Pageant of B.C. by B. A. McKelvie, from Project Gutenberg Canada (2025)

GLIMPSES INTO THE ROMANTIC DEVELOPMENT
OF CANADA'S FAR WESTERN PROVINCE

B. A. McKELVIE

THOMAS NELSON & SONS (CANADA) LIMITED

Printed in Canada
in 11 point Baskerville type
by The Hunter Rose Co. Limited
Toronto, Ontario

TO KATE, MY WIFE,
WITHOUT WHOSE HELP, TOLERANCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT,
THIS BOOK WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED.

By B. A. McKelvie

Tales of Conflict
Fort Langley, Outpost of Empire
Black Canyon
Maquinna the Magnificent
Pelts and Powder
Huldowget

PREFACE

The history of the Pacific Slope of Canada is notparochial. Its contacts have been with many lands andpeoples.

The present work is composed of more than onehundred incidents and phases of that history, arrangedchronologically. There has been no attempt to write aformal history, but rather to select a few of the thousandsof colourful happenings which have contributed to theromantic story of British Columbia. It has been said that"the inspirational records of the past form the backgroundof citizenship." It is in keeping with this truism that the"Pageant of B.C." is offered to the public.

These stories first appeared in serial form in TheVancouver Daily Province, between February 1953 andMarch 1955, and it is with the kind permission of thePublisher of that great newspaper that they now appear inbook form.

Preparation of the different narratives has extendedover a long period of time, and required careful research.In this work the assistance of many is gratefullyacknowledged, and more especially Dr. W. Kaye Lamb, DominionArchivist; Willard E. Ireland, B.C. Archivist and hiscapable staff; Mrs. J. H. Hamilton, nee MadgeWolfenden, former Assistant B.C. Archivist; Miss MargeryHolmes, former Assistant Librarian, Provincial Library,Victoria, B.C.; deep appreciation is expressed of theunfailing courtesy of the Governor and Committee of theHudson's Bay Company for many favours, and especiallyfor information relative to happenings at forts St. John,St. James, Fraser and George.

Similarly, thanks are tendered to the MassachusettsHistorical Society which so kindly assisted me in respect to thevoyages of the 'Columbia' to the West Coast in 1789-1792.The Society also put me in touch with Dr. Gray Twombleyof New York, owner of the picture of Fort Defiance made onthe scene by artist George Davidson. To Dr. Twombley Iam indebted for permission to reproduce the sketch.To such fine pioneers as Matt Crawford, who personallyassisted in the making of Canada's Pacific Province, andwho made their experiences available for the record, Ialso want to pay tribute. Mr. Crawford, the last survivor ofthe little group present when the last spike on the C.P.R. wasdriven at Craigellachie, dictated his recollections ofthat day shortly before his passing.

There is one other acknowledgement that I wish to make,and with a grateful heart. It is to H. G. Grieve, M.D., eyespecialist, whose God-given skill gave me the sight withwhich to write this book.

B. A. McKelvie,
Cobble Hill, B.C.

CONTENTS

PREFACE

page
1 Chapter 1 In the Beginning
5 Chapter 2 Lure of the Orient
7 Chapter 3 The Mythical Strait
10 Chapter 4 Bering the Daring
12 Chapter 5 Brave Men in Small Ships
14 Chapter 6 Mystery in the Mist
16 Chapter 7 Cook at Nootka
19 Chapter 8 Music and Medicine
21 Chapter 9 Strange Raises Flag
23 Chapter 10 Fur Trading Honeymoon
26 Chapter 11 Glory, Glitter and Saucepans
29 Chapter 12 Meares Builds Schooner
31 Chapter 13 Dons Seize Nootka
34 Chapter 14 Song of Friendship
36 Chapter 15 Spain Was Haughty
39 Chapter 16 The Inland Sea
41 Chapter 17 Supernatural Visitors
43 Chapter 18 Merry Christmas
45 Chapter 19 Kendrick Speculates
48 Chapter 20 Vancouver Arrives
50 Chapter 21 The Lions' Gateway
52 Chapter 22 Vancouver Meets Dons
55 Chapter 23 Dinners and Diplomacy
57 Chapter 24 By Land from Canada
60 Chapter 25
63 Chapter 26 Survivor Becomes Slave
65 Chapter 27 Maquinna's Revenge
68 Chapter 28 Freed from Slavery
70 Chapter 29 Fraser Forms Posts
73 Chapter 30 The Great River
75 Chapter 31 Fort Beyond the Mountains
78 Chapter 32 Race for an Empire
80 Chapter 33 Death Laden Tonquin
82 Chapter 34 Kamloops is Started
85 Chapter 35 Sovereignty Fixed
87 Chapter 36 Nations Claim New Lands
90 Chapter 37 Find Mouth of Fraser
93 Chapter 38 Treacherous Attacks
96 Chapter 39 Fort Langley Rises
98 Chapter 40 Quaw Spares Douglas
101 Chapter 41
103 Chapter 42 Moved Amid Danger
106 Chapter 43 Fort McLoughlin
108 Chapter 44 Steamer Splashes to Coast
111 Chapter 45 Cold War at Dease Lake
113 Chapter 46 Fort Victoria Built
115 Chapter 47 Victim of Superstition
118 Chapter 48 New Fur Brigade Route
120 Chapter 49 U.S. Abandons Claim
123 Chapter 50 Tzouhalem Attacks Victoria
125 Chapter 51 Island Becomes Colony
128 Chapter 52 Planned Gaelic Community
130 Chapter 53 Douglas Brings Gold
132 Chapter 54
135 Chapter 55 Blanshard Proclaims Government
137 Chapter 56 Colliers Go on Strike
140 Chapter 57 Navy Attacks Natives
142 Chapter 58 The Saving Vaccine
145 Chapter 59 Gold Ore Sinks
147 Chapter 60 Organized Farming Starts
150 Chapter 61 Songhees Given Lesson
152 Chapter 62 Indian Tells of Coal
155 Chapter 63 Trial by Jury
157 Chapter 64 Voltigeurs Protect Colony
159 Chapter 65 Failure Put to Teaching
162 Chapter 66 Court Started in Turmoil
164 Chapter 67 Coal Centre Develops
167 Chapter 68 Heroism of Douglas
169 Chapter 69 Douglas Saved U.S. Towns
172 Chapter 70 House Starts with Crisis
174 Chapter 71 Wild Rush to Fraser
177 Chapter 72 Miners Build Road
179 Chapter 73
182 Chapter 74 New Colony Is Born
184 Chapter 75 Rush Changes Island
187 Chapter 76 Two Justices—No Peace
189 Chapter 77 Moody Selects Site
192 Chapter 78 San Juan Invasion
194 Chapter 79 First Legislative Buildings
197 Chapter 80 Helped to Start Alberni
199 Chapter 81 Rock Creek Proved Rich
202 Chapter 82 Law Comes to Cariboo
204 Chapter 83 Gave Gold by Pound
207 Chapter 84 Single Vote Election
209 Chapter 85 Oratory Changes Road Route
212 Chapter 86 Bride Ships Arrive
214 Chapter 87 Douglas Retires as Governor
217 Chapter 88 Klatsassin Starts War
219 Chapter 89 Burrard Inlet Settled
222 Chapter 90 Island Colony Ends
224 Chapter 91 Kootenay Miners Were Tough
227 Chapter 92 Fixing the Capital
229 Chapter 93 Colony Joins Dominion
232 Chapter 94 New Creeks Mined
234 Chapter 95 Lord Carnarvon Changes Terms
237 Chapter 96 Fenians Threaten Victoria
239 Chapter 97 C.P.R. Completed
242 Chapter 98 Granville Changes Name
244 Chapter 99 Vancouver Destroyed
247 Chapter 100 Vancouver Charter Suspended
249 Chapter 101 Kootenay Trouble Spot
252 Chapter 102 Fortune For Fees
254 Chapter 103 Victoria Anchors Capital
257 Chapter 104 Rush to Klondyke
259 Chapter 105 Fire Damages Royal City
261 Chapter 106

PHOTOGRAPHS
facing pages 88; 120; 184.

I
IN THE BEGINNING

When and by whom British Columbia was first inhabitedis unknown. It is believed that there were successive races inoccupation of the Pacific Slope in prehistoric days, but theiridentity and the order of their coming and going have not beendetermined. Evidences that have come to light in ancientburial mounds, in the speech of native tribes, in customsand ceremonies, and in occasional discoveries of primitiveartifacts have led scientific investigators to agree thatMongolian influences have been a strong factor in populatingthe country west of the Rocky Mountains. Some researchstudents advance arguments in an effort to establish thatthese Asiatic migrations included definite groups of Chinese,Japanese, Koreans and Northern Mongolians, while otheranthropologists contend that traces of the impact ofPolynesian culture may also be discerned.

There are some definite facts that give support to severalof these contentions. In 1882, miners in Cassiar uncovereda number of Chinese bronze coins while running a tunnelinto a hill. The coins were threaded on to an iron rod thatdisintegrated when exposed to the air. The money wasbrought to Victoria where it was identified as coinage ofChina such as was circulated about 2,000 B.C. Several yearslater, the Chinese interpreter of the Supreme Court atVictoria encountered Indians near Telegraph Creek who hadpossession of several solid-silver Buddhist ceremonial dishes.They asserted that they had found them beneath the rootsof a large tree. The natives would not part with the vessels,but did give the interpreter a large brass disc—some two anda half inches in diameter—one of several found in one of thedishes. The interpreter could not decipher the ideographiccharacters on the disc. Upon his return to Victoria he gave itto His Honour Judge Eli Harrison, who submitted it to expertsin New York, Philadelphia, and Washington for study. Theyidentified it as a Buddhist charm, of a type that had not beenmanufactured for more than 1,500 years. This disc is now inthe possession of a collector in Oregon.

When the streets of Nanaimo were being laid out, theroad foreman discovered, eleven feet underground, a Japanesesword. It was sheathed in a wooden scabbard that wasprotected by closely wound silvered copper wire. The handle wasof shark skin. The blade had not deteriorated by rusting. AJapanese archaeologist who inspected it declared the weaponto be of great antiquity. It is still in possession of the familyof the road foreman.

In different localities, and especially on the littoral ofthe Gulf of Georgia and up the Fraser River as far as Lytton,quaintly carved stone figures have been found. They rangefrom one of about two inches in height to a recent discoveryfourteen inches high. They evidence the workmanship of ahighly artistic and skilled people. The majority of thesefigurines depict a man holding a bowl. The features are wellmodelled and portray people of determined character, withprominent noses and protruding large round eyes, and withears—and some noses—pierced for ornaments. Distinctivehead-dresses are also featured. That these receptacles were forsome special purpose may be inferred from the evident careand patience expended in their manufacture.

According to Li yan tcheou, a Chinese historian of theearly seventh century, a band of Buddhist priests crossed thePacific and coasted south from Alaska, finally settling in theKingdom of Fusang (believed by some to have been Mexico).They left China in the year 458 A.D.—about the time thatthe Romans were leaving Great Britain—and in 499 A.D. thelast of the priests, Hoei shin by name, returned to China andhis story was recorded. This written account would be roughly1,000 years before Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

None of the puzzles of the past is more interesting thanthe possibility that Jews from China were at one time locatedon the Coast, and remained there long enough to leave theimprint of their culture upon that of the tribes whom theyencountered.

It is an historical fact that Jews were once powerful inChina.[*] The theory has been advanced that when KublaiKhan made his ill-starred expedition against Japan—towardsthe end of the thirteenth century—his fleet was dispersed bystorm and was blown out into the Pacific Ocean, and junksbearing the Jewish contingent of his troops made the greatdrift and landed on the American coast—possibly in thevicinity of the Queen Charlotte Islands, or the Nass River.

[*] The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, III, 156—"During the early yearsthe Jews of China scrupulously avoided inter-marriage, kept the lawsof Israel, enjoyed complete equality, reached high office, acquiredconsiderable competence and were known to their neighbours as 'TiaoChing Chiao', 'the sect that plucks out the sinew'. While there isevidence that they once had a flourishing religious and communal lifeand maintained numerous synagogues, little or nothing is known of thecommunity but the one in Kai-fung-foo."

Some of the treasures of Torah scrolls, manuscripts and records ofthe Kai-fung-foo colony are now in the Hebrew Union College atCincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.

The late Father Jean Marie Le Jeune, probably thegreatest linguist who worked among the British ColumbiaIndians, recorded that he had found Hebraic words in everynative language west of the Rockies.

Coast Indian customs that are suggestive of Hebraicceremonies and usages include: first fruit offerings, theceremonials observed in taking the first salmon and oolichan(candle fish) of the season.

Purification Rites: the fastings, social constraint, andfrequent bathing of hunters and warriors preparatory to anexpedition.

Wearing of the fringes: the ceremonial dress of theMedicine Man or Chief of some Coast tribes is reminiscent ofthat of the Jewish Priest, with a mitred head-dress, a blanketwith its totemistic design giving the effect of a breast-plate,and with its fringes.

Fasting from Sunset to Sunset: this was meticulouslyfollowed by hunters and warriors in spiritual and physicalpreparation for their undertakings.

Measurement of Time: the Indian system of division ofseasons, months and days, was similar to that of the Jewishcalendar.

Father Morice, the great historian of the Dene peoples,has noted in his examination of their habits that certaincustoms enforced upon female adolescents were similar tothose of the Jews.

So it is, that numerous distinctive habits and ways ofCoast Indians suggest that long ago Jews from China—themost likely place—visited the littoral of the North Pacific.There is no evidence for assuming that there is a biologicalrelationship between the Jews and Indians—but rather thecontrary, for a race that had preserved its insularity in Chinaduring centuries when that nation was far advanced in learningand culture, would not be expected to intermarry withthe untutored barbarians of the Coast; but any customsobserved and the speech used by the strangers would be copiedby the savages. Thus, it is possible that a lasting imprint of astay amidst the tribes would be made.

2
LURE OF THE ORIENT

When Christopher Columbus returned to Spain to announcethe discovery of new continents, Pope Alexander VI issued aBull dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal.This generous act of the Holy See in 1493 almost plungedthe civilized nations into a general war three centuries later forpossession of what is now Canada's western seaboard. Spain,relying upon the validity of the Pope's gift of 1493, tried toclose Pacific waters to Britain.

Spain, following the conquest of Mexico and the crossingof the Darien Isthmus by Balboa, entered upon the navigationof the Pacific. Gradually exploration was pushed northwardfrom Mexican ports until examination had been made of theshores as far as Lower California. Then enterprise lapsed,there being little incentive at the time for extendingexploration; ships were small and the seas, climate and the peoplesof the more distant areas were unknown. There was sufficientscope for Spanish energy in repressing the natives ofconquered lands and in superintending them in production ofwealth for Spain.

It was an era of geographic discovery and the extensionof trade and commerce. Queen Elizabeth was on the throneof England, and that nation was expanding in culture,industry and sea power. The navy, remodelled and revived byHenry VIII, was already proving its superiority over thearmed forces of powerful Spain, and the might of British armswas winning new respect for the Queen and her subjects.Reports, first brought to Europe by Marco Polo, the Italianadventurer of the thirteenth century, of the fabulous land ofChina, and the explorations of the Portuguese and the Dutchcreated new interest in the possibilities of the Far East. Inkeeping with this spirit, Elizabeth sent two trade envoys toChina to seek extension of English trade, and in doing soestablished a national policy that was to persist for centuriesand was to have a powerful influence upon the history ofCanada, and of British Columbia in particular.

Bold men in oaken ships, bearing the flag of Elizabeth'sEngland, roamed the high seas plundering the heavily ladentreasure ships of the King of Spain. It was suspected thatthey shared their loot with the Queen's treasury. Amongst theforemost of these daring freebooters was Sir Francis Drake.

In the late spring of 1579, Drake, in the 'Golden Hynde'—astout little vessel crammed with riches—appeared in theNorth Pacific. He had come through the Strait of Magellanand had plundered his way up the western seaboard of theAmericas. Piracy was not his only objective, for his plansincluded an examination of the trade potentialities of theMoluccas and of China, and the finding of a waterway fromthe Pacific to the North Atlantic that would give to Englandcontrol of the rich trade of the Orient.

The tiny 'Golden Hynde' beat through storms and thechilly mists of unknown seas, and finally sighted land. CaptainR. Bishop, British Columbia Land Surveyor, of Victoria,after long research, claimed that Drake reached the vicinityof Long Beach, Vancouver Island. According to records madeon the voyage, the English sailors were chilled by the wet andcold of the northern latitudes. Drake, himself, was discouragedby the prevalence of sea mists that made it difficult, if notimpossible, to find a passage to the Atlantic, if such existed.So the ship's bow was turned to the south, where a land ofsunshine was encountered. Here, at or near Drake's Bay onthe Californian coast, he took possession of the country forhis sovereign and named it "New Albion."

In 1936 a brass plate was picked up near San FranciscoBay. It had been left by Drake. It was inscribed:

BEE IT KNOWNE VNTO ALL MEN
BY THESE PRESENTS
INE 17 1579

BY THE GRACE OF GOD AND IN THE NAME OF HERR
MAIESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH OF ENGLAND AND HERR
SVCCESSORS FOREVER I TAKE POSSESSION OF THIS
KINGDOMS WHOSE KING AND PEOPLE FREELY RESIGNE
THEIR RIGHT AND TITLE IN THE WHOLE LAND VNTO
HERR MAIESTIES KEEPING NOW NAMED BY ME AN
TO BEE KNOWNE VNTO ALLMEN AS NOVA ALBION.
FRANCIS DRAKE

3
THE MYTHICAL STRAIT

The waterway that Drake sought in expectation that it wouldpermit him to sail from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean hadlong existed in the imagination of men. It was known as theStrait of Anian and was reputed to have been located bya Portuguese pilot named Gasper Cortereal, about 1500 A.D.It was named, according to tradition, for Cortereal's brother.The search for this short-cut between China and Europewas to continue for nearly three centuries, as a greatlodestone to exploration.

Many fantastic claims were advanced from time to timeby notoriety-seekers of discovery of this mythical channel. Theresult was that modern historians regarded with suspicionnearly all sixteenth- and seventeenth-century attempts—exceptthat of Drake—to find a navigable channel between the twooceans.

There is one story, however, that should not be toolightly discarded. It was the narrative of a Greek pilot namedApostolos Valerianos, who allegedly related a strange story toMichael Lok, a British merchant whom he met in Italy. Lokwas convinced of the truth of the tale and reported it to theEnglish Government. It was in 1596 when Lok met theGreek, who said that for many years he had been in theservice of Spain, sailing under the name of Juan de Fuca. Itwas in 1592, he asserted, that he had charge of an expeditionto explore the unknown seas north of Mexico. He told howbetween latitudes 47° and 48° he had found a great straitleading to an island-studded sea that branched in differentdirections. He described in detail the appearance of theentrance to this sea, saying that there was a peculiarly formedpinnacle-rock standing apart from the main shore; and he toldof meeting natives dressed in the skins of beasts. He had sailedfor some twenty days in this inland sea, he declared, and hadthen emerged into the northern ocean again through a straitthat had a very wide exit.

The fact that there was no available documentary prooffrom Spanish or English official sources, in later years, tosubstantiate the pilot's story caused historians to discredit it.It was known, however, that there was a pilot in Pacificwaters at the time of Drake's voyage who was known as "Johnthe Greek." But when, nearly two hundred years after deFuca told of having found the strait, a similar channel waslocated in the approximate latitude, with a pinnacle-rock atits entrance and inhabited by natives wearing skins of animals,the waterway was named in honour of the Greek pilot "TheStrait of Juan de Fuca."

Another colourful tale that differed little from thatrecorded by Michael Lok, in that it had neither documentarynor physical fact to support it, was the romance of AdmiralBartolemo de Fonte (or de Funtes) of having found alabyrinth of lakes and rivers that he and Captain Bernardo,commander of another vessel, explored in 1640. They weresaid to have sailed for great distances towards the east andnorth and were convinced that the passage led through toBaffin's Bay. Eminent geographers and cartographers of theperiod accepted de Fonte's story. They even believed hisassertion that he encountered a ship from Boston in thiswaterway, where it was trading for furs with the natives. Thiswas 150 years before the "Boston traders" became a factorin the pelt traffic along the Northwest Coast of America.

These early stories—fabulous or otherwise—served a purpose:they kept interest alive in geographical adventure andeventually led to the meticulous examination of the PacificCoast by such celebrated navigators as Captains Cook andVancouver.

4
BERING THE DARING

The year 1724 and Peter the Great, Czar of Russia, wereboth dying: it was December, and only five weeks before theemperor's demise, when he instructed Vitus Bering, a Danishnavigator in his service, to undertake a voyage of exploration.Earlier voyagers—and particularly Deschneff—had madereports that were suggestive of the existence of a channelbetween Asia and America. The great question of the dayamong learned men was as to the existence of such a strait.The subject interested the Czar, and so he ordered Bering tofind the answer.

It was July, 1728, before Bering could complete constructionof a vessel, named the 'Gabriel', and set sail from Kamchatka.It had been a terrific task to transport much of thematerial required across the desolate distances from Europe,and to find suitable timber and prepare it for boat construction.Frozen fish and fish oil constituted the main food supplyof the expedition. The daring Dane followed the shoreline,going as high as 67° 18' north latitude, a sufficient distanceto prove to him that the continents were separated. Hereturned to Kamchatka in September. The next year he madeanother trip, confirming his conclusions of the previousvoyage. But arm-chair critics at the Academy of Sciences atSt. Petersburg (now Leningrad) would not believe him, andBering went there to support his findings.

Empress Anna Ivanovna was now on the throne. Shewas sympathetic and was anxious to advance Russian discoveries.As a result, orders were given for a grand expeditionto be accompanied by men of science. This took a long timeto assemble and transport to the Pacific shores; so it was notuntil 1740 that Bering and his lieutenant of the 'Gabriel',Alexei Chirikoff, founded Petropavlosk as a base. As soon asthe two vessels, which were built at Okhotsk, were completedthey were brought to the new settlement and were madeready for sea. They were named the 'St. Peter'—commandedby Bering—and the 'St. Paul', captained by Chirikoff. It wason June 4, 1741, that they set sail. Bering was suffering fromague, but insisted on carrying out his task. Sixteen days laterthe vessels were separated in a storm. They never again madecontact.

The story of the subsequent travels of the two little ships—eachbut eighty feet in length by twenty beam—is a tale ofintense human suffering, of misery and death. Bering sailedeastward and north-eastward, and finally saw the toweringsnow-topped peak of Mount St. Elias. He inspected the coastas best he could while his tiny craft was buffeted by contrarywinds. Scurvy—the scourge of the sea—weakened his crew.It was decided to return home. A stop was made at an island;sick men were landed, but they were not benefited. Thecondition of Bering, who was among the stricken, and his illcompanions became worse. There were not sufficient menunafflicted to man the ship. Finally the vessel came into a bayof an unrecognized island; some thought it was Kamchatka.Here they landed and built dug-out shelters to which thesick were removed—and there sixteen men, including VitusBering, died. The 'St. Peter' was driven ashore and througha terrible winter the survivors existed and suffered. In thespring a small craft was constructed, and in this way theymanaged to reach civilization.

The experience of Chirikoff and his crew on the St. Paulwas similarly terrible. They had explored to the eastwardand made the continental coast of America. Here sixteen menwere lost in a sudden attack by the natives on a wateringparty. Chirikoff managed to bring the vessel back.

Stories told by the survivors of the wealth of furs to befound on the islands and mainland visited led to furtherexpeditions, and to establishment of Russian authority overAlaska. This continued for over a century until the UnitedStates bought the territory.

5
BRAVE MEN IN SMALL SHIPS

Russian activities in the North Pacific, and the capture ofCanada by the British caused such concern in Madrid thatthe Government of Spain ordered active measures to be takento explore and occupy the northern coasts of WesternAmerica and thus preserve the title of sovereignty bestowedby Pope Alexander VI in 1493 upon Spain. So in 1774,a special organization known as the "Marine Department ofSan Blas" was created. Its purpose was to further exploration.In January, 1774, the little ship 'Santiago', commandedby Don Juan Perez, with Don Estevan Martinez as his pilot,set sail with instructions to penetrate the unknown waters asfar north as latitude 65°. Bad weather buffeted the vessel anddelayed her progress. It was not until July 18 that landfall wasmade. It was between latitudes 53° and 54°, and was thewest coast of the Queen Charlotte group. Perez found thatadverse winds and tides thwarted his efforts to round CapeNorth—its present name—which he called Santa Margarita.He determined to return to Mexico, although he was far shortof his objective. He was in need of supplies, and the terriblescurvy was weakening his crew.

Perez was heading southward when, on August 5, he sawthrough the sea mists a mountainous shore. It was latitude49° 50' according to his reckoning. He stood off again whendarkness fell, and it was two days later before he couldapproach the land again. He was now able to discern a wideroadstead with two headlands, which he named "Estevan"and "San Clara." The former still bears that name. Indianswatching from the shore were in great confusion. Some fledto the protection of the forest, while braver ones went out tothe ship in their canoes, and were given gifts by Perez. Severalof the amazed savages were induced to board the vessel andwhile there managed to steal some silver spoons. TheseCaptain Cook was shown four years later. But Perez did notgo ashore, threatening weather forcing him to leave hurriedly,and robbing him of the distinction of being the first white manto land on what became Vancouver Island.

The following year the 'Santiago' was again commissionedfor a voyage of discovery; this time Don Bruno Hecetawas in command, with Perez as pilot. The thirty-six footschooner 'Sonora', under Don Juan Francisco de Bodega yQuadra, with Antonio Maurelle as second in command, wasordered to accompany the 'Santiago'.

Heceta was anxious to locate de Fuca's strait but failed tofind it. He made a landing about latitude 47° 20', and withproper ceremony raised the flag of Spain and the Cross andtook possession of the country. The few Indians encounteredwere friendly. This was near present-day Point Grenville. The'Sonora' anchored a few miles to the northward, and there,after the Indians at first professed friendship, a watering partywas attacked by several hundred armed natives who killed theSpaniards. Then hostile savages in canoes threatened to rushthe 'Sonora', but when one canoe was blasted by a shot fromthe schooner, killing six braves, they withdrew and the vesselwas able to make off to rendezvous with the 'Santiago'.

Towards the end of July the vessels were separated bystorm. Heceta, unable to contact his consort, and being shortof supplies, and many of his men being sick, decided toreturn to Monterey, the nearest port of New Spain. Hearrived there on August 29.

Meanwhile, Quadra and his gallant crew, making landabout latitude 57° 2', examined the coast to latitude 58°.They landed twice and took possession of the country forSpain. On September 8 he turned homeward, and reachedMonterey on November 20.

6
MYSTERY IN THE MIST

It was March 29, 1778: two of His Britannic Majesty's ships,'Resolution' and 'Discovery', emerged momentarily from theswirling mist to sight a rugged shore backed by high,snow-capped mountains. For some weeks the two vessels had beenbattered by heavy seas. Captain James Cook, the foremostnavigator of his day, whose previous voyages to the SouthSeas had brought great honour to himself and advantage tohis country, was in command of H.M.S. 'Resolution' and ofthe expedition of exploration to the Northwest Coast ofAmerica. Captain Charles Clerke had charge of H.M.S. 'Discovery'.They had come to prove, if possible, whether afeasible waterway existed for the development of seacommerce between Europe and the Far East.

Again the wet curtain lifted and Cook spied two headlandsat the entrance to a great bay. Several weeks previouslyhe had seen a prominent point, which he expected wouldprovide shelter to refit his ships, but had been disappointed.He named the bluff "Cape Flattery." Now as the sweepbetween the capes gave assurance of safety, he called theindentation "Hope Bay."

As Cook and Clerke, from their ships, inspected theunknown coast, Chief Maquinna stood on rising groundabove his village of Yuquot with his friend Nanaimis andscanned the heaving gray seas. They were looking for theblowing of whales. Suddenly they saw two apparitions appearfrom out of the mist. They gazed in astonishment as thethings became more clearly defined. "It must be Qua-utz [anative deity]," Maquinna whispered; but his friend, afterfurther inspection, doubted that it was the return of themythical god. "No," he said, "it is Hai-et-lik the lightningsnake, carrying islands on its back." Now others joined thewatchers to express their wonder and fears. Then old Ha-hat-saikthe witch cackled that she recognized the objects asenchanted salmon transformed by magic into stupendous canoes.

So it was that Ha-hat-saik offered to break the spell thatheld the fish: she donned her mystic robes and armed withher potent medicine rattle boldly embarked in a canoe andwas paddled towards the approaching monsters. Bravely shestood in the bobbing little dug-out and called hercharm-dispelling formula and shook her rattle; the gigantic thingsswept past her, past Yuquot and deep into the recesses ofthe sound beyond. Captain Cook had found shelter.

Maquinna and Nanaimis—now that Ha-hat-saik hadfailed—boldly paddled to where the ships had stopped. As thevessels had passed the village, creatures having human formswere seen on the decks. Now, as the chiefs approached, oneof these supernatural beings appeared on a ladder down theside of the larger of the two canoes. He was dressed in blue,with shining discs on his coat. His face was pale, as one fromthe spirit world. But the chiefs—being watched by theirtribesmen—went closer and closer. They sang songs ofwelcome, shook rattles and scattered bird-down and red earthon the waters as signs of amity.

The stranger in blue waved for them to come nearer.They did so. Maquinna held out a glossy sea-otter pelt. It wasaccepted. Nanaimis proffered a beaver skin. Then thepale-faced stranger loaded them with marvellous treasures: therewere sheets of burnished copper, blankets of amazing softnessand compelling colours, and trinkets such as had never beenseen before by the astonished and happy recipients.

Maquinna, in a burst of grateful emotion, whipped theroyal robe of otter skins from his shoulders and pressed itupon this beneficent being; and Captain Cook, understandingthe great significance of such a gift, lifted his gold-laced hatfrom his head and placed it upon the brow of the chief.Complete friendship was established, as these mighty menamong their respective races met.

7
COOK AT NOOTKA

Captain Cook had found a secure haven where he could refitthe two vessels under his command, and named it "ResolutionCove." It was on an island he named for the master of hisship, 'Bligh', who later won notoriety as the embodiment ofa maritime bully. It was a commodious waterway that he hadfound, and Cook at first christened it "St. George's Sound,"but later, under the impression that it was known to theIndians as "Nootka," he so designated it.

This was Captain Cook's third voyage of discovery intothe Pacific, and Captain Clerke, his second in command, hadaccompanied him on the two previous expeditions. JamesCook was the son of a farm worker. He went to sea in themerchant service as a boy and later joined the navy. He hadworked his way to an acknowledged position as foremosthydrographer of his day. He had contributed much to GeneralWolfe's capture of Quebec when he surveyed the St. LawrenceRiver below the Plains of Abraham in preparation forthe landing of troops there. He had also surveyed the coastsof Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

It had been an exhausting voyage through wintry seasafter leaving the enervating clime of the Sandwich Islands(Hawaii), which he had discovered. The ships had beenmauled and beaten by heavy waves and terrific winds. It wasto repair the damage inflicted by the elements that Cook wasso anxious to find a secure haven. Now the 'Resolution' and'Discovery' were moored close to shore in a sheltered bay; menwere busily engaged in felling tall, straight-trunked trees andtrimming them for spars, in replacing tackle and refillingwater casks, and in other manifold tasks of refitting. As theyworked Indians swarmed about the cove, watching in wondermentthe strangers who had come in the mighty winged canoes.

Born traders, the natives brought many things to barter,ranging from barbaric relics of cannibalistic ceremonies torich black sea-otter furs. In exchange they received metals andfabrics and trinkets. Once, owing to their thievish ways, aclash seemed likely, but when the crews responded to analarm and took action stations, the Indians adopted aconciliatory attitude and the danger was dispelled.

"We remained here until April 26th," the log-book ofthe 'Discovery' recorded, "during which time the bulk of ouremployment was wooding, watering and brewing spruce beer,of which we made a very considerable quantity—and we alsorestowed our holds, overhauled our rigging and such otherduties. We also sent our carpenters to assist at the'Resolution''s fore-mast which was taken out and sent on shore tobe repaired; also assisted in getting out a new miz [mizzen]mast—and the opportunity being fair got ourselves some sparespars. We also repaired our sails and recruited our stock ofbrooms."

Another journalist on the 'Discovery' added this pertinentcomment: "When we left the harbour, we had more than 300beaver [otter?] skins on board, besides less valuable skins offoxes, racoons, wolves, bears, deer and several wild animals,for dogs excepted, we saw no other domestic creatures aboutthem."

Maquinna, the ruler of Nootka, who had entertainedCook at his village of Yuquot, parted from his new friendreluctantly, as, with his crews refreshed and ships refitted, thecaptain left to pursue his hunt for the mythical channel forcommerce from Europe to China. He pushed on to the northuntil stopped by a wall of ice in Bering Sea. He turned backto winter at the Sandwich Islands. There he was murderedby the natives. Captain Clerke assumed direction of theexpedition and bravely endeavoured to complete the work of hisfriend, but Clerke was suffering from tuberculosis and diedoff the Siberian coast.

When the ships, homeward bound, stopped at China,it was found that there was a great demand, at high prices,for the sea-otter skins that had cost so little at Nootka.

8
MUSIC AND MEDICINE

When the story of Cook's last voyage was published, it causedexcitement in mercantile countries. It revealed that on theAmerican side of the Pacific was an abundance of glossysea-otter fur to be traded from the Indians, and on the oppositerim of the ocean, in China, existed a ready market for thesefurs. Soon adventurers from many nations were hurrying toshare in such prospective profits.

Captain James Hanna was first to arrive, in a tiny brigof some sixty tons—the 'Sea Otter'—carrying thirty officersand men. He reached Nootka in August. The Indians tried tocapture the vessel and in the ensuing fight a large number ofthe natives were killed by the destructive weapons of thewhites. Barter was resumed and Hanna purchased a cargoof skins that brought him $20,600 on the Chinese market.Next to come were two snow-rigged vessels[*], the 'CaptainCook', commanded by Captain Laurie, and the 'Experiment',under Captain Guise. Direction of the expedition was givenby James Strange, a partner in the enterprise. They hadsailed from India, under licence of trade from the East IndiaCompany, which claimed a monopoly of British trade onthe Northwest Coast. This monopolistic assertion was evadedby some British captains by placing their craft under foreignflags.

[*] Snow: a small sailing vessel resembling a brig formerly employed asa warship.

Scurvy was weakening the crews of the ships as theyapproached the rocky shores of the Coast. It was June 24,1786, when land was sighted and Indian canoes put off togreet the arrivals. The Indians brought fish, and Strangerecorded that nothing had given him greater pleasure thanbeing able to feed this fresh food to his ailing crews. Onentering Nootka Sound three days later, Strange took immediatesteps to find a place on shore where the sick might be nursedback to health. He finally selected a big cedar-board houseat Maquinna's village of Yuquot—or Friendly Cove, as Cookknew it—which he purchased, "for about the value of ashilling." He set men to work and make it tidy. Theymanaged to clean it of everything but the odour of decayedfish. Three days later he had to move the invalids into tentsaway "from the influence of the corrupted air of the village." Here,on a diet that included berries, roots and greens, theyquickly recovered. As the men gained strength, Strange hadthem dig up the ground and plant garden seeds, and so hewon fame as the first agriculturist on the Pacific slope.

Strange threw himself into bartering for furs with vigourand enthusiasm. As he displayed his wares he picked up a pairof cymbals and struck them together. He started to sing,improvising a ditty as he hammered the brass. The Indianswere entranced. They insisted that he repeat the song, but hehad forgotten it. They gave him the air, and he had to repeatthe concert. "I seldom after this period bought a skin withoutfirst being called upon to sing," he wrote in his journal.

Before quitting Nootka, Strange decided to leave anagent with the Indians who could learn the language andassist in keeping the furs of the Sound from other traders.Dr. John Mackay, a young Irish surgeon on the 'Experiment',volunteered to stay with the natives.

Mackay had cured Maquinna's son of a skin infectionand the chief promised to protect him. He declared that "heshould eat the choicest fish the Sound produced and that onmy return I should find him as fat as a whale," said Strange."I left with him a large quantity of garden seeds, and grainof various sorts, and before I sailed a considerable spot ofground was allotted to him for the culture of them, for whichpurpose he had every necessary implement given him."

At first Mackay enjoyed the savage life, but later theIndians robbed him and when, the next year, he was rescuedby Captain C. W. Barkley, of the 'Imperial Eagle', he was ina filthy state, naked and half-starved. He was most happy tobe once more in the company of Europeans.

9
STRANGE RAISES FLAG

Although Captain Cook stayed at Nootka for nearly a month,refreshing his crews and refitting his ships, there is no recordof his having taken possession of the country for the BritishCrown. It remained for James Strange, the fur trader fromIndia, to do so.

Strange was an interesting individual. He was quick tosee an opportunity and act upon it. He was ready to rewarda service and was loyal to his friends and his King. He wasthe first publicity agent for the resources of the Northwest.He took away with him from Nootka specimens of iron pyriteswhich he had fashioned into buttons for his black velvet courtdress, drawing attention to the mineral wealth of the land.

It was after leaving Nootka that he took possession ofthe country for King George III. This he did on twooccasions, first at a place he named "Oxenford Bay"—identifiedas the present Sea Otter Cove—near the northwestern end ofVancouver Island. Under date of August 2, 1786, he madeentry: "I this morning ordered out the Long Boat, and wentin her with an intention to explore an Inlet, which from Ourstation at Sea, then bore a favourable appearance, and whichI conceived to be a Sound. I had not, however, proceededabove three miles up the Bay, before I determined the extentof it, which was little more than four miles from the entrance.On making however the Extreme end of it, I perceived asmall inlet into another Bay, which I was anxious also toexplore, and I accordingly entered it; its termination wasvery circumscribed indeed, being little more than three milesin circumference. Having landed on a very fine Sandy Beach,the first Object of my attention was to take possession of theCountry and Bay in the Name of His Britannic Majesty,which I accordingly did with the usual Ceremonies of hoistingthe Colours and turning a turf."

