that 
protection  will  be  given,  with  every  intention  not  to  infringe  the 
co-ordinate  rights  of  the  United  States,  it  being  the  desire  of  the 
British  Government,  so  long  as  the  joint  occupancy  continues,  tor 
regulate  its  own  obligations  by  the  same  rules  which  govern  the 
-obligations  of  every  other  occupying  party." 

THE  CONVENTION  did  not  arrive  at  any  definite  settlement  beyond 
ratifying  the  third  article  of  the  convention  of  1818,  already  quoted, 
and  further  deciding  that  either  of  the  high  contracting  parties,  on 
giving  twelve  months'  notice  after  20th  October,  1828,  might  annul 
and  abrogate  this  convention.  From  that  time  until  1845-46  the 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  171 

Hudson  Bay  Company  continued  to  carry  on  their  extensive  arid 
prosperous  business,  both  in  the  interior  of  the  territory  from  the  far 
north  to  San  Francisco,  without  any  interference,  except  the  advance 
of  settlement  from  the  east. 

OREGON  TREATY,  PASSED  15TH  JUNE,  1846. — Notwithstanding  all 
the  arguments  adduced  by  Great  Britain,  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Oregon  Treaty  was  inexplicably  passed  on  the  15th  of  June,  1846. 
The  first  article  provides  as  follows:  "From  the  point  on  the  49th 
parallel  of  north  latitude,  where  the  boundary  laid  down  in  existing 
treaties  and  conventions  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  terminates,  the  line  of  boundary  between  the  territories  of 
the  United  States  and  those  of  her  Britannic  Majesty  shall  be 
continued  westward  along  the  49th  parallel  of  north  latitude,  to  the 
middle  of  the  channel  which  separates  the  Continent  from  Vancouver 
Island,  and  thence  southerly  through  the  middle  of  the  said  channel, 
and  of  the  Fu.  a  Straits,  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Provided,  however, 
that  the  navigation  of  the  whole  said  channel  and  straits,  south  of 
the  49th  parallel  of  north  latitude,  remain  free  and  open  to  both 
parties. " 

The  second  article  provided  for  the  free  navigation  of  the  Columbia 
River  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  and  the  British  subjects  trading 
with  them,  from  the  49th  parallel  of  north  latitude  to  the  ocean. 
The  third  article  provided  that  the  possessory  rights  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  and  all  other  British  subjects,  to  the  territory  south  of 
the  said  49th  parallel,  should  be  respected. 

WAR  VESSELS  ARRIVING. — Some  time  elapsed  before  any  attempt 
was  made  to  carry  out  the  terms  of  the  treaty  and  to  mark  out  the 
boundary  line  therein  stipulated.  To  guard  the  interests  of  Great 
Britain  on  the  northern  coast,  several  vessels  were  ordered  to  proceed 
to  Fort  Victoria.  They  were  the  Cormorant,  Captain  Gordon,  not  the 
Earl  of  Aberdeen's  brother,  already  mentioned,  but  another  of  the  same 
name;  the  Fisgard,  Captain  Duntze;  the  Constance,  Captain  Courtney; 
the  Inconstant.  Captain  Shepherd  ;  and  the  surveying  vessels  Herald, 
Captain  Kelletfc,  and  Pandora,  Captain  Wood.  It  so  turned  out  that 
there  was  not  the  slightest  necessity  for  the  appearance  of  that  fleet. 
The  surveying  vessels  made  a  superficial  survey  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca 
and  then  sailed  southward.  The  Cormorant  was  a  steamship. 

CORRESPONDENCE  WAS  CONTINUED  between  the  two  governments, 
relative  to  the  location  of  the  boundary.  Mr.  Crorupton,  the  then 
British  minister  at  Washington,  was  instructed  to  propose  that 


172  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

commissioners  should  be  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  down 
such  parts  of  the  boundary  line  as  should,  on  consultation,  seem 
advisable.  On  the  13th  of  January,  1848,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Buchanan, 
Secretary  of  State,  a  letter  setting  forth  the  line  from  the  Lake  of 
the  Woods,  as  running  along  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude,  and  the 
ascertainment  of  that  parallel  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  being  an 
operation  of  astronomical  observation,  could  be  accomplished  with  as 
much  precision  at  a  future  time  as  at  present. 

MR.  CROMPTON  SAYS  :  "  But  between  the  Gulf  of  Georgia  and  the 
Straits  of  Fuca  the  line  is  less  distinctly  and  accurately  denned  by 
the  verbal  description  of  the  treaty  by  which  it  is  established,  and 
local  circumstances  render  it  probable  that  if  this  part  of  the  line 
were  not  to  be  precisely  determined,  the  uncertainty  as  to  its  course 
might  give  rise  to  disputes  between  British  subjects  and  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States.  It  appears,  therefore,  to  her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment, that  it  would  be  wise  to  proceed  forthwith  to  take  measures 
for  marking  out  that  portion  of  the  line  of  boundary. 

"  For  this  purpose,  her  Majesty's  Government  are  of  opinion  that  it 
might  probably  be  sufficient  that  each  Government  should  appoint  a 
naval  officer  of  scientific  attainments  and  of  conciliatory  character, 
and  that  those  officers  should  be  directed  to  meet  at  a  specified  time 
and  place,  and  should  proceed  in  concert  to  lay  down  the  above- 
mentioned  portion  of  the  boundary  line. 

"  The  first  operation  of  these  officers  would  be  to  determine  with 
accuracy  the  point  at  which  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude  strikes  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  and  to  mark  that  point  by  a 
substantial  monument.  From  that  point  they  would  have  to  carry 
the  line  along  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude,  to  the  centre  of  the 
channel  between  Vancouver  Island  and  the  Continent;  and  this 
point,  as  it  probably  cannot  be  marked  by  any  object  to  be  perman- 
ently on  the  spot,  should  be  ascertained  by  the  intersection  of  the 
cross-bearings  of  natural  or  artificial  landmarks. 

"The  two  officers  would  then  have  to  carry  on  the  line  down  the 
centre  of  the  channel,  and  down  the  centre  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca  to 
the  ocean.  Arid  this  water-line  must,  as  it  would  seem,  be  deter- 
mined also  by  a  series  of.  points,  to  be  ascertained  by  the  intersection 
of  cross-bearings. 

"But  in  regard  to  this  portion  of  the  boundary  line,  a  preliminary 
question  arises,  which  turns  upon  the  interpretation  of  the  treaty, 
rather  than  upon  the  result  of  local  observation  and  survey.  The 
convention  of  the  15th  of  June,  1846,  declares  that  the  line  shall 
be  drawn  through  the  middle  of  the  'channel'  which  separates  the 
Continent  from  Vancouver  Island;  and  upon  this  may  be  asked,  what 
the  word  'channel'  was  intended  to  mean? 

"Generally  the  word  'channel,'  when  employed  in  treaties,  means 
a  deep  and  navigable  channel.  In  the  present  case,  it  is  believed  that 


THE   FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  173 

only  one  channel,  that,  namely,  which  was  laid  down  by  Vancouver 
in  his  chart — has  in.  this  part  of  the  gulf,  been  hitherto  surveyed  and 
used  ;  and  it  seems  natural  to  suppose  that  the  negotiators  of  the 
Oregon  convention,  in  employing  the  word  '  channel/  had  that  par- 
ticular channel  in  view. 

"  If  this  construction  be  mutually  adopted,  no  preliminary  difficulty 
will  exis*-,  and  the  commissioners  will  only  have  to  ascertain  the 
course  of  the  line  along  the  middle  of  that  channel,  and  along  the 
middle  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca  down  to  the  sea. 

"  It  is  indeed  to  be  wished  that  this  arrangement  should  be  agreed 
upon  by  the  two  governments,  because  otherwise  much  time  might 
be  wasted  in  surveying  the  various  intricate  channels  formed  by 
the  numerous  islets  which  lie  between  Vancouver  Island  and  the 
mainland,  and  some  difficulty  might  arise  in  deciding  which  of  those 
channels  ought  to  be  adopted  for  the  dividing  boundary. 

"  The  main  channel,  marked  in  Vancouver's  map,  is  indeed  some- 
what nearer  to  the  Continent  than  to  Vancouver  Island,  and  its 
adoption  would  leave  on  the  British  side  of  the  line  rather  more  of 
those  small  islets  with  which  that  part  of  the  gulf  is  studded  than 
would  remain  on  the  United  States  side.  But  these  islets  are  of 
little  or  no  value,  and  the  only  large  and  valuable  island  belonging 
to  the  group — namely,  that  called  Whidbey's — would  of  course  belong 
to  the  United  States. 

"  This  question  being,  as  I  have  already  said,  one  of  interpretation 
rather  than  of  local  observation,  it  ought,  in  the  opinion  of  her 
Majesty's  Government,  to  be  determined  before  the  commissioners 
go  out,  which  cannot  be  earlier  than  spring  next  year." 

A  FAIR  PROPOSITION. — -A  draft  copy  of  the  instructions  proposed 
by  Great  Britain  to  be  given  to  the  commissioners  about  to  be 
appointed,  was  enclosed  along  with  the  foregoing  letter.  They 
accorded  with  the  letter  in  every  particular.  It  says  :  "That  part 
of  the  channel  of  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  which  lies  nearly  midway 
between  the  48th  and  49th  parallels  of  north  latitude,  appearing  by 
Vancouver's  chart  to  be  obstructed  by  numerous  islands,  which  seem 
to  be  separated  from  each  other  by  small  and  intricate  channels,  as 
yet  unexplored ;  it  has,  therefore,  been  mutually  determined  between 
the  Governments  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  in  order  to 
avoid  the  difficulties  which  would  probably  attend  the  explorations 
of  all  those  channels,  that  the  line  of  boundary  shall  be  drawn  along 
the  middle  of  the  wide  channel  to  the  east  of  those  islands,  which  is 
laid  down  by  Vancouver  and  marked  with  soundings  as  the  channel 
which  had  been  explored  and  used  by  the  officers  under  his  command. 
You  will  find  the  line  thus  described  traced  in  red,  in  the  copy  of 
Vancouver's  chart  hereunto  annexed.  It  must  accordingly  be  left  to 


174  HISTORY   OF   BKJT1SH    COLUMBIA. 

the  discretion  of  the  commissioners  to  connect  that  part  of  the  liner 
which,  being  drawn  through  that  portion  of  the  gulf  free  from  islands, 
must  pass  exactly  half  way  between  Vancouver  Island  and  the  main; 
but  the  slight  deviations  of  the  boundary  from 'the  accurate  midway 
which  may  for  some  short  distance  be  required  for  this  purpose  cannot 
be  of  any  material  importance  to  either  party. >J 

DELAYED  UNTIL  1856. — The  instructions  given  above  should  be 
looked  upon  as  most  fair,  and  shows  that  the  British  Government 
was  willing  to  do  everything  possible  to  settle  fairly  the  boundary 
question.  Tt  was  delayed,  however,  until  the  year  1856,  on  the 
pretext  that  the  legislature  of  the  United  States  had  not  appro- 
priated the  sum  necessary  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  work  required 
to  mark  out  the  boundaries. 

HUDSON  BAY  COMPANY'S  BUSINESS  UNDISTURBED. — The  passing  of 
the  Oregon  Treaty  d  d  not  at  the  time  affect  the  general  business  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  which  was  then  in  a  most  flourishing 
condition.  The  fur  trade  had  begun  to  fall  off  to  the  south  of  the 
Columbia  River,  owing  to  the  influx  of  settlers.  The  natives  in  that 
direction  were  becoming  somewhat  dangerous.  They  were  imbued 
with  a  dislike  to  the  "Boston  men,"  as  they  termed  the  United 
States  people,  but  continued  to  have  confidence  in  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company's  men,  whom  they  termed  "King  George  men."  The  Russian 
trade  was  increasing.  Along  the  coast  and  in  the  interior  of  the 
vast  domain,  untouched  by  the  treaty,  everything  went  on  as  usual. 

FLOURISHING  AT  VICTORIA. — Under  Finlayson's  careful  manage- 
ment the  new  fort  at  Victoria  was  giving  an  excellent  account  of 
itself.  In  little  more  than  three  years  after  its  commencement, 
there  were  160  acres  of  land  under  cultivation,  on  which  were 
grown  wheat,  oats,  potatoes,  carrots,  turnips,  and  other  vegetables. 
The  natives  became  well  disposed  and  turned  in  to  assist  to  clear 
land  and  perform  agricultural  work.  They  were  paid  according  to. 
their  work,  at  the  same  rate  as  white  laborers.  Two  extensive 
dairies,  each  having  seventy  cows,  were  established  at  the  new  fort. 
The  cows  yielded  during  the  season  seventy  pounds  of  butter  each. 

EXCELLENT  CROPS. — It  is  recorded  that  "in  1847,  on  the  flat  where 
now  run  the  most  prominent  business  streets,  where  stand  the  banks, 
the  post  office,  and  the  principal  business  houses,  three  hundred  acres 
were  cleared  and  under  cultivation.  The  land  was  rich,  producing 
tine  pease  and  potatoes,  and  of  wheat  forty  bushels  to  the  acre.  The 
most  of  the  produce  was  sent  to  Sitka.  Five  thousand  bushels  of 


THE   FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  175 

wheat,  and  large  quantities  of  beef  and  mutton  were  shipped  from 
Victoria  harbor  that  year  in  two  Russian  vessels.  Payment  for  this 
produce  was  made  with  bills  of  exchange  on  St.  Petersburg.  A 
portion  of  the  cargo  of  those  two  Russian  vessels  was  brought  from 
Fort  Langley  in  small  boats. 

ENCOURAGING  DIRECTIONS.  —  PAUL  KANE,  a  somewhat  celebrated 
artist  and  painter,  visited  this  section  of  the  country  in  1846-47. 
Mr.  Kane  had  studied  art  in  Europe,  and  returned  to  Canada  with 
the  determination  to  devote  his  time  and  talents  to  the  completion 
of  a  series  of  paintings  illustrative  of  Indian  life  and  character. 
After  an  interview  on  the  subject  with  Sir  George  Simpson,  governor 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  who  entered  cordially  into  the  project, 
and  gave  directions  to  the  Company's  officers  to  facilitate  the  artist's 
movements  in  every  way,  he  set  out  from  Toronto  in  May,  1846,  his 
design  being,  whenever  an  opportunity  offered,  to  make  portraits 
of  the  principal  chiefs  in  their  native  dress,  and  characteristically 
to  represent  on  canvas  the  Indian  tribes  and  scenery  of  the  almost 
unknown  country. 

On  reaching  Lake  Superior,  Mr.  Kane  joined  a  brigade  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  by  way  of  the  Red  River  settlement,  he 
passed  to  Lake  Winnipeg,  and  by  the  Saskatchewan  River  to 
Edmonton.  Early  in  October  he  left  Edmonton,  passing  by  way  of 
Fort  Assiniboine  to  Jasper  House,  thence  he  crossed  the  mountains 
by  the  Athabaska  Pass,  reaching  the  Columbia  River  down  which  he 
made  a  rapid  voyage  of  fifteen  days  to  Fort  Vancouver,  where  he 
arrived  on  the  8th  of  December.  In  a  volume  published  in  1859, 
entitled  ;' Wanderings  of  an  Artist  among  the  Indians  of  North 
America,  from  Canada  to  Vancouver  Island  and  Oregon,"  it  is 
mentioned  that  Fort  Vancouver,  on  his  visit,  contained  two  chief 
factors,  ten  clerks  and  two  hundred  voyageurs,  and  that  the  fort  was 
further  enlivened  by  the  presence  of  H.  M.  S.  Modeste,  which  had 
been  on  the  station  for  two  years. 

PAUL  KANE'S  WANDERINGS. — The  artist  remained  at  Fort  Van- 
couver until  the  beginning  of  January,  when  he  proceeded  southward 
some  distance  up  the  Williamette.  He  then  found  his  way  northward 
to  Puget  Sound  and  Vancouver  Island.  Here  among  various  Indian 
tribes,  he  spent  the  summer  of  1847.  In  the  autumn  he  returned  by 
the  River  Columbia,  and  reached  Edmonton  in  December,  meeting 
with  great  hardship  and  much  suffering  on  the  journey,  owing  to  the 
lateness  of  the  season.  At  Cumberland  House  he  mefc  Sir  John 


176  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

Richardson  and  Dr.  Rae  on  their  way  to  Mackenzie  River  in  search 
of  Sir  John  Franklin.  He  reached  Toronto,  October,  1848.  Mr. 
Sandford  Fleming  states,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Royal  Society  of 
Canada,  1889,  that  some  of  Mr.  Kane's  paintings  are  to  be  seen  at  the 
Speaker's  residence  in  the  House  of  Commons,  Ottawa ;  the  greater 
number  of  them  are  in  the  private  collection  of  Senator  Allan,  Toronto. 
DR.  McLouGHLiN  RETIRES. — James  Douglas  was  then  the  chief 
factor  of  the  entire  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Dr. 
McLoughlin  had  retired  from  the  service  in  1845,  and  with  his 
family  went  to  Oregon  city  to  reside.  His  wife  was  the  widow  of 
Alexander  McKay,  already  referred  to  as  being  the  associate  of 
Alexander  Mackenzie  in  his  exploratory  trip  to  the  Pacific  coast  in 
1793,  and  who  lost  his  life  in  the  massacre  on  board  the  Tonquin  in 
1811.  The  new  fort  was  found  to  be  most  convenient.  It  drew 
trade  from  all  directions.  Preparations  were  under  way  for  removing 
headquarters  from  Fort  Vancouver  to  Fort  Victoria,  as  all  the  forts 
and  trading-posts  and  farms  south  of  latitude  forty-nine  and  north  of  the 
boundary  line  must,  under  the  treaty,  be  abandoned  and  transferred. 
HUDSON  BAY  COMPANY  INDEMNIFIED. — This  only  caused  a  certain 
amount  of  inconvenience  to  the  Company,  but  not  much  actual  loss, 
as  their  possessory  rights  were  assessed  and  paid  for  in  full  by  the 
United  States  Government,  and  the  use  of  the  illimitable  north 
remained  with  them  as  before.  New  channels  of  communication 
with  the  interior,  however,  were  required  to  connect  with  Fort 
Victoria  instead  of  the  Columbia,  whch  would  be  of  no  service  south 
of  the  boundary  after  the  business  of  the  Company  was  withdrawn. 

A  ROAD  SURVEY. — To  open  up  the  country 
by  way  of  Fort  Langley  and  the  Fraser 
River,  the  work  of  exploration  was  at  once 
commenced.  Early  in  1846,  Mr.  A.  C. 
Anderson,  who  then  had  charge  of  Fort 
Alexandria  (the  next  fort  on  the  Fraser  north 
of  Langley),  set  out  with  five  men  to  survey 
the  country  from  Fort  Kamloops  to  Fort 
Langley.  His  downward  journey  was  not 
very  successful  ;  but  he  was  more  fortunate 
A.  c.  ANDBRSON.  on  nis  return,  and  secured  a  route  which 

was  adopted  from  Langley  by  the  way  of  the 

Quequealla  River  (at  the  mouth  of  which  the  town  of   Hope  now 
stands)  and  Lake  Nicola  to  Kamloops,  from  whence  the  trails  to  the 


THE   FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  177 

interior  were  tolerably  well  known.  He  made  another  survey  in 
1847,  but  without  further  success  ;  his  route  of  the  previous  year 
afterwards  became,  in  the  main,  the  waggon-road  to  the  south-eastern 
interior. 

NATIVES  OPPOSED  TO  NEW  ROUTE. — Although  not  openly  displayed, 
Anderson's  explorations  met  with  a  considerable  amount  of  hostility 
from  the  Indians ;  but  their  attempts  to  misguide  and  mislead  him 
were  not  sufficient  to  overcome  his  determination  to  succeed,  and, 
assisted  as  he  was  by  the  fidelity  of  the  native  servants  by  whom  he 
was  accompanied,  he  was  enabled  to  defeat  their  plans  and  secure  the 
required  route.  Mr.  Anderson  was  a  most  efficient  officer,  and 
performed  his  duties  faithfully  to  the  Company  until  1854,  when  he 
retired  from  active  service  on  two  years'  retiring  furlough  in  addition 
to  the  usual  retiring  interest,  which  continued  for  seven  years 
subsequently. 

A  NATIVE  OF  CALCUTTA. — Seeing  that  Alex.  Caulfield  Anderson's 
services  in  New  Caledonia  refer  to  important  topics  and  over  an 
extended  period,  connected  with  the  history  of  British  Columbia,  it 
may  not  be  out  of  place  to  give  a  short  sketch  of  his  career.  He  was 
a  native  of  Calcutta,  educated  in  England.  Having  entered  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company's  service  in  1831,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he 
reached  Fort  Vancouver  in  1832.  After  assisting  in  the  founding  of 
the  trading-posts  at  Milbank  Sound  and  on  the  Stickeen,  he  was 
appointed  in  1835  to  Mr.  Ogden's  district  of  New  Caledonia,  arriving 
at  Fort  George  in  September.  He  was  then  despatched  with  a  party 
by  way  of  Yellow  Head  Pass  to  Jasper  House  to  meet  the  Columbia 
brigade,  and  bring  back  goods  for  the  New  Caledonia  district.  Two 
months  afterwards  he  was  appointed  to  the  charge  of  Fort  Alex- 
andria on  the  lower  end  of  the  Fraser  River,  his  first  independent 
command. 

IN  THE  AUTUMN  of  1839  he  was  removed  to  Fort  George,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1840,  accompanied  the  outgoing  brigade  to  Fort  Vancouver. 
In  the  summer  of  the  same  year  he  was  appointed  to  the  charge  of 
Fort  Nisqually.  In  the  autumn  of  1841,  Mr.  Anderson  left  Nisqually 
and  passed  the  winter  at  Fort  Vancouver.  Next  spring  he  went  with 
the  express  to  York  Factory,  returned  in  October  to  Fort  Alexandria, 
where  he  again  took  charge  and  remained  till  1848,  having  meanwhile 
been  promoted.  In  1848  he  succeeded  Chief  Factor  John  Lees  in  the 
Colville  district.  He  remained  at  Fort  Colville,  making  annual  trips 
with  supplies  and  bringing  out  furs  to  Fort  Langley  until  1851, 
12 


178  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

when  he  went  to  Fort  Vancouver  as  assistant  to  Mr.  Ballenden,  and 
succeeded  temporarily  to  the  superintendency  till  1854,  when  he 
retired  from  the  Company's  service. 

Soon  after  leaving  the  Company's  service  Mr.  Anderson  married 
Miss  Birnie.  In  1858,  he  went  to  Victoria  to  inquire  into  the  gold 
discoveries.  Governor  Douglas  urged  him  to  accept  office  and  bring^ 
his  family  from  the  country  which  he  did,  and  resided  at  Rosebank, 
Saanich,  near  Victoria.  In  order  to  afford  accommodation  for  the 
transport  of  goods  to  the  newly  discovered  gold  diggings,  he  recom- 
mended and  directed  the  opening  of  a  road  from  the  head  of  Harrison. 
Lake  by  way  of  Lake  Anderson,  where  Lillooet  was  afterward  located. 
Five  hundred  miners  were  employed  on  the  work,  and  the  road  then 
constructed  was  used  for  the  transport  of  all  supplies,  until  the  road 
along  the  Fraser  was  made. 

HIGH  DUTIES. — It  was  found  after  the  passing  of  the  Oregon 
Treaty  that  the  duties  on  foreign  goods  arriving  at  Fort  Vancouver 
was  so  high  that  business  could  not  be  carried  on  there  as  usual. 
That  although  British  subjects  had  the  same  rights  as  subjects  of  the 
United  States  to  navigate  the  Columbia,  that  right  did  not  permit 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company  to  import  goods  except  on  payment  of 
duty  to  the  United  States  Customs  for  any  merchandise  which  might 
be  sold  in  Oregon.  Orders  were  therefore  sent  to  officers  in  charge  of 
interior  posts  to  open  modes  of  communication  from  all  points  to 
Fort  Langley,  where  supplies  from  headquarters  would  be  sent  to  the 
several  districts.  Fort  Victoria  was  to  take  the  place  of  Fort 
Vancouver  as  a  distributing  and  shipping  post. 

These  changes  and  the  increased  shipping  added  to  the  importance 
of  Fort  Victoria  and  Mr.  Finlayson's  duties.  Farming  operations  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  fort  were  carried  on  extensively.  The  war 
vessels  and  merchantmen  were  supplied  with  all  the  beef  and  vege- 
tables they  required.  Beef  was  sold  to  them  at  eight  cents  per 
pound,  and  flour  and  vegetables  proportionately  cheap.  A  grist  and 
a  saw  mill  were  erected  at  the  upper  end  of  Esquimalt  harbor  to 
supply  flour  and  lumber. 

SUPPLIES  FOR  CALIFORNIA. — The  discovery  of  gold  in  California  in 
1848  also  brought  a  large  trade  to  Victoria.  The  miners  discovered 
that  supplies  were  plentiful  at  Victoria,  whilst  at  San  Francisco  such 
goods  as  they  most  required  were  of  limited  supply  and  sold  at 
extravagant  prices  ;  hence  a  large  number  of  them  came  to  Victoria. 
Mr.  Finlayson,  in  his  autobiography,  refers  to  this,  and  says:  "Early 


THE   FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  179 

in  1849  a  vessel  appeared  in  the  harbor,  the  crew  of  which  wore  red 
flannel  shirts.  When  they  landed  we  took  them  to  be  pirates.  I 
ordered  the  men  to  the  guns,  manned  the  bastions  and  made  ready 
for  defence.  A  few  of  the  men  approached  the  gate  and  informed 
me  they  were  peaceable  traders,  come  from  San  Francisco  with  gold 
which  they  would  give  in  exchange  for  goods,  as  this  was,  they  were 
told,  the  only  station  on  the  northern  coast  where  they  could  get  the 
goods  they  wanted. 

GOLD  NUGGETS. — "  Having  satisfied  myself  that  they  were  what 
they  represented  themselves  to  be,  I  gave  them  permission  to  enter. 
They  informed  me  that  the  previous  year  gold  had  been  discovered 
in  California  in  large  quantities,  and  that  they  had  brought  nuggets 
to  give  for  goods.  They  produced  several  of  these,  the  value  of  which, 
at  first  sight,  I  felt  doubtful,  but  brought  one  of  them  over  to  the 
blacksmith's  shop  and  asked  him  and  his  assistant  to  hammer  it  on 
the  anvil.  This  they  did,  and  flattened  it  out  satisfactorily.  I  next 
referred  to  rny  book  on  minerals,, and  concluded  that  the  specimens 
were  genuine.  I  then  offered  them  $11.00  per  ounce  for  their  gold, 
which  they  took  without  a  murmur.  I  then  mentioned  my  prices, 
to  which  they  did  not  object.  I  felt  somewhat  doubtful,  but  con- 
cluded to  accept  the  gold,  and  the  trade  went  on.  They  took  in 
exchange  such  goods  as  were  not  often  required  in  our  trade — old 
iron  pots,  sea  boots,  blankets,  baize,  etc.,  etc.,  for  which  I  received 
satisfactory  prices.  A  considerable  sum  was  thus  traded  for  the 
nuggets ;  but  being  doubtful  as  to  the  value  I  placed  on  the  gold, 
I  despatched  a  boat  with  a  crew  of  eight  men  to  Puget  Sound  and 
thence  to  the  head  depot  at  Vancouver,  with  specimens  of  my  trade, 
and  asking  whether  I  was  right  or  wrong.  The  answer  was,  that  I 
was  right,  and  that  more  goods  would  be  sent  me  to  carry  on  the 
trade.  Afterwards  several  other  vessels  came  with  the  same  object 
and  more  gold.  The  effect  was  that  soon  our  operations  became 
considerably  disarranged  by  numbers  of  our  men  leaving  us  for  the 
California  diggings,  including  the  sailors  from  our  ships.  We  had 
to  increase  their  pay  to  induce  them  to  remain,  and  had  to  employ 
Indians  to  replace  the  sailors  on  the  ships  and  the  laborers  on 
land." 

REMOVAL  OF  FACTOR  DOUGLAS  AND  FAMILY. — Mr.  Finlayson  con- 
tinues :  "The  same  year,  1849,  the  late  Sir  James  Douglas,  then 
Chief  Factor  Douglas,  removed  with  his  family  from  the  depot  on  the 
Columbia  River  to  this  place,  as  by  this  time  the  principal  business 


180  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

of  the  department  was  carried  on  here.  I  was  relieved  of  the 
onerous  duties  I  had  to  perform  since  the  building  of  the  fort.  Mr. 
Douglas  having  taken  the  superintendence  in  hand,  I  was  placed  in 
the  office  as  head  accountant,  which  I  held  until  the  year  1862." 

FIRST  NOTICE  RECEIVED.— Mr.  A.  C.  Anderson,  writing,  says:  "It 
was  at  Fort  Colville,  in  1848,  that  [  first  got  notice  of  the  discovery 
of  gold  in  California,  in  a  private  letter  from  Mr.  Douglas,  who  had 
just  returned  from  a  trip  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Little  excite- 
ment, however,  arose  from  this  communication  on  the  part  of  anyone ; 
and,  in  fact,  Mr.  Douglas  himself  seemed  half  incredulous  of  the 
report.  A  few  months,  however,  served  to  dissipate  this  belief,  and 
before  the  autumn  of  1849,  the  whole  country  was  ablaze.  I  myself 
felt  fearful,  on  my  return  from  Langley,  in  August  of  that  year,  lest 
every  man  should  leave  me.  By  prudent  npanagement,  however,  and 
possessing,  I  flatter  myself,  the  confidence  of  my  men,  I  contrived  to 
confirm  them  in  their  allegiance,  and  retained  their  services  until 
their  contracts  were  fully  expired,  a  period  of  some  two  years.  In 
this  respect  I  was  exceptionally  fortunate,  for  while  my  men,  some 
thirty  in  number,  adhered  to  me  faithfully,  the  other  ports  lower 
down  the  river,  including  Fort  Vancouver,  in  which  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men  had  been  stationed,  were  almost  deserted,  and 
Indian  laborers  were  hired  to  supply  the  deficiency. 

GREAT  EXCITEMENT. — "  It  is  almost  impossible  to  realize  to  the 
mind  the  intense  excitement  which  at  times  prevailed.  Gold  appeared 
to  be  almost,  as  it  were,  a  drug  on  the  market,  and  more  than  one  of 
the  French-Canadian  servants  who  had  left  Vancouver  under  the 
circumstances  mentioned,  returned  the  following  spring  with  accumu- 
lations varying  from  $30,000  to  $ 40.000.  It  is  needless,  however,  to 
add  that  the  large  amounts  of  treasure  thus  collected  with  so  much 
facility,  united  with  the  habits  of  extravagance  which  the  unexpected 
possession  of  wealth  engendered,  speedily  disappeared.  The  men 
who  had  thus  dissipated  their  possessions,  sanguine  of  their  capacity 
to  replace  them  with  equal  facility  as  before,  returned  to  California 
enly  to  find  that  the  field  of  their  operations  was  fully  occupied  by 
others,  who  in  the  meantime  had  flocked  in,  and  that  their  chance 
was  gone.'' 

COAL  DISCOVERED. — Another  important  discovery  was  brought 
prominently  forward  on  Vancouver  Island  in  1849.  It  is  related 
that  in  December  of  that  year,  Joseph  W.  Mackay,  while  engaged  in 
the  Company's  office  in  Fort  Victoria,  was  called  aside  by  the  foreman 


THE   FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  IS] 

of  the  blacksmith's  shop,  who  informed  him  that  an  old  Nanaimo 
chief,  from  the  vicinity  of  what  was  then  called  Protection  Island, 
had  entered  the  shop  a  short  time  previous  to  have  his  gun  repaired. 
Whilst  waiting  and  watching  operations,  he  noticed  the  men  replen- 
ishing the  fire  with  coal.  Picking  up  some  of  the  lumps  he  examined 
them  closely,  and  finally  remarked  that  there  was  plenty  of  such  stone 
where  he  lived.  Proceeding  to  the  shop,  Mackay  entered  into  con- 
versation with  the  Indian,  who  repeated  what  he  had  said  to  the 
blacksmith,  giving  further  particulars  with  more  exactness.  Mackay 
then  said  if  he  would  bring  him  some  pieces  of  the  stuff,  he  should 
have  a  bottle  of  rum  and  his  gun  repaired  free.  The  offer  was 
accepted, 

TESTED  AT  THE  FORGE.  — "  The  Indian  departed,  and  as  nothing 
further  was  heard  of  the  matter  for  some  time,  it  was  supposed  the 
old  chief  had  forgotten  his  promise.  But  not  so.  He  had  been  laid 
up  with  illness  during  winter.  One  day  early  in  April  he  appeared 
in  Victoria  with  his  canoe  well  loaded  with  coal.  It  was  tested  at 
the  forge  by  the  smith  and  pronounced  of  excellent  quality.  Mackay 
fulfilled  his  promise  by  presenting  the  bottle  of  rum  to  the  trusty  old 
chieftain.  A  prospecting  party  was  at  once  fitted  out,  and  Mackay, 
placing  himself  at  the  head  of  it,  landed  near  where  the  city  of 
Nanaimo  now  stands.  On  his  return  to  Victoria,  Mackay  made  a 
favorable  report.  It  was  forthwith  determined  to  turn  to  practical 
account  this  new  discovery,  but  owing  to  other  business  the  mine 
was  neglected  for  the  time  being." 

FORTS  LANGLEY  AND  YALE. — Fort  Langley  was  the  only  station 
occupied  by  white  men  on  the  Fraser,  below  Fort  Alexandria,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  three  hundred  miles,  until  the  establishment  of  Fort 
Yale  in  1848.  It  was  so  named  after  James  Murray  Yale,  then  in 
charge  of  Fort  Langley,  who  entered  the  Company's  service  in  1815, 
when  a  boy,  and  who  in  after  life  became  one  of  their  best  officers. 
The  new  fort  was  erected  to  facilitate  the  transfer  of  supplies  and 
furs  over  the  new  route  about  to  be  opened,  connecting  the  seaboard 
with  the  interior  east  and  north.  The  difficulties  experienced  on  the 
first  trip  to  and  from  Fort  Yale,  determined  Douglas  to  establish 
another  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Fraser,  a  short  distance  below  Yale 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Coquihalla  River,  to  be  named  Hope. 

A  DISASTROUS  TRIP. — The  first  party  on  the  new  road  to  Yale 
consisted  of  three  brigades,  namely,  one  from  New  Caledonia, 
Thompson  River  and  Colville,  respectively.  After  due  preparation 


182  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

they  set  out  with  fifty  men  and  four  hundred  horses,  under  the 
command  of  Donald  Manson,  of  New  Caledonia,  he  being  the  senior 
officer  present — Anderson,  in  charge  of  the  Colville  district,  being 
second.  On  a  new  trail,  with  so  many  horses,  many  of  them  unbroken, 
the  difficulties  may  be  imagined.  Fort  Yale  was  reached.  The  horses 
were  left  there  and  the  party  quickly  passed  on  to  Langley.  The  return 
journey  by  the  same  route  was,  if  possible,  more  disastrous  than  had 
been  the  downward  trip.  The  merchandise  carried  back  was  more 
bulky  and  perishable  than  their  former  cargo,  and  not  only  a  large 
percentage  of  the  property  was  destroyed,  but  many  of  the  horses 
were  lost. 

THE  OLD  ROUTE  CONDEMNED. — Fort  Hope  was  therefore  built  to 
be  used  for  next  year's  brigade.  The  route  partially  explored  in 
1846  was  more  fully  examined,  and  with  certain  changes  was  recom- 
mended and  adopted.  The  route  over  which  they  had  just  passed 
was  condemned,  as  a  portion  of  it  had  to  pass  through  a  host  of 
barbarians,  which  congregate  during  the  summer  season .  at  the 
fisheries.  The  report  of  Donald  Manson  and  John  Tod,  of  Kamloops, 
said  :  "  The  risks  of  sacrificing  both  life  and  property  (for  it  is 
needless  to  attempt  to  cloak  the  matter)  under  circumstances  which 
neither  courage  nor  precaution  could  avail  against  to  resist  surprise 
or  guard  against  treachery,  are  alone  sufficient  to  deter  us  from  the 
attempt.  The  losses  by  theft,  in  themselves  nowise  contemptible, 
which  have  already  taken  place,  are  but  the  prelude  to  future 
depredations  on  a  larger  scale,  should  the  present  system  of  opera- 
tions be  unfortunately  persisted  in — depredations  which,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  will  be  difficult  either  to  discover  in  time  or  to  prevent 
effectually."  The  new  route  was  adopted,  and  was  followed  until 
1860,  when  the  government  road  was  completed. 

FORT  THOMPSON. — At  Kamloops  was  Fort  Thompson,  one  of  the 
oldest  in  New  Caledonia,  having  been  established  in  1810  by  David 
Thompson,  it  was  always  a  place  of  importance,  being  the  centre  of 
the  Thompson  district,  the  rendezvous  and  point  of  transfer  of  the 
annual  brigades  passing  north  and  south  to  and  from  Fort  Vancouver, 
and  latterly  connecting  with  the  seaboard  by  way  of  Langley  and 
Victoria.  It  was  at  Fort  Thompson,  Bancroft  in  his  peculiar  manner 
relates,  "  that  the  Company's  officer  in  command,  Samuel  Black, 
challenged  his  brother-scot  and  guest,  David  Douglas,  the  wandering 
botanist,  to  fight  a  duel,  because  the  blunt  visitor  one  night,  while 
over  his  rum  and  dried  salmon,  had  stigmatized  the  honorable  fur 


THE    FUR-TRADING   PERIOD.  183 

traders  as  not  possessing  a  soul  above  a  beaver  skin.  But  the 
enthusiastic  pupil  of  Hooker  preferred  to  fight  another  day,  and  so 
took  his  departure  next  morning  unharmed,  but  only  to  meet  his 
death  shortly  after  by  falling  into  a  pit  at  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
while  homeward  bound.  Likewise  we  may  say,  poor  Black  !  for  it 
was  but  a  short  time  after  this  chivalrous  display  of  fidelity  to  his 
company,  that  is  to  say,  during  the  winter  of  1841-42  while  residing 
at  the  old  fort,  that  he  was  cruelly  assassinated  by  the  nephew  of  a 
f  riendly  neighboring  chief  named  Wanquille,  for  having  charmed  his 
life  away." 

JOHN  TOD — SMALL-POX. — Attached  to  the  fort  were  extensive  stock- 
ades for  horses,  as  in  the  neighborhood  hundreds  of  fine  horses  were 
bred  for  the  transport  service.     John  Tod  was  the  officer  in  charge  at 
Kamloops  in  1846.     He  was  a  man  of  good 
executive  ability,  and  understood  the  Indian 
character    thoroughly.     At    that    time    the 
warriors  of  the  Shuswap  tribes,  to  the  num- 
ber of  three  hundred,  combined  to  rob  and 
murder  the  Company's  men  on  the  next  trip. 
Tod,    through    a    friendly    chief,    was    made 
aware  of  the  plot,  but  only  after  the  savages 
had  started'  on  their  murderous  expedition. 
He  immediately  started  alone  on  horseback 
to  their  camp,  and  riding  amongst  them  on 
his  foaming  steed,  dropped  his  bridle  reins, 
and  holding  aloft  his  rifle  and  pistols  threw  them  on  the  ground.     He 
then  snatched  the  reins  and  made  a  few  rapid  peace  evolutions  on  his 
well-trained  mare,  which  the  Indians  understood,  and  coming  to  a 
sudden   halt  addressed  the  amazed  savages  in  the  most  impressive 
manner,  informing  them  of  the  near  approach  of  small-pox,  and  that 
he  had  hastened  with  medicine  to   their  assistance.     The  ruse  was 
successful.     In  a  few  minutes  Tod  had  conquered  the  three  hundred 
warriors.     They  expressed  great  thankfulness,  arid  willingly  submitted 
to  be  vaccinated.     Fifty  of  the  leaders  were  first  selected,  then  other 
twenty,  when  the  vaccine  gave  out.     Tod  used  his  tobacco  knife  as 
lancet.     He  afterwards  admitted  confidentially  to  a  friend,  that  when 
the  turn  of  certain  noted   rascals,  whom   he  was  satisfied  were  the 
head  and  front  of  the  conspiracy,  came,  he  did  cut  away  more  than 
was  absolutely  necessary,  and  did  not  perhaps  feel  that  sympathy  and 
solicitude  for  the  comfort  of  his  patients  which  he  ought  to  have 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

done;  and  if  so  be  the  arm — he  operated  on  the  right  arm — might 
not  wield  a  weapon  for  ten  days  or  a  fortnight,  so  much  the  better. 
So  the  "Shuswap  conspiracy"  ended.  The  friendly  chief  was 
rewarded  with  the  horse  he  coveted.  Tod  was  almost  worshipped, 
for  not  a  mart  of  the  three  hundred  would  6ver  after  believe  that  he 
did  not  owe  his  life  to  Chief  Trader  Tod. 

HORSE  FLESH  USED.  —  Commander  R.  C.  Mayne,  in  his  interesting 
work,  "  Four  Years  in  British  Columbia  and  Vancouver  Island," 
mentions  that  he  visited  Fort  Thompson  in  1859,  and  went  "to  see 
the  bands  of  horses  driven  in,  and  those  past  work  selected  for  food. 
There  were  some  two  or  three  hundred  horses  of  all  sorts  and  ages  at 
the  station.  Just  outside  the  fort  were  two  pens,  or  corrals  as  they 
called  them,  and  into  these  the  horses  were  driven.  A  few  colts  were 
chosen  for  breaking  in,  and  then  the  old  mares,  whose  breeding  time 
was  past,  were  selected  and — for  it  was  upon  horse-flesh  principally 
that  the  people  of  the  fort  lived — driven  out  to  be  killed,  skinned  and 
salted  down." 


CHAPTER   XX. 


COLONIZATION  IS  INTRODUCED. 

IMMIGRATION  AND  MINERS. — No  sooner  had  the  boundary  question 
been  disposed  of  than  the  subject  of  colonization  came  forward.  The 
tide  of  immigration  was  pouring  into  Oregon  and  miners  into 
California.  Something  required  to  be  done  on  the  Britisli  side  of  the 
line.  English  statesmen  did  not  see  why  the  Pacific  coast  should  not 
be  utilized  as  colonization  ground  for  the  surplus  population  of  Great 
Britain.  The  idea  was  soon  expressed  in  Parliament.  A  letter  from 
the  Company  was  addressed  to  Lord  Grey,  stating  that  their  establish- 
ment was  every  year  enlarging,  and  asking  for  a  grant  of  land. 
Negotiations  to  obtain  Vancouver  continued  until  March,  1847,  when 
Sir  J.  H.  Pelly,  Governor  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  in  London, 
informed  Earl  Grey  that  the  Company  would  "  undertake  the  govern- 
ment and  colonization  of  all  the  territories  belonging  to  the  Crown  in. 
North  America  and  receive  a  grant  accordingly." 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  185 

PROPOSAL  TO  COLONIZE. — This  proposition  was  too  extensive  for 
the  British  Government,  so  the  negotiations  were  suspended  until 
1848,  when  a  more  moderate  proposition  was  made,  by  which  the 
Company  offered  to  continue  the  management  of  the  whole  territory 
north  of  the  49th  degree  ;  but  was  willing  to  accept  Vancouver  Island 
alone  for  colonization  purposes,  and  that  the  Company  would  not 
expect  any  pecuniary  advantage  from  colonizing  the  territory  in 
question ;  and  that  all  moneys  received  for  lands  or  minerals  would 
be  applied  to  purposes  connected  with  the  improvement  of  the  country. 
The  British  Government  had  not  as  yet  fully  determined  what  should 
be  done.  The  Company,  however,  had  a  charter  prepared  asking  for 
a  grant  of  the  whole  of  Vancouver  Island,  which  was  laid  before 
Parliament. 

GLADSTONE  IN  OPPOSITION. — The  Earl  of  Lincoln  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  17th  July,  1848,  made  an  inquiry  which  had  reference 
partly  to  the  Company's  powers  at  the  Red  River  settlement.  He 
was  in  favor  of  the  grant  to  them  of  Vancouver  Island.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone spoke  against  the  measure,  being  of  opinion  that  the  corporation 
was  not  qualified  for  the  undertaking.  Mr.  Howard  believed  it  would 
be  most  unwise  to  confer  the  extensive  powers  proposed  on  a  fur- 
trading  Company ;  yet  as  California  had  lately  been  ceded  to  the 
United  States,  it  appeared  to  him  a  matter  of  the  highest  importance 
that  a  flourishing  British  colony  should  be  established  on  the  western 
American  coast  in  order  to  balance  the  increased  strength  of  the 
United  States  in  that  quarter. 

LORD  JOHN  RUSSELL  explained  that  the  Company  already  held 
exclusive  privileges,  which  did  not  expire  until  1859  ;  that  they  now 
held  these  western  lands  by  a  crown  grant  dated  13th  May,  1838,  con- 
firming their  possession  for  twenty-one  years  from  that  date  ;  that  these 
privileges  could  not  be  taken  from  them  without  breach  of  principle, 
and  that  if  colonization  were  delayed  until  the  expiration  of  this  term, 
squatters  from  the  United  States  might  step  in  and  possess  themselves 
of  the  island.  The  matter  was  referred  to  the  Privy  Council  Com- 
mittee for  Trade  and  Plantations,  who  on  4th  September  reported  in 
favor  of  the  grant  of  Vancouver  Island  to  the  Company  to  be  vested 
in  them  for  colonization  purposes. 

CONDITION  OF  GRANT. — The  grant  of  Vancouver  Island  was  made 
on  the  13th  January,  1849,  to  the  Governor  and  Company  of  Adven- 
turers of  England,  trading  into  Hudson  Bay,  and  their  successors, 
with  the  royalties  of  its  seas,  and  all  mines  belonging  to  it  forever, 


186  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

subject  only  to  the  domination  of  the  British  Crown,  and  to  the 
yearly  rent  of  seven  shillings  payable  on  the  first  day  of  every  year- 
They  were  to  settle  upon  the  island,  within  tive  years,  a  colony  of 
British  subjects,  and  to  dispose  of  land  for  the  purposes  of  colonization 
at  reasonable  prices,  retaining  ten  per  cent,  of  all  the  moneys  received 
from  such  source,  as  well  as  from  coal  or  other  minerals,  and  applying 
the  remaining  nine  tenths  toward  public  improvement  upon  the 
island.  Such  lands  as  might  be  necessary  for  a  naval  station  and  for 
other  government  establishments  were  to  be  reserved.  The  Company 
should,  every  two  years,  report  to  the  Imperial  Government  the 
number  of  colonists  settled  in  the  island  and  the  lands  sold.  If  at 
the  expiration  of  five  years  no  settlement  should  have  been  made,  the 
grant  should  be  forfeited  ;  and  if  at  the  expiration  of  the  Company's 
license  of  exclusive  trade  with  the  Indians  in  1859,  the  Government 
should  so  elect,  it  might  recover  from  the  Company  the  island,  on 
payment  of  such  sums  of  money  as  had  been  actually  expended  by 
them  in  colonization  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  Crown  reserved  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  any  foreign  power,  the  Company  should 
defray  all  expenses  of  all  civil  and  military  establishments  for  the 
government  and  protection  of  the  island. 

The  Company,  soon  after  the  grant  was  made,  issued  a  circular  in 
which  the  following  proposals  were  made.  They  stated  they  were 
ready  to  make  grants  of  land  to  any  emigrants  from  Great  Britain  or 
Ireland,  or  from  any  other  part  of  her  Majesty's  dominions  who 
might  be  desirous  of  settling  "on  the  said  island  on  the  following 
conditions  : 

1st.   That  no  grant  of  land  shall  contain  less  than  twenty  acres. 

2nd.  That  purchasers  of  land  shall  pay  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany, at  their  house  in  London,  the  sum  of  £1  per  acre  for  the  land 
sold  to  them  to  be  held  in  free  and  common  socage. 

3rd.  That  purchasers  of  land  shall  provide  a  passage  to  Vancouver 
Island  for  themselves  and  their  families,  if  they  have  any  ;  or  be 
provided  with  a  passage  (if  they  prefer  it)  on  paying  for  the  same  at 
a  reasonable  rate. 

4th.  That  purchasers  of  larger  quantities  of  land  shall  pay  the  same 
price  per  acre,  namely,  £1,  and  shall  take  out  with  them  five  single 
men  or  three  married  couples,  for  every  hundred  acres. 


THE    FUR-TRADING    PERIOD.  187 

5th.  That  all  minerals  wherever  found  shall  belong  to  the  Com- 
pany, who  shall  have  the  right  of  digging  for  the  same,  compensation 
being  made  to  the  owner  of  the  soil  for  any  injury  done  to  the  surface  ; 
but  that  the  said  owner  shall  have  the  privilege  of  working  for  his 
own  benefit  any  coal  mine  that  may  be  had  on  his  land,  on  payment 
of  a  royalty  of  two  shillings  and  sixpence  per  ton. 

6lh.  That  the  right  of  fishing  proposed  to  be  given  to  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  in  the  grant  as  printed  in  the  parliamentary  papers 
relative  to  Vancouver  Island,  having  been  relinquished,  every 
freeholder  will  enjoy  the  right  of  fishing  all  sorts  of  fish  in  the  seas, 
bays  and  inlets  thereof,  or  surrounding  the  said  island  ;  and  that  all 
the  ports  and  harbors  shall  be  open  and  free  to  them  and  to  all 
nations  either  trading  or  seeking  shelter  therein.  And  as  it  is 
essential  to  the  well-being  of  society  that  the  means  of  religious 
instruction  should  be  within  the  reach  of  every  member  of  the  com- 
munity, provision  will  be  made  for  the  establishment  of  places  of 
worship,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  ministers  of  religion  according  to 
a  plan,  of  which  the  following  is  the  outline  : 

(1.)  The  island  is  to  be  divided  into  districts  of  from  five  to  ten 
square  miles  where  it  is  practicable. 

(2.)  A  portion  of  land  equal  to  one-eighth  of  the  quantity  sold  to 
be  set  aside  for  the  minister  of  religion.  Thus,  in  a  district  of  ten 
square  miles,  containing  6,400  acres,  supposing  5,120  acres  sold,  the 
minister  would  be  entitled  to  640  acres,  and  the  remaining  640  acres 
would  be  available  for  roads,  site  for  church  and  churchyard,  schools 
or  other  public  purposes ;  the  land  so  reserved  or  its  proceeds  to  be 
appropriated  for  these  purposes  in  such  manner  as  may  appear 
advisable. 

(3.)  With  the  view  of  enabling  the  ministers  to  bring  their  lands 
into  cultivation,  a  free  passage  to  be  granted  to  such  a  number  of 
persons  as  a  settler  having  an  equal  quantity  of  land  would  be  required 
to  take  out,  the  cost  to  be  paid  out  of  the  fund  held  in  trust  for  the 
colony. 

(4.)  The  several  apportionments  for  the  purposes  of  religion  to  be 
conveyed  to  and  to  be  held  by  the  Governor-in-Council  in  trust  for 
the  parties  appointed  to  perform  the  clerical  duties  of  the  respective 
districts. 

The  most  material  provisions  of  the  commission  and  instructions  to 
the  governor  for  the  government  of  the  colony,  are  as  follows  : 

The  governor  is  appointed  by  the  Crown,  with  a  council  of  seven 
members  likewise  so  appointed. 

The  governor  is  authorized  to  call  assemblies,  to  be  elected  by  the 
inhabitants  holding  twenty  acres  of  freehold  land. 

For  this  purpose  it  is  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  governor  to  fix 
the  number  of  representatives,  and  to  divide  the  island  into  electoral 
districts  if  he  shall  think  such  division  necessary. 

The  governor  will  have  the  usual  powers  of  proroguing  or  dissolving 
such  assembly. 


188  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Laws  will  be  passed  by  the  governor,  council  and  assembly. 

The  Legislature  thus  constituted  will  have  full  power  to  impose 
taxes  and  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  Island,  and  to  modify  its 
institutions  subject  to  the  usual  control  of  the  Crown. 

The  Crown  has  already  power  under  1st  and  2nd  George  IV., 
c.  66,  to  appoint  Courts  of  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  the  Indian 
territories,  of  which  Vancouver  Island  forms  a  part ;  but  as  the 
jurisdiction  of  such  courts  is,  by  the  12th  section  of  that  Act,  limited 
in  civil  cases  not  involving  more  than  £200  in  value,  and  in  criminal 
cases  to  such  as  are  not  capital  or  transportable  (all  of  which  must  be 
tried  in  Canada),  it  is  intended  to  extend  the  jurisdiction  created  by 
the  existing  Act  by  the  entire  removal  of  those  restrictions. 

The  conditions  of  the  grant  were,  that  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
should  pay  a  yearly  rent  of  seven  shillings,  to  be  paid  on  the  1st  day 
of  January  every  year,  and  to  hold  Vancouver  Island  "  in  free  and 
common  socage"  for  that  amount,  subject  to  sundry  provisoes, 
amongst  which  were  specified  :  That  they  should  colonize  the  island  ; 
dispose  of  the  lands  at  a  reasonable  price,  except  such  as  might  be 
required  for  public  purposes  ;  that  all  moneys  received  from  the  sale 
of  such  lands  should  (after  deducting  ten  per  cent,  for  the  Company) 
be  applied  towards  the  colonization  and  improvement  of  the  island  ; 
make  a  report  of  the  progress  of  settlement  every  two  years  to  one  of 
the  principal  Secretaries  of  State  ;  and  if  within  the  term  of  five 
years,  or  after  the  expiration  of  that  term,  the  settlement  of  the  island 
or  other  conditions  of  the  grant  were  not  fulfilled,  the  grant  and 
license  to  trade  with  the  Indians  might  be  revoked,  the  Crown  paying 
to  the  Company  "  the  money  expended  by  them  in  colonizing  the 
Island  and  the  value  of  their  establishments,  property  and  effects 
then  being  thereon." 


SECTION   III. 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD 


CHAPTEE  I. 

THE  ISLAND  having  now  been  granted  for  colonization  purposes, 
it  was  but  reasonable  to  expect  that  there  would  be  colonists.  It 
should  next  be  formed  into  a  colony,  and  of  necessity  there  must  be 
a  governor,  who  was  to  be  appointed  by  the  Imperial  Government. 
Earl  Grey  wrote  to  Sir  John  Pelly,  asking  his  opinion  as  to  the  proper 
person  to  be  recommended  for  the  office  of  governor.  Sir  John 
replied,  recommending  James  Douglas,  giving  as  his  reasons  that. 
Douglas  was  a  man  of  property  and  a  member  of  the  board  for  the 
management  of  the  Company's  affairs  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains ; 
and  that  the  appointment  need  not  be  permanent,  but  merely  to  fill 
in  the  time,  until  the  colony  could  afford  to  pay  a  governor  not 
in  any  way  connected  with  the  Company. 

Earl  Grey  did  not  accept  Sir  John  Felly's 
recommendation,  but  appointed  Richard 
Blanshard,  who  left  England  in  1849,  and 
reached  Victoria  on  the  10th  of  March, 
1850,  via  Panama.  On  landing,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Company's  fort.  The  officers, 
with  James  Douglas,  together  with  the  ser- 
vants of  the  Company,  assembled  in  the 
large  room.  Captain  Johnson,  of  the  gov- 
ernment vessel  Driver,  which  had  conveyed 
Mr.  Blanshard,  also  Captain  Gordon,  of  the 
Cormorant,  and  officers,  in  full  uniform, 
were  present  to  hear  read  the  commission  and  proclamation  of  the 
newly  arrived  governor.  Three  cheers  were  given,  and  Bancroft  says  : 
-"The  newly  installed  governor  of  this  wilderness  then  returned  to 


RICHARD   BLANSHARD. 


190  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

the  vessel,  there  being  no  government  house,  inn,  or  other  lodgings 
upon  the  land  to  receive  him." 

Ko  SALARY  WAS  ATTACHED  to  the  appointment.  A  thousand  acres 
of  land  had  been  promised  him  before  leaving  London,  which  promise 
the  Company  construed  to  mean  the  use  of  one  thousand  acres,  not 
a  full  title  in  fee  simple.  Bancroft  enlarges  oti  the  subject  and  says: 
"When  he  desired  to  know  where  his  thousand  acres  of  land  were 
situated,  a  rocky  eminence  two  or  three  miles  away  was  pointed  out 
to  him,  where  a  tract  had  been  set  apart  for  government  use  in  the 
vicinity  of  where  the  government  house  stands.  Thousands  of  pounds 
would  be  necessary  to  make  the  place  respectably  habitable,  and  it 
was  no  wonder  the  governor's  heart  should  quail  or  that  a  huge 
disgust  should  take  possession  of  him.  He  was  further  told  that  the 
promised  thousand  acres  were  intended  for  the  use  of  the  governor 
only  while  he  was  upon  the  island.  He  might  select,  subdue  and 
beautify  the  tract  for  his  successor,  if  it  pleased  him,  but  he  could 
not  sell  or  pocket  the  proceeds  of  it." 

The  foregoing  and  following  extracts  illustrate  how  Bancroft 
moralizes  for  Governor  Blanshard,  and  how  he  substitutes  his 
pessimistic  views  for  British  Columbian  history.  He  says  :  "  The 
governor  recognized  no  relation  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  other 
than  that  usually  existing  between  ruler  and  subject.  That  the* 
Company  held  the  contract  for  colonization,  together  with  a  monopoly 
of  the  soil,  was  nothing  to  him  politically.  It  might  affect  appoint- 
ments and  freedom  of  legislation,  but  it  could  not  change  the  natural 
attitudes  of  crown  governor,  crown  colony,  and  fur  corporation.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Company  cared  nothing  for  the  governor.  As 
their  noble  friend,  Lord  Grey,  had  taken  the  trouble  to  appoint  him, 
and  the  appointee  had  taken  the  trouble  to  come  so  far  over  the  two 
great  oceans,  they  would  treat  him  politely,  that  is,  if  he  would  be 
humble  and  behave  himself;  but  as  for  his  governing  them,  that  was 
simply  ridiculous.  He  might  issue  all  the  mandates  he  pleased,  but 
he  would  give  little  force  to  his  authority  without  appeal  to  the  chief 
factor,  to  Douglas,  to  the  very  man  who  had  opposed  him  in  office. 
.  .  .  Meanwhile,  time  hung  heavily  on  Blanshard's  hands.  Set 
down  upon  the  bare  rocks  of  this  mist  enveloped  isle,  with  the  only 
white  people  on  it,  those  on  whom  he  was  dependent  for  everything, 
for  subjects,  for  society,  and  for  creature  comforts,  opposed  to  his 
rule  in  all  their  interests,  he  felt  himself  to  be  utterly  powerless  and 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.  191 

» 

forlorn,  and  could  scarcely  realize  that  he  was  governor,  except  by 
taking  out  his  commission  and  reading  it  to  himself  occasionally." 

FORT  RUPERT,  on  the  north-east  corner  of  Vancouver  Island,  was 
built  in  1849.  It  had  the  usual  stockade,  strengthened  on  the  inside 
with  lateral  beams.  Round  the  interior  ran  a  gallery,  and  at  two 
opposite  corners  were  flanking  bastions  mounting  four  9-pounders. 
Within  were  the  usual  shops  and  buildings,  while  smaller  stockades 
protected  the  garden  and  outhouses,  Although  established  more  as 
a  protection  in  developing  coal  deposits  which  the  Company  undertook 
to  develop  there,  it  was  also  used  as  a  trading-post,  and  partially  took 
the  place  of  Fort  McLoughlin,  at  Milbank  Sound,  abandoned  in  1843. 
Captain  McNeill,  of  the  Beaver,  was  placed  in  charge  at  Fort 
Rupert,  with  forty  men,  whites,  half-breeds  and  Canadian  Frenchmen, 
to  construct  the  fort.  George  Blenkinsop  was  second  in  command. 

THE  MUIR  FAMILY  arrived  from  Scotland  this  year,  having  been 
brought  out  by  the  Company  as  experienced  coal  miners.  The  shaft 
was  sunk  half  a  mile  from  the  fort.  The 
natives  demanded  pay  for  the  land  or  its 
product,  and  when  refused,  surrounded  the 
pit,  threatening  to  kill  all  engaged  should 
they  persist  in  the  robbery.  Muir  reported 
that  Blenkinsop  had  caused  much  dissatisfac- 
tion amongst  the  miners,  putting  three  in 
irons  or  in  jail  because  they  would  not  submit 
to  his  arbitrary  orders  and  unreasonable 
regulations,  which  he  endeavored  to  force 
upon  them  in  the  absence  of  McNeill.  The 
result  was  that,  except  Muir  and  certain 

members  of  his  family,  the  men  all  left  for  California,  and  as  a 
consequence  mining  was  discontinued.  Prospects  being  better  at 
Nanaimo,  Muir  and  all  his  family  and  mining  machinery  proceeded 
to  that  place,  in  the  spring  of  1851. 

COAL  MINING  IN  1853. — From  the  time  that  Mackay  located  the 
vein  reported  by  the  Indian  in  1850,  until  Muir's  arrival,  the  natives 
had  taken  out  considerable  coal  from  Newcastle  Island.  Mackay 
completed  the  fort  at  Nanaimo  in  1852.  The  miners  had  now 
increased  to  such  a  number  as  not  to  be  so  readily  disturbed  by  the 
Indians.  The  new  industry  was  carried  on  by  the  Company  with 
great  energy.  Before  the  end  of  1 853,  no  less  than  two  thousand 
tons  were  shipped,  one-half  of  which  was  taken  out  with  the 


192  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

assistance  of  the  Indians.  The  Company's  price  at  Nanaimo  was 
then  eleven  dollars ;  at  San  Francisco  the  coal  was  sold  for  twenty- 
eight  dollars  per  ton.  Nanaimo  at  this  early  date  became  the  centre 
of  the  coal  industry. 

VISIT  TO  FORT  RUPERT. — Governor  Blanshard,  shortly  after  his 
arrival  at  Victoria,  made  a  trip  to  Fort  Rupert  and  visited  various 
points  along  the  coast.  Dr.  John  Sebastian  Helmcken,  who  arrived 
by  the  ship  Norman  Morrison,  Captain  Wishart,  in  March,  1850,  as 
medical  officer  to. the  Company,  was  the  first  magistrate  appointed  in 
the  colony.  He  was  stationed  at  Fort  Rupert,  where  the  miners 
were  behaving  disorderly.  The  news  of  the  California  gold  excitement 
had  affected  their  usual  good  conduct.  During  the  summer  of  1850, 
Blenkinsop  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  fort  in  McNeill's  absence. 


NANAIMO,  IN  1853. 

At  this  time  there  were  about  thirty  individuals  within  the  pickets, 
including  the  miners.  In  close  proximity  to  the  fort  was  a  village  of 
Indians,  which  sometimes  numbered  from  two  to  three  thousand. 

Dr.  Helmcken  was  instructed  by  the  governor  to  deal  with  the 
troublesome  miners.  They,  however,  refused  to  submit  to  the 
discipline  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  fort  and  its  inhabitants 
from  the  surrounding  tribes.  The  insubordination  increased.  Orders 
were  issued  by  the  governor  to  Dr.  Helmcken  to  appoint  special 
constables.  Volunteers  to  act  as  constables  were  asked  for.  No  one 
would  serve  against  the  others.  They  would  not  work  for  the 
Company  any  longer. 

The  Beaver  having  arrived,  reported  the  desertion  of  three  of  her 
sailors  to  the  England,  which  had  also  arrived  at  Fort  Rupert  for 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  193 

•coal.  Dr.  Helmcken,  in  his  capacity  as  Justice  of  the  Peace,  went 
on  board  the  England  to  inquire  about  the  deserters.  He  learned 
that  they  had  left  the  vessel,  as  soon  as  the  Beaver  was  sighted, 
fearing  arrest.  To  make  matters  worse,  the  Indians  got  intoxicating 
liquor  from  the  England,  and  the  men  in  the  fort,  hearing  fresh  news 
from  the  crew  about  the  riches  of  California,  were  ready  to  join  the 
miners  to  leave  the  establishment.  The  England  having  nearly 
completed  loading,  one  day  it  was  found  that  all  the  miners  had  left. 
The  captain  and  crew  of  the  England  would  not  give  any  information 
of  the  absconding  miners,  although  they  were  supposed  to  know  their 
whereabouts. 

DESERTION  OF  SAILORS. — This  desertion  was  a  great  blow  to  the 
fort.  The  mining  operations  were  brought  to  a  close.  To  prevent 
other  desertions,  the  gates  of  the  fort  were  closed  against  egress  or 
ingress.  Dr.  Helmcken  and  Blenkinsop  had  to  keep  close  watch,  as 
they  did  not  know  but  the  excited  Indians  would  attack  the  fort  or 
set  it  on  fire.  The  England  was  ready  to  leave.  Three  men  were 
reported  as  being  on  an  island  not  a  great  distance  off.  An  Indian 
chief,  Whale,  was  sent  to  bring  them  back  safely,  and  he  would  be 
rewarded.  He  returned  without  them.  A  few  days  afterwards,  a 
rumor  was  abroad  that  three  men  had  been  murdered  by  the 
Newittees,  a  tribe  living  thirty  miles  from  Fort  Rupert. 

THE  INTERPRETER  of  the  fort  was  sent  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of 
the  report.  He  returned  next  day,  having  seen  the  absconding 
miners  near  Newittee,  from  whom  he  learned  that  the  murdered  men 
were  sailors.  The  miners  had  been  waiting  for  the  England  to  carry 
them  away.  The  murdered  bodies  were  found  and  buried  at  Fort 
Rupert.  No  charges  so  far  had  been  made  against  the  officers  of  the 
fort,  neither  had  any  effort  been  made  to  bring  the  murderers  to 
justice. 

COURT  OF  INQUIRY. — In  September,  H,M.S.  Daedalus^  Captain 
Wellesley,  with  Governor  Blanshard  on  board,  arrived  at  Fort 
Rupert.  He  held  a  court  of  inquiry  in  reference  to  the  murdered 
sailors,  and  decided  that  Dr.  Helmcken  should  go  and  demand  the 
surrender  of  the  murderers  in  the  usual  manner.  The  doctor  there- 
fore set  off  with  a  half  dozen  Indians  for  Newittee.  On  entering  the 
harbor  he  was  met  by  four  hundred  Indians,  painted  black,  and 
armed  with  muskets,  spears,  axes,  and  other  weapons,  and  making  all 
the  hideous  noises  which  they  employ  to  strike  terror  into  their 
opponents.  Dr.  Helmeken  explained  his  mission  to  them  from  the 
13 


194  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

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  in  such  cases.  This  was  declined, 
and  they  were  told  they  were  bringing  great  misery  on  themselves 
by  not  acceding  to  the  demand  of  King  George's  law.  When  Dr. 
Helmcken  returned  and  made  know*  to  Governor  Blanshard  and 
Captain  Wellesley  the  decision  of  the  Newittees,  it  was  decided  ta 
send  boats  and  men  to  seize  the  murderers  or  to  punish  the  tribes. 
The  boats  arrived  only  to  find  a  deserted  village. 

REWARDS  OFFERED. — Next  year  H.M.S.  Daphne  went  north  to 
punish  the  tribe,  if  they  still  refused  to  give  up  the  murderers.  On 
that  occasion  the  natives  were  found  in  a  new  camp.  They  peremp- 
torily refused  the  demands  of  the  captain,  and  therefore  the  crew 
prepared  to  attack  them.  The  Indians  fired,  and  wounded  several  of 
the  sailors.  The  fire  was  returned.  The  Indians,  however,  fled  to 
the  thick  woods  near  by,  where  they  could  not  be  followed.  Only 
two  Indians  were  killed  in  the  skirmish.  The  village  huts  were  then 
destroyed,  and  the  Daphne  left.  Rewards  were  offered  by  Governor 
Blanshard  for  the  delivery  of  the  murderers.  They  were  captured  by 
the  Indians  and  shot.  The  bodies  were  brought  to  Mr.  Blenkinsop 
at  Fort  Rupert  and  buried  beside  the  murdered  sailors.  Blenkinsop 
and  Dr.  Helmcken  were  exonerated  from  all  blame  in  the  affair. 

BLANSHARD  DISSATISFIED. — With  the  exception  of  the  visits  as 
mentioned,  Governor  Blanshard  remained  at  Victoria  until  his  depar- 
ture for  England  on  September  1st,  1851.  His  time  was  occupied, 
and  it  may  be  said  his  administration  consisted,  in  giving  orders, 
which  were  disregarded,  and  writing  despatches  to  the  home  Govern- 
ment in  which  he  complained  of  the  actions  of  the  officers  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company.  In  April  of  1851,  he  was  notified  by  the 
managers  of  the  Hudson  Bay  and  Puget  Sound  Companies  that  they 
were  about  to  occupy  some  land  on  the  island,  and  that  the  sum  of 
four  thousand  pounds  sterling  was  to  be  expended  on  public  buildings 
under  the  governor's  direction,  but  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company's  management.  The  buildings  were  to  be 
erected  near  the  fort. 

A  DIFFICULT  POSITION. — In  reply  to  this,  the  governor  wrote  : 
"  Unless  the  colony  is  intended  to  be  merely  an  enlarged  depot  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  which  I  do  not  conceive  was  the  intention  of 
her  Majesty's  Government  in  making  the  grant  of  the  island,  it  will. 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  195 

be  a  waste  of  public  money  to  expend  it  in  the  way  they  indicate,  as 
the  buildings  will  then  be  surrounded  by  their  reserves,  which  they 
are  prepared  neither  to  use  nor  sell."  Governor  Blanshard's  position 
was  a  most  anomalous  and  trying  one,  and  it  seems  impossible  that 
any  man,  however  forcible  or  capable,  could  have  done  more  than  he 
did  under  the  circumstances.  The  Company's  officers  and  servants 
were  the  only  white  men  in  the  colony,  and  they  regarded  the 
appointment  of  Blanshard  as  an  attempted  interference  with  their 
control  of  the  island.  This  they  were  not  supposed  to  submit  to,  and 
were  not  backward  in  making  the  fact  uncomfortable  to  her  Majesty's 
representative. 

COLONIZATION  PROSPECTUS. — An  effort  at  colonization  was  made  by 
the  Company.  The  ship  Norman  Morrison  arrived  in  March,  1850, 
landing  eighty  emigrants,  chiefly  miners  who  had  been  engaged  to 
work  in  the  Company's  mines,  so  the  apparent  attempt  to  induce 
settlement  did  not  amount  to  anything.  It  cannot  be  said  that  the 
settlement  of  the  island  made  reasonable  progress ;  nor  is  this  to  be 
wondered  at,  when  the  terms  proposed  to  the  settlers  are  looked  at. 
According  to  the  terms  of  their  charter,  the  Company,  immediately 
after  the  grant  was  confirmed,  had  issued  a  prospectus  and  advertised 
for  colonists.  In  that  prospectus,  the  price  of  land  was  fixed  at  one 
pound  per  acre,  and  for  every  hundred  acres  purchased  at  this  price, 
the  investor  was  obliged  to  bring,  at  his  own  expense,  three  families  or 
six  single  persons.  Only  a  person  of  considerable  means  was  able  to 
take  advantage  of  the  Company's  offer.  (For  prospectus,  see  p.  186.) 

CALIFORNIA  PRICES. — At  the  same  time  land  could  be  purchased  in 
the  United  States  territory,  just  across  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  for  one 
dollar  an  acre.  Another  objection  was,  the  settler  was  completely 
in  the  power  of  the  monopoly.  All  his  supplies  he  had  to  buy  from 
the  Company's  agents,  at  their  prices,  which  were  regulated  by  the 
California  prices,  and  to  the  Company  he  had  to  look  for  a  market 
for  his  produce.  Besides,  he  came  into  competition  with  the  Com- 
pany's traders,  who  were  the  largest  farmers  on  the  island.  The 
result  of  all  this  was,  what  might  have  been  expected,  no  colonization 
worth  mentioning. 

PRETEXT  FOR  LEAVING. — Of  the  unfortunate  few  actual  settlers 
who  did  come  out  the  first  year,  the  greater  number,  after  a  very 
short  time,  left  their  lands  to  try  the  gold  fields;  those  who  remained 
were  at  continual  war  with  the  Company.  A  writer  says  :  "  To  the 
wretched  settler  everything  seemed  to  play  into  the  hands  of  the 


106  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

monopoly,  and  the  very  fact  that  some  abandoned  their  farms  in 
despair  and  went  to  the  gold  fields,  was  given  by  the  Company,  and 
accepted  by  the  Imperial  Government,  as  a  reasonable  excuse  for  the 
failure* to  colonize.  The  weakness  of  this  pretext  was  apparent  to 
all  familiar  with  the  facts,  and  it  was  well  known  that  after  the 
subsidence  of  the  excitement  in  California,  many  who  had  left  the 
mines  would  have  been  only  too  willing  to  take  up  land  and  settle 
an  Vancouver  Island  under  British  rule,  but  were  repelled  by  the 
exorbitant  terms  to  which  they  were  required  to  subscribe." 

The  following  petition  will  show  the  feeling  of  the  settlers  towards 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company  : 

^To   his    Excellency    RICHARD    BLANSHARD,    Esquire,    Governor   of 
Vancouver  Island: 

"  MAY  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  EXCELLENCY, — We,  the  undersigned  inhab- 
itants of  Vancouver  Island,  having  learned  with  regret  that  your 
Excellency  has  resigned  the  government  of  this  colony,  and  under- 
standing that  the  government  has  been  committed  to  a  chief  factor 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  cannot  but  express  our  unfeigned 
surprise  and  deep  concern  at  such  an  appointment.  The  Hudson 
Bay  Company  being,  as  it  is,  a  great  trading  body,  must  necessarily 
have  interests  clashing  with  those  of  independent  colonists.  Most 
matters  of  a  political  nature  will  cause  a  contest  between  the  agents 
of  the  Company  and  the  colonists.  Many  matters  of  a  judicial  nature 
will  undoubtedly  arise,  in  which  the  colonists  and  the  Company,  or 
its  servants,  will  be  contending  parties,  or  the  upper  servants  and  the 
lower  servants  of  the  Company  will  be  arrayed  one  against  the 
other.  We  beg  to  express  in  the  most  emphatical  and  plainest 
manner  our  assurance  that  impartial  decisions  cannot  be  expected 
from  a  governor  who  is  not  only  a  member  of  the  Company,  sharing 
its  profits,  his  share  of  such  profits  rising  and  falling  as  they  rise  and 
fall,  but  is  also  charged  as  their  chief  agent  with  the  sole  representa- 
tion of  their  trading  interests  in  this  island  and  the  adjacent  coasts. 

"  Furthermore,  thus  situated  the  colony  will  have  no  security  that 
its  public  funds  will  be  duly  disposed  of  for  the  benefit  of  the  colony 
in  general,  and  not  turned  aside  in  any  degree  to  be  applied  to  the 
private  improvement  of  that  tract  of  land  held  by  them,  or  otherwise 
unduly  employed.  Under  these  circumstances,  we  beg  to  acquaint 
your  Excellency  with  our  deep  sense  of  the  absolute  necessity  there 
is,  for  the  real  good  and  welfare  of  the  colony,  that  a  council  should 
be  immediately  appointed,  in  order  to  provide  some  security  that. the 
interests  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  shall  not  be  allowed  to 
outweigh  and  ruin  those  of  the  colony  in  general.  We,  who  join  in 
expressing  these  sentiments  to  your  Excellency,  are  unfortunately 
but  a  very  small  number,  but  we  respectfully  beg  your  Excellency  to 
consider  that  we,  and  we  alone,  represent  the  interests  of  the  island 


THE   COLONIAL   PERtOD.  197 

as  a  free  and  independent  British  colony,  for  we  constitute  the  whole 
body  of  the  independent  settlers,  all  the  other  inhabitants  being,  in. 
some  way  or  other,  connected  with  and  controlled  by  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  as  to  be  deprived  of  freedom  of  action  in  all  matters 
relating  to  the  public  affairs  of  the  colony,  some  indeed  by  their  own 
confession,  as  may  be  proved  if  necessary.  And  we  further  allege 
our  firm  persuasion  that  the  untoward  influences  to  which  we  have 
adverted  above  are  likely,  if  entirely  unguarded  against,  not  only  to 
prevent  any  increase  of  free  and  independent  colonists  in  the  island, 
but  positively  to  decrease  their  present  numbers. 

"We  therefore  humbly  request  your  Excellency  to  take  into  your 
gracious  consideration  the  propriety  of  appointing  a  council  before 
your  Excellency's  departure  ;  such  being  the  most  anxious  and  earnest 
desire  of  your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  humble  servants,  and 
her  Majesty's  most  devoted  and  loyal  subjects. 

"  (Signed)  James  Yates,  Robert  Staines,  James  Cooper,  Thomas 
Monroe,  William  MacDonald,  James  Sangster,  John  Muir,  senior, 
William  Fraser,  Andrew  Muir,  John  McGregor,  John  Muir,  junior, 
Michael  Muir,  Robert  Muir,  Archibald  Muir,  Thomas  Blenkhorn." 

PROVISIONAL  COUNCIL  NOMINATED. — Governor  BJanshard,  acting 
on  the  above  petition,  nominated,  on  the  27th  of  August,  James 
Douglas,  Jarnes  Cooper,  and  John  Tod,  a  provisional  council, 
subject  to  the  confirmation  of  the  Imperial  Government,  to  act 
until  the  appointment  of  another  governor.  On  the  18th  o'f 
November,  1850,  he  had  tendered  his  resignation,  and  asked  for 
an  immediate  recall,  on  the  grounds  of  ill-health,  and  also  because 
his  private  fortune  was  "  utterly  insufficient  for  the  mere  cost  of 
living  here,  so  high  have  prices  been  run  up  by  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  and  as  there  are  no  independent  settlers,  every  requisite 
must  be  obtained  from  them."  Earl  Grey  replied  in  a  letter,  dated 
3rd  April1,  1851,  which  was  not  received  until  August,  accepting 
Blanshard's  resignation  as  governor  of  the  colony. 

ONLY  ONE  LAND  SALE. — In  a  despatch  sent  to  Earl  Grey,  in 
February,  1851,  when  referring  to  the  progress  of  settlement  in 
the  colony,  Governor  Blanshard  remarks  that  only  one  buna  fide 
sale  of  land  had  been  made,  and  that  was  to  W.  C.  Grant.  This 
gentleman  was  formerly  a  captain  of  the  Second  Dragoon  Guards, 
Scots  Greys.  He  had  sold  out  his  commission,  and  in  1849,  brought 
out,  at  his  own  expense,  eight  colonists  to  Vancouver  Island.  The 
settlers  came  by  the  ship  ffarpooneer,  round  Cape  Horn.  Captain 
Grant's  route  was  via  Panama.  In  a  paper  which  he  read  before  the 
London  Geographical  Society,  Captain  Grant  corroborates  the 
governor's  statement,  and  says:  t*  In  June,  1849,  the  first  batch  of 


198  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

colonists  under  this  system  arrived,  and  they  consisted  of  eight  men 
brought  out  by  myself,  and  from  that  day  to  this  not  a  single  other 
iu dependent  colonist  has  come  out  from  the  Old  Country  to  settle  in 
the  island  ;  all  the  other  individuals  who  have  taken  up  land  have 
been  in  the  employ  of  the  Company,  and  brought  out  to  the  country 
at  its  expense." 

CAPTAIN  GRANT'S  COLONY. — The  location  chosen  by  Captain  Grant 
for  his  colony  was  at  Sooke  Harbor,  about  twenty  miles  from  Fort 
Victoria.  He  could  not  obtain  a  suitable  place  nearer  the  fort,  on 
account  of  the  Company's  reserves  and  the  lands  set  apart  for  the 
Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Association.  He  resided  on  his  property 
for  two  years,  then  leased  it  to  Thomas  Monroe  and  others  of  his  men, 
and  left  for  England.  On  being  left  alone,  the  men  became  careless 
and  demoralized,  so  the  captain  on  his  return  found  the  farm 
neglected,  the  land  lying  uncultivated,  and  the  buildings  greatly 
destroyed.  He  sold  the  property  to  the  Muir  family  for  what  he 
could  get  for  it,  and  left  the  country  in  disgust. 

A  LARGE  RESERVE. — Referring  to  the  Puget  Sound  Company's 
reserve,  in  a  despatch  Governor  Blanshard  says  : 

"This  tract,  I  am  informed,  contains  nearly  thirty  square  miles  of  the 
best  part  of  the  island,  and  they  are  already  attempting  to  sell  small 
lots  to  their  own  servants  at  greatly  advanced  rates.  I  consider  this 
an  extremely  unfair  proceeding.  The  terms  of  the  grant  expressly  state 
that  'all  lands  shall  be  sold,  except  such  as  are  reserved  for  public 
purposes,'  and  in  consideration  of  the  trouble  and  expense  they  may 
incur,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  are  allowed  the  very  handsome 
remuneration  of  ten  per  cent,  on  all  sales  they  may  effect  and  on  all 
royalties.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  they  are  grasping  at  the  whole  price 
of  the  land  by  monopolizing  this  vast  district,  making  it  a  free  gift 
to  themselves  and  then  selling  it  for  their  own  profit,  as  they  are 
attempting  to  do.  In  proof  of  this,  f  may  mention  that  an  English- 
man, of  the  name  of  Chancellor,  arrived  here  from  California  a  few 
weeks  ago,  with  the  intention  of  settling.  The  agent  offered  to  sell 
him  land  on  the  '  Company's  reserve,'  which  he  declined,  as  he 
preferred  another  part  of  the  island,  but  found  so  many  difficulties 
thrown  in  the  way  that  at  Inst  he  pronounced  the  purchase 
impracticable,  and  is  leaving  the  colony  in  disgust.  He  told  me  that 
he  was  the  forerunner  of  a  party  of  several  British  subjects  at  present 
in  California,  who  were  merely  waiting  for  his  report  to  decide 
whether  they  would  settle  in  Vancouver  Island  or  the  United  States." 

ANOTHER  GRIEVANCE  the  governor  makes  the  subject  of  a  despatch 
of  the  12th  of  February,  in  reference  to  an  account  presented  to  him 
for  his  approval,  which  he  signed  under  protest.  He  said  : 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  199 

"  The  account  asserts  that  they  have  expended  $2,736,  of  which 
$2, 1 30  are  for  goods  paid  to  Indians  to  extinguish  their  title  to  the  laud 
•about  Victoria  and  Sooke  Harbors,  the  remainder  also  for  goods  paid  to 
Indians  for  work  done  for  the  colony,  provisions  and  ammunition  for 
the  same  Indians.  The  receipts  amount  to  $1,489,  from  which  ten 
per  cent,  is  to  be  deducted  according  to  the  charter  of  grant  to  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  consists  entirely  of  royalties  on  coal  for 
the  last  two  years  ;  land  sales  there  are  none,  as  1  have  previously 
informed  your  Lordship.  On  examining  the  account,  I  found  that 
for  the  goods  paid  to  the  Indians  a  price  was  charged  three  times  as 
great  as  what  they  are  in  the  habit  of  paying  them  at  for  their  own 
work.  Respecting  this,  and  some  inaccuracies  I  detected  in  the 
account,  I  addressed  a  letter  to  the  agent.  He  corrected  the  errors, 
but  made  no  alteration  in  tiie  prices,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
•conversation  gave  me  to  understand  that  they  did  not  expect  the 
charter  of  grant  to  be  renewed  at  the  expiration  of  the  five  years, 
January,  1854,  and  that  they  would  be  entitled  to  a  reimbursement 
of  their  expenditure.  At  this  rate  they  may  continue  for  the  next 
three  years,  paying  away  a  few  goods  to  Indians  to  extinguish  their 
•claims  to  the  soil,  and  by  attaching  an  ideal  value  to  their  goods, 
they  will  at  the  end  of  that  time  appear  as  creditors  of  the  colony  to 
an  overwhelming  amount,  so  that  the  foundation  will  be  laid  of  a 
•colonial  debt,  which  will  forever  prove  a  '  burden.'  " 

SAILED  FOR  ENGLAND. — Nothing  now  remained  for  Governor  Blan- 
shard  to  do  on  the  island,  so  he  took  passage  on  the  ship  Daphne, 
for  Panama,  September  1st,  1851.  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.  Towards  the  end  of  his  life  his  eye- 
sight failed,  and  before  his  death  he  became  totally  blind.  He  died, 
June  5th,  1894.  His  will,  when  proved  July  3rd,  showed  his  per- 
sonal estate  valued  at  £130,000,  or  about  $650,000.  His  real  estate 
he  left  to  his  nephew,  Colonel  R.  P.  Davies. 

GOVERNOR  DOUGLAS  SWORN  IN. — The  Provisional  Council  were  soon 
relieved  of  their  responsibility,  for  in  the  month  of  November,  1851, 
Chief  Factor  Douglas's  commission  arrived  from  England,  and  he  was 
duly  proclaimed  and  sworn  in  as  governor  of  the  colony  of  Vancouver 
Island.  Governor  Douglas  had  stipulated  for  a  salary  as  governor, 
and  was  allowed  £800  in  addition  to  his  former  emoluments  as  chief 
factor  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  The  machinery  of  the  Company 
was  about  as  perfect  as  it  well  could  be.  Apart  from  the  difficulty 
.of  acting  in  a  dual  capacity,  he  was  well  fitted  for  the  position. 


200  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

A  COMPLIMENTARY  NOTICE. — A  writer  in  "Pool's  Queen  Char- 
lotte Island,"  says  of  him  : 

"  The  long  services  of  Sir  James  Douglas  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany, his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  various  tribes  of  natives- 
and  his  knowledge  of  the  requirements  for  developing  the  resources, 
of  this,  the  most  important  colony  of  England  in  the  Pacific,  rendered 
him  at  that  epoch  eminently  qualified  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  governor 
of  our  North-West  American  possessions.  I  have  no  oV>ject  in 
bepraising  him  other  than  a  desire  to  record  my  humble  sense  of  his 
eminent  merits.  But  such  I  know  to  be  the  verdict  of  all  unbiased 
men  who  had  the  advantage  of  living  under  his  wise  and  able 
administration." 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR  OF  QUEEN  CHARLOTTE  ISLANDS. — On  the  7th 
of  March,  1853,  Governor  Douglas  acknowledges  receipt  of  a  despatch 
(No.  5),  dated  27th  September,  1852,  with  enclosures,  and  says, 
inter  alia  : 

"I  have  received  her  Majesty's  commission  as  lieutenant-governor 
of  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  with  certain  limited  powers  (dated  9th 
July,  1852),  as  therein  described,  and  while  I  return  thanks  for  this- 
high  mark  of  confidence,  which  I  shall  endeavor  to  exercise  for  the 
honor  and  advantage  of  the  Crown,  I  cannot  forbear  expressing  a 
feeling  of  diffidence  in  my  ability  to  discharge  the  duties  of  another 
office,  involving  a  serious  amount  of  labor  and  responsibility,  while  I 
have  no  assistance  whatever  in  the  administration  of  public  affairs  ; 
and  while  every  function  of  the  government,  whether  military,  judicial, 
executive,  or  clerical,  must  be  performed  by  me  alone, — a  range  of 
duties  too  extensive  and  dissimilar  in  their  nature  for  my  unaided 
strength  to  attend  to  with  satisfaction  to  myself  or  advantage  to  the 
public.  I  will,  however,  most  gladly  do  everything  in  my  power 
to  meet  the  views  and  wishes  of  her  Majesty's  Government ;  trusting 
that  you  will  forward,  from  time  to  time,  such  instructions  as  may  be 
necessary  for  my  guidance,  and  a  selection  of  legal  works  containing 
the  forms  of  process  observed  in  the  Yice- Admiralty  Courts,  and 
developing  the  principles  on  which  their  decisions  are  founded.'' 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD. 


201 


CHAPTEE  II. 


GOVERNOR  DOUGLAS  NOMINATES  HIS  COUNCIL. 

IN  1853  ONLY  450  WHITE  SETTLERS.  —  Roderick  Finlayson  was 
nominated  one  of  the  Provisional  Council,  in  the  place  of  Douglas 
appointed  governor.  The  work  of  governing  the  few  settlers  was 
not  very  arduous  between  the  years  1851  arid  1856.  It  continued 
without  very  much  friction  until  1854,  wheirthe  first  five  years  of  the 
charter  of  the  island  would  cease,  provided  settlement  did  not  increase. 
To  meet  this  difficulty  several  of  the  leading  officers  of  the  Company, 
including  Douglas,  Work,  Tod,  Tolmie,  and  Finlayson,  purchased 
wild  lands  as  convenient  to  the  fort  as  possible,  paying  at  the  rate 
of  one  pound  per  acre.  Outside  settlers  were  dissatisfied  and  sent  a 
petition  in  1853  to  the  Imperial  Parliament  that  the  grant  be  not 
renewed  to  the  Company.  The  settlers,  in  1853,  numbered  450  white 
men  on  the  island,  300  of  whom  were  at  Victoria,  125  at  Nanaimo, 
and  25  at  Fort  Rupert.  Up  to  that  time  19,807  acres  of  land  had 
been  applied  for,  10,172  being  for  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  2,374 
for  the  Puget  Sound  Company,  and  the  rest  for  private  individuals. 

The  increase  of  population  now  pointed  to 
the  necessity  of  a  judicial  functionary.  Mr. 
DAVID  CAMERON,  of  Nanaimo,  was  appointed 
Chief  Justice  of  the  colony — salary.  £100  per 
annum.  The  appointment  was  ratified  by 
the  home  Government.  The  Chief  Justice 
removed  to  Victoria  in  1854.  Previous  to 
this  there  had  been  neither  judiciary  nor 
constabulary,  excepting  Dr.  Helmcken,  who 
was  appointed  first  Justice  of  the  Peace,  in 
1850,  bv  Governor  Blanshard.  Chief  Justice 

DAVID   CAMERON.  » 

Cameron    was   superseded    in    1858    by    Mr. 

Needham,  who,  in  1859,  was  transferred  to  fill  a  similar  position  in 
the  Island  of  Trinidad,  West  Indies.  Mr.  Justice  Needham  was 
knighted,  and  was  succeeded  by  Sir  Matthew  B.  Begbie,  who  continued 


SIR    MATTHEW    KKttBIK. 


202  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

to  fill  the  position  of  Chief  Justice  of  British  Columbia  until  his 
death,  which  took  place  June  llth,  1894,  in  the  seventy-fifth  year 
of  his  age. 

SIR  MATTHEW  was  accorded  a  public  funeral.  The  funeral  service 
was  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jenns,  in  St.  John's  Church,  where 
Sir  Matthew  had  worshipped  since  1860. 
The  church  was  heavily  draped  and  hand- 
somely decorated  with  flowers.  A  simple, 
black  covering,  relieved  by  a  neat  cross  of 
passion  flowers,  marked  the  late  Chief  Jus- 
tice's seat  in  the  choir.  The  pall-bearers  were 
Hon.  A.  N.  Richards,  Q.C.,  D.  R.  Harris, 
Hon.  J.  S.  Helmcken,  M.D.,  Justices  Crease, 
McCreight  and  Drake,  Hon  T.  Davie,  Q.C., 
Premier,  Hon.  J.  H.  Turner,  and  Hon.  C.  E. 
Pooley,  Q.C.  Chief  mourners,  Hon.  P. 
O'Rielly  and  Dr.  O.  M.  Jones.  His  Honor 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  and  Admiral  Stephenson  occupied  the 
carriage  next  to  the  chief  mourners.  Among  the  clergy  present  were 
his  Lordship  Bishop  Perrin,  who  pronounced  the  benediction  at  the 
grave ;  Revs.  Canon  Beanlands,  Hewitson,  Lipscome,  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Norwood,  of  the  Royal  Arthur. 

An  obituary  notice  says :  "  In  the  decease  of  Sir  Matthew  Baillie 
Begbie,  not  only  a  pioneer  of  pioneers  is  missing,  but  a  figure  and 
personality  indissolubly  and  actively  associated  with  the  very  begin- 
ning of  this  province,  and  its  subsequent  affairs  and  history  up  to  the 
present  time.  Born  in  Edinburgh  in  1819,  Sir  Matthew  was  the 
eldest  son  of  Colonel  T.  S.  Begbie  of  her  Majesty's  44th  Foot.  St. 
Peter's  College,  Cambridge,  was  his  Alma  Mater,  where  he  took  the 
degree  of  B.A.  in  1841,  and  that  of  M.A.  three  years  later,  in  1844, 
in  which  year  he  was  called  to  the  bar  in  Lincoln's  Inn.  He  prac- 
tised his  profession  till  1858,  when,  owing  to  the  ability  he  had 
displayed  while  a  barrister,  he  received  the  appointment  of  judge  of 
the  court  of  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island.  British  Columbia  was 
then  limited  to  the  mainland.  In  August,  1866,  the  order-in-council 
uniting  Vancouver  Island  to  British  Columbia  was  passed  by  the 
Imperial  Government,  but  it  was  not  proclaimed  here  till  November 
17th,  and  simultaneously  Mr.  Begbie  was  created  Chief  Justice  of 
the  united  colony,  succeeding  Mr.  Justice  (afterwards  Sir  Joseph) 
Needham.  Under  the  provisions  of  the  British  North  America  Act, 
the  practice  and  the  constitution  of  the  courts  of  law  in  British  Col- 
umbia remained  unchanged  when  this  country  entered  the  Canadian 
confederation  in  1871,  consequently  Mr.  Begbie  continued  in  the 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.  203 

office  of  Chief  Justice,  with  the  added  honor  of  knighthood,  which 
was  conferred  upon  him  for  services  which  all  acknowledged  to  have 
been  of  incalculable  value  to  the  country,  its  safety  and  well-being, 
and  the  performance  of  which  at  certain  times  involved  serious 
personal  danger  and  frequently  the  risk  of  his  life.  In  the  early  days, 
until  the  arrival  of  Attorney-General  Carey,  Sir  Matthew  was  also 
general  adviser  to  Sir  James  Douglas,  who  was  governor  of  both 
colonies.  Sir  Matthew  was  a  bachelor." 

On  the  morning  of  the  funeral,  a  large  number  of  the  members  of 
the  Victoria  bar  met  in  the  court  house  to  pass  a  resolution  of 
condolence,  which  was  adopted  unanimously,  as  follows  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  bar  now  assembled,  on  behalf 
of  themselves  and  brethren  throughout  the  Province,  express  their 
deep  sorrow  at  the  death  of  Sir  Matthew  Baillie  Begbie,  Knight,  late 
the  Chief  Justice  of  British  Columbia. 

"Throughout  a  long  life  he  occupied  a  distinguished  position  as  a 
lawyer  ar*d  a  judge,  and,  although  he  reached  an  advanced  age,  he 
was,  up  to  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  death,  actively  engaged  in  the 
performance  of  the  duties  pertaining  to  his  high  office. 

"  His  removal  takes  away  one  of  the  most  prominent  figures  con- 
nected with  the  early  history  of  this  province,  a  man  whose  strong 
individuality  and  uprightness  have  left  a  lasting  impress  upon  every 
branch  of  our  judicial  system. 

"  At  a  period  when  firmness  and  discretion  in  the  administration 
of  justice  were  most  needed,  his  wise  and  fearless  action  as  a  judge 
caused  the  law  to  be  honored  and  obeyed  in  every  quarter. 

"  When  the  settlement  of  the  country  advanced,  and  the  necessity 
for  preventing  lawless  outbreaks  became  less  frequent,  he,  as  the 
Chief  Justice  of  our  Supreme  Court,  manifested  an  ability  which 
showed  that  his  intellectual  faculties  were  as  keen  and  active  as  his 
character  was  stable  and  commanding. 

"He  was  a  man  of  scholarly  attainments,  and  his  versatility  of 
talent  evoked  the  admiration  of  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him. 

"As  a  judge,  the  tendency  of  his  thought  was  eminently  logical, 
his  judgment  was  prompt  and  decisive,  his  integrity  was  never 
questioned. 

"  His  private  life  was  in  every  way  worthy  of  his  public  position. 
Plain  and  unassuming  in  manner,  courteous  and  dignified  in  his 
speech,  loyal  to  his  companions,  firm  in  his  friendships,  of  a  generous 
and  sympathetic  nature,  unostentatiously  good  and  silently  charitable, 
he  will  be  missed  not  only  by  his  professional  associates,  but  by  many 
who  knew  him  only  as  a  kind  and  steadfast  friend. 

"  He  has  departed  from  us  full  of  years  and  honors,  but  his  memory 
will  remain  as  that  of  one  whose  judicial  career  has  been  without 
stain,  and  whose  personal  worth  has  won  our  deepest  respect  and 
affection/' 


204-  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

PETITION  FROM  SETTLERS. — The  petition  referred  to,  from  the- 
settlers,  asked  that  the  Company's  grant  should  not  be  renewed  at 
the  expiration  of  the  live  years'  term,  and  that  the  island  be  taken 
under  the  immediate  management  of  the  Imperial  Government.  It 
also  asked  that  a  governor  and  subordinate  functionaries  be  appointed 
and  paid  by  the  British  Government ;  that  courts  of  justice  be 
established  ;  that  the  House  of  Assembly  consist  of  nine  members,  to- 
be  elected  every  three  years;  that  the  executive  council  be  separated 
from  the  legislative  ;  that  the  elective  franchise,  then  only  enjoyed 
by  persons  holding  twenty  acres  of  land,  be  extended  to  include 
persons  occupying  houses,  or  paying  rent  to  the  extent  of  ten  pounds 
per  annum,  or  owning  farm  lands  to  the  extent  of  ten  pounds,  or 
city  property  to  the  value  of  twenty  pounds;  and  that  the  price  of 
public  lands  be  reduced  to  ten  shillings  per  acre,  payable  in  five 
annual  instalments,  interest  at  the  rate  of  five  per  cent,  per  annum. 
LICENSES  FOR  REVENUE. — Governor  Douglas  and  his  council  of 
three  framed  the  laws  and  executed  them.  The  revenue  of  the  colony 
was  small,  derived  from  the  sales  of  lands  and  from  houses  licensed 
to  sell  spirituous  liquor.  The  public-house  keepers  each,  on  payment 
of  a  license  of  $600  per  annum,  could  deal  in  spirituous  liquors 
with  only  one  restriction — they  were  not  allowed  to  sell  to 
Indians.  The  imposition  of  the  tax  on  licensed  houses  was  discussed 
in  the  council  for  some  days  before  a  decision  was  arrived  at. 
Finally,  the  tax  of  $600  was  levied  on  each  of  three  retail  dealers, 
and  one  was  taken  out  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  Notwith- 
standing the  settlers'  petition  against  renew- 
ing the  charter  of  the  island  to  the  Com- 
pany, it  was  renewed  for  another  five  years. 
The  expenditure  of  the  colony  in  1855  was 
about  $20,000.  Up  to  the  19th  of  July, 
1855,  the  total  amount  received  from  land 
sales  was  £6,871  9s.  4d.  The  moneys  re- 
ceived by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  were 
remitted  to  London. 

NEW  LEGISLATURE. — The  time  had  now 
arrived  when  a  legislature  should  be  estab- 
lished in  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island  in 
accordance  with  British  law  and  practice.  To  accomplish  this,  Mr. 
Labouchere,  Secretary  of  State  for  Britain,  sent  instructions  on  28th 
February,  1856,  to  Governor  Douglas,  instructing  him  to  at  once  call 


CAPTAIN   JAMES   COOPER. 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  205 

together,  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  his  commission,  a  meeting 
of  his  council,  which  at  the  time  consisted  of  John  Tod,  senior  mem- 
ber, James  Cooper,  Roderick  Finlayson  and  John  Grant.  The  result 
was  the  issuing  of  a  proclamation,  on  the  IGtlj  of  June,  1856,  dividing 
the  island  into  four  electoral  districts,  apportioning  the  number  of 
representatives  and  appointing  returning  officers  for  each.  The  four 
•districts  were  :  Victoria,  to  be  represented  by  three  members,  Andrew 
Muir,  returning  officer;  Esquimalt  and  Metchosin,  two  members, 
H.  W.  0.  Margary,  returning  officer;  Nanaimo,  one  member,  C.  E. 
Stewart,  returning  officer ;  Sooke.  one  member,  John  Muir,  jun., 
returning  officer. 

WRITS  CALLING  A  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  of  freeholders,  for  the  purpose 
of  electing  members  to  serve  in  the  Assembly,  were  made  returnable 
on  the  4th  of  August  following.  The  qualification  of  members  who 
might  offer  for  election  was  placed  at  "  ownership  of  freehold  to  the 
amount  of  £300  or  more."  The  property  qualification  of  voters 
remained  as  fixed  in  the  governor's  commission,  namely,  "  twenty 
acres  or  more  of  freehold  land."  Governor  Douglas  wrote  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  :  "  There  will  be  some  difficulty  in  finding  properly 
qualified  representatives,  and  I  fear  that  our  early  attempts  at  legisla- 
tion will  make  a  sorry  figure,  though  at  all  events  they  will  have  the 
effect  you  contemplate  of  removing  all  doubts  as  to  the  validity  of 
our  local  enactments." 

ELECTIONS  WERE  DULY  HELD,  according  to  the  notices.  In  three 
of  the  districts,  however,  the  electors  were  so  few  in  number  that  the 
returns  were  little  more  than  mere  nominations. 

DR.  HELMCKEN  having  been  nominated  for  Esquimalt  District, 
made  the  following  speech,  the  first  political  speech  made  by  the 
Doctor,  and  the  first  on  record  made  in  the  colony.  On  rising,  being 
received  with  hearty  cheers,  he  said  : 

"GENTLEMEN, — I  love  to  hear  that  British  cheer  once  more.  It  is 
long,  long  since  I  listened  to  its  music.  That  cheer  has  been  the 
terror  of  many  a  foreign  foe,  in  many  a  bloody  fray ;  that  cheer  has 
urged  many  a  patriot  onwards  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  and  fostered 
efforts  for  his  country's  good ;  that  cheer,  gentlemen,  has  taken  away 
much  of  the  diffidence  I  felt  in  placing  myself  before  you. 

"  Gentlemen,  it  is  not  an  unusual  thing  to  see  me  at  Craigflower 
about  this  time  of  the  day,  but  on  this  occasion  the  circumstances,  as 
you  have  heard,  are  peculiar  and  not  professional.  I  hold  in  my 
hand  a  paper  signed  by  the  most  influential  and  respectable  electors 
of  this  district,  requesting  that  I  would  allow  myself  to  be  put  in 


206  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

nomination  as  one  of  their  members  for  the  forthcoming  Legislative 
Assembly,  and,  gentlemen,  after  reading  this  invitation,  and  finding 
it  signed  by  at  least  one-half  of  the  electors,  I  at  once  resolved  to 
throw  away  all  private  reasons,  all  private  interests,  and  devote  me 
to  my  public  duty.  I  determined  to  quit  my  hitherto  quiet  and 
unobtrusive  life,  to  launch  upon  the  stormy  ocean  of  politics,  and  to 
brave  the  restless  sea  of  public  opinion.  Whether  I  have  been  right 
in  so  doing,  remains  for  you,  electors  of  Esquimalt,  to  determine  this 
day — a  day  historical,  a  day  glorious  in  the  annals  of  this  island  ;  a 
day  bright  as  the  sun  that  shines  o'er  our  heads,  and  almost  equally 
portentious  in  its  course ;  a  day  that  the  little  ones,  who  now  sur- 
round these  hustings,  will  talk  of,  when  we  shall  be  no  more ! 

"Gentlemen,  there  is  another  reason  that  had  its  weight.  I  was 
given  to  understand — -and  to  our  shame  be  it  spoken — that  it  was 
somewhat  difficult  to  find  or  to  get  the  requisite  number  of  members 
to  constitute  the  Assembly. 

"Gentlemen,  this  is  not  the  way  our  forefathers  struggled  for 
freedom  ;  this  is  not  the  way  in  which  our  ancestors  wrenched  their 
rights  from  tyrant  hands  ;  this  is  not  the  way  by  which  liberty  was 
advanced,  even  in  our  own  day,  but  by  more  constitutional  means. 

"  Gentlemen,  how  disgraceful  it  would  have  been  to  Britons  to 
have  a  document  go  home,  stating  it  was  impossible  to  constitute  an 
Assembly  in  this  colony  !  When,  indeed,  would  you  have  had  the 
privilege  granted  again?  In  some  measure  to  prevent  such  a  dis- 
grace, and  to  keep  the  privileges  so  liberally,  and  at  an  unusually 
early  period,  bestowed  by  our  Mother  Country,  I  resolved  to  throw 
myself  into  the  gap  and  try  to  save  this,  our  infant  country. 

"  Electors  of  Esquimalt.  yon  have  been,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  too 
lukewarm  in  this  aH'air.  Is  it  for  you,  Englishmen,  to  despise  these 
rights  so  hardly  gained  by  your  forefathers,  and  almost  sanctified  by 
their  blood  1  Is  it  for  you,  sons  of  '  Bonnie  Scotland,'  frae  Maiden- 
kirk  to  '  John  o'  Groats,' — I  say,  is  it  for  you  to  despise  these  privi- 
leges, which  your  friends  and  countrymen  deem  their  greatest  honor, 
and  are  proud  to  own  ? 

"Gentlemen,  I  trust  you  will  pardon  this  digression — a  digression 
caused  by  the  excitement  of  the  occasion. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  offer  myself  to  you.  I  am,  it  is  true,  a  little  man, 
but  with  a  head  large  enough,  and  1  hope  it  contains  sufficient  sense 
to  know  what  may  be  for  your  interest,  what  for  your  detriment.  I 
am  not  vain  or  egotistic  enough  to  suppose  myself  the  best  man,  but 
such  as  I  am,  if  you  like,  I'm  yours. 

"  It  would  be  useless  for  me  to  enter  upon  any  political  disquisi- 
tion. I  know  not  of  any  great  political  question  requiring  discussion  ; 
we  have  no  parties  or  party  purposes  to  serve,  but  should  you  wish 
to  ask  any  questions,  or  require  any  explanation,  I  shall  be  most 
happy  to  satisfy  you  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

"Electors  of  Esquimalt,  I  now  ask  your  votes  and  suffrages;  if 
you  consider  they  may  be  entrusted  to  my  keeping,  I  can  only  say 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD.  207 

that  to  such  measures  as  may  be  brought  forward  calculated  to 
advance  your  interest  and  the  interest  of  the  colony  generally,  I  will 
give  my  hearty  and  undivided  support ;  but  such  measures  as  may 
be  deemed  to  your  detriment  and  injurious  to  your  welfare,  shall 
receive  my  strenuous  and  determined  opposition. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  have  finished.  I  know  not  what  powers  have  been 
granted  to  the  Assembly,  but  hope  we  shall  learn  soon  enough.  If 
you  think  me  worthy  of  your  confidence,  and  elect  me  to  serve  you 
in  this,  the  first  parliament,  I  shall  feel  proud,  and  deem  the  honor 
great,  but  if  you  find  any  other  candidate  more  to  your  taste,  more 
fit,  more  talented  or  more  disinterested,  I  will  retire  without  chagrin, 
and  not  bear  malice  or  ill-will  against  any  man." 

There  were  five  rival  candidates  in  Victoria,  who  fiercely  contested 
for  the  honor  of  being  the  first  representatives  in  the  new  Assembly. 
The  members  returned  for  Victoria  were  J.  D.  Pemberton,  Joseph 
Yates,  and  E.  E.  Langford.  The  others  were  returned  by  acclama- 
tion, viz.  :  John  Muir,  Sooke  District ;  John  F.  Kennedy,  Nanaimo 
District;  and  Thomas  Skinner  and  J.  S.  Helmcken,  Esquimalt  Dis- 
trict. The  first  Assembly  met  on  the  12th  of  August,  1856.  Dr. 
Helmcken  was  chosen  Speaker. 

GOVERNOR  DOUGLAS  delivered  the  following  address  in  a  dignified 
and  impressive  manner  : 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  Legislative  Council  and  of  the  House  of  Assembly  : 

"I  congratulate  you  most  sincerely  on  this  memorable  occasion — 
the  meeting  in  full  convention  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Vancouver 
Island,  an  event  fraught  with  consequences  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  its  present  and  future  inhaV)itants,  and  remarkable  as  the  first 
instance  of  representative  institutions  being  granted  in  the  infancy 
of  a  British  colony.  The  history  and  actual  position  of  this  colony 
are  marked  by  many  other  remarkable  circumstances.  Called  into 
existence  by  an  Act  of  the  Supreme  Government,  immediately  after 
the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  it  has  maintained  an  arduous  and 
incessant  struggle  with  the  disorganizing  effects  on  labor  of  that 
discovery.  Remote  from  every  other  British  settlement,  wiih  its 
commerce  trammelled,  and  met  by  restrictive  duties  on  every  side, 
its  trade  and  resources  remain  undeveloped.  Self-supporting,  and 
defraying  all  the  expenses  of  its  own  government,  it  presents  a 
striking  contrast  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.  Its  future  growth  must,  under  Providence, 
in  a  great  measure  depend  on  the  intelligence,  industry  and  enterprise 
of  its  inhabitants,  and  upon  the  legislative  wisdom  of  this  Assembly. 

"Gentlemen,  I  look  forward  with  confidence  and  satisfaction  to  the 
aid  and  support  which  the  executive  power  may  in  the  future  expect 


208  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

to  derive  from  your  local  experience  and  knowledge  of  the  wishes  of 
the  people  and  the  wants  of  the  country.  I  feel  assured  that  as 
public  men,  holding  a  solemn  and  momentous  trust,  you  will,  as  a 
governing  principle,  strive  with  one  accord  to  promote  the  true  and 
substantial  interests  of  the  country  ;  and  that  our  legislative  labors 
will  be  distinguished  alike  by  prudence,  temperance,  and  justice  to 
all  classes. 

"Gentlemen,  I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that  her  Majesty's  Gov- 
ernment continues  to  express  the  most  lively  interest  in  the  progress 
and  welfare  of  this  colony.  Negotiations  are  now  pe'nding  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  that  treaty,  I  will  just 
mention  that  an  impost  of  thirty  pounds  is  levied  on  every  hundred 
pounds  of  British  produce  which  is  now  sent  to  San  Francisco  or  to 
any  other  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  develop- 
ing the  trade  and  natural  resources  of  the  colony  can,  therefore,  be 
hardly  over-estimated.  The  coal,  the  timber,  and  the  productive 
fisheries  of  Vancouver  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  advantages  of  their  geographical 
position,  that  with  equal  rights  and  a  fair  field,  I  think  they  may 
enter  into  a  successful  competition  with  the  people  of  any  other 
-country.  The  extension  of  the  reciprocity  treaty  to  this  island  once 
gained,  the  interests  of  the  colony  will  become  inseparably  connected 
with  the  principles  of  free  trade,  a  system  which  I  think  it  will  be 
•sound  policy  on  our  part  to  encourage. 

"Gentlemen,  the  colony  has  been  again  visited  this  year  by  a  large 
party  of  northern  Indians,  and  their  presence  has  excited  in  our 
minds  a  not  unreasonable  degree  of  alarm.  Through  the  blessing  of 
God  they  have  been  kept  from  committing  acts  of  open  violence,  and 
been  quiet  and  orderly  in  their  deportment ;  yet  the  presence  of  large 
bodies  of  armed  savages,  who  have  never  felt  the  restraining  influ- 
ences of  moral  and  religious  training,  and  who  are  accustomed  to 
follow  the  impulses  of  their  own  evil  natures  more  than  the  dictation 
of  reason  or  justice,  gives  rise  to  a  feeling  of  insecurity  which  must 
exist  as  long  as  the  colony  remains  without  military^  protection. 
Her  Majesty's  Government,  ever  alive  to  the  dangers  which  beset  the 
colony,  have  arranged  with  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty 
that  the  President  frigate  should  be  sent  to  Vancouver  Island,  and 
the  measure  will,  I  have  no  doubt,  be  carried  into  effect  without 
delay.  I  shall,  nevertheless,  continue  to  conciliate  the  good-will  of 
the  native  Indian  tribes  by  treating  them  with  justice  and  forbear- 
.ance,  and  by  rigidly  protecting  their  civil  and  agrarian  rights.  Many 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  209 

•cogent  reasons  of  humanity  and  sound  policy  recommend  that  course 
to  our  attention,  and  I  shall  therefore  rely  upon  your  support  in 
-carrying  such  measures  into  effect.  We  know,  from  our  own  expe- 
rience, 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. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  according  to  constitutional 
usage  you  must  originate  all  money  bills.  It  is  therefore  your  special 
province  to  consider  the  ways  and  means  of  defraying  the  ordinary 
-expenses  of  the  Government,  either  by  levying  a  customs  duty  on 
imports,  or  by  a  system  of  direct  taxation.  The  poverty  of  the 
country  and  the  limited  means  of  a  population  struggling  against  the 
pressure  of  numberless  privations,  must  necessarily  restrict  the 
amount  of  taxation  ;  it  should,  therefore,  b£  our  constant  study  to 
'regulate  the  public  expenditure  according  to  the  means  of  the  country, 
and  to  live  strictly  within  our  income.  The  common  error  of  running 
into  speculative  improvements,  entailing  debts  upon  the  colony  for  a 
very  uncertain  advantage,  should  be  carefully  avoided.  The  demands 
upon  the  public  revenue  will,  at  present,  chiefly  arise  from  the 
improvement  of  the  country,  and  providing  for  the  education  of  the 
young,  the  erection  of  places  for  public  worship,  the  defence  of  the 
country,  and  the  administration  of  justice. 

"Gentlemen,  I  feel,  in  all  its  force,  the  responsibility  now  resting 
upon  us.  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  influence,  for  good  or  evil,  the 
events  of  the  future. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  I  have  appointed  Chief 
Justice  Cameron  to  administer  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  members 
of  your  House,  and  to  receive  your  declarations  of  qualification ;  you 
may  then  proceed  to  choose  a  Speaker  and  to  appoint  the  officers 
necessary  for  the  proper  conduct  of  the  business  of  the  House. 

"JAMES  DOUGLAS,  Governor" 

THE  SPEECH  PROM  THE  THRONE  was  received  with  great  attention. 
It  referred,  as  will  be  seen,  to  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the 
representatives ;  to  the  prospective  growth  of  the  country,  its  geo- 
graphical position  for  the  advantages  of  trade,  etc.  The  place  of  one 
of  the  members  for  Victoria  District,  Mr.  Langford,  was  declared 
vacant,  on  the  ground  of  his  not  possessing  property  qualification.  Mr. 
J.  W.  McKay  was  elected  in  his  stead.  The  Assembly  was  in  full 
working  order  by  the  13th  of  November.  On  December  18th,  a  bill 
was  passed  granting  £130  for  the  payment  of  the  ordinary  expenses 
of  the  House;  and  on  the  9th  of  January,  1857,  Governor  Douglas 
writes  to  the  Secretary  of  State :  "  I  am  now  preparing  a  bill  for 
imposing  a  customs  duty  on  imports,  as  a  means  of  meeting  the 
14 


210 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


ordinary  expenses  of  the  Government;  but  the  subject  must  be- 
approached  witli  caution,  as  there  is  a  very  general  feeling  in  both 
Council  and  Assembly  against  taxation  in  any  form,  and  I  am 
prepared  to  encounter  much  clamor  and  opposition  in  carrying  so 
unpopular  a  measure  through  the  House." 

A  HAPPY  FAMILY. — Bancroft  in  his  "  History  of  British  Columbia," 


No.  1,  DR.  HELMCKEN  in  1894,  and  also  No.  7  in  1856 ;  No.  3,  J.  W.  McKxv  in  1894,  and  No.  5 
in  1856;  No.  6,  J.  D.  PEMBERTON  ;  No.  2,  J.  YATES  ;  No.  4,  THOS.  SKINNER,  1856. 

gives  the  following  version:  "They  were,  forsooth,  a  happy  family, 
those  fur-hunting  legislators.  The  Douglas  was  all  in  all  lord  para- 
mount, dominator,  imperial  viceroy  and  fur-trader's  factor-in-chief. 
Work.  Finiayson  and  Tod,  chief  factor,  chief  trader,  and  ancient 
pensioner,  respectively,  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  comprised  both 
secret  council  and  house  of  lords.  The  'seven  wise  men,'  repre- 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  211 

senting  the  seven  districts  of  the  island,  as  a  House  of  Assembly, 
were,  in  their  several  vocations,  almost  wholly  of  the  monopoly. 
Helmcken,  was  staff  doctor  of  the  Company ;  Pemberton,  surveyor 
and  ardent  attache ;  McKay,  clerk  of  the  Company ;  Muir,  former 
servant  of  the  Company  and  father  of  the  sheriff;  Skinner,  agent  of 
the  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Company ;  Kennedy,  a  retired  officer 
of  the  Company,  appointed  by  the  Governor  and  Council  to  represent 
the  District  of  Nanaimo ;  Yates,  by  the  grace  of  the  Company,  mer- 
chant. D.  Cameron,  brother-in-law  of  the  governor,  was  chief  justice, 
and  A.  C.  Anderson,  retired  chief  trader,  was  collector  of  customs. 
Thus,"  continues  Bancroft,  "the  Government  of  Vancouver  Island 
continued  until  1859,  at  which  time  terminated  the  second  five  years 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  colonial  domination.  During  his 
term  of  office,  four  distinct  and  often  antagonistic  interests  looked  to 
Douglas  as  their  head ;  namely,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  fur 
trade,  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island,  the  Puget  Sound  Agricul- 
tural Company,  and  the  Nanaimo  Coal  Company.  It  was  impossible 
for  him  to  do  justice  to  each  of  these  several  trusts." 

INDIVIDUAL  VIEWS. — At  this  late  date  it  would  be  difficult  to  say 
positively  whether  the  seven  new  members  were  a  "  happy  family." 
The  result  of  the  management  of  affairs  in  the  colony  during  the 
time  which  had  passed  since  Governor  Douglas  was  appointed,  does 
not  indicate  that  because  some  of  them  were  related  to  the  governor, 
or  had  at  one  time  been  servants  of  the  Company,  unfitted  them  for 
the  positions  they  were  called  upon  to  occupy.  Several  of  those  were 
evidently  opposed  to  the  Company,  and  frequently  expressed  their 
views  and  opinions  fearlessly  and  openly  against  them.  The  governor 
had  to  fill  a  most  difficult  position.  He  had  but  few  to  choose  from. 
Nearly  every  white  man  in  the  colony  had  been  brought  there  by  the 
Company.  The  Imperial  Government  must  have  been  satisfied  with 
his  administration,  when  later  they  appointed  him  to  the  governor- 
ship of  the  mainland  in  addition  to  that  of  Vancouver  Island.  The 
formation  of  the  new  Assembly  provided  a  way  of  raising  revenue  by 
taxation,  by  giving  the  parties  taxed  a  voice  in  the  matter  of 
representation,  which  they  did  not  formerly  possess  when  licenses 
were  placed  on  liquor  dealers  by  the  governor  and  his  provisional 
council. 

REV.  R.  J.  STAINES. — One  of  the  leading  men  who,  after  a  time, 
opposed  the  Company,  was  the  Rev.  Robt.  J.  Staines,  who  came  from 
England  in  1849,  as  chaplain  to  the  Company  at  Fort  Victoria.  He 


212  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

was  accompanied  by  his  wife,  and  together  were  to  teach  and  keep  a 
boarding  school,  etc.  They  taught  the  first  school  in  Victoria.  Mr. 
Finlayson  speaking  of  them  says  : 

"  At  this  time  there  were  no  streets,  and  the  traffic  cut  up  the 
thoroughfares  so  that  everyone  had  to  wear  sea  boots  to  wade  through 
the  mud  and  inire.  It  was  my  duty  to  receive  the  clergyman,  which 
Ii  did,  but  felt  ashamed  to  see  the  lady  come  ashore.  We  had  to  lay 
planks  through  the  mud  in  order  to  get  them  safely  to  the  fort.  They 
looked  wonderingly  at  the  bare  walls  of  the  building,  and  expressed 
deep  surprise,  stating  that  the  Company  in  England  had  told  them 
this  and  that,  and  had  promised  them  such  and  such. 

"  At  all  events  the  rooms  were  fitted  up  as  best  could  be  done. 
Mr.  Staines  had  been  guaranteed  £340  a  year  for  keeping  a  boarding 
school,  and  ,£200  as  chaplain.  The  services  were  carried  on  in  the 
mess-room  of  the  fort,  which  was  made  to  serve  for  almost  every 
purpose.  Here  also  was  erected  a  temporary  pulpit,  and  prayers  were 
held  every  Sunday.  Staines  purchased  some  land  on  the  same  condi- 
tions as  others ;  but  he  too  became  much  dissatisfied  with  things, — 
with  Douglas  and  his  administration  as  governor  of  the  colony. 

"  Mr.  Staines  quarrelled  with  the  Company,"  Bancroft  states, 
"  accusing  them  of  failure  to  keep  their  promises  with  him,  more 
particularly  in  the  matter  of  the  prices  of  goods,  which,  he  had  been 
assured  before  leaving  London,  should  be  furnished  him  at  servants' 
rates,  that  is,  fifty  per  cent,  on  cost ;  instead  of  which  he  was  in  reality 
charged,  in  some  instances,  two  thousand  per  cent,  profit.  Hence  he 
found  it  hard  to  ask  a  blessing  on  their  mercenary  souls  ;  and  although 
obliged  to  do  so  twice  or  thrice  every  week,  or  forfeit  his  pay, 
inwardly  he  cursed  them.  But  to  the  Company  his  blessing  and  his 
curse  were  one.  It  was  out  of  regard  for  public  sentiment,  to  which 
even  the  most  powerful  monopoly  cannot  afford  to  be  wholly  indif- 
ferent, that  the  fur-traders  tolerated  gospel  ministers,  rather  than  in 
the  expectation  that  the  arm  of  Omnipotence  would  be,  through  such 
means,  swayed  more  especially  in  their  interests.  At  an  early  day 
Mr.  Staines  joined  the  settlers'  faction  and  waged  open  war  on  the 
Company,  still  continuing,  however,  his  heavenly  ministrations." 

DEATH  OF  MR.  STAINES. — Dissatisfaction  reached  such  a  pitch 
amongst  the  settlers  that  they  resolved  to  send  Mr.  Staines  to 
England  (1853)  to  remonstrate  with  the  Imperial  authorities  upon 
the  injustice  of  continuing  what  they  called,  "so  tyrannical  a  rule." 
It  was  arranged  that  he  should  leave  by  a  certain  vessel,  which  was 
to  sail  from  Sooke  at  a  given  time,  but  not  arriving  as  agreed  the 
vessel  left  without  him.  Shortly  afterwards  another  vessel  was 
leaving  Sooke  for  San  Francisco,  and  on  her  Mr.  Staines  embarked. 
Scarcely,  however,  had  the  ship  cleared  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  off  Cape 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  213 

Flattery,  when  a  squall  struck  her,  throwing  her  on  her  beam  ends. 
Instantly  she  was  water-logged  and  at  the  mercy  of  the  waves.  Most 
of  the  crew  were  at  once  swept  overboard.  Mr.  Staines,  who  was 
below,  remained  there  until  he  died.  The  only  survivor  of  the  wreck 
was  rescued  by  a  passing  ship.  He  furnished  particulars  of  the  sad 
accident,  but  being  greatly  exhausted  by  fatigue  and  exposure,  died 
soon  after  his  rescue. 

REMINISCENCES. — In  "  Reminiscences  of  1850,"  a  gentleman  writing 
in  1887  refers  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Staines  in  Fort  Victoria.  Describing 
14  Bachelor's  Hall,"  he  says  :  "  It  was  a  portion  of  a  large  story -and-a- 
half  building,  having  a  common  room  in  the  centre,  and  two  rooms 
on  each  side,  with  a  door  opening  into  each.  One  of  these  rooms 
was  occupied  as  the  'surgery/  the  other  two  rooms  by  officers  of  the 
Company.  The  remainder  of  the  building  (it  occupied  the  site  of  the 
now  Bank  of  British  Columbia)  belonged  to  the  chaplain  and  lady, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Staines,  who  kept  a  boarding-school  for  young  ladies 
therein — and  a  splendid  teacher  and  preceptress  she  was."  Mrs. 
Staines,  a  short  time  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Staines,  returned  to 
England. 

The  same  writer,  in  his  reminiscences,  also  states  that  in  March, 
1850,  he  happened  to  spend  a  day  in  Victoria  when  the  ship  Norman 
Morrison  had  arrived  from  England,  bringing  about  eighty  immigrants. 
Nearly  the  whole  of  them  were  under  engagement  to  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  at  £25  per  annum. 

"  On  his  arrival  at  the  fort,"  the  same  writer  says,  "  he  was 
presented  to  Governor  Blanshard,  Chief  Factor  Douglas,  Mr.  Finlayson 
and  some  other  gentlemen,  and  turned  over  to  the  care  of  Dr.  A, 
Benson,  with  whom  he  had  been  acquainted  in  England — a  well 
clothed  man  known  by  the  sobriquet,  "commodore.'  There  he  lived 
in  '  Bachelor's  Hall,'  a  gentleman,  good  and  kind  as  ever ;  but  his 
garments  ! — he  had  on  a  pair  of  *  sea-boots,'  into  one  of  which  he  had 
managed  to  put  one  leg  with  the  pants  inside,  the  other  with  the 
pants-leg  outside.  The  other  parts  of  his  dress  were  equally 
conspicuous  by  their  eccentricity. 

"'  Ah,'  said  he,  'you  laugh,  but  if  you  were  to  remain  here  a  few 
months  you  would  of  necessity  become  the  same ! '  He  had  a 
coffee-pot  on  the  stove,  and  such  a  coffee  pot !  The  stove  was  square, 
made  of  sheet  iron,  bent  in  all  directions  by  the  heat.  It  had  a  cast 
iron  door,  and  it  was  fed  with  large  billets  of  wood,  of  which  plenty 
existed  in  the  'Hall.'  The  stove  looked  mean  and  dilapidated,  but 
it  was  found  capital  for  roasting  native  oysters  upon. 

"  The  '  surgery  '  was  consigned  to  me  as  my  room  pro  tern.  In  it 
there  was  a  '  cot '  slung  to  the  ceiling,  which  I  was  to  use  as  a 
'  hammock.'  The  room  was  unique.  It  contained  a  gun  case  and  a 
few  shelves,  with  drugs  in  bottles  or  in  paper  in  every  direction. 
The  tin  lining  of  a  'packing  case'  served  for  a  counter.  C.iptain 


214  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Grant,  of  Sooke,  arrived  in  the  evening  and  domiciled  in  Captain 
Nevin's  room.  Mackay  and  the  doctor  retired  to  theirs,  and  I  turned 
into  the  hammock.  I  slept  well  that  night,  and  was  awakened  in 
the  morning  by  the  loud  ringing  of  a  bell,  and  a  concert  proceeding 
from  a  host  of  curs — these  curs  assembled  under  the  bell  at  every 
meal  and,  looking  up  to  it,  howled — the  howling  being  taken  up  by 
some  dogs  in  the  Indian  village  opposite. 

"  Benson  called  out :   *  Get  up  quickly  ;  that  is  the  breakfast  bell.' 

"  I  got  up,  and  so  did  Captain  Grant.  Whilst  dressing  I  heard 
the  following  dialogue  :  *  Dear,  oh  dear,  where  is  the  soap  ]  Captain 
Grant,  have  you  my  soap  1 ' 

"  'Aye,  aye,'  was  the  response,  *  you  shall  have  it  directly.' 

"'Why,  what  has  become  of  my  razor1?  Grant,  have  you  my 
razor  1 ' 

"'Yes;  nearly  finished;  you  can  have  it  directly.'  And  he  got 
it  and  shaved.  Then  I  heard  :  c  Where  is  my  shirt  1  I  shall  be  late 
for  breakfast.  Grant,  have  you  taken  my  shirt  1 ' 

"  '  I  have,  my  dear  fellow ;  I  want  to  appear  at  table  decent.' 

"  '  That  is  too  bad,  Grant ;  it  is  the  only  clean  shirt  I  have  to  put 
on!' 

"  '  Never  mind,  old  fellow,  put  on  your  old  one ;  it  will  be  clean 
enough.  Mine  has  not  been  washed  for  I  don't  know  how  long ; 
more  than  a  week  anyhow.  You  can  get  yours  washed,  and  Benson, 
send  mine  too,  please.' 

"  We  all  got  to  breakfast,  and  after  returning,  the  following  was 
said :  '  Bless  me  !  where  is  my  tobacco  1  I  left  half  a  case  of 
"  Cavendish"  under  the  bed/ 

'•  '  Oh,  yes,'  says  Grant,  '  I  took  it,  my  good  fellow,  to  pay  my 
Indians  with.  We'll  get  some  more  soon  ! ' 

"After  having  smoked  a  pipe  of  peace,  all  was  made  right,  for 
Grant  was  a  splendid  fellow  and  every  inch  a  gentleman — he  had 
been  a  captain  in  the  '  Scotch  Greys.'  Benson  now  insisted  on 
showing  me  the  '  lions  '  of  Victoria.  He  put  on  his  sea-boots,  with 
legs  of  pants  inside  ;  I  had  only  my  London-made,  thin  soled.  His 
were  dirty  ;  mine,  nicely  polished.  He  was  cute  ;  I,  a  greenhorn  : 
so  the  doctor  '  practised '  a  little  on  my  verdancy. 

"The  'lions'  of  Victoria  then  were  the  fort  and  its  contents.  It 
had  been  built  by  Mr.  Finlayson.  The  fort  was  nearly  a  quadrangle, 
about  one  hundred  yards  long  and  wide,  with  bastions  at  two  corners, 
containing  cannon.  The  whole  was  stockaded  with  cedar  posts,  about 
six  or  eight  inches  in  diameter,  and  about  fifteen  feet  in  length. 
They  had  been  brought  from  near  'Mount  Douglas,'  which  was  then 
called  'Cedar  Hill').  There  were  inside  about  a  dozen  large, 
story  and-a-half  buildings,  say  60  x  40,  roofed  with  long  and  wide 
strips  of  cedar  bark.  The  buildings  were  for  the  storage  of  goods, 
Indian  trading-shop,  and  a  large  shop  for  general  trade.  It  contained 
everything  required. 

"The  mess-room,  off  from  which  lived  Mr.  Douglas  and  family,  was 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  215 

•at  the  corner  of  (now)  Fort  and  Government  Streets.  The  'counting- 
house'  was  near  (now)  Wharf  Street.  Mr.  Finlayson  occupied  this 
post  and  lived  there  with  his  family.  A  belfry  stood  in  the  middle 
of  the  yard,  and  its  bell  tolled  for  meals,  for  deaths,  for  weddings, 
for  church  service,  for  fires,  and  sometimes  for  warnings.  At  meal 
time  it  was  assisted  by  a  chorus  of  curs.  On  Wharf  Street,  there 
•existed  a  flagstaff,  and  near  it  a  well,  some  eighty  feet  deep,  but 
which  contained  very  litt  e  water.  The  fort  yard  was  muddy,  and 
the  side-walk  to  the  stores  consisted  of  two  or  three  poles,  along 
which  Benson  trudged,  but  off  which  my  boots  slipped  every  few 
steps  !  So  my  boots  and  my  pants  were  not  a  little  muddy,  and  the 
wretch  Benson  laughed  at  me,  saying,  '  I  told  you  so  !  you'll  soon  be 
.like  me  ;  if  you  remain  here  ! ' 

"For  all  this  exertion,  I  saw  nothing  but  'furs'  and  stores.  Not 
very  many  of  the  former,  as  they  had  been  already  packed,  to  be  sent 
.home  by  the  returning  ship  Gorman  Morrison,  Captain  Wishart 
•being  her  commander.  As  I  could  not  very  well  get  much  muddier, 
we  went  outside  the  'fort,'  and  there  lay  the  Beaver,  Captain  Dodd 
in  command,  so  clean,  so  nice,  so  spruce,  with  'boarding  nettings' 
•all  round,  cannon  on  deck,  muskets  and  cutlasses  arranged  in  their 
proper  places,  beautiful  cabins,  and  good  furniture,  with  a  trading 
place  for  Indians,  who,  I  was  told,  were  only  allowed  a  few  at  a  time 
on  board,  when  on  trade.  She  had  a  large  crew — active,  robust, 
weather-beaten,  jolly,  good-tempered  men — fat,  from  not  being  over- 
worked ;  some  grey,  some  grizzled,  some  young  ;  the  former  had  once 
been  similar  to  the  latter  in  'the  service.' 

"  Outside  the  fort  there  were  no  houses,  save,  perhaps,  a  block 
cabin  or  two.  Forest,  more  or  less,  existed  from  'the  ravine,'  Johnson 
Street,  to  the  north.  The  harbor  was  surrounded  by  tall  pines,  and 
its  bowers  bedecked  with  shrubs ;  many  of  which  were,  at  this  early 
period,  in  blossom.  Cultivated  fields  existed  from  Government  Street 
to  the  public  schools ;  likewise  across  the  bay,  and  I  was  informed 
the  Company  exported  wheat  to  Sitka!  There  were  barns  up  Fort 
•Street  (this  ran  through  the  centre  of  the  fort)  about  where  now  is 
the  site  of  the  Mechanics'  Institute  ;  and  I  think  there  I  saw,  a  few 
•days  ago,  a  small  shanty  which  existed  then.  It  was  covered  with 
-cedar  bark. 

"  My  friend  Benson  next  took  me  to  Beacon  Hill.  The  weather 
wa-?  lovely  and  warm,  the  sky  bright,  the  mountains  clear,  and  every- 
thing looked  paradisiacal.  There  we  rested,  locked  at  'Dutnall's 
fields,'  and  at  the  Beacon,  which  I  in  my  ignorance  thought  a  target. 
We  then  walked  along  the  beach  to  near  the  entrance  of  Victoria 
harbor.  Benson  said,  'Now,  I'll  go  back  by  a  "short  cut.'"  The 
wretched  man  came  to  a  swamp  (Providence  Pond,  near  Moffatt's). 
Says  he,  '  We  cross  somewhere  about  here;  come  on.'  He  walked  along 
^  fallen  tree;  so  did  I— not  very  well  though.  He  jumped  from  hillock 
to  hillock  ;  so  did  I.  We  both  jumped  to  a  fallen  tree  ;  it  sunk,  and 
we  went  knee-deep  into  the  water.  He  had  '  sea-boots'  on  ;  he  looked 


216  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

at  me,  and  laughed — '  I  told  you  so;  you  will  soon  be  like  me.  You 
are  pretty  well  seasoned  nowr  so  come  along,  for  I  have  lost  the 
track  !'  So  we  wallowed  through  this  swamp,  got  out  somewhere,  got 
to  the  fort,  I  a  wiser  but  not  a  sadder  man.  I  had  been  '  introduced  ' 
to  'roughing  it' ;  my  cockney  boots  and  trousers  used  up. 

"  After  making  ourselves  decent,  for  I  was  told  that  Mr.  Douglas, 
was  rather  particular  about  this,  the  '  bell  and  the  dogs'  told  us  it 
was  time  for  dinner,  and  to  it,  nothing  loth,  we  went.  The  mess- 
room  was  more  than  thirty  feet  long  by,  say,  twenty  wide  ;  a  large, 
open  fire-place  at  one  end,  and  large  pieces  of  cord  wood  burning^ 
therein  ;  a  clock  on  the  wall  ;  a  long  table  in  the  middle,  covered 
with  spotless  linen;  the  knives  and  forks  clean;  decanters.  brightr 
containing  wine  and  so  forth;  the  chairs  of  wood  (Windsor),  but 
everything  European.  I  suppose  there  must  have  been  more  than 
twenty  people  in  the  room,  when  Mr.  Douglas  made  his  appearance 
— a  handsome  specimen  of  nature's  noblemen,  tall,  stout,  broad- 
shouldered,  muscular,  with  a  grave,  bronzed  face,  yet  kindly  withal. 
After  the  usual  greetings  he  took  the  head  of  the  table,  Mr.  Finlayson> 
the  foot. 

"  Captain  Dodd,  Captain  Wishart,  Captain  Grant  and  myself  were 
guests.  There  were  also  present,  J.  W.  McKay,  Charley  Griffin,. 
Captain  Sangster.  and  numerous  others,  whom  I  do  not  recollect  at 
this  moment.  Grace  having  been  said  by  Mr.  Douglas  (the  chaplain 
did  not  dine  at  the  mess,  but  all  the  other  married  officers  did),  on 
comes  the  soup,  then  the  salmon,  then  the  meats — venison  on  thi& 
occasion,  and  ducks ;  then  the  pies,  and  so  forth  ;  and  down  they  go 
into  their  proper  receptacle,  each  one  ready  and  willing  to  receive 
them.  Having  done  justice  to  the  dinner,  and  taken  a  glass  'to  the 
Queen,'  many  of  the  junior  members  left,  either  to  work  or  to  smoke 
their  pipes  in  their  own  quarters.  We  remained.  The  steward,  a 
Kanaka  (the  cook  was  also  a  Kanaka,  i  <?.,  Sandwich  Islander),, 
brought  on  tobacco  and  long  clay  pipes,  of  the  kind  called  '  alderman/ 
Mr.  Douglas  took  his  pipe,  which  I  noticed  was  beautifully  colored, 
showing  slow  and  careful  smoking  (the  clerks  used  to  like  to  get  hold' 
of  his  colored  pipes).  Others  took  pipes,  either  from  the  heap  or  their 
pockets.  Everybody  appeared  to  smoke  calmly  and  deliberately. 

"During  the  dinner  there  was  conversation,  Mr.  Douglas  taking 
the  lead.  Captain  Wishart  was  asked  to  be  careful  of  his  men,  as 
the  gold  fever  was  raging  and  the  men  deserting  as  often  as  they 
found  an  opportunity,  giving  great  trouble  and  necessitating  spies_ 
California  was  spoken  about,  which  led  to  someone  asking  where 
Solomon  got  his  gold  from  ;  but  no  one  could  answer  the  conundrum. 
To  change  the  conversation,  perhaps,  Mr.  Douglas  asked  the  doctor 
why  so  many  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  officers  were  bald.  His- 
answer  was,  ' pro  pella  cutem' — 'they  had  sent  their  furs  home,' — at 
which  some  laughed  ;  but  Mr.  Douglas  gravely  said,  '  Perhaps,  having 
given  us  the  poetry  of  the  thing,  you  will  give  the  prose — the  cause/" 
This  rion-plussed  the  doctor,  as  it  was  an  additional  conundrum. 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  217 

"By  the  Norman  Morrison,  files  of  newspapers,  and  the  four 
Reviews  of  latest  dates — that  is  to  say,  nearly  six  months  old — had 
come  out,  and  Mr.  Douglas  commenced  about  some  Scotch  battles 
fought  long  ago.  This  brought  out  Dodd,  an  Englishman,  well  read 
and  well  educated,  who  derided  the  breechless  vagabonds — Johnny 
Cope  got  his  share.  Douglas  and  Dodd  seemed  to  know  how  many 
men  were  engaged  in  each  battle ;  and  all  at  once  they  tumbled  into 
the  battle  of  Waterloo— the  one  claiming  that  the  Scotch  did  best, 
the  other  that  the  English  did  most  execution,  while  a  third  claimed 
that  Scotch,  English  and  Irish  would  have  been  beaten  had  it  not 
been  for  Blucher  and  his  host  coming  up,  just  in  the  nick  of  time,  to 
save  the  lot.  This  question  was  not  settled. 

"  *  OLD  TOD  '  was  chaffed  for  having  fired  a  salute  four  years  after 
the  victory,  i.e.,  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  it.  He  was  indignant,  and 
contended  it  was  less  than  three  years.  His  post  had  been  somewhere 
near  the  North  Pole  !  I  was  informed  that  no  frivolous  conversation 
was  ever  allowed  at  table,  but  that  Mr.  Douglas,  as  a  rule,  came 
primed  with  some  intellectual  and  scientific  subject,  and  thus  he 
educated  his  clerks.  All  had  to  go  to  church  every  Sunday,  the 
mess-room  serving  every  purpose — baptisms,  marriages,  funerals, 
councils,  dances,  theatricals,  or  other  amusements —  and  did  not  seem 
any  the  worse  for  it. 

"After  dinner  we  went  to  see  the  Indian  village.  Benson  just 
pointed  out  the  bullet-holes  in  the  pickets  and  bastions  made  by 
hostile  Indians.  '  But,'  said  he,  '  don't  be  afraid,  they  are  only 
dangerous  when  excited,  and  as  a  rule  they  don't  get  excited  without 
cause  given.'  He  procured  a  canoe,  of  which  I  felt  dubious,  but  he 
taught  my  tiny  feet  how  to  get  into  it ;  and  so  we  arrived  safely, 
after  what  I  considered  a  dangerous  passage.  There  must  have  been 
five  or  six  hundred  Indians.  By  far  the  greater,  number  had  a 
blanket  only  for  clothing ;  but  KING  FREEZY  had  on  a  tall  hat  and  a 
long  coat,  and  considered  himself  somebody,  as  indeed  he  was,  and 
friendly  to  the  whites.  He  had  a  most  remarkably  flattened  head — 
indeed  all  the  Indians  had  flattened  heads  and  fearful  foreheads, 
retreating  backwards.  We  saw  babies  undergoing  the  process ;  a 
pad  and  pressure  being  the  instruments.  They  did  not  seem  to 
suffer ;  perhaps  it  made  them  good.  The  cradles  were  hung  on  a 
flexible  pole,  stuck  in  the  ground  at  an  acute  angle,  so  a  slight  touch 
on  the  pole  put  the  baby  into  an  up  and  down  motion. 

"In  one  house  there  were  a  number  of  people  beating  tom-toms 
and  chanting.  They  had  a  sick  child  in  the  centre.  The  *  medicine 
man '  was  performing  some  incantations,  such  as  sucking  the  child's 
skin  and  spitting  upon  it.  The  child,  they  said,  had  a  devil — I 
suggested  he  was  standing  alongside.  Benson  .said,  '  No,  he  is  the 
doctor,  a  man  and  a  brother  medico.'  This  was  very  interesting,  but 
our  time  being  precious,  we  looked  at  their  '  woolly  dogs,'  and  the 
dirt  and  filth,  and  proceeded  to  return  in  what  seemed  to  me  then 
our  very  frail  and  treacherous  conveyance.  By  the  bye,  these  '  woolly 


218  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

dogs '  seem  to  have  become  extinct.  These  Indians  used  to  shear 
them,  and  make  a  sort  of  blanket  out  of  the  wool.  Safely  landed,  on 
our  way  to  Governor  Blanshard's  we  saw  many  Indians  walking 
about.  Nearly  every  one  had  the  same  covering — a  blanket  and  dirt ; 
and  we  saw  two  examining  each  other's  heads,  looking  for — well, 
never  mind,  but  they  ate  them  ! 

"  We  found  Governor  Blanshard  smoking  a  very  thick  pipe  with  a 
very  long  stem.  He  was  a  comparatively  young  man,  of  medium 
height,  with  aquiline,  aristocratic  features,  set  off  by  a  large,  military 
moustache.  He  had  arrived  only  a  few  days  previously,  and  had 
been  riding.  He  said,  *  Benson,  you  told  me  all  the  trails  led  to  the 
fort,  but  you  did  not  tell  me  they  all  led  away  from  it.  Now,  I  got 
off  the  trail,  to  wander  about,  and  1  lost  it ;  but  I  found  another,  and 
it  led  away  from  the  fort.  1  should  not  have  been  here  now  had  I 
not  turned  my  horse's  head  and  tail — as  it  is,  I  have  lost  my  dinner.' 
He  was  a  very  intelligent  and  affable  man.  We  left  him  with  his 
pipe-stem  still  in  his  mouth. 

"  It  being  now  supper  time,  we  went  to  the  mess-room.  The 
company  was  smaller,  and  after  chatting  around  the  fire,  and  smoking, 
of  course,  everyone  went  his  own  way,  but  most  to  the  'Hall.'  After 
adjourning  to  the  hall,  a  Frenchman  came  (all  the  men  were  French- 
Canadians),  and  said  to  the  doctor,  'Pierre  has  a  bad  stomach-ache.' 
Doctor — 'Bad  stomach-ache,  eh!  Ah,  eating  too  much! — ah,  yes, 
give  him  a  tablespoonful  of  salts  ! '  '  Oh/  said  the  man,  '  but  he  is 
very  bad!'  Doctor — 'Ah,  hum,  yes,  very  bad,  eh?  very  bad,  eh*? 
Then  give  him  two  spoonfuls  of  salts  !  Oh,  yes,  that's  the  way  to 
clean  out  the  salt  salmon.' 

" There  were  a  good  many  in  'Bachelor's  Hall' — all  young  men. 
After  awhile  Captain  Grant  began  'to  entertain  the  company.'  He 
showed  how  to  use  the  sword.  He  stuck  the  candle  on  the  back  of  a 
chair,  to  snuff  it  with  a  sweep  of  the  sword  ;  but  I  am  bound  to 
confess,  he  took  off  a  good  piece  of  the  candle  with  it,  and  down  it 
went.  Again  the  candle  was  stuck  up  ;  then  he  split  it  longitudinally, 
and  this  time  splendidly.  He  wanted  to  '  cut '  a  button  off  Benson's 
coat  (he  had  none  too  many),  but  Benson  said,  '  Oh !  oh  !  cut  a 
button — no,  no;  split  or  spit  one  too,  ho!  ho''  After  awhile,  the 
captain  introduced  the  game,  'To  escort  Her  Majesty  to  Windsor 
Castle.'  All  were  to  be  cavalry;  so  down  everybody  went  kangaroo 
fashion.  Grant,  being  in  command,  took  the  lead  ;  and  so  we  hopped 
around  the  room,  and  made  considerable  of  a  racket,  in  the  midst  of 
which  some  naughty  school-girl  overhead,  possibly  not  being  able  to 
sleep,  poured  some  water  through  a  crack  in  the  ceiling,  right  down 
upon  the  cavalry  !  This  put  an  end  to  '  the  escort  to  Windsor/ 
Word  was  brought  by  a  spy,  that  some  of  the  men  had  a  canoe  and 
were  about  to  depart  to  the  other  side,  so  off  McKay  went  to  look 
after  them.  This  broke  up  the  party,  and  away  we  went  to  bed ;  and 
so  ended  a  day  in  Victoria. 

"I  stand   to-day  upon  the  same  spot,  but,  oh!  how  changed.     Of 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  219 

the  twenty  or  thirty  met  before,  but  two  or  three  answer  to  the  call. 
Of  the  fields  naught  remains.  The  forest  has  been  removed,  and  the 
bleak  winds,  unhindered  now,  rusli  into  what  was  then  a  genial, 
sheltered  place.  The  Beaver  remains,  but,  great  Jove  !  no  more  like 
the  Beaver  of  former  days  than  a  coal  barge  is  like  a  frigate. 
Mightier  steamers  float  upon  the  harbor  ;  the  Indians,  once  half  a 
thousand,  have  disappeared;  homes  of  the  citizens  occupy  the  fields; 
telegraph  and  telephone  wires  make  the  streets  hideous  ;  there  is  great 
hurry  and  scurry,  but  I  doubt  whether  there  is  more  happiness  and 
content  now  than  was  enjoyed  by  the  few  but  hospitable  and  kind- 
hearted  Hudson  Bay  Company's  residents  in  1850.  Peace  be  with 
them — their  works  live  after  them."  [It  may  be  that  rather  much 
space  has  been  alloted  to  the  "  Reminiscences,"  yet  they  are  interesting 
as  being  from  the  pen  of  one  who  yet  lives  in  Victoria,  and  was  an 
•eye-witness  of  what  he  has  described. — ED.] 


CHAPTEE   III. 


CHARTER  AND  LICENSE  REPEALED. 

THE  MONOPOLY. — Whether  the  Company's  charter  of  lease  of  Van- 
couver Island  should  or  should  not  be  abrogated,  was  the  next  point 
to  be  decided.  That  colonization  did  not  make  as  much  progress  as 
was  expected  by  the  Imperial  Government  was  evident,  and  what  had 
been  accomplished  was  unsatisfactory.  The  Company's  management 
were  satisfied  that  the  island  could  no  longer  be  held  strictly  for  fur- 
trading  purposes ;  indeed  several  of  the  largest  shareholders  were 
opposed  to  the  renewal  of  the  charter.  They  fortified  themselves 
against  loss  in  case  the  charter  should  be  relinquished  by  stipulating 
that  the  outlay  which  the  attempt  to  colonize  the  island  had  neces- 
sitated should  be  repaid  in  the  event  of  its  being  given  up  to  the 
Imperial  Government.  In  the  House  of  Commons  there  was  a  strong 
feeling  against  the  Company's  monopoly,  and  this,  along  with  the 
•dissatisfaction  of  the  colonists,  led  to  an  inquiry. 

BEFORE  THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT. — When  the  subject  was  brought 
before  the  British  Parliament  in  1857,  a  select  committee  of  nineteen 
members  was  appointed  to  consider  the  state  of  the  British  North 
American  possessions  which  were  under  the  administration  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  over  which  they  held  fur-trading  licenses. 


220  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Notice  of  the  appointment  of  this  committee  was  sent  to  Sir  Edmund 
Walker  Head,  then  Governor-General  of  Canada,  and  Chief  Justice- 
Draper  was  commissioned  by  the  Canadian  Parliament  to  take  note 
of  the  proceedings.  A  committee  was  also  appointed  in  Canada  to 
investigate  the  matter.  The  House  of  Commons  Committee  held 
sittings  for  six  months,  and  after  examining  twenty-four  witnesses,, 
recommended  that  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  lease  of  the  island 
should  terminate  at  the  end  of  the  current  lease.  The  report  was  laid 
before  Parliament  in  1858,  and  the  recommendations  were  adopted. 

THE  COMMITTEE  were  composed  of  the  following:  Henry  Labouchere, 
Chairman  ;  Messrs.  Gladstone,  Roebuck,  Lowe,  Grogan,  Gregson,  Fitz- 
william,  Gurney,  Herbert,  Matheson,  Blackburn,  Christy,  Kinnaird. 
Ellice,  Viscounts  Goclerich  and  Sandon,  Sir  John  Pakington,  and 
Lords  Russell  and  Stanley  (19).  The  witnesses  examined  were:  John 
Ross,  J.  H.  Lefoy,  John  Rae,  Sir  George  Simpson,  Win.  Kernaghan,. 
C.  W.  W.  Fitz william,  Alexander  Isbister,  G.  O.  Corbett,  Sir  John 
Richardson,  J.  F.  Crofton,  Sir  George  Back,  James  Cooper,  W.  H. 
Draper,  David  Anderson,  Joseph  Maynard,  A.  R.  Roche,  David  Herd, 
John  Miles,  John  McLoughlin,  Richard  Blanshard,  William  C  aid  well, 
Richard  King,  James  Tennant  and  Edward  Ellice  (24).  Amongst 
the  witnesses  several  were  in  favor  of  continuing  the  license  system. 

JUST  AT  THIS  TIME  the  gold  excitement  broke  out  at  the  Fraser 
River.  Governor  Douglas,  as  chief  factor  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany, was  required,  in  their  interest,  to  look  after  the  mainland,  over 
which  the  Company  still  held  a  lease,  but  which  would  soon  expire, 
and,  as  the  nearest  representative  of  the  British  Crown,  it  was  his 
duty  to  look  after  the  interests  of  her  Majesty  the  Queen.  Results 
show  that  he  was  "  the  right  man  in  the  right  place,"  and  that  under 
the  extraordinary  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed,  no  one  could 
have  been  found  to  meet  as  well  as  he  did  the  various  requirements. 
Situated  as  they  were,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  were  of  greater  use 
to  the  Imperial  Government  than  the  Government  was  to  them.  In 
the  emergency  the  Company  behaved  with  great  liberality — gave  up- 
in  many  instances  the  use  of  their  establishments  to  accommodate  the 
public  officers.  % 

LICENSE  ON  THE  MAINLAND. — It  required  prompt  action  on  the  part 
of  Governor  Douglas  to  deal  with  and  keep  in  order  the  motley  crowd 
of  thousands  who  nocked  into  Victoria  and  onwards  towards  Fraser 
River.  The  gold  discoveries  put  an  entirely  different  aspect  on  affairs 
on  the  mainland.  The  influx  of  miners  could  not  do  otherwise  than 
destroy  the  fur  trade.  It  was  therefore  concluded  by  the  Company 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.  221 

as  well  as  the  Imperial  Government,  that  the  license  of  exclusive 
rights  on  the  mainland  should  terminate.  The  Secretary  of  State  for 
the  Colonies  realizing  the  difficult  position  in  which  Governor  Douglas 
was  placed,  wrote  to  him  in  reference  to  his  connection  with  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company. 

LORD  LYTTON'S  DESPATCH. — On  the  16th  of  July,  1858,  a  confi- 
dential despatch  from  Lord  Lytton  stated  that  the  public  despatch  of 
the  same  date  would  show  him  the  high 
value  which  her  Majesty's  Government  at- 
tached to  his  services,  and  at  the  same  time 
would  guard  him  against  some  of  the  errors 
into  which  he  might  be  led  by  his  position  as 
an  agent  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  whilst 
also  an  officer  of  her  Majesty's  Government. 
He  informed  him  that  a  bill  was  in  progress 
through  Parliament,  to  get  rid  of  certain 
legal  obstacles  which  interposed  to  prevent 
LORD  LYTTON  ^e  Crown  from  constituting  a  government 

suited  to  the  exigencies  of  so  peculiar  a  case, 

over  the  territory  resorted  to  by  the  multitudes  whom  the  gold  dig- 
gings on  the  Eraser  River  had  attracted. 

"  It  is  proposed,"  the  despatch  continues,  "  to  appoint  a  governor 
with  a  salary  of  at  least  £1,000  per  annum,  to  be  paid  for  the  present 
out  of  a  parliamentary  vote.  And  it  is  the  desire  of  her  Majesty's 
Government  to  appoint  you  at  once  to  that  office,  on  the  usual  terms 
of  a  governor's  appointment ;  namely,  for  six  years  at  least,  your 
administration  of  that  office  continuing  to  merit  the  approval  of  her 
Majesty's  Government ;  this  government  to  be  held,  for  the  present, 
in  conjunction  with  your  separate  commission  as  governor  of 
Vancouver  Island.  With  regard  to  the  latter,  I  am  not  at  this 
moment  able  to  specify  the  terms  as  to  the  salary  on  which  it  may 
ultimately  be  held,  but  your  interests  would,  of  course,  not  be 
overlooked. 

"  The  legal  connection  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  with  Vancouver 
Island  will  shortly  be  severed  by  the  resumption  by  the  Crown  of  the 
grant  of  the  soil.  And  their  legal  rights,  on  the  Continent  opposite 
terminates  in  May  next,  at  all  events  by  the  expiry  of  Her  license, 
if  her  Majesty  should  not  be  advised  to  terminate  it  sooner  on  the 
establishment  of  the  new  colony. 

"  It  is  absolutely  necessary,  in  their  view,  that  the  administration 
of  the  government,  both  of  Vancouver  Island  and  of  the  mainland 
opposite,  should  be  entrusted  to  an  officer  or  officers  entirely 
unconnected  with  the  Company.  I  wish,  therefore,  for  your  distinct 


222  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

statement,  as  early  as  you  can  afford  it,  whether  you  are  willing,  on 
receiving  the  appointment  which  is  thus  offered  to  you,  to  give  up, 
within  as  short  a  time  as  may  be  practicable,  all  connection  which 
you  may  have  with  that  company,  either  as  its  servant,  or  a- 
shareholder,  or  in  any  other  capacity. 

"  I  make  this  proposal  without  discussing  at  present  the  nature 
and  extent  of  your  actual  connections  with  that  Company,  but  with 
the  acquiescence  of  the  governor  of  the  company,  who  has  seen  this 
despatch.  In  the  meantime,  and  awaiting  your  answer,  it  is  my 
present  intention  (liable  only  to  be  altered  by  what  may  transpire  in 
future  advices  from  yourself)  to  issue  a  commission  to  you  as  governor^ 
but  you  will  fully  understand  that  unless  you  are  prepared  to  assure 
me  that  all  connection  between  yourself  and  the  Company  is 
terminated,  or  in  course  of  speedy  termination,  you  will  be  relieved 
by  the  appointment  of  a  successor. 

"  I  make  this  proposal  briefly  and  without  unnecessary  preface, 
being  fully  assured  that  you  will  understand,  on  the  one  hand,  that 
her  Majesty's  Government  are  very  anxious  to  secure  your  services,, 
if  practicable ;  but  on  the  other  that  it  is  quite  impossible  that  you 
should  continue  to  serve  at  once  the  Crown  and  the  Company,  when 
their  respective  rights  and  interests  may  possibly  diverge,  and  when, 
at  all  events,  public  opinion  will  not  allow  of  such  a  connection.'' 

IN  A  SUBSEQUENT  DESPATCH  (July  31),  Lord  Lytton  says  :  "  As 
it  is  a  matter  of  considerable  importance,  both  to  her  Majesty's 
Government  and  yourself,  that  there  should  be  a  perfect  under- 
standing as  to  the  terms  on  which,  if  you  should  so  decide,  you 
would  assume  office  under  imperial  authority,  I  think  it  right  to 
state,  as  it  was  omitted  on  the  last  occasion,  that  beside  relinquishing, 
directly  or  indirectly,  all  connection  with  the  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
it  will  be  indispensable  to  apply  that  condition  equally  to  any  interest 
you  may  possess  in  the  Puget  Sound  Company. 

"  It  is  most  probable  that  you  have  understood  the  offer  contained 
in  my  confidential  despatch  of  the  16th  instant  in  that  sense,  but  I 
think  it  better  now  to  guard  against  any  possible  misconception  on 
the  subject  by  this  additional  explanation.  It  is  due  to  you  to  add 
that  if,  after  reflection,  you  should  entertain  the  persuasion  that  it 
will  either  not  conduce  to  the  public  interests  or  your  own  to 
exchange  your  present  position  for  that  of  governor  of  British 
Columbia,  the  ability  which  you  have  displayed  whilst  holding  the 
office  of  governor  of  Vancouver  Island  will  not  escape  the  recollection 
of  her  Majesty's  Government,  should  it  be  your  wish,  on  the 
expiration  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  license  next  year,  to  enter 
into  the  service  of  the  Crown  in  the  colonies." 

In  another  despatch,  also  dated  July  31st,  the  Right  Honorable 
the  Secretary  of  State  adds:  "I  need  hardly  observe  that  British 
Columbia,  for  by  that  name  the  Queen  has  been  graciously  pleased 
to  observe  that  the  country  should  be  known,  stands  on  a  very 
different  footing  from  many  of  our  colonial  settlements.  They 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  223 

possessed  the  chief  elements  of  success  in  lands,  which  afforded  safe 
though  not  very  immediate  sources  of  prosperity.  This  territory 
combines  in  a  remarkable  degree,  the  advantage  of  fertile  lands,  fine 
timber,  adjacent  harbors,  rivers,  together  with  rich  mineral  products. 
These  last,  which  have  led  to  the  large  immigration  of  which  all 
accounts  speak,  furnish  the  Government  with  the  means  of  raising  a 
revenue  which  will  at  once  defray  the  expenses  of  an  establishment. 
.  .  .  My  own  views  lead  me  to  think  that  moderate  duties  on 
beer,  wine,  spirits  and  other  articles  usually  subject  to  taxation 
would  be  preferable  to  the  imposition  of  licenses  :  and  I  confidently 
expect  that  from  these  sources  a  large  and  an  immediate  revenue 
may  be  derived. 

"  The  disposal  also  of  public  lands,  and  especially  of  town  lots,  for 
which  T  am  led  to  believe  there  will  be  a  great  demand,  will  afford  a 
rapid  means  of  obtaining  funds  applicable  to  the  general  purposes  of 
the  colony.  You  will,  probably,  at  an  early  period  take  steps  for 
deciding  upon  a  site  for  a  seaport  town.  But  the  question  of  how  a 
revenue  can  best  be  raised  in  this  new  country  depends  so  much  on 
local  circumstances,  upon  which  you  possess  such  superior  means  of 
forming  a  judgment  to  myself,  that  I  necessarily,  but  at  the  same 
time  willingly,  leave  the  decision  upon  it  to  you,  with  the  remark 
that  it  will  be  prudent  on  your  part  and  expedient  to  ascertain  the 
general  sense  of  the  immigrants  upon  a  matter  of  so  much 
importance.  Before  I  leave  this  part  of  the  subject,  I  must  state 
that  whilst  the  Imperial  Parliament  will  cheerfully  lend  its  assistance 
in  the  early  establishment  of  this  new  colony,  it  will  expect  that  the 
colony  will  be  self-supporting  as  soon  as  possible.  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,  materials 
for  these  institutions  shall  be  known  to  exist ;  and  to  that  object,  you 
must  from  the  commencement  aim  and  shape  all  your  policy. 

"  A  party  of  Royal  Engineers  will  be  despatched  to  the  colony 
immediately.  It  will  devolve  upon  them  to  survey  those  parts  of  the 
country  which  may  be  considered  most  suitable  for  settlement,  to 
mark  out  allotments  of  land  for  public  purposes,  to  suggest  a  site  for 
the  seat  of  government,  to  point  out  where  roads  should  be  made> 
and  to  render  you  such  assistance  as  may  be  in  their  power,  on  the 
distinct  understanding,  however,  that  this  force  is  to  be  maintained 
at  the  Imperial  cost  for  only  a  limited  period,  and  that  if  required 
afterwards,  the  colony  will  have  to  defray  the  expense  thereof.  I 
have  to  add,  that  I  am  of  opinion  that  it  will  be  reasonable  and 
proper  that  the  expense  of  the  survey  of  all  allotments  of  land  ta 
private  individuals  should  be  included  in  the  price  which  the 
purchaser  will  have  to  pay  for  his  property. 

"  I  shall  endeavor  to  secure,  if  possible,  the  services  of  an  officer 
in  command  of  the  engineers  who  will  be  capable  of  reporting  011  the 
value  of  the  mineral  resources.  This  force  is  sent  for  scientific  and 


224  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

practical  purposes,  and  not  solely  for  military  objects.  As  little 
display  as  possible  should,  therefore,  be  made  of  it.  Its  mere 
appearance,  if  prominently  obtruded,  might  serve  to  irritate,  rather 
than  appease  the  mixed  population  which  will  be  collected  in  British 
Columbia.  It  should  be  remembered  that  your  real  strength  lies  in 
the  conviction  of  the  immigrants  that  their  interests  are  identical 
with  those  of  the  Government,  which  should  be  carried  on  in  harmony 
with,  and  by  means  of  the  people  of  the  country. 

"As  connected  with  this  subject,  it  may  be  convenient  to  you  to 
know  that  I  contemplate  sending  out  an  experienced  inspector  of 
police  to  assist  you  in  the  formation  of  a  police  force.  You  should 
consequently  lose  no  time  in  considering  how  that  force  can  be 
organized.  It  must  be  derived  from  people  on  the  spot,  who  will 
understand  that  for  their  preservation  from  internal  disturbances, 
they  must  rely  solely  on  themselves,  and  not  on  the  military.  I 
cannot  permit  myself  to  doubt,  that  in  a  matter  so  essential  to  the 
common  security  of  all,  you  will  meet  with  the  ready  concurrence  of 
the  community,  and  that  you  will  act  for  their  interests  in  a  manner 
which  shall  be  popular  and  conformable  to  their  general  sentiments. 

"  I  have  to  enjoin  upon  you  to  consider  the  best  and  most  humane 
means  of  dealing  with  the  native  Indians.  The  feelings  of  this 
country  would  be  strongly  opposed  to  the  adoption  of  any  arbitrary  or 
oppressive  measures  towards  them.  At  this  distance,  and  with  the 
imperfect  means  of  knowledge  which  I  possess,  I  am  reluctant  to 
offer,  as  yet,  any  suggestion  as  to  the  prevention  of  affrays  between 
the  Indians  and  the  immigrants.  This  question  is  of  so  local  a 
character  that  it  must  be  solved  by  your  knowledge  and  experience, 
And  I  commit  it  to  you,  in  the  full  persuasion  that  you  will  pay  every 
regard  to  the  interests  of  the  natives  which  an  enlightened  humanity 
can  suggest.  Let  me  not  omit  to  observe,  that  it  should  be  an 
invariable  condition,  in  all  bargains  or  treaties  with  the  natives  for 
the  cession  of  lands  possessed  by  them,  that  subsistence  should  be 
supplied  to  them  in  some  other  shape,  and  above  all,  that  it  is  the 
•earnest  desire  of  her  Majesty's  Government  that  your  early  attention 
should  be  given  to  the  best  means  of  diffusing  the  blessings  of  the 
Ohristian  religion  and  of  civilization  among  the  natives. 

"I  wish  to  impress  upon  you  the  necessity  of  seeking,  by  all 
legitimate  means,  to  secure  the  confidence  and  good-will  of  the 
immigrants,  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 
moment.  In  the  meanwhile  it  will  be  advisable  for  you  to  ascertain 
what  Americans  resorting  to  the  diggings  enjoy  the  most  influence  or 
popular  esteem,  and  you  should  open  with  them  a  frank  and  friendly 
-communication  as  to  the  best  means  of  preserving  order  and  securing 
the  interests  and  peace  of  the  colony.  It  may  be  deserving  of  your 
•consideration  whether  there  may  not  be  found  already  amongst  the 
immigrants,  both  British  and  foreign,  some  persons  whom  you  could 


THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  225 

immediately  form  into  a  council  of  advice  ;  men  whom,  if  an  elective 
council  were  ultimately  established  in  the  colony,  the  immigrants 
themselves  would  be  likely  to  elect,  and  who  might  be  able  to  render 
you  valuable  assistance  until  the  machinery  of  government  were 
perfected,  and  you  were  in  possession  of  the  instructions  which  the 
•Queen  will  be  pleased  to  issue  for  your  guidance.  1  shall  hope  to 
receive,  at  an  early  period,  your  views  on  these  and  other  topics  of 
importance  which  are  likely  to  present  themselves  for  your  decision 
in  the  difficult  circumstances  in  which  you  are  placed,  and  I  request 
you  to  be  assured,  on  the  part  of  her  Majesty's  Government,  that  I 
shall  be  most  ready  to  afford  you  every  assistance  in  my  power." 

On  August  14th,  in  forwarding  copy  of  the  Act  to  provide  for  the 
government  of  British  Columbia,  Lord  Lytton  writes  to  Governor 
Douglas : 

"  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  in  order  to  complete  your  legal  powers.  You 
will,  nevertheless,  continue  to  act  during  the  brief  interval  before 
their  arrival  as  you  have  hitherto  done,  as  the  authorized  repre- 
sentative of  her  Majesty's  Government  in  the  territory  of  British 
Columbia,  and  take,  without  hesitation,  such  steps  as  you  may  deem 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  government  of  the  territory,  and  as  are 
not  repugnant  to  the  principles  of  British  law ;  but  you  will  do  so  in 
conformity  with  the  directions  which  I  transmit  to  you  on  several 
subjects  by  my  despatches  of  even  date  herewith,  and  in  such  others 
as  you  may  receive  from  me." 

In  one  of  the  despatches  referred  to,  the  Secretary  of  State  says : 

"  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  very  important  series  of  despatches 
(numbers  24  to  29  inclusive,  from  June  10th  to  July  1st,  1858), 
showing  the  manner  in  which  you  have  continued  to  administer  the 
government  of  the  territory  in  which  the  recent  discoveries  of  gold 
have  taken  place,  and  detailing  the  extraordinary  course  of  events 
in  that  quarter.  Her  Majesty's  Government  feel  that  the  difficulties 
of  your  position  are  such  as  courage,  judgment  and  familiarity  with 
the  resources  of  the  country  and  character  of  the  people  can  alone 
overcome.  They  feel  also  that  minute  instructions  conve)ed  from 
this  distance,  and  founded  on  an  imperfect  knowledge,  are  very  liable 
to  error  and  misunderstanding.  On  some  points,  however,  you  have 
yourself  asked  for  approval  and  instructions  ;  on  others  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  that  the  views  of  her  Majesty's  Government  should  be  made 
clear  to  you. 

"  As  to  the  steps  which  you  have  already  taken,  I  approve  of  the 
appointments  which  you  have  made  and  reported  of  revenue  officers, 
Mr.  Hicks  and  Mr.  Travaillot,  of  Mr.  Perrier  as  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  of  Mr.  Young  as  gold  commissioner.  I  approve  also,  as  a 

15 


226  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

temporary  measure,  of  the  steps  which  you  have  taken  in  regard  to- 
the  surveying  department ;  but  I  have  it  in  contemplation  to  send  to- 
the  colony  a  head  of  that  department  from  England. 

"  I  propose  selecting  in  this  country  some  person  for  the  office  of 
collector  of  customs,  and  shall  send  you  also,  at  the  earliest  moment, 
an  officer  authorized  to  act  as  judge,  and  who,  I  trust,  as  the  colony 
increases  in  importance,  may  be  found  competent  to  fill  with  credit 
and  weight  the  situation  of  chief  justice.  I  await  your  intimations 
as  to  the  wants  and  means  of  the  colony,  in  this  sudden  rise  of  social 
institutions  in  a  country  hitherto  so  wild,  in  order  to  select  such  law 
advisers  as  you  may  deem  the  condition  and  progress  of  immigration 
more  immediately  require.  And  it  is  my  wish  that  all  legal  authorities 
connected  with  the  government  should  be  sent  from  home,  and  thus 
freed  from  every  suspicion  of  local  partialities,  prejudices  and  interests. 

"  I  highly  approve  of  the  steps  which  you  have  taken,  as  reported 
by  yourself,  with  regard  to  the  Indians.  It  is  in  the  execution  of 
this  very  delicate  and  important  portion  of  your  duties  that  her 
Majesty's  Government  especially  rely  on  your  knowledge  and  experi- 
ence, obtained  in  your  long  service  under  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 
You  may  in  return  rely  on  their  support  in  the  execution  of  such 
reasonable  measures  as  you  may  devise  for  the  protection  of  the 
natives,  the  regulation  of  their  intercourse  with  the  whites,  and 
whenever  such  work  may  be  commenced,  their  civilization.  In  what 
way  the  fur  trade  with  the  Indians  may  henceforth  be  carried  on 
with  the  most  safety,  and  with  due  care  to  save  them  from  the 
demoralizing  bribes  of  ardent  spirits,  I  desire  to  know  your  views 
before  you  make  any  fixed  regulations.  No  regulations  giving  the 
slightest  preference  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  will  in  future  be- 
admissible;  but  possibly,  with  the  assent  of  the  whole  community, 
licenses  for  Indian  trade,  impartially  given  to  all  who  would  embark 
in  it,  might  be  a  prudent  and  not  unpopular  precaution. 

"  I  approve  of  the  measures  which  you  have  taken  for  raising  a 
revenue  by  customs,  and  authorize  their  continuance.  I  approve  alsa 
of  your  continuing  to  levy  license  fees  for  mining  purposes,  requesting 
you,  however,  to  adopt  the  scale  of  these  fees  to  the  general  acquies- 
cence of  adventurers,  and  leaving  it  to  your  judgment  to  change  this 
mode  of  taxation  (as,  for  instance,  into  an  export  duty),  if  it  shall 
appear  on  experience  to  be  unadvisable  to  continue  it.  But  on  this 
head  I  must  give  you  certain  cautions.  In  the  first  place,  no  distinc- 
tion must  be  made  between  foreigners  and  British  subjects  as  to  the 
amount  per  head  of  the  license  fee  required  (nor  am  I  aware  that 
you  have  proposed  to  do  so).  In  the  second  place,  it  must  be  made 
perfectly  clear  to  everyone,  that  this  license  fee  is  levied,  not  in 
regard  to  any  supposed  rights  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  but 
simply  in  virtue  of  the  prerogative  of  the  Crown  (now  confirmed  by 
the  Act  of  Parliament  transmitted  to  you,  if  this  was  necessary)  to 
raise  revenue  as  it  thinks  proper,  in  return  for  the  permission  to- 
derive  profits  from  the  minerals  on  Crown  lands. 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  227 

"  Further,  with  regard  to  these  supposed  rights  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  I  must  refer  you,  ia  even  stronger  terms,  to  the  cautions 
already  conveyed  to  you  by  my  former  despatches.  The  Hudson  Bay 
Company  have  hitherto  -had  an  exclusive  right  to  trade  with  Indians 
in  the  Fraser  River  territory,  but  they  have  had  no  other  right 
whatever.  They  have  had  no  right  to  exclude  strangers.  They  have 
had  no  rights  of  government,  or  of  occupation  of  the  soil.  They  have 
had  no  right  to  prevent  or  interfere  with  any  kind  of  trading,  except 
with  the  Indians  alone.  But  to  render  all  misconceptions  impossible, 
her  Majesty's  Government  have  determined  on  revoking  the  Com- 
pany's license  (which  would  itself  have  expired  in  next  May)  as  regards 
British  Columbia,  being  fully  authorized  to  do  so,  by  the  terms  of  the 
license  itself,  whenever  a  new  colony  is  constituted. 

"  The  Company's  private  property  will  be  protected,  in  common 
with  that  of  all  her  Majesty's  subjects ;  but  they  have  no  claim 
whatever  for  compensation  for  the  loss  of  their  exclusive  trade, 
which  they  only  possessed  subject  to  the  right  of  revocation.  The 
instrument  formally  revoking  the  license  will  shortly  be  forwarded 
to  you.  .  .  .  The  immense  resources  which  the  information  that 
reaches  England  every  day  and  is  confirmed  with  such  authority  by 
your  last  despatch,  assures  me  that  the  colony  possesses,  and  the 
facility  for  immediate  use  of  those  resources  for  the  purposes  of 
revenue,  will  at  once  free  the  Mother  Country  from  those  expenses 
which  are  adverse  to  the  policy  of  all  healthful  colonization. 
The  most  important  works  to  which  the  local  revenue  can  be  applied 
seem  to  be  police,  public  works  to  facilitate  landing  and  travelling, 
payment  of  the  absolutely  necessary  officers,  and  above  all,  surveying. 
But  your  own  local  judgment  must  mainly  decide.  You  will  render 
accurate  accounts  to  me  both  of  receipts  and  expenditure,  and  you 
will  probably  find  it  necessary  shortly  to  appoint  a  treasurer,  which 
will  be  a  provisional  appointment. 

"  You  are  fully  authorized  to  take  such  measures  as  you  can  for 
the  transmission  of  letters  and  levying  postage.  It  appears  by  your 
despatch  that  the  staff  of  surveyors  you  have  engaged  are  at  present 
employed  on  Vancouver  Island,  the  soil  of  which  is  as  yet  held  under 
the  expiring  license  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company ;  but  it  is  British 
Columbia  which  now  demands  and  indeed  may  almost  absorb  the 
immediate  cares  of  its  governor,  and  your  surveyor  may  at  once 
prepare  the  way  for  the  arrival  of  the  surveyor-general  appointed 
from  hence,  and  of  the  sappers  and  miners  who  will  be  under  his 
orders. 

"  I  now  come  to  the  important  subject  of  future  government. 
It  is  possible  (although  on  this  point  I  am  singularly  without 
information)  that  the  operations  of  the  gold  diggers  will  be  to  a 
considerable  extent  suspended  during  winter,  and  that  yoa  will 
therefore  have  some  amount  of  leisure  to  consider  the  permanent 
prospects  of  the  colony  and  the  best  mode  of  administering  its  affairs. 

"You  will  be  empowered  both  to  govern  and  to  legislate  of  your 


22cS  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

own  authority ;  but  you  will  distinctly  understand  that  this  is  a 
temporary  measure  only.  It  is  the  anxious  wish  of  her  Majesty's 
Government  that  popular  institutions,  without  which  they  are  con- 
vinced peace  and  order  cannot  long  prevail,  should  be  established  with 
as  little  delay  as  practicable  ;  and  until  an  Assembly  can  be  organized 
(which  may  be  whenever  a  permanent  population,  however  small,  is 
established  on  the  soil),  I  think,  as  I  have  already  stated  in  a  former 
despatch,  that  your  best  course  will  probably  be  to  form  some  kind  of 
temporary  council,  calling  in  this  manner  to  your  aid  fcuch  persons 
as  the  miners  themselves  may  place  confidence  in. 

"You  will  receive  additional  directions  along  with  your  commis- 
sion, when  forwarded  to  you  ;  and  I  have  embodied  in  a  separate 
despatch  those  regarding  the  very  important  question  of  the  disposal 
of  land. 

"Aware  of  the  immediate  demand  on  your  time  and  thoughts  con- 
nected with  the  pressing  question  of  immigration  to  the  gold  mines,  I 
do  not  wish  to  add  unnecessarily  to  the  burden  of  duties  so  cnerous ; 
but  as  yet,  our  Department  has  been  left  singularly  in  ignorance  of 
much  that  should  enter  into  considerations  of  general  policy,  and  on 
which  non-official  opinions  are  constantly  volunteered.  Probably, 
amongst  the  persons  you  are  now  employing,  and  in  whose  knowledge 
and  exactitude  you  can  confide,  you  might  find  someone  capable  of 
assisting,  under  your  superintendence,  in  furnishing  me,  as  early  as 
possible,  with  a  report  of  the  general  capacities  of  the  harbors  of 
Vancouver, — of  their  advantages  and  defects ;  of  the  mouth  of 
Fraser  River,  as  the  site  of  the  entry  into  British  Columbia,  apart 
from  the  island  ;  of  the  probabilities  of  a  coal  superior  for  steam 
purposes  to  that  of  the  island,  which  may  be  found  in  the  mainland 
of  British  Columbia ;  and  such  other  information  as  may  guide 
the  British  Government  to  the  best  and  readiest  means  of  developing 
the  various  and  the  differing  resources  both  of  the  island  and  the 
mainland — resources  which  have  so  strangely  been  concealed  for 
ages,  which  are  now  so  suddenly  brought  to  light,  and  which  may 
be  destined  to  effect,  at  no  very  distant  period,  a  marked  and 
permanent  change  in  the  commerce  and  navigation  of  the  known 
world.  The  officers  now  engaged  in  the  maritime  survey  will 
probably  render  great  assistance  to  yourself  and  to  her  Majesty's 
Government  in  this  particular." 

For  the  guidance  of  Governor  Douglas,  Sir  E.  B.  Lytton  sends  a 
despatch,  August  14th,  which  says  : 

"  With  regard  to  the  very  important  subject  of  the  disposal  of 
land,  you  are  authorized  to  sell  land  merely  wanted  for  agricultural 
purposes,  whenever  a  demand  for  it  shall  arise,  at  such  upset  price  as 
you  may  think  advisable.  I  believe  that  a  relatively  high  upset  price 
has  many  advantages ;  but  your  course  must,  in  some  degree,  be 
guided  by  the  price  at  which  such  land  is  selling  in  neighboring 
American  territories.  But  with  regard  to  land  wanted  for  town 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  229 

purposes  (to  which  speculation  is  almost  certain  to  direct  itself  in  the 
first  instance),  I  cannot  caution  you  too  strongly  against  allowing  it 
to  be  disposed  of  at  too  low  a  sum.  An  upset  price  of  at  least  £1 
per  acre  is,  in  my  opinion,  absolutely  required,  in  order  that  the 
local  government  may  in  some  degree  participate  in  the  profit  of  the 
probal}le  sales,  and  that  mere  land-jobbing  may  be  in  some  degree 
checked.  Whenever  a  free  legislature  is  assembled,  it  will  be  one  of 
its  duties  to  make  further  provision  on  this  head. 

"To  open  land  for  settlement  gradually;  not  to  sell  beyond  the 
limits  of  what  is  either  surveyed  or  ready  for  immediate  survey,  and 
to  prevent,  as  far  as  in  you  lies,  squatting  on  unsold  land. 

"  To  keep  a  separate  account  of  all  revenue  to  be  derived  from  the 
sale  of  land,  applying  it  to  the  purposes,  for  the  present,  of  survey 
and  communication,  which,  indeed,  should  be  the  first  charge  on  land 
revenue ;  and  you  will  of  course  remember  that  this  will  include  the 
expense  of  the  survey  party  (viz.,  sappers  and  miners)  now  sent  out. 
I  shall  be  anxious  to  receive  such  accounts  at  the  earliest  period  at 
which  they  can  be  furnished. 

u  Foreigners,  as  such,  are  not  entitled  to  grants  of  waste  land  of 
the  Crown  in  British  colonies.  But  it  is  the  strong  desire  of  her 
Majesty's  Government  to  attach  to  this  territory  all  peaceful  settlers, 
without  regard  to  nation.  Naturalization  should,  therefore,  be 
granted  to  all  who  desire  it,  and  are  not  disqualified  by  special  causes, 
and  with  naturalization  the  right  of  acquiring  Crown  land  should  follow. 

"  You  will  pardon  me  if  I  enjoin  on  you,  as  imperative,  the  most 
diligent  care  that  in  the  sales  of  land  there  should  not  be  the  slightest 
cause  to  impute  a  desire  to  show  favor  to  the  servants  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company.  Parliament  will  watch  with  jealousy  every  proceeding 
connected  with  such  sales  ;  and  I  shall  rely  upon  you  to  take  every 
precaution  which  not  only  impartial  probity  but  deliberate  prudence 
can  suggest,  that  there  shall  be  no  handle  given  for  a  charge,  I  will 
not  say  of  favor,  but  of  indifference  or  apathy  to  the  various  kinds  of 
land-jobbing,  either  to  benefit  favored  individuals  or  to  cheat  the  land 
revenue,  which  are  of  so  frequent  occurrence  at  the  outset  of  coloni- 
zation, and  which  it  is  the  duty  of  her  Majesty's  Government,  so  far 
as  lies  in  them,  to  repress." 

THE  FIRST  DETACHMENT  of  the  Royal  Engineers  for  British  Col- 
umbia left  England,  sailing  from  Southampton  on  the  2nd  September, 
in  the  steamer  La  Plata.  Sir  Edward  Bulwer  Lytton,  Colonial 
Minister,  went  on  board  the  steamer  when  she  was  off  Cowes,  and 
addressed  the  party,  who  were  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Parsons,  R.E.  The  London  Times,  speaking  of  the  corps  selected  for 
the  Pacific  coast,  said  :  '"  Whenever  her  Majesty's  Government  want 
a  body  of  skilful,  intelligent  and  industrious  mechanics  to  perform 
any  task  requiring  peculiar  judgment,  energy  and  accuracy,  such  as 
the  arrangement  of  a  great  exhibition,  the  execution  of  an  accurate 


230  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

survey,  or  even  the  construction  of  houses,  roads  and  bridges,  in  a 
.new  colony,  they  have  only  to  turn  to  the  corps  of  Royal  Engineers, 
and  they  find  all  the  material  they  want." 

To  CAPTAIN  PARSONS  was  given  charge  of  despatches  for  Governor 
Douglas.  Under  separate  cover,  he  also  sent  a  despatch  with  the 
same  bearer,  as  follows  : 

"  DOWNING  STREET,  September  1st,  1858. 

"  SIR, — 1  have  the  honor  to  introduce  to  you  Captain  Parsons,  the 
bearer  of  this  despatch,  who,  in  the  pursuance  of  the  intention  which 
I  have  already  communicated  to  you,  has  been  directed  to  repair  to 
British  Columbia,  accompanied  by  twenty  non-commissioned  officers 
and  men  of  the  Royal  Engineers. 

"  I  need  scarcely  observe  to  you  that  the  object  for  which  this 
officer  and  his  party  have  been  detached  to  British  Columbia  is  for 
the  exclusive  service  of  that  colony.  You  will,  therefore,  afford  him 
every  assistance  in  your  power  for  enabling  him  to  commence  imme- 
diately such  operations  in  it  as  j-hall  appear  to  him  to  be  necessary, 
in  anticipation  of  his  commanding  officer,  Colonel  Moody,  R.E.,  who 
will  follow  him  with  as  much  rapidity  as  practicable.  And  I  trust 
that,  if  Captain  Parsons  should  require  the  temporary  occupation  for 
his  party  of  the  trading-posts  up  the  country,  which  belong  to  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  you  will  take  measures  for  affording  him  such 
accp  m  m  odation . " 

CAPTAIN  PARSONS  was  also  the  bearer  of  the  commission,  dated 
Sept.  2nd,  and  the  instructions  for  Governor  Douglas,  as  well  as  an 
order-in-council  of  the  same  date  empowering  him  to  make  provision 
for  the  administration  of  justice,  and  to  establish  all  such  laws  as 
might  be  necessary  for  the  peace,  order  and  good  government  of 
British  Columbia,  and  also  of  the  same  date,  the  Queen's  revocation 
of  the  Crown  grant  or  charter  of  the  30th  May,  1838,  to  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company,  in  so  far  as  the  said  grant  embraces  or  extends  to  the 
territories  comprised  within  the  colony  of  British  Columbia. 

COLONEL  MOODY  APPOINTED. — By  the  same  overland  mail,  another 
despatch  was  sent  by  Lord  Lytton  to  Governor  Douglas,  acquainting 
him  that  Colonel  Moody  had  been  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
Koyal  Engineers,  and  had  also  been  selected  for  the  office  of  Chief 
Commissioner  of  lands  and  works  in  British  Columbia  ;  and  that  a 
copy  of  the  instructions  had  been  addressed  to  Colonel  Moody, 
with  reference  to  the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  that  capacity,  and 
specifying  the  amount  of  regimental  pay  and  colonial  allowances  to 
which  he  and  the  commissioned  and  non-commissioned  officers  and 
sappers  of  the  detachment  are  entitled. 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD, 


231 


His  INSTRUCTIONS. — A  letter  containing  the  instructions  to  Colonel 
Moody  referred  to  above,  dated  Aug.  23rd,  says  : 

;.  |"  It  is  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  the  governor  is  the  supreme 
•authority  in  the  colony.  That  you  will  concert  with  him,  and  take 
his  orders  as  to  the  spots  in  the  colony  to  which  vour  attention  as  to 
surveys,  etc.,  should  be  immediately  and  principally  directed.  That 
jou  will  advise  and  render  him  all  the  assistance  in  your  power,  in 
the  difficult  situation  in  which  it  is  probable  that  he  will  be  placed 
lor  some  time.  The  governor  will  be  instructed  to  regard  your 
duties  as  special,  and  that  they  are  not  on  any  account  to  be 
interfered  with,  except  under  circumstances  of  the  greatest  gravity, 
so  that  all  possible  conflict  of  duties  may  be  avoided.  On  this  point 
Lord  Lytton  feels  persuaded  that  yoiir  character  and  colonial 
experience  are  sufficient  guarantees  against  any  discordance  with  the 
governor.  .  .  . 

"It  is  well  to  understand  that  her  Majesty's  Government  count 
on  the  immediate  raising  of  large  revenues  from  the  land  sales 
and  other  resources  of  the  colony,  sufficient  to  defray  from  the  outset 
the  expenses  of  the  survey,  and  of  all  other  except  the  salary  of  the 
governor.  And  you  will  afford  the  governor,  though  without 
shackling  his  discretion,  the  benefits  of  your  talents  and  experience 
in  any  suggestions  for  ensuring,  at  the  earliest  period,  this  paramount 
object. 

"The  rates  of  pay  and  allowances  which  have  been  settled  for 
officers  and  men  are  as  follows : 


OFFICERS. 

Regimental  pay         Colonial 
per  annum.  allowance.          Total. 

1  chief    commissioner    of    lands   and 

works,  Colonel  Moody,  R.  E £330  £1,200  £1 ,530 

1  captain    . . . 202  350  552 

1  second  captain  202  350  552 

1  third  captain 202  350  552 

2  subalterns  125  250  375 

NON-COMMISSIONED   OFFICERS    AND    SAPPERS. 

Regimenta  I  pay     Working  pay 
per  diem.  per  diem. 

1  color- sergeant  and  acting  sergeant-major    .       3s.  10|  3s.  to  5s. 

1  sergeant  and  acting  quarter-master  sergeant     3s.  4^  3s.  to  5s. 

7  sergeants  (each) 2s. lOf  3s.  to  5s. 

8  first  corporals 2s.  2j  Is.  to  4s. 

8  second  corporals Is.  104  1s-  *°  ^8> 

2  buglers , .  Is.  2^  Is.  to  4s. 

123  sappers Is.  2^  Is.  to  4s. 

"  It  is  agreed  that  you  shall  remain  in  the  colony  one  year  from 
the  date  of  your  arrival,  and  that  you  will  not  quit  it  unless  you  are 
satisfied  that  the  officer  you  leave  in  charge  is  fully  competent  to  the 


232  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

work  before  him,  and  that  the  public  service  is  not  prejudiced  by 
your  return  to  England.  Should  you  desire  to  stay  longer  for  the 
execution  of  works  in  which  you  are  actively  engaged,  and  to  which 
yon  consider  your  presence  essential,  you  will  communicate  that  wish 
to  her  Majesty's  Government.  You  will  make  it  your  care  to  furnish 
this  department,  from  time  to  time,  with  full  reports  of  the  various- 
resources  and  capabilities  of  the  colony,  according  to  the  information 
which  the  exercise  of  your  functions  will  necessarily  give  you,  and 
with  a  view  to  the  development  of  the  social  and  industrial  prosperity 
and  welfare  of  the  colony — its  mines,  its  fisheries,  the  quality  of  its 
coal,  the  nature  of  the  soil,  the  maritime  approaches  to  the  colony,  if 
held  distinct  from  the  Island.  These  reports  will  be  sent  to  this, 
department  through  the  governor." 


CHAPTEE   IV. 


FURTHER  INSTRUCTIONS  AND  APPOINTMENTS. 

THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  MAILS  is  also  made  the  subject  of  a  despatch 
to  Governor  Douglas.  Lord  Lytton  transmits  to  him  the  corre- 
spondence between  the  colonial  office  and  the  treasury  on  the  subject. 
The  Postmaster-General  concludes  that  letters  will  be  forwarded 
with  the  greatest  advantage  via  Panama.  Owing  to  the  bad  con- 
nection between  the  arrival  and  departure  of  the  steamers  on  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  an  arrangement  was  recommended  to  be 
made  between  her  Majesty's  Postmaster-General  and  the  Postmaster 
of  the  United  States,  so  that  a  more  advantageous  service  than  the 
present  might  be  entered  into. 

THE  ABORIGINES  PROTECTION  SOCIETY  having  heard  of  the  reckless 
inhumanity  of  the  gold-diggers  in  the  State  of  California,  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  colonial  secretary,  stating  that  for  many  years  the  society 
had  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  Indian  tribes  to  the  west  as  well  as 
the  east  of  the  Ro3ky  Mountains,  and  that  as  it  was  understood  that 
the  natives  generally  entertained  ineradicable  feelings  of  hostility 
against  the  "  Americans,"  who  are  pouring  into  the  new  colony  by 
thousands,  and  who  will  probably  value  Indian  life  there  as  cheaply 
as  they  did  in  California,  the  society  point  out  the  justice  and 
necessity  of  steps  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  protect  the 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD. 

natives.  A  copy  of  the  letter  was  forwarded  to  Governor  Douglas, 
with  injunctions  to  him  to  secure  the  object  desired.  No  one  could 
have  been  appealed  to  more  ready  or  willing  fco  befriend  the  natives 
than  Governor  Douglas,  or  to  see  that  they  received  justice  as  far  as 
lay  in  his  power. 

THE  LAST  DETACHMENT  of  the  Royal  Engineers  for  service  in 
British  Columbia  sailed  from  "the  Downs,"  on  September  17th,  on 
the  clipper  ship  Thames  City,  557  tons,  commanded  by  Captain 
Glover.  It  consisted  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,  R.E.  The  voyage  round  Cape  Horn  occupied  175  days. 

GRANTS  OF  LAND. — It  was  arranged  that  the  men  and  non- 
commissioned officers  of  the  Royal  Engineers  who  should  go  to  British 
Columbia  should  receive  grants  of  agricultural,  not  mining  land,  not 
exceeding  thirty  acres  each,  after  six  years'  continuous  and  good 
faithful  service  within  the  colony,  if  desired. 

JUDGE  BEGBIE'S  APPOINTMENT.— The  budget  of  despatches  from 
Lord  Lytton,  under  date  September  2,  also  contained  forms  of 
proclamations  to  be  issued  by  Governor  Douglas,  one  declaring 
British  law  to  be  in  force  in  British  Columbia,  and  another 
indemnifying  the  governor  and  other  officers  for  acts  done  before 
the  establishment  of  any  legitimate  authority  in  British  Columbia ; 
also  a  notification  that  Mr.  Begbie  had  been  commissioned  to  act  as 
judge  of  Britisli  Columbia  (salary  ,£800),  and  would  proceed  by  next 
packet  (October  2) — adding  in  reference  to  Judge  Begbie,  that  he 
had  been  fully  instructed  that,  "  although  invested  with  the  very 
important  office  of  judge,  he  will  nevertheless  have  the  kindness,  for 
the  present  at  least,  to  lend  you  his  general  aid  for  the  compilation 
of  the  necessary  laws  and  other  legal  business.  This  is  the  more 
proper  duty  of  an  attorney-general  ;  and  should  the  colony  advance, 
as  seems  at  present  possible,  the  services  of  such  an  officer  will  no 
doubt  be  urgently  required."  .  .  . 

CONFIDENCE  IN  GOVERNOR  DOUGLAS. — Lord  Lytton  concludes : 

"With  these  few  observations,  I  leave  with  confidence  in  your 
hands  the  powers  entrusted  to  you  by  her  Majesty's  Government. 
These  powers  are  indeed  of  very  serious  and  unusual  extent,  but  her 
Majesty's  Government  fully  rely  on  your  moderation  and  discretion 
in  the  use  of  them.  You  are  aware  that  they  have  only  been  granted 
in  so  unusual  a  form  on  account  of  the  very  unusual  circumstances 
which  have  called  into  being  the  colony  committed  to  your  charge,. 


234  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

and  which  may  for  some  time  continue  to  characterize  it.  To 
use  them,  except  for  the  most  necessary  purposes,  would  be,  in  truth, 
to  abuse  them  greatly.  They  are  required  for  the  maintenance  of 
British  law  and  British  habits  of  order,  and  for  regulating  the  special 
questions  to  which  the  condition  and  employment  of  the  population 
may  give  birth.  But  the  office  of  legislation,  in  the  higher  and 
more  general  sense,  should  be  left  for  the  legislature  which  may  be 
hereafter  constituted,  and  which  her  Majesty's  Government  hope  will 
be  constituted  at  the  first  time  consistent  with  the  general  interests 
of  the  colony.  And  you  will  above  all  remember  that  the  ordinary 
rights  and  privileges  of  British  subjects,  and  of  those  foreigners  who 
dwell  under  British  protection,  must  be  sedulously  maintained,  and 
that  no  innovation  contrary  to  the  principles  of  our  law  can  be 
justified,  except  for  purposes  of  absolute  and  temporary  necessity. 

"  I  will  only  add  that,  although  it  has  been  judged  prudent  not  to 
make  the  revocation  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  license  take 
^effect  until  proclaimed  by  yourself,  it  is  the  particular  instructions  of 
her  Majesty's  Government  that  you  proclaim  it  with  the  least 
practicable  delay,  so  that  no  questions  like  those  which  have  already 
arisen  as  to  the  extent  and  nature  of  the  Company's  rights  can 
possibly  occur." 

COLLECTOR  OF  CUSTOMS. — Mr.  Wymond  Hamley  was  appointed  on 
the  16th  of  September,  as  collector  of  customs  for  British  Columbia, 
at  a  salary  of  .£400  per  annum.  Governor  Douglas  was  notified  that 
Mr.  Hamley  would  proceed  in  the  Thames  City  in  the  course  of  a  few 
•days.  The  despatch  says  : 

44  With  respect  to  offices  generally,  which  the  public  exigencies 
may  compel  you  to  create,  and  for  which  selections  should  be  made 
in  England,  I  have  to  observe  that  I  consider  it  of  great  importance 
to  the  general  social  welfare  and  dignity  of  the  colony  that  gentlemen 
should  be  encouraged  to  come  from  this  kingdom,  not  as  mere 
adventurers  seeking  employment,  but  in  the  hope  of  obtaining 
professional  occupations  for  which  they  are  calculated ;  such,  for 
instance,  as  stipendiary  magistrates  or  gold  commissioners. 

"  You  will,  therefore,  report  to  me  at  your  early  convenience, 
whether  there  is  any  field  for  such  situations,  and  describe  as 
accurately  as  you  can  the  peculiar  qualifications  which  are  requisite, 
in  order  that  T  may  assist  you  by  making  the  best  selections  in  my 
power.  It  is  quite  natural  that  the  servants  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  should,  from  their  knowledge  of  business,  their  abilities 
and  services,  have  a  very  fair  claim  to  consideration  and  share  in 
the  disposal  of  the  local  patronage.  But  caution  should  be  observed 
against  yielding  to  any  appearance  of  undue  favor  or  exclusiveness  to 
the  servants  of  that  company.  You  will  carefully  remember  that  the 
public  interests  are  the  first  consideration,  and  that  it  should  be 
known  that  employment  in  the  public  service  is  as  open  and  fair  in 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  235 

British  Columbia  as  in  every  other  of  the  Queen's  colonial  possessions. 
For  these  reasons  it  is  still  more  desirable  that  careful  appointments 
should  be  made  in  England.  You  will  not  fail  to  write  to  me  fullv 
by  each  mail,  as  her  Majesty's  Government  wish  to  know  everything 
that  passes  of  importance  in  British  Columbia." 

MINERS'  LICENSES. — When  writing  on  miners'  claims  and  licenses, 
in  a  despatch,  dated  October  14th,  Lord  Lytlon  says,  referring  to  the 
license  which  Governor  Douglas  had  imposed,  of  21s.  per  month  on 
each  miner  : 

"  That  such  an  arrangement  may  on  the  whole  be  most  congenial 
to  the  disposition  of  the  Californian  miners  whom  you  may  have  to 
consider ;  but  it  was  the  system  of  enforcing,  from  time  to  time,  the 
license  fee  which  created  in  the  colony  of  Victoria  so  much  dissatis- 
faction, and  ultimately  led  to  the  Ballarat  riot,  and  to  the  adoption 
of  new  rules.  The  Victorian  system  was  in  the  main  the  same  as 
that  which  you  have  apparently  adopted.  It  exacted  a  fee  of  XI 
from  each  miner  per  month,  and,  as  Sir  Charles  llotham,  says  in 
a  despatch,  21st  November,  1855,  to  Sir  William  Molesworth,  'the 
great  and  primary  cause  of  complaint  which  I  found  was  undoubtedly 
the  license  fee.' 

"It  was  then  decided  that  the  monthly  license  fee  should  be 
abolished,  and  be  replaced,  independently  of  royalties,  first,  by  a 
miner's  annual  certificate  of  £1;  secondly,  by  the  payment  of  £10  per 
annum  on  every  acre  of  alluvial  soil  ;  and  thirdly,  by  an  indirect  tax 
in  the  shape  of  2s.  6d.  export  duty  on  the  ounce  of  gold.  Experience 
seems,  as  far  as  we  yet  know,  to  have  justified  this  change  in  Victoria. 
Discontent,  with  its  attendant  dangers,  has  been  removed  ;  and  by 
the  present  system,  which  appears  to  be  acquiesced  in  by  all  parties, 
a  larger  revenue  is  obtained  than  ever  was  the  case  under  the  earlier 
arrangement.  I  observe,  indeed,  by  the  last  Victorian  returns  for 
1856,  that  the  duties  on  the  export  of  gold  amounted  to  more  than 
£376,000." 

MILITARY  ASSISTANCE. — A  despatch,  dated  October  16th,  refers 
especially  to  the  military  assistance  which  had  been  placed  at 
Governor  Douglas's  service,  if  required,  under  Admiral  Baynes  at 
Esquimalt,  and  the  Royal  Engineers,  twenty  and  twelve  men  under 
Captain  Parsons  and  Captain  Grant  respectively,  in  advance  of  the 
main  detachment  ;  that  with  the  first  detachment  he,  Lord  Lytton, 
had  forwarded  the  governor's  commission,  having  immediately  on  the 
return  of  the  Queen  from  the  Continent  obtained  her  Majesty's 
signature  to  the  commission,  and  took  it  on  board  the  vessel  where 
Captain  Parsons  was  in  charge  of  the  engineers.  .  .  .  The 
despatch  continues  : 


236  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

"It  is  my  object  to  provide  for,  or  to  suggest  to  you  how  to  meet,, 
all  unforeseen  exigencies  to  the  colony  as  they  may  arise  ;  but  my 
views  are  based  on  the  assumption  that  the  common  interest  in  life- 
and  property  will  induce  the  immigrants  to  combine  amongst  them- 
selves for  ordinary  purposes,  and  that  when  danger  needing  military 
force  arises,  they  will  readily  gather  around  and  swell  the  force, 
which  will  thus  expand  as  circumstances  require.  From  England  we 
send  skill  and  discipline;  the  raw  material  (that  is,  the  mere  men),  a 
colony  intended  for  free  institutions,  and  on  the  border  of  so  powerful 
a  neighbor  as  the  United  States  of  America,  should  learn  betimes  of 
itself  to  supply. 

"Referring  to  the  laudable  co-operation  in  the  construction  of  the 
road  which  has  been  evoked  by  your  energy  from  the  good  sense  and 
public  spirit  of  the  miners,  I  rejoice  to  see  how  fully  that  instance  of 
the  zeal  and  intelligence  to  be  expected  from  the  voluntary  efforts  of 
immigrants,  uniting  in  the  furtherance  of  interests  common  to  them 
all,  bears  out  the  principle  of  policy  on  which  I  designed  to  construct 
a  colony  intended  for  self-government,  and  trained  to  its  exercise  by 
self-reliance.  The  same  characteristics  which  have  made  these  settlers 
combine  so  readily  in  the  construction  of  a  road,  will,  I  trust,  under 
the  same  able  and  cheering  influence  which  you  prove  that  you  know 
so  well  how  to  exercise,  cause  them  equally  to  unite  in  the  formation 
of  a  police,  in  the  establishment  of  law,  in  the  collection  of  revenue, 
in  short  in  all  which  may  make  individual  life  secure  and  the  com- 
munity prosperous.  I  trust  you  will  assure  the  hardy  and  spirited 
men  who  have  assisted  in  this  preliminary  undertaking,  how  much 
their  conduct  is  appreciated  by  her  Majesty's  Government. 

"  I  feel  thankful  for  the  valuable  services  so  seasonably  and 
efficiently  rendered  by  the  Satellite  and  Plumper.  I  cannot  conclude 
without  a  cordial  expression  of  my  sympathy  in  the  difficulties  you 
have  encountered,  and  of  my  sense  of  the  ability,  the  readiness  of 
resource,  the  wise  and  manly  temper  of  conciliation  which  you  have 
so  signally  displayed  ;  and  I  doubt  not  that  you  will  continue  to 
show  the  same  vigor  and  the  same  discretion  in  its  exercise ;  and 
you  may  rely  with  confidence  on  whatever  support  and  aid  her 
Majesty's  Government  can  afford  you." 

ROAD  CONSTRUCTION. — The  construction  of  the  road  referred  to 
was  on  the  left  bank  of  Harrison  River  and  Lillooet  Lake,  to  connect 
Anderson  with  Harrison  Lake,  the  total  distance  bstween  these  two 
points  being  about  eighty  miles  of  land  carriage  over  a  generally  level 
country.  The  men  employed  on  that  work  were  miners,  who  were 
anxious  to  have  the  road  opened  for  their  own  accommodation  in  the 
first  place.  It  was  accomplished  as  follows:  A  party  of  about  five 
hundred  of  all  nations  volunteered  their  services.  They  offered  to 
make  a  money  deposit  of  $25  each  in  the  hands  of  the  Government,. 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD.  237 

as  security  for  good  conduct.  They  were  to  receive  no  pay  for  their 
work,  the  Government  merely  agreeing  to  supply  them  with  food 
while  employed  on  the  road,  and  to  transport  them  free  of  expense 
to  the  commencement  of  the  road  on  Harrison  Lake,  where  the 
deposit  money  of  $25  would  be  repaid  to  them  in  provisions  at 
Yictoria  prices  when  the  road  was  finished.  The  work  was  com- 
pleted in  the  most  expeditious  manner,  the  men  working  with  good 
will  as  they  were  each  interested  in  the  road. 

DELIVERY  OF  PROVISIONS. — The  men  were  divided  into  twenty 
companies  of  twenty-five  men ;  each  company  under  the  command 
of  a  captain,  who  carried  all  orders  into  effect,  reported  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  corps,  and  drew  upon  the  commissary  for  the  weekly 
supplies  of  food.  An  engineer,  with  guides  and  Indians  acquainted 
with  the  country,  blazed  the  trees  and  marked  out  the  road  in  advance 
of  the  main  body.  The  route  proved  of  great  advantage  during 
the  mining  excitement.  There  was  some  slight  disagreement  about 
having  the  provisions  delivered  at  the  upper  instead  of  the  lower  end 
of  the  road.  This  was  settled  by  having  them  delivered  half  way 
from  the  lower  end. 

PETER  BROWN'S  MURDER. — Up  to  the  time  of  this  great  stir  and 
gold  fever  on  the  mainland,  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island  had  been 
working  its  way  along  in  rather  a  quiet  manner.  There  had  been  a 
few  difficulties  with  the  Cowichin  Indians,  who  indulged,  now  and 
then,  in  stealing  some  of  the  settlers'  cattle.  Two  natives  of  that 
tribe,  in  L^ecember,  1852,  had  murdered  PETER  BROWN,  one  of  the 
Company's  shepherds.  That  crime  must  be  punished,  and  Governor 
Douglas  secured  the  murderers  in  his  own  quiet  way.  One  of  the 
murderers,  it  was  reported,  had  taken  refuge  with  the  tribe  at 
Saanich  ;  the  other  had  fled  to  Nanainco.  Captain  Kuper,  of  the 
war  vessel  Thetis,  then  at  Esquimalt,  volunteered  to  assist  in  their 
•capture.  The  offer  was  graciously  accepted,  as  the  tribe  was  fierce 
and  numerous.  A  sufficient  force  was  transferred  from  the  Thetis, 
and  placed  on  board  the  Company's  vessel  Recovery,  which  was  then, 
on  January  4th,  1853,  towed  by  the  war  steamer  round  into  Haro 
Strait  for  fair  wind  and  tide — Governor  Douglas  taking  command. 

A  DEMAND  MADE. — Opposite  the  village  of  Saanich,  the  vessel 
<jame  to  anchor.  Douglas  went  ashore,  but  the  culprit  was  absent — 
he  had  gone  to  Cowichin.  The  Recovery  proceeded  north,  arriving  at 
Cowichin  early  on  the  morning  of  the  6th.  A  demand  was  made  for 
the  murderer.  The  chief  asked  for  time  to  consider— this  was 


238  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

granted.  A  meeting  was  next  appointed  for  final  conference  on 
shore  next  day.  At  the  time  appointed,  the  forces  from  the 
vessel  landed.  The  Cowichin  chief  with  a  few  attendants  met  them. 
A  tent  was  pitched  on  a  knoll,  and  then  the  white  men  waited  the 
arrival  of  the  chiefs  followers.  Shortly  after  the  chief  requested  the 
withdrawal  of  the  troops  a  little  out  of  sight,  lest  his  people  should 
be  afraid  to  land.  This  was  done,  and  yet,  nearly  an  hour  elapsed 
before  any  of  them  appeared.  Then  two  canoes  were  seen  making 
their  way  quietly  out  of  the  river.  After  them  came  six  other 
canoes,  larger  ones,  all  in  a  line. 

THE  MURDERER  PRODUCED. — Paddling  slowly  along  the  shore, 
chanting  their  war  song,  drumming  on  their  canoes,  and  whooping 
like  demons,  they  passed  by  the  council  ground  and  landed  a  little 
beyond ;  then  rushing  up  the  hill,  shouting  and  clashing  their  arms 
as  if  to  strike  with  terror  any  army  daring  to  oppose  them,  they 
stood  glaring  ferociously  at  the  intruders.  It  was  with  difficulty 
Douglas  could  restrain  his  men  from  firing ;  gradually,  however, 
the  savages  became  quieter.  They  then  produced  the  murderer,  armed 
and  painted  from  head  to  foot.  The  prisoner  made  a  lengthy  speech 
declaring  his  innocence.  After  parleying  and  replies,  he  was  handed 
over  to  the  white  men,  and  taken  on  board  to  be  tried  at  Victoria. 
The  governor  impressed  upon  them  the  advantage  of  keeping  the  laws 
of  the  country,  which  if  they  did  not,  they  would  be  severely 
punished.  Presents  were  distributed  amongst  them,  which  elicited 
promises  of  good  behavior  and  loyalty,  and  the  forces  withdrew. 

MARINES  AND  BLUE  JACKETS. — The  other  murderer  must  next  be 
followed  to  Nanaimo.  The  expedition,  therefore,  appeared  before 
that  village  on  the  10th  and  demanded  a  conference,  which  was 
promised  for  the  following  day.  Governor  Douglas  was  again  in 
command.  The  steamer  Beaver  on  this  occasion  towed  the  Recovery, 
which  had  on  board  a  party  of  marines  and  blue  jackets  from  the 
Thetis  to  assist  if  required.  Mr.  J.  W.  McKay,  who  was  at  the  time 
in  charge  of  the  coal  works  at  Nanaimo,  was  ordered  to  take  twenty- 
one  voltigeurs,  and  secrete  them  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  to 
watch  the  Indian  village  that  no  one  should  leave  during  the  night. 
One  of  the  sentries  observed  at  daylight,  a  small  canoe  with  an 
Indian  paddling  from  the  shore.  He  was  at  once  pursued,  and  an 
alarm  given  on  passing  the  Recovery.  A  launch  from  the  ship  soon 
followed,  and  overtook  and  passed  the  voltigeurs,  overhauling  the 
canoe  with  its  solitary  passenger,  who,  on  examination,  proved  to  be 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD. 

a  scout  sent  to  warn   a  neighboring  tribe.      From   him  they  received 
particulars  as  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  murderer. 

RANSOM  OFFERED  IN  FURS. — Early  in  the  morning  the  natives 
arrived  at  the  Beaver  with  large  quantities  of  furs,  which  they  offered 
to  give  up  in  place  of  the  murderer.  They  were  informed  that  no 
amount  of  property  could  be  taken  as  a  price  of  the  crime.  The  force 
therefore  landed  to  search  the  village.  They  found  it  deserted,  but 
did  not  touch  any  part  of  the  property.  Soon  afterward  the  chief 
appeared,  and  after  a  short  parley,  the  murderer,  who  was  one  of  the 
chief's  sons,  was  handed  over  to  the  marines  to  be  tried  at  Victoria. 
Thus  both  were  captured  without  bloodshed.  They  were  afterwards 
convicted  and  executed  at  Victoria. 

ANOTHER  DIFFICULTY. — Not  long  afterwards  a  white  man  was 
shot  at  by  a  Cowichin  Indian,  but  not  killed,  although  severely 
wounded.  The  occurrence  brought  Governor  Douglas  to  deal  with 
the  case.  Another  party  of  men  from  the  war  vessel  appeared 
opposite  Cowichin  to  support  the  governor.  The  natives  were 
requested  to  surrender  the  culprit,  but  refused,  and  showed  a 
disposition  to  fight.  The  governor  landed  his  forces  and  drew 
them  up  in  position  on  the  hill-side.  The  Indians  formed  nearly 
opposite.  A  parley  was  demanded.  The  chief  came  forward,  but 
would  not  then  come  to  terms.  Governor  Douglas,  unwilling  to  shed 
blood  if  it  could  be  avoided,  ordered  his  men  to  encamp  on  the 
defensive,  with  mountain  howitzer  and  muskets. 

TRIED  TO  SHOOT  THE  GOVERNOR. — Next  morning  the  chief  was 
again  summoned  to  meet  the  governor  in  front  of  his  men.  Instead 
of  the  chief,  the  culprit  himself  came  forward,  armed  and  painted, 
followed  at  a  short  distance  by  the  chief  and  Indian  warriors.  He 
walked  slowly  and  apparently  hesitatingly,  then  suddenly  raised  his 
gun,  levelled  it  at  the  governor  and  pulled  the  trigger.  It  missed 
fire,  otherwise  the  governor  would  likely  have  been  killed  ;  but  he 
gave  no  order  for  his  men  to  fire.  The  chief  seeing  this,  gave  orders 
to  seize  the  offender,  the  governor  calmly  looking  on.  The  would-be 
murderer  was  bound  by  the  savages  and  handed  over  to  the  whites 
for  trial.  The  trial  took  place  immediately,  and  the  Indian  was 
hanged  on  the  nearest  tree,  in  full  view  of  the  tribe.  The  Cowichins. 
were  quiet  from  that  day  forward. 


240  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEK  V. 


THE  BOUNDARY— STRAITS  OF  FUCA. 

THE  SAN  JUAN  BOUNDARY  QUESTION  which  had  been  in  abeyance 
since  1846,  came  forward  prominently  in  1856.  In  that  year  the 
United  States  Government  appointed  a  commission  to  settle  the 
•disputed  line  of  boundary  which,  following  the  49th  parallel  of  north 
latitude  to  the  sea,  was  then  to  continue  to  "  the  centre  of  the  Gulf  of 
•Georgia,  and  thence  southward  through  the  channel  which  separates 
the  continent  from  Vancouver  Island,  to  the  Straits  of  Juan  de 
Fuca."  The  British  Government  at  the  same  time  appointed  com- 
missioners for  the  same  purpose.  In  the  autumn  of  1856,  Captain 
Prevost  was  first  selected,  and  was  ordered  to  commission  H.M.S. 
Satellite,  and  proceed  to  Vancouver  Island.  It  had  been  found  that 
no  accurate  chart  existed  of  the  islands  in  the  straits  or  of  the 
•channels ;  so  it  was  determined  by  the  Admiralty  that  a  surveying 
vessel  should  be  despatched,  iri  the  first  place  to  make  a  complete 
survey  of  the  disputed  waters,  and  afterwards  to  continue  the  survey 
along  the  coasts  of  Vancouver  Island  and  the  mainland  of  the  British 
territory.  Captain  George  Henry  Richards  was  selected  and  ordered 
to  commission  H.M.S.  Plumper. 

THE  BOUNDARY  COMMISSIONERS. — On  the  18th  of  November,  1857, 
Captain  Richards  proceeded  from  Esquimalt  up  the  Haro  Strait 
and  across  the  Gulf  of  Georgia  to  Semiahmoo,  or  Boundary  Bay, 
to  determine  the  exact  spot  where  the  parallel  of  49°  north  latitude 
reached  the  sea-coast.  The  United  States  Commission  consisted  of 
Archibald  Campbell,  Commissioner,  appointed  14th  February,  1857; 
Lieutenant  Parke,  of  the  United  States  Topographical  Engineers, 
Asffconomer ;  two  or  three  assistant  astronomers,  a  doctor,  naturalist, 
botanist,  and  a  captain  and  subaltern  in  command  of  the  military 
•escort,  which  numbered  about  seventy  men.  They  had  already  made 
their  observations,  and  were  encamped  near  the  computed  line  of 
parallel,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  British  Commission  to  confirm 
their  work.  On  being  tested,  the  spot  was  found  to  differ  only  eight 
feet  from  that  fixed  upon  by  the  United  States  Commission.  An 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.  241 

iron  monument  was  placed  on  the  north  shore  of  Semiahmoo  Bay  to 
mark  the  boundary.  It  was  four  feet  high,  four  and  a  half  inches 
square  at  the  top  and  six  inches  square  at  the  base ;  the  words 
"Treaty  of  Washington,"  on  the  north  side,  and  "June  15th,  1846," 
on  the  south  side. 

CAPTAIN  PREVOST'S  VIEW. — The  commissioners  in  discussing  where 
the  line  should  be  located,  could  not  agree  on  the  channel  referred  to 
in  the  treaty.  From  the  Gulf  of  Georgia  east  the  line  was  run  on 
the  49th  parallel  by  the  survey  party,  and  marked  by  iron  monu- 
ments at  intervals  of  one  mile,  and  stone  monuments  twenty  miles 
apart.  A  large  cairn  was  erected  on  the  boundary  line  at  East 
Kootenay.  Referring  to  the  views  of  the  commissioners,  Captain 
Prevost  gave  as  his  view,  that,  "by  a  careful  consideration  of  the 
wording  of  the  treaty,  it  would  seem  distinctly  to  provide  that  the 
channel  mentioned  should  possess  three  characteristics :  First,  it 
should  separate  the  continent  from  Vancouver  Island ;  second,  it 
should  admit  of  the  boundary  line  being  carried  through  the  middle 
•of  the  channel  in  a  southerly  direction  ;  third,  it  should  be  a  navigable 
channel.  To  these  three  peculiar  conditions  the  channel  known  as 
Rosario  Straits  most  entirely  answers." 

MR.  CAMPBELL'S  CONTENTION. — The  United  States  commissioner 
•contended  that,  according  to  the  latest  surveys,  the  Canal  de  Haro 
was  "pronounced  the  widest,  deepest  and  best  channel,"  besides  being 
a  much  shorter  communication  between  the  Pacific  Ocean  than  that 
by  the  way  of  Rosario  Strait.  The  correspondence  on  this  subject 
was  protracted  and  voluminous.  The  British  authorities  claimed  that, 
as  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  had  occupied  the  Island  of  San  Juan 
since  1843,  it  properly  belonged  to  Vancouver  Island,  and  that,  if 
Rosario  Strait  was  considered  too  far  south,  there  was  a  middle 
channel  which  could  be  adopted  as  the  line  of  boundary  between  the 
British  possessions  and  the  United  States.  The  discussion  continued 
for  two  years,  during  which  time  about  thirty  squatters  claiming  to 
be  United  States  citizens  settled  on  San  Juan. 

THE  CENTRAL  CHANNEL. — The  result  of  the  survey  in  which  Captain 
Richards  had  been  engaged,  showed  that  in  addition  to  the  Rosario 
Strait  and  to  the  Haro  Channel,  a  third  navigable  channel  existed 
which  connected  Fuca  Straits  with  the  Gulf  of  Georgia.  As  soon  as 
this  was  made  known  to  the  British  Government,  and  in  view  of  the 
difference  of  opinion  between  the  commissioners  as  to  which  of  the 
already  mentioned  channels  should  become  the  boundary,  Lord 
16 


242 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


Russell,  then  head  of  the  foreign  office,  on  August  24th,  1859r 
addressed  a  despatch  to  Lord  Lyons,  the  British  minister  at  Wash- 
ington, in  which  he  proposed  a  compromise  by  adopting  the  central 
channel.  The  commissioners,  Messrs.  Richards  and  Campbell,  finding 
that  neither  was  prepared  to  defer  to  the  arguments  of  the  other, 
and  that  under  the  circumstances  it  was  useless  to  continue  their 
correspondence  on  the  subject,  signed,  on  3rd  December,  1867,  a 

minute  recording  their  dis- 
agreement, and  adjourning 
their  proceedings  until  cir- 
cumstances should  render  it 
necessary  for  them  to  take 
further  steps. 

LORD  RUSSELL,  in  the  de- 
spatch referred  to,  says : 

"  The  Earl  of  Aberdeen, 
to  whom  I  am  referred,  in- 
forms me  that  he  distinctly 
remembers  the  general  tenor 
of  his  conversations  with 
Mr.  McLane  on  the  subject 
of  the  Oregon  boundary,  and 
it  is  certain  that  it  was  the 
intention  of  the  treaty  to 
adopt  the  mid-channel  of 
the  straits  as  the  line  of  de- 
marcation without  any  re- 
ference to  islands,  the  posi- 
tion and  indeed  the  very 
existence  of  which  had 
hardly  at  that  time  been 
accurately  ascertained  ;  and 
he  has  no  recollection  of  any 
mention  having  been  made 

during  the  discussion  of  the  Canal  de  Haro,  or,  indeed,  p,ny  other 
channel  than  those  described  in  the  treaty  itself. 

"  Her  Majesty's  Government  trust  that,  as  between  this  country 
and  the  United  States,  the  day  for  tedious  arbitrations,  and  still  more 
for  hostile  demonstrations,  is  gone  by  ;  they  see  no  reason  why  this, 
and,  indeed,  any  other  question  which  may,  from  time  to  time,  arise, 
should  not  be  settled  by  direct  and  friendly  communication  between 
the  two  governments.  .  .  .  The  third  channel  as  reported  by 
Captain  Richards,  answers  in  respect  to  its  central  position  and 
southerly  direction,  to  the  channel  described  in  the  treaty ;  and 
assuming  it  to  have  been  the  intention  of  the  plenipotentiaries  that 


NvdL 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  243 

the  several  channels  connecting  the  Gulf  of  Georgia  with  Fuca 
Straits  should  be  considered  for  the  purpose  of  the  treaty  as  one 
channel,  it  may  fairly  be  argued  that  this  central  passage  would  not 
only  satisfy  the  requirements  of  the  treaty,  but  would  divide  between 
the  two  countries,  in  proportions  which  each  party  might  consent  to, 
the  cluster  of  islands  by  which  the  channel  is  intersected. 

"The  advantage  of  such  a  line  would  indeed  be  with  the  United' 
States,  for  there  are  only  three  islands  of  any  territorial  importance 
situated  between  the  Haro  Channel  and  Rosario  Straits,  viz.,  Orcas 
and  Lopez  Islands,  and  the  Island  of  San  Juan  ;  and  by  the  adoption 
of  the  central  channel  a.s  the  boundary  line,  the  first  two  named 
islands  would  belong  to  the  United  States,  while  only  the  Island 
of  San  Juan  would  remain  to  Great  Britain.  Your  Lordship  will 
accordingly  propose  to  the  United  States  Government  that  the 
boundary  line  shall  be  the  middle  channel  between  the  Continent  of 
America  and  Vancouver  Island  .  .  .  thus  denned:  'Starting 
from  the  north  in  the  parallel  48°  50'  north,  and  the  meridian  123° 
longitude  west  from  Greenwich  (as  laid  down  on  the  accompanying 
chart),  the  mid-channel  would  proceed  due  south,  passing  half  way 
between  Patos  Island  on  the  east,  and  Point  Saterina  on  the  west.' 
It  will  thus  be  observed  that  the  meridian  of  123°  longitude  west 
from  Greenwich,  starting  from  the  north  in  the  parallel  48°  50',  is 
assumed  as  the  boundary,  and  is  only  departed  from  when  forced  to 
do  so  by  the  physical  interference  of  the  islands. 

"  This  middle  channel,  though  inferior  in  some  respects  to  the  Haro 
Channel  or  to  Rosario  Straits,  is  described  by  Captain  Richards  as 
being  perfectly  safe  for  steamers,  and  also,  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, navigable  for  sailing  vessels.  Her  Majesty's  Government, 
however,  do  not  consider  this  point  as  of  much  importance,  since  their 
proposition  only  extends  to  making  this  channel  the  line  of  boundary, 
and  they  do  not  propose  to  alter  in  any  way  that  stipulation  of  the 
treaty  which  secures  to  the  shipping  of  both  countries  the  free 
navigation  of  the  whole  of  the  channels  and  the  straits — a  stipulation 
advantageous  to  both  parties,  and  which  her  Majesty's  Government 
cannot  doubt  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  will  agree 
with  them  in  thinking,  must,  under  all  circumstances,  be  maintained. 

"It  appears  to  her  Majesty's  Government  that  a  boundary  line 
traced  through  the  above  mentioned  channel,  likewise  recommends 
itself  for  adoption  as  being  in  accordance  with  the  principles  which 
regulated  the  division  between  the  two  countries  in  the  Lower 
St.  Lawrence. 

"  Her  Majesty's  Government  further  submit  to  the  Cabinet  of 
Washington,  whether,  to  a  view  to  mutual  convenience,  it  might  not 
be  desirable  that  the  small  promontory  known  as  Point  Roberts, 
should  be  left  to  Great  Britain.  The  point  is  of  no  intrinsic  value 
to  either  Government ;  but  its  possession  by  the  United  States  will 
have  the  effect  of  detaching  an  isolated  spot  of  small  dimensions  from 
the  more  convenient  jurisdiction  of  the  British  colony.  As  the 


244  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Government  of  the  United  States  will  obtain  under  the  proposal  now- 
made  the  more  valuable  portion  of  the  islands  in  the  straits,  her 
Majesty's  Government  consider  that  the  retention  of  Point  Roberts 
can  hardly  be  an  object  with  them. 

"  There  is  one  other  consideration  to  which  I  would  wish  to  draw 
the  attention  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  Irt  the 
discussions  between  Lord  Ashburton  and  Mr.  Webster,  which 
resulted  in  the  treaty  of  1842,  the  American  plenipotentiaries  argued 
upon  the  relative  importance  to  the  two  countries  of  the  territory 
then  in  dispute.  Her  Majesty's  Government  admitted  the  value  of 
that  argument  and  acted  upon  it.  The  same  language  was  employed 
in  1846  upon  the  Oregon  question,  and  on  both  occasions  the  United 
States  obtained  the  larger  portion  of  the  territory  in  dispute,  their 
plenipotentiaries  successfully  arguing  that  it  was  of  greater  value  to 
the  United  States  than  to  Great  Britain. 

"  Upon  the  present  occasion  this  state  of  things  is  reversed.  The 
adoption  of  the  central  channel  would  give  to  Great  Britain  the 
Island  of  San  Juan,  which  is  believed  to  be  of  little  or  no  value 
to  .the  United  States,  while  much  importance  is  attached  by 
British  colonial  authorities,  and  by  her  Majesty's  Government,  to  its 
retention  as  a  dependency  of  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island. 

"  Her  Majesty's  Government  must,  therefore,  under  any  circum- 
stances, maintain  the  right  of  the  British  crown  to  the  Island  of  San 
Juan.  The  interests  at  stake  in  connection  with  the  retention  of  that 
island  are  too  important  to  admit  of  compromise,  and  your  Lordship 
will,  consequently,  bear  in  mind  that  whatever  arrangement  as  to  the 
boundary  line  is  finally  arrived  at,  no  settlement  of  the  question  will 
be  accepted  by  her  Majesty's  Government  which  does  not  provide  for 
the  Island  of  San  Juan  being  reserved  to  the  British  Crown. 

"  Her  Majesty's  Government  hope  that  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment will  appreciate  the  arguments  you  are  instructed  to  employ, 
and  the  spirit  in  which  you  will  advance  them  ;  and  her  Majesty's 
Government  will  not  permit  themselves  to  believe  that  the  negotiation 
can,  under  such  circumstances,  fail  of  a  successful  issue. 

"  It  may  be  proper,  however,  that  you  should  make  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  understand  that  this  proposal  of  compromise, 
which  you  are  thus  instructed  to  lay  before  them  is  made  without 
prejudice  to  the  claim  which  her  Majesty's  Government  consider 
themselves  justified  in  maintaining  to  the  Rosario  Channel  as  the  true 
boundary  between  her  Majesty's  possessions  and  those  of  the  United 
States.  They  offer  the  compromise  in  the  hope  that  its  acceptance  by 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  may  obviate  any  further 
discussion  on  this  subject ;  but,  if  it  is  rejected,  they  reserve  to  them- 
selves the  right  to  fall  back  on  their  original  claim  to  its  full  extent." 

SQUATTERS  ON  SAN  JUAN. — Whilst  the  boundary  surveys  were  being 
made  under  the  joint  superintendence  of  Commissioners  Campbell  and 
Prevost,  other  events  were  transpiring  of  a  character  which,  but  for 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  24-5 

the  tact  and  forbearance  of  Governor  Douglas,  and  the  officers  of  the 
war  ships  at  Esquimalt,  and  also  of  Lieutenant-General  Winfield  Scott, 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  United  States  army,  might  have  plunged 
the  two  neighboring  nations  in  war.  San  Juan  Island,  as  is  already 
mentioned,  had  been  occupied  since  1843  by  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  and  at  the  time  under  review  had  on  the  island  a  stock 
of  five  thousand  sheep,  a  number  of  horses,  cattle  and  pigs,  and  had 
thus  by  occupation  gained  a  right  to  the  land.  Attempts  had  been 
made  from  time  to  time  by  squatters  from  the  United  States  side  to 
establish  themselves  on  the  island,  but  their  presence  was  not  desired 
by  the  parties  in  charge  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  property. 

In  1851,  W.  J.  Macdonald  (now  Senator 
Macdonald)  arrived  at  Victoria,  round  Cape 
Horn,  in  the  bark  Tory,  Captain  Duncan. 
He  was,  within  a  couple  of  months  afterwards, 
sent  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  to  San 
Juan  Island,  to  establish  a  salmon  fishery 
there.  Indians  were  the  principal  fishermen. 
During  his  stay  on  the  island,  a  schooner 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  Captain 
Balch,  master,  arrived  and  anchored  in  the 
harbor.  Mr.  Macdonald  boarded  the  vessel 

SENATOR    MACDONALD. 

and  informed  the  captain  that  he   was  not 

permitted  to  trade  on  the  island  or  fish  in  the  adjacent  waters.     He 
made  no  demur,  but  departed  the  same  afternoon. 

COLLECTORS  SANKSTER  AND  EHEY.— When  Oregon  was  divided  in 
1853,  the  7iorthern  portion  became  the  State  of  Washington,  but  in 
1852,  the  Oregon  legislature  had  organized  Whidbey  Island  and  the 
Haro  Archipelago  into  a  district  called  Island  County.  A  collector 
of  customs,  I.  N.  Ebey,  for  the  Puget  Sound  district,  in  1854,  took  it 
upon  himself  to  visit  the  Island  of  San  Juan  to  collect  customs  dues 
there  for  the  United  States.  He  found  on  the  island  CHARLES  JOHN 
GRIFFIN,  a  clerk  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  who  refused  to 
acknowledge  Collector  Ebey's  authority,  stating  that  the  island 
belonged  to  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  that  he  himself  was 
a  colonial  justice  of  the  peace.  Mr.  Griffin  at  once  reported  the 
case  to  Governor  Douglas,  who  in  company  with  Mr.  Sankster, 
collector  at  the  port  of  Victoria,  proceeded  on  the  Company's  steamer 
Otter  to  San  Juan.  Sankster  landed  and  met  Ebey,  informing  him 
that  he  should  seize  all  vessels  and  arrest  all  persons  found  navigating 


246  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

the  waters  west  of  Rosario  Strait  and  north   of  the   middle  of  the 
Strait  of  Fuca. 

THE  Two  NATIONAL  FLAGS  UNFURLED. — After  a  warm  discussion, 
Ebey  concluded  that  he  would  appoint  a  deputy  collector  on  the 
island  and  leave  him  there,  and  it  would  be  seen  who  would  interfere 
with  him  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  Sankster  invited  Ebey  to 
go  on  board  the  Otter  and  confer  with  Governor  Douglas  on  the 
subject.  The  invitation  was  declined.  The  British  flag  was  then 
brought  by  Sankster  on  shore,  and  hoisted  on  the  quarters  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company.  Collector  Ebey  unfurled  the  United  States 
revenue  flag,  which  he  had  in  his  boat.  A  boat's  crew  was  landed 
from  the  Otter,  with  whom  Sankster  remained  on  the  island. 
•Governor  Douglas  returned  in  the  Otter  to  Victoria. 

SHEEP  SOLD  FOR  TAXES. — Next  morning  Ebey  swore  in  his  deputy, 
'Henry  Webber,  in  presence  of  Griffin  and  Sankster.  He  then 
returned  to  Puget  Sound,  leaving  Webber  in  charge  as  deputy 
collector,  who  remained  on  San  Juan  Island  about  a  year,  when  fear 
of  the  northern  Indians  caused  him  to  leave.  The  property  on  San 
.Juan  Island  was  duly  assessed  by  an  officer  from  Puget  Sound,  whose 
•  duty  was  to  appraise  the  property  of  u  Island  County."  The 
collections  were  not  enforced  until  March  18th,  1855,  when  Elias 
Barnes,  sheriff"  of  Whatcom,  seized  and  sold  at  auction  thirty  or  more 
of  the  sheep  belonging  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company — the  legislature 
of  Washington  State  having,  in  1854-5,  passed  an  Act  attaching 
San  Juan  and  the  adjacent  islands  to  Whatcom  County.  For  this 
seizure  a  claim  of  about  $15,000  was  subsequently  presented  by  the 
Company.  The  bill  was  made  out  by  Griffin  for  thirty-four  imported 
rams,  seized  and  sold,  estimated  worth  $3,750  :  and  the  balance  for 
losses  sustained  in  consequence  of  the  violent  acts  of  Sheriff  Barnes 
in  driving  the  sheep  into  the  woods,  and  the  cost  of  collecting  such 
as  were  not  altogether  lost. 

THOSE  EXTREME  PROCEEDINGS  called  forth  a  communication  from 
Governor  Stevens,  in  1855,  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  who  issued 
instructions  in  reply  that  all  the  territorial  officers  should  abstain 
from  such  acts,  where  land  was  in  dispute,  as  were  calculated  to 
provoke  conflicts,  and  that  the  colonial  Government  should  observe 
the  same  rule.  There  was  a  deep-rooted  enmity  between  the  Indians 
and  the  representatives  of  the  United  States,  not  only  on  the  island, 
but  on  the  Washington  mainland.  Webber  was  succeeded  by  Oscar 
Olney,  who  only  remained  but  a  few  months.  Paul  K.  Hubbs  next 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  247 

became  deputy  collector,  but  each  of  those  "  Boston  men "  had  to 
.apply  at  different  times  to  Mr.  Griffin,  who  as  British  magistrate 
always  cheerfully  protected  them  in  the  time  of  difficulty.  Collector 
Ebey  was  killed  in  a  scrimmage  with  the  Indians  at  Bellingham  Bay, 
in  1857. 

REPRESENTATIVES  ON  SAN  JUAN. — In  1859,  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  had  on  San  Juan  Island,  besides  the  chief  clerk,  Griffin, 
•eighteen  servants ;  the  squatters  representing  the  United  States 
numbered  twenty-nine.  They,  or  a  majority  of  them,  had  drifted 
thither  from  the  Fraser  mines,  and  were  not,  generally  speaking,  a 
very  desirable  class  of  settlers ;  they,  however,  took  advantage  of  the 
undecided  state  of  affairs  in  San  Juan  to  take  up  their  abode  there. 
Describing  the  heterogeneous  population  in  Victoria  about  the  same 
period,  Commander  Mayne,  in  his  "  Four  Years  in  British  Columbia 
and  Vancouver  Island,"  says  :  "  The  new-found  mineral  wealth  of 
British  Columbia  had  attracted  from  California  some  of  the  most 
reckless  rascals  that  gold  has  ever  given  birth  to.  Strolling  about 
the  canvas  streets  of  Victoria  might  be  seen  men  whose  names  were 
in  the  black  book  of  the  Vigilance  Committee  of  San  Francisco,  and 
whose  necks  would  not,  if  they  had  ventured  them  in  that  city,  been 
worth  an  hour's  purchase." 

DOUBTFUL  CHARACTERS.  —  Some  such  characters  doubtless  were 
numbered  amongst  the  United  States  settlers  on  San  Juan  Island, 
on  whose  account  it  was  said  to  be  necessary  to  land  United  States 
military  for  their  protection.  At  all  events,  the  sheriff  of  Whatcom 
County  continued  regularly  to  make  his  assessments,  until  they 
amounted  to  $935.  The  collection,  however,  was  not  again  enforced ; 
but  the  United  States  inspector  of  customs  was  on  hand  to  keep 
account  of  goods  landed,  vessels  arriving,  etc.  Affairs  culminated 
on  the  arrival  of  Brigadier-General  W.  S.  Harney,  in  command  of 
the  military  department  of  Oregon,  and  his  subordinates,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Silas  Casey,  of  the  9th  Infantry,  and  Captain  George  E. 
Pickett,  of  that  regiment. 

GENERAL  W.  S.  HARNEY. —The  brigadier-general,  "a  bellicose 
patriot,"  had  been  employed  in  what  is  termed  in  the  Western  States, 
^suppressing"  Indians,  and  had  won  great  renown  and  popularity 
among  the  wild  settlers  and  squatters  of  the  west,  towards  whom  lie 
had  long  acted  the  part  of  a  patron  and  protector.  The  wild  guerilla 
war  in  which  he  had  been  engaged,  consisting  chiefly  in  destroying 
bands  of  Indians  whenever  met  with,  says  Viscount  Milton,  had 


248  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

evidently  caused  him  to  forget  the  lessons  in  international  law  which 
he  learnt  at  West  Point,  and  he  appears  to  have  considered  that  a. 
British  colony  might  be  "improved"  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  as 
easily  and  with  as  little  ceremony  as  a  tribe  of  Indians  could  be 


L.  A.  CUTLER'S  PIG.  —  A  very  trifling  incident  occurred  on  San- 
Juan  Island,  in  June,  1859,  which,  as  has  already  been  intimated, 
but  for  the  forbearance  of  both  civil  and  military  authorities  at 
Victoria  and  Esquimalt,  would  have  led  to  direful  consequences.  A 
man  named  Lyman  A.  Cutler,  who  claimed  to  be  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  had  squatted  on  the  island,  and  had  partially  enclosed 
a  small  patch  of  land,  on  which  he  had  planted  potatoes.  It  sc* 
happened  that  on  or  about  the  15th  of  June,  he  shot,  in  the  forest 
adjoining  his  house,  a  valuable  hog  belonging  to  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  which  he  alleged  had  trespassed  on  the  unenclosed  ground 
he  had  taken  possession  of.  In  the  course  of  the  day,  it  chanced 
that  Mr.  A.  J.  Dallas,  accompanied  with  Dr.  Tolmie  and  Mr.  Eraser, 
all  leading  men  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  arrived  at  San  Juan 
by  the  Company's  trading  steamer  Beaver. 

On  the  following  day  the  gentlemen  mentioned,  along  with  Griffin,, 
called  on  Cutler,  who  admitted  the  offence,  and  threatened  to  shoot 
any  other  of  the  Company's  stock  which  should 
interfere  with  him.  He  refused  to  pay  the 
sum  demanded  by  Griffin  for  the  valuable- 
animal  which  he  had  killed.  Mr.  Dallas  and 
his  friends  returned  to  Victoria,  and  reported 
the  occurrence  to  Governor  Douglas,  suggest- 
ing that  he  should  communicate  with  the 
governor  of  Washington  Territory  on  the 
subject.  There  is  now  nothing  to  show  that 
Governor  Douglas  made  any  representation  of 
the  affair  to  the  United  States  authorities,, 
but  maintained  friendly  relations  with  them, 
not  excepting  General  Harney,  who,  it  is  said,  paid  a  complimentary 
visit  to  Governor  Douglas  in  the  month  of  July.  The  headquarters 
of  the  military  department  of  Oregon  was  at  Fort  Vancouver,  which 
was  formerly  headquarters  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 

PETITION  TO  HARNEY. — Returning  to  his  command,  General  Har- 
ney, on  the  9th  of  July,  landed  at  San  Juan  Island  without  any 
apparent  object,  as  none  of  the  troops  under  his  command  were- 


A.    .1.    DALLAS. 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.  249 

stationed  there.  It  was  an  opportune  occasion  for  Cutler  and  his 
associates  to  pour  into  the  willing  and  sympathetic  ear  of  the  general 
the  tale  of  their  woes  and  persecutions  by  hungry  hogs  and  savage 
Indians.  He  was  told  that  Dallas  had  come  in  an  armed  vessel  to 
take  Cutler  to  Victoria,  when  the  fact  was  that  Mr.  Dallas  and  his 
friends  knew  nothing  of  the  death  of  the  hog  until  after  they  arrived 
on  other  business  at  the  island.  The  result  of  the  general's  visit  to 
San  Juan  was,  that  on  the  llth  of  July  a  petition  was  presented  to 
him  purporting  to  have  been  signed  by  twenty-two  persons,  styling 
themselves  "American  citizens  on  the  Island  of  San  Juan." 

HE  INTERPRETS  THE  TREATY. — As  a  matter  of  course  Cutler's  name 
was  amongst  the  signatures,  and  also  that  of  "  United  States  Inspec- 
tor of  Customs,"  Paul  K.  Hubbs,  Charles  H.  Hubbs,  and  Paul  K. 
Hubbs,  jun.  The  petition  contained  a  clause  which  was  conclusive 
to  the  mind  of  the  general.  It  said:  "According  to  the  treaty 
concluded  June  15th,  1846,  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  (the  provisions  of  which  are  plain,  obvious,  and  pointed  to  us 
all  here),  this,  and  all  the  islands  of  the  Canal  de  Haro  belong  to  us. 
We  therefore  claim  American  protection  in  our  present  exposed  and 
defenceless  position."  This  was  just  what  General  Harney  appeared 
to  want.  He  did  not  communicate  with  the  British  authorities, 
colonial  or  imperial,  or  with  his  commanding  officer,  or  with  the 
supreme  government  at  Washington,  but  proceeded  at  once  to  detach 
a  company  of  troops  from  Fort  Bellingham  to  occupy  the  island, 
under  Captain  Pickett.  The  captain's  instructions  from  the  general 
concluded  by  stating:  "In  your  selection  of  position,  take  into  con- 
sideration that  future  contingencies  may  require  an  establishment  of 
from  four  to  six  companies,  retaining  the  command  of  the  San  Juan 
harbor." 

GENERAL  HARNEY  did  not  communicate  with  General  Scott,  Assist- 
ant Adjutant-General,  New  York,  until  the  19th  of  July,  when  he 
wrote  him  a  letter  containing  the  most  extraordinary  mis-statements, 
and  containing  charges  against  Mr.  Dallas,  without  giving  that  gen- 
tleman an  opportunity  of  denying  them.  He  referred  to  the  petition 
from  the  squatters  on  the  island,  through  Mr.  Hubbs,  desiring  a  force 
to  be  placed  upon  the  island  "to  protect  them  from  the  Indians,  as 
well  as  the  oppressive  interference  of  the  authorities  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  at  Victoria  with  their  rights  as  American  citizens." 
"  Mr.  Hubbs  informed  me,"  continued  the  general,  "  that  a  short  time 
before  my  arrival,  the  chief  factor  at  Victoria,  Mr.  Dallas,  son-in-law 


250  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

of  Governor  Douglas,  came  to  the  island  in  the  British  sloop  of  war 
Satellite,  and  threatened  to  take  one  of  the  Americans  by  force  to 
Victoria  for  shooting  a  pig  of  the  Company's.  The  American  seized 
his  rifle,  and  told  Mr.  Dallas  if  any  such  attempt  was  made  he  would 
kill  him  on  the  spot.  The  affair  ended.  The  American  offered  to 
pay  to  the  Company  twice  the  value  of  the  pig,  which  was  refused. 
To  prevent  a  repetition  of  this  outrage,  I  have  ordered  the  company 
at  Fort  Bellingham  to  be  established  on  San  Juan  Island  for  the 
protection  of  our  citizens,  and  the  steamer  Massachusetts  is  directed 
to  rendezvous  at  that  place  with  a  second  company  to  protect  our 
interests  in  all  parts  of  the  Sound." 

MR.  GRIFFIN'S  LETTER  AND  REPLY. — Captain  Pickett  landed  on 
the  18th  of  July,  but,  strange  to  say,  no  official  account  of  his  having 
landed  appears  in  the  documents  furnished  to  the  Senate.  The  first 
notice  in  American  state  papers  of  the  landing  of  troops  in  San  Juan 
Island  is  to  be  found  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Captain  Pickett  by  Mr. 
Griffin,  dated  July  30th,  which  says :  "  SIR, — I  have  the  honor  to 
inform  you  that  the  Island  of  San  Juan,  on  which  your  camp  is 
pitched,  is  the  property  and  in  the  occupation  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
•Company,  and  to  request  that  you  and  the  whole  of  the  party  who 
have  landed  from  the  American  vessels  will  immediately  cease  to 
occupy  the  same.  Should  you  be  unwilling  to  comply  with  my 
request,  I  feel  bound  to  apply  to  the  civil  authorities.  Awaiting 
your  reply,  I  am,  etc."  A  reply  was  sent  as  follows:  "MILITARY 
CAMP,  SAN  JUAN,  W.T.,  July  31,  1859.  SIR, — Your  communication 
of  this  instant  has  been  received.  I  have  to  state  in  reply  that  I  do 
not  acknowledge  the  right  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  to  dictate 
my  course  of  action.  I  am  here  by  virtue  of  an  order  from  my 
Government,  and  shall  remain  until  recalled  by  the  same  authority. 
I  am,  etc." 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.  251 


CHAPTER  VI. 


A  COLLISION  PREVENTED  BY  GOVERNOR  DOUGLAS. 

VISCOUNT  MILTON,  writing  on  this  subject,  says:  "The  governor 
at  Victoria  received  information  of  the  hostile  occupation  of  the 
island  from  Mr.  Griffin,  and  the  excitement  on  the  receipt  of  the 
intelligence  was  great.  It  is  due  entirely  to  the  temper  and  judg- 
ment of  Governor  Douglas  that  a  collision  did  not  at  once  ensue. 
He  immediately  placed  himself  in  communication  with  Captain 
Prevost,  the  British  commissioner,  and,  at  his  request,  the  latter 
went  to  San  Juan  in  the  hope  of  finding  Mr.  Campbell,  the  United 
States  commissioner.  On  landing,  he  had  an  interview  with  Captain 
Pickett,  who  declared  he  was  merely  acting  under  orders,  that  he 
would  prevent  any  inferior  force  landing,  would  fight  any  equal  force, 
and  would  protest  against  any  superior  force  being  landed.  He 
stated  that  he  did  not  know  whether  the  orders  under  which  he  acted 
came  originally  from  Washington,  but  took  it  for  granted  they  did, 
or  General  Harney  would  not  have  taken  so  decisive  a  step." 

INTERVIEW  WITH  CAPTAIN  PICKETT. — Captain  Prevost  then  left, 
and  reported  to  the  governor,  who,  after  consultation  with  Admiral 
Baynes,  concluded  that  the  case  required  further  consideration  before 
consenting  to  land  an  equal  force  upon  San  Juan  or  establishing 
a  joint  occupation  on  the  island.  He,  however,  directed  Captain 
Hornby,  commanding  her  Majesty's  ship  Tribune,  to  communicate 
with  the  officer  in  command  of  the  detachment  of  the  United  States 
troops  which  had  landed  011  the  island,  to  inquire  of  him  the  number 
of  troops  under  his  command,  with  a  view  to  landing  an  equal  force 
of  British  troops,  if  deemed  expedient.  Captain  Hornby,  therefore, 
on  the  3rd  of  August,  having  arrived  at  the  island,  proposed  by. 
letter  that  a  meeting  should  take  place  between  Captain  Pickett  and 
himself  on  board  the  Tribune.  Captain  Pickett  replied  that  he 
would  most  cheerfully  meet  him  in  his  camp.  Captain  Hornby 
accordingly  landed,  with  Captains  Prevost  and  Richards,  the  British 


252  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

commissioners.  An  interview  took  place  between  them  at  consider- 
able length. 

REDUCED  TO  WRITING. — The  substance  of  the  conversation  during 
the  interview  was  reduced  to  writing  by  Captain  Hornby,  and 
replied  to  next  day  by  Captain  Pickett,  who  inter  alia  remarked  r 
"  Your  recollection  of  said  conversation  seems  to  be  very  accurate. 
There  is  one  point,  however,  which  I  wish  to  dwell  upon  particularly, 
and  which  I  must  endeavor,  as  the  officer  representing  my  Govern- 
ment, to  impress  upon  you,  viz.,  that  as  a  matter  of  course,  I  being 
here  under  orders  from  my  Government,  cannot  allow  any  joint 
occupation  until  so  ordered  by  my  commanding  officer,  and  that  any 
attempt  to  make  such  occupation  as  you  have  proposed,  before  I  can 
communicate  with  General  Harney,  will  be  bringing  on  a  collision 
which  can  be  avoided  by  waiting  this  issue." 

CAPTAIN  PICKETT'S  LETTER.  —  On  the  same  date,  August  3rd,, 
Captain  Pickett  wrote  to  Captain  Pleasonton,  Adjutant-General, 
Mounted  Dragoons,  Fort  Vancouver  :  "  CAPTAIN, — The  British  ships, 
the  Tribune,  the  Plumper,  and  the  Satellite,  are  lying  here  in  a 
menacing  attitude.  I  have  been  warned  off  by  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company's  agent;  then  a  summons  was  sent  me  to  appear  before  a 
Mr.  DeCourcey,  an  official  of  her  Britannic  Majesty.  ...  I  had 
to  deal  with  three  captains,  and  I  thought  it  better  to  take  the  brunt 
of  it.  They  have  a  force  so  far  superior  to  mine  that  it  will  be 
merely  a  mouthful  for  them  ;  still,  I  have  informed  them  that  I  am 
here  by  order  of  my  commanding  general,  and  will  maintain  mjr 
position,  if  possible. 

"  They  wish  to  have  co-joint  occupation  of  the  island  ;  1  decline 
anything  of  that  kind.  They  can,  if  they  choose,  land  at  almost 
any  point  of  the  island,  and  I  cannot  prevent  them.  I  have  used 
the  utmost  courtesy  and  delicacy  in  my  intercourse,  and,  if  it  is- 
possible,  please  inform  me  at  such  an  early  hour  as  to  prevent  a 
collision.  The  utmost  I  could  expect  to-day  was  to  suspend  any 
proceeding  till  they  have  had  time  to  digest  a  pill  which  I  gave  them. 
They  wish  to  throw  the  onus  on  me,  because  I  refused  to  allow  them 
to  land  an  equal  force,  and  each  of  us  to  have  a  military  occupation, 
thereby  wiping  out  civil  authorities.  I  have  endeavored  to  impress 
them  with  the  idea  that  my  authority  comes  directly  through  you 
from  Washington.  .  .  . 

THE  CAPTAIN  AS  A  PEACE-MAKER! — " The  excitement  in  Victoria 
and  here  is  tremendous.  I  suppose  some  five  hundred  people  have- 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  253 

visited  us.  I  have  had  to  use  a  great  deal  of  my  peace-making 
•disposition  in  order  to  restrain  some  of  the  sovereigns.  ...  I 
must  add  that  they  seem  to  doubt  the  authority  of  the  general 
commanding,  and  do  not  wish  to  acknowledge  his  right  to  occupy 
the  island,  which  they  say  is  in  dispute,  unless  the  United  States 
Government  have  decided  the  question  with  Great  Britain.  I  have 
so  far  staved  them  off  by  saying  that  the  two  governments  have, 
without  doubt,  settled  this  affair.  ...  In  order  to  maintain 
our  dignity  we  must  occupy  in  force,  or  allow  them  to  land  an 
«qual  force,  which  they  can  do  now,  and  possibly  will  do  in  spite 
of  my  diplomacy." 

ADDITIONAL  LETTERS. — THE  ADJUTANT-GENERAL  of  Mounted 
Dragoons  wrote  in  reply,  by  order  of  General  Harney,  approving  of 
Captain  Pickett's  action,  and  enclosed  a  letter  from  General  Harney 
(August  6th)  to  Governor  Douglas,  to  which  the  governor  replied  on 
the  13th  of  August,  thanking  him  for  the  manner  in  which  he 
communicated  the  reasons  for  occupying  the  Island  of  San  Juan  with 
a  portion  of  the  military  forces  of  the  United  States  under  his 
command.  He  proceeded  : 

"  I  am  glad  to  find  that  you  have  done  so  under  general  instructions 
from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  as  military  commander  of 
the  Department  of  Oregon,  and  not  by  direct  authority  from  the 
Cabinet  at  Washington.  You  state  that  the  reasons  which  induced 
you  to  take  that  course,  are  the  '  insults  and  indignities  which  the 
British  authorities  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  have  recently  offered  to  American  citizens 
residing  on  the  Island  of  San  Juan,  by  sending  a  British  ship  of  war 
from  Vancouver  Island  to  convey  the  chief  factor  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  to  San  Juan  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  an  American  citizen, 
and  transporting  him  to  Vancouver  Island  to  be  tried  by  British 
laws.' 

"  I  will  explain,  for  your  information,  that  the  agents  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  hold  no  official  position  in  Vancouver  Island, 
nor  exercise  any  official  power  or  authority,  and  are  as  entirely 
distinct  from  the  officers  of  the  executive  government  as  are  any 
other  inhabitants  of  Vancouver  Island.  To  the  reported  outrage  on 
an  American  citizen,  I  beg  to  give  the  most  unhesitating  and 
unqualified  denial.  None  of  her  Majesty's  ships  have  ever  been  sent 
to  convey  the  chief  factor  or  any  officer  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
to  San  Juan,  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  an  American  citizen,  nor  has 
any  attempt  ever  been  made  to  seize  an  American  citizen  and  to, 
transport  him  forcibly  to  Vancouver  Island  for  trial,  as  represented 
by  you. 

"  Up  to  a  very  recent  period  but  one  American  citizen  has  been 


254  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

resident  on  San  Juan.  About  the  commencement  of  the  present  year 
a  few  American  citizens  began  to  '  squat '  upon  the  island,  and  upon 
one  occasion  a  complaint  was  made  to  me  by  a  British  subject  of 
some  wrong  committed  against  his  property  by  an  American  citizen  : 
but  no  attention  was  paid  to  that  complaint,  out  of  consideration  and 
respect  to  the  friendly  Government  to  which  the  alleged  offender 
belonged,  and  whose  citizens,  I  think  it  cannot  be  denied,  have 
always  been  treated  with  marked  attention  by  all  the  British 
authorities  in  those  parts.  With  reference  to  San  Juan  in  particular, 
I  have  always  acted  with  the  utmost  caution,  to  prevent,  so  far  as 
might  lie  in  my  power,  any  ill-feeling  arising  from  collisions  between 
British  subjects  and  American  citizens,  and  have,  in  that  respect, 
cordially  endeavored  to  carry  out  the  views  of  the  United  States 
Government,  as  expressed  in  a  despatch  from  Mr.  Marcy,  dated  17th 
July,  1855,  to  her  Majesty's  minister  at  Washington,  a  copy  of  which 
I  herewith  enclose  for  your  information,  as  I  presume  that  the 
document  cannot  be  in  your  possession. 

"  Following  the  dignified  policy  recommended  by  that  despatch,  I 
should,  in  any  well-grounded  case  of  complaint  against  an  American 
citizen,  -have  referred  the  matter  to  the  federal  authorities  in 
Washington  Territory,  well  assured  that  if  wrong  had  been  committed, 
reparation  would  have  followed. 

"I  deeply  regret  that  you  did  not  communicate  with  me  for 
information  upon  the  subject  of  the  alleged  grievance  ;  you  would 
then  have  learned  how  unfounded  was  the  complaint,  and  the  grave 
action  you  have  adopted  might  have  been  avoided.  I  also  deeply 
regret  that  you  did  not  mention  the  matter  verbally  to  me,  when  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  at  Victoria  last  month,  for  a  few 
words  from  me  would,  I  am  sure,  have  removed  from  your  mind  any 
erroneous  impressions,  and  you  would  have  ascertained  personally 
from  me  how  anxious  I  have  ever  been  to  co-operate  to  the  utmost 
of  my  power  with  the  officers  of  the  United  States  Government,  in 
any  measures  which  might  be  mutually  beneficial  to  the  citizens  of 
the  two  countries. 

"Having  given  you  a  distinct  and  emphatic  denial  of  the  circum- 
stances which  you  allege  induced  you  to  occupy  the  Island  of 
San  Juan  with  United  States  troops  ;  having  shown  you  that  the 
reasons  you  assign  do  not  exist,  and  having  endeavored  to  assure  you 
of  my  readiness  on  all  occasions  to  act  for  the  protection  of  American 
citizens,  and  for  the  promotion  of  their  welfare,  I  must  call  upon  you, 
sir,  if  not  as  a  matter  of  justice  and  humanity,  to  withdraw  the 
troops  now  quartered  upon  the  Island  of  San  Juan,  for  those  troops 
are  not  required  for  the  protection  of  American  citizens  against 
British  authorities  ;  and  the  continuation  of  those  troops  upon  an 
island,  the  sovereignty  of  which  is  in  dispute,  not  only  is  a  marked 
discourtesy  to  a  friendly  Government,  but  complicates  to  an  undue 
degree  the  settlement  in  an  amicable  manner  of  the  question  of 
sovereignty,  and  is  also  calculated  to  provoke  a  collision  between  the 
military  forces  of  two  friendly  nations  in  a  distant  part  of  the  world.''" 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  255 

To  the  foregoing  manly  and  able  communication,  General  Harney 
replied  in  an  evasive  and  shuffling  manner.  In  a  letter  to  Colonel 
S.  Cooper,  Adjutant-General,  Washington  City,  D.C.,  August  8th, 
he  stated  : 

"That  the  Island  of  San  Juan  has  for  months  past  been  under  the 
civil  jurisdiction  of  Whatcom  County,  Washington  Territory.  A 
justice  of  the  peace  had  been  established  on  the  island,  the  people  had 
been  taxed  by  the  Company,  and  the  taxes  were  paid  by  the  foreigners 
as  well  as  Americans.  An  inspector  of  customs,  a  United  States 
officer  of  the  Treasury  Department,  had  been  placed  upon  the  island, 
in  the  discharge  of  his  proper  duties.  The  British  authorities  at 
Vancouver  Island  were  aware  of  all  these  facts,  and  never  attempted 
to  exercise  any  authority  on  the  island,  except  clandestinely,  as 
reported  yesterday,  in  the  case  of  the  pig  which  was  killed." 

And  continuing,  says  : 

"  When  Governor  Douglas  heard  of  the  arrival  of  Captain  Pickett's 
command  at  San  Juan,  he  appointed  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  other 
civil  authorities  at  Victoria,  and  sent  them  over  in  the  British  ship 
of  war  Plumper,  to  execute  British  laws  on  the  island.  Captain 
Pickett  refused  to  permit  them  to  act  as  such,  and  I  have  now  fully 
and  fairly  explained  all  the  facts  which  have  any  bearing  upon  the 
occupation  of  San  Juan  Island,  which  was  made  an  imperious  necessity 
by  the  wanton  and  insulting  conduct  of  the  British  authorities  of 
Vancouver  Island  towards  our  citizens." 

A  DOUBLE  GAME. — Such  a  letter  does  not  reflect  creditably  on 
General  Harney,  who,  in  connection  with  it,  ordered  Lieut. -Colonel 
Casey,  of  the  9th  Infantry,  to  reinforce  the  troops  already  on  the 
island,  and  seemed  to  be  playing  a  double  game.  Lieut.-Colonel 
Casey  left  Fort  Steilacoom  on  the  steamer  Julia,  on  the  9th  August, 
and  landed  on  the  island  on  the  10th.  He  reports  on  the  12th,  and 
describes  his  landing  in  a  dense  fog.  He  says  : 

"  After  hugging  the  shore  for  a  few  miles  I  was  informed  by  the 
captain  that  we  were  but  a  short  distance  from  Captain  Pickett's 
camp,  that  it  was  difficult  to  get  along  on  account  of  the  fog,  and 
that,  moreover,  the  tide  was  so  low  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  get 
up  to  the  wharf  at  the  landing  for  several  hours.  Finding  ourselves 
in  a  smooth  place  near  the  land,  with  the  coast  so  depressed  at  the 
point  as  to  make  the  ascent  from  the  shore  easy,  I  landed  the  troops 
and  howitzers,  with  orders  to  the  senior  officer  to  move  them  to 
Captain  Pickett's  camp.  I  proceeded  on  the  steamer  around  to  the 
wharf,  taking  with  me  my  adjutant  and  a  small  guard  for  the 
howitzer,  ammunition  and  other  public  property." 


256  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

READY  FOR  A  BROADSIDE.— Lieut. -Colonel  Casey  goes  on  to  report 
how  he  found  the  Tribune  with  her  fires  up  and  guns  pointed  to  the 
landing,  "but  they  did  not  interfere  with  the  landing  of  the  freight;" 
although  it  was  Captain  Pickett's  opinion  that  they  would  have  given 
a  broadside  to  the  troops  if  landed  just  there.  This  may  account  for 
their  being  landed  on  the  other  side  of  the  island  on  account  of  low 
water,  which  appeared  deep  enough  to  bring  the  Julia  around  to  the 
wharf  immediately  after  the  men  were  landed.  No  time  was  lost  by 
Lieut.-Colonel  Casey  in  sending  an  officer  aboard  the  Tribune,  with  a 
request  that  Captain  Hornby  would  call  on  him  at  his  camp  to  hold 
a  conference. 

LIEUT.-COLONEL  CASEY'S  REPORT.  —  Boundary  commissioners,  Mr. 
Campbell,  in  the  Shubrick,  and  Captain  Prevost,  having  arrived  in  the 
Satellite,  went  ashore  along  with  Captain  Hornby  to  call  on  Lieut.- 
Colonel  Casey,  who  continues  in  his  report  pompously  to  say  : 

"  I  informed  Captain  Hornby  that  I  had  landed  that  morning  with 
a  force  of  United  States  troops,  and  explained  to  him  why  I  had  not 
landed  at  the  wharf  under  the  guns  of  the  frigate.  I  also  said  to 
him  that  I  regretted  that  Captain  Pickett  had  been  so  much  harassed 
and  threatened  in  the  position  he  had  occupied.  I  inquired  of  Captain 
Hornby  who  the  officer  highest  in  command  was,  and  where  he  was 
to  be  found.  He  said  it  was  Admiral  Baynes,  and  that  he  was  then 
on  board  the  flagship  Ganges,  in  Esquimalt  harbor.  I  intimated  a 
wish  to  have  a  conference  with  the  admiral,  and  that  I  would  go 
down  to  Esquimalt  harbor  next  day  for  the  purpose  of  the  interview. 
Both  the  captain  and  the  British  commissioner  seemed  pleased. 

"The  next  day,  accompanied  by  Captain  Pickett  (both  of  us  in 
full  uniform)  and  Mr.  Campbell,  I  went  down  to  Esquimalt  on  the 
steamer  Shubrick.  We  anchored  near  the  Ganges.  I  sent  to  the 
admiral,  by  an  officer,  the  note  marked  'A'.  I  received  in  reply  the 
note  marked  'B'.  The  note  marked  'C'  was  taken  on  board  by 
Captain  Pickett,  and  handed  to  the  admiral  in  person.  The  captain 
was  courteously  received  ,  by  the  admiral.  Governor  Douglas  was 
present  in  the  cabin.  After  reading  the  note  the  admiral  handed  it 
to  the  governor.  The  governor  inquired  if  I  knew  he  was  on  board 
the  ship.  The  captain  replied  that  he  had  no  reason  to  suppose  I 
did,  but  that  I  had  not  sought  an  interview  with  him  but  with  the 
admiral.  The  captain  then  informed  the  admiral  that  the  steamer 
was  then  firing  up,  but  that  he  would  be  happy  to  wait,  should  he  then 
desire  to  give  me  the  conference.  It  was  declined,  but  the  admiral 
reiterated  his  desire  that  he  would  be  happy  to  see  me  on  board  the 
ship.  I  was  of  opinion  that  I  had  carried  etiquette  far  enough  in 
going  twenty-five  miles  to  see  a  gentleman  who  was  disinclined  to 
<rome  one  hundred  yards  to  see  me.  .  .  . 

"I  would  advise  that  the  general  send  an  express  to  San  Francisco 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  257 

requesting  the"  naval  captain  in  command  to  send  up  any  ships  of 
war  he  may  have  on  the  coast.  .  .  .  The  British  have  a  sufficient 
naval  force  here  to  effectually  blockade  this  island  when  they  choose. 
.  .  .  I  request  that  five  full  companies  of  regular  troops,  with  an 
officer  of  engineers  and  a  detachment  of  sappers,  be  sent  here  as  soon 
as  possible." 

On  the  14th,  Casey  further  reported  that  the  Massachusetts  had 
landed  her  guns  and  ammunition,  and  that  he  had  directed  all  the 
supplies  to  be  brought  from  that  port  to  Camp  Pickett,  and  that  the 
32-pounders  should  be  placed  in  position  as  soon  as  possible ;  from 
all  which  it  would  appear  that  Lieut.-Colonel  Silas  Casey  was  very 
anxious  to  bring  on  a  war,  and  was  preparing  to  sustain  a  siege. 

PREPARING  FOR  WAR. — A  reply  was  sent  by  Adjutant-General 
Pleasonton  from  Fort  Vancouver,  on  the  16th,  to  Casey,  approving 
of  his  action  and  stating  that  a  detachment  of  engineers  would  be 
sent ;  in  the  meantime  to  have  platforms  made  for  the  heavy  guns, 
and  cover  "your  camp  as  much  as  possible  by  entrenchment,  placing 
your  heavy  guns  in  battery  on  the  most  exposed  approaches;  the 
howitzers  to  be  used  to  the  best  advantage  with  the  troops,  or  in  the 
camp,  according  to  circumstances.  Select  your  position  with  the 
greatest  care  to  avoid  the  fire  from  British  ships.  In  such  a  position 
your  command  should  be  able  to  defend  itself  against  any  force  the 
British  may  land.  The  general  has  requested  a  naval  force  from  the 
senior  officer  on  the  coast,  and  has  notified  General  Clarke,  as  well 
as  the  authorities  at  Washington,  of  the  existing  state  of  affairs  on 
the  Sound.  Troops  and  supplies  will  be  sent  you  as  fast  as  they  can 
be  collected.  The  general  regrets,  under  all  circumstances,  your 
visit  to  Esquimalt  harbor  to  see  the  British  admiral,  but  is  satisfied 
of  your  generous  intentions  towards  them.  He  instructs  you  for  the 
future  to  refer  all  official  communication  desired  by  the  British 
authorities  to  these  headquarters,  informing  them  at  the  same  time 
that  such  are  your  orders." 

"SPOILING  FOR  A  FIGHT." — On  the  18th  of  August,  General  Harney 
sent  a  despatch  to  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  United  States  army, 
General  Winfield  Scott,  at  Washington,  D.C.,  in  which  he  represents 
proceedings  at  San  Juan  Island  from  his  point  of  view,  and  sends  a 
list  of  the  British  fleet  at  Esquimalt  as  consisting  of  5  vessels  of  war, 
with  167  guns,  2,140  men,  some  600  of  which  are  marines  and 
engineer  troops,  and  that  this  force  had  been  using  every  means  in 
its  power,  except  opening  fire,  to  intimidate  one  company  of  infantry, 

17 


258  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

but  sixty  strong.  On  the  14th  of  August,  he  reports,  Colonel  Casey 
had  five  companies  with  him  on  the  island,  and  by  the  time  he  was 
writing  four  companies  more  would  have  arrived  as  reinforcements. 
General  Harney,  on  the  24th  of  August,  sent  another  despatch  to 
Adjutant-General  Colonel  S.  Cooper,  at  Washington,  D.C.,  in  which 
he  commented  on  the  letter  of  Governor  Douglas  of  the  13th. 
repeating  former  mis-statements  respecting  Cutler  and  the  slaughter 
of  the  pig,  and  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Dallas  in  a  war  ship,  etc.  Again, 
on  the  29th,  he  wrote  to  Colonel  Cooper,  recapitulating  much  of  what 
he  had  said  already,  bringing  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  and  the 
northern  Indians,  comparing  them  to  the  East  India  Company,, 
which,  he  said,  had  crushed  out  the  liberties  and  existence  of  so 
many  nations  in  Asia,  and  committed  barbarities  and  atrocities  for 
which  the  annals  of  crime  have  no  parallel.  He  characterized  the 
statements  or  denial  of  Governor  Douglas  as  "only  a  quibble." 

Another  despatch  is  forwarded  by  General  Harney  to  the  same 
officer  on  the  30th,  in  which  he  states  the  troops  and  artillery  on  the 
Island  of  San  Juan  numbered  461  men,  with  eight  32-pounders,  with 
Colonel  Casey  in  command,  and  that  "  from  the  conformation  of  the 
island  and  the  position  occupied  by  the  troops,  the  English  could  not 
remain  in  the  harbor  under  a  fire  from  the  32-pounders,  but  would 
be  compelled  to  take  distance  in  the  Sound,  from  whence  they  could 
only  annoy  us  by  shells,  which  would  be  trifling.  The  English  have 
no  force  that  they  could  land  which  would  be  able  to  dislodge  Colonel 
Casey's  command  as  now  posted." 

HARNEY  SUPERSEDED.  —  LORD  LYONS,  her  Majesty's  minister  at 
Washington,  had  not  heard  of  the  proceedings  at  San  Juan  until  the 
3rd  of  September,  when  he  at  once  had  a  conference  with  Mr.  Cass. 
On  the  7th,  the  conversation  which  took  place  there  was  reduced  to 
writing  and  sent  to  Mr.  Cass.  The  subject  was  brought  before  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  who  expressed  the  greatest  regret 
and  surprise  at  the  unauthorized  and  unjustifiable  action  of  General 
Harney.  Instructions  were  issued  to  General  Winfield  Scott  to- 
proceed  to  Washington  Territory  to  take  command  of  the  United 
States  forces  in  that  district,  which  superseded  General  Harney.  A 
despatch  was  sent  by  Mr.  Cass  to  Mr.  Gholson,  governor  of  Wash- 
ington Territory,  desiring  his  co-operation. 

GENERAL  SCOTT'S  INSTRUCTIONS  were  dated  1 6th  of  September,  1859. 
He  arrived  at  Fort  Vancouver  on  the  20th  of  October,  and  next  day 
had  an  interview  with  General  Harney.  On  the  22nd  he  left  for 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  259 

Port  Townsend,  and  on  the  25th  October  wrote  to  Governor  Douglas, 
in  which  he  submitted  a  proposition  that  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  should  each  occupy  a  separate  portion  of  San  Juan 
Island,  and  that  the  number  should  not  exceed  one  hundred  men.  To 
this  Governor  Douglas  replied  that  he  could  not  agree  on  the  part  of 
Great  Britain  to  land  troops  on  San  Juan,  without  authority  from 
the  Government  of  her  Britannic  Majesty.  On  the  2nd  of  November, 
General  Scott  again  wrote  to  Governor  Douglas,  enclosing  a  memor- 
andum of  a  "  Project  of  a  Temporary  Settlement,"  which  was  in  effect 
the  former  proposal  of  each  nation  to  occupy  the  island  until  the 
two  governments  should  have  time  to  settle  the  question  of  title 
diplomatically. 

GOVERNOR  DOUGLAS  REPLIED  on  the  3rd  of  November  to  the  same 
effect  as  in  his  former  letter.  On  the  5th,  General  Scott  informed 
Governor  Douglas  that  the  United  States  troops  on  San  Juan  would; 
be  reduced  to  Captain  Pickett's  company  of  infantry,  which  had 
been  sent  there  in  July  last.  General  Scott  further  ordered  that 
Captain  Hunt  and  his  company  and  Assistant-Surgeon  Craig  should 
remain  on  the  island  until  further  orders  ;  and  that  Lieut. -Colonel 
Casey  will  cause  the  heavy  guns  to  be  replaced  on  board  the  propeller 
Massachusetts,  to  be  returned  to  their  former  stations.  Copies  of  the 
orders  were  sent  to  Governor  Douglas,  who  expressed  satisfaction  at 
the  change  which  had  been  made  by  General  Scott,  and  informed 
him  he  would  represent  the  case  to  her  Majesty's  Government. 

RECALLED  TO  REPORT  AT  WASHINGTON. — General  Harney  retained 
his  command  under  the  supervision  of  General  Scott  for  some  time. 
Indeed  it  was  not  until  June  8th,  1860,  that  he  received  the  following 
notice  from  the  War  Department :  "  Brigadier-General  William  S. 
Harney  will,  on  receipt  hereof,  turn  over  the  command  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Oregon  to  the  officer  next  in  rank  in  that  Department,  and 
repair  without  delay  to  Washington  City,  and  report  in  person  to  the 
Secretary  of  War."  Before  his  recall  he  had  interfered  with  Captain 
Hunt,  who  was  withdrawn  from  the  island,  but  afterwards  restored 
with  his  company  there. 

LORD  LYONS  TO  MR.  CASS. — Captain  Pickett,  by  Harney 's  orders, 
was  sent  to  relieve  Captain  Hunt  on  the  30th  of  April,  1860.  As 
soon  as  that  intelligence  reached  Washington,  Lord  Lyons  wrote  to 
Mr.  Cass,  Secretary  of  State,  calling  his  attention  to  the  change 
which  had  been  made.  *  General  Scott  sent  the  following  reason  why 
he  had  substituted  Hunt  for  Pickett,  viz.:  "Pickett,  on  landing  on 


260  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

the  island,  issued  a  proclamation  declaring  the  island  belonged  to  the 
United  States,  and  other  points  offensive  to  the  British  authorities, 
and  as  my  mission  was  one  of  peace,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  substitute 
Hunt  for  Pickett.  .  .  .  Hunt  (as  our  officers  informed  me)  was 
remarkable  for  firmness,  discretion  and  courtesy.  It  will  be  seen  by 
Brigadier-General  Harney's  instructions  to  Pickett,  of  the  last  month, 
that  Harney  considers  San  Juan  Island  as  a  part  of  Washington 
Territory,  and  Pickett  is  directed  to  acknowledge  and  respect  the 
authority  of  that  Territory.  If  this  does  not  lead  to  a  collision  of 
arms,  it  will  again  be  due  to  the  forbearance  of  the  British  authorities, 
ior  I  found  both  Brigadier-General  Harney  and  Captain  Pickett 
proud  of  their  conquest  of  the  island,  and  quite  jealous  of  any 
/interference  therewith  on  the  part  of  higher  authority."  Mr.  Cass  in 
<his  reply  to  Lord  Lyons  said  :  "  The  orders  of  General  Harney,  to 
which  your  Lordship  called  attention,  have  been  read  by  the  President, 
both  with  surprise  and  regret.  .  .  .  He  has  been  recalled  from  his 
command." 

JOINT  MILITARY  OCCUPATION.  —  Rear- Admiral  Robert  Lambert 
Baynes  and  Governor  Douglas  finally  agreed  to  a  joint  military 
occupation  of  the  island  ;  and  on  20th  of  March,  1860,  a  detachment 
of  Royal  Marines,  under  Captain  George  Bazalgette,  was  disembarked 
•  on  San  Juan.  In  point  of  number  they  were  equal  to  the  company 
of  the  United  States  troops  under  the  command  of  Captain  Hunt. 
'They  carried  their  ordinary  arms  only.  The  orders  issued  to  Captain 
Bazalgette  were  that  the  object  of  placing  them  was  for  the  protection 
-of  British  interests,  and  to  form  a  joint  military  occupation  with  the 
troops  of  the  United  States.  Captain  Bazalgette  was  to  place  himself 
in  frank  and  free  communication  with  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
United  States  troops,  that  the  most  perfect  and  cordial  understanding 
should  exist  between  them,  which  the  rear-admiral  felt  assured  he 
would  at  all  times  find  Captain  Hunt  ready  and  anxious  to  maintain. 

OTHER  QUESTIONS  OF  IMPORTANCE  to  both  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  served,  from  time  to  time,  to  divert  their  attention  from 
the  settlement  of  the  San  Juan  Island  question.  The  49th  parallel  * 
Boundary  Commission  closed  in  May,  1862.  Correspondence  of  great 
length  continued  respecting  the  island  boundary  between  the  Govern- 
ments of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  during  1860  ;  but  when 
the  civil  war  broke  out  in  the  United  States,  in  April,  1861,  the 
parties  of  the  North  and  South  stood  committed  to  face  a  great  war* 
before  which  all  other  controversies  had  to  give  way.  Great  Britain 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD.  261 

did  not  press  the  question  of  the  boundary  on  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  in  that  hour  of  difficulty,  so  it  remained  in  abeyance 
until  1868. 

WHISKEY  SELLERS  CAUSE  TROUBLE. — The  island  continued  in  the 
joint  occupation  of  the  two  governments.  Captain  Hunt  filled  his 
position  faithfully,  but  fell  in  the  good  graces  of  the  "  United  States 
subjects,"  who  accused  him  of  insulting  the  whole  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  island,  and  that  his  conduct  was  gross  and  ungentlemanly. 
They  got  up  a  petition  to  General  Harney  to  have  Hunt  removed.  It 
turned  out  that  the  trouble  was  with  a  few  illicit  liquor  dealers,  who 
lived  by  dealing  poison  to  the  soldiers,  and  who  had  no  other  stake 
on  the  island  than  that  arising  from  their  ill-gotten  gains.  The 
whiskey  sellers  (three  of  whose  names  were  on  the  petition)  were 
banished  from  the  island.  Captain  Gray,  some  time  afterwards,, 
succeeded  Captain  Hunt.  He  got  into  trouble  with  Jared  C.  Brown, 
deputy  marshal  ot  Port  Townsend,  who  complained  to  Secretary  o£ 
State  Seward  that  Captain  Gray  refused  to  be  arrested.  The  deputy 
marshal  was  met  by  Gray's  men,  who  supported  their  captain  in  the 
charge  against  him,  which  was  that  he  had  ejected  from  the  island  a 
troublesome  squatter  who  had  built  a  fence  between  the  military  post, 
and  the  landing.  The  process  was  returned  "unserved." 

SUNDRY  IMPORTANT  QUESTIONS  TO  BE  DEALT  WITH. — The  Alabama 
claims,  the  naturalization  question,  the  fishery  question  and  the 
reciprocity  treaty  with  Canada,  each  came  up  in  the  interim.  In 
February,  1868,  Mr.  Seward,  in  compliance  with  a  resolution  of  the 
United  States  senate  of  18th  December,  1867,  presented  a  report, 
together  with  a  number  of  papers  known  as  "American  State 
Papers,"  in  which  reference  was  made  to  the  Island  of  San  Juan.  A 
protocol  was  signed  at  London  on  the  17th  of  October,  1868,  by  Lord 
Stanley  and  Reverdy  Johnson,  agreeing  to  refer  the  location  of  the 
boundary  line  to  some  friendly  sovereign  according  to  the  treaty  of 
1846.  The  President  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Swiss  Republic- 
was  named  as  arbitrator.  Lord  Clarendon  having  succeeded  Lord 
*  Stanley  at  the  foreign  office,  another  convention  was  held,  embodying 
certain  amendments,  but  nominating  the  former  arbitrator.  A  new 
treaty  was  signed  by  Clarendon  and  Reverdy  Johnson,  January  14th, 
1869.  When  it  was  brought  before  the  senate  in  April  for  ratifica- 
tion, it  was  decided  by  that  body  to  defer  further  consideration  until 
the  next  session,  to  open  in  December,  1869.  The  proviso  of  the 
United  States  constitution  which  requires  the  assent  of  the  senate  to- 


262  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

the  ratification  of  a  treaty  by  the  president,  may  be  used  to  place  the 
negotiating  party  in  an  awkward  and  humiliating  position. 

EMPEROR  WILLIAM'S  DECISION. — Further  delays  kept  the  question 
in  abeyance  until  1871,  when  commissioners  were  sent  to  Washington 
to  hold  another  convention,  at  which  it  was  agreed  that  the  San  Juan 
Island  boundary  question  should  be  submitted  to  the  arbitration  and 
award  of  Emperor  William  of  Germany.  The  German  emperor 
accepted  the  office  of  arbitrator.  The  case  was  laid  before  him  with 
maps  and  documents,  by  the  United  States  minister  in  Germany,  Geo. 
Bancroft,  and  by  the  British  charge  d'affaires,  Mr.  Petre,  who  had  the 
responsibility  of  presenting  the  arguments  on  both  sides.  Captain 
(afterwards  Admiral)  Prevost,  the  British  boundary  commissioner  of 
1859,  was  also  present  in  Berlin,  to  advocate  his  views.  The  award, 
was  not  made  until  October  21st,  1872,  when,  incomprehensible  as  it 
may  appear,  in  view  of  the  whole  facts,  it  was  given  in  favor  of  the 
United  States.  The  people  of  British  Columbia,  though  grievously 
disappointed,  accepted  the  decision  magnanimously.  Had  the 
Emperor's  decision  been  the  middle  channel,  as  was  proposed,  it  would 
have  been  a  convenience  to  have  kept  possession  of  San  Juan,  and 
prevented  the  island  from  being  used  as  a  smuggling  rendezvous ;  yet 
the  colony  did  not  notice  the  difference,  and  continued  to  prosper 
without  it.  In  a  few  weeks  after  the  award  was  made  known,  the 
British  troops  were  withdrawn  from  the  island.  The  best  of  good 
feeling  existed  between  both  officers  and  men  of  both  nations  during 
their  joint  occupation  of  the  island. 


THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  263 


CHAPTEK  VII. 


RAPID  SPREAD  OF  MINING  NEWS. 

GOLD  DISCOVERIES.  —  The  summer  of  1858  was  an  active  and 
anxious  time  for  Governor  Douglas.  Along  with  the  ordinary 
business  of  the  colony  and  the  Company,  came  the  San  Juan 
boundary  difficulty  arid  the  gold  excitement,  which  latter,  of  itself, 
as  it  developed,  must  have  required  an  extraordinary  amount  of 
care  and  attention.  The  solicitude  /of  the  home  Government,  as 
manifested  in  the  admirable  despatches  from  Lord  Lytton,  to  have 
the  new  colony  based  on  just^a»d.  liberal  principles  and  in  conson- 
ance with  British  law  jjjftcTireedom  is  evident,  and  required  a  man 
of  the  ability  of  Douglas  to  carry  them  into  effect  so  ably  and 
harmoniously. 

THOMPSON  AND  FRASEB  RIVERS. — In  1857,  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany- had  received,  from  October  6th  to  the  end  of  the  year,  three 
hundred  ounces  of  gold  through  their  agents  at  the  Thompson  and 
Fraser  Rivers.  The  officers  of  the  Company  at  Victoria  were  aware 
of  the  auriferous  wealth  of  those  rivers.  Governor  Douglas,  in  a 
despatch  dated  December  29th,  to  Secretary  of  State  Labouchere, 
.states,  that  "the  auriferous  character  of  the  country  is  daily  becoming 
more  developed,  through  the  exertions  of  the  native  Indian  tribes, 
who,  having  tasted  the  sweets  of  gold-finding,  are  devoting  much  of 
their  time  and  attention  to  that  pursuit."  Other  parties  from  Oregon 
and  Washington  Territories  had  come  north  by  way  of  Colville,  and 
found  their  way  to  the  junction  of  the  Thompson  and  Fraser  Rivers. 
They  found  several  rich  bars  in  that  vicinity  and  worked  them  with 
good  success. 

AUTHORITY  REQUIRED. — Hearing  of  this  success,  John  Scranton, 
an  experienced  miner,  McMullin,  governor  of  the  territory,  and 
Secretary  Mason,  accompanied  by  Ballou,  also  a  miner,  and  several 
others,  proceeded  to  Victoria  to  ascertain  the  truth  of  the  reports 
which  they  had  heard.  The  reports  were  confirmed,  and  a  procla- 
mation was  issued  by  Governor  Douglas,  bearing  the  date  of  his 


264  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

despatch  to  Labouchere,  declaring  that,  as  the  gold-bearing  regions 
referred  to  at  or  near  Thompson  and  Fraser  Rivers  belonged  to  the 
Crown  of  Great  Britain,  all  persons  were  forbidden  to  dig  or  disturb 
the  soil  in  search  of  gold  until  authorized  in  that  behalf  by  her 
Majesty's  colonial  Government. 

THE  NEWS  SPREAD  RAPIDLY. — This  information  made  the  inquirers 
from  San  Francisco  more  anxious.  On  their  return  the  news  spread 
like  wild-fire.  Ballou,  having  been  engaged  in  the  southern  mines, 
and  also  in  the  northern  mines,  partly  as  an  expressman,  forthwith 
made  arrangements  to  start  "  Ballou's  Express  "  from  San  Francisco 
to  the  Fraser  River  mines.  Governor  Douglas  further  reported  to 
Labouchere,  January  14th,  1858:  "There  is  reason  to  suppose  that 
the  gold  region  is  extensive,  and  I  entertain  sanguine  hopes  that 
future  researches  will  develop  stores  of  wealth,  perhaps  equal  to  the 
gold-fields  of  California  —  the  geological  formation  being  similar  in 
character  to  the  structure  of  the  mountains  in  Sierra  Nevada." 

NATIVES  JEALOUS. — He  also  wrote  on  the  6th  of  April:  "The 
search  for  gold  up  to  the  last  dates  from  the  interior  was  carried  on 
almost  exclusively  by  the  native  population,  who  had  discovered  the 
productive  mines,  and  washed  out  all  the  gold,  about  eight  hundred 
ounces,  thus  far  exported  from  the  country,  and  that  they  were 
extremely  jealous  of  the  whites  digging  for  gold.  In  addition  to 
the  diggings  before  known  on  Thompson  River  and  its  tributary 
streams,  a  valuable  deposit  has  recently  been, found  by  the  natives 
on  the  bank  of  the  Fraser  River,  about  five  miles  beyond  its  con- 
fluence with  the  Thompson  ;  and  gold  in  smaller  quantities  has  been 
found  in  possession  of  the  natives  as  far  as  the  great  falls  of  the 
Fraser,  some  miles  above  the  Forks." 

THE  GOLDEN  "AURORA  BOREALIS." — Thus  the  discovery  became 
known  and  spread  with  astonishing  rapidity.  A  descriptive  writer 
says  :  "  It  is  noised  abroad  that  gold  abounds  in  British  Columbia. 
Then  men  everywhere  throughout  the  world  begin  to-  study  their 
maps  to  see  where  is  situated  the  favored  isle  that  guards  the 
auriferous  mainland.  California  is  to  be  outdone,  as  the  rivers  of 
British  Columbia  are  larger  than  those  of  California.  The  glories 
of  Australia  shall  pale  before  this  new  golden  aurora  borealis.  As 
in  California  the  precious  metal  was  most  abundant  near  the  sources 
of  the  streams,  and  was  thought  by  some  to  have  flowed  in  with  the 
streams  from  the  north  ;  so  in  the  north,  it  is  now  expected,  may  be 
found  the  primitive  source  where  the  deposits  were  originally  formed. 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  265 

And  so  the  settlers  on  Vancouver  Island,  on  the  Cowlitz,  and  on 
the  Columbia,  leave  their  farms ;  then  the  servants  of  the  monopoly 
fling  off  their  allegiance ;  the  saw  mills  round  the  Sound  are  soon 
idle,  and  finally  wave  after  wave  of  eager  adventurers  roll  in  from 
the  south  and  east,  from  Oregon  and  from  California,  from  the 
islands  and  Australia,  from  Canada  and  Europe,  until  the  third 
great  DEVIL-DANCE  of  the  nations  within  the  decade  begins  upon 
the  Fraser." 

CREWS  DESERT  VESSELS. — The  San  Francisco  Herald  of  the  20th 
of  April,  1858,  recorded  that  the  excitement  was  fully  equal  in  extent 
to  that  which  arose  in  the  Atlantic  States  from  the  reports  of  gold 
discoveries  in  California  in  1848-9.  Several  hundred  persons  had 
gone  to  Fraser  River  from  Puget  Sound.  The  excitement  was  much 
greater  in  Washington  and  Oregon  Territories  than  on  Vancouver 
Island.  Crews  brought  vessels  from  San  Francisco  for  lumber  to 
Puget  Sound,  and  then  deserted  them.  From  the  interior  of  Cali- 
fornia all  classes  abandoned  their  occupations  and  made  their  way  to 
San  Francisco.  In  April  the  whole  of  the  country  was  in  a  ferment. 
Hundreds  from  the  northern  counties  of  California  took  the  overland 
route  ;  companies  of  men,  numbering  from  four  to  five  hundred, 
accompanied  by  pack  trains,  travelled  by  the  interior  route.  They 
found  it  necessary  to  travel  in  large  companies  for  protection  against 
Indians. 

•  THE  OVERLAND  RouTE.-^The  route  taken  was  by  Okanagan  to 
Kamloops.  A  train  of  waggons  drawn  by  oxen  came  from  Portland, 
encamping  at  Dallas.  The  loads  were  provisions,  and  each  waggon 
contained  about  three  thousand  pounds.  The  Columbia  River  was 
crossed  at  Okanagan  by  swimming  the  oxen  and  placing  the  waggons 
and  freight  on  canoes  lashed  together.  The  companies  which  travelled 
by  pack  trains  moved  more  rapidly  than  the  "  bull  trains."  Palmer, 
who  organized  the  cattle  train,  made  a  second  trip  in  1859,  going  as 
far  north  as  Alexandria  and  Lightning  Creek.  The  oxen  were  sold 
for  beef  after  arriving  at  their  journey's  end.  Another  route  was  by 
.Whatcom  and  Puget  Sound,  but  the  main  body  of  miners  came  direct 
from  San  Francisco. 

WELL  ORGANIZED. — One  of  those  companies  from  Oregon  and 
California,  which  was  organized  under  the  leadership  of  David 
McLaughlin,  remained  at  Walla  Walla  a  few  days  to  recruit.  They 
had,  according  to  Bancroft,  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  horses  and 
mules,  and  numbered  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  all  well  armed  with 


266  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

revolvers,  ninety  rifles,  besides  other  arms.  Before  starting,  Mr. 
Wolfe,  a  trader  from  Colville,  arrived  at  their  camp  and  informed 
them  of  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  natives  along  the  proposed  route, 
advising  a  thorough  military  organization.  Four  divisions  were 
accordingly  formed  and  placed  under  the  command  of  James 
McLaughlin,  Hambright,  Wilson  and  another.  The  Walla  Wallas, 
Palouses,  Okanagans  and  other  tribes  were  hostile.  The  party 
passed  through  the  Grand  Coulee  to  Okanagan.  On  their  way  over 
the  Columbia  plains,  a  German  who  had  lagged  behind  was  seized  by 
the  savages  and  killed. 

INDIAN  FORTIFICATIONS. — After  crossing  the  Columbia,  and  travel- 
ling for  two  or  three  days,  when  near  the  boundary  line  on  the  east 
side  of  Okanagan  River,  the  party  came  to  a  hill  on  which  were  rude 
fortifications,  and  Indians  in  force  on  each  side  of  the  road,  which 
there  had  to  pass  through  a  canyon.  McLaughlin  discovered  an 
Indian's  head  peering  over  a  rock.  The  men  took  promptly  to  their 
work,  and  fought  till  night.  None  of  the  animals  stampeded ;  they 
and  the  trains  were  conducted  to  the  plateau  below.  While  the 
riflemen  continued  after  nightfall  facing  the  Indians,  a  detachment 
prepared  rafts  to  cross  the  river,  with  the  intention  of  flanking  the 
savages  in  their  defences  and  formidable  fastnesses. 

FIRES  AND  COUNTER-FIRES. — Three  of  the  Californians  were  killed, 
and  seven  were  wounded,  but  recovered.  In  the  night  the  Indians 
set  fire  to  the  grass,  and  the  gold-hunters  set  counter-fires,  but  neither 
party  succeeded  in  burning  the  other  out.  Next  morning  the  white 
men  proceeded  to  bury  their  dead,  and  discovered  that  the  Indians 
had  abandoned  their  stronghold.  It  had  about  a  hundred  breast- 
works, each  made  to  shelter  one  Indian.  At  the  time  of  the  attack 
-eighty  savages  occupied  the  places  of  shelter. 

THE  PROWLING  SAVAGES  FOLLOW. — Between  two  and  three  days 
after  the  skirmish  referred  to,  another  attack  was  made  on  the  party, 
this  time  on  the  west  side  of  Okanagan  River.  A  hundred  mounted 
warriors  rode  down  upon  them,  with  the  intention  of  separating  the 
party  from  their  animals.  The  purpose  of  the  savages  was  anticipated 
and  prevented.  After  considerable  delay  and  parley,  peace  was  made 
with  the  hostile  tribe,  the  Okanagans,  and  the  gold-hunters  continued 
their  march  without  further  delay.  The  prowling  savages,  with 
hostile  and  thieving  intent,  continued  to  follow  them  to  a  point 
within  three  days'  march  of  Thompson  River.  That  stream  was 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  267 

reached  twelve  miles  above  its  mouth.  Wolfe,  the  trader,  had  sixty 
head  of  cattle  stolen  by  the  Indians  during  the  trip. 

OVER  THIRTY  THOUSAND  PEOPLE.— According  to  the  estimate  of 
John  Nugent,  who  acted  as  consular  agent  for  the  United  States,  in 
May,  June  and  July,  1858,  at  least  twenty-three  thousand  persons 
went  from  San  Francisco  by  sea,  and  about  eight  thousand  overland, 
making  an  aggregate  of  over  thirty  thousand  in  the  course  of  the 
season.  Out  of  this  vast  number,  the  same  authority  says  they  all 
returned  to  the  United  States  before  January,  1859,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  about  three  thousand.  The  emigration  was  encouraged  by 
steamboat  owners,  who  reaped  a  rich  harvest  by  the  excitement.  All 
sorts  of  craft  were  engaged  in  the  transport  trade — crowded  and 
uncomfortable.  A  writer  says :  "  The  worm-eaten  wharves  of  San 
Francisco  trembled  almost  daily  under  the  tread  of  the  vast  multitude 
that  gathered  to  see  the  northern-bound  vessels  leave."  Many  of  the 
adventurers  were  well  supplied  with  tools,  and  brought  plenty  of 
money  to  invest  in  land  and  other  speculations.  The  money,  as  a 
rule,  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  as  the 
only  safe  in  the  country  was  owned  by  them  in  Victoria. 

GOLD  DOST  ON  DEPOSIT. — On  the  20th  of  April,  1858,  the  steamer 
Commodore  left  San  Francisco  with  the  first  party  of  four  hundred 
-and  fifty  of  those  adventurers.  Governor  Douglas,  writing  to  London 
of  their  arrival,  says  :  "  There  seems  to  be  no  want  of  capital  among 
them.  About  sixty  were  British  subjects,  sixty  Californians,  and 
the  remainder  Germans,  French  and  Italians."  Mr.  Finlayson,  the 
treasurer  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  received  such  gold  as  they 
wished  to  deposit  for  safe  keeping.  He  required  that  each  man's 
gold  should  be  placed  in  a  sack  and  sealed,  with  the  owner's  name  on 
it,  and  a  receipt  granted.  When  the  owner  wanted  the  money,  he 
produced  the  receipt  and  the  sack  was  handed  over  to  him ;  or  if  he 
wished  to  use  a  portion  of  the  contents,  he  might  take  it  out  of  the 
bag  and  put  on  a  new  seal.  There  was  no  counting  of  the  money. 
Mr.  Finlayson,  in  later  days,  referred  with  justifiable  pride  to  the 
fact  that  not  one  instance  of  complaint  or  loss  ever  occurred. 