Continuing on his way, Strange anchored off Cape Scott,which he honoured with the name of David Scott of Bombay,his associate in the trading venture. He then decided toexplore the vicinity for Indian villages where he might findfurs. Embarking in a longboat on August 4, he headed downa long waterway—now known as Goletas Channel—andthis he followed for some forty miles. It was the next daywhen, having started to return to the ships, he saw at adistance of a mile and a half what appeared to be a desertedvillage. It was the first sign he had seen of human inhabitantsin the vicinity. Landing at the place he found the remains ofseveral ancient habitations.

He climbed a mountain and from its top saw away belowhim a vast sound, which he named "Queen Charlotte Sound,"and extending off to the eastward a considerable waterwaywhich, he said, "strikes me that the inlet in question is veryprobably the Strait said to have been Discovered many yearsago by Admiral De Fonte." Descending from the mountain,Strange took possession of the locality. He duly recorded it inhis journal: "Before, however, leaving our present situation,I had the pleasure to Display the Flag, and to take Possessionof the Inlet and Sound in the name of His Britannic Majesty,honouring it at the same time with the name of QueenCharlotte's Sound. From the transient View I had of thisplace, it surpasses far in appearance, both in Beauty andextent any other Sound as yet Discovered on this Coast...Before we quitted our present Station, I left many testimoniesbehind me of Our having Visited and taken possession ofthis part of the Coast. In the body of a large Tree, oppositeto one of the Huts, I cut a deep hole, in which I depositedboth copper, Iron and Beads; besides leaving the Names ofour Ships and the Date of Discovery."

The original of Strange's journal came to light in Indiain 1928, and a small edition was published. In 1936, just 150years after the event, the piece of copper that he left as amemento of British sovereignty was found where he left it.It was on Nigei Island, formerly known as Galiano Island. Itis now in the B.C. Archives.

10
FUR TRADING HONEYMOON

Because Dutch merchants doubled the price of pepper in1599, a gallant English sea captain married a sweet younggirl of seventeen at Ostend in 1786, and sailed away tohoneymoon on the wild and unknown coast of the NorthPacific. The Dutch had a monopoly of the pepper trade fromthe East Indies. Their increase in the price made Britishdealers angry. They held a meeting, organized a company,and secured a charter from Queen Elizabeth giving them amonopoly of British trade in the East Indies. Later this wasextended as other chartered companies were absorbed, untilnow, following Cook's discovery of the sea-otter wealth of theNorth American littoral, the East India Company assertedits exclusive privileges of British trade in the Pacific Ocean.

Even servants of the big company were not averse topoaching in this new field. A number of them, including oneor two directors, formed a syndicate, purchased the fine400-ton vessel 'Loudoun', and placed her under command ofyouthful Captain Charles Barkley—not yet twenty-six. Asplendid craft, well armed and with a uniformed anddisciplined crew, she was a proud ship. She slipped down theThames and across the channel to Ostend to load suppliesand provisions, and to change both her flag and her home.Here the handsome young captain met romance in the personof Frances Hornby Trevor—not yet seventeen—daughter ofthe Rev. John Trevor. During the two months' delay, whilethe legal formalities of changing to Austrian colours andaltering the name of the ship to the 'Imperial Eagle' werebeing completed, Barkley wooed the fair maid. They weremarried, October 27, 1786, her father conducting the service.A few days later the brave ship, with her newly painted nameglistening from her bows and her white sails spread to thebreeze, moved off on her honeymoon trip into uncharted seas.

It was June, 1787, when the 'Imperial Eagle' droppedanchor in Friendly Cove, off Chief Maquinna's village ofYuquot, and for the first time the natives of Nootka beheld awhite woman. A small canoe approached the ship. In it wasa dirty individual wearing a greasy sea-otter cloak. He camealongside and shouted greetings—not in the guttural tones ofan Indian, but in the cultivated voice of an educatedIrishman. He was John Mackay, the surgeon whom Strangehad induced to go ashore and live with the natives as acommercial agent for Strange's vessels. He was filthy in hisappearance. He had been robbed of his European garmentsand had been forced to conform to the habits and customs ofthe natives. But he had learned the language of the nativesand had explored the adjacent territory, which had convincedhim that Nootka Sound was not located on the mainland,but on an island.

Mrs. Barkley was disgusted at the sight of the doctor;in fact she was horrified when he came aboard. But once hewas cleaned and was re-clothed in white men's fashion he wastolerable. The Captain had no qualms about acceptingMackay on board. He saw the value of a man acquaintedwith the natives, and immediately appointed him Indiantrader. It was a happy arrangement, for the doctor'sknowledge of the language and ways of the Indians was soonbringing the largest and best of Nootka's sea-otter pelts to thehold of the ship. Other traders, notably Captain JamesColnett, in the 'Prince of Wales', and Captain Charles Duncanin the 'Princess Royal', found soon after that Barkley withMackay's aid had cornered the market.

When trade lapsed at Nootka, the 'Imperial Eagle'cruised along the Coast, stopping at Clayoquot Sound, whichBarkley named "Wicannanish" in honour of the chief whoruled there. Then the "honeymoon craft" continued her easyvoyaging until, as the young bride set down in her diary, "wecame to another large sound, to which Captain Barkley gavehis own name." He affectionately bestowed her names,"Frances," "Hornby," and "Trevor," on other geographicfeatures.

Leaving Barkley Sound, the ship was headed east bysouth, where it finally opened a wide waterway, some "fourleagues in width." From the tallest mast no diminution of thesize of this channel could be noted, nor could the terminationof it be observed. It must be, the Captain exclaimed, theseaway that the old Greek pilot had reported to Michael Lok,nearly 200 years before: so young Captain Barkley, aboardthe largest vessel that had yet adventured into the NorthPacific, recalled the tale of long ago, and marked the channel"The Strait of Juan de Fuca" upon his chart. As such it hasremained.

11
GLORY, GLITTER AND SAUCEPANS

The snow 'Felice Adventurer', 230 tons, rounded the pointof Hog Island and dropped anchor in Friendly Cove in frontof Maquinna's village of Yuquot. It was May 13, 1788.From the deck of the ship which, in company with the'Iphigenia Nubiana', had left China in January to trade onthe Northwest Coast, an odd figure gazed at the assemblednatives on the beach. He was Comekela, the younger brotherof the mighty Maquinna. He was coming home. He had beengiven up for dead since that day when he had gone away ona trading ship. He had defied tradition and ignored thewarnings of the wise men; he had adventured into the mistsbeyond the setting sun. He had been found in China—theland of the Yellow-faced People—by John Meares, captainof the 'Felice' and master mind of a new commercial mergerof trading companies that aimed at controlling the trade infurs.

Meares had led a previous expedition to northern waterswhere he had wintered miserably, a large number of his crewdying from the ravages of scurvy, while the 'Sea Otter',Captain Tipping, his consort at the time, had vanishedcompletely. The trip had been under British colours and withEast India Company licence. Now, however, the newenterprise with which he was connected placed the 'Felice' and'Iphigenia' under Portuguese registry, while other of its shipswould fly the British ensign.

Comekela, the wretched and forlorn Nootkan, was takenon board the 'Felice' in the belief that his gratitude at beingrestored to his people would pay dividends in fur to theastute trader. The closer the snow came to Nootka, the moreattentive was Meares to the comfort of his passenger. NowComekela was anxiously scanning the throng on shore. Hewas looking for Maquinna and Callicum and other mightymen—for he was bursting with pride and pomposity and waseager to astonish them. There was ample reason to believethat he could amaze his friends with the spectacular mannerof his home-coming, and Meares in telling of the matterexplained why:

"Comekela was bedecked in a brilliant red military coatthat was ablaze with flashing brass buttons and scintillatingtrinkets. He wore a big sheet of burnished copper about hisneck, while his powdered hair was surmounted with agorgeous hat with a gay cockade. From his ears copperornaments were suspended, and he had contrived to hang from hishair,—which was dressed en queue,—so many handles ofcopper saucepans that his head was kept back by the weightof them, in such a stiff and upright position as very much toheighten the singularity of his appearance. For various articlesof his present pride Comekela had been in a state of continuoushostility with the cook, from whom he had contrivedto purloin them; but their last and principal struggle was foran enormous spit, which the American had seized as a spearto swell the circumstance of that magnificence with whichhe was on the moment dazzling the eyes of his countrymen."

Nor was Comekela disappointed: his return from theLand of the Yellow-faced People was as spectacular andsensational as could be desired. As the boat from the shipinto which he had to be lowered by reason of the weightand grandeur of his apparel—touched the shore and he wasassisted to land, there was a gasp of startled wonder andincredulity. His friends stared at him in open-moutheddisbelief. At last an aged aunt staggered forward and threw herarms about him; others drew timorously nearer to inspect him,and even cautiously put forward fingers to touch his splendourand satisfy themselves that he was alive and real.

Despite the absence of his brother the great Maquinnaand of Callicum and several other mighty men, who werevisiting at Clayoquot with the lordly Wicannanish, immediatearrangements were made for a feast at which to welcome theprodigal home. Meares attended and noted in his journalthat Comekela had evidently lost his relish for the rancidwhale-oil and blubber delicacies of his people—and JohnMeares was pleased. He thought that Comekela's educatedpalate would require greater dependence upon him and thewhite man's cookery.

When Maquinna did return to give welcome to Mearesand to Comekela, the crafty Captain used his influence tosecure honours and position for his protégé. He induced theLord of Nootka to place Comekela high up on the ladder ofnative nobility, to bestow upon him the hand of a rich andbeautiful maiden, and lastly to appoint him treasurer of theroyal riches. And this, the most cherished of all the benefitsconferred, proved to be the most disappointing to JohnMeares. Comekela proved to be faithful to his trust andprotected Maquinna's treasure from all—and particularlyfrom Captain John Meares.

12
MEARES BUILDS SCHOONER

Captain John Meares was a man of large ideas. Whenceeffected a merger with other interests operating from Chinato the Northwest Coast with his own he planned to achievea monopoly in the fur trade. He placed a part of his shippingunder Portuguese colours, while several ships were continuedunder the British flag with licences from the East IndiaCompany, which claimed exclusive commercial rights underancient charters.

While Meares himself was willing to masquerade underPortuguese registry, he was determined that a schooner thathe planned to build at Nootka should have the protection ofthe British flag. He lost no time in starting work on this craftfollowing his arrival in May, 1788. He intended the schoonerto operate from a "fur factory" or base at Nootka where thepelts would be processed for marketing. In this way largervessels would save much time in plying to and from Chineseports with the cargoes offered and received in barter.

Meares took an early opportunity of purchasing landfrom Chief Maquinna. A "spot of ground" for the locationof his shipyard and workshops he bought for a pair of pistolsthat the Chief coveted. A larger tract, including the whole ofFriendly Cove, according to Robert Duffin, one of his officersaboard the 'Felice Adventurer', was secured for "eight piecesof copper and several other trifling articles." Upon thisoccasion, Duffin declared under oath, "The British Flag wasdisplayed on shore at the same time and those formalities wereused as is customary on such occasions."

Having won the esteem of Maquinna and some sort ofindefinite title to the "spot of ground" required forshipbuilding, Meares set his men to work to build a combineddwelling and workshop. The friendship of the Nootkan chiefextended to the appointment of Chief Callicum as theprotector of the party ashore. He had "peremptory injunctionsto prevent the natives from making any depredations."

"In the very expeditious accomplishment of thisimportant work," Meares explained, "the natives afforded usall the assistance in their power, not only by bringing thetimber from the woods, but by readily engaging in any andevery service that was required of them."

In describing the undertaking Meares said: "On theground floor was ample room for the coopers, sail-makersand other artisans to work in bad weather. A large roomwas also set apart for the stores and provisions, and thearmourer's shop was attached to one end of the building andcommunicated with it. The upper story was divided into aneating room and chambers for the party." Around the housewas thrown up a breastwork, while one small cannon was"placed in such a manner as to command the cove and villageof Nootka." Outside of this defensive work the keel was laid"of a vessel of forty to fifty tons, which was now to be builtagreeable to our former determination." Robert Funter, anofficer on the 'Felice', was put in charge of the establishment.It was the first European-style house built in what is nowBritish Columbia.

After seeing the work well started, Meares cruised alongthe Coast in search of furs. It was during this voyage thathe called on Wicannanish, the Lord of Clayoquot, and madefurther land purchases, "in consequence of considerablepresents"; and with the land went "a promise of a free andexclusive trade..." Similar transactions were claimed to havebeen made with Chief Tatootche, at the entrance to the Straitof Juan de Fuca.

On September 29 the schooner was completed. RobertHaswell, mate on the Boston ship 'Columbia', reported seeingit launched, and noted that it was named the 'North WestAmerica', and that the occasion was one of considerablefestivity.

13
DONS SEIZE NOOTKA

Captain Meares was in China perfecting plans for a greatfur factory to be constructed at Nootka. It was intended toemploy a large number of Chinese in processing the furs forthe Oriental markets. Captain James Colnett was to be putin charge of the operations on the Coast for the associatedmerchants who had merged their interests in the pelt trade.The 'Iphigenia', one of Meares' ships—Wm. Douglas,master—was riding uneasily under Portuguese colours, but the'North West America', the schooner that had been launchedat Nootka the preceding year, was nosing along the coastgathering sea-otter skins against the coming of Colnett andthe establishment of the factory and settlement under theflag of Great Britain. It was the spring of 1789: Nootka wasan active place.

In addition to Douglas, who was in charge until Colnett'sarrival, and Captain Robert Funter, with the schooner, therewere two vessels flying the flag of the new American republic.They were the 'Columbia' and the 'Lady Washington'. Theformer was ship-rigged, and was commanded by pepperyCaptain John Kendrick; the other was a sloop, with squint-eyedCaptain Robert Gray in charge. They had come fromBoston and were the first of a long line of "Boston traders,"who were to ply up and down the Pacific seaboard. They hadwintered at Nootka, and Kendrick had bought a site andbuilt a house at Nawhinna, a cove deep in the recesses of theSound.

While the great Maquinna was basking in the favoursof the traders at Nootka, a Spanish naval squadron wasvisiting Alaskan waters. There the commodore, Don EstevanMartinez, heard incredible stories from the Russians of howBritish ships were trading out of Nootka, and how it wasintended to form a British establishment there. The Spaniardwas alarmed. He turned, at once, to carry this disquietingnews to Mexico.

His Excellency Don Manuel Antonio Florez, Viceroy forHis Most Catholic Majesty, was indignant. He orderedMartinez to refit his vessels, the 'Princessa' and the 'SanCarlos', as rapidly as possible and go to Nootka to learn whatwas actually under way there.

It was on May 6, 1789, that Martinez, in the 'Princessa',dropped anchor in Friendly Cove. A week later the 'SanCarlos', under Don Gonzalo Lopez de Haro, arrived.Martinez simulated friendship for Captain Douglas whileawaiting the arrival of his consort. Suddenly he changed hisattitude. He demanded the papers of the 'Iphigenia'. In vainDouglas argued that he was entitled to safety beneath the flagof Portugal, and pretended that Viana, the supercargo of theship, was the real captain. Martinez arrested Douglas andseized the vessel. The act of aggression was followed byelaborate ceremonies of taking possession of the country forthe King of Spain. Later Douglas was restored to hiscommand, but only by his giving a pledge that if the 'Iphigenia'were condemned as a prize by the Spanish courts, it would besurrendered. As quickly as he could, Douglas headed forChina to report to his owners how he had been treated bythe Spanish navy.

Martinez was now prepared to go to any length. He seizedthe 'North West America', the 'Princess Royal'—recentlyfrom China—and the 'Argonaut', when that vessel bearingColnett arrived. Colnett, his officers and British crew memberswere imprisoned, but the seventy Chinese he brought for thefur factory were detained to work for the Spaniards. Theywere put to mining.

While these harsh measures were taken against theBritish traders, Martinez was on friendliest terms with theBoston men. In fact, on July 4, he joined in commemoratingthe "Glorious Fourth" with several thirteen-gun salutes, andgeneral participation in the American festivities of the day.Captain Kendrick spread a banquet on board the 'Columbia',to which Martinez went as a distinguished guest. Colnett wasinvited to attend this—the first Fourth-of-July celebration onthe West Coast—but he declined to join in the celebration of"Liberty," while he was a prisoner!

But Martinez was not always in a gay mood. As he wasleaving Nootka he deliberately killed Chief Callicum, anoutstanding native prince and a friend and confidant ofMaquinna. It was a brutal thing to do—but he was a brutalman.

14
SONG OF FRIENDSHIP

Don Pedro Alberni, Captain of the Catalina Volunteers, wasin disgrace. He had objected, with more vehemence than tact,to unwarranted delays in the payment of his men. His conductwas reported to the Viceroy at Mexico City and he was placedunder arrest. Don Pedro was a persistent man. He did nothumble himself and apologize for his conduct; instead, hesought to justify himself. The result was that he was orderedto proceed to Nootka to build an establishment and fortificationsfor Spain. In compliance with this virtual banishmenthe accompanied Don Francisco Eliza, the naval commandercharged with exploring the coasts of the North, when hesailed from San Blas.

Friendly Cove was a cheerless place that spring of 1790.It was cold and misty. Only wet ashes and charcoal showedwhere Yuquot, the great village of Maquinna, had stood. TheLord of Nootka had set it on fire to blacken the earth followingthe murder of Chief Callicum by Martinez. He determinedthat the crime should not profit Spain.

Alberni was discouraged. Not a member of Maquinna'stribe would approach the Spanish camp. This meant thatAlberni had to keep half of his force under arms at all times.He wanted Maquinna's friendship. A more violent man, suchas Martinez, would have carried fire and sword to the Indianvillages, but Alberni was a man of a different type. He wrotea song. From sailors who had been there the previous year,he learned a few words of the Nootkan tongue, and penned:

"Great is Maquinna;
Maquinna is a great chief.
Spain loves Maquinna..."

and so on, extolling the might and majesty of the nativeprince. He taught the verse to his company and paraded themen each day in front of the forest. Standing at attention,the bearded soldiers bellowed the praises of Maquinna. Nextmorning at the same hour and place, the concert wasrepeated; and again and again on each successive day.

When Maquinna learned of the song he hid himself inthe underbrush to listen. "Yes, it was true!" His greatness wasrecognized. And each morning the chief was within theshades of the forest to hear. This was too good to be lost! Hesent out Hesquit for a rival chief to attend and hear howthese strangers esteemed him. Each day the song wasrepeated, and farther afield Maquinna sent for importantpersons to come and listen. Alberni was watching and waiting.At last, by the great ceremony of welcome at the Indiancamp he knew that the mighty Wicannanish—the King ofthe Coast—had come from Clayoquot. This was to beMaquinna's supreme hour—when he was to be glorified inthe presence of the one man he had to admit was his superior.The soldiers paraded as usual. They stood at attention, threwback their heads and roared, "Great..." Not another word:they stood like graven totems; five, ten, fifteen minutes passedin torturing silence. Wicannanish was beginning to sneer.Maquinna could stand it no longer. He broke from cover andrushed up to Alberni: "Sing it again," he begged.

The Captain had been waiting for just such a moment.He had rich gifts of copper and iron and blankets andtrinkets—wonderful treasures—to heap upon the chief, butnone was as precious to Maquinna as was the song. ThenAlberni made a signal. The song was resumed and over andover again it was repeated, until even Maquinna was satisfiedas the woods echoed and re-echoed with his praises.

Maquinna became the staunch friend of Alberni andIndians swarmed from their hiding-places to give friendlyassistance in clearing land, chopping timber and thehundred-and-one tasks of building a settlement for Spain. And DonFrancisco Eliza was able to leave Nootka and adventure intothe Strait of Juan de Fuca. He knew all would be well, forthe Kingdom of Maquinna had been subdued—not by fireand sword—but by a song!

15
SPAIN WAS HAUGHTY

On January 4, 1790, Marquis del Campo, the pompousSpanish ambassador to the Court of St. James, made anofficial call upon the Duke of Leeds, Great Britain's ForeignSecretary. After the customary courteous greetings, theemissary of His Most Catholic Majesty King Carlos IV confirmedhitherto indefinite rumours that had reached London. Thesereported that Spanish ships of war had seized British shippingat a place named Nootka on the North Pacific seaboard.

Not only did the Marquis substantiate the rumours, buthe presented a formal note from Madrid claiming that theseseas were the property of Spain, which had sovereignty overall bordering lands. He went even further in his demands,for King George III and his government were not only toldthat they must keep British traders away from that place—whichhad been first visited by Captain Cook—but that thosewho had been arrested by Spain must be punished by theBritish Government.

The surprise of the noble Duke was only equalled bythat of del Campo when he received the British reply. It wasas blunt and as much to the point as could be imagined inthe language of diplomacy. In effect, it told Spain that GreatBritain did not recognize the Spanish pretensions; that byseizing the vessels, at a time when the two nations were atpeace, an insult had been offered to the British flag andCrown; that Spain must apologize, release the ships andimprisoned crews, and pay indemnity. Spain haughtily refusedand commenced secret preparations for war. Madrid wasconfident that despite the seething unrest in France that LouisXVI would be able to lead his country to the defence ofher ally as provided by the terms of the Family Compact of1761, which bound the Bourbon kings to give assistance toeach other in time of war. Spain also had, as allies, Turkeyand Genoa, and hoped to win over Russia. Relying uponthese alliances, the Spanish Government was arrogant.

Great Britain informed her allies of the situation andasked what their attitudes would be if war should result. TheNetherlands and Prussia were bound to Britain by treaties.They gave characteristic replies: Holland sent ten ships of theline to Portsmouth, with a promise of as many more as mightbe required; Prussia would help, if Britain would pledgefuture aid in an unprovoked attack on Russia. The promisewas not made.

Prime Minister William Pitt negotiated with a SouthAmerican patriot, Colonel Miranda, to start revolutions inSpain's colonies on that continent. Lord Dorchester, Governorin Canada, sent Major Beckwith to New York to feel out theUnited States' leaders as to how they would regard an armedforce from Canada descending the Mississippi to attackSpanish possessions on the Gulf of Mexico. President Washingtonand Alexander Hamilton appeared to be sympathetic, butother members of the cabinet, headed by Jefferson, wished totemporize. The United States might gain greater advantage,Jefferson argued, and an agent for the Republic wasinstructed to intimate to Spain that if Florida and New Orleanswere ceded to the United States, America would guaranteeto protect Spanish colonies to the west of the Mississippi.With almost unbelievable dispatch, the British admiralty setabout raising the most powerful fleet in its history. It appearedas if nothing could prevent a war that would involve thegreater part of the civilized world.

Just in time Spain hesitated. The French Revolution wasunder way. The French King was a virtual prisoner and theNational Assembly, instead of preparing actively to supportSpain, became engaged in long academic arguments overthe right of kings to declare war and make peace. Madridrealized that no longer was Paris dependable, and she changedher attitude completely. The terms demanded by Londonwere accepted. The imprisoned sailors had already been freed;John Meares and his associates would be indemnified, andthe "territories" from which they had been expelled wouldbe returned to British sovereignty. The final act was to takeplace at Nootka, where the British flag was to be raised andsaluted.

To carry out this ceremonial on the Northwest Coast ofAmerica, where Spain was to be officially humbled, CaptainGeorge Vancouver was to represent Great Britain.

16
THE INLAND SEA

Publication of the apocryphal voyage of Lorenzo Ferrer deMaldonado, reputed to have been made in 1588, and which,it was claimed, had revealed a Northwest passage betweenthe oceans, excited the Spanish Government in 1790 whenit was endorsed by a French scientist. It resulted in Madridordering further explorations in the North Pacific ocean. DonFrancisco Eliza, commandant of the establishment at Nootkathat was taking shape under the energetic Captain PedroAlberni, sent Don Manuel Quimper, in the 'Princess Real'—oneof the captured British vessels—to examine the Straitof Juan de Fuca.

Quimper nosed along the northern shore of the Strait,discovering and naming Port San Juan, and Sooke Inlet,which he christened Revilla Gigedo, in honour of the Viceroyof Mexico. In the vicinity he took possession of the countryfor Spain, the ceremony being carried out on June 23, 1790.Seven days later he found a magnificent harbour which hecalled "Valdes"—now known as "Esquimalt." Not far distanthe came into "a port of good shelter, water and wild seedsfor which the Indians came in canoes from the other side ofthe strait." He named it "Cordova": it is the Victoria harbourof today.

The explorer pushed his way eastward until he enteredHaro Strait, and turned to follow the southern shore of theStrait of de Fuca on his way back to Nootka. After landing atNeah Bay, where he once more claimed the country for hisKing, Quimper found it impossible to sail to Nootka, so heturned south and went to Mexico.

The following year Eliza headed another expedition tofurther the discoveries made by Quimper. He captained thesnow 'Don Carlos', while [*]Piloto Jose Maria Narvaez was putin charge of the schooner 'Santa Saturnina', also known as the'Horcasitas'. It had been planned to commence the season'swork in the far North and examine the coast from MountSt. Elias southward, but tempestuous weather persuaded them tostart in the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

[*] Pilot

Eliza anchored in the port of Cordova, from wherehe sent a boat under command of Second Pilot Jose Verdiato examine the Haro channel that Quimper had located theprevious year. He was unable to carry out his instructions,returning after having had a clash with the Indians in whichseveral natives were killed. They had surrounded his boat intheir canoes and made such a demonstration that Verdiawas forced to fire upon them.

Shortly after the departure of Verdia, Narvaez arrived atCordova, having been detained by examination of ClayoquotSound. Refitting the launch to accompany the 'Saturnina'and adding eight soldiers from Alberni's Catalina Volunteersto the complement of the expedition, Eliza ordered Narvaezto carry out the duty in which Verdia had failed.

During the course of this exploratory work Narvaezentered a small sheltered water which he named San Antonio,but which is modern Bedwell Harbour, Pender Island. Fromhere he worked his way out into an inland sea, across whichhe could see snow-capped mountains rising high above theblue waters. It was a magnificent sight. In his delight henamed the marine vista "Gran Canal de Nuestra Senora delRosario" (The Grand Canal of Our Lady of the Rosary).

Eliza and Narvaez now commenced an examination ofthis wonderfully beautiful sea into which they had entered.Narvaez examined the eastern shore, locating many importantbays and harbours: one he named "Boca Florida Blanca" hassince been identified as Burrard Inlet. On the western sideof the Grand Canal, the name of "Wenthuysen Inlet" wasgiven to a sheltered waterway—now known as "NanaimoHarbour."

17
SUPERNATURAL VISITORS

It was the summer of 1791. Spaniards under Don FranciscoEliza and Don Jose Maria Narvaez had discovered the greatInland Sea—now the Gulf of Georgia—and were exploring itwith wonder and delight.

Where the Squamish River poured its muddy waters intothe head of Howe Sound, Indians had gathered at the principalvillage of the people who had given their name to theriver. Suddenly from around a distant point came a smallcanoe propelled by a single, excited man. As he neared thevillage he called a warning. The people ran to the water's edgeto hear him gasp an incredible tale. He said that (nearpresent-day Britannia Beach) he had seen two floating islands fromwhich grew trees devoid of foliage, but festooned withcobwebs.

Headed by the chiefs, the warriors pushed their canoesoff, while the women and children were sent off to the woods.The fleet quickly travelled down the Inlet and rounded thepoint. It came to a dead stop, for the report was true! Slowlynow the dugout armada approached: no, these were notislands; they were monstrous canoes!

The astonished Indians gazed at the vessels (probablythe 'Santa Saturnina' and launch) and it was noticed thatthere was a "dead man" moving about on the larger canoe.They must be from the spirit world, the natives thought, asthey saw several other spirits, for they wore clothing, and atsuch a warm period of the year only the dead wore garments.As they crept forward the Indians could make out thecolour of the skins of the "dead men." They were pallid abovedark beards.

Now the chief apparition descended a ladder on the sideof the big canoe and motioned to the natives to approach.He held out his hand. This they interpreted as a challenge toplay the game of pulling fingers, and the champion of thatsport approached, but the stranger would not play. He madeit apparent that he was inviting them to visit his craft. Fora long time the natives sat motionless in their dug-outspondering the matter; then the bravest of the warriors volunteeredto go on board, if he were protected. So he followed thestranger up the ladder, while the other braves strung theirbows and then, one after another, went up the boat's side.

On reaching deck they found other "dead men" sittingabout, unseen from the canoes. Now the chief of thesupernatural beings offered them biscuits, and he ate one, but thetimorous aborigines believed them to be pieces of wood andrefused. As if to show the purity of the flour from which thecakes were made, a bag filled with "snow" was produced.This, indeed, the gaping red men thought, proved that thestrangers were from beyond the grave trees, for the hot sundid not melt the "snow," as it had to the tops of the highestmountains. The ghostly chief now showed them a small bagfilled with shining objects, similar in appearance to the shiningdiscs on his strange coat. He pointed to them and thenextended his arms towards the shore and patted his chest.These "buttons" fascinated the Indians. They could understandtheir purpose, and accepted them. Having done so, theyquitted the vessel and hurried off home as fast as they could paddle.

The head chief donned his finest cedar-bark and dog-woolblanket. He took two of the "buttons," extended hisarms as had the "sky chief," patted his chest—and the buttonsfell to the ground. Again and again he unsuccessfully tried toattach the bright metal to his costume. Then with reluctancehe concluded that his medicine would not work: he wouldreturn the trinkets.

The following morning the canoes again went down theSound, but when the point was turned there were no "floatingislands" or big vessels there. They had vanished. Until quiterecent times old Spanish coins could be found amongst theSquamish people, who had not realized that the ghosts wereattempting to buy the country from them!

18
MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas Day, 1791, was celebrated in grand style atAdventure Cove, Clayoquot Sound, by Captain Robert Grayand the personnel of the United States Ship 'Columbia'.

Gray had been home to Boston since that July day whenthe Americans held high revel at Nootka to mark the"Glorious Fourth" two years before, when Martinez, theSpaniard who had arrested Captain Colnett, was the guestof honour. Gray's vessel was the first to carry the Stars andStripes around the world. He was later to gain additionalrenown by his discovery of the Great River of the West, whichhe named "Columbia" for his vessel.

Despite the consideration with which Martinez hadtreated him and Captain John Kendrick, the commander oftheir expedition, Gray did not care—on this second trip—totrust the Spaniards too far; so he decided to winter atClayoquot. From that place he could learn of the manner inwhich the Spaniards were ruling at Nootka.

Selecting a small, sheltered cove inside of Meares' Islandat Clayoquot, Gray prepared to spend the winter pleasantlyand profitably. He had brought the frame of a sloop fromBoston. This he was going to construct and enlarge. So, onSeptember 22, his men—sailors and artisans—commencedthe building of a stout log house of eighteen by thirty-six feet."The lower storey is formed with logs piled horizontally withtheir ends let into each other and trunnelled together," oneofficer noted in his journal. "The seams were filled withmortar we made of clay and burnt shells. The upper storeyis framed and covered with boards, which we procured fromthe natives for a trifling consideration in iron. In front ofthe house were two ports for cannon and loopholes on allsides for musketry. In the house was built a brick fire-placefor the convenience of cooking."

With the completion of the fortified house, which waschristened "Fort Defiance," Gray and his men—beneath thewaving flag of the Stars and Stripes—started work on theschooner which was to be named 'Adventure'. In honour oftheir handiwork they named the site of the fort "AdventureCove." By October 4 work had progressed to such an extentthat it was recorded on that day: "Sent four cannon, fortymuskets, several blunderbusses and pistols and a quantity ofammunition to the house ... to which Haswell was appointedto command with a party consisting of twenty men."

The weather was exceptionally mild and work proceededrapidly. Gray was so pleased that he decided to give the mena real celebration on Christmas Day. To this event he invitedChief Wicannanish, the King of Clayoquot, and many of hisroyal court.

"The natives took a walk around the workshops onshore," an officer recounted in describing the occasion. "Theywere surprised at seeing three tier of wild fowl roasting atone of the houses—indeed we were a little surprised at thenovelty of the sight ourselves, for at least there were twentygeese roasting at one immense fire." Nor could the Indiansunderstand why the ship and "fort" were decorated withforest greenery and flags.

The central dish of the banquet was a huge "mulberry"(huckleberry) pudding. The fruit had been gathered theprevious day, so open was the winter. So with great merrimentthe sailors feasted, and sang and laughed; and Wicannanishand retinue joined in the fun, stopping every now and thento send helpings from their plates to the squaws who hadremained seated in the canoes. It was indeed a huge success,and it was officially reported everyone "spent the day withthe greatest propriety, not in noisy mirth or drunken frolic."

19
KENDRICK SPECULATES

Meares claimed to have purchased lands from the Indiansabout Nootka and Clayoquot, but he produced no deeds tosubstantiate his assertions. In any event it would appear thathis investments were for the purpose of furthering the businessof himself and associates as fur traders. It remained for JohnKendrick, the New England Yankee, to envision thespeculative potentialities of the real-estate business on a large scaleon the Northwest Coast.

Kendrick had been instructed by his owners, when theyprovided him with two vessels, the 'Columbia' and 'LadyWashington', to conduct the first Boston trading venture tothe Pacific, that he should be careful to extinguish the Indiantitle to any lands that he required for a fort or settlement.This, it was specifically ordered, was to be done in the nameof the shipowners. Kendrick, however, had the uniqueinstruments of conveyance made out to himself. In this he was atleast consistent, for he made neither return nor accountingto the Boston merchants.

Later the shipowners sought to recoup themselves bymarketing a gigantic realty subdivision, claiming the landsthat John had bought as rightfully theirs. Just how much hispurchases aggregated it would be difficult to estimate. TheBoston merchants claimed 240 miles square—which would be57,600 square miles! Attested copies of the "deeds" sent byKendrick to Thomas Jefferson, U.S. Secretary of State, total5,184 square miles. The first real estate "deal" was at NootkaSound. In part the conveyance read:

"To all persons to whom these presents shall come:I, Macquinnah [sic] the chief, and with my otherchiefs, do send greeting: Know ye, that I,Macquinnah, of Nootka Sound, on the north-west coastof America, for and in consideration of ten muskets,do grant and sell unto John Kendrick, of Boston,commonwealth of Massachusetts, in NorthAmerica, a certain harbour in said Nootka Sound, calledChastacktoos, in which the brigantine 'LadyWashington' lay at anchor on the twentieth day of July,1791, with all the land, rivers, creeks, harbours,islands, etc., within nine miles north, east, west andsouth of the said harbour, with all the produce ofboth sea and land appertaining thereto; only thesaid John Kendrick does grant and allow the saidMacquinnah to live and fish on the said territory asusual. And by these presents does grant and sell tothe said John Kendrick, his heirs, executors andadministrators, all the above mentioned territory,known by the Indian name of Chastacktoos, butnow by the name of Retreat Harbour ..."

To the lengthy and formidable document Maquinna and fiveother chiefs appended their marks and seals, while ninemembers of Kendrick's company signed as witnesses. Anothersailor attested the copy to be a true one.

On August 5 Kendrick made two more bites into themountainous terrain of the country. He purchased anotherblock of eighteen miles square near the entrance to EsperanzaInlet, for which he paid "two muskets, a boat's sail and aquantity of powder." A second tract of similar size—324square miles—cost him more, for he paid: "six muskets, aboat's sail, a quantity of powder and an American flag."

The following day the land-hungry Captain John addedto his growing empire by purchasing a circular area having adiameter of eighteen miles, at the head of Tashis Inlet, NootkaSound—the site of Maquinna's summer village—but thistime drove a hard bargain: he paid only "two muskets anda quantity of powder!" The market had weakened, beingdown a boat sail and a Star-Spangled banner.

Some time later the Boston merchants issued a circularoffering, in grandiloquent language, the sale of Kendrick'slands. Several attempts were made subsequently to have theUnited States set up a claim to sovereignty based upon thecopies of the "deeds" given by the Indians. These alsofailed—and his early real-estate subdivision project on the Coastwas a complete failure.

20
VANCOUVER ARRIVES

For eight months Captain George Vancouver in H.M.S. 'Discovery',commander of a two ship expedition to examinethe coast of the North Pacific, had not seen a sail otherthan that of his consort, H.M.S. 'Chatham', captained byLieutenant W. R. Broughton. Now, as the two British navalvessels approached the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a ship wassighted.

"This was a great novelty," Vancouver noted in hisjournal on April 29, 1792. "She proved to be the ship'Columbia', commanded by Mr. Robert Gray, belonging toBoston, whence she had been absent nineteen months."

Vancouver was delighted, for prior to his leavingEngland the statement had been made by Captain Meares thatGray, in the 'Lady Washington', in 1789, had sailed into theStrait and had emerged far to the north.

"It is not possible to conceive any one to be moreastonished than was Mr. Gray, on his being made acquainted,that his authority had been quoted, and the track pointedout that he had been said to have made in the sloop'Washington'," Vancouver commented.

Captain George Vancouver was charged with a doubleduty: that of representing the British Crown at Nootka, wherehe was to meet Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra,commandant of San Blas, and to receive the "territories" thatSpain was to restore to Britain, which had been seized fromBritish traders. This was in accordance with the terms ofthe Nootkan Convention of 1790. His second responsibilitywas to explore meticulously the shores of NorthwesternAmerica to determine finally if there was any basis whateverfor hoping that a practical passage might exist between thePacific and Atlantic Oceans.

Vancouver was no stranger to the rugged and littleknown coast, for he had been a midshipman with the greatCaptain Cook on his last voyage of discovery into the Pacific.Merit alone had won the appointment for him, when CaptainRoberts, who was first selected, was unable to proceed withthe commission. Vancouver had no high-placed friends, andthose who might have assisted him—such as Sir JosephBanks, a great patron of geographic explorations—were notencouraged by his manner. Despite this, however, Vancouverwas a most capable navigator and careful explorer, waspunctilious in matters of duty, and a strict disciplinarian.

Now he had arrived off the strait that the old Greekpilot claimed to have found to be the start of a passage-wayto the other side of the continent, Vancouver was pleasedindeed to obtain the information that Gray could provide. TheBoston captain had sailed some little distance into thechannel, but had returned to the open sea by the way he hadentered. Gray was himself within a few days of makinga discovery that was to be of utmost importance to hiscountry, and was to assure him an imperishable place inhistory. This was the discovery of the Columbia River. Now,as Gray sailed to the southward and his magnificent achievement,the 'Discovery' and 'Chatham' entered the strait toprove that the vast area that now bears Captain Vancouver'sname was indeed an island.

Vancouver and Broughton conducted their work withinfinite care: the ships were sailed to some safe mooringground, and then every bay, cove and inlet was examinedby small boat parties under capable officers, and their noteswere carefully checked and progressively extended. Eachimportant geographic feature was assigned a name. These, forthe most part, were in honour of men who had distinguishedthemselves in the naval service of Great Britain, such as Howeand Jervis and Nelson, or who were friends or shipmates ofhis own, such as Roberts and Gray and Atkinson. To theextensive and beautiful sound that stretched to the southwardof the termination of the strait, the name of Lieutenant PeterPuget, who played such a part in the exploratory work, wasgiven, while the inland sea to the north of the strait wascalled the Gulf of Georgia, in honour of His Majesty KingGeorge III.

21
THE LIONS' GATEWAY

The twin mountain peaks, so suggestive of couchant lions andof British sovereignty, looked down on a glorious scene ofverdant forests, glimmering water and snow-white cumulusclouds lazily drifting against a background of summer skies.It was June 13, 1792, and two small boats, the pinnace andlaunch of H.M.S. 'Discovery', were crossing from Point Grey.Captain George Vancouver himself was in command of onecraft, while Lieutenant Peter Puget was in charge of thesecond.

Nine days before, Captain Vancouver had landed at aplace he called "Tulalip Bay," in Puget Sound, and had takenpossession of the entire Coast from Latitude 39° 20' north,including both shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and thegreat Inland Sea to which they opened. The country hechristened "New Georgia," and the enclosed sea "The Gulfof Georgia," it being the birthday of King George III. Andnow the explorer was approaching the gateway to a shelteredport, guarded by lions that Time had sculptured from themountain tops.

Vancouver, Puget and their boats' companies had stoppedat a "low bluff point," to which he had given the name:"Captain George Grey of the navy." Continuing his recitalhe says: "From Point Grey we proceeded first up the easternbranch of the sound to the northward of an island (StanleyPark) which nearly terminated its extent, forming a passagefrom ten to seven fathoms deep, not more than a cable'slength in width," and, having passed the Narrows: "Here wewere met by some fifty Indians in their canoes, who conductedthemselves with great decorum and civility, presenting us withseveral fish cooked, and undressed, of the sort alreadymentioned as resembling smelt... For the sake of thecompany of our new friends, we stood on under easy sail,which encouraged them to attend us some little distance upthe arm." Gradually the natives dropped away, leaving onlythree or four canoes to accompany the boats.

"We landed for the night about half a league from thehead of the Inlet and about three leagues from its entrance.Our visitors remained with us until by signs we gave them tounderstand we were going to rest, and after receiving someacceptable articles, they retired." These Indians, Vancouverrelated, were so curious of everything they saw, that heconcluded that they had never before seen white men.

The night was spent uncomfortably! "The shores of thissituation were formed by steep rocky cliffs, that afforded noconvenient space for pitching our tent, which compelled us tosleep in the boats. Some of the young gentlemen, however,preferring the stony beach for their couch, without dulyconsidering the line of high water mark, found themselvesincommoded by the flood tide, of which they were notapprized until they were nearly afloat; and one of themslept so sound that I believe he might have been conveyed tosome distance, had he not been awakened by his companions."

Early the following morning the explorers started toreturn down the inlet. There were few Indians about, butthey noted the canoes on the beach where the Capilano enters.Two dug-outs did take off from the Stanley Park shore, butcould not overtake the fast sailing boats. Vancouver wrotethat he had named the "channel" after "Sir Harry Burrardof the navy."

The Captain described the site of the magnificent citythat honours him and remembers June 13, 1792, as being"on a moderate height, and though rocky, well covered withtrees of a large growth, principally of the pine tribe." Thatdescription no longer serves, for the forests have given wayto structures of wood and of brick, of concrete and steel—buthigh on the mountain tops the twin lions look downimpassively upon the changing scene.

22
VANCOUVER MEETS DONS

Captain George Vancouver was disappointed. He hadimagined that he was the first to explore the shores of thegreat inland sea since the time of the reputed voyage ofJuan de Fuca. Confident that such was the case, the Britishnavigator had taken possession of the country in the nameof King George III. Then, leaving his ships at Birch Bay, hestarted off on a small-boat expedition that was to last foreleven days. He was in the pinnace of H.M.S. 'Discovery',while Second Lieutenant Peter Puget was in charge of thelaunch. They entered and named Burrard Inlet and thenspent several days following the shoreline of Howe Sound,and so on up the Coast to Jervis Inlet, naming both these deepwaterways.

The very day that he had discovered Burrard Inlet,his second in command of the expedition, LieutenantBroughton, H.M.S. 'Chatham', had encountered two smallships of Spain, commanded by Captain Dionisio Galiano,aboard a small brig named 'Sutil', and Captain CayetanoValdes in the schooner 'Mexicana'. They were completingthe work started by Quimper, Eliza and Narvaez during theprevious two years.

Captain Vancouver and Puget were now in one boat,as the other had become separated at a time when theLieutenant was conferring with the Captain aboard thepinnace. It was the morning of June 22. They were crossingtowards Point Grey where they planned to breakfast, whentwo vessels were seen riding at anchor in the shelter of theheadland. (This spot has since been known as "SpanishBanks.") At first they thought that it might be their own ships,the H.M.S. 'Discovery' and H.M.S. 'Chatham', but quicklyfound that they were the little brig and the schooner thatBroughton had met.

"I cannot avoid acknowledging that, on this occasion,I experienced no small degree of mortification in finding theexternal shores of the gulf had been visited, and alreadyexamined a few miles beyond where my researches during theexcursion had extended," Vancouver wrote.

Galiano and Valdes were most courteous towards theirdistinguished guest. "Their conduct was replete with thatpoliteness and friendship which Characterizes the Spanishnation," he gratefully recorded in his journal.

The Spanish Captains suggested "that circumstancesmight so concur as to admit our respective labours beingcarried on together." At first, Vancouver declined thisproposal, as he did the offer to either convey him and his tiredcrews to their ships, or send for the 'Discovery' and 'Chatham'to move to the situation at Point Grey. But the Captain didpartake of a bountiful breakfast. He was probably veryhungry, for the boat expedition had been only supplied withfood for six days when it had left the ship and had now beenabsent for eleven.

Describing the 'Sutil' and 'Mexicana', Vancouver said:"They were about each forty-five tons burthen, mounted twobrass guns, and were navigated by twenty-four men, bearingone lieutenant, without a single inferior officer. Theirapartments just allowed room for sleeping places on each side,with a table in the intermediate space, at which four persons,with some difficulty, could sit, and were, in all other respects,the most ill calculated and unfit vessels that could possiblybe imagined for such an expedition."

Galiano, who spoke some English, showed his visitorEliza's chart, and explained how the previous year he andNarvaez had explored Vancouver's Gulf of Georgia. Reciprocatingthis generous gesture, Vancouver explained, "I showedthem the sketch I had made of our excursion, and pointedout the only spot which I conceived we had left unexamined,nearly at the head of Burrard's Channel: they seemed muchsurprised that we had not found a river said to exist in theregion we had been exploring, and named by one of theirofficers Rio Blanche, in compliment to the then prime ministerof Spain; which river these gentlemen had sought for thusfar to no purpose. They took such notes as they chose frommy sketch, and promised to examine the small opening inBurrard's channel, which, with every other information theycould procure, would be at my service on our next meeting."

Later the Spaniards did join him and they explored incompany.

23
DINNERS AND DIPLOMACY

Having circumnavigated the great island that he was later toname Quadra's and Vancouver's Island, in memory of ahappy friendship, the navigator made for Nootka, which hehad first seen when a midshipman with Captain Cook in1778. Here Captain Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadrawas awaiting his arrival to complete the formalities of theNootkan Convention of two years before.

It was August 28 when H.M.S. 'Discovery' and H.M.S. 'Chatham'nosed in from the sea to drop anchor off theSpanish settlement at Friendly Cove. A salute was fired tothe flag that flew from the Castillo de San Miguel—as thefortified summit of the island at the cove's entrance wasnamed. With due regard to protocol, the compliment wasreturned.

Quadra was a gracious and kindly man. He was considerateof all, even of the lowly natives. On his arrival atNootka in April he was high in his praise of the work of Elizaand Alberni in establishing the settlement, "withoutill-treating the crews and garrison or inconveniencing thenatives, who look healthy and contented."

While he awaited the coming of Vancouver he preparedfor that event. He ordered construction of a separate bakery forthe use of the visitors; his blacksmith- and carpenter-shopswere placed in condition to assist in any demands made onthem by the British; and vegetable gardens and some of theblack cows of Spain that were one of the glories of the placewere set aside to supplement the stores of Vancouver's ships.

After entertaining Commandant Quadra at breakfast thenext morning, Vancouver and some of his officers went ashoreto lunch with the Spanish officer, "and," says Vancouver, "wewere gratified with a repast we had lately been little accustomedto, or had the most distant idea of meeting with at thisplace. A dinner of five courses, consisting of a superfluity ofthe best provisions, was served with great elegance." Thistasty spread was served on solid silver plate, a fact thatastonished all the seafarers who participated in this bounty.

In their official discussions as commissioners of theirrespective Crowns the two could not agree. The wording ofthe convention was not precise in delineating the areasinvolved; Quadra proposed to transfer the small bit of landwhere John Meares had his house, but this Vancouver wouldnot accept. Finally they decided to refer the whole matterback to their governments. Their public differences, however,did not interfere with their personal regard for each other.Quadra generously offered to turn over the settlement atNootka to the English, pending a final settlement.

Now the thoughtful Quadra gave another proof of hisgenerosity: it was an endeavour to cement the friendship ofMaquinna, the Chief, with Vancouver. He suggested that theymake a state visit to the native prince at his village of Tashis,deep in the labyrinth of the Sound. Vancouver was delighted.No such an embassy had ever taken place: two representativesof Britain and Spain making a formal visit to the cedar-plankhall of an Indian potentate.

It was a wonderful success. In gold braid and lace,the Captains and their attendants paid court to Maquinna,surrounded by his family and his warriors. There wasentertainment when masked figures whirled and jumped andpadded about in imitation of animals; and sailors dancedjigs and hornpipes. Spanish cooks vied with Nootkan squawsin preparing such a feast as would be remembered for yearsby all who were privileged to attend, and where fine linenand silverware were utilized along with wooden troughs andceremonial spoons of horn and shell. It was a wonderfulsuccess, and Maquinna accepted Vancouver into hisconfidence and friendship.

The next night, at Friendly Cove, the British captaincelebrated with an exhibition of fireworks that made the veryheavens testify to his regard for the mighty Maquinna.

24
BY LAND FROM CANADA

Darkness had fallen on July 17, 1793, when a tired andragged little party of sun-bronzed men stumbled down fromthe mountains in the Bella Coola valley, near present-dayBurnt Bridge Creek, and staggered into the hospitable homeof an Indian chief to receive a generous welcome.

The leader of the strangers was Alexander Mackenzie,partner in the mighty North West Company, who had crossedthe Rocky Mountains from Fort Fork on the Peace River,to explore trade possibilities from the continental backboneto the Pacific Ocean. The Hudson's Bay Company's charterlands did not extend to the west of the mountain chain.

Mackenzie, with Alexander Mackay as his second incommand, and eight men, left Fort Fork on May 9. It hadbeen a difficult and most dangerous venture, which at timeshad frightened and discouraged the men, who would oftenhave abandoned the trip had it not been for theencouragement of the two leaders. Reluctantly, day by day, thevoyageurs were induced to continue. Turbulent river currentswere encountered, while shallows tore the bottom of thedeep-laden frail birch-bark canoe, and dark canyons filled withfoaming waters compelled tiresome portages. But at last theyhad come to one of the upper reaches of the great river thatwas to bear the name of Fraser.

The broad stream was embarked upon, and swiftly itcarried the adventurers to the west and south. Then theFort George canyon had to be negotiated, and on and onwent the party until near present day Fort Alexandria. Itwas learned from the Indians that there were greater dangersand obstacles ahead, so Mackenzie turned back to the mouthof a stream entering from the west—which he called WestRoad River—and after following it for a short way abandonedthe canoe and continued on foot.

Now, two months later, after enduring fatigue andhunger and danger as their constant companions, the partyhad reached the banks of the river that flowed into "thestinking lake," as the Indians called the sea. "FriendlyVillage," Mackenzie named the abode of his kindly hosts.The natives provided two canoes with crews to take theexplorers down the river. "I had imagined that the Canadianswho accompanied me were the most expert canoe-men in theWorld, but they are very inferior to these people, and theythemselves acknowledged, in conducting these vessels."

Another village—described as "The Great Village"—wasreached. Here the Indians were threatening but soonassumed a more gracious attitude, though fearful whenMackenzie produced his astronomical instruments to take anobservation. They thought the salmon in the river mightbecome frightened.

Continuing the descent of the stream, Mackenzie cameto still another village, close to the sea, where the propensitiesof the inhabitants were such that it has ever since beenremembered by this name "Rascals' Village."

Mackenzie had achieved his great objective. He hadat last reached the sea. But it was in a most matter-of-factway that he noted the occurrence in his journal: "Fromthese houses, I could perceive the termination of the river,and its discharge into a narrow arm of the sea." No flowerylanguage, no boastings, not even a notation that he, Mackay,and their men were the first known men of the white race tocross the continent by land, north of Mexico.

The explorer was not content; he wanted to know justwhere he had come out to the ocean, so he decided toadventure down the arm to take better observations in alocality less enclosed by mountains. He went down NorthBentinck Arm, past the entrance to Burke Channel, upLabouchere Channel and into Dean Channel, and turningto the other shore he passed the opening to Elcho Harbour.In the course of this trip Indians were encountered, whodid not appear to be too friendly. This attitude was especiallyshown by one old man, whom Mackenzie described as"troublesome." He insisted that he had been fired upon by"Macubah." It was the first intimation that Mackenzie hadthat Captain Vancouver had been lately in the vicinity.Actually, they had missed each other by only a few weeks.

Anticipating hostile action, the party encamped on agreat rock that was capable of being defended, and herewas recorded in paint made of vermilion and grease:"Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada, by land, the twenty-secondof July, One thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-three."

The inscription has disappeared, but it was seen someforty years later when visited by a Hudson's Bay Company'svessel. Definitely located by Captain R. P. Bishop BritishColumbia Land Surveyor, the rock now bears a commemorativetablet.

25
BRITAIN & SPAIN AGREE

The sun broke fitfully through the clouds on the morningof March 28, 1795, sprinkling with golden light the pebbledbeach of the little cove where Captain John Meares hadbuilt the 'North West America', the vessel he had launchedat Nootka to the wonderment of the natives. There was aceremony in progress. The flags of Great Britain and ofSpain were in evidence, the latter flapping from the top ofan improvised staff. Several officers wearing the uniform ofHis Catholic Majesty the King of Spain approached theceremonial base, where a few soldiers and sailors from the'Active' and the 'San Carlos' formed a guard of honour. Thena solitary figure in the scarlet tunic of His Britannic Majesty'sMarine Forces walked briskly forward.

He was Lieutenant Thomas Pearce. He represented HisMajesty King George III. He saluted a man in the dress ofa Brigadier-General of Spain. He was Jose Manuel Alava,appointed to represent the Crown of Spain. They weremeeting by arrangement to settle finally the dispute thatoriginated over that bit of Nootkan beach, when in 1789British seamen had been arrested and their ships had beenseized. War had threatened to divide the world because ofthat incident. This had been prevented when Spain accededto the demand of Great Britain that the lands from whichBritish subjects had been dispossessed should be restored, andthe shipowners should be reimbursed. Captain Vancouverhad come to Nootka to meet Quadra and accept return ofthe "territories," but they could not agree upon the size andprecise location of the lands involved. The matter had beenreferred back to their respective Courts.

Several years passed before settlement was reached. Theworld was in a ferment as a result of the French Revolution.Old friendships and national alignments had altered, andnow Great Britain and Spain were allied against the risingpower of France. In this spirit of cordiality they at last gotdown to fashioning a new Nootkan agreement. Compensationwas made to the shipowners whose vessels had been seized:two hundred and ten thousand hard silver dollars theyreceived. This was followed by an understanding that no definitedivision should be made of the Island of Quadra andVancouver. Both nations were to share alike.

After setting out that representatives of the two kingswere to meet at Nootka and go through a formal ceremony,the new convention—the agreement framed in friendshipprovided that after declaration and counter-declaration hadbeen exchanged at Nootka, the forces of both nations shouldwithdraw, "but the subjects of the two Crowns shall be infuture at liberty to resort to and construct there temporarybuildings for their own use during their residence," butwithout its being allowable for either nation to make anypermanent establishment or "claim any territorial sovereigntyto the exclusion of the other." And finally, that in ordermutually to secure to the respective subjects the liberty offrequenting the aforesaid Port, of carrying on their trade,and of residing there as occasion may require, "the twoPowers shall unite against every other Nation which shouldin future attempt to establish there any pretention to dominionor Sovereignty."

This meant that the two countries were to have equalrights—though territories were undefined—on the big island.

The flag of Spain flew at the top of the flagstaff whilethe formal declaration and counter-declaration were read.The few Spanish soldiers and sailors, Chief Maquinna, theLord of Nootka, with several other chiefs, and John Kendrick,the Yankee skipper, who had first carried the star-spangledemblem of the American republic to the western seas, lookedand listened. Then, slowly, the gold and red banner of oldSpain fluttered down, and the red, white and blue flag ofGreat Britain rose to replace it. Everyone saluted both. ThenBrigadier Alava gave an order. The Spanish troops turnedand marched down to the water's edge, where boats waitedto carry them aboard the Spanish ships of war that were totake them away.

Lieutenant Pearce lingered for a few moments, to seethe British ensign hauled down. He carefully folded it, andaddressing Chief Maquinna, using Captain Kendrick asinterpreter, he told the Chief that King George had heard muchgood about him, and because of that fact was going to entrusthim with the keeping of his flag. He must display it, saidPearce, every time that a ship appeared in the offing. AndMaquinna, who first saw the flag when Captain James Cookbrought it, promised to be true to that trust. Pearce badehim good-bye and, turning, followed the Spaniards into theboats.

26
SURVIVOR BECOMES SLAVE

Daring sea captains continued to scour the coasts of theNorth Pacific for prime sea otter furs. The vicinity of Nootka,following the withdrawal of the Spanish garrison, was lessattractive to traders, not because of the absence of the Donsbut because the waters did not produce as abundantly as informer years. The Queen Charlotte Islands offered bettermarkets for the white traders' wares.

The natives of the Queen Charlotte group were a bold,warlike, insolent lot. They made no attempt to conceal theircontempt for the white men, and when opportunity offeredwould not hesitate to attack a vessel.

Captain Hugh Moore, of the 'Phoenix', found this tobe the case when he went into Cumshewa Inlet in searchof trade. He stopped in front of Skedans, the principal villageof Chief Cumshewa, and one of his boats was attacked anda man killed. Moore warped his vessel close to shore andopened fire. To his surprise his cannonading was answeredin kind and with such effect that he was glad to sail away.

The manner in which the natives of Cumshewa's tribesecured small arms and artillery came to light in the summerof 1795, when the fate of the Boston schooner 'Resolution',tender to the brig 'Jefferson', was learned.

This little vessel, under the command of a CaptainBurling, and with Solomon Kendrick, son of the notableCaptain John Kendrick, as mate, went to Skedans in July,1794. The natives, led by Scatseye, Cumshewa's brother,rushed the schooner and butchered all they encountered. Inrifling the cargo later, they found a sailor named Bears hidingin a cask. At first they were going to kill him, but one Indian,whose brother had been killed in the attack, claimed him asa slave.

The unfortunate sailor was stripped of his clothing, wasbeaten and abused, and was made to serve as a servant tothe other slaves of his master. Whenever a trading shipappeared, he was dragged into the forest where he waschained to a tree.

It was months later that Kow, a chief at Kaigani (onmodern Ball Island, Alaska), told Captain Charles Bishop,of the English brig 'Ruby', of the imprisonment of the whitesailor. Bishop told other traders and the story soon becamegeneral knowledge.

Captain Thomas Burnett of the snow 'Mercury', withthe aid of the brig 'Despatch', headed an expedition toSkedans to rescue the prisoner. A battle ensued, in whichBurnett said the women fought with great ferocity. At lastthe whites captured Cumshewa's brother and his son, as wellas other members of the chief's household. These were heldas hostages until Bears was liberated and brought on boardthe 'Mercury'. The man was so numbed by abuse andsuffering that it was several days before he was able to givea clear account to Captain Burnett of the torment of hisenslavement.

"The winter, the only he had the unhappiness to spendamongst them," Captain Bishop set down in the log of the'Ruby', "was remarkably favourable (but most severelycold); during this time he was forced to cut wood, maketheir fires, then was driven from the sight of it outside thehut, and not even allowed to approach the slaves' fire butto bring them what they wanted."

Four years later, the American brig 'Eliza', flying theBritish flag to deceive Cumshewa, arrived at Skedans.Scatseye was induced to come on board, and immediately sailwas hoisted and the vessel was headed for Kaigani and thehome of Scatseye's most deadly enemy. The brother ofCumshewa was turned over to the tender mercies of Kowby Captain Burling—for he was the brother of the youngskipper of the 'Resolution', who had been killed by Scatseye'shand.

27
MAQUINNA'S REVENGE

When both Great Britain and Spain withdrew all controlsfrom Nootka they left the village at Yuquot, or FriendlyCove, to Chief Maquinna. He was at first highly pleasedthat the whites had withdrawn. But he soon found thatthings had changed. He had become accustomed to thewhite strangers and had enjoyed their compliments and theirgifts.

Ever since he had seen Captain James Cook's shipsemerge from the sea mists, he had been pampered and pettedby traders for the most part, although in those earlier timesthere had been men like Captain Hanna and the SpaniardMartinez, whose memories he hated. But there were suchwonderful friends as Quadra and Vancouver, and PedroAlberni who had glorified him in song. These old friendswere gone; even Captain John Kendrick, the Yankee skipper,had disappeared. Now but few vessels came to Nootka andthey were captained by strangers who did not seem toappreciate the greatness of Maquinna. These instances of lackof deference and respect seared the soul and soured thedisposition of the old potentate of Nootka Sound.

It was on March 12, 1803, that the ship 'Boston', a finevessel from the port of the same name, dropped anchor in theSound, about four miles from Friendly Cove. Maquinna wenton board. He was received pleasantly, and for a time watchedyoung John Rodger Jewitt, the armourer or blacksmith, atwork at his forge. Maquinna always admired the arts of asmith, who could fashion daggers and knives and spear headsfrom iron.

The captain presented Maquinna with a double-barrelledgun. He was delighted and hastened ashore to try it. Hebrought it back next morning. He was angry and chargedthat the gun was "bad." Captain Salter was also ill-tempered.He flew into a rage, seized the weapon and threw it downthe hatch to Jewitt to repair, calling Maquinna a liar. Heprobably forgot that the old Indian knew a good deal ofEnglish.

Maquinna clutched at his throat to keep his anger fromchoking him, he later explained. He went on shore, calledhis people together and told them what had happened. Thewarriors declared that such an insult to their chief couldnot be tolerated.

The next morning Maquinna returned to the 'Boston'.He was gay. He wore a mask and carried a whistle. Hecapered about the deck. He asked the Captain if he wouldnot like some salmon before he left port. These he said couldbe obtained at Friendly Cove. Salter immediately sent offhis first officer B. Delouisa and a strong party.

When they had departed, Maquinna blew his whistle.The Indians on board the 'Boston' drew their daggers andattacked the crew, while others boarded the ship to take partin the massacre. Captain Salter was stabbed and thrown overthe side where the squaws beat him to death with theircanoe paddles.

Maquinna had given orders that Jewitt, the armourer,should be spared. He was wounded slightly, and was takenand dragged before Maquinna, who made him identify hisdead comrades. He noted that John Thompson, the sailmaker,was not among the victims of the massacre. Delouisa and hisparty were all killed at Friendly Cove. Maquinna told Jewittthat he would spare him if he would ply his trade for him.It was that or death.

The first thing that Jewitt had to do was to direct themaking of sail and taking the 'Boston' to Friendly Cove,where she was beached. Here the Indians commenced topillage the vessel, and discovered Thompson, hiding in thehold. He was dragged before Maquinna who would haveordered his death, had not Jewitt claimed him as his father.So the old sailmaker was also made a slave.

Other vessels were on the Coast, and the word was sooncarried to them of what had happened to the 'Boston'. Afew days later the brigs 'Juno' and 'Mary' boldly sailedinto Friendly Harbour, squared away, and fired threebroadsides in the direction of the village, without doing anyharm. They then sailed away, leaving the two white men asslaves.

28
FREED FROM SLAVERY

It was the summer of 1805: the American brig 'Lydia' wastrading on the West Coast. One day Machee Ulatilla, anIndian chief, arrived in a canoe. He had come a long distancewith a letter. Captain Samuel Hill was more than surprisedto find it was signed by John R. Jewitt and John Thompson,members of the crew of the ship 'Boston', telling of theircaptivity, as sole survivors of the vessel, at Nootka. Hill hadheard that the ship had been destroyed but this was the firstnews that there were any of her personnel alive.

Jewitt, the young armourer, and John Thompson, thesailmaker of the 'Boston', had sent off, by friendly visitingIndians, sixteen letters penned with a quill by Jewitt with amixture of charcoal and berry juice.

It was the middle of July before Captain Hill was ableto get to Nootka. Here he found that Friendly Cove wasdefended with a battery of six cannon taken from the'Boston'.

There was no hostile gesture, however, when he enteredthe cove. The Indians were feeling the boycott that tradersimposed following the taking of the 'Boston'. There weremany things that they wanted. While much of the heaviermaterial, such as cannon, powder, ball, running gears andanchors had been removed, the greater part of the cargo ofthe captured ship had been accidentally burned.

The Nootkans blamed Maquinna for their isolation, andeven for the fact that there were few whales off shore.There were murmurings and plottings. Then the chiefappointed the two white men as his bodyguard and theyprotected him as he had protected them. They were givenconsiderable freedom and used to go regularly to a small lakewhere they held prayers for their freedom. Jewitt kept ajournal, having found a blank book before the vessel wasburned. He noted down the daily events of their captivity andthe doings of the Indians.

Maquinna did not care much for Thompson, althoughhe admired him as a warrior, having used him in battle withthe Barkley Sound Indians, where he did great execution.But the old chief was really attached to Jewitt, who made himdaggers and knives and spears. He had given Jewitt a wife,as an evidence of his favour, but the young white man hadput her aside, for fear she might interfere with his plans forescape.

Maquinna was in two minds about going aboard the'Lydia'. He asked Jewitt for his advice, for he was very fondof the young white man and treated him well. Jewitt assuredhim it would be quite safe for him to do so and offered togive him a letter saying he was a good chief. This Maquinnawelcomed, but the letter asked that the bearer be held as ahostage for the deliverance of the captives. This was done.

Captain Sam Hill recorded that having securedMaquinna he demanded the production of the slaves. "Whenthey were about to embark in a canoe to come aboard," herelated, "a council was held on the beach, wherein severalof the chiefs advised to kill them both and hazard the worstrather than suffer the particulars of their conduct, relativeto the capture of the ship, to be known; but they were givento understand that if they did not immediately bring thetwo men on board, alive and unhurt, I would assuredlypunish their chiefs and destroy the village. This had thedesired effect and I was happy in recovering the men togetherwith the guns and ammunition without entering into aquarrel." Maquinna was set free and left the vessel withmany expressions of gratitude, but with real sorrow at thedeparture of Jewitt. He did not seem to mourn Thompson.John Jewitt wrote a book about his adventures. It wastranslated into several languages. He revised it, several yearsafter his first story was printed, but the plain unvarnishedstory as he penned it in berry juices and charcoal is a mostdramatic and enlightening tale.

And as for Maquinna: his act of treachery in attackingthe 'Boston' wrote "Finis" to his relations with the whites.He was never again trusted.

29
FRASER FORMS POSTS

It was in the spring of 1806 that the Indians at Lake Na'kalfirst encountered a white man. He was James McDougall,one of Simon Fraser's force from Rocky Mountain Portageestablishment on the Peace River, not very far from thepresent-day Hudson's Hope. This place had been constructedby Fraser as a base from which he could carry out theinstructions of his associates of the North West Companythat the fur trade be carried to the Pacific side of thecontinental divide.

The North West Company had but recently been reinvigoratedby fusion with the XY Company, another Canadiantrading concern, and, having heard that President ThomasJefferson, of the United States, had sent Captains Lewis andClark on an exploratory trip to the western seaboard, feltsome alarm. It was therefore decided, at the great councilof the Company at Fort William, that Simon Fraser shouldmake all haste across the Rockies to occupy potential furfields, and extend the geographical knowledge of the countryinto which Sir Alexander Mackenzie had penetrated.

McDougall, with several men, was sent ahead. Hecamped on a lake, which he called Trout Lake. Here, followingthe arrival of Fraser later in the year, it was determinedto establish a permanent post. It and the lake were honouredby Fraser with the name of his friend Archibald NormanMcLeod. As Fort McLeod, the trading-post has continued,being the first white community established in BritishColumbia west of the Rockies.

The next spring (1806), McDougall discovered LakeNa'kal. During his brief stay among the Carrier Indians atthat place he presented one, named Toeyen, with a piece ofred cloth. The Indian valued it highly and regarded it withalmost superstitious awe.

Now it was July 26 of the same year. The surface ofthe lake was ruffled by a brisk wind, and the canoes at Quaw'svillage were drawn up on the beach. Suddenly there was acry of alarm: two very large canoes, filled with queerlydressed strangers, appeared around a point from the junctureof the lake and river. Surely this must be a warlike attack.The men were called to arms and the women and childrenwere hurried to the protection of the forest. But Toeyen wasnot afraid. These strangers appeared to be similar to hisfriends who had given him the precious cloth. He hastenedto where his treasures were stored, and appeared again withthe red rag about his waist. Now he entered a canoe andwent boldly to meet the newcomers. He was recognized andwas taken into Fraser's canoe. At first his kinsmen thoughthe had been killed, but presently they heard him callingloudly that he was among friends.

So Fraser and his companions landed to receive a warmwelcome by Quaw and his people. It was a wonderful scene,and recalled to Fraser stories his mother had told him ofthe lochs of old Scotland, with their rugged shores. JohnStuart, his friend and lieutenant, corroborated theresemblance. So it was that the country was named New Caledonia,and in gallant compliment to his assistant Fraser called thelake "Stuart." Here, during the remaining summer months, afort was constructed. At first it was known as "Nakazleh,"but later it was rechristened "Fort St. James" and becamethe active centre of New Caledonia.

The Indians were friendly. They told of another finelake, about forty miles to the southward. The salmon hadnot yet arrived in the annual tens of thousands at StuartLake. Food supplies were meagre; so Stuart with several menwas sent to take a look at this other body of water. It wasagreed that they would later meet at a designated spot onthe Nechako River. Soon after Stuart took his departure thesalmon arrived in abundance. There was a surfeit of fish.

When the friends met according to appointment, Stuarthad such an enthusiastic story to tell of the wonders of theplace he had visited that they decided to visit it in company.Here John Stuart returned the compliment of his chief.He named the beautiful sheet of water "Fraser Lake." Herealso a trading-post was built. It was first known as "Natleh,"but later as "Fort Fraser."

Thus it was that Fraser and Stuart and McDougall witha few half-starved men and a scarcity of trade goods foundedestablishments that were later to figure prominently in thedevelopment of the country.

30
THE GREAT RIVER

Jules Maurice Quesnel and Hugh Faries brought a messageto Simon Fraser in the fall of 1807 from the council of theNorth West Company instructing him to explore the "GreatRiver" to the sea.

In preparation for this duty, Fraser established anotherpost, at the junction of the Nechako and the big stream.This he named Fort George, and Faries was named its firstcommander. From this place, late in May, 1808, theexploring party consisting of Fraser, his tried and trustedlieutenant John Stuart, Quesnel, nineteen voyageurs, and twoIndians, took its departure.

Fifteen miles below Fort George disaster threatenedmembers of the party who undertook to run the dangerouscanyon. Having escaped destruction here the party found itadvisable to portage the supplies at the junction of theCottonwood, and camped where another river entered. Thiswas honoured with the name of Quesnel.

From that time on Fraser and his men encounterednew difficulties each day. Not only were there physicalobstacles to overcome, but the different Indian tribes had tobe approached with caution, and be placated and left asfriends. Finally it was found impossible to continue by canoe,and the party's craft were cached near Pavilion Creek,earlier near Kelly Creek. Fraser wrote in his journal: "thechannel contracts to about forty yards, and is enclosed bytwo precipices of immense height, which, bending towardseach other, make it narrower above than below. The waterwhich rolls down this extraordinary passage in tumultuouswaves and with great velocity, had a frightful appearance."This danger was negotiated, but it was decided not to tryfortune again under similar circumstances.

Where present Lillooet is located, an Indian fort of onehundred feet by twenty-four was discovered. The palisades ofthis defensive work were eighteen feet in height. Continuingalong the river, Fraser found the village of "Camchin." Theprincipal town of the Hacamough tribe, it was situated atthe forks where the clear waters of a large river entered themuddy stream of the one Fraser was following. Thinkingthat this must be the river that another noted North-Westpartner had reported having found, Fraser named it the"Thompson."

The dangers and difficulties already encountered wereexceeded by those that followed after leaving Camchin. "Herewe were obliged to carry on among the loose stones in the faceof a steep hill between two precipices. Near the top, wherethe ascent was perfectly perpendicular, one of the Indiansclimbed to the summit and by means of a long rope drew usup one after another. This work took three hours, and thenwe continued our course up and down hills and along steepdeclivities of mountains where hanging rocks and projectingcliffs, at the edge of the bank of the river, made the passageso small as to render it, at times difficult even for one personto pass sideways." Such was Fraser's description of one place.

At Spuzzum, where they were well received, the explorersnoted the influence of the coastal tribes. Soon they hademerged from the canyons, and in dug-out canoes, obtainedfrom the Indians, were being carried on the gentle flowthrough the lush lowlands.

It was July 2 when, following the north arm of theriver, Fraser stopped at the great village of Musqueam. Thiswas fortified. "The fort," he said, "is fifteen hundred feet inlength and ninety in breadth." The natives had evacuatedthe place when they saw the approach of the party, but oneIndian who had come with them urged them to flee as thewarriors would soon return. This was proved to be soundcounsel, for soon Indians appeared and made such a warlikedemonstration that Fraser and his men soon retreated up theriver. According to Indian legend they were mistaken forenemies from Chawassin.

As a result, Fraser never actually debouched into theGulf of Georgia but he saw the glint of the sea, and heknew that he had reached—not the mouth of the Columbia—butthat of his own river, The Fraser.

31
FORT BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS

When the mighty men of the North West Company told SimonFraser to explore the river that Sir Alexander Mackenzie haddiscovered, they also issued instructions to David Thompsonto occupy the country to the south of Fraser's forts, andwest of the Rockies. They wished to forestall the Americans.

Thompson was admirably suited for the work. He was atrained surveyor and an experienced Indian trader, havingserved his apprenticeship in the barter for furs with theHudson's Bay Company before he joined the Canadianorganization. In 1806, when he received his orders to crossthe Rocky Mountains, he was at Rocky Mountain Houseon the North Saskatchewan, near its junction with theClearwater.

He had some previous acquaintance with the KootenaeIndians, a party of whom he had met. They had venturedthrough to the eastern foothills in hopes of establishing tradewith the white men. Thompson had made them presents andadvised them to return home, as the Piegans, their mortalenemies, were in the vicinity of the trading-post. The Pieganswere a warlike tribe in the Blackfoot Confederacy, who oftenraided through the mountain passes to drive off the Kootenaes'horses. Ever since the establishment of trade depots,they had guarded those passes to keep the Kootenaes fromcontact with the whites.

Thompson had to make his preparations without arousingthe suspicion of the Piegans. He sent Jacco Finlay aheadto explore the way through the Rockies. He succeeded incrossing to the Columbia River, where he built two canoes,and returned to report to his superior.

With Finan McDonald as his second in command,Thompson, accompanied by his wife and family and a partyof company servants, followed the route of Finlay. Theyutilized the break now known as Howse Pass. They cameupon a small stream, the waters of which flowed to the west,indicating that they had crossed the divide.

The explorer was delighted. He devoutly wrote in hisjournal: "May God in His mercy give me to see where itswaters flow into the ocean and return in safety." Thisearnest prayer was eventually answered, but not until fouryears had passed.

The tiny stream was the source of the Blaeberry River.They followed it to its place of entry into the Columbia. Itwas here that Finlay had cached his two canoes. Unfortunatelythe larger craft was so damaged by weather that itwas useless, but Thompson and his men set to work and builta boat out of the materials at hand. In this they startedup the big river. It was a rough and dangerous trip, buteventually they could see a lake and near it a stream enteringthe river. It is now known as Toby Creek. Close to thisThompson commenced the construction of a fort, which henamed "Kootenae House."