TOWNSEND  AND  WnATCOM. — Before  navigation  on  the  Fraser  was 
properly  established,  the  Pacific  Mail  Company,  of  San  Francisco, 
landed  passengers  at  Port  Townsend,  in  Puget  Sound.  Whatcom, 
also,  was  made  a  landing-place  for  the  miners,  and  an  attempt 
made  to  establish  a  town  there.  A  trail  was  made  overland  to  the 
diggings,  but  subsequently  abandoned,  when  Fraser  River  was  found 


268  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

practicable  for  large  steamers.  It  was  arranged  that  by  payment  of 
a  royalty  for  each  trip,  United  States  steamers  were  permitted  to 
enter  the  Fraser,  and  run  from  Victoria  to  Langley  and  Hope.  The 
trail  from  Whatcom  touched  the  Fraser  at  Smess,  twenty  miles  above 
Langley.  The  fare  being  twenty  dollars  from  Victoria  to  Yale, 
many  of  the  miners  provided  their  own  boats,  and  it  is  stated  that 
hundreds  of  them  were  never  heard  of  after  leaving  Victoria,  having 
been  swamped  in  sudden  storms  or  by  treacherous  tide-rips.  Not  a 
few  returned  to  Victoria,  after  attempting  to  pass  through  the 
numerous  channels  of  the  Haro  Archipelago,  which  required  some 
skill  to  navigate  them  with  safety  or  prevent  getting  bewildered 
amongst  their  tortuous  passages. 

THE  RATES  OF  PASSAGE  from  San  Francisco  were :  first-class,  by 
steamer,  $65 ;  steerage,  $35 ;  by  sailing  craft,  from  $25  to  $60. 
Cornwalis  estimated  that  up  to  the  20th  June,  14,000  persons  had 
embarked  at  San  Francisco  by  steam  and  sail.  Commander  R.  CL 
Mayne,  of  the  Royal  Navy,  who  was  at  Victoria  and  in  British 
Columbia  in  connection  with  the  Admiralty  surveys  during  the  gold 
excitement,  had  an  excellent  opportunity  of  knowing  the  exact  state 
of  affairs.  He  says :  "  The  excitement  in  Victoria,  I  think,  reached 
its  climax  in  July.  On  the  27th  of  June,  the  Republic  steamed  into- 
Esquimalt  harbor  from  San  Francisco  with  800  passengers  ;  on  the 
1st  of  July,  the  Sierra  Nevada  landed  1,900  more ;  on  the  8th  of  the 
same  month,  the  Orizaba  and  the  Cortez  together  brought  2,800  ; 
and  they  all  reported  that  thousands  waited  to  follow.  The  sufferings 
of  the  passengers  upon  this  voyage,  short  as  it  is,  must  have  been 
great,  for  the  steamers  carried  at  least  double  their  complement  of 
passengers.  Of  course,  Victoria  could  not  shelter  this  incursion  of 
immigration,  although  great  efforts  were  made,  and  soon  a  large  town 
of  tents  sprung  up  along  the  harbor  side." 

As  the  bustle  increased  so  did  the  work  and  responsibilities  of 
Governor  Douglas.  Despatches  to  and  from  the  home  Government 
multiplied,  and,  whether  sent  or  received,  required  thought  and 
consideration.  Thousands  of  natives  also  were  attracted  to  Victoria 
which  added  to  the  confusion,  and  it  was  fortunate  that  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  understood  how  to  manage  them  so  well,  and  had  them 
so  much  under  authority.  Reviewing  the  state  .of  affairs  just  then., 
Bancroft  says,  "the  country  was  transformed,  as  by  magic,  from  staid 
savagery  to  pandemonium." 


THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  269 

WAR  VESSELS. — Fortunately  for  Governor  Douglas,  there  were  at 
Esquimalt  a  large  fleet  of  British  war  vessels.  The  Satellite  and 
Plumper  were  engaged  in  making  surveys  of  the  coast  and  denning 
the  various  channels  around  the  islands  in  the  Gulf  of  Georgia. 
Admiral  Baynes  also  arrived  in  the  Ganges  accompanied  by  the 
Tribune,  The  Otter  and  the  Beaver,  belonging  to  the  Company,  were 
also  available,  and  were  armed  with  boarding  nettings,  etc.  The 
Satellite  was  stationed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Fraser,  with  revenue 
officers  aboard  to  collect  toll  on  vessels  entering  the  river.  The 
Plumper  assisted  in  enforcing  the  regulations.  It  was  necessary  to 
establish  some  sort  of  government  to  maintain  peace  and  order,  and 
although  Governor  Douglas  was  only  appointed  to  govern  the  colony 
of  Vancouver  Island,  he  assumed  authority  as  being  the  nearest 
representative  of  Queen  Victoria  to  the  mainland. 

VISIT  TO  THE  MAINLAND. — A  proclamation  was  issued  on  the  8th 
of  May,  1858,  warning  all  persons  that  "any  vessels  found  in  British 
north-west  waters,"  not  having  a  license  from  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  and  a  sufferance  from  the  customs  officer  at  Victoria, 
should  be  forfeited. "  To  see  for  himself  how  the  mining  crowds  were 
operating,  Governor  Douglas  proceeded  to  the  mainland.  He  was 
anxious  especially  that  peaceful  relations  with  the  natives  should  be 
maintained.  He  knew  from  the  history  of  mining  in  California  that 
serious  collision  with  the  tribes  might  occur.  The  Indians  argued 
that  as  they  had  received  pay  for  their  furs,  they  must  also  have  pay 
for  gold,  and  did  not  wish  strangers  to  come  into  the  country  and 
carry  it  away  from  them. 

LICENSES  GRANTED. — On  arriving  at  Langley,  then  the  metropolis 
of  the  mainland,  Governor  Douglas  found  speculators  taking  possession 
of  the  land,  and  even  staking  out  lots  for  sale.  He  also  found 
sixteen  canoes  without  license;  they  were  seized,  but  released  and 
passes  granted  on  the  payment  of  five  dollars  each.  Goods  found  for 
sale  by  traders  were  seized  and  forfeited  as  contraband.  .  On  his  way 
to  Fort  Hope,  he  received  letters  from  Mr.  Walker,  in  charge  there, 
stating  that  "  Indians  are  getting  plenty  of  gold,  and  trade  with  the 
miners.  Indians'  wages  from  three  to  four  dollars  per  day.  There 
were  miners  at  Hill  Bar,  two  miles  below  Fort  Yale,  making  on  an 
average  one  and  a  half  ounces  per  day,  each  man.  Eighty  Indians 
and  thirty  white  men  were  employed."  A  log  house  and  store  was 
built  a  short  distance  from  the  fort,  and  a  boarding  house  opened  a 
short  distance  beyond  the  fort.  Thus  it  was  evident  that  the  fur 


270  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

trade  in  that  region  was  ruined,  as  the  Indians  had  caught  the  gold 
fever  as  well  as  the  white  miners. 

A  STANDARD  LICENSE. — Fort  Hope  then  became  the  most  important 
place  on  the  mainland,  on  account  of  its  mineral  surroundings.  The 
governor  found  it  necessary  to  establish  mining  regulations  and 
licenses,  as  previous  to  his  arrival  the  miners  has  posted  regulations 
amongst  themselves  on  Hill  Bar.  A  claim  according  to  their  law 
consisted  of  twenty-five  feet  frontage  ;  but  the  standard  license  was 
granted  on  payment  of  twenty-one  shillings  by  each  miner,  and  must 
be  carried  on  the  miner's  person,  for  access  and  examination. 
Sunday  was  to  be  observed.  One  claim,  12  feet  square.  To  a 
party  of  two  miners,  12  feet  by  24 ;  to  a  party  of  three  miners, 
18  feet  by  24  ;  to  a  party  consisting  of  four  miners,  24  feet  by 
24  =  576  square  feet,  beyond  which  no  greater  area  would  be  allowed 
in  one  claim. 

PROVISIONS  SCARCE. — The  governor  visited  several  of  the  mining 
camps  in  the  vicinity.  He  had  a  meeting  at  Fort  Yale  with  several 
chiefs,  and  cautioned  them  as  to  their  behavior  towards  the  whites. 
Richard  Hicks,  an  English  miner,  was  appointed  revenue  officer  at  a 
salary  of  forty  pounds  a  year  to  be  paid  out  of  the  revenue  of  the 
country.  Gold  was  plentiful,  more  so,  the  miners  think,  than 
formerly  found  in  California.  Provisions  were  scarce — pork,  coffee 
and  flour,  each  one  dollar  a  pound.  Therefore  permission  was,  on 
the  governor's  return  to  Victoria,  granted  to  two  steamers  to  carry 
provisions  as  well  as  passengers  to  the  Fraser  River  diggings.  The 
matter  was  made  the  subject  of  a  conference,  held  10th  June,  1858, 
between  the  Council  and  members  of  the  Assembly.  The  speaker 
pointed  out  that,  as  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  would  not  be  able  to 
supply  the  large  number  of  people  that  would  be  at  the  mines  in  a 
very  short  time,  it  would  be  necessary  and  proper  to  allow  vessels 
to  carry  provisions. 

INDIAN  OPPOSITION  TO  "BOSTON  MEN." — GEORGE  PERRIER  was 
created  justice  of  the  peace  at  Hill  Bar.  Several  Indians  were  also 
appointed  magistrates  to  bring  to  justice  any  members  of  their  tribes 
who  might  be  charged  with  having  committed  offences.  Bands  of 
natives  were  becoming  troublesome  and  more  opposed  to  the  presence 
of  white  miners.  Governor  Douglas  who  always  had  great  influence 
with  the  Indians,  got  matters  quieted  down.  The  miners  who  came 
in  from  California  and  Oregon  by  the  Colville  route,  met  with  great 
opposition  from  the  natives,  whilst  the  Hudson  Bay  traders  were 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  271 

allowed  to  pass  through  unmolested.  It  does  not  follow  from  this 
that  the  officers  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  instigated  the  attacks 
of  the  hostile  Indians.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  through  their 
influence  that  an  Indian  war  was  avoided  on  the  British  side  of  the 
boundary  line.  The  real  cause  was  the  general  antipathy  of  the 
Indians  against  the  "  Boston  men,"  and  that  on  the  United  States 
side  of  the  line  several  engagements  had  taken  place  between  Colonel 
Steptoe  and  the  Indians  of  the  Columbia. 

AN  ENCOUNTER. — In  August  the  Indians  had  become  so  bold  that 
on  the  7th  of  the  month  they  killed  two  Frenchmen  on  the  trail  above 
the  Big  Canyon.  When  the  news  of  the  outrage  reached  Yale,  forty 
miners  immediately  organized  under  Captain  Blouse,  to  force  a 
passage  to  the  Forks.  On  reaching  Boston  Bar,  they  united  with 
about  150  miners  who  had  gathered  there.  They  had  an  encounter 
on  the  14th  of  August,  near  the  head  of  Big  Canyon.  The  fight 
lasted  three  hours.  Seven  Indian  braves  were  killed.  The  Indians 
were  routed,  and  whether  hostile  or  peaceable,  were  all  driven  out  of 
the  canyon.  The  company  returned  to  Yale,  where  on  the  17th  two 
thousand  miners  attended  a  meeting  to  consider  the  best  mode  of 
dealing  with  the  Indians. 

SNYDER  CHOSEN  LEADER. — A  leader  was  chosen  by  them,  H.  M. 
Snyder,  whom  they  elected  captain  of  the  force.  Over  150  men  were 
enrolled  under  Snyder's  leadership  and  his  lieutenant,  John  Centras, 
who  represented  the  French-Canadians.  A  small  party  of  Whatcom 
men  enrolled  themselves  under  Captain  Graham.  On  the  18th  the 
whole  force  set  out  for  Spuzzum,  carrying  a  few  days'  provisions. 
They  encamped  at  the  Rancheria  for  the  night.  Their  number  was 
there  augmented  to  about  two  hundred  men.  Snyder  held  a  meeting, 
and  represented  the  necessity  for  united  action  in  order  to  bring  the 
expedition  to  a  successful  and  speedy  issue.  He  also  advocated  con- 
ciliatory measures,  and,  after  some  argument,  had  a  majority  in 
favor  of  the  Pacific  plan,  and  was  voted  the  recognized  commander. 

BAD  MANAGEMENT.  —  Snyder,  without  delay,  marched  with  his 
men  to  Long  Bar,  where  the  most  troublesome  of  the  natives  were 
assembled.  He  held  a  parley  with  them,  at  which  they  declared 
they  desired  peace,  so  he  concluded  a  treaty  with  them.  A  flag  of 
truce  (white)  was  sent,  along  with  five  natives,  to  a  place  about  four 
miles  distant,  where  Graham's  party  had  promised  to  wait.  Instead 
of  honoring  the  flag,  he  took  it  and  trampled  upon  it.  The  Indians 
retired,  and  Graham  camped  there  for  the  night.  Before  morning 


272  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

an  attack  was  made  by  the  Indians  on  Graham's  camp.  He  and 
his  lieutenant  were  killed  by  the  first  fire.  The  Indians  at  once 
retreated,  having  apparently  obtained  sufficient  revenge  for  the  out- 
rage which  they  considered  had  been  made  on  their  flag.  Snyder 
continued  his  march  along  the  Fraser  to  Thompson  River,  returning 
on  the  25th  to  Yale,  having  made  treaties  of  peace  with  two 
thousand  Indians  between  Spuzzum  and  the  Forks.  In  the  course 
of  the  campaign  thirty  Indians  were  killed,  and  they  nearly  all  by 
the  rifle  company  at  the  beginning  of  the  fight. 

PEACE  RESTORED. — In  the  meantime  Governor  Douglas  had  pre- 
pared to  make  another  journey  to  the  mining  region,  with  thirty-five 
sappers  and  miners  and  twenty  marines  from  the  Satellite,  but  on 
hearing  of  the  result  of  Snyder's  expedition,  did  not  deem  further 
interference  necessary.  The  miners  set  to  work  again  on  their 
claims.  Along  the  Fraser  River  they  had  no  further  trouble  with  the 
Indians,  who  rather  assisted  the  magistrates  in  keeping  order,  by 
arresting  gamblers  and  other  outlaws  that  otherwise  might  have 
escaped  the  vigilance  of  the  local  officials.  The  trails  towards  .Lytton 
were  then  considered  safe  for  travel,  and  were  crowded  with  miners 
carrying  their  provisions  and  outfits  towards  the  interior.  Govern- 
ment affairs  were  progressing  quietly  at  Victoria,  notwithstanding 
the  great  stir  caused  by  the  numerous  arrivals  and  departures  which 
took  place  daily. 

A  CONFERENCE  WAS  HELD  at  the  Government  House,  on  the  10th 
of  June,  1858,  between  his  Excellency  Governor  Douglas  and  his 
Council — John  Work  and  Roderick  Finlayson — and  the  following 
members  of  the  Assembly :  Messrs.  Skinner,  Yates,  Pemberton, 
McKay  and  Dr.  Helmcken.  The  subjects  were  : 

1.  EXCLUSIVE  TRADE  AND  NAVIGATION. — With  regard  to  the  rights 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  as  to  the  exclusive  right  of  navigation 
-and  trade,  Dr.    Helmcken  suggested  that  the  license  granted  them 
referred  only  to  trade  with    Indians  and   not  to  white  men.     His 
Excellency  replied  that  at  the  time  of  granting  the  license   there 
were  no  white  men  resident  in  the  territory,  and  that  therefore  they 
•did  possess  the  exclusive  right  of  navigation  and  trade. 

2.  NAVIGATION  LAWS. — Whether  the  executive  had  assumed  any 
authority     over    Fraser    River,     his    Excellency    said    he   had    not 
assumed   any   such  authority ;  but  as  representative  of  the   Crown 
he  had  taken  measures  to  preserve  law  and  order,  and  had  made 
regulations    enforcing  the  navigation  laws  of   Great  Britain.      He 
had  allowed   persons  to  go  up  the  river,  and  granted   them  licenses 
to   mine;    had  appointed  custom   house  officers   and  justices  of  the 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  273 

peace,  and  had  called  upon  her  Majesty's  ship  Satellite  to  assist  in 
preventing  any  violation  of  the  navigation  laws. 

3.  THE  GOVERNOR'S  A  UTHORITY. — On  the  point,  by  whose  authority 
the  "suffrances"  to  Fraser  River  navigation  are  granted,  the  gover- 
nor stated  they  were  granted  by  him  by  virtue  of  the  power  vested 
in  him  as  representative  of  the  Crown,  as  well  as  by  the  consent 
of  the  agents  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  The  Speaker  (Dr. 
Helmcken)  suggested  that  the  miners,  having  been  allowed  to  go 
up  the  river,  and  the  Government  having  in  a  greater  or  less  degree 
assumed  control  of  the  stream,  it  would  follow  that  these  people  had 
a  right  to  be  supplied  witli  provisions,  exclusive  of  the  Company's 
monopoly,  and  therefore  that  British  vessels,  duly  cleared  here,  had 
a  right  to  proceed  up  the  river  for  that  purpose ;  and  that  if  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  had  neither  the  means  nor  inclination  to 
supply  the  large  number  of  people  that  would  be  at  the  mines  within 
a  short  time,  it  appeared  probable  that  starvation  or  serious  calam- 
ities would  ensue.  It  would  therefore  be  necessary  and  proper  to 
allow  vessels  to  carry  provisions.  The  governor  replied  that  the 
matter  had  given  rise  to  serious  deliberation  and  attention.  Already 
permission  had  been  granted  to  two  United  States  steamers  to  carry 
passengers  and  provisions,  under  certain  restrictions.  Necessity  had 
compelled  this  action,  and  had  also  forced  him  to  act  more  or  less 
illegally,  but  not  unjustly.  Should  an  emergency  arise,  permits 
would  of  course  be  granted  to  other,  vessels  for  like  purposes,  and 
every  possible  means  be  adopted  for  the  prevention  of  suffering  in 
the  mining  region. 

4.  ADDITIONAL  VIEWS  EXPRESSED. — Touching  the  future  govern- 
ment of  Fraser  River,  his  Excellency  said  he  could  not  make  known 
the  facts,  as  the  matter  was  under  consideration,  but  the  regulations 
and  stipulations  would  not  interfere  with  the  rights  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company,  and  the  House  of  Assembly  must  recollect  that  what 
had  been  done  was  the  conjoint  act  of  the  governor  as  executive, 
and  the  governor  as  part  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  ;  and  that  he 
had  been  actuated  by  two  motives  :  (1)  To  do  full  justice  to  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  ;  (2)  To  promote,  by  every  legitimate  means, 
the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  colony.  He  was  always  willing  to 
impart  information  to  the  House,  and  was  pleased  that  the  confer- 
ence had  been  asked.  The  deputation  then  withdrew. 


18 


274  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEK   VIII. 


WATER  QUESTION  AND  LAND  REGULATIONS. 

WATER  SUPPLY. — The  House  of  Assembly  was  called  together,  at 
the  request  of  his  Excellency  the  Governor,  to  meet  on  July  3rd, 
1858.  Present :  Messrs.  Skinner,  McKay,  Yates,  Pemberton  and 
Speaker  Helmcken.  A  petition  signed  by  Messrs.  Peck,  Anderson, 
Young  and  Pearse,  was  received  and  read.  The  petitioners  proposed 
to  form  a  company  for  supplying  the  town  of  Victoria  with  water, 
a-t  one  cent  per  gallon,  provided  that  the  monopo'y  of  supplying  the 
town  be  granted  to  them  for  the  term  of  fifty  years ;  at  the  expira- 
tion of  which  time  all  the  property  of  said  company  should  fall  to  and 
be  vested  in  the  corporation  of  the  said  town  of  Victoria. 

A  DEFINITE  SCHEME  REQUIRED. — After  some  discussion,  in  which 
the  urgency  of  the  case  was  allowed  and  the  necessity  for  a  supply 
of  water  admitted  by  all,  Mr.  Pemberton,  seconded  by  Mr.  Yates, 
proposed, — "  That  this  House  is  of  opinion  that  an  exact  and  definite 
scheme  should  have  been  proposed,  with  correct  plans  and  estimates, 
showing  its  features  and  probable  profits.  The  water  company 
should  also  state  all  particulars  as  to  its  formation,  the  number  and 
amount  of  shares  and  stockholders,  and  the  amount  of  capital  that 
would  be  deposited  previous  to  obtaining  any  grant  from  the  House." 
The  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted. 

REGISTRATION  BILL. — Mr.  McKay  asked  leave  to  bring  in  a  bill 
on  the  subject  of  registration  of  real  estate.  Leave  granted.  First 
reading,  July  8th.  The  Speaker  then  informed  the  House  of  his 
intention,  with  their  permission,  to  resign  his  present  position,  and 
trusted  the  House  would  elect  an  honorable  member  to  till  the  chair. 
An  explanation  was  given  that  the  Speaker's  resignation  would  cause 
a  dissolution  of  the  Assembly.  The  Speaker  therefore  agreed  to 
continue  to  fill  the  chair  until  the  next  general  election. 

THE  ASSEMBLY  MET  AGAIN  on  the  8th  of  July.  Present :  Messrs. 
Pemberton,  Yates,  Kennedy,  McKay,  Skinner  and  Speaker  Helm- 
cken. A  petition  from  Messrs.  Anderson  and  Pearse  was  received 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD.  275 

on  the  subject  of  water  monopoly,  setting  forth  the  impossibility 
{in  their  opinion)  of  forming  a  company  for  supplying  the  town  of 
Victoria  with  water,  unless  the  House  should  grant  such  a  body  the 
privileges  prayed  for  in  their  original  application. 

THE  WATER  QUESTION  POSTPONED. — Mr.  Pemberton,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Skinner,  moved, — "  That  this  House  cannot  re-enter  upon  the 
question  unless  the  resolution  of  the  House  (on  July  3rd)  be  com- 
plied with."  The  mover  said  that  in  all  cases  of  companies  being 
formed,  plans  and  calculations  were  made  showing  the  feasibility  of 
the  enterprise.  The  House  could  not  enter  upon  such  subjects  with- 
out  having  accurate  data  upon  which  to  found  an  opinion.  The 
objects  of  government  in  such  instances  were  to  prevent  any  public 
or  private  losses  by  fraudulent  or  frivolous  schemes.  Moreover,  it 
was  beneath  the  House  to  pledge  itself  upon  any  private  question. 
He  was  well  aware  that  preliminary  expenses  were  incurred,  but 
such  risks  were  unavoidable,  and  were  part  of  the  scheme.  He  was 
quite  sure  that  the  House  would  lend  its  assistance  to  any  scheme 
which  would  tend  to  advance  the  prosperity  and  comfort  of  the 
•colony.  The  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted.  Mr.  McKay 
asked  leave  to  postpone  the  first  reading  of  the  Registration  of  Real 
Estate  Bill  for  ten  days.  Leave  granted.  The  foregoing  is  a  sample 
of  how  legislation  was  carried  on  at  Victoria  in  the  early  days  of  the 
colony  of  Vancouver  Island. 

THE  PARLIAMENTARY  WORK  in  1858  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
very  onerous.  The  Assembly  met  a  few  times  in  July  and  considered 
the  water  question,  and  resolved  that  his  Excellency  be  requested  to 
"cause  the  springs  and  lands  adjacent  to  the  old  well,  which  formerly 
supplied  the  town  of  Victoria  with  water,  to  be  reserved  for  the 
use  of  the  public,"  In  committee  the  House  further  considered  the 
petition  of  Messrs.  Young,  Anderson  and  Pearse,  relative  to  a  water 
company,  and  recommended  "  the  House  to  grant  a  monopoly  for  the 
term  of  ten  years,  to  a  joint-stock  water  company  proving  itself  the 
best  qualified  to  supply  the  town  of  Victoria  with  water,  in  the 
most  economical  and  satisfactory  manner,  and  at  the  earliest  period." 

HENRY  TOOMY  and  his  associates  presented  a  petition  praying  for 
certain  privileges,  and  liberty  to  form  a  company  to  supply  water 
to  the  town  of  Victoria.  Referred  to  committee  at  next  meeting 
of  the  House.  The  necessity  for  a  public  hospital  was  discussed. 
There  being  a  surplus  of  funds  from  the  licensing  of  taverns  and 
beer  houses,  returns  were  asked  for,  showing  the  revenue  for  the 


276  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

current  year,  and  with  the  view  of  voting  supplies  for  next  year. 
The  dangerous  condition  of  some  of  the  bridges  and  the  obstructions 
to  streets  from  building  operations  were  discussed.  Mr.  McKay's 
Registration  Bill  was  introduced.  It  proved  to  be  a  comprehensive 
and  valuable  document.  Many  pf  its  clauses  are  acted  upon  at  the 
present  time.  The  proposed  salary  to  the  registrar  was  not  to  exceed 
£1,200. 

The  House  of  Assembly  held  an  important  meeting  on  September 
23rd.  Matters  relating  to  streets,  water  and  gas  were  discussed,  and 
the  Bill  of  Supply  for  the  year  was  passed,  as  follows  : 

"  Whereas,  it  is  necessary  that  certain  sums  of  money,  amounting 
to  £3,000,  be  supplied  for  certain  useful  purposes  within  the  colony, 
be  it  enacted  by  the  House  of  Assembly  of  Vancouver  Island,  by 
and  with  the  consent  of  his  Excellency  the  Governor  and  honorable 
Council  : 

"1.  That  £2,000  sterling  be  applied  for  the  waggon  roads  in 
certain  portions  of  the  District  of  Victoria,  viz.,  Wharf  Street, 
from  Victoria  Bridge  to  the  south  end  of  Fort  Victoria;  Government 
Street,  from  the  ravine  to  Humbolt  Street ;  Johnson  Street,  from 
Victoria  Bridge  to  Government  Street ;  Yates  Street,  from  Wharf 
Street  tj  Government  Street. 

"  2.  That  £600  be  applied  to  improving  the  road  from  Victoria 
Bridge  to  the  hospitals  at  Esquimalr. 

"3.  That  £150  be  granted  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Assembly 
of  Vancouver  Island. 

"4.  That  the  various  sums  mentioned  above  be  paid  out  of  the 
funds  received  from  the  licenses  to  inns,  public  and  beer  houses." 

Education  was  not  neglected.  The  colonial  school  at  Craigfiower 
was  examined  July  31st.  The  report  says:  "The  governor,  who 
has  always  been  present  on  former  occasions,  was  hindered  from 
coming  by  business."  The  Rev.  E.  Cridge,  assisted  by  the  teacher, 
Mr.  Clark,  made  the  examination,  which  showed  that  the  pupils  had 
made  a  marked  improvement  since  last  year.  ,  Prizes  sent  by  the 
governor  were  given  to  Jessie  McKenzie,  William  Lid  gate,  Christina 
Veitch  and  Dorothea  McKenzie,  in  the  first  class,  and  four  others  in 
the  junior  classes.  The  girls  of  the  school  had  prepared  a  present 
of  useful  needlework  for  the  governor,  which,  with  an  address  from 
them,  was  duly  forwarded  to  his  Excellency.  The  Victoria  colonial 
school  was  examined  on  the  4th  of  August,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Cridge  and 
the  teacher,  Mr.  Kennedy.  Good  progress  was  reported,  and  prizes 
given  to  Daniel  Work,  William  Leigh,  James  Pottinger,  and  others 
in  the  junior  classes. 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  277 

AN  IMPROMPTU  SPEECH. — When  Captain  Richards,  the  boundary 
commissioner,  had  arrived  and  was  being  received  at  the  fort  by 
Governor  Douglas,  on  the  19th  of  July,  the  procession  of  officials 
was  detained  for  a  short  time  by  the  tiring  of  a  salute.  A  large 
body  of  miners  was  present,  and  one  of  them  asked  the  governor 
for  his  advice  about  their  future  movements.  With  that  courtesy 
for  which  his  Excellency  was  celebrated,  he  complied  in  a  very  neat 
speech.  After  referring  generally  to  rumors,  etc.,  he  said  : 

"  I  will  tell  you  as  my  own  settled  opinion  that  I  think  the  country 
is  full  of  gold,  and  that  east  and  north  of  the  Fraser  River  there  is 
a  gold  field  of  incalculable  value  and  extent ;  and,  if  I  mistake  not, 
you  are  the  very  men  who  can  prove  by  your  courage  and  enterprise 
whether  my  opinion  be  right  or  wrong.  .  .  .  Now  go  on  and 
prospect,  and  in  a  few  weeks  you  will  be  able  to  tell  me  what  Fraser 
River  is.  Take  mining  tools  and  food  in  abundance ;  you  will  then 
be  independent  of  others,  and  may  go  to  whatever  part  of  the 
country  you  choose.  I  would  not  advise  you  to  go  beyond  Fort  Yale 
with  your  canoes,  as  the  river  is  dangerous  above  that  point ;  neither 
would  I  advise  you  to  take  the  Fort  Hope  road,  as  you  cannot  carry 
enough  provisions  to  last  you  over  the  journey.  The  route  by 
Harrison  River  is,  I  think,  the  best,  and  we  are  now  preparing  to 
get  a  road  opened  that  way.  .  .  .  Let  me  say  one  word  about 
the  Indians.  They  are  all  friendly  and  all  thievish,  therefore  have 
an  eye  to  your  things,  and  do  not  leave  them  exposed,  for  in  that 
case  the  Indians  will  steal  them.  Get  on  with  them  as  quietly  as 
you  can,  and  Government  will  protect  you.  Be  careful  of  your 
revolvers,  and  be  not  too  ready  to  use  them  in  your  own  cause. 
The  law  of  the  land  will  do  its  work  without  fear  or  favor.  There- 
fore appeal  to  it  in  all  cases;  let  IT  do  justice  between  man  and  man; 
let  IT  defend  your  rights  and  avenge  your  wrongs.  Now,  my  friends, 
go  on  and  prosper  ;  there  is  hard  work  before  you,  and  I  hope  you 
will  be  repaid  with  rich  strikes  and  big  nuggets.  One  word  more 
about  the  views  of  Government.  The  miner  who  acts  in  submission 
to  the  laws,  and  pays  the  Queen's  dues  like  an  honest  man,  shall  be 
protected  in  person  and  property ;  and  as  soon  as  good  and  trusty 
men  are  found,  measures  will  be  taken  for  the  conveyance  and  escort 
of  gold  from  the  mines  to  this  place.  Every  miner  will  give  in  his 
own  sack  and  his  own  weight,  and  have  it  addressed  and  sealed  in 
his  own  presence,  and  get  a  receipt  for  a  sack  said  to  contain  so  much 
gold  dust.  It  will  be  deposited  in  the  public  treasury  at  Victoria, 
and  delivered  to  the  owner  on  production  of  the  deposit  receipt. 
There  will  be  a  charge  made  for  the  expense  of  conveyance,  but  that 
will  be  a  small  matter  compared  to  the  security  of  your  property. 
I  now  wish  you  all  well,  and  shall  not  detain  you  by  any  further 
remarks." 


278  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

THE  FREE  PORT  OF  VICTORIA  is  referred  to  by  a  writer  in  the 
Victoria  Gazette  of  the  24th  of  July,  1858.  After  stating  that 
the  United  States  Government  prohibited  all  navigation  of  their 
inland  Waters,  loud  denunciations  were  indulged  in  at  a  British  river,. 
(the  Fraser)  being  closed  to  their  commerce. 

"  They  exact  a  tax  of  $5  per  month,"  says  the  writer,  "from  foreign 
miners  only,  they  impose  a  head  tax  on  all  foreign  immigrants,  and 
to  crown  all  have  legalized  a  heavy  property  and  stamp  tax  ;  nay, 
even  a  double  tax  on  the  merchants  of  San  Francisco. 

"  Artd  now,  what  state  of  affairs  do  we  find  here  ?  Victoria  a  free 
port — free  from  all  duties,  free  from  harbor  and  pilot  dues,  and  per- 
fectly free  for  the  mercantile  interests  of  all  nations — on  an  equal 
footing.  The  land  titles  here  are  direct  from  the  Crown — a  title 
which  none  can  gainsay  ;  a  simple  tax  of  $5  per  quarter  is  demanded 
from  the  miner  (no  distinction  is  made  between  the  subjects  of  Great 
Britain  and  any  other  nation).  You  see  here  no  array  of  policemen 
to  enforce  the  due  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  yet  the  Sabbath  is  most 
strictly  observed. 

"  Again  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  keep  constantly  on  hand  a 
large  supply  of  stores,  which  they  cheerfully  supply  to  the  people 
at  barely  remunerative  rates  ;  and  it  is  conceded  that  but  for  the 
Company  provisions  would  have  been,  ere  this,  at  famine  prices. 
Even  now,  and  for  weeks  past,  their  stores  have  been  crowded  with 
purchasers,  who  admit  that  they  can  buy  at  thirty  per  cent,  less  than 
from  the  regular  trades. 

"  Were  it  necessary  I  could  enumerate  many  other  evidences,  all 
tending  to  prove  that  the  government  of  Vancouver  Island  is- 
administered  with  an  impartiality,  consistency  and  wisdom  which 
was  not  to  have  been  anticipated.  As  regards  Governor  Douglas* 
during  the  extraordinary  excitement  which  has  existed  here,  his 
administration  has  been  the  theme  of  universal  admiration,  and  so 
far  as  his  acts  being  '  repulsive  to  the  people,'. he  is,  without  excep- 
tion, the  most  popular  man  on  the  island.  He  is  admired  for  the 
ease  and  facility  with  which  he  causes  the  laws  to  be  strictly,  though 
quietly,  enforced,  not  only  for  his  affability  and  courtesy  to  stranger>, 
but  he  is  likewise  esteemed  as  a  gentleman  au  fait  in  all  emergencies, 
and  in  every  way  qualified  to  represent  and  guard  the  important 
interests  committed  to  his  charge." 

PUBLIC  NOTICES. — The  appointment  of  Alexander  C.  Anderson  as 
collector  of  customs  at  Victoria,  is  noticed  in  the  Victoria  Gazette 
of  July  3rd,  and  on  the  15th  of  July  he  publishes  the  following 
notice  :  "  To  avoid  misapprehension,  miners  are  informed  that  there 
is  no  restriction  on  the  amount  of  provisions  that  they  are  allowed 
to  take  up  the  Fraser  River  for  their  own  private  use.  Everyone 
is  permitted  to  take  all  his  necessary  supplies  without  let  or  hind- 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  279 

ranee."  Amongst  other  notices  in  the  Gazette  about  that  time,  it  is 
stated  that  a  letter  designed  to  go  to  New  York  requires  to  have 
twelve  and  a  half  cents  paid  on  it  in  Victoria,  and  to  have  in 
addition  a  United  States  stamp  on  the  envelope;  that  lumber  had 
risen  in  price  to  $110  per  thousand  feet,  on  account  of  the  large 
number  of  buildings  being  erected ;  that  a  license  for  selling  and 
retailing  all  kinds  of  liquor  was  £120,  for  wholesale  dealing  in 
liquors  £100,  and  for  retailing  beer  £50  per  annum  ;  that  1,900 
passengers  had  arrived  at  Esquimalt,  in  the  Sierra  Nevada,  from 
San  Francisco,  on  the  1st  of  July ;  that  Governor  Douglas  had 
ordered  two  fire  engines  from  San  Francisco ;  that  the  overland 
travel  through  Yreka,  via  Colville,  for  the  Fraser  River  country, 
was  estimated  to  average  100  per  day,  and  that  about  2,500  had 
left  by  that  route  up  to  the  10th  of  July;  that  upwards  of  3,500 
mining  licenses  had  been  granted  in  Victoria  up  to  the  10th  of  July, 
1858.  The  issue  of  July  24th  says:  "Building  is  going  on  briskly 
in  all  quarters  of  the  town.  Our  only  brick  building  is  nearing 
completion,  and  is  shortly  to  be  opened  as  a  hotel."  [This  building  has 
been  used  as  a  hotel  to  the  present  day.  Its  moss-covered  roof  and 
weather-worn  chimney  tops  indicate  its  age  of  nearly  half  a  century, 
but  the  walls  will  last  as  long  as  they  are  kept  covered  with  paint 
and  "  pointed,"  as  the  bricks  now  are. — ED.] 

SALE  OF  TOWN  LOTS. — An  extensive  sale  of  Esquimalt  town  lots 
took  place,  by  auction,  on  the  12th  of  July.  Twenty-five  lots  were 
sold  that  day,  the  prices  ranging  from  $1,450,  the  highest,  which 
was  paid  by  Ah  Gim,  a  Chinese  merchant  from  San  Francisco ; 
the  lowest  brought  $375.  Seven  Chinese  were  the  principal  buyers. 
The  lots  measured  30x100  feet.  Terms :  Ten  per  cent,  at  sale, 
remainder  of  first  half  of  price  when  papers  were  given,  and  the 
balance  (one-half)  at  the  expiration  of  three  months,  without  interest. 

SEARCH  AFTER  GOLD — A  GRAPHIC  DESCRIPTION. — From  the  fol- 
lowing description  of  the  route  to  the  Upper  Fraser,  between  Forts 
Hope  and  Yale,  sixteen  miles,  a  tolerably  fair  idea  may  be  had  of 
what  the  miners  had  to  put  up  with  in  their  search  after  gold.  The 
writer  states  : 

"There  is  but  little  mining  on  the  river  until  about  four  miles 
above  Fort  Hope,  where  bars  begin  to  form,  diverting  the  channel 
of  the  stream  and  affording  a  field  for  mining  operations.  There 
are  probably  2,000  men  engaged  in  mining  on  the  river  between 
Forts  Hope  and  Yale  (July  28th),  on  Gassy  Bar,  Emory's  Bar,  Hill's 


280  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Bar,  Texas  Bar,  and  other  places.  T.  H.  Moreland,  a  Californian 
miner,  said  he  had  been  working  six  weeks  and  averaged  $50  a  day, 
and  had  never  taken  out  less  than  an  ounce  ($16)  in  any  one  day, 
and  some  days  as  much  as  $90.  Beyond  doubt  very  rich  strikes  have 
been  made  on  Hill's,  Emory's  and  Texas  claims.  They  can  only  be 
bought  at  very  high  prices. 

"  At  all  the  bars  we  passed,  preparations  were  being  made  for  the 
coming  winter,  in  the  erection  of  substantial  log  houses.  At  Hill's 
Bar  I  counted  forty  log  houses  already  built,  and  several  in  the 
course  of  construction.  In  all  the  tents  and  houses  that  I  examined, 
and  I  paid  particular  attention  to  the  subject,  there  were  flour  and 
provisions  enough  to  last  its  occupants  from  one  to  four  months. 
There  is  no  scarcity  of  provisions,  nor  any  starvation  at  any  point 
on  the  river  that  I  have  visi'ed  which  extends  to  New  York  Bar, 
two  miles  above  Fort  Yale.  There  may  be  some  articles  of  luxury 
deficient,  but  I  refer  to  the  great  staples — flour,  bacon,  pork,  beans, 
tea,  sugar,  coffee,  etc.  The  miners  generally  are  in  good  spirits  and 
sanguine  of  doing  well  when  the  river  falls.  To  be  sure,  there  were 
a  few  discontented  men — persons  unaccustomed  to  the  rough  life 
before  them,  and  who  set  out  with  entirely  erroneous  ideas  as  to  the 
country,  and  unprepared  for  the  hardships  and  deprivations  attendant 
upon  living  in  a  wild,  barren  territory,  peopled  with  rude  savages. 
Such,  no  doubt,  will  soon  return  to  their  old  homes,  carrying  tales 
of  discouragement  and  dismay,  but  the  old,  experienced  miner  and 
hardy  pioneer  will  stay,  and,  I  honestly  believe  and  fervently  hope, 
do  exceedingly  well." 

The  description  of  a  further  portion  of  the  trip  furnishes  additional 
interesting  particulars  :  "  We  arrived  at  Fort  Yale  in  a  little  less 
than  nine  hours  from  Fort  Hope.  The  Indians  charged  us  $6.50  for 
bringing  us  up — $4  to  the  owner  of  the  canoes  and  $2.50  to  the 
other.  They  were  exceedingly  expert  with  their  oars  and  well 
acquainted  with  the  river,  and  gave  us  no  trouble  at  all.  I  certainly 
never  paid  out  any  money  which  I  thought  more  fairly  earned. 
FORT  YALE  is  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  on  a  bend,  a 
mile  and  a  half  below  the  'lower  big  canyon.'  The  bluff  is  some 
twenty  feet  above  the  water,  and  a  heavily  wooded  'flat,'  or  plain, 
extends  back  for  a  mile  or  more  up  and  down  the  river.  High 
mountains  raise  their  tall  and  broken  peaks  on  all  sides,  shutting  the 
town  completely  in. 

"There  are  probably  700  or  800  people  here,  nearly  all  of  whom 
are  miners,  living  in  canvas  tents,  and  waiting  for  the  river  to  fall. 
I  saw  no  drunkenness  or  lawlessness  of  any  kind.  Everything  was 
peaceable  and  quiet.  A  number  of  miners  were  at  work  on  the 
river  bank,  with  rockers,  and  most  of  them  were  making  a  living  by 
washing  the  loose  dirt  and  cobble  stones.  I  slept  at  Mr.  Johnson's  (of 
Ballou's  Express)  tent  that  night,  and  breakfasted  next  morning  with 
my  old  San  Francisco  friend,  Henry  M.  Snyder,  whom  T  found 
tenting  a  little  way  down  the  river.  He  gave  me  a  good  breakfast, 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  281 

consisting  of  fried  salmon,  bacon,  hot  bread  and  coffee,  cooked  by 
himself,  and  served  in  tin  plates  and  cups — each  man  sitting  down 
tailor  fashion  on  the  ground.  I  had  a  sharp  appetite,  and  did  the 
fare  full  justice. 

"  There  is  but  one  public  eating-house  in  the  town,  and  the  invari- 
able diet  is  bacon,  salmon,  bread,  tea  and  coffee,  and  the  charge  $1  a 
meal.  No  milk  or  butter  is  ever  seen.  The  eating-house  is  kept  in  a 
log  house  partly  covered  with  bark,  and  with  a  dirt  floor.  Every- 
thing is  done  in  the  same  room,  which  is  not  more  than  12  x  14,  and 
consequently  exceedingly  cramped  for  space  and  as  hot  as  an  oven. 
The  weather  is  warmer  at  Fort  Yale  during  the  daytime  than  I 
have  found  it  at  any  place  since  I  left  Sacramento,  Cal.,  but  with 
cool  mornings  and  evenings. 

"  On  Tuesday  morning,  in  company  with  Mr.  Snyder  and  a  half 
dozen  others,  I  started  on  foot  up  the  river  bank  to  visit  the  *  lower 
big  canyon  ' — one  of  the  two  worst  places  on  the  river  till  you  get  to 
the  '  Forks/  the  junction  of  the  Fraser  and  Thompson  Rivers,  and 
twenty-two  miles  below  the  'upper  big  canyon.'  After  clambering 
over  logs  and  up  the  rocky  sides  of  mountains  for  a  half  hour  or 
more,  cutting  my  boots  so  as  to  leave  them  valueless,  wearing  out  the 
seat  of  my  trousers  slipping  over  the  rocks,  and  tearing  off  my 
finger  nails,  we  reached  an  elevation  on  the  mountain-side  which 
afforded  an  excellent  view  of  the  '  lower  big  canyon.' 

"  On  both  sides  of  the  river  rise  rocky  mountains  almost  perpen- 
dicularly for  hundreds  of  feet,  so  that,  in  some  places,  if  a  stone 
were  dropped  from  their  top,  it  would  fall  direct  into  the  water 
without  meeting  any  obstacle  in  its  descent.  In  the  centre  of  the 
river  is  a  large  island  of  solid  rock,  which  almost  chokes  up  the 
stream,  leaving  only  about  forty  feet  of  space  on  each  side  for  the 
water  to  pass  through.  The  water  being  forced  through  these  narrow 
-channels,  by  its  immense  weight  and  the  momentum  gained  in  its 
-descent  along  its  steep  bed,  presses  on  with  awful  rapidity  and  power, 
roaring  and  seething  like  the  ocean  in  a  storm.  Here  all  navigation 
ceases,  not  even  the  boldest  and  most  reckless  boatman  daring  to 
attempt  its  passage. 

"Just  a  little  below  the  mouth  of  the  canyon,  on  the  opposite  shore 
from  Fort  Yale,  lies  New  York  Bar,  settled  mostly  by  a  party  of 
New  York  and  San  Francisco  boatmen — chief  among  whom  is  the 
notorious  Martin  Gallagher,  of  vigilance  committee  notoriety,  being 
•one  of  the  men  expatriated  by  that  organization  from  San  Francisco. 
It  is  said  some  very  rich  strikes  have  been  made  on  this  bar.  A  port- 
Age  of  three  hundred  yards  of  both  canoe  and  passengers,  and  then 
the  river  can  be  navigated  until  the  '  upper  big  canyon'  is  reached, 
though  with  great  difficulty,  as  there  are  three  'little  canyons'  still 
to  be  overcome.  I  understood  at  Fort  Yale,  that  Mons.  Rouhaud 
<fe  Sons,  French  capitalists,  have  written  to  Governor  Douglas,  asking 
*he  privilege  of  being  allowed  to  run  a  ferry  between  the  two  '  big 
•canyons' — small  stern-wheelers  to  be  used. 


282  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

"  On  our  return,  about  half-past  noon,  the  town  was  thrown  into  a 
high  state  of  excitement,  upon  hearing  the  report  of  a  cannon  and 
the  screechings  of  a  steam-whistle,  and  a  rumor  gaining  circulation 
that  a  little  stern-wheel  steamer  was  on  her  way  up  the  river.  Every- 
body was  soon  on  the  lookout,  and  canoes  were  sent  beyond  the  bend 
of  the  river,  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  strange  noises  and  the 
truth  of  the  report.  Soon  we  learned  by  the  shoutings  along  the 
banks  of  the  river  and  the  continuous  discharge  of  guns  and  pistols, 
that  the  report  was  true;  whereupon,  there  was  the  greatest  rejoicing 
and  pleasure  manifested  by  everyone,  and  powder  was  burnt  amidst 
the  wildest  excitement. 

"  In  a  few  minutes,  the  Umatilla — the  pioneer  steamboat  on  Eraser 
River  above  Fort  Hope — made  her  first  appearance  to  the  people 
of  Yale,  and  was  warmly  welcomed.  Before  her  plank  was  shoved 
ashore,  a  number  of  men  were  clambering  up  her  sides,  eager  to  get 
aboard.  The  Indians,  too,  partook  of  the  enthusiasm,  and  seemed 
delighted  at — to  them — the  novel  spectacle.  She  made  the  passage 
from  Fort  Hope  to  Fort  Yale  in  five  hours,  one  hour  of  which  time 
she  was  aground,  but  without  any  accident.  Immediately  after 
arrival  a  dinner  was  prepared  on  board,  and  a  number  of  the 
principal  inhabitants  invited  to  partake  of  it.  After  dinner,  exactly 
at  thirteen  minutes  past  three  o'clock,  she  started  on  her  first  down 
trip.  Desiring  to  be  one  of  the  passengers  of  the  first  steamboat  that 
ever  penetrated  above  Fort  Hope  on  her  pioneer  trip,  I  put  my 
blankets  aboard.  We  came  down  like  'a  streak  of  chain  lightning,' 
with  a  very  light  head  of  steam,  being  precisely  fifty-one  minutes  on 
the  way.  On  her  upward  passage,  she  was  welcomed  by  the  miners 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  with  shouts  of  joy,  and  the  firing  of  guns 
and  pistols  all  along  the  route. 

"  At  all  places  on  the  river,  including  Hope  and  Yale,  there  were 
no  restrictions  on  trade,  and  merchandise  of  all  descriptions  was 
openly  retailed  to  both  Indians  and  whites.  There  were,  however, 
but  few  stores,  and  the  stocks  of  goods  consisted  chiefly  of  flour  and 
provisions,  mining  utensils,  etc.  The  Hudson  Bay  Company  claim 
the  exclusive  right  of  trading  on  the  river,  and  it  is  presumed  will 
assert  their  right  as  soon  as  practicable.  No  doubt  its  inability  to 
furnish  the  provisions,  or  fear  of  causing  suffering,  is  the  motive 
which  has  induced  them  to  wink  at  this  infraction  of  their  alleged 
exclusive  privilege.  Whilst  there  is  no  immediate  danger  from 
starvation,  the  supply  of  the  prime  necessaries  of  life  being  sufficient 
co  meet  the  present  population  for  at  least  two  months,  still  there 
are  many  articles,  such  as  suitable  clothing,  boots  and  shoes,  etc., 
which  can  scarcely  be  had  at  any  price.  1  have  no  doubt  invoices  of 
dry  goods,  clothing,  etc.,  would  Tneet  with  a  ready  and  profitable  sale. 

"  Probably  not  one  in  ten  of  the  miners  who  own  claims,  or  one 
in  five  of  the  whole  number  on  the  river,  have  ever  purchased  any 
license  to  mine ;  and  there  is  consequently  much  complaint  on  the 
part  of  those  who  complied  with  the  law,  and  they  are  shown  no- 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  28$ 

favor  over  those  who  refused  or  have  failed  to  do  so.  It  is  only  such 
as  came  up  in  the  steamers  that  have  purchased  licenses  those  who 
came  in  canoes  failing  to  do  so.  This  discrimination  has  engendered 
much  prejudice  against  the  steamer  Surprise,  who  in  every  case  has 
insisted  on  her  passengers  showing  their  mining  licenses,  under  penalty 
of  being  put  ashore.  To  be  sure,  her  officers  were  doing  no  more 
than  their  plain  duty  in  fulfilling  the  terms  of  her  '  sufferance'  to 
navigate  the  river;  but  these  things  are  not  properly  understood  by 
everyone ;  in  a  short  time,  however,  it  is  to  be  expected,  all  these 
things  will  be  remedied  to  the  mutual  advantage  of  all  parties. 

"The  Indians,  as  high  up  as  the  '  upper  big  canyon'  (twenty-five 
miles  above  Fort  Yale),  are  not  at  all  troublesome,  but  on  the  con- 
trary, kind  and  willing  to  work  at  comparatively  low  wages.  The 
influence  exerted  over  them  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  is  won- 
derful, and  reflrcts  great  credit  on  the  Company.  Nowhere  else 
have  I  ever  found  Indians  so  tractable  and  industrious,  and  so  well 
disposed,  and  I  have  had  some  experience  among  the  Indians  of  the 
Southern  and  Western  States.  They  may  pilfer  a  little,  but  if  rum 
is  kept  from  them,  any  other  crime  is  almost  unknown.  They  will 
serve  the  white  man  faithfully  as  guides  or  boatmen,  for  a  small 
amount  of  money  or  cast-off  clothing.  A  penny  whistle  or  a  brass 
button  takes  wonderfully.  Three  friends  of  mine  were  carried  half  a 
day  in  a  canoe  for  the  former  article. 

"  The  tribes  along  the  '  upper  big  canyon,'  having  had  less  inter- 
course with  the  whites,  and  not  being  so  fully  under  the  influence  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  are  inclined  to  be  hostile.  In  one  or 
more  instances,  they  have  stopped  miners  on  the  way  up  to  the 
'forks'  of  Fraser  and  Thompson  Rivers,  and  forced  them  to  surrender 
their  coats  and  even  their  boots,  together  with  a  portion  of  the 
provisions  the  poor  fellows  had  lugged  many  a  weary  mile  on  their 
backs.  I  am  told  on  credible  authority,  so  bold  and  audacious  has 
this  tribe  become  that  a  few  days  ago  a  party  of  Frenchmen  were 
stopped,  when  an  Indian  proposed  to  trade  some  salmon  for  jerked 
beef;  which  offer  being  declined,  one  of  the  Indians  shot  the 
Frenchman  through  the  head.  His  party  fled,  leaving  their  comra  le 
bleeding  on  the  ground,  where  he  was  discovered  some  hours  after- 
wards by  another  party  of  miners  on  the  trail.  Though  not  dead 
when  found,  he  died  within  a  few  minutes  afterwards.  This  unpro- 
voked murder  caused  a  great  deal  of  feeling,  and  there  was  a  talk  of 
organizing  a  company  at  Hope  and  Yale  to  chastise  the  perpetrators 
of  ~it.  The  action  of  H.  M.  Snyder,  as  referred  to,  restored  the  former 
safe  order  of  working." 


284?  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 


LICENSE  FEES  AND  MINING  CLAIMS. 

MINING  REGULATIONS  were  soon  afterwards  enforced,  under  which 
persons  occupying  portions  of  the  gold-fields,  by  erecting  temporary 
buildings,  tents,  etc.,  and  carrying  on  business  in  any  way,  were 
required  to  pay  a  fee  of  thirty  shillings  ($7.50)  monthly,  for  the  use 
of  the  land  so  occupied  by  them,  and  which  they  were  required  to 
pay  in  advance  or  on  demand  to  the  officer  appointed  to  receive  license 
fees.  Persons  desirous  of  establishing  claims  to  new  and  unoccupied 
ground  by  working  in  the  ordinary  method  for  alluvial  gold,  might 
have  their  claims  marked  out  on  the  following  scale  :  1.  Twenty-five 
feet  frontage,  in  rivers,  to  each  person.  2.  Twenty-five  feet  of  the 
bed  of  a  creek,  or  ravine,  to  each  person.  3.  Twenty  feet  square  of 
table-land  or  river  fiats  to  each  person.  Every  such  claim  to  be 
voided  by  the  failure  on  the  part  of  the  claimant  to  work  the  same 
within  ten  days  after  the  date  of  his  acceptance,  and  persons  found 
working  on  such,  or  any  other  ground  without  license  ($5  monthly) 
previously  paid  for  to  the  proper  officer^  shall  pay  double  the 
amount  of  such  license,  and  in  default,  be  proceeded  against  in  the 
usual  manner. 

THE  PUGET  SOUND  AGRICULTURAL  COMPANY  had  three  well-stocked 
farms  in  the  neighborhood  of  Victoria.  They  were  known  as  the 
Oraigflower  or  Mackenzie  farm,  the  Skinner  and  the  Longford 
farms,  each  under  the  charge  of  a  bailiff  or  manager,  who  though 
not  under  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  acted  in  harmony  with  them. 
Every  branch  of  the  Agricultural  Company's  business  was  conducted 
on  the  most  thorough  and  liberal  scale  ;  the  buildings,  massive  and 
•convenient,  were  built  principally  of  stone.  None  but  the  best  breed  of 
cattle,  horses  or  sheep  were  imported,  and  the  machinery  used  was  of 
the  most  improved  kind.  Crops  generally  were  good,  but  better 
adapted  for  stock-raising  than  for  grain.  Vegetables  did  remarkably 
well.  At  the  settlement  of  Craigflower,  about  two  and  a  half  miles 
from  Victoria,  there  were  from  fourteen  to  twenty  families,  a  well- 
•cultivated  central  farm  with  saw  mill,  oatmeal  mill,  etc.  The  Company 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  285 

yet  retain  considerable  land  on  Vancouver  Island,  which  is  held  for 
sale  under  the  agency  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 

THE  AFRICAN  RACE. — In  those  early  days  there  was  only  one  place 
of  public  worship  in  Victoria,  of  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cridge  was 
pastor,  as  well  as  chaplain  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  From  the 
public  journal  then  published,  it  appears  that  certain  parties  from  the 
United  States  felt  aggrieved  because  a  few  negroes  attended  Mr. 
Cridge's  church,  and  addressed  a  letter  to  him  through  the  press  on 
the  subject,  stating  that  the  "Ethiopians  perspired',  that  several 
white  gentlemen  left  their  seats  vacant  and  sought  the  purer  atmo- 
sphere outside;  others  moodily  endured  the  aromatic  luxury  of  their 
positions,  in  no  very  pious  frame  of  mind  ;  that  the  negro  has  his 
proper  place  among  created  beings;  to  make  him  our  equal  he  must 
submit  to  being  skinned,  renovated,  '  born  anew,'  or  any  other  process 
of  change  to  make  him  white." 

A  CORRESPONDENT  replied,  and  amongst  other  things  said  : 

"Now,  what  is  'the  head  and  front  of  the  offence'  1  A  large 
number  of  the  colored  people  of  the  State  of  California,  who,  as  a 
body  of  industrious,  law-abiding  citizens,  had  no  superiors  in  the  State, 
cheerfully  paying  their  thousands  into  the  State  coffers  for  the 
sustenance  of  the  Government ;  were  despoiled  of  their  property  and 
their  persons  maltreated;  taxed  for  the  support  of  common  school*, 
and  their  children  driven  from  the  school-house  door  ;  mad«  to  pay 
poll  tax,  and  then  driven  from  the  polls.  To  these  wrongs  they 
submitted,  under  earnest  protests,  for  a  series  of  years,  .  .  .  but 
feeling  that  forbearance  had  ceased  to  be  a  virtue,  they  left  the  land 
of  their  nativity  around  which  clustered  a  thousand  recollections  of 
home,  friends  and  kindred,  for  what  at  that  time  was  comparatively 
a  distant  and  desolate  region,  there  to  build  themselves  a  home  and 
establish  a  character,  unmolested  beneath  the  genial  laws  of  the 
British  Government.  Victoria,  at  that  time,  had  all  the  appearance 
of  a  quiet  country  village. 

"The  colored  people,  unknown  to  themselves,  were  the  pioneers  of 
a  large  immigration.  They  came  to  escape  the  tyranny  and  oppression 
of  Republican  Democratic  church-going  California,  believing  that 
there  in  the  Church  of  God,  above  all  other  places,  all  distinction  and 
animosities  should  be  buried.  They  were  received  by  this  Government 
with  all  that  frankness  and  cordiality  so  peculiarly  British  ;  welcomed 
and  assured  by  those  in  power  that  they  should  have  the  same  legal 
protection,  and  enjoy  the  same  immunities,  other  things  being  equal, 
as  could  the  most  favored  subjects ;  and  that  the  color  of  their  skin 
should  never  debar  them  from'  their  rights.  Right  nobly  have  they 
maintained  their  former  good  character,  and  we  shall  be  greatly 
disappointed  in  British  character  and  honesty  should  they  prove  false 
to  their  trust." 


286  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

GOVERNOR  DOUGLAS,  accompanied  by  Crown  Solicitor  and  Attorney 
George  Pearkes,  J.  W.  McKay,  Donald  Fraser,  Charles  B.  Young, 
and  other  prominent  citizens  and  government  officials,  left  Victoria 
on  the  30th  of  August  for  Fort  Hope,  Fraser  River.  The  object  of 
the  visit,  more  especially,  was  to  quell  as  much  as  possible  the 
difficulties  and  discontent  which  were  growing  between  the  miners 
and  the  natives,  and  to  make  treaties  of  peace  amongst  them.  It  was 
.also  apparent  that  additional  peace  officers  should  be  appointed  at  the 
more  important  mining  points.  On  the  3rd  of  September  the  gover- 
nor reached  Fort  Hope.  A  salute  was  fired  in  his  honor,  and  every 
respect  was  paid  to  his  Excellency  by  the  miners  and  others.  The 
Indians  looked  upon  him  as  an  old  friend  to  be  trusted,  and  as 
governor  to  be  obeyed. 

A  PROCLAMATION  WAS  ISSUED  at  Fort  Hope  setting  forth  that 
anyone  convicted  before  a  magistrate  of  selling  or  giving  spirituous 
liquors  to  the  natives  of  Fraser  River  or  elsewhere,  would  be  fined 
from  five  to  twenty  pounds.  Permission  was  granted  aliens  to  hold 
lands  for  three  years  without  being  interfered  with,  but  after  that 
time  they  must  become  naturalized  British  subjects  or  convey  them 
to  British  subjects,  otherwise  the  lands  would  be  forfeited.  A  court 
of  justice  was  held  at  Fort  Hope  by  the  Crown  solicitor,  and  several 
offenders  punished.  A  present  was  made  to  Spintlum,  chief  at  the 
Forks,  and  instructions  given  him  how  he  should  conduct  himself 
and  his  tribe  towards  the  miners.  Ten  troopers,  one  warden  of  the 
river,  and  one  sub-commissioner  were  to  be  stationed  at  the  Forks ; 
at  Fort  Hope,  one  justice  of  the  peace,  two  regular  and  ten  special 
constables;  for  Fort  Yale,  one  sub-commissioner,  ten  troopers,  and 
ten  special  constables.  A  miner  named  Eaton,  who  had  murdered  a 
comrade  named  King,  was  committed  to  the  court,  convicted  of 
manslaughter  on  the  testimony  of  six  witnesses  from  Hill  Bar,  and 
sentenced  to  transportation  for  life. 

The  issue  of  the  Victoria  Gazette  of  the  16th  of  September  notices 
that  a  new  map  of  the  town  of  Victoria  had  just  been  completed  by 
the  colonial  surveyor,  and  was  open  for  inspection  by  the  public  at 
the  land  office.  On  the  map  the  names  of  streets  are  given,  "having 
been  chosen  by  that  officer."  They  are  classified  :  first,  those  in  honor 
of  the  governors  of  the  island,  Blanshard  and  Douglas ;  second,  in 
compliment  to  distinguished  navigators  on  this  coast,  Vancouver, 
Cook,  etc. ;  third,  those  named  after  the  first  ships  that  visited  our 
waters,  Discovery,  Herald,  Cormorant,  etc.;  fourth,  those  in  honor 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  287 

of  Arctic  explorers,  Franklin,  Kane,  Rae,  etc.;  fifth,  those  named 
after  Canadian  cities,  lakes,  rivers,  etc. 

REFORMS  ESTABLISHED.  —  Governor  Douglas  returned  from  his 
Eraser  River  trip  on  the  26th  of  September,  having  accomplished 
much  good  by  his  presence  amongst  the  miners,  who  gave  him  due 
praise  for  the  many  valuable  reforms  which  his  wisdom  enacted. 
He  made  several  speeches  at  principal  points,  giving  the  miners  good 
advice,  and  assuring  them  of  the  sympathy  and  encouragement  of  the 
Government.  Mr.  McKay,  a  member  of  the  Legislative  Assembly, 
who  had  accompanied  the  governor  to  Fraser  River,  was  instructed 
by  him  to  return  by  way  of  Big  Lillooet  Lake  to  the  coast,  to 
ascertain  the  practicability  of  a  route  from  the  coast  to  the  mines 
in  that  direction. 

A  PARTY  WAS  FORMED  which  followed  at  first  the  road-cutting 
expedition  of  the  Lillooet-Harrison  route  to  the  head  of  Big  Lillooet 
Lake.  After  proceeding  some  distance  along  a  river  which  entered 
the  lake  from  the  west,  a  trail  leading  towards  the  coast  was  taken, 
and  in  five  days'  march  the  head  of  Howe  Sound  was  reached — a 
distance  of  fifty-five  miles.  A  portion  of  the  route  was  along  the 
Skowhomish  River,  which  discharged  at  the  head  of  Howe  Sound. 
The  valley,  Mr.  McKay  reported,  is  well  timbered,  and,  if  cleared, 
would  make  good  farming  land.  The  rocks  in  the  neighborhood  are 
principally  slate,  granite  and  basalt.  The  mountains  on  the  east 
side  of  the  valley  appear  to  be  composed  of  soft  red  marl.  Mr. 
McKay  concluded  that  from  Howe  Sound  to  the  valley  of  the 
Lillooet,  the  pass  he  had  travelled  over,  was  the  shortest  and  best 
route  to  the  upper  Fraser.  The  expense,  however,  of  opening  up 
the  new  road,  as  well  as  other  considerations  connected  with  the 
established  route,  prevented  the  attempt  being-  made  to  travel  by 
Howe  Sound. 

FORT  LANGLEY. — Preparations  were  now  being  made  at  old  Fort 
Langley  to  be  in  readiness  for  the  arrival  of  the  Royal  Engineers 
and  others  expected  from  England  in  connection  with  the  new  seat 
of  government  on  the  mainland.  A  sale  of  town  lots  was  advertised 
to  take  place  at  Victoria,  on  or  about  the  20th  of  October,  the  upset 
price  to  be  $100  per  single  lot  of  64  x  120  feet;  lots  to  be  sold 
without  reservation,  unless  for  the  use  of  the  Government.  Barracks 
were  built.  The  roof  was  laid  by  William  Clarkson,  from  Oshawa> 
Ontario,  yet  (1893)  a  resident  in  New  Westminster.  [Mr.  Clarkson 
died  in  1894. — ED.] 


288  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

WHISKEY,  POWDER  AND  SHOT. — The  practice  of  supplying  liquor 
to  Indians  on  the  Fraser  River  and  at  other  places  had  been  the 
cause  of  much  trouble  amongst  the  miners.  At  Yale,  in  August,  a 
case  is  reported  where  some  parties  had  been  selling  whiskey  to  the 
Indians,  keeping  them  in  a  drunken  and  troublesome  state.  The 
agent  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  Donald  Walker,  supported  by 
the  well-disposed  citizens,  proceeded  to  the  premises  where  the  liquor 
was  kept  for  the  purpose  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  traffic  by  destroy- 
ing the  stock  on  hand.  Mr.  Walker  was  attacked  by  an  outsider, 
when  a  fight  ensued,  during  which  the  officious  party  had  a  portion 
of  his  nose  bitten  off.  The  verdict  of  the  people  was,  "served  him 
right,"  as  the  fellow  had  no  other  interest  in  the  matter  than  that  he 
did  not  wish  to  see  the  whiskey  destroyed  in  what  appeared  to  him 
a  wanton  manner.  The  report  goes  on  to  say  that  "  the  business  of 
supplying  the  savages  with  liquor  by  the  whites  has  found  a  counter- 
part in  their  being  furnished  with  arms  and  ammunition  by  the  Chinese. 
A  boat  loaded  with  these  pestiferous  people  arrived  at  a  bar  on  the 
lower  end  of  the  Big  Canyon,  where  a  company  of  whites  were  at 
work,  and  proceeded  to  sell  powder  and  shot  to  the  Indians.  They 
were  at  once  driven  away,  when  the  Indians  jumped  into  their 
canoes  and  brought  them  back,  threatening  the  whites  in  case  they 
further  molested  them." 

RESIGNED  HIS  FACTORSHIP.  —  In  compliance  with  Lord  Lytton's 
request  that  Governor  Douglas  should  sever  all  official  connection 
with  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  with  the  Puget  Sound  Agricul- 
tural Company,  the  governor  informed  his  Lordship  he  had  resigned 
his  factorship  and  disposed  of  his  stock,  and  would  accept  the  offered 
governorship  of  the  proposed  new  colony  of  British  Columbia,  which 
the  recent  gold  discoveries  had  rendered  necessary  to  be  established 
without  delay. 

FORMER  LICENSE  REVOKED — BRITISH  COLUMBIA  MADE  A  COLONY. 
— On  the  2nd  of  September,  1858,  the  Crown  revoked  the  privileges 
of  exclusive  trade  with  the  Indians  which  had  been  granted  on  the 
30th  of  May,  1838,  for  twenty-one  years  from  that  date,  by  passing 
an  Act  to  provide  for  the  government  of  British  Columbia,  which 
by  that  Act  was  created  a  colony.  A  proclamation  was  issued  at 
Victoria,  on  the  3rd  of  November,  by  Governor  Douglas,  and  a  copy 
of  the  revocation  published  for  the  information  and  guidance  of  all 
persons  interested  therein.  Thus  ended  the  monopoly  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  on  the  mainland,  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  289 

MADE  GOVERNOR  OF  BRITISH  COLUMBIA. — The  proclamation  of  the 
revocation  just  referred  to,  was  followed  by  another,  dated  from  Fort 
Langley,  19th  November,  1858.  The  commission  appointing  Governor 
Douglas  also  governor  of  the  new  colony,  had  arrived  from  London. 
Chief  Justice  Begbie  had  also  arrived  from  England.  To  perform 
the  ceremony  of  installing  Governor  Douglas  into  his  new  office, 
his  Excellency  was  accompanied  from  Victoria  by  Rear-Admiral 
Baynes,  Mr.  Cameron,  Chief  Justice  of  Vancouver  Island,  Chief 
Justice  Begbie,  of  the  new  colony,  and  several  others,  in  H.M.S. 
Satellite,  Captain  Prevost.  They  anchored  for  the  night  at  Point 
Roberts.  Next  morning  the  party  was  transferred  to  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company's  steamer  Otter,  and  thence  to  the  Company's  steamer 
Beaver,  which  was  moored  within  the  mouth  of  Eraser  River. 

THE  REPORT  STATES  that  "  both  vessels  then  proceeded  in  company 
as  far  as  old  Eort  Langley,  when  the  Otter  disembarked  a  party  of 
eighteen  sappers,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Parsons.  They 
embarked  on  the  revenue  cutter  Recovery,  joining  the  command  of 
Captain  Grant,  R.E.,  who  had  previously  reached  this  spot  with  a 
party  of  the  same  corps.  The  two  captains  mentioned  had  recently 
arrived  from  England,  each  in  command  of  small  detachments  of  the 
Royal  Engineers.  The  Beaver  then  proceeded  with  his  Excellency 
and  suite  aboard  to  new  Fort  Langley,  when  preparations  were  made 
for  the  ceremonial  of  the  following  day." 

A  GUARD  OF  HONOR,  commanded  by  Captain  Grant,  was  in  readiness 
the  next  day  (19th)  to  receive  his  Excellency  and  party  as  they 
disembarked.  The  morning  was  wet,  and  the  road  leading  to  the 
palisade  rather  slippery.  As  the  party  reached  the  top  of  the  bank,  a 
salute  of  eighteen  guns  was  tired  from  the  Beaver,  and  the  British  flag 
hoisted  over  the  principal  entrance  to  the  fort.  Owing  to  the 
unpropitious  state  of  the  weather,  the  meeting  which  was  intended  to 
have  been  held  in  the  open  air,  was  convened  in  a  large  room  at  the 
principal  building.  About  one  hundred  persons  were  present. 

THE  CEREMONIES. — His  Excellency  commenced  the  ceremonies  by 
addressing  Mr.  Begbie,  and  delivering  to  him  her  Majesty's  commission 
as  judge  in  the  colony  of  British  Columbia  (ipso  facto  Chief  Justice). 
Mr.  Begbie  then  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  the  usual  oaths  on 
taking  office  ;  thereafter,  addressing  his  Excellency,  he  took  up  her 
Majesty's  commission  appointing  Governor  Douglas  to  the  office  of 
Governor  of  British  Columbia.  Mr.  Begbie,  having  read  the 
commission  in  full,  administered  to  Governor  Douglas  the  usual  oaths 
19 


290  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

•of  office,  viz.,  allegiance,  abjuration,  etc.  His  Excellency  being  thus 
-duly  appointed  and  sworn  in,  proceeded  to  issue  the  proclamations  of 
the  same  date  (November  19th),  viz.:  One  proclaiming  the  Act 
•establishing  the  colony  ;  a  second  indemnifying  all  the  officers  of  the 
•Government  from  any  irregularities  which  may  have  been  committed 
in  the  interval  before  the  proclamation  of  the  Act;  and  a  third 
proclaiming  English  law  to  be  the  law  of  the  colony.  The  proclama- 
tion referring  to  the  revocation  of  the  exclusive  privileges  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  was  also  read.  The  proceedings  then 
terminated.  The  governor  did  not  leave  the  fort  until  next  day, 
when  a  salute  of  seventeen  guns  was  fired  from  the  battlements.  On 
leaving  on  the  Beaver,  his  Excellency  was  loudly  cheered. 

A  SALE  OF  LANGLEY  TOWN  LOTS,  as  previously  advertised,  came  off 
^it  Victoria,  on  the  25th,  26th  and  29th  November.  The  land  was 
laid  out  or  divided  into  183  blocks  of  five  by  ten  chains,  and  the 
blocks  subdivided  into  eighteen  lots  of  64  x  120  feet.  Nineteen 
blocks  were  reserved  for  government  uses  in  different  portions  of  the 
town.  The  width  of  the  streets  was  seventy-eight  feet,  with  an  alley- 
way of  twelve  feet  in  width  through  each  block.  The  streets  were 
not  named.  The  new  town  was  located  upon  the  site  of  the  old  Fort 
Langley,  thirty-three  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Fraser  River.  Upset 
price  of  lots,  $100.  Printed  receipts  for  lots  purchased  were  given, 
signed  by  J.  D.  Pemberton,  acting  Colonial  Surveyor,  and  contained 
the  following  clause  :  "  All  interest  in,  and  title  to,  the  said  lot,  and 
to  this  instalment,  to  cease  and  become  void,  unless  the  balance  is 
paid  within  the  space  of  one  calendar  month  from  this  date."  The 
town  as  laid  out  and  sold  was  named  DERBY. 

THE  BIDDING  on  the  first  day  of  the  sale  was  very  spirited,  at 
prices  ranging  from  $150  to  $750,  according  to  location.  About  two 
hundred  lots  were  sold,  yielding  $41,000.  On  the  second  day,  up  to 
one  o'clock  the  bidding  was  lively,  but  the  best  lots  having  been  sold, 
the  prices  obtained  were  not  so  high  as  the  previous  day,  ranging  from 
$100  to  $400  per  lot.  The  two  days'  sale  showed  about  four  hundred 
lots  disposed  of,  the  proceeds  amounting  to  about  $68,000.  Before 
commencing  the  sale,  the  following  announcement  was  made  in  regard 
to  the  rights  of  foreigners  to  hold  and  transfer  real  estate  : 

"  1st.  According  to  the  law  of  England,  which  is  also  the  law  of 
British  Columbia,  an  alien  may  hold  lands,  but  is  liable  to  have  them 
declared  forfeited  to  the  Crown  at  any  time. 

"  2nd.  No  alien  can  be  disturbed   in  the  possession  of  lands  by  any 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  291 

other  person  than  the  Crown  authorities,  by  reason  only  of  his  being 
an  alien. 

"  3rd.  The  Colonial  Government  proposes  to  secure  to  aliens  the  full 
rights  of  possession  and  enjoyment  of  any  lands  which  they  may 
purchase  at  the  sale  for  the  space  of  three  years.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  they  must,  if  they  wish  to  continue  to  hold  the  lands,  either 
become  themselves  naturalized  British  subjects,  or  else  convey  their 
rights  to  British  subjects. 

"  4th.  It  is  the  intention  of  the  Colonial  Government  to  obtain  from 
the  home  Government  their  sanction  to  measures  for  carrying  into 
effect  the  above  views,  which  measures  are  now  in  course  of  prepara- 
tion. But  they  must  depend  for  their  full  effect  on  the  ratification  by 
the  home  Government.  By  order  of  the  Governor.  Victoria,  V.  I., 
25th  November,  1858." 


CHAPTEE   X. 


INCREASED  TKADE— NEW  BUILDINGS  AND  ROADS. 

VICTORIA  being  a  free  port  at  this  time,  the  following  comparative 
view  of  imposts  in  California  (1),  Vanco-uver  Island  (2),  and  British 
Columbia  (3),  is  taken  from  the  Victoria  Gazette,  of  November  20th, 
1858  :  COASTING  TRADE. — (1)  Closed  against  foreign  flags.  INLAND 
NAVIGATION. — (1)  Closed  against  foreign  flags  ;  (3)  almost  unrestricted. 
IMPORT  DUTIES. — (1)  From  15  to  30  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  on  most 
.articles  of  foreign  production.  If  exported,  duty  anew  on  every 
re-importation  ;  (2)  none  ;  (3)  ten  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  indiscrimin- 
ately. ENTERING  AND  CLEARING  FOREIGN  VESSELS. — (1)  Entry  and 
surveyor's  fee  at  custom  house,  $6.10  ;  emigrant  agent,  $.'5 ;  clearance 
fee,  $2.50  ;  total,  $11.60 ;  (2)  $10  in  all  on  foreign  vessels;  $3  in  all 
on  British  vessels;  (3)  sufferance  fee  for  foreign  vessels,  $12,  to 
navigate  Eraser  River.  TONNAGE  DUES. — (1)  One  per  cent,  per  ton  ; 
harbor  master's  fee,  4  per  cent,  per  ton ;  total,  5  per  cent,  per  ton  ; 
{2)  none;  (3)  none.  PILOTAGE. — (1)  Compulsory,  $10  per  foot, 
inwards ;  $8  per  foot,  outwards ;  with  5  per  cent,  on  pilotage 
additional  to  pilot  commissioner  ;  (2)  optional,  $2  per  foot,  when 
employed;  (3)  optional,  no  established  pilots.  HEAD  MONEY.  —  (1)  On 
•entering  the  state,  $5 ;  on  departing  from  the  state,  $6 ;  (2)  none ; 
{3)  entry  $2,  departure  nothing — recently  abolished.  MINING 


292  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

LICENSE. — (1)  $4  per  month  on  foreigners,  citizens  exempt ;  (2)  none  ; 
(3)  $5  per  month  indiscriminately  upon  all  nations,  including  British 
subjects.  GENERAL  TAXATION. — (1)  San  Francisco,  about  3  per  cent, 
on  the  value  of  all  property,  real  and  personal;  tax  on  general  business, 
merchants,  bankers,  etc.,  according  to  amount  of  business  done  ;  bills 
of  lading  heavily  taxed  ;  attorneys,  brokers  and  auctioneers  taxed  ; 
poll  tax  on  male  adults,  $3  ;  (2)  none ;  (3)  none  hitherto  imposed. 

THE  CURRENT  YEAR  OF  1858  was  most  eventful  in  Vancouver 
Island,  as  well  as  on  the  mainland.  In  Victoria  it  brought  wonderful 
changes,  by  increased  trade,  additional  buildings,  and  extending  and 
making  new  streets  and  roads.  A  building  had  been  erected  on 
Government  Street,  near  where  the  post-office  now  stands.  It  was 
designed  for  the  governor's  office,  and  was  styled  the  Government 
House,  whence  all  his  Excellency's  documents  were  dated.  Governor 
Douglas,  in  1856-57,  had  a  private  residence  built,  on  the  south  side 
of  James  Bay.  He  occupied  that  residence  during  his  term  of  office 
as  governor  of  both  colonies,  and  afterwards  until  his  death.  A 
bridge  was  proposed  to  be  built  across  the  bay  in  line  with  Government 
Street,  towards  the  expense  of  which  the  Legislature  voted  £800. 

To  the  mainland  thousands  of  miners  and  traders  and  others  had 
found  their  way,  and  many  of  them  were  highly  fortunate  in  obtaining 
GOLD.  Others  were  unfortunate  and  discouraged.  The  difficulty  in 
transporting  supplies  beyond  navigation  on  the  Fraser  compelled 
thousands  to  remain  at  the  lower  bars ;  and  it  was  not  until 
the  Harrison-Lillooet  route  was  opened,  so  that  the  unnavigable 
canyons  could  be  avoided,  that  sufficient  supplies  of  food  could 
be  brought  to  the  Upper  Fraser.  After  that  road  was  con- 
structed men  passed  in  thousands  over  it,  and  supplies  in  com- 
parative abundance  reached  Thompson  River.  There  were  few 
miners  on  the  Thompson,  but  they  had  penetrated  thither  by  way 
of  the  Columbia  River,  and  since  April  had  been  obtaining  large 
returns,  although  working  under  great  disadvantage,  on  the  verge  of 
starvation. 

By  reason  of  the  causes  stated,  a  large  number  of  old  California 
experts  were  congregated  at  the  lower  bars,  especially  at  Hill's  Bar, 
amongst  whom  could  be  found  many  of  the  wild  and  abandoned 
characters  who  had  made  unsavory  reputations  for  themselves  in  the 
"  Golden  State."  Their  treatment  of  the  Indians  on  sundry  occasions 
was  not  of  the  most  gentle  kind,  yet  by  regulations  framed  by  them- 
selves, a  wonderful  state  of  order  was  maintained  at  all  the  thirteen 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  293 

bars.  There  were  a  few,  however,  who  committed  acts  calculated 
to  inflame  the  worst  passions  of  the  natives.  The  natives  were 
charged  with  having  committed  many  murders.  Bodies  of  white  men 
were  found  on  the  river  banks  and  in  the  water,  mutilated  beyond 
recognition.  At  length  a  large  number  of  the  miners  were  enrolled 
and  an  expedition  formed  to  overawe  the  Indians.  Treaties  were 
made  with  the  natives,  as  formerly  referred  to. 

Of  the  many  thousands  who  reached  Fraser  River  early  in  the  year, 
all  but  about  four  thousand  are  said  to  have  left  before  the  middle  of 
summer.  The  cause  of  the  exodus  was  the  seemingly  inaccessible 
character  of  the  approaches  to  the  upper  portions  of  the  river, 
together  with  the  fact  that,  owing  to  high  water,  the  bars  could  not 
be  worked  until  after  midsummer.  Another  influx  of  miners  took 
place  in  October.  The  majority  of  them,  however,  returned  before 
winter  set  in.  In  the  face  of  all  the  difficulties  which  had  been 
experienced  in  the  space  of  eight  months  the  country  had  been 
populated,  and  a  colony  had  been  established.  It  is  next  to  impossible 
for  parties  not  then  present  to  realize  the  hardships  which  those  early 
prospectors  had  to  endure.  Many  of  them  had  added  largely  to  their 
wealth,  others  returned  poorer  than  when  they  came  in.  A  remnant 
remained  in  the  new  towns  and  mining  centres  to  try  their  fortunes 
next  year. 

The  newly  surveyed  town  of  Langley  was  expected  to  become  the 
capital  of  British  Columbia.  Work  had  already  been  begun  on 
barracks  to  receive  the  expected  Royal  Engineers  on  their  arrival,  as 
it  was  known  they  were  en  voyage,  via  Cape  Horn,  for  Victoria. 
Tenders  'were  advertised  for  by  December  1st,  Acting  Colonial 
Surveyor  Pemberton  calling  for  tenders  to  erect  at  Langley  a  parsonage, 
church,  court-house  and  jail,  according  to  plans  and  specifications  to 
be  seen  at  the  land  office.  A  proclamation  was  issued  December 
3rd,  authorizing  the  levying  of  custom  duties  upon  goods,  as  specified, 
imported  into  the  colony  of  British  Columbia.  Prior  to  that  date  a 
specific  duty  of  ten  per  cent,  ad  valorem  was  collected  at  Victoria  on 
all  goods  sent  into  the  mining  districts.  The  Sisters  of  Charity 
published  a  notice  of  the  opening  of  St.  Ann's  school,  on  the  same 
date,  at  Victoria. 

COLONEL  MOODY  arrived  at  Victoria  on  November  25th,  1858.  He 
travelled  via  Panama,  in  company  with  Captain  Grant  and  his 
detachment  of  twenty-five  Royal  Engineers.  On  the  10th  of  Jan- 
uary3  1859,  a  rumor  reached  Victoria  that  an  outbreak  had  occurred 


294  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

at  Yale,  and  that  Colonel  Moody  who  had  already  gone  to  Langley, 
had,  on  receiving  intelligence  of  the  difficulty  referred  to,  proceeded' 
to  the  scene  of  action,  taking  along  with  him  the  twenty-five  Royal 
Engineers,  who  had  arrived  with  him  in  the 
colony.  Governor  Douglas  deemed  it  pru- 
dent to  strengthen  Colonel  Moody's  hands. 
He  was  aware  that  a  large  number  of  desper- 
ate characters  were  wintering  at  Hill's  Bar, 
and  amongst  them  a  certain  character,  Ed- 
ward McGowan,  who,  although  noted  for 
many  attractive  social  qualities,  had  others 
which  led  him  to  become  obnoxious  to  the 
laws  of  whatever  country  he  favored  with 


COLONEL  MOODY. 

At   the    request,    therefore,    of    Governor 

Douglas,  Captain  Prevost  supplied  a  party  of  marines  and  blue  jackets 
from  the  Satellite,  under  Lieutenant  Gooch.  They  embarked  on  board 
the  Plumper,  which  was  the  only  available  vessel  at  the  time  at 
Esquimalt.  Captain  Richards  at  once  proceeded  to  Langley.  On 
arriving  there,  they  found  that  Colonel  Moody  had  taken  the  Enter- 
prise, the  only  steamer  then  on  the  river  capable  of  going  farther  up 
it  than  Langley,  and  pushed  on  to  Yale,  with  twenty-five  of  the 
engineers  under  Captain  Grant,  R.E.  It  was  considered  advisable 
that  the  men  should  remain  on  board  the  Plumper,  and  that  a  mes- 
senger should  at  once  follow  and  overtake  Colonel  Moody. 

"This  service,"  says  Commander  Mayne  in  his  excellent  work, 
"  Four  Years  in  British  Columbia  and  Vancouver  Island,"  "  devolved 
upon  me  (then  Lieutenant  Mayne  of  the  Plumper),  and  I  received 
orders  to  proceed  up  the  river  with  despatches  from  Captain  Richards, 
informing  the  colonel  of  the  force  at  Langley. 

"Mr.  Yale,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  officer  at  Fort  Langley, 
undertook  to  provide  a  canoe  and  crew  for  the  journey,  and  my  own 
preparations,"  continues  Lieutenant  Mayne,  "were  soon  made — a 
blanket,  frock  and  trousers,  a  couple  of  rugs,  two  or  three  pipes, 
plenty  of  tobacco,  tea,  coffee,  some  meat  and  bread  completing  my 
outfit.  At  this  time  canoe-travelling  was  quite  new  to  me,  and, 
familiar  as  it  has  since  become,  I  quite  well  remember  the  curious 
sensations  with  which  this,  my  first  journey  of  the  kind,  was  com- 
menced. It  was  mid-winter;  the  snow  lay  several  inches  deep  upon  the 
ground.  The  latest  reports  from  up  the  river  spoke  of  much  ice  about 
and  below  Fort  Hope,  so  that  I  was  by  no  means  sorry  to  avail  myself 
of  the  offer  of  Mr.  Lewis  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  who  had 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.  295 

accompanied  the  Plumper  as  pilot  to  be  my  companion.  Mr.  Yale 
had  selected  a  good  canoe  and  nine  stout  paddlers— four  half-breeds, 
and  five  Indians,  and  when  I  landed  from  the  ship,  a  few  minutes 
before  eleven,  they  were  waiting  on  the  beach,  dressed  in  their  best 
blankets,  with  large  streamers  of  bright  red,  blue  and  yellow  ribbons, 
in  which  they  delight  so  much,  Hying  from  their  caps.  Mr.  Yale  had 
previously  harangued  them,  and  presented  them  with  the  importance  of 
the  service  in  which  they  were  engaged.  Seating  ourselves  in  the 
canoe,  as  comfortably  as  we  could,  away  we  started,  the  frail  bark 
flying  over  the  smooth  water  and  the  crew  singing  at  the  top  of  their 
wild,  shrill  voices  ;  their  parti-colored  decorations  streaming  in  the 
bitter  winter  wind. 

"The  party  paddled  along  quickly  until  four  o'clock,  when  they 
landed  and  made  tea.  This  meal  over,  they  started  again  and  held  on 
steadily  all  night.  Wet,  cold  and  tired  the  two  passengers  rolled 
themselves  up  in  the  rugs  and  fell  into  a  broken  sleep,  lulled  by  the 
monotonous  rap  of  the  paddles  upon  the  gunwale  of  the  canoe,  the 
rippling  sound  of  the  water  against  its  sides,  the  song  of  the  men  now 
rising  loud  and  shrill,  now  sinking  into  a  low  drowsy  hum.  Next 
morning,  about  four  o'clock,  we  landed  for  a  short  spell  of  rest,  and 
clearing  away  the  snow,  lit  a  fire  and  lay  around  it  for  a  couple  of 
hours.  At  the  end  of  that  time  we  picked  ourselves  up,  stiff  with 
cold,  and  breakfasted,  and  by  half-past  seven  were  under  way  again 
and  paddling  up  the  river ;  the  Indians,  to  all  appearance,  as  lively 
and  unwearied  as  if  they  had  slept  the  whole  night  through.  I 
cannot  say  the  same  for  their  passengers."  .  .  . 

"The  novelty  of  the  situation,  too,  in  my  case  had  worn  away,  and 
I  confess  the  second  night  of  my  journey  was  one  cf  unmitigated  dis- 
comfort and  weariness.  Upon  the  second  morning  we  rested  a  little 
longer  by  our  watch-fire,  Myhu-pu-pu,  the  head  man  of  the  party, 
assuring  us  that  we  had  plenty  of  time  to  reach  Hope  before  nightfall. 
But  Myhu-pu-pu  was  wrong  ;  night  fell  while  we  were  still  some  miles 
below  the  fort.  About  three  in  the  afternoon  we  had  boarded  the 
Enterprise,  and  learnt  that  she  had  been  three  days  in  the  ice ;  had 
only  got  out  of  it  indeed  the  previous  morning,  and  that  Colonel 
Moody  had  not,  therefore,  been  able  to  reach  Hope  until  that  day. 

"  We  had  reason  to  congratulate  ourselves  on  our  good  fortune,  as 
we  had  only  met  some  floating  ice,  and  been  nowhere  in  very  serious 
danger  from  it,  although  once  or  twice  we  had  narrowly  escaped  being 
swamped  by  floating  blocks.  But  as  we  proceeded,  we  found  the 
river  more  and  more  swollen,  the  ice  thicker  and  in  greater  quantities, 
and  despite  all  the  efforts  of  the  crew,  darkness  set  in  while  we  were 
yet  some  miles  short  of  our  destination.  On  we  pushed,  however, 
and  I  had  fallen  asleep,  when  I  was  suddenly  awakened  by  a  sharp 
crack  almost  under  my  head.  The  canoe  had  struck  a  rock  in  crossing 
a  rapid  in  the  river,  at  a  spot  now  known  as  Cornish  Bar,  but  then 
called  Murderer's  Bar,  from  a  murder  which  had  taken  place  there, 
and  she  was  stove  in  unmistakably.  Thanks  to  the  courage  and  skill 


296  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

of  the  leader  of  the  crew,  we  were  extricated  from  our  perilous  predic- 
ament. Leaping  on  to  the  rock,  against  which  the  full  force  of  the 
current  was  driving  the  canoe,  they  lifted  her  off  without  a  moment's 
hesitation,  and  the  other  rowers  shooting  her  ashore,  we  all  jumped 
•out  and  ran  her  up  upon  the  snow.  Of  course  everything  was  wet, 
•ourselves  included  ;  but  we  were  too  grateful  for  our  narrow  escape  to 
heed  this  trifling  inconvenience. 

NARROW  ESCAPES. — "Meanwhile  the  men  whose  courage  and 
readiness  had  saved  us,  were  still  upon  the  rock,  the  current  sweeping 
by  up  to  their  knees  and  threatening  to  carry  them  away.  The  canoe 
being  hastily  repaired  and  veered  down  to  them  by  a  rope,  they  too 
were  brought  safely  ashore.  Then  arose  the  question,  'how  are  we 
to  be  got  to  Fort  Hope  that  night?'  It  was  a  serious  one  riot  admit- 
ting of  a  very  easy  solution.  To  get  the  canoe  atioat  again  was  soon 
found  impossible,  as  she  was  split  fore  and  aft ;  and  it  was  ultimately 
determined  to  leave  two  of  the  Indians  in  charge  of  it  while  the  rest 
of  us  tried  to  make  the  trail,  which  was  known  to  pass  near  this  spot  to 
the  fort.  I  have  since  that  night  walked  that  trail,  when  it  was  as 
pretty  and  pleasant  a  summer's  evening  stroll  as  anyone  would  wish 
to  enjoy  ;  but  on  this  occasion,  with  two  or  three  feet  of  snow  upon 
it,  and  three  or  four  feet  more  ready  to  receive  us  on  either  side  if  a 
false  step  was  made,  that  three-mile  walk  to  Hope  was  very  hard  work 
while  it  lasted.  It  was  worse  for  my  companion  (Mr.  Lewis),  for  in 
crossing  a  river  by  a  fallen  tree,  which  served  as  a  bridge,  his  foot 
gave  way  and  he  slipped  in,  drenching  his  frozen  clothes  and  limbs 
afresh.  Fortunately,  however,  it  was  not  very  deep,  and  he  was  fished 
out,  and  we  reached  the  fort  without  further  accident. 

HOSPITABLE  TREVTMENT — "At  that  time  the  old  fort  had  only  one 
room  set  apart  for  the  officer  in  charge,  which  had  to  serve  for  both 
sitting  and  bedroom.  Late  at  night  as  it  was,  into  this  and  the 
presence  of  Colonel  Moody,  Captain  Grant,  Mr.  Begbie,  and  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company's  officers,  gathered  round  the  fire,  we  made  our  way, 
looking,  I  dare  say,  pitiable  objects  enough.  With  the  ready  kindness 
which  I  never  failed  to  meet  with  from  the  Company's  officers  in 
British  Columbia,  Mr.  Ogilvy  soon  equipped  us  in  suits  of  dry  clothes 
and  seated  us  before  a  hot  supper. 

COLONEL  MOODY  PROCEEDED  TO  YALE. — "When  I  reported  myself 
the  commissioner  was  rather  surprised  at  the  promptitude  with  which 
his  requisition  for  troops  had  been  met  by  the  governor,  and  perhaps 
a  little  embarrassed.  His  impression  now  was,  that  the  reports  which 
had  reached  him  at  Yale,  and  hurried  him  hither,  had  been  greatly 
exaggerated,  and  from  the  accounts  which  had  since  reached  him,  he 
had  the  best  reason  to  believe  that  the  feeling  of  the  mining  popula- 
tion at  Yale  and  elsewhere  had  been  grossly  misrepresented.  How- 
ever, he  said  that  he  had  decided  on  proceeding  next  day  to  Yale  with 
Mr.  Begbie  only,  leaving  Captain  Grant  and  his  party  of  engineers 
at  Hope ;  and  he  desired  me  to  accompany  him,  so  that  if,  upon  his 
arrival  at  Yale,  the  presence  of  troops  should  be  found  necessary,  I 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD.  297 

might  return  to  Hope  with  orders  to  that  effect ;  and  it  was  also 
determined  that  Mr.  Lewis  should  take  the  canoe  back  to  Langley  as 
soon  as  it  was  repaired,  and  tell  Captain  Richards  of  my  arrival  and 
detention. 

A  CORDIAL  RECEPTION. — "Next  morning,  therefore,  we  started, 
and  reached  Yale  at  three.  The  town  was  perfectly  quiet.  The 
colonel  was  received  upon  his  entrance  with  the  most  vociferous 
cheering  and  every  sign  of  respect  and  loyalty.  Upon  the  way  up, 
we  stopped  at  several  of  the  bars,  and  made  inquiries,  which  satisfied 
us  that  the  miners  were  doing  very  well,  although  they  complained 
that  the  snow  had  for  some  days  past  kept  them  from  working. 
The  river  scenery  between  these  two  ports  was  beautiful,  even  at  this 
season  of  the  year.  The  distance  is  only  fifteen  miles,  but  the 
strength  of  the  current  is  so  great  that  in  the  winter  five  or  six  hours 
are  consumed  in  the  journey,  and  in  summer  when  the  stream  is 
swollen  by  the  melting  snow — double  that  time  is  often  taken.  The 
mountains  on  either  side  are  from  three  to  four  thousand  feet  high, 
.and  are  composed  almost  entirely  of  plutonic  rocks,  and  at  their 
base  is  found  the  drift  in  which  the  gold  is  contained." 


CHAPTEE   XI. 


NEW  DIFFICULTIES  ARISING. 

COURT  HELD  AFTER  CHURCH  SERVICE. — Next  day  being  Sunday, 
'Colonel  Moody  performed  church  service  in  the  court  house — the  first 
-at  Yale.  It  was  attended  by  between  thirty  and  forty  miners,  who- 
formed  a  most  orderly  and  attentive  congregation.  After  church  service 
•the  difficulty  which  brought  Colonel  Moody  to  Yale,  was  investigated. 
Lieutenant  Mayne  explains  the  matter  as  follows  : 

"  At  Hill's  Bar,  a  mile  below  Yale,  there  was  a  resident  magistrate, 
and  at  Yale  two  others  had  been  appointed.  .  .  .  These  three 
dignitaries  were  not  upon  the  best  terms  with  each  other,  and  two  of 
them  claimed  a  certain  case  and  prisoner  as  belonging  each  to  his  own 
district,  and  disputed  the  right  of  adjudicating  upon  them  to  such  a 
•degree  that,  one  having  possession  of  the  culprit's  body,  and  refusing 
to  give  it  up  to  his  colleague,  the  other  went  to  the  length  of  swear- 
ing in  special  constables  to  his  aid,  and  removing  the  prisoner  by  force 
of  arms  to  his  jurisdiction  at  Hill's  Bar. 

EDWARD  McGowAN  COMMITTED  AN  ASSAULT. — "  It  was  at  this 
.juncture  that  Edward  McGowan  figured  so  conspicuously.  He  was 
-among  the  special  constables,  and  was,"  says  Mayne,  "very  possibly 


298  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

among  the  instigators  of  the  squabble  ;  and  it  was  this  outraged 
magistrate's  report  that  this  worthy  had  been  prison-breaking  in  his 
district,  that  gave  it  to  the  authorities  at  Langley  and  Victoria  so  serious 
an  aspect.  However,  upon  investigating  the  matter,  he  was  found  to 
have  acted,  if  with  indiscreet  zeal,  yet  nob  illegally,  and  no  charge 
was  preferred  against  him  on  that  account.  But  the  same  afternoon, 
while  Colonel  Moody,  representing  the  majesty  of  the  law,  was  still  at 
Yale,  McGowan  outraged  it  unmistakably  by  committing  an  unpro- 
voked assault.  This,  coupled  with  sundry  other  suspicious  circum- 
stances, caused  Colonel  Moody  to  think  that  McGowan's  friends  and 
admirers  would,  if  provoked  (or  not  restricted),  break  into  serious 
insubordination;  and  heat  once  instructed  me  to  drop  down  the  river 
to  Hope  and  Langley,  and  order  up  the  engineers,  marines  and  blue 
jackets  left  at  those  places.  ' 

PRECAUTION  TAKEN.— "The  utmost  precaution  was  taken  about 
my  journey.  Mr.  Allard,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  officer  at  Yale, 
was  instructed  to  have  a  small  canoe  launched  unseen  by  the  miners, 
who  it  was  thought  might  endeavor  to  stop  me,  as  they  no  doubt 
easily  could  have  done.  The  darkness  was  waited  for,  and  the  canoe 
being  launched 'and  dropped  about  half  a  mile  down  the  river, 
Mr.  Allard  came  to  the  house  for  me,  and  led  me  to  it  along  the 
river's  bank.  As  we  dropped  down  stream,  I  was  afraid  even  to 
light  my  pipe  lest  we  should  be  stopped  at  Hill's  Bar.  Absurd  as  all 
this  now  seems — especially  as  I  heard  on  my  return  that  the  miners 
knew  perfectly  well  of  my  starting — it  was  not  without  its  use  at  the 
time.  The  promptitude  with  which  Captain  Grant  appeared  on  the  spot 
with  the  engineers  at  daylight  next  morning  astonished  the  miners  a 
good  deal ;  and  it  need  not  be  assumed  that,  because  they  apologized 
and  paid  their  fines,  they  would  have  done  so  equally  had  coercion 
not  been  threatened. 

START  FOR  LANGLEY. — "Reaching  Hope  at  half-past  eight  that 
night,  I  very  much  astonished  Captain  Grant  by  telling  him  he  was 
to  start  for  Yale  at  once,  and,  landing  his  men  below  Hill's  Bar,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  to  march  thence  into  Yale.  Having 
given  these  instructions,  I  embarked  in  the  canoe  again,  reached  the 
Enterprise,  which  was  to  convey  me  to  Langley,  and  bring  the  men 
there  up.  Here  a  slight  delay  took  place,  as  the  steamer  could  not 
be  got  ready  to  start  before  day-break  ;  but  away  we  went  the  instant 
dawn  broke,  and  reached  Langley  in  the  afternoon  of  the  following 
day  ;  when,  the  Enterprise  having  wooded,  and  everyone  got  on  board, 
we  were  struggling  up  against  the  current  by  6  p.m. ;  reaching  Smess 
River  by  nine  or  ten  that  night,  and  Cornish  Bar  by  8.30  the  following 
night. 

"There  the  Enterprise's  further  progress  was  effectually  barred  ; 
and  taking  a  canoe  again,  I  made  my  way  to  Hope,  where  I  found 
that  further  instructions  had  come  from  the  colonel,  to  the  effect  that 
the  blue  jackets  were  to  remain  there,  and  only  the  marines  to  go  on 
to  Yale.  So  things  were  looking  less  martial ;  and  I  was  not  surprised, 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  29&1 

on  pushing  forward  to  Yale  next  morning,  to  find  that  the  short 
campaign  was  at  an  end  ;  and  the  peace  which  hardly  had  been 
disturbed,  was  restored.  McGowan,  after  enjoying  the  sensation  he 
had  caused,  paid  Colonel  Moody  a  formal  visit,  and,  after  making  a 
very  gentle,  manlike  apology  for  the  hasty  blow  which  had  disturbed 
the  peace  of  British  Columbia,  and  entering  into  an  elaborate,  and,  I 
believe,  successful  defence  of  his  previous  conduct  in  the  squabble  of 
the  rival  magistrates,  committed  himself  frankly  into  the  hands  of 
justice.  .  .  . 

PEACE  RESTORED. — "He  was  fined  for  the  assault,  exonerated 
from  all  previous  misdemeanors,  and  next  day,  upon  Hill's  Bar  being 
visited  by  Mr.  Begbie  (the  Chief  Justice)  and  myself,  he  conducted 
us  over  the  diggings,  washed  some  '  dirt '  to  show  us  the  process,  and 
invited  us  to  a  collation  in  his  hut,  where  we  drank  champagne  with 
some  twelve  or  fifteen  of  his  California  mining  friends.  And,  what- 
ever opinion  the  Vigilance  Committee  of  San  Francisco  might  entertain 
of  these  gentlemen,  I,  speaking  as  I  found  them,  can  only  say  that, 
all  things  considered,  I  have  rarely  lunched  with  a  better-spoken, 
pleasanter  party.  The  word  '  miner '  to  many  unacquainted  with  the 
gold  fields,  conveys  an  impression  similar  perhaps  to  that  of  '  navvy/ 
But  among  them  may  be  often  found  men,  who,  by  birth  and  education,, 
are  well  qualified  to  hold  their  own  in  the  most  civilized  community 
in  Europe." 

McGowAN  OBLIGED  TO  FLEE. — Soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the 
Hill's  Bar  difficulty,  McGowan's  evil  genius  led  him  to  shoot  at  a  man 
on  the  same  bar,  whom,  luckily  he  missed.  He  was,  however,  obliged 
to  flee  across  the  frontier  into  the  United  States  territory,  where  he 
managed  to  ingratiate  himself  so  plausibly  as  to  be  elected  to  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  one  of  the  States  that  lie  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  He  was  careful  not  to  go  by  way  of  San  Francisco, 
as  the  Vigilance  Committee  had  not  disbanded.  But  this  polished 
fugitive  from  justice  had  the  effrontery  to  publish,  some  years  after- 
wards, his  adventures  to  the  world  in  the  shape  of  an  autobiography, 
in  which  he  recounts,  with  a  touch  of  bravado,  his  hair-breadth  escapes 
from  the  clutches  of  the  Vigilance  Committee,  and  how  its  agents 
pursued  him  so  persistently  that  only  after  the  greatest  difficulty  he 
managed  to  reach  a  steamer  starting  for  Victoria.  He  was  recognized 
as  he  was  going  on  board,  and  fired  at, — the  bullet  going  through  the 
lapel  of  his  coat.  At  San  Francisco,  on  December  9th,  1893, 
Edward  McGowan  died. 

SALUTE  AT  FORT  HOPE. — "  A  few  days  later,"  says  Mayne,  "  we 
dropped  down  the  river  to  Hope,  when  the  blue  jackets  were  paraded, 
and  in  honor  of  Colonel  Moody,  our  one  field-piece  fired  the  first  salute 


300  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

«ver  heard  at  Hope.  The  men  were  then  got  safely  on  board  the 
Plumper  again,  which  proceeded  to  examine  the  river  and  its  north 
bank  a  few  miles  below  Langley,  and  report  whether  it  would  do  for 
the  site  of  the  capital  of  British  Columbia — it  having  been  decided 
that  Derby,  or  New  Langley,  the  spot  first  selected,  was  not  desirable. 
The  site  of  New  Westminster,  or  Queensborough,  as  it  was  first 
•called,  is,  so  far  as  its  geographical  position  is  concerned,  very  good 
indeed,  as  it  is  also  in  a  strategical  point  of  view ;  but  the  bush  there 
was  very  thick,  while  at  Derby  there  was  a  large  space  of  clear 
ground." 

THE  "  MR.  LEWIS  "  MENTIONED  as  having  piloted  the  Plumper  to 
Langley,  and  who  accompanied  Lieutenant  (afterwards  Admiral) 
Mayne  in  the  canoe,  is  one  of  the  oldest  pioneers  now  (1894)  living 
in  Victoria.  Captain  Herbert  George  Lewis,  was  born  at  Aspenden, 
Hertfordshire,  England,  in  1828.  He  arrived  at  Victoria  in  1847, 
on  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  bark  Cowlitz.  .  Soon  after  his 
arrival  he  was  engaged  at  Fort  Rupert  and  subsequently  transferred 
to  Fort  Simpson.  Whilst  there  hh  services  were  required  on  the 
bark  Columbia,  as  mate,  as  the  gold  excitement  in  California  had 
caused  the  desertion  of  several  of  the  seamen  of  that  vessel,  as  well 
as  the  mate.  After  the  return  voyage  from  London,  Captain  Lewis 
was  placed  in  command  of  the  pioneer  steamer  Beaver,  which  previously 
had  been  commanded,  respectively,  by  Captains  McNeill,  Dodds, 
Sinclair  and  Swanson.  He  continued  as  captain  of  the  Beaver  until, 
in  1864,  she  was  disposed  of  by  the  Company  for  surveying  purposes. 
At  various  times  afterwards,  Captain  Lewis  had  command  of  the 
Otter,  Labouchere,  Enterprise  and  Princess  Louise.  The  transport  of 
the  whole  Company's  fur  trade  with  Alaska  w^s  intrusted  to  his  care, 
as  master  of  the  Otter  and  Labouchere,  from  1864  till  the  acquisition 
of  Alaska  by  the  United  States,  in  1867.  He  completed  his  length- 
ened service  with  the  Company  in  1883,  when  he  resigned.  Shortly 
afterwards,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Dominion  Government  as  agent 
of  the  Marine  Department  in  British  Columbia.  In  1892,  he  was 
made  shipping  master  for  the  port  of  Victoria,  which  office  he  now 
(1894)  holds. 

THE  SITE  OF  NEW  WESTMINSTER  EXAMINED. — Captain  Lewis 
remained  at  Langley  with  the  Plumper  for  about  a  week,  until  the 
arrival  of  Colonel  Moody  and  the  force  which  had  been  sent  up  the 
river  to  quell  the  Hill's  Bar  disturbance.  The  steamer,  on  returning, 
was  anchored  nearly  opposite  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  New 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD.  301 

Westminster.  Lieutenant  Mayne  and  Dr.-  Campbell  landed,  to 
examine  the  ground  and  report  to  Colonel  Moody  as  to  whether  it 
would  answer  for  the  site  of  the  capital  of  British  Columbia,  as 
Derby,  or  New  Langley,  the  place  first  selected,  was  not  desirable. 
Mayne,  in  his  book,  says  they  commenced  examining  "a  little  north 
of  where  the  town  now  stands,  and  so  thick  was  the  bush  that  it 
took  us  two  hours  to  force  our  way  in  rather  less  than  a  mile  and 
a  half.  Where  we  penetrated  it  was  composed  of  very  thick  willow 
and  elder,  intertwined  so  closely  that  every  step  of  the  way  had  to  be 
broken  through,  while  the  ground  was  cumbered  with  fallen  timber 
of  a  larger  growth.  During  the  scramble,"  says  Mayne,  "  I  stumbled 
upon  a  large  bear,  which  seemed  to  be  as  much  surprised  to  see  me  as 
I  was  at  sight  of  him,  and  I  dare  say  equally  discomposed.  At  any 
rate  he  showed  no  disposition  to  cultivate  my  acquaintance ;  and,  a& 
I  was  some  way  ahead  of  my  companion  and  had  only  one  barrel  of 
my  gun  loaded  with  small  shot,  I  was  not  sorry  to  find  that  our  ways- 
seemed  to  lie  in  opposite  directions." 

COLONEL  MOODY  SELECTED  THE  SITE  of  the  town,  a  little  below  the 
thick  bush  mentioned  where  the  ground  was  higher  and  somewhat 
clearer.  It  was  concluded  that  both  in  a  military  and  commercial 
light,  the  new  site  was  infinitely  preferable  to  that  which  had 
previously  been  fixed  upon  for  the  purpose,  higher  up  and  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river.  It  had  many  advantages  in  which  Derby 
was  wanting,  not  the  least  being  sufficient  depth  of  water  to  allow 
the  largest  class  of  vessels  capable  of  passing  the  sand-heads  at  the 
mouth  of  Fraser  River,  to  moor  along-side  of  its  wharves.  Captain 
Richards  returned  to  Victoria,  where  Colonel  Moody,  in  conference 
with  Governor  Douglas,  changed  the  location  of  the  capital  of  British 
Columbia  from  Derby. 

ROMANTIC  SAPPERTON. — When  it  was  decided  to  change  the  location 
of  the  proposed  capital  of  British  Columbia  from  Langley,  or  Derby, 
to  the  site  chosen  by  Colonel  Moody,  named  by  him  Queensborough, 
notice  was  published,  stating  that  a  town  was  being  surveyed  there, 
to  become  the  capital,  and  that  parties  who  had  purchased  lots  at 
Derby  might  surrender  such  lots  and  receive  their  equivalent  in 
Queensborough  town  lots.  An  advertisement  was  published,  7th 
March,  1859,  signed  by  Walter  Moberly,  Superintendent  of  Public 
Works,  calling  for  tenders  for  the  erection  of  certain  government 
buildings,  at  Mary's  Hill,  Fraser  River  ;  and  that  further  particulars 
could  be  obtained  by  applying  at  Colonel  Moody's  House,  Victoria, 


302  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

•where  plans,  etc.,  could  be  seen.  In  the  meantime  the  sappers  and 
miners  were  at  work  preparing  quarters  for  themselves  and  the 
others  expected  to  arrive.  The  locality  was  known  as  "Sapperton," 
and  was  a  beautifully  romantic  spot,  near  where  the  Provincial 
Penitentiary  now  stands. 


CHAPTEE   XII. 


GREAT  MISSIONARY  SUCCESS  BY  DUNCAN. 

COMMANDER  R.  C.  MAYNE  having  obtained  access  to  the  journals 
and  letters  of  the  pioneer  missionary,  Mr.  Duncan,  through  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Society,  in  London,  was  thus  enabled  to  furnish  much 
valuable  and  interesting  information  relative  to  his  operations.  He 
says : 

"  Before  1857  no  Protestant  missionary  had  ever  traversed  the 
wilds  of  British  Columbia,  nor  had  any  attempt  been  made  to  instruct 
the  Indians.  At  Victoria,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  had  a  chaplain 
stationed,  but  he  was  devoted  entirely  to  the  white  settlers.  I  must 
except,"  continues  Mayne,  "the  exertions  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
priests. 

"  If  the  opinion  of  the  Hudson  Bay  people  of  the  interior  is  to  be 
relied  upon,  they  effected  no  real  change  in  the  condition  of  the 
natives.  The  sole  result  of  their  residence  among  them  was,  that  the 
Indians  who  had  been  brought  under  their  influence  had  imbibed 
some  notions  of  the  Deity,  almost  as  vague  as  their  own  traditions, 
and  a  superstitious  respect  for  the  priests  themselves,  which  they 
showed  by  crossing  themselves  devoutly  whenever  they  met  one. 
Occasionally,  too,  might  be  seen  in  their  lodges,  pictures  purporting  to 
represent  the  roads  to  heaven  and  to  hell,  in  which  there  was  no 
single  suggestion  of  the  danger  of  vice  and  crime,  but  a  great  deal  of 
the  peril  of  Protestantism. 

"  These  colored  prints  were  certainly  curious  in  their  way,  and 
worth  a  passing  notice.  They  were  large,  and  gave  a  pictorial  history 
of  the  human  race,  from  the  time  when  Adam  and  Eve  wandered  in 
the  garden  of  Eden  together,  down  to  the  Reformation.  Here  the 
one  broad  road  was  split  in  two,  whose  courses  diverged  more  and 
more  painfully.  By  one  way  the  Roman  Catholic  portion  of  the 
world  were  seen  trooping  to  bliss ;  the  other  ended  in  a  steep, 
bottomless  precipice  over  which  the  Protestants  might  be  seen  falling. 


THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  303 

Upon  the  more  sensible  and  advanced  of  the  Indians,  teaching  such 
as  this  had  little  effect.  I  remember  the  chief  of  the  Shuswap\ribe, 
at  Kamloops,  pointing  out  to  me  such  an  illustration  hanging  on  his 
wall,  and  laughingly  saying  in  a  tone  that  showed  quite  plainly  how 
little  credence  he  attached  to  it,  '  There  are  you  and  your  people,' 
putting  his  finger,  as  he  spoke,  on  the  figures  tumbling  into  the  pit. 

"Of  such  kind  was  the  only  instruction  that  the  Indians  had 
received  prior  to  1857.  Its  influence  was  illustrated  in  that  year  in 
Victoria,  where  a  Roman  Catholic  bishop  and  several  priests  had  been 
resident  for  some  time,  and  were  known  to  have  exerted  themselves 
among  the  Songhie  Indians  who  resided  there.  A  cross  had  been 
raised  in  their  village,  and  some  of  them  had  been  baptized  ;  but  when 
these  had  been  called  before  the  bishop  for  confirmation,  they  refused 
to  come  unless  a  greater  present  of  blankets  was  made  to  them  than 
had  been  given  at  their  baptism.  The  bishop  was  said  to  have  been 
very  angry  with  the  priests  when  this  came  to  his  knowledge  ;  he 
having,  very  possibly,  been  deceived  by  them  as  to  the  condition  of 
the  Indians.  I  am  informed  that  he  had  a  large  heart  painted  upon 
canvas,  through  which  he  drew  a  blanket,  and  represented  it  to  the 
Indians  as  symbolical  of  their  condition. 

"Upon  H.M.S.  Satellite  being  commissioned  in  1856,  Captain 
Prevost  offered  to  give  a  free  passage  to  a 
missionary,  if  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
would  send  one.  This  Society,  which  had 
been  endowed  by  an  anonymous  benefactor 
with  the  sum  of  £500,  to  be  devoted  to  such 
a  purpose,  offered  the  work  to  Mr.  Duncan, 
who  had  been  trained  at  the  Highbury  Col- 
lege, and  who  readily  accepted  it.  The  Satel- 
lite sailed  in  December,  1856,  and  reached 
Vancouver  Island  in  June,  1857,  when  Mr. 
Duncan,  whose  name  is  now  (1862)  known 
and  beloved  by  almost  every  Indian  in  the 
two  colonies,  at  once  prepared  to  commence 
his  labors. 

"  After  some  question  with  the  colonial  authorities  as  to  where  he 
should  begin  his  work,  considerable  desire  being  expressed  on  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company's  part  to  place  him  at  Nanaimo,  it  was 
determined  that  he  should  go  to  Fort  Simpson,  on  our  northern 
boundary.  This  spot  had  been  previously  fixed  upon  by  the  Society 
at  home  for  the  scene  of  Mr.  Duncan's  labors.  The  Indians  there 
were  known  to  be  more  free  from  the  contagion  of  the  white  man, 
and  were  assembled  in  larger  numbers  than  at  any  other  place  on  the 
coast.  Another  advantage  possessed  by  this  locality  was  that  at 
Simpson  the  trade  of  the  fort  brought  a  great  number  of  different 
tribes  together.  Indeed  the  tribe  of  Tsimpseans,  among  whom  Mr. 
Duncan's  labors  have  been  productive  of  most  good,  had  been 
attracted  from  another  spot  on  this  account,  and  had  since  settled 
there  altogether. 


REV.  MR.  DUNCAN. 


304  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

"  From  June  till  October,  1857,  Mr.  Duncan  found  it  necessary  to 
remain  at  Victoria,  being  unable  to  get  a  passage  to  Fort  Simpson,  a 
distance  of  eight  hundred  miles,  until  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's 
steamer  should  proceed  thither.  This  interval,  however,  he  employed 
most  profitably  in  learning  the  language  of  the  Indians  among  whom  he 
was  intending  to  reside  (the  Tsimpseans),  and  otherwise  in  preparing 
for  the  work  before  him. 

"  Upon  his  arrival  at  Simpson,  Mr.  Duncan  was,  in  pursuance  of 
orders  to  that  effect  given  by  the  governor,  quartered  in  the  fort  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  one  of  the  smaller  houses  was  allotted 
to  him,  which  was  large  enough  for  a  school,  as  well  as  for  his  dwelling. 
In  the  fort  he  found  eighteen  men  assembled — one  Scotch,  one 
English,  three  Sandwich  Islanders,  and  thirteen  French-Canadians, 
each  having  an  Indian  woman  living  with  him.  There  were  also 
seven  children,  and  he  was  told  there  were  some  half-breed  children 
scattered  about  the  camp,  who,  if  he  pleased,  might  be  received  into 
the  fort  for  instruction. 

"On  Sunday,  the  llth  October,  he  first  performed  divine  service 
in  this  scene  of  his  new  and  arduous  labors,  and  on  the  13th  he 
opened  school  with  but  five  half-breed  boys,  belonging  to  the  fort,  as 
pupils,  the  eldest  not  five  years  old.  Speaking  of  this,  he  writes  :  'I 
am  very  glad  for  their  sakes  that  they  are  so  young.  These  I  intend 
to  teach  in  English.  Their  parents  seem  exceedingly  delighted.  I 
did  think  of  taking  a  few  half-breed  children  out  of  the  camp,  but  I 
find  they  have  been  so  long  abandoned  by  their  fathers  that  they 
have  forgotten  every  word  of  English,  and  become  so  much  like  the 
Indians  that  I  shall  be  obliged  to  deal  with  them  as  such.' 

"Again  Mr.  Duncan  writes  :  'To-day  a  chief  came,  who  is  suffering 
from  a  bad  cough,  and  seems  wasting  away.  He  very  anxiously 
desired  relief ;  but  it  is  of  no  use  giving  them  any  medicine  for  such 
complaints,  as  their  habits  prevent  any  good  effects  ensuing.  I 
perceived  by  his  countenance  he  wanted  to  tell  me  something  serious. 
Like  a  man  about  to  take  a  long  journey,  he  seemed  gasping  for 
directions  about  the  way.  Oh  !  howl  longed  to  tell  him  my  message, 
but  I  could  not.  I  made  him  understand  that  I  should  soon  be  able 
to  teach  them  about  God,  that  I  had  His  book  with  me  which  I  should 
teach  from,  and  my  object  was  to  make  them  happy.  His  constant 
response  was,  'Ahm,  Ahm '  (good,  good).  Upon  another  occasion 
the  same  man  asked  to  see  *  Shimanyet  Lak-kah,  Shahounak  '  (God's 
book)." 

ATTEMPT  TO  MURDER  DUNCAN. — In  December,  a  chief  named 
Legaic  accompanied  by  a  party  of  medicine-men,  enraged  because  the 
people  were  losing  interest  in  sorcery  through  Mr.  Duncan's  teachings, 
attempted  to  murder  him.  This  same  chief  afterwards  became  a 
zealous  Christian.  In  April,  1860,  Mr.  Duncan  visited  the  Indian 
villages  on  the  Naas  River,  where  he  received  a  warm  welcome. 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  305 

In  May  of  that  year  he  visited  the  site  of  a  deserted  village,  which 
afterwards  was  chosen  as  the  site  of  the  Christian  village  of  Met-lah- 
kat-lah,  about  twenty  miles  down  the  coast  from  Fort  Simpson. 

UNWELCOME  VISITORS. — Mr.  Duncan  returned  to  Victoria  for  a 
short  time  in  1860,  to  consult  with  Governor  Douglas  and  Bishop  Hills 
on  the  best  course  to  pursue  for  the  management  and  improvement 
of  the  Songhie  Indians  near  Victoria,  and  the  thousands  of  natives 
from  the  north,  who,  attracted  by  the  influx  of  miners,  came  to 
visit  them.  They  together  lived  the  most  debased  lives  imaginable. 
It  was  but  too  clear  to  Mr.  Duncan  that  his  work,  far  away  among 
the  Tsimpseans,  at  Fort  Simpson,  was  likely  to  be  counteracted  by  the 
bad  lessons  which  his  former  pupils  would  learn  during  their  visits  to 
the  south. 

ONEROUS  DUTIES. — The  Indians  referred  to  included  the  fiercest  of 
the  coast  tribes,  yet  they  placed  implicit  con6dence  in  Mr.  Duncan's 
good  faith  and  motives.  Speaking  of  them,  he  says:  "My  duties 
have  kept  me  from  noon  till  night  among  the  Indians.  They  so 
appreciate  my  exertions  for  their  temporal  welfare  that  many  have 
come  to  receive  religious  instruction  who  would  otherwise  have  stayed 
away.  The  Indians  are  continually  coming  to  me  with  their  troubles, 
and  seem  grateful  for  my  assistance.  I  also  succeeded  in  getting 
several  into  good  places  as  servants." 

INDIAN  SCHOOLS. — When  Governor  Douglas  returned  from  British 
Columbia,  in  June,  he  at  once  acceded  to  the  plans  submitted  to  him 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Indian  population,  and  took  the  necessary  steps 
to  carry  them  into  action.  At  a  public  meeting  <£60  was  collected 
for  the  erection  of  a  school-house.  The  governor  himself  made  the 
sum  up  to  £100,  and  the  building  was  immediately  commenced. 

ASSISTANCE  FOR  DUNCAN. — The  Church  Missionary  Society  had 
sent  out  Mr.  Tugwell,  who  arrived  on  the  8th  of  August,  to  join 
Mr.  Duncan  ;  and  it  was  determined  that  they  should  both  go  at  once 
to  Fort  Simpson,  in  order  that  Mr.  Duncan  might  introduce  his 
companion  to  his  duties  there,  and  then  return  to  Victoria  for  the 
winter  to  superintend  the  new  schools.  They,  accompanied  by  Mrs. 
Tugwell,  left  Victoria  on  the  13th,  and  reached  Fort  Simpson  on  the 
21st  August.  Soon  after  their  arrival,  they  were  informed  that  the 
Rev.  A.  Garrett,  and  Mr.  Mallandaine,  catechist,  had  volunteered  to 
take  charge  of  the  Indian  schools  at  Victoria,  and  that  Mr.  Duncan 
need  not  return  there. 

It  was  known  to  Mr.    Duncan   and   Mr.  Tugwell    before    leaving 
20 


306  HISTOKY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Victoria,  that  accommodation  for  himself  and  his  companions  could 
not  be  afforded  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  that  it  would  be 
necessary  that  they  should  build  a  place  outside  the  fort  for  school 
and  dwellings.  The  question  for  them  to  decide  was, — where  to 
build?  Many  of  the  Indians  were  desirous  of  returning  to  their  old 
villages,  about  fifteen  miles  from  Fort  Simpson  —  Met-lah-kat-lah. 
Mr.  Duncan,  in  writing  on  the  subject,  says  : 

"The  choice  of  a  site  for  our  mission  premises  rests,  I  think, 
between  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Simpson  and  Met-lah-kat-lah.  I 
will  compare  the  two  places,  and  I  think  you  will  agree  with  me,  that 
the  latter  place  is  decidedly  to  be  preferred. 

"The  only  advantage  of  Fort  Simpson  is  a  negative  one — that  is, 
by  remaining  here  we  shall  avoid  the  trouble  of  a  move.  But  the 
disadvantages  are  great.  The  influence  of  the  fort,  and  the  immoral- 
ities allowed  on  board  the  Company's  ships  which  come  here,  greatly 
oppose  the  influence  of  the  mission.  More  than  all,  the  physical 
character  of  the  country  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  fort  is  exceedingly 
bad,  and,  to  my  mind,  condemns  the  place  at  once.  One  effect  the 
mission  must  have  upon  the  Indians  will  be  to  make  them  desire 
social  improvement.  How  necessary,  therefore,  it  is,  that  the  mission 
be  established  where  social  improvement  is  possible. 

"  But  at  Fort  Simpson  it  is  not  possible.  First,  as  to  beach-room. 
This  is  essential  to  the  comfort  and  welfare  of  these  coast  Indians, 
who  have  so  many  canoes  to  take  care  of.  But  the  whole  of  the 
beach  at  Fort  Simpson  is  now  more  than  conveniently  occupied  ;  and 
then  as  to  land  about  this  place,  it  is  all  in  such  a  state  that  it  could 
not  be  made  available  for  gardens  without  immense  labor,  and  appli- 
ances for  which  the  Indians  do  not  possess.  Met-lah-kat-lah,  however, 
not  only  possesses  these  two  essentials  to  improving  the  Indians 
socially,  viz.,  plenty  of  beach-room  and  plots  of  land  for  gardens,  but 
its  channel  is  always  smooth  and  abounds  with  salmon  and  shell-fish, 
while  its  beauty  stands  in  great  contrast  to  the  dreary  country  around 
Fort  Simpson. 

"  It  may  be  asked,"  continues  Mr.  Duncan,  "  why  did  not  the  Com- 
pany establish  their  fort  there  ?  This  is  easily  explained.  Twenty-five 
years  ago,  when  Fort  Simpson  was  built,  the  Company  had  sailing 
ships  employed  up  the  coast,  and  the  passage  to  the  old  Tsimpsean 
village  being  rather  narrow,  they  preferred  this  as  the  entrance  to 
the  harbor  is  wider ;  but  to  steamers,  the  way  to  Met-lah-kat-lah 
presents  no  difficulty.  The  Indians  were  induced  to  leave  their 
ancient  home  for  the  sake  of  trading  with  the  fort ;  there  is  now  no 
necessity  for  remaining  near  it  for  that  purpose ;  other  facilities  for 
trading  are  opening  up ;  a  schooner,  not  the  Company's,  is,  at  this 
moment,  in  the  harbor,  doing  a  famous  trade  with  the  Indians  ; 
indeed,  I  may  say  that  the  importance  of  Fort  Simpson  as  a  central 
trading-port  is  gone ;  very  few  Indians  from  any  other  places  come 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.  307 

here  now,  as  they  used  to  do,  and  fewer  will  continue  to  do  so; 
everything  seems  propitious  and  prepared  for  a  move  to  be  made  for 
the  social  welfare  of  those  poor  tribes,  and  surely  it  is  worthy  of  this 
mission  to  be  the  leader  in  such  a  praiseworthy  undertaking." 

MR.  TUGWELL'S  HEALTH  FAILED. — After  remaining  a  year  at  Fort 
Simpson,  Mr.  Tugwell's  health  became  so  seriously  affected  that  he 
was  obliged  to  resign  his  labors  and  retire  to  Victoria.  Mr.  Duncan 
was,  therefore,  again  left  to  labor  single-handed.  The  plan  which  they 
.had  proposed  carrying  out,  had  they  been  permitted,  was  that  Mr. 
Duncan  should  remain  at  Simpson,  while  Mr.  Tugwell  should  go  to 
Met-lah-kat-lah,  build  a  house  there,  and  draw  the  Indians  round  him 
as  they  left  Simpson.  This  purpose,  however,  Mr.  Tugwell's  illness 
frustrated.  Mr.  Duncan's  own  health  began  to  suffer.  Strong  as  he 
was,  his  labors  had  told  severely  upon  his  constitution.  He  required 
to  make  a  trip  to  Victoria  for  change  of  air  and  rest.  The  sort  of 
man  required  to  assist,  he  said,  must  be  of  "  a  peculiar  stamp — simple 
.and  hearty,  hardy  and  daring — able  and  willing  to  endure  rough  work." 


CHAPTEK   XIII. 


VARIOUS  INCIDENTS  AND  PROCEEDINGS. 

NEW  YEAR  RECEPTIONS. — With  the  commencement  of  the  new 
year,  Mr.  Duncan  began  his  labors  among  the  Indians  outside  the 
fort.  "  It  would  be  impossible,"  he  says,  "  to  give  a  full  description 
of  this,  my  first  general  visit  to  the  Indians  in  their  houses,  for  the 
scenes  were  too  exciting  and  too  crowded  to  admit  of  it.  I  confess 
that  cluster  after  cluster  of  these  half-naked  savages  round  their  fires 
was,  to  my  unaccustomed  eyes,  very  alarming  ;  but  the  reception  I 
met  with  was  truly  wonderful  and  encouraging.  On  entering  a  house 
I  was  greeted  by  one,  two  or  three  of  the  principal  personages,  with 
'  Clah-how-yah,'  which  is  the  complimentary  term  used  in  the  trading 
jargon.  After  a  little  time  several  would  begin  nodding  and  smiling, 
at  the  same  time  in  a  low  tone  reiterating,  '  Ahm,  ahm-ah-ket— ahm 
shimanyet  (Good,  good  person,  good  chief).  In  some  houses  they 
-would  not  be  content  till  I  took  the  chief  place  near  the  fire,  and 


308  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

always  placed  a  box  upon  a  box  for  me  to  sit  upon.  I  found  forty- 
seven  sick,  and  three  in  a  state  of  lunacy." 

NEW  SCHOOL-HOUSE. — In  the  autumn  of  1858  Mr.  Duncan  com- 
menced building  his  school-house  outside  the  fort,  a  work  in  which 
the  Indians  greatly  assisted,  providing  plank  and  bark  for  the  roof, 
to  the  value  of  about  five  pounds.  Many  took  the  boards  off  their 
own  houses  to  give  him,  and  some  even  the  pieces  that  formed  part 
of  their  bed.  It  is  noticed  in  his  journal,  "that  by  the  15th  of 
November  the  plastering  would  be  dry  enough  for  whitewashing." 

SATISFACTORY  PROGRESS — NOSE- RINGS. — Great  progress  was  made 
in  teaching  during  the  winter  of  1858-9.  His  heart  was  gladdened 
by  the  chiefs  coming  to  say  that  they  had  made  up  their  minds  to 
abandon  sorceries  and  medicine-work.  The  school-house  was  finished 
only  on  the  17th  November,  and  on  the  19th,  in  the  morning,  fifteen 
children  were  present.  Before  noon  about  seventy  had  arrived.  In 
the  afternoon  there  were  fifty  adults  and  fifty  children  present.  "  It 
was,"  saysMr.  Duncan,  "very  difficult  to  proceed  with  such  a  company, 
and  I  should  have  found  it  more  so,  but  for  the  children  whom  I 
already  had  under  training.  November  23rd — Both  yesterday  and 
to-day  we  mustered  about  one  hundred  children,  and  from  forty  to 
fifty  adults  at  school.  November  25th — This  morning  about  140 
children  and  fifty  adults.  I  am  glad  to  see,  already,  an  improvement 
in  their  appearance,  so  far  as  cleanliness  is  concerned.  I  inspect  them 
daily.  Some  few  have  ventured  to  come  with  their  faces  painted,  but 
fewer  daily.  A  good  many,  too,  have  cast  away  their  nose-rings." 

NEW  MISSIONS  ESTABLISHED. — Other  missions  were  established 
upon  the  same  plan  as  Met-lah-kat-lah.  One  at  Kincolith,  on  Naas 
River,  in  1864,  was  in  charge  of  Rev.  A.  Doolan.  It  included  the  five 
tribes  of  Tsimpseans,  on  that  river.  Mr.  Doolan  was  succeeded  by 
Robert  Tomlinson,  M.D.,  who  remained  until  1879,  when  he  left  to 
establish  a  new  mission.  He  was  replaced  by  the  village  teacher,  Mr. 
Henry  Schutt.  The  mission  numbered  about  150  people.  About  forty 
miles  above  Kincolith,  a  new  mission  was  established  at  Kittackdamin, 
also  on  Naas  River,  and  placed  in  charge  of  Arthur,  a  Nishkah 
Indian  catechist ;  a  school-house  was  erected  and  a  good  school  started. 
Another  native  teacher  was  placed  at  Kitwingach,  on  the  Skeena 
River,  one  hundred  miles  from  Kittackdamin. 

COURTS  OF  JUSTICE  ORGANIZED. — Early  in  March,  Chief  Justice 
Begbie  had  organized  a  court  at  Langley  and  empanelled  a  grand 
jury.  Several  cases  were  tried,  and  the  terrors  of  the  law  spread 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  309 

amongst  evil-doers.  On  the  2nd  of  March,  Lieu  tenant-Governor 
Moody  and  suite  left  Victoria  forLangley  ;  and,  by  the  middle  of  the 
month,  he  had  proceeded  to  Queensborough,  where  he  superintended 
the  Royal  Engineers,  etc.,  who  were  at  work  surveying  and  clearing 
the  site  of  the  proposed  capital.  Colonel  Moody  and  suite  returned 
to  Victoria  on  the  31st  of  March.  A  court  of  assize  had  been  opened 
at  Yale  on  the  23rd  of  March,  and  the  announcement  made  that  the 
next  session  of  court  would  be  held  at  Lytton  on  the  Upper  Fraser. 
It  is  recorded  that  the  northern  Indians  at  Victoria  were  so  numerous 
at  Victoria  in  March,  that  on  the  16th  of  that  month  H.M.S. 
Tribune  was  commissioned  to  tow  the  Indians  and  their  canoes  out 
as  far  as  Johnson's  Pass,  in  charge  of  Sheriff  Heaton,  whence  they 
must  shift  for  themselves. 

QUKENSBOROUGH. — A  correspondent  writing  on  the  5th  of  April, 
1859,  says  :  "The  site  of  Queensborough  is  seventeen  miles  above  the 
sand-heads,  or  mouth  of  the  Fraser,  on  the  west  bank  of  which  it  rises 
with  a  gradual  ascent,  until  its  altitude  becomes  about  one  hundred 
feet,  where  it  is  level.  The  undergrowth  and  fallen  trees,  in  various 
stages  of  decomposition,  render  a  walk  over  the  entire  locality  some- 
what laborious  ;  yet  curiosity  and  a  desire  to  see  for  myself  led  me 
far  up  and  around,  beneath  the  lofty  spreading  arms  of  the  fir,  cedar, 
hemlock  and  spruce,  and  less  regularly  beautiful,  though  scarcely  less 
useful,  ash,  elm,  birch,  apple,  cherry,  maple  and  elder,  with  which  the 
site  abounds.  Some  of  the  timber  is  very  large,  one  cedar  measuring 
27  ft.  8  in.  five  feet  from  the  ground ;  another,  18  ft.  6  in.;  another, 
25  ft. ;  and  one  spruce,  22  ft.  2  in.  One  fallen  fir  tree,  cut  from  the 
site  of  the  custom  house,  measured  220  feet  in  length  free  from  the 
stump,  which  measured  4  ft.  6  in.  in  diameter. 

SURVEYED  BY  THE  ROYAL  ENGINEERS. — "  The  commercial  part  of 
the  prospective  capital  will  present  a  wharfage  front  of  a  little  more 
than  a  mile  in  lengh,  and  as  a  road  sixty-six  feet  in  width  is  now 
being  surveyed  by  the  Royal  Engineers,  next  and  along  the  shore,  the 
construction  of  as  much  wharfage  as  will  be  necessary  for  the  accom- 
modation of  unloading  ships  will  be  sufficient  to  furnish  a  draught  of 
at  least  twenty-five  feet  at  high  water,  on  an  average.  The  tide  rises 
six  feet  along  the  bank,  by  actual  measurement,  offering  rather  a  con- 
venience than  detriment  in  any  point  of  view.  The  river  at  this  point 
is  half  a  mile  wide;  six  hundred  yards  of  which  distance  offers  good 
anchorage  in  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  feet  of  water,  which  will  afford 
.ample  room  for  the  merchant  marine  of  Queensborough. 


310  HISTORY   OF  BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

IMPROVEMENTS  ARE  MADE  SLOWLY. — "The  town  is  but  as  yet  little 
improved — two  grocery  stores,  and  a  few  houses  and  tents  occupied 
by  those  employed  on  the  public  buildings  and  works,  being  the  only 
structures  at  present  erected.  The  custom  house  and  treasurer's 
office  are  in  progress,  and  will,  it  is  thought,  be  completed  within 
two  weeks.  A  pier  will  be  commenced  this  week  in  front  of  the 
custom  house  site,  to  extend  twenty  feet  beyond  low  water  mark, 
affording  wharfage  for  vessels  drawing  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  of 
water  at  low  tide.  A  temporary  custom  house  station  has  been 
erected  at  a  point  higher  up  the  river,  opposite  and  facing  that 
portion  of  the  town  selected  for  the  site  of  the  barracks  and  officers' 
quarters.  This  reserve  (afterwards  named  '  Sapperton ')  is  separated 
from  the  commercial  town  by  a  small  running  brook,  at  present 
crossed  by  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree.  At  the  barracks  a  storehouse 
is  in  process  of  erection,  one  or  two  temporary  buildings  having  been 
already  built  for  the  accommodation  of  Lieut. -Governor  Moody  and 
suite.  The  Topographical  Engineers'  mess  was  on  board  the  Recovery* 
formerly  used  as  a  revenue  vessel  in  the  river,  but  which  is  now 
anchored  a  few  feet  off  shore  in  front  of  his  Excellency's  quarters, 
Mr.  Richard  King's  name  is  mentioned  as  being  the  contractor  for 
building  the  custom  house. 

THE  FIRST  PUBLIC  SERVICE. — "  On  Sabbath  last  the  first  religious 
services  were  performed  in  this  place,  the  Rev.  E.  White,  Wesleyan 
missionary,  officiating.  The  congregation  assembled  in  one  of  the 
shady  spots  surveyed  for  a  public  square,  and  consisted  of  one  lady  and 
two  children,  and  some  fifty  males.  It  was  a  beautiful  spot,  and  the 
occasion  one  of  peculiar  solemnity.  Flowers  were  blossoming  within  a 
few  feet  of  us,  and  beautiful  birds  were  twittering  amid  the  rustling 
branches  of  the  stately  conifera.  The  dense  forest  around  and  beyond 
seemed  to  echo  back  the  warning  tones  of  the  speaker's  voice,  and  as 
the  congregation  united  their  voices  in  songs  of  praise,  the  very  trees 
seemed  to  blend  their  cadence  in  the  melody." 

EXPRESS  COMPANIES. — Mayne  says  of  expresses  :  "  All  over  Cali- 
fornia and  British  Columbia,  letters  or  parcels  are  carried  with  perfect 
safety,  and,  all  things  considered,  very  cheaply,  by  means  of  them. 
The  organization  of  some  of  these  companies  is  most  elaborate.  The 
principal  one  is  Wells- Fargo's,  which  has  agencies  all  over  the  world. 
Their  office  in  Victoria  is  one  of  the  finest  buildings  there.  I  have 
never  known  a  letter  sent  by  them  miscarry.  The  charge  for  sending 
anywhere  in  California  is  ten  cents  (5d.),  and  so  great  is  my  faith  in 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.  311 

them  that  I  would  trust  anything,  even  in  that  insecure  country,  in 
an  envelope  bearing  the  stamp  of  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.'s  Express. 
There  are  several  minor  expresses  in  the  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try— Ballou's  Fraser  River1  Express,  Jeffray's  Express,  Freeman's 
Express,  all  of  which  appear  to  nourish ;  and  so  great  is  the  trust 
reposed  in  them,  and  the  speed  with  which  they  travel,  that  the  miners, 
as  yet,  prefer  sending  their  'dust'  by  them  to  the  Government 
escort." 

POSTAL  RATES  AND  INCIDENTS. — Under  date  May  4th,  Alex.  C. 
Anderson,  signed  Postmaster-General,  Victoria,  V.I.,  announces  that 
the  conveyance  of  letters  by  private  expresses  has  been  sanctioned, 
provided  that  every  letter  conveyed  by  such  expresses  within  the 
colonies  of  Vancouver  and  British  Columbia,  or  between  the  said 
colonies,  or  from  those  colonies  to  other  parts,  be  prepaid  for  colonial 
postage  either  by  stamped  envelopes  or  cash,  namely  2|d.  or  five 
cents.  A  sale  of  town  lots  at  Queensborough,  to  take  place  at  Vic- 
toria on  June  1st,  is  advertised  by  order  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
and  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works,  signed  Robert  Burnaby, 
Secretary ;  also  town  lots  at  Fort  Hope,  Fort  Yale,  and  Fort  Doug- 
las, above  the  same  signature.  The  first  church  erected  in  the  colony 
of  British  Columbia  was  at  Langley,  where  the  Rev.  W.  Burton 
Crickmer,  Rector,  preached  the  first  sermon,  May  13th,  1859.  He 
arrived  from  England  along  with  Colonel  Moody  and  suite,  who 
reached  Victoria,  25th  December,  1858. 

COLONEL  MOODY'S  RESIDENCE. — The  work  of  clearing  the  site  and 
improvements  at  Queensborough  were  so  far  advanced  that  a  perma- 
nent residence  was  ready  for  occupation  by  Colonel  Moody  and  family 
on  18th  of  May,  when  he  and  suite  left  Victoria  in  the  steamer 
Beaver.  "  A  large  concourse  of  the  personal  friends  of  Colonel 
Moody  and  his  estimable  lady,"  according  to  the  Victoria  Gazette, 
"were  assembled  on  the  wharf  to  pay  their  parting  respects  and  bid 
them  adieu,  and  the  guns  from  the  old  bastion  of  the  Company's 
fort  thundered  forth  the  customary  salute,  as  the  Beaver  steamed 
out  of  the  harbor."  The  same  issue  of  the  Gazette  (May  19th,  1859), 
referring  to  Victoria  states  :  "  The  grading  of  Government  Street  from 
Fort  Street  is  progressing  fairly  towards  completion.  The  pile  driver 
is  busy  in  setting  the  foundation  timbers  for  the  new  bridge  which 
when  completed  will  extend  this  fine  thoroughfare  across  James  Bay. 
On  the  opposite  bank  may  be  seen  the  first  of  the  new  public  edifices. 
This  one,  now  nearly  finished,  is  intended  for  the  land  office,  and  the 


312  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

ground  in  its  immediate   vicinity  is   being  broken  preparatory  to  the 
erection  of  the  rest  of  the  projected  government  buildings." 

BRIDGE  AND  PUBLIC  OFFICES.— The  item  relating  to  the  bridge 
(which  was  opened  for  traffic  5th  of  July)  and  the  public  buildings 
is  interesting,  inasmuch  as  it  shows  the  progress  of  the  works  and 
fixes  the  date  of  their  construction.  Governor  Douglas,  it  appears, 
had  his  own  difficulties  to  contend  against.  In  the  House  of  Assembly 
there  was  a  vigorous  opposition  party,  and  outside  "  the  House,"  the 
British  Colonist  newspaper,  first  published  in  1859,  opposed  the  gen- 
eral policy  of  the  governor.  The  editor  took  exception  to  the  build- 
ing of  the  bridge  across  James  Bay,  and  to  the  plans  and  construction 
of  the  new  public  buildings  then  in  course  of  erection.  In  reference 


THE   ERECTION  OF    THE  NEW   PARLIAMENT  BUILDINGS  COMMENCED 


to  the  latter  he  says  :  "  They  have  not  the  merit  of  being  either  cheap 
or  convenient.  At  a  very  large  expense  to  the  colony,  they  are  built 
and  scattered  over  a  square  like  a  number  of  goose-pens.  The  expe- 
rience of  the  North  American  colonies,  and  our  utilitarian  cousins, 
points  directly  to  the  erection  of  one  building  in  which  all  the  offices  of 
the  capital  of  the  colony  can  be  located.  But  for  some  reason  or  other, 
blundering  of  the  most  wretched  character  appears  to  be  an  essential 
characteristic  of  the  present  administration,  whether  it  relates  to 
legislation  or  public  works." 

THE  NEW  PARLIAMENT  BUILDINGS. — Be  this  as  it  may,  the  build- 
ings of  1859  have  done  good  service,  before  and  since  the  union  of  the 
colonies.  Latterly,  however,  they  have  become  too  small  for  the  proper 
accommodation  of  the  departments  and  the  larger  number  of  offices 
required  to  transact  the  increased  business  of  the  Province.  They  are 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  313 

now  being  replaced  by  a  magnificent,  substantial  and  elegant  pile  of 
buildings  as  suggested  in  1859,  to  defray  the  expense  of  which  the 
Legislature  of  1893  voted  the  sum  of  $600,000.  The  new  buildings 
will  occupy  the  site  chosen  for  the  former  buildings  by  Governor 
Douglas.  No  better  site  could  then  or  now  have  been  found  within 
the  city  limits.  It  is  of  ample  size  and  occupies  the  block  bounded 
by  Bird  Cage  Walk  Street,  Belleville  Street,  and  Menzies  Street,  to  a 
line  running  east  behind  the  new  drill  shed  to  intersect  Bird  Cage 
Walk  Street,  which  contains  about  ten  acres.  The  Provincial  Gov- 
ernment transferred  to  the  Dominion  Government  one  acre  of  the 
south-west  corner  of  the  area  described,  on  which  a  drill  shed  was 
erected  in  1892-3,  at  a  cost  of  between  forty  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  The  Provincial  Government  in  1892,  to  make  the  site  of  the 
public  buildings  more  commodious  and  symmetrical,  expropriated  a 
strip  of  land,  which  with  the  cottages  thereon  required  the  sura  of 
$59,000  to  purchase  it  from  the  proprietors. 

UNITED  STATES  CURRENCY  LEGALIZED. — In  the  Legislative  Assem- 
bly, a  bill  was  passed  April  7th,  making  United  States  currency  a 
legal  tender  in  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island.  On  the  12th  of 
April,  the  ship  Thames  City,  from  London,  arrived  at  Victoria,  with 
the  main  body  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  government  stores  and  mer- 
chandise. As  many  as  three  thousand  people  had  arrived  in  the 
"canoe  country"  before  the  1st  of  May;  and  on  the  12th  of  May, 
$115,000  of  gold  dust  was  reported.  The  Royal  Hospital  is  reported 
about  completed  in  Victoria.  It  is  also  recorded  that  Governor 
Douglas  had  not  only  generously  aided  in  the  erection  of  the  new 
hospital  buildings,  but  had  borne  a  large  proportion  of  the  expense 
attendant  upon  the  conducting  of  the  temporary  hospital,  under  the 
charge  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cridge. 

GOVERNOR  DOUGLAS,  in  a  message  to  the  House  of  Assembly,  dated 
7th  May,  1859,  says: 

"  In  respect  to  the  public  offices  now  required,  I  have  made  a 
demand  on  the  agent  and  representative  of  tlie  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
the  proprietors  of  Vancouver  Island,  to  provide  the  necessary  funds  ; 
and  he  has  agreed  to  defray  all  expense  of  erecting  such  buildings. 