The party reached the place in a famished and weakenedcondition. They had depended upon game to sustain them,but there appeared to be little animal life, and their successat fishing had been poor. They had found coyotes eatinga dead horse, and had driven the animals off and hadconsumed some of the flesh. It was tainted, and they weresick.

"At length, thank Heaven," the grateful Thompsonwrote, "two Kootenae men arrived: they saw our famishedlooks and asking no questions gave every one of us asufficiency to eat which was most gratefully accepted and thentraded with me dried provisions enough for two days."

Now, to add to their misery, a band of Piegans arrived,in an effort to terrorize the Kootenaes and frighten the whites.They stayed about for several months, but all the time thestrength of the fort was growing, and when the palisadeswere up and loop-holed, the visitors realized that it wasbeyond their ability to capture. They departed.

The first fort in the Southern Interior of BritishColumbia had been established.

32
RACE FOR AN EMPIRE

John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant to the United States,had visions of establishing a great fur empire based upona permanent depot at the mouth of the Columbia River. Hesuggested to the North West Company that it join him in theenterprise. The idea was scorned by that veteran organizationof the wilds; the concern that had successfully challenged thepower and authority of the Hudson's Bay Company was notinterested in the dreams of an unknown German furrier.

Astor was not dismayed by the refusal. It was reallythe experience of the Nor'westers that he coveted: so hemade overtures to some of the most experienced of thecompany's Indian traders. One of the first to join Astor'sfur company was Alexander McKay, who had accompaniedSir Alexander Mackenzie on his great overland trip to thePacific in 1793.

When in 1810 Astor had completed his plans andstarted two expeditions, one overland and the other on boardthe ship 'Tonquin', for the mouth of the Columbia, theproud and disdainful Nor'west traders took notice. DavidThompson, who had already crossed the Rocky Mountainsand had established several outposts there, was at RainyRiver with furs. He was ordered to hasten back to RockyMountain House, where he was to organize a strong partyfor a dash across the continental backbone and down to thesea. He was to arrive at the mouth of the Columbia beforethe Americans, and to claim the country for King George IIIand the Company.

It was to be a race, a contest of speed and endurance,with an Empire as the prize.

Thompson hurried to Rocky Mountain House and preparedto speed through Howse Pass to Kootenae House,to follow the McGillivray's—now Kootenay—River to SalishHouse, and to go thence to the lower Columbia. He hopedto make the trip before the end of the year. But the PieganIndians, with their confederates amongst the prairie tribes,decided otherwise. They determined to prevent Thompsonagain taking trading goods to their enemies, the Kootenaes.They blocked him in the use of the pass he had previouslyused, and much time was lost in going by way of AthabascaPass. But of greater injury to him was the fear that theirdemonstration had caused amongst Thompson's party ofmore than twenty.

Reaching the Columbia, he proposed to go up thestream to its headquarters and Kootenae House, but his menrefused to proceed and four of them deserted. He finallydetermined to winter where he was, and built a house for thatpurpose near the junction of the Wood River.

After a miserable winter, marked by the dissatisfactionof his men, and the desertion of more of them, he proposed toabandon his plan and to go down the Columbia. His menagain objected; they feared the rapids and unknown dangersof the route. So Thompson had to go up to his LakeWindermere post, with the eight men who remained withhim. From Kootenae House he crossed over to the McGillivrayand down that stream to find Salish House abandoned. FinanMcDonald and Jacco Finlay, whom he had left there, hadmoved to a new location, called Spokane House.

Hastening from this establishment to Kettle Falls anddown the Columbia with five French Canadians, two Iroquoisand two local Indians, he posted notices where he stopped tocamp, claiming the country for the British Crown and hisCompany. It was at the Dalles that he first learned that whitestrangers were building at the mouth of the river.

When the 'Tonquin' reached the river in March, itsmen lost no time in building a fort. On July 15, 1811,Thompson reached this new establishment, over which flewthe star-bespangled flag of the United States. The timidityand lack of courage of his men had lost Thompson the race... and Great Britain the sovereignty over a great and richterritory.

33
DEATH LADEN TONQUIN

It was the summer of 1811 and Astor's ship 'Tonquin' hadcome to the west coast of Vancouver's Island from thePacific Fur Company's new establishment at the mouth of theColumbia to barter with the Indians for sea-otter furs. Thevessel was commanded by Captain Jonathan Thorne, aformer naval officer and a man of hasty temper. With him,in charge of Indian sales, was Alexander McKay, a partnerin Astor's organization and former trader and explorer for theNorth West Company.

'Tonquin' nosed into Clayoquot Sound and encounteredtragedy. Just who was to blame for arousing the enmity ofthe Indians has long been in doubt. Some allege that CaptainThorne was at fault. It was asserted that the Captain wasdoing the trading, and became exasperated by the insistenceof an old Indian named Nookamis that he be given a bonusover the price agreed upon for an otter pelt. Thorne is saidto have seized the fur and rubbed the face of the native withit. But the story as related in the lodges of the Clayoquotsand about the fires of a winter night blames McKay, whosebusiness it was to carry on barter.

He was dealing with Nookamis, who was pestering himfor an addition to the payment, when McKay pushed the oldman. A powerful war-chief named Maniwa saw the insultgiven. He threw his arms about the white man and uttereda war-whoop. Instantly knives flashed and the captain andother officers were attacked and killed. The crew members inthe fore part of the vessel seemed to be paralysed by thesudden attack and were unable to offer assistance to theirsuperiors or resistance to the natives.

All but two white men were killed in that first onslaught,the Indian story says. One of these was a man named JamesLewis, and he was wounded. He hid himself below decks,and the Indians hesitated to follow him into the dark recessesof the ship. In the meantime more and more canoes werearriving from shore with natives eager to join in the work ofplunder.

Suddenly, and without warning, there was a terrificexplosion; the wooden ship burst asunder, the deck laden withexultant victors was blasted into the air in a sheet of flame.Scores were killed, while even more died in the canoes alongsidefrom the shock of the explosion and from falling debrisfrom the torn craft.

This ending of the 'Tonquin' is in agreement with thenews brought back to Astoria by the Indian interpreter, whoalone of the vessel's personnel survived. According to himLewis had exploded the powder magazine. Four others, hesaid, had escaped the knives of the Indians on board theship; they fled in the night in a small boat and were capturedsome miles away and were killed. Lewis had refused to gowith them, being determined to exact revenge for the slayingof his shipmates.

Tent-a-coose, a Cowichan Indian who was a slaveamongst the Clayoquots, witnessed the whole affair from theshore. Later he was liberated by the Hudson's Bay Company,and as an old man delighted in telling of the blowing upof the 'Tonquin'. He timed it as being the morning followingthe massacre. Lewis, he said, appeared on deck and waved tothe Indians to come on board. They did so, and when thevessel was crowded, the magazine was exploded. Tent-a-cooseestimated that more than two hundred Clayoquots lost theirlives and many more were crippled by Lewis's awful revenge.

The loss of the 'Tonquin' was a serious blow to the littlesettlement at the mouth of the Columbia, which did not learnof the fate of the ship and her crew until months later whenthe interpreter made his way back to Astoria with the horriblestory.

34
KAMLOOPS IS STARTED

David Thompson lost his race for possession of the mouth ofthe Columbia, while his efforts to claim the territories throughwhich he hurried on his way to the sea also resulted infailure.

In the summer of 1811 David Stuart and Alexander Rossheaded a trading expedition from Astoria to the great interiorcountry. It was at the junction of the Snake and Columbiarivers that they found a British flag flying above an Indianencampment. It was one of Thompson's bits of bunting, andwith it he had confided to the custody of a chief a paper.Written on it was this, "Know hereby that this country isclaimed by Great Britain as part of its Territories, and thatthe N.W. Company of Merchants from Canada, finding theFactory for this People inconvenient for them, do intend toerect a Factory in this place for the Country around."

The natives, who were proud of their flag and the trustreposed in them by Thompson, tried to dissuade Stuart andRoss from their purpose. This, however, made them onlymore determined to explore the unknown land to the north.They turned up a stream that flowed from that direction.It was the Okanogan[*] River, and they built a post upon itsbanks, a cabin of sixteen by twenty feet.

[*] The beautiful lake and river have different spellings.The lake, beingin what is now British Columbia, is written "Okanagan,"as is the rivernorth of the boundary. In the United States the riverand other placenames such as the old fort site are spelled "Okanogan."

From this place that fall Stuart decided to continue hisexplorations for profitable fur fields. Taking a Canadian,Montigny, and two others with him, he left Ross and a smalldog the only occupants of Okanogan. He travelled up theriver to the great Lake Okanagan, and along the shores ofthat beautiful body of water. Crossing to the westward overa fine plateau he came to the "country of the She-waps[Shuswaps]" and made camp at the junction of two finerivers—where Kamloops is located today.

It was mid-September when he started away fromOkanogan, and according to his reckoning it was between200 and 250 miles to the land of the "She-Waps." It was nowonder, therefore, that he was overtaken by winter. "Thesnow fell while we were here in the mountains, and precludedour immediate return," he wrote, "and after waiting for fineweather the snows got so deep that we considered it hopelessto attempt getting back, and therefore, passed our time withthe She-Waps and other tribes of that quarter." He returnedto his friend Ross, who had almost despaired of seeing himagain, in the middle of March, 1812, after having beenabsent 188 days. But it had been a profitable trip, and he wasable to take 2,500 beaver pelts, the result of his and Ross'strading, to Astoria in April.

It was now Ross's turn to visit the She-Waps. He leftOkanogan on May 6 with several men and sixteen horsesand reached the forks of the Thompson ten days later and"there encamped at a place called by the Indians 'Cumcloups',near the entrance of the north branch." He stayedfor ten days and was overwhelmed with trade by the 2,000natives forgathered there. "Not expecting to see so many,"he said, "I had taken but a small quantity of goods with me,nevertheless, we loaded all our horses, so anxious they wereto trade, and so fond of leaf tobacco at the rate of five leavesper skin, and at last, when I had but one yard of white cottonremaining, one of the chiefs gave me twenty prime beaverskins for it."

That same summer, Joseph Laroque arrived and built aNorth West Company post close by. Kamloops had beenfounded as a trading centre, having been first located by theUnited States fur interests. Stuart later replaced Ross, andat Christmas, 1812, Ross made the journey from Okanoganto spend Christmas with him. He returned to his own postby way of the Similkameen, thus pioneering in the whiteman's exploration of that country.

35
SOVEREIGNTY FIXED

For ten days H.M.S. 'Raccoon', Captain William Black, layin Baker's Bay, within the mouth of the Columbia River,while a storm raged outside. The warship had come aroundCape Horn to capture the American trading-post of Astoria,war having broken out between Great Britain and the UnitedStates. The sloop-of-war, of twenty-six guns and with acomplement of 120 officers and men, had arrived on November30, 1813, expecting to make easy conquest of a rich prize.On the long voyage from the South Atlantic, Black and hismen had speculated upon the riches that would result fromthe baled furs that they would seize with the taking ofAstor's fort.

Now that the 'Raccoon' had arrived, Black was chagrinedto learn that the star-spangled banner of the youngRepublic no longer fluttered from the masthead in front ofthe main gate, but that the flag of Great Britain waved there.The Astorians, anticipating the capture of the place whenthey learned that a war vessel had been ordered to theColumbia, had sold out to the North West Company, whichwas in possession when the 'Raccoon' crossed the bar.

Captain Black was not the man to be thwarted by sucha circumstance. After thinking the matter over while his shiptossed about Baker's Bay, he landed on December 12, bringinga small force of seamen and marines with him. Then hearmed members of the North West Company's personnel, andafter having dined at the fort, he paraded the auxiliariesunder the direction of the enlisted men in front of theflagpole, while Indians and Astorians looked on. He orderedthat the United States flag be hoisted and then lowered; thenthe Union Jack replaced it and was hoisted to wave in thebreeze. This having been done, Black and his armed mensaluted the emblem of Empire, and the gallant Captainpicked up a long-necked bottle of Madeira wine and,smashing it against the wooden pole, exclaimed that he tookpossession of the establishment and of the country, and thathe rechristened Astoria, "Fort George."

It was an absurd and futile ceremony, and while it mayhave assuaged the injured vanity of the Captain, it resultedin placing the country definitely under the flag of the Republicthat he sought to belittle.

When the Treaty of Ghent was signed, putting an endto the war between Great Britain and the United States, it wasstipulated by the first article of that agreement that any placetaken by one power from the other during hostilities shouldbe returned. The United States immediately demanded thereturn of Astoria.

"But," countered British plenipotentiaries, "Fort George[Astoria] was not a prize of war, but changed hands as theresult of a commercial transaction between two fur-tradingcompanies."

"No," was the answer, "your Captain Black, of H.M.S. 'Raccoon',on April 12, 1813, lowered the flag of the UnitedStates, made formal declaration that he was taking possessionin the name of His Britannic Majesty, and rechristened thepost 'Fort George' in honour of his king."

Britain had to acknowledge that such had been the eventson December 12 of that year on the banks of the Columbia.

The result was that there was another formal gatheringheld on October 6, 1818, in front of the fort gate and beneaththe flag that fluttered on high. Captain F. Hickey,H.M.S. 'Blossom', and J. Keith of the North West Company officiallyrepresented Great Britain, and J. B. Prevost was accreditedby the President of the United States.

Captain Hickey read from a document: "In obedienceto the commands of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent,signified in a dispatch from the Right Honourable the Earl ofBathurst, addressed to the partners or agents of the NorthWest Co., bearing date, the 27th January, 1818, and inobedience to a subsequent order dated the 26th of July, fromW. H. Sheriff, Esq., Captain of His Majesty's Ship 'Andromache',we the undersigned, do, in conformity to the firstarticle of the Treaty of Ghent, restore to the Government ofthe United States, through its agent, J. P. Prevost, thesettlement of Fort George on the Columbia River."

Then the Union Jack was lowered and the star-spangledbanner was raised. The stupid action of Captain Black haddefinitely confirmed the sovereignty of the United States overthe country.

36
NATIONS CLAIM NEW LANDS

The year 1821 was a vital one to the American West. TheHudson's Bay Company and its great rival, the North WestCompany, following a long period of bitter competition thatresulted in bloodshed, amalgamated under the charter ofthe ancient organization that had been formed in the days ofKing Charles II.

The Hudson's Bay Company, in its operations, had notextended west of the Rocky Mountains, but now that thetwo concerns had merged, new attention was focused uponthe potentialities of the great wild land that stretched fromthe crest of the continental divide to the Pacific Ocean.

Nor was Great Britain alone in viewing the great territorywith increased interest. The United States and Russia wereready to lay claim to the western seaboard. Russia suddenlyasserted sovereignty to all the territory washed by the Pacificdown from its Alaskan littoral to a line of latitude 51 degreesnorth. The Czar issued a formal ukase declaring Russianterritories to go to that point.

This claim was later abandoned and the United Stateswas not quite so positive of its pretensions. It had a definiteacknowledgement of sovereignty about Fort George or Astoriaat the mouth of the Columbia, and this it desired to extend.The ownership of the Pacific Coast was frequently mentionedin Congress and a bill was introduced laying claim to the landand instructing the President to have a survey made of allharbours that the Republic might consider to be the propertyof the Republic. It also authorized the conveyance of 150tons of cannon to the mouth of the Columbia in order toestablish fortifications there.

In 1819 the United States had purchased Florida fromSpain and with it obtained all Spanish territories, rights,claims and pretensions west of the Mississippi and north oflatitude 42. By this, the United States became owner withGreat Britain of equal rights in Vancouver's Island, andthereby confirmed in a second locality bordering the Pacific—butWashington did not realize the significance of what hadbeen secured, a fact that was not recognized for years.

Having established peace in the fur fields of BritishAmerica, and having one responsible organization with whichit could work, the British Government consulted withGovernor J. H. Pelly of the Hudson's Bay Company concerningthe future state of the western world. It was suggested tothe British ministry at Washington that nothing be done toprovoke the United States in respect to the territory, unlessWashington ordered some definite action. Then the Hudson'sBay Company was asked to consider moving its PacificHeadquarters from the mouth of the Columbia farther into theinterior and to the north side of the great river.

When the North West and Hudson's Bay Companiesunited in 1821 George Simpson, a diminutive and dynamicindividual, who had spent a short time in the frozen winterwastes of Athabasca, was chosen as governor of the NorthernDepartment of the Hudson's Bay Company. Simpson wasappointed because he had proved his ability and because hehad created fewer personal animosities than had otherfur-traders. In 1824 he was instructed to hasten across thecontinent to pay a visit of inspection to the Columbia departmentand to study on the spot the suggestions that the Companyhad discussed with the Government.

That trip across the continent, by the waterways andtrails of the little known country, will long live in men'smemories. He made the dash from Hudson Bay to FortGeorge in something like eighty days, clipping twenty daysoff the fastest trip ever recorded prior to that time.

With Simpson came Dr. John McLoughlin, who wasto become a dominant figure in the West in the next thirtyyears—a giant of a man—and James McMillan, anexperienced fur-trader.

Simpson, in his consideration of the problem of futuresovereignty, determined that the lower reaches of the FraserRiver should be explored and occupied. It was a matter ofsuch moment that, although it would be winter by the timehe reached the Coast, no time should be lost in sending anexpedition north for that purpose. He decided that McMillanwas a man qualified to head such an exploratory expedition,and he suggested it so adroitly that he led the old trader tovolunteer for the service.

Artifact 1

Artifacts 2, 3, 4

Artifact 5

Artifact 6

These artifacts, all showing Eastern influences, were found in BritishColumbia. They serve to illustrate the theories outlined in Chapter 1.

1 A graven image found near Victoria

2 Two views of a censer discovered near Yale. It probablywas used in the worship of the Serpent God

3 The 'Hepburn Stone' was found near Nanaimo.Its size may be judged by the match-box

4 The Japanese sword and scabbard, reputed to be of great age,were also found at Nanaimo

5 This sculptured head was found in the sea off Nanaimo. It isknown as the 'Mitchell Carving', after the name ofa former owner

6 Rain-making powers have been attributed to the beardedWater God of Chinese origin. It was unearthed atParksville, and is said to pre-date the coastal Indians

37
FIND MOUTH OF FRASER

Governor Simpson of the Hudson's Bay Company, winteringat Fort George on the Columbia, was pleased. Chief TraderJames McMillan, a tried and capable leader, had started,November 18, 1824, with a large party to find the mouth ofthe Fraser River and examine its shores for a site for a tradingpost.

"We knew from Indian report," Simpson wrote in hisdiary, "that it [the Fraser] falls into the Strait that dividesVancouver's Island from the Mainland near about Burrard'sCanal or 49° to 50° North Latitude. In order, however, toremove all doubts I despatched Chief Trader McMillan witha party of about forty (who would otherwise have been layingidle here all winter) a few days after my arrival at this place,although the Season was extremely unfavourable for such anenterprise and I entertain sanguine hopes that he will accomplishthe object of his mission with credit to himself and to thesatisfaction of all concerned by bringing a favourable reporton the various points on which we require information andwhich is essential to carrying the present plan into effect.Taking such for granted, I would establish the principal Depotat the mouth of Fraser's River from whence a Vessel forChina would sail annually with the returns, where the coastingcraft would receive their outfits and deliver their returnsand from whence all the posts of New Caledonia, Spokane,Nez Perces, Flat Head and Coutonais also Fort George if weare allowed to occupy a Post on the Columbia." Simpson waspreparing for the future.

It was wet and cold, and December 11, 1824, was aboisterous day. McMillan, with John Work, François NoelAnnance, Tom McKay and their men—including Jean B'tisteProveau, who had accompanied Simon Fraser on his descentof the great river that was to honour him—were strugglingacross a shallow bay. There they had to await better weatherbefore attempting to round the bluff headland named byCaptain Vancouver "Point Roberts." On December 13 theydecided to delay no longer. "The course," said John Work,the journalist of the expedition, "was therefore changed andthe boats crossed the entrance of a little bay in which we wereencamped, and continued along the main shore to anotherbay [Mud Bay] down which they proceeded to the entranceof a small river [Nicomekl] up which they continued aboutseven or eight miles, in a very winding course which was ingeneral N. Easterly."

The next day they found "that the boats could proceedno farther up the river." They had to portage a distance of7,910 yards. This was from the vicinity of present-day LangleyPrairie. Then they came to a "crooked little river"—theSalmon. "This portage," John Work said, "lies through alittle plain which with the mighty rain has become so soft andmiry that in several places it resembles a swamp ... Elk havebeen very numerous here some time ago, but the hunterssuppose that since the rainy season they have gone to thehigh grounds."

It was difficult and exhausting work, dragging the heavyboats, but at 1 o'clock, December 16, the boats, floating downthe turning, twisting, shallow Salmon, emerged into the broadbrown flood of the mighty river known to the whites as "theFraser," but to the Indians as "Stahlo Prole." McMillan andhis men were delighted, but none more than Jean B'tisteProveau, who was making his second visit to Fraser's ownriver.

They proceeded up-stream, camped for the night, andthe following morning proceeded to Hatzic Lake, where theyencountered Indians with whom they conversed. Then, havingcontinued still higher, where they met Indians whounderstood McMillan's speech in the Okanagan language, it wasdecided on the morning of December 19 to return to theColumbia. That night camp was pitched on a wooded point,on the south side of the river, opposite Annacis Island. Herethe initials "H.B.Co." were carved into the trunk of a bigtree, as an act of taking possession of the country. The spotbecame known as "H.B.Co. Tree Point" as a result of thismark.

On December 20, the mouth of the Fraser River wasreached. It was the first known occasion upon which it hadbeen visited by white men. Vancouver had missed it; Fraserhad not reached it, but now, on a chill and miserableDecember day, some forty cold and weary men, under direction ofJames McMillan, drifted down to the open waters of the Gulfof Georgia. "The channel through which we came," Workwrote, "was sounded in several places towards its dischargeand found to be from seven to three and a half fathoms abouthigh water ... We saw a canoe with six Indians near theentrance to the River. On being called to by our Indians theyapproached to within a short distance of the boats, but couldnot be prevailed upon to come closer..."

The development of the Fraser River was about to start.

38
TREACHEROUS ATTACKS

Union of the two great fur trading organizations was followedby a measure of uncertainty and disruption; new men, tighteningof methods of trade, and rearrangement of establishmentswere reflected in some quarters by lessened respect on the partof the natives. Two incidents of the summer and fall of 1823were eloquent of the dangers of such a changed attitude. Onewas the murder of two men at Fort George—now PrinceGeorge—and the other was a massacre at Fort St. John, onthe Peace River.

It was in August, 1823, that J. Murray Yale, the officerin charge of the establishment of Fort George, decided tovisit Fort St. James at Stuart Lake to borrow some buildingtools. Fort George had been enlarged and rebuilt since itwas first thrown up by Simon Fraser. He took the interpreter,Joseph, with him on the long journey up the Nechako andStuart Rivers, and left a French Canadian named Du Plante,with another French Canadian and two Carrier Indians, tocontinue the work during his absence. The Indians werenamed Tzill-na-o-lay and Un-la-yhin.

When Yale had departed the Indians became defiantof the authority of Du Plante, who threatened to report theirconduct to Yale on his return. The Indians were permitted tosleep in the fort with the white men. During the night, afterhaving been reprimanded, they stealthily entered theapartment occupied by the two white men and stabbed them todeath. Then, taking some property from the fort, they fled.The Takulies, local Indians, were horrified, but they madeno effort to follow the killers. They did not enter the fort,but guarded it against further rifling, while a messenger wassent to Fort Fraser with the news of the killings.

Upon his return, Yale stopped further work and abandonedthe place for the time being, while from Fort St. Jamesword was sent over the mountains and to other establishmentsto watch for the appearance of the murderers.Un-la-yhin escaped over the Rockies, but was later killed bythe Cree Indians of the plains. The apprehension of Tzill-na-o-laydid not occur until four years later, and had a bearingupon the future history of British Columbia.

It was only about two months after the slaughter atFort George that tragedy struck again, this time at FortSt. John, at the junction of the Peace and North Pine Rivers.Here Guy Hughes, officer in charge, was shot down, and acanoe crew was wiped out.

Reorganization plans called for the closing of FortSt. John, and the Indians were told they must do their tradingat Fort Dunvegan. They objected to this. All the regularservants had withdrawn and Hughes remained to makearrangements for the establishment of food caches. The surlynatives would not agree to assist him. At last one man saidhe would act as guide to the new food-stores. Hughespleasantly patted him on the shoulder. That night the man died,and evil superstition ascribed his death to the white man'sfatal touch.

It was November 1 when Hughes went down to the riverbank to talk to a Beaver Indian and a Sekani youth. As heturned to re-enter the fort, the Sekani drew a pistol frombeneath his blanket and shot the white trader. The Beaverfollowed by killing the wounded man. Indians at oncecommenced to loot the remaining stores in the place.

While this assassination was taking place, two heavilyladen canoes from Rocky Mountain Portage were nearingFort St. John on their way to Fort Dunvegan. Old Antoine, agrizzled veteran of the service, was in charge of the largercraft, while three younger French Canadians, Morin, Montoinand Toin, were with him. The smaller canoe was in charge ofanother experienced riverman, Marando, with Miette andGregori as his crew.

Antoine Rivet and his men approached St. John singingan old boating-song. They ran in to the landing-place andstepped out to be met by a volley of bullets. Old Rivet, as hefell, shouted in defiance: "Fire, you dogs, but you will nevermake me afraid."

Having killed the crew the Indians pillaged the cargo.As they were engaged in this, lighting their thievish work withflaming torches, Marando and his men approached. Theyhad been forced to delay to repair their canoe. Horrified bywhat they saw, as the figures of the killers moved about inthe dancing light, the whites paddled up the river to thecover of darkness.

Marando landed and made his way to the home of atrustworthy Indian and together they reconnoitred the fortand ascertained what had been done. Then he and his companionsstarted overland. It was a terrible journey, but theyeventually reached Fort Dunvegan to report the massacre.

The murderers fled to the mountains. All intercoursewith the Indians of the vicinity was stopped, and every effortwas made without avail to hunt down the murderers.

39
FORT LANGLEY RISES

After vainly trying to enter the Fraser for several days, theHudson's Bay Company's schooner 'Cadboro' managed toget under way up-stream on July 23, 1827. She had comewith a strong party under command of Chief Factor JamesMcMillan to construct a Hudson's Bay Company fort andoccupy the verdant valley of the mighty river for thatorganization and Great Britain. McMillan had explored the lowerreaches of the river in the mud and cold of December, 1824,and found it good. For that service he had been elevated toa chief factorship. Now, with François Noel Annance, adaring half-breed clerk, who delighted in studying the classicsand who had been with him on the previous voyage, andDonald Manson and George Barnston, young clerks who hadproven themselves to be wise in the wiles of Indian tradeand the ways of the natives, he was coming to exploit hisdiscoveries.

It was three days later before the 'Cadboro' succeededin getting abreast of the little river by which McMillan hadentered the Fraser—or "Stahlo," as the Indians called it.Further on, a more desirable site for a fort was found, but itwas unavailable, for the 'Cadboro' was unable to come within300 yards of it. So the schooner dropped back to her formerposition, and on Monday, July 30, 1827, it was noted in thejournal:

"The schooner was brought close to the shore and thehorses landed by slinging them off to the bank. The pooranimals appeared to rejoice heartily in their liberation. Ourmen at noon were all busily employed clearing the groundfor the establishment. In the evening all came on board tosleep, a precaution considered necessary until we are betterassured of the friendly disposition of the natives."

The Indians were not all friendly. Shoshia, a powerfulchief of the great Cowichan confederacy, warned McMillanthat he might expect trouble. The Indians seemed fearful ofan open attack, but they set the woods on fire, and it waswith great difficulty that the white men kept at their tasks ofclearing land, felling and squaring timber.

By August 13 one of the bastions was finished, except fora roof of bark. It gave the men some assurance of protection.A week later enough timber had been cut to permit erectingpalisades. Men were working tremendously; they exhaustedthemselves, and so, when wet weather came early in September,they became ill. McMillan blamed it on the continualdiet of fish that had been theirs since they landed. Sick andweak though they might be, however, they worked if at allable. They needed no spur; the evidences of savagery on allsides were sufficient.

At last, on September 8, they could breathe more easily,for on that day it was recorded: "Picketting of the fort wascompleted and the gates hung. The rectangle inside is fortyyards by forty-five; the two bastions twelve feet square each,built of eight-inch logs and having a lower and upper flooring,the latter of which is to be occupied by our artillery. The toutensemble must have a formidable appearance to the eyes ofthe Indians, especially those here who have seen nothing ofthe kind before."

The 'Cadboro' now left the little garrison at Fort Langleyas an outpost of civilization, surrounded by untamed savages.The vessel circled the Gulf of Georgia to notify the Indiansthat they could find trade on the Fraser. A watering-partywas attacked near Comox, one sailor being killed and anotherwounded.

It was on November 26 that the fort was formallychristened in honour of Thomas Langley, a Company director.Mr. Annance, the learned, officiated. The event was dulyset down in the journal: "This morning a Flag Staff was cutand prepared, and in the afternoon erected in the South Eastcorner of the Fort. The usual forms were gone through.Mr. Annance officiated in baptising the Establishment, and themen were regaled in celebration of the event. Our twohunters came at night having been alarmed at the firing whichtook place." Settlement on the Coast had commenced.

40
QUAW SPARES DOUGLAS

In the autumn of 1825 a youthful clerk crossed the mountainsto serve in New Caledonia. His name was James Douglas.A serious-minded young man of gigantic proportions, he gaveimplicit obedience to the precepts of the Bible and the ordersof his superiors. This grave, punctilious lad of twenty-two wasdestined to play a stellar role in the unfolding drama ofEmpire on the Pacific Coast during the next forty years.

He was by nature shy and retiring but, by the circumstancesof environment, was forced to adopt a mask of coldpersonal isolation and austerity. This was entirely foreignto his deeply religious and sympathetic nature, but he carriedthe pose so long that it became accepted as his character.Devoted to learning, he stored a receptive and discriminatingmind with useful information. His courage matched his toweringstature; his weakness was in his aroused anger, but thishe made conscious efforts to control.

William Connolly, chief factor in charge of New Caledonia,with headquarters at Fort St. James, appreciated theworth of his assistant, and gradually placed more and moreresponsibility upon him. He was a happy man when Douglas,early in 1828, married his beautiful daughter, Amelia. Itwas a marriage that was to endure for nearly half a century.

It was shortly after his wedding that Douglas wastemporarily in charge of Fort St. James. He learned that thefugitive Tzill-na-o-lay, one of those guilty of the murdersat Fort George in 1823, was hiding in the nearby Indianvillage. With several men Douglas started a search of thenatives' dwellings and at last the wanted man was uncovered.He tried to stab Douglas with an arrow and a desperatestruggle followed. It was ended when one of the fort retainersfelled the Indian.

On returning to his village, Quaw, the Carrier chief, wasindignant, for Tzill-na-o-lay had been his guest, and as such,he contended, should not have been molested. He felt thatbecause of the death of the murderer in his village he hadlost face. He determined to recover it. He laid careful plans,and by a sudden movement gained possession of the fort.Douglas was overpowered by Indians and was forced back ona table-top where he was held by several powerful braves,while another poised the great dagger of Quaw above hisheart, awaiting the word of the chief to strike. Quaw hesitated.Then Mrs. Douglas and other women of the fort started tothrow goods to the warriors. This was considered as reparation,and was accepted as such. Quaw's honour was satisfiedand the clerk was released.

It was believed that the Indians held no further animosity,until in December when Douglas and two companions wereon their way to Fort Fraser. As they left the village of Natleh,120 armed Indians rushed into the place calling that theyhad come to kill Douglas. He had reached the other shore,and could easily have covered the intervening distance to thefort. If he ran, he reasoned, the Indians would have followedand been drawn up against the fort pickets; it was probablethat a major clash would ensue. So James Douglas stood still.He waited until the 120 braves had crossed. They, too, stoodstill. They could not comprehend why he did not run. Not aword was spoken by Douglas. He just gazed steadily at thewarriors. They did not like it. One by one they turned andrecrossed the river. Finally none remained, and Douglasproceeded in a leisurely fashion to the fort. In the meantimesome friendly Indians had arrived; they too were astonishedat the iron nerve of the young white man.

The incident of a bloodless victory exerted a very greatinfluence upon the future of the Pacific Slope, for itdemonstrated that the Indians were still vengeful and the life ofDouglas could not be considered safe. Connolly suggested toGovernor Simpson that the clerk be moved to the Columbia.This suggestion was adopted and James Douglas was movedto Fort Vancouver to serve under his old boss of theNorth West Company, Chief Factor John McLoughlin, asaccountant.

41
JOY & TRAGEDY

As Christmas of 1827 neared, the Fraser River froze over andthe country was blanketed by snow. The garrison at FortLangley felt a sense of utter isolation in a chill world of white.It was a desolate picture that shivering guards viewed overthe palisades, and to them there was no beauty in the winterscene. Thoughts of the holidays brought them no comfort.There would be sufficient to eat: dried salmon and—thanksto Pierre Charles, the hunter—a bit of venison, and of coursethe usual dram of rum permitted upon gala occasions. Butthe real joy of the Yuletide and New Year seasons was not somuch in the feasts as in the friendships and the welcoming ofvisitors. Hundreds of white, frozen miles separated FortLangley from its nearest neighbouring fur-post.

Sunday, December 23, the keeper of the fort journalmade dejected entry: "Weather still the same. Nothingstirring."

But there was a Christmas present on the way to FortLangley, in the person of Chief Trader Alexander McKenzie,who was hurrying to reach the fort with mail and greetingsbefore the holiday. He and his little party of four met withdifficulties on the way. The journal of Christmas Eveexplains:

"In the morning two Indians from the Misquim Campnear the Quoitle River, arrived with a note from Mr. A. McKenzie,the purport of which was that he was disagreeablysituated with only four men amongst a formidable band ofIndians, and requested our assistance in case he might not beable to extricate himself. Messrs. Manson and Annance withnine men went off immediately to his relief, but they had notproceeded far before they met him and his party all uninjured... Mr. Mc. is a welcome visitor; he is the bearer of letters,and home news from Fort Vancouver."

McKenzie brought more: he brought good cheer anddispelled the sense of dreary isolation that had gripped thefort personnel. It was a wonderful Christmas!

McKenzie stayed until after the New Year was celebrated.Then he left with his party on the long trip to theColumbia. Some weeks later disquieting news came to thefort, through native channels, to the effect that McKenzieand his entire party had been killed as they camped on theshores of Puget Sound. At first the story was doubted, butfurther reports confirmed it. The Clallam Indians were themurderers.

The terrible happening emboldened other tribesmen todisplay contempt for the white men. Fort Langley againfelt its lone position and increased its vigilance. At FortVancouver stern Dr. John McLoughlin, Chief Factor incharge of Hudson's Bay Company operations west of theRockies, determined that the Indians must be taught a lesson,or there would be more murders. In June, when the furbrigades assembled at Fort Vancouver, he organized apunitive expedition. Sixty men were placed under command ofChief Trader A. R. McLeod, assisted by Clerks ThomasDears, Frank Ermatinger and J. M. Yale, to proceed overlandto Puget Sound where they were to be picked up by theschooner 'Cadboro'.

Securing canoes upon arrival at the Sound, McLeod'sparty made for the point of rendezvous with the 'Cadboro'.En route they came upon a party of Clallams; there was afight and eight of the natives were killed. Then the expeditionjoined the schooner and headed for Port Townsend, but ithad been vacated. They proceeded to New Dungeness, towhich place the Port Townsend Indians had gone. Negotiationswere started for the surrender of the murderers, butthese failed. The schooner was warped broadside to the largevillage and a terrific bombardment was commenced. The bigcedar community-houses were smashed and splintered by thehail of shot. Then a shore party was landed, and set fire tothe debris and smaller huts, while forty canoes on the beachwere smashed. Seventeen Indians had been killed. It wasan awful lesson, but was thought necessary to prevent furthermurders and to make travel safe in the West.

42
MOVED AMID DANGER

Governor George Simpson—"the little Emperor" of the furtrade—had made a difficult descent of the Fraser River in thefall of 1828. He was greatly disappointed to find that it wasimpractical as a brigade route from New Caledonia. Consequentlyhe became interested in the possibility of the northerncoast offering a better way into the Interior, in the event ofthe Hudson's Bay Company "being excluded from theColumbia."

"Boston traders" and Russians from Alaska divided thetraffic with the natives on this part of the Coast. TheCompany determined to drive the Americans away by erection ofadditional establishments north of Fort Langley, and byutilizing shipping between Fort Vancouver and these isolatedposts. Captain Aemilius Simpson, a former naval lieutenant,was appointed as Marine Superintendent, to further this plan.

Simpson built a fort at the mouth of the Nass River inthe summer of 1831. Hardly had it become habitable whenhe was stricken by illness and died. He was buried at theestablishment, which was then christened "Fort Simpson" inhis honour. Several years later it was decided to move thepost, and a new location, a few miles to the south, wasselected. Here the Indian trade of both the Nass and theSkeena Rivers could be served. It was a transfer that was notmade without danger and difficulty, for the Nass Indiansobjected to it.

Dr. William Fraser Tolmie, who was present, left a vividdescription of the scene. He said, in part, relative to Saturday,August 30, 1834:

"The Indians became drunken and from noon till sunset,when we embarked, all were under arms and in momentaryexpectation of having to fight our way aboard [the brig'Dryad'] or being butchered on the spot. They attemptedfrequently to beat down the slight barricade raised on thesite of the bastions, but were deterred on seeing us ready withfirearms to send a volley among the intruders. About a dozenor twenty Indians with muskets were posted on a hillimmediately behind, from whence they could fire into the Fortat any part.