"  I  have  also  to  remind  the  House  of  Assembly  that  the  building 
now  occupied  as  a  government  office,  as  well  as  that  used  for  a  land 
office,  are  the  property  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  that  these 
buildings  have  not  been  removed,  as  the  resolution  of  the  House  may 
be  understood  to  imply,  but  merely  surrendered  to  the  agent  of  that 


314  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Company,  on  his  undertaking  to  provide  for  the  erection  of  other 
buildings  for  the  public  offices  of  the  colony. 

"  The  offices  immediately  required  are  :  A  treasury  with  fire-proof 
vault ;  a  barrack  for  the  military  guard  ;  a  land  office  ;  an  office  for 
the  registrar  of  deeds  and  conveyances  ;  an  office  for  the  colonial 
secretary;  a  house  for  the  legislative  assembly;  a  supreme  court ;  an 
official  residence  for  the  governor,  and  other  buildings  of  inferior 
importance. 

"A  moment's  consideration  will  satisfy  the  House  that  no  site 
sufficiently  spacious  for  the  location  of  so  many  buildings  is  obtainable 
in  the  centre  of  the  town  without  involving  a  very  large  outlay  of 
money,  in  buying  out  the  rights  of  the  present  holders  of  the  land, 
which  is  now  selling  on  Yates  Street  at  the  rate  of  .£21  sterling  a  front 
foot,  and  that  it  would  be  neither  proper  nor  judicious  to  pack  the 
public  offices  of  the  colony  into  a  confined  space  without  regard  to  the 
arrangement  and  the  proper  distribution  of  air  and  light. 

"The  site  which  I  have  selected  for  the  location  of  these  buildings 
is  recommended  by  many  advantages,  being  dry,  airy  and  spacious, 
containing  ten  acres  of  land,  and  having  a  cheerful  aspect  and  an 
extensive  view  ;  and  being  a  public  reserve,  it  is  acquired  without 
expense.  I  propose  to  concentrate  the  public  offices  on  that  spot 
after  a  plan  laid  out  on  the  most  approved  principles  for  health, 
convenience  and  ornament. 

**  The  only  objection  made  to  the  site  when  the  question  was  debated 
in  council  was  its  distance  by  the  circuitous  route  by  James  Bay, 
from  the  centre  of  the  town  ;  and  as  that  would,  no  doubt,  have  been 
felt  as  a  serious  inconvenience,  in  order  to  remove  it  I  agreed  to  the 
construction  of  a  bridge  as  an  extension  of  Government  Street. 

"The  erection  of  the  bridge  has  been  contracted  for  at  an  expense 
of  three  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  or  about  eight  hundred  pounds, 
which  does  not  exceed  the  value  of  half  a  building  lot  in  the  centre  of 
the  town. 

"I  have  further  to  observe,  that  no  part  of  the  expense  of  these 
buildings  has  been  provided  for  by  the  House  of  Assembly,  or  out  of 
any  moneys  which  have  been  raised  by  their  means,  the  whole  cost 
being,  in  the  first  place,  provided  for  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
and  having  ultimately  to  be  borne  by  the  Crown  ;  therefore  the  whole 
establishment  will  remain  the  property  of  the  Crown  until  otherwise 
disposed  of. 

"I  would  further  remark  for  the  information  of  the  House,  that  the 
Crown  may  lawfully  construct  bridges  in  any  situation  where  they 
do  not  interfere  with  private  rights  and  are  conducive  to  public 
convenience,  and  I  presume  the  House  is  not  disposed  to  question  that 
right." 

Another  message  from  Governor  Douglas  to  the  House  of  Assembly 
will  illustrate  how  his  Excellency  dealt  with  the  people's  representa- 
tives in  those  days  : 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  315 

"  GOVERNMENT  HOUSE, 
"VICTORIA,  VANCOUVER  ISLAND,  May  7,  1859. 

"  To  the  Speaker  and  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Assembly  : 

"  I  have  received  a  communication  from  your  Speaker  on  the  4th 
of  this  present  month,  conveying  copy  of  resolution  which  had  passed 
the  House  on  that  day,  to  the  following  effect : 

"  'That  as  his  Excellency  has  determined  on  removing  some  of  the 
government  offices  from  a  central  position  of  the  town  to  the  south 
end  of  it,  as  well  as  having  a  bridge  constructed  eight  hundred  feet 
in  length,  leading  thereto,  the  erection  of  which  and  removal  of 
government  offices  has  not  been  brought  before  the  people  for  their 
consent,  therefore  this  House  protests  against  the  action  adopted  by 
his  Excellency,  and  declares  the  same  to  be  unconstitutional  and  a 
breach  of  privilege. — MR.  YATES.' 

"  I  have  to  inform  the  House  in  reply  to  the  subject  of  that 
resolution,  that  it  has  been  determined  to  erect  certain  buildings  to 
serve  as  public  buildings  for  the  colony,  on  the  south  side  of  Victoria 
harbor,  and  to  connect  them  by  means  of  a  bridge  over  James  Bay, 
with  Government  Street,  so  as  to  render  them  convenient  of  access  to 
the  public. 

"  I  have  resorted  to  this  measure  simply  because  such  offices  have 
not  been  provided  by  the  colony,  and  because  they  are  pressingly 
wanted  for  the  public  service ;  and  the  south  side  of  Victoria  harbor 
has  been  selected  as  the  site  whereupon  they  are  to  be  erected,  on 
account  of  its  bein?  airy,  spacious  and  convenient,  and  acquired 
without  expense  ;  while  by  isolation  from  the  town,  it  is  in  a  great 
measure  secured  against  the  danger  of  conflagration,  and  because  it  is 
impossible  to  procure  a  site  of  extent  sufficient  for  the  purpose  in  the 
centre  of  the  town,  without  incurring  an  enormous  outlay  of  money. 

"  I  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  consult  the  House  concerning  the 
erection  of  those  buildings,  for  the  reason  that  the  House  was  not 
called  upon  to  defray  their  cost,  and  because  the  House  has  on  all 
occasions  declined  to  take  any  responsibility  in  such  purely  executive 
matters,  or  (with  one  exception)  to  provide  funds  for  any  colonial 
improvements  whatever. 

"  Thus,  the  support  and  maintenance  of  places  of  public  worship, 
of  the  colonial  schools,  the  salaries  of  the  clergymen  and  teachers,  the 
construction  of  roads,  the  erection  of  the  police  courts,  of  the  custom 
house  and  other  public  edifices,  the  establishment  of  a  police  force, 
the  administration  of  justice,  and  all  other  measures  providing  for  the 
public  safety  and  convenience  have  been  thrown  entirely  on  my 
hands,  without  any  pecuniary  aid  or  assistance  whatever  from  the 
House  of  Assembly. 

"I  will  remind  the  House  of  Assembly  of  the  reply  to  a  message 
from  me,  dated  9th  day  of  August  last,  representing  the  insufficiency 
of  the  public  jail,  and  requesting  their  aid  in  providing  better  prison 
accommodation,  and  for  the  erection  of  an  hospital  for  the  relief  of  the 


316  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

indigent  sick.  The  House  on  that,  as  on  other  occasions,  did  not 
grant  the  desired  aid,  and  threw  the  entire  onus  of  erecting  such 
buildings  on  the  Executive. 

"Disclaiming  any  intention,  and  assuming  no  right,  to  question  the 
opinion  of  the  House  as  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  its  own  privileges, 
I  have  entered  into  the  explanations  herein  given  to  prove  that  the 
course  I  have,  in  this  case,  pursued  was  dictated  by  necessity — 
implies  no  discourtesy  to  the  House — was  founded  on  precedent — 
violates  no  constitutional  law — and  is  admitted  on  all  sides  to  be  of 
great  public  advantage." 


CHAPTEE  XIV. 


DETAILS  OF  GOLD  MINING. 

GOLD  PLENTIFUL. — In  1859  the  gold  excitement  was  not  so  intense 
as  during  the  former  year.  The  state  of  the  roads,  the  difficulty  of 
reaching  mining  locations,  the  high  price  of  provisions,  and  the  late- 
ness of  the  season  before  the  water  in  the  Eraser  River  was  low 
enough  to  allow  the  "bars  "to  be  worked,  were  the  chief  causes  of 
delay  in  the  arrival  of  miners.  Gold  was  found  in  abundance  when 
properly  and  persistently  looked  for.  Governor  Douglas  was  full  of 
activity  in  Victoria.  He  organized  an  expedition  to  examine  reported 
gold  in  Queen  Charlotte  Islands.  Major  Downie,  an  experienced 
prospector  and  gold  miner  in  California,  was  commissioned  by  him 
to  visit  and  report  on  the  northern  portion  of  the  mainland,  going 
by  Port  Simpson  and  the  Skeena  River.  This  Major  Downie 
accomplished  and  reported  on  in  March  and  October  of  that  year. 
Lieutenant-Governor  Moody  also  fitted  out  several  parties  of  Royal 
Engineers  to  survey  and  repair  roads. 

THE  PROSPECTOR'S  PAN. — The  following  remarks  on  the  various 
methods  of  working  mining  claims  and  mines  may  be  found  of  interest 
to  the  general  reader,  and  especially  to  those  who  have  been  connected 
with  British  Columbia  or  attracted  to  it  by  the  reports  of  its  gold  fields 
and  diggings.  The  first  task  of  the  miner  in  new  portions  of  a  gold 
country  is  prospecting.  To  accomplish  this  he  equips  himself  with  a 
"pan,"  and  a  small  quantity  of  quicksilver.  The  river  sides  are 
generally  first  examined,  although  many  diggings  are  found  away 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.  317 

from  the  banks.  The  deposit  usually  consists  of  a  thick,  stiff  mud  or 
clay,  intermixed  with  stones.  In  some  cases  the  deposit  is  covered 
with  sand,  so  that  before  the  "pay  dirt"  is  reached  the  surface  has  to 
be  removed.  The  workings  on  rivers  and  their  banks  are  called 
"  bars,"  and  are  often  named  after  the  prospector  or  discoverer. 

How  IT  is  USED. — As  soon  as  the  prospector  reaches  a  spot  which 
he  thinks  will  yield  gold  to  pay,  he  unstraps  his  pan,  and  fills  it  with 
the  earth  to  be  tested.  Then  squatting  near  the  water  he  holds  the 
pan  by  the  rim,  and  dips  it  into  the  water,  giving  it  a  sort  of  rotary 
motion,  stirring  and  pressing  the  contents  occasionally  until  the  whole  is 
fully  saturated.  The  larger  pieces  of  stone  are  thrown  out,  and  the 
edge  of  the  pan  tilted  upwards,  when  additional  water  is  poured  on, 
and  the  rotary  motion  continued  until  the  lighter  portion  of  the  earth 
passes  over  the  edge  of  the  pan  and  nothing  but  a  few  pebbles  and 
specks  of  black  or  metallic  sand  are  left,  among  which  the  gold,  if 
there  is  any,  will  be  found.  The  specific  gravity  of  the  black  sand 
being  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  gold,  while  wet  they  cannot  be  at 
once  separated,  and  the  nuggets,  if  any,  being  taken  out,  the  pan  is 
laid  in  the  sun  or  near  a  fire  to  dry.  When  dry  the  particles  of  sand, 
being  lighter,  are  blown  away  ;  or  if  the  gold  is  very  fine  it  is 
amalgamated  with  quicksilver. 

RICH  DIGGINGS. — Miners  and  prospectors  know  by  practice  how 
much  gold  in  a  pan  will  constitute  a  rich  digging,  which  is  usually 
expressed  by  giving  the  earth  a  value  as  "5,"  "  10,"  or  "  15  cent  dirt," 
the  yield  in  money.  From  the  roughness  of  the  process,  however,  pan- 
ning never  gives  the  full  value  of  the  actual  gold  in  the  earth  tested. 
"If  the  gold  should  be  in  flakes,  a  good  deal  is  likely  to  be  lost  in  the 
process,  as  it  will  not  then  sink  readily  to  the  bottom  of  the  pan,  and 
is  more  likely  to  be  washed  away  with  the  sand,  and  success  depends 
on  the  gold  settling  at  the  bottom  of  the  pan  or  other  vessel  used." 

THE  ROCKER  OR  CRADLE. — Mayne,  in  his  book,  says  :  "The  'pan' 
is  hardly  ever  used  except  in  prospecting,  so  that  the  '  rocker '  or 
1  cradle '  may  be  described  as  the  most  primitive  appliance  used  in 
gold  washing.  In  the  winter  of  1859,"  he  continues,  "when  I  first 
went  up  the  Fraser,  the  rocker  was  the  general  machine — the  use  of 
sluices  not  having  then  begun.  It  was  used  in  California  in  1848, 
being  formed  rudely  of  logs,  or  the  trunk  of  a  tree  ;  but  properly 
made,  it  consists  of  a  box  3J  to  4  feet  long,  about  2  feet  wide  and 
1J  deep.  The  top  and  one  end  of  this  box  are  open,  and  at  the  lower 
end  the  sides  slope  gradually  until  they  reach  the  bottom.  At  its. 


318  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

head  is  attached  a  closely  jointed  box  with  a  sheet  iron  bottom, 
pierced  with  holes  sufficiently  large  to  allow  pebbles  to  pass  through. 
This  machine  is  provided  with  rockers,  like  a  child's  cradle,  while 
within,  cleats  are  placed  to  arrest  the  gold  in  its  passage. 

How  IT  is  WORKED. — "One  of  the  miners  then,  the  cradle  being 
placed  at  the  water's  edge,  feeds  it  with  earth,  while  another  rocks 
and  supplies  it  witli  water.  The  dirt  to  be  washed  is  thrown  into 
the  upper  iron  box,  and  a  continual  stream  of  water  being  poured  in, 
it  is  disintegrated,  the  gold  and  pebbles  passing  down  to  the  bottom, 
where  the  water  is  allowed  to  carry  the  stones  away  and  the  cleats 
arrest  the  precious  metal.  When  the  gold  is  very  tine,"  he  says,  "he  has 
seen  a  piece  of  cloth  laid  along  the  bottom  of  the  box,  covered  with 
quicksilver  to  arrest  the  gold.  When  a  party  of  miners  work  with 
rockers,  they  divide  the  labor  of  rocking,  carrying  water,  if  necessary, 
and  digging  equally  among  themselves.  The  rocker  is  the  only  appar- 
atus that  can  be  at  all  successfully  worked  single-handed  ;  and  rough 
as  it  appears  and  really  is,  men  make  thirty  to  tifty  dollars  a  day 
with  it,  while  far  greater  sums  have  been  known  to  be  realized  by  it. 
In  washing  gold,  quicksilver  has  to  be  used  always,  except  when  the 
mineral  is  found  very  large  and  coarse.  Even  then,  the  earth  is  gen- 
erally made  to  pass  over  some  quicksilver  before  it  escapes  altogether, 
in  order  to  preserve  the  finer  particles,  which  forms  an  amalgam  re- 
taining the  gold  until  it  is  retorted  from  it.  In  a  '  rocker '  perhaps 
from  eight  to  ten  pounds  of  quicksilver  may  be  used  daily  ;  in  a 
*  sluice'  of  ordinary  size  from  forty  to  tifty  pounds  per  day.  The 
same  quicksilver  can  be  used  over  and  over  again  when  the  gold  has 
been  retorted  from  it.  A  '  Long  Tom '  is  an  improved  '  rocker.' 

"'  SLUICING'  is  another  method  of  gold  washing  which  can  be  oper- 
ated on  any  scale,  from  two  or  three  upon  a  river  bar,  to  a  large  com- 
pany washing  away  an  entire  hill  by  the  '  hydraulic '  process. 
Whatever  may  be  the  scale  of  the  operations,  sluicing  is  necessarily 
connected  with  a  system  of  'flumes'  or  wooden  aqueducts  of  greater 
or  less  extent,  either  running  along  the  back  of  a  river  bar  and  sup- 
plying the  sluices,  or  intersecting  the  mining  regions.  *  Sluice-boxes  ' 
are  of  various  sizes,  but  generally  from  '3  to  3  feet  long,  by  about  the 
same  width.  These  are  fitted  closely  together  at  the  ends,  so  as  to 
form  a  continuous,  strongly-built  trough  of  the  required  length,  from 
15  or  20  to  several  thousand  feet ;  their  make  and  strength  depend- 
ing entirely  upon  the  work  they  have  to  do. 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  319 

MINING  AT  HILL'S  BAR. — "  The  following  is  the  mode  adopted  at 
Hill's  Bar,  on  the  Fraser  River,  in  1858  :  The  bar  at  that  time  ex- 
tended about  a  mile  and  a  half.  A  flume  was  constructed,  carrying 
the  water  from  a  stream  which  descended  the  mountain  at  its  south- 
ern end  along  the  whole  length  of  the  bar,  and  behind  those  claims 
which  were  being  worked.  From  this  flume  each  mirier  led  a  sluice 
down  towards  the  river,  his  sluice  being  placed  at  such  an  angle  that 
the  water  would  run  with  sufficient  force  to  carry  the  earth  but  not, 
of  course,  the  gold  with  it  ;  but  regulated  as  to  allow  time  for  the 
riffles  and  quicksilver  to  catch  the  gold  as  it  passes.  The  supply  of 
water  from  the  flume  to  each  sluice  is  regulated  by  a  gate  in  the  side 
of  the  flume,  which  is  raised  and  allows  the  quantity  required  to  pass 
out.  The  price  paid  for  this  side  stream  varies  with  the  cost  of 
timber,  engineering  difficulties  of  making  the  flume,  etc.  It  is  ordin- 
arily established  by  the  miners,  who  meet  and  agree  to  pay  any 
individual  or  company  who  may  undertake  the  work,  a  certain  ratable 
rent  for  the  water.  The  construction  of  these  flumes  is  generally  a 
profitable  speculation  for  the  contractor.  The  flume  at  Hill's  Bar  is 
said  to  have  cost  between  seven  thousand  and  eight  thousand  dollars, 
and  each  miner  paid  a  dollar  an  inch  daily  .for  his  share  of  the  water. 
Later  the  price  was  reduced,  the  usual  price  being  about  twenty-five 
cents  an  inch.  The  sluice-boxes  at  Hill's  Bar  were  very  slight,  about 
an  inch  plank,  as  the  dirt  which  had  to  pass  along  was  not  very 
coarse.  Tn  the  bottom  of  each  box  was  a  grating,  made  of  strips  of 
plank  nailed  crosswise  to  each  other,  but  not  attached  to  the  box  like 
the  riffles.  In  the  interstices  of  these  gratings  quicksilver  is  spread 
to  catch  the  fine  gold — the  coarse  being  caught  by  the  grating  itself. 
The  sluice  is  placed  on  trestles  or  legs,  so  as  to  raise  it  to  the  height 
convenient  for  shovelling  the  earth  in ;  the  water  is  then  let  on,  and 
men  feed  the  sluice  with  earth  from  either  side,  while  one  or  two, 
with  iron  rakes,  stir  it  up  or  pull  out  any  large  stones  which  might 
break  the  gratings." 

WATER  REGULATIONS. — By  a  proclamation  issued  under  the  public 
seal  of  the  colony  of  British  Columbia,  6th  January,  1860,  the  follow- 
ing rules  were  to  be  observed  :  In  any  sluice  the  water  taken  into  a 
ditch  shall  be  measured  at  the  head  of  the  ditch.  No  water  shall  be 
taken  into  a  ditch  except  in  a  trough  whose  top  and  floor  shall  be 
horizontal  planes;  such  trough  to  be  continued  to  six  times  its 
breadth  in  a  horizontal  direction  from  the  point  at  which  the  water 
enters  the  trough.  The  top  of  the  trough  to  be  not  more  than  seven 


320  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

inches  and  the  bottom  of  the  trough  not  more  than  seventeen  inches 
below  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  reservoir  ;  all  measurements 
being  taken  inside  the  trough  and  in  the  low  water  or  dry  season. 
The  area  of  a  vertical  transverse  section  of  the  trough  shall  be  con- 
sidered as  the  measure  of  the  quantity  of  water  taken  by  the  ditch. 

AN  INCH  OF  WATER. — The  Mineral  Act  of  1891  (as  amended  in 
1892  and  1893)  states,  the  rules  for  measuring  water  to  be:  "The 
water  taken  into  a  ditch  or  sluice  shall  be  measured  at  the  ditch  or 
sluice  head.  No  water  shall  be  taken  into  a  ditch  or  sluice  except  in 
a  trough  placed  horizontally  at  the  place  at  which  the  water  enters  it. 
One  inch  of  water  shall  mean  half  the  quantity  that  will  pass  through 
an  orifice  two  inches  high  by  one  inch  wide,  with  a  constant  head  of 
seven  inches  above  the  upper  side  of  the  orifice."  The  definition  of 
"one  inch  of  water"  is  rather  obtuse  and  perplexing. 

HYDRAULIC  MINING  is  operated  on  a  larger  scale.  Sluices,  however, 
are  required,  as  in  ordinary  sluice  mining,  and  the  boxes  are  con- 
structed and  put  together  in  a  manner  somewhat  similar ;  but  instead 
of  being  of  light  timber,  are  made  of  plank,  backed  by  cross-pieces,  so 
as  to  be  of  sufficient  strength  to  bear  the  passage  of  any  quantity  of 
earth  and  stones  which  may  be  forced  through  them  by  the  flood  of 
water  used.  They  are  made  shorter  and  wider,  being,  according  to 
Mayne,  who,  having  witnessed  hydraulic  mining  at  Timbuctoo  in 
California,  states  they  are  generally  about  fourteen  inches  long,  by 
three  to  four  feet  wide.  Their  bottoms,  instead  of  gratings,  are  lined 
with  wooden  blocks,  like  wood-pavement,  for  resisting  the  friction  of 
the  debris  passing  over  it,  the  interstices  being  filled  with  quicksilver 
to  catch  the  fine  gold.  The  sluice  thus  prepared,  is  placed  in  a 
slanting  position,  near  the  foot  of  the  hill  or  bank  to  be  operated  on. 

SCIENTIFIC  MINING. — The  operation  consists  of  throwing  an  immense 
stream  of  water  upon  the  bank  or  hill,  as  a  fire  engine  plays  upon  a 
burning  building.  The  water  is  led  through  gutta  percha  or  canvas 
hose,  four  to  six  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  force  proportionate  to  the 
pressure  of  the  weight  from  the  head  or  pen  stock.  It  is  consequently 
driven  with  great  force,  and  dissolves  the  bank  rapidly.  "There  is 
more  knowledge  and  skill  required  in  this  work  than  would  at  first 
sight  be  supposed  necessary.  The  purpose  of  the  man  who  directs 
the  hose  is  to  undermine  the  surface  as  well  as  wash  away  the  face 
of  the  bank.  He,  therefore,  directs  the  water  at  a  likely  spot  until 
indications  of  a  'cave-in'  become  apparent.  Notice  being  given, 
the  neighborhood  is  deserted.  The  earth  far  above  cracks,  and 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD.  321 

down  comes  all  the  face  of  the  precipice  (if  the  work  is  on  a  side  hill) 
with  the  noise  of  an  avalanche."  By  this  means  a  hill  several  hundred 
feet  higher  than  the  water  could  reach,  may  be  washed  away  and 
rendered  profitable,  which  would  not  pay  by  cradle-washing,  hand- 
sluicing  or  by  tunnelling. 


CHAPTEK    XV. 


HYDRAULIC  MINING  SUCCESSFUL. 

LARGE  GRAVEL  DEPOSITS. — In  the  rich  mining  region  of  Cariboo, 
preparations  are  being  made  (1893)  to  carry  on  hydraulic  mining  on 
an  extensive  scale.  The  Cariboo  Hydraulic  Company  have  secured 
several  rich  gravel  deposits  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Quesnelle  River, 
near  the  forks  of  the  river,  and  are  excavating  a  ditch  twenty  miles 
long  to  furnish  a  supply  of  water.  They  have  150  men  at  work,  and 
next  season  the  mines  will  be  fully  equipped  and  in  working  order. 
Another  company  have  eight  mining  locations  on  Horse  Fly  River, 
covering  an  area  of  over  one  thousand  acres,  situated  fifty  miles 
north-east  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Eight  Mile  House,  on  the 
Cariboo  road.  The  "  Discovery  "  mine — one  of  the  eight — will  be 
opened  in  the  first  place.  Seventy-five  men — thirty-one  of  them 
Japanese — are  at  work  on  ditches.  One  of  the  ditches  is  ten  miles 
long.  It  will  convey  water  from  Mussel  Creek  to  the  mines.  In 
addition  to  this  ditch,  a  pipe  is  being  constructed,  thirty  inches  in 
diameter,  and  8,330  feet  in  length,  to  be  used  in  conveying  the  water 
across  four  depressions,  two  of  them  fully  200  feet  in  depth.  The 
steel  plate  of  which  this  pipe  is  made  weighs  170  tons.  Messrs. 
McGillivray  &  Armstrong,  of  Vancouver  city,  are  the  builders.  It 
will  be  conveyed  to  Cariboo  this  winter  (1893)  on  sleighs. 

AN  EXPERIENCED  MANAGER. — The  manager  of  the  company  (The 
Horse  Fly  Hydraulic  Co.)  has  been  for  twenty  years  engaged  in 
similar  work  in  California,  and  brings  along  with  him  great  experi- 
ence. He  states  that  the  gravel  deposits  in  the  region  referred  to 
are  of  much  higher  grade  than  those  of  California,  and  are  probably 
the  most  extensive  and  richest  in  the  world,  only  requiring  capital  to 
21 


322  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

open  up  their  vast  resources.  Sample  lots  have  been  washed,  and  gave 
from  twenty  cents  to  three  dollars  per  cubic  yard.  Application  has 
been  made  to  Parliament  for  the  construction  of  a  railway  to  connect 
with  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  system  near  Kamloops.  A  charter 
has  been  granted  for  another  railway — the  Canada  Western — to  cross 
the  Cariboo  region  from  Vancouver  Island,  entering  the  mainland 
near  Bute  Inlet.  The  financial  depression  of  1893  delayed  the 
construction  of  this  railway  for  the  time  being. 

QUARTZ-MINING  is  looked  forward  to,  in  the  near  future,  in  British 
Columbia  with  expectations  of  great  success.  Reports  from  the 
Kootenay  district  of  abundance  of  ore,  rich  in  gold,  and  silver,  and 
lead,  are  received  daily.  Capitalists  are  investing.  The  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  has  constructed  a  branch  line  to  Kootenay  from  near 
Revelstoke.  Surveys  are  being  made  this  summer  (1893)  from  the 
east,  by  way  of  Lethbridge  and  Fort  McLeod  through  Crow's  Nest 
Pass,  to  connect  with  the  branch  lines  already  constructed  by  the ' 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  as  mentioned.  The  Cariboo  district  is 
awaiting  railway  communication  to  have  a  number  of  rich  quartz 
locations  developed. 

THE  GOLD  COMMISSIONER  for  that  district,  in  his  report  for  1893, 
says  :  "  From  evidences  afforded  me  in  my  official  position,  I  am  led 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  district  is  entering  upon  a  new  and  pros- 
perous career,  scarcely  inferior  and  certainly  more  lasting  than  the 
famous  golden  days  of  the  early  sixties.  .  .  .  Where  absentees 
have  invested,  experienced  miners  were  first  sent  to  exploit  the 
ground,  and  make  a  thorough  examination  of  the  facilities  for 
working,  and  report  before  development  works  were  undertaken. 
.  .  .  The  unsettled  state  of  the  silver  market,  and  the  probable 
construction  of  a  line  of  railway  into  Cariboo  in  the  near  future, 
have  had  much  to  do  with  attracting  the  attention  of  the  mining 
world  to  the  gold  fields  of  our  district." 

RICH  GOLD  REGIONS. — So  is  it  also  in  the  Cassiar  district,  and  as 
far  north  as  the  Babine  mountains,  the  Stickeen  and  the  Liard 
rivers.  On  Vancouver  Island,  near  Alberni,  Chinese  miners  have 
been  at  work  for  several  years  at  a  place  they  have  named  China 
Creek ;  and,  in  1893,  other  locations  have  been  taken  up,  which  in 
three  tunnels  on  the  Golden  Eagle  claim  had  given  excellent  results. 
At  Thunder  Hill  Mine,  in  East  Kootenay,  the  gold  commissioner's 
report  for  1893  states  that  the  work  has  been  active  during  the 
summer.  Two  steam  drills  have  been  in  use,  which  have  worked  to 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD..  323 

great  advantage.  Large  quantities  of  concentrating  ore  have  been 
taken  out  and  stored  in  bins,  ready  to  be  transported  to  the  concen- 
trating works  on  the  shores  of  the  Columbia  Lake,  a  distance  of  about 
one  and  three-quarter  miles,  as  soon  as  the  erection  of  the  machinery 
is  completed,  and  the  tramway  leading  from  the  mine  to  works  in 
running  order.  The  concentrating  plant  is  of  a  capacity  of  fifty  tons 
a  day. 

THE  MODE  OF  TREATING  THE  ORE  is  described  as  follows:  "It 
passes  from  the  crushers  to  the  rolls;  then  to  the  screens,  and 
descends  to  the  jigs."  The  concentrates  resulting  from  this  treatment 
-are  here  withdrawn,  whilst  the  "  slimes  "  undergo  fine  concentration 
on  double  revolving  "  buddies"  or  slime  tables.  The  tramway  is  on 
a  descending  grade  from  the  mine.  The  trucks  are  run  by  gravitation. 
The  Company  contemplates  working  the  mine  with  a  250-ton  plant, 
when  the  present  plant  shall  have  proved  itself  an  established  success 
in  dealing  with  the  ores  from  the  mine. 

QUARTZ  MILL  IN  CALIFORNIA. — The  working  of  a  quartz  mill  in 
Nevada  county,  California,  crushed  on  an  average  thirty  tons  daily  ; 
value  of  ore,  $60  to  $70  per  ton.  The  quartz  is  picked  or  blasted  out 
in  the  usual  way,  then  conveyed  by  tramway  to  the  mill,  where  it  is 
broken  by  hand  into  pieces  about  the  size  of  an  egg.  (This  was  the 
process  in  1860.)  The  broken  ore  was  then  introduced  into  boxes 
over  which  stood  a  series  of  heavy  stampers,  made  of  iron,  or  wood 
shod  with  iron.  The  stampers  were  moved  by  cogs  connected  with  a 
revolving  wheel,  which  lifted  them  and  let  them  slip  down  into  the 
boxes.  The  quartz  mill  referred  to  had  thirty-four  of  these  stampers. 
The  stamping  boxes  were  supplied  with  water  by  a  hose  or  pipe  on 
one  side,  while  on  the  other  side  is  a  hole,  through  which  the  quartz, 
as  it  is  crushed,  passes  out  in  the  form  of  a  thick  white  fluid.  As  it 
comes  out  it  is  received  upon  a  frame  work,  placed  at  such  an  angle 
that  it  passes  slowly  over  it ;  on  this  frame  are  several  quicksilver 
riffles,  which  catch  and  amalgamate  the  gold  as  it  glides  along. 
Beyond  this  again  is  another  frame,  over  which  is  spread  a  blanket, 
which  arrests  any  fine  particles  which  escape  the  quicksilver.  Even 
with  all  this  care,  there  is  considerable  waste,  and  the  *  tailings,'  or 
refuse,  is  generally  worth  a  second  washing." 

Although  the  rush  of  miners  was  nothing  like  equal  to  that  of  the 
former  year,  yet  on  the  Lower  Fraser,  as  well  as  on  the  Upper  Fraser 
-and  on  the  Thompson  River,  large  quantities  of  gold  were  obtained. 
Improved  roads,  also,  lowered  the  price  of  provisions,  enabling  the 


324  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

miners  to  reach  the  interior  of  the  country  with  much  less  toil  and 
privation  than  formerly.  During  the  latter  part  of  1859,  prospectors 
had  pushed  along  the  Quesnelle  and  Swift  Rivers.  They  reported 
gold  there  in  abundance,  and  of  a  larger  grade  than  that  which  had 
been  found  on  the  bars  of  the  lower  rivers.  Governor  Douglas, 
accompanied  by  his  secretary,  A.  G.  Young,  paid  a  visit  to  the  mining 
localities  in  June,  going  along  the  Lillooet-Harrison  road,  and  to  Port 
Douglas,  encouraging  the  miners  and  assisting  Colonel  Moody  in  his 
active  endeavors  to  make  the  colony  prosperous.  On  June  15th,  he 
issued  a  proclamation  regulating  the  fees  of  pilots.  __  The  port  of 
Queensborough  was  defined  to  "  comprise  all  the  waters,  mouths  and 
channels  of  Fraser  River,  between  the  deep  water  of  the  Gulf  of 
Georgia  and  a  line  drawn  due  north  and  south  through  the  eastern 
extremity  of  Free  Island." 

QUEENSBOROUGH  was  now  the  commercial  centre  of  the  new  colony 
of  British  Columbia.  On  the  2nd  of  June,  1859,  Governor  Douglas 
issued  a  proclamation  establishing  the  tariff  of  custom  duties  to  be 
levied  in  the  colony,  and  declaring  the  port  of  Queensborough  to  be 
"  from  and  after  the  15th  of  June,  now  next,  the  sole  port  of  entry 
for  all  vessels  entering  Fraser  River,  and  for  all  goods  imported  by 
sea  into  the  ports  of  British  Columbia  adjacent  to  Fraser  River." 
A  most  successful  sale  of  Queensborough  town  lots  was  held  early  in 
June.  The  prices  ranged  at  from  $100  to  $1,925,  the  latter  being  the 
price  stated  of  lot  11,  block  5,  to  D.  F.  G.  Macdonald  ;  $1,900  for 
lot  7,  to  Wolff  &  Simpson;  $1,700  for  lot  10,  to  Henderson  &  Burnaby. 
The  lowest  price  of  the  eight  lots  sold  in  block  5  was  lot  2,  $1,500,  to 
Henderson  &  Burnaby.  Lot  2,  block  6,  opposite  to  A.  DeCosmos,  for 
$1,175,  and  lot  8,  block  9,  to  Dr.  J.  S.  Helmcken  at  $100. 

To  ENCOURAGE  SETTLEMENT  on  Vancouver  Island,  about  20,000  acres 
of  land  were  advertised  to  be  put  up  for  sale  by  auction  on  the  1st  of 
August,  at  an  upset  price  of  $1.00  (4s.  2d.)  per  acre,  in  the  districts  of 
Esquimalt,  Metchosin,  Sooke,  Lake  and  North  and  South  Saanich. 
On  the  mainland,  in  the  new  colony,  the  building  of  roads,  making 
surveys,  etc.,  were  carried  on  with  vigor ;  Colonel  Moody  with  untiring 
zeal,  urged  on  the  development  of  the  country.  Many  of  the  immi- 
grants did  not  confine  their  attention  to  gold-digging.  Intelligent 
adventurers  saw  that  the  country  possessed  riches  in  other  respects. 
Its  inexhaustible  wealth  of  valuable  timber,  the  excellent  fish  of 
almost  every  description  which  swarmed  in  its  rivers,  lakes  and  inlets,. 


THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  325 

and  the  immense  deposits  of  coal  cropping  out,  in  many  localities, 
were  not  allowed  to  pass  unnoticed.  Not  a  few  of  the  new-comers 
from  Great  Britain,  from  Canada,  and  from  the  United  States  also> 
decided  to  make  homes  for  themselves  in  British  Columbia,  and  were 
content  to  remain  in  the  country,  willing  to  give  it  their  best  energies, 
and  to  assist  in  developing  and  building  it  up. 

In  the  meantime  many  improvements  as  well  as  new  roads  were 
required.  Steamers  were  placed  on  the  lakes  connected  with  the 
Harrison-Lillooet  route.  The  road  of  1858  was  widened  and  extended. 
Villages  sprung  up  at  different  points.  Wonderful  energy  was 
displayed  by  those  hunters  after  gold,  in  making  improvements  and 
furnishing  materials  for  steamers,  hoisting  and  pumping  machinery.. 
Lumber  was  supplied  from  the  sawpit  close  by;  the  "top  sawyer" 
deserved  his  title.  Governor  Douglas  had  his  time  fully  occupied 
with  the  multifarious  duties  which  pertained  to  his  dual  office  in  both 
colonies.  The  San  Juan  Island  difficulty,  and  the  location  of  the 
international  boundary  amongst  the  islands  in  the  Gulf  of  Georgia, 
caused  him  considerable  anxiety.  It  is  believed  that  if  Governor 
Douglas  could  have  had  his  way,  he  would  have  made  short  work  of 
the  United  States  troops. 

On  the  20th  July,  1859,  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  Governor 
Douglas,  setting  forth  that  her  Majesty  had  decided  to  change  the 
name  of  the  capital  of  the  colony  of  British  Columbia  from  Queens- 
borough — or  as  it  was  sometimes  called,  Queenborough — to  that  of 
NEW  WESTMINSTER.  There  had  been  some  dispute  of  the  use  of  the 
letter  "s,"  in  spelling  the  word.  The  proclamation  declared  that 
(henceforth  the  capital  should  be  called  and  known  as  New  West- 
minster^ and  be  "so  described  in  all  legal  processes  and  official 
documents."  A  number  of  proclamations  were  issued  during  the 
year,  of  which  copies  were  transmitted  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for 
the  Colonies  in  London.  This,  together  with  lengthy  reports  on 
various  subjects,  entailed  a  vast  amount  of  labor  on  the  governor 
and  his  secretary. 

AFTER  HIS  RETURN  from  an  official  tour  in  British  Columbia,  during 
which  he  visited  the  towns  of  New  Westminster,  Langley,  Douglas, 
Hope  and  Yale,  he  travelled  through  the  passes  of  Fraser  River  to 
Spuzzum,  and  inspected  all  the  mining  districts  west  of  that  place. 
His  Excellency  made  a  lengthy  report,  dated  October  18th,  1859, 
which  he  transmitted  as  a  despatch  to  his  grace  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle. 


326  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Among  other  things,  it  said  "the  district  between  Hope  and 
Yale  is  not  as  populous  as  last  year,  the  present  mining  population 
consisting  of  about  600  persons.  The  mining  population  from 
Yale  to  the  Fountain  is  supposed  to  exceed  800  men,  and  about 
1,000  men  are  engaged  in  the  same  pursuits  between  Alexandria, 
Fort  George  and  Quesnelle  River.  The  entire  white  population  of 
British  Columbia  does  not  probably  exceed  6,000  men  ;  there  being, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  families,  neither  wives  nor  children  to 
refine  and  soften,  by  their  presence,  the  dreariness  and  asperity  of 
existence.  The  value  of  the  present  gold  exports  from  British 
Columbia  is  estimated  at  .£14,000  a  month,  or  £168,000  per  annum  ; 
but  this  estimate  does  not  include  the  large  amount  of  gold  dust 
remaining  in  the  hands  of  miners,  nor  give  a  just  idea  of  the  whole 
quantity  produced,  which  no  doubt  far  exceeds  the  value  herein 
stated. 

"  No  schools  have  been  as  yet  established  in  the  colony  ;  but  my 
attention  will  be  given  to  the  subject  of  education,  and  provision 
made  for  elementary  schools,  whenever  the  wants  of  the  country 
render  them  necessary."  The  report  continues:  "The  colony  is  yet 
destitute  of  one  highly  important  element  •  it  has  no  farming  class,  the 
population  being  almost  entirely  composed  of  miners  and  merchants. 
The  attention  of  the  Government  has  been  very  anxiously  directed  ta 
the  means  of  providing  for  that  want,  by  the  encouragement  of 
agricultural  settlers,  a  class  which  must  eventually  form  the  basis  of 
the  population,  cultivate  and  improve  the  face  of  the  country,  and 
render  it  a  fit  habitation  for  civilized  man.  The  miner  is  at  best  a 
producer,  and  leaves  no  traces  but  those  of  desolation  behind  ;  the 
merchant  is  allured  by  the  hope  of  gain  ;  but  the  durable  prosperity 
and  substantial  wealth  of  States  is,  no  doubt,  derived  from  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil.  Without  the  farmer's  aid,  British  Columbia 
must  for  ever  remain  a  desert — be  drained  of  its  wealth,  and 
dependent  on  other  countries  for  daily  food." 

The  report  further  says  :  "The  great  object  of  opening  roads  from 
the  sea-coast  into  the  interior  of  the  country,  and  from  New  West- 
minster to  Burrard's  Inlet  and  Pitt  River,  continues  to  claim  a  large 
share  of  my  attention.  The  labor  involved  in  these  works  is  enor- 
mous ;  but  so  essential  are  they  as  a  means  of  settling  and  developing 
the  resources  of  the  country,  that  their  importance  can  hardly  be 
over-rated  :  and  I,  therefore,  feel  it  incumbent  on  me  to  strain  every 
nerve  in  forwarding  the  progress  of  undertakings  so  manifestly  con- 
ducive to  the  prosperity  of  the  colony,  and  which,  at  the  same  time, 
cannot  fail,  ere  long,  to  produce  a  large  increase  in  the  public  revenue. 
We  hope  to  complete  the  last  section  of  a  pack-road  leading  by  the 
left  bank  of  the  Fraser,  from  Derby  to  Lytton,  a  distance  of  17Q 
miles,  on  or  before  the  1st  day  of  February  next." 

QUEEN  CHARLOTTE  ISLANDS. — Mr.  (Major)  William  Downie's  report 
of  the  expedition  which  set  out  in  July,  1859,  to  explore  Queen 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  327 

Charlotte  Islands,  is  made  the  subject  of  a  despatch  dated  November 
21st.  Mr.  Downie  and  the  body  of  miners  were  unsuccessful  in 
finding  gold  on  these  islands  in  paying  quantity.  With  the  exception 
of  Mr.  Downie  and  a  few  others  who  crossed  to  Fort  Simpson,  the 
main  body  returned  to  Victoria.  Mr.  Downie  and  his  party  com- 
menced the  ascent  of  the  Skeena  River  in  a  canoe.  They  reached 
the  "  Forks,"  a  distance  of  110  miles  from  the  sea,  via  Port  Essington. 
They  were  then  obliged  to  travel  fifty-five  miles  by  land  to  the 
Indian  Village  of  "  Naas  Glee,"  and  fifteen  miles  beyond,  they 
reached  Babine  Lake,  which  is  about  one  hundred  miles  long  and  of 
sufficient  depth  to  float  vessels  of  the  largest  class.  A  stretch  of  low 
table-land  thirteen  miles  wide,  separates  Babine  Lake  from  Stuart 
Lake,  which,  although  not  as  large  as  Babine,  is  equally  well  adapted 
for  navigation.  Mr.  Downie  and  party,  after  much  suffering  and 
privation,  eventually  arrived  at  Fort  St.  James,  on  Stuart  Lake. 
They  made  several  important  discoveries  in  course  of  the  journey — 
finding  some  gold,  extensive  coal  beds,  and  the  land  between  the 
forks  and  "  Naas  Glee  "  well  adapted  for  farming  and  suitable  for 
the  construction  of  roads.  Major  Downie  recently  published  an 
interesting  book,  entitled  "  Hunting  for  Gold."  He  died  at  San 
Francisco,  January,  189,4. 

COAST  INDIANS — SMALL-POX. — The  summer  passed  in  Victoria 
without  much  excitement.  Trade  was  brisk  with  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company.  Their  Alaska  supply  trade  was  continued  as  usual.  A 
large  quantity  of  grain  and  provisions  was  supplied  from  their  out- 
lying establishments — notably  from  those  of  the  Puget  Sound  Com- 
pany and  the  home  farm  at  Victoria.  The  fur  trade  was  not  as  yet 
seriously  interfered  with,  except  along  the  Fraser  and  Thompson 
rivers,  and  in  the  Okanagan  country  and  on  the  Columbia  River. 
The  Indians  along  the  coast,  even  beyond  the  Queen  Charlotte 
Islands,  were,  however,  attracted  by  the  arrival  of  such  large  numbers 
of  miners  and  the  men-of-war  men  at  Esquimalt.  They  came  in 
thousands.  A  whole  family — men,  women  and  children — travelled 
in  one  canoe.  The  men  became  so  dissipated  and  dangerous  that  the 
Government  found  it  necessary  to  disarm  them  ;  and  their  women  so 
degraded  that  force  was  required  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  to 
drive  them  back  to  their  native  villages.  Those  visits  were  most 
unfortunate  for  them  and  for  those  they  came  to  see.  It  introduced 
amongst  them  disease,  and  contributed  to  that  demoralization  which 
since  then  has  totally  destroyed  the  inhabitants  of  many  villages  at 


328  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

that  time  populous  and  prosperous.  Thousands  were  cut  off  by 
small-pox. 

A  GRATEFUL  HUSBAND. — Mayne  says:  "The  Indians  are  well 
known  to  be  polygamists,  but  1  believe  that  a  plurality  of  wives  is 
general  only  among  the  chiefs  of  tribes,  the  rest  being  commonly  too 
poor  to  afford  this  luxury.  No  other  cause  for  such  abstinence  exists 
on  their  part.  When  Mr.  Staines  was  the  colonial  chaplain  at  Vic- 
toria, the  chief  of  the  tribe  residing  there  went  to  him  for  some  medi- 
cine for  his  wife  who  was  ill.  He  gave  her  something  which  cured 
her,  and,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  chaplain  and  his  family,  a  day  or 
two  afterwards  the  chief  came  to  his  house,  leading  his  wife  by  the 
hand,  and,  in  gratitude  for  her  recovery,  presented  her  to  his  bene- 
factor. On  being  remonstrated  with,  I  believe,  by  the  chaplain's  wife, 
who  objected,  not  at  all  unnaturally,  to  the  nature  of  the  offering,  he 
said  it  was  nothing— not  worth  mentioning  in  fact,  as  he  could  easily 
spare  her,  she  being  one  of  eleven  !  " 

POLYGAMY. — The  Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson,  D.D.,  in  his  publication, 
"Alaska,"  says  polygamy,  with  all  its  attendant  evils,  is  common 
among  many  tribes.  These  wives  are  often  sisters.  Sometimes  a 
man's  own  mother  or  daughter  is  among  his  wives.  If  a  man's  wife 
bears  him  only  daughters,  he  continues  to  take  other  wives  until  she 
has  sons.  To  secure  the  desired  number  of  sons  one  of  the  Naas 
chiefs  is  said  to  have  had  forty  wives.  In  the  interior  and  farther 
north  similar  conditions  exist.  On  the  upper  Yukon  River  the  men 
multiply  their  wives  as  the  farmer  his  oxen.  The  more  wives,  the 
more  meat  he  can  have  hauled,  the  more  wood  cut,  the  more  goods 
carried.  A  great  chief  said  :  "  Women  are  made  to  labor.  One  of 
them  can  haul  as  much  as  two  men  can  do.  They  pitch  our  tents, 
make  and  mend  our  clothing." 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  329 


CHAPTEK  XVI. 


THE  CLERGY  RESERVE  QUESTION  INTRODUCED. 

AN  AGREEMENT  which  had  been  made  between  the  Rev.  E.  Cridge 
and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  created  considerable  discussion.  It 
was  brought  before  the  House  of  Assembly  by  message  from  Gover- 
nor Douglas,  which  said  :  "  I  have  to  submit  for  your  consideration, 
with  the  sanction  of  her  Majesty's  principal  Secretary  of  State 
for  the  Colonies,  the  copy  of  a  communication  from  the  Rev.  E. 
Cridge,  Colonial  Chaplain  of  Vancouver  Island,  tendering  a  continu- 
ance of  his  services  in  that  capacity;  and  I  have  to  request  that  the 
House  will  favor  me  with  their  opinion  on  the  subject.  10th  Sept., 
1859. — JAMES  DOUGLAS: 

SALARY  OF  THE  CHAPLAIN. — " '  Memorandum  of  Salary,  Allowance, 
etc.,  for  a  Clergyman  for  Vancouver  Island. — The  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany are  desirous  of  sending  out  a  clergyman  to  Vancouver  Island  to 
be  stationed  in  the  vicinity  of  Victoria,  the  principal  establishment 
in  the  island.  He  will  have  charge  of  a  district  or  parish,  and,  in 
addition,  will  hold  the  appointment  of  chaplain  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  and  will  attend  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  free  settlers, 
and  of  the  officers,  clerks  and  servants  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
stationed  at  Victoria,  and  at  the  various  farms  in  the  neighborhood. 

CHURCH  AND  PARSONAGE. — "'The  church  is  in  progress  of  con- 
struction, in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort,  and  will  probably  be  completed 
by  the  time  the  clergyman  may  be  expected  to  arrive  at  the  island. 
The  Hudson  Bay  Company  propose  that  the  remuneration  for  these 
services  shall  consist,  first,  of  a  parsonage  and  glebe  of  one  hundred 
acres,  of  which  thirty  acres  will  be  cleared  and  put  in  a  cultivable 
state ;  secondly,  of  a  stipend  of  £300  per  annum  charged,  with  the 
sanction  of  the  Colonial  Office,  on  the  fund  arising  from  the  sales  of 
land — of  which  funds  the  Company  are  trustees,  etc.;  thirdly,  of  an 
allowance  of  .£100  per  annum  from  the  fur  branch  of  the  Company, 
for  acting  as  chaplain  to  the  Company  and  attending  to  the  wants  of 
the  servants. 

RATIONS  ALLOWED.  — "  '  Until  the  house  is  finished,  quarters  will 
be  provided  for  the  clergyman  in  the  fort.  And  till  the  land  is  put 
in  a  proper  state  for  cultivation,  rations  will  be  allowed  to  him  and 


330  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

his  family,  as  provided  for  the  officers  of  the  Company.  When  the 
land  is  taken  possession  of  by  him,  he  will  be  expected  to  provide  for 
himself. 

BOARDING-SCHOOL. — "'The  Company  think  it  very  desirable  that 
the  clergyman  should,  as  is  done  at  Red  River  by  the  Bishop  of 
Rupert's  Land,  take  charge  of  a  boarding-school,  of  a  superior  class, 
for  the  children  of  their  officers,  and  would  wish  that  he  would  take 
out  with  him,  a  gentleman  and  his  wife  capable  of  keeping  a  school 
of  this  nature. 

SCHOOL-HOUSE  AND  RESIDENCE. — "'The  fur-trade  branch  would 
find  a  school-house  and  residence  for  the  master  and  his  family,  and 
will  vote  an  annual  grant  of  £100  in  aid  of  the  school.  Should  they 
give  satisfaction  to  the  gentlemen  in  the  country,  they  might  expect 
from  thirty  to  forty  pupils,  and  the  usual  payment  for  each  pupil 
would  be  .£20  per  annum  for  board,  lodging  and  education. 

"  '  A  FREE  PASSAGE  will  be  allowed  from  London  to  Vancouver 
Island  to  the  clergyman,  his  family  and  servants,  and  also  to  the 
school-master  and  his  family. 

ENGAGEMENT  FOR  FIVE  YEARS. — u  *  It  is  understood  that  the 
engagement  shall  be  for  five  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  a  free 
passage  home  will  be  granted,  should  the  clergyman  wish  to  return  ; 
or,  on  the  contrary,  afresh  engagement  may  be  entered  into.  It  is  also- 
to  be  understood  that  in  the  event  of  misconduct,  the  engagement 
may  at  any  time  be  cancelled,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Governor 
of  Vancouver  Island,  and  with  the  sanction  of  the  Secretary  of  State 
for  the  Colonies.  (Signed)  A.  COLVILLE,  Governor  Hudson  Bay 
House  (London),  Aug.  12th,  1854. 

"  '  I  hereby  accept  the  terms  and  conditions  as  specified  in  the  fore- 
going memorandum,  September  13th,  1854.  (Signed)  EDWARD 
CRIDGE.'" 

THE  SUBJECT  DISCUSSED. — In  discussing  the  subject  before  the 
House  the  Speaker  maintained  that  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Cridge 
was  a  permanent  one,  and  that  he  was  entitled  to  a  salary  until  such 
time  as  the  connection  between  Church  and  State  was  abolished. 
The  following  resolution  was  passed,  the  Speaker  dissenting  : 

THE  SPEAKER  DISSENTED. — "Resolved, — This  House  is  of  opinion 
that  by  the  memorandum  of  agreement  dated  12th  August,  1854,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Cridge  was  evidently  led  to  expect  a  renewal  of  his  engage- 
ment on  faithful  service ;  but  the  House  would  recommend  the 
propriety  of  deferring  the  consideration  of  State  and  Church  connec- 
tion until  the  House  is  enlarged,  and  the  sentiments  of  the  people  can 
be  better  understood." 

A  STARTLING  FACT. — Public  attention  having  thus  been  called  to 
the  Clergy  Reserve  question,  it  was  taken  up  by  the  Rev.  W.  F. 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD.  331 

Clark,  Congregational  Church  Missionary,  in  a  letter  to  the  Colonist. 
In  that  letter  he  called  attention  "to  the  startling  fact  that  there 
already  exists  in  these  young  colonies,  an  embryo  State  Church.  The 
arrangement  recently  made  public,  by  which  three-fourths  of  the 
salary  of  the  Rev.  E.  Cridge  is  made  a  charge  on  the  public  funds, 
would  be  sufficient  to  show  that  we  have  the  germ  of  this  evil  fully 
formed  in  our  -midst.  But  from  returns  to  the  Imperial  Parliament, 
just  received,  it  appears  that  a  Clergy  Reserve  of  two  thousand  one 
hundred  and  eighteen  acres  of  land  has  been  set  apart  in  Victoria 
district  alone.  Similar  reservations,  for  aught  we  know,  may  have 
been  made  in  other  districts." 

OPPOSITION  TO  CLERGY  RESERVES. — "The  returns  just  alluded  ta 
also  show  that  the  Bishop  of  British  Columbia,  shortly  to  arrive, 
together  with  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Gammage  and  Crickmer,  come  here, 
not  merely  as  missionaries  of  the  Episcopalian  body,  in  which 
capacity  they  deserve  to  be  cordially  welcomed,  but  also  as  appointee? 
of  the  Government.  Their  names  appear  in  the  same  list  as  those  of 
the  Governor,  Chief  Justice,  Attorney-General,  etc.,  as  belonging  to 
the  staff  of  Government  officials  for  the  sister  colony.  The  list  is 
headed  :  "  Appointments,  etc.,  created  by  her  Majesty's  Government." 
There  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  either  Clergy  Reserves  have  been 
made  in  British  Columbia,  or  that  the  making  of  them  will  be  one  of 
the  earliest  steps  to  be  taken  after  his  Lordship's  arrival." 

A  PROSPECTIVE  INCUBUS. — "  Now,  sir,"  continues  Mr.  Clark, 
"  permit  me  respectfully  to  ask  my  fellow-subjects  if  they  are 
content  that  Church  endowments  should  be  made  in  these  young 
regions  at  the  rate  of  two  thousand  acres  of  land  per  district  1  And 
are  they  prepared  for  the  struggling,  jealousy  and  unseemly  strife  that 
must  ensue  if  the  incubus  of  a  State  Church  is  laid  upon  us  ?  If  not, 
let  protest  and  petition  at  once  be  resorted  to,  that  this  threatened 
evil  may,  if  possible,  be  averted.  .  .  . " 

SUNDRY  OPINIONS. — In  a  reply  to  Mr.  Clark's  letter,  by  Mr.  A.  D. 
Pringle,  Fort  Hope,  the  editor  of  the  Colonist  explains  by  adding  : 
"The  reserve,  by  return  dated  on  July  30th,  1858,  is  2,188  acres  ^ 
and  March  18th,  1859,  the  returns  of  all  appointments,  civil,  military, 
and  ecclesiastical,  made  or  authorized  by  the  home  Government, 
includes  the  Bishop  and  those  gentlemen.  The  salaries  of  the  clergy- 
men are  not  chargeable  to  British  Columbia,  although  their  appoint- 
ments were  authorized  by  the  Government."  The  editor  adds  :  "If 
British  Columbia  does  not  support  a  '  State  Church'  as  well  as  the 
colony  we  cannot  understand  the  following :  Governor  Douglas's 
despatch,  Dec.  14th,  1858,  says,  'I  propose  building  a  small  church 
and  parsonage,  a  court  house  and  jail,  immediately,  at  Langley,  and 
to  defray  the  expense  out  of  the  proceeds  arising  from  the  sale  of 
town  lands  there.'  " 


332  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

PUBLIC  SENTIMENT  RESPECTED. — In  the  colonies  of  Vancouver 
Island  and  British  Columbia,  public  sentiment  was  opposed  to  State 
Ohurchism, — the  Clergy  Reserves  proposals  were  therefore  abandoned. 
When  Bishop  Hills  arrived  at  Victoria  in  January,  1860,  the  grant  of 
one  hundred  acres  which  was  to  have  been  made  to  Mr.  Cridge  was 
reduced  to  thirty  acres  in  the  city,  and  transferred  under  trustees  to  the 
Church.  Mr.  Cridge  was  licensed  by  the  Bishop  to  preach  in  the  district 
of  Victoria,  which  terminated  his  colonial  appointment.  His  salary, 
after  1860,  was  paid  by  the  congregation,  supplemented  from  the 
missionary  funds  from  England.  His  ministrations  were  highly 
prized  by  his  hearers,  and  were  continued  until  1875,  when,  owing 
to  a  difference  of  opinion  between  Bishop  Hills  and  himself,  respect- 
ing the  introduction  of  ritualism  into  the  Church,  he  left  the  Anglican 
Diocese  and  organized  a  Church,  in  'connection  with  the  Reformed 
Episcopal  Clergy,  A  large  majority  of  his  former  congregation 
seceded  along  with  him.  Amongst  them  was  the  former  governor, 
Sir  James  Douglas,  who  presented  the  site  on  which  the  church  was 
built,  and  in  which  Bishop  Cridge  continues  (1894)  to  preach.  Sir 
James  also  presented  the  Church  with  an  organ.  The  nineteenth 
anniversary  of  the  opening  and  dedication  of  the  building  was 
commemorated  in  November,  1893,  by  the  venerable  pastor. 

THE  SECOND  GENERAL  ELECTION. — Towards  the  close  of  the  year 
1859,  considerable  interest  was  taken  in  the  approaching  general 
election.  The  first  parliament  of  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island 
was  prorogued  in  November.  It  had  existed  since  1855.  The  new 
elections  took  place  in  January,  1860.  The  second  parliament  met 
in  March  of  that  year.  The  past  year  was  noted  for  its  projected 
improvements  and  for  the  voluminous  reports  sent  to  the  governor 
by  surveyors,  prospectors  and  explorers.  Judge  Begbie's  report  was 
one  of  great  length.  Referring  to  the  journey  and  report,  Bancroft 
says:  "Accompanied  by  his  high-sheriff  Nicoll,  and  his  clerk  and 
registrar  Bushby,  the  28th  of  March,  1859,  Mr.  Justice  Begbie  began 
a  notable  journey — notable  by  reason  of  the  shortness  of  the  journey, 
and  for  the  length  of  its  description." 

BEGBIE'S  REPORT. — The  report  from  the  "  CANOE  COUNTRY  "  says 
miners  are  doing  well,  but  roads  are  wanted,  and  people  have  to 
go  on  half  rations  and  pay  enormous  prices  for  the  necessaries  of 
life.  At  Fort  Alexander,  280  miles  from  the  Forks  of  Thompson 
with  the  Fraser,  in  October,  pork  was  $1.25 ;  beans,  75  cents  ;  flour, 
75  cents;  coffee,  $1.50,  and  sugar,  $1.00  per  pound.  In  the  early 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD. 


333 


mining  days,  sixty  miles  above  the  Thompson  country  began  the 
"  CANOE  COUNTRY  ; "  to  the  north  of  which  was  what  was  termed  the 
4<  BALLOON  COUNTRY,"  and  beyond  that  was  the  "  CARIBOO  COUNTRY." 
NON-RESIDENCE  OF  OFFICIALS. ^-Dissatisfaction  was  expressed  in 
New  Westminster  on  account  of  the  non-residence  at  the  capital  of 
the  colony  of  several  of  the  leading  officials.  A  Reform  League  was 
organized,  and  various  public  meetings  were  held,  at  which  scathing 
speeches  were  delivered,  grievances  discussed,  and  condemnatory 
resolutions  and  protests  passed.  Notwithstanding  this  the  new 


LIEUT.-GOVERNOR'S  RESIDENCE,  CARY  CASTLE,  VICTORIA. 

capital  was  making  substantial  progress.  Mining  interests,  although 
somewhat  depressed,  held  out  good  prospects  for  1860— especially 
from  reports  received  from  miners  who  had  reached  the  Quesnelle 
River.  .  The  New  Westminster  Times  commenced  publication  in 
September,  1859,  with  bright  hopes  for  the  future.  Mount  Baker, 
a  short  distance  south  of  the  international  boundary  line,  showed  a 
spurt  of  energy.  The  passengers  by  the  steamer  from  New  Westmin- 
ster to  Victoria,  on  the  26th  November,  reported  that  volcanic  peak 
to  be  seen  in  a  state  of  active  eruption,  "  puffing  out  large  volumes  of 
smoke,  which  upon  breaking,  rolled  down  the  snow-covered  sides  of 
the  mountain,  forming  a  pleasing  efiect  of  light  and  shade." 


334  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


GOLD  MINING  TRANSACTIONS. 

IT  would  not  serve  any  good  purpose  to  attempt  to  follow  the 
various  successes  or  disappointments  of  the  miners  from  place  to 
place  ;  but  as  the  correspondent  of  the  London  Times  gave  a  compre- 
hensive account  of  the  transactions  during  1861,  an  extract  from  his 
report  will  give  the  reader  a  good  idea  of  the  work  of  that  year.  He 
says :  "  It  is  impossible  to  give  a  return  of  the  *  yield  '  of  gold 
produced  by  British  Columbia,  in  the  aggregate,  with  certainty.  I 
shall  merely  attempt  an  approximation  of  the  gross  yield,  from  the 
best  data  within  my  reach.  It  is  generally  conceded  that,  including 
Ohinese,  there  were  five  thousand  men  engaged  in  gold  digging  this 
year.  The  various  government  returns  of  customs'  duties,  and  of 
interior  tolls  charged  on  the  passage  of  merchandise  collected,  justify 
this  assumption,  while  the  miners'  licenses  issued  tend  to  corroborate  it. 
The  mining  population  in  the  Cariboo  Country,  including  within  the 
division  of  the  Forks  of  the  Quesnelle  River  (fifty  miles  below),  is 
put  down  on  general  testimony  (of  miners,  travellers,  other  residents, 
and  government  returns)  at  1,500  men. 

"To  work  out  the  earnings  of  this  aggregate  of  five  thousand  miners, 
I  adopt  a  statement  of  names  and  amounts,  made  up  from  miners' 
information,  of  seventy-nine  men  who  together  took  out  in  Cariboo, 
$926,680.  The  general  opinion  of  the  miners  is,  that  (in  addition  to 
the  Mucky  ones'  who  made  'big  strikes,'  and  which  I  limit  to  the 
above  number  of  seventy-nine),  every  man  who  had  a  claim  or  a 
share  in  a  claim  made  from  $1,000  to  $2,000.  Of  these  there  were 
at  least  four  hundred,  and  taking  their  earnings  at  a  medium  or  average 
between  the  two  sums  mentioned — say,  $1,500  to  each — they  would 
produce  $600,000.  There  remain  1,021  men  to  be  accounted  for. 
Putting  their  earnings  at  $7  a  day  each,  which  is  the  lowest  rate  of 
wages  paid  for  hired  labor  in  the  Cariboo  mines,  and  assigning  only 
107  working  days  as  the  period  of  their  mining  operations  during  the 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  335 

season,  to  make  allowance  for  its  shortness  by  reason  of  the  distance 
from  the  different  points  of  departure  and  of  bad  weather,  they 
would  have  taken  out  $764,729.  These  several  sums  added  would 
make  the  yield  of  Cariboo  and  QuesnelJe,  $2,291,409  to  1,500  men 
for  the  season,  by  far  the  greater  portion,  or  nearly  all,  in  fact,  being 
from  Cariboo  ;  although  the  north  fork  of  Quesnelle  is  also  very 
productive,  and  so  rich  as  to  induce  its  being  worked,  by  fluming  this 
winter,  by  about  one  hundred  miners,  who  have  remained  for  the 
purpose." 

"The  remaining  3,500  of  the  mining  population,  who  worked  on 
Thompson  River,  the  Fraser  from  Fort  George  downwards,  Bridge 
River,  Similkameen  and  Okanagan  (very  few),  Rock  Creek,  and  all 
other  localities  throughout  the  country,  I  shall  divide  into  two  classes  : 
the  first  to  consist  of  1,500,  who  made  $10  a  day  for,  say,  180  days 
(Sundays  thrown  off),  and  which  would  give  $2,700,000  for  their 
joint  earnings ;  the  second  and  last  class  of  two  thousand  men,  who 
were  not  so  lucky,  I  shall  assume  to  have  made  only  $5  each  a  day 
for  the  same  period,  and  which  would  give  $1,800,000  as  the  fruit  of 
their  united  labor. 

"The  last  three  categories,  which  number  4,521  men,  include  the 
many  miners  who,  in  Cariboo,  were  making  $20  to  $50  a  day  each, 
as  well  as  those  who,  in  various  other  localities,  were  making  from 
$15  to  $100  a  day  occasionally;  so  I  think  my  estimate,  although 
not  accurate,  is  reasonable  and  moderate.  The  government  people 
think  I  have  rather  understated  the  earnings  of  the  miners  in  these 
three  classes  of  4,521  men ;  and  the  governor  himself,  who  takes  an 
absorbing  interest  in  the  affairs  of  this  portion  of  his  Government, 
and  to  whose  ready  courtesy  I  am  indebted  for  some  of  the  information 
given  in  this  letter,  as  well  as  for  much  formerly  communicated  in 
my  correspondence,  thinks  my  estimate  is  a  very  safe  one." 

From  the  different  mining  localities  the  value  of  the  gold  dust  is 
given.  The  highest  from  Davis  Creek,  assayed  by  Messrs.  Marchaud 
<fc  Co.,  who  gave  the  return,  was  718  fine,  value  $18.97T604<j  per 
ounce  (about  £3  19s.).  The  lowest,  which  came  from  Williams 
-Creek,  was  810  fine,  value  per  ounce  $16.72T4<&  (about  £3  9s.  7d.). 
The  average  of  all  Cariboo  dust  was  reckoned  at  854  tine, 
value  per  ounce  $17.65^  (£3  13s.  6d.).  From  the  following 
^oflicial  table,  from  the  report  of  the  Minister  of  Mines,  it 
would  appear  that  the  estimate  made  by  the  correspondent 
.of  the  Times  is  too  high.  The  official  table  shows  the 


336 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


actually  known  yield  of  gold  and  silver,  the  number  of  miners 
employed,  and  their  average  earnings  per  man,  per  year,  from  1858 
to  1893.  In  the  amounts  given  for  the  year  1880,  the  sum  of  $47,873 
is  added  for  silver;  and,  in  1881,  $73,984.  No  return  of  silver  is 
given  for  other  years  : 


Year 

Amount    of     gold 
actually    known 

Add  a  third  more, 
estimate  of  gold 

Gold  and  Silver. 

Number  of 
Miners 

Average 
yearly 

to  have  been  ex- 
ported by  Banks. 

carried  away  in 
private  hands. 

Total. 

employed. 

earnings 
per  man. 

1858 
(6  months) 

|       $390,265 

$130,088 

$520,353 

3,000 

$173 

1859 

1,211,304 

403,768 

1,615,072 

4,000 

403 

1860 

1,671,410 

557,137 

2,228,547 

4,400 

506 

1861 

1,999,589 

666,530 

2,666,119 

4,200 

634 

1862 
1863 

|     3,184,700 

1,061,566 

4,246,266  j 

4,100 
4,400 

517 

482 

1864 

2,801,888 

933,963 

3,735,851 

4,400 

849 

1865 

2,618,404 

872,801 

3,491,205 

4,294 

813 

1866 

1,996,580 

665,527 

2,662,107 

2,982 

893 

1867 

1,860,651 

620,217 

2,480,868 

3,044 

814 

1868 

,779,729 

593,243 

2,372,972 

2,390 

992 

1869 

,331,234 

443,745 

,774,979 

2,369 

749 

1870 

,002,717 

334,239 

,336,956 

2,348 

569 

1871 

,349,580 

449,860 

,799,440 

2,450 

734 

1872 

,208,229 

402,743 

,610,972 

2,400 

671 

1873 

979,312 

326,437 

,305,749 

2,300 

567 

1874 

,383,464 

461,155 

,844,619 

2,868 

643 

1875 

,856,178 

618,726 

2,474,904 

2,0-24 

1,222 

1876 

1,339,986 

446,662 

1,786,648 

2,282 

783 

1877 

1,206,136 

402,045 

1,608,181 

1,960 

820 

1878 

1,062,670 

l-5th  212,534 

1,275,204 

1,883 

677 

1879 

1,075,049 

215,010 

1,290,059 

2,124 

607 

1880 

844,856 

168,971 

1,013,827 

1,955 

518 

1881 

872,281 

174,456 

1,046,737 

1,898 

551 

1882 

795,071 

159,014 

954,085 

1,738 

548 

1883 

661,877 

132,375 

794,252 

1,965 

404 

1884 

613,304 

122,661 

735,965 

1,858 

396 

1885 

594,782 

118,956 

713,738 

2,902 

246 

1886 

753,043 

150,609 

903,652 

3,147 

287 

1887 

578,924 

115785 

694,709 

2,342* 

296 

1888 

513,943 

102,788 

616,731 

2,007 

307 

1889 

490,769 

98,154 

636,796 

,929 

330 

1890 

412,029 

82,406 

568,419 

,342t 

423 

1891 

358,176 

71,635 

429,811 

,199 

358 

1892 

332,938 

66,588 

399,526 

,340 

298 

1893 

316,279 

63,256 

379,535 

,247 

304 

$54,014,854 

*  This  is  exclusive  of  over  650  white  men  who,  during  the  season  of  1887, 
were  working  on  or  prospecting  for  mineral  claims. 

t  This  is  exclusive  of  over  three  hundred  whites  employed  working  on  or 
prospecting  for  mineral  claims. 


THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  337 


CHAPTEE   XVIII. 


INCREASE  OF  MISSIONARY  WORK. 

VARIOUS  DENOMINATIONS.— During  1859  no  fewer  than  eleven 
missionaries  were  at  work  in  the  colonies  of  Vancouver  Island  and 
British  Columbia  on  the  mainland.  Of  these,  four  were  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Methodist  denomination  ;  three  were  sent  by  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel ;  two  by  Miss  (afterwards  Baroness) 
Burdett-Coutts,  including  the  labors  of  Mr.  Duncan  and  the  Rev. 
E.  Cridge,  the  latter  had  for  some  years  previously  been  acting  as 
chaplain  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  missionaries  already  mentioned 
religious  instruction  was  furnished  by  the  chaplains  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company.  The  first  of  their  chaplains,  under  colonial  rule,  was 
the  Rev.  R.  J.  Staines.  His  successor  was  the  Rev.  E.  Cridge,  a  man 
of  sound  views,  and  full  of  benevolence  and  energy.  But  the  earliest 
of  the  missionaries  who  labored  amongst  the  aborigines  was  William 
Duncan.  He  was  sent  out  by  the  Church  of  England  Missionary 
Society  to  work  amongst  the  natives  of  the  west  coast. 

According  to  an  account  given  by  the  Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson,  D.D., 
in  his  work,  "  Alaska,"  Mr.  Duncan  had  been  an  ordinary  clerk  in  a 
mercantile  establishment  at  some  distance  from  London.  The 
secretaries  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  upon  one  occasion,  had 
appointed  a  missionary  meeting  in  the  church  he  attended.  When 
they  arrived  from  London  the  evening  proved  so  stormy  that  only 
nine  persons  were  present  as  an  audience.  One  of  the  secretaries 
recommended  dismissing  the  meeting,  but  another  said,  "no,  we  have 
come  here  to  hold  a  missionary  service,  and  I  am  in  favor  of  holding 
it."  The  addresses  were  made,  and  at  the  close  of  the  meeting,  Mr. 
Duncan  offered  himself  as  a  missionary. 

When  he  announced  his  purpose  to  his  employers,   they  tried  to 

dissuade  him  from  going.     They  offered  to  increase  his  salary  to  one 

thousand  dollars,  and  give  him  a  certain  percentage  on  the  sales,  that 

would  have  made  him   a  wealthy  man.     But  he  would  not  be  turned 

22 


.338  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

aside.  He  gave  up  all,  and  after  some  time  at  the  missionary  train- 
ing school,  went  out,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  narrative,  to 
devote  his  whole  energies  to  the  cause. 

Upon  his  arrival  at  Fort  Simpson,  October  1st,  1857,  Mr.  Duncan, 
in  his  report,  says  :  "  I  found  located  here  nine  tribes  of  Tsimpsean 
Incfians,  numbering  by  actual  count  2,300  souls.  To  attempt  to 
describe  their  condition  would  be  but  to  produce  a  dark  and  revolting 
picture  of  human  depravity.  The  dark  mantle  of  superstition 
enveloped  them  all ;  and  their  savage  spirits,  swayed  by  pride, 
jealousy  and  revenge,  were  ever  hurrying  them  on  to  deeds  of  blood. 
Their  history  was  little  else  than  a  chapter  of  crime  and  misery. 
But  wor.se  was  to  come.  The  following  year  the  discovery  of  gold 
brought  in  a  rush  of  miners.  Fire-water  now  began  its  reign  of 
terror,  and  debauchery  its  work  of  desolation.  On  every  hand  were 
raving  drunkards  and  groaning  victims.  The  medicine-man's  rattle, 
and  the  voice  of  wailing  seldom  ceased." 

One  of  the  scenes  to  be  met  with,  Mr.  Duncan  depicts  as  follows  : 
"An  old  chief,  in  cold  blood,  ordered  a  slave  to  be  dragged  to  the 
beach,  murdered  and  thrown  into  the  water.  His  orders  were 
quickly  obeyed.  The  victim  was  a  poor  woman.  Two  or  three 
reasons  are  assigned  for  this  foul  act.  One  is  that  it  is  to  take  away 
the  disgrace  attached  to  his  daughter,  who  has  been  suffering  for 
some  time  with  a  ball  wound  in  her  arm.  Another  report  is  that  he 
does  not  expect  his  daughter  to  recover,  so  he  has  killed  this  slave  in 
order  that  she  may  prepare  for  the  coming  of  his  daughter  into  the 
unseen  world.  I  did  not  see  the  murder,  but  immediately  after  saw 
crowds  of  people  running  out  of  the  houses  near  to  where  the  corpse 
was  thrown  and  forming  themselves  into  groups  at  a  good  distance 
away,  from  fear  of  what  was  to  follow.  Presently  two  bands  of 
furious  wretches  appeared,  each  headed  by  a  man  in  a  state  of  nudity. 
They  gave  vent  to  the  most  unearthly  sounds ;  and  the  naked  men 
made  themselves  look  as  unearthly  as  possible,  proceeding  in  a  creep- 
ing kind  of  stoop,  and  stepping  like  two  proud  horses,  at  the  same 
time  shooting  forward  each  arm  alternately,  which  they  held  out  at 
full  length,  for  a  little  time,  in  the  most  defiant  manner.  Besides 
this,  the  continual  jerking  back  of  their  heads,  causing  their  long 
hair  to  twist  about,  added  much  to  their  savage  appearance.  For 
some  time  they  pretended  to  be  seeking  for  the  body,  and  the  instant 
they  came  where  it  lay,  they  commenced  screaming  and  rushing  about 
jt  like  so  many  angry  wolves.  Finally  they  seized  it,  dragged  it  out 
of  the  water,  and  laid  it  on  the  beach,  where  they  commenced  tearing 
it  to  pieces  with  their  teeth.  The  two  bands  of  men  immediately 
surrounded  them,  and  so  hid  their  horrid  work.  In  a  few  minutes 
the  crowd  broke  again,  when  each  of  the  naked  cannibals  appeared 
with  half  of  the  body  in  his  hands.  Separating  a  few  yards,  they 
commenced,  amid  horrid  yells,  their  still  more  horrid  feast  of  eating 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  339 

the  raw   dead  body.     The  two  bands  of  men  belonged  to  that  class 
called  '  medicine-men.' 

"  I  may  mention  that  each  party  has  some  characteristics  peculiar 
to  itself ;  but  in  a  more  general  sense  these  divisions  are  but  three, 
viz.,  those  who  eat  human  bodies,  the  dog-eaters,  and  those  who 
have  no  custom  of  the  kind.  Early  in  the  morning  the  pupils  would 
be  out  on  the  beach,  or  on  the  rocks,  in  a  state  of  nudity.  Each  had 
a  place  in  the  front  of  his  own  tribe  ;  nor  did  the  intense  cold  inter- 
fere in  the  slightest  degree.  After  the  poor  creature  had  crept  about, 
jerking  his  head  and  screaming  for  some  time,  a  party  of  men  would 
rush  out,  and  after  surrounding  him,  would  commence  singing.  The 
dog-eating  party  occasionally  carried  a  dead  dog  to  their  pupil,  who 
forthwith  commenced  to  tear  it  in  the  most  dog-like  manner.  The 
party  of  attendants  kept  up  a  low  growling  noise,  or  a  whoop  which 
was  seconded  by  a  screeching  noise  made  from  an  instrument,  which 
they  believe  to  be  the  abode  of  a  spirit. 

"  In  a  little  time  the  youth  would  start  up  again,  and  proceed  a  few 
more  yards  in  a  crouching  posture,  with  his  arms  pushed  out  behind 
him,  and  tossing  his  flowing  black  hair.  All  the  while  he  is  earnestly 
watched  by  the  group  about  him,  and  when  he  pleases  to  sit  down 
they  again  surround  him  and  commence  singing.  This  kind  of  thing 
goes  on,  with  several  different  additions,  for  some  time.  Before  the 
prodigy  finally  retires,  he  takes  a  run  into  every  house  belonging  to 
his  tribe,  and  is  followed  by  his  train.  When  this  is  done,  in  some 
cases  he  has  a  ramble  on  the  tops  of  the  same  houses,  during  which  he 
is  anxiously  watched  by  his  attendants,  as  if  they  expected  his  flight. 
By  and  by  he  condescends  to  come  down,  and  then  they  follow  him  to 
his  den,  which  is  marked  by  a  rope  make  of  red  bark,  being  hung  over 
the  doorway,  so  as  to  prevent  any  person  from  ignorantly  violating 
its  precincts.  None  are  allowed  to  enter  into  that  house  but  those 
connected  with  the  art ;  all  I  know,  therefore,  of  their  further  pro- 
ceedings is  that  they  keep  up  a  furious  hammering,  singing  and 
screeching  for  hours  during  the  day.  f 

"  Of  all  these  parties  none  are  so  much  dreaded  as  the  cannibals. 
One  morning  I  was  called  to  witness  a  stir  in  camp,  which  had  been 
caused  by  this  set.  When  I  reached  the  gallery,  I  saw  hundreds  of 
Tsimpseans  sitting  in  their  canoes,  which  they  had  just  pushed  away 
from  the  beach.  I  was  told  the  cannibal  party  were  in  search  of  a 
body  to  devour,  and  if  they  failed  to  find  a  dead  one,  it  was  probable 
they  would  seize  the  first  living  one  that  came  that  way  ;  so  that  all 
the  people  living  near  the  cannibals'  houses  had  taken  to  their  canoes 
to  escape  being  torn  to  pieces.  It  is  the  custom  among  these  Indians 
to  burn  their  dead ;  but  I  suppose,  for  these  occasions,  they  take  care 
to  deposit  a  corpse  somewhere  in  order  to  satisfy  these  inhuman 
wretches. 

"  These,  then,  are  some  of  the  things  and  scenes  which  occur 
during  the  winter  months,  while  the  nights  are  taken  up  with  amuse- 
.ments,  singing  and  dancing.  Occasionally  the  medicine  parties  invite 


340  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

people  to  their  several  houses,  and  exhibit  tricks  before  them  of 
various  kinds.  Some  of  the  actors  appear  as  bears,  while  others  wear 
masks,  the  parts  of  which  are  moved  by  strings.  The  great  feature  of 
their  proceedings  is  to  pretend  to  murder  and  then  to  restore  life. 
The  cannibal,  on  such  occasions,  is  generally  supplied  with  two,  three, 
or  four  human  bodies,  which  he  tears  to  pieces  before '  his  audience. 
Several  persons,  either  from  bravado,  or  as  a  charm,  present  their 
arms  for  him  to  bite.  I  have  seen  several  whom  he  had  thus  bitten, 
and  I  hear  two  have  died  from  the  effects." 

Such  were  the  people  Mr.  Duncan  had  to  deal  with — to  teach  and 
civilize.  He  opened  his  first  school  on  June  28th,  1858,  with  twenty- 
six  children,  in  the  house  of  a  chief.  The  interest  grew  so  rapidly, 
that  in  July  the  erection  of  a  school  building  was  commenced. 
Before  the  close  of  the  year  there  were  140  children  and  fifty 
adults  in  attendance. 

REGULATIONS  FOR  MET-LAH-KAT-LAH. — As  early  as  1859  the  question 
of  removal  was  discussed,  but  the  change  was  not  made  until  May, 
1862,  when  Mr.  Duncan  decided  on  establishing  a  village  on  the  old 
site  at  Met-lah-kat-lah,  with  the  following  regulations : 

"(1)  To  give  up  *  Ahlied  '  or  Indian  deviltry;  (2)  to  cease  calling 
in  conjurers  when  sick;  (3)  to  cease  gambling;  (4)  to  cease  giving 
away  their  property  for  display ;  (5)  to  cease  painting  their  faces ; 
(6)  to  cease  drinking  intoxicating  drink ;  (7)  to  rest  on  the  Sabbath  ; 
(8)  to  attend  religious  instruction  ;  (9)  to  send  their  children  to 
school ;  (10)  to  be  cleanly;  (11)  to  be  industrious;  (12)  to  be  peace- 
ful; (13)  to  be  liberal  and  honest  in  trade;  (14)  to  build  neat 
houses;  (15)  to  pay  the  village  tax." 

THE  REMOVAL  DESCRIBED. — Mr.  Duncan,  in  describing  the  removal, 
says:  "  The  Indians  came  out  of  their  lodges  and  sat  around  in  a  semi- 
circle, watching  the  proceedings.  They  knew  something  was  going  to 
happen,  but  they  did  not  know  what.  When  an  Indian  watches,  he 
sits  upon  the  ground,  brings  his  knees  up  to  his  chin,  wraps  his 
mantle  round  him,  puts  his  head  down,  and,  mute  and  motionless, 
looks,  at  a  distance,  like  a  stone.  They  were  thus  seated,  and  the 
question  was,  '  Will  anyone  stand  out  in  the  midst  of  the  scoffing 
heathen  and  declare  themselves  Christians  1' 

OLD  TIES  BROKEN. — "  First  there  came  two  or  three,  trembling, 
and  said  they  were  willing  to  go  anywhere.  Others  were  encouraged  ; 
and  on  that  day  fifty  stood  forth,  and  gathered  such  things  as  they 
needed,  put  them  into  their  canoes,  and  away  they  went.  On  that  day 
every  tie  was  broken  ;  children  were  separated  from  their  parents, 
husbands  from  wives,  brothers  from  sisters;  houses,  land  and  all 
things  were  left — such  was  the  power  at  work  in  their  minds.  They 
occupied  six  canoes  and  numbered  about  fifty  souls — men,  women 
and  children.  Many  Indians  were  seated  on  the  beach  watching  our 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  341 

departure  with  solemn  arid  anxious  faces,  and  some  promised  to  follow 
us  in  a  few  days. 

A  HAPPY  FAMILY.— "The  party  with  me,"  continues  Duncan, 
"seemed  filled  with  a  solemn  joy  as  we  pushed  off,  feeling  that  their 
long-looked-for-flit  had  actually  commenced.  I  felt  we  were  beginning 
an  eventful  page  in  the  history  of  this  poor  people,  and  earnestly 
sighed  to  God  for  His  help  and  blessing.  The  next  day,  28th  May, 
we  arrived  at  our  new  home.  The  Indians  I  had  sent  on  before,  with 
the  raft,  I  found  hard  at  work  clearing  ground  and  sawing  plank. 
They  had  carried  all  the  raft  up  from  the  beach  excepting  a  few 
heavy  beams ;  erected  two  temporary  houses,  and  had  planted  four 
bushels  of  potatoes  for  me.  Every  night  we  assembled,  a  happy 
family,  for  singing  and  prayer.  I  gave  an  address  on  each  occasion 
from  some  portion  of  scriptural  truth  suggested  to  me  by  the  events 
of  the  day.  On  the  6th  of  June  a  fleet  of  about  thirty  canoes  arrived 
from  Fort  Simpson.  They  formed  nearly  the  whole  of  one  tribe — 
called  Keetlahn — with  two  of  their  chiefs.  We  now  numbered  be- 
tween three  hundred  and  four  hundred  souls,  and  our  evening  meet- 
ings became  truly  delightful." 

BISHOP  HILLS  VISITED  MET-LAH-KAT-LAH. — In  April,  1863,  the 
Bishop  of  British  Columbia  visited  the  new  station,  and  baptized 
fifty-seven  adults  and  children.  He  writes  :  "It  was  my  office  to 
examine  the  candidates  for  baptism.  I  was  several  days  engaged  in 
the  work.  One  day  I  was  engaged  from  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning 
until  one  o'clock  at  night.  It  was  the  last  day  I  had,  and  they 
pressed  on  me  continually  to  be  examined.  Night  and  darkness 
came.  The  Indians  usually  go  to  bed  with  the  sun,  but  now  they 
turned  night  into  day  in  order  that  they  might  be  'fixed  in  God's 
ways,'  they  said. 

THE  LITTLE  OIL  LAMP. — "'Any  more  Indians'?'  I  kept  saying, 
as  eight  o'clock,  nine  o'clock,  ten  o'clock,  twelve  o'clock,  and  one 
o'clock  came,  and  there  were  always  more  Indians  wishing  to  be 
'  fixed  '  on  God's  side.  I  shall  never  forget  the  scene.  The  little  oil 
lamp  was  not  enough  to  dispel  the  gloom  or  darkness  of  the  room,  but 
its  light  was  sufficient  to  cast  a  reflection  on  the  countenance  of  each 
Indian  as  he  or  she  sat  before  me.  The  Indian  countenance  is  usually 
inexpressive  of  emotion  ;  but  now,  when  they  spoke  of  prayer  and 
trust  in  God  there  was  the  uplifted  eye  and  evident  fervor  ;  and  when 
they  spoke  of  their  sins  there  was  a  downcast  look — the  flush  came 
and  went  on  their  cheeks,  and  the  big  tear  frequently  coursed  from 
their  manly  eyes.  Their  whole  hearts  seemed  to  speak  out  of  their 
countenances. 


342  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

ONE  THOUSAND  PEOPLE. — "  The  settlement  grew  into  one  thousand 
people,  forming  the  healthiest  and  strongest  on  the  coast.  Rules 
were  laid  down  for  the  regulation  of  the  community,  to  which 
all  were  required  to  conform.  All  were  required  to  attend  church 
and  send  their  children  to  school.  Industrious  habits  were  encour- 
aged, and  the  people  educated  as  farmers,  blacksmiths,  carpenters, 
merchants,  etc.  They  built  good  cottages,  and  a  Gothic  church, 
modelled  after  the  old  English  cathedral,  capable  of  seating  one 
thousand  persons.  It  was  built  by  the  Indian  mechanics  of  the 
village.  The  average  winter  attendance  is  six  hundred  to  eight  hun- 
dred. They  erected  a  school  building  to  accommodate  seven  hun- 
dred pupils.  They  also  had  shops  and  a  storehouse,  saw  mill,  a 
salmon  cannery,  etc.,  all  owned  and  managed  by  the  Indians,  while 
all  around  the  bay  were  well  cultivated  gardens  and  potato  patches. 
The  main  street  of  the  village,  along  the  beach,  was  lighted  with 
street  lamps.  Five  hundred  and  seventy-nine  adults  had  been  bap- 
tized at  this  mission  ;  410  infant  baptisms  ;  243  deaths  among  the 
Christian  portion  of  the  people  ;  137  Christian  marriages,  indepen- 
dent of  those  who  were  found  married  according  to  their  tribal  cus- 
toms. A  large  number  of 'catechumens '  were  under  instruction  as 
candidates  for  church  membership. 

BAND  OF  TWENTY-FOUR  INSTRUMENTS. — "The  population  is  divided 
into  ten  companies  or  wards,  each  having  its  elder  to  look  after  its 
religious  services,  its  chief  as  leader  in  social  gatherings,  and  one  or 
two  constables.  The  village  had  a  brass  band  of  twenty-four 
instruments,  a  public  reading-room,  and  public  guest-house  for  the 
lodging  of  strange  Indians.  Fifty  dwellings  (two-stories)  were  in 
process  of  erection  at  the  time  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jackson's  visit  in  1879. 
The  mission  force  then  was  Mr.  Wm.  Duncan,  Superintendent ;  Rev. 
W.  H.  Collison  and  wife,  and  David  Leask,  native  assistant.  Dr. 
Jackson  states :  "  These  Indians  are  a  happy,  industrious,  prosperous 
community  of  former  savages,  saved  by  the  grace  of  God.  This  i& 
the  oldest  and  most  successful  Indian  mission  on  the  coast,  and 
illustrates  what  one  consecrated  man,  by  the  Divine  help,  can 
accomplish." 

INDIAN  DANCE  HOUSE  SECURED. — Rev.  W.  H.  Collison  established 
a  mission  at  Massett,  on  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  amongst  the 
Hydahs,  in  1876.  A  large  Indian  dance  house  was  secured  for  the 
mission.  A  morning  school  for  women  and  children,  and  an  evening 
one  for  men,  were  opened.  In  1878,  the  average  attendance  at  the 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  343 

morning  school  was  about  fifty.  At  the  Sabbath  services  the  attend- 
ance was  from  three  hundred  to  four  hundred.  Thirty  "  catechu- 
mens "  were  under  instruction  for  church  membership,  four  of  those 
being  principal  chiefs.  One  of  the  chiefs,  "  Cow-hoe,"  was  under 
special  instruction  for  a  teacher.  Mr.  Collison  and  wife  being  required 
at  the  head  mission,  Met-lah-kat-lah,  Rev.  George  Sneath,  formerly 
of  the  Central  African  Mission,  replaced  them  at  Massett.  Shortly 
before  leaving  Massett,  Mr.  Collison  wrote  : 

"  One  of  the  principal  chiefs  died  a  short  time  since.  I  visited 
him  during  his  illness,  and  held  service  in  his  house  weekly,  for  the 
five  weeks  preceding  his  death.  On  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which 
he  died  I  visited  him,  and  found  him  surrounded  by  the  men  of  his 
tribe  and  the  principal  medicine-man,  who  kept  up  his  charms  and 
incantations  to  the  last.  He  was  sitting  up  and  appeared  glad  to  see 
me,  and  in  answer  to  my  inquiries  he  informed  me  he  was  very  low, 
indeed,  and  his  heart  weak.  .  .  .  His  death  was  announced 
by  the  tiring  of  several  cannon  which  they  have  in  the  village.  On 
my  entering  the  house,  the  scene  which  presented  itself  was  indescrib- 
able. Shrieking,  dancing,  tearing  and  burning  their  hair  in  the  tire; 
while  the  father  of  the  deceased,  who  had  been  pulled  out  of  the  tire, 
rushed  to  it  again  and  threw  himself  upon  it.  He  was  with  difficulty 
removed,  and  I  directed  two  men  to  hold  him  while  I  endeavored  to 
calm  the  tumult. 

"  I  was  very  much  shocked  to  find  that  a  young  man,  a  slave,  had 
been  accused  by  the  medicine-man,  as  having  bewitched  the  chief  and 
induced  his  sickness.  In  consequence  of  this  he  had  been  stripped  and 
bound  hand  and  foot  in  an  old  outhouse,  and  thus  kept  for  some  days 
without  food.  I  only  learned  this  about  one  hour  before  the  death  of 
the  chief,  and  it  was  well  I  heard  it  even  then,  as  it  was  determined  the 
young  man  should  be  shot,  and  one  of  the  relatives  of  the  chief  was 
ready  with  his  gun  to  carry  out  the  threat.  'I  lost  no  time  in  calling 
the  chiefs  and  friends  of  the  deceased,  and  showed  them  the  wicked- 
ness and  sinf ulness  of  such  proceedings.  They  accepted  my  advice. 
The  young  man  was  unbound.  He  came  to  the  mission  to  have  his 
wounds  dressed  ;  his  wrists  were  swollen  to  an  immense  size,  and  his 
back,  from  hip  to  shoulder,  lacerated  and  burned  to  the  bone  by 
torches  of  pitch-pine. 

"  The  dead  chief  was  laid  out,  and  all  those  of  his  crest,  or  totem, 
came  from  the  opposite  village,  bringing  a  large  quantity  of  swan 
down,  which  they  scattered  over  and  around  the  corpse.  At  my 
suggestion,  they  departed  from  the  usual  custom  of  dressing  and 
painting  the  dead,  and  instead  of  placing  the  corpse  in  a  sitting 
posture,  they  consented  to  place  it  on  the  back.  The  remains  were 
decently  interred.  I  gave  an  address  and  prayed.  Thus  their 
custom  of  placing  the  dead  in  hollowed  trees,  carved  and  erected  near 
the  house,  has  been  broken  through  ;  and  since  this  occurred,  many  of 


344  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

the  remains  which  had  been  thus  placed,  have  been  removed  and 
buried.  Dancing,  which  was  carried  on  every  night,  without  inter- 
mission, during  our  first  winter  on  the  islands,  has  been  greatly 
checked.  Several,  including  two  of  the  chiefs,  have  given  it  up 
entirely.  The  medicine-men  have  informed  them  that  those  who  give 
up  dancing  will  die  soon.  They  are  well  aware  that  the  abandonment 
of  this  practice  will  weaken  their  influence,  and  hence  their 
opposition." 

ALERT  BAY  MISSION. — A  chief  from  the  northern  end  of  Vancouver 
Island  had  visited  Met-lah-kat-lah,  and  was  so  favorably  impressed 
with  the  progress  the  people  had  made  there,  that  he  requested  a  teacher 
for  his  tribe.  He  said  :  "A  rope  had  been  thrown  out  from  Met-lah- 
kat-lah  which  was  encircling  and  drawing  together  all  the  Indian 
tribes  into  one  common  brotherhood."  In  1878,  Rev.  A.  J.  Hall 
opened  a  school  and  established  a  mission  at  Alert  Bay.  They 
were  at  that  time  given  to  deadly  feuds,  dog-feasts,  slave-catching 
expeditions  and  infanticide.  He  wrote: 

"The  medicine-men  still  exercise  much  power.  Passing  a  house 
he  heard  strange  noises.  A  medicine-woman  was  blowing  on  the 
breast  of  a  sick  woman,  and  occasionally  making  a  peculiar  howl. 
For  the  blowing  she  was  paid  two  blankets.  A  famous  doctor  was 
recently  sent  for  from  a  neighboring  village.  Mr.  Hall  heard  him 
blowing  in  the  same  way  as  the  medicine-woman.  For  his  visit  he 
received  thirty  blankets.  These  people,"  said  Mr.  Hall,  "are  divided 
into  clans,  and  each  clan  when  dancing  imitates  an  animal.  The 
children  follow  their  fathers  and  grandfathers  in  the  same  dance, 
year  by  year.  One  party,  when  they  perform,  are  hung  up  with 
hooks  in  a  triangular  frame,  one  hook  being  stuck  into  the  back  and 
two  more  into  the  legs;  suspended  in  this  way  they  are  carried 
through  the  village.  Another  clan  have  large  fish-hooks  put  into 
their  flesh  to  which  lines  are  attached.  The  victim  struggles  to  get 
away,  and  those  who  hold  the  lines  haul  him  back  ;  eventually  his 
flesh  is  torn  and  he  escapes.  By  suffering  in  this  way  they  keep  up 
the  dignity  of  their  ancestors  and  are  renowned  for  their  bravery." 

The  Church  Missionary  Society  were  so  much  encouraged  by  the 
progress  of  the  missions  that  they  erected  them  into  a  bishopric  called 
Caledonia. 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  345 


CHAPTEK  XIX. 


JOURNEY  ALONG  THE  THOMPSON  AND  OTHER  RIVERS. 

MAYNE'S  REPORT,  ETC. — Extensive  surveys  were  made  by  the  Royal 
Engineers  in  1859.  Lieutenant  (afterwards  Commander)  Richard 
Mayne,  of  her  Majesty's  surveying  ship  Plumper,  made  an  overland 
journey  across  the  districts  bordering  on  the  Thompson,  Eraser,  and 
Harrison  rivers.  "The  report,"  says  Governor  Douglas,  in  trans- 
mitting it  to  Lord  Lytton,  "contains  much  interesting  topographical 
information,  and  is  accompanied  by  a  valuable  explanatory  map  of  the 
places  described."  Lieutenant  H.  Spencer  Palmer,  of  the  Royal 
Engineers,  made  an  exploratory  trip  to  the  Upper  Eraser,  a  report  of 
which  Colonel  Moody  transmitted  to  Governor  Douglas,  along  with 
sketch  maps  of  the  country.  Lieutenant  Palmer  subsequently  made 
a  reconnaissance  examination  of  the  country  from  Fort  Hope  to 
Colville,  and  reported  on  the  same.  He  took  astronomical  observations 
along  the  route,  and  furnished  a  sketch  map,  which  was  incorporated 
with  former  sketch  plans,  into  a  general  map,  showing  the  course  of 
the  rivers  and  position  of  towns  from  New  Westminster,  Kamloops, 
and  Colville. 

FORT  KAMLOOPS. — The  following  is  a  portion  of  Commander  Mayne's 
report  :  "  It  was  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  we  came  in  sight 
of  Kamloops.  The  view  from  where  we  stood  was  very  beautiful.  A 
hundred  feet  below  us  the  Thompson,  some  three  hundred  yards  wide, 
flowed  leisurely  past  us.  Opposite,  moving  directly  towards  us,  and 
meeting  the  larger  river  nearly  at  right  angles  was  the  North  River,  at 
its  junction  with  the  Thompson  wider  even  than  that  stream,  and 
between  them  stretched  a  wide  delta  or  alluvial  plain,  which  was 
continued  some  eight  or  ten  miles  until  the  mountains  closed  in 
upon  the  river  so  nearly  as  only  just  to  leave  a  narrow  pathway  by 
the  water's  edge.  At  this  fork  and  on  the  west  side  stood  Fort 
Kamloops,  enclosed  within  pickets ;  and  opposite  it  was  the  village 
of  the  Shuswap  Indians.  Both  the  plain  and  mountains  were  covered 
with  grass  and  early  spring  wild  flowers. 


346  HISTOKY   OF   BKITISH   COLUMBIA. 

"We  descended  to  the  river  side,  and  our  Indian  companions 
shouted  until  a  canoe  was  sent  across,  in  which  we  embarked  and 
paddled  across  to  the  fort.  Kamloops  differed  in  no  respect  from 
other  forts  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  that  I  had  seen,  being  a 
mere  stockade  enclosing  six  or  eight  buildings,  with  a  gateway  at  each 
end.  Introducing  ourselves  to  Mr.  McLean,  the  Company's  officer  in 
charge  of  the  fort  and  district,  we  were  most  cordially  received,  and 
with  the  hospitality  common  to  these  gentlemen,  invited  to  stay  in 
his  quarters  for  the  few  days  we  must  remain  here.  At  this  time  the 
only  other  officer  at  the  fort  was  Mr.  Manson.  With  them,  however, 
was  staying  a  Roman  Catholic  priest,  who,  having  got  into  some 
trouble  with  the  Indians  of  the  Okanagan  country,  had  thought  it 
prudent  to  leave  that  district  and  take  up  his  abode  for  a  time  at 
Kamloops. 

How  THE  OFFICERS  LIVE. — "The  life  which  these  gentlemen  lead  at 
their  inland  stations  must  necessarily  be  dull  and  uneventful ;  but 
they  have  their  wives  and  families  with  them,  and  grow,  I  believe  so 
attached  to  this  mode  of  existence  as  rarely  to  care  to  exchange  it  for 
another.  It  may  be  well  to  describe  here  in  as  few  words  as  possible, 
the  position  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  in  these  districts,  of  which 
until  lately  they  formed  the  sole  white  population.  Those  who  have 
seen  the  '  fur  traders '  only  at  their  sea-ports,  can  form  but  a  very 
inadequate  idea  of  the  men  of  the  inland  stations. 

THEIR  CHARACTER. — "  Inland,  you  find  men  who,  having  gone 
from  England  or  more  frequently  Scotland,  as  boys  of  fourteen  and 
sixteen,  have  lived  ever  since  in  the  wilds,  never  seeing  any  of  their 
white  fellow-creatures  but  the  two  or  three  stationed  with  them, 
except  when  the  annual  '  Fur  Brigade  '  called  at  their  posts.  They 
are  almost  all  married  and  have  large  families,  their  wives  being 
generally  half-breed  children  of  the  older  servants  of  the  Company. 
Marriage  has  always  been  encouraged  amongst  them  to  the  utmost,  as 
it  effectually  attaches  a  man  to  the  country,  and  tends  to  prevent  any 
glaring  immoralities  among  the  subordinates,  which  if  not  checked 
would  soon  *lead  to  an  unsafe  familiarity  with  the  neighboring 
Indians,  and  render  the  maintenance  of  the  post  very  difficult,  if  not 
impossible. 

VISIT  TO  A  SHUSWAP  CHIEF. — "The  day  after  our  arrival  at  Kam- 
loops we  went  across  North  River  to  the  Indian  village,  to  pay  a  visit 
to  the  chief  of  the  Shuswap  tribe,  who  was  described  to  us  as  being 
somewhat  of  a  notability.  Here  was  the  site  of  the  old  fort  of  the 


THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  347 

North- West  Company  which  some  twelve  years  back,  after  the 
murder  of  Mr.  Black  (the  officer  in  charge  of  it)  by  the  Indians,  had 
been  removed  by  his  successor  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  No 
doubt  the  old  site  was  preferable  to  the  new,  which  is  subject  to 
summer  floods.  Only  the  year  before  our  visit,  indeed,  all  the  floors 
had  been  started  by  the  water,  and  the  occupants  of  the  fort  buildings 
had  to  move  about  in  canoes. 

THE  VILLAGES. — "The  interior  of  the  hut  is  divided  into  compart- 
ments, and,  upon  entering,  you  may  see  a  fire  burning  in  each,  with 
six  or  eight  individuals  huddled  about  it — their  dusky  forms  scarcely 
distinguishable  in  the  cloud  of  white,  blinding  smoke,  which  has  no 
other  outlet  than  the  door,  or  sometimes  a  hole  in  the  roof.  Their 
temporary  hut  is  constructed  of  thin  poles,  covered  with  mats,  but 
these  are  generally  used  only  in  the  summer,  and  upon  their  fishing- 
expeditions  and  travels.  It  is  not  unusual,  however,  for  the  Indian 
to  have  a  permanent  residence  in  two  or  three  villages,  in  which  case 
he  usually  makes  one  set  of  planks  useful  for  all,  carrying  them  with 
him  from  place  to  place,  and  leaving  only  the  upright  posts  and 
beams  stationary.  They  have  been  known,  however,  from  some 
superstitious  reason,  or  because  of  sickness  breaking  out,  to  leave 
their  villages  with  everything  standing,  and  never  to  return  to 
them." 

WALTER  MOBEBLY,  C.E.,  arrived  in  British  Columbia,  from  Toronto, 
in  1859.  Sir  George  Simpson  had  furnished  him  with  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  Governor  Douglas.  Mr.  Moberly  mentions,  in  a  small 
volume  which  he  published  and  dedicated  to  Major-General  Richard 
Clement  Moody,  that  he  was  kindly  received  by  the  governor,  and 
was  offered  an  appointment  in  the  government  service,  but  that  after 
having  the  duties  explained,  declined  the  offer.  In  the  evening  he 
dined  at  the  governor's  residence,  and  was  introduced  to  Judge 
Begbie,  Mr.  Dallas,  Dr.  Helmcken,  Mr.  Donald  Fraser  and  others, 
He  remarks  the  pleasure  he  has  in  recalling  that  evening  to  memory, 
as  one  of  the  most  enjoyable  he  ever  spent ;  "  and  the  vast  amount  of 
information  given  by  Sir  James  about  British  Columbia  and  the  Pacific 
was  afterwards  invaluable.  From  that  time,"  he  adds,  "until  the 
day  of  his  death,  I  found  Sir  James  always  a  kind  and  hospitable 
friend,  and  it  is  now  matter  of  history  that  he  was  an  able  and 
honorable  governor." 

MEETS  WITH  HARDSHIPS. — Mr.  Moberly  next  proceeded  to  Fort 
Langley  via  Fort  Yale  to  Port  Douglas,  and  formed  a  mining  company 


348  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

at  Lillooet.  The  "  mining  company  "  operated  as  long  as  provisions 
could  be  obtained  and  then  were  obliged  to  retreat  down  Fraser 
River.  His  companions  went  to  Lytton.  He  took  the  Harrison- 
Lillooet  trail  without  any  provisions.  He  says  :  "  That  was  indeed 
a  hungry  day.  In  the  afternoon,  when  walking  along  a  high  *  bench  ' 
of  the  river,  I  saw  smoke  rising  from  the  river  bottom,  and  soon 
caught  sight  of  a  camp  with  a  newly -slaughtered  animal  hanging  on 
a  neighboring  tree.  I  slid  and  scrambled  down  the  steep  bank,  and 
made  a  rush  for  the  carcass,  from  which  I  cut  a  good  slice,  and  coming 
to  the  fire,  much  to  the  amusement  of  the  men  sitting  there,  told 
them  I  was  starving  and  bound  to  have  a  meal,  but  could  not  pay  for 
it.  They  brought  out  a  pan  of  fried  bacon  and  beans,  a  pot  of  coffee 
and  some  '  slap-jacks,'  all  of  which  I  devoured  with  my  slice  of  meat. 
They  then  produced  some  tobacco,  and  I  felt  happy." 

RETURN  TRIP  AND  POOR  LUCK. — Resuming  his  journey,  Mr. 
Moberly  got  a  job  at  the  end  of  the  trail,  unloading  a  scow  of  pro- 
visions, at  $2.50  per  day  and  breakfast  included.  The  day's  work 
was  finished  and  the  wages  paid,  with  a  little  tobacco  as  bonus.  At 
the  little  cabin  in  which  they  slept,  Moberly  was  cleaning  his  revol- 
ver, and  relates  that  "  a  man  with  a  huge  red  beard  and  dressed  in  a 
large  canvas  overshirt  came  along,  and  eyeing  my  revolver,  said,  '  Cap, 
what  sort  of  shooting  iron  is  that?'  He  pulled  out  a  Colt's  navy 
revolver  and  said  he  would  shoot  a  match  with  me  for  $2.50  a  shot. 
I  thought  of  my  solitary  $2.50  I  had  made,  and  concluded  to  accept 
the  challenge.  We  accordingly  made  a  mark  on  a  tree,  tossed  up  for 
first  turn,  which  he  won,  and  when  he  fired  made  a  very  bad  shot.  I 
won  some  five  or  six  in  succession,  and  when  I  had  made  enough  to 
pay  my  way  down,  I  thought  it  time  to  stop ;  besides,  I  was  afraid  he 
might  not  pay  me,  so  I  suggested  the  advisability  of  our  stopping,  to 
which  he  agreed,  saying  I  could  beat  him.  He  then  asked  me  to 
oome  with  him  to  the  little  groggery  he  was  staying  at,  and  have 
a  drink,  I  wondering  if  he  would  pay  me.  After  the  drink,  he  pulled 
out  a  long  bag  of  gold  dust,  and  told  the  man  to  weigh  out  for  me 
$75  ;  to  take  the  price  of  the  drinks  and  let  him  have  a  bottle  of 
whiskey,  the  charge  for  which  was  $16.  I  got  some  crackers  and 
sardines.  This  fortunate  wind-fall  enabled  me  to  reach  Fort  Langley 
in  a  few  days,  when  I  returned  to  Victoria  rather  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  to  do  next." 

INTRODUCED  TO  COL.  MOODY. — On  reaching  Victoria  Mr.  Moberly 
at  once  called  on  Governor  Douglas,  and  in  the  ante-room  of  his  office 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD. 

met  Judge  Begbie,  who  introduced  him  to  a  gentleman  just  recently 
arrived — Col.  R.  C.  Moody — who,  after  a  short  conversation,  invited 
Moberly  to  call  on  him  at  his  quarters.  After  a  lengthy  interview 
with  the  governor,  during  which  Mr.  Moberly  gave  him  particulars 
of  the  mining  regions  he  had  visited,  he  visited  Col.  Moody  and 
received  an  appointment  under  him.  After  being  a  short  time  at 
Langley,  he  took  an  active  part  in  surveying  the  new  capital  of 
British  Columbia — New  Westminster,  then  Queensborough.  Shortly 
after  the  sale  of  lots  in  New  Westminster,  Mr.  Moberly,  in  company 
with  Robert  Burnaby,  formerly  private  secretary  to  Col.  Moody,  went 
to  Sqtiamish  River  at  the  junction  of  the  Jeakness  River  with  the 
Squamish,  where  there  was  then  a  settlement  of  about  two  thousand 
Indians.  They  expected  to  find  gold  and  coal,  but  not  having  proper 
machinery  for  coal  prospecting,  gave  up  the  search  and  returned  to 
New  Westminster. 

MADE  EXTENSIVE  SURVEYS. — In  1860,  he  surveyed  the  south  side  of 
English  Bay,  Burrard  Inlet,  and  both  sides  of  Port  Moody,  and  soon 
afterwards  entered  into  a  contract  along  with  Mr.  E.  Dewdney  as 
partner,  to  build  a  trail  or  road  from  Fort  Hope  on  the  Eraser  to  the 
Smilkameen  river,  east  side  of  the  Cascade  range  of  mountains. 
This  road  was  to  connect  with  the  latter  river,  where  gold  of  a  very 
fine  quality  had  been  discovered.  Whilst  on  the  survey  of  that  road 
he  relates  that  the  landlord  of  a  place  a  few  miles  from  the  camp 
invited  him  to  make  a  visit.  A  short  time  before  Moberly  had  made 
the  landlord  a  present  of  a  small  quantity  of  rum.  He  complied  with 
the  invitation  to  make  the  visit  and  stayed  over  night.  Asking  for 
his  bill  next  morning  he  found  on  the  slate — meals  $2.50  each, 
drinks  50  cents  each,  fresh  eggs  $1  a  piece,  and  75  cents  per  pound 
for  barley  for  his  horse.  Moberly  paid  the  bill,  jumped  on  his  horse, 
vowing  it  would  be  some  time  before  he  accepted  another  such  invita- 
tion or  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  fresh  eggs. 

PARTNER  WITH  MR.  DEWDNEY. — In  reference  to  the  contract 
entered  into  by  Mr.  Dewdney,  a  proclamation  was  issued  by 
Governor  Douglas,  dated  20th  August,  1860,  which  sets  forth  that  an 
Indenture  was  made,  dated  17th  of  the  present  month,  "between 
Richard  Clement  Moody,  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works 
in  British  Columbia,  and  Edgar  Dewdney  of  New  Westminster,  for 
the  construction  of  a  certain  trail  or  road  for  £76  ($380)  per  mile,  to 
be  paid  in  such  proportion  as  the  Chief  Commissioner  shall  deter- 
mine, of  which  $5,000  will  be  paid  in  cash,  and  the  remainder  by 


350  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

means  of  treasury  bonds,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent, 
per  annum;  of  which  bonds  $4,000  are  to  be  redeemed  31st  December, 
1860;  $5,000  on  31st  December,  1861,  and  the  remainder  31st 
December,  1862, — provided  that  one-fifth  of  the  value  of  the  works 
executed  shall  be  retained  until  three  months  after  the  date  of  com- 
pletion and  acceptance  of  the  whole  by  the  said  chief  commissioner 
or  his  agent." 

PROCLAMATION. — "Now  therefore,  I,  James  Douglas,  do  hereby 
declare,  proclaim  and  enact  as  follows:  (1)  On  the  production  of 
any  certificate  of  the  said  chief  commissioner,  stating  his  approval  of 
any  portion  of  the  said  works  as  determined  by  him,  and  the  price  of 
such  proportion  according  to  the  said  recited  agreement,  there  may  be 
delivered,  from  time  to  time,  by  the  Treasurer  of  British  Columbia, 
to  the  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works  for  the  time  being, 
such  a  number  of  Treasury  bonds,  in  the  form  set  forth  in  the  schedule 
hereunto,  each  bond  being  for  the  amount  of  £50,  and  bearing  interest 
at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent,  per  annum,  from  the  date  thereof,  as  shall 
in  the  aggregate  amount  to  four-fifths  of  the  price  of  the  whole  pro- 
portion specified  in  such  certificate. 

"  (2)  At  the  expiration  of  three  calendar  months  from  the  comple- 
tion of  the  said  works,  certified  and  accepted  as  aforesaid,  and  on  the 
production  of  a  certificate  of  approval  and  acceptance  thereof,  signed' 
by  the  said  commissioner,  and  stating  the  entire  length  of  the  whole  of 
the  said  t>rail  or  road  and  works,  and  the  entire  price  thereof  may  be 
delivered  by  the  said  treasurer  to  the  said  Edgar  Dewdney,  his  executors, 
administrators  or  assigns  ;  such  an  additional  number  of  the  like 
bonds  as  shall  with  those  already  delivered  under  clause  1,  make  up 
the  full  price  of  £76  per  mile,  on  the  entire  length  so  certified  to  be 
approved  and  certified. 

"  (3)  All  the  said  bonds  shall  be  numbered  in  a  regular  series, 
according  to  the  natural  numbers,  beginning  with  No.  1,  according  to 
the  order  in  which  the  same  shall  be  issued. 

"(4)  The  bonds  numbered  one  to  sixteen,  both  inclusive,  shall  be 
payable  by  the  treasurer,  with  interest,  in  cash,  on  31st  December, 
1860.  The  bonds  numbered  seventeen  to  thirty-six,  both  inclusive, 
shall  be  payable  by  the  treasurer,  with  interest,  in  cash,  on  31st 
December,  1861.  The  remainder  of  the  said  bonds  shall  be  payable, 
in  cash,  on  31st  December,  1862.  All  of  the  said  bonds  shall  be  dated 
as  of  the  days  on  which  they  shall  respectively  be  issued. 

"  (5)  The  treasurer,  for  the  time  being,  of  the  colony  is  hereby 
ordered  and  directed  to  pay  the  amount  of  every  such  bond,  and 
interest,  out  of  any  moneys  belonging  to  the  colony,  in  his  hands  at 
the  time  when  such  bond  shall  be  presented  to  him  for  payment, 
according  to  the  tenor  thereof. 

"  (6)  The  schedule  hereto  shall  be  deemed  to  be  part  of  the  pro- 
clamation. 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  351 

"  (7)  This  proclamation  may  be  cited  'TheSmilkameen  Road  Bond 
Act,  I860.7 

"Issued,  etc.,  at  Victoria,  Y.I.,  this  20th  day  of  August,  1860, 
and  Twenty-fourth  year  of  her  Majesty's  reign. 

"JAMES  DOUGLAS. 


"  SCHEDULE—  Treasury  Bond—  Proclamation  ......  _____  I860. 

"  Smilkameen  Road  ......  No  ......       £50  ____  day  of  ....  186 

"Payable  31st  December,  186    . 

"  The  Government  of  British  Columbia  is  hereby  bound  to  pay  the 
bearer  hereof,  on  the  31st  December,  186  ,  at  Treasury  of  British 
Columbia,  the  sum  of  £50,  together  with  interest  thereon  from  the 
date  hereof,  after  the  rate  of  six  per  cent,  per  annum. 

................  Treasurer. 

"  By  order  of  his  Excellency  the  Governor. 

"  ................  Colonial  Secretary."  [L.S.] 

THE  CARIBOO  ROAD  AND  THE  ROYAL  ENGINEERS.  —  When  Governor 
Douglas  visited  the  gold  mines  in  1861,  he  went  by  way  of  Kamloops 
and  Okanagan  Lake  to  Rock  Creek,  returning  by  way  of  the  trail 
under  contract  by  Messrs.  Dewdney  and  Moberly,  which  was  then 
almost  completed.  It  was  arranged  that  the  westerly  portion  of  the 
road  should  be  constructed  by  a  detachment  of  the  Royal  Engineers 
under  Captain  Grant.  The  waggon  road  from  Port  Douglas  to 
Lillooet  had  been  constructed  chiefly  under  the  superintendence  of 
Mr.  J.  W.  Trutch.  In  1862  it  was  arranged  that  the  Government  of 
British  Columbia,  with  the  Royal  Engineers  and  a  force  of  civilians 
should  build  that  portion  of  the  Cariboo  road  from  Yale  to  the  head 
of  navigation  on  the  Eraser,  to  Chapman's  Bar;  Mr.  Trutch,  the 
next  section,  by  contract,  to  Boston  Bar;  Mr.  Spence,  from  Boston 
Bar  to  Lytton  ;  and  Mr.  Moberly  and  two  partners,  from  Lytton  to 
Clinton,  under  a  charter  contract  ;  the  payments  to  be  partly  in  money 
and  partly  in  tolls.  After  many  mishaps,  and  changes,  and  delays, 
the  great  waggon  road  was  eventually  completed  and  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  Government,  who  levied  a  toll  to  repay  the  heavy  outlay 
incurred. 


352  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEK  XX. 


A  RESIDENT  GOVERNOR  ASKED  FOR. 

A  REPRESENTATIVE  ASSEMBLY  WANTED. — In  April,  1861,  a  memo- 
rial was  presented  to  Governor  Douglas  by  J.  A.  Homer  and  seven 
others,  professedly  delegates  from  Hope,  Douglas  and  New  West- 
minster, advocating  that  a  representative  Assembly  should  be  granted 
to  the  colony  of  British  Columbia.  In  a  despatch  dated  April  22nd, 
a  copy  of  the  memorial  referred  to  was  forwarded  to  the  Secretary  of 
State.  After  four  short  introductory  paragraphs,  the  governor  states  : 
"(5)  The  delegates  sought  an  interview  with  him  ;  but  he  declined 
receiving  them  as  the  representatives  of  the  inhabitants  of  British 
Columbia,  but  had  no  hesitation  in  meeting  them  with  all  courtesy 
as  a  delegation  of  her  Majesty's  subjects  who  had  assembled  at  the 
places  mentioned  for  the  purpose  of  petitioning  the  Crown."  (6)  They 
did  not  favor  him  with  their  opinion  upon  public  affairs,  but  the 
governor  states  :  "  Judging  from  their  printed  reflection  upon  the 
whole  system  of  import  and  inland  duties  levied  on  goods  in  Britisty 
Columbia,  which  the  memorial  regards  as  oppressive  to  the  people — 
the  one  financial  idea  evolved  is,  that  there  should  be  a  general 
reduction  of  taxation.  They  do  not  pretend  to  proportion  expenses 
to  income,  but  propose  to  carry  on  the  public  works  requisite  for  the 
development  of  the  country,  by  means  of  public  loans :  their  object 
being  to  obtain  present  exemption  from  taxation,  by  throwing  a  part 
of  the  current  expenditure  upon  the  future  inhabitants  of  the  colony — 
a  measure  which  is  not  without  a  share  of  justice,  and  has,  there- 
fore, many  zealous  advocates."  (7)  Having  given  those  preliminary 
remarks,  the  governor  proceeded  to  review  the  memorial,  and  following 
up  the  various  subjects  fully,  said  : 

THE  GOVERNOR  PROCEEDED  TO  REVIEW. — "  8.  The  first  prayer  of 
the  inhabitants  is  for  a  resident  governor  in  British  Columbia,  entirely 
unconnected  with  Vancouver  Island.  Your  Grace  will,  perhaps, 
pardon  me  from  hazarding  an  opinion  on  a  subject  which  so  nearly 
concerns  my  own  official  position.  I  may,  however,  at  least  remark, 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  353 

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.  The  memorial  then  proceeds  to  the 
subject  of  Representative  Institutions,  asking  for  a  form  of  govern- 
ment similar  to  that  existing  in  Australia  and  the  eastern  British 
North  American  Provinces.  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  population.  Without  pre- 
tending to  question  the  talent  or  experience  of  the  petitioners,  or 
their  capacity  for  legislation  and  self-government,  I  am  decidedly  of 
opinion,  that  there  is  not  as  yet,  a  sufficient  basis  of  population  or 
property  in  the  colony  to  institute  a  sound  system  of  self-government. 
The  British  element  is  small>  and  there  is  absolutely  neither  a  manu- 
facturing nor  farmer  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  obtain  their 
supplies.  It  would,  I  conceive,  be  unwise  to  commit  the  work  of 
legislation  to  persons  so  situated,  having  nothing  at  stake,  and  no 
real  vested  interest  in  the  colony.  Such  a  course,  it  is  hardly  unfair 
to  say,  could  be  scarcely  expected  to  promote  either  the  happiness  of 
the  people  or  the  prosperity  of  the  colony  ;  and  it  would  unques- 
tionably be  setting  up  a  power  that  might  materially  hinder  and 
embarrass  the  Government  in  the  great  work  of  developing  the 
resources  of  this  country  :  a  power  not  representing  large  bodies  of 
landed  proprietors,  nor  of  responsible  settlers  having  their  homes, 
their  property,  their  sympathies,  their  dearest  interest  irrevocably 
identified  with  the  country ;  but  from  the  fact  before  stated,  of  there 
being  no  fixed  population,  except  in  the  towns.  Judging  from  the 
ordinary  motives  which  influence  men,  it  may  be  assumed  that  local 
interests  would  weigh  more  with  a  legislature  so  formed,  than  the 
advancement  of  the  great  and  permanent  interests  of  the  country. 

"  9.  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  memorial  does  not  express 
the  sentiments  of  the  great  body  of  the  people  of  British  Columbia ; 
not  that  I  would,  for  a  moment,  assume  that  Englishmen  are,  under 
any  circumstances,  unmindful  of  their  political  birthright,  but  I 
believe  that  the  majority  of  the  working  and  reflective  classes  would, 
for  many  reasons,  infinitely  prefer  the  government  of  the  Queen,  as 
now  established,  to  the  rule  of  a  party,  and  would  think  it  prudent 
to  postpone  the  establishment  of  representative  institutions  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. 

"10.  The   total    population   of    British    Columbia   and  from    the 
colonies  in  North  America,  in  the  three  towns  supposed  to  be  repre- 
sented by  the  memorialists,  is  as  follows:    New  Westminster,   164 
23 


354  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

male  adults;  Hope,  108  adults;  Douglas,  33  adults:  in  all,  305; 
which,  supposing  all  perfect  in  their  views  respecting  representative 
institutions,  is  a  mere  fraction  of  the  population.  Neither  the  people 
of  Yale,  Lytton,  or  Cayoosh,  Rock  Creek,  Alexandria,  or  Similkameen 
appear  to  have  taken  any  interest  in  the  proceeding  or  to  have  joined 
the  movement. 

"11.  From  the  satisfactory  working  of  the  New  Westminster 
Council,  established  last  summer,  with  large  powers  for  municipal 
purposes,  I  entertained  the  idea  of  enlarging  the  sphere  of  their 
operations,  and  of  constituting  similar  bodies  at  Hope,  Yale,  and 
Cayoosh,  and  all  the  other  towns  in  British  Columbia,  with  the  view, 
should  it  meet  with  the  approval  of  her  Majesty's  Government,  of 
ultimately  developing  the  whole  system  into  a  House  of  Assembly. 
Part  of  the  system  has  already  been  commenced  at  Yale  and  Hope. 
The  Government  may,  by  that  means,  call  into  exercise  the  sagacity 
and  knowledge  of  practical  men,  and  acquire  valuable  information 
upon  local  matters,  thus  reaping  one  of  the  advantages  of  a  legislative 
assembly  without  the  risks — and,  I  still  think,  the  colony  may,  for 
some  time  to  come,  be  sufficiently  represented  in  that  manner. 

"12.  The  existing  causes  of  dissatisfaction,  as  alleged  in  the 
memorial,  may  be  classified  under  the  following  heads  :  (1)  That  the 
Governor,  Colonial  Secretary  and  Attorney-General  do  not  reside 
permanently  in  British  Columbia.  (2)  That  the  taxes  on  goods  are 
excessive  as  compared  with  the  population,  and  in  part  levied  on 
boatmen,  who  derive  no  benefit  from  them,  and  that  there  is  no  land 
tax.  (3)  That  the  progress  of  Victoria  is  stimulated  at  the  expense 
of  British  Columbia,  and  that  no  encouragement  is  given  to  ship- 
building or  to  the  foreign  trade  of  the  colony.  (4)  That  money  has 
been  injudiciously  squandered  on  public  works  and  contracts  given 
without  any  public  notice,  which  subsequently  have  been  sub-let  to 
the  contractors  at  a  much  lower  rate.  (5)  That  faulty  administration 
has  been  made  of  public  lands,  and  that  lands  have  been  declared 
public  reserves,  which  have  been  afterwards  claimed  by  parties  con- 
nected with  the  Colonial  Government.  (6)  The  want  of  a  registry 
office,  for  the  record  of  transfers  and  mortgages. 

"13.  The  first  complaint,  that  the  Governor,  etc.,  do  not  reside 
permanently  in  British  Columbia,  scarcely  requires  comment  from  me. 
Your  Grace  is  aware  that  I  have  a  divided  duty  to  perform  ;  and 
that  if  under  the  present  circumstances  the  Colonial  Secretary  and 
Attorney-General  resided  permanently  in  British  Columbia,  these 
offices  would  be  little  better  than  a  sinecure, — the  public  service 
would  be  retarded  and  a  real  and  just  complaint  would  exist. 
Although  the  treasury  is  now  established  at  New  Westminster,  and 
the  Treasurer  resides  permanently  there,  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  it  would  be  far  more  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  service 
if  that  department  were  still  at  Victoria. 

"  14.  The  complaint  of  over-taxation  is  not  peculiar  to  British 
Columbia  ;  but  whether  it  is  well  founded  or  not  may  be  inferred 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  355  • 

from  the  example  of  other  countries.  Judging  from  that  estimate, 
the  people  of  British  Columbia  have  certainly  no  reason  to  complain 
of  their  public  burdens,  for  the  United  States  tariff  which  is  vigor- 
ously enforced  in  the  neighboring  parts  of  Washington  Territory, 
averages  25  per  cent,  on  all  foreign  goods— spirits  and  other  articles 
of  luxury  excepted,  on  which  a  much  higher  rate  of  duty  is  charged. 
.The  citizen  of  Washington  Territory  has  also  to  pay  the  assessed  road 
and  school  taxes,  levied  by  the  Territorial  Legislature.  In  contrast 
with  these  taxes,  the  import  duty  levied  in  British  Columbia  is  only 
ten  per  cent.,  with  a  similar  exception  of  spirits  and  a  few.  articles  of 
luxury,  which  pay  a  higher  duty  ;  while  all  other  taxes  levied  in  the 
colony  are  also  proportionately  low,  compared  with  those  of  Washing- 
ton Territory.  I  might  also  further  state  that  two-thirds  of  the 
taxes  raised  in  British  Columbia  have  been  expended  in  making 
roads,  and  other  useful  public  works,  and  have  produced  a  reduction 
of  not  less  than  a  hundred  per  cent,  on  the  cost  of  transport,  and 
nearly  as  great  a  saving  in  the  cost  of  all  the  necessaries  of  life ;  so 
that  while  the  communications  are  being  rapidly  improved,  the  people 
are,  at  the  same  time,  really  reaping  substantial  benefits  more  than 
compensating  the  outlay. 

"  15.  With  respect  to  the  complaint  about  the  boatmen,  they  had 
no  claim  whatever  to  be  exempted  from  the  law  imposing  a  duty 
indiscriminately  on  all  goods  passing  upward  from  Yale  ;  neither  did 
the  duty  bear  at  all  upon  them,  as  they  were  merely  carriers  and  not 
owners  of  the  goods.  The  real  question  at  issue  was,  whether  the 
inland  duty  should  be  charged  on  goods  carried  from  Yale  by  water 
as  well  as  by  land,  and  was  nothing  more  than  a  scheme  concocted  by 
the  owners  of  the  goods  to  benefit  themselves  at  the  expense  of  thB 
public  revenue. 

"16.  And  here  I  would  beg  to  correct  an  error  in  the  memorial 
with  respect  to  the  population  of  British  Columbia,  which  is  therein 
given  at  7,000,  exclusive  of  Indians,  making  an  annual  average  rate 
of  taxation  of  £7  10s.  per  head.  The  actual  population,  Chinamen 
included,  is  about  10,000,  besides  an  Indian  population  exceeding 
20,000,  making  a  total  of  30,000,  which  reduces  the  taxation  to  £2 
per  head  instead  of  the  rate  given  in  the  memorial.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  all  the  white  population  are  adults,  and  tax-paying 
— there  being  no  proportionate  number  of  women  or  children  ;  and 
it  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  native  Indians  pay  no  taxes. 
They  have,  especially  in  the  gold  districts,  for  the  most  part,  aban- 
doned their  former  pursuits,  and  no  longer  provide  their  own  stores  of 
food.  All  the  money  they  make  by  their  labor,  either  by  hire  or  by 
gold-digging,  is  expended  in  the  country ;  so  that  the  Indians  have 
now  become  extensive  consumers  of  foreign  articles.  Every  attention 
has  been  given  to  render  Fraser  River  safe  and  accessible;  the  channels 
have  been  carefully  surveyed  and  marked  with  conspicuous  buoys  ;  and 
foreign  vessels  may  go  direct  to  New  Westminster,  without  calling  at 
Victoria,  and  the  port  dues  are  the  same  whether  the  vessels  clear 


356  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

originally  from  Victoria  or  come  directly  from  foreign  ports.  It  is 
impossible  to  imagine  a  more  perfect  equality  of  legislative  protection 
than  is  given  to  these  ports.  .  .  . 

"19.  t  have  had  applications,  under  various  pretexts,  from  almost 
every  trading-place  in  the  colony  for  remissions  of  duty,  and  I  have 
steadily  resisted  all  such  applications  on  the  ground  that  class  legisla- 
tion is  vicious  and  leads  to  injustice  and  discontent.  It  is,  moreover, 
very  doubtful  if  the  proposed  remission  of  duty  on  ship-building 
materials  would  advance  that  interest,  as  long  as  the  timber  business 
of  New  Westminster  is  a  monopoly  in  the  hands  of  a  few  persons 
who  keep  timber  at  an  unreasonably  high  price. 

"  20.  With  respect  to  the  fourth  and  fifth  complaints,  I  am  not 
cognizant  of  any  circumstances  affording  grounds  for  them.  I 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works, 
whose  department  they  more  immediately  affected,  and  I  forward 
herewith  a  copy  of  that  officer's  report,  from  which  it  will  be  seen  that 
no  just  cause  exists  for  the  allegations  made. 

"  21.  The  want  of  a  registry  office,  which  also  forms  a  subject  of 
complaint,  arises  solely  from  our  not  having  succeeded  in  maturing 
the  details  of  a  measure,  which  is,  I  feel,  replete  with  difficulties  of  no 
ordinary  kind,  but  that  measure,  providing  for  the  registration  of  real 
estate,  will  be  passed  as  soon  as  practicable. 

"22.  Before  concluding  this  despatch,  I  shall  submit  a  few  observa- 
tions on  the  financial  system  of  Vancouver  Island  in  contrast  with 
that  of  British  Columbia,  explanatory  of  their  distinctive  features 
and  their  applicability  to  the  colonies  respectively. 

"  23.  The  public  revenue  of  Vancouver  Island  is  almost  wholly 
derived  from  taxes  levied  directly  on  persons  and  prof essions,  on  trades 
and  real  estate;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  by  means  of  duties  and 
imposts,  and  on  goods  carried  inland,  that  the  public  revenue  of 
British  Columbia  is  chiefly  raised.  No  other  plan  has  been  suggested 
by  which  a  public  revenue  could  be  raised,  that  is  so  perfectly  adapted 
to  the  circumstances  of  both  colonies,  or  that  could  be  substituted  or 
applied  interchangeably  with  advantage  to  the  sister  colony.  The 
reasons  may  thus  be  stated :  The  low  price  and  bulky  productions  of 
Vancouver  Island  will  not  bear  the  cost  of  exportation  to  any  British 
possession,  and  are  virtually  excluded  from  the  markets  of  the  Mother 
Country  by  the  distance  and  expense  of  the  voyage.  A  precisely 
similar  result  is  produced  through  the  almost  prohibitory  duties  levied 
in  the  neighboring  ports  of  Oregon  and  California ;  the  former, 
moreover,  abounding  in  all  the  products  common  to  Vancouver 
Island,  except  coal ;  and  neither  being  inferior  in  point  of  soil, 
climate  or  any  physical  advantage.  Thus  practically  debarred  from 
commercial  intercourse  and  denied  a  market  for  its  produce,  it  became 
painfully  evident  that  the  colony  could  not  prosper,  nor  ever  be  a 
desirable  residence  for  white  settlers,  until  a  remunerative  outlet  was 
found  for  the  produce  of  their  labor.  It.  was  that  state  of  things 
that  originated  the  idea  of  creating  a  home  market,  and  the  advan- 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  357 

tageous  position  of  Victoria  suggested  free  trade  as  the  means,  which 
was  from  thenceforth  adopted  as  a  policy— with  the  object  of  making 
the  port  a  centre  of  trade  and  population,  and  ultimately  the  com- 
mercial entrep6t  of  the  North  Pacitic.  That  policy  was  initiated 
several  years  previous  to  the  discovery  of  gold  in  British  Columbia, 
and  has  since  been  inflexibly  maintained.  Victoria  has  now  grown  into 
commercial  importance,  and  its  value  and  influence  can  hardly  be 
overestimated.  Financially,  it  furnishes  four-fifths  of  the  public 
revenue;  it  absorbs  the  whole  surplus  produce  of  the  colony,  and  it 
is  a  centre  from  whence  settlements  are  gradually  brandling  out  into 
the  interior  of  the  island.  Thus  Victoria  has  become  the  centre  of 
population,  the  seat  of  trade,  a  productive  source  of  revenue,  and  a 
general  market  for  the  country.  The  settlements  are  ail  compactly 
situated  within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles,  except  those  which  are 
-accessible  by  sea  ;  there  is  therefore  no  pressing  call  for  large  expen- 
diture in  the  improvement  of  internal  communications.  Roads  are 
opened  where  required,  with  due  regard  and  in  proportion  to  the 
means  of  the  colony ;  its  vital  interests  not  being  greatly  aflected  by 
any  avoidable  delay. 

"  24.  The  circumstances  of  British  Columbia  are  materially  different 
from  those  just  described.  That  colony  has  large  internal  resources, 
which  only  require  development  to  render  it  powerful  and  wealthy. 
Its  extensive  gold  fields  furnish  a  highly  remunerative  export,  and 
are  rapidly  attracting  trade  and  population.  Mining  has  become  a 
valuable  branch  of  industry,  and  essentially  the  vital  interest  of  the 
colony  ;  it  has  hitherto  been  my  unceasing  policy  to  encourage  and 
develop  that  interest.  The  laws  are  framed  in  the  most  liberal  spirit, 
studiously  relieving  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  districts.  The  Government  has, 
moreover,  charged  itself  with  the  more  onerous  duties  in  furtherance 
of  the  same  object,  by  opening  roads  through  the  most  difficult  routes 
into  all  parts  of  the  country,  to  facilitate  transport  and  commerce, 
and  to  enable  the  miner  to  pursue  his  arduous  labors  with  success. 
Three  lines  of  roads  have  been  successfully  carried  through  the  last 
range,  and  mining  districts  five  hundred  miles  from  the  sea  have  been 
rendered  accessible  by  routes  hitherto  unknown.  The  extension  and 
improvement  of  works  so  pressingly  required  and  indispensable  to 
the  improvement  and  development  of  the  country,  still  claims  the 
anxious  care  of  the  Government.  The  greatest  difficulty  was  experi- 
enced in  providing  funds  to  meet  the  necessarily  large  expenditure  on 
those  works,  and  that  object  was  accomplished  by  imposing  an  import 
duty  on  goods,  as  the  only  feasible  means  of  producing  a  revenue 
adequate  to  the  public  exigencies.  It  was  justly  supposed  that  any 
tax  directly  levied  on  the  mining  population,  would  lead  to  clamor 
and  discontent,  without  being  productive  of  revenue ;  whereas  the 
indirect  tax  is  not  felt  as  a  burden,  and,  I  believe,  makes  no  appreci- 
able difference  in  the  prices  which  miners  have  to  pay  for  their 
supplies. 


358  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

"25.  I  have  entered  into  the  foregoing  review  of  the  administrative 
systems  adopted  in  British  Columbia  and  Vancouver  Island,  in  answer 
to  the  assertion  of  the  memorialists,  that  every  exertion  is  made  to 
stimulate  the  progress  of  Vancouver  Island,  at  the  expense  of  British 
Columbia,  and  to  prove  that  my  measures  have  ever  been  calculated 
to  promote,  to  the  fullest  extent,  the  substantial  interests  of  both 
colonies. 

"  26.  I  trust  your  Grace  will  pardon  the  length  to  which  this 
despatch  has  reached ;  in  forwarding  the  memorial,  however,  estab- 
lished rule  required  that  I  should  accompany  it  with  a  report,  and  I 
could  not  well  do  so  in  fewer  words.  I  have,  etc.  (Signed)  JAMES 
DOUGLAS." 


CHAPTEE  XXI. 


ROADS   AND   SALARIES. 

THE  EXPENDITURE  FOR  ROADS,  streets  and  bridges  in  the  colony  of 
British  Columbia,  for  the  year  1862,  amounted  to  a  total  of  nearly 
£92,000  sterling  or  $460,000.  (1)  THE  YALE  ROUTE  :  Yale  to  Sailor's 
Bar,  £6,559  ;  to  Boston  Bar,  £4,200  ;  to  Chapman's  Bar,  £15,128  ;  ta 
Lytton  Road,  £17,651  ;  to  Alexandria  Road,  £16,563.  (2)  DOUGLAS 
ROUTE  :  Harrison  and  Lillooet  Road,  £4,970  ;  Second  Portage  Road, 
£2,307  ;  Seton  and  Lillooet,  £219 ;  Lillooet  and  Alexandria,  £15,080, 
(3)  NEW  WESTMINSTER  and  Pitt  Meadows  Roads,  £3,868.  (4)  New 
Westminster  Streets,  £302 ;  (5)  New  Westminster  to  North  Arm, 
£720;  (6)  Saw  Mill  Road,  £40;  (7)  Quesnelle,  Cotton  wood  and 
Lightning  Creek,  £500  ;  (8)  Hope,  Similkameen,  Rock  Creek  and 
Kamloops  Trails,  £815  ;  (9)  Bentinck  Arm  Route,  £344  ;  (10)  Bute 
Inlet  Route,  £2,012;  (11)  Sundry  Trails,  £674.  Total,  £91,952. 
The  tolls  collected  at  Yale  in  1862  amounted  to  about  $6,000  per 
month. 

THE  VIEWS  OF  GOVERNOR  DOUGLAS  on  representation,  so  fully 
expressed  in  the  foregoing  despatch,  were  continued  during  his  term 
of  office.  In  a  despatch  dated  May  26th,  1863,  his  Grace  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle  reminded  him  that  the  Act  for  the  government  of 
British  Columbia  would  expire  that  year  ;  that  it  was  his  intention- 
to  propose  to  the  Imperial  Parliament  a  bill  continuing  the  present 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  359 

Act  for  another  year,  and  that  an  Order-in-Council  would  be  submitted 
to  her  Majesty  constituting  a  Legislative  Council  in  British  Columbia. 
The  power  of  nominating  this  council  would,  in  the  first  instance, 
be  vested  in  the  governor,  and  so  exercised  as  to  constitute  a  partially 
representative  body,  capable  of  making  the  wishes  of  the  community 
felt,  and  calculated  to  pave  the  way  for  a  more  formal,  if  not  a  larger 
introduction  of  the  representative  element. 

.  SEPARATE  GOVERNORS  PROPOSED.  — In  another  despatch  dated  June 
15th,  1863,  his  Grace  said  :  "  I  have  long  had  under  my  consideration 
the  various  questions  which  have  arisen  respecting  the  form  of 
government  which  should  be  adopted  in  British  Columbia  and 
Vancouver  Island  ;  and  I  have  now  to  communicate  to  you  the 
decision  at  which  I  have  arrived.  I  should  have  much  desired,  if  it 
had  been  possible,  that  these  two  colonies  should  have  formed  one 
Government.  I  feel  confident  that  economy  and  efficiency  would 
have  been  promoted,  that  commerce  would  be  facilitated,  that  political 
capacity  would  be  developed,  that  the  strength  of  the  colonies  would 
be  consolidated,  and  generally  that  their  well-being  would  be  greatly 
advanced  by  such  a  union  ;  arid  I  hope  that  the  moderate  and  far- 
seeing  men  in  both  communities  will  be  convinced  of  this,  and  will 
bear  in  mind  the  expediency  of  avoiding  or  removing  all  that  is  likely 
to  impede,  and  favoring  all  that  is  likely  to  facilitate  such  a  result. 
But  I  am  aware  that  the  prevailing  feeling  is,  at  present,  strongly 
adverse  to  such  a  measure,  and  in  deference  to  that  feeling,  I  am 
prepared  to  take  steps  for  placing  them  under  different  governors,  so 
soon  as  proper  financial  arrangements  are  made  for  the  permanent 
support  of  the  Government. 

SALARIES  OF  OFFICERS. — "With  regard  to  Vancouver  Island  I  think 
that  a  permanent  Act  of  the  Legislature  should  be  passed,  securing  to 
the  principal  officers  of  the  Government,  salaries  at  the  following 
rates,  which  the  importance  of  the  colony  and  the  prospects  of  its 
revenue  appear  to  render  no  more  than  fitting  :  Governor,  £3,000  ; 
Chief  Justice,  £800  (to  be  £1,200  when  a  lawyer  is  appointed) ; 
Colonial  Secretary,  £600 ;  Attorney-General,  £300,  with  practice  ; 
Treasurer,  £600;  Surveyor-General,  £500.  The  initiation  of  all 
money  votes  should  also  be  secured  to  the  Government.  When  this 
is  done,  I  am  prepared  to  hold  the  Crown  revenue  of  Vancouver 
Island  at  the  disposal  of  the  legislature  of  that  colony,  retaining  only 
such  temporary  power  over  the  land  as  will  enable  her  Majesty's 
Government  to  close  its  transactions  with  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 


360  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

When  this  is  effected,  I  shall  be  ready  to  transfer  the  management  of 
the  revenue  to  the  Colonial  Legislature. 

SALARIES  IN  BRITISH  COLUMBIA. — "With  regard  to  British  Colum- 
bia, adverting  to  the  magnitude  of  the  colonial  interests,  and  to  the 
steady  progression  of  the  local  revenue,  I  should  wish  you  at  once  to 
proclaim  a  permanent  law,  enabling  her  Majesty  to  allot  salaries  to 
the  government  officers  of  British  Columbia,  at  the  following  rates  : 
Governor,  £3,000,  with  a  suitable  residence;  Chief  Justice,  £1,200; 
Colonial  Secretary,  £800  ;  Attorney-General,  £500,  with  practice  ; 
Treasurer,  £750 ;  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Surveyor-General, 
£800 ;  Collector  of  Customs,  £650  ;  Chief  Inspector  of  Police,  £500  ; 
Registrar  of  Deeds,  £500. 

"It  will  then  follow,  to  give  effect  to  the  enclosed  Order-in-Council, 
which  her  Majesty  has  been  pleased  to  issue,  in  order  to  prepare  the 
way  for  giving  the  inhabitants  of  the  colony  a  due  influence  in  its 
Government.  I  should  have  wished  to  establish  there  the  same 
representative  institutions  which  already  exist  in  Vancouver  Island  ; 
and  it  is  not  without  reluctance  that  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  this  is  at  present  impossible. 

A  DIFFICULT  PROBLEM. — "It  is,  however,  plain  that  the  fixed 
population  of  British  Columbia  is  not  yet  large  enough  to  form  a 
sufficient  and  sound  basis  of  representation,  while  the  migratory 
element  far  exceeds  the  fixed,  and  the  Indian  far  outnumbers  both 
together.  Gold  is  the  only  produce  of  the  colony,  extracted  in  a  great 
measure  by  an  annual  influx  of  foreigners.  Of  landed  proprietors  there 
are  next  to  none,  of  tradesmen  not  very  many,  and  these  are  occupied 
in  their  own  pursuits,  at  a  distance  from  the  centre  of  Government, 
and  from  each  other.  Under  these  circumstances,  I  see  no  mode  of 
establishing  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  immigrant,  or 
other  transient  foreigners,  who  have  no  permanent  interest  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  colony. 

GOVERNMENT  PREPONDERANCE. — "For  these  reasons  I  think  it 
necessary  that  the  Government  should  .retain,  for  the  present,  a 
preponderating  influence  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 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  361 

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  different  electoral 
districts.  But  here  I  am  met  by  the  difficulty  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,  therefore,  be 
trifling  to  attempt  such  a  definition,  nor  am  I  disposed  to  rely  on  any 
untried  contrivances  which  might  be  suggested  for  supplying  its  place 
— contrivances  which  depend  for  their  success  on  a  variety  of  circum- 
stances, which,  with  my  present  information,  I  cannot  safely  assume 
to  exist.  .  .  . 

CONVENE  A  NEW  LEGISLATURE. — "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  question  before  public  meetings,  or  (as  is  done  in  Ceylon)  by 
accepting  the  nominee  of  any  corporate  body  or  society,  I  leave  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  character,  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  above  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.  (Signed)  NEWCASTLE." 

The  members  of  the  Legislative  Council  of  British  Columbia,  to  be 
appointed  from  the  colonial  officials,  were,  ex-ojficio,  the  Colonial 
Secretary,  the  Attorney-General,  the  Treasurer,  the  Chief  Commis- 
sioner of  Lands  and  Works,  and  the  Collector  of  Customs. 


362  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


GOVERNOR  DOUGLAS  KNIGHTED. 

IN  SEPTEMBER,  1863,  the  commission  of  Governor  Douglas  for  Van- 
couver Island  colony  lapsed  through  effluxion  of  time.  His  dual 
commision  as  governor  of  the  colony  of  British  Columbia  terminated 
in  1864.  The  British  Colonist  (Victoria)  newspaper  of  October  13tht 
1863,  said:  "Upon  the  arrival  of  the  last  mail  steamer,  we  were 
much  gratified  at  being  enabled  to  publish  the  Gazette  announcing 
that  the  honor  of  knighthood  had  been  conferred  upon  the  governor 
of  these  colonies,  and  we  take  the  present  opportunity  of  his  Excel' 
lency's  return  to  Victoria,  to  offer  our  most  sincere  and  hearty 
congratulations  to  himself  and  his  family.  The  distinction  was  so 
looked  for  by  the  public,  that  they  would  have  been  as  apt  to  feel  its 
omission  as  a  slight  upon  this  colony,  as  they  are  now  disposed  to 
take  a  small  share  of  the  compliment  to  themselves. 