"Outside the pickets they were numerous and armed withguns, boarding pikes and knives and endeavouring by theirsavage whoops and yells to intimidate us. Remained quiet inthis state for some time, but owing to a temporary lull in theclamour outside, ventured to send a few articles to the boats....One or two had passed down with wooden utensilsunmolested, no Indians appearing in sight. Another man wasproceeding with a barrel full of miscellaneous articles andunheeded, when at once several armed villains rushed outfrom amongst the bushes, and one, more inebriated andtherefore more daring than the rest, seized the barrel and withdrawn dagger drove the man from his charge ... I went out,but meeting the savage advancing with his knife aloft in amenacing manner, I stepped slowly to the gate and procureda cutlass from the doorkeeper. Thus armed I walked towardsthe Indian, who was surrounded by his friends persuadinghim to desist ... The barrel was rolled to the beach in themeantime without molestation."

At last the personnel of the fort were transferred to thebrig without suffering any casualties, and the Indians rushedinto the deserted post to see what remained for looting. "Allnight," said Tolmie, "constant hammering was kept up in thedeserted fort and dawn revealed several gaps in the pickets,made by those who were so intent on procuring the ironspikes which attached the pickets to the bars."

With the coming of daylight, the 'Dryad' sailed, leavingthe sorry skeleton of the first Fort Simpson, arriving later inthe day at the new location which was to become of immenseimportance as the lone outpost of white civilization on thenorthern coast for many years.

Despite the difficulties of abandonment of the originalestablishment, the remains of Governor Simpson were liftedreverently and were removed to be re-interred at the new one.

43
FORT McLOUGHLIN

While the Hudson's Bay Company's new establishments atFort Langley, on the Fraser River, and Fort Simpson, on theNass, were effective in checking American competition inthe coastal fur-trade, these posts were separated by sixhundred miles. There must be another trading centre situatedbetween the others to command the traffic of numerous tribes,if the "Boston men" were to be driven from the NorthPacific.

In consequence of this determination, in the spring of1833, materials and supplies for a new post arrived atMillbank Sound. A site was selected on Campbell Island and workwas at once commenced. All summer the men toiled atclearing ground and constructing defensive works, houses,and stores. Donald Manson, determined and experienced,who had served at Fort Langley, was in command. His chiefassistant was an intelligent and courageous young clerk namedAlexander Caulfield Anderson, who recorded some of theincidents of the first year of the establishment, named "FortMcLoughlin."

"Our operation progressed rapidly," he recounted, "andby the month of October, the area of the fort was wellpicketed in, bastions constructed at the corners and severalsubstantial houses within."

Up until this time the Indians had been peaceable. Therewas no hint of trouble. Then a French Canadian, namedRichard, disappeared. It was thought that he was heldprisoner—actually, it was learned years later, he had beenstoned to death by some native children. In an effort torecover the man Chief Tyest was held as a hostage. Heappeared to be satisfied, and there was no appearance ofexcitement amongst the tribesmen. Then, one Sunday evening,some of the men—six in number—obtained permission togo outside the fort. Anderson followed them.

"I advanced to the edge of the bank," he said, "and waslooking around, when suddenly, within a few yards of me,I saw, darting through the bushes, a host of armed Indians.I turned at once and gave the alarm, and retreating to thefort was speedily prepared to defend the entrance. Afterhaving seized my arms, and on my way back to the gate,I perceived our hostage highly excited, and evidently benton endeavouring to make his escape. As I ran I called to theguards to tie him, which they did."

"The Indians were checked," Anderson stated. "One byone our men made their way towards the gate, and throughthe narrow wicket. And as they came in, repaired to thebastion and gallery and commenced to fire, Mr. Mansonhaving meanwhile appeared on the gallery and directedtheir actions. Thus repelled, our assailants retreated speedily,and the gates were closed.

"On mustering our men, we found that one only hadbeen wounded, by a severe axe blow on the shoulder, butone was missing and we supposed him dead. Of course, watchwas kept during the whole night, all hands remaining onwatch, and about nine o'clock, from amid the dense darkness,we heard a voice—the voice of our missing man—calling outto Mr. Manson; in return we asked, 'Who are you'? Heresponded with his name and said he was a prisoner withthe Indians, tied in a canoe, and unless they were assured thattheir chief, our hostage, was safe, his life would be sacrificed.We summoned the chief to the bastion and made him speakto his children, deferring the interview until the followingmorning. The result of the whole was that, at that time, ourman was restored to us, we surrendering the chief in exchange,but exacting two hostages of inferior standing—slavesprobably. Our man was produced clad by the Indians in anentirely new suit of broadcloth and we clothed our hostagewith a blanket and some other articles of clothing."

Just how many casualties were suffered by the Indiansin the attack was never definitely known, but at least onenative was killed and several were wounded.

44
STEAMER SPLASHES TO COAST

Transportation methods on the seven seas were undergoingchange. Steam was threatening sail. At first James Watt'stea-kettle experiments resulted in stationary engines being built,and then harnessed steam-power was applied to small vessels.By the mid-thirties of the nineteenth century, naval architectswere envisioning the eventual abandonment of sails ascommercial carriers. But there were those who were reluctant toaccept such a theory, contending that the lack of fuelling basesbordering the remote seaways of the world would limit theuse of steamers to short voyages from established points ofsupply.

On the Pacific Northwest Coast the Hudson's Bay Companyhad many problems connected with its trading operationsto the north of the Strait of Juan de Fuca: the foremostone was the difficulty of maintaining regular contact withthe newly established trading-posts on the Fraser River,Millbank Sound and near the Nass River, owing to the delaysand dangers confronting sailing craft. Several vessels had beenwrecked, and others were often delayed for days and weeksby stress of weather. Wise men in the Company servicesuggested that here was a chance to utilize a steamer to goodadvantage. The shores were well wooded and Indians couldbe induced to collect and cut wood for the use of a power-drivencraft. Besides, a vessel that was not dependent uponthe constantly changing winds could maintain an approximateschedule, and could penetrate into the deep sounds andinlets of the serried coastline in search of new sources oftrade.

The result of the recommendations to try steam wasthat on May 2, 1835, a stout vessel was launched from theyards of Green, Wigram and Green, into the Thames. Shewas christened 'Beaver', and was specially designed forservice on rocky coasts remote from repair yards. She wassolidly ribbed with heavy timbers of English oak andgreen-heart, and copper-sheathed below the waterline. Teakwoodwas also generously used in her construction. Her power-plant,provided by Boulton & Watt (James Watt's old firm)rated seventy horsepower, and drove her, on her trials,at nine and a half knots. The 'Beaver' had an over-all lengthof 101 feet with a breadth across the paddle boxes of thirty-threefeet. She had a hold depth of eleven and a half feetand was of 109 tons.

The 'Beaver' left England in August, 1835, and droppedanchor off Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia, in April. Shewas under command of Captain David Home, and made thepassage under sail, fitted as a brig. Home retired and CaptainW. H. McNeill of the Company's service, who was wellacquainted with the Coast, replaced him. In June she left theColumbia to take up her more than half a century of usefulwork on the Coast now known as British Columbia. Shewas wrecked on the rocks of Prospect Point at the entranceto the new and greater Vancouver, in 1888.

Fort McLoughlin was a port of call, and there Dr. W. F. Tolmie,with other officers of the establishment, boardedher for a run across Queen Charlotte Sound to look for aseam of coal in the summer of 1836. An Indian visiting thefort the previous year had told the doctor that near his home,towards the northern end of Vancouver's Island, "black stonethat burned" could be found in abundance. This was veryimportant, not only as a potential steam-fuel for the 'Beaver',but for Imperial use. The navies of the world were alreadydesigning steam-driven warships. If these were to be used insuch remote quarters of the world as the Pacific Ocean, theobtaining of coal was a vital necessity. Already coal wasbeing carried in sailing vessels to build up stock-piles inforeign lands.

It was found that the Indian had told the truth; anoutcropping of coal was found and samples were taken to beexamined and tested in the boilers of the 'Beaver', and tobe sent to Fort Vancouver and London. In England, theAdmiralty was advised, but no public announcement wasmade of the discovery. The boundary line between the UnitedStates and British territory had not been settled.

45
COLD WAR 1854 AT DEASE LAKE

Despite the fact that Russia had recognized the rights ofBritish traders in the interior of the country behind what isnow known as the "Panhandle of Alaska," an attempt of theHudson's Bay Company to locate a trading post on the StikineRiver was prevented by Russia, which had built a fort atthe entrance of the stream. A ship of war, carrying the Czar'sflag, also patrolled the locality, while Russians had alsoincited the Indians to kill any British traders who attemptedto go up the Stikine.

Coincidently with an attempt of Peter Skene Ogden inthe 'Dryad' to overcome the blockade in 1834, J. McLeodpushed westward from Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie River,and discovered Dease Lake. He also found a river which henamed the Pelly, but which proved to be the upper reachesof the Stikine. In 1836 a party was sent to locate a post onthe lake, but, fearful of the "Russian Indians," the men wereseized with panic and fled.

Robert Campbell, a youthful postmaster, volunteered tocarry out the dangerous work. He was promoted to aclerkship and was given command of a party for that duty. Itwas 1838 before Campbell reached Dease Lake.

Leaving the major part of his force there to build ahouse, Campbell and three of his followers journeyed to theStikine River. There, at a place called by him "TerrorBridge," because of a structure of Indian manufacture thatspanned a deep chasm, he encountered a small party ofNahanny Indians. From them he learned that there was agreat concourse of tribes some thirteen miles distant. At thatpoint thousands of natives gathered each year to trade withChief Shakes and the "Russian Indians" from the coast. Thispowerful chief was much favoured by the Russians, whosupplied him with goods for these annual trading expeditions.

Campbell determined to visit the Indians, but waswarned by his new friends that Shakes would kill him, havingorders to murder any whites that might appear from theEast. Despite this, however, the young clerk went to theplace. There were thousands of Indians encamped beside theriver. He was invited to Shakes's tent. Suddenly the tent waslifted from the ground by the Nahannies, calling out thatif the white man was killed "plenty blood will be spilled."

Eventually Campbell got away from the place. TheNahannies were ruled by a remarkable woman, whom hedescribed as being more like a white woman than any Indianhe had ever seen. She it was who had saved his life; and shebefriended him later, when starvation faced the party atDease Lake, by bringing a small stock of food for the traders.Game seemed to desert the country, Campbell recorded.Hunters could find no animals, and the fish in the lakes andstreams were difficult to take. Then too, encouraged byShakes and the Russians, the Indians in roaming bandsappeared from time to time to rob and alarm the littlegarrison. There was no palisade about the place, and in order tokeep alive the party had to be split up in an effort to obtainmore food. The cold was intense.

On one occasion, Campbell reported, a band of Indiansapproached across the frozen lake, shooting at the house.They declared that the white men, by their presence, "madethe country stink" so that game had deserted it. "The truth ofthe matter," he said, "was that they had been taught byShakes ... to regard us as enemies."

At last the winter was over, and the weak and emaciatedmen prepared to retrace their way. "As we were now readyto start and our snowshoes were of no further use to us, weremoved all the netting off them, and that, along with ourparchment windows, was boiled down to the consistency ofglue: the savoury dish thus prepared," Campbell said,"formed the 'menu' of our last meal before leaving DeaseLake, on 8, May 1839."

46
FORT VICTORIA BUILT

Fort Vancouver, the main depot of the Hudson's BayCompany in the West, was inconveniently situated for maritimetrade. Several vessels were lost on the dangerous bar at themouth of the Columbia River, but of even greater concernwas the fact that immigration from the United States wasmoving into Oregon and the settlers were agitating for theRepublic to take over the country. It was apparent that jointoccupancy of the vast territory west of the Rocky Mountainsmust soon be terminated by the establishment of a boundaryline.

There was doubt in official circles in London if the lineof the Columbia River could be held. It was determined,however, if at all possible, to hold the whole of Vancouver'sIsland, thus providing an open corridor, via the Strait ofJuan de Fuca, to the second great river of the West, theFraser.

As early as 1836 the idea of settling Vancouver's Islandwas considered. In 1837 Captain W. H. McNeill, of theHudson's Bay Company's steamer 'Beaver', inspected thesouthern tip of the Island and spent some time in the harbourof Camosack—also called Camosun—and found it to havemany attractions. The locality was known to the Indians as"Ku-sing-a-las," meaning "the place of strong fibres." Muchof the land composing a part of present-day Victoria's businesssection was covered with willow bushes. It was the inner barkof this willow tree that produced the tough fibres for thenatives' nets.

Dr. John McLoughlin, who had superintended theaffairs for the Company in the West from 1824, was opposedto moving the headquarters from Fort Vancouver, butGovernor George Simpson favoured this. Chief Factor JamesDouglas, in 1842, was sent to make a more detailed inspectionof the southern end of the Island for the purpose of selectinga site for a large fort. He was enthusiastic, and in writing toa friend told of his delight in finding such a pleasant land:"The place itself appears a perfect 'Eden', in the midst of thedreary wilderness of the Northwest Coast, and so different isits general aspect from the wooded, rugged regions around,that one might be pardoned for supposing it had droppedfrom the clouds into its present position."

In earlier plans for the construction of a new establishment,it was tentatively named "Fort Adelaide" in complimentto the consort of King William IV, but, when he was succeededon the throne by his niece, before it was constructedthe new headquarters was named "Fort Victoria" for theyoung sovereign. Located on the harbour of Camosack, orCamosun, it was erroneously referred to as "Fort Camosun,"and by some as "Fort Albert"—but it was never officiallyanything but Fort Victoria.

It was on March 13, 1843, that the 'Beaver' arrived,bearing Chief Factor Douglas and a small crew of men tomake a start at laying out the post. He landed next day.After a stay of a few days Douglas sailed north, to dismantleForts Taku and McLoughlin and remove men and materialsto the site of Fort Victoria.

Indians brought pickets from the woods, and these wereerected to enclose a space of 350 by 300 feet. Theestablishment was designed to include eight commodious buildings,while the defences consisted of the palisades, eighteen feet inheight, and strong bastions at the southwest and northeastcorners. These mounted several cannon, all nine pounders.

Having seen the work well under way, Mr. Douglasplaced Chief Trader Charles Ross in charge, with RoderickFinlayson, a sturdy and capable young man, as his secondin command. By the middle of September, Ross reported, theplace was enclosed and several of the buildings were finished.

By Christmas the major part of the fort was completed,and Fort Victoria celebrated its first Yuletide. The occasionwas graced by the presence of the Company's vessels 'Beaver'and 'Cadboro', and Captain Scarborough of the 'Cadboro'gave a display of fireworks.

47
VICTIM OF SUPERSTITION

It was a bitterly cold day in early February, 1841. There wasa cutting wind that added to the bitterness of the lowtemperature. An Indian shivered as he huddled close to thepickets of Fort Kamloops. Chief Factor Samuel Black noticedhim and motioned him to enter the big hall of the establishmentwhere a bright fire crackled and blazed on the hearth.Samuel Black had been in charge of the post at the forksof the Thompson Rivers for several years. He was roundingout a career as a fur trader and explorer. He had begun withthe North West Company, but when the great trading organizationsmerged he became outstandingly loyal to the Hudson'sBay Company. He was said to have challenged DavidDouglas, the distinguished botanist who gave his name to thefir-tree, to a duel when that scientist, on a visit to Kamloops,made a slighting remark about the Company.

The kindly big man had recognized, in the shiveringnative, the youthful nephew of his friend Chief Tranquille,who had recently died. Black liked the old chief, and it waswith regret that he recollected that they had disagreed notlong before, but he remembered with gladness that Tranquillehad sent him a message of affection with almost hislast breath.

He did not suspect, of course, that Tranquille's widowattributed the passing of the chief to Black's agency. Nor washe aware that she had been inciting the young man, who wasnow warming himself beside the fort's hearth, to exactvengeance for the evil imaginings of her distorted mind.

Black had passed the Indian, crouched in the shadow ofthe fireplace, and had stopped to speak a word or two tohim. Now, towards evening, he crossed the big room toenter his own apartment. He was just about to turn the doorhandle, when the Indian rose in the darkening shadow,levelled the musket that he had kept hidden beneath hisblanket, and fired. Samuel Black pitched forward to die at thefeet of his wife and family.

The assassin rushed from the building and out of thefort gate before he could be stopped. He disappeared intothe gathering night.

Laprade, a servant, sent off word to John Tod, officerat Fort Alexandria, 300 miles distant, and to Fort Okanagan,also a long way removed; then Laprade and his men withdrew,leaving Lolo St. Paul, an Indian adherent of theHudson's Bay Company, to keep watch.

John Tod found Lolo guarding the place and the unburiedremains of the Chief Factor when he reached FortKamloops.

Some little time later Tod took charge of Kamloops.He was determined to bring the murderer to an accounting.Parties were sent out to track and arrest him. They keptconstantly upon the trail of the wanted man, who fled fromplace to place. At last he was captured. In crossing theThompson on his way to the fort, the fugitive upset the canoe.He was fired upon and drowned. The Indians agreed that hedeserved to lose his life because of his treacherous deed.

Tod decided to reconstruct Fort Kamloops, and choseas a site a location across the North Thompson, near itsjunction with the main stream. Here corrals for stock andgardens were arranged. The centre was already of importanceon the fur trail from New Caledonia, and was to becomeeven more so. Here hundreds of horses were kept for use bythe brigades laden with trade goods on their way in to thenorthern establishments and on their return with the argosiesof the fur-fields.

48
NEW FUR BRIGADE ROUTE

Fort Victoria could not supplant Fort Vancouver asheadquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's organization on thePacific Slope if a feasible fur-brigade trail could not belocated leading into the Interior. This fact became moredistressingly apparent as negotiations between Great Britainand the United States indicated that the boundary line would,in all probability, follow the 49th parallel.

Alexander C. Anderson, the enterprising young clerk whohad aided in the establishment of Fort McLoughlin, and whowas now in charge of Fort Alexandria, early in 1845 volunteeredto seek such a route. His offer was accepted, and the followingspring he started explorations for a means of travel betweenForts Kamloops and Langley.

Leaving Fort Kamloops on May 15, with a party of fivemen, Anderson went by way of Kamloops Lake, Thompsonand Bonaparte Rivers to Hat Creek, by way of Pavilion Creekto the Indian village of Pavilion, and then via the Fraser toCayoosh Creek, and by Seton Creek to the big lake, nowcalled by that name. Portaging via the Birkenhead andtraversing another lake, now named Anderson in his honour, heeventually reached Harrison Lake by Lillooet River. FromHarrison he passed into the Fraser and on to Fort Langley,which he reached on May 24. He estimated the distance as229.5 miles.

Anderson and his party rested only four days at FortLangley, during which time he slept in his tent rather thanwithin doors. On May 28 he started on his return journey.This time he planned to find the trail by which OkanogonIndians were reputed to come to the Fraser.

He went up the Fraser, and by way of the Coquihalla toNicolum River, by that stream to Sumallo Creek, then hewent by the Skagit and Snass Rivers to the East Fork of theSnass, which was followed to the divide; then over to theTulameen and to Otter Creek. Here he encountered "Blackeye,"a friendly Indian, who showed him a comparativelyeasy way to Kamloops via Nicola Lake. He reached the forton June 9.

Anderson's next effort was to find a way, if possible, bythe banks of the Fraser. No practical route offered from theFraser Forks; so he made Nicola Lake a starting-point, followingthe Nicola and Colwater Rivers and branches of Spius andUztlius Creeks to a branch of the Anderson River, reaching theFraser at the Indian village of Kequeloose. It was a tryingtrip, but even greater ordeals faced the party in the swirlingwaters of the gorges of the Fraser.

Chief Factor James Douglas came to take a look at thisroute. He said that the waters were too dangerous for boats toessay transportation from Spuzzum down, and personally laidout a route from the site of Yale, a post that was ordered to beconstructed. It was essential that a new road be opened, forIndian warfare had broken out between the Cayuse and theAmericans.

An effort was made to utilize this route, but one mancommitted suicide rather than face a return journey over thetrail, while some twenty-seven horses with their packs werelost. In the meantime Henry N. Peers was following the routepioneered by Anderson by way of the Coquihalla. He laid outa passable road by way of the Coquihalla to Peers Creek, upthat stream and over Manson Mountain to Sowaqua Creek,over the height of land to Podunk Creek, passing Campementde Chevreiul, and continuing to the Tulameen River, and onto follow Black-eye's route.

By 1850 this new brigade trail was in full operation, andfor the next dozen years served to supply the Company's posts.It was later superseded by the Cariboo Road.

Anderson Lake and Anderson River recall the contributionthat A. C. Anderson made to highway exploring in thiscountry, while Seton Lake was later named for his cousin,Colonel Seton, who was in command of the soldiers on thetroopship 'Birkenhead', which was lost off the African coast,the troops giving a wonderful display of heroism andself-sacrifice.

James Bay, Victoria; teams of oxen

This photograph of about 1864, shows James Bay,Victoria, from the Legislative Buildings. The bay beyondthe bridge was later filled in as the site forthe Empress Hotel

During the middle of the nineteenth century, greatteams of oxen hauled logs cut on the site of whatis now the city of Vancouver to the booming grounds

Fort Defiance, Clayoquot Sound, was built by Captain Robert Gray of the 'Columbia' in 1791.
George Davidson, an artist on the ship, drew this sketch (left half of photograph)

Fort Defiance, Clayoquot Sound, was built by Captain Robert Gray of the 'Columbia' in 1791.
George Davidson, an artist on the ship, drew this sketch (right half of photograph)

Camels, Coal-Tyee

In 1862, camels were usedas freight carriers on the CaribooRoad. However, they frightened the horses, and thisnovel form of transportation was discarded

The Coal-Tyee, the Indian who,in 1849 told a Hudson'sBay blacksmith of the "blackstone" at Nanaimo

49
U. S. ABANDONS CLAIM

During the whole period of Joint-Occupancy, following thesigning of the Treaty of Ghent, United States politicians weremore or less agitated about the Sovereignty of the Republicover what was generally and indefinitely known as the"Oregon Country." On the other hand Great Britain did notmake any specific claims.

Spain had recognized rights of the British Crown overareas purchased from the natives by traders by a conventionimplemented at Nootka in 1795. But this instrument did notdefine the medes and bounds of such lands. Instead Britishand Spanish Commissioners met at Nootka on March 28,1795, and formally restored the building sites of Britishsubjects, taken from them in 1789, and then proclaimed that HisBritannic Majesty and His Most Catholic Majesty of Spain"have farther agreed that it shall be free for the Subjects ofboth Nations to frequent occasionally the aforesaid Port and toconstruct there temporary Buildings for their Accommodation...: But that Neither the One nor the Other of the TwoParties shall make any permanent Establishment in the saidPort, or claim there any Right of Sovereignty or territorialDominion to the Exclusion of the other."

The foregoing meant that Vancouver's Island had beenequally divided, as to sovereign interests between Spain andGreat Britain.

In 1819, the United States purchased all Spanish rights,titles, claims and pretensions north of latitude 42°. By thispurchase she shared equally with Great Britain in thepossession of Vancouver's Island.

Conclusion of the Ashburton-Webster treaty in 1842,defining the boundaries of Eastern Canada and west to theRocky Mountains, was followed by demands that a settlementbe effected west of the Rockies to the sea. Little progress wasmade during the Tyler administration, but the presidentialelection of 1844 saw the matter become a major issue, withJames K. Polk being carried to office on a cry of "54-40, orFight." This meant a definite claim to all the territory northto the southern boundary of the Russian Alaskan possessions.

Protracted negotiations, at times somewhat acrimonious,were conducted, with James Buchanan, the Secretary ofState, acting for the Republic, and Sir Richard Pakenhambeing designated as plenipotentiary for Great Britain.

The British case was largely predicated upon the firstNootkan Convention of 1790, which was never carried intoeffect. Nothing was said about the replacing convention thatThomas Pearce and General Alava had proclaimed at Nootkafive years later. The United States evidently did not know ofthe existence of this treaty and was ignorant that the Republichad inherited the Spanish rights, titles and interest inVancouver's Island.

Washington Irving, author of "Rip Van Winkle," hadbeen told to search the Spanish archives for matters of interestpertaining to the question of sovereignty. He was the AmericanMinister at Madrid, but the author of the classic on sleepdid not find the document.

Eventually Lord Aberdeen, British Foreign Minister,wrote a treaty which Pakenham was authorized to submit. Atthe same time it was made known to the United States that thisoffer was more or less in the nature of an ultimatum.Aberdeen, according to a report made by Louis McLane,U.S. Minister in London, said he would "feel it his duty towithdraw the opposition he had hitherto uniformly made to theadoption of measures, founded upon the contingency of warwith United States, if the final proposal was rejected."

President Polk laid the draft treaty before the Senate,and that body immediately authorized its acceptance. Thepossibility of war was averted, and the vexed question ofsovereignty was settled. The boundary, offered and accepted,was a continuation of the 49th parallel to the coast and thenby way of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the open ocean.

Nineteen years later the United States discovered thatWashington Irving had failed to find the document that mighthave meant much to his country during the period ofnegotiations.

50
TZOUHALEM ATTACKS VICTORIA

Tzouhalem was a Cowichan chief of evil reputation and greatdaring. He heard of the whites having built a fort nearKu-sing-a-las, and decided to visit the place and inspect it. He wasinterested in fortifications, for he had his own strongholdperched on a rock at Cowichan Bay.

Tsil-al-thach, whom the traders had named "KingFreezy," was chief of the Songhees who had built a new villagea few yards north of Fort Victoria, where a gully dipped to thesea (where Johnson Street abuts upon the Esquimalt andNanaimo terminal). He had no quarrel with his white neighboursand had been sorry when, a few weeks before, on June27, 1844, Charles Ross, chief trader in command of the post,had suddenly died. He also liked Roderick Finlayson, thetwenty-six-year-old clerk who succeeded Ross, and whom hecalled "the young fair-haired chief."

Tsil-al-thach was away for a day or so when Tzouhalemand his braves arrived. This did not disappoint the Cowichan,who made himself at home and issued orders to suit his ownpurposes. He went to look at the fort at close range and wasnot greatly impressed. He was interested, however, by the sightof horned cattle and horses, and felt that these large animalswould make good food. He ordered several to be killed.

Finlayson left a written account of what followed: "Ithen suspended trade or any dealings with them until thismatter had been settled; where upon they sent word to some ofthe neighbouring tribes to come to their assistance as theyintended to attack the fort. I kept all hands at their arms andset watches night and day to prevent surprise."

Tsil-al-thach returned to find tribesmen from many villagesconverging on his camp for the purpose of followingTzouhalem in his attack on Fort Victoria.

"They fired upon the fort, riddling the stockades and theroofs of the houses with their musket balls," Finlayson explained."It was with the greatest difficulty that I could prevailupon our men not to return the fire but to wait my orders.

"After close firing for half an hour I spoke to the principalchief, informing him that I was fully prepared to carry onthe battle, but did not like to kill any of them withoutexplaining to them that they were wrong and giving them anotherchance to make restitution. A parley ensued among them,during which I sent our Indian interpreter out to speak tothem, telling him to make it appear that he escaped withoutorders and to point out to them the lodge that I was determinedto fire on, and for the inmates to clear out. This theydid.

"Seeing that there was no sign of them coming to terms,I pointed one of nine-pounder carronades, loaded with grapeshot,at the lodge, which was a large one built of cedar boards,and fired! The effect was that it was completely demolished,the splinters of the cedar boards flying in fragments in the air.After this there was an immense howling among them, fromwhich I supposed that a number were killed, but my plan, Iwas happy to find, had the desired effect. I was aware thatthose Indians had never seen the effect of grapeshot fired froma cannon. No person was killed. They had all left the building."

Following this demonstration of destruction, Tsil-al-thachsued for peace. Terms were arranged, which required paymentin furs for the slaughtered beasts and indemnity for the attackon the fort.

Tzouhalem was not satisfied. He was not certain thatsome trickery had not been practised; so Finlayson was askedto give another exhibition of the power of the big guns. Heagreed, and an old canoe was set adrift in the harbour as atarget. This time the gun was loaded with ball. The shot hitthe frail cedar dug-out, blasting it out of the water in anexplosion of splinters. This was sufficient proof for even thesuspicious Tzouhalem, who departed with his warriors, leavingTsil-al-thach to try to regain the confidence and respect ofthe fair-haired young chief of Fort Victoria.

51
ISLAND BECOMES COLONY

On September 7, 1846, Sir John Felly, Governor of theHudson's Bay Company in London, wrote Colonial Secretary EarlGrey, and started discussions that resulted in theestablishment of the Crown Colony of Vancouver's Island.

Sir John reminded His Lordship that the Company heldan exclusive (British) trading licence in the territory recentlyheld jointly by Great Britain and the United States. Thislicence would not expire until 1859. Now that the boundaryline had been settled, however, the Company was anxious tobe secured in the lands it had been using for forts and farms."I now address your Lordship," he said, "with the view ofascertaining the intention of Her Majesty's Government as tothe acquisition of lands for the formation of settlements, to thenorth of latitude 49°."

In subsequent talks between Sir John and Earl Grey itbecame evident that the Imperial Government was veryinterested in hastening the establishment of coal-mines onVancouver's Island, where Dr. W. F. Tolmie had locatedseams in 1836. Operation of collieries would require the settingup of some form of governmental control, particularly forforeign trade.

On February 28, 1848, the Colonial Office crystallized thesituation by suggesting that the Company submit a scheme ofgovernment for the Island, which, while limited in scope,would "embrace a plan for the colonization and governmentof Vancouver's Island." The letter further pointed out:"Assuming that in any negotiation that may take place on thesubject, the value of coal at Vancouver's Island will necessarilyform a material consideration on the part of the Hudson's BayCompany."

The Colonial Office had in mind the collection of royaltyon the coal mined, but Sir John Pelly was opposed to this. Hewould have no part in any such proposal to exact contributionsfrom the new colony for the Home Treasury. The Company,said Sir John, was willing to give every assistance possible insetting up a colony, adding, "I have only to observe that theCompany expect no pecuniary advantage from colonizing theterritory in question." Continuing, after pointing out that theCompany was not seeking profit, he emphasized: "All moniesreceived from land or minerals would be applied to purposesconnected with the improvement of the country, and, therefore,if the grant is to be clogged with any payment to theMother country, the company would be under the necessity ofdeclining it."

This bold step effectively blocked the start of a systemthat might have been difficult to discard in later years.

The outcome of the discussions was the adoption of anexperiment in colonial government. Although the plan wasbitterly opposed in Parliament, a colonial government forVancouver's Island was authorized. The Crown was to berepresented by a Governor and Council, but the actualadministrative work of the Island was placed in the hands of theHudson's Bay Company, which provided finances, carried outthe different public services, and provided protection, on acost-plus basis, subject to the right of the Crown to repossessall functions at a later date.

The Company was asked to recommend an individualfor Governor and suggested Chief Factor James Douglas.Approval was at first expressed but later it was thought thatappointment of a man so closely connected with the Companyon the Pacific Coast might cause political criticism, and anothernominee was requested. This time, as evidenced by a minuteof the Governor and Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company,June 13, 1849:

"Resolved that Richard Blanshard, Esq., be recommendedto Earl Grey, Her Majesty's Principal Secretary ofState for the Colonies, to be appointed Govr. of Vancouver'sIsland."

So to Richard Blanshard went the distinction of being thefirst Chief Executive of a British colony on the Pacific Coast.But he accepted the office without any stipulated pay, orallowances.

52
PLANNED GAELIC COMMUNITY

Under terms of the agreement by which the management ofthe Colony of Vancouver's Island was vested in the Hudson'sBay Company, that concern was to encourage settlement. Itwas also to operate coal-mines.

Settlement became difficult, one reason being that thelands were to be sold to raise revenue for the Colony. Anupset price of one pound sterling per acre was set, while acrossthe Strait of Juan de Fuca American settlers could obtainpublic lands without payment. It was also stipulated thatpurchasers of lands must be prepared to bring one farm labourerto the Colony for each twenty acres acquired.

The first settler to arrive was Captain W. ColquhounGrant, late of the Scots' Greys. He was a man of delightfulpersonality, but entirely impractical. He brought out eightlabourers on board the brig 'Harpooner', which landed in theearly summer of 1849. Grant, descendant of a long line ofHighland chieftains, was a most patriotic Scot, and haddreams of establishing a Gaelic-speaking community in thenew colony. To that end he brought out a Highland dominie,who sickened and died on the voyage. But the Captain left asevidence of his Celtic ambitions the golden gorse and broomthat adorn the sides of Beacon Hill and other slopes onsouthern Vancouver Island, for he is credited with bringingthe seed and throwing it broadcast, so that the terrain abouthis new home should blossom like that of his native land.

Among the supplies that were unloaded from the 'Harpooner'that June for the Captain were carts and carriageswith driving harness. There were no roads in theColony. He also brought sets of cricket equipment, which laterhe donated to the first boarding-school, and for which thegallant Scot has become known as the father of that Englishsport in British Columbia.

Captain Grant could not find a desirable site for hissettlement closer to Victoria than Sooke. This offered him asuitable location not only for developing a farm, but also fora sawmill. He had brought machinery for a water poweredmill with him. He did not get this into operation, and it soonbecame evident that the Captain could not make a success offarming.

At the outset the Indians were bothersome, but when itcame to warfare the soldier was in his element. He had asmall cannon mounted near his house. On one occasion, it isrecounted, the natives approached his home threateningly.Grant mounted his horse and flourishing his big army swordrode up to them and asked if they wished to fight. They werenot sure. "That will be excellent," he exclaimed gleefully. "Ihave not had a fight for some time, and of course I will killyou all, for I will make the big gun go 'Boom'!" Turning, hegalloped towards the little redoubt where the tiny garrison hadgrouped about the cannon. The Indians went in the otherdirection. There was no fight.

Chief Factor James Douglas tried to help Grant, andengaged him as a surveyor to map the coastline immediatelyabout the southern end of the Island, and to lay out lands.Although he started the work with great enthusiasm, theCaptain did not complete a single survey, Douglas reluctantlyreported to London.

He went off to earn money to carry out his originalintentions and rented his farm to one of his men. Later it wasacquired by the Muir family which had also come on the'Harpooner' to work in the coal-mines. The Captain went tothe gold-diggings of California, where he had some interestingexperiences, including organizing a defence force for theminers.

He suddenly determined to go back to England, and onhis return there he enlisted for service in the Crimean War,and for a time he was in command of a Turkish cavalryunit. He went to India when the Mutiny broke out, and wasabout to go to Vancouver's Island when he sickened and died.But as long as the bloom of the gorse and broom gilds theforelands of the Island each spring, he will not be forgotten.

53
DOUGLAS BRINGS GOLD

May 23, 1849, was wet, and the little party travellingthrough the dripping woods over the Cowlitz Portage towardsFort Nisqually near the head of Puget Sound was chilled andmiserable. All morning the five rough carts, heavily laden withhumanity and goods, had groaned and creaked forward. Now,in early afternoon, the foremost rider of the caravan, averitable giant of a man, followed by three girls on horseback,spurred ahead to be welcomed by Dr. William Tolmie, theofficer in charge of Nisqually.

But let that big man, Chief Factor James Douglas, tell ofthe trip, largely through the wilds, from Fort Vancouver. Hereis the way he related it to a friend shortly after, writing fromFort Victoria:

"I removed my household-goods and penates to FortVictoria in May last. Travelling by the Cowlitz Portage, mystaff was composed of one Sandwich Islander and an invalidsailor who, instead of helping me, required to be waited on;and with that immense and respectable train I had to guardour collected treasures of the previous Winter and Spring, say636 lbs. of Gold Dust and twenty pack Otters, worth alltogether about 30,000 pounds, a noble prize for a gang ofthieves."

The gold-dust was mostly collected at Fort Vancouver bythe Hudson's Bay Company for supplies to the newly startedgold-stampede to California. Fort Nisqually meant safety, forthe worst part of transporting such treasure was on the overlandjourney; the balance of the trip was by boat to VancouverIsland. This transfer was of great importance, for it meantthat the headquarters of the Company of the Pacific Slope wasbeing moved to the establishment prepared in advance forjust such a contingency if the boundary line were shifted fromthe Columbia River.

Fort Victoria had been recently enlarged. It was now abusy place as Californian trade was also coming there.Roderick Finlayson, the fair-haired Scot who was in commandof the place, has left a record of his surprise when thegoldminers came to purchase supplies. He was suspicious when alow, black, untidy-looking schooner hove to off the fort. Hethought that the bearded men who manned it might be pirates,and collected his men to repel an attack.

The visitors, however, informed him of the gold-strikeand of their need for provisions and other supplies, which theyoffered to buy for gold. Finlayson had never seen raw gold andhe was still suspicious, but he had read that gold was malleable;so he took a nugget that was offered and had the blacksmithtest it by pounding it on his anvil. Then he supplied theminers with all they could pay for at the rate of ten dollars anounce.

Finlayson was a very careful man. He had manufacturedploughs and harrows from wood, had constructed buildingswithout using iron—in fact it has been said that no iron wasused in erecting Fort Victoria, timber being dowelled togetherwith pegs—and milled flour with a handmill. He had enlargedclearings and planted more crops. Sir John H. Pelly, theGovernor of the Company, in a letter to the Colonial Office inAugust, 1848, had boasted of the ability and industry ofFinlayson. He pointed out that the latest harvest at Victoriahad yielded 800 bushels of wheat, 400 bushels pease, 300bushels of oats and 2,100 bushels of potatoes.