REVIEW  BY  THE  "  BRITISH  COLONIST." — "  We  have  conceived  it 
our  duty,  upon  some  occasions,  to  differ  from  the  policy  pursued  by 
Mr.  Douglas,  as  governor  of  the  colony,  and  we  have,  from  time  to 
time,  had  occasion,  as  public  journalists,  to  oppose  that  policy ;  we 
trust,  however,  that  such  opposition  has  at  no  time  been  factious- 
personal  to  the  governor  himself  it  has  never  been.  If  we  have 
opposed  the  measures  of  the  Government,  we  have  never  in  our  public 
acts  of  the  executive  head  of  that  Government,  failed  in  our  esteem 
for  the  sterling  honesty  of  purpose  which  has  guided  those  acts, 
nor  for  the  manly  and  noble  qualities  and  virtues  which  adorn  the 
man. 

A  POPULAR  GOVERNOR. — "The  intimate  relations  which  have  so 
long  existed  between  Sir  James  Douglas  and  the  people  of  Victoria, 
will  shortly  undergo  a  change,  and  we  are  quite  sure  that  we  echo  the 
sentiments  of  the  public  of  Victoria  in  saying  that  his  Excellency 
will  carry  into  private  life  the  honest  esteem  and  hearty  good  wishes 
of  all  Vancouver.  His  services  to  his  country  as  governor  of  these 
colonies,  will  not  be  forgotten  for  many  years  to  come ;  and  we 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  363 

believe  that  nothing  will  be  remembered  of  his  administration  of  the 
government  that  will  tend  to  tarnish  the  name  of  DOUGLAS.  Her 
Majesty  in  conferring  the  honor  of  knighthood  upon  our  governor  has 
paid  him  a  well-deserved  compliment,  which  the  colony  will  thoroughly 
appreciate." 

CLOSES  HIS  TERM  IN  NEW  WESTMINSTER. — Sir  James  had  decided 
to  remove  to  New  Westminister,  to  complete  his  term  of  office  in 
British  Columbia;  but  before  leaving  Victoria,  the  citizens  gave  him 
a  grand  banquet  on  the  occasion  of  his  retiring  from  the  government 
of  the  colony.  It  is  described  by  the  Victoria  press  as  "a  glorious 
and  brilliant  affair."  The  speeches  were  reported  at  considerable 
length.  The  chairman  said  in  proposing  the  guest  of  the  evening : 
"  When  he  saw  the  governor  of  two  incipient  colonies — composed  of 
every  nationality — sometimes  disappointed  men — when  he  saw  that 
governor,  without  attempting  to  court  popularity,  treated  to  such  an 
ovation  as  to-night,  it  told  him  that  that  governor  must  have  been 
deserving  of  it.  ...  The  rush  of  '58  took  the  colony  by  surprise. 
The  governor  had  to  do  everything  ;  he  had  to  organize,  and  reorganize, 
and  create.  There  was  one  monument  to  his  worth — the  noble  roads 
which  he  had  caused  to  be  opened  up  in  the  sister  colony.  His 
administration  had  been  one  alive  to  the  interests  of  all,  and  deaf  to 
the  clamor  and  vituperation  of  interested  parties.  .  .  .  All 
party  feeling  was  now  buried,  and  the  feeling  now  was  one  of  general 
esteem." 

AN  ADDRESS  WAS  PRESENTED  to  his  Excellency  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Evans,  Chairman  of  the  Wesleyan  Mission,  which  was  replied  to  by 
Sir  James,  who  concluded  by  saying  "he  felt  that  the  community 
were  disposed  to  place  a  higher  value  on  his  services  than  they 
deserved.  (Loud  cries  of  '  No,  no.')  Hs  should  always  remember 
with  the  warmest  gratitude  the  efforts  of  the  inhabitants  in  assisting 
him  to  maintain  good  order  in  the  colony.  In  closing  his  relations 
with  this  colony  he  would  ever  retain  a  grateful  recollection  of  this 
day's  proceedings,  and  of  the  high  honor  conferred  upon  him,  and  in 
whatever  part  of  the  world  he  should  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days, 
he  would  ever  rejoice  to  hear  of  the  welfare,  and  progress,  and 
prosperity  of  this  colony."  (Tremendous  cheering.)  ^ 

ENTHUSIASTIC  FAREWELL  PROCESSION. — As  his  Excellency,  accom- 
panied by  his  staff,  proceeded  on  foot  next  day  to  take  the  steamer  to 
New  Westminster,  a  large  procession  was  formed.  Every  flag-staff  in 
town  displayed  bunting.  When  the  gangway  of  the  steamer  Enterprise, 


364  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

which  was  gaily  decked  with  colors  for  the  occasion,  was  reached, 
cheers  which  had  greeted  the  governor  along  the  route  were  renewed 
with  great  vigor.  As  the  vessel  moved  from  the  wharf,  a  band 
stationed  on  board  the  Otter,  struck  up  the  tune  of  "Auld  Lang 
Syne,"  and  a  salute  of  thirteen  guns  was  fired  by  the  employes  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company. 

THE  NEW  GOVERNOR,  ARTHUR  KENNEDY,  appointed  to  succeed  Sir 
James  Douglas  as  Governor  of  Vancouver  Island,  did  not  arrive  at 
Victoria  until  March,  1864.  He  was  received 
with  every  manifestation  of  loyalty,  enthu- 
siasm and  respect.  A  writer  (Elliott)  says  : 
"  Kennedy  was  extremely  courteous  in  man- 
ner, somewhat  of  a  flatterer,  and  an  excellent 
speaker;  the  people  soon  observed  that 
these  were  about  the  best  characteristics  he 


BEFORE  THE  RETIREMENT  OF  SIR  JAMES 
from  New  Westminster,  a  banquet,  attended 
by  seventy-nine  guests,  was  given  in  his  honor. 

GOVBRNOR   KENNEDY.  *  1 

The  report  says  "  the  whole  affair  was  highly 

successful."  Addresses  were  presented  next  day  by  the  Legislative 
Council,  the  government  officials,  etc.,  etc.,  and  a  beautiful  medallion 
likeness  of  Sir  James  was  presented  to  Lady  Douglas  by  the  Hon. 
Messrs.  Smith,  Orr,  Holbrook  and  Black.  A  deputation  consisting 
of  Hon.  R.  S.  Smith,  Hon.  W.  S.  Black  and  Messrs.  Edgar  Dewdney, 
Walter  Moberly,  Charles  T.  Seymour,  Thomas  H.  Cudlip,  F.  G. 
Richards  and  John  J.  Barnston,  waited  on  his  Excellency  and  pre- 
sented an  address  (read  by  Hon.  Mr.  Smith)  signed  by  upwards  of 
nine  hundred  residents  of  British  Columbia,  to  be  forwarded  to  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle. 

His  EXCELLENCY  IN  REPLY,  said:  "GENTLEMEN, — Envy  and  malevo- 
lence may  be  endured,  but  your  kindness  overwhelms  me ;  it  deprives 
me  of  the  power  of  utterance  ;  it  excites  emotions  too  powerful  for 
control.  I  cannot,  indeed,  express  at  this  moment  in  adequate  terms, 
my  sense  of  your  kindness.  This  is  surely  the  voice  and  the  heart  of 
British  Columbia — here  are  no  specious  phrases,  no  hollow  or  vernal 
compliments.  This  speaks  out  broadly,  and  honestly,  and  manfully. 
It  assures  me  that  my  administration  has  been  useful ;  that  I  have 
done  my  duty  faithfully  ;  that  I  have  used  the  power  of  my  sovereign 
for  good  and  not  for  evil  ;  that  I  have  wronged  no  man, — oppressed 


,  THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.  365 

no  man  ;  but  that  I  have,  with  upright  rule,  meted  out  equal-handed 
justice  to  all  men,  and  that  you  are  grateful.  A  pyramid  of  gold  and 
gems  would  have  been  less  acceptable  to  me  than  this  simple  record. 
I  ask  for  no  prouder  monument,  and  for  no  other  memorial,  when  I 
die  and  go  hence,  than  the  testimony  here  offered  that  I  have  done 
my  duty :  to  use  your  own  emphatic  words — '  faithfully'  and  'nobly' 
done  my  duty.  .  .  .  Assure  the  people  of  British  Columbia  that 
they  have  my  heartfelt  thanks  for  this  gratifying  expression  of 
their  opinion  ;  assure  them  that  I  shall  ever  rejoice  to  hear  of  their 
prosperity,  and  of  the  progress  of  all  that  relates  to  the  moral  and 
material  interests  of  this  colony." 

ARRIVAL  OF  THE  NEW  GOVERNOR. — Frederick  Seymour,  formerly 
Governor  of  British  Honduras,  who  was  to  succeed  Sir  James  Douglas 
in  the  colony  of  British  Columbia,  did  not  arrive  until  April,  1864. 

A  CIVIL  LIST. — The  proposal  in  the  despatch  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  to  Sir  James  Douglas,  15th  June,  1863,  already  referred  to,  is 
noticed  in  a  despatch  dated  30th  April,  1864,  from  the  Secretary  of 
State,  Card  well,  to  Governor  Kennedy.  Mr.  Card  well  states,  "that 
he  had  received  a  despatch  from  Sir  James  Douglas,  dated  12th  February, 
1864,  enclosing  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Assembly  of  Vancouver 
Island,  in  which  the  House  declines  to  pass  the  Civil  List  Act  pro- 
posed in  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  despatch  of  15th  June  last."  The 
Secretary  adds,  "  that  he  can  only  authorize  Governor  Kennedy  to 
issue  warrants  for  the  payment  of  the  governor  and  colonial  secre- 
tary, at  the  respective  rates  of  £3,000  and  .£600  per  annum,  assigned 
to  them  by  his  predecessor."  Mr.  Cardwell  further  states  :  "It  will 
of  course  rest  with  the  Legislature  to  make  provision  for  the  remun- 
eration of  the  officers  employed  under  the  Government  in  any  wa£, 
and  from  any  source  which  may  seem  most  appropriate  to  them." 

UNION  OF  THE  COLONIES. — Mr.  Cardwell  also  mentions  that  "besides 
the  matter  of  salaries,  Sir  James  Douglas's  despatch  raises  a  still 
larger  and  more  important  question,  namely,  the  union  of  both 
colonies  under  one  governor."  On  this  subject,  he  states,  he  "  is 
desirous  of  having  the  benefit  of  Governor  Kennedy's  views,  as  soon 
as  he  had  acquired,  on  the  spot,  sufficient  experience  and  knowledge 
to  enable  him  to  form  an  opinion,  and  to  supply  reliable  information 
for  the  assistance  and  guidance  of  her  Majesty's  Government  in  con- 
sidering the  question."  The  despatch  concludes  by  stating  that  a  copy 
of  it  would  be  sent  to  Governor  Seymour,  uto  furnish  his  views  on 


366  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

the  same  matter,  and  I  need  scarcely  say  that  it  will  not  only  be 
unobjectionable,  but  highly  desirable  that  you  and  he  should  consult 
freely  on  the  subject,  although  it  will  be  the  most  convenient  course, 
that  ultimately  each  should  report  to  me  independently  the  con- 
clusions which  he  may  form  on  the  subject." 

The  question  of  the  union  of  the  colonies  occupied  the  attention  of 
the  leading  men  both  on  the  island  and  in  the  mainland,  and  was 
warmly  discussed.  Resolutions  for  and  against  were  passed  at  public 
meetings,  and  in  the  Legislative  Assembly  at  Victoria,  as  well  as  in 
the  Executive  Council  at  New  Westminster. 

WESTMINSTER  AND  VICTORIA  AGREE. — On  January  26th,  1865, 
resolutions  were  submitted  to  the  Assembly  :  "That  the  immediate 
union  of  this  colony  with  British  Columbia,  under  such  constitution 
as  her  Majesty's  Government  may  be  pleased  to  grant,  is  the  mea"ns 
best  adapted  to  prevent  permanent  causes  of  depression,  as  well  as 
to  stimulate  trade,  foster  industry,  develop  our  resources,  augment 
our  population,  and  ensure  our  permanent  prosperity ;  and  that  this 
House  pledges  itself,  in  case  her  Majesty's  Government  shall  grant 
such  union,  to  ratify  the  same  by  legislative  enactments  if  required; 
and  that  the  resolution  be  submitted  to  his  Excellency  the  governor, 
with  the  respectful  request  that  he  may  take  the  same  into  his  earnest 
and  immediate  consideration." 

RESOLUTIONS  TRANSMITTED. — His  Excellency,  Governor  Kennedy, 
in  a  despatch  dated  March  21st,  1865,  transmitted  the  resolutions, 
and  explained  to  the  colonial  secretary  in 
reference  to  them,  that  they  had  been  passed 
by  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  Vancouver 
Island  after  a  warm  debate,  by  a  vote  of 
eight  to  four,  on  the  27th  January,  1865. 
They  were  introduced  by  Mr.  Amor  De  Cos- 
mos, one  of  the  members  for  Victoria.  "  It 
was  thereupon  alleged  by  the  minority  that 
the  majority  did  not  fairly  represent  public 
opinion,  and  to  test  this  fact,  Mr.  De  Cosmos, 

HON.  AMOR  DE  COSMOS.  who  proposed,  and   Mr.  C.  B.  Young,  who 

opposed  the  resolution  (being  two  members 

for  the  city  of  Victoria),  agreed  to  resign  their  seats,  and  went  before 
their  constituents  for  re-election,  which  resulted  in  the  return  of  Mr. 
De  Cosmos  and  Mr.  McClure,  both  advocates  of  union  and  a  tariff, 
by  a  large  majority." 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.  367 

UNCONDITIONAL  UNION. — "The  majority  of  the  House  of  Assembly," 
the  despatch  continues,  "in  favor  of  unconditional  union  with  British 
Columbia  is  now,  I  believe,  11  to  4  ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  a 
-dissolution  of  the  House  would  undoubtedly  increase  that  majority  by 
two  more. 

"I  submitted  these  resolutions  to  the  Legislative  Council  for  their 
information,  and  the  majority  present  being  ex-nfficio  members, 
resolved  that  it  was  inexpedient  for  the  Council  to  express  any 
opinion  on  the  subject.  .  .  . 

"I  am  in  a  position  to  know  that  the  majority,  if  not  all  of  the 
ex-ojficio  members,  are  in  favor  of  union,  with  some  small  differences 
on  matters  of  detail,  and  that  they  refrained  from  a  public  expression 
of  their  opinion  from  a  desire  to  avoid  possible  complication,  and  with 
a  view  of  giving  their  untrammelled  support  to  such  measures  as  her 
Majesty's  Government  may  deem  most  titling  on  a  future  occasion. 

"  The  Local  Legislature  of  Vancouver  Island  have  thus,  I  think, 
adopted  the  only  course  by  which  the  union  of  these  colonies  can  be 
satisfactorily  effected,  namely,  leaving  conditions  and  details,  even  to 
the  form  of  government,  to  your  decision. 

"  The  form  of  government  at  present  existing  in  this  colony, 
namely,  an  elective  assembly  of  fifteen  members,  and  a  nominated 
Legislative  Council,  does  not,  and  in  my  opinion  never  can,  work 
satisfactorily.  There  is  no  medium  or  connecting  link  between  the 
governor  and  the  Assembly,  and  the  time  of  the  Legislative  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  experience  or  available  time  necessary  for  the  successful 
conduct  of  public  affairs.  On  financial  subjects  they  are  always 
greatly  at  fault. 

"  I  would  therefore  recommend  (should  the  opportunity  for 
remodelling  the  form  of  government  occur)  that  there  should  be  one 
chamber  only,  composed  of  elective  members  as  at  present,  with  the 
addition  of  nominees  of  the  Crown  in  the  proportion  of  one-third, 
with  power  to  resolve  itself  into  two  separate  chambers,  when  the 
state  of  the  population  would  justify  or  render  it  necessary,  a  contin- 
gency which  is,  I  think,  far  distant.  I  believe  that  this  change 
would  find  favor  with  the  intelligent  portion  of  the  public,  and  a 
large  number,  if  not  a  majority,  of  the  present  Assembly,  whose  con- 
stitution it  would  affect. 

"I  have  abstained  from  expressing  any  public  opinion,  or  exercis- 
ing any  influence  I  may  possess,  in  encouraging  this  movement,  but  I 
have  no  doubt  that  the  expression  of  the  former  and  legitimate  use  of 
the  latter,  if  acquiesced  in  by  Governor  Seymour,  would  immediately 
remove  all  serious  opposition  to  a  union  of  these  colonies,  which  I 
consider  a  matter  of  great  imperial,  as  well  as  colonial  interest." 


368  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEE  XXIII. 


BOTH  SIDES  OF  THE  QUESTION. 

WAS  UNION  DESIRABLE"? — GOVERNOR  SEYMOUR,  in  a  despatch  to 
Mr.  Card  well,  dated  Rue  de  la  Paris,  February  17th,  1866,  when  His 
Excellency  was  on  his  marriage  tour,  says  he  has  "  endeavored  to 
prove,  first,  that  union  with  Vancouver  Island,  or  the  annexation  of 
that  colony  is  not  desired  in  British  Columbia  ;  and  secondly,  that 
the  larger  colony  is  not  in  a  depressed  condition."  He  explains  by 
stating : 

"The  discovery  of  gold  on  the  Lower  Fraser  first  attracted  to 
British  territory  a  large  portion  of  the  unattached  population  of 
Western  America.  The  immigrants  came  from  Oregon  or  California 
by  sea.  Their  detention  at  the  first  place  of  landing  created  Victoria. 
The  '  bars '  on  the  Fraser  were  gradually  worked  out.  Now  they 
are  abandoned  to  the  labors  of  Chinamen.  But  year  by  year  the 
summer  immigrants  pushed  further  into  the  interior,  still  by  the 
valley  of  the  great  river.  Finally  Cariboo  was  discovered,  and  its 
prodigious  wealth  attracted  large  numbers  of  miners,  who  were 
fed  and  supplied  from  Victoria.  Driven  from  their  work  by  the 
severe  climate  in  the  winter,  the  '  Caribooites '  spent  some  time 
and  much  money  in  that  town  and  added  to  the  profits  of  the  mer- 
chants who  had  monopolized  their  market  during  the  winter  season. 
There  were  no  large  settlements  in  British  Columbia  ;  it  was  only  a 
colony  in  name.  .  .  . 

"Cariboo  was  the  great  customer  for  Victoria  ;  but  Cariboo,  with  all 
its  prodigious  wealth,  has  not  been  found  to  be  '  poor  man's  diggings/ 
not  competent  therefore  to  support  a  very  large  population.  The 
mines  are  of  limited  extent,  the  gold  lies  deep,  and  is  expensive  to 
extract.  The  number  of  spring  immigrants  began  to  fall  off,  and  in 
1865  was  smaller  than  usual.  Victoria  continued  to  do  the  principal 
business  of  the  mines,  but  the  population  to  feed  was  comparatively 
small,  and  Victoria  suffered.  So  did  British  Columbia  to  a  certain 
extent.  Road-side  houses  on  the  Cariboo  road  line  became  bankrupt 
as  traffic  decreased  by  diminished  immigration  and  diminished 
travelling.  The  general  condition  of  the  colony  was,  however,  pros- 
perous. To  the  merchant  of  Victoria  the  depression  he  felt  in  1865 
appeared  to  extend  over  British  Columbia  ;  but  he  could  only  see  the 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD.  369 

valley  of  the  Fraser,  while  a  vaster  view  lay  open  before  the  eyes  of 
the  Government  of  New  Westminster. 

"Late  in  1864  important  discoveries  had  been  made  near  the 
British  Kootenay  Pass  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  our  territory.  It 
was  first  through  American  newspapers  that  I  became  aware  of  a 
rich  and  prospering  mining  town  existing  within  our  limits,  about  five 
hundred  miles  due  east  of  New  Westminster.  Although  the  Kootenay 
mines  could,  at  first,  be  only  approached  by  passing  through  United 
States  territory,  we  soon  extended  British  institutions  over  the  new 
diggings,  established  courts  of  justice  and  collected  taxes.  On  the 
disruption  of  the  mining  camps  of  the  Boise  country,  Kootenay 
received  a  considerable  accession  of  population,  and  in  the  season  of 
1865,  the  new  diggings  were  paying  into  the  colonial  treasury  in 
taxes  upwards  of  a  thousand  pounds  per  week.  Here  was  a  tangible 
benefit  to  British  Columbia  which  brought  no  immediate  advantages 
to  Victoria ;  on  the  contrary,  the  new  mines  which  were  fed  from 
across  the  frontier,  took  away  many  persons  from  Victoria's  best 
customer,  Cariboo.  The  customs  duties  levied  at  Fort  Shepherd  on 
the  Columbia  belong  to  us  British  Columbians  alone.  I  am  credibly 
informed  that  these  latest  discovered  gold  mines  have,  in  some  places, 
yielded  as  much  as  eight  hundred  dollars  a  day  to  the  hand,  without 
machinery. 

"  While  British  Columbia  is  reputed  to  be  languishing,  it  may  be 
interesting  for  me  to  mention,  though  I  write  without  official  docu- 
ments, some  of  the  principal  works  which  have  been  accomplished  by 
us  in  1865.  Every  surveyor  and  every  engineer  in  the  colony  was  in 
government  employ  last  year.  Every  discharged  sapper,  possessing 
anything  like  adequate  knowledge,  was  likewise  induced  to  enter  our 
service.  A  good  trail  for  pack  animals  has  been  opened  from  the 
Fraser  to  the  Kootenay.  The  Cascade  range,  the  Gold  range,  the 
Selkirk  range,  have  been  successively  surmounted,  and  with  what 
labor  may  be  imagined  when  I  state  that  at  the  end  of  May  the 
cutting  over  the  Cascade  Mountains  had,  on  each  side,  seven  feet  of 
snow.  This  trail  not  only  runs  through  British  territory  to  a  gold 
mine,  but  it  affords,  by  the  British  Kootenay  Pass,  an  easy  access 
from  the  Pacific  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  lands  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  Its  principal  value,  however,  to  the  colonists  is 
that  it  already  enables  the  merchants  of  New  Westminster  to  under- 
sell those  of  Lewiston  and  Walla  Walla  at  the  new  diggings.  A 
sleigh  road  has  been  opened  from  the  seat  of  government  to  Yale, 
running  for  upwards  of  one  hundred  miles  through  the  dense  forests  of 
the  Lower  Fraser.  A  bridge  has,  for  the  first  time,  been  thrown  over 
Thompson's  River,  on  the  main  road  to  the  northern  mines. 
Upwards  of  twenty  thousand  pounds  have  been  expended  on  the 
completion  of  this  high  road  into  Cariboo,  allowing  machinery  at  last 
to  be  introduced  into  Williams  Creek.  A  large  sum  was  spent  in  con- 
necting by  streets  the  three  mining  towns  in  that  locality.  A  good 
road  now  connects  New  Westminster  with  the  sea  at  Burrard's  Inlet, 

24 


370  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

and  secures  the  inhabitants  from  inconvenience,  should  an  unusually 
severe  winter  close  the  Fraser.  A  light-ship,  public  libraries,  new 
school  buildings,  testify  to  the  energy  of  the  Government.  If  I  add 
that  in  the  year  just  past,  steamers  for  the  first  time  navigated  the 
Upper  Columbia,  and  that  New  Westminster  has  been  in  connection 
with  the  whole  telegraphic  system  of  the  United  States,  Canada,  New- 
foundland, and  with  Cariboo,  I  point  out  an  amount  of  work  accom- 
plished in  a  single  summer,  I  should  think  entirely  unprecedented  in 
so  young  a  colony.  For  the  telegraphic  communication  and  the  new 
line  of  steamers,  the  Government  can  only  claim  the  credit  of  the 
earnest  efforts  it  has  made  to  second  the  enterprise  of  republican 
neighbors." 

In  continuing  the  despatch,  Governor  Seymour  explains  that  "  Her 
Majesty  has,  by  an  Order-in-Council,  created  a  body  authorized  to 
make  laws  for  British  Columbia.  It  consists  of  fifteen  members, 
exclusive  of  the  governor,  with  whom  it  is  optional  to  take  his  seat  as 
a  member  of  the  Board,  or  to  keep  aloof,  and  by  so  doing  constitute 
himself  an  entirely  separate  branch  of  the  Legislature.  One-third  of 
the  council  is  composed  of  the  Colonial  Secretary,  the  Attorney- 
General,  the  Treasurer,  the  Surveyor-General  and  the  Collector  of 
Customs,  who  are,  by  a  separate  instrument,  constituted  likewise  the 
Governor's  Executive  Council.  The  remaining  two-thirds  are  selected 
by  the  governor,  but  I  believe  that  a  despatch  from  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle  directs  that  five  of  the  ten  shall  be  chosen  from  the 
magistracy  of  the  colony,  and  that  in  the  appointment  of  the  other 
five  the  governor  shall  endeavor  to  be  guided  by  the  wishes  of  the 
people,  as  signified  in  five  distinct  districts.  Under  this  constitution 
the  Government  can  command  a  majority  of  votes,  but  the  power  has 
rarely  been  exercised  by  me,  save  in  cases  where  demands  were  made 
upon  the  colony  by  the  imperial  treasury,  which  the  Legislature,  if  not 
coerced,  would  have  rejected. 

"The  mode  of  ascertaining  the  popular  choice  is  as  follows:  A  letter 
is  written  by  command  of  the  governor  to  the  paid  magistrate  of  the 
district,  directing  him  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  to  select  a 
person  for  a  seat  in  the  council.  Due  notice  of  the  meeting  is  given 
in  the  Gazette,  and  locally  by  the  magistrate.  Seats  in  the  Legislative 
Council  are  eagerly  contended  for.  Electioneering  addresses  issue 
from  the  rival  candidates,  and  sometimes  very  considerable  expense  is 
incurred.  Great  discretion  is  left  with  the  magistrates  and  people  of 
the  district,  as  to  th«  votes  which  shall  be  accepted  and  reported  to 
the  governor.  .  .  .  The  election  over,  the  magistrate  reports  to 
the  governor  the  number  of  votes  each  candidate  has  received.  It  is 
by  no  means  incumbent  on  the  governor  to  appoint  to  the  council 
the  elect  of  the  people,  but  it  would  require  very  special  circumstances, 
such  as  have  not  yet  presented  themselves,  to  justify  his  rejection  of 
the  man  placed  at  the  head  of  the  poll.  The  councillor  must  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  before  he  takes  his  seat.  Thus  a  purely  British 
legislature  is  secured.  ...  If  the  union  of  colonies  should  take 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  371 

place,  I  would  suggest  that  about  twelve  members  of  the  new 
legislature  should  be  elected  by  the  people.  Two  important  changes 
would  result  in  Vancouver  Island.  Its  present  legislative  constitution 
would  be  abolished.  The  partial  exemption  from  duties  would  cease. 
The  loss  of  the  House  of  Assembly  would  not,  I  think,  be  much 
regretted.  The  freedom  of  the  port  of  Victoria  has  already  been 
much  impaired,  duties  being  now  levied  on  many  articles  of  consump- 
tion. The  people  of  Victoria  having  the  issue  fairly  placed  before 
them  at  the  last  elections,  have,  by  a  large  majority,  determined  that 
the  system  shall  cease,  and  a  tariff  take  its  place." 

IN  REFERRING  TO  THE  SEAT  OP  GOVERNMENT,  Governor  Seymour 
says  :  "In  the  event  of  union  taking  place,  a  question  which  will 
locally  excite  some  interest  is  as  to  the  seat  of  government.  Victoria 
is  the  largest  town  of  the  two  colonies,  and  is,  in  many  respects,  the 
most  agreeable  place  of  residence.  I  think,  however,  that  in  seeking 
union  with  British  Columbia,  Vancouver  Island  relinquishes  all  claims 
to  the  possession  within  her  limits  of  the  seat  of  government.  New 
Westminster  has  been  chosen  as  the  capital  of  British  Columbia,  and 
it  would  not  be  fair  to  the  reluctant  colony  to  deprive  her  of  the 
governor  and  staff  of  officers.  Both  of  these  towns  are  inconveniently 
situated  on  an  angle  of  the  vast  British  territory  ;  but  New 
Westminster,  on  the  mainland,  has  the  advantage  over  the  island 
town,  it  is  already  the  centre  of  the  telegraphic  system,  and  is  in 
constant  communication  with  the  upper  country,  whereas  the  steamers 
to  Victoria  only  run  twice  a  week.  The  seat  of  government  should 
be  on  the  mainland;  whether  it  might  not  with  advantage,  be 
brought,  hereafter,  nearer  to  the  gold  mines,  is  a  question  for  the 
future." 

ARTHUR  N.  BIRCH,  Colonial  Secretary,  administered  the  Govern- 
ment of  British  Columbia  in  1866,  during  the  absence  of  Governor 
Seymour,  who  was  visiting  Great  Britain  and  the  continent  of  Europe, 
at  that  time  ;  he  also  then  entered  wedlock,  and  returned  with  Mrs. 
Seymour  to  New  Westminster. 

MR.  BIRCH  (3rd  March,  1866)  transmitted  to  Mr.  Cardwell,  a 
petition  signed  by  merchants,  miners  and  others  resident  in  British 
Columbia.  The  signatures  numbered  445.  The  object  of  presenting 
the  petition,  Mr.  Birch  says  in  the  despatch  enclosing  it,  is  to  show 
their  desire  for  the  union  of  the  colony  with  Vancouver  Island.  The 
petitioners  say  they  "are  fully  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  legislative 
union  between  British  Columbia  and  Vancouver  Island,  on  fair  and 
equitable  terms.  That  the  accomplishment  of  this  event,  as  soon  as 
practicable,  is  an  indispensable  requisite  for  the  progress  and 
prosperity  of  both." 

MR.   C.   BREW,  Chief  Magistrate,    New  Westminster,  reports,  on 


372  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

March  30th,  to  Mr.  Birch  :  "  I  find  it  impossible  to  ascertain  with 
accuracy  the  proportion  of  excisable  articles  used  and  consumed  by 
the  Indians  in  the  colony.  There  are,  I  believe,  about  ten  thousand 
Indians  on  Fraser  River,  and  all  of  them,  in  greater  or  lesser 
quantities,  use  and  consume  excisable  articles.  Many  of  the  young 
men  spend  as  much  as  $300  a  year.  The  Indians  now  use  almost 
everything  used  by  white  men  ;  but  the  chief  commodities  which  they 
purchase  are  blankets,  flour,  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  molasses,  biscuits, 
dried  apples,  gunpowder,  shot,  muskets,  axes,  simple  agricultural 
implements,  vermilion,  toys,  cheap  ornaments,  and  male  and  female 
apparels.  In  the  best  shops  in  this  town  I  am  informed  that  the 
Indian  women  buy  more  dresses  and  finery  than  the  white  people  of 
the  place.  A  great  number  of  Indians  from  the  United  States 
territory  come  here  to  procure  their  supplies." 

THE  MUNICIPAL  COUNCIL  of  New  Westminster  memorialized  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  April  26,  1866,  to  the  effect  that 
they  were  strongly  opposed  to  the  union  with  Vancouver  Island;  that 
should  her  Majesty's  Government  persist  in  carrying  out  the  union, 
the  capital  of  the  united  colonies  should  be  permanently  fixed  by  an 
Act  of  the  Imperial  Parliament  at  New  Westminster,  and  that  the 
question,  in  the  event  of  the  union  being  forced  upon  British  Columbia, 
will  be  finally  and  forever  set  at  rest  by  the  establishment  of  New 
Westminster  as  the  capital  of  the  united  colonies." 

MR.  BIRCH,  in  transmitting  the  petition,  said  :  "  I  cannot  agree 
with  the  memorialists  that  the  union  of  Vancouver  Island  with  British 
Columbia  will  be  '  contrary  to  the  well-understood  wishes  of  the 
people.'  I  have  already  stated  my  conviction  that  the  majority  of  the 
inhabitants  in  the  upper  country  care  little  whether  there  is  a  union 
of  the  colonies  or  continued  separation.  All  classes  are,  however, 
united  in  the  opinion  that  the  present  uncertainty,  as  regards  the 
future  of  these  colonies,  is  seriously  interfering  with  the  progress  of 
both." 

ROAD  CONSTRUCTION  AND  TOLLS. — Mr.  Trutch  constructed  the  road 
from  Port  Douglas  to  Lillooet  in  1861.  In  1862,  a  party  of  Royal 
Engineers  and  a  large  number  of  civilians  were  engaged  in  building 
the  "  Cariboo  Road  "  from  Yale,  the  head  of  navigation.  Mr.  Trutch 
built  the  next  section  to  Boston  Bar ;  Mr.  Spence,  from  Boston  Bar 
to  Lytton ;  Messrs.  Moberly,  Oppenheimer  &  Lewis,  from  Lytton  to 
Clinton.  The  tolls  levied  were  required  to  assist  in  defraying  the 
heavy  cost  of  construction.  The  tolls  collected  for  July,  1862,  at 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  373 

Hope  were  $337;  Yale,  $2,610;  at  Douglas,  $6,238;  total,  $9,085. 
The  Imperial  Parliament  voted  £9,000  towards  payment  of  the  Royal 
Engineers  at  New  Westminster.  A  vote  of  £55,000  was  also  agreed 
to  by  the  Imperial  Parliament,  and  passed  13th  June,  1862,  to  pay 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company  for  expenses  on  Vancouver  Island  since 
1849. 

ROYAL  ENGINEERS  DISBANDED. — The  summer  of  1863  was  princi- 
pally occupied  in  finishing  portions  of  the  waggon  road  along  the 
Thompson  and  Bonaparte  Rivers  and  Maiden  Creek.  The  Royal 
Engineers  were  disbanded  in  October  of  the  same  year,  their  special 
services  being  considered  unnecessary.  Colonel  Moody  and  staff 
returned  to  England,  accompanied  by  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  of 
the  force,  who  did  not  wish  to  remain  in  British  Columbia.  The 
balance  of  the  corps  distributed  themselves  over  different  parts  of  the 
country.  They  were  allowed  each  a  free  grant  of  150  acres  of  land. 
The  greater  number  availed  themselves  of  this  privilege,  making  their 
selections  where  it  suited  them,  out  of  unoccupied  lands. 

THOSE  REMAINING,  1894. — Of  the  Royal  Engineers  who  remained 
in  British  Columbia,  after  having  been  disbanded,  the  following  is  a 
list  of  the  survivors  and  place  of  residence,  if  known,  in  1893 : 

Argyle,   Thomas,   Rocky  Point ;    Archer,   Samuel,  -    ;  Bonson, 

Lewis,  New  Westminster;  Butler,  Robert,  Victoria;  Bouce,  Henry, 
New  Westminster ;  Cox,  John,  Victoria ;  Cummins,  Allen,  New 
Westminster ;  Deasy,  Daniel,  Victoria ;  Digby,  Charles,  New  West- 
minster ;  Franklin,  W.  A.,  Victoria ;  Howse,  Alfred  R.,  Vancouver ; 
Hall,  William,  Sumas ;  Hall,  James,  Chilliwack ;  Hall,  Matthew, 
Chilliwack ;  Haynes,  William,  Victoria ;  Hawkins,  Alfred,  Matsqui ; 
June,  John,  Savona's  Ferry ;  Jackman,  Philip,  Aldergrove  ;  Leech, 
Peter,  Victoria  ;  McMurphy,  John,  New  Westminster  ;  McKenny, 
John,  Pitt  Meadows  ;  Murray,  John,  Port  Moody ;  Musselwhite,  John, 
Sumas  ;  Medure,  John,  Matsqui ;  Newton,  George,  Mission— Fraser 
River;  Pride,  Charles,  Insane  Asylum,  New  Westminster;  Scales, 
John,  Nanaimo  ;  Smith,  Alexander,  Chilliwack  ;  Turner,  George,  New 
Westminster  ;  West,  Christopher,  —  — ;  Williams,  George,  Victoria; 
Wolfenden,  Richard,  Victoria  ;  Rowling,  William,  South  Vancouver ; 
Simple,  Robert,  Victoria — in  all  34. 


374  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEE  XXIV. 


FURTHER  SURVEYS  FOR  RAILWAYS. 

MR.  MOBERLY'S  INSTRUCTIONS. — After  the  arrival  of  Governor 
Seymour,  in  1864,  Mr.  Moberly  was  instructed  to  superintend  govern- 
ment works,  as  Assistant  Surveyor-General.  The  work  of  exploration 
and  construction  of  roads  was  continued.  The  Government  of  British 
Columbia  being  anxious  to  have  a  road  built  which  would  connect 
with  Canada,  orders  were  issued  to  explore  from  Kamloops  as  far  as 
the  eastern  boundary  of  British  Columbia,  at  the  water-shed  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  In  the  prosecution  of  this  work,  Mr.  Moberly, 
with  a  light  exploring  party  and  a  band  of  Indians  to  pack  supplies^ 
commenced  an  exploratory  survey,  which  led  him  to  discover  "  Eagle 
Pass,"  subsequently  found  to  be  the  most  suitable  route  for  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway. 

EXPLORATIONS  ON  THE  COLUMBIA  ROUTE.  —  Mr.  Moberly  also 
explored  the  country  south  along  the  Columbia  route  to  Arrow 
Lakes,  and  to  Little  Dallas.  The  exploring  party  was  strengthened 
by  the  arrival  of  Ashdown  Green,  O.E.,  and  James  Turnbull,  late  of 
the  Royal  Engineers.  Mr.  Green  went  to  explore  the  valley  of  Gold 
River,  and  Mr.  Turnbull  to  the  north-east  end  of  Upper  Arrow  Lake. 
Mr.  Moberly  went  eastward  through  the  Selkirk  range,  toiling 
through  dense  underbrush  and  forest.  Winter  setting  in,  the  parties 
returned  to  New  Westminster. 

THE  "  BIG  BEND" — YELLOW-HEAD  PASS. — Early  in  1866,  the  work 
of  exploration  to  ascertain  the  best  road  connection  with  the  East 
across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  was  continued  by  Mr.  Moberly  and  his 
parties.  He  laid  out  and  commenced  a  trail  from  La  Port,  the  head 
of  steam  navigation,  above  the  49th  parallel,  and  a  short  distance 
below  Dalla  de  Mort ;  thence  a  visit  was  paid  to  Fort  Shepherd,  via 
the  valley  of  the  Kootenay,  and  crossing  the  Kootenay  River,  reached 
Columbia  Lake,  over  a  "  divide "  of  a  little  more  than  a  mile. 
Columbia  Lake  is  the  source  of  the  great  river  of  that  name.  The 
river  has  a  length  of  over  1,200  miles.  It  flows  nearly  north  to  the 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD.  375 

"Boat  Encampment"  in  latitude  52°  7'  north;  then  takes  a  sudden 
bend  westward  and  turns  south,  running  through  Arrow  Lakes,  into 
the  United  States;  hence  the  necessity  of  the  bend  of  the  river 
around  Selkirk  range  of  mountains,  namely — "The  Big  Bend."  The 
Selkirk  range  does  not  extend  north  of  the  "Boat  Encampment,"  but 
the  Gold  and  Rocky  Mountain  ranges  come  nearly  together  at  this 
point,  being  divided  by  the  valley  of  Canoe  River,  which  connects 
with  Yellow-head  Pass,  formerly  used  by  the  early  fur  traders  to  and 
from  Hudson  Bay  and  Montreal.  On  his  return  to  New  Westminster, 
Mr.  Moberly  retired  from  the  colonial  service  in  1869,  having  been 
ten  years  in  the  country.  In  1871,  he  was  engaged  by  Sandford 
Fleming  to  join  the  preliminary  surveys  for  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  in  British  Columbia. 

GOVERNOR  SEYMOUR  CEASED  TO  OPPOSE. — Governor  Seymour,  in  his 
speech  at  the  opening  of  the  Legislative  Council,  at  New  Westminster, 
March  13th,  1868,  withdrew  his  former  opposition  to  the  union  of 
British  Columbia  with  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  modified  his 
views  in  reference  to  the  location  of  the  seat  of  government  of  the 
recently  united  colonies.  In  reference  to  the  former  he  said  :  "  During 
the  last  session  your  Honorable  Council  unanimously  passed  a 
resolution  in  favor  of  negotiations  being  entered  into  for  the  union  of 
this  colony  with  the  confederation  which  has  been  formed  among  the 
eastern  British  Provinces  on  this  continent.  Although  I  could  not 
be  blind  to  the  difficulties  which  made  me  consider  the  resolution 
principally  as  the  expression  of  a  disheartened  community  longing 
for  change  of  any  kind,  yet  the  possibility  alone  of  something  arising 
out  of  it  to  promote  an  overland  communication  with  Canada,  was 
enough  to  induce  me  to  support  your  resolution."  In  reference  to  the 
seat  of  government,  he  remarked  : 

PERMANENT  SEAT  OF  GOVERNMENT. — "Suffice  it  now  to  say,  that 
her  Majesty's  Government  is  of  opinion  that,  in  my  message  of  the 
27th  March,  1867,  I  took  an  extreme  view  as  to  the  extent  to  which 
public  faith  and  honor  are  pledged  to  the  purchasers  of  land  in  New 
Westminster.  Further,  that  I  should  consider  the  public  convenience 
as  the  main  guide  in  the  selection  of  a  seat  of  government,  I  am 
commanded  to  come  to  a  decision  without  further  delay,  and  I  desire 
to  avail  myself  of  your  assistance  in  so  doing.  ...  I  shall  be 
glad  if  you  will  come  to  a  decision  on  the  subject.  Every  argument  is 
exhausted.  I  have  now  but  to  act.  A  governor  must  allow  himself 
no  personal  feelings  in  a  matter  of  this  importance." 


376  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

CONFEDERATION  MEMORIAL. — A  memorial,  following  up  the  subject 
of  Confederation,  signed  by  Messrs.  James  Trimble,  A.  De  Cosmos,  I. 
W.  Powell,  J.  R.  Findlay,  R.  Wallace  and  H.  E.  Seeley,  a  committee 
appointed  at  a  public  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Victoria,  January 
29th,  1868,  shows  the  state  of  feeling  at  that  time.  The  memorial 
represented  : 

"  1.  That  March  18th,  1867,  a  resolution  was  unanimously  passed  by 
the  Legislative  Council  of  the  colony,  asking  his  Excellency,  Governor 
Seymour,  to  take  measures  without  delay  to  secure  the  admission  of 
British  Columbia  into  the  Canadian  Confederacy  on  fair  and  equitable 
terms.      "2.   That  a  public  meeting  was  held  at  the  same  time  express- 
ing concurrent   views  with  the  action  of    the  Legislative  Council.      3. 
That  the  people  of  Cariboo,  the  next  most  populous  and  influential 
portion   of  the  colony,   held  in  December  last  a  highly  enthusiastic 
meeting,  and  unanimously  passed  resolutions  in  favor  ot'immediately 
joining  the  Dominion.      4.   That  public  opinion  throughout  the  colony, 
so  far  as  we  can  learn,  is  overwhelmingly  in  favor  of  Confederation. 
5.   That  there  is  a  small  party  in  favor  of  annexation  to  the  United 
States,  and  if  it  were  practicable   or  possible  their  number  would  be 
largely  increased.      6.   That  there  is  a    small  party,  other  than  annex- 
ationists,  who  are  opposed  to  Confederation.     7.  That  nearly  all  the 
office-holders  of  this  colony  are  allied  to  the  latter  party.     8.  That 
the  total   number  of  those  opposed    to    Confederation    on   fair   and 
1  equal  terms  is  numerically  small,  but  supported  by  the  office-holders, 
they  may  exert  a  good  deal  of  resistance  to  the  popular  will.      9.  That 
from  information  in  a  telegram  from  Ottawa,  dated  January  22nd, 
1868,  we  learn  that  Governor  Seymour  has  not  made  any  proposition 
to    the    Dominion    Government    respecting    our    admission,    as    was 
expected.     10.  That  the  Legislative  Council,  the  only  legislative  body 
in  the  colony,  is  made  up  of  a  majority,  consisting  of  heads  of  depart- 
ments, gold  commissioners,  magistrates  and  others,  subject  to  govern- 
ment influence,  and  cannot  be  relied  upon  to  urge  a  Confederation  as 
it  ought  to  be   at   the  present  juncture.     11.  That  the  only  popular 
institutions  in  the  colony  are  the  city  councils  of  Victoria  and  New 
Westminster.      1 2.  That  the  people  of  this  colony  are  really  without  the 
means  of  expressing  and  carrying  out  their  wishes  through  the  Legisla- 
ture.     13.   We,  therefore,  representing  the  views  of.  a  large  majority  of 
the  people  of  this,  the  most  populous  and  influential  section  of  the 
colony,  would  respectfully  ask  the  Government  of  the  Dominion  to 
take  immediate  steps  to  bring  this  colony  into  the  Dominion,  by  tele- 
graphing or  communicating  with  her  Majesty's  Government,  to  issue 
immediate  instructions  to  Governor  Seymour,  or  otherwise  to  conclude 
negotiations  as  to  the  terms  of  admission.      14.   We  feel  that  without 
the  help    and  liberal  support  of  the   Government  of  the  Dominion 
the  time  will  be  somewhat  remote  when  the  colony  will  be  admitted 
into  the  Dominion,  but  with  the  aid  which  we  solicit,  we  believe  that 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  377 

there  is  no  obstacle  to  prevent  our  admission  by  the  1st  of  July  next. 
15.  We  would  further  represent,  for  the  information  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Dominion,  that  the  terms  of  admission  which  would  be 
acceptable  to  the  people  of  this  colony,  as  far  as.  we  can  learn,  would 
be: 

"(1)  The  Dominion  to  become  liable  for  the  entire  public  debt  of  the 
colony,  estimated  at  $1,500,000.  (2)  The  Dominion  to  provide  for 
federal  officers  and  services.  (3)  To  grant  a  fixed  subsidy,  and  per 
capita  subsidy,  to  insure  the  support  of  the  local  government,  in 
addition  to  the  powers  of  taxation  reserved  to  Provincial  Governments 
in  the  British  North  America  Act.  (4)  Representation  in  the 
Senate  and  Commons  of  Canada.  (5)  Popular  representative 
institutions,  insuring  responsible  control  over  the 'Government.  (6) 
The  construction  of  a  transcontinental  waggon  road,  from  Lake 
Superior  to  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Lower  Fraser,  within  two 
years  after  the  time  of  admission.  This  is  regarded  as  an  essential 
condition. 

"  16.  Hereafter  we  hope  to  communicate  further  information.  In 
the  meantime  we  confidently  trust  the  Government  of  the  Dominion 
will  cheerfully  aid  the  people  of  this  colony  in  furthering  their  imme- 
diate admission." 

REPLY  TO  THE  MEMORIAL. — The  Hon.  S.  L.  Tilley,  then  Minister  of 
Customs  for  the  Dominion,  sent  the  following  reply  to  the  memorial, 
Addressed  to  Henry  E.  Seeley:  "OTTAWA,  March  25th,  1868.  The 
Canadian  Government  desires  union  with  British  Columbia,  and  have 
opened  communications  with  the  Imperial  Government  on  the  subject 
of  the  resolutions,  and  suggests  immediate  action  by  your  Legislature 
and  the  passage  of  an  address  to  her  Majesty  requesting  union  with 
Canada.  Keep  us  informed  of  progress." 

DISCUSSIONS       ON       THE       CANADIAN      PACIFIC        RAILWAY. About 

this  time  the  railway  route  through  Canada  to  the  Pacific 
began  to  be  discussed  in  Great  Britain.  In  January,  1868,  the 
Liverpool  Courier,  speaking  of  a  Pacific  railway,  remarks  that  "  the 
two  extremities  of  our  territory  (British  North  America)  are  as 
completely  isolated  as  if  they  were  at  opposite  ends  of  the  earth; 
British  Columbia  and  Vancouver  Island  are  as  thoroughly  cut  off 
from  Montreal  as  if  they  were  in  another  hemisphere,  as  far  as  all 
practical  communication  is  concerned.  .  .  .  But  it  may  be  said, 
granting  the  extreme  desirability  of  having  the  two  extremes  of 
Canadian  territory  brought  into  regular  communication,  how  is  that 
object  to  be  effected  ?  Who  is  to  make  a  railway  across  the  continent, 
the  Home  or  Colonial  Government  1  To  this  we  may  answer,  that 
though  there  is  no  present  probability  of  a  railway  being  constructed 


378  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

either  by  the  British  or  the  Canadian  Parliament,  there  is,  neverthe- 
less, another  and  a  much  easier  way  out  of  the  difficulty,"  etc.  The 
utilization  of  water-stretches  is  advocated,  and  it  is  added:  "It  is 
possible  that  inert  officialism  may  succeed  in  tiring  out  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  principal  proprietor,  Mr.  Alfred  Waddington,  who  has  come 
from  Victoria  with  the  intention  of  urging  the  advantages  of  the  new 
route  upon  the  Home  Government.  .  .  .  It  is  to  be  hoped  his 
perseverance  may  prove  of  too  enduring  a  nature  to  be  tired  out  by 
red  tapeism." 

THE  BUTE  INLET  RAILWAY  ROUTE. — Mr,  Waddington  proceeded 
to  London,  and  petitioned  the  House  of  Commons,  in  the  interests  of 
British  Columbia.  His  first  petition  of  the  29th  of  May,  1868,  was 
signed  by  himself  ;  the  second  (3rd  July)  was  presented  by  Viscount 
Milton.  It  was  largely  signed  by  parties  connected  with  British 
Columbia,  and  showed  that  that  colony  was,  "for  all  practical  pur- 
poses, isolated  from  the  Mother  Country,  and  surrounded  by  a,  foreign 
state,  and  great  national  difficulties ; "  that  it  was  "  entirely  indebted 
to  the  United  States  for  the  carriage  of  its  letters  and  emigrants,  and 
almost  entirely  for  the  carriage  of  goods  required  for  trade  and 
domestic  purposes  ;  that  a  graving-dock  was  required  ;  that  it  was  of 
great  public  importance  to  secure  the  advantages  of  an  overland 
communication  through  British  North  America,  which  would  be  the 
shortest  and  best  route  to  China,  Japan  and  the  East;  that  the 
overland  communication  sought  for  would  perpetuate  the  loyal  feel- 
ings of  the  colony,  and  that  a  line  of  steam  communication  from 
Panama  to  Vancouver  Island  should  in  the  meantime  be  subsidized. " 
Mr.  Waddington,  after  remaining  in  London  until  1869,  returned  to- 
Ottawa,  and  continued  to  advocate  the  construction  of  a  trans-conti- 
nental railway,  until  after  Confederation.  He  sold  the  plans  of  his 
overland  route  through  British  Columbia  to  the  Dominion  Govern- 
ment in  August,  1871.  He  died  in  Ottawa  of  small -pox  in  February, 
1872.  His  correspondent  in  Victoria,  George  Pearkes,  Crown  solicitor 
in  the  colonial  days,  who  had  been  in  the  colony  since  1858,  died  17th 
March,  1871. 

CONFEDERATION  LEAGUE  FORMED. — To  expedite  the  desired  union 
with  Canada,  a  Confederation  League  was  formed.  May  21st,  1868, 
and  officers  elected,  consisting  of  the  Mayor  of  Victoria,  James 
Trimble,  President;  the  Hon.  Edward  Stamp,  I.  W.  Powell,  M.D., 
and  J.  F.  McCreight,  barrister,  Vice-Presidents ;  R.  Beaven,  Esq., 
Secretary  ;  J.  G.  Norris,  Esq.,  Financial  Secretary ;  Messrs.  George 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  379 

Pearkes,  R.  Wallace,  Charles  Gowen,  M.  W.  Gibbs,  A.  De  Cosmos  and 
George  Fox,  Executive  Committee.  The  object  of  the  league  was  "  to 
effect  Confederation  as  speedily  as  possible,  and  secure  representative 
institutions  for  the  colony,  and  thus  get  rid  of  the  present  one-man 
government,  with  its  huge  staff  of  overpaid  and  do-nothing  officials." 

THE  DOMINION  GOVERNMENT  TAKES  ACTION. — The  Privy  Council 
at  Ottawa,  in  a  report  dated  6th  March,  1868,  through  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  Canada,  submits  and  recommends  that,  as  no  official 
communication  had  been  received  from  British  Columbia  on  the 
subject  of  Confederation,  the  Governor-General  of  Canada  communi- 
cate to  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  a  copy  of  the  memorial 
and  resolutions  of  29th  January  last,  and  to  request  his  Grace  to 
instruct  Mr.  Seymour  to  take  such  steps  as  may  be  deemed  proper  to 
move  the  Legislative  Council  of  British  Columbia  to  further  action, 
in  terms  of  the  Imperial  Act,  and  that  his  Grace  be  informed  that 
the  Government  of  Canada  will  be  prepared  to  submit  to  Parliament 
a  proposal  for  the  admission  of  British  Columbia  into  the  Union,  in 
the  expectation  that  the  Imperial  Government  will  lose  no  time  in 
transferring  the  intervening  North- Western  Territory  to  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Canadian  Government. 

AN  OPEN-AIR  MEETING. — On  Dominion  Day  (July  1st),  1868,  a 
largely  attended  and  spirited  open-air  meeting  was  held  at  Barkerville, 
the  capital  of  the  Cariboo  district.  Dr.  Carroll  proposed  the  following 
resolution,  seconded  by  J.  Babbitt,  and  carried  without  a  dissentient 
voice  : 

"That  in  the  opinion  of  this  meeting,  the  conduct  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  British  Columbia  in  opposing  Confederation,  is  contrary  both 
to  the  policy  of  the  Imperial  Government  and  the  declared  wishes  of 
the  people  of  this  colony.5''  Effective  speeches  were  made  by  the 
proposer  and  seconder. 

MR.  J.  S.  THOMPSON  proposed  a  second  resolution,  viz :  "  That  as 
the  Government  of  this  colony  continues  to  resist  the  wishes  of  the 
inhabitants  on  this  important  question,  the  people  should  at  once 
adopt  some  organized  and  systematic  mode  of  obtaining  immediate 
admission  into  the  Dominion  of  Canada."  In  the  course  of  his 
remarks,  in  introducing  the  resolution,  Mr.  Thompson  said : 

"  He  would  ask,  had  we  not  better  try  to  get  rid  of  the  members  of 
the  present  irresponsible  autocracy  as  soon  as  possible,  and  render 
ourselves  practically  independent  by  becoming  one  of  the  provinces 
of  the  Dominion  of  Canada?  The  Dominion  is  now  one  of  the 
recognized  powers  of  the  earth,  which,  while  retaining  its  own 
individuality,  still  proudly  boasts  of  being  a  cluster  of  bright  stars  in 


380  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

that  brilliant  galaxy  of  sparkling  luminaries  which  constitute  the 
constellation  of  the  British  Empire.  Then  let  us  seek  its  fostering 
protection  rather  than  attempt  any  longer  to  shine  on  our  own 
account  as  a  star  of  the  one-hundredth  magnitude. 

"  For  ten  years,  since  the  first  eager  crowd  of  gold-seekers  rushed  to 
the  banks  of  the  Eraser,  has  the  colony  struggled  to  keep  its  head 
above  water,  and  what  is  its  present  condition  ?  Almost  in  a  state  of 
bankruptcy.  While  the  bonds  of  the  Dominion  are  eagerly  sought 
for,  those  of  British  Columbia  are  unsalable.  If  we  were  once 
admitted  into  Confederation,  our  debt  would  be  merged  with  that  of 
the  Dominion,  and  we  should  be  enabled  to  breathe  freely  once  again. 

"It  may  be  asked  by  some  skeptical  individuals,  will  the  other 
provinces  be  willing  to  admit  us,  and  confer  upon  us  so  many 
advantages,  unless  we  can  offer  some  inducement  in  return  1  To  this 
he  (Mr.  T.)  would  answer,  the  advantages  would  be  reciprocal ;  while 
they  would  raise  us  from  our  present  abject  condition  of  bankruptcy 
and  serfdom,  we  would  open  to  them  the  gates  of  the  Orient.  When 
the  North- West  Territory,  now  held  as  a  hunting-ground  by  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  becomes  united  to  the  Dominion — as  it 
shortly  must — then  the  now  despised  colony  of  British  Columbia  will 
become  of  importance ;  it  will  be  the  last  link  in  the  chain  of 
independent  ^provinces,  uniting  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  under  one 
name — one  Dominion — sheltered  by  the  spreading  folds  of  the  glorious 
British  banner. 

"  The  people  of  Cariboo  are  the  mainstay  of  the  whole  colony. 
They  contribute,  directly  and  indirectly,  the  greater  portion  of  the 
taxes,  yet  how  are  they  treated  1  Left  entirely  to  their  own 
resources  !  For  instance,  the  Council  recently  voted  $5,000  for  a 
trail  from  Williams  Creek  to  Musquito  Gulch,  and  we  cannot  go 
there  to-day  without  floundering  to  our  knees  through  swamp  and 
mud.  A  little  money  judiciously  expended  in  opening  trails  would 
give  an  immense  encouragement  to  prospecting.  We  all  know  the 
difficulties  now  to  be  encountered.  Although  the  mines  of  Cariboo 
have  now  been  in  existence  seven  years,  we  cannot  now  go  a  dozen 
miles  from  Barkerville  without  fighting  our  way,  step  by  step, 
through  the  primeval  forests  and  swamps,  over  rugged  mountains 
and  foaming  torrents,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  indomitable  energy 
of  the  miner,  this  region  would  still  have  remained  the  home  of  the 
cariboo,  the  beaver  and  the  marten. 

"There  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  almost  unanimous  feeling 
throughout  the  colony  in  favor  of  Confederation.  Public  meetings 
have  been  held  everywhere,  from  the  mountains  to  the  sea,  from 
Victoria  to  Cariboo.  The  entire  press  of  the  colony,  whatever  their 
opinion  on  other  subjects  may  be,  holds  but  one  on  this.  Even  the 
Government  has  declared  in  its  favor;  but  though  the  Legislative 
Council  of  1867  passed  a  resolution  in  favor  of  Confederation,  the 
official  members,  in  the  session  of  1868,  annulled  that  resolution  on 
the  ground  that  delay  was  necessary.  Delay  ! — delay  for  what  1  To 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD.  381 

enable  them  to  retain  their  offices  a  little  longer,  and  stave  off,  for  a 
year  at  least,  the  inevitable  event  which  must  seal  their  doom.  Will 
you,  then,  quietly  submit  to  be  treated  with  such  indignity  ?  Will 
you  by  keeping  silence  enable  the  Government  to  point  to  that  fact 
as  an  evidence  that  you  tacitly  endorse  their  actions  1  Shall  we  have 
Confederation  or  not  ?  (Cries  of  "  Yes,  yes.")  Well,  then,  I  call  upon 
you  with  one  accord  to  unite ;  bury  all  sectional  feelings,  and  show 
by  your  actions  that  the  people— English,  Irish,  Scottish,  Welsh, 
Canadian,  and  also  our  friends  of  other  nationalities — all  are  in  favor 
of  this  great  object.  Show  the  Government  of  Great  Britain  that 
you  are  in  earnest,  and  that  you  must  obtain  what  you  desire. 
Demonstrate  that  you  will  no  longer  submit  to  be  treated  as  serfs 
in  this  age  of  progress ;  that  you  will  not  calmly  surrender  your 
inalienable  birthright  of  liberty  as  British  subjects. 

"  See  the  magic  influence  that  name  carries  with  it  to-day  !  An 
African  savage  monarch  imprisons  a  few  British  subjects,  and  though 
protected  by  almost  inaccessible  mountains  in  his  stronghold — 
although  the  armies  of  Greece  and  Rome,  in  their  palmiest  days,  had 
been  foiled  in  attempting  to  overrun  the  same  territory — a  brief 
campaign  has  laid  the  tyrant  Theodore  in  the  dust,  and  British  arms 
have  vindicated  British  honor.  What  must  be  the  feeling  of  those 
ransomed  captives  on  first  setting  foot  again  on  their  native  shore  ? 
Will  they  not  fall  on  their  knees  and  cry  with  rapture,  '  Thank  God, 
I  am  a  British  subject '  ?  And  shall  we,  then,  while  boasting  of  that 
glorious  appellation,  submit  any  longer  to  the  present  system  of 
oppression  1  (Cries  of  "  No,  no.") 

"  Some  parties  say  they  care  nothing  about  this  matter ;  all  they 
want  is  a  good  paying  claim.  We  all  want  them  ;  but  many  of  us 
have  tried  to  get  one  for  the  last  five  or  six  years  in  vain,  and  we  may 
have  to  wait  as  many  more.  So,  while  we  are  waiting,  let  us  unite  and 
endeavor  to  ameliorate  our  condition.  Make  this  a  national,  not  a 
sectional,  issue.  Recollect  our  common  origin,  our  common  flag,  and 
devote  our  energies  to  further  the  glorious  cause  of  Confederation ; 
and  perhaps  when  many  of  us  get  ready  to  leave  this  colony,  we  may 
enjoy  a  journey  across  the  plains,  drawn  by  the  mighty  iron  horse, 
while  the  herds  of  buffaloes  fly  in  terror  before  him  across  the  prairies, 
and  his  shrill  whistle,  reverberating  through  the  depths  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  startles  the  eagles  from  their  native  eyries." 

MR.  CORNELIUS  BOOTH  (afterwards  elected  to  the  Legislature),  in  a 
vigorous  speech,  seconded  the  resolution,  which  was  passed  unani- 
mously. Before  the  meeting  adjourned,  a  committee  of  five  was 
appointed  by  resolution  to  take  such  steps  as  they  might  deem 
expedient  to  further  the  cause  which  had  been  advocated.  Delegates 
from  Cariboo  attended  the  Yale  convention  in  September. 


382  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


PREPARATION  FOR  CONFEDERATION. 

CONVENTION  AT  YALE. — Much  dissatisfaction  was  felt  throughout 
the  colony  in  reference  to  the  delay  which  took  place  in  the  promotion 
of  Confederation.  A  convention  was  held  at  Yale,  September  14th, 
at  which  the  following  delegates  were  present :  From  Esquimalt,  J. 

B.  Thompson  and  Wm.   Fisher ;  from  Victoria,  Hon.  A.  De  Cosmos, 
J.    E.   McMillan,  J.  G.   Norris   and   R.  Wallace  ;  from   Salt  Spring 
Island,  M.  W.  Gibbs ;  from  Metchosin,  T.  Fulton ;  from  New  West- 
minster, Hon.  J.  Robson,  H.  Holbrook,  Dr.  Black  and  D.  With  row  ; 
from    Burrard    Inlet,    H.    Nelson ;   from    Sumas,   W.    Miller ;    from 
Harrison  River,  J.  Donally ;  from  Chilliwack,  A.  Rose ;  from  Yale, 

C.  Evans,  J.  McLardy  and  H.   Havelock  ;  from  Lytton,   R.  Smith  ; 
from  Lillooet,  Dr.  Featherstone  ;  from  Lake  La  Hache,  Dr.  Brouse ; 
from  Williams  Lake,  Hon.  F.  Barnard  ;  from  Quesnelle  Mouth,  J.  C. 
Armstrong ;  from  Cariboo,  C.  W.  King  and  E.  H.  Babbitt. 

COMMITTEE  APPOINTED. — Messrs.  De  Cosmos,  Robson,  Barnard, 
Babbitt,  McMillan,  Thompson  and  Havelock  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  draw  up  a  report,  which  was  subsequently  submitted  to  a  com- 
mittee of  the  whole  with  Dr.  Brouse  in  the  chair.  It  was  considered 
seriatim  and  adopted.  The  report  set  forth  that  the  convention  was 
called  by  the  Confederation  League,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  people 
of  British  Columbia  in  the  respective  districts  mentioned,  and  was 
intended  to  give  a  full,  unprejudiced  and  united  expression  of  their 
views  and  feelings  respecting  the  desirability  of  the  admission  of  the 
colony  into  the  Dominion  of  Canada  ;  the  necessity  for  the  immediate 
establishment  of  representative  institutions  with  responsible  govern- 
ment, and  generally  as  to  the  state,  wants  and  wishes  of  the  country. 

THE  CONVENTION  was  duly  impressed  with  the  high,  responsible  and 
patriotic  duties  they  were  called  upon  to  discharge,  and  avowed  that 
they  cherished  the  most  ardent  and  devoted  loyalty  to  her  most 
gracious  Majesty  the  Queen,  and  attachment  to  British  institutions  ; 
and  that  after  due  deliberation,  in  virtue  of  the  trust  imposed  upon 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD.  383 

it,  the  convention,  with  an  honest  and  patriotic  desire  to  promote  the 
public  welfare,  resolved  and  declared  : 

"  1.  That  all  governments  should  exist  by  the  free  and  just  consent 
of  the  governed,  and  that  the  government  that  does  not  exist  by  the 
free  and  just  consent  of  the  governed  is  a  despotism.  That  the 
Government  of  British  Columbia  does  not  exist  by  the  free  and  just 
consent  of  the  governed ;  and  is,  therefore,  a  despotism.  That  it  is 
unsuited  to  the  free  British  subjects  of  the  colony.  That  it  deprives 
the  people  of  their  rightful  share  in  the  government,  as  no  statute  or 
order-in-council  exists  which  guarantees  to  the  people  the  right  to 
participate  in  the  government  of  the  colony ;  but  in  the  legislative 
and  executive  departments,  all  are  nominated  or  may  be  rejected, 
suspended  or  removed  by  the  governor  of  this  colony.  That  the 
ordinary  consequences  of  such  a  form  of  government  are  manifest  in 
this  colony;  in  the  disregard  of  public  opinion,  in  the  neglect  of 
public  interests,  in  the  high  taxation,  in  the  annual  deficits,  in  the 
-annually  increased  public  debt,  in  expending  large  sums  of  public 
money  in  paying  salaries  disproportionate  to  the  services  rendered, 
and  in  maintaining  an  unnecessarily  large  number  of  officials,  and  in 
the  tendency  which  the  continuance  of  such  political  evils  have  to 
weaken  the  attachment  to  the  Crown  and  British  connection.  That 
to  such  an  extent  have  the  evils  of  misgovernment  multiplied,  that 
profound,  wide-spread,  universal  discontent  prevails,  and  is  expressed 
at  the  form  of  government,  and  at  the  manner  in  which  the  affairs  of 
the  colony  have  been,  and  are,  mismanaged  ;  and  that  the  people  of 
British  Columbia  loudly  demand  a  REMEDY. 

"2.  That  the  proper  remedy  for  the  present  political  condition  of 
the  colony,  and  the  one  that  commends  itself  as  preferable  to  all 
others — being  in  harmony  with  Imperial  policy  and  the  legitimate 
aspirations  and  desires  of  the  people  of  this  colony — is  the  immediate 
admission  of  British  Columbia  into  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  on 
terms  equitable,  expedient  and  beneficial,  simultaneously  with  the 
establishment  of  representative  institutions  and  responsible  govern- 
ment ;  and  that,  whether  admission  into  the  Dominion  of  Canada 
shall  occur  or  not,  representative  institutions  and  responsible  govern- 
ment should  be  inaugurated  forthwith  in  British  Columbia. 

"  3.  That  such  terms,  in  the  opinion  of  the  convention  are  chiefly 
contained  in  the  following  fifteen  sections — which  set  forth,  (1)  That 
the  Dominion  would  become  liable  for  the  public  debt  of  British 
Columbia  at  the  time  of  admission.  (2)  That  for  the  support  of  the 
local  government  and  legislature  the  sum  of  $110,000,  in  semi-annual 
advances,  and  also  (3)  An  annual  grant  in  aid  of  the  local  govern- 
ment, equal  to  eighty  cents  per  head  of  the  population  of  British 
Columbia,  at  the  time  of  admission,  jto  be  the  property  of  British 
Columbia — the  minimum  number  of  said  population,  including  Indians, 
not  to  be  estimated  at  less  than  40,000  at  any  time,  and  the  increase 
of  population  after  admission  to  be  the  increase  of  population  other 


384  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

than  Indians.  (4)  All  Crown  lands,  mines,  minerals,  and  royalties  in 
British  Columbia  to  belong  to  British  Columbia,  and  to  be  under  the 
exclusive  control  of  its  government  and  legislature.  (5)  All  stocks, 
cash,  bankers'  balances  and  securities  for  money  belonging  to  British 
Columbia.  (6)  All  public  works,  the  property  of  British  Columbia 
at  the  time  of  admission,  with  the  exception  of  such  portions  of  the 
Grand  Trunk  Road  through  British  Columbia,  or  other  roads  then 
constructed,  as  may  be  used  as  a  portion  of  the  trans-continental  road, 
which  shall  become  the  property  of  the  Federal  Government.  (7)  The 
Dominion  of  Canada  to  construct,  within  three  years  after  the  admis- 
sion of  British  Columbia,  a  good  overland  waggon  road,  extending 
from  Lake  Superior,  Ontario,  to  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Lower 
Fraser  River,  British  Columbia,  and  to  commence  the  construction  of 
the  same  through  the  Rocky  Mountains  within  one  year  after  admis- 
sion. (8)  The  Imperial  Government  to  guarantee  a  loan  to  construct 
the  said  overland  road  if  deemed  expedient.  (9)  If  at  any  time  after 
admission  the  Legislature  of  British  Columbia  shall  pass  an  address  to 
the  Governor-General  of  Canada  declaring  that  it  is  expedient  to 
establish  a  free  port  on  the  Pacific,  in  order  to  advance  the  interests 
of  British  commerce,  in  the  north  Pacific,  the  Parliament  of  the 
Dominion  may  make  provision  for  the  establishment  of  the  same. 
(10)  British  Columbia  to  be  represented  in  the  Senate  by  not  less 
than  two  members,  and  in  the  Commons  by  not  less  than  three  mem- 
ber. (11)  At  the  first  election  of  representatives  to  the  Commons, 
the  Lieutenant-Go vernor  of  British  Columbia  shall  proclaim  what 
shall  be  the  qualifications  and  disqualifications  of  representatives  and 
electors — the  boundaries  of  electoral  districts  and  the  laws  governing 
such  elections.  (12)  The  revenue  laws  of  the  Dominion  to  extend 
and  apply  to  British  Columbia — thereupon  the  revenue  laws  of 
British  Columbia  thereby  affected  to  be  null  and  void — all  duties 
and  revenues  then  to  belong  to  Canada.  (13)  Legislative  powers  as 
enumerated  in  the  '  British  North  America  Act,  1867,'  to  extend  and 
apply  to  British  Columbia,  except  as  otherwise  in  these  terms 
provided.  (14)  Except  as  otherwise  provided,  all  law  in  force  in 
British  Columbia  at  the  time  of  admission,  and  all  courts  of  civil  and 
criminal  jurisdiction,  and  all  legal  commissions,  powers  and  authori- 
ties, and  all  officers,  judicial,  administrative  and  ministerial,  existing 
therein  at  the  time  of  admission  to  continue  in  British  Columbia  as 
if  such  admission  had  not  taken  place  ;  subject,  nevertheless,  to  be 
repealed,  abolished  or  altered  by  the  Parliament  of  Canada,  or  by  the 
Legislature  of  British  Columbia,  according  to  the  authorities  men- 
tioned under  the  British  North  America  Act,  and  any  subsequent 
Imperial  Act.  (15)  All  officers  of  British  Columbia  at  and  from  the 
time  of  admission  having  duties  to  discharge  in  relation  to  matters 
other  than  those  coming  within  the  classes  of  subjects  assigned  by 
the  British  North  America  Act  to  the  provinces,  to  be  officers  of 
Canada  until  the  Parliament  of  the  Dominion  provides  otherwise." 


THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  385 

AMENDMENT  BY  THE  LEGISLATIVE  COUNCIL.— Notwithstanding  the 
strong  feeling  which  prevailed  and  was  manifested  in  the  colony,  an 
amendment  was  carried  in  the  Legislative  Council,  by  11  ayes  to 
5  nays,  to  the  effect  that  Confederation  at  the  present  time  was 
neither  practicable  nor  desirable.  The  sum  of  $3,500  was  voted  to 
promote  female  immigration  to  British  Columbia,  and  a  Board  of 
Immigration  was  appointed  to  carry  the  project  into  effect. 

THE  LEGISLATORS  PROROGUED. — The  Legislature  was  prorogued  by 
Governor  Seymour,  March  15th,  1869,  the  following  members  being 
present :  Messrs.  Alston,  Ball,  Carroll,  Crease,  Davie,  Drake,  Hamley* 
Havelock,  Helmcken,  Humphreys,  O'Reilly,  Pemberton,  Ring,  Robson, 
Trutch,  and  Young  (presiding). 

Within  a  very  short  time  after  the  close  of 
the  session,  the  earthly  career  of  one  of  the 
most  respected  members  of  the  Council,  Dr. 
Davie,  was  ended  by  death.  [The  father  of 
the  present  premier  of  the  Province. — ED.] 
The  British  Colonist  of  May  12th,  1869,  has 
the  following  obituary  : 

"  With   a  feeling  of  deep    regret,    we   an- 
'nounce   to-day  the   death  of  the  Hon.  John 
Chapman  Davie,  M.D.,  a  member  of  the  Legis- 
DR.  DAVIE.  lative  Council  of  the  colony.     The  honorable 

gentleman  passed  away  yesterday  afternoon, 

after  an  illness  of  less  than  forty-eight  hours'  duration,  produced  by 
over-exertion  in  riding  to  town  from  Saanich  a  few  days  ago.  Than 
Dr.  Davie,  few  men  in  our  midst  have  given  more  solid  or  practical 
proofs  of  their  attachment  to  this  colony,  or  confidence  in  its  future 
growth  and  prosperity.  Born  in  Lyme  Regis,  Dorset,  England,  in 
1811,  Dr.  Davie,  emigrated  to  this  colony  seven  years  ago,  and  took 
up  his  abode  in  this  city,  where  he  has  since  resided,  gathering  around 
him  several  members  of  his  family  ;  and  he  had  the  very  great  satis- 
faction of  knowing,  long  before  his  departure  for  another  and  a  better 
world,  that  all  were  cbmfortably  settled  and  highly  respected  in  the 
land  of  their  adoption.  At  the  time  of  his  death  Dr.  Davie  was  a 
member  of  the  Legislative  Council  for  the  Island  (Agricultural)  Dis- 
trict, a  position  to  which  he  was  chosen  last  fall  by  an  overwhelming 
majority.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Tariff  Commission.  The 
doctor  was  one  of  our  best  colonists,  and  his  death  creates  a  void  in 
political  and  social  circles,  that  will  with  difficulty  be  filled." 
25 


386 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


GOV.    SEYMOUR. 


DEATH  OF  GOVERNOR  SEYMOUR. — Tn  the   spring  of  1869,  several 
Indian  tribes  on  the  coast  of  the  mainland,  and  on  the  eastern   coast 
of    Vancouver     Island     being     troublesome, 
H.M.S.  Sparrowhawk  was  ordered  north  with 
Governor  Seymour,  accompanied  by  the  Hon. 
Mr.   Trutch,  to  investigate  matters.      Whilst 
on  that  trip  his  Excellency  was  taken  ill  of 
inflammation,  and  died  at  Bella  Bella  on  June 
10th.     The  ship   returned,   and  arrived  with 
the  body  at  Esquimalt  on  the  13th.      On  the 
14th,  Mr.  Philip  Hawkin,  Colonial  Secretary, 
was  sworn  in  Administrator,  by  Chief  Justice 
Needham.     The  funeral  of  the  late  Governor 
Seymour   took    place  on  the  16th,   the   pall- 
bearers  being    Sir  James   Douglas,     Chief    Justice     Needham,    and 
Captains    Edye    and   Mist.      Fifty    marines    from    H.M.S.   Satellite 
formed  a  guard  of  honor.     He  was  interred  in  the  Naval  Cemetery, 
Esquimalt.     Governor  Seymour's  life  was  insured  for  £30,000,  which 
sum,  it  is  stated,  was  paid  over  to  his  brother  in  London. 

GOVERNOR  ANTHONY  MUSGRAVE. — It  was  understood    some    time 
before  Governor  Seymour's  death  that  he  would,  before  long,  be  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Governor  of  Newfoundland — Anthony  Musgrave — who 
was   in  favor  of    Confederation.     The  unex- 
pected death  of  Governor  Seymour  hastened 
the  appointment  of  his  successor,  who  arrived 
at  Victoria  on  August  23rd,  1869,  and  took 
the  oath  of  office  on  the  day  of  his  arrival. 
A  short  memoir  of  Governor  Musgrave,  the 
last  of  the  colonial  governors  of  British  Colum- 
bia, will  be  interesting : 

He  was  born  in  1828  ;  third  son  of  Anthony 
Musgrave,  M.D.,  and  Treasurer  of  Antigua, 
the  capital  of  the  Leeward  Islands,  West 
Indies.  This  third  son  was  educated  princi- 
pally by  his  father,  who  sent  bis  children  to  Edinburgh,  in  order  to 
give  them  what  he  considered  the  best  education.  In  1850,  A. 
Musgrave,  junior,  became  private  secretary]  to  Mr.  Mackintosh,  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Leeward  Islands.  On  the  death  of  his  father  in  1851, 
he  acted  as  Treasury  Accountant  until  1853.  He  then  entered  the 
civil  service,  and  was  appointed  Colonial  Secretary  in  Antigua,  which 


GOVERNOR  MUSGRAVE. 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD.  387 

position  he  occupied  till  I860,  when  he  was  sent  as  Administrator  to 
the  Island  of  Nevis,  and  thence  to  St.  Vincent,  where  he  was  made 
Lieutenant-Governor  in  1862.  In  1864,  Governor  Musgrave  was 
promoted  to  Newfoundland,  where  he  remained  until  transferred  to 
British  Columbia  in  1869. 

OFFICIAL  TRIP  TO  CARIBOO. — Early  in  September,  Governor  Mus- 
grave, to  make  himself  fully  conversant  with  the  views  of  the  people 
he  was  appointed  to  govern,  commenced  an  official  trip  on  the  main- 
land, going  as  far  as  Cariboo.  Along  the  route  he  was  presented  with 
addresses  of  welcome.  His  replies  were  well  received  by  the  general 
public,  as  they  touched  favorably  on  the  all-engrossing  subject  of  a 
speedy  union  with  the  Dominion,  and  the  desired  changes  in  legisla- 
tion and  representation.  Governor  Musgrave  returned  from  the  trip, 
October  14th. 

INSTRUCTIONS  FROM  OTTAWA. — AN  IMPORTANT  DESPATCH  from  Lord 
Granville,  dated  August  14th,  1869,  was  received  by  the  governor  at 
Victoria,  and  published  by  command  on  the  28th  of  October.  It 
instructed  him  to  consider  himself  authorized,  either  in  communica- 
tion with  the  Governor-General  of  the  Dominion  (Sir  John  Young), 
or  otherwise,  to  take  such  steps  as  he  properly  and  constitutionally 
could  for  promoting  the  favorable  consideration  of  the  question  of 
union  with  Canada.  The  question  was  kept  prominently  under 
discussion  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  Legislature  on  the  16th  of 
February,  1870.  His  Excellency  had  the  misfortune,  on  November 
2nd,  to  break  one  of  his  legs,  when  training  a  filly  at  the  Govern- 
ment House.  The  accident  (a  compound  fracture)  confined  him  to 
his  room  until  March  9th,  1870. 

THE  SPEECH  FROM  THE  THRONE,  in  Governor  Musgrave's  absence 
from  the  House,  was  read  by  the  President  of  the  Council.  It  referred, 
amongst  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  to  the  governor's  visit  to  the 
mainland,  where  he  noticed  indications  of  progress  and  prosperity  in 
mining  and  agriculture.  An  appropriation  of  $5,000  was  included 
in  the  estimates,  to  promote  immigration.  A  single  rate  of  six  cents 
postage,  provided  letters  were  paid  in  advance,  was  agreed  upon  with 
the  United  States,  and  ten  cents  if  not  so  paid.  A  deficit  of  $27,000 
was  shown  against  the  colony  in  the  Government  account  with  the 
Bank  of  British  Columbia. 


388  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEE  XXYI. 


RESOLUTIONS  FRAMED  BY  GOVERNOR  MUSGRAVE. 

UNION  WITH  CANADA. — From  Lord  Granville's  despatch,  recently 
received,  it  became  necessary  to  deal  with  the  subject  of  union  with 
Canada.  Governor  Musgrave  had,  with  his  Council,  framed  resolu- 
tions, which  he  would  lay  before  them,  to  enable  him  to  bring  the 
terms  before  the  Government  of  Canada  on  which  British  Columbia 
would  enter  Confederation.  The  terms  of  union  would  not  be  finally 
accepted  until  ratified  by  the  general  verdict  of  the  community.  He 
intended  to  ask  for  authority  to  so  reconstitute  the  Legislative 
Council  as  to  allow  the  majority  of  its  members  to  be  formally 
returned  for  electoral  districts.  He  did  not  consider  it  advisable  to 
recommend  any  change  in  the  tariff  under  present  circumstances. 

THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  BRITISH  COLUMBIA. — Ready  for  the  impor- 
tant work  before  them  during  the  session  of  1870,  the  following 
members  constituted  the  Legislative  Council  of  British  Columbia  : 
The  Honorable  Philip  Hankin,  Colonial  Secretary  and  presiding 
member ;  Henry  Pering  Pellew  Crease,  Attorney-General ;  Joseph 
William  Trutch,  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works ;  Wymond 
Ogilvie  Hamley,  Collector  of  Customs ;  Arthur  Thomas  Bushby, 
acting  Postmaster-General ;  Edward  Graham  Alston,  J.P.  ;  Henry 
Maynard  Ball,  J.P. ;  Henry  Holbrook,  J.P.  ;  Peter  O'Rielly,  J.P.  ; 
Augustus  Frederick  Pemberton,  J.P. ;  Edward  Howard  Saunders, 
J.P. ;  George  Anthony  Walkem,  J.P.  ;  Thomas  Lett  Wood,  J.P. 
Francis  Jones  Barnard,  Yale  ;  Robert  William  Weir  Carroll,  Cariboo  ; 
Amor  De  Cosmos,  Victoria  District ;  Edgar  Dewdney,  Kootenay 
Montague  William  Tyrwhitt  Drake,  Victoria  city;  Thomas  Basil 
Humphreys,  Lillooet ;  David  Babington  Ring,  Nanaimo ;  Hon.  John 
Robson,  New  Westminster. 

THE  TERMS  OF  UNION  proposed  by  the  governor  to  the  Council 
were  briefly  as  follows  :  Canada  to  assume  the  colonial  debt  of 
British  Columbia;  the  population  to  be  rated  at  120,000,  and  as  the 
debt  of  British  Columbia  is  less  than  that  of  the  other  provinces,. 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD. 


389 


interest  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent,  per  annum,  payable  half-yearly  in 
-advance  shall  be  allowed  on  the  difference  between  the  actual  amount 
of  its  indebtedness  and  the  indebtedness  per  head  of  the  population  of 
the  other  provinces.  For  the  support  of  the  local  Government,  the 
Dominion  to  grant  yearly  the  sum  of  $35,000,  and  80  cents  per  head 
for  each  inhabitant— the  population  being  rated,  as  before  stated,  at 
120,000 — and  the  rate  of  80  cents  per  head  to  be  continued  until  the 
population  reaches  400,000,  at  which  rate  the  subsidy  will  remain 
fixed.  The  surveys  for  a  line  of  railroad  to  be  commenced  at  once  ; 
a  waggon  road  to  be  completed  within  three  years  after  Confederation, 
and  not  less  than  $1,000.000  to  be  spent,  in  any  one  year,  in  its 
construction.  The  Canadian  Government  to  guarantee  five  per  cent, 
interest  on  a  loan  of  .£100,000  for  the  construction  of  a  graving-dock 
a,t  Esquimalt.  To  provide  fortnightly  steam  communication  with 
San  Francisco  ;  regular  communication  with  Nanaimo  and  the  interior. 
To  build  and  maintain  a  marine  hospital  and  lunatic  asylum  at 
Victoria,  and  a  penitentiary  in  any  part  of  the  colony  it  may  think 
advisable ;  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 
provinces  to  be  extended  to  British  Columbia,  which  is  to  be  allowed 
eight  members  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  four  in  the  Senate — 
and  the  present  officers  of  the  Government  to  be  pensioned  by 
Canada. 

PARLIAMENTARY  WORK. — After  ordering  that  the  governor's 
speech  and  enclosure  respecting  the  terms  of  union  be  printed,  the 
Council  devoted  their  time  in  discussing  the  estimates  ;  matters  con- 
nected with  the  lands  and  works  department,  and  the  mysteries,  said 
by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Robson  to  hang  around  them  ;  executive  appoint- 
ments ;  educational  affairs  ;  roads  and  tolls  ;  navigation  of  the  Fraser 
River ;  the  local  Government  representation,  in  event  of  Confederation; 
inland  telegraphic  communication;  items  of  supply,  etc.,  etc. 

THE  GREAT  CONFEDERATION  DEBATE. — Those  and  many  other 
public  questions  occupied  their  attention  until  the  great  debate  on 
Confederation  began  on  the  9th  of  March,  when  Attorney- General 
Crease  moved  that  the  "Council  do  now  resolve  itself  into  a  Com- 
mittee of  the  Whole,  to  take  into  consideration  the  terms  proposed  for 
the  Confederation  of  the  colony  of  British  Columbia  with  the 
Dominion  of  Canada,  in  his  Excellency's  message." 


390  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

MR.  TRUTCH  seconded  the  motion.  Mr.  Helmcken  replied,  oppos- 
ing Confederation.  It  would  occupy  too  much  space  to  give  a 
synopsis  of  the  many  able  speeches  which  were  delivered,  pro  and  con, 
during  this  protracted  and  animated  debate,  which  lasted  until  the 
6th  of  April,  when  provision  was  made  by  the  House  for  the  payment 
of  the  expenses  of  three  delegates  to  be  sent  to  Ottawa  to  negotiate 
the  terms  of  the  union  with  Canada.  The  sum  was  from  $2,500  to 
$3,000.  A  report  of  the  debate  is  published,  as  reprinted  from  the 
Government  Gazette  Extraordinary,  of  March,  1870.  The  argu- 
ments used  by  speakers  to  be  understood  and  appreciated,  should  be 
read  in  connection  with  the  debate. 

MR.  DRAKE  moved  in  amendment  that  the  consideration  of  the 
question  be  postponed  for  six  months.  This  was  seconded  by  Mr. 
Ring.  Mr.  Humphreys  moved  the  adjournment  of  the  debate.  MR. 
ROBSON  objected  to  the  adjournment  of  the  debate.  The  motion  was 
withdrawn,  and  Mr.  Robson  spoke  at  length  against  Mr.  Drake's 
amendment.  MR.  TRUTCH  resumed  the  debate  on  the  10th,  and 
reviewed  the  whole  subject,  ably  supporting  the  original  motion.  MR. 
HOLBROOK  next  addressed  the  committee  also  in  support  of  the 
original  motion.  Mr.  Wood  spoke  next,  and  delivered  an  eloquent 
speech  in  favor  of  Mr.  Drake's  amendment.  MR.  DE  COSMOS  was  the 
next  speaker.  He  congratulated  the  House  upon  the  noble  work  in 
which  they  were  engaged,  in  laying  the  corner-stone  of  a  great  nation 
on  the  Pacific  coast.  In  a  lengthy  and  able  speech  Mr.  De  Cosmoa 
closed  the  debate  for  the  day. 

MR.  RING  resumed  the  debate  on  the  llth.  He  admitted  having 
spoken  to  the  amendment,  but  now  spoke  to  the  original  motion  and 
against  Confederation,  as  there  should  be  a  full  House  and  increased 
representation  to  discuss  the  question  through  a  full  body  of  their  own 
choosing.  MR.  BARNARD  followed  in  support  of  union  with  Canada. 
MR.  HUMPHREYS  reviewed  the  subject.  He  said  fearlessly  that 
responsible  government  is  a  sine  qua  non  in  the  terms  of  Confederation. 
MR.  CARROLL  next  followed  in  favor  of  Confederation.  MR.  ALSTON 
was  ready  to  shake  hands  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  with  his 
Canadian  brethren.  MR.  DEWDNEY  was  the  next  speaker.  He  would 
support  the  original  motion. 

MR.  HELMCKEN  then  made  some  explanations  asserting  that  in 
opposing  Confederation  he  had  sacrificed  no  principle,  forfeited  no 
pledge,  maintained  his  honor,  had  done  his  duty,  and  hoped  he  wa& 
doing  good  to  the  colony.  Mr.  Crease,  Attorney-General,  then 


THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  391 

thanked  the  members  of  the  House  for  the  care  and  attention  they 
had  bestowed  upon  this  great  and  momentous  question,  and  after  Mr. 
Drake  had  withdrawn  his  amendment,  the  motion  to  go  into  committee 
was  unanimously  carried.  The  House  then  went  into  Committee  of 
the  Whole  on  the  Confederation  resolutions,  Mr.  Ball,  Chairman ; 
immediately  rose,  reported  progress,  and  asked  leave  to  sit  again. 

RESOLUTIONS  READ  AND  PASSED.— The  House  having  again  met 
in  committee,  on  the  14th  of  March,  Mr.  Crease  read  the  resolutions 
seriatim,  proposing  their  adoption.  As  the  majority  seemed  to  be  in 
favor  of  discussing  the  resolutions  by  separate  paragraphs,  he  proposed 
the  adoption  of  the  first  paragraph,  viz.,  "  That  Canada  shall  be  liable 
for  the  debts  and  liabilities  of  British  Columbia  at  the  time  of  the 
union."  After  a  few  suggestions  it  was  agreed  to  read  the  second 
and  third  clauses  and  discuss  them  along  with  the  first  clause.  Mr. 
Crease  introduced  those  clauses  at  considerable  length.  He  was 
followed  by  Mr.  Trutch.  MR.  DE  COSMOS  made  an  exhaustive  speech, 
including  debts,  subsidies,  population,  etc.  The  discussion  was  joined 
in  by  Messrs.  Helmcken,  Holbrook,  Humphreys,  Barnard,  Wood, 
Robson,  Carroll,  Drake  and  Alston.  Recommendations  made  by 
Messrs.  De  Cosmos,  Drake  and  Robson,  were  read  ;  that  by  Mr. 
De  Cosmos,  that  the  amount  of  subsidy  be  increased  to  $150,000 
per  annum,  was  lost.  Ayes,  5 ;  nays,  14.  That  of  Mr.  Drake, 
which  included  Mr.  Robson's,  that  "$70,000  be  inserted  in  the 
conditions,  instead  of  $35,000,"  was  carried  on  a  division.  Clauses 
2  and  3  were  then  passed  as  read,  Mr.  De  Cosmos  alone  voting  nay. 
The  House  adjourned  until  the  16th. 

THE  GRAVING-DOCK. — Clause  4  was  read  on  March  16th,  referring 
to  the  graving  dock  at  Esquimalt,  and  passed.  Clause  5,  relating 
to  salaries,  etc.,  was  warmly  discussed,  and  passed  as  read.  Clause  6 
— pensions — passed  as  read.  Clause  7 — steam  communication  with 
San  Francisco,  passed  as  read.  Clause  8 — communication  by  coach 
road  and  railway  with  the  Dominion.  This  resolution,  Mr.  Crease 
said,  was  the  practical  bond  of  union  between  the  Dominion  and  the 
colony.  He  would  leave  it  to  other  members  to  discuss  the  details. 
Messrs.  De  Cosmos,  Robson,  Trutch,  Helmcken  and  Carroll  were  the 
principal  speakers  on  the  clause.  Before  the  committee  rose,  they 
reported  clauses  5,  6  and  7  passed,  and  obtained  leave  to  sit  on 
the  17th. 

MR.  DE  COSMOS  on  March  17th  continued  the  debate  on  clause  8, 
giving  his  views  at  considerable  length.  Messrs.  Holbrook,  Ring, 


392  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Trutch,  Drake,  Robson,  Wood,  Helmcken,  Alston  and  Walkem,  took 
part  in  the  debate.  Clause  8  was  carried  as  read.  Clause  9 — marine 
hospital,  etc. — was  carried  without  much  discussion.  Clause  10 — 
efficient  coast  mail  service,  etc. — was  passed  as  read.  Clause  11 — 
fisheries — passed.  Clause  12 — immigration — passed.  Clause  13 — 
representation  at  Ottawa;  recommended  by  Mr.  Wood,  that  the 
number  of  members  to  the  Commons  should  never  be  less  than  eight, 
and  to  the  Senate  never  less  than  four — carried.  Clause  13  then 
passed,  the  committee  rose,  reported  progress,  with  leave  to  sit  next 
day. 

MR.  CREASE,  on  March  18th,  moved  the  adoption  of  clause  14 — 
defining  the  time  when  the  union  should  take  effect,  etc.  Those 
details,  he  said,  would  have  to  come  before  the  next  Council.  The 
clause  was  passed  as  read.  Clause  1 5 — relating  to  the  constitution  of 
the  executive  authority,  etc.,  was  next  moved.  The  subject  was 
discussed  at  great  length  by  various  members,  chief  of  whom  were 
Messrs.  Robson,  Carroll  and  De  Cosmos.  On  motion  of  Mr.  Drake, 
the  debate  was  adjourned  until  Monday  the  21st. 

MR.  RING  resumed  the  debate  on  March  21st.  The  Attorney- 
General  reviewed  the  speeches  ot  the  former  speakers,  on  the  points 
under  discussion.  He  was  followed  by  Mr.  Trutch  in  a  lengthy  speech. 
Messrs.  Walkem,  Drake,  Humphreys,  Helmcken,  Barnard  and  Wood 
also  made  long,  eloquent,  energetic  speeches,  drawing  their  illustra- 
tions from  the  past  experience  of  all  nations.  Mr.  Wood  closed  the 
debate  for  the  day. 

ON  MARCH  22,  Mr.  Holbrook  resumed  the  debate,  and  was  followed 
by  Messrs.  De  Cosmos,  Dewdney,  Alston,  Humphreys,  Carroll  and 
Robson.  The  last  named  gentleman  delivered  a  notable  speech.  He 
instanced  the  workings  of  responsible  government  in  various  British 
colonies.  Victoria,  Australia  and  Jamaica  had  each  in  their  origin  a 
different  political  system.  He  would  warn  the  Government  against 
endangering  the  scheme  without  responsible  government.  Clause  15 
was  passed  as  read.  Clause  16,  relating  to  the  British  North  America 
Act,  in  its  application  to  British  Columbia,  was  read  and  passed. 
With  reference  to  the  defences,  clauses  A  and  B  were  passed. 

THE  TARIFF. — On  the  23rd  the  tariff  question  was  discussed  at 
great  length,  at  first  by  Mr.  Wood,  followed  by  Messrs.  Trutch, 
Robson,  De  Cosmos,  Ring,  Humphreys,  Hamley  and  Helmcken,  who 
discussed  the  retention  of  a  free  port,  protection,  etc.  Mr.  Helmcken's 
argument  was  that  the  tariff  should  be  madejto  suit  the  condition  of 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  393 

the  country.  This  resolution,  and  another  by  Mr.  Drake,  on  excise 
was  lost.  The  subject  was  laid  over  until  the  Hon.  Mr.  Trutch  was 
in  his  place,  when  the  matter  of  tolls  would  be  discussed.  The 
committee  rose  and  reported  progress. 

RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED. — The  Hon.  Attorney-General  informed  the 
committee  when  the  House  met,  on  the  25th,  that  Mr.  Trutch  was 
still  indisposed,  and  that  the  notice  of  motion  he  had  read,  be  deferred. 
Mr.  Ring  desired  to  make  a  motion  in  regard  to  a  free  port.  The 
chairman  decided  the  motion  out  of  order  it'  it  referred  to  a  free  port 
after  Confederation.  The  Indian  question  was  introduced.  Mr. 
Robson  proposed  "  that  the  Indian  policy  of  Canada  be  extended  to 
this  colony  immediately  upon  its  admission  into  the  Dominion.  The 
motion  was  withdrawn.  The  honorable  gentleman  suggested  that 
a  fund  be  set  apart  by  the  Dominion  Government  to  carry  out  a 
systematic,  geological  survey.  A  resolution  to  that  effect  was  put 
and  carried. 

MR.  DE  COSMOS  proposed  "  that  Canada  should  purchase  Alaska." 
The  resolution  was  supported  by  Mr.  Ring  and  Dr.  Carroll.  Mr. 
Robson  thought  they  should  have  Maine  also.  That  the  motion  should 
include  the  words  State  of  Maine,  so  as  to  read,  "  That  Canada  shall 
purchase  the  territory  of  Alaska  and  the  State  of  Maine,"  was  carried. 
The  committee  rose,  and  reported  the  resolutions  complete.  Council 
resumed,  and  the  resolutions  passed  in  committee  were  adopted,  except 
those  with  regard  to  the  purchase  of  Alaska  and  the  State  of  Maine. 

EXPENSES  OF  DELEGATES. — On  April  6th,  the  House  resolved  itself 
into  a  Committee  of  the  Whole,  and  Mr.  Hamley  moved,  "That 
suitable  provision  be  made  by  this  House  for  the  payment  of  the 
expenses  of  the  delegates  to  be  sent  from  the  colony  to  Ottawa,  to 
negotiate  the  terms  of  the  Confederation  of  this  colony  with  the 
Dominion  of  Canada."  A  sum  of  from  $2,500  to  $3,000  was  voted 
for  the  purpose  of  sending  three  delegates.  Messrs.  Helmcken, 
Trutch  and  Barnard  were  chosen  by  the  Executive  to  perform  that 
duty.  ,This  eventful  and  busy  session  was  closed  April  23rd,  1870. 
The  delegates  named,  as  chosen,  left  Victoria,  May  10th,  for  Ottawa, 
via  San  Francisco.  They  arrived  at  Ottawa  on  the  4th  of  June. 

TERMS  AGREED  ON. — MR.  H.  E.  SEELEY,  who  was  sent  to  Ottawa  as 
special  correspondent  of  the  British  Colonist,  Victoria,  telegraphed 
on  the  7th  of  July  :  . 

"Terms  agreed  upon.  The  delegates  are  satisfied.  Canada  is 
favorable  to  immediate  union  and  guarantees  the  railway.  Trutch 


394  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

has  gone  to  England.  Carroll  remains  one  month.  Helmcken  and 
your  correspondent  are  on  the  way  home."  The  terms  as  agreed  to 
and  afterwards  ratified  by  British  Columbia  were  : 

"  1.  Canada  shall  be  liable  for  the  debts  and  liabilities  of  British 
Columbia  existing  at  the  time  of  the  Union. 

"  2.  British  Columbia  not  having  incurred  debts  equal  to  those  of  the 
other  provinces  now  constituting  the  Dominion,  shall  be  entitled  to 
receive,  by  half-yearly  payments,  in  advance,  from  the  General 
Government,  interest  at  the  rate  of  five  per  cent,  per  annum  on  the 
difference  between  the  actual  amount  of  its  indebtedness  at  the  date 
of  the  union  and  the  indebtedness  per  head  of  the  population  of 
Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick  (27.77  dollars),  the  population  of 
British  Columbia  being  taken  at  60,000. 

"  3.  The  following  sums  shall  be  paid  by  Canada  to  British  Columbia 
for  the  support  of  Government  and  Legislature,  to  wit :  An  annual 
subsidy  of  $35,000,  and  an  annual  grant  equal  to  80  cents  per  head 
of  the  said  population  of  60,000,  both  half-yearly  in  advance ;  such 
grant  of  80  cents  per  head  to  be  augmented  in  proportion  to  the 
increase  of  population  as  may  be  shown  by  each  subsequent  decennial 
census,  until  the  population  amounts  to  400,000,  at  which  rate  such 
grant  shall  thereafter  remain;  it  being  understood  that  the  first 
census  be  taken  in  the  year  1881. 

"4.  The  Dominion  will  provide  an  efficient  mail  service  fortnightly, 
by  steam  communication,  between  Victoria  and  San  Francisco,  and 
twice  a  week  between  Victoria  and  Olympia ;  the  vessels  to  be  adapted 
for  the  conveying  of  freight  and  passengers. 

"  5.  Canada  will  assume  and  defray  the  charges  for  the  following 
services  : 

"  (a)  Salary  of  the  lieutenant-governor. 

"(b)  Salaries  and  allowances  to  the  judges  of  the  superior  courts, 
and  the  county  or  district  courts. 

"  (c)  The  charges  in  respect  to  the  department  of  customs. 

"  (d)  The  postal  and  telegraphic  services. 

"  (e)  Protection  and  encouragement  of  fisheries. 

"  (/)  Provision  for  the  militia. 

"  (g)  Lighthouses,  buoys  and  beacons,  shipwrecked  crews,  quaran- 
tine and  marine  hospitals,  including  a  marine  hospital  at  Victoria. 

"  (A)  The  geological  survey. 

"  (i)  The  penitentiary. 

And  such  further  charges  as  may  be  incident  to  and  connected  with 
the  services,  which,  by  the  'British  North  America  Act  of  1867,' 
appertain  to  the  general  government,  and  as  are  or  may  be  allowed 
to  the  other  provinces. 

"  6.  Suitable  pensions,  such  as  shall  be  approved  of  by  her  Majesty's 
Government,  shall  be  provided  by  the  Government  of  the  Dominion 
for  those  of  her  Majesty's  servants  in  the  colony,  whose  position  and 
emoluments  derived  therefrom  would  be  affected  by  the  political 


THE    COLONIAL   PERIOD.  395 

changes  on  the  admission  of  British  Columbia  into  the  Dominion  of 
Canada. 

"7.  It  is  agreed  that  the  existing  customs  tariff  shall  continue  in 
force  in  British  Columbia  until  the  railways  from  the  Pacific  coast 
and  the  system  of  railways  in  Canada  are  connected,  unless  the 
Legislature  of  British  Columbia  should  sooner  decide  to  accept  the 
tariff  and  excise  laws  of  Canada.  When  customs  and  excise  duties 
are  at  the  time  of  the  union  of  British  Columbia  with  Canada, 
leviable  on  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandizes  in. British  Columbia,  or 
in  the  other  provinces  of  the  Dominion,  those  goods,  wares  and  mer- 
chandizes may,  from  and  after  the  union,  be  imported  into  British 
Columbia  from  the  provinces  now  composing  the  Dominion,  or  from 
either  of  those  provinces  into  British  Columbia,  on  proof  of  payment 
of  the  customs  or  excise  duties  leviable  thereon  in  the  Province  of 
exportation.  This  arrangement  to  have  no  force  or  effect  after  the 
assimilation  of  the  tariff  and  excise  duties  of  British  Columbia  with 
those  of  the  Dominion. 

"8.  British  Columbia  shall  be  entitled  to  be  represented  in  the 
Senate  by  three  members,  and  by  six  members  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. The  representation  to  be  increased  under  the  provisions  of 
the  'British  North  America  Act,  1867.' 

"  9.  The  influence  of  the  Dominion  Government  will  be  used  to 
secure  the  continued  maintenance  of  naval  station  at  Esquimalt. 

"10.  The  provisions  of  the  'British  North  America  Act,  1867,' 
shall  (except  those  parts  thereof  which  are  in  terms  made,  or  by 
reasonable  intendment  may  be  held  to  be  specially  applicable  to  and 
only  affect  one  and  not  the  whole  of  the  provinces  now  comprising 
the  Dominion,  and  except  so  far  as  the  same  may  be  varied  by  this 
minute)  be  applicable  to  British  Columbia,  in  the  same  way,  and  to 
the  like  extent,  as  they  apply  to  the  other  provinces  of  the  Dominion, 
and  as  if  the  colony  of  British  Columbia,  in  the  same  way,  and  to 
the  like  extent,  as  they  apply  to  the  other  Provinces  of  the  Dominion, 
and  as  if  the  colony  of  British  Columbia  had  been  one  of  the  provinces 
originally  united  by  the  said  Act. 

"11.  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  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  sea-board 
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  the  said  railway,  a  similar  extent  of  public  lands  along 
the  line  of  railway  throughout  its  entire  length  in  British  Columbia;  not 
to  exceed,  however,  twenty  (20)  miles  on  each  side  of  said  line,  as  may 


396  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

be  appropriated  for  the  same  purpose  by  the  Dominion  Government 
from  the  public  lands  in  the  North- West  Territories  and  the  Province 
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  the  said  railway,  the  Government  of  British  Columbia 
shall  not  sell  or  alienate  any  further  portions  of  the  public  lands  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  Dominion  Government  agree  to  pay  to  British 
Columbia  from  the  date  of  the  union,  the  sum  of  $100,000  per 
annum,  in  half-yearly  payments  in  advance. 

"  12.  The  DominionGovernment  shall  guarantee  the  interest  for  ten 
years  from  the  date  of  the  completion  of  the  works,  at  the  rate  of  five 
per  centum  per  annum,  on  such  sum,  not  exceeding  £100,000  sterling, 
as  may  be  required  for  the  construction  of  a  first-class  graving-dock 
at  Esquimalt. 

"13.  The  charge  of  the  Indians,  and  the  trusteeship  and  manage- 
ment of  the  lands  reserved  for  their  use  and  benefit,  shall  be  assumed 
by  the  Dominion  Government,  and  a  policy  as  liberal  as  that  hitherto 
pursued  by  the  British  Columbia  Government  shall  be  continued  by 
the  Dominion  Government  after  the  union  : 

"  To  carry  out  such  policy,  tracts  of  land  of  such  extent  as  it  has 
hitherto  been  the  practice  of  the  British  Columbia  Government  to 
appropriate  for  that  purpose  shall  from  time  to  time  be  conveyed  by 
the  local  Government  to  the  Dominion  Government,  in  trust  for  the 
use  and  benefit  of  the  Indians,  on  application  of  the  Dominion ;  and 
in  case  of  disagreement  between  the  two  governments  respecting  the 
quantity  of  such  tracts  of  land  to  be  so  granted,  the  matter  shall  be 
referred  for  the  decision  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies. 

"14.  The  Constitution  of  the  Executive  Authority  and  of  the 
Legislature  of  British  Columbia  shall,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the 
•*  British  North  America  Act,  1867,'  continue  as  existing  at  the  time 
of  the  union,  until  altered  under  the  authority  of  the  said  Act ;  it 
being,  at  the  same  time,  understood  that  the  Government  of  the 
Dominion  will  readily  consent  to  the  introduction  of  Responsible 
Government,  when  desired  by  the  inhabitants  of  British  Columbia ; 
and  it  being  likewise  understood  that  it  is  the  intention  of  the 
Government  of  British  Columbia,  under  the  authority  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  the  Colonies,  to  amend  the  existing  constitution  of  the 
Legislature  by  providing  that  a  majority  of  its  members  shall  be 
elective. 

"  The  union  shall  take  effect,  according  to  the  foregoing  terms,  and 
conditions,  on  such  day  as  her  Majesty,  by  and  with  the  consent 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  397 

of  her  Most  Honorable  Privy  Council,  may  appoint  (on  addresses  from 
the  Legislature  of  the  colony  of  British  Columbia,  and  of  the  Houses 
of  Parliament  of  Canada)  in  the  terms  of  the  146th  section  of  the 
'British  North  America  Act,  1867,'  and  British  Columbia  may  in  its 
address  specify  the  electoral  districts,  for  which  the  first  election  of 
members  to  serve  in  the  House  of  Commons  shall  take  place." 


CHAPTEE  XXVII. 


A   NEW   COUNCIL   APPOINTED. 

TERMS  OF  UNION  GUARANTEE. — The  document  containing  the 
terms  of  union,  as  agreed  on  by  the  Dominion  Government,  was 
brought  from  Ottawa  by  Dr.  Helmcken.  He  reached  Victoria, 
July  18,  1870.  Mr.  Trutch  arrived  from  England,  October  10.  In 
his  mission  he  was  highly  successful.  An  Imperial  Act  was  passed 
providing  for  a  change  in  the  Constitution  of  British  Columbia.  The 
Imperial  Government  were  willing  to  attach  their  guarantee  to  that 
of  the  Dominion  Government,  for  the  completion  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  railway  within  ten  years. 

ELECTORAL  DISTRICTS  FORMED. — A  meeting  of  the  Executive  was 
called  by  Governor  Musgrave,  to  arrange  for  a  new  election.  He  was 
authorized  by  the  Imperial  Government  to  proclaim  the  division  of 
British  Columbia  into  eight  electoral  districts,  viz.:  Victoria  city,  2 
members ;  Victoria  district,  1  ;  Nanaimo,  1 ;  New  Westminster,  1  ; 
Hope,  Yale  and  Lytton,  1  ;  Lillooet  and  Clinton,  1  ;  Cariboo,  1  ;  and 
Kootenay,  1  ;  which,  with  the  Colonial  Secretary,  the  Attorney- 
General,  the  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works,  the  Collector 
of  Customs,  and  Messrs.  Pemberton  and  Alston,  who  were  nominated, 
formed  a  Council  of  fifteen  members,  nine  of  whom  were  elected. 

THE  NEW  COUNCIL. — To  them  was  to  be  submitted  the  terms  of 
union.  An  election  was  held  in  November.  The  new  Council  met 
on  January  5,  1871.  The  members  elect  were  Messrs.  Helmcken 
and  Nathan,  for  Victoria  city  ;  Amor  De  Cosmos,  for  Victoria  district ; 
Arthur  Bunster,  for  Nanaimo ;  Hugh  Nelson,  for  Westminster ; 
Clement  F.  Cornwall,  for  Hope,  Yale  and  Lytton,  respectively ;  T.  B. 


398  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Humphreys,  for  Lillooet  and  Clinton  ;  W.  W.  Carroll,  for  Cariboo  ; 
and  Robert  J.  Skinner,  for  Kootenay. 

SPEAKERSHIP  DECLINED. — The  Hon.  Dr.  lielinoken  was  nominated 
as  Speaker,  but  declined,  as  having  been  a  delegate  to  Ottawa,  he 
might  be  called  upon  to  answer  questions  on  the  floor  of  the  House. 
The  Colonial  Secretary,  Hon.  Philip  Hankin,  was  then  nominated 
and  chosen  Speaker.  A  short  recess  was  next  granted  by  the 
Speaker.  About  150  citizens  were  present  in  the  House.  The  band 
of  the  Rifle  Volunteers,  who  acted  as  guard  of  honor,  played  the 
National  Anthem  on  the  arrival  of  his  Excellency. 

OPENING  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE. — Governor  Musgrave,  in  opening 
the  Legislature,  inter  alia,  said  :  "  The  terms  of  union  offered  by  the 
Government  of  Canada  was  as  liberal  as  the  colony  could  equitably 
expect.  Indeed,  in  some  respects,  the  arrangements  agreed  upon  are 
more  advantageous  to  us  than  the  scheme  originally  proposed.  I 
submit  them  to  you  in  full  confidence  that  you  will  join  with  me  in 
this  conclusion,  and  I  recommend  to  you  at  once  to  pass  an  address 
to  her  Majesty,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  British 
North  America  Act,  1867,  praying  for  admission  into  the  union  on 
those  terms.  ...  I  shall,  after  the  proposed  terms  of  union  with 
Canada,  be  prepared  to  introduce  for  your  consideration  a  bill  to 
enlarge  the  number  of  popular  representatives,  excluding  nominated 
members  from  the  Council,  so  as  to  enable  a  new  legislative  body  and 
the  form  known  as  responsible  government  to  come  into  operation  at 
the  first  session  of  the  Legislature,  subsequent  to  the  union. 

IMPORTANT  CONSIDERATIONS. — "  At  no  time  in  the  history  of  this 
colony  has  any  legislative  body,  whether  of  the  mainland  or  Vancouver 
Island,  been  occupied  with  considerations  of  greater  moment  than 
those  which  now  demand  your  solicitude,  and  which  must  so  deeply 
affect  the  future  progress  of  the  Province."  The  speech  referred  to 
the  tariff,  taxation,  estimates,  etc.  It  was  moved  and  seconded  that 
the  governor's  speech  be  printed.  Carried.  Also  that  a  committee 
be  appointed  to  draft  a  reply  to  his  Excellency  the  Governor's  speech. 
The  committee  was  appointed  by  the  Speaker.  The  House  adjourned 
to  meet  on  the  9th. 

ARREARS  PAID  TO  MR.  WADDINGTON. — The  reply  to  the  governor's 
speech  was  passed  the  next  meeting  of  the  Legislature  without 
discussion.  The  estimates  were  next  taken  up.  An  item  of  $15,000, 
in  aid  of  district  schools,  provoked  a  long  discussion.  A  claim  for 
•arrears  due  to  Mr.  Waddington,  formerly  superintendent  of  Island 


THE   COLONIAL    PERIOD.  399 

Free  Schools,  was  ordered  to  be  paid.  It  was  agreed  that  as  the 
estimates  would  probably  occupy  the  next  sitting,  the  consideration 
of  the  subject  of  Confederation  would  be  postponed  until  after  the 
supplies  were  voted. 

CONFEDERATION  ADDRESS  TO  THE  QUEEN.— On  January  21st,  the 
Council  went  into  Committee  of  the  Whole,  on  the  address  to  the 
Queen,  praying  for  Confederation.  A  discussion  took  place  on  the 
proposed  districts  for  the  return  of  representatives.  The  address  was 
unanimously  adopted.  It  read  as  follows  :  "  To  HIS  EXCELLENCY 
THE  GOVERNOR  :  May  it  please  your  Excellency, — We,  the  members 
of  the  Legislative  Council,  in  Council  assembled,  having  agreed  to  an 
address  to  her  Most  Gracious  Majesty,  praying  that  her  Majesty  will 
be  graciously  pleased,  by  and  with  the  advice  of  her  Most  Honorable 
Privy  Council,  to  admit  British  Columbia,  under  the  provisions  of  the 
146th  section  of  the  British  North  America  Act,  into  the  union  or 
Dominion  of  Canada,  on  the  basis  of  the  terms  and  conditions  offered 
to  this  colony,  by  the  Government  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  as  in 
such  address  set  forth,  do  hereby  pray  that  your  Excellency  may  be 
pleased  to  transmit  such  address  to  her  Majesty's  Principal  Secretary 
of  State  for  the  Colonies,  to  be  laid  at  the  foot  of  the  Throne." 

RESPONSIBLE  GOVERNMENT. — At  the  meeting  of  the  Council,  on 
January  26th,  a  motion  for  an  address  was  made  for  a  bill  to  impose  a 
poll  tax  of  $50  per  annum  on  all  Chinamen  engaged  in  any  occupation 
in  the  colony.  After  some  discussion,  the  Attorney-General  explained 
that  as  the  governor  was  prevented  by  his  instructions  from  sanctioning 
any  bill  that  provided  for  special  taxation  of  any  class,  it  would  be 
useless  to  proceed  with  the  motion.  It  was  withdrawn  by  the  mover, 
Mr.  Bunster.  A  bill  was  introduced  in  the  Council,  on  the  31st,  to 
give  power  to  alter  the  Constitution  of  British  Columbia,  to  suit 
responsible  government  under  Confederation.  The  bill  was  considered 
in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  on  February  3rd,  and  reported  complete, 
and  adopted  on  February  6th.  The  Hon.  Mr.  Helmcken  moved  a 
resolution  on  the  10th  to  provide  for  connecting  Victoria  and 
Esquimalt  with  the  proposed  Pacific  railway.  Carried  by  eight  to 
two,  Messrs.  Hamley  and  Nelson  voting  nay. 

OLD  MAP  DISCOVERED. — The  Hon.  Mr.  Helmcken,  in  proposing  that 
an  address  be  presented  to  the  governor  respecting  the  Island  of  San 
Juan,  and  the  boundary  question,  made  a  powerful  speech.  The 
motion  was  carried  unanimously.  In  connection  with  this  subject  it 
.may  be  mentioned  here,  that  about  this  time  a  map  was  discovered  in 


400  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

the  office  of  the  Colonial  Secretary,  which  defined  the  boundary  line 
between  the  United  States  and  the  British  possessions,  and  marked 
very  distinctly,  by  black  dotted  lines,  the  boundary,  and  showed  in 
color  the  islands  claimed  by  the  British  and  United  States 
Governments  respectively. 

CALLED  IN  BY  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT. — "  The  map,"  the 
reference  goes  on  to  say,  "  is  the  same  as  that  alluded  to  by  the  Earl 
of  Lauderdale,  a  few  weeks  ago  in  the  House  of  Lords,  of  which  it 
was  said  but  few  copies  were  extant.  All  that  the  United  States 
Government  could  get  hold  of  had  been  called  in  and  destroyed.  In 
overhauling  a  number  of  old  papers  at  the  Colonial  Secretary's  office 
the  map  was  found.  Its  importance  may  be  estimated  when  it  is 
stated  that  it  is  an  authorized  edition.  The  following  inscription 
appears  on  the  lower  left-hand  cover  : 

OFFICIAL  INSCRIPTION,  1848. —  "Map  of  Oregon  and  Upper 
California,  from  the  survey  of  Charles  Fremont,  and  other  authorities; 
drawn  by  Charles  Preuss,  under  order  of  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  Washington,  1848.  Lithographed  by  Weber  &  Co.,  Baltimore." 

"  The  49th  parallel  is  distinctly  and  plainly  marked  out,  and  the 
line  is  extended  to  the  centre  of  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  thence  passing 
southerly  between  Lummi  and  Orcas  Islands,  thence  to  Sinclair's 
Island,  where  it  passes  between  Cypress  and  Guemes  Islands  to  Smith 
or  Blunt  Island,  thence  on  through  the  centre  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca 
to  the  ocean." 

BRITISH  CLAIMS  ADMITTED. — The  editor  remarks  :  "  This  line  gives 
the  British  more  than  they  claim.  It  gives  them  in  addition  to  San 
Juan  and  other  important  islands,  Smith  or  Blunt  Island,  on  which 
the  United  States  Government  have  erected  and  maintain  a  light- 
house, together  with  several  small  islands,  to  which  no  claim  has  yet 
been  preferred,  but  which  it  will,  we  suppose,  now  be  found  necessary 
to  include  in  our  demands." 

COLONEL  FREMONT  was  a  son-in-law  of  Colonel  Benton,  and  was 
sent  overland  to  the  Pacific  in  order  to  ascertain  the  value  of  this 
and  the  adjacent  territory  of  Oregon  and  California.  Colonel  Ben  ton 
was  then  a  leading  senator  of  the  United  States,  and  acting  upon  the 
information  furnished  by  Colonel  Fremont,  the  senator  declared  "  all 
the  country  lying  north  of  49°  to  be  worthless — •'  the  derelict  of 
nations.'  " 

A  BIG  THREAT. — "Previous  to  this,  the  Democratic  party  had 
elected  Mr.  Polk,  President,  with  the  cry  of  *  54°  40',  or  fight ' ;  that 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  401 

is,  they  demanded  the  territory  on  the  Pacific  coast  to  54°  40',  and 
threatened,  if  their  claim  was  disputed,  to  declare  war  against  Britain. 
The  report  of  Colonel  Fremont  satisfied  the  people  that  the  country 
was  not  worth  fighting  for,  and  the  United  States  Government 
concluded  the  treaty  of  1846,  on  the  basis  of  the  almost  forgotten 
map  which  has  just  been  exhumed  from  its  musty  depository,  and 
which  is  destined  to  play  an  important  part  in  the  arbitration  by  the 
Emperor  of  Germany.3' 

ROAD  TOLLS  ABOLISHED. — A  lengthy  discussion  took  place  (March 
23rd)  on  the  bill  to  provide  for  a  permanent  civil  list — passed  as 
amended.  Road  tolls  were  abolished  on  articles  coming  from  the 
interior  of  the  colony  in  the  direction  of  the  sea-board.  Road 
steamers  had  been  authorized  to  run  between  Yale  and  Cariboo. 

ADMISSION  OF  BRITISH  COLUMBIA.— Sir  George  E.  Carter,  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  Ottawa,  March  28th,  moved  the  libuse  into 
committee,  to  consider  the  resolutions  for  the  admission  of  British 
Columbia.  Sir  Francis  Hincks,  Sir  A.  T.  Gait,  Hon.  L.  Tilley  and 
Dr.  Grant  spoke  in  favor  of  the  resolutions.  Hon.  A.  Mackenzie, 
E.  Blake  and  others  spoke  against  them.  The  debate  lasted  four 
days.  The  speech  by  Hon.  L.  Tilley  was  considered  one  of  the  best 
delivered.  Terms  of  admission  passed  the  Commons  by  a  majority  of 
eighteen.  The  resolutions  were  also  discussed  in  the  Senate,  and 
passed  by  a  majority  of  seventeen.  Hon.  P.  Mitchell  received  credit 
for  having  made  the  ablest  speech  in  the  Senate  on  the  subject. 
Sir  G.  E.  Carter  announced,  April  3rd,  that  supplementary  estimates 
would  be  brought  down  to  provide  for  extending  the  government 
departments  to  Manitoba  and  British  Columbia. 

BANQUET  TO  MR.  TRUTCH. — A  banquet  was  tendered  to  Mr.  Trutch, 
at  Ottawa,  on  the  10th  of  April,  in  honor  of  the  prospective  union 
between  British  Columbia  and  the  Dominion.  In  replying  to  the 
toast  "  to  his  health,"  in  speaking  of  the  terms  of  the  agreement  that 
work  on  the  Pacific  Railway  should  be  commenced  simultaneously  at 
the  east  and  west  ends  within  two  years  from  the  date  of  the  union, 
and  that  it  should  be  completed  within  ten  years  from  that  date, 
Mr.  Trutch,  was  reported  to  have  said  :  "  That  if  the  Privy  Council 
had  mentioned  twelve  or  eighteen  years  to  build  the  railway,  the  time 
would  have  been  accepted  with  equal  readiness."  Another  Ottawa 
paper  reported  him  as  having  said,  that  "the  people  of  British 
Columbia  would  not  entertain  the  idea  of  forcing  Canada  to  keep  to 
the  strict  letter  of  the  agreement." 
26 


402  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

REMARKS  CORRECTED. — An  official  report  of  Mr.  Trutch's  speech 
referred  to,  gave  the  following  as  the  words  used  :  "  The  Government, 
on  conference  with  our  delegation,  at  once  expressed  their  readiness  to 
commence  at  once  the  railroad  to  the  Pacific,  and  to  complete  it  as 
soon  as  it  was  practicable  to  do  so ;  but  the  coach  road  was  objected 
to  as  an  unnecessary  expense,  in  view  of  the  immediate  construction 
of  a  railroad.  We,  from  British  Columbia,  were  prepared  to  accept 
the  amendment  to  the  scheme,  and  we  accordingly  proceeded  to  calcu- 
late the  time  it  would  probably  take  to  build  the  railroad,  and  we 
agreed  upon  an  estimated  period  of  ten  years.  If  it  had  been  put  at 
twelve  or  fifteen  years,  British  Columbia  would  have  been  just  as  well 
satisfied,  -and  if  the  estimated  period  had  been  reduced  to  eight  years, 
she  would  scarcely  have  been  better  pleased  ;  but  some  definite  period 
for  the  completion  of  this  work,  the  delegates  from  British  Columbia 
insisted  upon  as  a  necessary  safeguard  to  our  colony  in  entering  into 
the  proposed  union.  To  argue  that  any  other  interpretation  will  be 
placed  upon  this  railway  engagement  by  British  Columbia  than  that 
which  I  have  given  to  you  as  my  construction  of  it, — to  argue  that 
she  expects  it  to  be  carried  out  in  the  exact  interpretation  of  the 
words  themselves,  regardless  of  all  consequences,  is  a  fallacy  which 
cannot  bear  the  test  of  common  sense.  .  .  . 

IT  WAS  NOT  A  "CAST-IRON  AGREEMENT." — "I  am  sure  you  will 
find  that  British  Columbia  is  a  pretty  intelligent  community  which 
will  be  apt  to  take  a  business  view  of  the  matter.  She  will  expect 
that  this  railway  shall  be  commenced  in  two  years,  for  that  is  clearly 
practicable,  and  she  will  also  expect  that  the  financial  ability  of  the 
Dominion  will  be  exerted  to  its  utmost  within  the  limits  of  reason, 
to  complete  it  in  the  time  named  in  the  agreement ;  but  you  may 
rest  assured  that  she  will  not  regard  this  railway  engagement  as  a 
*  cast-iron  contract,'  as  it  has  been  called,  or  desire  that  it  should  be 
carried  out  in  any  other  way  than  as  will  secure  the  prosperity  of  the 
whole  Dominion,  of  which  she  is  a  part.  I  have  understood  this 
railway  engagement  in  this  way  from  the  first,  and  still  so  under- 
stand it." 

HON.  MR.  TRUTCH  proceeded  to  London.  Mr.  Sandford  Fleming, 
who  was  then  Chief  Engineer  on  the  Intercolonial  Railway,  was 
appointed  chief  engineer  of  the  proposed  railway  to  the  Pacific. 

GOVERNOR  MUSGRATE'S  CLOSING  REMARKS. — Governor  Musgrave 
prorogued  the  Legislative  Council  at  Victoria  (March  28th).  In 
the  Speech  from  the  Throne,  his  Excellency,  as  a  matter  of  course, 


THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  403 

referred  to  the  passing  of  the  union  terms.  He  said  :  "  I  entertain 
the  strongest  hope,  and  indeed  cherish  the  assurance,  that  this  coming 
«vent  will  be  the  commencement  of  a  new  and  prosperous  era  for  the 
community.  The  arrangements  by  which  it  will  be  inaugurated  are 
most  favorable  to  this  province  of  the  Dominion  ;  and  it  will  only 
remain  for  the  good  sense,  moderation,  and  prudence  of  the  people  so 
to  use  their  advantages  and  the  circumstances  by  which  they  are 
surrounded,  as  to  obtain  a  happy  issue  from  the  material  benefits,  and 
the  working  of  the  free  political  institutions  which  are  about  to  be 
established. 

"  At  the  conclusion  of  a  session  begun  under  so  great  a  sense  of 
responsibility,  and  with  so  many  important  duties  incumbent  upon  us 
in  the  arrangements  necessary  for  the  future,  I  congratulate  you  on 
the  manner  in  which  the  business  has  been  conducted.  .  .  .  Your 
existence  as  the  first  representative  Legislature  of  the  united  colonies 
of  British  Columbia  and  Vancouver  Island  will  be  ephemeral.  Another 
of  the  measures  to  which  I  have  referred  will  be  the  cause  of  your 
own  extinction  and  the  substitution  of  a  larger  and  differently  consti- 
tuted legislative  body.  But  your  members  may  reflect  with  pride 
that  to  you  has  been  confided  the  privilege  of  deciding  upon  the  most 
important  questions  which  have  hitherto  arisen,  or  are  likely  to  arise 
for  years  to  come,  in  the  history  of  the  colony ;  to  you  belongs  the 
honor  of  extending  the  limits  of  the  British  American  Confederation 
to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  and  of  cementing  the  foundations  of  a 
great  and  prosperous  state,  whose  future  promises  to  be  enlightened 
and  progressive. 

HARMONIOUS  RELATIONS  WHICH  EXISTED. — "For  myself  I  feel 
proud  that  I  have  been  permitted  to  participate  with  you  in  the  work. 
But  one  of  its  effects  will  probably  be  soon  to  terminate  my  official 
connection  with  the  colony.  I  may  not  again  meet  the  Legislature 
in  session  assembled,  and  I  embrace  this  opportunity  to  express  my 
thanks  for  the  support  which  I  have  always  obtained  at  your  hands, 
and  my  acknowledgment  of  the  harmonious  relations  subsisting 
between  the  Legislature  and  myself  during  the  whole  period  of  my 
administration.  Whatever  may  be  my  future,  I  shall  carry  away 
with  me  from  British  Columbia,  and  I  hope  you  will  retain,  a  pleas- 
ant recollection  of  good  feeling  and  mutual  assistance  in  accom- 
plishing the  work  we  undertook  to  perform." 

COMPLIMENTARY  ADDRESSES. — GOVERNOR  MUSGRAVE  thus  prorogued 
the  last  Colonial  Legislature  of  British  Columbia.  He  took  his 


404  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

departure  from  Victoria  on  the  25th  of  July,  1871,  for  London,  via, 
San  Francisco,  in  H.M.S.  Sparrowhawk,  having  tilled  the  office  of 
Governor  twenty-three  months.  Complimentary  addresses  from 
officials,  headed  by  the  Chief  Justice,  from  the  Anglican  clergy,  the 
Roman  Catholic  clergy  and  others,  were  presented  to  him  before 
he  left. 

CREATED  A  KNIGHT.  —  After  reaching  London,  Governor  Musgrave 
was  sent  to  Natal  to  introduce  a  new  charter  to  the  colonists  of  South 
Africa.  He  accomplished  that  mission  in  less  than-  a  year,  and  then 
was  appointed  Governor  of  South  Australia.  Whilst  in  South 
Australia  he  was  knighted,  and  in  1885  had  the  additional  title  of 
G.C.M.G.  bestowed  on  him.  He  was  next  offered  the  appointment  of 
Governor  of  Jamaica.  This  he  accepted  in  1877,  and  remained 
Governor  of  that  island  for  nearly  six  years.  Sir  Anthony  was  trans- 
ferred to  Queensland  in  1883,  and  died  there,  October  9th,  1888. 

CIVIL  ENGINEERS  AND  SURVEYS. — The  first  party  of  Dominion  civil 
engineers  arrived  in  Victoria,  via  San  Francisco,  from  Ottawa  on 
July  10th,  1871.  They  were  :  C.  E.  Moberly,  R.  Maclennan,  James 
Mahood,  J.  Dickey,  L.  N.  Rheaume,  C.  F.  Gillette,  J.  Ireland  and  A. 
McLellan  ;  Mr.  George  Watt,  commissary  and  paymaster  ;  Sherwood 
Hall,  assistant  commissary  and  paymaster.  The  respective  parties, 
as  soon  as  they  had  engaged  their  assistants,  proceeded  east  of  Kam- 
loops  and  extended  their  camps  towards  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

MACLENNAN  AND  MOBERLY. — There  were  two  parties,  known  as 
Q  and  R,  under  Mr.  R.  Maclennan.  One  of  the  parties  had  wintered 
on  Canoe  River,  near  Albreda  Lake,  and  the  other  on  the  Fraser 
River,  about  fifty  miles  below  Tete  Jaune  Cache.  Mr.  Maclennan 
had,  during  the  winter,  visited  Ottawa  to  report  what  had  been  done 
during  the  previous  year.  Two  parties,  named  S  and  T,  were  under 
Mr.  Walter  Moberly.  The  winter  camp  of  S  was  at  the  west  end  of 
the  Howse  Pass  through  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  the  other  (T) 
wintered  on  the  lower  arm  of  the  Columbia  River,  near  Eagle  Pass. 
The  whole  line  covered  by  the  four  parties  at  their  outlying  stations 
reached  a  distance  of  over  three  hundred  miles. 

VARIOUS  IMPORTANT  SURVEYS. — MR.  MARCUS  SMITH  arranged  to 
survey  the  islands  and  channel  between  Vancouver  Island  and  the 
mainland — one  party  being  sent  to  Bute  Inlet,  and  two  others  to 
continue  the  surveys  up  the  north-west  shore  of  Bute  Inlet  and 
through  the  Cascade  Mountains  by  the  Homathco  Pass  (head  of  Bute 
Inlet),  and  thence  across  the  Chilcotin  plains  to  the  Fraser  River. 


SECTION  IV. 


THE  CONFEDERATION  PERIOD. 


CHAPTEK   I. 

THE  FIRST  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. — The  newly  appointed  Governor 
of  British  Columbia,  Hon.  Joseph  William  Trutch,  arrived  from  Lon- 
don, at  Victoria,  August  14th,  having  awaited  at  San  Francisco  the 
arrival  of  his  predecessor,  until  the  third  of  that  month.     His  Honor 
was  sworn  in  on  the  day  of   his  arrival    by 
Chief  Justice  Begbie,  who  read  the  commis- 
sion.    An  address  of  welcome  was  presented 
by  the  Mayor  and  Municipal  Council  of  Vic- 
toria, to  which  Mr.  Trutch  made  a  suitable 
reply. 

FULL  DETAILS  IN  His  REPORT. — THE  HON. 
H.  LANGEVIN,  Minister  of  Public  Works  for 
the  Dominion  of  Canada,  arrived  at  Victoria, 
August  19th,  1871.  He  was  received  at  the 
landing  by  the  Hon.  Lieutenant-Governor 
Trutch  and  Hon.  Dr.  Helmcken,  acting  Pro- 
vincial Secretary.  It  was  expected  that  Mr.  Sandford  Fleming,  chief 
engineer  of  the  Pacific  Railway,  would  have  accompanied  the  Honor- 
able the  Minister  of  Public  Works,  but  his  duties  on  the  Intercolonial 
Railway  prevented. 

THE  OBJECT  OF  MR.  LANGEVIN'S  VISIT  was  to  see  the  newly  acquired 
province,  and  judge  for  himself  of  its  resources  and  the  railway  pros- 
pects. He  made  a  trip  as  far  as  Cariboo,  and  took  every  means  avail- 
able to  ascertain  the  resources  of  the  country.  Samples  of  the 
products  were  obtained  ;  the  altitude  at  which  certain  crops  were 
grown — the  yield  of  the  crops  as  well  as  the  mines.  The  full  details 
were  published  in  his  report  to  the  Government  at  Ottawa. 


LIEUT. -G-JV.   J.    W.    TRl'TCFI. 


406  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

BANQUET  TO  HON.  MR.  LANGEVIN. — On  his  return  from  the  mainland, 
September  10th,  Mr.  Langevin  was  received  most  cordially,  and  driven 
to  the  Government  House,  where  he  was  the  guest  of  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Trutch.  Next  day  he  received  a  number  of  citizens  at  the 
public  buildings,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  St.  Ann's  Convent.  In 
the  evening  he  was  entertained  at  a  banquet  in  the  Mechanics' 
Institute  Hall.  The  reception  was  enthusiastic.  He  next  visited 
Barclay  Sound  in  H.M.S.  Sparrowhawk,  Captain  Mist.  En  route  he 
took  a  run  to  San  Juan  Island,  and  round  by  Race  Rocks.  The 
interval  until  September  22nd,  was  spent  in  examining  the  west  coast 
to  Alberni,  and  the  east  coast  to  Seymour  Narrows. 

ESQUIMALT  DRY  DOCKS. — A  deputation  waited  on  Mr.  Langevin 
on  the  22nd,  relative  to  the  Esquimalt  Dry  Docks.  Dr.  Helmcken 
stated  the  objects  of  the  deputation.  Mr.  Langevin's  reply  \vas  that 
he  had  no  doubt  the  Canadian  ministry  would  take  up  the  matter 
warmly,  and  do  everything  possible  to  fix  the  British  naval  station 
permanently  at  Esquimalt.  He  left  by  the  Prince  Alfred  the  same 
day,  for  Ottawa,  via  San  Francisco. 

THE  FIRST  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY. — Under  writs  issued  by  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor  Trutch,  dated  2nd  of  October,  and  returnable  26th 
December,  1871,  the  following  twenty-five  members  were  elected: 

John  Foster  McCreight  (Premier  and  Attorney-General),  Simeon 
Duck,  Robert  Beaven  and  James  Trimble,  Esquires,  for  Victoria  city  ; 
Amos  De  Cosmos  and  Arthur  Bunster,  Esquires,  for  Victoria  district  ; 
Alexander  Rocke  Robertson,  Esquire  (Pro- 
vincial Secretary),  and  Henry  Cogan,  Esquire, 
for  Esquimalt ;  Wm.  Smith  and  John  Paton 
Booth,  Esquires,  for  Cowichan  ;  John  Robson, 
Esquire,  for  Nauaimo  ;  John  Ash,  Esquire,  for 
Comox ;  Henry  Holbrook,  Esquire,  West- 
minster city  ;  Josiah  Charles  Hughes  and 
William  James  Armstrong,  Esquires,  for 
New  Westminster  district ;  Robert  Smith, 
James  Robinson  and  Charles  Augustus  Semlirv, 

HON.  j.  F.  M'CREIGHT.  Esquires,  for  Yale  ;  Andrew  T.  Jamieson  and 

Thos.  Basil  Humphreys,  Esquires,  for  Lillooet ; 

George  Anthony  Walkem  (Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works),. 
Joseph  Hunter  and  Cornelius  Booth,  Esquires,  for  Cariboo ;  John 
Andrew  Mara  and  Charles  Todd,  Esquires,  for  Kootenay. 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD. 


407 


SPEECH  FROM  THE  THRONE. — THE  HOUSE  OF  ASSEMBLY  did  not  meet 
until  February  15th,  1872,  when  James  Trimble  was  elected  Speaker. 
The  first  session  under  Confederation  was  opened  by  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Trutch,  who,  in  the  Speech  from  the  Throne,  said  :  "  I 
congratulate  you  upon  our  having  happily  become  one  of  the  provinces 
of  the  Dominion  of  Canada — that  grand  Confederation  of  British 
Territories  in  North  America,  whose  constitution  is  impressed  with 
all  the  stability  of  a  monarchy,  combined  with  the  freedom,  elasticity 
and  progressive  energy  of  republican  institutions.  In  this  union  the 
future  prosperity  and  advancement  of  the  great  country,  our  adopted 
home,  are  securely  established."  After  remarking  on  the  advantages 
to  be  derived  from  the  construction  of  the  Pacific  Railway,  the  fact  of 
being  freed  from  debt  by  the  union,  etc.,  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
declared  the  session  opened. 

THIRTY-TWO  BILLS  PASSED. — THE  FIRST  SESSION  was  concluded, 
April  llth,  by  his  Honor  giving  assent  to  thirty-two  bills,  reserving 
four  until  the  pleasure  of  the  Governor-General  of  Canada  had  been 
signified  in  respect  thereto.  His  Honor  also  assented  to  the  "  Supply 
Bill,"  and  released  the  members  from  their  attendance  in  the  Assembly. 
He  congratulated  them  on  the  wisdom  and  prudence  which  had 
guided  their  deliberations. 

APPOINTMENT  OF  SENATORS. — The  three  senators  who  were  appointed 
under  the  terms  of  union  to  represent  British  Columbia  at  Ottawa, 
were  Dr.  R.  W.  Carroll,  C.  F.  Cornwall  and  W.  J.  Macdonald.  The 
first  gentleman  named,  a  native  of  Oxford 
county,  Ontario,  arrived  at  Victoria  in  1862, 
to  act  as  medical  officer  to  the  coal  company 
at  Nanaimo.  In  1864,  he  gave  up  that  posi- 
tion, to  seek  his  fortune  in  Cariboo,  and  in 
1868  was  elected  to  the  Legislature.  In  1870, 
he  was  appointed  one  of  the  three  delegates 
to  proceed  to  Ottawa  to  negotiate  the  terms 
of  union.  He  filled  the  office  of  Senator 
until  his  death,  September  7th,  1879.  He  was 
succeeded  in  the  senatorship  by  Hon.  Hugh 
Nelson,  who  was  subsequently  appointed 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  British  Columbia.  The  senatorship  held  by 
Lieutenant-Governor  Nelson  was  bestowed  on  Mr.  Reed,  the  present 
Senator.  The  second  senator  named  of  the  first  appointees,  viz., 
C.  F.  Cornwall,  a  gentleman  by  birth  and  education,  came  from  Eng- 


LIEUT. -GOVERNOR   CORNWALL. 


408  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

land  to  British  Columbia  in  1862,  and  established  himself  as  a  farmer, 
at  Ashcroft,  where  he  still  (1894)  resides.  He  represented  the  Yale- 
Lytton  district  during  cne  session  of  the  Legislature  of  British 
Columbia  before  the  unioi  of  the  colonies,  and  in  1881  was  appointed 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  Province,  which  office  he  held  until 
February  8th,  1887.  On  accepting  the  office  of  Lieutenant-Governor, 
he  was  succeeded  in  the  Senate  by  the  present  senator,  T.  R.  Mclnnes. 
The  third  senator,  namely,  W.  J.  Macdonald,  a  native  of  Scotland, 
arrived  at  Vancouver  Island  in  1855.  He  was  for  some  time  in 
connection  with  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  was  mayor  of  Victoria 
first  in  1867,  and  again  by  acclamation  in  1871.  His  nomination  to 
the  senatorship  gave  general  satisfaction.  He  continues  to  fill  the 
office  of  Senator  to  the  present  time  (1894).  (See  page  245.) 

REPRESENTATIVES  AT  OTTAWA. — The  first  British  Columbia  repre- 
sentatives in  the  Commons,  Ottawa,  were  :  First  parliament,  1872, 
J.  S.  Thompson,  Cariboo  ;  Hugh  Nelson.  New  Westminster ;  Robert 
Wallace,  Vancouver  Island  ;  Henry  Nathan 
and  Amor  De  Cosmos,  Victoria  city  ;  Chas. 
F.  Hough  ton,  Yale.  Sir  Francis  Hincks 
represented  Vancouver  Island  in  the  second 
parliament  untilJanuary,  1874;  E.  Dewdney, 
for  Yale,  from  1874  to  1879,  when  he  was 
appointed  Indian  Commissioner  ;  Sir  John 
A.  Macdonald  represented  Victoria  city  in 
1882.  The  present  members  at  Ottawa 
(1894)  are  Messrs.  Earle,  Prior,  Haslam, 
Barnard,  Corbould  and  Mara. 

SIR  JOHN  A.  MACDONALD. 

MR.    RICHARDSONS  REPORT. — One  ot  the 

first  returned  surveyors  from  the  exploratory  surveys,  Mr.  Richardson, 
reported  good  crops  in  Kamloops  and  Pavilion  Mountain  districts. 
He  mentioned  one  settler  who  had  150  acres  of  land  under  cultivation, 
a  portion  of  which  was  irrigated,  water  having  to  be  conveyed  for  the 
purpose  a  distance  of  eleven  miles.  Other  surveying  parties  had 
made  good  progress  in  their  work.  They  had  been  in  expectation  of 
the  engineer-in-chief. 

THE  BEST  POINT  OF  CONNECTION.— MR.  MARCUS  SMITH,  resident 
engineer,  visited  the  camps  in  May,  1872.  He  continued  his  work  on 
the  coast,  to  ascertain  where  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  could 
make  the  best  connection  with  Vancouver  Island.  The  chief  engineer 
did  not  arrive  till  late  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1872.  He  had  given 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


409 


full  instruction  to  engineers  in  charge  of  parties,  so  that  as  they  were 
supplied  with  every  requisite,  they  would  be  able  to  discharge  their 
duties  to  the  best  advantage. 

THE  OUTFIT  SUPPLIED. — In  case  it  might  be  necessary  that  each 
member  of  a  party  should  have  to  carry  his  personal  baggage,  the 
weight  was  reduced  as  much  as  possible.  For  example  :  the  outfit 
was  two  paii'  of  pants,  two  coats,  three  flannel  shirts,  three  pair  of 
drawers,  six  pair  of  socks,  one  pair  of  mitts,  two  pair  of  strong  boots  or 
shoe-packs,  one  towel,  one  brush  and  comb,  and  a  few  other  small 
articles,  the  whole  not  to  exceed  thirty  pounds. 

A  GUN-BOAT  ORDERED  OUT. — Mr.  Smith  proved  an  able  and 
reliable  assistant.  In  his  survey  northwards  he  had  to  pass  amongst 
the  tribes  of  Indians  by  whom  Mr.  Waddington's  party  were  murdered 
in  1864,  in  the  Homathco  Pass.  To  show  those  Indians  that  he  was 
there  by  the  authority  of  the  Government  and  would  be  protected,  he 
requested  that  a  gun-boat  should  be  sent  to  the  head  of  Bute  Inlet. 
This  was  granted. 

Mr.  Smith  reports,  that  July  6th,  they  arrived  at  the  camp  where 
Mr.  Waddington's  trail  party,  "  consisting 
of  seventeen  men,  were  attacked  by  Indians 
in  the  dead  of  the  night,  whilst  they  were 
asleep  in  their  tents.  Fifteen  of  them  were 
murdered  and  two  escaped.  The  camp  pre- 
sented a  sad  spectacle.  Square  patches  of 
bark,  neatly  laid,  marked  the  place  of  each 
tent.  Articles  of  clothing,  a  blacksmith's 
anvil  and  vice,  a  broken  grindstone,  bars  of 
iron  and  steel,  sledge  hammers  and  various 
tools  were  scattered  about — whilst  against  a 
tree,  set  up  in  an  orderly  manner,  were  a  half 
a  dozen  shovels,  ready  for  next  morning's 
work.  No  living  soul  seems  to  have  visited 
the  spot  since  the  dark  deed  was  done,  eight  years  ago." 

SURVEYS  TOWARDS  SEYMOUR  NARROWS. — Remaining  in  Victoria 
till  the  surveyors  were  fairly  at  work  on  their  plans  and  profiles, 
Mr.  Smith  left  for  Comox,  to  visit  the  surveying  parties  in  Valdez 
Island.  Mr.  Gamsby,  who  was  in  charge,  was  instructed  to  continue 
his  surveys  towards  Seymour  Narrows.  Mr.  Smith  found  the 
country  from  Seymour  Narrows  very  favorable  for  a  line  of  railway. 
Ascending  the  Courtenay  River,  to  Farquhar  Lake,  there  is  a  rise  of 


410  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

250  feet;  the  valley  is  timbered  with  fir,  hemlock,  cottonwood,  cedarr 
and  few  white  pine,  generally  of  a  large  size.  The  party  arrived  at 
Nanaimo,  December  18th.  The  report  of  this  section  concludes  by 
stating  that,  taking  the  whole  line  from  Seymour  Narrows  to 
Esquimalt — about  110  miles — the  average  of  the  works  would  be 
moderate,  and,  he  considered,  "  lighter  than  the  average  of  those  on 
the  Intercolonial  Railway." 

YELLOW-HEAD  PASS. — The  Chief  Engineer  did  not  reach  Yellow- 
head  Pass  until  the  middle  of  September,  1872,  having  been  delayed 
with  Intercolonial  Eailway  business.  He  says  in  his  report :  "  About 
sixty  miles  below  the  Yellow-head  Pass,  we  came  to  a  turn  in  the 
Fraser,  named  Tete  Jaune  Cache.  Here  the  Fraser  takes  a  north- 
westerly direction  to  nearly  midway  between  the  54th  and  55th  parallel, 
when  it  descends  southerly  almost  to  the  49th  parallel,  then  turns  to 
the  west,  to  meet  the  Pacific  waters  near  New  Westminster.  Their 
course  being  southward,  they  turned  towards  the  Canoe  River,  pars- 
ing over  the  low  height  of  land  between  the  two  streams,  entirely 
abandoning  the  Fraser  at  Tete  Jaune  Cache,  again  to  meet  it  by  the 
valley  of  the  Thompson,  at  Lytton,  more  than  four  hundred  miles 
distant.  Yellow-head  Pass  is  less  than  3,800  feet  above  the  sea. 

AFTER  CROSSING  THE  ROCKIES. — After  crossing  the  Fraser,  the 
route  to  Canoe  River  was  through  a  wonderfully  level  country, 
considering  the  magnitude  of  the  surrounding  mountains.  The 
country  was  well  wooded  with  spruce,  hemlock,  cedar,  white  birch, 
and  Douglas  fir.  Fording  Canoe  River  and  passing  to  the  east  of 
Lake  Albreda,  the  party  reached  the  north  branch  of  North  Thompson, 
and  crossing  it,  descended  on  the  west  side.  The  trail  was  extremely 
rough  and  undulating  for  ten  or  twelve  miles,  until  "  Stillwater  "  is 
reached.  Soon  the  stream  becomes  rapid,  and  falls  750  feet  in  forty- 
five  miles,  to  Clearwater;  thence  to  Kamloops,  seventy-five  miles, 
the  river  is  navigable.  The  party  reached  Yale,  the  head  of  steam- 
boat navigation,  October  3rd,  and  New  Westminster  the  following 
evening. 

THE  ITINERARY  OF  THE  TRIP  which  commenced  at  Halifax,  July  1st, 
is  very  interesting.  It  gives  the  number  of  miles  travelled  between 
the  principal  points— the  time  occupied,  the  mode  of  travel,  and  the 
number  of  camps  formed.  Their  number  from  Lake  Superior  to 
Kamloops  was  sixty-two.  From  Yellow-head  Pass  (16th  to  28th 
September)  to  Kamloops  the  travel  was  by  horses  142  miles,  and  by 
canoe,  eighty -five.  From  Kamloops  to  New  Westminster — by  horses, 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  41 1 

142  miles;  steamer,  ninety-six,  and  canoe,  sixteen.  From  New  West- 
minster to  Victoria,  including  Burrard  Inlet,  Waddington  Harbor, 
Seymour  Narrows  and  Alberni— by  horses,  three  miles  ;  steamer,  482. 
Total,  from  Halifax,  July  1st  to  October  llth,  1872,  5,314  miles. 

A  SHORT  MEMOIR.— The  following  sketch,  based  chiefly  on  an 
article  in  an  excellent  work,  "The  Scot  in  North  America,"  will, 
doubtless,  be  read  with  pleasure.  Mr.  Fleming  has  taken,  and  con- 
tinues to  take,  a  lively  interest  in  the  development  and  progress  of 
British  Columbia,  and  deserves  more  than  a  passing  notice.  His  name 
will  always  be  associated  with  the  greatest  public  undertaking  of  the 
Dominion — the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway. 

SANDFORD  FLEMING  was  born  at  Kirkcaldy, 
Fifeshire,  Scotland,  January  7th,  1827,  his 
father  being  a  mechanic  named  Andrew  Greig 
Fleming.  The  maiden  name  of  his  mother 
was  Elizabeth  Arnott.  During  his  school 
days,  his  mind  exhibited  a  decided  bent  in 
the  direction  of  mathematics,  and  at  an  early 
age  he  was  placed  under  articles  with  an 
engineer  and  surveyor.  Having  acquired  a 
practical  knowledge  of  the  profession,  he 
emigrated  to  Canada  at  the  age  of  eighteen. 

His  PROGRESS  in  his  adopted  country  at  first  was  rather  slow, 
as  he  \vas  for  some  years  unable  to  obtain  any  position  which 
would  afford  him  the  opportunity  of  gaining  recognition  of  his 
abilities.  During  a  portion  of  this  weary  waiting  for  professional 
advancement  he  resided  in  Toronto,  where  he  was  one  of  the  first  to 
take  an  interest  in  the  Canadian  Institute.  In  1852,  he  was  appointed 
one  of  the  engineering  staff  on  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway,  at  that 
time  known  as  the  Ontario,  Simcoe  and  Huron  Railway.  His  attain- 
ments quickly  won  him  promotion,  and  in  a  few  years  he  became 
chief  engineer  of  the  line.  Whilst  in  connection  with  this  company, 
his  services  were  also  souglit  in  the  promotion  of  other  public  works, 
He  subsequently  visited  the  Red  River  Settlement  to  ascertain 
whether  it  would  be  practicable  to  build  a  railroad  connecting  it  with 
old  Canada.  In  1863,  the  inhabitants  of  the  settlement  addressed  a 
memorial  to  the  Imperial  Government,  praying  for  railway  communi- 
.  cation  with  Canada  through  British  territory,  and  Mr.  Fleming  was 
entrusted  with  the  mission  of  urging  the  construction  of  the  line, 
He  had  several  interviews  on  the  subject  with  the  Duke  of  Newcastle, 


SANDFORl)    FLEMING. 


412  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

then  Colonial  Secretary,  but  the  project  did  not,  at  that  time,  assume 
any  definite  shape.  On  Mr.  Fleming's  return  from  England  he  was 
entrusted  with  the  task  of  making  a  preliminary  survey  of  a  railway 
to  connect  the  Maritime  Provinces  with  Canada.  The  scheme  was 
not  pushed,  until  the  accomplishment  of  Confederation,  in  1867,  ren- 
dered the  construction  of  the  Intercolonial  Railway  imperative  upon 
the  Canadian  Government.  The  work  was  carried  to  a  successful  issue 
under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Fleming  as  chief  engineer,  and  was 
formally  opened  on  the  1st  of  July,  1876. 

THE  TRIUMPH  THUS  ACHIEVED  over  physical  obstacles  of  no  ordinary 
character,  placed  him  in  the  vfirst  rank  ofr  his  profession,  and  singled 
him  out  as  pre-eminently  fitted  for  the  yet  more  important  and 
responsible  charge  of  opening  up  a  highway  for  commerce  between  the 
East  and  West,  over  swamp  and  prairie,  river  and  muskeg,  across  the 
towering  barrier  of  the  Rockies,  winding  among  British  Columbia's 
"  sea  of  mountains,"  through  passes  deemed  impassable,  bridging 
chasms  that  yawn  destruction,  and  tunnelling  cliffs  that  frown  defi- 
ance, onward,  slowly,  toilsomely,  but  resistlessly  onward,  to  where  the 
Pacific  portal  invites  the  commerce  of  the  East,  and  the  perpetual 
surge  of  humanity  culminates  in  the  paradox  of  the  pioneer  confront- 
ing the  Mongolian. 

WHKN  BRITISH  COLUMBIA  ENTERED  THE  UNION,  the  practicability 
of  the  Pacific  Railway  was  still  an  unsolved  problem.  No  time  was 
lost  in  setting  on  foot  the  work  of  survey  in  the  summer  of  1871. 
On  July  20th,  the  day  on  which  the  union  was  formally  consummated, 
a  party  left  Victoria  for  the  mountains.  The  quarter  to  which  atten- 
tion was  specially  directed  was  the  Yellow-head  Pass  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  which  it  was  supposed  might  offer  an  available  route.  On 
examination  it  was  found  that  no  insuperable  obstacle  existed  to  the 
construction  of  a  road  through  this  pass  to  Kamloops,  in  the  interior 
of  the  Province.  The  main  question  was  settled.  The  Canadian 
Pacific  was  a  practicable  scheme,  and  henceforward  it  was  merely  a 
choice  between  longer  and  shorter,  easier  or  more  difficult  routes.  The 
immensity  of  the  enterprise,  which  had  hardly  been  fully  considered 
in  the  anxiety  to  make  terms  with  British  Columbians,  began  to  be 
more  fully  realized  during  the  toilsome  and  tedious  years  of  exploratory 
survey  that  followed.  The  difficulties  encountered,  the  fatigues  and 
perils  endured  by  those  engaged  in  this  work  are  deserving  of  more 
recognition  than  they  have  received,  or  are  ever  likely  to  receive  at 
the  hands  of  the  country  in  whose  service  those  brave  soldiers  on  the 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  413 

skirmish  line  of  the  advancing  forces  of  civilization  toiled  and  suffered, 
and  not  unfrequently  died — for  if  "  peace  hath  her  victories  not  less 
renowned  than  war,"  she  has   also  her  tragedies— her  killed,  whose 
names  find   place  in  no  bulletins,  and   to  whose  memories  no  lofty 
monuments  are  reared,  and  her  wounded  go  unpensioned  and  undec- 
orated.     The  total  list  of  lives  lost  in  connection  with  the  survey  up 
to  the  year  1878,  by  various  "moving  accidents  of  flood  and  field, " 
numbered  thirty-eight.      The  vast  amount  of  information  concerning 
the  physical   features  of  a  region  of  which  nothing  was  accurately 
known,   excepting  along    the    routes  followed   by  the  few  travellers 
who  had  left  their  observations  on  record,  gained  by  the  exhaustive 
and   elaborate  system   of  surveys  carried   out  under  Mr.  Fleming's 
direction,  is  indicated  by  the  statement  made  by  him  in  a  paper  read 
before  the  Royal  Colonial  Institute  in  1878,  that  the  total  length  of 
explorations  made  during  the  preceding  seven  years,   in  connection 
with  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  exceeded  forty-seven   thousand 
miles,  no  less  than  twelve  thousand  miles  having  been  measured  by 
chain  and  spirit  level,  yard  by  yard.     The  expense  of  these  surveys 
amounted  to  about  three  and  a  half  million  dollars,  and  the  engineer- 
ing force  employed  numbered  about  a  thousand  men  of  all  grades. 

OCEAN  TO  OCEAN. — In  1872,  MR.  FLEMING  made  a  journey  across 
the  continent  to  familiarize  himself  with  the  general  features  of  the 
route  laid  down  by  the  preliminary  surveys.  He  was  accompanied 
from  Ottawa  by  Rev.  George  M.  Grant,  principal  of  Queen's  College, 

Kingston,  as  secretary.     Dr.  Arthur  Moren, 

of  Halifax,  Prof.  John  Macoun,  of  Belleville, 
and'  Mr  Charles  Horetzky,  an  ex-Hudson 
Bay  official,  joined  the  party  at  Edmonton. 

THE  FLEMING  PARTY  continued  their  jour- 
journey  by  way  of  Yellow-head  Pass,  reaching 
Victoria  on  October  9th,  after  a  journey  of 
nearly  three  months.  Rev.  Mr.  Grant,  on  his 
return  home  by  way  of  the  Union  Pacific,  was 
struck  with  the  contrast  between  the  arid, 
alkaline  plateaus  of  Utah,  Nevada,  Wyoming 
and  Eastern  Nebraska— the  parched  earth  for 

hundreds  of  miles  barely  yielding  support  to  a  scanty  growth  of  sage 
brush  ;  and  the  warm  soil  of  the  Canadian  prairies,  clothed  every- 
where with  a  luxuriant  vegetation.  Yet,  while  population  had  been 
attracted  to  the  great  American  desert,  and  enterprise  had  earned 


414  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

thither  the  railroad  and  the  telegraph,  the  fertile  belt  remained 
unpeopled  and  unproductive.  The  great  precursor  of  civilization,  in 
its  westward  march,  the  railway,  was,  as  yet,  in  the  future.  Full 
particulars  of  this  trip  are  given  in  Principal  Grant's  interesting 
work,  "  Ocean  to  Ocean." 

RETIRED  FROM  THE  RAILWAY  SERVICE. — Mr.  Fleming's  connection 
with  the  Canadian  Pacific  continued  until  1880,  when  he  resigned  his 
position  on  finding  himself  unable  to  agree  with  the  Government  on 
certain  matters  on  which  he  held  decided  views.  His  great  public 
services  have  been  fitly  recognized  by  his  receiving  from  her  Majesty 
the  honor  of  being  created  a  Companion  of  the  Order  of  St.  Michael 
and  St.  George.  In  1880,  he  was  elected  Chancellor  of  Queen's 
University,  Kingston.  He  is  an  able  and  voluminous  writer  on  topics 
connected  with  his  profession,  and  has  contributed  many  valuable 
papers  to  the  Royal  Society  of  Canada,  of  which  he  has  frequently 
been  president.  In  addition  to  the  valuable  official  reports  of  the 
various  enterprises  with  which  he  has  been  connected,  he  has  pub- 
lished a  history  of  the  Intercolonial  Railway,  and  has  furnished  many 
instructive  contributions  to  the  Canadian  Journal  and  other  scien- 
tific publications.  In  1855,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Ann  Jean 
Hall,  daughter  of  the  late  Sheriff  Hall,  of  the  county  of  Peter- 
borough.  In  1893,  he  proceeded  to  Australia  to  promote  the  laying  of 
an  ocean  cable  via  Honolulu  to  Vancouver  Island.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  Miss  Fleming,  and  called  at  Victoria  on  the  outward  trip, 
returning  by  way  of  the  Suez  Canal  and  England  to  Ottawa.  The 
Hon.  Mackenzie  Bowell,  Minister  of  Trade  and  Commerce  for  the 
Dominion,  went  to  Australia,  in  the  interests  of  the  Dominion,  at  the 
same  time  as  Mr.  Fleming.  Mr.  Bowell  returned  via  Victoria  and 
Vancouver,  thence  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  to  Ottawa. 

THE  OCEAN  CABLE. — Mr.  Fleming  has  just  returned  to  Ottawa 
(November,  1894)  from  another  trip  to  Hawaii  in  connection  with 
the  Pacific  Cable  to  Australia,  which  is  proposed  to  touch  at  one  of 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  He  was  accompanied  by  an  Imperial  Govern- 
ment official,  who  was  sent  from  London  to  take  part  in  the  negotia- 
tions along  with  him.  The  Commissioners  were  welcomed  by  the 
Hawaiian  people,  and  the  government  entered  heartily  into  the 
scheme,  as  it  would  place  them  into  telegraphic  communication  with 
the  markets  of  the  world.  Proposals  for  constructing  and  laying  the 
cable  have  been  received  by  the  Government,  on  favorable  terms; 
and  from  present  appearances  the  Pacific  Cable  will  soon  become  an 
established  fact,  having  the  prestige  of  the  Imperial  Government. 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  415 


CHAPTEK   II. 


CHOICE  OF  ROUTES  INVESTIGATED. 

THREE  ROUTES  SURVEYED.— During  1872  a  vast  amount  of  work 
was  performed  by  the  exploratory  and  surveying  parties.  In  the 
report  of  Mr.  Marcus  Smith  it  is  stated  that  the  portion  of  the  line 
from  Yellow-head  Pass  to  Clear  water,  180  miles,  which  is  common  to 
all  the  other  routes  surveyed  to  the  Pacific  coast,  was  considered  to 
be  generally  satisfactory.  From  below  that  point,  three  distinct 
routes  had  been  surveyed  to  the  waters  of  the  Pacific — two  of  these 
terminating  at  Burrard  Inlet,  the  other  touching  Pacific  waters,  at 
the  head  of  Bute  Inlet,  but  continued  down  the  north-westerly  shore 
of  the  inlet,  and  across  several  small  islands  and  narrow  channels  to 
Menzie  Bay,  on  Vancouver  Island. 

SOURCE  OF  ERASER  RIVER. — Before  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Smith 
as  resident  engineer,  Mr.  Moberly  had  charge  of  the  section  between 
Great  Shuswap  Lake  and  House  and  Eagle  Passes.  He  reached 
Yellow-head  Pass  in  September,  1872,  and  claimed  that  a  stream, 
flowing  out  of  Yellow-head  Lake,  is  the  true  source  of  the  Fraser 
River.  About  the  end  of  November,  Mr.  Moberly  was  obliged  to 
build  a  depot  at  Henry  House,  Whirlpool  River,  where  the  pack 
animals  might  find  food  and  shelter.  He  built  another  depot  at 
Fiddle  River,  on  an  old  trial  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  Supplies 
were  forwarded  there  as  late  as  January  23rd,  1873,  when  the  pack 
horses  were  turned  out  for  the  winter. 

MACOUN  AND  HORETZKY. — To  Mr.  Charles  Horetzky  was  assigned 
the  duty  of  examining  a  route  by  the  valley  of  Peace  River,  across 
the  Rocky  Mountain  Range  to  the  Omineca  district,  and  thence  by 
the  Skeena  River  to  Port  Essington.  With  Mr.  Horetzky  was 
associated  Mr.  John  Macoun,  of  Belleville,  Dominion  Botanist,  who, 
in  his  report,  dated  May,  1873,  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the 
flora  he  noticed  along  the  route  from  Lake  Superior  until  he  reached 
Stuart  Lake,  when  winter  set  in.  He  says  :  "  Going  up  the  Parsnip 


416  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

(river),  I  picked  up  a  number  of  specimens  ;  and  between  McLeod 
Lake  and  Fort  St.  James,  '  enough  to  make  ninety-eight  species. 
From  Stuart  to  Lake  Quesnelle,  147  species.  On  my  way  down, 
the  Fraser,  I  noticed  that  eastern  forms  held  sway  until  we  came  to 
Clinton,  at  the  commencement  of  the  Cascades.  After  that  all  was 
changed  and  western  forms  took  their  place." 

MR.  MACOUN  returned  via  Fraser  River  route  to  Victoria,  which 
he  reached  December  1 2th  ;  thence  via  San  Francisco  to  Ottawa,  Janu- 
ary 8th,  1873.  Mr.  Horetzky  continued  his  journey  north-westerly 
by  way  of  Babine  Lake  to  the  Forks  of  the  Skeena.  He  left  the 
Forks,  January  4th,  1873,  with  four  Indians,  all  on  foot,  packing  sup- 
plies. He  reached  McNeill's  store  (a  little  below  tide-water),  about 
160  miles  down  the  river.  After  some  delay  he  obtained  a  northern 
canoe  and  crew,  hauling  the  former  some  half  dozen  miles  on  the  ice 
to  open  water,  and  reached  Port  Simpson,  January  23rd.  After 
remaining  at  Port  Simpson  eight  days,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's 
steamer  Otter,  Captain  Lewis,  arrived  on  a  trading  voyage.  On  her 
he  embarked,  and  after  (compulsorily)  visiting  Queen  Charlotte 
Islands,  the  coast  of  Alaska,  Bella  Bella,  Bella  Coula,  Fort  Rupert 
and  Nanaimo,  reached  Victoria,  February  12th,  and  San  Francisco  on 
the  24th.  Mr.  Horetzky  reported  adversely  to  the  Skeena  route. 

MOUNTAINS,  INLETS,  CHANNELS  AND  ISLANDS. — Mr.  Fleming,  in 
his  report,  dated  January  26th,  1874,  after  describing  the  western 
region,  through  which  the  railway  would  be  constructed,  refers 
graphically  to  the  mountain  chains  of  British  Columbia,  its  plateaus, 
its  coast  line,  and  its  many  islands  and  channels,  where  there 
are  deep,  intricate  passages  leading  to  long,  rock-bound,  deep 
water  inlets,  or  fiords,  running  far  into  the  Cascade  mountains.  "  On 
the  five  hundred  miles  of  coast  line  there  is  a  very  large  number  of 
these  remarkable  arms  of  the  sea.  They  are  of  great  depth,  at  places 
reported  fathomless  Many  of  them  pierce  the  mountains  to  such  an 
extent  that  the  largest  iron-clads  afloat  could  steam  from  the  coast 
line,  in  some  cases  eighty  miles  into  the  very  heart  of  the  Cascade 
chain — the  lofty  mountain  peaks,  in  some  places,  rising  sheer  out  of 
the  sea  and  ascending  vertically  a  mile  from  the  water's  edge  to 
their  bald  summits,"  The  foregoing  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
difficulties  to  be  overcome  in  extending  the  railway  system  to  the 
Pacific  coast.  "  Two  important  problems  are  presented.  Primarily  it 
is  necessary  to  discover  the  best  way  of  piercing  the  mountain  chain?, 
but  it  is  scarcely  less  important  that  the  terminating  point  on  the  sea- 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  417 

board  should  be  easily  reached  by  the  largest  class  of  vessels  that,  now 
or  hereafter,  may  navigate  the  Pacific  ocean." 

SEYMOUR  NARROWS  TO  ESQUIMALT. — On  Vancouver  Island  an 
exploratory  survey  was  made  from  the  coast  line  opposite  Seymour 
Narrows  to  Esquimalt,  and  to  the  head  of  Alberni  Canal,  which 
showed  that  it  would  be  quite  practicable  to  carry  the  railway  along 
the  east  coast  and  to  the  sea-board  on  the  west  coast  of  Vancouver 
Island.  The  report  says:  "  Whatever  point  on  the  mainland  be 
selected  for  the  terminus  of  the  trans-continental  railway,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  a  line  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Vancouver  Island 
will,  at  no  distant  day,  form  part  of  the  railway  system  of  British 
Columbia.  To  connect  this  insular  portion  of  the  railway  system 
with  the  mainland,  by  a  direct,  unbroken  line,  such  as  that  projected 
across  the  Valdez  group  of  islands,  will  be  a  difficult  and  enormously 
expensive  undertaking.  Until  the  traffic  be  to  some  extent  developed 
and  the  prospect  justify  the  outlay,  a  steam  ferry  suitable  for  railway 
traffic  can  be  easily  established  between  Vancouver  Island  and  the 
terminus,  on  the  main  shore,  such  as  would  probably  for  some  time 
answer  the  purpose." 

BUTE  INLET  ROUTE. — The  surveys  of  1873  were  made  with 
reference  to  the  Yellow-head  Pass.  The  line  between  Moose  and 
Cranberry  Lake  had  been  re-surveyed  with  satisfactory  results.  Mr. 
Smith,  in  his  report,  pays  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Alfred 
Waddington,  whose  sketches  from  Bute  Inlet,  as  well  as  the  trail 
which  he  had  constructed,  had  been  of  great  service  in  prosecuting 
the  surveys.  The  topographical  sketches,  though  not  very  accurate, 
appear  to  have  been  honestly  prepared.  The  surveys  were  continued, 
and  the  most  persistent  efforts  made  for  several  years  to  discover  a 
line  running  directly  west  from  Yellow-head  Pass  to  the  coast,  but 
efforts  were  fruitless. 

ROUTE  TO  BURRARD  INLET  SELECTED. — In  1878,  Mr.  Fleming 
gives  his  views  on  the  selection  of  a  route,  and  "  is  forced  to  the 
conclusion  that  if  a  decision  cannot  be  postponed  until  further 
examinations  be  made  ;  if  the  construction  of  the  railway  must  at 
once  be  proceeded  with,  the  line  to  Vancouver  Island  should,  for  the 
present,  be  rejected,  and  that  the  Government  should  select  the  route 
by  Thompson  and  Fraser  rivers  to  Burrard  Inlet."  Again,  in  1879, 
he  reported  :  "  Much  has  been  said  for  and  against  every  route  that 
has  been  projected,  but  on  carefully  considering  the  engineering  and 
commercial  features  in  each  case,  the  conclusion  was  forced  upon  my 
27 


418  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

mind  that  the  railway  itself  would  be  least  difficult  to  construct,  that 
when  established  it  would  be  easiest  operated,  and  that  general 
interests  would  be  most  consulted  by  following  the  route  to  Burrard 
Inlet." 

COST  OF  SURVEY  UP  TO  1878. — Whilst  those  extensive  and  difficult 
surveys  were  continuously  and  persistently  being  made,  great  dissatis- 
faction was  manifested  by  the  people  of  British  Columbia  in  reference 
to  the  delays  which  had  taken  place  in  carrying  into  effect  the  terms 
of  the  union,  so  far  as  the  commencement  of  the  construction  of  the 
Pacific  Railway  was  concerned.  The  Dominion  Government  had  not 
been  remiss  in  their  endeavor  to  place  the  road  under  contract,  yet  up 
to  1873,  the  time  for  commencing  the  construction  of  the  railway 
from  the  west,  only  exploratory  surveys  had  been  made,  and  not  until 
1878,  when  about  three  and  a  quarter  million  dollars  had  been 
expended,  was  it  decided  that  the  Burrard  Inlet  route  was  accepted. 

SUBSIDY  AND  LAND  GRANT. — In  April,  1872,  a  bill  was  introduced 
in  the  Canadian  Parliament,  by  Sir  G.  E.  Cartier,  proposing  to  grant 
a  subsidy  of  thirty  million  dollars,  and  fifty  million  acres  of  land  for 
the  construction  of  a  railway  from  Lake  Nipissing  to  the  Pacific 
coast.  The  bill  authorized  the  Government  to  deal  with  a  single 
company  for  the  construction  of  the  entire  line,  provided  such 
company  possess  a  capital  of  ten  million  dollars,  of  which  ten  per  cent, 
must  be  deposited  with  the  Receiver-General. 

CHARTER  APPLIED  FOR. — The  bill  passed  without  discussion,  and 
received  the  Governor-General's  assent.  As  soon  as  the  news  was 
received  at  Victoria,  a  charter  was  applied  for  by  a  few  leading  men 
of  that  city,  to  support  the  company  represented  by  Sir  Hugh  Allan, 
who  proposed  to  build  the  railway.  Another  party  came  forward 
under  the  leadership  of  the  Hon.  John  Carling,  but  they  amalgamated, 
and  before  the  end  of  the  year  a  charter  was  granted  to  an  association 
composed  of  members  of  both  the  proposed  companies. 

SIR  HUGH  ALLAN'S  PROSPECTUS. — Sir  Hugh  Allan,  and  leading 
men  who  had  become  subscribers  to  the  company,  met  at  Ottawa  on 
March  1st,  1873,  and  elected  directors.  A  prospectus  was  published, 
giving  particulars  and  details,  the  capital  required,  the  work  to  be 
accomplished,  with  a  list  of  the  names  of  its  members,  and  a  synopsis 
of  the  articles  of  agreement  of  the  contract  with  the  Government. 
The  chief  promoter,  Sir  Hugh,  proceeded  to  London  to  negotiate  the 
amount  required — one  hundred  and  eight  million  dollars.  The  scheme 
did  not  find  favor  with  the  British  capitalists,  so  the  contract  was 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


419 


withdrawn,  and  the  one  million  dollars,  which  had  been  deposited  as 
security,  was  returned. 

HUNTINGDON'S  STATEMENT. — In  April,  1873,  Mr.  L.  S.  Huntingdon, 
3,  member  of  the  Commons,  stated  in  the  House,   "  That  in  anticipa- 
tion of  the  legislation  of  last  session,  in  regard  to  the  Pacific  Railway, 
an  agreement  was  made  between  Sir  Hugh  Allan  and  other  Canadian 
promoters,  and  G.  W.  McMullen,  acting  on  the  part  of  United  States 
capitalists,  whereby  the  latter  agreed  to  furnish  all  the  funds  neces- 
sary for  the  construction  of  the  contemplated  railway,  and  to  give  the 
former  a  certain  percentage  of  interest  in  consideration  of  their  posi- 
tion, giving   the  company  the  character  of  a  Canadian  company  with 
Sir  Hugh  Allan  at  its  head ;  that  the  Macdonald  Government  were 
aware  such  negotiations  were  pending  ;  and  that  subsequently  thereto 
an  understanding  was  come  to  between  the  Government,  Sir   Hugh 
Allan  and  Abbott,  one  of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  that 
Allan  and   his  friends  should  advance  a   large  sum  of  money  for  the 
purpose  of  aiding  in  the  election  of  ministers  and  their  supporters  at 
the  ensuing  election,  and  that  Allan  and  his  friends  should  receive 
the  contract  for  constructing  the  railway;   that  Allan  did  advance 
such  money,  and  that  part  of  the  moneys  so  expended  by  him  in  con- 
nection with  the  obtaining  the  Act  of  incorporation  and  charter  were 
paid  by  United  States  capitalists  under  the  agreement  with  him." 

COMMITTEE  TO  INVESTIGATE. — Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  moved  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  of  five  to  investigate  the  charges,  which 
was  agreed   to.     Lord  Dufferin,  Governor- General,  arrived  in  June. 
He  suddenly  prorogued  the  Parliament,  without  obtaining  its  consent 
to  the  discharge  of  the  Committee.     In  lieu 
thereof,  he  appointed  a  Royal  Commission  to 
make  the  investigation.     "  It  was  shown  that 
Allan  had  advanced  as  much  as    $100,000, 
and  it  was  presumed  that  those  who  took  the 
money  and  used  it  for  political  purposes,  well 
knew  that  it  was  given  in  the  expectation 
and  with  the  understanding  that  the  railway 
scheme    would    receive   the   support   of    the 
Ministry." 

MACKENZIE'S    ADMINISTRATION. — To    deal 
with  the  charges  mentioned,  an  extra  session 

was  called  to  meet  in  October.     A  motion  of  want  of  confidence  was 
introduced  by  Alexander  Mackenzie.     During   the  debate   thereon, 


HON.    ALEX.    MACKENZIE. 


420  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  resigned,  November  6th,  1873.  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie was  called  upon  to  form  a  new  ministry.  This  he  accom- 
plished, and  became  premier,  7th  November,  1873;  forming  the 
second  ministry  of  the  Dominion  since  Confederation.  He  held  office 
until  October  16th,  1878,  when  he  resigned. 

BRITISH  COLUMBIA  LEGISLATURE  MET. — The  Government  of  British 
Columbia  had,  after  November  7th,  to  deal  with  the  Mackenzie  Cabi- 
net. The  Legislature  met,  December  18th,  1873.  In  his  "Speech," 
opening  the  session,  Lieut. -Governor  Trutch  said  :  "  Upon  the  failure 
of  the  Dominion  Government  to  carry  out  its  undertaking  to  commence 
within  the  specified  time,  the  construction  of  a  railway  to  connect  the 
sea-board  of  British  Columbia  with  the  railway  system  of  Canada,  1 
felt  it  my  duty  to  strongly  protest,  on  behalf  of  the  Province,  against 
the  infraction  of  this  most  important  clause  of  the  Terms  of  Union. 
I  have,  nevertheless,  taken  care  to  comply  with  all  the  requirements 
of  the  Dominion  Government,  based  on  the  Terms,  being  desirous 
that  on  the  side  of  British  Columbia,  every  condition  of  the  contract 
should  be  scrupulously  kept." 

MISSION  TO  ENGLAND. — In  September,  1873,  Hon.  Amor  De  Cosmos, 
President  of  Council  and  Premier,  was  appointed  to  be  special  agent 
and  delegate  in  all  negotiations  having  for  their  object  the  construc- 
tion of  a  graving-dock  at  Esquimalt.  He  proceeded  to  Ottawa  and 
afterwards  to  London,  and  arranged  that  the  Government  of  British 
Columbia  would  receive  <£50,000  in  lieu  of  the  guarantee  of  five  per 
cent,  interest  per  annum  on  £1,000,000  for  five  years.  Mr.  De 
Cosmos  laid  his  report  on  the  subject  before  the  House  on  February 
3rd,  1874.  The  session  was  prorogued,  March  2nd,  his  Honor  stat- 
ing that  he  had,  "in  compliance  with  their  recent  Address,  again 
entered  a  strong  protest  against  the  continued  breach  of  agreement 
in  the  Terms  of  Union."  Messrs.  De  Cosmos  and  Bunster  having 
resigned  their  seats  in  the  Assembly,  new  writs  were  issued,  February 
10th,  1874. 

ADDRESS  ON  CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  RAILWAY. — On  February  9thr 
the  following  resolution,  moved  by  Hon.  Mr.  Beaven,  Chief  Commis- 
sioner of  Lands  and  Works,  seconded  by  Mr.  Duck,  was  put  and 
carried,  viz:  "That  whereas,  on  the  20th  July,  1871,  the  colony  of 
British  Columbia  was  united  to,  and  became  part  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada,  in  accordance  with  certain  terms ;  and  whereas  by  section  1 1 
of  the  said  terms,  the  Government  of  the  Dominion  undertook  to 
secure  the  commencement,  simultaneously  within  two  years  from  the 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  421 

date  of  the  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 ;  and  whereas,  the 
two  years  therein  referred  to  expired  on  the 
20th  July  last,  and  the  construction  of  the 
said  railway  was  not  then,  and  .has  not  since 
been  commenced,  causing  thereby  serious  loss 
and  injury  to  the  people  of  this  province  :  be 
it  therefore  resolved,  that  an  humble  address 
be  presented  to  his  Honor  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  respectfully  requesting  him  to  pro- 
test, on  behalf  of  the  Legislature  and  people 
of  this  province,  against  the  infraction  of  this 
HON.  MR.  BEAVEN.  most  imPortant  clause  of  the  Terms  of  Union, 

and  to  impress  upon  the  present  Administra- 
tion in  Canada,  the  absolute  necessity  of  commencing  the  actual  con- 
struction of  the  railway  from  the  sea-board  of  British  Columbia,  early 
in  the  present  year."  The  session  closed,  March  2nd,  1874. 

PETITION — BREACH  OP  TERMS. — The  Hon.  Mr.  Walkem,  Attorney- 
General,  was  instructed  to  proceed  to  England  to  present  a  petition 
from  the  Executive  Council  of  British  Columbia  to  her  Majesty's 
Government,  complaining  of  the  breach  by  the  Dominion  Govern- 
ment. He  left  Victoria,  June  16th,  1874,  and  arrived  in  Ottawa,  June 
27th,  where  credentials  were  obtained.  Mr.  Walkem  reached  London, 
July  27th,  and  was  granted  an  interview  with  Lord  Carnarvon, 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  July  31st.  He  presented  the 
petition  referred  to. 

MR.  WALKEM  AND  LORD  CARNARVON. — Numerous  interviews  were 
held  between  Mr.  Walkem  and  Lord  Carnarvon  and  the  principal 
officers  of  the  colonial  office,  during  the  months  of  August,  September, 
October  and  November,  with  the  result  that  on  November  13th,  at  a 
final  interview,  Lord  Carnarvon  informed  Mr.  Walkem  that  in  a  few 
•days  he  would  state  his  views  upon  the  whole  question  in  writing, 
and  forward  a  despatch  on  the  subject  to  Lord  Dufferin  for  the 
information  of  both  governments.  Mr.  Walkem  sailed  from  England, 
December  17th,  and  reached  Ottawa  early  in  January. 

THE  "CARNARVON  TERMS." — Lord  Carnarvon's  despatch  to  Lord 
Dufferin  contained  what  are  known  as  the  "Carnarvon  terms."  They 
were,  (1)  That  the  railway  from  Esquimalt  shall  be  commenced  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  completed  with  all  possible  despatch.  (2)  That 


422  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

the  surveys  on  the  mainland  shall  be  pushed  on  with  the  utmost 
vigor.  ...  (3)  That  a  waggon  road  and  telegraph  line  shall 
be  immediately  constructed.  ...  (4)  That  $2,000,000  and  not 
$1,500,000,  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. 
(5)  That  on  or  before  December  31st,  1890,  the  railway  shall  be  com- 
pleted and  opened  for  traffic  from  the  Pacific  sea-board  to  a  point  at 
the  western  end  of  Lake  Superior.  .  .  .  Those  terms  were  subse- 
quently considerably  changed. 

MR.  EDGAR'S  MISSION. — The  Mackenzie  Administration  took  hold 
of  the  reins  of  Government  in  rather  an  unfortunate  time  for  the 
prospects  of  the  construction  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  Sir 
Hugh  Allan  had  failed  to  raise  the  capital  required,  the  terms  of 
union  were  unfulfilled,  and  great  discontent  was  abroad  over  the 
Province  of  British  Columbia.  Mr.  Mackenzie  made  fair  promises, 
and  in  his  great  speech  at  the  re-election  said,  it  would  be  the  duty 
and  desire  of  the  Government  to  adopt  any  scheme  which  would  aid, 
at  a  fair  expense,  in  constructing  the  railway  and  in  developing  the 
country.  Mr.  Edgar,  a  special  delegate,  was  sent  from  Ottawa  to 
British  Columbia  to  assure  the  people  of  a  prompt  and  vigorous  com- 
mencement, and  also  the  continuous  prosecution  of  the  work  of 
construction  within  the  limits  of  the  Province. 

LEGISLATURE  MET  IN  1875. — Not  much  progress  was  apparently 
made  in  1874,  further  than  has  already  been  stated.  The  Legislature 
met,  March  1st,  1875.  His  Honor  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  in  open- 
ing the  session,  stated  that  one  of  his  ministers  who  had  been  sent 
to  England  to  petition  her  Majesty,  informed  him  that  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  the  Colonies  had,  in  reference  to  the  construction  of  tlie- 
railway,  made  certain  recommendations,  which  had  been  accepted  by 
the  Dominion  Government.  The  first  parliament  of  British  Columbia 
under  confederation,  was  prorogued,  April  22nd,  1875. 

FURTHER  SURVEYS. — The  strained  public  feeling  which  obtained  in 
British  Columbia,  relative  to  the  delay  in  the  commencement  of  the 
construction  of  the  western  portion  of  the  railway  continued  to 
increase.  Unremitting  exertions,  however,  were  being  made  in 
explorations  and  surveys  to  ascertain  the  best  route  for  the  line. 
In  the  prosecution  of  the  work,  some  of  the  surveying  parties 
suffered  much  fatigue  and  great  hardships.  One  example  may  be  given, 
namely,  the  overland  exploration  of  Messrs.  Jarvis  and  Hannington. 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  423 


CHAPTEK    III. 


SURVEYS  CONTINUED— NO  ROUTE  FIXED. 

INSTRUCTIONS  TO  MR.  JARVIS.— Early  in  the  winter  Mr.  Jarvis 
received  instructions  to  begin  exploration,  and  on  December  9th  with 
his  assistant,  Mr.  Hannington,  left  Quesnelle  on  the  Eraser,  for  Fort 
George,  to  complete  his  arrangements  and  obtain  an  outfit.  So  soon 
as  the  ice  was  frozen  on  the  rivers,  the  party,  consisting  of  eight  men, 
and  six  dog-trains,  started  on  the  hazardous  journey  across  the 
mountains.  They  left  the  Fraser  above  the  Giscome  portage,  follow- 
ing the  north  branch  until  it  terminated  in  a  cul-de-sac.  They  returned 
to  ascend  a  second  branch,  and  finally  reached  the  continental  "  divide," 
on  February  24th,  1875. 

GREAT  HARDSHIP. — After  leaving  the  summit  the  dogs  became 
unserviceable  from  frost-bites  and  exhaustion,  so  that  each  man  was 
compelled  to  carry  on  his  back  a  share  of  the  necessary  supplies, 
leaving  behind  everything  not  absolutely  required.  They  were  placed 
on  short  rations.  The  party  crossed  an  extremely  broken,  mountain- 
ous region  intersected  by  tributaries  of  the  Smoky  and  Athabaska 
rivers.  The  snow  was  deep,  the  temperature  low,  and  the  weather 
unusually  stormy  in  the  elevated  region  they  passed  over.  They  were 
on  the  verge  of  starvation  and  every  member  of  the  party  suffered 
greatly  from  fatigue  and  exposure.  Nevertheless,  they  succeeded  in 
reaching  Jasper  House  on  March  5th,  to  find  it  unoccupied.  They, 
however,  in  their  exhausted  condition,  were  fortunate  in  meeting  in 
the  neighborhood  a  band  of  Indians  who  supplied  them  with  some 
provisions,  all  they  could  spare  from  their  meagre  store.  The  weary 
travellers  continued  their  journey  eastward  over  two  hundred  miles 
to  St.  Ann,  which  they  reached  in  twelve  days.  Here  they  found  rest 
and  food  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  a  Hudson  Bay  Company's 
establishment. 

THE  RAILWAY  QUESTION. — The  Legislature  met  Jan.  10th,  1876. 
In  opening  the  session  the  Lieutenarit-Governor  said,  in  referring  to  the 
railway  question  :  "  Several  subjects  of  great  importance  required  their 


424 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


GEORGE   A.  WALKE.M. 


earnest  consideration,  and  foremost  amongst  them  was  the  question 
of  the  construction  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  which  unfortu- 
nately since  1873  has  been  a  fruitful  source  of  anxiety  and  disappoint- 
ment to  the  Province.  Last  session  he  was  enabled  to  lay  before 
them  official  information  on  this  matter, 
of  an  assuring  character,  the  Dominion 
having  agreed  to  carry  into  effect  the  terms 
of  union,  according  to  certain  conditions 
recommended  by  Lord  Carnarvon.  Now  he 
had  to  inform  them,  with  regret,  that  he  had 
recently  received  a  despatch  from  the  Gov- 
ernment on  the  subject,  submitting  certain 
proposals  strongly  at  variance  with  the  con- 
ditions mentioned.  These  proposals  he  had 
unhesitatingly  declined,  and  had  further  pro- 
tested against  any  violation  of  the  settlement 
by  the  Dominion  Government.  The  non-fulfilment  by  Canada  of  our 
railway  agreement,  has  seriously  crippled  the  pastoral  and  agricultural 
interests  of  our  community;  whose  anticipations  of  prosperity,  fairly 
entertained,  have  unfortunately  not  been  realized." 

RESIGNATION  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT. — On  the  28th  of  January  the 
Wai  kern  Government  resigned  in  consequence  of   an  adverse  vote  in 
reference  to  borrowing  money  from  Canada,  and  thus  exceeded  the 
powers    granted    to  them  under  the  Act  of 
last  session.     Mr.    Andrew    Charles    Elliott, 
member  for  Victoria  city,  was  called  upon  to 
form    a    new    ministry.     He    accepted,    and 
became      Attorney-General     and    Provincial 
Secretary  ;  Forbes  George    Vernon,  accepted 
the  office  of  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and 
Works,  and  Thomas  Basil    Humphreys,   that 
of    Minister    of    Finance   and    Agriculture. 
They  were    duly  elected,  and    returned,  30th 
March,  1876. 

THE  MONGOLIAN  QUESTION. — During  the 
session  of  1876,  the  House  resolved  itself  into  a  Committee  of  the 
Whole,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  expediency  of  taking  some 
steps  towards  preventing  the  country  from  being  flooded  with  a 
Mongolian  population,  ruinous  to  the  best  interests  of  British 
Columbia,  particularly  her  laboring  classes.  The  chairman  of  the 


A.    C.    ELLIOTT. 


THE    CONFEDERATION   PERIOD. 


425 


¥.    G.    VKRXON. 


committee  reported  that  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  it  is 
expedient  for  the  Government  to  take  some  steps  (at  as  early  a  day 
as  possible)  to  prevent  this  province  being  overrun  with  a  Chinese 
population  to  the  injury  of  the  settled  popu- 
lation of  the  country.  In  reply  to  a  question, 
the  Hon.  Mr.  Vernon  stated  that  the  amount 
expended  on  the  public  buildings  from  1873 
to  1875,  inclusive,  was  $30,989.42.  The 
House  was  prorogued,  May  19th,  his  Honor 
stating  that  he  had  much  pleasure  in  receiving 
a  telegram  from  the  Secretary  of  State  for 
the  Colonies,  which  led  him  to  expect  that  at 
no  distant  day  the  railway  matter  would  be 
satisfactorily  settled.  He  also  referred  to 
the  consolidation  of  the  Public  School  Acts, 

and  hoped  the  legislation  in  that  respect  would  tend  to  spread  the 
system  of  public  education  throughout  the  Province,  and  conduce  to 
the  welfare  in  after  life  of  the  youth  then  enjoying  its  benefits. 

LORD  DUFFERIN'S  VISIT. — It  was  of  the  greatest  importance  that 
the  bitter  feeling  which  was  growing  amongst  the  people  of  the 
Province  should  be  allayed.  The  expected  visit  of  the  Governor- 
General  of  the  Dominion,  who  was  known  to  be  an  able  statesman 
and  an  accomplished  diplomatist,  was  looked  for  with  much  interest, 
as  he  was  likely  to  view  the  situation  and  circumstances  from  an  inde- 
pendent standpoint.  Lord  Dufferin  was  accompanied  by  Marchioness 
DufFerin.  They  travelled  from  Ottawa  across 
the  continent  by  the  Central  Pacific  Railway 
to  San  Francisco,  thence  by  H.M.S.  Amethyst 
to  Victoria.  They  landed  at  Esquimalt  on 
August  15th,  and  were  received  by  Sir  James 
Douglas  and  other  leading  citizens  of  Victoria. 
GUESTS  OF  GOVERNOR  RICHARDS. — As  they 
were  to  be  guests  of  Lieutenant-Governor 
Richards,  at  the  Government  House,  the  route 
of  the  procession  had  originally  been  designed 
to  be  up  Fort  Street,  but  as  an  arch  had  sub- 
sequently been  erected  by  several  private 

citizens  on  that  street,  with  a  motto,  "  Carnarvon  Terms  or  Separa- 
tion," placed  conspicuously  upon  it,  his  Excellency  considered  that  he 
could  not,  consistently  with  his  position  as  Governor-General,  pass 


LIEl'T.-GOV.  R1CIIA 


426  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

under  it,  although  he  would  have  had  no  objection  to  do  so  as  a 
private  individual.  A  short  detour,  via  Broughton  and  Douglas 
Streets,  was  rendered  necessary,  until  Fort  Street  was  re-entered. 

DECLINED  TO  RECEIVE  THE  ADDRESS. — A  deputation  waited  on  his 
Excellency  at  the  Government  House,  on  August  21st,  with  an 
address  referring  to  the  unsatisfactory  relations  which  existed  between 
British  Columbia  and  the  Dominion,  owing  to  the  non-fulfilment  of 
the  terms  of  union,  and  stating  amongst  other  things  that  it  was  the 
opinion  of  a  large  number  of  the  people  of  the  Province  that  separa- 
tion from  the  Dominion  would  be  the  inevitable  result,  and  compen- 
sation be  demanded  for  the  unfulfilled  obligations  which  had  been 
undertaken.  His  Excellency  declined  to  receive  the  address,  and 
stated  his  objections  in  writing:  "that  it\is  not  in  accordance  with 
the  usual  practice  for  him  to  deal  with  addresses  other  than  those  of 
a  personal  or  complimentary  nature,  except  under  the  advice  of  his 
responsible  ministers" — they  should  present  their  address  by  memorial 
or  petition  to  the  Crown  in  the  usual  manner.  At  the  interview 
which  was  granted  to  the  deputation,  a  long  discussion  took  place, 
when  it  was  understood  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Dominion 
Government  to  abandon  the  construction  of  the  Island  Railway ;  that 
the  main  line  would  be  pushed  on  vigorously  ;  that  Lord  Carnarvon 
was  of  opinion  that  the  Province  should  be  .compensated  for  the  loss 
of  the  proposed  Island  Railway  and  for  past  delays  ;  and  that  a 
proposition  would  be  made  for  new  terms  upon  the  basis  of  a  money 
compensation. 

POETRY  ON  THE  SUBJECT. — The  stand  taken  by  the  Governor- 
General,  together  with  his  rejection  of  the  address  just  mentioned, 
greatly  intensified  the  feeling  against  the  Mackenzie  Government. 
The  premier  had  already  been  accused  of  breach  of  faith,  insincerity 
and  double-dealing.  The  Standard,  the>organ  of  the  Separatist  party, 
in  describing  the  closing  scenes  of  1875,  brings  in  an  ode,  the  produc- 
tion of  a  local  poet,  dedicated  without  permission  to  the  Executive  of 
the  Dominion,  and  especially  to  Alexander  Mackenzie,  by  the  author, 
James  MacBraire  Smith.  A  short  quotation  from  the  poem  reads  : 

— Broken  Terms  ! 
Must  we  now  quietly  fold  our  arms  and  stand 

As  wretched  pigmies — Lilliputian  drones, — 
And  still  remain  a  portion  of  a  land 

Which  claims  the  carcass  and  gives  us  the  bones  ? 
No  !  No  !  though  blundering  heads  may  rein 

And  curb  the  steed  of  Railway  Enterprise, 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  427 

The  time  will  come  when  men  of  mightier  brain 
Will  fill  the  ranks  and  see  the  Phrenix  rise 
Farewell  !     I  speak  it  softly  now  ; 
Sleep  on  ;  Farewell  !     The  pen  shall  never  rust 
That  wrote  REPUDIATION  o'er  thy  dust. 

MACKENZIE  DEFENDED. — Lord  Dufferin,  in  one  of  his  addresses^ 
said:  "Who  is  answerable  for  your  disappointment?  I  know  you 
consider  Mr.  Mackenzie.  I  am  not  here  to  defend  Mr.  Mackenzie— 
his  policy,  his  proceedings,  or  his  utterances.  I  hope  this  will  be 
clearly  understood.  It  is  asserted,  and  I  imagine  with  truth,  that 
Mr.  Mackenzie  and  his  political  friends  had  always  been  opposed  to 
many  portions  of  Canada's  bargain  with  British  Columbia.  It  there- 
fore came  to  be  considered  in  this  province  that  the  new  Government 
was  an  enemy  to  the  Pacific  Railway.  But  I  believe  this  to  have 
been,  and  to  be  a  complete  misapprehension.  I  believe  that* the  Pacific 
Railway  has  no  better  friend  than  Mr.  Mackenzie,  and  that  he  was 
only  opposed  to  the  time  terms  in  the  bargain,  because  he  believed 
them  impossible  of  accomplishment,  and  that  a  conscientious  endeavor 
to  fulfil  them  would  unnecessarily  and  ruinously  increase  the  financial 
expenditure  of  the  country;  and  in  both  these  opinions  Mr.  Mackenzie 
was  undoubtedly  in  the  right." 

LORD  DUFFERIN'S  TOUR. — A  tour  was  next  made  by  Lord  and 
Lady  Dufferin  to  Nanaimo,  where  he  visited  the  mines,  going  thence 
northward  to  Bute  Inlet,  Skeena  River,  Queen  Charlotte  Islands  and 
Fort  Simpson.  He  returned  south  to  Burrard  Inlet.  On  September 
6th  he  went  to  Yale  by  the  Fraser,  and  continued  his  journey  to 
Kamloops.  Returning  to  New  Westminster  he  crossed  the  Straits  of 
Georgia  to  Victoria.  On  the  19th  of  September  he  performed  the 
ceremony  of  driving  the  first  pile  of  the  Esquimalt  graving-dock, 
leaving  Victoria  on  September  21st,  via  San  Francisco,  for  Ottawa. 

The  day  previous  to  his  Excellency's  departure  from  Victoria,  a 
very  large  number  of  leading  citizens  called  on  him  at  the  Govern- 
ment House.  On  that  occasion  Lord  Dufferin  made  his  celebrated 
speech,  portions  of  which  have  been  so  often  quoted,  and  which  con- 
tained the  following  eloquent  passages:  "And  now  that  I  am  back 
it  may  perhaps  interest  you  to  learn  what  are  the  impressions  I 
derived  during  my  journey.  Well,  I  may  frankly  tell  you  that  I 
think  British  Columbia  a  glorious  province — a  province  which  Canada 
should  be  proud  to  possess,  and  whose  association  with  the  Dominion 
she  ought  to  regard  as  the  crowning  triumph  of  Federation.  Such  a. 


428  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

spectacle  as  its  coast  line  presents  is  not  to  be  paralleled  by  any 
country  in  the  world.  Day  after  day  for  a  whole  week,  in  a  vessel  of 
nearly  two  thousand  tons,  we  threaded  an  interminable  labyrinth  of 
watery  lanes  and  reaches  that  wound  end- 
lessly in  and  out  of  a  network  of  islands,  pro- 
montories and  peninsulas  for  thousands  of 
miles,  unruffled  by  the  slightest  swell  from 
the  adjoining  ocean,  and  presenting  at  every 
turn  an  ever-shifting  combination  of  rock, 
verdure,  forest,  glacier  and  snow-capped  moun- 
tain of  unrivalled  grandeur  and  beauty.  When 
it  is  remembered  that  this  wonderful  system 
of  navigation,  equally  well  adapted  to  the 
largest  line  of  battle-ship  and  the  frailest 
canoe,  fringes  the  entire  seaboard  of  your 

LORD   DUFFERIN. 

province  and  communicates  at  points  some- 
times more  than  a  hundred  miles  from  the  coast,  with  a  multitude  of 
valleys  stretching  eastward  into  the  interior,  while  at  the  same  time 
it  is  furnished  with  innumerable  harbors  on  either  hand,  one  is  lost 
in  admiration  at  the  facilities  for  inter-communication  which  are  thus 
provided  for  the  future  inhabitants  of  this  wonderful  region." 

In  this  speech,  which  was  of  about  two  hours'  duration,  his  Excel- 
lency referred,  in  his  able,  pleasing  and  masterly  manner,  to  the  visit 
he  had  just  made  to  the  Province,  and  to  the  various  points  of  diffi- 
culty and  delays  which  had  unavoidably  taken  place  by  the  Dominion 
not  complying  with  the  terms  of  union. 

SIR  JOHN  A.  AGAIN  PREMIER. — By  the  general  Dominion  elections  of 
1878,  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  again  came  into  power.  The  Mackenzie 
Government  was  defeated  on  the  "  protection  policy."  At  that  time 
there  was  a  commercial  depression  in  Canada  as  well  as  in  other 
countries.  It  was  believed  by  many  who  felt  the  pressure  of  "  hard 
times  "  that  it  would  be  a  benefit  to  the  industries  of  the  country  if 
the  tariff  were  raised  on  goods  competing  with  the  products  or  manu- 
factures of  Canada.  The  elections  took  place  in  September,  with  the 
result  that  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  was  again  called  on  to  become 
Prime  Minister  of  Canada.  He  continued  to  occupy  that  position 
until  his  death,  June  6th,  1891,  which  terminated  the  third  Dominion 
ministry  since  Confederation. 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 


SEVERAL  CONTRACTS  GIVEN  OUT. 

THE  BUERARD  INLET  ADOPTED.— Soon  after  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald 
had  regained  the  premiership,  the  Dominion  Government  decided  to 
adopt  Burrard  Inlet  route.  On  October  4,  1879,  an  Order-in-Council 
was  passed  to  that  effect,  and  the  Chief  Engineer,  instructed  to  take 
immediate  steps  to  place  under  contract  125  miles  of  the  most  difficult 
portion  of  the  line,  namely,  from  near  Yale  to  Savona's  Ferry.  A 
contract  (No.  60)  to  build  twenty-nine  miles,  from  Emory's  Bar  to 
Boston  Bar,  was  let  to  Andrew  Onderdonk,  December  23,  1879,  to  be 
completed,  December  31,  1883— amount  $2,727,300;  (No.  61)  from 
Boston  Bar  to  Lytton,  twenty-nine  miles,  February  10,  1880,  to  be 
completed,  June  30,  1884— amount  $2,573,640;  (No.  62)  from  Lytton 
to  Junction  Flat,  Andrew  Onderdonk,  December  23,  1879,  to  be 
completed  December  31,  1884— amount  $2,056,950;  (No.  63)  Junction 
Flat  to  Savona's  Ferry,  Andrew  Onderdonk,  December  15,  1879,  to 
be  completed  June  30,  1885 — amount  $1,746,150. 

A  NEW  SYNDICATE. — It  was  announced  in  June,  1880,  by  Sir  John 
A.  Macdonald  that  a  syndicate  had  been  formed  by  whom  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway  would  be  completed  ;  they  were  John  S. 
Kennedy,  of  New  York  ;  Richard  B.  Angus  and  James  J.  Hill,  of 
St.  Paul ;  Morton,  Rose  &  Co.,  of  London  ;  and  John  Reinach  <fcCo.r 
of  Paris.  The  syndicate  agreed  to  complete  the  road  by  May  1,  1891, 
on  the  uniform  line  of  gauge  (4  ft.  8J  in.).  The  Dominion  agreed  to 
complete  the  portion  of  the  western  section  between  Yale  and 
Kamloops,  by  the  end  of  June,  1885,  and  between  Yale  and  Port 
Moody,  by  June  1,  1891. 

TERMS  OF  CONSTRUCTION. — On  the  completion  of  the  sections 
proposed  to  be  built  by  the  Government,  the  whole  road  became  the 
property  of  the  syndicate.  They  were  also  to  receive  a  subsidy  of 
twenty-five  million  dollars,  and  a  grant  of  twenty-five  million  acres  of 
land  ;  the  pro  rata  of  cash  and  land  to  be  paid  and  transferred  to  the 
syndicate  as  soon  as  any  portion  of  the  road,  not  less  than  twenty  miles 


430  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

in  length,  had  been  built  by  them  ;  all  material  required  for  use  in  the 
construction  of  railway  buildings  and  telegraph  line  in  connection 
with  the  road,  to  be  admitted  duty  free.  Railway  land  was  to  remain 
free  of  taxation  for  twenty  years,  and  railway  equipments  were  to 
remain  forever  free  of  taxes.  In  the  Dominion  House  of  Commons, 
on  the  railway  agreements,  a  warm  discussion  took  place.  They 
were,  however,  ratified  by  a  very  large  majority — the  vote  was  140 
to  45. 

ENORMOUS  COST. — The  first  sod  was  turned  early  in  1880.  The 
work  afterwards  was  carried  on  along  the  line  with  vigor.  The 
difficulties  of  construction  were  very  great ;  the  average  cost  per  mile 
between  Emory  and  Boston  bars  was  $80,000,  and  of  some  miles 
nearly  $200,000.  For  almost  the  entire  distance  between  Yale  and 
Lytton  the  Fraser  had  cut  its  way  through  the  Cascade  Range, 
plunging  in  foaming  cataracts  through  deep  lateral  gorges,  flanked  in 
places  by  spurs  of  perpendicular  rock.  Along  nineteen  miles  of  the 
route  thirteen  tunnels  were  bored — one  series  of  four  being  within  a 
mile  of  Yale,  and  another  of  six  occuring  some  2,500  yards  farther  in 
the  direction  of  Boston  Bar. 

BRIDGE  ACROSS  THE  FRASER. — The  roadway  in  many  places  had  to 
be  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  the  crevices  being  filled  with  masonry,  and 
the  ravines  and  rivers  spanned  by  truss  and  trestle  bridges.  Across 
the  Fraser,  a  little  below  Lytton,  a  three-spanned  iron  and  steel  truss 
bridge  was  constructed  ;  its  length,  530  feet ;  central  span,  315  feet, 
resting  on  piers  of  solid  masonry,  ninety-six  feet  high.  Six  thousand 
tons  of  iron  and  steel  were  required  to  complete  the  bridge.  The  total 
co'st  of  the  structure  was  $280,000.  The  road-bed  throughout  the 
entire  section  was  carefully  built ;  the  cuttings  and  tunnels  being 
twenty-two  feet,  the  embankments  seventeen  feet  in  width,  and  the 
track  laid  with  sixty-pound  steel  rails  and  heavily  ballasted. 

SEVES  THOUSAND  MEN  EMPLOYED. — To  perform  this  gigantic  task, 
says  a  writer,  an  army  of  laborers  and  mechanics  were  employed, 
mustering  at  times  more  than  seven  thousand  men,  and  with  the  aid 
of  the  best  modern  machinery.  They  were  fairly  paid,  and  humanely 
treated  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  although  some  of  the  work  was 
of  an  extremely  hazardous  nature,  men  being  often  lowered  hundreds 
of  feet  down  almost  perpendicular  rock,  in  order  to  blast  a  foothold  on 
the  mountain-side,  only  thirty-two  fatal  accidents  occurred  between 
April,  1880,  and  November,  1882,  though  the  average  number 
employed  during  that  period  exceeded  four  thousand.  Supplies  were 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  431 

forwarded  on  pack-animals  over  trails  never  before  deemed  practicable 
•except  by  Indians,  and  by  them  only  with  the  aid  of  ladders. 

A  DARING  TEAT.- — Building  materials  were  landed  at  enormous 
cost,  the  toll  of  $10  per  ton  on  all  freight  passing  over  the  Yale  and 
Cariboo  road  being  strictly  enforced.  As  the  work  advanced 
transportation  became  more  costly,  until  it  was  resolved  to  attempt 
the  passage  of  the  Fraser  canyon  to  the  navigable  water  above,  in 
order  to  supply  the  more  distant  camps,  the  steamer  Skuzzy  having 
been  built  for  the  purpose.  But  who  could  be  found  daring  enough  to 
steer  this  craft  through  the  swift-running  river  and  the  frightful 
canyon,  where  the  pent  waters  rushed  down  in  foaming  fury.  One 
captain  after  another,  looking  at  the  tiny  craft  and  at  the  "  Scylla 
and  Charybdis  "  beyond,  declared  the  feat  impossible.  At  length 
two  brothers,  Smith  by  name,  consented  to  undertake  the  task.  With 
a  steam-winch  and  capstan,  and  several  large  hawsers,  they  set  forth 
on  their  voyage,  with  a  crew  of  seventeen  men,  the  steamer  being  in 
charge  of  a  skilled  engineer,  J.  W.  Burse.  The  severest  struggle  was 
at  a  point  called  China  Riffle,  where  the  power  of  the  engines  and 
steam-winch,  with  fifteen  men  at  the  capstan,  and  of  150  Chinamen 
laying  hold  of  one  of  the  ropes,  barely  sufficed  to  pull  the  vessel  over 
the  shoals.  Overcoming  the  difficulty  and  passing  through  Hell  Gate 
and  Black  Canyon,  where  the  stream  runs  at  some  twenty  miles  an 
hour,  the  Skuzzy  was  able  to  convey  her  first  load  of  freight  from 
Boston  Bar. 

THE  EXCAVATIONS. — Between  the  sea-coast  and  Savona's  ferry, 
apart  from  tunnels,  nearly  eleven  million  cubic  yards  of  earth  and 
rock  were  removed  by  pick,  powder  and  nitro-glycerine.  At  Yale 
were  construction  and  repair  shops,  supplied  with  all  the  machinery 
required  for  the  building  of  cars,  repairing  engines,  and  for  general 
work ;  and  on  the  line  between  Emory  and  Yale  were  complete  works 
for  the  manufacture  of  explosives — giant  powder,  cartridges,  etc. 
Railway  construction  was  pressed  on  with  alacrity. 

ESQUIMALT  AND  NANAiMO  RAILWAY. — The  terminus  question  was 
settled  in  1883,  by  an  agreement  which  was  made  between  the 
Provincial  Government  and  a  party  of  capitalists  to  construct  the 
Esquimalt  and  Nanaimo  railway  and  telegraph  line — the  capital 
stock  of  the  proposed  company  to  be  three  million  dollars.  An  Act 
of  the  British  Columbia  Government  was  passed,  December  19,  1883, 
ratifying  the  agreement  and  specifying  that  the  company  should 
receive  $750,000  from  the  Dominion  Government,  together  with  a 


432  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

certain  tract  of  land  within  a  described  limit  from  the  Provincial 
Government,  amounting  to  two  hundred  thousand  acres,  being  on  the 
east  side  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  bounded  by  a  straight  line  drawn 
from  the  head  of  Saanich  Inlet  to  Muir  Creek  on  the  Straits  of  Fuca  ; 
thence  northerly  to  Crown  Mountain  ;  thence  easterly  to  Seymour 
Narrows;  thence  following  the  east  coast  of  Vancouver  Island,  south- 
easterly to  the  point  of  commencement. 

OUT  OF  THE  TRACT  MENTIONED  were  excepted  all  lands  alienated 
prior  to  the  date  of  the  passing  of  the  said  Act,  either  by  Crown 
grant,  or  pre-emption,  or  held  under  lease,  agreement  for  sale,  Indian 
reserves  or  settlements,  or  for  naval  or  military  purposes,  also  the 
lands  lying  to  the  northward  of  a  line  running  east  and  west  half-way 
between  the  mouth  of  the  Courtenay  River  (Comox  district)  and 
Seymour  Narrows.  The  land  so  granted  to  the  company,  however, 
included,  according  to  the  Act,  "  All  coal,  coal  oil,  ores,  stones,  clay, 
marble,  slate,  mines,  minerals  and  substances  whatsoever  thereupon, 
therein  and  thereunder."  [It  has  been  recently  decided  that  silver  and 
gold  are  excepted  to  the  Crown,  for  the  Provincial  Government. — ED.] 

WHEN  IT  SHOULD  BE  COMPLETED. — The  company  was  required  to 
commence  work  forthwith,  and  to  complete  and  equip  the  railway  on 
or  before  June  10,  1887.  In  default  of  such  completion  as  specified,  as 
time  was  an  essence  of  the  contract,  the  contractors  were  to  forfeit 
the  subsidy  ($750,000),  the  land  grant,  and  the  amount  ($250,000)  to 
be  deposited  as  security  with  the  Receiver-General.  The  road,  with 
its  equipments,  was  to  be  exempt  from  taxation  for  ten  years  after 
completion,  and  all  the  materials  used  in  its  construction  were  to  be 
admitted  free  of  duty.  The  road  was  to  be  of  the  same  gauge  as  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway. 

THE  RAILWAY  BELT. — Provision  was  made  by  an  Act  passed  8th 
May,  1880,  for  a  grant  of  land,  not  to  exceed  twenty  miles  on  each 
side  of  that  portion  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  to  be  constructed 
from  the  Pacific  to  the  boundary  line  of  British  Columbia,  at  the 
summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  similar  to  the  extent  of  land 
granted  by  the  Dominion  Government  from  the  public  lands  of  the 
North- West  Territories,  and  in  accordance  with  section  11  of  the 
terms  of  union.  The  said  Act  was  amended  by  the  Act  of  December 
19th,  1883,  already  referred  to,  by  making  an  additional  grant  to  the 
Dominion  Government  of  "three  and  a  half  million  acres  of  land  in 
that  portion  of  the  Peace  River  district  of  British  Columbia  lying 


THE    CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  433 

east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  adjoining  the  North-West  Territory 
of  Canada,  to  be  located  by  the  Dominion  in  one  rectangular  block." 

IN  FOLL  OP  ALL  CLAIMS. — This  additional  grant  was  made  as  an 
equivalent  to  the  Dominion  Government,  in  lieu  of  such  lands  as 
were  alienated  by  Crown  grant,  pre-emption  or  otherwise,  within  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway  line  belt,  in  British  Columbia,  prior  to  the 
passing  of  the  Act  of  December  19th,  1883;  and  was  "  to  be  taken 
by  the  Province  in  full  of  all  claims  up  to  this,  the  latter  date  afore- 
mentioned, by  the  Province  against  the  Dominion,  in  respect  of 
delays  in  the  commencement  and  construction  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway,  and  in  respect  to  the  non-construction  of  the  Esquimalt  and 
Nanairuo  Railway,  and  shall  be  taken  by  the  Dominion  Government 
in  satisfaction  of  all  claims  for  additional  lands  under  the  terms  of 
union."  The  exact  location  of  the  Peace  River  district  land  grant 
referred  to  has  not  as  yet  (1894)  been  defined  by  the  respective 
governments,  neither  has  the  boundary  line  been  located. 

CONDITIONS  OF  DRY  DOCK. — The  Act  just  quoted,  passed  December 
19th,  1883,  made  provision  that  on  the  completion  of  the  dry  dock  at 
Esquimalt,  the  Government  of  Canada  should  take  it  over  from  the 
Provincial  Government  and  operate  it  as  a  Dominion  work  ;  that  the 
Dominion  Government  should  be  entitled  to,  and  have  conveyed  to 
them  all  the  lands,  approaches  and  plant  belonging  thereto,  together 
with  the  Imperial  appropriation  therefor,  and  should  pay  to  the 
Province  as  the  price  thereof  the  sum  of  $250,000,  and  should  further 
pay  to  the  Province  whatever  amounts  shall  have  been  expended  by 
the  Provincial  Government,  or  which  remain  due,  up  to  the  time  of 
the  passing  of  the  said  Act,  for  work  or  material  supplied  by  the 
Government  of  British  Columbia  since  June  27th,  1882. 

TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  DOMINION. — Those  conditions  were  complied 
with,  and  the  spacious  harbor  of  Esquimalt  now  possesses  one  of  the 
best  and  most  substantial  dry  docks  on  the  Pacific  coast ;  it  is  also 
the  naval  station  of  the  British  fleet  on  the  Pacific.  The  harbor  is 
about  three  miles  long  by  two  miles  wide,  and  has  an  average  depth 
of  about  eight  fathoms,  with  excellent  holding  ground  for  anchorage, 
being  a  tenacious  clay.  The  dry  dock,  which  was  nearly  three  years 
in  construction,  is  built  of  sandstone  embedded  in  cement,  is  457  feet 
long,  fifty-seven  wide,  and  twenty-seven  deep.  The  machinery  con- 
nected with  the  water  gates,  valves  and  pumping  apparatus,  is  of  the 
latest  and  most  perfect  types  of  mechanical  and  engineering  skill,  and 
in  charge  of  a  most  competent  officer,  Captain  Devereaux.  Impregnable 
28 


434  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

fortifications  are  in  course  of  construction  (1894)  at  the  mouth  of  the 
harbor.  At  the  meteorological  station,  observations  are  taken  every 
four  hours,  and  telegraphed  to  Toronto,  and  repeated  to  Washington. 
In  accordance  with  an  Act  passed  in  April,  1889,  a  tramway  has 
been  built  between  Esquimalt  and  Victoria,  on  which  electric  cars  run, 
connecting  with  the  most  distant  portions  of  the  city  of  Victoria  and 
principal  suburbs. 


CHAPTEE    Y. 


UNION  OF  THE  EAST  AND  WEST. 

TRANSFER  TO  THE  CANADIAN  PACIFIC  RAILWAY. — When  the  con- 
tracts on  the  Pacific  Railway  were  under  way,  Sir  John  Macdonald's 
Government  decided  to  transfer  the  work  to  the  syndicate  which  had 
been  formed.  About  eight  hundred  miles 
of  the  heaviest  and  most  difficult  sections  of 
the  line  had  been  included  in  those  contracts, 
to  the  east  as  well  as  in  the  west.  As  soon 
as  the  transfer  was  made  the  work  was 
carried  on  with  extraordinary  energy.  In 
1 884,  Mr.  W.  C.  Van  Home,  who  was  then 
General  Manager  and  Vice-President  of  the 
Company,  made  a  visit  of  inspection  of  the 
works  in  progress  in  British  Columbia.  He 
came  to  Victoria  ,by  way  of  San  Francisco, 
and  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  S.  B.  Reed,  C.E. 
Mr.  Sandford  Fleming,  referring  to  the 
visit,  says  : 

ROUTE  OF  THE  GENERAL  MANAGER.—"  On  August  9th,  they  left 
Victoria  for  New  Westminster  and  Burrard  Inlet,  and  proceeded  up 
the  valley  of  the  Fraser  to  Kamloops  ;  on  the  llth  they  took  their 
departure  for  Shuswap  Lake  and  the  mountains.  On  the  15th  they 
entered  the  Eagle  Pass  and  reached  the  Columbia  ;  having  crossed 
that  river  the^y  passed  over  the  Selkirks  by  the  valley  of  the  Ille- 
celle-waet  and  Beaver.  Again  reaching  the  Columbia  at  its  eastern 
crossing  they  ascended  that  river  to  Kicking  Horse  River,  the  valley 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


435 


of  which  they  followed  to  the  summit.  Between  the  Eagle  Pass  and 
Kicking  Horse  River  the  journey  was  made  partly  on  horseback  and 
partly  on  foot ;  much  of  it  was  exceedingly  tedious  and  fatiguing. 
On  the  21st  they  reached  the  end  of  the  track,  which  had  then  been 
laid  to  the  summit  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  by  train  they 
travelled  to  Winnipeg.  The  railway  journey  was  continued  by 
St.  Paul  to  Montreal,  and  the  travellers  arrived  at  that  city  on 
August  29th,  twenty  days  after  leaving  Victoria." 

LORD  LORNE,  Governor-General  of  Canada,  with  H.R.H.  the 
Princess  Louise,  visited  British  Columbia  in  1882.  The  Marquis  and 
her  Royal  Highness  travelled  by  way  of  Niagara  and  Chicago  to  San 


Francisco,  arriving  there  on  September  13th.  Thence  they  embarked 
on  H.M.S.  Comus  for  Victoria,  where  they  landed  on  the  20th. 
They  were  received  with  great  enthusiasm,  and  remained  for  about  a 
week  in  the  city.  A  brilliant  drawing-room  reception  was  given  by 
his  Excellency  and  the  Princess  Louise  on  the  25th  of  September 
On  the  27th  they  opened  the  Agricultural  Fair,  and  on  the  29th, 
proceeded  to  New  Westminster,  where  they  received  a  hearty  and 
loyal  reception.  The  Princess  returned  to  Victoria,  whilst  Lord 
Lome  went  north  to  visit  the  Cariboo  gold  regions.  After  his  return 
to  Victoria,  he  visited  the  coal  mines  of  Nanaimo  and  Wellington, 
receiving  a  grand  reception  at  Nanaimo,  on  the  21st  of  October. 
Before  his  departure  from  Victoria  a  civic  banquet  was  given  his 
Excellency  (October  27)  at  the  city  hall.  On  that  occasion  he  said  : 


436  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

"  WHEREVER  THERE  is  OPEN  LAND  the  wheat  crops  rival  the  best 
grown  elsewhere,  while  there  is  nowhere  any  dearth  of  ample  provi- 
sion of  fuel  and  lumber  for  the  winter.  As  you  get  your  colonization 
roads  pushed,  you  will  have  a  larger  available  acreage,  for  there  are 
quiet  straths  and  valleys  hidden  away  among  the  rich  forests  which 
would  provide  comfortable  farms.  As  in  the  North  West  last  year, 
so  this  year  I  have  taken  down  the  evidence  of  settlers,  and  this  has 
been  wonderfully  favorable.  To  say  the  truth,  I  was  rather  hunting 
for  grumblers,  and  found  only  one.  There  is  no  reason  why  British 
Columbia  should  not  be  for  this  portion  of  our  territory,  what  Cali- 
fornia is  to  the  States,  in  the  supply  afforded  of  fruits.  The  perfec- 
tion attained  by  small  fruits,  is  unrivalled,  and  it  is  only  with  the 
peninsula  of  Ontario  that  you  would  have  to  compete  for  the  supply 
of  grapes,  peaches,  pears,  cherries,  plums,  apricots  and  currants. 

"  The  most  richly  endowed  with  gifts  of  material  advantages,  of  all 
provinces,  British  Columbia  excels  them  all  in  beauty.  In  the  magni- 
ficence of  her  rugged  mountains,  the  charm  of  her  land-locked  waters, 
the  lonely  grandeur  of  her  forests,  and  the  quiet  beauty  of  her  prairies, 
she  possesses  a  wonderful  variety,  a  combination  of  scenic  beauty. 
Whether  a  traveller  approaches  from  the  east  after  crossing  the 
apparently  illimitable  prairies,  or  from  the  west  at  the  conclusion  of  an 
an  ocean  voyage,  he  is  filled  with  a  sense  of  relief,  mingled  with  curiosity 
and  pleased  expectancy.  The  features  that  may  be  found  almost 
beautiful  must  depend  on  the  temperament  of  each  spectator,  but  it 
happens  that  nature  has  so  arranged  the  forms  and  attributes  of  this 
country,  that  whether  coming  from  the  east  or  west  the  traveller  finds 
a  striking  contrast  to  that  which  he  is  leaving  behind  him,  and  as 
contrast  is  a  primary  condition  of  excellence  in .  that  which  is  to 
delight  the  eye,  his  aesthetic  sense  is  sure  of  gratification." 

MET  SIR  CHARLES  TUPPER  AND  PARTY. — The  Marquis  of  Lans- 
downe,  Governor- General  in  1885,  travelled  by  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  from  Ottawa  to  the  Pacific,  with  only  a  short  interruption 
in  the  Selkirk  Mountains.  After  reaching  Dun  more,  the  point  of 
junction  of  the  coal  railway,  his  Excellency  proceeded  to  the  mines  at 
Lethbridge.  From  Lethbridge  he  travelled  on  horseback  to  Fort 
McLeod,  and  thence  to  Calgary,  where  he  rejoined  the  main  line  of 
railway.  From  Calgary,  Lord  Lansdowne  passed  by  train  to  the 
end  of  the  track,  then  at  a  point  in  the  Selkirks,  eighteen  miles  east 
of  the  second  crossing  of  the  Columbia.  At  this  point  commenced  a 
gap  of  forty-seven  miles.  Two  days  were  taken  to  ride  over  that 
section,  on  the  last  stage  of  which  he  met  the  party  of  Sir  Charles 
Tupper  travelling  eastward,  September  4th.  Sir  Charles  had  come 
by  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  to  Portland,  Oregon,  and  thence  to 
Victoria.  In  his  party  was  Mr.  Collingwood  Schreiber,  Chief  Engineer 
of  Dominion  Railways. 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD. 


437 


ON  TO  PORT  MOODY  AND  VICTORIA. — When  the  railway  track  from 
the  west  was  reached,  the  Governor-General  and  his  party  took  the 
train  and  followed  it  to  the  then  terminus,  Port  Moody,  on  Burrard 
Inlet.  Crossing  the  Straits  of  Georgia  to  Victoria,  on  October  6th, 
he  was  received  with  every  mark  of  respect,  and  in  his  address  at  the 
banquet  given  him,  he  remarked  that,  until  the  present  occasion,  no 
other  Governor-General  had  been  able  to  make  the  journey  entirely 
through  Canadian  territory.  Remaining  some  few  days  at  Victoria, 
the  party  visited  the  coal  mines  at  Nanaimo ;  they  left  on  the  14th 
for  New  Westminster.  The  following  day  they  took  the  train  at 
Port  Hammond,  and  remained  over  a  short 
time  at  Yale,  Lytton,  and  other  principal 
points.  The  party  reached  the  end  of  the 
track  on  the  morning  of  the  17th.  Here 
they  resumed  the  saddle,  but  in  the  interval 
of  the  thirteen  days  since  they  passed  west- 
ward, the  gap  had  been  reduced  to  twenty- 
eight  miles ;  this  distance  was  accomplished 
in  one  day.  The  train  took  the  party  to 
Winnipeg,  where  his  Excellency  was  received 
by  the  authorities,  and  entertained  at  a  ban- 
quet. In  the  speech  made  by  him,  he  gave 
a  narrative  of  what  he  had  seen,  and  spoke 
of  the  bright  future,  which  he  confidently  anticipated.  He  reached 
Ottawa  by  way  of  Chicago,  on  October  26th,  having  made  the  double 
journey  in  little  more  than  a  month.  Lord  Lansdowne's  trip  was  the 
first  occasion  on  which  the  new  railway  route  had  been  followed  in 
both  directions  across  the  mountains,  on  the  same  overland  journey. 

PARTY  OF  DIRECTORS. — Another  party  was  formed  in  Montreal  to 
perform  the  crowning  event  of  the  great  trans-continental  railway, 
namely,  to  connect  the  eastern  with  the  western,  and  thus  form  one 
continuous  line  from  ocean  to  ocean.  Four  directors  of  the  Pacific 
Railway  Company  were  of  the  party,  viz.,  Donald  A.  Smith,  Sand- 
ford  Fleming,  W.  C.  Van  Home,  and  G.  R.  Harris.  They  left 
Montreal,  October  27th,  with  the  regular  Winnipeg  evening  train,  in 
the  special  private  car,  the  "Saskatchewan."  The  destination  was 
Port  Moody,  as  the  city  of  Vancouver  had  then  no  existence.  The 
train  after  a  delay  of  two  days  at  Winnipeg,  left  that  city,  Novem- 
ber 2nd,  1885.  The  train  beyond  Calgary  became  "special;"  it 
reached  the  western  crossing  of  the  Columbia  in  fifty-six  hours  after 


MARQUIS  OF  LANSDOWNE. 


438 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


leaving  Winnipeg.  The  gap,  however,  was  not  closed  ;  the  work 
having  been  retarded  by  incessant  rains,  so  the  train  could  not 
proceed  farther ;  the  party,  therefore,  was  obliged  to  wait  over  for  a 
short  time. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  7th,  says  Mr.  Fleming  in  describing 
the  circumstances,  the  junction  was  verging  to  completion,  and  at 
nine  o'clock  the  last  rail  was  laid  in  its  place.  All  that  remained  to 
finish  the  work  was  to  drive  home  one  spike.  By  common  consent, 


THE  CEREMONY   OF  DRIVING  THE  LAST  SPIKE. 

1.  Donald  A  Smith  (now  Sir  Donald).     2.  Sandford  Fleming.     2.  William  C.  Van  Home 
(now  Sir  William),  etc. 

the  duty  of  performing  the  task  was  assigned  to  one  of  the  four  direc- 
tors present — the  senior  in  years  and  influence,  whose  high  character 
placed  him  in  prominence — Donald  Alexander  Smith  (afterwards  Sir 
Donald).  No  one  could  on  such  an  occasion  more  worthily  represent 
the  Company,  or  more  appropriately  give  the  finishing  blows,  which, 
in  a  material  sense,  were  to  complete  the  gigantic  undertaking.  Sir 
Donald  Smith  braced  himself  to  the  task,  and  he  wielded  the,  by  no- 
means  light,  spike-hammer  with  as  good  a  will  as  the  professional 
track-layer. 


THE  CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  439 

THE  WORK  WAS  CARRIED  on  in  silence.  Nothing  was  heard  but  the 
reverberations  of  the  blows  struck  by  him.  It  was  no  ordinary 
occasion  ;  the  scene  was  in  every  respect  noteworthy,  from  the  groups 
which  composed  it  and  the  circumstances  which  had  brought  together 
so  many  human  beings  in  this  spot  in  the  heart  of  the  mountains, 
until  recently  an  uritracked  solitude.  Most  of  the  engineers,  with 
hundreds  of  workmen  of  all  nationalities  who  had  been  engaged  in 
the  mountains,  were  present. 

EVERYONE  appeared  to  be  deeply  impressed  by  what  was  taking 
place.  The  central  figure  in  the  group  was  something  more  than  the 
representative  of  the  Railway  Company  which  had  achieved  the 
triumph  he  was  consummating.  His  presence  recalled  memories  of 
the  Mackenzies  and  Mactavishes,  the  Stuarts  and  MacGillivrays,  the 
Frasers,  Finlaysons,  McLeods,  McLoughlins,  and  their  contemporaries 
who  first  penetrated  the  surrounding  territory.  From  his  youth  he 
had  been  connected  with  the  Company,  which  had  for  so  long  carried 
on  its  operations  successfully  from  Labrador  to  the  Pacific,  and  from 
California  to  Alaska.  To-day  he  was  the  chief  representative  of  that 
vast  organization  which,  before  the  close  of  the  last  century,  had 
sent  out  pioneers  to  map  out  and  occupy  the  unknown  wilderness, 
and  which  as  a  trading  association  is  in  the  third  century  of  its 
existence. 

ALL  PRESENT  were  more  or  less  affected  by  a  formality  which  was 
the  crowning  effort  of  years  of  labor,  intermingled  with  doubts  and 
fears,  and  of  oft-renewed  energy  to  overcome  what  at  times  appeared 
unsurmountable  obstacles.  Moreover,  was  it  not  the  triumphal 
termination  of  numberless  failures — the  successful  solution  of  the 
frequently  repeated  attempts  of  the  British  people,  ever  since  America 
has  been  discovered,  to  find  a  new  route  to  Asial  The  blows  on  the 
spike  were  repeated  until  it  was  driven  home.  The  silence  continued 
unbroken.  Each  one  appeared  absorbed  in  his  own  reflections.  The 
abstraction  of  mind,  or  silent  emotion,  or  whatever  it  might  be,  was, 
however,  of  short  duration.  Suddenly  a  cheer  spontaneously  burst 
forth,  and  it  was  no  ordinary  cheer.  The  subdued  enthusiasm,  the 
pent-up  feelings  of  men  familiar  with  hard  work,  now  found  vent. 
Cheer  upon  cheer  followed  as  if  it  was  difficult  to  satisfy  the  spirit 
which  had  been  aroused.  Such  a  scene  is  conceivable  on  the  field  of 
a  hard  fought  battle  at  the  moment  when  victory  is  assured. 

CONGRATULATIONS  were  passed  around.  Mr.  Van  Home  on  being 
requested  to  make  some  remarks,  merely  replied  :  "  All  I  have  got  to 


440 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


say  is,  that  all  has  been  well  done  in  every  way."  Within  a  few 
minutes  the  conductor  shouted,  "  All  aboard  for  the  Pacific,"  and  the 
train  proceeded,  reaching  Port  Moody  the  following  morning,  Novem- 
ber 8th.  The  "  north-west  passage,"  which  had  been  sought  for  in  vain 
by  heroic  navigators  from  the  time  of  Cabot  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
to  Franklin  in  the  nineteenth,  had  now  been  found,  if  not  by  water, 
by  the  trans-continental  railway  just  completed  through  British 
territory.  The  members  of  the  party  who  made  the  first  through 
overland  trip  went  to  Victoria,  where  they  remained  a  few  days. 
Returning,  they  reached  Winnipeg  on  the  15th,  and  after  a  short 
delay  there  continued  the  journey  to  Montreal. 


CHAPTEE    VI. 


NEW  MANAGEMENT  OF  HUDSON  BAY  COMPANY. 

MEMBERS  OP  FIRST  BOARD. — For   a   number   of    years   after   the 
retirement  of  Sir  James  Douglas  from  the  service  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  in  1859,  the  business  in  the   western  department  was  con- 
ducted by  a  Board  of  Management,  consist- 
ing of  two  or  three  chief  officers  of  the  Com- 
pany residing  in  the  country.      Mr.  Dallas, 
one  of   the    Company's  directors,   who    had 
come  out  from  London  in  1857,  and  who  for 
many   years  previously    had    been  engaged 
j«it    *3&S3^.  extensively  in  America,  in   China  and  the 

^M      East,    was  president   of   the    first  of   those 
HL  Boards  of  Management.     Its  other  members 

Bk   JQ  were   Hon.  John   Work   and   Chief   Factor 

^^^k^H 

=l      Dugald  Mactavish.     After  the  death  of  Mr. 
Work  in    1861,   Mr.   Dallas    left  Victoria, 

having  been  appointed  governor  of  the  Company's  territories  in 
Rupert's  Land,  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  He  visited  London, 
and  assumed  the  Company's  governorship  in  1862,  at  Fort  Garry, 
where  he  remained  until  1865.  He  returned  to  London,  and  filled 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD. 


441 


the  position  of  advisory  director  of  the  Company  for  several  years. 
When  residing  in  Victoria,  he  married  a  daughter  of  Sir  James 
Douglas.  Mr.  Dallas  died  in  London,  January,  1882,  where  Mrs. 
Dallas  and  family  yet  reside.  He  was  a  native  of  Inverness,  Scot- 
land. (See  portrait,  page  248.) 

The  next  succeeding  Board  of  Management  consisted  of  Chief 
Factor  Dugald  Mactavish,  Dr.  Wm.  Fraser  Tolmie  and  Roderick 
Finlayson.  (See  portrait,  page  143.)  Mr.  Mactavish  entered  the 
Company's  service  in  1833,  passing  the  first  winter  at  Moose  Factory ; 
thence  he  went  to  Lake  Superior,  where  he  spent  another  year;  thence 
to  Lachine,  where  he  remained  to  1838,  when  he  was  transferred  to 
the  Columbia  district,  crossing  the  Rocky 
Mountains  by  the  Boat  Encampment  route 
for  Fort  Vancouver,  where  he  acted  as  ac- 
countant for  several  years,  making  two  or 
three  voyages  during  that  period  to  and  from 
York  Factory,  with  the  annual  accounts  of 
the  Columbia  district,  which  in  those  days 
had  to  be  incorporated  with  those  of  Rupert's 
Land.  In  the  year  1845,  he  was  sent  to  San 
Francisco,  to  look  after  the  business  in  con- 
sequence of  the  death  of  Chief  Trader  W.  G. 
Rae,  the  Company's  agent  there,  and  return- 
ing in  1846,  he  received  his  promotion  to  the  rank  of  chief  trader, 
and  was  transferred  to  Honolulu,  where  he  represented  the  Company 
until  1852.  In  that  year  he  went  to  England  on  furlough,  receiving 
his  promotion  to  the  rank  of  chief  factor,  and  in  1853  was  re-ap- 
pointed to  Fort  Vancouver,  to  assist  Chief  Factor  Ogden,  whose 
health  was  failing.  Mr.  Ogden  was  sent  from  Fort  Vancouver, 
April,  1831,  to  establish  a  fort  on  Naas  River.  The  party  consisted 
of  forty-one  men,  described  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  journal  as 
being  composed  of  three  gentlemen,  twenty-six  Canadians  and  twelve 
Islanders  (Kanakas  from  Honolulu).  Mr.  Ogden  found  the  Indians 
friendly.  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Ogden  in  1854,  Mr.  Mactavish  held 
charge  of  the  Department  of  Columbia  until  the  discovery  of  gold  on 
the  Fraser  River  in  1858,  when  he  was  directed  by  Sir  George  Simp- 
son to  repair  to  Victoria  to  assist  Governor  Douglas  and  Chief  Factor 
Work  in  the  management.  Finally  he  succeeded  them  as  the  chief 
representative  of  the  Company  at  Victoria. 

He  was  sent  to  Washington  in  1862  to  observe  the  proceedings  of 


DR.    WM.    FRASER  TOLMIE. 


442  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

the  Commission  sitting  there  to  decide  the  claims  of  the  Company  in 
Oregon,  under  the  treaty  of  1846  ;  the  settlement  of  those  claims 
requiring  the  presence  of  a  man  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
business,  and  who  besides  possessed  the  capacity  of  representing  it 
properly,  which  Mactavish  did,  as  he  was  a  man  of  great  intelligence, 
plain  and  unpretentious  in  manner,  and  possessed  of  sound  common 
sense. 

Immediately  after  the  termination  of  the  labors  of  the  Commission, 
Mr.  Mactavish  left  for  London,  but  had  scarcely  been  a  month  there 
when  he  was  recalled  to  take  the  place  of  chief  factor  Mr.  Donald 
A.  Smith,  in  Montreal,  who  had  been  despatched  by  the  Canadian 
Government  to  Ked  River,  Fort  Garry  (now  Winnipeg),  in  the  winter 
of  1869-70,  to  act  as  Commissioner  in  the  investigation  of  the  troubles 
which  had  arisen  there  in  connection  with  the  transfer  of  the  North- 
West  Territories  to  Canada.  Mr.  Mactavish 
tilled  the  chief  factorship  until  his  death, 
which  took  place  suddenly  from  heart  disease, 
in  Montreal,  May  24th,  1871. 

About  the  year  1870,  Chief  Factor  James 
A.  Grahame  was  associated  with  Messrs. 
Tolmie  and  Finlayson  in  the  western  depart- 
ment, and  in  1872,  became  principal  mana- 
ger. Mr.  Grahame  joined  the  Company's 
service  in  1843  as  an  apprentice  clerk,  on  an 

DUGALD  MACTAVISII.  engagement  for  five  years,  at  a  progressive 

salary  of  £20,  .£30,  £40  and  £50  per  annum. 

He  was  born  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  December,  1825,  and  educated 
at  Edinburgh  Academy.  He  sailed  from  Gravesend  for  Hudson  Bay, 
June  8th,  1843,  landed  at  York  Factory,  August  9th,  left  that  place 
25th  idem,  and  after  a  short  stay  at  Norway  House,  reached  Fort 
Garry  some  time  in  October. 

Commencing  work,  he  continued  in  Fort  Garry  until  after  the 
the  annual  council  (1844)  had  been  held  there  by  Sir  George  Simpson, 
when  he  was  appointed  to  serve  in  the  Columbia  district.  On  June 
17th,  he  proceeded  en  route  by  way  of  York  Factory,  and  joined  the 
Fort  Vancouver  brigade,  July  15th,  for  Columbia  River,  via  Norway 
House,  Lake  Winnipeg  and  Saskatchewan  River,  to  Edmonton  House, 
which  was  reached  September  8th,  thence  crossed  on  horseback  to 
Fort  Assiniboine  on  the  Athabaska  River,  a  distance  of  ninety  miles; 
thence  up  that  river  side  to  Jasper  House,  crossed  another  portage  of 


THE    CONFEDERATION   PERIOD. 

seventy-five  miles  to  the  Boat  Encampment  on  the  Columbia  River, 
where  boats  were  in  readiness  for  the  party,  which  passed  Forts 
Colville,  Okanagan,  and  Walla  Walla  to  Fort  Vancouver,  which  latter 
place  was  reached  October  31st  (1844). 

For  the  first  few  years  Mr.  Grahame  was  engaged  in  the  supply 
store.  In  1854  he  was  raised  to  the  position  of  accountant,  and  in 
1859  received  the  commission  of  chief  trader,  wi'th  charge  of  Fort 
Vancouver  and  instructions  from  the  head 
office  in  London  to  hand  over  to  the  United 
States  authorities  the  old  station  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  formerly  named 
Astoria,  and  afterwards  Fort  George,  by  the 
North- West  Company,  before  their  coalition 
with  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  The  order 
was  issued  in  compliance  with  the  treaty  of 
1818,  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States.  Under  further  instructions  in  1860, 
Mr.  Grahame  vacated  Fort  Vancouver,  remov- 

ALEX.    GRAHAME. 

ing  everything  of  value  to  Victoria. 

Mr.  Grahame  received  his  commission  as  chief  factor  in  1861, 
After  a  visit  to  his  native  country  and  Europe,  he  returned  to  the 
northern  district,  and  until  1867  was  in  charge  at  Norway  House? 
where  the  recruits  for  the  Company's  service  were  gathered  to  replace 
retiring  men.  After  attending  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Northern 
Council  at  Fort  Garry,  Mr.  Grahame  had  instructions  to  proceed  to 
London,  where  he  remained  a  short  time,  and  returned  to  Victoria, 
via  New  York  and  San  Francisco.  He  next  proceeded  to  the  interior 
as  far  as  Stuart's  Lake,  or  Fort  St.  James,  to  superintend  the  stations 
in  the  gold-mining  districts. 

A  despatch  from  the  head  office,  April,  1869,  summoned  Mr. 
Grahame  again  to  London.  He  went  by  San  Francisco  and  the 
newly  opened  Central  Pacific  Railway,  making  the  journey  from 
Victoria  to  London  in  nineteen  and  a  half  days,  being  the  quickest 
passage  on  record  up  to  that  date.  Mr.  Grahame  returned  to 
Victoria  in  May,  1870,  to  assume  charge  of  that  station  and  the 
western  department  generally.  He  was,  in  1874,  appointed  Chief 
Commissioner  of  the  Company,  and  removed  to  headquarters  at 
Winnipeg,  then  better  known  as  Fort  Garry. 

During  the  period  of  his  management  as  Chief  Commissioner,  the 
building  of  railways,  the  influx  of  immigrants,  and  the  imposition  of 


444  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

the  Canadian  tariff  of  customs,  made  a  revolution  in  the  Company's 
trade.  Respecting  the  customs,  in  some  cases  duty  had  to  be  paid  on 
goods  at  Winnipeg  which  were  destined  for  the  Mackenzie  River 
trade,  and  which  required  about  seven  years  before  returns  could  be 
received  in  trade  for  furs  bartered  and  placed  in  the  London  market. 
Mr.  Grahame  severed  his  connection  with  the  Company  in  1884,  and 
settled  down  in  Victoria,  where  he  now  lives  (1894)  with  his  family. 

Following  Mr.  Grahame,  the  charge  of  the  western  department,  as 
regarded  its  trade,  devolved  on  Mr.  Win.  Charles ;  and  as  regarded 
the  Company's  lands,  on  Mr.  Alexander  Munro,  the  Department 
Accountant.  In  1885,  Chief  Factor  Charles  retired,  and  Mr.  Thomas 
R.  Smith  was  sent  out  from  London  to  take  his  place,  with  the  title 
of  Assistant  Commissioner,  which  he  retained  until  1891.  Mr. 
Munro  retired  in  1890,  being  then  the  last  or  only  chief  factor 
stationed  in  British  Columbia,  and  also  senior  chief  factor  in  the 
Company's  service.  Mr.  Munro  is  a  native  of  Ross-shire,  Scot- 
land, and  was  brought  up  within  a  few  miles  of  the  residence  of 
the  great  explorer,  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  and  therefore  had  an 
opportunity  of  knowing  something  of  Sir  Alexander's  family.  He 
still  resides  in  Victoria  and  enjoys  excellent  health.  Two  of  his 
sons-in-law  were  returned  members  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of 
British  Columbia  at  the  general  election  of  1894,  viz.,  R.  P.  Rithet, 
Victoria  city,  and  Capt.  John  Irving,  Cassiar  electoral  district.  Mr. 
Rithet  received  the  largest  number  of  votes  recorded  in  Victoria  for 
either  of  the  four  members  returned  for  the  city ;  and  Captain  Irving 
represents  the  largest  electoral  district  in  British  Columbia.  (See 
page  449.) 

In  recent  years,  as  a  result  partly  of  the  opening  up  of  the  country 
through  railway  communication,  the  western  department  affairs  have 
been  largely  concentrated  in  the  hands  of  the  Chief  Commissioner  at 
Winnipeg,  and  its  management  placed  more  directly  under  his 
control,  the  railway  enabling  him  to  make  frequent  personal  visits 
across  the  continent,  which  was  previously  slow  and  difficult.  Since 
1891,  the  principal  manager  of  the  western  department,  under  the 
Commissioner  (now  Mr.  C.  C.  Chipman)  has  been  Chief  Trader  Robt. 
H.  Hall,  of  Victoria,  who  also  represented  Cassiar  district  in  the 
sixth  parliament  of  British  Columbia,  dissolved  June  2nd,  1894. 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  445 


CHAPTER  VII. 


RAILWAY  SURVEYS  AND  CONSTRUCTION. 

THE  NEW  ROUTE  OF  TRAVEL. — After  the  opening  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  there  was  no  necessity  for  following  the  old  slow  and 
toilsome  route  and  mode  of  travel  across  the  Rocky  Mountain  passes. 
Reference  has  been  made  to  various  expeditions,'  both  east  and  west, 
prior  to  Confederation.  Since  that  time  but  comparatively  few  have 
to  be  noticed.  Amongst  them,  however,  worthy  of  record  were  those 
in  connection  with  the  Geological  Survey,  extending  from  1871  to 
1879.  The  chief  director,  Dr.  Selwyn,  frequently,  in  making  observa- 
tions in  British  Columbia,  crossed  and  recrossed  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. In  1871,  having  reached  Victoria,  by  way  of  Chicago  and 
San  Francisco,  he  left  in  July  for  the  mainland.  He  followed  the 
valley  of  the  Fraser  to  Lytton ;  passed  on  to  Kamloops,  and  by  the 
North  Thompson  and  Albreda  travelled  to  Tete-Jaune-Cache.  He 
reached  Yellow-head  Pass  on  October  21st.  Returning  by  the  same 
route,  he  arrived  at  Victoria  on  November  29th,  and  at  Montreal  on 
December  26th. 

GEOLOGICAL  EXAMINATIONS. — For  the  four  years,  1871  to  1874,  Mr. 
Richardson  was  engaged  in  the  geological  examination  of  Vancouver 
Island.  In  1875,  Dr.  Selwyn  made  an  extended  exploration  of  the 
northern  part  of  the  country.  He  followed  the  trail  to  Fort  Fraser 
on  Stuart  Lake  ;  thence  he  proceeded  across  to  Fort  McLeod,  near 
the  source  of  Peace  River.  On  July  3rd  he  left  Fort  McLeod  and 
descended  Peace  River.  On  'July  llth,  after  passing  the  mouth  of 
Finlay  River,  Dr.  Selwyn  ascended  a  mountain  4,590  feet  above  his 
camp,  and  6,220  feet  above  sea  level.  He  passed  up  Pine  River, 
following  the  stream  as  far  as  his  canoe  would  float.  He  returned  to 
Fort  St.  John  and  descended  Peace  River  to  Dunvegan ;  proceeding 
down  stream  to  the  forks,  he  ascended  and  partially  explored  Smoky 
River.  This  was  the  limit  of  Dr.  Selwyn's  expedition.  He  returned 
by  the  route  he  had  followed.  Details  were  published  in  Geological 
Report  of  1875-76.  Professor  Macoun,  who  accompanied  Dr.  Selwyn, 


446  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

continued  the  exploration  from  the  mouth  of  Smoky  River  to  Lake 
Athabasca.  The  result  of  his  botanical  investigations  is  given  in 
"  Geological  and  Geographical  Notes  for  the  year  1875." 

GOLD  SEEKERS  IN  1862. — Notwithstanding  the  great  distance  to  be 
travelled  and  the  difficulties  of  the  journey,  the  desire  to  obtain  gold, 
and  the  news  of  rich  discoveries  in  the  Cariboo  district,  induced  a 
continuation  of  the  rush  to  the  "diggings."  Large  numbers  went  by 
Panama,  others  came  overland.  In  1862,  a  company  collected  in 
Ontario  numbering  193  men.  They  hailed  fromQueenston  and  Huron 
in  the  west  of  Canada  to  Montreal  and  Huntington  in  the  east ;  a  few 
came  from  Ogdensburg.  They  left  their  homes  in  April,  and  congre- 
gated at  St.  Paul,  Minnesota.  From  St.  Paul  they  proceeded  by  stages 
to  Red  River,  which  they  descended  by  steamer  to  Fort  Garry,  where 
they  completed  their  organization  for  the  journey. 

NINETY  RED  RIVER  CARTS. — Their  number,  says  Mr.  Sandford 
Fleming  in  describing  the  journey,  was  increased  at  Fort  Garry  to 
two  hundred,  by  the  addition  of  seven  persons  from  the  Red  River 
Settlement,  among  whom  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schubert  and  three  small 
children.  The  expedition  left  Fort  Garry,  June  2nd  ;  it  formed  a 
train  consisting  of  about  ninety  Red  River  carts,  each  drawn  by  an 
ox.  There  were  also  about  fifty  saddle-horses  with  the  party.  The 
journey  across  the  plains  was  necessarily  slow,  and  they  came  in  sight  of 
Fort  Edmonton  on  July  21st,  having  accomplished  some  nine  hundred 
miles  of  their  journey  from  Fort  Garry  without  any  serious  hardships 
having  been  encountered. 

YELLOW-HEAD  PASS. — At  Fort  Edmonton  they  exchanged  the  carts 
for  pack  saddles,  and  left  for  the  mountains  on  July  29th.  Their 
route  was  by  the  ordinary  trail,  imperfectly  defined,  through  forest 
and  swamp,  to  Jasper  House,  and  thence  up  the  valleys  of  the  Atha- 
basca and  Myette  to  the  Yellow-head  Pass,  where  the  River  Fraser 
takes  its  rise  ;  following  which  they  reached  Tete-Jaune-Cache  on 
August  28th.  Here  those  constituting  the  party  were  unable  to 
decide  as  to  the  route  they  should  follow.  Tt  was  finally  agreed  to 
divide  into  two  parties,  each  division  to  act  independently  of  the 
other,  and  follow  the  direction  it  might  select.  Both  of  them  left 
,  Tete-Jaune-Cache  on  the  same  day,  September  2nd.  The  larger 
number  made  rafts  by  which  they  descended  the  Fraser,  which  at  this 
point  flows  north-westerly.  Those  who  trusted  to  the  river  had  many 
mishaps  and  underwent  suffering,  but  they  arrived  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Quesnelle  on  September  llth.  They  lost  three  men  by  drowning 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  447 

— Robertson,  Carpenter  and  Leader ;  another  died,  a  young  English- 
man named  Patterson,  who  succumbed  to  exposure  and  was  buried  at 
Fort  George. 

AN  UNFORTUNATE  TRIP. — The  second  division  of  the  party,  about 
sixty  in  number,  endeavored  to  cross  the  mountains  in  a  westerly 
direction  to  Cariboo,  but  they  were  deterred  by  the  immense  labor 
experienced  in  forcing  a  passage  across  the  mountains  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  penetrating  through  the  heavy  timber  in  the  valleys.  They 
turned  in  a  southerly  direction  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the  North 
Thompson.  They  here  constructed  large  rafts  to  descend  the  stream. 
They  killed  some  of  their  horses  and  "jagged  "  the  meat,  cutting  it  in 
strips  and  drying  it.  The  remainder  of  the  horses,  about  forty  or  fifty, 
they  abandoned,  and  putting  all  their  effects  on  the  rafts,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  descend  the  swift  current  of  the  river.  As  they  approached 
what  is  called  the  Grand  Rapid,  at  the  head  of  the  fifteen-mile  canyon 
of  the  Thompson,  the  leading  raft  was  engulfed  in  the  torrent  before 
those  navigating  it  were  aware  of  the  danger,  and  two  men  were  drawn 
into  the  rapids  and  drowned.  The  rafts  which  followed  avoided  the 
fate  of  that  before  them  ;  by  great  effort  those  on  board  reached  the 
shore  in  safety,  and,  with  labor  and  difficulty,  forced  their  way  up 
the  precipitous  banks.  They  managed  to  clamber  along  the  cliffs  to 
the  lower  end  of  the  canyon,  where  they  formed  a  second  set  of  rafts, 
and  proceeded  to  shoot  the  lower  rapids ;  they  arrived  eventually  in 
great  distress  at  Kamloops  on  October  llth.  On  the  following  morning 
Mrs.  Schubert,  who  accompanied  this  branch  of  the  expedition,  gave 
birth  to  a  daughter.  The  two  men  drowned  in  the  Thompson  were 
William  Strachan,  of  London,  Ontario,  and  Frank  Penwarden,  of  St. 
Thomas. 

THE  SURVIVORS. — Of  the  two  hundred  who  left  Fort  Garry  in 
1862,  the  survivors  now  resident  in  British  Columbia  (1889),  as  far 
as  known,  are  J.  A.  Mara,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schubert,  A.  McNaughton, 
John  Bowron,  W.  Fletcher,  D.  Simpson,  Robert  Heron,  R.  B. 
McMicking,  W.  H.  Thompson,  W.  McKenzie,  W.  Halpenny,  George 
C.  Turnstall,  D.  McQuarrie,  R.  H.  Alexander,  Captain  Redgrave, 
Alex.  L.  Fortune,  Henry  Geyden,  A.  McConnell,  J.  B.  McQueen,  W. 
Fortune,  and  T.  Fannin,  curator  of  the  Provincial  Museum  at  Victoria. 
The  four  last  named,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schubert,  came  down  by 
the  Thompson. 

THE  PUBLIC  MUSEUM. — Mr.  Fannin  remains  in  charge  of  the 
museum,  which  contains  a  large  and  most  interesting  collection  of 


448  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

birds,  minerals,  fossils  and  Indian  curios  and  totems.  The  natural 
history  branch  comprises  the  musk  ox,  the  white  goat,  the  mountain 
sheep,  the  reindeer,  wapiti,  the  grizzly  bear,  etc.  A  large  collection 
of  relics  and  curios,  collected  by  Captain  N.  H.  Chittenden,  and 
exhibited  by  him  at  London,  Antwerp,  Chicago,  and  lately  at  San 
Francisco,  has  been  presented  by  the  captain  to  the  museum.  It 
represents  the  labor  of  many  years  spent  in  explorations  along  the 
Pacific  coast,  from  Alaska  to  Mexico. 

CAPTAIN  PALLISER'S  REPORT  ADVERSE. — Under  instructions  from 
the  Imperial  Government,  Captain  Palliser,  between  the  years  1857 
and  1860,  made  extensive  explorations  across  the  continent  from 
Lake  Superior  to  the  Okanagan  Lakes.  In  1859,  he  made  a 
journey  from  Edmonton  by  the  foot-hills  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to 
the  Kootenay  Pass,  to  Kootenay  River,  following  that  route  to  Fort 
Shepherd  and  Fort  Colville.  The  captain  was  accompanied  by  several 
scientific  men,  among  whom  may  be  named  Dr.  Hunter  and  Lieu- 
tenant Blakiston,  Mr.  John  W.  Sullivan  and  Mr.  Bourgeau.  His 
report  to  the  Imperial  Government  was  adverse  to  the  construction 
of  a  railway  across  the  continent,  "  as  there  would  be  no  immediate 
advantage  commensurate  with  the  required  sacrifice  of  capital,"  and 
stated  that  the  knowledge  of  the  country  which  he  possessed,  would 
never  lead  him  to  advocate  a  line  of  communication  from  Canada 
across  the  continent  to  the  Pacific  exclusively  through  British  terri- 
tory. The  construction  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  has  proved 
that  a  line  through  British  territory  could  be  built. 

Dr.  G.  M.  Dawson  commenced  his  labors  in  British  Columbia  in 
1875,  by  making  examinations  east  of  the  lower  portion  of  Fraser 
River.  (See  portrait,  page  133.)  The  following  year  he  made 
explorations  in  the  basin  of  the  Blackwater,  Salmon,  Nechaco  Rivers 
and  Francois  Lake.  The  same  year  Mr.  Richardson  continued  the 
examination  of  the  Nanaimo  and  Comox  coal  fields.  In  1877,  Dr. 
Dawson  devoted  his  attention  to  an  extended  geological  survey  of 
southern  British  Columbia,  and  the  following  season  to  an  examina- 
tion of  Queen  Charlotte  Island.  In  1879,  he  accompanied  Messrs. 
Cambie,  McLeod  and  Gordon  from  Port  Simpson,  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
through  northern  British  Columbia,  and  the  Peace  River  country  to 
Edmonton,  thence  to  Ottawa.  The  reports  of  the  geological  staff, 
published  annually,  set  forth  the  results  of  the  various  explorations. 
They  contain  a  vast  amount  of  information  and  interesting  details. 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


449 


THE  GEOLOGICAL  REPORTS  referring  to  British  Columbia,  by  Dr. 
Dawson  are  most  valuable.  He  has  in  them  thrown  a  flood  of  light 
on  the  geology  and  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  Province,  and  also  by 
admirable  papers  read  before  the  Royal  Society  of  Canada  and  the  Royal 
Colonial  Institute,  London.  One  of  those  is  published  in  the  proceedings 
of  the  former  society,  as  read  29th  May,  1890,  under  the  title,  "The  later 
Physiographical  Geology  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  in  Canada, 
with  special  reference  to  changes  in  elevation,  and  to  the  history  of 
the  glacial  period,  by  George  M.  Dawson,  D.Sc.,  A.R.S.M.,  F.G.S., 
Assistant  Director  Geological  Survey  of  Canada " ;  and  one  in  the 
latter  society's  proceedings  on  "The  Mineral  Wealth  of  British 
Columbia,"  as  having  been  read  14th  March,  1893. 


CHAPTEE   VIII. 


TRAVEL  AND  TRADE  FACILITIES. 

VICTORIA  CITY,  being  directly  in  the  way  of  the  north  and  south  Pacific 
coast  lines,  both  rail  and  water,  as  well  as  of  the  lines  from  the  Orient 
and  Australia ;  and  being  the  first  and  last  port  touched  by  deep  sea 
vessels  coming  and  going  from  all  parts  of  the 
world,  reckoning  from  the  extremes  of  east 
and  west,  north  of  San  Francisco,  is  conse- 
quently a  trade  centre,  and  must  of  necessity 
continue  so.     At  present  six  principal  lines 
touch  at  Victoria,  or  make  it  one  of   their 
termini,  viz.: 

THE  CANADIAN  PACIFIC  NAVIGATION  COM- 
PANY.— This  line  may  be  said   to  be  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  steamers  which  coasted  and 
traded  in  the   colonial  days   from   Victoria. 
It  assumed  its  present  name  in  1883,  with 
Captain    John    Irvine  as   manager,    commencing  business   with   the 
steamers  Princess   Louise,  Enterprise,   Otter,   R.  P.  Rithet,    William 
Irving  and  Reliance.     During  the  year   the   steamers  Western  Slopey 
29 


CAPTAIN  IRVIXG,  M.P.P. 


450 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


Gertrude,  and  Yosemite  were  purchased.  The  fleet  has  since  been 
increased,  by  the  purchase  or  building  of  the  Wilson  G.  Hunt,  Maude, 
Premier,  Sardonyx,  Islander  and  Danube.  The  two  latter  are  power- 
ful steamships.  The  line  connects  with  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
at  Vancouver,  and  runs  to  New  Westminster  and  points  farther  up  the 
Fraser  River.  The  Company  also  supplies  vessels  to  Fort  Simpson, 
Skeena  River,  including  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  Bella  Bella  and 
Alert  Bay ;  also  to  Uclulet  and  Alberni  in  Barclay  Sound,  on  the 
west  coast. 

THE  CANADIAN  PACIFIC  RAILWAY  COMPANY'S  LINE. — The  steamships 
of  this  line  are  the  Empress  of  India,  the  Empress  of  China,  and  the 
Empress  of  Japan.  They  run  in  connection  with  the  Canadian 


STEAMER    "ISLANDER." 

Of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Navigation  Company. 

Pacific  Railway,  making  Vancouver,  B.C.,  the  Canadian  terminus, 
and  Hong  Kong  the  Chinese  terminus.  Each  of  these  steamers  are 
6,000  tons  register,  10,000  horse-power,  485  feet  long,  51  feet  beam, 
36  feet  below  hatches,  and  fitted  for  passengers  and  freight.  "The 
saloons,  library,  and  state-rooms  are  marvels  of  luxury  and  beauty." 
They  were  built  at  Barrow-in-Furness,  andean  accommodate  180  first- 
class  passengers,  200  second-class,  and  1,000  steerage.  The  Pacific 
is  crossed  in  13  or  14  days,  and  trips  are  made  once  in  three  weeks. 
The  distance  to  Yokohama  is  4,283  miles.  Fare  one  way  $200,  round 
trip  $300.  The  distance  from  Vancouver  to  Hong  Kong  is  6,140 
miles.  Fare  one  way  $225,  round  trip  $325.  Freight :  through  rates 
run  from  $5  to  $50  per  ton,  according  to  quality,  classification,  etc. 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


451 


LOG  OF  THE  "  EMPRESS  OF  INDIA." — The  first  of  the  Empresses  to 
arrive  at  British  Columbia  was  the  royal  mail  steamer,  Empress  of 
India,  on  the  memorable  trip  around  the  world.  She  left  Liverpool 
under  command  of  Captain  O.  P.  Marshall,  at  9.30  a.m.,  February  8, 
1891,  and  arrived  in  Gibraltar,  at  9.18  a.m.,  on  the  12th,  having 
-experienced  moderate  easterly  winds,  with  overcast  weather. 

u  LEFT  GIBRALTAR  at  6  p.m.,  the  same  day,  and  arrived  at  Marseilles 
at  8.30  a.m.,  the  15th,  having  had  strong  north-east  winds,  but  fine 
weather.  Lsaving  Marseilles  at  5.30  p.m.,  the  following  day,  we 
arrived  at  Naples  at  7  p.m.,  on  the  18th,  and  left  the  same  evening  at  6. 


"EMPRESS  OF  INDIA." 

"ANCHORED  in  Port  Said,  at  7.30  a.m.,  the  22nd,  and  at  8.26,  the 
following  morning,  proceeded  through  the  canal.  On  the  morning  of 
the  25th,  at  7  o'clock,  we  discharged  our  pilot,  and  proceeded  on  to 
Colombo,  arriving  at  7.30  a.m.^on  March  8,  having  had  moderate 
northerly  winds  and  fine  weather. 

"LEAVING  AT  8  P.M.,  on  the  10th,  we  arrived  in  Penang,  at  8.23 
a.m.,  on  the  15th,  having  had  light  winds  and  overcast  weather. 
Weighed  at  5.30  p.m.,  the  same  day,  and  proceeded  towards  Singapore, 
arriving  at  8.10  a.m.,  March  17.  On  the  following  evening,  at  5.30, 
proceeded  towards  Hong  Kong,  and  made  fast  to  the  Kowloon  wharf 
at  that  port,  at  1.15  p.m.,  of  the  23rd. 


452  HISTOKY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

"  ON  APRIL  7,  at  noon,  left  for  Shanghai,  and  arrived  there  at  3.43 
p.m.,  the  9th;  leaving  the  following  evening,  at  11,  arrived  at  Nagaski, 
at  5.30  a.m.,  the  12th ;  left  at  8  p.m.,  and  anchored  in  Kobe,  at  7.15 
a.m.,  the  14th,  thick  fogs  and  various  winds  having  been  met  with 
in  the  inland  sea. 

"At  midnight,  on  the  14th,  left  Kobe,  and  arrived  in  Yokohama,  at 
8  a.m.,  the  16th,  having  experienced  strong  northerly  winds  and 
rainy  weather.  At  4  p.m.,  on  the  17th,  left  Yokohama,  and  arrived 
at  Victoria,  B.C.,  at  7  a.m.,  April  28  ;  and  leaving  after  a  stay  of 
three  hours,  arrived  and  made  fast  to  the  wharf  at  Vancouver,  at  3.40' 
p.m.,  the  same  day,  weather  across  the  Pacific  being  fairly  good,  with 
the  exception  of  a  heavy  gale,  on  the  24th,  accompanied  with  much 
snow  and  rain.  Fine  weather  was  again  met  with  on  the  27th." 

CANADIAN  AND  AUSTRALIAN  LINE — THE  PROPOSED  PACIFIC  CABLE. 
— This  line  was  opened  in  1893,  the  first  trip  having  been  made  by 
the  Miowera,  since  then  disabled  and  returned  to  England  for  repairs. 
The  vessels  now  (1894)  in  the  service  are  the  Warrimoo  and  the 
Arawa.  They  are  of  five  thousand  tons  register,  thoroughly  sea-worthy 
and  well  fitted  for  both  passengers  and  freight  business,  being^ 
provided  with  ample  cold  storage  compartments.  The  terminal  points 
are  Vancouver,  British  Columbia,  and  Sidney,  Australia ;  touching  at 
Honolulu  en  route.  The  Dominion  Minister  of  Trade  and  Commerce, 
the  Hon.  Mackenzie  Bo  well,  took  passage  on  the  Warrimoo,  from 
Victoria,  September  17,  1893.  He  made  the  trip  in  accordance  with 
and  Order-in-Council,  passed  at  Ottawa,  September  7,  idem,  which 
recommended  "  that  the  Minister  of  Trade  and  Commerce  be  requested 
to  proceed  to  Australia  as  soon  as  possible  to  confer  with  the  several 
governments  there,  with  a  view  to  promote  the  extension  of  trade 
between  Australia  and  Canada,  and  also  to  confer  with  those 
governments  on  the  subject  of  a  telegraph  connecting  Canada  with 
Australia." 

REPORT  OF  THE  MINISTER  OF  TRADE  AND  COMMERCE. — The  Hon. 
Mr.  Bowell  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Sandford  Fleming  in  connection 
with  the  proposed  Pacific  cable  between  Canada  and  Australia.  In 
reporting  on  this  portion  of  his  mission  the  Minister  of  Trade  and 
Commerce  says :  "  I  have  first  to  acknowledge  the  great  assistance 
rendered  by  Sandford  Fleming,  Esq.,  C.M.G.  This  gentleman,  having 
given  years  of  close  study  and  application  to  the  subject  of  an  all 
British  Pacific  cable,  connecting  the  two  great  divisions  of  the  Empire, 
was  able  to  render  invaluable  service  in  bringing  the  matter 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  453 

intelligently  under  the  notice  of  the  people  of  the  different  Australian 
colonies/'  Mr.  Fleming  must  be  gratified  to  find  that  at  the  Colonial 
Conference  held  at  Ottawa,  July  4,  1894,  the  commissioners  passed  a 
resolution  expressing  the  opinion  that  immediate  steps  should  be 
taken  to  provide  telegraphic  communication,  free  from  foreign  control, 
between  the  Dominion  of  Canada  and  Australia.  Another  resolution 
was  unanimously  adopted,  asking  the  Imperial  Government  to 
undertake  a  survey  of  the  ocean  bed  of  the  proposed  routes ;  the 
expense  to  be  borne,  in  equal  proportions,  by  Great  Britain,  Canada 
and  the  Australian  colonies. 

BRITISH  COLUMBIA  is  GREATLY  INTERESTED  in  the  success  of  the 
Australian  line,  and  the  prospective  share  of  trade  which  will  be 
secured  from  the  southern  continent  and  the  Sandwich  or  Hawaiian 
Islands.  Honolulu  is  the  capital  of  the  Hawaiian  group  of  islands. 
The  group  comprises  thirteen  islands  in  all,  and  the  population, 
according  to  the  census  of  1891,  the  latest  available  data,  aggregated 
89,990,  made  up  as  follows:  "  Natives,  34,436 ;  half-castes,  6,186: 
Chinese,  15,331  ;  Hawaiian  born,  foreign  parents,  7,495  ;  United 
States,  1,928;  British,  1,344;  Germans,  1,034;  French,  70;  Portuguese, 
8,602;  Japanese,  12,360;  Norwegians,  227;  Polynesians,  508;  all 
others,  419;  total,  89,990. 

The  trade  of  the  islands,  according  to  the  last  Hawaiian  official 
report  (1891),  showed  the  imports  to  have  been  for  that  year, 
$7,438,582,  and  the  exports,  $10,107,315.  Of  the  imports,  $5,294,- 
278  were  from  the  United  States,  and  $1,201,329  from  Great  Britain ; 
British  Columbia,  $28,464.  The  principal  exports  were  sugar, 
$9,550.537;  rice,  $253,455;  and  bananas,  $179,501.  Notwithstanding 
the  discrimination  against  Canada,  the  report  says  that  our  trade  with 
Hawaii  has  steadily  and  satisfactorily  increased  since  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Canadian-Australian  line,  as  the  figures  of  the  export 
trade  show.  For  the  six  months  ending  December  31,  in  each  of  the 
fiscal  years  indicated,  the  exports  of  Canada  to  Hawaii  were  as 
follows:  1891,  $4,480;  1892,  $16,060  ;  1893,  $69,889. 

There  is  a  demand  in  that  country  for  considerable  quantities  of 
our  lumber,  and  for  general  articles  of  merchandise.  Thus  far  each 
steamer  going  southward  from  Vancouver  has  carried  a  relatively 
large  volume  of  freight  for  Honolulu,  and  north-bound  vessels  have 
always  secured  cargo  for  Canada.  A  wealthy  Victoria  firm  have 
-arranged  for  the  establishment  of  cold  storage,  at  Honolulu,  so  that 


454  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

fish  and  perishable  articles  may  be  stored,  and  a  steady  market  be 
supplied  from  the  north  and  south. 

THE  NORTHERN  PACIFIC  STEAMSHIP  COMPANY. — This  line  runs  in 
connection  with  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  It  was  established 
in  1893,  with  three  vessels,  the  Tacoma,  Victoria  and  the  Sikh.  The 
terminal  points  are  Tacoma,  Washington  Territory,  and  Hong  Kong, 
China.  Service  in  summer  once  in  three  weeks,  and  in  winter  once 
in  four  weeks,  making  Victoria  a  point  of  call.  The  passage  is  made 
in  fifteen  to  eighteen  days. 

THE  PACIFIC  COAST  STEAMSHIP  COMPANY. — This  line  has  been  in 
business  for  many  years  between  San  Francisco  and  Puget  Sound 
ports,  connecting  with  the  through  continental  railroads.  It  also 
runs  steamers  the  year  round  from  Puget  Sound  to  Wrangel,  Juneau, 
and  Sitka  in  Alaska.  In  summer  extra  vessels  are  placed  on  the 
northern  service  to  accommodate  excursion  parties  who  visit  that 
remote  and  interesting  region.  The  steamers  are  the  Umatilla,  Walla 
Walla,  and  City  of  Pubela.  From  San  Francisco  they  come  directly 
to  Victoria,  without  touching  at  intermediate  points.  After  landing 
passengers  and  freight  at  Victoria  they  proceed  to  Puget  Sound, 
where  they  spend  several  days,  visiting  Port  Townsend,  Seattle, 
Tacoma,  Fairhaven,  and  occasionally  at  other  ports.  The  steamers 
City  of  Topeka  and  Queen  form  the  Alaska  line  to  Sitka,  Juneau  and 
Wrangel — the  former  makes  monthly  trips  the  year  round,  the 
latter  extra  during  the  summer  months — landing  and  taking  up 
passengers  at  Victoria. 

THE  PUUET  SOUND  AND  ALASKA  STEAMSHIP  COMPANY. — This  line^ 
consists  of  two  steamers,  the  City  of  Kingston  and  the  City  of  Seattle. 
One  or  other  of  these  vessels  make  six  round  trips  a  week  between 
Tacoma  and  Victoria,  connecting  with  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad, 
touching  at  Seattle  and  Port  Townsend.  Those  steamers  are  first 
class;  are  palatial  in  their  passenger  accommodation,  and  fitted  to 
convey  large  quantities  of  freight  or  live  stock. 

THE  COMOX  LINE. — Tne  steamer  Joan  a  twin-screw,  wooden  hull, 
built  at  Victoria  in  1892,  makes  weekly  trips  from  Victoria  to  Comox. 
The  vessel  runs  in  connection  with  the  Esquimalt  and  Nanaimo  rail- 
road, being  owned  and  operated  by  the  same  parties.  The  summer 
trips,  well  patronized  by  tourists,  are  delightful,  being  constantly 
among  islands  and  narrow  passages,  now  with  towering  rocky  shores 
on  either  hand,  then  with  lovely  bays,  wooded  to  the  water's  edger 
stretching  away  in  the  distance.  Numerous  landings  are  afforded  at 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  455 

hamlets,  mills  and  farms.  Trips  are  occasionally  made  to  Valdez 
Island,  and  the  Joan  carries  her  Majesty's  mails  to  post-offices  along 
the  route. 

THE  CANADIAN  PACIFIC  RAILWAY. — This  great  trans-continental 
line  completed  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1885,  extends  from  Quebec  to 
Vancouver,  B.C.,  a  distance  of  3,053  miles.  It  also  has  running 
powers  over  the  Intercolonial  Railway  to  Halifax,  and  its  connections 
from  Halifax  to  Montreal  amount  to  756  miles.  Montreal  is  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company's  headquarters,  and  is  distant 
2,906  miles  from  Vancouver  city,  the  western  terminus  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  A  daily  through  mail  is  carried  each  way 
over  the  whole  distance.  The  trains  are  run  on  standard  time,  which 
is  reckoned  an  hour  slower  (eastern  time,  noon  at  Montreal),  from 
and  east  of  Fort  William  ;  central  time  (11  o'clock  at  Winnipeg), 
from  Fort  William  to  Brandon ;  mountain  time  (10  o'clock  at 
Regina),  from  Brandon  to  Donald ;  Pacific  time  (9  o'clock  at  Van- 
couver and  Victoria),  from  Donald  to  the  Pacific  coast  including 
Victoria.  Three  of  its  leading  men  have  been  created  knights  by  her 
most  gracious  Majesty  Queen  Victoria,  viz.,  Sir  Donald  A.  Smith,  in 
1886  ;  Sir  George  Stephen,  in  1886,  and  Sir  Wm.  Van  Home,  24th 
May,  1894.  The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company,  when  taken 
in  connection  with  the  various  branches  and  extensions  of  the 
railway  and  the  Lake  Superior  steamship  navigation,  together  with 
the  Pacific  Empresses  may  be  classed  as  one  of  the  greatest,  if  not  the 
greatest  commercial  company  in  the  world. 

THE  STEAMER  Beaver,  the  first  steam  vessel  which  appeared  on  the 
Northern  Pacific  coast,  was  built  in  1834-35,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Thames,  London,  for  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  at  a  cost,  it 
is  said,  of  $125,000.  The  London  register  of  the  vessel  is  No. 
154,  of  the  year  1835.  It  records  the  Beaver  as  "  steam  -propelled, 
one-and-a-half-deck,  two  masts,  stern  square ;  figure-head,  a  beaver ; 
framework,  wood ;  length,  one  hundred  and  one  and  four- tenths 
feet ;  breadth,  below  main-wales,  at  the  centre  of  the  paddle  shaft, 
twenty  feet ;  depth  in  hold,  eleven  feet ;  two  engines,  each  seventy- 
five  horse-power." 

The  hull  was  of  oak  and  teak,  fastened  with  copper.  King  William 
IV.  and  sixteen  thousand  of  his  subjects  are  said  to  have  witnessed 
the  launch.  Shortly  after  this,  the  Beaver  was  fitted  up  with  her 
engines,  and  tested  on  the  Thames.  The  engines  were  made  by  Bolton 
&  Watt.  The  Beaver  was  rigged  as  a  brig,  and  made  the  voyage  from 


456 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 


London   to  the  Columbia   River,  under   sail,  in    163  days,  via  Cape 
Horn,  under  command  of  Captain  Home. 

At  Astoria  (Fort  George),  she  discharged  cargo,  and  Captain  Home 
getting  up  steam,  took  a  trial  trip  to  Fort  Vancouver.  Captain 
McNeill  was  next  captain  of  the  Beaver,  and  was  followed  in  the 
coasting  fur  trade  by  Captains  Humphreys,  Brotchie,  Dodd  and 
Lewis.  For  three  years,  during  1865,  '6,  and  '7,  the  Beaver  floated xthe 
"broad  pennant"  of  the  Admiralty,  in  the  service  of  the  British 
hydrographers,  under  Staff-Commander  Daniel  Fender. 


STEAMER  "BEAVER." 
Anchored  opposite  the  Marine  Hospital,  Victoria. 

In  1874,  the  Beaver  was  sold  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  to 
Henry  Saunders,  merchant,  Victoria,  who  converted  her  into  a 
tow-boat.  In  the  fall  of  1888,  whilst  under  charter  to  the  Hastings 
Saw-mill  Company,  she  went  on  the  rocks,  at  high  tide,  at  the  entrance 
of  the  "Narrows  "  leading  to  Burrard  Inlet,  and  all  efforts  to  get  her 
off  failed.  There  she  lay  until  June,  1889,  when  a  boom  of  logs,  in 
tow  of  the  tug  Tepic,  was  carried  against  her  by  the  tide.  This 
damaged  her  badly. 

On  the  26th  of  the  same  month,  the  swell  of  the  steamer  Yosemite, 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD. 


457 


entering  the  harbor  at  half-tide,  threw  the  Beaver  on  her  side,  causing 
the  engines  to  fall  through.  A  company  with  a  capital  of  $125,000 
was  formed  in  1892,  to  send  her  to  the  World's  Fair  at  Chicago,  but, 
owing  to  her  damaged  condition,  expense  of  transportation,  etc.,  the 
scheme  was  abandoned.  Relic  hunters  then  began  to  cut  her  to 
pieces.  In  1893,  the  wreck  could  scarcely  be  seen  at  high  tide. 

The  references  which  have  been  made  to  the  Beaver,  the  earliest 
steamer  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  also  to  the  latest  of  the  magnificent 
ocean  steamers  plying  from  China,  Japan  and  Australia,  making 


INDIAN  CANOES. 


Victoria  and  Vancouver  their  termini  on  this  coast,  serve,  together 
with  the  views  given,  to  point  out  by  way  of  contrast,  the  marvellous 
progress  which  has  been  made  in  the  size  and  speed  of  steamships 
since  the  advent  of  the  Beaver,  which,  at  that  time,  astonished  the 
native  Indians  in  their  canoes.  Those  references  and  illustrations  also 
serve  to  show  the  increase  of  trade  and  travel  between  the  countries 
mentioned ;  and  that  those  steamers  are  necessary  connecting  links 
required  to  accommodate  the  trade  and  travel  created  by  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  across  British  North  America,  circling,  it  may  be 
said,  around  the  world  on  British  territory  and 'in  British  vessels. 


458  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEK   IX. 


RAILWAYS  AND  COAL  DEPOSITS,  AND  GOLD. 

SPEAKING  of  provincial  railways,  the  British  Columbia  Directory  of 
1893,  says: 

"Six  railway  lines  are  now  under  course  of  construction,  viz.  :  The 
Nelson  and  Fort  Sheppard,  running  from  Nelson  in  the  Kootenay 
district  to  the  United  States  boundary,  and  connecting  with  the 
United  States  systems ;  the  Revelstoke  and  Arrow  Lake  Railroad  and 
the  Nakusp  and  Slocan  Railway — the  former  from  Revelstoke.  on 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  south  to  the  head  of  Arrow  Lake,  and 
the  latter  from  Nakusp,  at  the  southern  end  of  the  same  lake  to  a 
point  in  the  heart  of  the  Slocan  mining  region,  the  two  lines  to  be 
connected  by  a  ferry  capable  of  carrying  a  train  of  cars ;  the  Kaslo 
and  Slocan,  from  Kaslo,  on  Kootenay  Lake,  to  a  point  in  the  Slocan 
mining  region ;  the  British  Columbia  Southern,  from  the  Crow's  Nest 
coal  mines,  south  to  a  point  on  the  boundary ;  the  Victoria  and 
Sidney,  running  from  Victoria  to  Sidney  in  Saanich  farming  district ; 
the  Burrard  Inlet  and  Fraser  Railway,  running  from  Vancouver 
to  a  connection  with  the  Seattle,  Lake  Shore  and  Eastern,  at  the 
boundary  near  Mission  City,  and  crossing  the  Fraser  by  bridge  at 
New  Westminster." 

OF  THE  PROJECTED  LINES,  the  chief  is  the  Canadian  Western  Central, 
now  known  as  the  British  Pacific.  It  is  intended  to  run  from  Victoria 
north  to  the  upper  end  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  east  to  the  boundary 
of  the  Province,  at  the  Yellow-head  or  some  convenient  pass,  opening 
up  the  Chilicotin  and  Cariboo  districts,  famous  for  their  pastoral 
lands  and  their  gold  mines.  Of  the  numerous  charters  which  have 
been  obtained,  the  undernoted  may  be  mentioned  as  likely  soon  to  be 
put  under  construction,  namely,  those  of  the  Nicola  Valley  Railway^ 
running  from  Spence's  Bridge  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  fifty 
miles  to  the  coal  mines  in  the  Nicola  country ;  and  the  Chilliwack 
Railway,  running  from  the  Fraser  Delta  to  Chilliwack,  on  the  south 
side  of  Fraser  River.  The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company  is. 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  4591 

surveying  a  line  for  a  route  through  Crow's  Nest  Pass  to  Nelson,  on 
Kootenay  Lake.  This  will  give  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  an 
easier  route  through  the  mountains. 

FROM  THE  ANNUAL  REPORT  for  1893  of  the  Directors  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  who  met  at  Montreal  on  the  4th  of  April,  1894,  it 
appears  that  the  Nakusp  and  Slocan  Railway  Company  have  leased 
their  line  to  the  Canadian  Pacific  Company,  "from  Nakusp,  on  the 
upper  Arrow  Lake  (Columbia  River),  to  the  Slocan  silver  mining 
district,  about  thirty-four  miles,  at  a  rental  of  forty  per  cent,  of  its 
gross  earnings,  on  the  same  general  terms  as  formerly  in  the  case  of 
the  Shu  swap  and  Okanagan  Railway.  This  railway  will  be  a  most 
important  factor  in  the  development  of  the  Kootenay  district,  and  it 
is  expected  to  create  considerable  traffic  for  the  main  line.  The 
railway  in  question  is  promoted  by  the  Government  of  British 
Columbia,  at  whose  instance  the  Company  is  called  upon  to  undertake 
its  working." 

THE  NICOLA  VALLEY  RAILWAY  is  also  leased  on  similar  terms, 
"  It  is  intended  to  reach  the  coal  fields  in  Nicola  Valley,  about  fifty 
miles  from  Spence's  Bridge,  on  the  main  line — and  the  directors  look 
upon  it  as  of  mnch  importance,  both  as  affecting  the  cost  of  the 
Company's  coal  supply  and  as  affording  a  valuable  traffic." 

The  report  also  states  :  u  No  new  lines  are  contemplated  beyond 
the  completion  of  the  Revelstoke  (twenty-eight  miles).  .  .  .  The 
branch  line  from  Revelstoke  has  been  completed  for  a  distance  of  ten, 
miles,  to  a  point  below  the  most  difficult  navigation  of  the  Columbia 
River.  .  .  .  The  China  and  Japan  steamships  of  the  Company 
have  shown  a  healthy  increase  in  profits  each  year  since  the  line  was 
established.  The  experience  of  the  Company  in  this  trade  indicates 
the  need  of  a  more  frequent  service,  and  your  authority  will  be  asked 
for  the  building,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Board  and  at  such  time  as 
the  general  condition  of  the  trade  may  warrant,  two  freight  steam- 
ships to  supplement  the  three  passenger  steamships  now  on  the  line." 
A  resolution  was  passed  granting  the  authority  requested,  and  another 
resolution  was  passed  approving  of  the  expenditure  on  "Capital 
Account,"  of  the  sum  of  $66,256,  on  surveys,  etc.,  connected  with  the 
Crow's  Nest  Pass  line. 

EXTRAORDINARY  COAL  DEPOSITS.— In  the  Crow's  Nest  Pass,  East 
Kootenay,  are  extensive  deposits  of  bituminous  and  cannel-coal,  of 
exceptionally  high  quality,  belonging  to  the  British  Columbia  Coal, 
Petroleum  and  Mineral  Company,  Limited.  The  coal  area  comprises 


460  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

two  basins  known  as  the  eastern,  or  Marten  Creek  basin,  and  the 
western,  or  Elk  River  basin.  The  eastern  basin  consists  of  twenty 
seams  of  coal,  having  a  total  thickness  of  one  hundred  and  forty-four 
feet,  and  has  been  estimated  by  Mr.  Frank  Smith,  B.Sc..  M.E.,  as 
capable  of  yielding  at  least  four  thousand  million  tons.  The  coal  in 
this  basin  is  of  two  distinct  qualities,  consisting  of  SEVEN  bituminous 
•coal  seams,  and  FIFTEEN  cannel-coal  seams.  The  bituminous  has  a 
very  small  percentage  of  ash,  sulphur  and  moisture ;  shows  a  very 
high  calorific  power,  and  is  an  excellent  steam  and  blacksmith's  coal. 
THE  ANALYSIS. — THE  CANNEL-COAL  has  all  the  qualities  of  a  gas- 
producing  coal,  being  very  high  in  volatile  combustible  matter,  and 
forms  a  coherent  coke.  An  analysis  of  a  sample  of  fast  coking  gave  : 

Hygroscopic  water 1.89 

Volatile  combustible  matter 30.41 

Fixed  carbon  ...    , 63.33 

Ash , 4.37 

A  COAL  SEAM  THIRTY  FEET  THICK. — The  western  basin  consists  of 
twelve  workable  known  seams,  ranging  in  thickness  from  thirty  to 
four  feet,  with  a  total  thickness  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  feet ; 
with  an  estimated  yield  of  thirty-two  thousand  million  tons.  The 
coal  in  this  basin  is  all  hard  bituminous  coal,  good  for  smelting 
purposes,  free  from  sulphur,  easily  worked  and  handled.  In  the 
opinion  of  Dr.  A.  R.  C.  Selwyn,  C.M.G.,  Director  of  the  Geological 
Survey  of  Canada,  who  visited  the  deposits  in  1891  (see  Summary 
Report,  1891),  "the  district  is  destined  to  be  one  of  the  most  produc- 
tive coal  fields  in  Canada."  He  states  that  "  many  of  the  seams  are 
first-class  coking  coals,  and  others  are  good  gas  coals,  but  none  of 
them  anthracites." 

CONTIGUOUS  TO  THE  MINING  REGIONS. — Occurring  in  such  close 
proximity  to  the  mineral  discoveries  of  Kootenay,  and  upon  the  very 
line  of  communication  with  them,  and  also  in  touch  with  the  coal 
markets  of  Washington  and  Idaho,  and  the  mines  and  mineral  smelt- 
ing establishments  of  Idaho  and  Montana,  their  value  cannot  be 
exaggerated.  Indications  of  the  existence  of  petroleum  in  the  sur- 
rounding country  have  also  been  found,  but  no  thorough  exploration 
for  the  oil  has  yet  been  made. 

ABUNDANT  SUPPLIES  OF  COAL. — The  immense  natural  stores  of  coal 
already  mentioned,  taken  in  connection  with  other  extensive  coal 
measures  on  the  mainland,  towards  Skeena,  and  as  far  north  as  the 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  461 

Provincial  boundary  line,  and  adding  the  large  deposits  which  are 
known  to  exist  and  contain  anthracite  on  Queen  Charlotte  Islands, 
along  with  those  on  Vancouver  Island,  give  no  occasion  to  appre- 
hend that  there  can  be  a  dearth  of  coal  in  British  Columbia  for  many 
generations  to  come. 

THE  VANCOUVER  ISLAND  MINES. — The  output  of  coal  from  the 
Comox,  Wellington,  and  Nanaimo  mines  amounted  during  the  year 
1893  to  978,294  tons,  against  826,335  tons  the  previous  year.  The 
exports  were  768,917  tons,  the  balance  being  consumed  locally.  Our 
coal  retains  its  hold  on  the  San  Francisco  market,  and  490,679  tons 
were  taken  by  that  city  during  the  last  year.  The  mines  gave 
employment  to  2,844  hands ;  the  miners  earning  from  $2,75  to  $5.00 
per  day.  The  excellent  relations  existing  between  the  owners  and 
the  miners,  and  the  practically  unlimited  supply  of  coal  of  high 
grade  quality,  are  most  hopeful  conditions  for  the  future  prosperity 
of  this  industry,  and  when  business  improves  in  our  foreign  markets, 
a  much  larger  output  from  our  mines  may  be  expected.  The  trade 
had  increased  largely  during  the  summer  of  1894.  The  pay  lists  at 
the  mines  for  October  were  the  largest  for  two  or  three  years.  The 
excellent  quality  of  the  Vancouver  Island  coal  is  universally  recog- 
nized, their  productions  are  practically  inexhaustible,  and  their  out- 
put is  yearly  increasing. 

"  NANAIMO,  November  10th,  1894. — (Special) — This  city  to-night 
presents  an  unusually  animated  appearance.  Between  $85,000  and 
$90,000  were  paid  out  to  the  coal  miners.  This  is  the  largest  pay- 
sheet  in  the  Iaj3t  two  years,  and  business  men  are  smiling  a  welcome 
to  what  appears  the  forerunner  of  old-time  prosperity." — Colonist. 

MINING  FOR  GOLD. — During  the  year  1893  there  were  1,247 
persons  engaged  in  gold  mining  in  this  province,  earning  wages 
ranging  from  $1.50  to  $4.50  per  day.  The  total  output  was  valued 
at  $353,335,  the  Cariboo  district  contributing  $202,000  of  this  sum. 
The  mines  are  worked  principally  by  sluices,  but  there  are  also 
hydraulic  workings,  and  in  some  of  the  mines  shafts  and  tunnels  have 
been  sunk.  Owing  to  the  prospect  of  Cariboo  being  opened  by  a  rail- 
way at  no  distant  date,  the  gold  fields  there  are  receiving  more  atten- 
tion ;  large  expenditures  have  recently  been  made  in  modern  mining 
machinery,  and  an  increase  of  the  Cariboo  gold  output  may  be 
expected. 

DREDGING  FOR  GOLD. — Several  applications  for  leases  have  been 
granted  for  dredging  for  gold  in  the  Eraser  and  Thompson  rivers, 


462  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

which  enterprises  will  be  prosecuted  with  special  machinery.  This 
being  the  first  mining  of  the  kind  attempted  in  the  Province,  the 
result  is  looked  for  with  interest.  At  Big  Bend  the  gold-producing 
ores  are  receiving  the  attention  of  capitalists,  but  the  excessive  cost 
of  getting  hydraulic  machinery  and  stores  retards  operations.  From 
a  mine  in  West  Kootenay  $6,000  value  of  gold  was  taken  out  from 
two  hundred  tons  of  ore  ;  and  in  another  mine  $4,000  worth  of  gold 
was  extracted  in  one  week  by  means  of  a  hand  mortar  only.  Many 
placer  mines  have  been  located  on  the  Salmon  and  Pend  d'Oreille 
rivers,  and  twenty-one  mining  leases  have  been  granted.  It  is 
expected  that  hydraulic  machinery  will  soon  be  in  operation  on  the 
last  named  river.  On  Vancouver  Island  prospecting  for  gold  con- 
tinues, principally  in  the  Alberni  district,  where  in  some  of  the  claims 
substantial  development  work  will  be  carried  out  during  summer. 

THE  WEST  KOOTENAY  DISTRICT  has  given  further  evidence  of  its 
richness,  principally  in  silver-bearing  ores.  During  1893,  1,337 
mining  claims  were  recorded,  and  1,167  transfers  were  made. 
Between  December  12th,  1893,  and  May  31st,  1894,  5,374  tons  of  ore 
were  exported  (principally  from  the  Slocan  mines)  to  Swansea  and 
to  the  United  States,  the  declared  average  for  customs  purposes 
being  $120  per  ton.  All  the  Slocan  mines  have  been  discovered 
since  1891,  and,  with  few  exceptions,  every  mine  located  there  has 
improved  as  it  has  been  developed,  the  veins  becoming  stronger  as 
they  went  deeper.  In  1893,  the  mines  there  gave  employment  to 
225  men. 

TRANSPORTATION  OF  ORE  has  been  effected  with  great  difficulty  and 
at  great  cost,  but  these  disadvantages  will  be  greatly  reduced  in  the 
future  through  the  construction  of  railways  in  the  mining  districts. 
On  Toad  Mountain  and  in  other  divisions  of  West  Kootenay  some 
mines  have  been  worked  with  satisfactory  results.  It  is  expected  that 
the  smelting  and  refining  plant,  mentioned  in  the  Board's  report  for 
1892,  will  be  completed  and  in  operation  before  the  close  of  1894. 
The  plant  will  comprise  sampling  works,  assay  office  and  laboratory, 
roasters,  concentrators,  smelters  and  refinery  for  the  treatment  of 
both  lead  and  copper  ores.  The  smelter  enterprise  is  calculated  to 
create  a  new  and  prosperous  era  in  this  region,  and  it  is  hoped  that 
those  who  have  put  their  capital  in  these  expensive  works  will  reap 
satisfactory  returns  therefrom. 

IN  THE  EAST  KOOTENAY  DISTRICT,  355  free  mining  certificates 
were  issued,  and  347  mineral  claims  were  recorded  during  the  year 


THE    CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  463 

1893.  Several  of  the  discoveries  in  this  district  Ccarry  copper  and 
silver,  and  it  is  probable  that  these  copper  ores  will  be  mined  to 
advantage  in  the  near  future, 

THE  ASSAYS  of  thirteen  specimens  from  different  mines  in  the 
West  Kootenay  district  gave  an  average  of  267  ounces  of  silver  per 
ton  and  91  per  cent,  of  lead.  From  Toad  Mountain,  specimens  were 
assayed  which  gave  444  ounces  of  silver  and  23J  per  cent,  of  copper. 
Notwithstanding  the  before-shown  development,  yet,  owing  to  the 
general  financial  depression,  supplemented  by  depreciation  in  the 
value  of  silver,  many  mines,  known  to  be  rich  in  that  metal,  remain 
unworked. 

BESIDES  the  minerals  mentioned,  there  is  an  abundance  of  iron 
deposits  situated  in  different  portions  of  the  Province  ;  also  cement 
rocks  suitable  for  making  Roman  and  ordinary  cement ;  white  and 
grey  marble,  and  several  varieties  of  building-stone.  Mica  in  large 
quantities,  perfectly  clear  and  very  pure  quality,  is  obtained  within  a 
few  feet  of  the  surface.  These  minerals  await  the  capitalist  to  put 
them  into  marketable  form. 

NELSON  is  DOING  WELL. — J.  Fred.  Hume,  of  Nelson,  M.P.P. -elect 
for  the  south  riding  of  West  Kootenay,  and  Donald  Graham,  of  Arm- 
strong, M.P.P. -elect  for  East  Kootenay,  arrived  at  Victoria  to  attend 
the  session  of  the  Legislature  that  opened  November  12th,  1894. 
Mr.  Hume  had  just  made  a  visit  to  the  Slocan  mining  country,  and 
brought  with  him  some  fine  samples  of  ore  from  some  of  the  best 
known  mines  in  that  district.  "The  ore  shipments  for  the  year  will 
easily  amount  to  $1,000,000,  and  much  development  work  is  being 
done."  The  smelter  at  Pilot  Bay  is  expected  to  start  up  soon,  and 
buyers  are  out  purchasing  ore.  Coke  is  being  received  at  the  smelter, 
twenty-five  tons  per  diem  being  brought  in  over  the  Great  Northern. 
Business  is  very  brisk  in  all  lines  in  the  Slocan,  over  five  hundred 
horses  and  mules  being  employed  in  hauling  supplies  to  and  ore  from 
the  mines  to  the  railroad. 