There was further important industrial progress. It wasthe establishment of a sawmill. It was located on a creek,since known as "Millstream," that flows into the head ofEsquimalt Harbour. Powered by the flow of the stream, it wentinto production in the fall of 1848, the first lumber cut beingused to make a threshing-floor at North Dairy Farm. In April,1849, a shipment of 8,238 feet was made to Fort Langley. Itwas in October, 1849, that the first cargo of export lumber leftthese shores. It was a cargo of 42,270 feet, consigned to SanFrancisco, aboard the American brig 'Coloney'.

54
PREACHES, FARMS & TEACHES

Hudson's Bay Company officers serving west of the Rockieshad long been interested in establishing schools to whichtheir children could be sent. Teachers had been employed atFort Vancouver, and now that the boundary line was established,the Governor and Committee in London took steps toassist in providing a boarding-school at Fort Victoria.

Robert J. Staines, a capable teacher, was employed. Thecompany informed him that if he were ordained he could havean additional stipend by acting as chaplain at the fort. Heconsequently took Holy Orders. Mrs. Staines was a highlyeducated and resourceful woman.

It was in May, 1849, that the Staineses arrived. They dislikedthe fort at first sight. It was contrary to expectations.Staines was not averse to pomp and ceremony, and this waslacking, as were the comforts of a more cultured society.Staines, it is said, brought a liveried manservant fromEngland. En route, the vessel on which they travelled put in atHonolulu, where the King of the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii)invited them to his palace. As they approached, the Kingspied them, and rushing to meet them embraced the footman,thinking that the man in the gaudy dress must be the master.

Mr. Staines started his new school in one of the two largefort buildings that flanked the main gateway. The site is on thecorner of Fort and Government Streets of today, and isoccupied by the Canadian Bank of Commerce. Church serviceswere held in the mess-hall on the opposite side of the gateway,where the offices of the C.P.R. are now located. This site wasconsecrated by special commission from the Bishop of London.

Mr. Staines was a man of uncertain temper. He did nothide his disappointment at the crudeness of the fur-trade fort.He seemed to blame Douglas, as representative of the Company,for all his ills. He and the big Chief Factor later quarrelledbitterly, when Staines published the banns of a man and animmigrant woman, whom Douglas believed to be married toanother man.

In addition to operating the boarding-school and attendingto his clerical duties, Staines went in for farming. Hepurchased acreage near Mount Tolmie, where he specialized inraising pigs. He also cultivated a garden just outside of thefort pickets, near the corner of present-day Government andBroughton Streets. In this work he had the assistance of theboy pupils of the school, who did most of the weeding. Here heraised succulent vegetables, and with them he gave saladsuppers, such as many of his guests had not tasted for years.To these he invited those with grievances against the Company,and as a result he became a leader in "a political party,"which crystallized opposition to the rule of the Company.

One of the first pupils at the Staines establishment, thelate James R. Anderson, in after life recalled his sojourn at theschool. "And what beds!" he exclaimed in his memoirs. "Thehard boards, an Indian mat, a Hudson's Bay blanket and overourselves another blanket. We were hardy young beggars anddid not mind it. The garret we occupied was not lined, simplythe bare logs; the interstices where the roof joined the wall,was a veritable runway for numerous rats which infested thebuilding and through which the fresh air had unimpededaccess even in the coldest weather." Despite many unpleasantmemories of Staines's disciplinary rule, Mr. Anderson gavepraise to the worth of both the reverend gentleman andMrs. Staines as capable teachers.

Poor Staines came to an untimely end. He undertook tocarry a memorial containing complaints of the settlers to thefoot of the Throne. He was on his way to board the boatsailing from the fort when his pigs broke bounds, and he stoppedto secure them. He missed the boat, hastened to Sooke, fromwhere an American schooner was sailing to San Francisco,and unfortunately boarded it. The vessel went down off CapeFlattery, and Mr. Staines and all others on board were lost.

55
BLANSHARD PROCLAIMS GOVERNMENT

It was a chill, grey day, with a foot of snow covering theground and roof-tops of Fort Victoria. It was March 11, 1850.Outside of the water-gate of the post a crowd had collected,while officers, sailors and marines from H.M.S. 'Driver',Captain Charles Johnson, R.N., anchored in James Bay, stoodstiffly at attention. In front of the honour guard, facing amotley gathering of fur traders, settlers and Indians—andmore particularly the giant form of Chief Factor JamesDouglas—a thin, tall, young man read from a parchment thatbore the enormous waxen seal of Her Majesty the Queen.

The formally attired young stranger was RichardBlanshard, named to be Governor of Vancouver's Island inplace of Douglas who had first been suggested for the office.He was reading the commission inaugurating the governmentof the Colony, and his own authority to preside over it.

Blanshard had but little understanding of the situation inwhich he would find himself. He had not even asked if hewould receive a salary—and found that there was none forhim; nor was he given an expense account—he had beenappointed to govern a British colony at his own expense!Something had been mentioned before he left England abouta 1,000-acre estate, but he did not understand this properly.He was to find that this tract of land, which he doubtlessenvisioned as being subdivided into comfortable little farms allyielding him revenues, was not for him personally, and if hewanted it cleared he would have to pay for that as well.

There were no quarters for him, and he had to remain onboard H.M.S. 'Driver' while she remained in these waters.In the meantime a small house was being built for him.Nothing seemed to be as he had pictured, and he even foundVictoria was hard pressed for food. Such was the necessity thatCaptain Johnson was induced to take H.M.S. 'Driver' to FortNisqually for a load of cattle and sheep. Here R. Blanshardmet Dr. W. F. Tolmie, who set down in the post journal:

"He is a tall, thin person, with a pale intellectual countenance—isa great smoker, a great sportsman, a protectionist inpolitics and a latitudinarian in religious matters. His manneris quiet, and rather abstracted and tho' free from hauteur, orpomposity, he does not converse much."

Blanshard was coldly polite in his dealings with Douglas,who in turn was correctly formal to the lonely younggovernor. This attitude of aloofness was not improved whenBlanshard summonsed the Chief Factor for having usurped hisauthority by signing the register of a boat—something thatDouglas had been doing for years. But, despite his woundeddignity, there was nothing the Governor could do. Douglashad all the power: Blanshard had the honour of office.

Disliking Douglas and believing that he had beentricked by the Hudson's Bay Company, Blanshard gave a readyear to all those who had complaints to voice against either,perhaps if his health had been better his views would not havebeen so discoloured. He even went the length of reportingmalicious and unfounded rumours to London. Possibly therealization that he had been unfair was one of the reasonswhy, on November 18, 1850, he penned his resignation. Itwas nine months before he received word from London of itsacceptance.

Before leaving the Colony, where he had endured greatmisery, Richard Blanshard, under authority of his commission,set up a Legislative Council, of three, to carry on governmentuntil the appointment of a new governor. The council wascomposed of Douglas, as senior member, and John Tod, aretired fur-trader, and James Cooper, mariner and settler.Douglas was later appointed to succeed Blanshard.

Although there was but little scope for officialdom, andBlanshard's incumbency had been an unhappy one, it was ofvast importance, for it was the first step in Government andpublic administration taken in this western half of Canada.

56
COLLIERS GO ON STRIKE

Fort Rupert was built facing a snug harbour close to thecoal outcrop Dr. W. M. Tolmie had located from the informationgiven by Indians. It was to serve a dual purpose: as afur-trading post for Queen Charlotte Sound and vicinity, andas a means of protection for the mines that were to beestablished.

In order to exploit the coal measures the Hudson's BayCompany enlisted a small group of expert miners. They wereold John Muir and his husky and capable sons, Andrew,Robert, John Jr., and a boy Michael; his nephew, Archie; andJohn McGregor and John Smith. Proud, sensitive men werethese Scots, with very definite ideas about their rights, andwith the courage and determination to maintain them. Theylanded at Victoria on June 1, 1849, aboard the brig'Harpooner'.

Andrew Muir, appreciating the value of a written recordin the event of "a case at law," kept a careful diary. From theneatly penned pages of this old book, now in the B.C. Archives,some idea of the troubled attempt to mine coal at Fort Rupertmay be gained.

The party was detained at Fort Victoria until the end ofAugust, when they left on board the brig 'Mary Dare'. It wasa long, tedious voyage that lasted until September 24.

It was not until October 26 that work was commenced atsinking a pit at a spot where it was expected to find a goodseam of coal. Andrew Muir regarded this as the work oflabourers. Skilled miners should be engaged only in miningoperations after a bed of coal had been located.

"Now we are in Vancouver," he complained, "and weare put to the sinking of a pit to look for coal, a thing wenever agreed to, and to do all manner of work, and I considerthe Company has broken our agreement, as we were only towork as labourers in the event of the Coal not succeeding." Officialsat the fort, however, felt that the miners would liketo be freed from their contract and go off to the Californiagold-rush.

Every little inconvenience now became an unbearableirritation. Andrew noted that the Company would not buildpalisades about the mine, that the men were not given thearmed protection that they desired when working below thesurface, and which the skulking presence of natives from timeto time seemed to justify. He and his companions had noillusions as to the peaceable inclinations of the armed warriors.He told of having seen Indian braves go out and "in fiveminutes return with two of their neighbours' heads in theirhands." He reasoned that if the Indians would do this to theirown kind they would not hesitate to decapitate whites.

The annoyances from the Indians, the lack of supplies ofclay, and the fancied indignities of having to do the tasks thatthey regarded as being beneath them resulted in the minersgoing on strike and refusing to continue sinking the shaft. Thefort officials told them that they would have to work insidethe fort at sinking a well and digging drains. This was met byAndrew Muir and McGregor demanding that such ordersshould be put in writing and should be accompanied by anacknowledgement that if they were to do labouring work theywould not be called upon to do further mining. According toAndy Muir, they were then threatened by George Blinkinsop,clerk in charge during the absence of Captain W. McNeill,commander of the establishment, who flourished a sword andpistol. The clerk, said Muir who was always looking forjustification for litigious action, blamed him and McGregor foragitating a sit-down strike. Andrew thought the accusationmight warrant a suit for defamation of character.

On May 8, 1850, Andrew Muir and John McGregorwere jailed by order of Captain McNeill. "The last wordhe said to us two going out was we would remain in irons andon bread and water for two years," said Andrew, adding thatMcNeill had declared that the others were to finish digging thewell and then share a similar fate. The irons were removedafter six days, and later they were allowed to return to theirhomes.

A barque named 'England' was loading coal for California.The male Muirs, except old John and Michael, boardedit secretly and went off to the gold-fields. They did not likethe life there, and soon returned to Fort Victoria, and demandedpayment of their wages for all the time they had beenaway.

In the meantime more miners were engaged in GreatBritain for Fort Rupert mines.

57
NAVY ATTACKS NATIVES

The lure of California gold-fields caused three sailors to desertfrom the ship 'Norman Morison' upon arrival at Fort Victoria,early in 1850. They secreted themselves in the barque 'England',en route to Fort Rupert. Soon after the arrival of theEngland at the coal-port, the Hudson's Bay steamer 'Beaver'appeared. The deserters feared she had come in search ofthem. They fled ashore and hid in the woods.

When the steamer continued her voyage to the north,Dr. J. S. Helmcken, fort surgeon and Justice of the Peace,sent word to the men to return to the barque; it was unsafefor them to stay in the forest. The suspicious men thought thisgood advice was but a trap to catch them. They refused.

Three Nahwitti braves and a boy, paddling nearShushartie, saw the three whites on shore, and in a friendlyspirit paddled towards them to warn them that the fierceHaidas were lurking in the vicinity. Not understanding thepurpose of the natives, one of the sailors menaced them withan axe, while another threw a stone at the oncoming canoe,These actions incensed the warriors, who pursued the men intothe woods and killed them.

When word of this reached the fort, the coal-minersrefused to join in the defence of the place, if attacked. Theydemanded that it be abandoned, and then withdrew in a bodyto Shushartie, from where they were taken aboard the 'England'en route for California. This weakening of the garrisonemboldened the natives, who became impudent, and wereabout to attack, when the Hudson's Bay Company's brig,'Mary Dare', providentially arrived with reinforcements.Several days later the H.M.S. 'Daedalus', Captain Wellesley,carrying Governor Richard Blanshard dropped anchor.

Dr. Helmcken, accompanied by a brave Canadien, BasilBattineau, and an interpreter, went by canoe to the home ofthe Nahwitti tribe and demanded the surrender of the threewanted men. It was a daring thing to do, and they werethreatened, but stayed all night. Old Chief Nancy admitted theguilt of his men, and offered reparation in the ancient mannerof the Coast. This was refused.

Captain Wellesley decided to take action. He orderedLieutenant Burton to take boats to attack the village. Theparty arrived near the Nahwitti headquarters after dark—andlighted fires! The result was that when the flotilla dashedfor the beach at the village at daybreak, the men found theplace deserted. Burton set fire to the big cedar-houses andbroke the canoes drawn up on the shingle.

Wellesley could waste no more time; he was getting shortof supplies; so he dropped Blanshard at Fort Rupert and sailedaround the north end of Vancouver's Island, for the south.In doing so he stopped to question a canoe filled with BellaBella natives. A clash ensued, and an officer and two sailorswere wounded. The natives escaped.

It was July of 1851 before another warship, H.M.S. 'Daphnae',arrived to continue the endeavour to bring themurderers to justice. Captain Fanshawe ordered a lieutenantto lead a boat expedition against the new and strongly fortifiedhome of the Nahwitti tribe on an island in Bull Harbour.

Chief Factor James Douglas, in reporting to the Companyoffice in London, remarked, "They [the Nahwitti] have beenrather severely handled by a boat party of sixty men andofficers from the 'Daphnae'." He said that the surprise hadbeen complete and had been carried by assault, despite asevere fire from the natives. Two sailors had been slightlywounded. "The native position was very strong, and protectedwith stockades, which they thought impregnable, and wereconsequently rather surprised when they saw it carried by abody of white faces." Five or six Indians were killed orwounded, he said, adding that old Nancy, the chief, was slain.

The Indians sued for peace. They delivered three bodiesat the fort gates, declaring them to be those of the fugitives,whom they had to kill in order to hand them over. It was neverfully established whether they were the real culprits, or theremains of slaves. In any event both whites and natives werehappy to be able to re-establish friendly relations.

58
THE SAVING VACCINE

While government was being established on the Coast andsettlement was commencing, life at the fur-posts of the Interiorwent on in much the same manner as it had for years: therewas a perpetual sense of unexpected and undefined danger tobe met. Incidents testing the courage and resource of officersin charge of the different establishments were not unusual.One such happening may be used to illustrate the need forconstant vigilance.

It was in 1846. John Tod was in charge at Fort Kamloops.The productive resources of the locality had not yet beenfully utilized. The main source of food supplies, for both menand dogs, was the silver salmon. Each year when the fish wererunning, men would be sent overland with horses to theFraser River where some 10,000, or more, dried salmon wouldbe traded from the natives. These would be packed away at thefort for winter use.

The brigade from the Columbia River to New Caledoniahad but recently passed on its way, and amongst the suppliesleft with Tod was a part of the first consignment of vaccinebrought to the country. Tod was examining this little package,as he sat alone in the fort, for all his men had gone with thesalmon train. Suddenly the door opened and an Indianretainer named Jean Baptiste Lolo St. Paul—commonly knownas Lolo—entered. Tod was surprised, for he believed Lolo tobe with the others, but he waited for him to speak. At last theIndian did. He told of how he had learned from a friendlynative that Indian warriors were lying in wait in a narrowdefile to murder the men from the fort.

Tod jumped up, and, telling Lolo to mind the fort, heshoved the parcel of vaccine that he held in his hand into hiscoat-pocket, and picking up his short sword and pistol hehastened outside to saddle his big snow-white horse. On thishe sped away in pursuit of his men. He overtook them as theywere about to enter the ravine where the ambush had beenplaced.

He ordered the men to halt until they saw what befell him.If he was killed, they were then to ride back to the fort andhold it until help could be obtained from Forts Okanogon orAlexandria; but if they saw that he had control of theIndians, they were to pass on to the river and get the salmon.He then spurred his horse forward, and made it rear anddance from side to side, as he pulled off his hat and threw itinto the air, followed by his sword and pistol. Soon the amazedand curious Indians bobbed up from behind rocks and logsto watch the strange gyrations of the white chief. With atouch of his spur he made the animal bound forward, andthen brought it to a stop in the midst of the natives. He calledout in feigned delight how happy he was to find them; he saidhe had come to save them. This was indeed a surprise to themen who had plotted his death.

"What did he mean?" they questioned. "It's the smallpox,"he almost hissed, chilling the very vitals of the Indianswho feared the dread disease. "An Okanogon has brought itfrom Walla Walla." The natives were terrified. All thought ofkilling the trader and his men vanished and they called loudlyupon him to protect them.

In order to satisfy himself that he had them in hand, andto give his men a chance to pass, he pointed to sturdy jack pineand ordered that it be cut down. The Indians attacked it withtheir axes and soon hacked it down. "Now," said Tod, "cut itin lengths and pile it." When this was done, Tod sat on theheap, and drawing out the packet of vaccine and a tobacco-stainedpocket-knife, he started to vaccine the warriors—allon the right arm. He then made them go around for an hourholding the treated member in the air. The serum waseffective, and when the men returned in a few days with thesalmon, there was not a warrior in the vicinity who could lifthis arm to shoulder a musket or string a bow.

The ingenuity and resource of Tod had saved the fort,and won him renewed friendship from those who had plottedhis destruction.

59
GOLD ORE SINKS

Hudson's Bay officers at Fort Simpson had learned fromIndians of the existence of deposits of gold-laden quartz onthe west side of the Queen Charlotte group. A visit to theplace justified the report.

In October, 1851, Captain McNeill had gone north onthe little brigantine 'Una', Captain "Wullie" Mitchell, toopen mines for the Company. The vessel anchored in aharbour named for Mitchell, and the men commenced work. Avein—described by Governor James Douglas as being twenty-fiveper cent pure gold—was found. Drilling and blasting werestarted on this glittering outcrop.

For a day or two everything went well. The miners, underJohn McGregor, an expert collier who had agreed to work onshares, were pleased. Then came the Indians—and trouble.The natives would rush forward as soon as a blast was set off,and would jostle and scramble with the whites for thegold-specked bits of rock. As time went on the Indians becamemore impudent and daring, and after a few days CaptainMcNeill concluded that it would be dangerous to continuetrying to mine. All the gold that the miners had been able tosecure had been put on board the 'Una'. With this precious orethe boat sailed for Fort Simpson, where McNeill lined theminers up and offered to weigh the quartz, estimate its valueand divide it according to agreement. The miners refused,preferring to have the division made by Governor Douglas.

The little vessel with her golden cargo was headed south,the genial "Wullie" agreeing to try to reach Fort Victoriaby Christmas. It was the day before the great Feast Day thatthe sturdy little craft, bucking a gale, tried to nudge into theStrait of Juan de Fuca, but the set of the tide and a strongcurrent, combining with the wind, drove her towards theAmerican shore. Presently Neah Bay opened up, offering someshelter in which to wait for a few hours for better weather.The 'Una' was scudding towards this haven when, with agrinding crash and a terrific thud, she struck on an unchartedreef. She heeled over dangerously, but remained fast.

Indians gathered on the beach, and before long werebobbing about the wreck in their canoes. With daylight theyboarded her, and then started to plunder. There were fightsbetween them and the sailors as the thieves broke opensea-chests and tore clothing from the men. The situation wasbecoming critical, when the U.S. schooner, 'Susan Sturgis',under Matthew Rooney, en route to the Queen Charlottegold-field, arrived. He rescued the sailors and miners from the'Una' and took them to Fort Victoria. As they left Neah Bay,flames broke out from the wreck. An Indian had set it on fire.The boat burned to the water's edge and then slipped off thereef, carrying her gold to the bottom of the bay.

James Douglas, recently appointed Governor of theColony, felt that it was necessary to punish the perpetrators ofthis outrage, despite the fact that Neah was in the UnitedStates. He ordered Captain Charles Dodd to take on morehands on board the schooner 'Cadboro' and hasten to thescene.

It was the 'Cadboro' that had blasted the Indian villagesat Port Townsend and New Dungeness some years before, inretaliation for the murder of Alex. McKenzie and his men.The Indians remembered that fact, and the Neah Bay chiefdid not care to have another demonstration of the guns of thevessel. He lined up his tribesmen and ten of them wereidentified as having taken prominent parts in the looting of thevessel. The chief ordered them to be shot. Further investigationled to discovery of the man who had set fire to the wreck.But the chief thought that shooting was too merciful a deathfor him. He was buried alive.

"Those barbarous acts," Douglas reported to the ColonialOffice, "were however, neither demanded nor approved by us,and were the result of their own uninfluenced deliberations.This affair which might have proved troublesome and expensivehad been therefore quietly settled by a simple demonstrationwithout any direct act of hostility on the part of thisgovernment."

60
ORGANIZED FARMING STARTS

Settlement of the 49th parallel as the international boundarywas followed by persistent agitation in the United States tohave both the Hudson's Bay Company and the Puget SoundAgricultural Company—a companion organization—surrendertheir possessory rights. These included farms operated bythe Puget Sound Company at Nisqually and Cowlitz, as well astrading-posts and tilled fields and pasture lands held by thefur company.

This situation resulted in the determination to start farmsfor the Puget Sound Company on Vancouver's Island andenlarge the agricultural operations of the Hudson's BayCompany as well. The latter concern broadened its operations atthe North Dairy Farm and on other farms closer to FortVictoria, and commenced the Uplands Farm facing CadboroBay. The Puget Sound Company's plans contemplated threelarge farms: the Constance Cove farm, at Esquimalt; theCraigflower Farm, opposite Maple Point on Victoria's upperharbour and extending to Esquimalt Harbour and theConstance Cove holding; and the Colwood Farm, which laybetween the head of Esquimalt Harbour and the little lake laternamed Langford Lake.

This acreage—for which the Company paid at the rateof one pound an acre—involved more than £2,500 as thepurchase price, and was to be worked by trained labourersfrom the United Kingdom, who were to receive seventeen totwenty-five pounds per annum according to their respectiveskills. If they gave no cause for complaint during five years'service they would receive twenty-five acres for labourersand fifty acres for artisans.

Kenneth McKenzie, a well-educated and energetic,though somewhat visionary man, the son of a doctor wholived at Renton Hall, Haddingtonshire, Scotland, was thesenior of the three bailiffs appointed to manage the farms.He was to act as a general supervisor. The other bailiffs wereT. J. Skinner, who had control of Constance Cove, a quietman, who was not able to achieve as much as he desired withthe disgruntled help at his command, and E. E. Langford,a Kentish gentleman-farmer and erstwhile military officer.Langford, with his wife and five charming daughters, wasthe first to arrive. He came in 1851 aboard the Company'sship 'Tory', bringing a number of farm hands with him. PoorLangford was disappointed from the moment of his arrival,when he discovered that no preparations had been made forhis coming. He and his family, and the piano—the firstinstrument of its kind in the Colony—had to crowd into asingle-roomed log-house, while his retainers had to jam intoanother one. Here they had to stay until some sort of sheltercould be erected at Colwood. The comfortable andcommodious cottage that was constructed there in time becamea social centre, with young officers from the men o' war andeligible company clerks and settlers being invited to the dances,picnics, routs and other entertainments possible in a home withfive charming daughters.

Kenneth McKenzie had an even more difficult task, forto him the Company headquarters in England looked forsuccess by all of the farms. He too found no preparations hadbeen made before his arrival on the barque 'NormanMorison', in January, 1853. Until temporary shelters wereerected, he and his workmen had to travel between the fortand their work by boat, occasionally having troublenegotiating the angry waters of the Gorge.

McKenzie's men became discouraged and disgruntled.They complained of the lack of proper accommodation, ofpoor food, and of the fact that across the Strait on theAmerican side men were being paid two dollars or two dollarsand fifty cents a day, while they were receiving, roughly,a little less than a shilling a day. Occasionally one or morewould stop work, or desert to try to cross to the otherside. Then severe discipline would be meted out, the usualpunishment being a month's confinement in the Bastion jailat the fort. Ill feeling developed.

Despite his vexations and difficulties, McKenzie did hisbest. He had brought out a small portable mill-engine. Withthis he cut lumber for his buildings, and then converted it togrind grain. With the flour thus procured, he entered into acontract with the Navy to supply the ships at Esquimalt withhardtack and bread. He found lime rock and burned lime,and made bricks from clay on the place. Despite his efforts,though, the Puget Sound Company's affairs did not prosper.

61
SONGHEES GIVEN LESSON

Governor James Douglas knew that it was imperative thatany interference on the part of the natives with the settlersbe dealt with promptly. Failure to do so might imperil thelives of all whites and prevent settlement. In 1844 the natives,encouraged by Chief Tzouhalem the Wicked, from Cowichan,had killed cattle and then attacked Fort Victoria. Now, in1852, two Songhees had killed a settler's cow. One Indianwas apprehended and lodged in the Bastion, but the otherhad fled to the village across the harbour, and his peoplewould not give him up.

Dr. J. S. Helmcken has left a record of what happenedfrom the standpoint of a participator in the affair. He saidthat ten men—new arrivals—were armed and were orderedto support the constable. J. W. Mackay, a clerk, was givencharge of one boat, while the doctor commanded the other.

"The shores were lined with Indians," said the doctor,"some blackened, all yelling, having muskets, axes, knives andwhat not. But the nastiest things were long poles [herringfishing-poles] with sharp spears at the end, pointed towardsour stomachs, which the men could not stand." The nativeswaded into the water and seized the boats, scuffling with themen for possession of their muskets. They captured two guns,a boat and the doctor's hat.

Describing his return to the Fort, Helmcken went on:"Douglas was not pleased and looked grim, but said nothingto me anyhow. He had given orders to take care and notkill any one, but only to seize the culprit... After this Iwalked along Wharf street alongside of Mr. Douglas—andthe bullets were whistling from across the water. We walkedalong there with slow deliberate step, as much as to say, 'weare not afraid' ... No one had covered himself with glory;no killed, no wounded; the trophies remained with thenatives."

Governor Douglas, in reporting the incident to theColonial Office, explained that he had demanded the returnof the property taken by the Indians; they refused to restoreit, unless the man arrested earlier was released.

"I could not allow Her Majesty's authority to be thustreated with contempt," he said, "and the law set at opendefiance, without a neglect of duty and incurring greaterevils than those which it was sought to avert.

"Before resorting to coercive measures I however resolvedto try the effect of a demonstration, and with that view,ordered out a few guns and directed the Hudson's BayCompany's Steam Vessel 'Beaver' to be anchored abreast thevillage, in a position from whence it could be attacked toadvantage and in the course of two hours our preparationswere completed.

"In the meantime, there was much excitement and alarmamong the Indians, the women and children were flying inall directions while the men appeared to look unmoved uponthe scene of danger, but they had also had time for reflectionon the consequences of pushing the matter further, and to mygreat relief sent a messenger to beg that proceedings mightbe stayed, as they had resolved to end the dispute by restoringthe boat and muskets, which were immediately given up.

"It being then late in the evening, nothing further couldbe done; and the following morning the Songhees chief, awell disposed Indian, made proffers of compensation for thecattle that had been slaughtered by his people, which wereaccepted and quiet was restored."

Helmcken adds that he recovered his hat. He said thatwhen the natives brought back the guns, which werediscarded American army muskets, they contemptuously asked,"Of what use are these guns; the locks are rusted and theywon't go off." This was true, the doctor admitted—-"and thegreenhorns had loaded them improperly, too; powder last,ball first," he chuckled.

It was a fortunate outcome; it might have been serious,but probably King Freezy and his people remembered thatday, eight years before, when the big guns of the fort spokeanswer to Chief Tzouhalem and his cattle-killing Cowichans.

62
INDIAN TELLS OF COAL

An Indian brought his broken gun to the blacksmith shop atFort Victoria to be repaired one December day in 1849. Ashe watched the smith at work he noticed him put some coalon the forge fire. He asked where the "blackstone" had beenobtained. He was told that it had come from far away overthe ocean. The old native laughed, and when asked thecause of his amusement, he replied that he had always beentold that the whites were clever, but they could not be so,or instead of bringing coal from far away they would get itwhere he lived, for there was an abundance there.

The blacksmith called J. W. Mackay, a clerk, whoquestioned the Indian, and told him that if he would gohome and get a canoe-load of "blackstones" and return tothe fort with it, his gun would be repaired at no charge andhe would be otherwise rewarded. The old man disappeared.

Months passed before the Indian re-appeared, his canoeladen with fine specimens of coal. The old man had beendelayed by sickness. He said he was a "Snenymo" and lived atWentuhuysen Inlet. He received his reward and a new name,that of "Coal-tyee." Chief Factor and Governor JamesDouglas was informed. He ordered Mackay to investigate.He went to the place and found that the Indian had told thetruth. There was a good outcrop of coal just above high wateron the beach.

During the summer of 1850, however, mines were beingopened close to Fort Rupert, a new post to the north ofVancouver's Island. Great hopes were held out for them; sonot much attention was given to Mackay's discovery. But by1852 prospects were not bright. No deep-seated deposit hadbeen found; trouble had developed with the first batch ofminers brought from England, and now another party, underthe direction of Boyd Gilmour, was drilling at Suquash,without much encouragement. Douglas was disappointed andworried. Then he remembered Mackay's coal. Once more theclerk was sent to the locality, and reported further evidenceof a substantial field.

Douglas decided to take a look at the outcrops. He madea leisurely canoe trip to Wentuhuysen Inlet, stopping to takea look at Cowichan and examine the coastline. What he sawelectrified him and he hastened back to Fort Victoria, tohurry a despatch off to the Company's head office in London.Rarely had the staid, dignified Douglas ever penned such ajubilant letter. "In the course of the excursion we discoveredthree Beds of Coal," he exulted, "the first and upper bedmeasuring three inches; a second immediately under itmeasuring twenty inches, and at a distance aboutthree-quarters of a mile nearly due west, a third bed measuringfifty seven and a quarter inches in depth of clean coal, fromwhich, with the assistance of the natives, we procured aboutfifty tons in a single day at a total cost of £11 paid in goods.The discovery has afforded me more satisfaction than I canexpress," he glowed.

Now the Chief Factor and Governor, who had known ofthe coal-deposit since Mackay visited the place in 1850, wasalarmed lest some other interests—especially American—shouldstake it. He hurried Mackay off in a canoe, bearingformal notices of occupation, to take possession of the deposits,and to warn off any marauders. John Muir, several of hissons, John McGregor, and Hudson's Bay workmen were tobe sent by schooner.

So it was that Mackay took possession of the coal-field—whichthe Company purchased from the Crown when it wassurveyed—and started the construction of an establishment.Douglas, remembering the clash between the fur trade officialsand miners at Fort Rupert, gave Mackay definite instructionsthat old John Muir was to have full control of the mining.With such a recognized division of responsibilities, theenterprising clerk began the construction of log-houses roofed withbark, loading facilities for vessels, a store for trading andother necessary works, including a bastion. This wascompleted in the summer of 1853, and has stood ever since as amemento to the faith, courage and determination of Mackayand his associates in the founding of Nanaimo.

63
TRIAL BY JURY

Peter Brown was foully murdered. He was a shepherd,employed by the Hudson's Bay Company at their ChristmasHill sheep-station in Saanich. It was November 5, 1852.Brown and his fellow Orkneyman, James Skea, had breakfastand Skea drove the sheep to pasture that morning. When hereturned at noon, it was to find Brown sprawled in front ofthe cabin—dead. He had been shot. Search revealed evidencethat the killers were Indians.

Governor James Douglas started an investigation, andfound that Sque-is, a Cowichan, and Siam-a-sit, son ofTche-whe-tum, a powerful Nanaimo chief, were suspected of thekilling. Demands were made upon their tribes to surrenderthem, but were refused.

H.M.S. 'Thetis' reached Esquimalt about this time andDouglas asked Captain A. L. Kuper to support the civilpower by providing an armed party. This was done, andLieutenants Arthur Sansum and John Moresby, with 130sailors and marines, were placed at his disposal ascommander-in-chief of the Colony.He also had a small party of VictorianVoltigeurs as scouts.

It was January 6, 1853, when the steamer 'Beaver',with the brigantine 'Recovery' in tow, dropped anchor inCowichan Bay, and messages were sent to the tribal chiefs tomeet the Governor. They replied they would attend him at anappointed place the next day. The following morning thetroops were landed. Douglas took a camp-stool some distancein advance of the forces, and seating himself on it calmlyproceeded to light a pipe. Presently the sound of drums washeard and a flotilla of war-canoes, carrying several hundredarmed and painted natives, swept around a river bend. Thewarriors, waving their spears and guns, jumped ashore anddashed up the incline, directly at Douglas. It was withdifficulty the officers could restrain their men, but theiron-nerved Governor did not deign to notice the excited braves.The result was that when they were almost upon him theycame to a dead stop. Then Douglas started to talk to them,and after two hours of negotiations Sque-is was surrendered.He was placed on board the 'Beaver', and the expeditioncontinued to Nanaimo.

Several days were spent in useless endeavour to haveSiam-a-sit given up by his tribe; then a force was landed atthe mouth of the Nanaimo River, and marched rapidlythrough the woods to attack a stockaded native village. Whenthey reached the place, muskets bristled from every loop-hole.The naval officers were for immediate assault, but thisDouglas would not permit. He ordered up the pinnace andlaunch that had been left at the river-mouth. These eachcarried a small brass cannon. When the guns were loaded andtrained on the fort, the big door slid up in token of capitulation.The night was spent there, and the following morninganother village was taken. Here it was learned that Siam-a-sithad fled to the banks of a small stream to the west.

Basil Battineau, sergeant of the Voltigeurs, with six of hisscouts and some sailors went in pursuit. That evening thefugitive, hidden under a pile of driftwood, attempted to shootBattineau, but his gun only flashed. He was captured andtaken on board the 'Beaver'. The creek was given the name of"Chase River," which it still bears.

The final act of this tragedy, as described by GovernorDouglas in his despatch to the Colonial Office, was as follows:"The two Indians now being in custody, they were broughtto trial, and found guilty of wilful murder, by a Jurycomposed of the officers present. They were sentenced to behanged by the neck until dead, and the execution took placein the presence of the whole Nanaimo tribe, the same appearingto make a deep impression on their minds."

This was a most historic trial, for it marked the abandonmentof the old retaliatory system of haphazard administrationof justice, and introduced the jury system, a foundation-stoneof democracy. It was a most significant result of theestablishment of Crown Colony government.

64
VOLTIGEURS PROTECT COLONY

Vancouver Island had an active armed militia, which underthe name "Victoria Voltigeurs" played an important part inthe protection of the Colony from Indian attack. It wasorganized about 1850 when Governor Richard Blanshard wasenduring his unhappy tenure as first chief executive. In theabsence of other authority he wanted an army to command.

Chief Factor James Douglas, in answering some complaintsmade by Blanshard to London, writing on March 21,1851, said: "The Governor, for instance, was ... in favourof having a military force in the Colony for the protectionof the inhabitants ... It was with the object of meetingGovernor Blanshard's views ... that I took the liberty ofrecommending the formation of a rural police, to be effectedby granting a certain number of twenty-acre lots on the FurTrade reserve to the company's retiring servants."

In 1859 when Douglas was retiring from the Hudson'sBay Company, he recalled that there were three members ofthe Voltigeurs who had not been given their twenty-acreallotments, and ordered Colonial Surveyor J. Pemberton toissue deeds to them. In writing Pemberton, he said that"before '51 a Canadian village for defence against Indianswas established on the Portage Inlet." The fortunate threewere Nicholas Auger, J. B. Jollibois, and John Lemon.

The Voltigeurs won high praise for their service in thefield, and especially in two expeditions to Cowichan. The firstwas on the hunt for the Indians, Sque-is and Siam-a-sit,slayers of Peter Brown. From old records, some idea may beobtained of the dress of the Voltigeurs. On the occasion ofthe first Cowichan campaign they were issued with newuniforms. Each man was given a pair of stout boots as wellas a pair of moccasins for scouting wear, long worstedstockings, buckskin trousers, a shirt, blue capot, blue cap, gailydecorated with tinsel braid and ribbons, and a broad redbelt and bullet-pouch. They received a dollar a day. SergeantBattineau and Interpreter Tomo Omtany were paid a dollarand a half.

The Voltigeurs were well fed, as were all ranks on thefirst Cowichan expedition. The officers particularly did notsuffer, for a list of their rations shows that they had breadand cakes and flour; prunes, raisins and currants; brown andwhite sugar, two kinds of tea and coffee; salt beef, home-curedhams, butter, potatoes, mutton and live sheep.

Douglas was lavish in his praise of the naval forces inhis despatches, and proudly added: "I am happy to say thatour little corps of Colonial Voltigeurs imitated their nobleexample." So also he had praise for the unit when it nextaccompanied him to Cowichan in 1856.

The Voltigeurs had to be ready to answer an alarmat any time. An illustration of the constant dangers of thetimes was an incident of 1853, when trouble took place atUplands Farm.

Several hundred angry northern Indians—from Alaska—wereon their way home. They were angry as the result of aclash with Americans in Puget Sound. They swarmed ashore atCadboro Bay and started to steal and pillage. Two labourers,almost exhausted from their long run, burst into Fort Victoriaat noon on May 26 crying that the farm had been taken bythe Indians. Instantly the alarm sounded, and while a largerforce was being armed, Douglas with six mounted mengalloped over the trail to Uplands. Here it was found that"they [the Indians] had not entered the premises, but hadattacked Mr. Baillie [Bayley] near the Coast, while he waslooking for some stray cattle, in company with Grenhamand Hilliard, two of his labourers, who ran away on theappearance of the Indians," as Douglas wrote in his report toLondon. Bayley fought stoutly and knocked two of themdown, before they seized his gun and felled him with a blowon the head.