KOOTENAY  TRIUMPHS. — The  gold  output  for  1894  will  approximate 
a  total  of  $200,000,  viz.,  from  quartz,  $170,000,  and  from  gravel, 
$30,000. 

SKYLARK  MINE. — The  last  shipment  from  which  returns  have  been 
received  from  the  Skylark  mine,  on  Boundary  creek,  Kootenay, 
October,  1894,  assayed  220  ounces  in  silver  and  $26  in  gold. 
Another  lot  is  now  at  the  smelter  and  there  are  about  twenty-two 
tons  at  the  mine  and  on  the  way  to  the  railroad. 


464  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEE  X. 


EDUCATIONAL. 

As  soon  as  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island  was  organized, 
arrangements  were  made  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  to  provide 
education  for  the  children  of  the  employes  of  the  Company  and  for 
those  of  other  settlers.  The  first  chaplain  and  preceptor  sent  to  the 
colony  from  England  was  Rev.  Robert  J.  Staines,  who,  accompanied 
by  his  wife,  arrived  at  Victoria  in  1849.  Under  the  agreement  with 
the  Company,  he  was  guaranteed  a  salary  of  two  hundred  pounds  per 
annum  for  himself  as  chaplain,  and  three  hundred  and  forty  pounds 
to  maintain  a  boarding-school,  of  which  Mrs.  Staines  took  charge. 
One  of  the  buildings  within  the  fort  served  at  that  time  as  residence, 
school  and  church.  The  upper  part  of  the  building  was  occupied 
exclusively  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Staines,  and  the  boarding-school  for 
young  ladies. 

In  1853,  several  of  the  colonists  became  dissatisfied  at  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company's  rule,  and  decided  to  send  Mr.  Staines  as  their  dele- 
gate to  England,  with  a  petition  to  the  home  Government  setting 
forth  their  grievances.  The  vessel  in  which  he  took  passage  as  far  as 
San  Francisco,  was  caught  by  a  squall  when  off  Cape  Flattery,  and 
was  thrown  on  her  beam  ends.  She  soon  became  water-logged  and  at 
the  mercy  of  the  waves.  Most  of  her  crew  were  swept  overboard. 
Mr.  Staines  was  in  the  cabin  and  could  not  escape.  He  made  great 
efforts  to  reach  the  deck — so  it  was  reported  by  the  only  survivor  of 
the  wreck,  who  was  rescued  by  a  passing  vessel,  but  in  such  an 
injured  and  exhausted  condition  that  he  lived  only  a  few  hours  after 
the  rescue.  Mrs.  Staines,  who  is  said  to  have  been  "  a  splendid 
teacher  and  preceptress,"  returned  to  England  shortly  after  the  death 
of  her  husband. 

The  Rev.  Edward  Cridge  succeeded  Mr.  Staines  as  Colonial  Chap- 
lain. He  arrived  in  Victoria  in  1855,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Cridge. 
Under  an  agreement  made  with  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  August 
12th,  1854,  he  was  to  receive  as  remuneration  for  his  services  :  "  (1) 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  465 

A  parsonage  and  glebe  of  one  hundred  acres,  of  which  thirty  acres 
will  be  cleared  and  put  into  a  cultivable  state;  (2)  A  stipend  of 
three  hundred  pounds  per  annum  charged  with  the  sanction  of 
the  colonial  office  on  the  fund  arising  from 
the  sale  of  land,  of  which  funds  the  Com- 
pany are  trustees,  etc.  (3)  An  allowance 
of  one  hundred  pounds  per  annum  from 
the  fur  branch  of  the  Company  for  acting 
as  chaplain  to  the  Company,  and  attend- 
ing to  the  wants  of.  the  servants. 
Until  a  house  is  finished,  quarters  will  be 
provided  for  the  clergyman  in  the  fort. 
And  until  the  land  is  put  in  a  proper 
state  of  cultivation,  rations  will  be  allowed 

REV.    EDWARD   CRIDGE. 

to  him  and  his  family,  as  provided  for  the 

officers  of  the  Company.     When  the  land  is  taken  possession  of  by 
him,  he  will  be  expected  to  provide  for  himself. 

"  The  Company  think  it  very  desirable  that  the  clergyman  should, 
as  is  done  at  Red  River  by  the  Bishop  of  Rupert's  Land,  take  charge 
of  a  boarding-school,  of  a  superior  class,  for  the  children  of  their 
officers,  and  would  wish  that  he  would  take  out  with  him  a  gentleman 
and  his  wife,  capable  of  keeping  a  school  of  this  nature. 

"  The  fur-trade  branch  will  find  a  school-house  and  residence  for  the 
master  and  his  family,  and  will  vote  an  annual  grant  of  one  hundred 
pounds  in  aid  of  the  school.  Should  they  give  satisfaction  to  the 
gentlemen  in  the  country,  they  might  expect  from  thirty  to  forty 
pupils,  and  the  usual  payment  for  each  pupil  would  be  twenty  pounds 
per  annum  for  board,  lodging  and  education. 

'*  A  free  passage  will  be  allowed  from  London  to  Vancouver  Island 
to  the  clergyman,  his  family  and  servants,  and  also  to  the  school- 
master and  his  family. 

"It  is  understood  that  the  engagement  will  be  for  five  years,  at 
the  expiration  of  which  a  free  passage  home  will  be  granted,  should 
the  clergyman  wish  to  return,  or,  on  the  contrary,  a  fresh  engagement 
may  be  entered  into.  It  is  also  understood  that  in  the  event  of 
misconduct,  the  engagement  may  at  any  time  be  cancelled  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  Governor  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  with  the 
sanction  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies. 

"(Signed)    A.    Colville,  Governor,    Hudson    Bay   House,    London, 
August  12th,  1854." 
30 


466  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Mr.  Cridge  subscribed  to  the  foregoing  memorandum  on  September 
13th,  1854.  It  appears  that  the  portion  of  the  agreement  which 
provided  that  a  teacher  with  his  wife  should  accompany  Mr.  Cridge 
to  Vancouver,  was  not  carried  into  effect,  although  a  boarding-school 
for  ladies  was  opened  by  Mrs.  Cridge,  as  had  formerly  been  done  by 
Mrs.  Staines.  Public  schools  were  opened  soon  after  the  arrival  of 
Mr.  Cridge,  who  was  appointed  honorary  Superintendent  of  Education, 
as  appears  from  a  report  submitted  by  him  to  his  Excellency 
Governor  Douglas,  in  August,  1861,  in  which  is  stated  that  the  sixth 
annual  examination  of  the 

(1)  VICTORIA  SCHOOL  took  place,  July  16th  ultimo  (Mr.  Barr, 
master),  at  which  fifty-three  pupils  were  present.  The  governor 
presented  fifteen  prizes  amongst  the  most  deserving.  The  school 
he  considered  in  a  satisfactory  condition,  and  seeing  that  there 
was  but  one  teacher  to  fifty  pupils,  doing  its  work  well.  The 
report  stated  that  the  chief  defect  appeared  to  be  "  want  of 
uniformity  and  punctuality  in  attendance.  The  school-room  is  too 
small  for  the  attendance.  The  house,  which  consists  of  eight  rooms, 
as  well  as  the  premises  generally,  are  in  fair  repair.  Of  the  ten  acres 
of  which  the  school  reserve  consists,  a  portion  of  six  acres  is  enclosed 
and  four  acres  under  cultivation." 


CRAIGFLOWER  SCHOOL,   THE  OLDEST  IX  VANCOUVER  ISLAND. 

(2)  CRAIGFLOWER  SCHOOL  (Mr.  Claypole,  teacher).  The  sixth 
examination  took  place  llth  July  ;  twenty-one  pupils  present. 
Prizes,  the  gift  of  his  Excellency,  were  awarded  and  presented  by 
him  to  three  boys  and  two  girls.  The  school  is  well  situated  for  the 
population  growing  in  the  neighborhood,  and  is  conferring  important 
advantages  on  the  community.  The  school-house,  which  contains  six 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  467 

rooms,  and  the  premises  generally,  need  considerable  repairs.  The 
school  reserve  consists  of  four  acres ;  no  portion  of  it  is  at  present 
under  cultivation.  Average  attendance  at  school  for  the  year,  fifteen. 

[In  those  days  Governor  Douglas  attended  the  public  school  exam- 
inations. At  Craigflower  it  was  customary  to  receive  his  Excellency 
with  a  grand  salute  of  cannon.  Our  lieutenant-governors  since 
Confederation  attend  the  city  public  school  examinations.  They 
^address  the  pupils  and  manifest  an  interest  in  their  progress. — ED.] 

(3)  NANAIMO  SCHOOL  (Mr.  Bryant,  master).  Attendance  during 
the  year,  twenty-two,  eighteen  of  whom  are  not  over  seven  years  of 
age.  Mr.  Cridge  reports  "  he  did  not  have  an  opportunity  of  visit- 
ing the  school  recently,  but  from  frequent  reports  from  the  teacher, 
and  information  from  other  sources,  was  satisfied  that  Mr.  Bryant 
continues  assiduous  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  The  school- 
house,  which  consists  of  four  rooms,  needs  some  repairs." 

[Mr.  Bryant  continued  to  teach  at  Nanaimo  for  a  number  of  years, 
-and  afterwards  preached  for  twenty-three  years  in  connection  with 
the  Methodist  Church.  He  was  recently  superannuated  on  an  annual 
allowance  of  $230  per  annum,  and  resides  (1894)  near  Victoria. — ED.] 

The  emoluments  received  by  the  teachers  for  1860,  as  stated  in  the 
report,  were  :  (1)  Victoria  School — Salary,  $750  ;  fees  from  pupils 
amounted  to  £35  10s.  sterling;  voluntary  contributions,  ,£9  3s. 
(2)  Craigflower  School— Salary,  $750;  fees,  £12  12s.  (3)  Nanaimo 
School — Salary,  $750 ;  fees,  £25  7s.  6d. 

A  collegiate  school  for  boys  and  a  ladies'  college  are  mentioned  in 
the  report  as  being  under  the  supervision  of  Bishop  Hills.  The  fees 
were  $5  per  month  for  pupils  of  the  age  of  seven  years,  $6  for  those 
over  twelve  years,  and  $8  per  month  for  those  sixteen  years  or 
upwards.  The  public  school  fee  is  stated  to  have  been  $5  per  annum. 

Mr.  Alfred  Waddington  became  Superintendent  of  Education  about 
the  year  1865,  and  continued  to  fill  the  position  for  some  years. 
Education  did  not  nourish  during  his  regime.  After  the  union  of 
the  colonies,  Governor  Seymour  refused  to  sanction  any  grant  in  aid 
of  public  schools  either  on  the  island  or  the  mainland.  The  result 
was,  that  during  1867  and  1868,  six  out  of  the  eleven  schools  estab- 
lished under  the  Act  of  1864  were  discontinued  for  want  of  funds. 
Nor  were  matters  much  improved  in  1869.  In  that  year  only  twelve 
schools  were  supported  in  the  united  colonies — seven  on  the  island, 
and  on  the  mainland  four,  viz.,  one  each  at  New  Westminster, 
Langley,  Yale  and  Sapperton.  The  average  attendance  at  each 


468  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

school  was  less  than  thirty,  out  of  a  school  population  probably  little 
short  of  two  thousand.  No  regular  accounts  were  kept  by  the  local 
boards.  Teachers  were  appointed  without  examination  as  to  fitness, 
and  sometimes  without  inquiry  as  to  character.  There  was  no 
inspection,  from  the  fact  that  no  funds  were  available  for  inspectors' 
salaries,  and  no  regulations,  other  than  those  framed  by  the  local 
boards,  existed  as  to  management.  Mr.  Waddington  took  a  leading 
part  in  promoting  the  Bute  Inlet  route  for  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway.  His  death  took  place,  from  small-pox,  at  Ottawa,  whilst 
engaged  in  advocating  the  route  referred  to. 

As  soon  as  practicable  after  British  Columbia  had  been  admitted 
into  "  the  Confederation,"  steps  were  taken  by  the  Provincial  Govern- 
ment to  organize  a  non-sectarian  public  school  system.  An  Act  was 
passed  (April,  1872),  making  provision  for  the  establishment,  main- 
tenance and  management  of  public  schools  in  British  Columbia.  That 
Act  repealed  the  "school  ordinances"  of  1869  and  1870.  A  "public 
school  fund  "  of  $40,000  was  created  and  set  apart  in  the  treasury 
to  carry  the  provisions  of  the  Act  into  effect.  Power  was  given  to 
the  Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council  to  appoint  six  "fit  and  proper" 
persons,  to  be  a  Board  of  Education,  and  a  Superintendent  of  Educa- 
tion, at  a  salary  of  $2,000  per  annum,  with  travelling  expenses. 
W.  F.  Tolmie,  M.  W.  T.  Drake,  A.  Munro,  A.  J.  Langley,  R. 
Williams  and  E.  Marvin,  Esquires,  were  appointed  the  first  Board  of 
Education  ;  John  Jessop,  Esquire,  was  appointed  Superintendent  of 
Education. 

Mr.  Jessop  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  in  the  Province.  He  was 
born  near  Norwich,  England,  in  1829,  and  left  his  native  country  at 
the  age  of  seventeen,  proceeding  via  New  York  to  Kingston,  Ontario ; 
thence  to  Toronto,  where  at  the  Normal  School  he  qualified  for  a 
teacher  in  1855. 

After  four  years'  teaching  in  Ontario  (then  Canada  West),  Mr. 
Jessop  left  for  British  Columbia  in  1859,  taking  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company's  route,  via  Fort  William  to  Fort  Garry  (now  Winnipeg). 
Joining  a  party  of  seven  there,  they  walked  across  the  prairies,  and 
crossed  the  Rockies  at  Boundary  Pass.  Fort  Colville,  Fort  Vancouver 
and  Victoria  were  reached  late  in  the  year  by  Mr.  Jessop,  his  com- 
panions having  scattered  after  crossing  the  mountains.  In  I860,  Mr. 
Jessop  made  an  unsuccessful  visit  to  the  gold  regions.  Returning  in 
1862,  he  opened  a  private  non-sectarian  school  in  Victoria,  which  suc- 
ceeded so  well  that  next  year  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  erect  a 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  469 

new  and  larger  building,  which  anon  was  rented  by  the  Colonial 
Oovernment,  and  Mr.  Jessop  appointed  principal.  Educational 
matters  for  a  time  went  on  smoothly,  until  Governor  Seymour  with- 
drew the  aid  of  public  funds.  The  turn  of  the  tide,  however,  under 
Confederation,  placed  Mr.  Jessop  in  an  important  position  under  the 
new  school  Act. 

At  that  time  there  were  twelve  denominational  and  private  schools 
in  the  city  of  Victoria ;  three  in  .New  Westminster  ;  one  in  Hope, 
and  one  at  Lake  la  Hache.  Those  in  Victoria  were  :  "  Collegiate 
School  for  Boys,  and  Angela  College  (mostly  girls),  under  the  control 
of  the  Church  of  England ;  Convent  of  St.  Ann,  for  girls,  and  St. 
Louis  College,  for  boys,  under  the  control  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Ohurch.  The  schools  kept  by  Miss  Vieuseaux,  the  Misses  Moore, 
Mrs.  Atwood  and  Miss  Pollard,  admitted  boys  and  girls.  Mrs. 
Fellows,  Mrs.  Brown,  and  Madame  Petibeau  received  girls  exclu- 
sively. The  number  of  children  attending  the  Victoria  schools  at  the 
-close  of  the  year  ending  31st  July,  1872,  before  the  opening  of  the 
public  schools,  was  over  four  hundred.  About  one  hundred  were 
then  in  attendance  at  the  private  and  denominational  schools  on  the 
mainland. 

In  September,  1876,  Lord  Dufferin,  Governor-General  of  Canada, 
and  the  Countess  of  Dufferin,  paid  a  visit  to  the  public  and  high 
schools  of  Victoria.  The  superintendent,  on  behalf  of  the  Board  of 
Education  and  others,  presented  them  with  an  address  of  welcome,  to 
which  his  Excellency  replied  as  follows  : 

"  GENTLEMEN  AND  PUPILS, — It  affords  me  very  great  pleasure  to 
receive  under  the  roof  of  the  public  and  high  school  your  joint  address, 
•expressive  of  loyal  and  devoted  attachment  to  our  gracious  sovereign, 
and  containing  so  hearty  and  cordial  a  welcome  to  Lady  Dufferin  and 
myself. 

"  Knowing,  as  I  do,  how  great  an  effect  a  judicious  system  of  educa- 
tion has  upon  the  mode  of  life,  conduct  and  morals  of  all  classes,  by 
forming  the  mind,  enlarging  the  views,  and  raising  the  tone  of  those 
who  come  under  its  influence,  it  is  no  less  my  pleasure  than  my  duty 
to  encourage  by  every  means  in  my  power  the  mental,  intellectual 
a,nd  physical  training  of  the  younger  inhabitants  of  this  great 
Dominion,  whose  success  in  life  must,  in  a  great  measure,  depend 
upon  the  attention  they  pay,  not  only  to  their  books,  but  also  to  the 
teaching  of  those  lessons  of  moral  restraint  and  self  respect,  which 
are  inseparably  connected  with  a  sound  basis  of  education. 

"In  conclusion,  I  beg  to  thank  you  most  sincerely,  on  behalf  of 
Lady  Dufferin  and  myself,  for  the  very  kind  wishes  to  which  you 
have  given  expression." 


470 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 


LORD  DUFFERIN  afterwards  addressed  the  pupils,  and  presented 
three  medals — one  silver  and  two  of  bronze — to  be  competed  for 
during  the  ensuing  year.  "The  medals,  on  one  side,  represented  the 
profiles  of  Lord  and  Lady  Dufferin  with  life-like  accuracy,  with  the 
inscription,  'Earl  Dufferiri,  K.C.B.,  K.M.G.,  Governor-General  of 
Canada,  Countess  of  Dufferin,  1876.  On  the  reverse  side,  the 
Dufferin  coat  of  arms  and  motto,  *  Per  mas  rectas.'  Presented  by 
his  Excellency  the  Governor-General."  The  medallists  were  :  For 
the  silver  medal,  John  C.  Newbury  ;  for  the  bronze  medals,  Robert 
C.  Carey  and  Miss  Helen  Andrews.  There  was  a  large  public 
attendance,  including  Governor  Richards,  Senator  Macdonald,  the 
members  of  the  Provincial  Government,  the  Board  of  Education,  the 
Mayor  and  City  Council,  and  a  number  of  ladies. 

C.  C.  MACKENZIE,  Esquire,  M.A.,  succeeded  Mr.  Jessop  in  1878. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Cambridge  University,  England,  and  for  some 
time  prior  to  his  appointment  of  Superintendent  of  Education,  was 
principal  of  Victoria  Boys'  School.  After  his  retirement  from  the 
superintendency  in  1884,  he  was  elected  member  of  the  Provincial 
Legislature  in  1890,  to  represent  Nanaimo,  in  the  sixth  parliament, 
which  ended  in  1894. 

The  present  Superintendent  of  Education,  S.  D.  Pope,  Esq., 
LL.D.,  was  appointed  to  the  position 
in  1884.  Entering  the  University  of 
Queen's  College,  Kingston,  at  an  early 
age,  he  highly  distinguished  himself  in 
his  academic  career,  receiving  in  the 
year  1861  the  degree  of  B.A.,  with 
honors  in  classics  and  mathematics.  In 
recognition  of  his  services  in  the  cause 
of  education,  he  was  honored  by  his 
Alma  Mater  with  the  degree  of  LL.D., 
in  1890.  Prior  to  his  appointment  as 
superintendent,  he  had  been  actively 
engaged  for  over  twenty  years  in  the 
work  of  teaching.  Possessing  the  advan- 
tages of  ripe  scholarship,  a  large  and 

varied  experience,  as  well  as  great  administrative  ability,  Dr.  Pope 
has  brought  the  educational  system  of  the  Province  into  a  high 
state  of  perfection,  and  by  his  strict  impartiality  in  the  discharge  of 
his  duties,  has  gained  the  confidence  of  the  community. 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  471 

Taking  a  deep  and  lively  interest  in  all  that  concerns  the  teaching 
profession,  and  sympathizing  with  the  teacher  in  the  difficulties  of  his 
work,  he  has  not  inaptly  been  termed,  "  the  school-master's  friend." 

The  school  attendance  in  1872  is  given  at  202;  in  1876,  984; 
in  1882,  6,227  ;  in  1893,  7,114.  The  numbers  enrolled  during  1872 
were  412  ;  in  1882,  2,653  ;  and  in  1893,  11,496.  The  foregoing  does 
not  include  the  four  high  schools,  which  in  1893  had  an  aggregate 
enrolment  of  333  pupils.  Those  figures  show  that  the  school  system 
of  British  Columbia  reaches  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  and  that 
the  attendance  keeps  pace  with  the  increase  of  population.  The 
teachers  employed  in  1872  were  only  16  ;  in  1882,  62  ;  in  1893,  267, 
which  includes  25  monitors. 

The  examination  of  applicants  for  teachers'  certificates  is  no  light 
piece  of  work.  The  present  Board  of  Examiners  is  composed  of 
S.  D.  Pope,  LL.D.,  Superintendent  of  Education;  John  Anderson, 
Esq.,  B.A.;  Ven.  Archdeacon  Austin  Scriven,  M.A.  (Oxon.)  ;  Rev. 
P.  McF.  McLeod,  and  Rev.  Wm.  Davin  Barber,  M.A.  In  1893  no 
fewer  than  271  applicants  came  forward.  Of  these,  35  failed  to  pass. 
In  1892,  200  came  forward,  and  55  failed  to  pass.  The  increase  of 
applicants  since  1881  has  been  steady,  and  latterly  increasing  rapidly. 
The  number  in  1882  was  36;  in  1883,  37;  in  1884,  64;  in  1885, 
67;  1886,  76;  in  1887,  93;  in  1888,  100;  in  1889,  117;  in  1890, 
143;  in  1891,  154;  in  1892,  200;  and  in  1893,  271.  No  male 
candidate  under  18  years  of  age,  or  female  under  16,  is  permitted  to 
enter  for  a  certificate  of  any  grade. 

The  British  Columbia  school  system  has  now  been  in  operation 
over  twenty  years.  It  has  provided  a  free  education  for  the  children 
of  the  Province,  and  has  given  general  satisfaction.  It  is  strictly 
non-sectarian.  There  are  no  "separate"  schools.  Teachers  are 
required  to  teach  morality,  but  are  not  permitted  to  inculcate  any 
dogma. 

The  Government  of  the  Province  has  met  every  approved  applica- 
tion for  school  facilities  in  a  most  liberal  spirit.  The  large  amount 
expended  annually  for  the  erection  and  maintenance  of  school 
buildings  attests  this  fact.  In  1892,  in  rural  districts  the  amount 
was  $47,192  ;  in  1893,  $24,498.  The  sums  expended  by  the  Province 
on  behalf  of  the  Education  Department  have  been  large  and  continually 
increasing,  along  with  the  increase  of  population,  as  will  be  seen  by 
the  annexed  statement:  1871  (half-year),  $2,578;  1872,  $25,436; 
1873,  $40,000  ;  1874,  $38,908  ;  1875,  $38,891  ;  1876,  $44,506  ;  1877, 


472  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

$47,130;  1878,  $43,334;  1879  (half-year),  $22,111  ;  1879,  $47,006  ; 
1880-81,  $46,962;  1881-82,  $49,269;  1882-83,  $50,851  ;  1883-84, 
$66,655;  1884-85,  $71,152;  1885-86,  $79,528;  1886-87,  $88,521; 
1887-88,  $99,902  ;  1888-89,  $108,191;  1889-90,  $122,985;  1890-91, 
$136,902;  1891-92,  $160,628;  1892-93,  $55,833  (half  year). 

By  the  "  Public  School  Act,  of  1891,"  which  repealed  former  school 
Acts,  and  which  has  been  amended  in  1894  to  authorize  a  "  High 
School  or  Collegiate  Board  "  to  affiliate  with  Canadian  universities, 
the  Council  of  Public  Instruction,  which  is  formed  of  the  Executive 
Council  or  Government  of  British  Columbia,  is  authorized  to  create 
(1)  school  districts  in  addition  to  those  already  existing,  provided 
that  such  school  district  shall  have  at  least  fifteen  children  of  school 
age,  i.e.,  between  six  and  sixteen  years  of  age ;  and  (2)  to  set  apart 
such  Crown  lands  as  may  be  necessary  for  school  purposes  ;  (3)  with 
the  sanction  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council  to  grant,  on  the 
application  of  the  trustees  of  such  school  district,  such  sum  as  may 
be  required  to  pay  the  salary  of  the  teacher  in  such  school  district ; 
in  rural  Districts  to  defray  the  cost  of  erecting  a  school-house,  or 
providing  a  room,  the  cost  of  all  furniture  and  apparatus  necessary 
for  the  use  of  any  such  school,  and  the  current  expenses  connected 
therewith  ;  (4)  to  grant  with  sanction  of  Order-in-Council  "  such 
sum  as  shall  be  thought  proper,  in  aid  of  the  establishment  of  a  school 
in  any  part  of  the  Province  not  being  a  school  district,  and  not 
having  less  than  seven  and  not  more  than  fourteen  children,  between 
the  age  of  six  and  sixteen  years  resident  therein,  and  upon  the 
application  of  a  majority  of  the  parents  resident  in  such  part  of  the 
Province  ; "  (5)  to  appoint  examiners  who,  together  with  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Education,  shall  constitute  a  Board  of  Examiners;  (6)  "to 
appoint  one  or  more  inspectors  to  visit  the  public  schools,  and  to 
require  them  to  inquire  into  and  report  their  observations  to  the 
Superintendent  of  Education,  in  relation  to  the  progress  and 
attendance  of  the  pupils,  the  discipline  and  management  of  the  school, 
the  system  of  education  pursued,  the  mode  of  keeping  the  school 
registers,  the  condition  of  the  buildings  and  premises,  and  such  other 
matters  as  they  may  deem  advisable  in  the  furtherance  of  the  interests 
of  the  schools ; "  (7)  to  make  and  establish  rules  and  regulations  for 
the  conduct  of  the  public  schools,  to  prescribe  the  duties  of  teachers 
and  their  classification  ;  (8)  to  determine  the  subjects  and  percentages 
required  for  all  classes  and  grades  of  certificates  of  teachers ;  (9)  to 
select,  adopt  and  prescribe  a  uniform  series  of  text-books  to  be  used 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  473 

in  the  public  schools  of  the  Province,  etc.;  (10)  to  suspend  or  cancel 
for  cause  the  certificate  of  qualification  of  any  teacher,  by  Order-in- 
Council ;  (11)  to  determine  all  cases  of  appeal  arising  from  the  deci- 
sions of  trustees,  and  to  make  such  orders  thereon  as  may  be  required. 
Trustees  convicted  of  any  criminal  offence,  or  who  may  cease  to  be  an 
actual  resident  of  a  school  district,  shall  ipso  facto  forfeit  and  vacate 
his  seat ;  (12)  to  establish  a  Normal  School,  with  Model  Departments, 
and  to  make  regulations  for  its  conduct  and  management. 

Prior  to  1887,  the  Superintendent  of  Education  acted  as  Inspector 
of  Schools.  In  1887,  Mr.  D.  Wilson,  B.A.,  was  appointed  Inspector. 
The  number  of  schools  had  so  increased  in  1892  as  to  require  an 
additional  inspector.  Mr.  William  Burns,  B.A.,  was  selected  to  fill 
the  office.  The  reports  of  the  inspectors,  as  published,  show  great 
diligence,  and  that  they  fully  understand  and  comprehend  their 
duties.  Notwithstanding  the  great  area  of  the  Province,  the  number 
of  visits  to  schools  by  the  superintendent  and  inspectors,  during 
1892,  is  given  at  799,  and  in  1893,  at  1,030.  The  total  number  of 
visits  to  the  schools  by  trustees,  inspectors  and  others,  during  1892, 
is  19,671,  and  in  1893,  is  23,421.  This  shows  that  great  interest  is 
taken  in  these  schools. 

By  the  Public  School  Act,  high  schools  may  be  established  in  any 
district,  but  not  where  there  are  less  than  twenty  persons,  duly 
qualified  and  available  to  be  admitted  as  high  school  pupils.  No 
Normal  School  has  as  yet  been  established  in  the  Province,  for  the 
special  training  of  teachers.  The  Superintendent  of  Education,  in 
his  annual  report  for  1893,  says,  "  At  the  present  time  the  number  of 
certificated  teachers  about  equal  the  demand."  He  suggests  that  it 
would  be  of  great  advantage  to  the  inexperienced,  intending  appli- 
cants to  spend  as  much  time  as  possible  in  visiting  orderly  and 
well-conducted  schools  before  undertaking  active  duties,  in  order  to 
obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  methods  employed,  the  discipline  observed, 
and  in  fact  to  learn  how  to  manage  a  school. 

The  prize  medals  first  awarded  by  LordDufferin  in  1876  have  been 
continued  by  the  succeeding  governors  of  the  Dominion.  The  first 
medallists  in  1892-93  were:  (1)  Miss  Miriam  Frank,  silver  medal, 
Victoria  High  School ;  (2)  Miss  Leonora  Hughes,  bronze  medal,  New 
Westminster  High  School ;  (3)  Miss  Caroline  M.  Edwards,  bronze 
medal,  Nanaimo  High  School ;  (4)  Leonard  Spragge,  bronze  medal, 
competition  between  boys'  and  girls'  schools,  Victoria ;  (5)  Miss 
Gertrude  E.  Robson,  bronze  medal,  New  Westminster  girls'  school, 


474  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

competition  between  the  graded  schools  of  Nanaimo  and  New  West- 
minster ;  (6)  Percival  E.  T.  Snider  won  the  prize  donated  by  Colonel 
the  Hon.  James  Baker,  Minister  of  Education,  at  the  Christmas 
eiamination,  1892,  in  the  competition  of  the  six  ward  schools  of 
Victoria.  Miss  Catherine  Chapman  gained  a  similar  prize  at  the 
summer  examination,  the  ward  schools  all  again  competing.  Both 
these  medallists  were  from  the  Spring  Ridge  ward  school,  Miss  Lizzie 
A.  Barron,  teacher. 

The  prize  medallists  for  1894  were  :  Victoria  High  School,  silver 
medal,  Edith  M.  S.  Shrapnel;  New  Westminster  High  School,  bronze 
medal,  Leonora  E.  Hughes ;  Nanaimo  High  School,  bronze  medal, 
Arthur  D.  Morgan ;  Victoria  graded  schools,  bronze  medal,  Dorothy 
Allison ;  Nanaimo  and  New  Westminster  graded  schools,  bronze 
medal,  Elizabeth  Sharpies. 

1.  The  first  high  school  established  in  the  Province  was  opened  at 
Victoria  in  August,  1876.      During  that  year  it  had  an  enrolment  of 
60  pupils.     In  1893  there  were  118  pupils  in  attendance,  and  three 
teachers ;    the    Principal,   Edward   B.    Paul,   M.A. ;   pupils  enrolled 
during  the  year,  131. 

2.  The   second  high  school  was   opened   at   New  Westminster  in 
1884.     The  whole  number  attending  during  the  first  year  was  forty. 
The  school  at  the  end   of   1893   had   54   pupils  and  two  teachers  ; 
Hector  M.  Stramberg,  Principal. 

3.  In   May,    1886,    a    high   school    was   established   at  Nanaimo. 
Enrolled,  1893,   37  pupils;  Walter  Hunter,  B.A.,  B.C.L.,  Principal. 
The  average  attendance  has  not  yet  (1893)  demanded  the  appointment 
of  an  assistant  teacher. 

4.  A  high   school    was   opened    at  Vancouver    in  January,    1890. 
During  the  first  session  42  pupils  were  in  attendance.     At  the  close 
of  1893,  the  school  was  in  charge  of  five  teachers,  with  107  pupils ; 
Alexander   Robinson,    B.A.,  Principal.     Vancouver   may  justly  feel 
proud  of  its  educational  establishments.      Indeed,  the  whole  Province 
may  feel  proud  of  the  progress  and  perfection   its   school  system  has 
reached  ;  in  fact,  the  motto,  "  Nulli  secundus"  might  with  propriety 
be  adopted. 

Although  trustees  of  high  schools  have  had  for  some  years  autho- 
rity vested  in  them  to  exact  fees  from  pupils,  each  of  the  schools  has 
been  free  to  all  desiring  to  enter  who  had  passed  the  required  exami- 
nation. An  appropriation  or  grant  of  $10  per  capita  is  made  by  the 
Council  of  Public  Instruction  for  every  pupil  of  the  high  schools, 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


475 


based  on  average  attendance.  The  city  municipalities  pay  teachers' 
salaries  and  other  high  school  expenditure,  which  is  included  in  the 
general  taxation  of  the  cities.  The  salaries  of  teachers  in  rural 
school  districts  are  sent  to  them  quarterly,  direct  from  the  Education 
Department. 

The  value  of  rural  school  property  belonging  to  the  Province  in 

1893  is  set  down  at 
$160,855.  High  school 
property,  which  has 
been  vested  for  school 
purposes  in  a  Board  of 
School  Trustees  in  each 
of  the  cities  of  the  Pro- 
vince, is  valued  as  fol- 
lows :  Nanaimo,  $25,- 
550 ;  New  Westmin- 


n:r 


ster,  $54,500  ;  Van- 
couver, $294,700 ;  Vic- 
toria, $182,950;  mak- 
ing together  a  total  of 
$718,555. 

The  present  Minister  of  Education,  Colonel  the  Hon.  James  Baker, 
is  the  first  member  of   the   Provincial   Cabinet   who   has   held   the 


NORTH   WARD  SCHOOL,    VICTORIA,    1894. 


SOUTH    WARD  SCHOOL,    VICTORIA,    1891. 


476  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

portfolio  of  Minister  of  Education.  He  is  well  qualified  for  the 
position,  being  a  Master  of  Arts  of  Cambridge  University,  England, 
and  a  gentleman  of  cultivated  intellectual  taste,  who  enters  thor- 
oughly into  the  advancement  of  popular  education  in  the  Province. 
His  appointment  as  Minister  of  Education  was  made  28th  May,  1892. 

[Lieut.  Joseph  Baker,  of  the  ship  Discovery,  under  Captain  Van 
couver,  in  1792,  after  whom  Mount  Baker  in  Washington  Territory 
was  named  by  Vancouver,  was  great-uncle  of  Colonel  Baker. — ED.] 

In  the  Public  School  Report  of  1892,  the  Superintendent  of  Educa- 
tion said  :  "  I  cannot  close  this  report  without  expressing  the  deep 


VIEW  OF  VICTORIA,   1892, 

(Showing  flag  at  "half-mast"  on  the  old  Parliament  Buildings,  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  the 
memory  of  the  late  Hon.  John  Robson.) 

regret  felt  by  each  member  of  this  Department  in  the  death  of  the 
late  Honorable  John  Robson,  which  occurred  in  London,  England,  on 
June  29th  of  the  present  year.  The  honorable  gentleman  at  the  time 
of  his  death  had  been  Provincial  Secretary  for  nearly  ten  years,  and 
performed  the  duties  of  Minister  of  Education  during  that  period. 
His  earnest  and  unceasing  efforts  in  behalf  of  everything  appertaining 
to  the  welfare  of  our  public  schools,  as  well  as  all  matters  connected 
with  the  advancement  of  education  in  the  Province,  will  long  be 
remembered.  We  recognize  in  his  death  the  loss  of  an  esteemed 
friend  and  valued  counsellor,  as  well  as  of  an  able  and  eloquent 
advocate  of  our  free  school  system."  [The  extract  is  a  well-deserved 
•compliment  and  tribute. — ED.] 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


477 


CHAPTEE   XI. 


ECCLESIASTICAL— ROMAN  CATHOLIC. 

THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  MISSIONARIES  were  early  at  work  on  Van- 
couver Island.  Before  the  territory  of  Oregon  was  divided  in  1846, 
Father  Demers  was,  before  his  consecration  as  bishop,  a  missionary 
amongst  the  Indians  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  territory. 

CHIEF  TRADER  A.'  C.  ANDERSON,  of  the    Hudson  Bay  Company, 
writing,  in  his  prize  essay  of  1872,  on  British  Columbia,  states  that  as 
far  back  as   1842,  the  late  Bishop  Demers — 
then  a  priest — passed  a  winter  under  his  (the 
writer's)   roof   at  Alexandria,  on  the    Fraser 
River,    where   "a    rude    church   was   erected 
i  ^f^fl  under   the  supervision  of  the  natives."     Re- 

turning to  the  south  of  the  Columbia  River, 
Father  Demers  was  consecrated  bishop, 
November  30th,  1847,  his  episcopal  residence 
to  be  at  Victoria.  The  diocese  comprised 
what  is  now  British  Columbia.  It  included 
H1SH01,  DEMERS.  Russian  America,  or  Alaska. 

BISHOP  DEMERS,  the  first  Bishop  of  Van- 
couver Island  and  New  Caledonia,  arrived  in  Victoria,  August  29th, 
1852,  having  crossed  the  straits  from  Puget  Sound,  accompanied  by 
Father  Louis  Lootens,  in  an  Indian  canoe.  Father  Lootens  subse- 
quently left  for  California,  and  was  afterwards  made  Bishop  of 
Idaho.  That  territory  was  constituted  a  "  vicariate  apostolic." 
Bishop  Lootens  returned  to  Victoria  in  1875,  where  he  yet  resides 
(1894),  retired  from  active  church  service. 

FATHER  J.  B.  BOLDUC,  of  Quebec,  accompanied  Factor  Douglas's 
party  from  Nisqually,  March,  1843,  when  the  erection  of  Fort  Camo- 
sun  (Victoria)  was  commenced.  He  came  on  a  missionary  tour,  but 
found  the  Indians  so  excited  by  the  arrival  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany's men,  that  little  or  nothing  could  be  done  with  them  from  a 
religious  point  of  view.  He,  however,  baptized  a  large  number. 


I 


478  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

According  to  Bancroft,  mass  was  celebrated  on  Sunday,  in  a  chapel 
formed  of  a  boat's  awning  as  canopy,  branches  of  fir-trees  enclosing 
the  sides.  The  chief  of  the  Songhies,  Tsilalthach,  and  ten  of  his 
warriors  escorted  Father  Bolduc  back,  on  the 
24th  of  March,  to  Lopez  Island.  They  reached 
Whidbey  Island  on  the  25th,  and  there  were 
welcomed  by  over  a  thousand  Indians,  who 
erected  a  church,  twenty-five  feet  by  twenty- 
eight,  near  a  cross  which  had  been  planted  by 
Father  Blanchet  in  1840.  Father  Bolduc 
claimed  to  have  been  the  first  priest  to  set  foot 
on  Vancouver  Island. 

THE  OBLATE  MISSIONARIES. — From  1849  to 
the  beginning  of  1852,  a  French  Oblate,  Father 

BISHOP   LOOTEXS. 

H.   Lemfrit,   of   Olyrnpia,   resided    chiefly    at 

Fort  Victoria.  During  that  time,  and  as  may  be  ascertained  by  the 
documents  kept  in  the  bishop's  palace,  he  baptized  upwards  of  three 
thousand  Indians,  children  and  adults,  a  score  or  so  of  half-breed 
children  being  among  the  number.  These  three  thousand  four 
hundred  and  odd  people  belonged  chiefly  to  the  Songhies  or  Victoria 
Indians,  the  Saanich  and  the  Cowicharis — the  latter  far  outnumbering 
the  others.  It  is  doubtful  whether  these  three  tribes  could,  to-day, 
muster  in  the  aggregate  eight  hundred  souls — a  direct  proof  that  the 
Indians  are  rapidly  decreasing.  When  Fort  Vancouver  was  head- 
quarters of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  the  majority  of  the  employes 
being  French-Canadian  Catholics,  a  chapel  was  provided  for  them, 
which  occupied  a  prominent  position  in  the  fort.  The  smaller  con- 
gregation of  Episcopalians,  etc.,  held  their  religious  meeting  in  the 
Company's  dining-room. 

THE  FIRST  CATHOLIC  SCHOOL. — In  1852,  the  only  Catholic  settlers 
on  Vancouver  Island  were  a  certain  number  of  French-Canadians 
employed  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  In  1858,  the  first  Catholic 
school  for  young  ladies  was  established — Bishop  Demers  having 
obtained  the  services  of  four  sisters  of  St.  Ann  from  the  "  Mother 
House  "  at  Lachine,  near  Montreal.  St.  Louis  College  was  instituted 
the  same  year  ;  also  a  small  building  was  designed  by  Father  Michaud, 
C.S.V.,  in  1858.  It  was  built  on  Humbolt  Street,  and  served  as 
the  cathedral  until  1844,  when  it  became  inadequate  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  congregation.  It  was  removed  to  St.  Ann's  Convent 
where  it  is  placed  as  an  annex,  forming  a  most  suitable  and  commo- 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  479 

dious  chapel.  Its  interior  is  a  masterpiece  of  skill  and  symmetry.  A 
temporary  edifice  was  built,  one  hundred  feet  by  forty,  to  serve  as 
a  cathedral  until  the  completion  of  the  new  cathedral.  A  hospital, 
under  the  care  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Ann,  has  also  been  built,  and  is 
appreciated  by  non-Catholics  as  well  as  by  Catholics.  Nine  sisters  are 
in  attendance  at  the  hospital.  The  congregation  is  well  provided 
with  societies.  The  Sodality  (sisterhood)  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  for 
young  ladies,  was  organized  in  1875.  In  1888,  the  Association  of  the 
Perpetual  Rosary  was  established  ;  there  is  also  an  Altar  Society, 
whose  duty  is  to  look  after  the  ornamentation  of  the  church  and 
furnishings  of  the  sanctuary;  also  a  "Young  Men's  Institute  "  for 
social  amusements,  and  a  "  Young  Ladies'  Institute  "  for  the  same 
object. 

MANY  CHURCHES. — Besides  St.  Andrew's  Cathedral,  in  Victoria, 
dedicated  in  1858,  there  is  St.  Louis'  Church  and  College,  dedicated 
in  1864;  at  Cowichan,  St.  Ann's  Church,  dedicated  in  1858; 
Nanaimo,  St.  Peter's,  first  dedicated  in  1864 — second  dedication,  new 
church,  1878;  Saanich,  Assumption,  dedicated  in  1869;  Esquimalt, 
St.  Joseph's,  first  dedicated,  1849 — second  dedication,  1879  ;  Penalgut, 
Holy  Rosary,  1881  ;  Comox,  Purification,  1878  ;  Hesquiat,  Sacred 
Heart,  1875;  Kayoquot,  St.  John  the  Baptist,  1880;  Namukumus, 
St.  Leo,  1879. 

THE  "  MOTHER  HOUSE." — ST.  ANN'S  CONVENT,  VICTORIA,  already 
noticed,  was  established  in  1858,  on  the  arrival  of  four  sisters  of  St. 
Ann,  Jnne  5th.  School  was  opened  by  them,  September  1st.  The 
convent  has  since  been  greatly  enlarged,  and,  in  1889,  was  made 
"  Mother  House  and  Novitiate  "  for  the  Pacific  slope.  It  has  a  staff 
of  twenty  sisters,  employed  in  attending  to  the  boarding  and  day 
scholars.  The  attendance  in  1893  was  forty  boarders  and  about  three 
hundred  day  scholars,  which  latter  number  includes  attendance  at  the 
boys'  school  and  kindergarten  school.  At  Cowichan  Orphan  Asylum, 
established  October  10th,  1864,  four  sisters  are  employed  ;  at  New 
Westminster  Hospital,  established  June  20th,  1865,  six ;  at  St. 
Mary's  Mission,  Matsqui,  established  March  19th,  1876,  nine  ;  at 
Nanaimo  Day  School,  established  May  15th,  1877,  three;  at  Kam- 
loops  Mission,  established  May,  1880, 'three;  at  St.  Ann's  Hospital, 
Juneau,  Alaska,  established  September,  1886,  five;  at  Vancouver 
city,  Sacred  Heart  Academy,  established  August,  1888,  four;  at 
Kossirifsky,  Yukon  territory,  Jesuit  missions,  established  May,  1888, 
eleven  ;  at  Keuper  Island  Industrial  School,  established  March,  1891, 


480  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

three;  at  Kamloops  Industrial  School,  established  April  15th,  1893, 
three ;  at  Boys'  School,  Victoria,  two ;  at  Kindergarten  School, 
Victoria,  one,  assisted  by  a  monitor. 

BISHOP  D'HERBOMEZ. — When  the  diocese  was  divided  in  1863,  the 
mainland,  together  with  Queen  Charlotte,  and  other  islands,  was 
erected  into  a  separate  "  Vicariate- Apostolic,"  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Rev.  Louis  Joseph  D'Herbomez  (O.M.I.),  who  was  consecrated 
Bishop,  at  Victoria,  9th  October,  1864,  with  the  Episcopal  residence 
fixed  at  New  Westminster.  The  diocese  of  Vancouver  Island  remained 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  Bishop  Demers  (of  the  secular  order  of 
priests).  It  was  comprised  of  the  Island  of  Vancouver,  with  certain 
neighboring  islands,  and  included  Alaska  territory.  Shortly  after 
his  consecration,  Bishop  Demers  visited  Europe,  where  he  received 
promises  from  several  ecclesiastical  students,  that,  after  their  ordina- 
tion to  the  priesthood,  they  would  come  and  share  his  labors  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  "  He  further  was  provided  with  church/ornaments,  and 
all  other  requisites  for  the  due  celebration  of  the  *  Holy  mysteries.' " 
He  returned  to  Europe  in  1869,  to  assist  at  the  general  council. 
After  his  return  from  Rome,  he  continued  to  preside  over  his  diocese, 
until  his  decease,  July  28th,  1871. 

BISHOP  SEGHERS. — THE  SECOND  BISHOP  OF  VANCOUVER  ISLAND  was 
the  Rev.  Charles  Seghers.  He  landed  at  Victoria  in  November, 
1863.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  his  health  failed,  and  he  suffered 
greatly  from  haemorrhage  of  the  lungs.  When  Bishop  Demers  was 
lingering  in  his  last  illness,  Father  Seghers  was  so  extremely  weak, 
that  it  was  a  matter  of  serious  doubt  which  of  the  two,  the  aged 
bishop  or  the  youthful  priest,  would  first  depart  this  life.  Immediately 
after  the  death  of  Bishop  Demers,  Father  Seghers  began  to  recover 
his  health.  He  was  at  first  appointed  administrator  of  the  diocese, 
and  on  the  29th  of  June,  1873,  was  consecrated  bishop. 

ST.  JOSEPH'S  HOSPITAL. — His  FIRST  VISIT  was  to  the  south-eastern 
coast  of  Alaska ;  afterwards  he  made  a  prospecting  tour  of  the  west 
coast  of  Vancouver  Island,  accompanied  by  Father  Brabant,  who 
later  on  was  appointed  resident  missionary  priest  at  Hesquiat,  which 
position  he  has  filled  to  the  present  time  (1894).  In  1875,  Bishop 
Seghers  commenced  the  building  of  St.  Joseph's  Hospital.  In  1879, 
he  was  transferred  as  archbishop,  to  Portland,  Oregon. 

BISHOP  BRONDEL. — The  vacancy  caused  by  the  transference  men- 
tioned, was  filled  by  the  appointment  of  the  Rev.  John  B.  Brondel, 
pastor  at  Steilacoom,  on  Puget  Sound,  who  became  third  bishop  of 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


481 


OLD  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CATHEDRAL. 


Vancouver  Island  diocese.  He  was  consecrated  in  December,  1879. 
Next  year  Bishop  Brondel  paid  a  pastoral  visit  to  the  various  missions 
of  his  diocese.  He  founded  a  new  mission  at  Kayoquot.  He  then 
left  for  an  extended  tour  to  Europe.  Shortly  after  his  return,  he 
_  was  appointed  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Mon- 

tana. 

THE  FOURTH  (AS  WELL  AS  SECOND) 
BISHOP. — That  arrangement  gave  Bis- 
hop Seghers  the  opportunity,  which  he 
greatly  desired,  of  returning  to  Victoria. 
This  he  did  in  1885 — again  becoming 
bishop  of  Vancouver  Island  diocese,  and 
counting  as  fourth  bishop  of  the  diocese 
He  at  once  set  about  building  a  "  palace  " 
or  residence  for  the  clergy  in  Victoria. 
He  visited  the  outlying  missions,  and 

established  two  new  missions  in  Alaska — one  at  Juneau,  the  other 
at  Sitka.  On  the  30th  of  May,  1886,  he  was  invested  with  the 
"  sacred  pallium  "  (a  consecrated  vestment,  composed  of  white  wool, 
and  embroidered  with  purple  crosses,  blessed  by  the  pope,  and  sent 

by  him  as  a  mark  of  honor). 

THE  BISHOP  ASSASSINATED. — On  July 
13th  following,  he  proceeded  to  Alaska, 
accompanied  by  Fathers  Tosi  and  Ro-  |f| 
bant.  Whilst  in  Alaska,  sad  to  relate, 
he  was  assassinated  on  November  28th, 
1886.  His  remains  were  brought  to 
Victoria,  but  only  reached  there  in  1888. 
They  were  interred  in  the  crypt  of  the 
the  cathedral.  Bishop  Seghers  was 
greatly  beloved  by  his  congregation  and 
much  regretted.  His  large  experience 
and  genial  disposition  made  him  a  favor- 
favorite  with  all  classes.  His  untimely 
death  was  never  thoroughly  explained. 

BISHOP  LEMMENS.— To  succeed  Bishop  Seghers,  the  Rev.  John 
Nicholas  Lemmens,  priest  at  Clayoquot,  was  chosen.  He  was 
consecrated  FIFTH  Bishop,  on  August  5th,  1888,  in  presence  of  one 
archbishop,  four  bishops,  some  thirty  priests,  and  a  very  large 
congregation  of  laity.  Bishop  Lemmens  was  born  June  3rd,  1850  at 
31 


NEW  ROMAN  CATHOLU 


482  HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Schimmert,  Holland.  Since  his  arrival  at  Victoria  he  has  been  an 
active  and  zealous  worker.  In  1885,  he  established  the  Clayoquot 
Mission,  on  the  west  coast,  and  was  resident  pastor  there  until  his 
consecration  in  1888.  He  placed  a  resident  priest  at  Comox,  1889. 
By  his  zeal  and  administrative  ability,  Alaska  and  the  interior  of 
the  Yukon  country  has  been  supplied  with  priests  and  sisters ;  a 
magnificent  new  cathedral  has  been  built  (under  the  superintendence 
of  John  Teague,  architect,  who,  in  1894,  was  elected  Mayor  of 
Victoria).  The  erection  of  the  cathedral  was  commenced  in  1890, 
and  completed  in  1892,  at  a  cost  of  about  $300,000.  The  edifice, 
built  of  brick,  measures  150  feet  by  85  ;  its  spire  to  the  vane,  175 
feet.  The  corner-stone  was  blessed  and  laid  by  Bishop  Lootens,  he 
being  the  oldest  ordained  Catholic  clergyman  in  the  Province.  The 
interior  of  the  cathedral  is  artistically  decorated  and  finished.  It  was 
consecrated  October  30,  1892.  Bishop  Lemmens  paid  a  visit  to 
Rome,  in  1893,  returning  in  May,  1894.  He  also  visited  his  parents 
in  Holland.  On  his  return  to  Victoria,  an  enthusiastic  reception  was 
given  him  by  his  flock. 

SEPARATION  OF  THE  MAINLAND. — Tt  has  been  noted  that  the 
mainland  was  separated  from  the  diocese  of  Vancouver  Island,  in 
1863,  and  placed  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Father  Louis  Joseph 
D'Herbomez,  who  was  born  at  Brillon,  France,  in  1822.  He  entered 
the  novitiate  of  the  Oblate  Fathers  of  Mary  Immaculate  (O.M.I.),  at 
Nancy,  and  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  at  Marseilles,  in  1849, 
with  instructions  to  proceed  to  Oregon.  After  a  six  months'  voyage, 
via  Cape  Horn,  he  arrived  at  Fort  Vancouver,  in  1850;  thence  he 
proceeded  to  the  "  Mother  House  "  of  Olympia,  the  "cradle  "  of  the 
Oblate  Missions  on  the  west  coast,  near  where  the  town  of  Olympia 
now  stands.  In  1851,  he  was  sent  to  establish  St.  Joseph's  Mission 
amongst  the  Yakima  Indians,  but  was  recalled  to  Olympia  in  1853, 
where  he  devoted  the  following  five  years,  laboring  among  the  Indians 
along  Puget  Sound  (Diocese  of  Nisqually). 

FIRST  " VICAR.  APOSTOLIC"  OF  THE  MAINLAND. — In  1858,  he  was 
chosen  to  succeed  Father  Ricard,  as  Vicar  of  Missions.  Soon  after- 
wards he  transferred  the  missionary  administration  from  Olympia 
to  Esquimalt.  There  the  vicar  set  to  work  to  reach  the  natives 
wherever  possible.  A  mission  was  founded  at  Okanagan.  St.  Mary's 
Mission  on  the  Lower  Fraser,  was  established  in  1850,  and  schools  for 
the  natives  were  begun  in  1862.  Whilst  thus  engaged,  he  received 
the  appointment  of  First  Vicar- Apostolic  of  the  mainland  of  British 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  483 

•Columbia,  with  the  title  of  "  Bishop  of  Miletopolis  in  partibus 
znjidelium."  This  title  is  a  replication  of  a  defunct  office  which 
formerly  existed  in  the  Catholic  Church,  in  the  northern  portion  of 
Africa,  from  which  the  bishops,  etc.,  had  been  expelled  by  Mohamme- 
dans and  other  infidels.  One  of  those  titles  was  bestowed  on  Bishop 
Lootens,  and  another  on  Bishop  Durieu. 

SEE  OF  WESTMINSTER. — The  Right  Reverend  Louis  Joseph  D'Her- 
bomez  received  Episcopal  consecration  at  the  hands  of  Bishop  Demers, 
and  removed  to  the  see  at  New  Westminster.  Soon  afterwards  the 
Oblate  Fathers  withdrew  from  Victoria,  where  they  had  founded  St. 
Louis  College — but  afterwards  built  another  college  of  the  same  name 
in  New  Westminster.  The  Young  Ladies'  Academy  was  also  built 
under  the  direction  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Ann ;  and  at  the  invitation 
of  the  bishop  the  Sisters  of  Providence  founded  a  hospital,  and  only 
a  month  previous  to  his  death  the  Sisters  of  Good  Shepherds  founded 
a  house  for  orphans,  and  a  home  and  protectory  for  penitent  women. 
After  several  years'  illness,  Bishop  D'Herbomez  died,  June  3rd,  1890. 

BISHOP  DURIEU  (SECOND  BISHOP). — Bishop  D'Herbomez  was 
succeeded  by  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Durieu,  who  was  born 
December  3rd,  1830,  at  St.  Pal-de-Mons,  France.  He  entered  the 
Novitiate  in  1847,  was  ordained  priest  in  March,  1854,  was  sent  to 
Olympia,  labored  amongst  the  Yakima  Indians,  was  called  to 
Victoria,  sent  to  Okanagan,  and  in  June,  1875,  was  appointed 
co-adjutor  of  Bishop  D'Herbomez,  titular  Bishop  of  Marcopolis,  and 
Vicar- Apostolic  of  British  Columbia,  with  right  of  succession.  He 
was  consecrated  at  St.  Mary's  Mission,  October  24th,  1875,  by  Bishop 
D'Herbomez,  assisted  by  their  Lordships,  Bishop  Lootens  (titular 
Bishop  of  Castabala  and  Vicar- Apostolic  of  Idaho),  and  Bishop 
Seghers,  of  Vancouver  Island.  On  September  2nd,  1890,  by  a  decree  of 
his  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  the  Vicariate  of  British  Columbia  was 
erected  into  a  diocese,  under  the  name  of  the  "  Diocese  of  New 
Westminster ; "  and  by  another  decree  of  the  same  date,  Bishop 
Durieu  was  transferred  from  the  titular  church  of  Marcopolis  to  the 
cathedral  church  of  New  Westminster. 

THE  CHURCHES  AND  CHAPELS  of  the  diocese  of  Westminster 
number  about  eighty.  The  Catholic  population  only  number  about 
one-tenth  of  the  city  of  New  Westminster.  They  are  in  possession  of 
a  cathedral,  a  suburban  church,  a  church  for  the  Indians,  a  college  for 
boys,  an  academy  for  girls,  a  hospital,  an  orphanage  and  house  of 
refuge,  a  library  hall  and  club-room  for  meetings,  a  society  for  men, 


484  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

and  an  altar  society  for  ladies.  For  the  accommodation  of  the  Catholic 
population  on  the  mainland,  suitable  churches,  chapels  and  schools 
are  provided  by  the  Oblate  Fathers,  from  Stuart's  Lake  on  the  north 
to  Kootenay  on  the  east,  divided  into  the  following  parishes  for  the 
white  population  :  Our  Lady  of  the  Rosary,  Vancouver  city  ;  St.. 
Louis,  Kamloops  ;  Mary  Immaculate,  St.  Mary's  Mission  ;  St.  Joseph's, 
William's  Lake  ;  Immaculate  Conception,  Okanagan  ;  and  The  Sacred 
Heart,  Port  Guichoii. 

THE  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOLS  for  Indian  boys  and  girls  have  an 
attendance  of  about  150.  Two  schools  are  situated  at  St.  Mary's 
Mission,  one  at  Kootenay,  one  at  Kamloops,  and  one  at  Williams 
Lake.  In  a  late  pastoral  letter,  Bishop  Durieu  claims  "that  no  less 
than  twelve  thousand  natives  have  been  converted,  and  have  attained 
a  state  of  comparative  civilization."  His  Lordship  is  assisted  by  fifty 
priests,  clerics,  and  lay  brothers,  who,  with  one  exception,  are  all  mem- 
bers of  the  missionary  order  of  O.M.I.  There  are  in  the  diocese  three 
religious  communities  of  women,  viz.,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Ann,  the 
Sisters  of  Providence,  and  the  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  having 
in  all  forty-five  members. 


CHAPTEK   XII. 


ECCLESIASTICAL— METHODIST. 

WORK  WAS  BEGUN  by  the  Methodist  Church  missionaries  in  British 
Columbia,  in  1859.  The  van  was  led  by  Rev.  E.  Evans,  D.D.,  of 
Kingston  University,  the  Revs.  E.  White,  E.  Robson,  and  Arthur 
Browning.  The  latter  two  were  ordained  in  Toronto,  on  December 
31st,  1858,  immediately  before  they  left  for  the  Pacitic  coast.  They 
travelled  via  New  York,  Panama  and  San  Francisco,  calling  at  Port- 
land, and  thence  to  Victoria,  which  they  reached  on  February  10th, 
1859.  They  made  their  first  resting-place  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  J. 
T.  Pidwell,  a  Cornish  Methodist,  afterwards  father-in-law  of  the  Hon. 
D.  W.  Higgins,  Speaker  of  the  Provincial  Legislature,  1890-94. 

DR.  EVANS,  THE  PIONEER. — The  first  services  by  the  missionaries 
were  held  in  the  old  court-house,  on  February  13th,  1859,  the  morn- 
ing service  being  conducted  by  Dr.  Evans.  The  attendance  was  good — 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  485 

collection,  $27.80.  The  evening  service  was  conducted  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  White.  The  missionaries  are  welcomed  to  the  colony  by  the  Rev. 
E.  Cridge,  incumbent  of  Christ  Church.  Chief  Factor  Dallas,  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  granted  three  city  lots  on  which  to  build  a 
church  and  parsonage.  Subscriptions  amounting  to  $3,000  were 
made  towards  the  proposed  buildings.  The  old  church,  becoming  too 
small  for  the  congregation,  was  sold  along  with  the  land  for  about 
$30,000  ;  and  vacated  in  1891,  when  the  new  church,  at  the  corner  of 
Pandora  Avenue  and  Quadra  Street,  was  completed.  It  is  built  of 
stone,  and  cost,  with  furniture  and  land,  $90,000.  (See  page  490.)  The 
land  is  assessed  at  $8,000.  The  church  buildings  are  exempt  from 
taxation.  The  church  was  dedicated  in  May,  1891.  The  Methodist 
Church  in  Victoria  and  other  centres  of  population  increased  rapidly. 

GOVERNOR  DOUGLAS  LAID  THE  CORNER-STONE. — The  cornerstone 
of  the  first  Wesleyan  Methodist  church  erected  in  the  new  colonies 
on  the  Pacific,  was  laid  on  the  15th  August,  1859,  by  his  Excellency 
James  Douglas,  C. B.,  Governor  of  her  Britannic  Majesty's  colonies  of 
Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia.  The  religious  services  con- 
nected with  the  ceremonial  were  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Ephraim 
Evans,  D.D.,  of  Victoria,  assisted  by  the  Revs.  Edward  White,  of 
New  Westminster,  B.C.  ;  Ebenezer  Robson,  of  Forts  Hope  and  Yale, 
B.C.,  Wesleyan  missionaries,  and  the  Rev.  Wm.  F.  Clarke,  of  Victoria, 
Congregational  missionary.  Memoranda  stating  that  the  church  was 
"the  first  Protestant  church  erected  in  these  colonies,  by  voluntary 
subscription — that  the  site  (corner  of  Pandora  and  Broad  Streets) 
was  presented  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  conveyed  in  trust 
to  trustees,  by  Alexander  Dallas,  Esquire,  acting  on  behalf  of  the 
Company,  that  some  coin  of  the  realm,  and  a  copy  of  the  Christian 
Guardian,  of  June  15th,  1859,  published  in  Toronto,  also  other  late 
papers,"  were  deposited  in  a  tin  box.  His  Excellency,  after  the  box 
with  coin  and  papers  had  been  placed  into  the  cavity  of  the  granite 
stone,  at  the  north-west  corner  of  the  building,  Mr.  Wright,  architect, 
assisting,  took  the  trowel  and  gavel  and  completed  the  ceremony. 
Returning  to  the  platform,  his  Excellency  congratulated  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Evans  on  the  success  attending  his  mission,  the  great  acquisition 
which  it  was  to  the  country,  and  referred  to  the  progress  made  here, 
within  a  brief  period,  where,  but  a  few  years  ago  all  was  desolation, 
and  the  Indian  the  only  human  inhabitant. 

IN  1862,  REV.  D.  V.  LUCAS  arrived  from   Canada  to  assist  in  the 
work.     In  1893,  there  were  five  congregations  in  Victoria,  exclusive 


486  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

of  the  Chinese  Mission  church  (a  handsome  brick  building),  on  Fisgard 
Street,  and  the  Indian  church  (a  wooden  building),  on  Herald  Street. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Browning  was  stationed  at  Nanaimo.  He  preached 
his  first  sermon  there  on  February  20th,  1859,  and  remained  pastor 
of  that  place  until  1860,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  E. 
Robson,  transferred  from  the  mainland.  The  church  at  first  erected, 
accommodated  the  congregation  until  1890,  when  a  much  larger  and 
commodious  edifice  was  built.  Another  congregation  was  formed 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  city  in  1892,  and  a  church  built.  Mr. 
Browning  now  labors  as  an  evangelist  in  Ontario.  He  left  British 
Columbia  in  1870. 

THE  REV.  DR.  EVANS,  accompanied  by  Rev.  E.  Robson,  left  Victoria 
on  the  steamer  Beaver,  March  2nd,  1859,  to  commence  pioneer  work 
on  the  mainland.  They  reached  Langley  on  the  4th,  and  held  service- 
there.  Thence  they  proceeded  in  a  canoe  to 
Hope.  Dr.  Evans  preached  the  first  sermon 
at  Yale  on  March  13th,  and  Mr.  Robson 
preached  at  Hope  on  the  same  day.  An  In- 
dian school  was  opened  at  Hope  soon  after- 
wards by  Mr.  Robson.  He  made  Hope  hi& 
headquarters,  holding  services  at  Yale  and 
the  principal  mining  camps  on  the  Lower 
Fraser.  Dr.  Evans  continued  to  preach  in 
British  Columbia  until  1869,  when  he  re- 
turned to  London,  Ontario.  He  died  there 

REV.  E.  ROBSON. 

in  1892.     The  Rev.  Mr.  Robson  is  brother  of 

the  late  Hon.  John  Robson.  He  at  present  (1893)  is  pastor  of  James- 
Bay  Church,  Victoria,  and  is  now  the  only  remaining  clergyman  in 
the  Province  of  the  pioneer  Methodist  missionaries.  Mr.  White 
returned  east  in  1871,  and  died  at  Montreal,  in  1872.  (See  page  492.) 
The  British  Columbia  Methodist  Conference  was  organized  in  1887, 
and  held  its  first  session  at  Victoria,  on  May  llth  of  that  year.  The 
Rev.  E.  Robson  was  elected  first  president;  Rev.  Joseph  Hall, 
secretary.  Annual  conferences  have  been  held  in  turn  at  New 
Westminster,  Nanaimo,  Victoria  and  Vancouver.  The  eighth  con- 
ference was  held  at  New  Westminster,  May  10th,  1893— Rev.  Joseph 
Hall,  president;  Robert  R.  Maitland,  LL.B.,  secretary.  At  that 
conference  the  church  membership  was  stated  at  4,255 — an  increase 
of  225  since  1892  ;  marriages  solemnized  by  the  Church  during  the 
year  1892,  216.  The  total  amount  raised  for  church  purposes  for 


THE    CONFEDERATION   PERIOD. 


487 


1893  was  $58,787.  The  highest  salaries  paid  to  clergymen  were 
$2,000  per  annum  respectively  to  the  pastors  at  Victoria  and  Van- 
couver;  the  salaries  of  other  pastors  range  from  $1,500,  downwards. 
The  pastor  at  the  Chinese  Mission,  Victoria,  $1,200;  the  native 
missionary,  at  Vancouver  (Liu  Yick  Pang),  $540  per  annum. 

The  established  places  of  worship  in  1893  were  fifty-eight,  viz.: 
Victoria,  district,  15  (including  1  at  Victoria  and  1  at  Nanaimo  for 
Chinese) ;  New  Westminster  district  21  (including  1  each  at  New 
Westminster  and  Vancouver  for  Chinese)  ;  Kamloops  district,  12 
(including  Kootenay  and  Cariboo);  Simpson  district,  10  (including 
Queen  Charlotte  Island  and  mainland  coast,  from  Bella  Coola  to  Naas 
and  Upper  Skeena).  Ordained  preachers,  27  ;  probationers,  22  ;  local 
preachers,  121. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Crosby  has  been  the  most  successful  of  the 
missionaries  in  connection  with  the  Methodist  Church  in  this  province. 
He  was  a  local  preacher  in  eastern  Canada  until  1862,  when  he  left 
for  British  Columbia  to  work  among  the 
Indians.  In  the  spring  of  1863,  lie  commenced 
teaching  an  Indian  mission  school  at  Nanaimo. 
In  six  months  he  so  far  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  the  language  that  he  could  preach  in  it.  In 
1867,  he  became  a  candidate  for  ordination, 
and  took  a  "circuit "in  connection  with  the 
Methodist  Church,  extending  down  the  coast 
among  the  Indians  for  one  hundred  and  eighty 
miles,  and  up  the  Fraser  River  to  Yale.  In 
1869,  he  had  great  success  amongst  the  Flat- 
head  Indians.  His  success  attracted  the 

attention  of  his  denomination,  so  that  when  a  picked  man  was  wanted 
to  go  to  the  tribes  in  the  distant  north,  he  was  selected. 

It  was  not  until  1874  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Crosby  reached  Fort 
Simpson.  The  people  there  had  been  visited  by  the  Rev.  W.  Pollard, 
of  Victoria,  and  urgent  appeals  had  been  made  to  the  Church  at 
Victoria  for  a  permanent  missionary.  Mr.  Crosby,  on  his  arrival, 
found  the  natives  ready  to  receive  him.  They  had  all  renounced 
paganism.  This  state  of  affairs,  Mr.  Crosby  admitted,  was  in  a  great 
measure  due  to  the  leaven  of  Mr.  Duncan's  labors  as  missionary  of 
the  Church  of  England  Missionary  Society  at  Met-lah-kat-lah.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Crosby  set  themselves  to  work  with  great  zeal.  A  village 
soon  grew  up.  A  church  was  built,  in  Gothic  style,  fifty  by  eighty 


REV.    THOMAS    CROSBY. 


488 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


feet  in  size,  with  buttresses,  and  a  tower  one  hundred  and  forty  feet 
high.  Schools  were  successfully  established.  The  day  school  in 
winter  numbered  about  120.  The  Sunday  School  was  divided  into 
three  sections.  Before  morning  service,  Bible-classes  were  held,  when 
the  lesson  of  the  previous  Sunday  was  taken  up,  read  and  discussed. 
In  the  afternoon,  the  children  were  taken  to  the  school-house,  where 
lessons  suitable  to  their  understanding  were  given  by  Mrs.  Crosby  and 
Miss  C.  S.  Knott.  Mr.  Crosby  took  the  adults  under  his  charge  and 
used  the  church  building  as  a  school-room. 


DUNCAN'S  INDIAN  CHURCH,  MET-LAH-KAT-LAH.    (Seepages^.) 

During  the  preceding  two  years  about  sixty  dwellings  were  erected, 
having  gardens  attached.  An  annual  industrial  fair  was  also  established 
by  Mr.  Crosby,  at  which  premiums  were  given  for  the  best  specimens 
of  carving  in  wood  or  silver,  models  of  dwellings  an^l  canoes,  best 
vegetables,  best  kept  garden,  best  made  window  sash,  panelled  door, 
cured  salmon.  By  this  competition  they  were  trained  to  be  indus- 
trious and  to  excel.  A  "  revival  "  took  place  at  Fort  Simpson  during 
the  winter  of  1877-8.  "  Meetings  were  held  for  a  number  of  weeks. 
Many  flocked  in  from  neighboring  tribes  and  from  the  mission  at  Fort 
Simpson,  as  well  as  from  that  on  the  Naas  River,  the  messages  of  sal- 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


489 


vation  were  carried  in  advance  of  the  missionary  into  distant  places." 
Upon  the  shores  of  the  Naas,  where  for  ages  had  been  heard  the 
rattle  and  wild  howling  of  incantations  of  medicine-men,  there  were 
heard  the  sweet  songs  of  Zion.  Rev.  Alfred  E.  A.  Greene  was 
appointed  in  charge  of  lower  Naas  Indian  village  in  1877.  Mr. 
Greene  also  visited  tillages  on  Skeena.  A  native  catechist  was  placed 
in  charge  at  the  forks  of  the  river,  as  an  English  missionary  could 
not  be  obtained. 

Mr.  Crosby  extended  his  mission  to  Kit-a-mart,  150  miles  south  of 


DUNCAN'S  INDIAN  BAND,  MET-LAH-KAT-LAH.    (Seepages^.) 

Fort  Simpson.  Lumber  to  build  a  church  was  brought  by  the 
Indians  in  canoes.  The  most  noted  medicine-man  of  that  place  was 
Bella  Bella  Peter.  He  had  been  the  leader  of  a  secret  religious 
society  of  man-eaters,  who  exhumed  dead  bodies,  bit  and  pretended  to 
eat  them.  He  was  among  the  first  to  join  the  mission.  Bringing  out 
all  the  implements  of  his  sorcery,  he  burned  them  in  the  presence  of 
his  people.  "  For  a  long  time  his  life  was  in  danger ;  his  old 
associates  fearing  he  would  expose  the  secrets  of  their  craft  and 
deprive  them  of  their  gains  and  power  over  the  people,  but  counting 


490 


HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 


his  life  not  dear,  Peter  continues  to  earnestly  proclaim  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus,  'in  season  and  out  of  season.5" 

One  of  the  head  chiefs  of  the  Bella  Bella  tribe  resided  at  Bella  Bella 
village,  where  a  small  meeting  house  had  recently  been  erected.  This 
chief,  known  as  Bella  Rella  Jim,  was  a  notorious  gambler  and 
drunkard.  After  a  time  he  attended  the  church  meetings,  and  gave 
up  his  gambling  and  drinking.  He  had  long  been  intending  to  erect 
a  new  house,  and  make  a  great  feast  and  "  potlatch "  for  the 
neighboring  tribes,  that  he  might  show  his  wealth.  His  plans  were 
changed.  He  concluded  to  assist  in  building  the  chapel.  The  church 
having  been  built,  he  and  his  family  became  members.  Mr.  Crosby 
remains  in  charge  of  the  Simpson  Mission. 

The  latest  established  mission  is  that  amongst  the  Nitinat  Indians, 


OLD   MKTHODIST  CHURCH,  VICTORIA,  1859. 


METROPOLITAN   METHODIST   CHURCH,  VICTORIA,  1891. 


in  January,  1894,  Rev.  W.  J.  Stone,  missionary  in  charge.  Those 
Indians  have  hitherto  been  looked  upon  as  the  most  untractable  of 
any  of  the  tribes  on  the  west  coast  of  Vancouver,  and  would  not 
tolerate  a  missionary  from  any  denomination  to  remain  on  their  reserve. 
Now  they  have  agreed  with  the  Methodist  Church  Society  to  abandon 
their  former  pagan  habits,  with  one  reservation,  viz.,  a  farewell 
potlatch  in  1894,  to  give  them  an  opportunity  of  distributing  the 
accumulated  blankets,  etc.,  which  have  been  gathered  under  the 
former  regime. 

For  the  accommodation  and  training  of  the  natives  belonging  to  the 
Flathead  Indians,  and  other  tribes,  the  Methodist  Church  Missionary 
Society  have  built  and  opened,  in  April,  1894,  at  Chilliwack,  the 
"  Coqualeetza  Industrial  Institute,"  which  is  the  largest  and  most 
complete  establishment  of  the  kind  in  the  Province.  The  Indian 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD. 


491 


INDIAN  METHODIST   CHURCH,  FORT  SIMPSON. 


Superintendent,  in  his  report,  says  of  it  :  "  Judging  by  the  past  work 
done  in  the  old  '  Home,'  at  that  place  by  the  society  named,  this 
institution  promises  well  for  the  amelioration  and  general  advance- 
ment of  the  Indians  in  that  section.  The  structure  is  of  brick,  with 
three  stories  and  basement,  being  110  feet  long  by  62  feet  in  width. 

It  will  accommodate  one  hun- 
dred pupils,  with  a  staff  of 
eight  or  ten  instructors." 

The  basement  contains 
dairy,  laundry,  play  rooms,, 
bath  rooms,  furnace  rooms,, 
etc.  The  ground  floor  pro- 
vides for  kitchen,  pantry,, 
dining-rooms  for  pupils  and 
staff,  sitting-room,  bed-room 
and  office  for  principal ;  also 
sitting-room  for  the  lady  teachers;  bedroom  for  matron;  sewing-room 
for  girls,  and  reading-room  for  boys.  On  the  second  floor  are  school- 
rooms, dormitories,  bed-rooms  and  store-rooms.  The  third  floor  also 
is  designed  for  dormitories,  bed-rooms  with  closets,  etc.  The  Dominion 
Government  have  already  granted  $5,000  towards  the  building. 

The  establishment  is  heated  and  ventilated  by  the  "  Smead-Dowd  " 
system,  which  also  provides  for  complete 
sanitary  arrangements.  The  outbuildings 
consist  of  woodsheds,  work-shop  and  com- 
modious root-cellar;  also  a  windmill  and 
tank-house,  on  the  bank  of  the  Luck-a- 
kulk  River,  from  which  will  be  supplied 
water  for  the  institution.  Belonging  to 
the  institution  are  twenty  acres  of  prime 
land,  all  under  cultivation.  The  pupils 
will  be  instructed  in  farming,  in  all  its 
branches,  in  carpentry,  waggon-making, 

shoe-making,  harness-making,  cooking,  sewing,  and  all  useful  domestic 
work,  besides  the  several  branches  of  education  taught  in  public 
schools.  It  is  a  model  industrial  institute. 

The  building,  outbuildings,  furniture,  etc.,  together  with  the  land, 
cost  about  thirty  thousand  dollars.  The  present  staff  is  :  Rev.  C.  M. 
Tate,  "moral  governor;"  Miss  L.  Clark,  matron;  Miss  Smith  and 
Miss  Burpe,  teachers  ;  Mr.  Pearson,  mechanical  and  farm  instructor. 


COQUALEETZA  INDIAN   INSTITUTE. 


492  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

The  Rev.    E.   Robson    was  transferred   from  his  pastoral  charge,  in 
Victoria,  May,  1894,  to  take  charge  of  this  industrial  institute. 

The  Columbian  Methodist  College  was  founded  in  1892  by  the 
British  Columbia  Conference.  Its  success  during  the  first  year  was 
such  as  to  justify  the  management  in  making  extensions ;  four 
additional  names  were  added  to  the  teaching  staff,  and  the  courses  of 
study  revised  and  expanded  as  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
country.  The  collegiate  course  at  present  covers  the  pass  work  of 
the  first  year  in  the  Toronto  University;  and  by  a  later  arrangement, 
students  at  the  New  Westminster  College  will  be  able  to  pass 
examinations  there  which  will  enable  them  to  receive  the  same 
standing  as  in  those  universities.  Principal  (1894),  Rev.  R.  Whitting- 
ton,  M.A.,  B.Sc.;  Lady  Principal,  Lucie  H.  Hurlburt,  M.E.L. 


CHAPTEE   XIII. 


ECCLESIASTICAL— PRESBYTERIAN. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  British  Columbia  had  its  beginning  as 
a  mission  field.  The  influx  of  gold-seekers  to  the  Fraser  River  region 
in  1858,  called  the  attention  of  both  the  home  and  Canada 
Presbyterian  churches  to  the  desirability  of  church  organization  on 
the  Pacific  coast.  The  British  Government  had  by  that  time  seen 
the  necessity  of  forming  a  second  colony  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
viz.,  that  of  British  Columbia.  No  Presbyterian  missionaries, 
however,  arrived  until  1861,  when  the  Rev.  John  Hall,  of  the  Irish 
Presbyterian  Church,  was  sent  out  to  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island, 
and  commenced  his  labors  at  Victoria.  A  congregation  was  speedily 
organized  ;  in  1862,  a  building  lot  was  purchased  for  $1,100.  In  April, 
1863,  the  foundation  stone  of  the  present  church  building  was  "well  and 
truly  laid"  by  the  Hon.  D.  Cameron,  Chief  Justice  of  the  colony.  The 
building  was  completed  with  the  emblematic  "Scottish  thistle"  on 
the  steeple,  and  dedicated  in  November,  1863. 

A  second  missionary,  the  Rev.  Robert  Jamieson,  was  sent  by  the 
Canada  Presbyterian  Church,  in  1862.  He  had  labored  for  some 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  493 

years  previously  in  western  Canada,  having  been  first  sent  thither  by 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Ireland  ;  but  in  1861  he  was  selected  as  a 
missionary  to  British  Columbia.  He  made  his  headquarters  at  New- 
Westminster,  then  the  capital  of  the  colony  recently  formed.  Mr. 
Jamieson  preached  there  until  1864,  when  he  removed  to  Nanaimo^ 
on  the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Duff,  who  supplied  the  pulpit  at 
New  Westminster  and  several  neighboring  stations  which  had  been 
opened. 

In  Nanaimo  the  congregation  first  worshipped  in  the  old  court- 
house. A  church  was  built  in  1866  ;  a  second  building  was  erected 
in  1888;  and  in  1894  (February  llth)  the  present  building  was 
completed  and  dedicated.  Mr.  Jamieson  returned  to  New  West- 
minster, and  was  succeeded  in  Nanaimo  (1869)  by  the  Rev.  J.  Aitken. 
After  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Aitken  had  terminated  (he  returned  to 

Ontario  in  1872),  the  congregation,  at  its 
own  request,  was  taken  under  the  care  of 
the  Colonial  Committee  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland.  That  committee  sent  out  the 
Revs.  William  Clyde,  A.  H.  Anderson 
and  J.  Miller,  and  continued  to  support 
the  Church  until  Mr.. Miller  left  in  1889. 
During  the  long  vacancy  which  then  oc- 
curred, the  congregation  dwindled  to  a 
small  remnant.  The  Rev.  D.  A.  McRae, 
a  minister  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 

FIRST   PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,  ,1          TT      'i.      1    Ct  '1  1 

the  United  btates,  was  induced,  on  a  call 

of  the  congregation,  to  take  charge  of  the  work,  December  25,  1890. 
He  was  received,  on  application  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Ca^iada  Presbyterian  Church,  and  was  installed  pastor  of  St.  Andrew's 
Church,  Nanaimo,  August  4th,  1891.  The  present  church  cost  about 
$30,000  is  a  magnificent  brick  and  stone  church,  with  an  auditorium 
and  gallery  capable  of  seating  from  nine  hundred  to  twelve  hundred 
persons. 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Victoria  continued  in  charge  of 
the  first  missionary,  the  Rev.  John  Hall,  for  four  years.  During  his 
ministry  in  Victoria,  the  Colonial  Committee  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland  sent  out  the  Rev.  Mr.  Nimmo  as  their  missionary.  When 
Mr.  Hall  resigned  his  charge  of  the  First  Church  with  the  view  of 
removing  to  New  Zealand  (1865),  by  recommendation  of  the  convener 
of  the  Colonial  Committee  of  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Church,  Mr. 


494  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Nimrno  was  withdrawn.  Mr.  Nimmo  returned  to  Scotland  soon  after 
the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Somerville,  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
who  had  received  and  accepted  a  call  from  the  Church  in  Victoria. 
For  about  a  year  after  Mr.  Somerville  became  pastor,  Presbyterians 
and  Congregationalists  united  under  his  pastorate ;  then,  however, 
difficulties  arose  relative  to  church  temporalities  which  led  to  a 
division,  and  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  second  congregation  under 
the  leadership  of  Mr.  Somerville. 

The  second  Presbyterian  church,  St.  Andrew's,  was  commenced  in 
1868,  the  foundation  stone  having  been  laid,  August  20th,  with  Masonic 
honors,  represented  by  members  of  the  six  lodges  belonging  to  the 

colony.      Divine  service  was  held  in.  St. 

t   I  I    John's  Church,  the  Rector,   Rev.  T.   P. 

1  ^JBffSii-^         ^    Jenns,  officiating,  and  the  sermon  being 
-'• -±  ^^ftSKaaK^    Pleached   by   Rev.    F.    Gribbell,    Grand 
ffl$p  '    Chaplain   of    the    Order.      After  service 
the  procession  re-formed,  and  returned  to 
the  Masonic  Hall,  and  adjourned  till  2 
p.m.,  when  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge 
of  Scotland  was  opened  by  the  Provincial 
Grand     Master  of  Scotland,  Brother  I. 

W.  Powell,  to  make  arrangements  for  lay- 

OLD  ST.  ANDREW'S  CHURCH,  1868.  ,,       £         j    ,.  /.  &,      A      ,         . 

ing  the  ioundation  stone  or  bt.  Andrew  s 

Church.  The  procession  was  again  formed,  and  preceded  by  the 
Volunteer  Band,  marched  to  the  site  of  the  new  church,  corner  of 
Gordon  and  Courtenay  Streets.  The  ceremonies  were  opened  by 
prayer  from  the  Provincial  Grand  Chaplain,  Rev.  Thomas  Somerville, 
pastor  of  the  new  church,  followed  by  the  usual  formalities  of 
depositing  coins  and  the  scroll  of  the  church  containing  its  history  in 
the  cavity  prepared  for  them,  and  the  foundation  stone  was  slowly 
lowered.  The  plumb,  the  level  and  the  square  were  then  applied  by 
the  proper  officers.  The  grand  master  gave  it  three  knocks,  saying, 
"  May  the  Almighty  Architect  of  the  universe  look  down  with 
benignity  upon  our  present  undertaking  and  crown  the  edifice  with 
success."  Wine  and  oil  were  then  poured  upon  it,  and  Psalm  C.  sung. 
The  silver  trowel  used  in  the  ceremony  was  presented  to  Dr.  Powell. 
Engraved  on  it  was  this  inscription :  "  Presented  to  I.  W.  Powell, 
Esq.,  M.D.,  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  British  Columbia,  by  the 
minister  and  managers  of  St.  Andrew's  Church,  on  the  occasion  of 
laying  its  foundation  stone,  Victoria,  V.I.,  August  20th,  A.M.,  5868." 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  495 

The  Grand  Chaplain,  Rev.  Mr.  Somerville,  said  that  often  before 
this,  Masonry  had  marshalled  her  processions  and  stretched  forth  her 
hands  in  the  service  of  religion  ;  that  it  was  at  the  building  of  a 
temple  she  had  first  come  forth  in  her  full  strength  and  beauty,  and 
that  more  than  once  she  had  applied  the  consecrating  elements — the 
•corn,  to  symbolize  the  teeming  goodness  of  the  great  God  ;  the  wine 
and  the  oil,  to  remind  them  of  their  duties  to  the  distressed,  to  express 
their  desire  that  peace  and  prosperity  might  adorn  the  temple — that 
there  was  special  interest  attached  to  a  church  on  a  distant  shore, 
where  its  pinnacles  would  gladden  the  eye  of  the  stranger,  where  the 
weary  would  pause  to  seek  rest,  and  the  pilgrim  supplicate  protection 
from  on  high.  As  they  were  aware,  their  Church  was  one  of  the 
established  churches  at  home,  with  equal  rights  and  privileges,  as 
secured  by  the  treaty  of  the  union  between  England  and  Scotland, 
but  recent  decisions  of  the  House  of  Lords  and  Privy  Council 
had  wisely  placed  all  churches — Methodist,  Presbyterian  and  Episcopal 
— in  an  equal  position  in  the  colonies.  He  for  one  rejoiced  in  this, 
as  it  tended  to  dissipate  the  love  of  strife  and  promote  the  holy  strife 
of  love.  He  stated  that  they  had  been  put  in  a  position  to  build, 
after  much  patient  effort ;  he  was  sure  that  the  structure  about  to  be 
erected  would  give  no  occasion  for  his  countrymen  to  be  ashamed  of 
it,  and  hoped  that  if  any  had  forgotten  "the  church  of  their  fathers," 
they  would  now  return  as  "  doves  to  the  window."  The  Hon.  Chief 
Justice  Needham,  although  he  could  not  boast  of  belonging  either 
to  the  Masonic  fraternity  or  the  Church  to  which  they  had  rendered 
such  interesting  service,  said  that  "  he  rejoiced  to  be  present  with  so 
many  of  his  fellow-colonists,  and  wished  the  minister,  managers  and 
congregation  of  the  Scottish  Church  '  God-speed.'  People  talked 
gloomily  of  depression.  He  had  been  three  years  in  the  colony,  and 
during  that  time  had  been  present  on  three  such  occasions.  If  these, 
then,  were  the  manifestations  of  decay,  the  more  of  them  the  better." 

St.  Andrew's  Church  was  dedicated,  April  4th,  1869,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Lindsley,  of  Portland,  Oregon,  and  the  Rev.  William  Aitken,  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  (formerly  of  Nanaimo),  assisting.  The  cost 
of  the  building  was  about  $11,000.  Dimensions,  82  feet  long,  52  feet 
wide,  54  feet  high,  to  the  top  of  the  nave.  H.  C.  Tiedman,  architect. 
Hayward  &  Jenkinsons,  contractor.  Rev.  Mr.  Somerville  returned 
to  Scotland  in  1870.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  S.  M.  McGregor, 
who  remained  until  1881,  and  then  returned  to  Scotland.  The  Rev. 
R.  Stephen  was  the  next  pastor  in  charge  of  St.  Andrew's  Church. 


496  HISTORY   OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

He  returned  to  Scotland  in  1887.  During  Rev.  Mr.  McGregor's 
pastorate,  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  liberal  grants  from  the  Colonial 
Committee  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  for  Nanaimo  and  the  outlying 
stations  of  Comox,  Alberni,  Langley,  Nicola  and  the  Victoria  district, 
for  the  sustenance  of  the  missionaries  in  charge,  viz.,  Rev.  Messrs. 
Clyde,  McElmon,  Dunn,  Murray  and  Nicholson,  respectively.  The 
money  expended  by  the  Canada  Presbyterian  Church  on  the  missions 
in  British  Columbia  during  the  ten  years  1861-71,  was  $22,248. 

The  union  of  the  various  branches  of  the  Canada  Presbyterian 
Church — the  branch  in  connection  with  the  Church  of  Scotland — in 
the  Lower  Provinces  and  the  Maritime  Provinces,  which  took  place 
in  Montreal  June  15th,  1875,  and  formed  what  "should  thereafter 
be  known  as  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  CANADA,"  eventually  had 
its  effect  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  various  Presbyterian  churches 
in  British  Columbia  became  unified,  and  under  the  union  were  more 
prosperous.  The  growth  of  the  city  of  Victoria  fully  warranted  the 
liberal  maintenance  of  the  "two  existing  churches.  The  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  after  the  division  of  the  congregation  in  1866, 
had,  for  nearly  ten  years,  only  a  fortnightly  pulpit  supply  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Jamieson,  of  New  Westminster.  After  the  Episcopal  church 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  was  used  by 
the  Anglicans,  until  a  new  building  was  finished.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Cridge  was. also  tried  at  an  ecclesiastical  court,  held  in  the  First 
Church  building,  when  charged  by  Bishop  Hills,  for  a  breach  of 
church  rules. 

The  Rev.  J.  Reid  became  pastor  of  the  First  Church,  in  1876,  and 
was  successful  in  his  ministry,  increasing  the  congregation  greatly. 
He  returned  to  England  in  1881,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Smith,  who,  after  occupying  the  pulpit  for  a  year,  was  succeeded  by 
the  Rev.  D.  Gamble.  He  remained  for  about  a  year,  when  the  Home 
Mission  Committee  appointed  the  Rev.  Donald  Fraser,  of  Mount 
Forest,  Ontario,  to  the  pastoral  charge.  He  arrived  in  August,  1884, 
and  by  skilful  management  the  congregation  so  increased,  that  in 
eight  months  from  the  time  of  Mr.  Fraser  taking  charge  it  became 
self-sustaining,  and  continued  to  pay  him  a  liberal  salary,  contributed 
generously  to  the  various  church  schemes,  and  wiped  off  in  a  short  period 
a  mortgage  and  floating  debt  of  upwards  of  $5,000.  In  1891,  the 
church  building  was  enlarged  to  double  its  former  capacity,  at  a  cost 
of  about  $8,000,  the  debt  being  so  arranged  that  it  could  be  easily 
carried  until  paid  up.  During  Mr.  Eraser's  pastorate  the  communion 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


497 


roll  increased  to  over  260.  In  the  midst  of  his  usefulness  and 
success  Mr.  Eraser's  health  failed.  He  died  in  July,  1891,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Dr.  Campbell,  M.A.,  Ph.D.,  the  present  pastor,  formerly 
of  Owen  Sound,  Ontario.  Dr.  Campbell  was  inducted  in  1892.  He 
has  so  far  been  very  successful  in  his  ministry. 

A  vacancy  of  nine  months  followed  in  St.  Andrew's,  Victoria,  after 
the  retirement  of  Rev.  Mr.  Stephen.  The  congregation  during  that 
time,  by  its  own  request,  was  received  into  connection  with  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada.  A  "call"  was  extended  to  Rev. 
P.  McF.  McLeod,  minister  of  the  Central  Churcb,  Toronto.  It  was 
accepted,  the  translation  granted,  and  Mr.  McLeod  was  inducted  in 
March,  1888.  The  energetic  efforts  of  the  pastor,  seconded  by  the 
office-bearers,  members  and  adherents  of  the  congregation,  resulted 

in  marked  progress*.  The  old 
church  (1868)  was  considered 
unsuitable  and  inadequate,  and 
a  new  building  of  modern  archi- 
tectural design  was  decided  on. 
Its  erection  was  commenced  in 
the  spring  of  1889,  and  com- 
pleted and  opened  for  public 
worship  in  January,  1890.  The 
membership  increased  in  189  L 
to  214.  Every  department  of 
the  Church  was  in  active  and  vigorous  operation.  A  salary  of  $3,750 
was  paid  to  Mr.  McLeod. 

The  death  of  Hon.  John  Robson  in  1892,  one  of  the  leading  officers 
of  "St.  Andrew's,"  together  with  the  general  financial  depression 
which  was  taking  place,  and  the  accumulating  interest  and  debt  on 
the  new  building,  brought  about  a  revolution  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Church.  The  result  was  Mr.  McLeod's  resignation  in  1893.  On 
leaving  "St.  Andrew's"  a  considerable  number  of  friends  and 
sympathizers  went  along  with  him,  and  essayed  to  form  a  third 
congregation.  They  worshipped  in  the  discarded  Methodist  church 
building,  Mr.  McLeod  officiating.  After  many  meetings  of  Prehby  tery 
and  appeal  to  the  Synod  of  1894,  in  reference  to  certain  irregularities 
in  granting  certificates  of  membership,  etc.,  the  sanction  of  the 
Presbytery  was  obtained  to  organize  the  new  congregation  in  the 
James  Bay  (south)  district  of  Victoria,  under  the  name  of  the 
"  Central  Church."  Arrangements  having  been  made  for  the 
32 


NKW  ST.  ANDREW'S  CHURCH,  VICTORIA. 


498  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

temporary  accommodation  (numbering  according  to  the  petition 
submitted  to  the  Presbytery,  fifty-five  members,  and  fifty-three 
adherents)  to  meet  in  the  James  Bay  Public  School  rooms,  the  first 
service  was  held  there,  July  8th,  1894.  The  St.  Andrew's  congregation 
having  heard  several  probationers,  chose  as  Mr.  McLeod's  successor,  the 
Rev.  William  Leslie  Clay,  of  Moose  Jaw,  N.-W.T.  He  was  inducted, 
June  21st,  1894. 

Rev.  D.  McRae,  who  began  his  missionary  work  in  1886,  in  the 
•country  districts  extending  from  North  Saanich  to  Sooke,  has  since 
succeeded  in  forming  a  prosperous  congregation  on  the  west  side  of 
the  city,  of  which  he  is  pastor.  In  1891,  they  erected  a  commodious 
brick  building  (St.  Paul's).  The  congregation  in  1894  consisted  of 

sixty  members  and  fifty  adherents.  On 
the  east  and  north  of  the  city  the  mission 
field  had  become  of  sufficient  importance 
to  warrant  the  Presbytery  in  ordaining 
R.  G.  Murison,  in  July,  1894,  as  pastor 
of  Cedar  Hill,  Spring  Ridge  and  Fern  wood 
stations. 

Presbyterianism  has,  of  late  years,  made 
rapid  progress  in  British  Columbia.  The 
city  of  Vancouver  has  four  churches  with 
prosperous  congregations.  On  August  3rd, 
1886,  the  first  Presbytery  of  Columbia  was 
convened  in  St.  Andrew's  Church,  New 
Westminster,  with  the  veteran  pioneer 
missionary,  Rev.  R.  Jamieson,  as  modera- 
tor, and  the  following  members :  Revs.  D.  Fraser,  T.  G.  Thomson, 
D.  McRae,  J.  Chisholm,  S.  J.  Taylor,  J.  A.  Jaffray  and  Alex.  Dunn  ; 
Alex.  McDougall,  Walter  Clark  and  Fitzgerald  McCleary,  elders. 
Their  first  report  to  the  General  Assembly  in  1887  gave  nine 
ministers  on  the  roll,  forty-five  churches  and  mission  stations,  245 
communicants,  and  $1 1,024  collected  for  church  purposes.  The  report 
for  1893  showed  twenty-three  ministers  on  the  roll,  sixty-nine 
churches  and  mission  stations,  2,168  communicants,  and  $59,751 
collected  for  church  purposes. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1887  subdivided  the  existing  Presbytery 
of  Columbia  into  three  presbyteries,  namely,  Kamloops,  Westminster 
and  Vancouver  Island  ;  and  added  the  Presbytery  of  Calgary,  which 
included  the  territory  of  Alberta  and  westward  into  British  Columbia 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  499 

as  far  as  Revelstoke,  on  the  Columbia  River.  This  constituted  a 
synod  of  four  presbyteries,  which  held  their  second  meeting  in  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  Victoria,  March  1st,  1893;  and  their  third 
in  Knox  Church,  May  2nd,  1894.  The  new  Presbytery  of  Calgary 
reported,  in  1888,  the  number  of  eight  ministers  on  the  roll,  forty-nine 
•churches  and  mission  stations,  with  $4,379  contributed.  The  report 
for  1893  was:  Fourteen  ministers,  eighty-one  churches  and  mission 
stations,  and  $7,366  contributed  towards  church  support. 


CHAPTEE    XIV. 


ECCLESIASTICAL— ANGLICAN. 

Coterminous  with  the  occupation  of  New  Caledonia  and  Vancouver 
Island    by   the   Hudson   Bay   Company,    was   the   Episcopal    Church 
service   officially  recognized    by  the  Company,  who   employed  as  their 
chaplains  clergymen  of  that  Church.      The  first  on  record  is  the  Rev. 
H.  Beaver,  at  Fort  Vancouver,  in  1836  ;  then 
the  Rev.  Robert  J.  Staines,  at  Fort  Victoria, 
1849,    who    was    succeeded    by   the    Rev.    E. 
Cridge,  in  1855.     The  Hudson  Bay  Company 
had   a   church   built    for   Mr.    Cridge   (Christ 
Church,    Victoria    District),    which    was    the 
only    Protestant   church    in   the   colony   from 
1855  to   1859.     At  the  opening  of   the  first 
House  of  Assembly  in  1856,  Mr.  Cridge  acted 
as  chaplain. 

In  1858,  letters  patent  were  granted  by  the 
Imperial  Government,  forming  the  colonies  of 

Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia  into  a  diocese,  and  appoint- 
ing the  Rev.  George  Hills,  D.D.,  first  bishop.  He  had  formerly  been 
Incumbent  of  Great  Yarmouth  and  Honorary  Canon  of  Norwich. 
He  was  consecrated  in  Westminster  Abbey,  February  24th,  1859. 
During  that  year  he  was  actively  engaged  in  preparing  for  the  work 
•of  his  new  mission.  Whilst  in  England  he  arranged  to  have  an  iron 
church  constructed,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  be  set  up  on  its  arrival,  at 


BISHOP    HILLS. 


500 


HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 


ST.  j,  HX'S  (IRON)  CHURCH. 


Victoria.  It  had  seat-room  for  650  persons,  and  was  furnished  with 
organ,  bell  and  font,  and  east  window  of  stained  glass,  which  was  the 
gift  of  friends.  The  original  cost  of  the  church  was  about  $13,000. 
The  church  (St.  John's)  is  still  used  as  one  of  the  city  churches. 
Bishop  Hills  arrived  at  Esquimalt,  January 
5th,  1860.  An  address  of  welcome  was  pre- 
sented to  him  during  the  month  of  January, 
signed  by  about  eight  hundred  persons,  and 
read  by  Rev.  Mr.  Gridge,  who  resigned  his 
chaplaincy  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  soon 
after  the  arrival  of  the  bishop.  He  was  then 
duly  licrnsed  and  officiated  as  dean.  (See 
pages  329  and  332  as  to  salary,  etc.) 

St.  John's  (the  iron  church  which  had  ar- 
rived from  England  in  March)  was  conse- 
crated, September  13th  1860.  Christ  Church 
was  constituted  the  cathedral  of  the  diocese,  in  1865.  The  first  build- 
ing was  consecrated,  December  7th,  1865.  It  was  afterwards  destroyed 
by  tire.  The  present  cathedral  was  consecrated  December  5th,  1872. 
Soon  after  the  consecration  differences  arose  between  Bishop  Hills  and 
Dean  Cridge,  which  resulted  in  his  secession  from  the  Church  of 
England,  and  organizing  a  Reformed 
Episcopal  Church  in  Victoria. 

A  diocesan  synod  was  formed  in  1875, 
consisting  of  Bishop  Hills,  the  licensed 
clergy  and  fleeted  lay  delegates.  The 
synod  meets  annually.  The  diocese  was 
divided  in  1879 — Vancouver  Island  and 
the  islands  continuing  under  the  name  of 
the  Diocese  of  Columbia;  the  southern 
part  of  the  mainland  became  the  "  Dio- 
cese of  New  Westminster,"  and  the 
northern,  the  "  Diocese  of  Caledonia." 

Bishop  Hills  resigned  in  1892,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Right 
Rev.  William  Willcox  Perrin,  D.  D.,  who  was  consecrated  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  March  28th,  1893.  He  arrived  in  Victoria,  May 
18th,  1893,  and  assumed  the  duties  of  his  office  as  second  bishop  of 
the  diocese.  The  present  staff  of  the  clergy  under  Bishop  Perrin,  is 
Archdeacon  Scriven,  and  twenty  others,  including  those  in  the  cities 
of  Victoria,  Nanairno  and  outlying  districts.  All  the  clergy  except 


CHRIST   CHURCH,    VICTORIA. 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


501 


the  archdeacon  and  rector  of  Christ  Church  are  voluntarily  supported. 
There  is  a  Clergy  Endowment  Fund,  raised  by  subscription,  amounting 
to  $30,000.  An  original  endowment  (£600  a  year)  was  made  by 
Baroness  Burdett-Coutts  for  the  bishop,  and  .£400  a  year  towards 
the  archdeaneries  (see  page  337).  The  same  benevolent  lady  also 
presented  a  chime  of  bells  to  Holy  Trinity  Church,  New  Westminster. 
There  is  a  mission  fund  in  connection.  There  are  twenty-eight 


INDIAN  VILLAGE,   TOTEM   POLES  AND  CANOES. 

churches,  exclusive  of  school-rooms,  used  for  service  in  the  diocese. 
A  missionary  industrial  school  for  Indians  at  Alert  Bay,  under  charge 
of  Rev.  A.  J.  Hall,  receives  support  from  the  Dominion  Government. 
The  appropriation  for  1893  was  $4,450.  Angela  College,  Victoria,  for 
girls,  was  built  by  subscriptions  and  is  supported  by  fees.  Eeturns 
for  1893-94  show  communicants,  1,450;  baptisms,  283;  confirmees, 
126;  marriages,  73  ;  burials,  86;  Sunday  School  scholars,  1,255. 
The  Diocese  of  New  Westminster  was  formed  out  of  a  portion  of 


502 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


the  Diocese  of  Columbia,  in  1879.  The  first  bishop,  the  Right  Rev, 
Acton  Windeyer  Sillitoe,  D.D.,  was  appointed  to  the  bishopric,  and 
consecrated  in  1879.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Oxford,  and  was  English 
chaplain  at  Darmstadt,  Germany,  at  the  time  of  his  appointment.  He 
died,  June  llth,  1894,  at  the  age  of  fifty -four.  A  mandate  was  issued 
in  July  by  Bishop  Ridley,  senior  bishop  of  British  Columbia,  calling 
a  meeting  in  Holy  Trinity  cathedral,  New  Westminster,  October  3rd, 
to  elect  a  bishop  to  fill  the  vacancy  created  by  the  death  of  Bishop 
Sillitoe.  The  Venerable  Archdeacon,  Charles  T.  Woods,  summoned  a 
special  meeting  of  the  Synod  for  the  time  and  place  mentioned.  The 
Synod  met  as  appointed,  and  the  Rev.  WT.  Hibbert  Binney,  M.A., 
rector  of  Wilton,  Norwich,  Cheshire,  England,  and  son  of  the  late 

Right  Reverend  Bishop  of  Nova  Scotia,, 
was  unanimously  chosen  successor.  The 
reverend  gentlemen  nominated  were :  Rev. 
W.  H.  Binney,  vicar  of  Wilton,  Cheshire, 
England  ;  Rev.  J.  Cope,  rector  of  St. 
Thomas,  Out.;  Rev.  H.  H.  Mogg,  rector  of 
Chittoe,  Eng. ;  Rev.  Dr.  Langtry, Toronto; 
Canon  Thornloe,  rector  of  Sherbrooke, 
and  Rev.  Daniel  Stine,  principal  of  the 
Dorchester  Missionary  College,  England. 
The  vote  stood  :  Binney,  13  ;  Thornloe,  5. 
After  the  ballots  the  election  of  Mr.  Bin- 
ney was  declared  unanimous.  The  Bishop 
elect — second  for  the  Diocese  of  WTest- 
minster— is  a  Nova  Scotian  by  birth,  and 
is  thirty-seven  years  of  age.  He  was  educated  at  King's  College, 
Nova  Scotia,  and  at  Oxford,  England. 

Christ  Church,  Hope,  was  consecrated  November  1st,  1860  ;  Holy 
Trinity  cathedral,  New  Westminster  (first  church  consecrated)  Decem- 
ber 2nd,  1860,  was  destroyed  by  fire;  the  second  was  consecrated 
December  18th,  1867  ;  St.  Mary's,  Lillooet,  consecrated  September 
21st,  1862;  St.  Mary's,  Sapperton,  May  1st,  1865. 

THE  DIOCESE  OF  CALEDONIA  was  separated  from  the  DIOCESE  OF 
COLUMBIA  in  1879.  The  Right  Rev.  W.  Ridley,  D.D.,  was  appointed 
Bishop  of  the  new  diocese.  Soon  after  his  arrival  at  Met-lah-kat-lah, 
on  account  of  differences  of  opinion  with  Mr.  William  Duncan,  an 
exodus  of  Indians  took  place;  a  large  num';er  of  them  following  Mr. 
Duncan,  departed  to  Annette  Island  along  with  him.  The  United 


Y.M.C.A.  BUILDING,  XKW  WESTMINSTER. 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  503 

States  Government,  claiming  the  ownership  of  that  island,  granted  a 
"Reserve  "  on  it  to  Mr.  Duncan  and  his  followers.  They  established 
a  village  there  and  have  been  prosperous,  although  they  have  suffered 
great  loss  from  fires  since  their  settlement. 

BISHOP  RIDLEY  made  Met-lah  kat-lah  the  See  of  the  D'iocese,  and 
resides  there  in  the  premises  formerly  occupied  by  Mr.  Duncan.  The 
church  built  by  the  Indians  under  Mr.  Duncan  (see  page  342)  is  still 
used  by  the  bishop  for  worship.  There  is  in  the  village  a  public 
school,  a  girls'  home,  a  boys'  home,  a  public  hospital,  with  an  atten- 
dant physician  and  matron ;  also  an  industrial  school,  and  brass  band. 

IN  1882-3,  various  industries  were  carried  on  under  Mr.  Duncan's 
management,  such  as  sawing  lumber  by  a  water-mill  under  native 
charge,  the  manufacture  of  barrels  for  fish  curing,  blacksmiths'  work, 


MET-LAH-KAT-LAH,  WHEN  IN  CHARGE  OF   MR.   DUNCAN. 

and  other  mechanical  arts.  A  salmon  cannery  for  exportation  of  the 
products  abroad  was  established  and  was  successful.  A  factory  for 
weaving  cloth  was  also  established,  in  which  the  young  Indian  women 
acquired  great  proficiency.  Since  Mr.  Duncan's  departure  those 
industries  have  become  languid,  and  some  of  them  have  entirely 
ceased.  The  neatly-built  houses  are,  many  of  them,  vacant,  and  the 
once  sprightly  and  prosperous  village  is  sadly  dilapidated.  The 
Bishop  of  Caledonia  has  the  industrial  school  at  Alert  Bay  under  his 
supervision. 


504 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEK   XV. 


ECCLESIASTICAL— BAPTIST. 

The  Baptist  Church  in  British  Columbia  was  not  organized  until 
1877,  when  the  Rev.  William  Carne,  a  graduate  from  "Spurgeon 
College,"  London,  England,  was  chosen  pastor.  The  congregation 
built  a  place  of  worship  on  Pandora  Street.  It  has  since  been  used 
as  a  temperance  hall.  In  1884,  the  congregation  dissolved.  Soon 

afterwards,  however,  twenty- 
three  of  the  former  members  re- 
organized as  the  "Calvary 
Church,"  under  the  pastorate  of 
the  Rev.  Walter  Barss.  The 
CALVARY  CHURCH  was  built,  and 
Mr.  Barss  continued  pastor  un- 
til 1887,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  M.  L.  Rugg,  who  offici- 
ated until  1891.  After  a  short 
vacancy,  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Coombs, 
in  1892,  became  pastor.  He  was 

succeeded  in  1894,  by  the  present  pastor,  Rev.  Thomas  Baldwin. 
The  members  of  Calvary  Church  now  number  about  two  hundred. 
Two  nourishing  missions,  Victoria  West  and  Burnside,  are  connected 
with  the  Calvary  Church,  in  Victoria. 

EMMANUEL  CHURCH,  at  Spring  Ridge,  Victoria,  was  organized  in 
1886,  from  a  mission  of  Calvary  Church,  with  a  membership  of 
twenty-three.  For  the  first  two  or  three  years  the  pastors  of  Calvary 
Church  (Revs.  Barss  and  Rugg)  supplied  the  Spring  Ridge  pulpit. 
In  1889,  the  Rev.  C.  W.  Townsend  was  chosen  pastor.  He  also  was 
a  graduate  of  "Spurgeon  College."  A  new  church  edifice  was  built 
and  opened,  March,  1 893,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  P.  H.  McEwen, 
the  present  pastor,  at  a  cost  of  $10,000.  Under  his  ministration  the 
membership  has  increased  to  eighty-five.  He  was  appointed  in  1892. 


K.MMAN'HBL   CHURCH. 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  505 

In  New  Westminster,  OLIVET  Baptist  Church  was  organized  in 
1880.  No  stated  pastor  was  stationed  there  until  1886,  when  Rev. 
Robert  Lennie  became  pastor,  and  the  "  first  Baptist  church  "  was 
built.  Mr.  Lennie  officiated  until  1889,  when  Rev.  Thomas  Baldwin 
succeeded  him.  A  handsome  brick  building  was  erected  during  his 
ministry  (enlarging  the  former  building),  at  a  cost  of  $12,000.  The 
Rev.  J.  H.  Best  took  charge  of  the  congregation  in  1891.  The 
membership  has  increased  to  250. 

In  Vancouver  city,  the  "First  Baptist  Church"  was  organized  in 
1886.  A  building  was  erected  in  1888,  at  a  cost  of  $8,000.  Rev. 
Mr.  Kennedy,  pastor — present  pastor,  Rev.  C.  Weir.  The  "  Second 
Baptist  Church"  (Mount  Pleasant)  was  founded  in  1891 — the  Rev. 
C.  H.  Bantan,  pastor.  A  third  Baptist  church  was  organized  at 
Vancouver,  in  1894. 

The  Baptists  organized  at  Nanaimo  in  1890,  under  Rev.C.  H.  Bantan, 
who  was  transferred  to  Vancouver  city,  in  1892.  A  new  building 
was  erected  during  Mr.  Bantan's  ministry,  at  a  cost  of  $4,000.  Dr. 
G.  E.  Good  was  chosen  next  pastor.  In  1893  a  congregation  was 
formed  at  Mission  City,  and  another  at  Chilliwack,  but  without 
stated  pastors.  The  membership  of  the  Baptists  in  British  Columbia 
is  computed  to  be  about  twelve  hundred. 

THE  REFORMED  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

"THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  LORD,"  as  it 
is  designated,  was  organized  in  1875-5, 
by  the  Rev.  E.  Cridge,  who  came  to 
Victoria  in  1855,  as  Chaplain  to  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  District 
Clergyman.  From  1855  to  1859,  the 
Victoria  District  Church  was  the  only 
Protestant  Church  in  the  colony.  After 
the  arrival  of  Bishop  Hills,  Mr.  Cridge 
was  appointed  Dean,  and  continued  to 
fill  that  office  until  1874,  when,  owing 

REKORMKO   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

to  differences  or  opinion,   a  separation 

took  place,  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  new  congregation. 
<See  pages  332  and  465.) 

MR.  C  RIDGE  was  elected  Bishop  at  Chicago,  in  1875,  under  the 
Pacific  Coast  jurisdiction.  In  1876,  he  went  to  Ottawa  to  be 
consecrated,  and  thence  to  England  to  attend  the  "  Free  Church  " 


506  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Convention.  Governor  Douglas  and  many  influential  members  of 
Christ  Church  Cathedral  (Bishop  Hills)  followed  Bishop  Cridge, 
and  those  yet  remaining  alive  attend  his  ministry.  The  site  for  the 
Reformed  Episcopal  Church  was  granted  by  Sir  James  Douglas 
at  the  head  ot  James  Bay,  nearly  opposite  the  Christ  Church, 
Cathedral.  The  congregation  is  vigorous,  and  branches  of  the 
Church  have  been  formed  at  New  Westminster  and  Vancouver  city. 

CHINESE  MISSIONS. 

As  FAR  B  \CKas  '58  a  few  Chinamen  were  attracted  to  British 
Columbia  by  the  ringing,  far-reaching  cry  of  "Gold,  gold!  "  They 
were  welcomed  as  good  workers  until  the  "eighties,"  when  the  build- 
ing of  the  great  trans-continental  railway  called  for  their  labor,  and 
induced  them  to  come  in  such  numbers  as  to  provoke  the  jealousy  of 
the  then  incoming  whites. 

This  jealousy  found  expression  in  agitation  for  legislation  to  restrict 
or  prohibit  Chinese  immigration.  The  agitation  was  so  far  success- 
ful as  to  secure  a  per  capita  tax  of  $50  on  every  incoming  Chinaman, 
except  a  few  privileged  persons.  They  were  also  excluded  from 
being  employed  on  government  contracts  of  any  kind.  By  treaty 
right,  however,  Chinese  are  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  citizens 
of  the  most  favored  nations. 

As  to  their  number,  in  round  figures  there  are  9,000  in  the 
Dominion,  7,500  of  whom  are  in  this  province.  Over  3,000  reside  in 
the  city  of  Victoria.  The  presence  of  so  many  idolaters,  says  a 
writer  on  the  subject,  shows,  without  controversy,  that  a  responsibility 
grave  and  weighty,  and  a  work  which  though,  o£  necessity,  both  slow 
and  difficult,  yet  big  with  destiny,  is  imposed  upon  us  as  a  Christian 
people. 

Three  branches  of  the  Christian  Church  have  accepted  that  respon- 
sibility. The  Methodist  Church  of  Canada  was  the  first  to  begin 
work  among  the  Chinese.  On  February  4th,  1885,  a  school  was 
commenced  in  Victoria  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  (now  Rev.)  J.  E. 
Gardner,  who  is  a  proficient  Chinese  scholar,  to  which  fact,  coupled 
with  his  Christian  zeal,  no  small  measure  of  success  of  the  mission  is 
to  be  credited. 

Up  to  the  present,  137  converts  from  heathenism  have  been  baptized 
in  Victoria,  48  in  New  Westminster,  29  in  Vancouver,  and  11  at 
Kamloops.  More  than  half  the  number  have  returned  to  China.  The 
membership  now  is  a  little  under  100  for  the  Province.  Good  reports 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  507 

have  been  received  from  many  of  the  members  who  have  returned 
to  China.  One  has  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  mission  work 
among  his  own  people  there.  Another  interesting  and  successful 
department  of  the  work  is  the  "Girls'  Rescue  Home,"  Victoria.  The 
Home  was  opened  under  Mr.  Gardner's  direction  in  the  autumn  of 
1886.  Since  then  thirty -two  girls  have  been  rescued  from  a  life  of 
slavery  in  its  most  terrible  form.  The  history  of  each  and  every  of 
these  girls  is  more  patlntic  and  thrilling  than  the  romance  and 
pathos  of  notion.  Not  only  on  the  positive  side,  but  as  a  deterrent, 
the  rescue  work  in  the  Home  has  been  of  incalculable  value  under 
the  care  of  Mrs.  and  Miss  Wickett. 

The  other  missions  in  the  Province  are  the  Episcopal  and  Presby- 
terian; the  former  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lipscombe,  and 
opened  in  December,  1891  ;  the  latter  under  the  superintendency  of 
Rev.  A.  B.  Winchester,  opened  in  May,  1892.  These  two  missions 
are  well  organized,  with  a  good  staff  of  workers — chiefly  voluntary — 
and  with  branch  missions  at  all  important  points  in  the  Province.  As 
yet  they  have  been  almost  wholly  engaged  in  substructive  building. 
From  the  influence  of  these  missions  upon  the  Chinese  reached  by 
them,  it  is  evident  that  by  kindness  much  more  than  by  legislation — 
not  to  speak  of  the  lawless  and  inhuman  treatment  to  which  they  are 
frequently  subjected — is  to  be  found  the  true  and  permanent  solution 
of  the  great  Chinese  problem. 

The  words  of  Sir  Charles  Elliott,  the  present  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  Bengal,  spoken  recently  at  Calcutta,  are  worthy  of  the  most 
thoughtful  consideration  in  this  connection.  He  said  :  "  The  Govern- 
ment of  India  cannot  do  much.  .  .  .  It  can  bestow  education  on 
the  masses,  and  can  even  offer,  with  a  doubtful  and  hesitating  hand,  a 
maimed  and  cold  code  of  morals.  But  it  can  go  no  further,  and  there 
its  influence  stops.  Consider  what  a  vast  hiatus  this  stoppage  implies. 
Government  cannot  bestow  upon  the  people  that  which  gives  life  its 
color,  and  to  love  of  duty  its  noblest  incentive;  it  cannot  offer  the 
*  highest  morality  fortified  by  the  example  of  the  divinely  perfect  life. 
It  is  here  that  the  missionary  steps  in  to  supplement  the  work  of  the 
official.  ...  I  make  bold  to  say  that  if  missions  did  not  exist,  it 
would  be  our  duty  to  invent  them." 

An  independent  missionary  is  working  in  Victoria  among  the 
Chinese — Mr.  Brodie.  His  work,  however,  is  more  private  teaching 
than  any  larger  effort. 


508  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

THE  SALVATION  ARMY. 

This  organization  began  its  operations  at  Victoria  in  1887,  with 
what  they  called  an  '•  attacking  force"  of  four  officers.  In  1894, 
they  report  a  "fighting  force"  of  three  hundred  enrolled  "soldiers 
and  recruits."  The  officers  in  British  Columbia  are,  Adjutant  Archi- 
bald, District  Officer;  Captain  Massecar,  Victoria  corps;  Captain 
Rennie  and  Lieutenant  Corlett,  Vancouver  corps;  Captain  Patton 
and  Lieutenant  Thomas,  Nanaimo  corps ;  Captain  Smith  and  Lieu- 
tenant G coding,  New  Westminster  corps  ;  and  Captain  Jarvis  and 
Lieutenant  Normar,  outriders.  Herbert  H.  Booth,  Commissioner  for 
Canada  and  Newfoundland. 

The  "Army"  holds,  on  an  average,  145  meetings  monthly  in  the 
open  air,  besides  their  regular  meetings  held  at  the  "Barracks" 
nightly.  The  total  attendance  at  the  inside  meetings,  May,  1894,  was 
26,078.  Victoria  is  the  district  headquarters  of  British  Columbia. 
A  commodious  barracks  has  been  erected  in  Nanaimo.  and  efforts  are 
being  made  to  erect  suitable  buildings  at  Victoria,  Vancouver  and 
New  Westminster,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  respective  corps. 
The  War  Cry  circulation  for  May  amounted  to  8,200,  which  does  not 
include  The  Young  Soldier  (the  children's  paper)  nor  the  monthly 
periodical,  All  the  World,  each  of  which  has  a  large  circulation. 
There  is  a  good  brass  band  connected  with  the  Army  at  Victoria.  At 
Vancouver  a  "Poor  Man's  Shelter"  has  been  provided.  A  steam 
launch  is  to  be  secured  for  mission  work  along  the  coast.  In  the 
interior  of  the  country  the  Army  has  two  outriding  centres, 
officered  by  men  who  visit  some  twenty  places,  and  hold  meetings 
in  the  mining  districts  and  smaller  villages.  In  the  "  Rescue  Home," 
in  Victoria,  there  are  ten  inmates  under  the  charge  of  Ensign 
Fitzpatrick  aad  Captain  Heaslip. 

THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  JEWS. 

THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH  has  a  commodious  synagogue  in  Victoria. 
Their  regular  worship  is  conducted  by  a  rabbi.  The  services  are  well 
attended  ;  the  congregation,  however,  is  not  as  large  as  when  the 
church  was  first  established  early  in  the  "sixties." 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


509 


CHAPTER   XYI. 


LORD     STANLEY. 


VISIT  OF  THE  GOVERNORS-GENERAL. 

LORD  STANLEY  OF  PRESTON. — The  Governor-General,  Lord  Stanley 
of  Preston,  accompanied  by  Lady  Stanley,  visited  Vancouver  city 
in  October,  1889.  They  were  loyally  and  enthusiastically  received, 
addresses  were  presented,  and  a  ball  was 
given  in  their  honor.  A  drive  was  taken 
through  the  new  public  park,  which  was  named 
"Stanley  Park,"'  after  his  Excellency.  At 
New  Westminster  addresses  were  presented. 
The  vice-regal  party  greatly  appreciated  the 
hearty  manner  in  which  they  were  received. 

CROSSED  THE  GULF  OF  GEORGIA. — Lord 
Stanley  proceeded  to  Victoria,  November  1st, 
on  H.M. S.  Amphion.  At  the  outer  harbor 
the  party  was  transferred  to  the  government 
steamer  Sir  James  Douglas,  since  super- 
seded by  the  iron  steamer  Quadra.  The 
Governor-General  and  party  were  cordially  welcomed  by  a  large 
number  of  the  citizens  who  had  assembled  to  greet  them  on  landing. 
Arrangements  had  been  made  that  their 
Excellencies  should  drive  to  Government 
House,  where  they  became  guests  of  Lieut.- 
Governor  Nelson.  The  rest  of  the  vice-regal 
party  were  guests  at  the  Driard  House. 

A  Civic  BANQUET. — The  Governor-General 
was  entertained  at  a  civic  banquet  in  the 
evening.  He  is  reported  as  having  made  a 
"  superlative  speech,  congratulating  the  Vic- 
torians on  their  loyalty  ;  the  vast  resources 
of  their  territory  ;  their  forests,  mines  and 
fisheries  ;  eulogized  the  grand  enterprise  of  the  Pacific  Railway,  and 
briefly  sketched  the  wonders  witnessed  on  his  trip.  In  the  closing 
peroration  his  Lordship  cast  a  horoscope  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific." 


LIEUT.  -GOVERNOR    NKL.SON. 


510 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


MISHAP  TO  TIIK  "AMPHION." — The  party  commenced  their  return 
trip  from  Victoria  on  November  6th,  on  board  the  Amphion  ;  but  in 
a  dense  fog  the  vessel  struck  a  rock  on  an  island,  about  twenty-five 
miles  out.  The  ship  at  once  returned  to  Esquimalt,  and  narrowlv 
escaped  sinking  before  making  the  dry  dock.  The  Governor-General 
and  party  were  obliged  to  remain  at  Victoria  until  another  steamer 
could  be  procured.  With  the  exception  of  the  misfortune  mentioned, 
the  trip  was  a  most  enjoyable  one. 

FOLLOWING  THE  EXAMPLE  of  his  predecessors  in  office,  Lord 
Dufferin,  the  Marquis  of  Lome,  Lord  Lansdowne,  and  Lord  Stanley 
-of  Preston,  the  Governor-General  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  LORD 
ABERDEEN,  visited  British  Columbia,  in  November,  1894.  His  Excel- 
lency is  the  sixth  earl  who  has  worn  the  title,  in  descent  of  the  line 


EARL  OF  ABERDEEN. 


COUNTESS  OF  ABERDEEN. 


of  GORDONS,  famous  both  in  war  and  statesmanship.  His  Excellency 
was  accompanied  by  the  Countess  and  Lady  Marjorie  and  the  Hon. 
Archie. 

THE  COUNTESS  OF  ABERDEEN. — Lady  Aberdeen  is  daughter  of  the 
late  Sir  Dudley  Coutts  Marjoribank — afterwards  created  Lord  Tweed- 
mouth — who,  for  a  number  of  years,  was  the  active  head  of  the  great 
banking  house  of  Coutts.  Lady  Tweedmouth,  her  Excellency's 
mother,  was  a  daughter  of  Sir  James  Hogg,  and  a  woman  of  great 
beauty  and  talent.  The  family  seat  is  at  Berwick-on-Tweed,  but 
little  Ishbel's  home  was  in  Guisachan,  Inverness-shire,  a  wild 
romantic  spot  nestling  at  the  head  of  a  lovely  mountain  strath. 

EARLY  AND  ABIDING  LOVE. — It  is  stated  that  "  Lord  Aberdeen  met 
his  gifted  wife  when  she  was  only  eleven  years  old,  soon  afterwards  she 
.fell  in  love  with  him,  and  from  that  day  to  this  she  has  never 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  511 

wavered  in  the  wholehearted  devotion  which  exists  between  her  and 
the  man  who  afterward  became  her  husband.  They  were  married  in 
1877.  They  have  had  five  children,  four  of  whom  are  living.  The 
second  daughter  died  in  infancy.  Lord  Haddo,  the  Hon.  Dudley  and 
the  Hon.  Archie  are  the  boys,  while  Lady  Marjorie,  who  is  only 
thirteen  years  old,  is  the  only  surviving  daughter.  Lady  Marjorie 
has  the  distinction  of  being  the  youngest  editor  in  the  world,  and  her 
little  monthly,  Wee  Willie  Winkie,  is  an  almost  ideal  specimen  of  a 
child's  paper." 

THEY  TURNED  SOUTHWARD. — On  reaching  Revelstoke,  the  vice-regal 
party  left  the  main  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Vernon  city,  where  they  were  received  by  a  large  and 
enthusiastic  crowd.  On  the  arrival  of  the  train  it  was  boarded  by 
Mayor  Martin,  and  as  he  emerged  from  it  accompanied  by  the  dis- 
tinguished visitors,  the  city  band  played  "God  Save  the  Queen."  An 
address  was  read  by  the  city  cleric,  to  which  his  Excellency  replied 
in  a  most  pleasing  and  graceful  manner.  He  said  "  he  was  delighted 
with  the  hearty  assurance  and  confidence  of  the  people,  and  observed 
that  the  progress  of  the  district  had  not  been  by  leaps  and  bounds,  but 
by  steps.  Sustained  effort  is,  as  a  rule,  necessary  for  the  attainment 
of  any  real  success."  His  Lordship  said  :  "  We  do  not  want  to  be 
circumscribed  by  old-time  notions,  nor  do  we  want  boastful  exaggera- 
tions ;  we  want  steady,  firm,  and  industrious  progress." 

BOUQUETS  OF  FLOWERS  PRESENTED. — Miss  Enid  Ireland,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  speech,  presented  Lady  Aberdeen  with  a  bouquet  of  cut 
flowers ;  and  little  Myra  Ellison  made  a  similar  presentation  to  Lady 
Marjorie.  A  reception  and  lunch  took  place  at  the  Kalamalka  Hotel, 
Mayor  Martin  presiding,  the  invitations  being  limited  to  the  city 
officials,  the  clergy  and  the  local  magistrates,  with  their  wives.  The 
toasts  were  the  Queen,  the  Governor-General  and  Lady  Aberdeen,  and 
the  Army  and  Navy. 

ADDRESS  FROM  THE  PIONEERS. — After  luncheon  his  Excellency  was 
presented  by  Mr.  A.  L.  Fortune  with  an  address  on  behalf  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  district.  In  his  acknowledgment  Lord  Aberdeen 
paid  a  warm  tribute  to  the  agricultural  capabilities  of  the  district,  as 
well  as  to  the  qualities  of  the  people  by  whom  it  was  settled. 

A  RECEPTION  was  held  in  the  afternoon  in  the  court  room.  The 
ceremonies  were  conducted  by  Mayor  Martin.  About  two  hundred 
ladies  and  gentlemen  availed  themselves  of  this  opportunity  of 
meeting  the  Governor-General  and  the  Countess  of  Aberdeen.  "All 


512  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

classes  of  citizens  were  represented,  and  they  will  doubtless  long 
retain  pleasant  memories  of  the  gracious  and  kindly  manner  in  which 
they  were  received  by  the  distinguished  and  honored  visitors." 

BEFORE  LEAVING  FOR  COLDSTHEAM  RANCH,  their  Excellencies 
visited  the  home  of  William  Martin,  where  they  met  Mrs.  Mclntyre, 
his  mother-in  law,  an  old  Scotch  lady  of  over  ninety  years,  with 
whom  they  conversed  for  some  time  on  affairs  connected  with 
Inverness,  the  home  of  Mrs.  McTntyre's  youth. 

THEY  ENJOYED  THE  KOOTENAY  COUNTRY. — Lord  and  Lady  Aber- 
deen remained  some  days  in  Okanagan,  and  enjoyed  country  life  on 
their  thousand-acre  fruit  ranch.  Before  leaving  for  the  coast,  Vernon 
public  school  was  visited  and  "the  pupils  addressed  by  his  Excel- 
lency, in  a  sympathetic  speech.  He  moved  that  a  whole  holiday  be 
granted  to  the  children  at  an  early  date.  The  motion  was  put  by  the 
teacher,  Mr.  Hoi.dge,  and  it  was  carried  unanimously.  On  behalf  of 
the  girls  of  his  division,  Mr.  Hoidge  presented  Lady  Marjorie  with  a 
photograph  of  the  school,  and  said  that  many  of  the  girls  had  already 
become  acquainted  with  Lady  Marjorie  through  the  columns  of  her 
paper,  Wte  Willie  Winkle." 

THE  MAPLE  LEAF. — Lord  Aberdeen  thanked  the  girls  on  behalf  of 
Lady  Marjorie,  for  their  present,  after  which  the  school  sang,  in  a 
very  effective  manner,  a  verse  of  the  "  Maple  Leaf."  The  first  part 
of  the  verse  was  sung  sitting,  but  when  the  last  lines  were  reached,  at 
a  signal  from  the  master,  the  children  sprung  unexpectedly  to  their 
feet,  waving  maple  leaves  and  small  flags,  and  producing  a  very 
pretty  tableau. 

THEY  REACH  VANCOUVER  CITY. — The  vice-regal  party  reached 
Vancouver  city  on  Wednesday  afternoon.  Thousands  of  people  lined 
the  streets  and  crowded  the  railway  station  to  welcome  them.  When 
the  Governor-General  alighted  from  the  train  the  guard  of  honor 
presented  arms.  A  royal  salute  was  fired  from  H.M.S.  Royal 
Arthur,  and  as  the  carriage  containing  the  honored  guests  drove  off  to 
the  Hotel  Vancouver,  the  band  played  the  National  Anthem.  The 
flag-ship,  the  Empress  of  Japan,  all  the  ships  in  port,  and  the 
principal  buildings  of  the  city  were  decorated  with  flags. 

ADDRESSES  AND  REPLIES. — On  arriving  at  the  hotel  his  Excellency 
and  the  Countess  appeared  on  the  balcony.  They  were  greeted  with 
most  enthusiastic  cheers.  An  address  was  presented  by  the  City 
Council,  one  from  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  one  from  the  St.  George's 
Society.  To  each  Lord  Aberdeen  replied,  remarking  amongst  other 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD. 


513 


things,  that  "  while  some  other  cities  in  the  States  and  Canada  had 
been  retrograding  owing  to  dull  times,  Vancouver  had  been  forging 
ahead  in  spite  of  everything.  Many  great  improvements  were 
noticeable." 

HALLOWEEN  BANQUET. — The  report  given  by  the  Vancouver  World 
of  the  banquet,  says  :  "  Halloween  was  never,  perhaps,  celebrated 
under  such  auspicious  circumstances  as  that  of  Wednesday  evening, 
when  Vancouver  was  graced  by  the  presence  of  his  Excellency  the 
Governor-General,  Lord  Aberdeen,  who  was  the  honored  guest  of  the 
St.  Andrew's  and  Caledonian  Society,  at  the  elaborate  banquet  held, 
at  Hotel  Vancouver.  Towards  the  hour  of  8.30  p.m.,  the  bonnie 
tartans  of  gallant  Scots,  the  white  fronts  of  dress  suits,  sprigs  of 
heather  in  button-holes,  uniforms  and  undress,  etc.,  were  among  the 
characteristics  of  those  wending  their  way  towards  the  banqueting 

hall.  In  the  hall  all  was  animation, 
the  light  and  color  lending  to  the 
scene  a  gay  appearance.  Braw  lads 
in  kilts  promenaded  with  bagpipes, 
the  vestibule,  reading-room  and  other 
portions  of  the  building." 

THE  FESTIVE  BOARD. — Some  one 
hundred  and  sixty  gentlemen  sat  down 
at  the  festive  board.  Decorations 
were  not  numerous,  the  only  attempt 
at  display  being  noticeable  behind 
the  seats  of  honor  occupied  by  W.  M. 
Skene,  President  of  the  Society,  and  his  Excellency.  Here  was  seen, 
in  the  centre,  the  Scottish  yellow  flag,  with  a  lion  rampant  in  the 
centre,  surmounted  by  the  Gordon  tartan,  entwined  with  the  emblem 
of  that  clan,  the  Ivy  Leaf.  On  either  side  were  the  Canadian  and 
British  nags,  the  whole  presenting  a  pretty  effect,  and  thoroughly  in 
keeping  with  the  occasion. 

TASTEFUL  AND  HAPPY  ARRANGEMENTS. — The  tables  had  been  spread 
by  a  master  hand,  and  with  great  taste  ;  whilst  each  guest  was  given 
a  handsome  little  "  button-hole  "  of  heather  and  ivy,  with  the  Gordon 
ribbons,  the  handiwork  of  the  Misses  Skene.  Seats  had  not  long 
been  taken,  when  the  pipes  struck  up  and  three  pipers  made  their 
appearance  at  the  entrance  of  the  dining-hall.  His  Excellency 
appeared,  dressed  in  full  Highland  costume.  Accompanied  by  a 

number  of  gentlemen,  he  made  his  way  to  the  head  of  the  table,  the 
33 


HOTEL  VANCOUVER. 


514  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

guests  all  standing  until  he  was  seated.  At  the  cross  table,  seated 
a,t  the  right  of  the  chairman,  were  his  Excellency,  Sandford  Fleming, 
C.M.G.,  Rev.  E.  D.  McLaren,  Captain  Urquhart,  and  others  ;  on  the 
chairman's  left  were  seated  Mayor  Anderson,  W.  H.  Mercer,  H. 
Abbott,  Judge  Bole,  G.  R.  Major,  Chief  Engineer  Bennett,  of  H.M.S. 
Royal  Arthur,  and  others. 

THE  GREAT  CHIEFTAIN. — Rev.  E.  D.  McLaren  asked  a  blessing  for 
the  food  to  be  partaken  of.  When  that  interesting  stage  of  the  menu 
was  reached — the  Scottish  Haggis,  "  Great  Chieftain  o'  the  puddin' 
race," — it  was  borne  through  the  hall,  with  musical  honors,  amid  the 
•clapping  of  hands  and  other  manifestations  of  approval.  After  the 
thoroughly  typical  Halloween  dinner  had  been  fully  enjoyed,  the 
chairman  read  an  address  to  Lord  Aberdeen  from  the  officers  and 
member^  of  the  Society,  offering  his  Lordship  a  cordial  welcome  on 
this  his  first  visit  to  the  Province  in  the  capacity  of  Governor- 
General  of  Canada. 

ANCIENT  AND  NOBLE  LINEAGE. — They  welcomed  him  "  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  our  beloved  and  honored  Queen,  and  further  as  one  who, 
by  his  personal  character,  had  maintained  the  honor  and  added  to  the 
lustre  of  an  ancient  and  noble  lineage,  and  who,  by  the  many  acts  of 
his  public  life,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  had  discharged  the 
arduous  duties  of  those  exalted  offices  to  which  he  has  been  called,  is 
so  eminently  fitted  to  occupy  the  highest  position  in  the  Dominion. 

"  As  Scotchmen,  we  feel  a  personal  honor  in  your  occupancy  of  the 
governor-generalship,  assured  that  the  keen  interest  which  you  have 
at  all  times  shown  in  the  well-being  of  all  classes  of  the  community, 
your  ready  sympathy  with  distress,  and  your  untiring  efforts  in  the 
cause  of  Christianity  and  philanthropy,  cannot  fail  to  maintain  and 
augment  that  influence  and  respect  already  won  by  our  countrymen 
in  Canada. 

"To  Lady  Aberdeen  also,  we  would  extend  a  welcome,  rejoiced 
that  one  so  high  in  attainments,  and  so  well  beloved  by  reason  of  her 
unceasing  and  earnest  endeavors  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the 
peasantry,  and  to  further  every  good  and  noble  work,  should  share 
with  you  the  highest  honors  in  our  land.  And  it  is  our  earnest 
prayer  that  your  stay  in  Canada  may  be  a  happy  one  for  yourselves 
and  your  family,  and  fraught  with  blessings  for  the  Dominion. 

"  (Signed),  W.  M.  SKENE,  President ;  L.  FULLARTON,  Vice- President  ; 
J.  B.  SMITH,  Secretary. 

"Vancouver,  B.C.,  October  31st,  1894." 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  .515 

OUR  NOBLE  GUEST. — The  Governor-General,  responding  to  the 
toast,  "  Our  noble  guest/'  feelingly  said  :  "  I  am  impressed,  deeply 
impressed  and  gratefully  impressed,  too  much  so,  indeed,  for  a  speech 
.for  this  welcome,  this  truly  Scottish  greeting.  I  can  assure  you  that 
whether  I  succeed  in  impressing  upon  you  in  any  manner  my  appre- 
ciation, that  sense  of  appreciation  is  deep  and  permanent.  I  consider 
myself  very  fortunate  in  having  been  able  to  arrive  in  time  for  this 
festive  and  truly  Scottish  gathering.  I  may  venture  to  say  that  if 
there  is  no  'chiel  arnang  us  takin'  notes' — (laughter) — that  I  was  to 
rsome  extent  guided  and  influenced  in  making  my  travelling  arrange- 
ments by  the  fact  that  I  received  the  invitation  of  the  Scotchmen  of 
Vancouver  to  be  present,  if  possible,  on  Halloween.  I  am  glad, 
;gentlemen,  that  it  is  truly  Halloween,  that  we  are  observing  the 
festival  on  the  actual  date.  I  am  glad  for  more  than  one  reason. 
We  all  know  that  the  Scotch  people  are  modest  in  their  disposition — 
(laughter) — but  there  are,  however,  one  or  two  occasions  in  the  year, 
so  to  speak,  when  they  are  unmuzzled,  and  on  these  occasions  we  do 
•express  our  thanks  that  we  are  of  Scotch  extraction.  We  do  not,  it 
is  true,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  seek  to  impress  the  fact  upon  our 
friends  who  are  less  fortunate  in  that  they  are  not  Scotch — (laughter)  • 
nevertheless  we  do  consider  it  a  privilege  and  a  duty  to  recognize  and 
celebrate  this  circumstance  of  our  nationality.  We  are  glad  to  meet 
to-night,  when  we  can  exchange  greetings,  but  yet  we  should  be 
cautious.  Of  course  I  am  all  the  more  glad,  because  I  know  that  all 
Scotchmen  are  cautious.  A  Governor-General  should  always  be 
especially  careful  in  speaking  in  public,  which  is  probably  one  reason 
why  they  endeavor  to  get  a  Scotchman  to  be  Governor-General.  I 
feel  there  is  much  need  for  cautiousness.  Since  my  arrival  in  Canada 
I  have  got  into  quite  hot  water.  It  was  on  the  occasion  of  my  reply- 
ing to  an  address  from  some  Scotch  friends.  Probably  I  forgot 
myself  on  that  occasion.  I  was  rash  enough  to  say,  in  referring  to 
Lady  Aberdeen,  that  she  disclaimed  having  any  but  Scotch  and  Irish 
blood  in  her  veins.  I  received  a  letter  remonstrating,  in  which  I  was 
•told  that  I  would  find  myself  in  a  very  serious  position  with  my 
English  friends.  I  was  puzzled,  because  I  had  always  thought  that 
the  only  people  who  could  not  understand  a  joke  were  the  Scotch 
people.  I  must  confess  I  am  very  pleased  that  this  circumstance  did 
•not  get  to  the  ears  of  the  Sons  of  England  Society  in  this  city,  or  else 
I  might  not  have  received  their  very  agreeable  address." 

His  Excellency   made  a  happy   reference  to  the   thoughtfulness  of 


: 


516  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

the  decorators  for  the  place  which  the  ivy  leaf  occupied  upon  the 
Gordon  tartan.  In  speaking  of  the  heather  which  was  distributed 
around  the  table  in  neat  "  button-holes,"  he  said  :  "  I  may  say,  too,  that 
this  heather  is  from  Craigellachie,  the  original  Craigellachie.  I  hope 
this  time  there  was  no  difficulty  with  the  Customs,  as  there  was  on  a 
former  occasion,  when  the  Canadian  Customs  wished  to  charge  duty 
upon  the  heather.  (Laughter.)  Such  a  combination  of  the  national 
emblem  and  the  kind  thought  of  the  family  badge  in  my  own  case 
is  certainly  an  additional  feature  of  interest.  When  I  speak  of 
family  traditions  I  cannot  help  alluding  to  those  extremely  more  than 
kindly  lines  which  the  chairman  quoted.  I  had  already  had  a  glimpse 
of  those  verses,  and  while  I  considered  them  undeserved  they  would 
be  in  more  senses  than  one  an  incentive  and  a  stimulus  to  me  to  be 
in  some  sense  worthy  of  the  sentiment  expressed.  I  hope  my  family 
traditions  will  enable  me  to  hold  at  least  a  sympathetic  attitude  on 
various  matters." 

The  Governor-General  concluded  by  again  thanking  the  members 
of  the  St.  Andrew's  and  Caledonian  Society  for  the  kindly  sentiments 
expressed  by  them  to  Lady  Aberdeen  in  the  address  presented  to 
himself.  "The  last  I  saw  of  my  wife  and  bairnies  twa  this  evening," 
said  he,  "  the  bairns  were  endeavoring  to  get  a  bite  out  of  an  apple 
strung  from  the  ceiling,  so  you  see  they  are  not  forgetting  Halloween 
any  more  than  we." 

He  finished,  amid  great  applause,  by  expressing  hearty  wishes  for 
the  welfare  of  the  Scottish  Society  of  Vancouver. 

THE  LAND  o'  THE  THISTLE. — Several  excellent  speeches  followed 
in  reply  to  the  toasts  of  the  evening.  Speaking  to  "  The  Land  o'  the 
Heather,"  Rev.  G.  R.  Maxwell  said  : 

"  I  believe  it  is  true  that  only  a  Scotchman  can  understand  a 
Scotchman,  and  believe  it  is  further  true  that  it  requires  a  man  to  be 
made  in  the  peculiar  mould  in  which  a  Scotchman  is  cast  in  order  to 
understand  Scotland.  But,  sir,  I  feel  inclined  to  kick  against  the 
pricks,  to  raise  the  standard  of  revolt  for  which  we  are  distinguished. 
Why1?  Imagine  such  an  immense  subject,  and  such  an  infinitesimal 
amount  of  time  !  We  talk  about  "  guid  gear  ganging  in  little 
bulk;"  but  if  I  can  compress  Scotland  into  five  minutes,  I  am  afraid 
that  in  so  doing  we  shall  shear  Scotland  of  her  immortal  glory,  and 
there  would  be  another  wrong  added  to  the  number  which  we  sutler  at 
the  hands  of  Ireland  and  England.  .  .  . 

"  In  the  Highlands,  in  spite  of  their  bleakness,  the  Highlander  has 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  517 

given  us  an  extreme  energy  of  virtue.  Out  of  the  ivory  palaces  of 
the  one  [referring  to  India]  have  come  treachery,  cowardice,  idolatry, 
etc.,  while  out  of  the  peat  cottages  of  the  other  have  come  faith, 
courage,  self-sacrifice,  purity  and  piety.  Gentlemen,  as  a  Lowlander, 
I  join  with  all  my  heart  in  honoring  the  race  of  our  Highlands,  and 
while  they  have  *  went  a  kennin'  wrang,'  as,  for  instance,  when  they 
cast  covetous  eyes  on  our  cattle,  yet  Britain's  heroes  are  Scotland's 
heroes,  arid  while  the  memory  of  a  great  battle  survives,  while  the 
remembrance  of  brave,  daring  deeds  live,  and  even  when  Tennyson's 
vision  will  have  become  an  accomplished  fact,  viz.,  when  the  war 
drums  shall  throb  no  longer,  and  the  battle  flags  are  furled,  even 
then  Scotland  shall,  through  her  heroic  Highlanders,  find  an  honored 
place  among  the  nations  of  the  world. 

"But  what  of  the  songs'?  Ah,  me,  what  an  abundant  harvest  has 
Scotland  given  to  humanity  !  She  cannot  boast  of  immense  rolling 
prairies ;  she  has  no  Fraser  River,  and  has  little  of  that  wealth  the 
Kootenays  or  Golden  Cariboo  River  are  supposed  to  possess.  She  has 
no  horn  to  toot  so  far  as  these  things  are  concerned.  But  tell  me,  has 
she  not  some  things  compensating  for  the  absence  of  such — in  the 
songs  that  are  ever  reaching  our  hearts  ?  .  .  . 

SCOTLAND. — "  She  has  given  us  a  faith  ;  given  us  songs  ;  given  us 
philosophy ;  given  us  men  and  women  fit  to  sit  in  the  temple  of  fame 
beside  those  of  any  race  ;  given  us  deeds  heroic  that  never  shall  grow 
old,  but  will,  through  all  ages,  burn  and  shine  with  soft  effulgence. 
That  glorious  heritage  is  ours.  What  will  we  do  with  it?  We  talk 
of  old  men  dwelling  in  and  of  the  past.  Has  our  toast  this  evening 
nothing  to  do  with  us,  but  what  belongs  to  the  past  *?  Is  our  history 
ended  ?  Have  we  heard  the  last  of  Scotland  ?  Gentlemen,  I  rejoice 
to-night  that  there  are  signs  and  indications  that  the  new  Scotland  is 
living  and  active.  We  are  proud  of  our  statesmen — that  one  of 
these,  the  Earl  of  Rosebery,  has  lived  to  clutch  the  golden  keys  and 
is  now  moulding  a  mighty  state's  decrees  and  shaping  the  whisper  of 
the  throne ;  and  it  is  peculiarly  pleasing  that  we  have  the  worthy  son 
of  a  worthy  race  our  guest  this  evening,  the  Governor-General  of 
Canada,  a  land  regarded  as  one  of  the  brightest  jewels  in  the  crown 
of  Britain." 

THE  LAND  WE  LIVE  IN. — In  rising  to  propose  "  The  Land  of  Our 
Adoption,"  Rev.  E.  D.  McLaren  said  :  "  Your  Excellency,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent and  Gentlemen, — I  must  crave  the  liberty  of  making  a  slight 
change  in  the  wording  of  the  text  I  have  the  honor  to  propose.  I 


518 


HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


am  not  like  the  Irishman,  who  said  '  he  had  been  born  in  Ireland,  but 
that  he  could  have  been  born  in  England  had  he  liked.'  I  was  born  in 
Canada,  and  for  this  reason,  a  reason  that  probably  applies  to  others  as- 
well  as  myself.  I  venture  to  propose  'The  Land  We  Live  In,'  instead, 
and  although  I  am  speaking  to  many  who  first  saw  the  light  in  lands 
older  and  more  influential,  and  far  richer  in  scenes  of  historic  interest 
than  this  young  Canada  of  ours,  to  men  who  point  with  patriotism  to 
the  Thistle  of  Scotland  or  to  the  Rose  of  England,  to  the  Shamrock  of 
old  Ireland  or  to  the  white  Lily  of  France,  I  am  sure  all  will  join 
with  heartiest  good-will  in  drinking  to  the  continued  and  increasing 
prosperity  of  the  land  of  the  Maple  Leaf.  It  is  peculiarly  fitting  that 
this  toast  should  be  duly  honored  at  a  banquet  that  is  graced  by  the 


I 


: I 

FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  VANCOUVER. 


HOMER  ST.  MKTHODIST  CHURCH,  VANCOUVER. 


presence  of  his  Excellency  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen.  Perhaps  the 
gravest  of  the  dangers  that  beset  the  pathway  of  our  national  caieer 
is  the  danger  arising  from  the  heterogeneous  character  of  our  popula- 
tion;  from  the  racial  and  religious  differences  that  prevail  amongst 
us  ;  in  the  genealogical  trees  of  our  honored  guest  and  of  his  noble 
spouse  we  find  represented  three  out  of  those  four  great  nationalities 
that  have  contributed  to  the  formation  of  our  young  national  life.  If 
the  diverse  elements  that  have  been  thus  brought  together  in  this 
new  Britain  are  to  be  prevented  from  splitting  our  country  into  con- 
tending factions  and  giving  rise  to  an  endless  series  of  jarring  claims,, 
they  must  be  fused  in.  the  intense  flame  of  a  common  love.  When  I 
regard  what  has  taken  place  in  the  families  of  the  head  of  the  Gordon, 
clan,  it  is  a  sweet  and  beautiful  prediction  of  what  should  occur  ire 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  519» 

the  national  history  of  Canada.  May  we  not  consider  their  Excel- 
lencies' sojourn  among  us  as  a  happy  augury  of  the  amalgamation  of 
the  diverse  aims  and  conflicting  interests  which  exist  from  'Nova 
Scotia's  misty  coast  to  far  Columbia's  shore.' 

A  GLORIOUS  LAND. — "  The  land  we  live  in  is  a  glorious  land,  and 
we  do  well  to  reckon  up  with  grateful  pride  the  many  elements  of 
our  magnificent  natural  heritage,  and  chief  among  these  may  be  men- 
tioned our  vast  extent  of  territory,  bounded  by  three  oceans,  about 
equal  in  area  to  the  whole  continent  of  Europe ;  our  vast  agricultural 
and  mineral  resources,  the  immense  wealth  stored  up  in  our  forests 
and  in  our  fisheries  ;  the  indescribably  grand  scenery  of  majestic 
mountains,  stately  rivers,  noble  lakes,  and  the  wild  primeval  forests  ; 
and  last,  but  not  least,  our  rich  inheritance  of  a  broad,  many-sided 
culture  which  is  the  product  of  the  thought  and  toil  of  a  thousand 
years.  It  is  true,  of  course,  that  in  some  respects  the  progress  of 
Canada  has  not  been  so  rapid  as  we  could  have  desired,  and  yet  how 
marvellous  are  the  results  that  have  already  been  brought  about. 
There  are  many  still  living  who  can  remember  when  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence  was  the  only  means  of  communication  between  the 
provinces  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada ;  when  west  of  Lake  Superior 
there  was  a  lone  land  stretching  in  vast  plains  to  the  foothills  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains;  when  this  far-off  Province  of  British  Columbia, 
was  a  country  by  itself,  only  to  be  reached  by  a  tedious  and  danger- 
ous journey  of  many  months.  To-day  the  gaps  are  all  filled  up, 
Canadians  join  hands  all  the  way  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  ; 
population,  wealth  and  learning  have  steadily  increased,  and  scattered 
provinces  with  their  petty  jealousies  have  been  consolidated  in  that 
magnificent  confederation  that  stretches  from  ocean  to  ocean.  Over 
the  delicate  electric  wire  Vancouver  whispers  into  the  ear  of 
Halifax,  and  East  and  West  are  brought  face  to  face  by  means  of 
that  long,  narrow,  two-fold  band  of  steel  which  is  both  a  symbol  of 
our  country's  unity  and  the  means  of  making  that  unity  ever  more 
complete  by  bringing  the  widely  separated  provinces  into  closer  touch 
with  one  another.  It  is  our  great  natural  highway,  which  will  always- 
have  associated  with  it  the  name  of  a  distinguished  engineer  whom 
we  have  the  pleasure  of  having  with  us,  as  one  of  our  guests^ 
Mr.  Sandford  Fleming." 

CANADIAN  ENTERPRISE. — Mr.  H.  O.  Bell-Irving  having  been  called 
on  to  propose  the  toast,  "  Canadian  Enterprise,"  did  so  fittingly,  and 
led  up  to  the  guest,  whose  name  he  coupled  with  it,  Sandford  Fleming, 


520  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

C.M.G.  In  doing  so  he  paid  him  a  tribute  as  a  man  who  had  done 
much  towards  the  development  and  advancement  of  the  Dominion. 
He  has,  the  speaker  said,  been  intimately  connected  with  many  of  its 
great  enterprises.  He  had  taken  a  leading  part  in  the  building  of 
the  great  Canadian  Railway  across  the  continent,  through  the  great 
prairies  and  across  the  great  mountains.  He  now  undertakes  to 
span  the  Pacific  Ocean  with  a  cable.  That,  gentlemen,  may  seem  to 
some  an  engineering  problem,  but  backed  by  capital  it  is  a  com- 
mercial undertaking  that  gives  promise  of  achievement.  It  has, 
however,  a  far  wider  scope  than  that.  It  means  that  one  more  great 
^effort  is  being  made  with  the  grand  object  in  view  of  drawing 
together  more  closely  the  bands  between  the  great  British  English- 
speaking  colonies.  No  greater  achievement  can  be  found  anywhere. 
Sandford  Fleming's  efforts  in  this  direction  have  been  watched  with 


EAST  END  SCHOOL,  VANCOUVER.  WEST  END  SCHOOL,  VANCOUVER. 

keenest  interest  by  many  of  us  present,  and  everyone  will  wish  him 
success  in  his  grand  undertaking.  Speaking  of  Canadian  enterprises, 
I  feel  sure  that  so  long  as  we  have  men  of  the  stamp  of  Sandford 
Fleming  acting  in  consort  with  such  men  as  the  able  official  sent  out 
here  by  her  Majesty's  Government,  there  is  no  fear  of  Canadian 
enterprises  lagging. 

MR.  FLEMING  RESPONDS. — In  rising  to  respond,  Mr.  Fleming 
received  a  storm  of  applause  and  cheers.  He  said  :  "  I  have  very 
often,  through  a  pretty  long  life,  wished  I  had  been  born  an  Irish- 
man so  that  I  could  respond  to  a  toast.  Two  or  three  weeks  ago, 
with  a  friend  whom  I  happen  to  see  at  this  table,  I  was  near  the 
equator.  In  due  time  we  reached  San  Francisco.  I  found  my  friend 
an  excellent  Englishman,  but  I  am  pleased  to  know  that  he  is  quite 
worthy  of  being  a  Scotchman,  and  delighted  to  know  that  he  has 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  521 

been  initiated  as  such  to-night.  My  friend's  destination  was  London, 
the  capital  of  the  Empire,  and  mine,  Ottawa,  the  capital  of  the 
Dominion,  but  by  some  strange  influence,  probably  a  desire  to  get  as 
soon  as  possible  under  that  flag  which  floats  over  so  many  lands,  we 
find  ourselves  together  again  in  Vancouver.  I  feel  great  pleasure  in 
being  amongst  my  countrymen,  and  honor  in  being  with  them  on  this 
occasion.  You  referred,  sir,  to  the  enterprises  of  Canada.  I  am 
afraid  it  would  take  a  long  time  to  give  a  brief  outline  of  the  principal 
of  those  enterprises.  I  would  keep  you  here  many  hours,  but  there  is 
one  enterprise,  the  last  one,  looking  to  the  future,  that  I  must  scarcely 
touch  upon.  I  must  leave  that  to  be  spoken  of  by  my  young  Scotch- 
man. I  can  say  that  the  Pacific  cable  has  made  great  progress,  great 
steps  since  even  last  year.  I  may  only  say  that  it  is  something  seem- 
ingly within  measureable  distance  of  accomplishment." 

THE  PACIFIC  CABLE. — W.  H.  Mercer,  of  the  Colonial  Office, 
London,  who  accompanied  Mr.  Fleming  on  his  recent  trip,  and  to 
whom  Mr.  Fleming  made  reference  in  his  speech,  followed.  It  was 
probably  the  most  ingenious  speech  of  the  evening,  in  which  Mr. 
Mercer  endeavored  to  supply  as  much  information  as  possible  without 
stating  such  or  making  public  diplomatic  business.  In  opening,  he 
confessed  that  he  was  a  humble  representative  of  ,the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment, inasmuch  as  he  had  been  despatched  hither  by  the  Colonial 
Office  of 'London.  "  I  am  very  proud,"  said  he,  "  to  be  associated  in 
any  capacity  with  Sandford  Fleming.  I  need  hardly  tell  you  that  I 
have  been  greatly  struck  by  the  strong  and  sterling  personality 
and  capacity  and  energy  he  has  displayed  in  furthering  this  Pacific 
cable.  He  has  given  me  liberty  to  say  something  upon  the 
subject  of  our  negotiations  at  Honolulu.  There  is  no  secret  about 
those  negotiations.  We  cannot  go  into  details  because  they  are 
diplomatic  matters,  but  I  may  say  that  the  mere  fact  that  the 
British  Government  have  associated  myself  with  Sandford  Fleming 
on  this  mission  is  not  without  some  significance.  It  testifies  that 
her  Majesty's  Government  take  a  warm  interest  in  this  project. 
I  believe  I  am  authorized  to  make  that  statement,  and  I  am  free  to 
admit  that  in  this  project  Canada  leads  the  way,  but  Canada  is 
heartily  backed  at  the  present  time  by  the  Australian  colonies.  We 
have  to  surmount  the  first  difficulty,  and  we  have  to  settle  the  direc- 
tion which  the  first  span  of  that  cable  will  take  from  Vancouver.  As 
soon  as  that  question  is  settled  a  very  distinct  advance  will  have 
been  made  towards  the  settlement  of  that  project.  A  distinct 


522  HISTORY    OF    BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

advance  has  now  been  made.  It  would  not  be  proper  for  me  to  go 
into  details  with  regard  to  the  contract  which  we  have  arrived  at  with 
the  Honolulu  Government.  We  have  arrived  at  an  understanding, 
and  that  understanding  (while  provisional)  is  up  to  date  very  satis- 
factory. There  are,  of  course,  further  questions  and  difficulties  to 
be  met.  The  project  is  one  of  enormous  character,  involving  financial 
and  engineering  considerations  which  must  be  considered  in  detail. 
It  will  take  time,  but  so  far  as  we  can  foresee  it  appears  probable 
that  all  these  questions  of  detail  are  capable  of  a  satisfactory  solution. 
It  is  a  question  of  adequate  co-operation  between  the  countries, 
but  the  inquiries  upon  that  point  are  fairly  satisfactory,  and  I  hope 
Sandford  Fleming  will  very  soon  have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the 
project  carried  fully  into  effect.  I  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of 
considering  exactly  the  statements  I  should  make  to-night.  I  never 
expected  the  opportunity  would  be  given  of  making  any  statement  at 
all.  I  have  never  been  present  at  any  gathering  of  this  kind  in 
Canada  without  having  felt  a  deep  sense  of  gratitude  for  the  interest 
which  is  taken  by  the  Government  and  the  people  of  Canada  in  the 
affairs  of  the  Empire  at  large.  This  has  struck  me,  and  I  am  sure 
every  other  Englishman,  very  forcibly  indeed.  The  members  of  the 
Colonial  Office  are  sensible  that  in  times  past  the  Colonial  Office  has 
made  great  mistakes,  but  there  is  one  thing  for  which  I  am  sure,  at 
the  present  time  the  Colonial  Office  has  won  the  grateful  thanks  of 
the  people  of  this  country,  which  will  cause  it  to  be  held  in  grateful 
remembrance,  and  that  is  in  sending  to  the  colonies  as  her  Majesty's 
representatives  such  governors  as  your  Excellency. 

THE  SISTER  SOCIETIES. — Mr.  J.  M.  O'Brien  said  he  had  to  thank 
the  St.  Andrew's  and  Caledonian  Society  on  behalf  of  the  St.  Pat- 
rick's Society  for  the  kind  invitation  to  be  present  at  the  Halloween 
dinner,  and  for  the  generous  hospitality  which  had  been  enjoyed.  He 
had  often  before  mingled  with  his  Scottish  fellow-citizens  on  occasions 
of  this  kind  and  had  always  carried  away  very  pleasant  memories  of 
them.  The  delight  which  lie  experienced  was  enhanced  by  the  fact 
that  there  was  present  to-night  as  the  chief  guest  one  whom  Irishmen 
reverenced,  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen.  (Cheers.)  When  that  nobleman 
first  went  to  Ireland  as  Viceroy  he  was  received,  very  naturally — 
under  circumstances  which  the  speaker  would  not  refer  to — very 
coldly,  but  at  the  end  of  his  all  too  brief  term  of  office,  so  greatly  had 
hea,nd  the  grand  woman  who  is  his  helpmeet,  the  Countess  of  Aberdeen 
— (cheers) — endeared  themselves  to  the  popular  heart  by  deeds  of 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  523 

kindness  and  evidences  of  sympathy,  that  when  he  left  the  green 
shores  of  Erin  it  was  amid  tears  and  lamentations.  Lord  Aberdeen 
had  struck  a  new  chord,  that  of  loving-kindness,  and  bitter  hate  gave 
way  to  tender  affection.  He  had  ever  since  interested  himself  deeply 
in  Irish  affairs,  assisted  by  his  faithful  consort,  whose  labors  on  behalf 
of  Ireland  were  unceasing.  We  had  only  to  point  out  her  Excel- 
lency's successful  endeavors  in  behalf  of  the  textile  fabrics  of  Ireland, 
depots  for  the  sale  of  which  were  to  be  found  in  the  trade  centres  of 
the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  he  hoped  that  one  would  soon  be 
established  in  Vancouver,  the  emporium  of  the  North  Pacific  coast. 
One  had  only  to  remember  the  Irish  village  which  Lady  Aberdeen  had 
instituted  at  that  nineteenth  century  wonder,  the  World's  Fair,  and 
which  was  one  of  the  most  unique  of  its  features,  to  form  some  slight 
conception  of  her  remarkable  executive  ability,  and,  above  all,  of  her 
devotion  to  the  isle  which  claims  her,  by  right  of  birth,  in  a  degree  as 
one  of  its  children.  Lord  Aberdeen  had,  no  doubt,  received  eulo- 
giums  on  the  part  of  Irishmen  from  Halifax  to  this  city,  but  he,  the 
speaker  could  assure  him,  that  in  no  portion  of  the  Queen's  dominions 
were  there  to  be  found  faster  friends  or  more  ardent  admirers  of 
himself  and  Lady  Aberdeen  than  the  Irishmen  of  Vancouver.  They 
could  never  forget  the  eminent  services  rendered  the  old  sod,  nor 
repay  in  any  adequate  measure  their  debt  of  gratitude.  In  conclud- 
ing he  again  thanked  the  Society  for  their  courtesy,  and  declared  that 
no  race  was  more  desirous  of  seeing  the  Empire  consolidated  than  the 
Irish.  He  hoped  to  see  at  no  distant  date  the  countries  that  com- 
prise Great  Britain  drawn  more  closely  together  than  they  now  are 
in  the  bonds  of  peace  and  good-will,  thus  presenting  a  united  front, 
and  the  Greater  Britain  beyond  the  seas  connected  with  the  mother- 
land by  the  silken  tie  of  love,  constituting  the  grandest  Empire  the 
world  has  ever  seen,  possessed  with  the  all-conquering  resolve  to 
advance  civilization,  to  uplift  intellectual  thought,  and  to  evolve 
human  brotherliness,  under  its  varied  citizenship. 

LADY  MARJORIE,  THE  YOUNGEST  EDITRESS. — Mr.  McLagan,  of  the 
Vancouver  World,  in  acknowledging  the  toast  of  "The  Press"  ("Chiel's 
amang  us  takin'  notes"),  referred  to  the  fact  that,  the  Countess  of 
Aberdeen  was  a  member  of  the  Fourth  Estate.  She  it  was  who  edited 
that  excellent  publication,  Upward  and  Onward,  a  serial  which 
should  be  read  by  everyone.  Lady  Marjorie  was  possibly  the 
youngest  editress  in  the  world  ;  and  the  publication  she  controlled, 
Wee  Willie  Winkle,  was  a  welcome  and  anxiously  looked-for  visitor 


524 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CENTRAL  SCHOOL,  VANCOUVER. 


in  every  household,  especially  by  the  little  folks.  He  also  referred  to 
the  fact  that  the  present  premier  of  Great  Britain,  like  the  last  one, 
although  born  in  England,  claimed  to  be  nothing  else  than  a  Scotch- 
man ;  likewise  that  Canada  had  enjoyed  the  wise  counsel  of  eminent 
Scotchmen  as  Governors-General.  He  referred  to  Sir  John  A. 
Macdonald  and  Hon.  Alex.  Mackenzie,  as  premiers  of  Canada ;  of 

their  race,  Sir  Oliver  Mowat  and  others, 
all  noble  Scotchmen.  Tiie  fact  that  most 
of  the  colonies  at  present  were  governed 
by  Scotchmen  was  mentioned.  Canada 
was  the  land  of  his  adoption  and  British 
Columbia  was  his  home.  This  province 
was  a  rich  one  in  its  natural  resources 
and  capable  of  any  amount  of  develop- 
ment under  wise  statesmanship. 
VISIT  TO  THE  SCHOOLS. — Next  day,  the  Central  and  High  schools 
were  visited.  The  Central  was  first  on  the  list.  Lord  and  Lady 
Aberdeen,  Lord  Archie  Gordon,  and  Lady  Marjorie  were  introduced 
by  Chairman  McGowan,  of  the  Board  of  School  Trustees,  who  briefly 
referred  to  the  importance  of  education,  and  the  pleasure  that  he  was 
sure  the  School  Board  as  well  as  the  pupils  felt  in  having  the  honor 
of  meeting  Lord  and  Lady  Aberdeen. 

JUVENILE  PRESENT  AND  MEDAL. — The 
pupils  sang  "The  Maple  Leaf  Forever" 
with  good  effect ;  and  M  iss  Flora  Mc- 
Donald presented  a  beautiful  bouquet  to 
Lady  Aberdeen,  for  which  her  Ladyship 
kissed  the  pretty  little  donor.  His  Lord- 
ship said,  "  although  they  might  not 
remember  all  he  said,  there  was  one  thing  i  | 
he  was  sure  they  would  recollect,  and 

J  HIGH    SCHOOL,   VANCOUVER. 

that  was,  on  behalf  of  himself  and  Lady 

Aberdeen,  that  a  silver  medal  was  to  be  presented  for  competition 
among  the  various  graded  schools,  and  for  the  securing  of  which 
every  boy  and  girl  would  have  an  equal  chance."  . 

A  JUVENILE  GUARD  OF  HONOR. — A  line  of  scholars  was  then 
formed  between  the  Central  school  and  the  High  school,  through 
which  juvenile  guard  of  honor  their  Excellencies  walked  to  the  latter 
building.  They  were  received  at  the  entrance  with  three  cheers  from 
the  High  school  scholars  for  Lord  Aberdeen,  and  three  more  and  a 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  525 

"  tiger "  for  Lady  Aberdeen,  which  their  Excellencies  acknowledged 
with  smiles  and  bows.  On  entering  the  school  Lady  Aberdeen  was 
presented  by  Miss  Julia  Eldridge  with  a  magnificent  bouquet  on 
behalf  of  the  high  school  scholars. 

COMPETITORS  FOR  A  SILVER  MEDAL. — On  rising  to  address  the 
scholars  Lord  Aberdeen  said  that  he  had  been  informed  that  the 
proceedings  were  to  be  informal,  as  no  cut  and  dried  programme  had 
been  prepared.  He  considered  if  all  the  proceedings  were  to  be  as 
pleasing  as  the  presentation  of  the  bouquet  to  Lady  Aberdeen  they 
would  be  pleased  to  have  many  more  informal  receptions.  Although 
he  had  no  share  of  the  bouquet,  he  was  sure  that  Lady  Aberdeen 
appreciated  the  compliment  that  had  been  paid  her.  He  was  pleased 
to  have  an  opportunity  of  meetings  the  pupils  of  the  Vancouver  High 
school,  and  he  was  pleased  to  see  that  they  realized  the  value  of  the 
work  in  which  they  were  engaged.  Their  work  now  was  to  equip 
themselves  for  the  future  duties  of  life.  Whatever  sphere  they  were 
to  be  called  on  to  fill,  they  might  rest  assured  that  a  thorough  educa- 
tion would  be  an  advantage,  as  would  also  the  habits  they  were  now 
forming,  the  method  that  was  being  instilled  into  them  and  the 
discipline  and  regularity  which  they  were  now  being  subjected  to. 
There  were  many  things  during  a  school  training  that  were  acquired 
unconsciously,  but  they  were  none  the  less  of  value  on  that  account. 
Therefore  he  said  to  them  that  if  ever  they  found  their  work  growing 
monotonous  or  distasteful,  then  was  the  time  for  the  bringing  to  bear 
renewed  energy  and  increased  application.  He  was  pleased  to  be 
able  to  announce  to  them  that  there  was  to  be  left  a  token  of  this  visit 
in  the  shape  of  a  silver  medal,  to  be  competed  for  by  the  High  school 
scholars.  He  was  sure  that  that  would  excite  as  much  interest  among 
the  girls  as  the  boys,  and  he  would  say  that  if  the  male  sex  wished  to 
maintain  their  laurels  they  would  have  to  waste  no  time.  This 
presentation,  he  added,  would  occur  annually  while  he  remained  in 
the  country.  In  this  comparatively  young  city  he  was  pleased  to  see 
that  so  important  a  matter  as  education  was  receiving  so  much  atten- 
tion. The  Governor-General,  after  a  few  remarks,  respecting  the 
death  of  the  Czar  on.  that  day  (Nov.  1);  concluded  by  thanking  them 
for  their  reception,  which  bespoke  loyalty  and  Canadian  cordiality. 
He  offered  his  heartiest  good  wishes  for  the  success  of  all  educational 
projects  in  Vancouver.  When  the  applause  following  Lord  Aber- 
deen's remarks  had  subsided,  the  children  sang  "  God  Save  the 
Queen." 


-526  HISTORY  OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

A  COMFORTABLE  JURY  Box. — After  the  school  receptions  had  been 
concluded,  his  Honor  Judge  Bole  conducted  their  Excellencies  to  and 
through  the  court-house,  with  which  they  were  much  pleased.  His 

Excellency  took  a  seat  in  the  judge's  chair 
and  looking  over  at  the  jury  box,  said  : 
"Those  reclining  seats  look  comfortable 
enough  for  the  jury  to  go  to  sleep  in  while 
being  charged  by  the  judge."  "  And  sav- 
ing your  Excellency's  presence,"  replied 
Judge  Bole,  "  they  might  do  worse." 

ART  AND  SCIENCE. — Before  leaving 
Vancouver,  his  Excellency  formally 
opened  the  Art  and  Science  Exhibition. 

COURT   HOUSE,  VANCOUVER. 

He  complimented  them  on  the  progress 

they  had  made  in  such  a  short  period  since  their  commencement. 
Lord  Aberdeen  also  received  Admiral  Stephenson,  and  staff,  of 
H.M.S.  Royal  Arthur. 


CHAPTEE    XVII. 


VISIT  OF  THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL.— CONTINUED. 

ARRIVAL  AT  VICTORIA. — The  Governor-General  arrived  at  Victoria, 
on  the  government  steamer  Quadra,  on  Saturday,  November  3rd. 
The  vice-regal  party  were  met  at  the  wharf  by  a  great  multitude. 
"Victoria  is  Proud  of  Our  Governor  General,"  was  inscribed  on  a 
banner  placed  opposite  the  landing.  A  guard  of  honor  was  present 
from  the  volunteer  companies,  and  a  band  of  pipers  was  supplied  by 
Sir  William  Wallace  Society.  Lord  Aberdeen  inspected  the  guard 
of  honor,  and  expressed  himself  as  well  pleased  with  the  men's 
appearance ;  he  also  complimented  the  Highland  pipers,  and  subse- 
quently appointed  one  of  them  (Mr.  Anderson)  to  be  an  orderly  and 
to  be  his  Excellency's  special  piper.  His  Lordship,  before  he  left  the 
city,  was  pleased  to  become  patron  of  the  Sir  William  Wallace  Society 
of  Victoria. 

PROCESSION  FORMED. — Arrangements  had  been  made  for  a  proces- 
sion, which  accompanied  his  Excellency  through  a  number  of  the 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  527 

leading  streets  of  the  city,  to  the  Government  House.  In  the 
•evening  a  promenade  concert  was  held,  when  an  address  was  pre- 
sented, in  which  was  expressed  the  hope  that  the  Governor-General 
might,  during  his  term  of  office  make  a  trip  over  the  British  Pacific 
railway. 

SUNDAY  SERVICES. — Lord  and  Lady  Aberdeen  and  suite  attended 
the  service  at  Christ  Church  Cathedral  on  Sunday  morning,  and  in 
the  evening  at  St.  Andrew's  Presbyterian  Church.  In  the  afternoon 
his  Excellency  addressed  a  meeting  of  young  men  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
parlors.  His  remarks  dealt  with  "  the  beauties  and  duties  of  practical 
Christianity,  and  were  replete  with  bright  thoughts  and  happy 
suggestions." 

BOARD  OF  TRADE. — Monday,  November  4th,  was  a  busy  day  for 
the  Governor-General  and  Lady  Aberdeen.  At  11  a.m.  the  members 
of  the  British  Columbia  Board  of  Trade  drove  to  the  Government 
House,  where  they  were  received  in  the  ball  room  by  his  Excellency 
and  the  Countess  of  Aberdeen,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  being  also 
present.  The  views  of  this  body  of  men  carry  weight  along  with 
them,  as  stated  in  the  able  address  presented,  and  were  duly  noted  by 
the  Governor-General  in  his  reply  ;  it  was  not  a  merely  congratulatory 
address,  but  an  expression  on  many  matters  of  Provincial  moment, 
with  the  hope  that  any  subjects  touched  upon  and  requiring  attention 
would  receive  the  Governor-General's  consideration. 

THEY  ARE  PROUD  OF  THE  PROVINCE. — The  address,  after  referring 
to  British  Columbia  being  a  portion  of  the  great  Canadian  Confeder- 
ation, the  grandeur  of  its  scenery,  the  excellence  of  its  climate,  and 
the  immensity  of  its  natural  resources,  of  which  they  are  proud, 
branched  off  to  realistic  affairs,  and  says  : 

"  Statistical  returns  show  that  this  province  contributes,  per  capita, 
to  the  Dominion  revenue  a  larger  amount  than  does  any  other  province 
of  the  federation ;  also  that  the  port  of  Victoria,  in  volume  of  con- 
tribution to  the  Dominion  exchequer,  from  inland  revenue  and  customs 
sources,  ranks  thiud  highest  among  the  ports  of  the  Dominion.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  that  these  circumstances  will  ever  have  the  consideration 
of  the  central  Government  when  public  expenditures  are  being 
appropriated. 

SUBSIDIES  TO  STEAMERS. — "  Situated  at  the  extreme  western 
portion  of  the  Dominion,  Victoria  is  naturally  the  first  port  reached 
by  steamers  coming  from  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  the  last  port  passed 
by  outward-bound  vessels.  ...  At  present  pome  steamship  lines 
receiving  subsidies  merely  call  in  passing,  but  do  not  berth  for  the 
landing  of  cargo  and  passengers,  while  other  steamship  lines  not  in 


528  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

receipt  of  subsidies  afford  greater  facilities  for  commerce  with  this 
port. 

STEAMERS  CARRYING  MAILS. — "  This  Board  has  made  representa- 
tions through  the  proper  channels  asking  that  the  Postmaster- 
General  give  instructions  that  mails  to  and  from  the  Orient  be 
forwarded  by  steamers  other  than  those  at  present  subsidized  to  carry 
mails,  whenever  the  difference  in  the  sailing  dates  of  the  two  lines 
of  steamers  now  on  the  route  would  ensure  quicker  despatch,  which 
would  frequently  occur ;  and  as  a  frequent  and  efficient  mail  service 
is  an  important  factor  in  the  development  of  trade  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  suggested  improvement  in  the  mail  service  with  the  Orient 
will  be  carried  out. 

FUR  SEAL  FISHERIES. — "The  recent  Paris  arbitration  on  the 
Behring  Sea  fur  seal  fisheries  dispute,  with  its  successful  issue, 
furnishes  another  precedent  for  an  international  court  of  arbitration, 
which  alike  the  well-being  of  nations  and  the  interests  of  humanity 
demand  should  be  permanently  established. 

DEEP  SEA  FISHERIES. — "  An  increasing  interest  is  now  being  taken 
in  our  deep  sea  fisheries,  and  enterprises  have  been  formed  to  ship 
fresh  halibut,  cod  and  other  fish  to  the  eastern  markets  in  large 
quantities.  Your  interest  with  your  constitutional  advisers  is 
requested  to  aid,  by  surveys  of  fishing  grounds  and  otherwise,  in  the 
further  reaping  of  the  harvest  of  food  wealth  from  our  provincial 
waters. 

CARIBOO  AND  ^KOOTENAY. — "  MINING  in  the  precious  metals  is 
being  prosecuted  with  vigor  backed  by  capital,  and  in  the  near  future 
the  gold  fields  of  the  Cariboo  promise  to  exceed  their  former  famous 
prestige,  while  the  development  in  the  Kootenay  district  bids  fair  to 
reveal  a  silver  wealth  that  will  rival  "the  richest  experiences  of  the 
mines  of  Nevada.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Dominion  Government 
will  foster  the  development  of  our  mineral  resources  in  every  possible 
manner. 

DYKES  REQUIRED. — "  The  floods  which  recently  inundated  some 
lands  of  the  Fraser  River  valley  brought  out  in  a  marked  degree  the 
energies  of  the  sufferers  in  their  efforts  to  combat  the  disaster.  It  is 
hoped  that  a  well-considered  scheme  for  the  future  protection  of 
these  lands  will  be  inaugurated  and  carried  to  completion  under  the 
joint  auspices  of  the  Dominion  and  the  Provincial  governments. 

IMMIGRATION  BUREAU. — "  Considering  the  vast  area  of  this 
province,  it  is  necessary  for  its  development  that  we  receive 
immigrants  of  a  suitable  class.  In  view  of  the  rights  of  the 
Province,  an  immigration  bureau  should,  we  understand,  be  main- 
tained by  the  Dominion  Government ;  but  as  this  is  not  now  being 
done  we  would  suggest  that  some  special  allowance  for  such  purpose 
be  given  to  the  Provincial  Government,  which  has  instituted  a  system 
of  placing  settlers  on  the  land. 

BEACONS  AND  BUOYS. — "  The  extensive  seaboard  afforded  by 
Vancouver  Island  and  the  mainland  of  the  Province  suggests 


THE    CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  529 

special  attention  to  lights,  beacons  and  buoys,  so  as  to  safeguard 
as  far  as  possible  the  lives  of  passengers  and  the  interests  of  the 
Imperial  navy  and  of  commerce,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  continuous 
vigilance  will  be  exercised  in  securing  efficiency  in  these  necessities. 

LARGE  CONTRIBUTIONS. — "  RAILWAYS  must  be  prominent  factors  in 
opening  up  this  province  alike  to  mining  and  to  agriculture.  During 
the  last  few  years  considerable  railway  construction,  in  the  limited 
way  of  short  lines,  has  taken  place  in  the  Province.  Much,  however, 
requires  to  be  done  in  railway  building  to  open  up  to  settlement  great 
stretches  of  country  now  lying  waste,  and  we  trust  that,  in  view  of 
our  large  contributions  to  the  financial  revenue,  the  Dominion  Gov- 
ernment will,  by  liberal  subsidies  to  railway  lines  in  this  province, 
carry  out  the  policy  which  has  in  the  east  resulted  in  such  excellent 
railway  and  canal  systems. 

"THE  NEW  QUARANTINE  STATION  recently  established  at  Williams 
Head,  together  with  the  efficient  plant  and  staff,  will  do  much 
towards  protecting  our  port,  the  Province  and  the  Dominion  from 
the  introduction  of  infectious  diseases. 

POST  OFFICE  AND  CUSTOMS. — "The  buildings  about  to  be  con- 
structed in  this  city  for  the  post  office  and  customs  departments  will 
furnish  accommodation  necessitated  by  our  increased  requirements. 
We  trust  that  the  efficient  postal  delivery  service  enjoyed  by  this 
city  will  be  maintained  by  extending  a  sufficient  remuneration  to 
the  letter-carriers. 

THE  LABOR  QUESTION. — "The  seething  unrest  which  agitates  a 
large  portion  of  the  labor  element  in  the  large  centres  of  population 
is  happily  comparatively  unknown  in  the  Dominion.  Our  Provincial 
Legislature  has  provided  councils  of  conciliation  and  t  arbitration 
which,  from  a  pleasing  experience  thereof,  we  are  hopeful  will  pro- 
mote cordial  relations  between  capital  and  labor. 

PACIFIC  CABLE. — "  We  heartily  endorse  the  opinion  unanimously 
arrived  at  by  the  Colonial  Conference  recently  held  at  Ottawa,  as  to 
the  desirability  of  a  Pacific  cable  to  connect  the  Dominion  with  the  Aus- 
tralasian colonies ;  also  of  a  fast  Atlantic  steamer  mail  and  passenger 
service,  and  we  trust  that  the  near  future  will  witness  the  successful 
completion  of  these  projects. 

GOOD  RESULTS  EXPECTED. — "  We  feel  assured  that,  with  good 
results  to  our  provincial  interests,  your  Excellency  will  be  pleased  to 
place  before  your  Government  for  their  consideration,  the  several 
representations  we  have  ventured  to  make  in  this  address." 

His  EXCELLENCY  REPLIED. — "  I  appreciate  not  only  the  character- 
istic, loyalty  and  the  kindly  feeling  betokened  by  your  address  and 
by  your  action  in  coming  here  to-day,  but  1  also  value  and  recognize 
the  importance  of  the  interesting  statement  which  your  address  con- 
tains and  which  certainly  forms  a  very  striking  narrative  of  the  posi- 
tion and  history  of  the  various  questions  of  far-reaching"  importance 
34 


530  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

because  vitally  connected  with  the  commercial  development  of  this 
Province,  and  therefore  indirectly  concerning  the  Dominion  as  a 
whole.  I  can,  with  great  pleasure  and  without  any  hesitation,  assure 
you  that  I  shall  lose  no  time  in  enabling  my  constitutional  advisers 
to  have  before  them  all  the  recommendations  and  suggestions  which 
are  here  contained  in  order  that  these  may  receive  the  full  and  care- 
ful consideration  which  they  merit,  not  only  on  account  of  their 
intrinsic  importance,  but  coming,  as  these  suggestions  do,  from  a 
body  of  such  importance  as  that  which  you  compose.  .  .  . 

AGRICULTURE  AND  OTHER  INDUSTRIES. — Only  a  few  minutes 
elapsed  after  the  reply  to  the  Board  of  Trade  address,  when  the 
Agricultural  Association  of  British  Columbia  presented  an  address, 
•extending  a  welcome  to  the  Governor-General  and  the  Countess  of 
Aberdeen.  It  stated  they  had  much  pleasure  in  mentioning  that 
this,  their  last  annual  exhibition  (the  eighteenth),  was  the  most 
successful  in  the  history  of  the  Association.  In  referring  to  the 
disastrous  flood  which  inundated  a  large  portion  of  the  fertile  land 
on  the  Eraser,  they  humbly  requested  his  Excellency's  good  offices, 
with  his  constitutional  advisers,  to  recommend  Federal  co-operation 
in  the  work  of  protection  and  reclamation  of  those  lands. 

THE  BACK-BONE  INDUSTRY. — In  replying,  his  Excellency  seemed 
quite  at  home  in  agriculture,  and  remarked  that,  while  not  under- 
rating the  great  value  and  importance  of  various  other  departments 
of  enterprise,  he  regarded  agriculture  as  the  fundamental  and  the 
back-bone  industry  of  such  a  country  as  British  Columbia.  .  . 

THE  EMERALD  ISLE. — An  address  was  next  presented  to  his 
Excellency  by  the  "  Sons  of  Erin,"  which  referred  to  the  esteem  in 
which  Lord  Aberdeen  was  held  by  the  Irish  people  during  his  resi- 
dence in  the  Emerald  Isle  as  representative  of  her  most  gracious 
Majesty,  Queen  Yictoria. 

COMPLIMENT  TO  THE  COUNTESS. — "In  this  connection,  they  desired  to 
refer  to  the  many  well  directed  efforts  of  Lady  Aberdeen  for  the 
relief  of  the  distressed  Irish  peasantry,  for  the  advancement  of  edu- 
cation and  the  encouragement  of  industry.  To  these  ends  she  has 
devoted  her  powerful  influence  and  generous  aid,  the  benefits  of 
which  will  be  handed  down  to  future  generations  as  the  efforts  of  an 
earnest  and  devoted  life,  the  lessons  of  whose  noble  character  will  ever 
remain  for  the  guidance  of  our  people  at  home  and  abroad." 

THRIFT  AND  SELF-RELIANCE. — Lord  Aberdeen  replied  at  some 
length,  and  amongst  other  things,  said  :  "  You  allude  in  kindly  terms 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  531 

to  Lady  Aberdeen's  efforts  in  the  promotion  of  Irish  home  industries. 
Gentlemen,  the  more  I  watch  that  movement  the  more  assured  I  am 
of  its  far-reaching  influence.  Obviously,  if  we  provide  for  the  indus- 
tries of  the  people  a  market,  we  obtain  for  them  a  comprehensive 
benefit  not  only  in  the  means  of  providing  comforts  for  them,  but 
.also  indirectly  in  the  promotion  of  energy,  thrift  and  self-reliance. 
We  have  abundant  reason  to  believe  that  the  Irish  Industries  Asso- 
ciation has  been  conferring  these  benefits  upon  those  whom  it  is 
assigned  to  help.  This  success  is  due  on  the  one  hand,  no  doubt,  to 
the  sustained  and  earnest  effort — in  other  words,  good,  hard  work,  to 
which  you  refer,  on  the  part  of  the  founder  and  president  of  the 
association,  and  on  the  other  hand  to  the  hearty  and  characteristically 
-discriminating  recognition  on  the  part  of  the  Irish  people  regarding 
the  practical  value  and  importance  of  the  movement.  I  join  with 
you  in  congratulation  on  the  success  of  that  organization,  which,  I 
trust,  is  to  extend  more  and  more.  We  have  all  heard  of  the  Irish 
village  at  Chicago.  That  was  not  established  without  much  trouble. 
I  must  ask  Lady  Aberdeen  to  prompt  me  as  to  the  exact  sum  sent  to 
Ireland,  because,  although  I  have  been  told  the  amount  before  now, 
I  have  forgotten  it.  The  sum  of  $100,000  for  the  benefit  of  an 
industrious  peasantry,  Lady  Aberdeen  informs  me,  was  the  result  of 
that  enterprise." 

PUBLIC  SCHOOLS'  WELCOME. — The  public  school  children  of  Vic- 
toria, to  the  number  of  two  thousand,  turned  out  on  the  afternoon 
of  Tuesday  (5th)  to  meet  and  welcome  Lord  and  Lady  Aberdeen 
in  the  drill  hall.  They  kept  good  order.  Some  private  schools  were 
represented  also.  Many  of  the  parents  were  present.  The  B.C. 
B.G.A.  band  played  until  the  arrival  of  the  vice-regal  party. 

"  GOD  SAVE  THE  QUEEN." — On  arriving  at  the  door  of  the  hall,  they 
were  met  by  Hon.  Colonel  Baker,  Minister  of  Education ;  Dr.  Pope, 
Superintendent  of  Education,  and  the  school  trustees,  who  conducted 
them  to  the  dais.  On  the  platform,  besides  the  Governor-General 
-and  the  Countess  of  Aberdeen,  Lady  Marjorie  and  Hon.  Archie 
Gordon,  the  latter  dressed  in  kilts,  were  the  Lieutenant-Governor  and 
Mrs.  Dewdney,  the  Mayor  and  Mrs.  Teague,  Hon.  Col.  and  Mrs. 
Baker,  the  Bishop  and  Miss  Perrin,  Senator  and  Mrs.  Macdonald, 
Miss  Wilson,  Captain  Erskine  and  Lieut.-Colonel  Prior. 

THE  CHILDREN  WERE  READY. — At  a  signal  up  rose  the  children 
in  a  body,  and,  accompanied  by  the  band,  sang  the  stirring  strains 
of  "  God  Save  the  Queen."  That  finished,  a  regular  storm  of  flowers 


532  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

began  to  fall  from  all  parts  of  the  hall  upon  the  dais — bouquets  big 
and  small  the  children  threw  as  if  they  wished  to  bury  the  visitors 
under  the  fragrant  shower.  The  Countess  laughingly  spoke  to  her 
son,  and  the  lad,  who  had  enjoyed  the  fun  immensely,  went  to  work 
with  a  will  to  gather  up  the  flowers  and  handed  them  over  to  his  mother. 

LORD  ABERDEEN  ADDRESSED  THEM. — The  Governor-General  made 
a  happy  speech,  referring  to  many  practical  topics  coupled  with  excel- 
lent advice  in  an  easy  style  suited  to  the  capacity  of  his  youthful 
hearers.  Speaking  of  technical  education,  he  said  :  "  I  may  mention 
that  the  present  which  I  received  from  my  eldest  boy,  who  is  at 
school  in  England,  on  the  occasion  of  my  last  birthday — you  see,  we 
old  folks  have  birthdays  too — (laughter) — was  a  table  made  by  himself  ; 
and  I  may  say  that  I  placed  a  more  than  usual  value  upon  the  present 
because  of  that  circumstance,  and  I  think  that  each  of  our  children 
in  the  future  will  make  presents  to  us  of  things  made  by  themselves. 
My  boy  has  had  the  advantage  at  the  school  which  he  is  attending — 
that  of  Harrow,  in  England — of  working  in  the  workshop  established 
at  that  school. 

THE  DIGNITY  OF  TEACHING. — "  Before  sitting  down  I  want  to 
remind  you  of  the  fact  that  we  look  to  you  as  the  hope  of  the  future. 
That  gives  a  new  dignity  to  the  work  of  teaching  and  learning  ;  to 
make  a  good  scholar  demands  care  and  pains  and  patience  on  the 
part  of  the  teacher,  and  attention,  thought  and  also  patience  in  the 
overcoming  of  obstacles  on  the  part  of  the  learner.  You  boys  and 
girls  are  to  be  the  grown-up  citizens  of  a  few  years  later.  Did  it  ever 
occur  to  you  that  you  are  to  be  the  people  of  the  twentieth  century — 
for  in  a  few  years  we  shall  have  entered  upon  that  century  1  The 
nineteenth  century  has  been  a  century  of  glorious  achievement,  and  we 
trust  the  twentieth  will  be  even  better.  To  you  we  must  look  for  that. 

"  Where  are  my  great  men  coming  from, 

The  men  to  rule  the  state, 
When,  this  old  century  left  behind, 

We've  passed  the  twentieth's  gate  ; 
My  brave,  broad-hearted  citizens, 

The  strong,  the  good,  the  true, 
You're  drifting  now  :  rouse  up,  my  boys, 

They  all  must  come  from  you  ! 
Don't  let  past  glories  be  forgot,  or  patriotism  die, 

Let  every  boy  upon  the  roll  shout  '  Ready— here  am  I. '  " 

"I  wish  you  well."     (Loud  and  long-continued  applause.) 


THE    CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  533 

THE  MINISTER  OF  EDUCATION. — The  Hon.  Colonel  Baker,  Minister 
of  Education,  at  the  close  of  his  Excellency's  remarks,  stepped  for- 
ward and  thanked  the  Governor-General  and  the  Countess  in  the 
name  of  the  children  of  the  public  schools  of  Victoria,  not  only  for 
the  honor  of  their  presence,  but  for  the  interest  expressed  in  their 
progress  and  welfare.  He  continued  :  "I  am  sure  the  children  will 
remember  your  kindness  for  many  a  long  year.  In  your  presence  here 
they  cannot  fail  to  remember  her  gracious  Majesty  the  Queen,  who 
rules  over  this  great  Empire  of  Great  Britain  and  who  is  so  ably 
represented  by  yourselves.  May  this  visit  rekindle  in  the  minds  of 
the  children  that  spark  of  loyalty  tiiat  already  exists,  and  when  they 
think  of  this  occasion,  its  memory  cannot  fail  to  recall  to  them 
the  long  chain  of  empire  that  binds  us  to  the  dear  old  Mother 
Country." 

Two  MEDALS  PROMISED. — His  Excellency,  on  Colonel  Baker 
resuming  his  seat,  again  came  forward,  and,  after  thanking  the 
Minister  of  Education,  the  Board  of  Education  and  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Education  and  others  who  organized  and  arranged  this 
great  gathering,  which  they  would  remember  with  peculiar  pleasure, 
remarked  that  this  occasion  was  the  first,  since  they  arrived  in  Canada 
officially,  on  which  Lady  Aberdeen  had  been  induced  to  address  an 
assembled  gathering  of  children  of  this  kind. 

His  Lordship  announced  that  there  would  be  two  silver  medals 
given  by  him  for  competition,  one  for  the  various  schools  of  the  city, 
and  another  for  the  High  School,  and  that  they  would  be  continued 
annually  as  long  as  he  was  officially  in  the  Dominion.  His  Excel- 
lency concluded  by  calling  upon  the  assemblage  to  give  "  three  rous- 
'  ing,  ringing  British  and  British  Columbian  cheers  for  her  Majesty 
the  Queen,"  which  were  given  with  hearty  good-will. 

THE  COUNTESS  THEN  ADDRESSED  THEM. — The  Hon.  Col.  Baker, 
amid  tremendous  applause  from  the  children,  announced  that  the 
Countess  of  Aberdeen  would  address  the  girls.  Her  Ladyship  said  : 
"I  am  very  glad  to  have  this  opportunity  of  thanking  you  for  that 
shower  of  flowers  with  which  you  greeted  us  when  we  entered,  and  in 
addition,  for  the  lovely  baskets  which  I  received.  We  thank  you 
very  much,  all  of  us,  and  my  little  girl  Marjorie  also  thanks  you.  It 
was  quite  a  novel  welcome,  and  reminds  us  that  this  is  indeed  a  very 
city  of  flowers.  .  .  .  For  remember  whatever  else  your  education 
may  do  for  you,  its  chief  value  must  be  in  fitting  you  for  woman's  chief 
mission — the  building  up  of  home.  In  some  way  or  another  you  will 


534  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

have  something  to  do  with  building  up  homes,  and  it  is  for  that  that 
your  present  education  should  fit  you.  It  is  easy  enough  to  beat  the 
boys  in  getting  prizes  and  medals," — and  then  turning  to  the  boys, 
"  the  girls  beat  you  at  all  the  examinations,  don't  they  boys  ? " 
(Laughter  and  a  chorus  of  "  Noes.")  "  But  what  we  want  is  something 
more  than  that  you  should  come  out  first  in  your  classes.  It  is  that 
you  should  be  fitted  for  the  great  mission  that  lies  before  you.  Your 
country  is  not  sending  you  to  school  just  to  learn  so  much  geography, 
history  or  arithmetic,  but  also  to  acquire  that  knowledge  of  life,  that 
training,  that  power  of  self-control  and  application  which  will  enable  you 
to  serve  your  day  and  generation.  She  expects  you  to  give  her  a  life 
of  service  in  your  homes.  Your  country  expects  great  things  of  your 
and  we  are  glad  to  be  here  to  give  you  our  best  wishes  that  you  may 
be  enabled  to  take  full  advantage  of  all  the  opportunities  which  you 
have  now." 

"  WEE  WILLIE  WINKIE." — Referring  to  the  children's  paper,  edited 
by  Lady  Marjorie,  the  Countess  said  :  " .  .  .  If  you  would 
like,  I  will  send  some  copies  of  Wee  Willie  Winkie  to  your  schools 
in  case  any  more  of  you  wish  to  write  to  it.  His  Excellency,  you 
know,  is  proprietor  of  that  magazine,  and  when  we  receive  the 
competition  papers  we  very  often  call  in  the  proprietor  to  help  us  to 
judge,  but  sometimes  we  don't,  because  we  know  he  is  inclined  to  be- 
too  generous  and  to  give  too  many  prizes;  but,  at  all  eveats,  it  enables- 
him  to  see  these  letters  and  to  understand  something  about  the  home 
life  of  the  children  throughout  the  Dominion,  which  is  very  pleasant. 
So  we  hope  you  will  send  us  some  more  letters  addressed  to  '  Wee 
Willie,  Government  House,  Ottawa.'  Thank  you,  children,  for  having 
listened  so  attentively,  and  mind  you  remember  to  be  the  true 
sunbeams  of  Victoria."  (Tremendous  applause.) 

RESOLUTION  ENTHUSIASTICALLY  CARRIED. — "Now,  I  have  a  resolu- 
tion to  propose,"  said  the  Governor-General.  "  I  wish  to  move  that 
those  in  charge  of  the  educational  department  be  authorized  to  grant 
a  public  holiday  in  all  the  public  schools  at  the  earliest  opportunity. 'r 
This  the  youngsters  received  with  shouts  of  glee  and  laughter,  and 
upon  his  Excellency  putting  the  question  a  tremendous  "  aye  "  went 
up.  "Those  opposed  to  the  motion  will  say  'no,'"  went  on  his 
Excellency,  and  at  once  the  hall  became  as  still  as  a  church. 

AMID  CHEERS  from  the  children,  his  Excellency  announced  the 
motion  carried,  and  Hon.  Col.  Baker  smilingly  gave  his  consent  to  a 
whole  holiday  in  all  the  city  schools.  Cheers  for  his  Excellency,  the 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  535 

Countess,  and  the  Queen  closed  the  exercises,  afterwards  all  the  teachers- 
and  school  trustees  were  introduced  to  the  Governor-General  and  the 
Countess. 

THE  ALEXANDRA  LADIES'  CLUB. — As  soon  as  the  meeting  with  the 
school  children  was  over,  Lady  Aberdeen  proceeded  to  open  the 
Alexandra  Ladies'  Club,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  Victoria.  The  mem- 
bers had  selected  a  suite  of  rooms  to  be  used  for  reading,  writing 
correspondence,  or  resting  ;  to  be  headquarters,  where  they  could 
leave  parcels,  or  get  a  cup  of  tea  and  have  a  chat  with  their  lady 
friends,  as  their  husbands  and  brothers  go  to  their  club.  About  a 
hundred  members  had  already  joined.  The  rooms  were  fairly  filled 
with  flowers,  in  honor  of  the  Countess,  who,  after  formally  opening 
the  club,  spent  a  short  time  very  pleasantly  in  conversation  wijli  the 
ladies,  and  during  the  afternoon  tea  which  was  served  in  the  new  club- 
room. 

AN  ADDRESS  was  presented  to  the  Countess — read  by  Mrs. 
Dewdney.  Her  Excellency  congratulated  the  ladies  of  Victoria  on 
their  enterprise  in  starting  the  Club,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the 
Dominion.  Such  clubs  were  of  recent  growth  even  in  London,, 
though  there  are  several  now  flourishing.  Lady  Aberdeen  said  :  "  I 
can  sympathize  with  your  efforts,  as  we  tried  to  form  a  club  very 
much  on  the  lines  you  are  now  laying  down,  in  our  northern  town  of 
Aberdeen.  But  I  am  sure  all  the  members  of  the  Aberdeen  Club 
would  be  very  envious  of  the  rooms  with  which  you  are  now  starting. 
.  You  aim,  in  fact,  at  enabling  the  women  of  this  place,  at  a. 
small  cost  to  themselves,  to  keep  in  touch  with  all  the  thought  and 
life  of  the  world — to  cultivate  a  taste  for  reading — in  a  word,  to 
promote  true  culture  amongst  them  and  thereby  to  promote  cultured 
homes.  For  the  influence  of  this  club  must  react  on  the  homes."  .  .  . 

SCOTTISH  SONGS  AND  DANCES. — A  delightful  concert  given  by  the 
St.  Andrew's  and  Caledonian  Society,  terminated  the  proceedings  of 
what  had  been  a  busy  and  interesting  day  to  the  vice-regal  party. 
With  but  one  or  two  exceptions,  every  piece  of  music  on  the  pro- 
gramme was  Scottish.  The  dancing  was  graceful  and  artistic.  Mr. 
Anderson  made  a  hit  in  his  Highland  fling,  and  again  in  his  sailor's, 
hornpipe.  Little  Miss  Strachan's  sword  dance  was  exceedingly 
graceful  and  finished.  Altogether  the  concert  was  most  enjoyable, 
and  no  one  seemed  more  pleased  than  the  Governor-General  and  the 
Countess  of  Aberdeen,  who  apparently  enjoyed  themselves  thoroughly. 


536  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


VISIT  OF  THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL.— CONTINUED. 

VISIT  TO  DUNCAN'S  STATION. — Next  on  the  programme  was  a  visit 
to  Duncan's  Station,  by  the  Esquimalt  &,  Nanaimo  Railway.  A 
special  train  was  placed  at  the  vice-regal  party's  disposal  by  the 
Messrs.  Dunsmuir.  It  was  handsomely  decorated.  Besides  the  vice- 
regal party  there  were  on  the  train  :  the  Lieutenant  Governor  and 
Mrs.  Dewdney,  Miss  Wilson,  Hon.  J.  H.  Turner,  Mrs.  Davie,  Mr. 
and  Mrs  James  Dunsmuir,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  Croft,  Miss  Dunsmuir, 
and  Mr.  Vowell,  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs. 

INDIANS  PRESENT  ADDRESSES. — Luncheon  was  served  on  the  train 
before  reaching  the  station.  The  party  was  met  and  welcomed  by  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  section,  including  several  hundred  Indians. 
An  address  was  read  by  Indian  Agent  Mr.  Loomas,  on  behalf  of  the 
Indians.  An  address  was  also  presented  from  Kuper  Island  Indian 
School,  to  which  his  Excellency  replied,  referring  to  similar  tokens 
of  loyalty  to  the  Great  Mother  from  the  Indians  opposite  Vancouver 
city  and  from  Langley. 

ADDRESS  FROM  THE  FARMERS. — The  party  were  next  conducted  by 
Major  Mutter,  M.P.P.,  to  the  Agricultural  Hall,  where  a  large 
assortment  of  farm  produce  was  on  exhibition.  The  Major  read  an 
address  referring  to  the  Governor-General's  knowledge  of  farming 
and  sympathy  with  the  farming  community.  Regretting  the  lateness 
of  the  season  which  prevented  a  more  perfect  exhibition  of  agricul- 
tural products,  he  concluded  by  saying  :  "  Should  your  Excellency  at 
some  future  period  again  visit  this  district,  we  hope  that  you  will  be 
able  to  travel  by  an  all-rail  route,  as  we  think  that  no  distant  date 
will  witness  the  completion  of  another  trans-continental  road  having 
Victoria  for  its  terminus,  with  the  Esquimalt  &  Nanaimo  as  part  of 
its  system." 

LORD  ABERDEEN  ON  DAIRY  FARMING. — His  Excellency  replied  at 
considerable  length  to  the  address  just  read,  which  represented  several 
societies  and  associations,  as  well  as  the  Agricultural  Society.  He 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  537 

said:  "  I  have  no  doubt  that  dairy  farming  should  be  cultivated  in 
such  a  locality  as  this.  I  am  told  that  there  is  no  question  about  the 
good  prices  to  be  obtained  for  the  best  quality  of  fiesh  butter  in 
Victoria — prices  which  made  me  rather  envious,  or  at  least  ambitious, 
as  a  fellow-farmer.  There  is,  I  may  tell  you,  a  prospect  of  Professor 
Robertson,  the  dairy  commissioner,  coming  to  British  Columbia  next 
spring,  and  I  would  strongly  advise  you  either  to  secure  a  visit  from 
him  or  to  get  him  to  come  to  some  place  as  near  you  as  possible, 
because  he  has  most  excellent  and  valuable  suggestions  to  offer  in 
regard  to  such  an  enterprise.  In  fact  I  do  not  know  any  man  better 
qualified  to  act  in  that  direction. 

COMPLIMENTARY  TO  THK  RAILWAYS. — After  the  Governor-General 
and  Countess  Aberdeen  returned  from  a  drive  through  the  district,  tea 
was  served  in  the  dining-car,  the  party  being  the  guests  of  Mrs.  Croft 
and  the  Misses  Dunsmuir.  Before  the  train  started  for  Victoria, 
Lord  Aberdeen  addressed  those  present,  again  thanking  them  for 
their  reception,  and  continuing,  said  : 

"I  also  wish  to  record  our  sense  of  indebtedness  for  the  courtesy 
which  has  been  displayed  by  our  friend  Mr.  Dunsmuir  as  represent- 
ing the  Esquimalt  &  Nanaimo  Railway.  Of  course  I  quite  under- 
stand that  this  action  and  this  hospitality  is  offered  to  us  in  our 
official  capacity — it  is  a  mark  of  loyalty  and  public  spirit,  none  the 
less  to  be  valued  because  it  is  also  pervaded  by  kindly  personal  senti- 
ments. The  action  of  Mr.  Dunsmuir  has,  in  fact,  been  similar  to 
that  displayed  by  that  great  railway  corporation,  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  Company,  who,  during  our  present  tour  on  the  mainland, 
have  shown  their  great  courtesy  in  offering  us  special  travelling 
facilities.  I  allude  to  that  circumstance  with  the  more  pleasure 
because  I  hope  it  will  allay  any  anxious  misgivings  on  the  part  of  any 
who  may  imagine  that  the  Governor  General  is  travelling  at  the 
cost  of  the  taxpayers.  (Laughter.)  They  will  take  note  of  my 
observations  that  that  is  not  the  case.  The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
considered  itself  justified  as  a  loyal  and  patriotic  matter — as  does 
also  Mr.  Dunsmuir,  our  host  of  to-day — in  enabling  the  Governor- 
General  to  make  more  extended  expeditions  than  would  have  been 
possible  if  he  had  been  called  upon  to  fall  back  entirely  upon  his  own 
resources.  I  again  thank  you,  and  all  I  have  to  say  is,  that  if  the 
weather  had  not  been  altogether  tine,  the  people  are,  if  I  may  use 
the  expression. 

AN  EVENING  PARTY. — In  the  -drill  hall,  over  five  hundred  ladies 
and  gentlemen  attended  the  evening  party  in  honor  of  Lord  and 
Lady  Aberdeen  on  their  return  from  Duncan  and  vicinity.  The  Earl 
.and  Countess,  accompanied  by  the  Lieutenant-Governor  and  Mrs. 


538  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

Dewdney,  etc.,  arrived  at  the  hall  about  ten  o'clock.  They  were  met 
at  the  door  and  escorted  through  a  line  of  the  military  officers  to- 
seats  on  the  platform.  Before  being  seated,  many  of  those  present 
were  introduced  to  the  Governor-General  and  the  Countess.  Thi& 
concluded,  dancing  commenced. 

THE  "SET  OP  HONOR." — THE  FIRST  SET  was  as  follows :  His  Excel- 
lency and  Mrs.  Dewdney  ;  the  Lieutenant-Governor  and  the  Countess 
of  Aberdeen;  Lieutenant  Garforth,  R.N.,  and  Mrs.  Rawstorne  -r 
Colonel  Rawstorne  and  Mrs.  Macdonald  ;  Thomas  Earle,  M.P.,  and 
Mrs.  J.  H.  Turner  ;  Hon.  Theodore  Davie  and  Mrs.  Baker  ;  Mr.  Justice 
Crease  and  Mrs.  Earle ;  Senator  Macdonald  and  Mrs.  Walkem. 

THE  GUESTS  OF  THE  EVENING. — "  The  Scotch  Reel,  which  followed 
the  Lancers,  was  danced  by  the  Countess  of  Aberdeen  and  Chief 
Russell,  and  Senator  Macdonald  and  Mrs.  Russell.  At  midnight 
supper  was  announced,  and  several  hundred  sat  down  at  the  firsts 
table  with  the  guests  of  the  evening.  It  was  an  hour  before  all  had 
been  served,  but  during  that  time  extra  dances  were  danced,  so  that 
the  enjoyment  was  not  allowed  to  lag.  The  music  supplied  by  the 
B.C.B.G.A.  band  and  the  pipers  for  the  Scottish  dances  was  splendid, 
and  added  much  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  evening." 

THE  JUBILEE  HOSPITAL. — Next  day  a  visit  was  paid  in  the  fore- 
noon to  the  Jubilee  Hospital,  their  Excellencies  showing  much  interest 
in  that  institution.  "The  vice-regal  party  inspected  the  wards,  and 
spoke  a  few  words  of  encouragement  to  the  patients.  It  was  explained 
to  the  Governor-General  that  the  hospital  had  been  erected  in  com- 
memoration of  the  Queen's  Jubilee,  and  that  it  had  been  opened  by 
the  Duke  of  Connaught  and  Princess  Margaret.  The  Governor- 
General  signed  'Aberdeen, — highly  interesting  and  satisfactory,'  in 
the  visitors'  book.  The  only  criticism  was  in  reference  to  the 
operating  room,  which  he  thought  was  not  good  enough  for  the 
institution." 

THE  CHINESE  MISSIONS. — In  the  afternoon  the  Governor-General, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Erskine,  Aide-de-camp,  attended  in  the  Y.M.C.  A. 
hall,  to  address  the  Chinese  of  the  various  missions,  and  a  number 
of  ladies  and  gentlemen  interested  in  the  work  of  missions.  His 
remarks  were  conciliatory  and  well  received.  He  offered  hearty 
good  wishes  for  the  success  of  their  work,  totally  unconnected,  as  it 
obviously  is,  with  any  political  question. 

INSPECTION  OF  THE  ROYAL  MARINE  ARTILLERY. — Later  in  the 
afternoon,  the  Royal  Marine  Artillery  marched  to  the  Government 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  539 

House,  and  were  inspected  by  his  Excellency.  In  the  evening,  at 
7.30  the  Governor-General,  who  is  the  honorary  president  of  the 
11  Boys'  Brigade,"  inspected  them  at  the  Y.M.C.A.  hall.  The 
objects  of  the  brigade  are  "the  advancement  of  Christ's  kingdom 
among  boys  and  the  promotion  of  habits  of  reverence,  discipline, 
self-respect,  and  all  that  tends  to  true  Christian  manliness.  One 
of  the  means  of  gaining  the  end  in  view  is  the  formation  of  com- 
panies of  lads  who  are  taught  to  drill.  There  are  at  present  two- 
companies  in  Victoria.  That  of  the  Y.M.C.A.,  with  a  roll  of  thirty,  is 
called  the  First  Victoria  Company,  and  its  officers  are  Captain  F.  W. 
Teague  and  Lieutenant  B.  H.  Roper.  The  other  company  is  that  of 
the  Central  Church.  It  has  fifty  boys  on  the  roll  and  is  commanded 
by  Captain  Blackwood,  Lieutenant  Finlayson  and  Lieutenant  McLean. 
They  wore  neat  forage  caps  and  belts  that  gave  them  quite  a  soldierly 
appearance." 

SPECIAL  MEDALS  PROMISED. — After  the  companies  had  gone  through 
some  of  the  simpler  military  movements  in  a  very  creditable  manner, 
his  Excellency  gave  them  a  happy  little  address  just  suited  to  his  boyish 
audience,  and  in  closing  said  he  would  present  a  special  medal  to  each 
of  the  companies  already  formed  for  competition  for  regularity  at 
drill,  punctuality  arid  general  efficiency.  Should  other  companies  be 
formed,  he  would  also  present  them  with  similar  medals.  The  Central 
Church  company  was  put  through  some  further  drill,  and  was  con- 
gratulated by  his  Excellency  on  the  proficiency  attained  with  only 
seven  drills. 

THE  WOMEN  OF  CANADA. — The  Countess  of  Aberdeen,  at  the 
Victoria  Theatre,  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  delivered  an  admirable 
address  in  reference  to  the  formation  of  a  branch  of  the  National 
Council  of  the  Women  of  Canada,  for  Victoria  city  and  Vancouver 
Island.  On  the  platform  were  fifty  ladies,  representing  the  various 
women's  societies  in  the  city.  The  "  Council "  has  for  its  objects, 
by  united  efforts,  to  communicate  mutual  strength  and  sympathy 
between  all  women  workers,  and  to  stimulate  all  work  for  the  good  of 
others. 

MRS.  GORDON  GRANT,  in  introducing  the  Countess  said  :  "  We  are 
to  be  congratulated  this  evening  on  having  this  opportunity  of 
listening  to  her  Excellency  as  she  explains  its  objects  to  us.  It  is 
always  gratifying  to  see  women  helping  women  ;  it  is  intensely  so 
when  the  consort  of  our  Queen's  representative,  the  first  lady  of  our 
land,  gathers  the  helpful  women  of  all  nationalities,  creeds  and 


540  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

societies  together,  and  by  uniting  them  in  one  council  enables  them 
to  work  for  the  furtherance  and  the  uplifting  not  only  of  womanhood, 
but  of  humanity  ;  inspiring  them  all  with  a  greater  love  of  home,  a 
greater  love  of  country,  a  greater  desire  to  be  helpful  to  others, 
springing  from  the  inspiration  of  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the 
Golden  Rule,  which  this  council  takes  for  its  motto." 

THE  COUNTESS  EXPLAINS. — After  a  lucid  and  able  introduction,  her 
Ladyship  explained  that  the  "  council "  was  not  a  political  association. 
"  It  is  not  a  trades  union,  although  trades  unions  or  friendly  societies 
of  women  can  be  represented  on  it.  It  is  not  a  temperance  associa- 
tion, although  temperance  societies  can  be  and  are  represented  on  it. 
It  is  not  a  society  for  revolutionizing  the  relation  of  mistresses  and 
servants,  although  we  hope  that  the  present  difficulties  in  connection 
with  domestic  service  will  receive  much  consideration.  It  is  not  a 
religious  body  only,  nor  a  philanthropic  body  only,  nor  an  educational 
body  only.  It  is  none  of  these  things,  and  yet  it  is  all  of  them,  and 
that  I  think  is  the  keynote  of  the  object  of  this  meeting.  We  desire 
to  form  a  body  which  will,  as  it  were,  focus  the  work  and  thought  of 
women  in  Victoria — the  work  and  thought  of  all  the  different 
activities  being  carried  on.  That  is  the  object  of  the  National 
Council  of  Women  of  Canada,  and  it  is  on  the  same  principle  that  all 
the  local  councils  throughout  Canada  are  intended  to  be  formed." 

LOCAL  COUNCILS  ORGANIZED. — Local  councils  are  represented  on 
the  National  Council  of  Canada,  which  meets  once  a  year  in  different 
places  in  the  Dominion.  It  met  last  year  at  Ottawa.  The  different 
local  councils,  eight  or  nine  in  number,  besides  the  nationally  organ- 
ized societies,  were  there  represented.  Ladies  from  different  places 
read  valuable  papers  on  subjects  relating  to  their  special  work,  or  on 
subjects  of  general  interest.  These  national  councils  have  been 
formed  not  only  in  Canada  and  the  United  States,  but  in  many 
countries  in  Europe,  and  are  intended  to  join  an  International 
Council,  which  meets  every  five  years,  again  extending  the  bond  of  a 
oommon  sisterhood  in  work. 

"THE  GOLDEN  RULE." — The  address,  which  was  listened  to  with 
the  greatest  attention  and  interest,  was  concluded  by  the  Countess' 
saying  :  "Let  us  always  remember  our  basis,  the  promotion  of  'the 
golden  rule  of  love.'  What  more  can  we  require1?  It  can  exclude 
none.  It  includes  all,  and  in  all  our  different  councils  we  rejoice  to 
know  that  we  have  the  support  and  co-operation  of  all  sections  ;  of 
all  the  various  Protestant  denominations ;  of  representatives  of  the 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  541 

Roman  Catholic  Church  and  its  institutions.  Here  I  would  grate- 
fully acknowledge  the  great  support  given  to  us  by  several  of  the 
archbishops  and  bishops  of  the  Church  ;  and  then  again  we  have  our 
Jewish  sisters  also  with  us.  We  welcome  them  all.  Let  them  only 
be  united  in  one  common  aim — the  uplifting  of  humanity.  Whether 
this  is  attempted  through  what  we  may  call  the  more  secular  work  of 
life  or  the  educational  work,  or  the  promotion  of  that  which  goes  to 
make  life  beautiful,  the  promotion  of  culture  in  any  way,  or  the  pro- 
motion of  good  and  healthy  recreation  and  all  physical  development 
— anything  of  that  sort,  as  well  as  directly  philanthropic  work — we 
want  them  all.  We  want  them  all  to  be  drawn  together  by  this 
beautiful  and  sacred  bond  of  love." 

THE  VICTORIA  BRANCH. — Mrs.  Dewdney  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  to 
the  Countess.  The  Victoria  Branch  of  the  Council  was  duly  formed, 
Mrs.  Dewdney  consenting  to  act  as  Honorary  Vice-President  of  the 
National  Council,  for  the  Province  of  British  Columbia.  Officers 
were  appointed,  viz. :  President,  Mrs.  Baker ;  Vice  President,  Mrs. 
Day  ;  Corresponding  Secretary,  Mrs.  Scaife  ;  Recording  Secretary, 
Mrs.  Gordon  Grant ;  Treasurer,  Mrs.  A.  E.  B.  Davie.  After  a  few 
minutes  siient  prayer,  at  the  request  of  the  Countess  of  Aberdeen,  the 
doxology  was  sung  and  the  meeting  adjourned. 

FAREWELL  TO  VICTORIA. — On  Friday  morning  (9th),  soon  after  ten 
o'clock,  the  vice-regal  party  took  the  E.  &  IS",  train  for  Wellington 
and  Nanaimo.  A  large  crowd  gathered  at  the  railway  station  to  give 
them  a  parting  cheer.  No  stop  was  made,  after  starting,  until 
Wellington  was  reached,  luncheon  being  served  on  board  the  train. 
Accompanying  the  vice-regal  party  to  Nanaimo  and  Wellington,  the 
terminus  of  their  western  trip,  and  enjoying  with  them  the  hospitality 
of  the  Messrs.  Dunsmuir,  was  a  train  party  of  about  thirty  persons. 

AT  WELLINGTON  MINES. — By  his  Excellency's  request  the  school 
children  were  given  the  place  of  honor  round  the  reception  platforms. 
They  joined  right  loyally  and  enthusiastically  in  singing  the  chorus  of 
"  God  Save  the  Queen."  In  the  address,  read  by  Mr.  T.  B.  Hugo, 
was  the  following  pleasing  and  significant  paragraph  :  "  We  assure 
your  Excellency  it  is  an  unalloyed  pleasure  to  receive  with  welcome 
one  of  the  first  in  the  ranks  of  the  classes,  who  has  already  earned  a 
warm  place  in  our  hearts  by  familiarizing  himself  with  the  normal 
conditions  of  our  people,  and  has  never  evinced  any  hesitation  in 
intermingling  and  fraternizing  with  the  masses  in  all  matters  that 
make  no  inroads  on  loyalty." 


542  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

THE  KINDLY  SENTIMENTS  APPRECIATED. — In  response  to  the 
address,  the  Governor-General,  referring  to  the  development  of 
the  coal  industry,  the  public  spirit  and  the  cordiality  of  the  people  of 
British  Columbia  towards  the  Queen's  representative  in  an  official 
capacity,  said:  "It  makes  us  none  the  less  value  those  kindly 
personal  sentiments  which  are  here  conveyed.  It  is  not  only 
gratifying — it  should,  I  think,  be  encouraging  to  those  who  are 
called  upon  to  fill  any  public  position,  to  find  that  any  endeavors 
they  may  have  made  to  do  their  duty  in  that  position  are  so  kindly 
and  heartily  recognized,  and  therefore  I  thank  you  again  for  the 
manner  in  which — in  an  admirably  short  compass — you  have 
contrived  to  indicate  those  various  expressions  to  which  you  have 
made  reference." 

THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. — His  Excellency  in  addressing  the 
children,  among  other  things  reminded  th,em  that  the  town  was  called 
after  the  great  Duke  of  Wellington,  whose  example  of  devotion  to 
duty  and  to  his  country  he  urged  them  to  emulate.  He  also  expressed 
his  pleasure  at  seeing  the  members  of  the  boys'  brigade  present.  He 
impressed  upon  them  the  fact  that  the  object  of  the  brigade  was  to 
encourage  true  Christian  manliness  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word,  and 
foster  habits  of  punctuality,  regularity,  discipline  and  good  order.  He 
announced  that  he  would  be  glad  to  offer  a  prize  for  the  boy  with  the 
best  record  for  regularity,  general  efficiency  and  punctuality. 

EN  ROUTE  TO  NANAIMO. — Going  towards  Nanaimo,  luncheon  was 
partaken  of  on  the  train.  His  Honor  the  Lieu  tenant-Governor,  at 
the  close  of  the  repast,  said  : 

"I  have  been  requested  by  our  friend,  Mr.  Dunsmuir,  to  say  a  few 
words  on  this  occasion  on  his  behalf,  and  at  the  same  time  I  take  the 
opportunity  of  speaking  on  behalf  of  those  ladies  and  gentlemen 
present,  and  also  on  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  Victoria.  We  regret 
that  their  Excellencies'  visit  is  coming  so  nearly  to  an  end,  and  I  am 
sure  the  people  of  Victoria  appreciate  the  exertions  which  have  been 
made  by  their  Excellencies  to  make  that  visit  a  success.  I  have  had 
the  pleasure  and  advantage  of  meeting  in  this  country  several  of  the 
representatives  of  her  Majesty,  and  I  am  sure  I  shall  not  be  uttering 
words  of  disparagement  towards  any  of  those  who  have  previously 
visited  us  when  I  say,  that  never  in  my  experience  have  any  occupying 
the  high  position  of  their  Excellencies  filled  that  position  more 
worthily,  nor  have  I  known  any  who  have  been  welcomed  more 
heartily.  I  shall  not  detain  you,  except  to  say  how  pleased  we  have 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD. 


543 


been  to  receive  their  Excellencies  at  Victoria,  and  to  say  that  I  hope 
they  will  leave  with  kind  recollections  of  us  all." 

AT  THE  COAL  METROPOLIS. — The  vice-regal  party  and  guests  were 
met  at  the  depot  by  Mayor  Quennell.  A  platform  was  erected  in 
Dallas  Square,  where  the  party  were  conducted,  preceded  by  the  silver 
•cornet  band.  Prolonged  cheering  greeted  the  distinguished  guests, 
and  the  children  sang  the  National  Anthem  as  they  arrived.  The 
Mayor  read  and  presented  an  address  to  his  Excellency,  which  con- 
tained the  following  terse  and  interesting  paragraphs  : 

"  THE  KEEN  practical  interest  you  have  taken  in  all  matters  affecting 
the  welfare  of  the  Dominion,  and  the  extensive  enterprises  you  have 


HARBOR  OF  NANAIMO,   1894. 

personally  started  in  this  province  induce  us  to  bring  to  your  atten- 
tion the  importance  of  our  coal  mining  industry. 

THE  FIRST  SHAFT  SUNK.— "The  city  of  Nanaiino  is  the  pioneer 
coal  mining  centre  of  the  North  Pacific  coast,  the  first  shaft  being 
sunk  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  forty-two  years  ago.  Under  the 
progressive  management  of  the  present  owners,  the  new  Vancouver 
Coal  Mining  and  Land  Company  (Limited),  of  London,  England, 
locally  represented  by  Mr.  Samuel  M.  Robins,  the  Nanaimo  collieries 
still  retain  the  first  position  in  point  of  capital  invested  and  monthly 
output.  As  you  have  expressed  a  desire  to  visit  the  Company's 
works,  we  feel  it  would  not  be  entirely  out  of  place  to  draw  your 
attention  to  the  successful  adoption  of  many  of  the  modern  appliances 
for  mining  and  handling  coal  in  vogue  in  these  collieries,  notably,  that 


544  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

several  electric  locomotives  are  in  daily  active  service,  hauling  long 
trains  of  coal  cars  650  feet  below  the  surface,  running  underneath 
the  waters  of  our  harbor  from  the  Esplanade  shaft  in  this  city  to 
Protection  Island  shaft,  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half. 

OUR  UNITED  STATES  NEIGHBORS. — "  Your  Excellency  doubtless  is 
well  aware  that  the  principal  consumers  of  the  superior  coal  mined 
in  British  Columbia  are  our  American  neighbors  on  the  Pacific  slope. 
Reciprocity  in  coal  between  the  United  States  and  the  Dominion 
of  Canada  would,  we  feel  certain,  prove  mutually  beneficial,  and 
would  certainly  create  a  larger  demand  for  British  Columbia  coal, 
and  thus  materially  add  to  the  prosperity  of  this  city,  and  of  the 
province  and  of  the  Dominion. 

SMELTING  WORKS. — "  The  extensive  beds  of  high-grade  iron  ore 
contiguous  to  our  coal  seams  induces  us  to  hope  that  the  establish- 
ment and  successful  operation  of  extensive  smelting  works  is  not  far 
distant,  and  that  such  works  will  in  all  probability  be  located  in 
Nanaimo. 

A  DRY-DOCK. — "The  port  of  Nanaimo  undoubtedly  stands  the 
highest  in  the  Province  in  regard  to  the  volume  of  deep  sea  vessels 
loading  cargoes,  and  the  necessity  of  a  dry-dock  suitable  for  repairing 
vessels  of  large  tonnage  is  most  keenly  felt.  The  great  range  of  tide 
and  the  natural  site  in  our  harbor  would  enable  such  a  dock  to  be 
constructed  at  comparatively  a  nominal  cost." 

HAPPY  AND  GENIAL  REPLY. — His  Excellency  replied  most  cordially, 
thanking  the  citizens  of  Nanaimo  for  their  hearty  demonstrations, — 
at  once  public-spirited,  patriotic  and  heartfelt.  He  referred  to  the 
decorations  and  mottoes,  especially  commenting  on  the  one,  "  God 
bless  her  and  you,"  on  the  huge  evergreen  arch  erected  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Kitchen ;  and  expressed  great  pleasure  in  meeting  so  many  children 
as  were  present.  He  complimented  them  on  their  singing,  and  asked 
for  a  holiday  to  make  up  for  their  having  to  wait  some  time  for  his 
arrival. 

ANOTHER  ADDRESS,  on  behalf  of  the  school  children  of  Nanaimo, 
was  read  by  Miss  Stannard.  It  expressed  pleasure  at  greeting  the 
Queen's  representative ;  and  referred  to  Queen  Victoria  as  one  who 
has  given  a  life-long  example  of  simple  goodness  and  complete  devo- 
tion to  duty.  It  hoped  the  visit  would  impress  the  feeling  that  all 
the  children  of  the  Province  were  of  one  great  school,  so  that  when 
the  time  comes  they  will  take  their  places  as  citizens  and  make 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  545 

Canada  have  united,   upright  and  prosperous  people.     It  concluded 
with  a  hearty  personal  greeting  and  good  wishes. 

VANCOUVER  COAL  COMPANY'S  WORKS. — The  vice-regal  party  next 
proceeded  to  inspect  the  Coal  Company's  works,  and  afterwards  drove 
to  the  Hospital ;  thence  the  drive  extended  around  town,  which 
afforded  a  magnificent  view  of  the  harbor.  Their  Excellencies'  atten- 
tion was  directed  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  old  bastion,  which  is 
the  only  one  remaining  entire  in  the  Province.  It  is  kept  in  good 
repair  by  the  municipal  council,  and  is  used  as  a  room  for  band 
practice,  instead  of  its  original  purpose  of  dealing  death  to  hostile 
Indians.  Their  Excellencies  soon  afterwards  left  by  the  steamer 
Joan  for  Vancouver. 

KAMLOOPS. — The  Governor-General  and  party  arrived  at  Kamloops 
station  on  the  evening  of  the  14th  November.  Here  the  "  special " 
remained  until  next  day, 'when  addresses  were  presented.  The  vice- 
regal party  enjoyed  the  "stop  over"  at  Kamloops  and  the  trip 
through  the  Rockies,  reaching  Field  station  on  the  17th  November. 
From  the  two  stations  mentioned,  his  Excellency  addressed  compli- 
mentary letter.-?  of  thanks  to  Lieutenant-Go  vernor  Dewdney  and  to-( 
the  Mayor  of  Victoria. 

GOVERNORS-GENERAL  AND  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS. — For  reference 
the  following  list  is  given  showing  those  appointed  since  the  union 
of  British  Columbia  with  the  Dominion  : 

GOVERNORS-GENERAL. — Earlof  DufFerin,  sworn  in  June  25th,  1872; 
the  Right  Honorable  the  Marquis  of  Lome,  K.T.,  G.C.M.G.,  P.C., 
etc.,  November  25th,  1878;  the  Most  Honorable  the  Marquis  of 
Lansdowne,  G.C.M.G.,  etc.,  October  23rd,  1883  ;  the  Right  Honorable 
Lord  Stanley  of  Preston,  G.C.B ,  June  llth,  1888  (became  Earl  on 
the  death  of  his  brother,  April  21st,  1893) ;  the  Right  Honorable  the 
Earl  of  Aberdeen,  Viscount  Gordon  of  Aberdeen,  P.C.,  LL.D.,  etc., 
September  18th,  1893. 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS. — Hon.  J.  W.  Trutch,  appointed  July  5th, 
1871  :  Hon.  A.  N.  Richards,  June  27th,  1876;  Hon.  Clement  F. 
Cornwall,  June  21st,  1881  ;  Hon.  Hugh  Nelson,  February  8th,  1887; 
Hon.  Edgar  Dewdney,  November  1st,  1892. 

THE  SALARIES  of  the  lieutenant-governors  have  been  decided  on  by 
the  Parliament  of  Canada.  They  are  :  for  Lieutenant-Governor  of 
Ontario,  Quebec  and  Manitoba,  $10,000  each;  for  New  Brunswick, 
Nova  Scotia  and  British  Columbia,  $9,000  each  ;  for  Prince  Edward 
Island  and  the  North-West  Territories,  $7,000  each  per  annum. 
35 


546 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEK  XIX. 


JOHN   ROCKE   ROBERTSON. 


PARLIAMENTARY— MEMBERS   OF   EXECUTIVE. 

SINCE  CONFEDERATION  there  have  been  Six  PARLIAMENTS  in  British 
Cohimbia.  The  duration  of  the  FIRST  PARLIAMENT  was  from  February 
15th,  1872,  to  the  dissolution  of  the  Legislature,  August  30th,  1875. 
In  that  period  there  were  four  sessions  of  the 
Legislature,  with  meetings  as  follows  :  1st, 
February  15th,  1872,  to  prorogation,  April 
llth,  1872;  2nd,  December  17th,  1872,  to 
February  21st,  1873;  3rd,  December  18th, 
1873,  to  March  2nd,  1874;  4th,  March  1st, 
1875,  to  April  22nd,  1875.  The  Government 
consisted  of  Messrs.  J.  F.  McCreight  (see 
page  406),  Robertson,  and  Walkem,  in  1872 ; 
Messrs.  De  Cosmos  (see  page  366),  Ash, 
Beaven  (see  page  421),  and  Walkem  (see 
page  424),  in  1873  ;  and  Messrs.  Walkem, 
Ash,  Beaven,  and  Armstrong,  in  1874-5 — three  changes  of  Government. 
THE  SECOND  PARLIAMENT  had  three  sessions.  It  opened  with  the 
1st  Session,  January  10th,  1876,  which 
lasted  till  May  19th  ;  2nd  Session,  February 
21st,  1877,  to  April  18th;  3rd  Session, 
February  7th,  1878,  to  April  10th.  Parlia- 
ment dissolved  April  12th,  1878.  Members 
of  Government :  Messrs.  Elliott,  Vernon 
{see  page  425),  and  Smithe,  and  A.  E.  B. 
Davie.  Speaker:  Hon.  James  Trimble,  from 
1872  to  1877. 

THE  THIRD  PARLIAMENT  had  five  sessions. 
The  1st  Session,  July  29th,  1878,  to  Septem- 
ber 2nd;  2nd  Session,  January  29th,  1879, 
to  April  29th;  3rd  Session,  April  5th,  1880, 
Session,  January  24th.  1881,  to  March  25th; 
23rd,  1882,  to  April  21st.  Parliament 


A.    E.    B.    DAVIE. 


to  May   8th  ;     4th 
5th  Session,  February 
dissolved   June   13th,   1882. 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD. 


547 


WM.    SMITH K. 


Members  of  Government:  Messrs.  Walkem,  Beaven  (see  page  421), 
Humphreys,  and  Armstrong.  Speaker:  F.  W.  Williams,  from  1878 
to  1882. 

THE  FOURTH  PARLIAMENT  had  four  sessions.  The  1st  Session, 
January  25th,  1883,  to  May  12th;  2nd  Session,  December  3rd, 
to  1883,  February  18th,  1884;  3rd  Session,  January  12th,  1885, 
to  March  9th ;  4th  Session,  January  25th, 
1886,  to  April  6th.  Parliament  dissolved 
June  3rd,  1886.  Members  of  Government : 
Messrs.  Srnithe,  A.  E.  B.  Davie,  Robson, 
Drake,  and  R.  Dunsmuir  (see  page  548), 
President  of  Council.  Speaker  :  J.  A.  Mara, 
from  1883  to  1886. 

THE  FIFTH  PARLIAMENT  had  four  sessions. 
The  1st  Session,  January  24th,  1887,  to  April 
7th;  2nd  Session,  January  27th,  1888,  to  April 
58th;  3rd  Session,  January  31st,  1889,  to  April  6th;  4th  Session, 
January  23rd,  1890,  to  April  26th.  Parliament  dissolved  May  10th, 
1890.  Members  of  Government :  Messrs.  A.  E.  B.  Davie,  Vernon, 
Turner,  Robson,  and  C.  E.  Pooley,  President  of  Council.  Speaker  : 
€.  E.  Pooley,  from  1887  to  1889. 

THE  SIXTH  PARLIAMENT  had  four  sessions, 
uary  15th,  1891,  to  April  20th  ;  2nd  Session, 
January  28th,  1892,  to  April  23rd  ;  3rd  Ses- 
sion, January  26th,  1893,  to  April  12th  ;  4th 
Session,  January  18th,  1894,  to  April  12th. 
.Speaker  :  Hon.  D.  W.  Higgins,  from  1890,  to 
1894.  Parliament  dissolved  June  2nd,  1894. 
The  following  gentlemen  composed  the  Ex- 
ecutive Council  during  the  last  Session  of  the 
SIXTH  Legislature  :  Charles  E.  Pooley,  Q.C., 
President  of  the  Council ;  Theodore  Davie, 
vQ.C.,  Attorney-General  and  Premier,  and 
Clerk  of  the  Executive  Council ;  Forbes 
•George  Vernon,  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  AVorks ;  John 
Herbert  Turner,  Minister  of  Finance  and  Agriculture  ;  Colonel  James 
Baker,  Provincial  Secretary,  Minister  of  Education  and  Immigration, 
and  Minister  of  Mines. 

AT  the  close  of  the  SIXTH  PARLIAMENT,  the  party  in  power  was  a 
continuation  of  the  Smithe  Administration  of  1883-7.     The  Executive 


The  1st  Session,  Janu- 


C.    E.    POOLEY. 


548 


HISTORY    OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


changes  which    have   taken   place   in   the   Cabinet  since   then,   have 

mostly  been  caused  by  the  death  of  the  respective  members.  Mr. 
Sinithe  became  Premier  and  Chief  Commis- 
sioner of  Lands  and  Works,  January  29thr 
1883,  with  the  Hon.  A.  E.  B.  Davie,  as 
Attorney-General,  and  the  Hon.  John  Rob- 
son,  as  Provincial  Secretary,  Minister  of 
Mines,  and  Minister  of  Finance  and  Agri- 
culture; M.  W.  T.  Drake  was  sworn  in  on 
the  same  date,  as  President  of  the  Executive 
Council.  On  the  21st  of  March,  1885, 
Simeon  Duck  accepted  the  office  of  Minister 
of  Finance  and  Agriculture. 

THIS  ARRANGEMENT  of   the   Cabinet  con- 
tinued until  the  death  of  Mr.  Smithe,  March 

28th,  1887.      On  April  1st,  of  that  year,  the 

Hon.    F.    G.    Vernon    was    appointed    Chief 

Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works  ;  and  the 

Hon.  A.  E.  B.  Davie  became  Premier,  holding 

the  portfolio  of  Attorney-General.     The  Hon. 

Robert  Dunsmuir  was  appointed  President 

of  the  Council,  August  8th,   1887,  and  the 

Hon.  J.  H.  Turner,  Minister  of  Finance  and 

Agriculture,    on    the    same    date ;   and    the 

Cabinet  continued  the  same  until  the  death 

of  Hon.  A.  E.  B.  Davie,  which  occurred  on 


J.    H.    TURXEll 


JOII.V    ROBS  OX. 


the  1st  of  August,  1889,  deeply  regretted. 

A  RE-CONSTRUCTION  of  the  Cabinet  then 
became  necessary,  which  was  accomplished 
3rd  August,  1889,  by  the  selection  of  the 
Hon.  John  Robson,  as  Premier,  continuing 
to  hold  the  offices  of  Provincial  Secretary 
and  Minister  of  Mines,  etc.;  the  Hon.  J.  H. 
Turner,  Minister  of  Finance  and  Agricul- 
ture ;  F.  G.  Vernon,  Chief  Commissioner  of 
Lands  and  Works  ;  Theodore  Davie,  Attor- 
ney-General, and  C.  E.  Pooley,  President  of 
the  Council,  vice  Hon.  Robert  Dunsmuir,  who 

died  April  12th,  1889.      He  was  looked  on  as  the  poor  man's  friend. 
A  new   minister   was   added  to  the  Cabinet  in  1892,  viz.,  Colonel 


ROBERT   DUNSMUIR. 


THE    CONFEDERATION   PERIOD. 


549 


gjjj^yy^  "^^B 


James    Baker,    who    was    appointed    Minister    of    Education    and 

Immigration,  May  28th.      The  premier,  Mr.  Robson,  left  Victoria  for 

London.  May  27th,  in  connection  with  measures  which  had  previously 
occupied  the  attention  of  the  Government, 
relative  to  the  further  colonization  of  the 
Province,  and  the  development  of  the  fisheries 
along  the  coasts  of  British  Columbia.  His 
sudden  and  lamented  deatli  in  London,  on 
June  29th,  1892,  interfered  with  those  plans, 
and  necessitated  another  reconstruction  of 
the  Government.  On  July  2nd,  the  Hon. 
Theodore!  Davie  accepted  the  premiership,  and 
was  gazetted  as  Attorney-General  and  Clerk 
of  the  Executive  Council.  Colonel  Baker  was, 
on  the  same  date,  appointed  Provincial  Secre- 
tary and  Minister  of  Mines,  in  addition  to 

the    offices    which    he    formerly    held.      The 

other  members  of  the  Cabinet  continued  in 

their  former  positions,  without  any  change 

of  personnel. 

A  general  election  was  held  in  July,  1894, 

under   the   new    Redistribution    Acr,   which 

was  passed  during  the  fourth  session  of   the 

sixth   parliament.     That    election   sustained 

the  Davie  Administration,  by  returning  the 

Premier,  the  President  of  the  Council,   the 


HON.     TIIEUDORK    DAVIK. 


past  Speaker,    and   a  new   government  sup- 
porter,   by    acclamation  ;    four    government 
supporters  were  elected  for  the  city  of  Vic- 
toria, which  included  the  Minister  of  Finance. 
Colonel  Baker,  Provincial  Secretary,  etc.,  was 
returned   for  his   former  constituency  (East 
Kootenay),  but  the  Commissioner  of  Lands 
and  Works  was  defeated  in  East  Yale  by  a 
majority  of  thirteen.      His  successor,  George 
Bohun  Martin,  member  for  North  Yale,  after 
his  appointment  was  re-elected  by  acclama- 
tion.     He  is  son  of  the  late  Captain  G.  B.  Martin,  C.B.,  Royal  Navy, 
and  Isabella  Harriet,  only  daughter  of  the  late  Admiral   Sir  Thomas 
Briggs,  K.C.B.      The  newly-elect  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and 


GEORGE    BOHCS    MARTIN. 


550 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 


D.    W.    HIGOINS. 


Works  was  born  in  England,  on  Christmas  Day,  1842,  and  was  edu- 
cated at  Cheltenham.  He  was  first  elected  to  the  Legislative  Assembly 
at  the  elections  held  on  October  13th,  1882,  to  fill  the  vacancy 
caused  by  the  death  of  the  member-elect,  Mr.  P.  Bennett.  The  total 
vote  for  the  Government  is  given  in  round  numbers  at  nineteen 
thousand,  and  for*  the  Opposition,  thirteen 
thousand ;  which  shows  that  the  policy  of  the 
Government  is  approved  by  a  substantial, 
majority  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  hold  the 
reins  of  power  during  the  seventh  parliament. 
THE  SEVENTH  PARLIAMENT  met  on  Novem- 
ber 12th,  1894.  The  Hon.  D.  W.  Higgins 
was  re  elected  Speaker,  and  so  entered  upon 
his  third  session  in  the  chair.  His  nomination 
was  seconded  by  the  pro  tern,  leader  of  the 
Opposition,  who  complimented  him  highly  on 
his  impartiality,  when  formerly  Speaker,  and 
which  marked  him  as  the  right  man  for  the  place. 

"  SPEECH  FROM  THE  THRONE." — His  Honor  Lieutenant-Governor 
Dewdney  opened  the  session  by  reading  "the  speech,"  in  which  he 
welcomed  the  members  to  the  new  House  and  the  first  session.  He 
referred  to  the  financial  depression  which  had  affected  British  Columbia 
in  common  with  other  countries.  It  became 
necessary,  on  account  of  the  floods  which 
had  occurred  during  the  year,  to  incur  ex- 
penses in  extending  relief  to  the  sufferers, 
by  supplying  seed  grain,  etc.,  to  them.  He 
repudiated  the  exaggerated  reports  of  loss  of 
life  and  property  which  had  been  circulated, 
but  approved  of  the  prompt  measures  taken 
by  his  ministers  for  the  relief  of  sufferers. 
Reference  was  made  to  the  death  of  Sir 
Matthew  Baillie  Begbie,  who  had  for  thirty- 
five  years  been  Chief  Justice  of  British 
Columbia,  and  "  by  whose  demise  has  been 
removed  a  central  figure  in  British  Columbia's 

history,  a  man  of  distinguished  ability,  to  whose  memory  society  owes 
a  debt  of  gratitude  for  establishing  our  effective  code  of  justice  on  firm 
and  lasting  foundations."  Coal-mining,  which,  during  the  early  part  of 
the  year,  was,  for  lack  of  profitable  foreign  demand,  restricted  in  its 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  551 

operation,  exhibits  signs  of  renewed  activity,  and  the  output  promises 
large  increase.  The  commencement  is  evidence  of  a  healthy  reaction 
in  the  timber  industry,  and  the  exports  of  lumber  have  been  larger 
than  in  preceding  years.  Quartz  mining  in  Kootenay,  and  the 
inauguration  on  a  large  scale,  in  Cariboo  and  elsewhere  in  the 
Province,  of  placer  mining  by  improved  hydraulic  methods,  have  been 
most  encouraging,  and  betoken  an  era  of  great  mining  development  in 
British  Columbia.  The  season's  operations  in  salmon  canning  have 
been  large.  The  sealing  industry  has  experienced  a  successful  year, 
the  fleet  returning  with  an  unprecedented  catch ;  and  it  is  gratifying 
to  observe  that  attention  has  been  directed  to  deep-sea  fishing,  and 
that  a  regular  trade  has  now  been  established  with  eastern  markets. 
"He  was  happy  to  state  that  the  Nakusp  and  Slocan  railway  is 
completed,  and  already  large  bodies  of  ore  are  being  shipped  over  it. 
The  bonds  authorized  by  the  Act  of  last  session  have  been  negotiated 
in  London,  bearing  interest  at  4  per  cent,  per  annum,  and  have 
been  sold  at  a  premium  of  6  per  cent.  During  the  recent  visit  of  his 
Attorney- General  to  Ottawa,  terms  of  settlement  were  arrived  at  with 
the  Dominion  Cabinet  with  reference  to  the  lands  in  the  railway 
belt ;  also,  an  arrangement  was  concluded  for  the  issuance  of  a  joint 
departmental  commission,  having  for  its  object  a  report  by  expert 
engineers  on  the  feasibility  of  a  comprehensive  scheme  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Fraser  River  valley  by  dyking. 

"  The  Department  of  Immigration  has  effected  the  location  of  a 
Norwegian  colony  of  well-to  do  settlers  in  Bella  Coola  valley.  The 
success  of  this  effort  will,  doubtless,  secure  the  establishment  of  future 
colonies  of  a  similar  character. 

"  The  Province  has  been  favored  with  a  visit  from  his  Excellency  the 
Governor-General  of  Canada,  and  his  amiable  consort  the  Countess  of 
Aberdeen,  and  it  is  highly  satisfactory  to  know  that  on  every  hand 
their  Excellencies  have  met  with  enthusiastic  expressions  of  welcome, 
and  that  they  will  take  their  departure  with  a  warm  and  generous 
appreciation  of  the  loyalty  of  her  Majesty's  subjects  in  this  portion  of 
her  dominions.  Among  the  measures  to  be  submitted  to  their 
consideration  would  be  'An  Act  to  amend  the  Assessment  Act,3  'A 
Consolidated  Lien  Act,'  '  A  Small  Debts  Recovery  Act,'  '  An  Act  for 
giving  to  cities  the  option  of  Government  by  commissioners,'  and  'An 
Act  authorizing  the  revision  of  the  statutes.'  The  subject  of  further 
railway  extension  for  the  development  of  the  resources  of  the  Province 


552  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

will  receive  consideration,  and  should  any  practical  proposal  be 
forthcoming  it  will  be  laid  before  you  in  due  course." 

When  the  Lieutenant-Governor  had  retired,  prayer  in  the  usual 
form  was  offered  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Perrin.  Hon.  Mr. 
Turner  presented  the  public  accounts  for  the  fiscal  year,  ended  June 
50th,  1894,  and  the  House  adjourned. 

AN  IMPORTANT  "NOTICE  OF  MOTION"  was  given  by  Mr.  Rithet, 
before  the  adjournment  of  the  first  day's  sitting,  namely:  "That  this 
government  be  requested  to  take  immediate  steps  to  arrange  with  the 
Dominion  Government  for  the  joint  management  of  the  fisheries  of 
this  province  upon  the  same  terms  as  the  Province  of  Ontario  until 
the  final  settlement  of  the  question  as  to  the  control  of  the  fisheries, 
now  pending  between  that  province  and  the  Dominion  Government." 
The  presence  in  Victoria  of  SIR  CHARLES  HIBBERT  TUPPER,  Minister 
of  Marine  and  Fisheries,  early  in  December,  will  doubtless  assist  in 
settling  satisfactorily  this  and  other  fishery  questions. 

THE  HON.  MR.  DAVIE  introduced  the  first  bill  of  the  session,  which 
provides  in  twenty-four  clauses  and  a  schedule  "  for  the  carrying  out  of 
the  security  proposed  to  be  given,  in  brief,  to  the  effect  that  all  wages 
to  workmen  shall  be  paid  not  less  frequently  than  weekly,  and  that 
such  wages  when  due  shall  be  a  first  charge  upon  moneys  due  to  any 
contractor  or  other  employer." 

NEARLY  ONE-HALF  of  the  members  in  the  present  House  of  Assembly 
are  new  men.  Three  of  the  members,  namely,  Messrs.  Booth,  Semlin 
and  Hunter,  were  elected  to  sit  in  the  first  Assembly  which  met  after 
Confederation  ;  they  did  not,  however,  sit  during  each  consecutive 
Parliament.  The  Hon.  Robert  Beaven,  late  leader  of  the  Opposition, 
was  the  only  member  of  the  Assembly  who  had  occupied  his  seat  in 
the  House  at  each  session  since  Confederation  but  the  last.  The 
Hon.  G.  F.  Vernon  was  first  elected  to  serve  in  the  second  Parliament 
of  1876.  There  are  now  fourteen  new  members.  They  will  be  dis- 
tinguished in  the  following  list,  which  shows  the  year  when  each  first 
became  a  member  of  the  Legislature: 

Member.  Constituency.  Year. 

Adams,  William  Cariboo 1893 

Baker,  Hon.  Colonel  James. . . .    East  Kootenay 1886 

Booth,  J.  P North  Victoria 1871 

Braden,  John Victoria  City 1 894 

Bryden,  John North  Nanaimo    1875 

Cotton,  F.  C Vancouver 1890 

Davie,  Hon.  Theodore    Cowichan-Alberni 1882 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  553 

Member.  Constituency.  Year. 

Eberts,  D.  M South  Victoria 1890 

Forster,  Thomas.  .  . '. Delta 1890 

Oraham,  Donald East  Yale 1894 

Helmcken,  H.  D Victoria  City 1894 

Higgins,  Hon.  D.  W Esquimalt 1886 

Hume,  J.  F West  Kootenay  Sjuth 1894 

Hunter,  Joseph Comox 1 871 

Irving,  John Cassiar 1894 

Kellie,  J.  M West  Kootenay  North 1890 

Kennedy,  J.  B New  Westminster 1894 

Kidd,  Thomas   Richmond 1894 

Kitchen,  Thomas  K.    Chilliwack 1890 

Martin,  Hon.  G.  B North  Yale 1882 

McGregor,  James Nanaimo  City 1 894 

McPherson,  R  Vancouver   1894 

Mutter,  Major  J.  M Cowichan-Alberni 1894 

Pooley,  Hon.  C.  E Esquimalt 1882 

Prentice,  J.  D East  Lillooet 1894 

Rithet,  R.  P Victoria  City 1894 

Rogers,  S.  A Cariboo 1890 

Semlin,  C.  A West  Yale 1871 

Smith,  A.  W West  Lillooet    1889 

Sword,  0.  B Dewdney    1890 

Turner,  Hon.  J.  H.    Victoria  City 1886 

Walkem,  Dr.  W.  W South  Nanaimo 1894 

Williams,  A Vancouver 1894 

A  CRITIQUE. — The  B.C.  Home  Journal  says:  "The  members 
composing  the  new  House  are  superior  to  those  of  the  last.  With 
the  exception  of  Mr.  Beaven,  the  Opposition  can  certainly  boast  of 
better  material,  while  on  the  Government  side,  there  have  been 
many  changes  for  the  better.  ...  Of  the  leaders  on  the  Govern- 
ment side,  very  little  can  be  said  that  is  not  already  known.  Messrs. 
Davie,  Turner,  Baker,  Pooley  et  al  are  old  and  tried  men,  and  the 
phenomenal  capacity  of  the  Attorney-General  for  good,  hard  work  is 
now  a  matter  of  history.  .  .  .  As  was  said  before,  the  House  is 
far  ahead  of  any  previous  one  in  point  of  intelligence,  and  there  is 
every  reason  to  hope  that  much  good  will  result  to  the  Province  from 
the  deliberations  of  the  SEVENTH  PARLIAMENT." 

REVENUE  AND  EXPENDITUE. — "Public  Accounts"  presented  to  the 
Legislature  at  the  opening  of  the  session  give  details  of  the  annual 
receipts  and  expenditures,  the  assets  and  liabilities,  and  condition  of 
the  various  loan  accounts.  The  expenditure  necessary  for  the  relief 
of  the  sufferers  by  the  flood  along  the  Fraser  River,  is  given  at 


554  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

$30,005,  for  which  the  Legislature  will  be  asked  to  make  an  appro- 
priation to  meet  the  amounts  paid  out  by  special  warrant.  Of  the 
$30,000,  the  sum  of  $21,283  was  for  seed  grain  and  provisions  • 
$4,948  was  paid  to  the  eight  steamers  engaged  in  the  service  for  the 
transfer  of  settlers  and  their  effects  and  stock  to  places  of  safety. 
The  other  $5,000  was  required  to  pay  a  large  number  of  men  for 
services  on  the  steamers  and  elsewhere  ;  in  procuring  and  distributing 
the  seed,  and  of  the  cost  of  the  provisions  purchased  for  the  settlers 
during  the  flood. 

THE  NAKUSP  AND  SLOCUM  COMMISSION  cost  $1,153,  of  which 
$829.50  went  to  the  two  commissioners  for  pay  and  personal 
expenses ;  the  taking  down  and  printing  the  evidence  making  up  the 
greater  part  of  the  balance  of  the  expense.  The  Royal  Commission 
was  granted  to  investigate  certain  charges  which  were  preferred 
against  the  Davie  Administration  by  the  Opposition,  but  which  on 
examination  were  found  to  be  groundless. 

THE  NET  REVENUE  for  the  fiscal  year  ended  30th  June,  1894,  is 
stated  to  be  less  by  $197,546,  than  that  of  1892-3.  The  details,  how- 
ever,  show  that  more  than  three- fourths  of  the  deficiency,  or  in  round 
numbers,  $150,000,  was  on  account  of  land  sales,  so  much  more  land 
having  passed  into  private  hands  in  the  one  year  than  the  other. 
The  special  item  of  educational  refunds,  namely,  $40,000  received  in 
1893,  makes  up,  almost,  the  rest  of  the  difference.  Other  heads 
showing  a  falling-off*  in  the  revenue  are  real  property  and  wild  land 
tax — $16,000,  due  to  the  formation  of  new  municipalities,  and  the  not 
unwelcome  diminution  of  $13,000  in  the  amount  received  as  propor- 
tion of  the  poll  tax,  under  the  Chinese  Restriction  Act.  The  renewed 
activity  of  the  lumber  trade  had  its  effect  on  the  increase  of  the 
receipts  from  timber  royalties  and  licenses. 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  555 


CHAPTER  XX. 


FUR  SEALING  AND  THE  ALASKA  BOUNDARY. 

THE  FUR-SEALING  INDUSTRY  is  one  of  importance  to  British  Columbia, 
and  its  maritime  interests.  That  industry,  however,  was  greatly 
interfered  with  in  1886  by  the  high-handed  action  of  the  United 
States  cruisers  in  seizing  Canadian  vessels  at  a  distance  of  from 
sixty  to  one  hundred  miles  from  the  nearest  land,  and  conveying 
them  to  Sitka,  the  capital  of  Alaska.  There  the  masters  and  mates 
were  tried  in  a  Prize  Court,  and  condemned  to  fine  and  imprisonment, 
their  vessels  being  detained  and  their  crews  turned  adrift  for  the 
alleged  violation  of  a  statute  of  the  United  States. 

ALASKA  was  purchased  by  the  United  States  from  Russia  in  1867. 
A  treaty  had  been  made  between  Great  Britain  and  Russia  in  1825, 
which  defined  the  boundary  of  the  Russian  possessions  in  North 
America.  That  treaty  was  made  the  basis  of  the  purchase  of  1867, 
and  under  it  the  United  States  Government  claimed,  not  only  the 
Aleutian  Islands,  but  that  the  Behring  Sea  was  a  mare  cJausum  and 
became  their  property. 

GREAT  BRITAIN  protested  against  any  such  claim.  Long  before 
the  purchase  of  Alaska  by  the  United  States  in  1821,  when  Russia 
attempted  to  enlarge  her  jurisdiction  from  three  to  one  hundred  miles 
from  the  shore  of  the  Russian  possessions  on  the  west  coast  of 
America  and  the  east  shore  of  Asia,  the  injustice  of  the  claim  was 
pointed  out.  Both  Britain  and  the  United  States  protested  against 
such  an  enlargement ;  with  the  result,  that  Russia  formally  abandoned 
those  claims  to  extended  jurisdiction,  and  admitted  that  the  Behring 
Sea  was  open  to  the  ships  of  all  nations. 

MR.  BAYARD,  United  States  Secretary  of  State,  in  1887,  announced 
the  release  of  the  vessels  seized  and  the  discharge  of  the  persons 
arrested — "  but  without  conclusion  of  any  question  that  may  be 
found  to  be  involved  in  these  cases  of  seizure."  Other  seizures  were 
made  in  1888  and  in  1889,  when  further  remonstrances  were  made 
by  the  British  Government,  which  resulted  in  the  treaty  of  February 


556  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

29th,  1892,  providing  reference  to  an  international  tribunal  of  arbi- 
tration, which  met  at  Paris  in  1893. 

A  PRETENSION  was  advanced  by  the  United  States,  that  the  Pacific 
Ocean  did  not  include  the  Behring  Sea.  That  was  demolished  by 
Lord  Salisbury,  who  showed  that  the  Behring  Sea  was  always  con- 
sidered a  part  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  consequently,  that  the 
treaties  of  1824  and  1825,  which  limited  Russia  to  the  ordinary 
three-mile  limit,  were  applicable  to  the  Behring  Sea. 

IN  1891,  an  agreement  was  made  referring  to  the  modus  vivendi  of 
that  year,  to  prevent  further  seizures  and  afford  protection  to  the 
seals,  by  closure  of  the  Behring  Sea  agiinst  sealing.  Her  Majesty's 
Government  agreed  to  consider  any  case  in  which  it  was  clearly 
established  that  direct  loss  had  been  suffered  by  any  British  subject 
by  the  enforcement  of  that  prohibition.  Claims  for  1891  were  paid 
by  the  Collector  of  Customs,  Victoria,  on  behalf  of  the  British 
Government,  amounting  to  nearly  $100,000. 

CLAIMS  AGGREGATING  about  half  a  million  dollars  have  been  sent  in 
for  the  years  between  1885  and  1890.  The  settlement  of  those  is 
still  pending — the  Paris  tribunal  having  decided  that  the  United 
States  Government  are  liable  to  British  subjects  for  such  amounts  as 
may  be  found  due  them  for  having  been  unlawfully  seized  by  United 
States  cruisers  under  the  pretension  that  they  had  no  right  to  catch 
seals  within  sixty  or  one  hundred  miles  of  the  u  rookeries." 

THE  ANNUAL  SEAL-CATCH  by  British  sealers  is  given  as  follows  : 
1890,  at  44,751 ;  1891,  at  50,495  ;  1892,  at  46,362 ;  1893,  at  70,332  ; 
the  catch  of  1894  reached  94,474.  The  close  season  extends  from 
May  1st  to  July  31st,  both  inclusive,  north  of  35th  degree  of  latitude, 
and  eastward  of  the  180th  degree  of  longitude  from  Greenwich,  till  it 
strikes  the  water  boundary  off  the  west  coast  of  America,  as  described 
in  Article  I.,  treaty  of  1867,  between  the  United  States  and  Russia, 
including  Behring  Sea,  which  has  an  area  of  about  800,000  square 
miles. 

PRESIDENT  CLEVELAND'S  ANNUAL  MESSAGE,  presented  to  the  Senate, 
December  3rd,  1894,  contains  the  following  paragraph  : 

"  Early  in  the  present  year  an  agreement  was  reached  with  Great 
Britain  concerning  the  instructions  to  be  given  to  the  naval  com- 
manders of  the  two  governments  in  Behring  Sea,  and  the  contiguous 
North  Pacific  Ocean,  for  their  guidance  in  the  execution  of  the 
award  of  the  Paris  tribunal  of  arbitration,  and  the  enforcement  of 
the  regulations  therein  prescribed  for  the  protection  of  seal  life  in 


THE    CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  557 

the  waters  mentioned.  An  understanding  has  also  been  reached  for 
the  payment  by  the  United  States  of  $425,000,  in  full  satisfaction  of 
all  claims  which  may  be  made  by  Great  Britain  for  damages  growing 
out  of  the  controversy  as  to  fur  seals  in  Behring  Sea,  or  the  seizure 
of  British  vessels  engaged  in  taking  seal  in  those  waters.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  a  settlement  upon  the  terms  mentioned  would  be  an 
equitable  and  advantageous  one,  and  I  recommend  that  provision  be 
made  for  the  prompt  payment  of  the  stated  sum.  Thus  far  only 
France  and  Portugal  have  signified  their  willingness  to  adhere  to  the 
regulations  established  under  the  award  of  the  Paris  tribunal  of 
arbitration." 

THE  ALASKA  BOUNDARY. — As  the  operations  of  the  fur-sealing 
industry  border  on  Alaska,  it  may  be  well  to  allude  here  to  the  joint 
boundary  commission  which  has  been  appointed  by  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States  to  locate  the  boundary  line  between  Alaska  and 
Canada.  To  the  east  of  the  141st  meridian,  from  the  Arctic  Ocean 
to  the  60th  parallel  of  latitude,  the  Yukon  district  of  the  North- 
West  Territories  forms  the  boundary  ;  to  the  south  of  the  60th 
parallel,  British  Columbia  forms  the  boundary  of  Alaska.  To  decide 
on  the  British  Columbia  portion  of  the  bound- 
ary, parties  of  surveyors  from  botli  govern- 
ments have  been  engaged  during  1893-4. 

PHOTO-TOPOGRAPHY.  —  They  have,  under 
the  direction  of  W.  F.  King,  Esquire,  Chief 
Astronomer  of  the  Department  of  the  In- 
terior, her  Majesty's  Commissioner  re  the 
international  boundary  line  on  the  north- 
western coast  of  America,  and  in  Passama- 
quoddy  Bay  on  the  Atlantic,  introduced,  with 
great  success,  what  is  known  as  "  Deville's 
system  "  of  surveying,  by  the  aid  of  photo- 
topography.  Its  correctness  has  been  fully 

tested,  and  it  has  enabled  surveys  to  be  made  in  a  rugged  mountainous 
region,  in  many  places  inaccessible,  and  to  be  accurately  delineated  in 
much  less  time,  and  at  a  fraction  of  the  expense,  than  it  could  have 
been  done  by  any  other  system. 

MOUNT  ST.  ELIAS. — One  of  the  important  points  which  have  been 
decided  by  the  survey  is  the  correct  location  of  Mount  St.  Elias.  The 
latitude  of  that  great  mountain  is  given  as  60°  17'  34"  and  the  longi- 
tude, 140°  55'  20".  Thus,  a?  the  northern  boundary  of  British 
Columbia  is  latitude  60°  N.,  Mount  St.  Elias  is  about  twenty  miles  in 


558  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 

the  North-West  Territory,  and  its  distance  from  the  boundary  of 
Alaska,  that  is,  the  141st  meridian,  is  a  little  less  than  three  miles. 
The  position  given  is  that  of  the  highest  peak  from  the  south-east 
— so  Canada  has  gained  possession  of  the  giant. 

A  LAMENTATION. — The  New  York  World  feels  sad,  and  says  : 
•"  Uncle  Sam  has  just  lost  the  highest  lump  of  land  in  his  posses- 
sions. No  longer  can  the  United  States  claim  to  hold  the  biggest 
mountain  in  North  America.  The  tallest  bit  of  territory  this  side  the 
North  Atlantic  has  been  adjudged  the  property  of  Great  Britain. 
Mount  St.  Elias,  the  snow-crowned  monarch  of  the  Alaskan  mountains, 
no  longer  stands  on  American  ?  (United  States)  soil. 

"The  members  of  the  coast-survey  party  sent  this  summer  (1894) 
to  confer  with  representatives  of  the  state  department  of  England, 
with  a  view  to  effectually  locating  the  boundary  line  of  Alaska,  have 
returned  to  Washington.  The  division  has  been  definitely  fixed  at 
the  141st  meridian  of  longitude.  Mount  St.  Elias  stands  just  half  a 
degree  east  of  this,  and,  therefore,  is  within  the  British  possessions. 
Behring,  the  navigator,  first  sighted  the  '  Bolshoi  Shopka,'  or  '  Great 
Peak/  on  St.  Elias  day,  1741.  Hence  its  name.  As  yet,  no  intrepid 
traveller  has  reached  its  summit.  The  latest  survey,  just  completed, 
fixes  the  summit  18,023  feet  above  sea  level." 

IT  APPEARS  from  the  boundary-survey  party's  report  that  there  are 
two,  if  not  three,  other  mountains  farther  inland  on  British  territory 
that  are  higher  than  the  famous  saint's  mountain.  Of  these,  Mount 
Logan  is  stated  to  be  19,534  feet  high,  and  there  are  two  other 
nameless  peaks,  that  overtop  Mount  St.  Elias  by  a  considerable 
.height.  The  highest  of  those  might  very  properly  be  named  MOUNT 
ABERDEEN,  in  honor  of  the  present  Governor-General  of  Canada. 
There  is  nothing  to  show  that  Mount  St.  Elias  is  in  an  active  state 
of  volcanic  eruption,  nor  that  it  has  been  so  for  many  years.  Captain 
Vancouver,  who  surveyed  the  coast  opposite  in  1794  (a  hundred 
years  ago),  and  published  a  view  of  the  mountain,  does  not  describe 
it  as  an  active  volcano. 

HARMONIOUS  WORK  ON  THE  SURVEY. — During  the  boundary  survey 
it  was  arranged  between  the  surveying  parties,  that  a  Canadian 
surveyor  should  accompany  a  United  States  party,  and  that,  vice 
versa,  a  United  States  surveyor  should  accompany  the  other.  They 
thus  worked  harmoniously  together,  and  have  agreed  on  all  the 
measurements  along  the  coast,  commencing  at  the  130th  meridian, 
thence  westward  along  the  56th  meridian  and  the  coast  line  until 


THE   CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  559 

they  reached  the  141st  meridian,  which  is  the  western  boundary  of 
British  Columbia  and  the  North-West  Territories. 

UNITED  STATES  CHARTS. — The  greatest  difficulty  in  finally  locating 
the  boundary  line  will  consist  in  arriving  at  the  correct  interpreta- 
tion of  the  meaning  and  wording  of  the  treaty  of  1825  (see  page  125), 
especially  the  portion  which  relates  to  the  southern  park  of  the 
boundary,  in  which  the  description  does  not  agree  with  what  is 
claimed  by  the  United  States  charts.  The  treaty  describes  the  line 
of  demarcation  to  be  from  the  southernmost  point  of  Prince  of  Wales 
Island  (Point  Chacon,  latitude  54°  40')  between  the  131st  and  133rd 
meridians;  thence  northerly  (in  an  imperial  official  document  "from 
south  to  north  ")  to  where  it  strikes  the  continent  at  the  56th  degree. 

THEY  OVER-REACH  THE  MARK. — The  boundary,  as  claimed,  or 
marked  on  a  United  States  chart  (Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey, 
issued  March,  1891,  by  T.  C.  Mendenhall,  Superintendent;  verified 
by  B.  A.  Colonna,  Assistant  in  charge  of  office),  instead  of  going 
northerly  to  where  the  line  would  strike  the  continent  within  the 
131st  meridian,  is  drawn  due  east  to  near  the  entrance  of  Portland 
Inlet,  and  then  NORTHERLY  along  Portland  Canal,  where  it  touches 
the  130th  meridian.  PORTLAND  CANAL  lies  entirely  beyond  the 
boundary  range  described  in  the  treaty,  and  does  not  extend  north 
to  the  56th  parallel  of  latitude  as  required  in  the  description  ;  besides 
there  is  no  channel  called  "  Portland  Channel "  on  Vancouver's  map 
or  charts,  which  contained  the  only  surveys  then  made  and  avail- 
able by  the  parties  who  framed  the  treaty.  Doubtless  the  words  in 
the  treaty  "called  Portland  Channel,"  should  have  been  written 
"called  BEHM'S  CHANNEL,"  and  should  be  so  interpreted.  The 
experience  in  dealing  with  our  astute  neighbors,  relative  to  the 
Oregon  treaty,  the  San  Juan  boundary  and  the  recent  fur  seal  arbi- 
tration, should  not  be  lost  sight  of. 

REVILLA  GIGEDO. — By  an  Imperial  Order-in-Council,  passed  July 
31st,  1880,  British  Columbia  has  authority  to  deal  with  the  island  of 
Revilla  Gigedo  and  neighboring  islands,  provided  Behm  Channel  is 
decided  on  as  the  boundary. 

A  Sad  Event. — Sir  John  Thompson,  Premier  of  Canada,  was  promi- 
nent in  the  "Seal  arbitration"  at  Paris,  1893.  He  died  suddenly  at 
Windsor  Castle,  Dec.  12th,  1894,  where  he  was  by  the  request  of 
Queen  Victoria,  and  had  just  been  sworn  in  as  an  Imperial  Privy 
Councillor.  Hon.  Mackenzie  Bow  ell  was  chosen  to  succeed  Sir  John 
in  the  premiership. 


560  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 


CHAPTEE  XXI. 


CONDITION   OF  THE   PROVINCE. 

THE  FINANCIAL  CONDITION  of  British  Columbia  is  healthy.  Its 
revenue  is  derived  from  a  variety  of  sources — a  very  important  part 
being  the  subsidies  in  perpetuity  from*  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 
These  subsidies  amount  now  to  about  $245,000  annually,  made  up  as 
follows :  Five  per  cent,  interest  on  the  amount  of  the  actual  and 
allowed  debts  of  the  Province  at  Confederation  ;  the  subsidy  to  the 
Government  and  the  Legislature;  the  grant  of  80  cents  per  capita 
of  the  population,  and  the  grant  for  lands  conveyed  for  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway.  The  grant  per  capita  is  increased  at  every  census, 
until  the  population  reaches  400,000. 

THE  OTHER  SOURCES  OF  REVENUE  are  from  land  sales;  land  revenue, 
timber  royalty  and  licenses;  survey  fees;  rents  from  timber,  land 
and  ferries ;  free  miners3  certificates,  mining  receipts  (general) ; 
licenses  ;  marriage  licenses  ;  real  property  tax  ;  personal  property  tax  ; 
wild  land  tax  ;  income  tax  ;  provincial  tax  (revenue)  ;  registered  taxes 
(all  denominations);  tax  sale  deeds ;  revenue  service  refunds;  fines 
and  forfeitures  ;  law  stamps  ;  probate  fees  ;  registry  fees  ;  assay  office 
fees;  printing  office  receipts;  sale  of  government  property;  reim- 
bursements in  aid;  "Chinese  Restriction  Act,  1884;"  Dominion 
Government  refund  and  miscellaneous  receipts. 

THE  RECEIPTS  under  these  heads  have  steadily  increased.  In  ]880, 
the  revenue  of  the  Province  amounted  to  $390,907 ;  in  1885,  to 
$600,398;  in  1890,  to  $845,522;  and  in  1893,  to  $1,019,206.  The 
expenditure  in  the  same  years  was,  for  1880,  $446,574  ;  for  1885, 
$655,437  ;  for  1890,  $911,408  ;  and  for  1893,  $1,431,437. 

THE  EXCESS  OF  EXPENDITURE  over  actual  revenue  was  caused  by 
the  carrying  out  of  works  of  development  as  voted  on  by  the  Legis- 
lature. These  works  were  the  making  of  roads,  trails,  bridgfs,  and 
surveys  all  over  the  Province;  also,  the  erection  of  school  buildings, 
court-houses,  jails,  etc.,  etc. 


THE    CONFEDERATION   PERIOD.  561 

LOANS,  HOW  APPLIED. — In  his  annual  budget  speech,  in  the  early 
session  of  1894,  the  Minister  of  Finance  showed  how  the  moneys 
received  by  loans  had  been  applied  since  1887  : 

"There  have  been  built  110  school-houses  at  a  cost  of  $174,441  ;  10 
jails  and  lockups,  $26,985;  12  court-houses,  $190,692;  595,000  acres 
of  land  surveyed,  $83,424  :  1,200  miles  of  road,  800  miles  of  trail, 
600  bridges,  and  5,000  miles  of  roads  ancl  bridges  kept  in  repair  at  a 
cost  of  $1,531,683,  making  a  total  of  $2,007,225,  or  a  total  expendi- 
ture on  public  works  during  this  period  of  over  $2,000,000.  If  we 
deduct  from  this  $300,000  for  repairs,  we  have  still  an  expenditure 
of  $1,700,000  on  public  works  which  are  now  represented  by  assets 
that  are  fully  equal  to  the  expenditure  that  has  been  made  on  them. 
We  might  value  the  595,000  acres  of  land  alone  at  least  at  one  dollar 
per  acre,  and  this  is  now  open  to  settlement  and  is  being  plotted  and 
mapped  so  that  the  immigrant  may  be  thoroughly  informed  respecting 
it  at  the  land  office.  But  we  have  to  add  to  these  assets  the  public 
works  that  will  result  from  the  expenditure  which  has  now  to  be 
voted,  amounting  to  considerably  over  $400,000.  This  shows  that 
the  funds  which  we  obtained  from  the  loans  referred  to  have  been 
carefully  expended  in  the  manner  which  the  country  desired,  and 
which  it  expressed  its  own  opinion  of  through  the  House  at  the  time 
these  loans  were  voted  on  for  the  purpose  of  public  works." 

CONVERSION  TO  INSCRIBED  STOCK. — The  progress  of  the  Province, 
as  indicated  by  the  increase  in  revenue,  especially  during  the  last  six 
years,  shows  the  advantage  of  these  works.  This  expenditure  was 
provided  for  by  loans  in  1887  and  1891.  In  the  last  year  the 
Finance  Minister  arranged  for  a  change  in  the  method  of  raising  the 
loans — adopting  the  form  of  inscribed  stock.  In  order  to  enable  the 
Province  to  borrow  on  better  terms,  a  plan  for  conversion  of  the  1877 
and  1887  loans  (which  bore  interest  respectively  at  6  per  cent,  and 
4J  per  cent.)  was  carried,  issuing  the  new  inscribed  stock  in  place  of 
the  old  bonds.  Under  this  arrangement  the  Province  was  enabled  to 
borrow  at  3  per  cent,  with  a  sinking  fund  of  1  per  cent. ;  and  the 
1891  loan  was  raised  at  that  rate  (it  sold  at  84).  In  1893,  a  further 
loan  was  raised  for  the  construction  of  the  new  Parliament  Buildings, 
at  3  per  cent,  interest.  This  loan  sold  at  91. 

INCREASE  IN  REVENUE. — The  total  net  indebted  ness  of  the  Province 
on  30th  June,  1893,  was  $1,694,722.  The  value  of  provincial  public 
buildings  is  estimated  at  $1,150,000  ;  of  which  the  sites  cost,  in  round 
numbers,  $100,000.  Notwithstanding  the  (depression  that  has  pre- 
vailed during  last  year,  our  exports  exceeded,  in  a  marked  degree, 
those  of  any  previous  twelve  months. 
36 


562 


HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 


EXPENDITURE  FOR  SEVEN  YEARS. — The  following  is  a  seven-years' 
summary  of  expenditure,  showing  the  amounts  appropriated  on  the 
mainland  and  on  Vancouver  Island  : 

Mainland.  Island.               Total. 

Hospitals $175,116  $123,989          $299,105 

Education    496,719  416, 143            912,862 

R.  S.  B.  &  W 992,941  457,408         1,450,349 

Works  and  Buildings 385,896  161,053            546,949 

Surveys 98,930  67,747            166,677 

Total $2,149,602  $1,226,340      $3,375,942 


NET  PROVINCIAL  DEBT. 


REVENUE. 


1887  

$449-,836 

1887  . 

$541  517 

1888  
1889  

497,132 
606,614 

1888  
1889  

608,678 
.  .  .   706,780 

1890  

672,506 

1890 

835  463 

1891  

701,419 

1891 

959  248 

1892  .   . 

1  033.612 

1892 

1  020  002 

1893  .  . 

.  1.694.722 

1893  .  . 

1.012.257 

1S87 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 


A  FINANCIAL  STATEMENT. 

Gross  Debt. 
.....       $1,157,001 

1,780,125 

......        1,772,871 

1,797,820 

1,843,154 

2,876,036 

3,187,456 


Hal  Assets. 

Interest. 

$707,165 

$58,313 

1,282,993 

89,878 

1,166,257 

89,878 

1,125,314 

89,878 

1,141,736 

89,878 

1,842,434 

118,978 

1,492,734 

113,068 

EXEMPTION  FROM  TAXES. — The  following  is  a  list  of  exemptions  for 
the  city  of  Victoria,  for  the  year  1894,  making  an  aggregate  of 
$2,669,130,  as  furnished  by  the  assessor,  Mr.  William  W.  Northcott. 
The  exemptions  on  church  property  are  for  improvements  only,  and 
on  all  the  rest,  both  land  and  improvements  :  Roman  Catholic  church 
and  convent,  $166,900;  Presbyterian  churches,  $73,300  ;  Methodist 
churches,  $125,000;  Episcopal  churches,  $36,500  ;  Reformed  Episcopal 
church,  $12,000;  Baptist  churches,  $19,000;  Jewish  synagogue, 
$10,000;  Lutheran  church,  $1,000;  hospitals,  $124,600;  Protestant 
orphan's  home,  $30,000;  city  property,  $357,210;  schools,  $179,750; 
Provincial  Government,  $351,105  ;  Dominion  Government,  $233,925  ; 
railways,  etc.,  $148,840;  Indian  reserve,  $300,000;  park  (Beacon 
Hill),  $500,000. 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  563 

IT  has  been  shown  that  the  finances  of  British  Columbia  are  in  a 
healthy  condition.  Public  works  are  being  carried  on  as  speedily  as 
the  exchequer  will  permit.  During  1893,  the  Provincial  Government 
has  engaged  in  the  erection  of  several  important  public  buildings.  A 
commodious  court-house  has  been  built  in  Vancouver  city  at  a  cost  of 
$60,000.  Plans  have  been  prepared  for  a  handsome  stone  court- 
house in  Nanaimo.  The  parliament  buildings  in  Victoria  are  under 
contract  to  be  completed  by  the  30th  November,  1895,  and  will  be 
occupied  early  in  1896.  The  foundations  were  finished  in  1893,  and 
the  contract  for  the  superstructure  was  awarded  late  in  that  year. 
(See  page  312.)  The  bridges  over  the  Thompson  River  at  Spence's 
Bridge  and  Ashcroft,  destroyed  by  the  floods,  are  being  rebuilt. 
Ferries  were,  in  the  meantime,  established  at  these  two  points,  to 
meet  traffic  requirements. 

NEW  BUILDINGS  FOR  THK  DOMINION. — The  Dominion  Government 
have  purchased  an  eligible  site,  and  plans  are  prepared  for  the  con- 
struction, in  Victoria,  of  a  central  building  for  all  Dominion  offices — 
customs,  post-office,  inland  revenue,  marine  and  fisheries,  etc.  The 
sum  of  $84,000  was  voted  at  the  last  session  of  the  Commons  to  be 
devoted  to  this  purpose.  It  is  understood  that  the  buildings  when 
completed  will  cost  $250,000. 

QUARANTINE  STATION. — At  William  Head,  an  extensive  quarantine 

station  has  been  erected  by  the  Dominion  Government.     It  is  provided 

with  all  necessary  appliances  to  carry  out  the  quarantine  regulations, 

which  are  to  be  rigidly  observed  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  con- 

"tagious  diseases. 

THE  OCEAN  DOCKS. — These  capacious  wharves,  constructed  by 
Messrs.  R.  P.  Rithet  &  Co.  (T.  F.  Sinclair,  contractor),  are  now  com- 
plete in  every  detail,  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  Dominion  Govern- 
ment dredger,  a^channel  has  been  dredged  to  a  depth  sufficient  to 
admit  of  the  safe  entrance  and  docking  of  vessels  drawing  thirty  feet 
of  water  at  the  lowest  stage  of  the  tide.  The  basin  has  been  carefully 
dredged  in  every  part  to  furnish  this  depth  of  water. 

THE  MARINE  RAILWAY. — It  was  found  that  the  graving-dock  at 
Esquimalt  could  not  always  accommodate  the  merchant-ship  service, 
as  H.M.S.  war  ships  have  the  preference  of  occupation,  so  in  May, 
1894,  a  marine  railway  was  completed  by  private  enterprise.  It  is  in 
charge  of  W.  F.  Bullen,  formerly  manager  of  the  Albion  Iron  Works, 
and  is  capable  of  hauling  out  vessels  320  feet  long  and  of  2,500  tons 
dead  weight  ;  and,  at  two  hours'  notice  a  ship  drawing  twenty-two 


564  HISTORY   OF   BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

feet  of  water  can  be  hauled  out  in  fifteen  minutes.  During  the  two 
months  ending  June  30th  1894,  the  marine  railway  was  occupied  by 
eight  ships,  aggregating  8,370  tons. 

THE  ESQUIMALT  GRAVING-DOCK  is  capable  of  admitting  vessels  480 
feet  long,  drawing  from  twenty-seven  to  twenty-nine  feet.  During 
twelve  months  ending  30th  ultimo,  the  graving-dock  was  occupied 
sixty -six  days  by  seven  vessels,  total  tonnage  10,773  tons. 

HARBORS. — The  Dominion  Government  continues  to  dredge  the 
outer  and  inner  harbors  at  Victoria.  An  additional  freight-shed,  six 
hundred  by  sixty  feet,  has  been  erected  on  a  new  wharf  at  the  outer 
harbor,  and  the  area  reclaimed  by  said  wharf  is  being  filled  in  to  the 
level  of  the  adjacent  land.  In  the  approaches  to  and  alongside  the 
new  wharf,  there  is  now  a  uniform  depth  of  thirty  feet  of  water  at 
low  tide,  which  during  neaps  and  springs  is  increased  from  four  to 
ten  feet  additional. 

IN  NANAIMO  HARBOR,  the  depth  of  water  is  sufficient  for  the  largest- 
vessel  afloat,  and  at  the  wharves  there  is  every  facility  for  coaling 
vessels  with  despatch. 

VANCOUVER  HARBOR. — A  light  and  fog-alarm  has  been  recommended 
to  be  placed  off  Prospect  bluff,  entrance  of  Burrard  Inlet  Narrows. 
There  is  plenty  of  water  in  the  channel  for  ships  drawing  twenty-six 
feet,  and  the  wharf  accommodation  meets  the  requirements,  of  the 
port. 

FRASER  RIVER. — Improvements  in  deepening  the  channel  of  the 
Fraser  River  are  being  made  by  the  Dominion  Government,  and  ships 
having  a  draught  of  water  of  twenty  feet  can  now  be  towed  to  New 
Westminster. 

MANUFACTURES. — From  the  census  of  1891,  it  appears  that  although 
British  Columbia  is  not  generally  considered  a  manufacturing  prov- 
ince, its  returns  show  it  to  be  the  largest  manufacturing  province 
in  the  Dominion,  in  proportion  to  its  population.  From  the  same 
source  it  is  learned  that  the  value  of  machinery  and  tools  in  use  in 
industrial  establishments  is  $3,248,570,  and  that  the  number  of 
employes  has  increased  300  per  cent,  during  the  ten  years  preceding 
the  census. 

INDUSTRIAL  ESTABLISHMENTS. — In  the  Province  are  salmon  can- 
neries, sugar  refinery,  smelters,  shipbuilding,  furniture  factories, 
manufactories  of  aerated  waters,  steam  bakeries  and  biscuit  manu- 
factories, brickyards,  roller  flower  and  rice  mills,  paper  mill,  rolled 
oats  and  oatmeal  mill,  paint  works,  chemical  works,  fruit  preserving 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  565 

establishments,  Portland  cement  works,  bone  manure  factory,  pickle 
and  vinegar  works,  soap  factories,  pottery  and  terra  cotta  works, 
coffee  and  spice  mills,  breweries,  lumber  saw  mills,  sash  and  door 
factories,  planing  mills,  carriage  factories,  cigar  factories,  boiler  and 
engine  works,  shipyards,  iron  foundries,  boot  and  shoe  manufactories, 
and  numerous  smaller  industrial  establishments. 

ARTS  AND  SCIENCES. — For  such  a  comparatively  young  country  as 
British  Columbia,  the  "  Arts  and  Sciences  "  have  made  fair  progress. 
The  British  Columbia  Art  Association,  with  Mr.  E.  S.  Sharpnel  as 
president,  was  founded  in  1890.  The  first  exhibition  was  formed 
that  year,  when  three  hundred  works  of  art  were  placed  on  view,  the 
majority  being  original.  The  "Art,  Historical  and  Scientific  Associa- 
tion" of  Vancouver  was  organized  in  1894.  Its  first  exhibition  was 
opened  by  the  Governor-General  in  November,  1894. 

THE  ARTISTS. — The  principal  artists  belonging  to  those  associations 
are,  Messrs.  E.  S.  Sharpnel,  member  of  the  Canadian  Academy  and 
Ontario  Society  of  Artists ;  W.  Wilson,  of  Cowichan,  landscape 
painter — his  works  exhibited  in  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh ;  Lee 
Rogers,  Vancouver,  landscape  painter,  a  native  of  Liverpool — works 
exhibited  in  the  Royal  Academy;  H.  H.  Simpson,  Victoria,  painter 
of  animals,  exhibitor  in  the  Royal  Academy ;  R.  Quentin,  Victoria, 
portrait  and  historical  painter,  a  native  of  Paris,  pupil  of  Gerome, 
and  exhibitor  in  the  Salon ;  T.  Bamford,  Victoria,  landscape  and 
portrait  painter  in  oil  and  water  colors,  a  native  of  Liverpool, 
England — studied  under  John  Finney,  Art  Academy,  Liverpool,  and 
at  the  Boston  Art  School ;  S.  Maclure,  Victoria,  landscape  painter 
in  water  colors,  a  native  of  British  Columbia — studied  in  Philadel- 
phia ;  C.  L.  Bartf,  Victoria,  landscape  painter  in  oil,  a  native  of 
England,  and  recently  from  China;  J.  Carpenter,  Victoria,  water 
colorist,  a  native  of  England. 

ASTRONOMY.— F.  Hastings,  of  Hastings'  Studio,  Victoria,  is  an 
astronomer  of  considerable  celebrity.  He  has  constructed  a  large 
telescope,  which  he  uses  with  good  effect.  P.  Leech,  Victoria,  is  also 
well  versed  in  astronomical  observations. 

FRUIT  TREES. — The  raising  of  fruit  in  the  Province  is  receiving 
more  attention  than  formerly.  There  is  a  large  demand  for  all  sorts 
for  canning  and  preserving.  Larger  quantities  would  be  canned  at 
Victoria  and  Chilliwack  if  fruit  could  be  obtained.  Lord  Aberdeen, 
in  his  recent  tour,  referred  to  the  subject,  and  highly  recommended 
the  industry.  He  has  extensive  orchards  on  his  Okanagan  ranch. 


566 


HISTORY    OF   BRITISH    COLUMBIA. 


FORESTRY. — The  immense  and  valuable  forests  of  British  Columbia 
have  been  subjected  to  great  waste  by  fire.  A  select  committee  of  the 
Legislature,  during  the  early  session  of  1894,  reported  in  favor  of 
having  trees  and  shrubs  of  various  kinds,  both  native  and  imported, 
planted  at  any  government  institutions  having  suitable  land  attached, 
so  as  to  ascertain  in  reference  to  their  acclimatation  and  economic 
value  ;  also  that  care  should  be  taken,  by  reservation  or  otherwise,  to 
protect  the  forests  covering  the  sources  of  the  mountain  streams,  and 
also  to  prevent  the  wasteful  cutting  or  destruction  by  fire  of  the 
timber  in  the  neighborhood  of  mines  ;  that  the  Dominion  Government 


FRUIT  CANNERY,   VICTORIA. 

should  be  approached  with  a  view  to  the  location  of  an  experimental 
farm  in  the  dry  belt,  with  (among  other  objects)  a  special  view  to  the 
investigation  of  what  kinds  of  forest  and  fruit  trees  can  be  most 
profitably  introduced ;  and  that  every  possible  effort  should  be  made 
by  the  officials  of  the  Province  in  outlying  districts  to  prevent  the 
destruction  of  valuable  timber  areas  by  fire,  and  to  punish  persons 
carelessly  or  intentionally  starting  forest  tires. 

THE  LUMBER  TRADE. — Notwithstanding  the  widespread  financial 
depression  which  recently  prevailed,  the  exports  of  lumber  from 
British  Columbia  for  1894  have  exceeded  that  of  the  previous  year  by 
ten  million  feet.  "  The  revival  of  trade  in  Australia  points  to  an 


THE   CONFEDERATION    PERIOD.  567 

immediate  increased  demand  in  that  country  for  British  Columbia 
lumber.  South  America,  China,  Japan,  Cape  Colony  and  Europe  all 
furnish  markets  for  our  timber  wealth,  and  received  shipments  thereof 
during  the  past  year." 

SURVEYS. — Upwards  of  65,000  acres  were  laid  off  into  sections  of 
160  acres  each,  during  the  summer  of  1893,  in  different  parts  of  the 
Province,  on  which  were  engaged  ten  Provincial  Government  survey 
parties.  In  the  Nechaco  district  there  is  a  very  large  tract  of  land 
considered  suitable  for  settlement.  This  survey  has  led  to  many 
inquiries  from  intending  settlers.  In  Csoyoos  district  several  town- 
ships were  laid  off,  and  descriptive  reports  made  thereon.  The  survey 
of  the  northern  portion  of  Vancouver  Island  is  almost  completed,  and 
much  reliable  information  thereon  is  now  on  file  in  the  Lands  and 
Works  Department.  Altogether,  upwards  of  240,000  acres  were  laid 
off  for  settlement,  sufficient  for  1,500  farms  of  160  acres  each. 

"Eight  hundred  and  thirty-two  pre-emptions  were  recorded,  264 
certificates  of  purchase,  and  393  crown  grants  were  issued  (1893).  The 
total  area  deeded  was  124,634  acres.  One  hundred  and  ten  thousand 
six  hundred  and  forty-six  acres  were  land  for  timber  cutting,  and 
20,800  acres  were  covered  by  free  prospecting  licenses.  Thirty-five 
thousand  five  hundred  maps,  of  which  25,000  included  all  the 
province,  and  10,500  portions  thereof,  were  published  by  the  Pro- 
vincial Government  for  general  distribution."  The  "  deeded  acreage  " 
for  1892  is  given  at  309,878  acres,  and  in  1891  at  143,455. 

FISHERIES. — The  valuable  deep-sea  fisheries  of  British  Columbia 
are  as  yet  but  slightly  developed.  Arrangements,  however,  are  now 
in  progress,  in  connection  with  cold  storage  accommodations,  backed 
by  local  capitalists,  which  are  likely  to  procjuce  good  results.  The 
deep-sea  fisheries  scheme,  formulated  in  1891-2,  by  the  author  of  this 
history,  and  approved  by  the  Provincial  Government,  for  which  the 
sum  of  .£150,000  sterling  was  obtained  by  way  of  loan  to  colonize 
1,250  families  of  fishermen  from  Scotland,  on  the  sea-board  of  British 
Columbia,  may  yet  be  revi\*d  in  connection  with  the  colonization 
projects  of  the  Minister  of  Immigration. 

BOARD  OF  TRADE  COMPENDIUM. — The  Annual  Report  of  the  British 
Columbia  Board  of  Trade  for  1893-4,  contains  an  excellent  summary 
of  the  principal  points  of  interest  in  the  Province.  It  notices,  that 
whilst  the  volume  of  our  trade  and  commerce  during  the  period 
mentioned,  is  not  so  great  as  during  the  previous  two  years,  yet  it  has 
<been  maintained  in  a  healthy  condition ;  but  much  capital  being 


568  HISTORY    OF  BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

locked  up  in  unrealizable  assets,  together  with  the  more  conservative 
policy  of  the  banks,  had  caused  money  to  circulate  less  freely. 

"THE  TEMPORARY  stringency  has  necessitated  greater  caution  and 
stricter  economy  in  all  lines  of  business,  which  will  ultimately  serve 
the  best  interests  of  the  Province.  Confidence  in  the  future  prosperity 
of  British  Columbia  is  shown  in  the  high  rank  our  Provincial  Govern- 
ment securities  and  city  debentures  hold  in  the  world's  financial  circles. 

"  THE  GROWTH  of  our  trade,  in  a  great  measure,  will  be  regulated 
by  the  foreign  demand  for  coal,  lumber  and  fish  (the  latter  must  be 
developed  to  meet  the  demand).  Our  minerals  are  yearly  attracting 
more  attention,  and,  considering  the  depressed  state  of  silver,  the 
output  of  silver-bearing  ore  is  encouraging.  This  new  industry — the 
reduction  of  silver-galena  ores — however,  requires  for  its  development 
cheap  transportation  facilities,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  gold 
and  many  other  minerals  which  abound  in  the  Province.  The  loosen- 
ing of  capital  in  foreign  countries  will  undoubtedly  result  in  the 
development  of  this  province  on  the  lines  indicated. 

"  THE  POSSIBILITIES  of  our  trade  and  elasticity  of  our  resources  are 
shown  by  the  circumstances  that,  notwithstanding  the  universal 
business  depression  that  prevailed  during  last  year,  our  exports 
exceeded  in  a  marked  degree  those  of  any  previous  twelve  months. 

"  THE  REVENUE  contributed  by  this  Province  to  the  Dominion 
Government  for  the  year  ending  30th  June,  1893,  amounted  to 
$1,881,417,  which  is  equal  to  a,  per  capita  contribution  of  $19.65,  and 
is,  proportionate  to  our  population,  largely  in  excess  of  that  furnished 
by  any  other  province.  In  view  of  the  magnitude  of  these  figures, 
the  Province  can  in  all  justice  claim  from  the  Federal  Government 
larger  appropriations  for  public  works  in  the  Province  than  have 
hitherto  been  accorded." 

COLONIZATION  AND  FREE  HOMESTEADS. — A  writer  in  1864  said, 
that  the  mineral  and  agricultural  resources  of  British  Columbia  would 
warrant  an  annual  immigration  of  TEN  THOUSAND  for  many  years  to 
come.  After  the  lapse  of  thirty  yeaA  there  yet  remains  abundance 
of  land  in  the  Province  fit  for  settlement.  The  free  grant  principle 
has,  under  certain  conditions,  been  adopted  by  the  present  Minister 
of  Immigration ;  and  under  proper  regulations,  including  the  develop- 
ment of  the  timber  trade  and  the  deep  sea  fisheries,  there  is  nothing 
to  prevent  British  Columbia  from  becoming  a  GREAT  MARITIME  PRO- 
VINCE the  heritage  of  an  immense  population  of  a  prosperous,  happy 
and  contented  people. 


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