65
FAILURE PUT TO TEACHING

Because Charles Bayley was fairly well educated, and hadneither ability nor wish to become a labourer, a school forboys, children of the Hudson's Bay Company's servants, wasstarted at Fort Victoria. Young Bayley had arrived with hisfather who came out on the 'Tory' in 1851 to manage theCompany's new Uplands Farm at Cadboro Bay. Soon aftertheir arrival, Governor Douglas notified London:

"Mr. Charles Bailey [Bayley] the young man who acted asschoolmaster for the Emigrants during the outward voyageof the 'Tory' having conducted himself with great proprietysince his arrival here and not being particularly useful as amere labourer, I have opened a day school for boys, thechildren of the Company's labouring servants at this place,who are now growing up in ignorance of their duties as menand Christians." Young Bayley conducted the school withcredit to himself.

In January, 1853, when the 'Norman Morison' reachedFort Victoria, with Kenneth McKenzie and the personnel forCraigflower Farm, Robert Barr and his wife came with him,to start a school. They had been at Leeds Industrial School,but when the school managers objected to the headmaster andmatron marrying, they resigned and took the VancouverIsland appointment. Here was a type of teacher that Douglasdesired; so he sent young Bayley to open a school at Nanaimofor the children of the coal-miners, and installed Barr in theFort School.

McKenzie was indignant: he wrote to Sir AndrewColvile, the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company and ofthe Puget Sound Company, complaining bitterly of the detentionof his school teacher at Victoria. "I do not think that itis expedient to instruct Mr. Douglas to change the arrangementwhich he had made, tho' I have expressed to him myregret," Colvile replied. "However," he added, "some othergood schoolmaster will be sent by the first opportunity." SirAndrew started a search for such a man. It was more difficultthan he had expected, but at last he found a man named"Mr. Silver," whom he thought highly qualified for the post.The new teacher would be out on the next boat. But whenthe vessel arrived, there was no Mr. Silver on board. Insteadthere was a letter from Sir Andrew, who said that fortunatelyhe had found, before it was too late, that Mr. Silver was amember of the "Free Kirk." Sir Andrew was doubtless astaunch supporter of the old form of Presbyterian faith.

So the children at Craigflower had to wait until Mr. CharlesClark was sent out. A fine school and dwelling wereerected at Maple Point, and a bridge was constructed acrossVictoria Arm at that point. The school was highly regarded,as may be judged from John Work's letter of July 30, 1855,to Dr. William Tolmie:

"On Saturday last, McKenzie's Schoolmaster Clark hadan examination of his pupils, to which Circulars invitingattendance had been sent out to every one about. I did notgo ... but Mr. Douglas was there with Mr. and Mrs. Cameronand some of the Officers and many others. Craigflowerhad triumphal arches erected at both ends of thebridge leading to the School and an elegant device put upwith VR in the middle of it, and to finish, at the hour ofmeeting, a Salute of twenty-one Guns fired. (Whoever beforeheard of a salute being fired at the examination of a school?) Butit seems to suit Craigflower's views. He also finished offwith a repast to the Company of wine, cakes and otherdainties. The examination is said to have gone off well andthe children to have acquitted themselves creditably."

Old John Work was fearful that the proceedings atCraigflower would establish a precedent and complained thatalready Robert Barr had announced that he would hold anexamination, and he noted that the school was beingwhitewashed, and the window-frames and doors painted, "whichwas never thought of before."

66
COURT STARTED IN TURMOIL

Governor James Douglas found upon taking office that inhis capacity as chief executive he was expected to be adispenser of law. Governor Blanshard, who was a lawyer, hadattended to all matters judicial. He had appointedDr. J. S. Helmcken as a justice of the peace with jurisdiction in thevicinity of Fort Rupert, but the doctor soon resigned. Douglaswas a very busy man and did not have the time to attend toall the petty squabbles and misdemeanours of the Colony. Hetherefore appointed four justices of the peace. They formed a"Justices' Court," where once a week they boldly adjudicatedon matters far beyond their powers.

The Justices soon gave the Governor cause for worry,and he wrote to the Colonial Office explaining: "In consequenceof a suit which was decided in the Justices' Court,wherein damages to the amount of 2,213 dollars with costs,were awarded the Plaintiff, a crafty adventurer namedWebster, the defendants being the sons of John Muir, a poorand industrious Freeholder belonging to the colony. Thedefendants were refused the right of appeal, and the damageswere immediately levied by order of the court."

The records of the court were so poorly kept that it wasmost difficult to gain anything resembling a clearunderstanding of the case from them.

The high-handed manner in which the Justices of thePeace had acted, in refusing the unfortunate Muir brothers aright to appeal, was in the opinion of Douglas bad enough,but his indignation was increased when one of the magistratesissued an order detaining two vessels at Sooke, in connectionwith the same case. These boats were loading cargoes oflumber cut by the Muirs. The Governor had to apologize tothe captains and assure them that a justice of the peace inVancouver's Island did not have the power and responsibilityof an Admiralty Court.

While Governor Douglas was still vexed over the Webster-vs.-Muircase, the case of Parson R. J. Staines's pigs exploded.The fort chaplain and schoolmaster was also a farmer andswine-fancier. One day he suspected that one or two of hispet pigs had been rounded up by Emanuel Douliet, a French-Canadiansettler who was also raising pigs. Without sayinganything to Douliet, Staines visited one of the justices of thepeace, who gave him an imposing court-order, authorizinghim to swear in special constables and raid the premises ofDouliet.

Douliet came running to the Governor, shouting that thepreacher had stolen his pigs. Douglas asked him why he hadcome to him, instead of going to the proper authority andhaving Mr. Staines arrested.

"But no one she mak' arrest of the preach!" Doulietexclaimed.

The Governor replied that there was one justice of thepeace who would take any information. He was DavidCameron, who had been appointed that day. To him theindignant French Canadian hurried; and Staines was dulyarrested for stealing Douliet's pigs. It was the signal for agreat outburst of indignation on the part of the settlers,especially those who were opposed to Hudson's Bay Companyrule.

Realizing that if the matter had been handled differentlythere would have been no trouble, Governor Douglas declaredthat something must be done to curb the assumed jurisdictionof the magistrates. He drafted a measure, which was approvedby the Council and proclaimed. It established a SupremeCourt for the Colony.

David Cameron, the junior Justice of the Peace, hisbrother-in-law, was named by Douglas as the Chief Justicepro tem. Cameron had no legal training, but the Governorhad great reliance on his common sense and impartiality.

The Home Government approved the appointment, andthe first case called before him was that of the Rev. R. J. Staines,accused of pig-stealing. The Grand Jury threw it out.

There was great public criticism of the appointment, andthe settlers formulated a petition, which Mr. Staines was totake to London, protesting Cameron's appointment. Unfortunatelypoor Mr. Staines lost his life en route to England.

67
COAL CENTRE DEVELOPS

Under the active leadership of Joseph W. Mackay, theHudson's Bay Company's clerk in charge, the establishmentat Nanaimo made rapid progress. Log shelters for the minersand labourers were constructed as quickly as possible. Thestructures were rude, roofed with cedar-bark purchased fromthe natives, and were later replaced by better—though stillrough—houses. Old John Muir and his band of minersworked hard and soon proved that the field was an extensiveone of high-grade coal.

It was September 6, 1853, when Muir and his menstarted work, but already Indians were raising surface coal,and with this the first commercial cargo was made up.Joseph Mackay, on September 9, 1853, said: "The greaterpart of the 'Cadboro's' cargo was purchased with small trade.A few of the chiefs have retained their tickets until they canafford to purchase blankets.... An able man can earn at therate of one shirt per diem."

Subsequent reports told of discovery of new coal-seams,of drilling and sinking of test pits, and, in the summer of 1853,of the completion of the Bastion—the octagonal blockhousethat was to protect the community—and of the building of awater-powered sawmill on Millstone River, close at hand.Salt was also found in brine springs on the banks of thesame creek. During the next ten years it was produced therefor salting fish.

The men at Nanaimo worked under constant difficultiesand dangers. The Indians found employment about the mines,including winding the windlasses. The miners did not likethis, not because they were fearful of hostile action but becausethe natives had the habit of dropping whatever they mightbe doing at the moment when they saw a strange canoepassing. Mackay, in asking for two more men to do the hoisting,said, "Indians are not to be trusted as they might endangerthe lives of the men below."

There were frequent intertribal fights and killings, oftenwithin close proximity to the white men's houses. In May,1853, Mackay commented: "I was under the necessity ofchasing the belligerent parties away from the place andwarned the Nanaimoes to refrain for the future from carryingon their murderous practices near the dwellings of thewhitemen."

Securing sufficient food supplies was always a vexingproblem. In October, 1853, Mackay reported that he hadmanaged to get twenty barrels of salmon, but was short ofpotatoes, and he added: "The Nanaimoes do not appear tohave a large stock of that vegetable. We have had little or novenison since the last fracas with the Cowichans." He askedfor help from Fort Victoria, but was refused.

In the early summer of 1853 the miners, under BoydGilmour, were moved from Fort Rupert. He replaced Muiras overseer. It was in the following year that the 'PrincessRoyal' arrived at Fort Victoria with a large party of expertcoal-miners with their wives and children, destined forNanaimo. They reached the coal-camp in November, and theevent has been celebrated for many years, for these finepeople and their descendants helped to build a happy andprosperous community. They had to endure much, but theydid so cheerfully and courageously. The late Mark Bate, Sr.,who arrived in 1857, in speaking of these pioneers of '54 said:

"They told me how roughly the houses were constructed;of the dreary look outside, and cramped space inside; how thechinks between the logs and poles, through which the windwould blow with a shriek of triumph, were plastered up withclay or stuffed with moss; of the interior equipage, benches,boards and bunk-like bedsteads; of the Dutch ovens for bakingand cooking; of the drugget rush mats and rugs made in partof dogs' hair by Indians, used as floor coverings."

The previous summer, when Gilmour and his men arrived,there were, as the make-up of Coviletown (the originalname, but hardly ever used), four dwellings twenty-six byfifteen feet, and three thirty by twenty, habitable, and fillingpieces raised for three more thirty by twenty. The armamentof the Bastion consisted of two six-pound carronades, whichwere sufficiently powerful to overawe the natives, and wereuseful for firing salutes.

68
HEROISM OF DOUGLAS

Chief Tath-la-sut of the Somenos branch of the Cowichanswas a proud young warrior, who lived by the ancient code ofhis people. When an Indian was wronged by a white man,custom demanded that he revenge himself on a man of thatcolour; it mattered not that he might be innocent of thatinjury. That is what happened: the chief decided that ThomasWilliams, a settler living near Quamichan, must die.

Williams, who by all accounts was a decent sort of chap,was shot without warning. The musket-ball tore through theupper part of his right arm and lodged in his body. It was agrievous wound.

Word of the shooting was sent to Governor JamesDouglas at Fort Victoria. It was a time when the whole ofWashington Territory was being torn by warfare betweenwhites and Indians. To show any weakness, Douglas knew,would be to invite the horrors of similar hostilities onVancouver's Island. H.M.S. 'Monarch', bearing the flag ofAdmiral W. H. Bruce, and H.M.S. 'Trincomalee', CaptainWallace Houston, were anchored at Esquimalt. Douglas askedthe Admiral to support the civil authority, with the result thatfour hundred men from the two ships were placed at hisdisposal. In addition, the Victoria Voltigeurs supplied eighteenscouts, and Douglas, as commander-in-chief, had a personalstaff of two.

The force was landed at Cowichan Bay and marchedseveral miles up the valley before making contact with theIndians, who had fielded about four hundred warriors. Atfirst it looked as if a major battle would be fought, for thesurrender of Tath-la-sut was refused. This was avoided bythe personal courage of the Governor, who seemed to possessa strange power over hostile natives. He could hold themalmost motionless while he talked to them. He haddemonstrated this years before at Fort Fraser. Now he walkeddirectly towards the wanted man. Tath-la-sut had intended toshoot the Governor at the start of general hostilities, but thechief appeared to be transfixed by the voice of the toweringman approaching. Then, when Douglas was only five or sixpaces away, Tath-la-sut seemed to shake off the spell, andthrew up his gun to shoot. Now two Indians, who did notwish to see their white friend die, seized the musket. A struggleensued, in which Captain Houston was knocked down, anotherofficer was cut with a knife, and one or two men bowled over.But his own people handed over Tath-la-sut, who had triedto kill Douglas.

It was characteristic of Douglas that he did not boast ofhis part in the affair in reporting to the Colonial Office,September 6, 1856: "We were successful after much trouble insecuring the person of the Indian who lately attempted totake the life of Thomas Williams, the natives themselveshaving been prevailed upon to seize and deliver him into ourhands. He was tried before a special court convened on thespot and was found guilty of maiming with intent to murder.He was accordingly sentenced to be hanged and the sentencewas carried into effect near the spot where the crime wascommitted, in the presence of his Tribe."

In further description of the affair, Douglas remarked:"In marching through the thickets of the Cowegin [sic]valley the Victoria Voltigeurs were with my own personalstaff, thrown well in advance of the Seamen and marinesformed in single file to scour the woods and guard againstsurprise as I could not fail to bear in mind the repeateddisasters which last winter befell the American Army whilemarching through the jungle against an enemy inferior inpoint of numbers and spirit to the Tribes we had toencounter."

So it was that young Chief Tath-la-sut paid the penaltyby the white man's code, for having followed the ancientcustom of the Coast. He was hanged to an oak tree stillstanding at the junction of the Old Trunk Road and theOld Road to Maple Bay.

69
DOUGLAS SAVED U. S. TOWNS

Besides his titles of Governor of Vancouver's Island,Lieutenant-Governor of Queen Charlotte Islands, and directing headof the Hudson's Bay Company on the Coast, James Douglasmight also be called "Protector of Puget Sound." He stoodon continual guard to prevent northern tribes, especially thefierce Vikings from Alaskan waters, attacking the Americansettlements. He also dipped deeply into his personal funds toprovide arms, munitions and supplies for the defence of suchplaces as Seattle, Bellingham and Port Townsend.

Indian warfare had blazed in Washington Territory almostsince the withdrawal of Hudson's Bay Company authorityafter the settlement of the boundary line. Authorities therefeared that if northern tribes made cause with those of theTerritory, it would be impossible to resist them without awfulsacrifices. So Douglas was asked to keep watch for anymovement of the Northerners. He replied to Governor Isaac Stevensof Washington, in January, 1855: "I will consider it a sacredduty to inform you of any hostile movement against yoursettlement among the Northern Indians."

It was in November of the same year that ActingGovernor James Tilton wrote an appeal for arms and munitionswith which to defend the country. Replying, GovernorDouglas said: "It is a cause of sincere regret, on my part, thatour means of rendering you assistance come infinitely shortof our wishes. We are, I confess, with sorrow, badly preparedfor the exigencies of a state of warfare; there being at thismoment, only One Hundred stand of arms in this Colony;and those are in the stores of the Hudson's Bay Company.I have made a purchase of fifty of these, all that can bespared, for your service, and now forward them by Capt. Hunt,under consignment to Dr. Tolmie, who will arrangeabout their delivery. I have also secured ten barrels ofgunpowder and a supply of ball, a part of which will also now beforwarded by the steamer 'Traveller'." In addition to thissubstantial aid, he sent the steamer 'Otter' to patrol in frontof the settlements to demonstrate to "the Native Tribes thatour warmest sympathies are enlisted in your favour."

In 1856 he sent several warning messages to Olympia;one suggested that a wrong done a Northern Indian by asettler near Bellingham be righted, or it might be a cause oftrouble. The following year there was a murderous attack onColonel Isaac N. Ebey, a prominent figure in the territory.It was in revenge for the killing of an Indian chief near PortGamble, of which Ebey was innocent. He was killed anddecapitated. Douglas sent Captain Charles Dodd in searchof the head, and for two years he prosecuted the quest untilhe was successful.

The long attack made by the Indians on Seattle in 1856,which was repelled only with the aid of a U.S. ship-of-war,after a fight of some nine hours, emboldened the natives.They planned a massed attack on Seattle, Bellingham andPort Townsend to drive the whites into the sea. GovernorStevens had an empty treasury. He had to arm new unitsto protect these places. Failing to buy his requirements withterritorial script, he sent an officer to see James Douglas. Itwas not in vain, for again the Governor of Vancouver'sIsland dug deeply into his pocket, and provided blankets, andcoffee, and gun-powder and shot, and other things thatStevens's Commissary Officer wanted.

Previously he had provided aid to American settlersalong the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The strain was becomingheavy. He was now more than $7,000 out of pocket. Monthswent by and there was no suggestion of repayment. He wroteto London about it, telling Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton: "Thisis not, however, the first instance in which I have suffered inconsequence of relieving the distress of United States citizens."

It was not until the British Government, through theministry at Washington, took the matter up with PresidentBuchanan, that Douglas was repaid. Even then he said thatsettlement had not been made in full.

70
HOUSE STARTS WITH CRISIS

The Right Honourable Henry Labouchere, ColonialSecretary, on February 28, 1856, instructed Governor JamesDouglas, of Vancouver's Island, to set up an elective Houseof Assembly. He emphasized that settlers must have a voicein government. "It has been doubted," he said, "by authoritiesconversant in the principles of colonial law, whether theCrown can legally convey authority to make laws in asettlement founded by Englishmen, even for a temporary andspecial purpose, to any legislature not elected wholly, or inpart, by the settlers themselves."

Governor Douglas was startled. He was not sufficientlyinformed upon the fundamental principles required in settingin operation the evolutionary processes of democratic institutions,he believed. He expressed his temerity in a letter toLabouchere, May 22: "It is, I confess, not without a feelingof dismay that I contemplate the nature and amount oflabour and responsibility which will be imposed upon me, inthe process of carrying out the instructions conveyed in yourdespatch."

Douglas and the Legislative Council after careful studyfinally announced, by proclamation, a form of government thatwas considered to be suitable to the Colony. Despite the factthat there were only about forty electors—qualifying byownership of land worth twenty pounds sterling—it wasdecided to retain the appointed Council as an UpperChamber and create an Assembly composed of seven members, whomust each possess property qualifications valued at £300.Distribution of seats was: Sooke District, one; Victoria District,three; Esquimalt District, two; and Nanaimo District, one.Writs were to be returned on August 4.

The first election, which was hotly contested in Victoriaand Esquimalt, resulted in the selection of: Sooke, JohnMuir; Esquimalt, Dr. J. S. Helmcken and Thomas Skinner;Victoria District, J. D. Pemberton, James Yates andE. E. Langford; Nanaimo, Dr. J. F. Kennedy. The House commencedits active life with a political crisis. Douglas wrote toLondon, telling about it:

"The House immediately proceeded to business, andelected J. S. Helmcken as speaker but their furtherproceedings were arrested at that stage, in consequence ofpetitions which were sent in, against the validity of the electionof one member, and the property qualification of two othermembers, so that the Speaker with three members, were aloneat liberty to act, and that number was insufficient to form aCommittee of enquiry, the House was therefore adjourneduntil measures could be taken to remove the difficulty."

Governor Douglas would not interfere, leaving it to theHouse to work itself out of the constitutional tangle in whichit found itself.

"After repeated adjournments, and much loss of time, theSpeaker ultimately succeeded, without my aid, in adjustingparty differences, and forming a committee which immediatelyproceeded to enquire into the qualifications, and declared thereturn of E. E. Langford, null and void, in consequence of hisnot having sufficient property to constitute a legal qualification.An adjournment then took place to the 24th day ofOctober.

"A fresh writ was in consequence issued and JosephWilliam McKay was returned as member, for the district ofVictoria, in place of Edward E. Langford."

Douglas was not displeased at the political mixup: hethought it would be beneficial to the members. He explainedwhy, in the letter (December 16, to the Company). Hesaid: "These delays were not without their use as the membershad time to prepare for the proper discharge of the responsibleduties they have to perform, and their minds were disabusedof many false notions which were commonly entertained hereconcerning the acts of the Hudson's Bay Company, as well asthe powers and jurisdiction of the House of Assembly."

The House of Assembly passed a budget of £130, andduring the first session discussed topics that are still on theagenda—liquor and roads.

71
WILD RUSH TO FRASER RIVER

Discovery of gold near the mouth of the Pend d'Oreille River,on the British side of the border, in March of 1856 started asearch for the precious metal elsewhere on the mainland ofwhat is now British Columbia. Prospectors, facing the dangersof an unknown country, and the uncertainty of native hostility,managed to get to Fort Kamloops, and working from that placefound pay dirt on Tranquille Creek, and on other streamsentering Thompson River. Governor James Douglas, ofVancouver's Island, always fearful of exciting a general Indianwar, reported the situation to Henry Labouchere, ColonialSecretary, under date of July 15, 1857:

"It is however certain that gold has been found in manyplaces by washing the soil of the river beds and also of themountain sides.... A new element of difficulty in exploringthe gold country has been interposed through the oppositionof the native Indian tribes of Thompson's River, who havelately taken the high-handed, though probably not unwisecourse, of expelling all the parties of gold diggers, composedchiefly of persons from the American territories, who haveforced an entrance into their country." Douglas added thatthe Indians were not only actuated by a desire to work thegold-bearing bars themselves, but by a fear that the whiteswould alarm the salmon, the staple food of the Indians.

Douglas forbade Hudson's Bay Company employees toengage in gold-digging without the "full approbation andconsent" of the natives. But he could not prevent the Americanadventurers from spreading the word of profitable fieldsin the interior of the British domain amongst their friends.Washington and Oregon communities responded to theserumours, and when gold was located on the lower Fraser awild stampede took form.

On December 29, 1857, Douglas reported to the ImperialGovernment: "The reputed wealth of the Couteau minesis causing much excitement among the population of theUnited States territories of Washington and Oregon, and Ihave no doubt that a great number of people from thoseterritories will be attracted thither with the return of fineweather in spring." About the same time he sent severalhundred ounces of gold, which the Hudson's Bay Companyhad traded with the natives and miners, to San Francisco.

Douglas—without authority, for the gold-strikes wereoutside his jurisdiction as Governor of Vancouver's Islandissued a proclamation declaring the gold to be the propertyof the Crown, to be worked only by permission. He alsopublished regulations, and the manner of licensing miners.

The resulting stampede was greater than Douglas feared.The news, supplemented by his formal proclamation, tookCalifornia by storm. Old steamers and ships, rotting at theirmooring since the heyday of the rush to the Golden Statenearly ten years before, were patched and repaired andoutfitted to carry gold-mad adventurers to the new Eldorado.Along Puget Sound men were quitting their farms and theirmills to make their way across the border as best they could.Whatcom and Sehome, on Bellingham Bay, and Port Townsendbecame outfitting centres; everyone was excited. Butin Victoria, life went on prosaically until April 25, 1858, whenthe steamer 'Commodore' arrived with four hundred and fiftypassengers bound for the placer-workings. Victorians rubbedtheir eyes, as ship after ship followed. The fields about the fortwere dotted with tents and bark shelters. In four months itwas estimated that more than 20,000 individuals landed atVictoria, which had but three or four hundred inhabitantswhen the rush started. An additional 13,000 entered Britishterritory from Puget Sound and by other routes.

They were a motley lot. Men of all creeds and classesand conditions of society crowded together, among themparasitical types who came to prey on the honest miners andmerchants and the decent, hard-working men, who formed thebulk of the invaders, who had plunged headlong into anunknown wilderness at the sound of the magic word—"Gold!"

72
MINERS BUILD ROAD

The flood of miners rolled up the Fraser Valley. They travelledin all manner of craft, canoes, rafts, row-boats—anything thatwould float—or struggled overland from Washington Territory.Many lost their lives through hardships or storm or fellvictim to the cupidity of merciless savages in the early weeksof the Gold Rush Year of 1858.

Governor James Douglas, of Vancouver's Island, wasalarmed. He remembered that Americans had flocked to oldOregon and had then set up an independent form of governmentto be turned over to Washington; he recalled how hehad frustrated a plot, of a similar character, to take theQueen Charlotte Islands, and how he had made every minerthere acknowledge British sovereignty by buying a licence inthe name of the Queen. He wished to make everyone whowent up the Fraser River pay tribute to the British Crown ina similar manner; so he demanded that a licence to mine bepurchased by every person. But it might be argued that hehad no authority on the Mainland to act for the Crown. Ifthis was true, he could achieve the same end by making theimmigrants pay a head-tax to the Hudson's Bay Company,as proprietors of the trade of the country by Royal licence.So Douglas proceeded to have the two imposts collected, andplaced guard vessels at the Sandheads to enforce payment.

The bearded, red-shirted miners, having passed the taxationbarrier at the river mouth, stopped at Fort Langley toseek information and get what supplies they could obtainfrom the store; then they went on, hurrying, toiling at oarsor canoes to get higher and higher up the stream. Theystopped where river-bars had been formed, to pan for gold,and having tested the sands pursued their way, confident thattiny specks of yellow metal there would indicate coarser grainshigher up the river. In this they were right. Treasure inworkable quantity was encountered below Fort Hope, and on barsup to Fort Yale—dangerous, eddying, swirling waters. AtHill's Bar, opposite and below Fort Yale, "rich pay" wasdiscovered. They milled about Fort Yale, waiting for theriver to go down, and then pushed up through the canyons,where the river tossed and foamed between rock walls, workingevery bar and flat. The Indians objected; there was a short,sharp, vicious war fought between white and red men alongthat turbulent stretch of the river between Fort Yale and theForks, where the Fraser and Thompson met. Many died—howmany will never be known. But the trouble was soonsettled, and on and on the adventurous men pushed.

Douglas was worried. He knew that if these daring menwho had penetrated so far inland were caught by winter,they would starve to death. They must be saved! He had noauthority to act for the Crown, nor had he funds with whichto build roads. But he took charge and adopted a boldstratagem. He enlisted 500 men to work without pay in buildinga freight road from the head of Harrison Lake to Lillooet. Heinduced them each to deposit twenty-five dollars to ensuregood conduct while working without remuneration. Thismoney was to be returned when the work was completed—insupplies. In the meantime the deposits provided the fundsfor the work.

The road-builders started in July, and by November 14freight was being unloaded at Lillooet on the Fraser. In thattime 108 miles of road had been built, more than onehundred bridges and culverts had been constructed, and threewater-portages had been established on Lillooet, Anderson,and Seaton Lakes. Incidently, by means of a toll on freight,the entire cost was liquidated by the following spring.

Steamboats now began to operate on the Fraser, someto Fort Hope, and then to Fort Yale, while other trips weremade into the Harrison and to Port Douglas, at the head ofHarrison Lake, from which the road started. With the openingof navigation to Yale, a mule trail was projected through thecanyons. By fall, however, many decided to go south, ratherthan face the winter; others were disappointed at ill success,and gradually the mining population declined. But in sixmonths the bars of the Fraser produced $750,000 in gold,which was more than California yielded in the first half-yearof that field.

73
ENGINEERS & MARINES HELP

The unrestrained influx of thousands of gold-seekers to theFraser River in the spring of 1858 so alarmed GovernorDouglas that he wrote to Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, thenColonial Secretary: "If the country be thrown open toindiscriminate immigration the interests of the Empire may sufferfrom the introduction of a foreign population, whosesympathies may be decidedly anti-British." Continuing, he said he"would recommend that a small naval or military force shouldbe placed at the disposal of this Government, to enable us tomaintain peace, and to enforce obedience to the laws."

In asking such a force for Vancouver's Island, Douglaswas contemplating administration of the Mainland fromthere. He did not know that plans were formulating inLondon for a new colony.

But his request for a peace-enforcing body was respondedto by Lytton's message of July 1 that the Admiraltyhad instructed that "the officers commanding Her Majesty'sVessels at Vancouver's Island will be directed to give you allthe support in their power, and to render their crews, andmore especially the Marines, serviceable, as far as circumstanceswill allow, if the Civil Government should require aforce to maintain order among the adventurers resorting to theGold Fields."

A month later (July 30) Sir Edward supplementedthis promise of aid with a letter saying, "Her Majesty'sGovernment propose sending to British Columbia, by earliestopportunity, an officer of Royal Engineers (probably a FieldOfficer), with two or three subalterns, and a company ofSappers and Miners, made up of 150 men, non-commissionedofficers and men." But this was not the only force ordered tothe Pacific Coast, for the Admiralty commanded H.M.S. 'Tribune'to pick up 160 supernumerary marines at HongKong and take them to Esquimalt. They arrived on February13, 1859.

The Imperial Government, recognizing the urgency ofthe situation, decided that a separate colonial governmentwas necessary for the Mainland and introduced legislationauthorizing a new Crown Colony. Queen Victoria, personally,named it "British Columbia."

In launching government, under the circumstancesincidental to a wild gold-stampede in a country inhabited byuntamed and warlike natives, it was necessary to have anoutstanding and fearless man. Such was at hand, in theperson of James Douglas, and no other was considered. Lyttonwrote offering him the post, and allowing him to retain thegovernorship of the Island, but insisting that he must sever allconnection with the Hudson's Bay Company. So it was thatthe boy of fifteen who had come out to the Canadian wildsforty years before rose to a place of double confidence underthe Crown.

Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton busied himself in setting upthe framework for the new government. He announced thatColonel R. C. Moody would be Chief Commissioner of Landsand Works, in addition to commanding the Royal Engineers;Matthew Baillie Begbie, a lawyer, was appointed SupremeCourt Justice; Wymond O. Hamley was to be in charge ofcustoms; and a police force was to be formed under ChartresBrew, as Inspector.

In addition to Colonel Moody, the Engineers wereofficered by Captain J. M. Grant, noted for his constructiveability; Captain R. M. Parsons, recognized for his masteryover scientific phases of engineering; Captain H. R. Luard,to handle strictly military functions, and LieutenantsA. R. Lemprière and H. S. Palmer, with J. V. Seddall as surgeon.

The Royal Engineers came in three sections; the first,under Captain Parsons, with twenty men, arrived via Panamaon October 29; the second, commanded by Captain Grant, oftwelve men arrived November 8; the main party, via theclipper ship 'Thames City', under Captain Luard, reachedEsquimalt on April 12, 1859. Colonel Moody arrived atVictoria in time for Christmas dinner, on December 25, 1858. Healso had come via Panama.

74
NEW COLONY IS BORN

James Douglas, while waiting for the arrival of his commissionas Governor of British Columbia, was active. He planned toadvance the organization of public affairs as far as possible:to have everything in readiness for the great inauguralceremony. He appointed several minor officials and instructedthat townsites be laid out at Forts Yale, Hope and Langley.He gave particular thought to the last-named: a site was therewhere civilization on the Coast had started and where hehoped to see a great commercial city arise.

Some enterprising speculators in Victoria held a similarview. They squatted on the land and had it surveyed,announcing that the "city" would be called "Derby." Douglaswas wrathful: he vented his anger in a very practical way. Heseized the property and the survey for the Crown. Here workwas started, building barracks for the Engineers, a courthouse, jail, and other public buildings. Captain Grant, of theRoyal Engineers, did not like the location, and so declaredin a report prior to the arrival of his superior, Colonel Moody,who confirmed Grant's view later and selected the site ofNew Westminster as a colonial capital. Douglas's idea wasthat Derby would make a good business community.

The towering, black-bearded young lawyer, Begbie,arrived at Victoria on November 15, to be told that he mustleave the next day with Douglas, Admiral Baynes, Vancouver'sIsland's Chief Justice Cameron, and others, to participatein the inauguration of the Colony at Fort Langley four dayslater.

November 19 was a cold, wet, miserable day. Raindripped from leaden skies; the "HBCo"-marked Red Ensignhung soddenly from the flagpole; puddles formed in the fortsquare, and footsteps were marked in deep mud. It had beenintended a gala affair would be held in front of the logbuildings of Fort Langley, with fluttering flags, and fanfares,and uniformed Royal Engineers acting as a guard of honour.But the chill and wet of the day drove all within doors. There,in the great room of "the Big House"—as the officers' quarterswere called—as many as possible crowded together to witnessthe birth of British Columbia.

Governor Douglas, in his capacity as Queen's representativeon Vancouver's Island, administered the oath of office toBegbie. The commission appointing Douglas as Governor ofthe Crown Colony of British Columbia, created in conformitywith Act of Parliament, was read, and then, as the first officialact of "Mr. Justice Begbie," the head of British Columbia'scourts swore in James Douglas as Governor. There were oneor two other officials installed in office. Then threeproclamations were read: one of them indemnified those who hadbeen conducting affairs prior to that day on the Mainland;British Law was proclaimed as the law of the Colony; andthe other ended all special privileges of the Hudson's BayCompany.

It was a most important day. That ceremony in the close,steaming room, in the old log-building behind the pickets ofFort Langley, saw the rule of the old fur-company give wayto that of the Crown, and all the time-tested laws of GreatBritain to that very moment become the right and heritage ofthose who then resided or who would in future come to theColony. It was fitting, too, that these rights and libertiesshould be announced at Fort Langley, for it was in the firstpost of that name in 1827 that civilization had gainedpermanent foothold in the savage wilderness of the Pacific Coast.

On the river, in front of the fort, the old pioneer steamer'Beaver' greeted the birth of the Colony with her guns. It wasin her engine-room that day that a mace was cut from thinmetal, when it was found that no emblem of authority forGovernment had been provided. With a pair of tin shears anengineer clipped out an arrow-shaped "mace" about a footin length, and it served as effectively as an ornate and costlysymbol.

75
RUSH CHANGES ISLAND

While British Columbia was emerging as a Crown Colony,as a result of the gold rush to the Fraser River, Vancouver'sIsland—and especially Victoria and vicinity—was beingtransformed. The sleepy little community that clustered about thefort pickets had become a bustling, noisy town of severalthousands.

The spring and summer of 1858 had witnessed muddytrails take shape as equally muddy streets, lined with shacks,and wooden stores, and wood and brick hotels with theirsaloons. Towne & Company brought a press and type fromSan Francisco and started a well-edited paper, the VictoriaGazette. A French-language paper, Le Courier, appearedbriefly. It was later in the year that the British Colonistwas started by an eccentric Nova Scotian named Smith, whohad had his name changed by legislative action in the UnitedStates to Amor de Cosmos. He was a demagogue, who was towrite a large part of the country's history in the nextthirty-five years.

Traders of all kinds bartered their wares; speculatorstalked and urged investment and purchase in all sorts ofschemes and commodities; and builders found plenty to doin pushing up the boom-town, despite the jump in lumberprices from fifteen dollars to one hundred and fifty dollarsper thousand feet.

"Land speculation is going on at a great rate at Victoria,"R. C. Mayne of H.M.S. 'Plumper' wrote in his journal."The number of diggers, emigrants and land speculators thathave arrived since we left in March is wonderful and indeedthe change which has come over the face of the Island isquite surprising." He wrote on June 19, "The five acre lotshere [Esquimalt] which were bought for £5 are now worthnearly as many hundreds. Crittle, a labourer here, got £63for one acre of his the other day, and yesterday McDonaldsold sixteen acres for which he had paid £16 for $2,000 orabout £416.13."

Mayne, who later wrote a book about the colonies,described the arrival of the British party that was to engage ina joint survey of the demarcation of the international boundary.They reached Esquimalt on July 12, the party including"Major Hawkins, R.E.; Capt. Haig, R.A. (astronomer);Lieut. Darrah, R.E. (Assist. Astronomer); Lieut. Wilson,R.E. (Secretary and in charge of troops); Mr. Lord (naturalist)and Mr. Bannerman (geologist), and fifty-five sappersand miners." The sailor was astounded at the amount ofbaggage carried by these military men. He noted that theyhad, in their medical stores, eight pounds of quinine, and heexclaimed, "this ship's allowance for five years being twoounces!"

A police force was formed under A. F. Pemberton, ascommissioner, and had to handle a hard set of men, some ofwhom were wanted by the Vigilantes of California. Robberies,fights and even murders occurred. On one occasion itwas necessary to call for naval aid to support the police.Mayne tells of it in his journal:

"July 29, 1858—We had a false alarm this eveningwhich ended gloriously in a bottle and supper barring thebottle. About half past seven, Bedwell came riding down fromthe Fort to say there was a row and that the Governor wantedan armed force: we immediately got steam up, took thesappers on board and went round. When we got there andlanded we found all quiet and the Governor just going tobed. He was however 'unearthed' and we took one unfortunatewretch prisoner and then had supper in the Fort, Mr. Douglaspresiding. The next morning the ship was broughtinside the harbour and moored to the HBC wharf to show therowdies that we were ready for them."

Rowdyism was encouraged by the Honourable JohnNugent, special representative of President Buchanan, whocame to report on the two Colonies. He demanded fullambassadorial privileges, and when Douglas, courteously, butfirmly, refused to enter into personal correspondence with him,Nugent became extremely insulting. He issued a proclamationto Americans residing in the Colonies promising them theprotection of the United States against the "injustices" thatDouglas was heaping upon them. One such injustice was arefusal to permit American lawyers to practise in colonialcourts.

Sir James Douglas

"He was the servant of the Crown, holding office to administerthe Colony in its best interest and to establish law andorder and Queen's justice in an unruly realm. He lived thepart, and retired respected and honoured by the community. Itis not given to many to achieve as much."

A. S. Morton,
History of the Canadian West.

Yates Street, 1860; The Parliament Buildings, 1898

1 Yates Street, Victoria, about 1860. On this block wasthe famous tobacco store of G. Sutro and Macdonald'sBank. The Bank's failure following a robbery in1864, contributed to a depression which ledto the union of the two colonies

2 The Parliament Buildings at Victoria, about 1898. Theoriginal Buildings built by James Douglas in 1859,appear in the foreground of this picture. They werelater torn down

Amor de Cosmos, John Muir

Amor de Cosmos was the editor ofthe 'British Colonist' and an ardentsupporter of union with Canada. Hebecame Premier of the Province in1872

John Muir became in 1849, the firstsuperintendent of the coal-mines atNanaimo. He later settled on theestate of the unfortunate CaptainGrant

76
TWO JUSTICES, NO PEACE

"Captain" P. B. Whannell, magistrate at Yale, assumed hisrank and an exaggerated idea of his importance; GeorgePerrier, corresponding official at Hill's Bar, was just asconscious of his dignity and power as was "his brother of thebench" at Yale. When these two judicial popinjays disputedtheir respective jurisdictions, the army was called out, and theColony of British Columbia was almost bankrupted.

Following a Christmas Day fight, Whannell issued ageneral warrant for two men who had beaten a negro namedDixon, and locked up Dixon as a material witness. The twomen, Burns and Farrell, were arrested a day or two later atHill's Bar and were brought before Magistrate Perrier. It wasjust before the New Year of 1859 and cold, but Perrier wasanxious to keep the wheels of justice moving. He sent hisconstable, Hickson, to ask "Judge" Whannell to release Dixonso that he could proceed with the case.

Instead of agreeing to Perrier's request, Whannell putHickson the constable in jail on a charge of contempt of theYale court, and of its Magnificent Magistrate. When proudPerrier heard of this he was angry. He swore in a dozenspecial police, headed by Ned McGowan—a notoriouscharacter from California who had at one time been the object ofsearch by the Vigilante Committee of that State—and sentthem to Yale with instructions to release Hickson and arrestWhannell for insulting the Hill's Bar temple of justice. Theobjectives were effected by Ned and his men, and Whannellwas fined twenty-five dollars to teach him manners.

Considerable excitement followed and letters were sentoff telling of the events that had happened. The most luridletter, naturally, went from Magistrate Whannell to CaptainGrant of the Royal Engineers, at Derby, calling for military protection.

It was early January, several days after Grant hadreceived the call, when the steamer 'Beaver' arrived withColonel R. C. Moody, R.E., and Mr. Justice Begbie. TheSupreme Court judge later wrote:

"The reputation of Edward McGowan, a citizen ofUnited States named in such letter as a leader of the allegedoutrages, being very notorious I agreed with theLieut. Gov. [Moody] that as a military commander thus summoned by amagistrate ... there could be but one course to follow, viz.,to proceed to the scene of action."

Having obtained the best legal advice available, ColonelMoody, with twenty-four Royal Engineers, a force of specialpolice under Inspector Chartres Brew, and the Judge, boardedthe steamer 'Enterprise' and started up the river. In themeantime, Governor Douglas, at Victoria, had heard of the "war"started by McGowan (who got all the blame in public reports)and requisitioned aid from the navy. One hundred bluejacketsand marines from H.M.S. 'Satellite' were placed onH.M.S. 'Plumper' under Lieutenant Gooch. The 'Plumper'hurried as fast she could across the Gulf and up the river, butwas unable to travel up-stream rapidly. Gooch sent LieutenantMayne ahead by canoe. In the meantime the 'Enterprise' hadbeen stuck for some time in the ice, above Harrison River, butat last managed to get as far as Fort Hope. Here, upon learningthat all seemed to be quiet at Yale, the soldiers were left;Colonel Moody and Judge Begbie went on ahead.

It was Sunday when they were at Yale, having arrivedthe previous night, and Moody held divine service there,which some forty miners attended. The next day, aninvestigation was made. Judge Begbie concluded that neithermagistrate was fitted for his office, and he suspended Perrier.McGowan—who in his variegated past had once been on thebench—defended himself with ability. He had but carried outthe orders of the court.

Meanwhile Lieutenant Gooch and his naval reinforcementshad reached Hope. When Ned McGowan again causeda disturbance by assaulting a man, the Engineers and Marinewere ordered to Yale. Their presence demonstrated that theauthorities meant to maintain law and order. McGowan wasfined for the assault.

The cost of the affair, Douglas complained, had almostruined the Colony's finances.

77
MOODY SELECTS SITE

Colonel R. C. Moody, supporting the opinion previously givento Governor Douglas by Captain J. M. Grant of the unsuitabilityof Derby as the place for the principal town of BritishColumbia, declared that from a military standpoint it wasindefensible against attack, especially from the United States.Moody selected the high ground on the opposite side of theriver, where the Fraser divided into the main river and NorthArm. With this choice, though not without reluctance, Douglasagreed.

It was a most difficult terrain to clear for a town, beingcovered with a tangle of small growth over heavy windfalls,vines and big trees. Here, however, work was started, and acamp for the sappers and miners was constructed, giving tothe location the name of "Sapperton." When the streets hadbeen surveyed and mapped a sale of town lots was advertised.This was held by auction and realized £18,877. Personswho had bought Derby lots were permitted to transfer theirinvestment. This resulted in the utter collapse of Douglas'sdream city.

Selim Franklin, the auctioneer, announced at the salethat the proceeds would be used to clear and grade thestreets, and he added, on information from Colonel Moody,that this would be done without loss of time. It was notpossible to fulfil this promise, perhaps because of theAmerican seizure of San Juan Island, which reduced his effectiveworking force by about half, as the Royal Marines attached tohis Royal Engineers were withdrawn to be ready if a clashensued.

Not much credit has been given to the 139 RoyalMarines who worked at New Westminster for about fivemonths. Admiral R. L. Baynes, however, in a letter to theAdmiralty, championing them, said:

"To make the subject clear ... I beg to state that on thedetachment arriving on the 13th February at Esquimalt,Vancouver's Island, in the 'Tribune', 139 officers and menwere sent to British Columbia and placed under ColonelMoody, Royal Engineers, and twenty-five officers and menremained at Esquimalt and Victoria.

"The former party were in British Columbia until thebeginning of August of that year, when the Governorpreviously to my arrival, ordered them down to San Juan.During that time the men were employed under ColonelMoody in clearing the site for New Westminster, makingroads and in heavy and laborious work."

At first Moody intended to name the Colonial Capital"Queen's Borough," but Victorians thought that this woulddetract from the pride that was theirs as being the onlyplace named for the Queen. It was suggested that"Queensborough"—honouring all queens—would be preferable. Theargument was finally settled by Queen Victoria herself, whonamed it "New Westminster": hence it is often designated as"The Royal City" in remembrance of her gracious attention.

There were more lots to be sold. Selim Franklin arrangedfor a new auction in the spring of 1860, but he could notproceed. An indignant crowd blamed him for the streetsnot having been cleared. On May 2, however, they permittedEdgar Dewdney to hold a successful sale, when he disposedof land to the value of £5,350.

Shortly after this, Governor Douglas, who lived on theIsland, visited New Westminster. The residents approachedhim with the request that the community be incorporated.This suited the Governor, for it meant that they would planand pay for their own improvements. So, on July 16, 1860,New Westminster was granted self-government, becoming thesenior municipality of the Colony, although there was atemporary town council at Yale a month before the NewWestminster council.

Strange as it may seem, Colonel Moody wanted to runfor the council, but was reproved by Douglas who pointed outthat it would not be compatible with his office of Commissionerof Lands and Works, or with his appointment asLieutenant-Governor, to seek election.

78
SAN JUAN INVASION

Various reasons have been advanced from time to time forthe invasion in 1859 of the Island of San Juan by a forcecommanded by Captain George Pickett, Ninth Infantry,U.S. Army, on orders from Brigadier-General W. S. Harney, ofthe Oregon Military District. A popular story is that theincident of the shooting of Charlie Griffin's pig, by LymanCutler, an American settler, led to a difference over judicialjurisdiction, terminating in the seizure of the Island. Anotherstory is that both Harney and Pickett were Southerners, andsought to embroil the Republic in a war with Canada to headoff the impending Civil War. Pickett later achieved fame asa general for the South in that internecine conflict. Whateverthe cause at that time, there is no doubt that it cameperilously close to war.

The boundary treaty of 1846 had stated that the boundaryshould consist of the 49th parallel from the RockyMountains to tidewater. It was then to follow the mainchannel to the middle of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, fromwhere it was to continue to the sea. The treaty did notstipulate which of three channels was intended. By oneinterpretation San Juan and other desirable islands were in Britishterritory, and by another, in the United States. As early as1853 United States authorities sought to claim them, and in1855 Sheriff Elias Barnes of Whatcom County seized thirty-foursheep belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, in lieuof Washington territorial taxes. There had been groundworkof suspicion and distrust laid for the subsequent flare-up.

General Harney paid a visit to Victoria early in July,1859. It so happened that fourteen U.S. nationals on theIsland celebrated the "Glorious Fourth," and left the Starsand Stripes flying at the top of a tall staff they had erectedfor the occasion. General Harney, returning to Olympia, sawthe flag and landed. The patriotic settlers told him thatthey were afraid of raids by northern Indians, and also thatthey wished protection from British impositions. The story ofthe pig was told with all possible ornamentation.

General Harney mulled over this information for sometime. He ordered Captain Pickett with Company D to landand give protection to United States citizens. The landingwas made on July 27. When word of it reached Victoria,Governor Douglas prepared to repel the Americans; heordered H.M.S. 'Tribune', Captain G. P. Hornby, to makea landing, and ordered H.M.S. 'Satellite' to bring up theRoyal Marines quartered at New Westminster. Hornby wasa cool-headed and cautious man, who did not wish to starta major war. He anchored off San Juan, but made nolanding.

Victoria was in a fever of excitement; the House ofAssembly rattled the sabre and demanded action, but Douglaswas cooling down as a result of Captain Hornby's quietattitude. Then, luckily for peace, Admiral R. L. Baynes, awise and careful Scot, arrived on his flagship. He ridiculedthe idea of two great powers fighting over a small island.

Washington was much aghast at the news of Harney'sconquest. The Secretary of State hastened to assure LordLyons, British Minister, that the General's despatch had beenread by the President, both with surprise and regret. GeneralWinfield Scott, commander-in-chief, hastened to Puget SoundHe opened talks with Governor Douglas and suggested jointoccupancy. Douglas replied that he had no instructions fromEngland.

After a period of friendly discussions, it was at lastarranged that both nations would keep token forces on SanJuan until the matter of the sovereignty of the Island wasdecided by the Governments concerned. Pickett waswithdrawn, and a more temperate officer, Captain Hunt, replacedhim. A force of eighty marines and officers, under CaptainGeorge Bazalgette, landed to establish the British camp onMarch 20, 1860. The marines remained there until November25, 1872, when the German Emperor, as arbiter of thedispute over the boundary, gave the island to the UnitedStates.

79
FIRST LEGISLATIVE BUILDINGS

When the Imperial Government reviewed the first ten yearsof the management of Vancouver's Island by the Hudson'sBay Company, it was decided that the Crown should repossessthe Colony, as provided in the experimental arrangementbetween the Government and Company in 1849. The ruleof the Company ended in 1859, but it took some years tosettle financial matters between them and to determine landholdings.

There had been popular outcry, since the beginning ofthe colony—and usually without cause—against the dominantposition of the Company. Now it was expected that aUtopian state would result from the administrative change.As months passed without the land-title situation beingamended, Amor de Cosmos penned vitriolic editorials in theBritish Colonist laying the blame for the delay at thedoorstep of Governor Douglas. He charged that Douglas was thehead of a "Family Compact" that was running the Colonyfor its own purposes.

Douglas, despite the abuse heaped upon him, neverdeigned to answer the accusations. Later de Cosmos was tofind that all the time he had been blasting the Governor forallegedly favouring the Company, Douglas had been battlingto obtain as much as possible for the public.

When Douglas retired as Chief Factor of the Hudson'sBay Company, he was succeeded in control of the Company'saffairs on the Pacific Coast by A. G. Dallas, a young andcapable Scot, sent out from London. He had not been longin the country when he married one of Douglas's charmingdaughters but this relationship did not give an advantage toeither man in business dealings. Douglas sought to obtain allhe could for the Colony; Dallas, to protect the interests ofthe Hudson's Bay Company.

When Victoria jumped overnight from a humdrum fur-tradingpost to a hustling, bustling, gold-rush centre, governmentoffices were largely housed within the fort. The Governorrealized that administrative requirements demanded properaccommodation. The first Governor, Blanshard, had occupiedland now covered by the modern post office at Yates andGovernment Streets. This had been reserved for governmentaluse. Douglas had plans prepared for legislative buildings onthe site, but further study convinced him that the area wastoo restricted to permit expansion in the future.

The Government owned ten acres on the south shoreof James Bay. This Douglas thought would be an ideal site,for which he had new plans prepared for the legislative andadministrative offices required. The buildings were of brickand wood design, with pagoda-like roofs, and became vulgarlyknown in after years as "The Birdcages." With these planscompleted, he decided to raise finances for construction byselling the Government Street lands. They were surveyed intolots and were advertised for sale by auction.

At this juncture Dallas informed the Governor that hecould not sell the property, for he could not deliver title.While it was true, he admitted, that the Government itselfcould continue to occupy them, no conveyance had beenmade by the Hudson's Bay Company. Douglas answered thatthe sale must go on: it had been advertised and the honourof the Crown was pledged to carry it out. He argued thatthe Company could not dispose of the land as it was reservedfor use by the Government. He finally offered to quitclaimthe Government right if the Company would issue properconveyance to the purchasers. Dallas thought he had corneredthe older man.

The auction went off as advertised. It brought in roughly$27,500. With this money Douglas started to build. First heconstructed a bridge joining Government Street and BirdcageWalk, then the public buildings. They were nearly completed,when one day Dallas asked the Governor when the Companymight expect payment of the money for the up-town lots."Never," was the reply, and Douglas went on to explain thatby giving the quitclaim to the area, the Government consideredit had liquidated all liability. So it was that the first,ornate legislative buildings cost the Colony nothing in cash.

80
HELPED TO START ALBERNI

William E. Banfield was a very early settler on the coast. Hefirst came to Vancouver's Island as a member of the crew ofH.M.S. 'Constance' in 1846, and took his discharge there threeyears later to start trading with the natives on the West Coast.He learned their languages and came to know their customs.He was subsequently named Indian Agent by GovernorDouglas. Today he is so far forgotten that his name has beencorrupted to "Bamfield" where it was originally applied out ofrespect for him.

Always willing to aid in the development of the Coast,he was of great assistance in establishing the first industrialsettlement at Alberni. Captain Edward Stamp, who hadengaged in shipping spars from Puget Sound to England forBritish interests, in 1860 procured a large grant at the headof Alberni Canal for lumbering. He and his English backersplanned a large sawmill.

Banfield, in reporting the arrival of the first group ofnine men, wrote the Colonial Secretary from his home atOhiat, July 3, 1860: "I accompanied the party up the Canalto make everything go as smooth as possible between themand the natives." For their guidance he wrote out a set ofrules in their dealings with the Indians. "The natives havealso promised not to annoy them, but Sir, I shall visit them atshort intervals and use my influence with either party shouldany dispute take place."

His code of conduct included: interdiction on the saleof intoxicants; avoidance of "any foolish sky-larking"; strictrespect for native customs, and "no indiscreet use offirearms." Any real or fancied annoyances, he insisted, shouldbe reported to him.

Less than a week elapsed before there was such a report.The settlers were alarmed at the presence of Indians, and askedhim to come to protect them. He found that the Indians werein good humour, but inquisitive. The whites, not understandingthe native curiosity, were preparing to leave.

"I entreated them to stop," he told the Government:"that there was no danger, and that I would leave my place atOhiat and remain with them, consequently I have judgedit best to remove to Somass.... I feel that it is of vitalimportance that the first settlement in these localities shallbe rendered as little objectionable as possible until the peopleget accustomed to such wild modes of life."

On September 6 he was able to report that Stamp andGilbert Malcolm Sproat had landed five days before with"twelve mechanics, oxen and merchandise ... and on thefollowing day proceeded to make a treaty with thenatives—Sheshat Tribe.... The land selected for a mill site andbuildings was quietly ceded to him after some slighthesitation.... Captain Stamp made them a present of some fiftyblankets, muskets, molasses and food, trinkets, etc. I explainedto the chiefs the nature of Capt. Stamp's settling amongthem, which they thoroughly comprehended, and all presentprofess entire satisfaction."

Such was the manner in which the natives sold the sitefor the first sawmill on the West Coast. There a fine mill wentinto operation, and farms were cultivated. Alberni flourishedfor the next three or four years. But Banfield, who hadcontributed so much to its success, saw only a portion of itsperiod of brief prosperity, for he was foully murdered inOctober of 1862 by Indians, who escaped punishment—andBanfield was forgotten.

Sproat succeeded Stamp in the year of Banfield's death,and on November 1, 1864, he wrote the Colonial Secretaryannouncing that the mill must close, "for there is no woodin the district sufficient to supply the wants of a large mill."

To those who know modern Alberni and its companioncity, Port Alberni, and the great output of lumber, plywoodand pulp for the mighty mills there, such a reason seemsabsurd. But in those pioneer days, logs had to be felledalmost directly into the water where they could be towed tothe mill.

81
ROCK CREEK PROVED RICH

Gold was found in the Similkameen River in the fall of 1859by men attached to the North West Boundary Commissionsurveying the line of latitude 49° and establishing theinternational border. Early the next spring there was a rush ofmen from the United States to the area. This worriedGovernor Douglas, who feared that all the trade from thediggings would go out of the country.

Douglas advised the miners at Hope to send men intothe Interior border country, and in order to assist in openingthe country ordered a trail to be made. In the summer of1860 he learned of even greater excitement at Rock Creek.He went there himself. He had heard that the miners werea wild unruly lot. Reporting to the British Government on histrip, he said: "We arrived at the town known as Rock Creeksituated at the junction of that stream and Colvile River. Thetown contains fifteen houses, and several more in progress,chiefly shops and buildings intended for the supply andentertainment of miners. Nearly 500 miners are congregatedabout Rock Creek and another tributary of the Colvile, aboutten miles below that point.

"The Rock Creek diggings were discovered last Octoberby Mr. Adam Beam, a native of Canada, as he was travellingfrom Colvile to Shilkomeen [sic]; he again visited the spotin December, but did not begin to work till the 7th ofMay." Continuing, the Governor said that Beam recovered $271 inthe first seven days of his mining, and $977 in the first sixweeks. He quoted other successes as indicating the wealth ofthe locality.

Douglas addressed the miners. At first they were reluctantto hear him, but eventually they assembled, and gavehim a courteous hearing. He told them that he had comethere because of the stories he had heard of their lawlessness."And I assured them I was agreeably surprised to find thatthose reports were unfounded." He then explained the miningand pre-emption laws, assured them of the protection ofBritish laws, and at the same time insisted upon full respectfor the laws. He told them that they must pay duties on allimported goods, and appointed Captain William Cox AssistantGold Commissioner and Stipendiary Magistrate.

Cox was a sport-loving Irishman, a former officer in thearmy. He was somewhat of a nonconformist in mattersjudicial: on one occasion he settled a dispute over claimstaking by having the disputants run a foot-race. A typicalexcerpt from one of his letters shows the casual character ofthe man:

"A young Englishman was lately convicted of robbingsluices on Rock Creek.... He candidly confessed his guiltand was permitted five minutes to prepare and ten minutes toquit the town. We all assisted in the ceremony of drummingout, the miners in the first place compelling him to liquidatehis debt."

The report is eloquent in what it does not say: how didthe thief quit the camp? It would also be interesting to knowwhether he was tried by legal process, or by mob law. Thatthere was a mob is certain and the magistrate frankly admitshe helped in the "drumming out."

Then on another occasion Cox wrote the Colonial Secretaryreporting that a French miner had been murdered byan Indian. The killer he said had escaped across the borderand gone to the Okanogon Valley in American territory.Fifty miners, Cox explained, had mounted horses and followedhim. American Indians handed him over, and the avengershad hanged him to a pine-tree. The magistrate said he hadnot witnessed the lynching of the Indian—but he did not denythat he was there.

Rock Creek settled down to the ordinary life of a mining-camp,producing moderately, but every mining rumour of anew strike drew miners from it. Then when the fabulousdiscoveries of Cariboo became known, Rock Creek declined,and eventually Magistrate Cox was moved to Cariboo.

82
LAW COMES TO CARIBOO

In the summer of 1859 rumours drifted down the Fraser thatcoarse gold had been found above distant Fort Alexandria.Assistant Gold Commissioner T. Elwyn, at Cayoosh (Lillooet),did not know whether to believe the stories: hedecided to make a hasty trip there to establish the veracityor falsity of the tales. On his return, he wrote to the ColonialSecretary that there was undoubtedly gold along the Fraserbetween Fort Alexandria and the Quesnel River, where menwere making from eight dollars to ten dollars per day. Whatwas of greater interest was that "some of the gold taken out ofQuesnel River has not the appearance of having washed anydistance." It was coarse—and gave credence to the predictionsthat the wealth of the lower river had been washed down,being the lighter metal flakes.

Governor Douglas was both grateful and angry. He wasglad to get official confirmation of the richness of QuesnelRiver, but indignant that Elwyn should have quitted his postwithout permission.

Miners working the bars between Yale and BridgeRiver also heard the tempting stories, which oft repeated grewmore attractive: they deserted their diggings and startednorth tramping with what supplies they could carry on theirbacks, to intersect the old fur brigade trail and follow it toFort Alexandria. Soon every bar north of that to the Quesnelwas occupied; all yielded something, and Ferguson Bar gaveabundantly at shallow depth. It was soon populated byhundreds of men and among them an element of wild toughswho sought to dominate the camp and prey on the morepeaceful miners.

The lawlessness of Ferguson Bar was reported to PhilipH. Nind, newly made Assistant Gold Commissioner andMagistrate with headquarters at Williams Lake. Accompaniedby his sole constable, Pinchbeck by name, he hurried up theRiver. When he reached the Bar, it was to learn of the murderof an Indian for the amusement of two gunmen, of robberiesand knifings that had brought a reign of terror to the place.Pinchbeck did not lose a minute; he arrested one of the worstof the offenders, and started after others, but they fled: twomen clothed with the authority of the Queen's Justice hadfrightened the bullies away. Ferguson Bar became one of thequietest communities in the country, after Nind had broughtLaw to Cariboo.

Prospectors fanned out from Quesnel River and foundCariboo Lake. "Doc" Keithley and companions examined acreek flowing into the lake. It panned well, and respondedhandsomely to rocker tests. Keithley Creek, the first of thefamous "big pay streams" of Cariboo, had been located.

It was in the fall of 1860 that John Rose and a party,including Keithley, found a new creek, some twenty-five milesaway. It was so rich that the four men in the party could notbelieve their senses. It was reported that the first pan ofgravel gave twenty-five dollars in gold, and another went ashigh as seventy-five dollars. Discovery was followed by aspectacular, mad stampede in dead winter to the place. Men stakedclaims in six feet of snow, and burrowed holes in the thickwhite covering in which to sleep.

It was from Antler Creek that Snowshoe and Cunninghamand other creeks came to notice, but of them all—andthey all paid—none could compare with the stream that BillDeitz and his party came across. They started to pan atdifferent places on the stream and met to compare the resultsin the evening. Deitz had found gravels that yielded as highas a dollar twenty-five to the pan. He had found the richspot above the canyon on the Creek; below, though there wereattractive values, not one could compare with Bill's find.Chatting about their camp-fire they speculated on a name.Deitz laughingly suggested that it be named for him. Theothers agreed, provided that he purchased the first bottle ofchampagne that came into the locality, with which tochristen it—and so "William's Creek"—now spelled without theapostrophe—was named. Later, when it appeared to bedisappointing, it was sarcastically called "Hum-bug Creek." Butwhen it was found that beneath the hard blue clay therewas a glittering layer of gold, "William's Creek" becameworld famous.

83
GAVE GOLD BY POUND

Victoria had settled down to easy-going prosaic ways after thefirst wild stampede to the Fraser River: now it was thrownonce more into feverish activity by the news from Cariboo.Men quit their jobs to join the rush; stores ordered newstocks; express and forwarding companies were organized,and experienced men scoured the country for horses andmules for pack-trains. Later an attempt was made to coverthe long trail to the mines with camel carriers, but the exoticbeasts so frightened other brutes of burden they met on theroad that they had to be withdrawn from service.

As steamers arrived at Victoria from the Mainland, mencrowded to the waterfront to welcome them and pester thepassengers for the latest word from Cariboo. Every scrap ofinformation was seized upon, and when miners staggeredashore weighted with gold, they were followed to Wells, Fargo& Co. or the bank of their choice, where the treasure wasplaced for safe keeping. Then when the lucky owner emergedhe would be surrounded for questioning.

No person was more anxious for details about the minesthan was Governor Douglas, whose dignity would not permithim to join in a vulgar scramble for data. Each titbit ofinformation he forwarded to London. His despatch to theDuke of Newcastle, June 4, 1861, was characteristic: "We aredaily receiving the most extraordinary accounts of the almostfabulous wealth of the Antler Creek and Cariboo diggings.Mr. Palmer, a respectable merchant, who arrived the otherday from that part of the country with nearly fifty poundsweight of gold, which he kindly allowed me to examine,assured me that these accounts are by no means exaggerated....Mr. Barnston, another respectable traveller from Cariboo,corroborated Mr. Palmer's testimony."

In September he wrote: "Some idea may be formed ofthe large sums realized from the fact that 195 ounces of goldwere taken in one day out of a single mining claim, whileordinary claims yield as much as forty and fifty dollars a dayto the man."

Douglas could hardly keep up with the good news:Laurent Bijou, a Frenchman, had made $4,500 in a month;the Patterson brothers from Maine collected $6,000 andverified the story of the 195 ounces as gold found on theAbbott and Jordan claim; Richard Willoughby discoveredLowhee Creek, named after a secret society, and returned toYale with $12,000. Brown, one of the original discoverers ofWilliams Creek, told the Governor that Ned Campbell hadstarted mining on a new creek called "Lightning" which wenttwo ounces to the pan in prospecting, and as high as 1,100ounces in a day!

Though Douglas might question this story, he could notdoubt the amazing evidence given by Judge Matthew BaillieBegbie, writing from Cariboo on September 25, 1861: "Ihave no doubt that there is little short of a ton lying at thedifferent creeks. I hear that Abbott's and Steele's claims areworking better than ever—thirty to forty pounds a day each;they reckon rich claims as often by pounds as ounces now;it must be a poor claim that is measured in dollars." TheJudge added, "On many claims the gold is a perfect nuisance,as they have to carry it from their cabins to their claims everymorning, and watch it while they work, and carry it backagain (sometimes as much as two men can lift) to their cabinsat night, and watch it while they sleep."

Any doubts that Douglas may have had about the remarkableproduction of Ned Campbell's claim on Lightningwere dissipated by official returns that gave "1st day, 900ounces, 2nd day, 500 ounces; 3rd day, 300 ounces, and otherdays proportionally rich."

Old California miners told him that they had neverseen such concentrated wealth on any creek—and theGovernor was satisfied.

84
SINGLE VOTE ELECTION

Vancouver Island had plenty of political excitement, as it wasbound to have with an Assembly full of its own importance,and a demagogue of the type of Amor de Cosmos to keepthe pot of public opinion agitated. Members of the Housewere not paid, but there were always candidates in plentyexcept at Nanaimo. There the trouble was to get anyone toaccept office.

Dr. John Kennedy, "elected" in 1856 for Nanaimo, didnot sit in the Assembly. He died in 1859, and an election wasauthorized for his successor. Dr. Alfred Benson, the returningofficer, called upon the citizens to assemble in front of theBastion on May 20 to nominate and elect a member. But heforgot to say at what hour the gathering was to be held. Theresult was that Captain C. E. Stuart, representative atNanaimo for the HBC, was the only man to attend. He nominatedGeorge Barnston and voted for him. There was no othervote cast. Barnston was declared elected. The citizens madeprotest at the "hole-in-a-corner" poll. So Benson declared itall off, and held another meeting, which was largely attended,but once more only Captain Stuart voted and Barnston wasagain elected.

"Independent" members of the Assembly, though notobjecting to Barnston personally, announced they would notsit in the Chamber with the product of such proceedings. SoBarnston refused to take the seat. Nanaimo once more wasnot represented. So the third "election" was held on June 23.This time Stuart nominated Captain John Swanson, of theHBC steamer 'Labouchere', and the single vote was oncemore given to the man of his choice. No other person hadthe necessary twenty pounds' worth of property as a voter.But when the gallant Swanson heard of his elevation to theChamber he was not complimented, and indignantly resigned.Nanaimo was still unrepresented. This time there was a littlecanvassing in preparation. A. R. Green of Victoria waswilling to accept office; so Benson and Stuart repeated theirwell rehearsed ceremony and Green was seated.

The following year there was another election, whichprobably brought joy to the dignified Douglas, for itdiscomfited his arch-enemy, Amor de Cosmos. There was a chance,Amor thought of beating George Tomline Gordon in Esquimalt,and de Cosmos was very anxious to become a member.The editor of the British Colonist, having changed hisname in California, was not sure that British law wouldrecognize the right of the state legislature to make thealteration. So the crafty "lover of the world" proposed to take nochances; he had himself nominated as "William AlexanderSmith, commonly known as Amor De Cosmos."

It was before the day of secret balloting. The contest wasa keen one, and with only a few minutes before the pollsclosed the vote stood: George Tomline Gordon, 10; WilliamAlexander Smith, commonly known as Amor De Cosmos, 10.Tension ran high; minutes passed, and then, while SheriffNaylor, the returning officer, eyed his watch, two men halfdragged an elderly and almost exhausted man to the voting-table.He gasped out his name; it was checked, and he wasquestioned: "For whom do you vote?" "For ... for ... forAmor de Cosmos," he panted, as the poll closed and deCosmos threw out his chest, and prepared to make a speech.

Sheriff Naylor called for silence, and then: "I find thatten votes have been cast for George Tomline Gordon, and tenvotes have been cast for William Alexander Smith, commonlyknown as Amor De Cosmos; and one vote has been cast forAmor De Cosmos, but as he is not a candidate, there is a tiebetween Mr. Gordon and Mr. William Alexander Smith,commonly known as Amor De Cosmos. It is my duty as returningofficer to break the tie, so I cast my vote for George TomlineGordon, whom I declare to be elected as member for thisdistrict."

So it was that the fire-eating editor was sunk by theweight and grandeur of his own name. And Governor Douglaswrote happily to London that the new House had been purgedof members of "the Cosmos clique."

85
ORATORY CHANGES ROAD ROUTE

Governor Douglas was greatly concerned about improvingtransportation facilities to the interior gold-fields: he hadalready bettered trails through the Fraser Canyon and overthe mountains to the Similkameen. Now he envisioned a greathighway, extending from the sea to Cariboo and eventuallygoing across the continent to distant Canada. There weretwo routes that might be taken to build the road up theFraser: one by way of a trail that had been located throughvalleys removed somewhat from the river on the east side,as far as Boston Bar; the other starting from Yale up the westbank, and crossing the Fraser at some narrow point.

The Governor rather favoured the direct route. He hadcome to Hope to discuss the idea with its citizens. Havingbeen advised of his coming, the residents appointed acommittee of three to speak for them. They did. When Douglassuggested a toll of one-half cent a pound on freight over theproposed road, the committee protested vehemently: they toldhim that as roads were for the general good, payment shouldbe made for their building from general revenue. Theydistinguished themselves. They did not notice the arrival of adelegation of three from Yale. These men, having heard thediscussion, hurried away home. When Douglas the next dayspoke to a meeting at Yale, and tentatively suggested ahalf-cent toll, there were cries, "Not enough; make it a cent."

The Cariboo Road, when built, started from Yale; theHope-Boston Bar road was not constructed.

Colonel Moody's Royal Engineers set to work to surveya route through the rugged canyons. When the plans werecompleted, contracts were let. The Royal Engineers—a mostcapable force—constructed a road around the bluffs aboveYale, where they blasted their way through solid rock for mostof the way. The Royal Engineers also found a crossing for abridge near Chapman's Bar, above Spuzzum.

It was a tremendous task that the infant Colony hadundertaken, but a necessary one; for if mines were to develop,then supplies must be made available, and it was by the saleof supplies that New Westminster and Victoria were maintained.No time was lost, and 1862 saw all available men at work.

Thomas Spence was given the contract from Spuzzum toChapman Bar; from there to Boston Bar, twelve miles, wentto Joseph W. Trutch; and from that place to Lytton, Spencewas again favoured. Oppenheimer, Moberly and Lewis tookthe contract from Lytton to Cook's Ferry on the Thompson,but ran into difficulty in keeping men from stampeding off toCariboo. The result was that the Government took this workover, with Walter Moberly in charge. Spence was charteredto build a bridge to replace the ferry, and Trutch establishedthe toll-bridge across the Fraser at the site selected by theRoyal Engineers.

While this road was being rapidly pushed ahead, thepioneer route, which had been greatly improved in 1861 fromPort Douglas on Harrison Lake to Lillooet, was extended. Acontract was given to Gustavus Blin Wright to construct 224miles of road from Lillooet to Fort Alexandria. He set towork with vigour and by July, 1863, had it completed as faras Soda Creek, and later in the year completed it to FortAlexandria.

The road from Cook's Ferry was pushed through tointersect Wright's road at Clinton, and soon Cariboo had adouble-headed exit. As soon as wheeled vehicles were put intoservice, freighting charges fell substantially. Express wagons,carrying passengers as well as parcels and mail, were put intoservice and drove at a fast rate, from mile-house to mile-house,as the wayside inns were designated by their distance fromLillooet. Camels failed when tested as carriers; and in the"seventies" steam-tractors were tried, but the puffing, smokingmonsters, trailing loaded wagons, also frightened horses offthe road. They, too, were abandoned.

The Cariboo Road was eventually built in to Barkerville.It has served British Columbia ever since it was constructed,and is still regarded as a great engineering achievement.

86
BRIDE SHIPS ARRIVE

The year 1862 was a notable one for Victoria. The city wasincorporated; there was a real-estate boom, business wasgood—and above all it was the year of femininity, when shipsbrought cargoes of marriageable females to gladden thehomes and hearts of lonely bachelors.

It was no wonder, with such gracious importations,that the Legislative Assembly should become slightly mixed,and incorporate the terrain and not the residents of Victoria,the staid seniors of the Upper House discovered the absurdityand returned the bill to the red-faced Lower Chamber, whichhad to enact another and more suitable measure.

Thomas Harris, a weighty butcher, was elected mayor,and John Copland, James M. Reid, Richard Lewis,W. M. Searby, Michael Stronach and N. M. Hicks were chosencouncillors. The first meeting was on August 25, and one ofthe first acts of the council was to seek to discover what help,financially and otherwise, might be expected from theLegislature. The same question has been propounded by successivecouncils ever since. In order to raise revenue for the city alicence bylaw was framed: it put imposts ranging from onepound to sixteen upon 536 businesses and callings divided into124 categories. It was proposed to levy land taxes, butassessment rolls could not be made ready by the end of the firstyear; so the calling of an election was deferred. The Legislatureextended the term of the first council until November 6.Doubts arose, however, as to the legality of acts performedand business transacted by the mayor and council betweenAugust, when the year ended, and November 6, and anotherbill was passed in the Assembly, indemnifying the Council.

Victoria was busy and prosperous during 1862 as a resultof the discoveries in golden Cariboo. There was a real estateboom that sent prices sky-rocketing with each new bit ofspectacular news from the mines. Lots that were sold forfifty dollars in 1858 now changed hands for thousands, whilelots on business streets were leased at from two dollars to sixdollars a front foot per month.

This happy, prosperous condition in both colonies waslacking in one thing: there were few unmarried females, andmany lonely bachelors. Miss Angela Burdett Coutts, a mostphilanthropic heiress, and others in England took pity uponthe men of Vancouver's Island and British Columbia. Theyprovided funds, and a church committee was organized tosend out desirable females as domestics. It was felt that, ifthis was done, Romance would complete Destiny. A committee,under the Rev. Edward Cridge, was set up in Victoria, tofind suitable homes for the girls until they could locatehusbands or permanent employment.

While these committees were at work, 'The Seaman'sBride', a sailing ship, set sail from Australia with a dozenadventurous young females. But the vessel put in to SanFrancisco, and the young gallants of the Golden Gate rusheddown and married off the entire passenger list! Not so withthe steamer 'Tynemouth', from England. There were somesixty girls on board, and a matron to watch over them. Theywere all young women of good reputation. The 'Tynemouthput into Esquimalt, and the fair ones were transferred toVictoria aboard H.M.S. 'Forward'. They were landed atJames Bay and were marched to the accommodation providedfor their temporary stay until they could be transferred to thehomes that had arranged to take them in.

The 'Tynemouth' was followed by the 'Robert Lowe',which brought another consignment of "brides."

The first marriage is reported to have resulted from theboldness of a Romeo from Sooke, who, watching the paradefrom the landing-place of the 'Tynemouth''s cargo, steppedforward and gently took hold of the arm of one girl and askedher to become his wife. She consented—and the marriageturned out to be a very happy one. So it was with themajority of the girls who came on the "Bride Ships": theyfound worthy husbands and happiness in this new land, andfounded fine families.

87
DOUGLAS RETIRES AS GOVERNOR

It was March 14, 1864—just twenty-one years from the daythat he landed at Clover Point to begin the construction ofFort Victoria—and Sir James Douglas was laying down hisduties as Governor of Vancouver's Island and was leavingfor a brief sojourn in New Westminster. Crowds accompaniedhim through flag-decked streets to the dock, and cheered himas the steamer pulled away. Band music followed him out ofthe harbour. A month later he ended his term as Governorof British Columbia, and, as a private citizen, returned toVictoria to prepare for the first trip to Europe that he hadtaken since he left his Scottish homeland as a boy of fifteen toenter the fur trade in the wilds of North America.

Now that the "grand old governor," as he came to beknown, was leaving, citizens of both colonies recollected howmuch they were indebted to him in the formative periods oftheir development. But throughout the years that had passedsince he took office on the Island (in 1851) and on theMainland (in 1858) he had been subjected to criticism, to falseaccusations and to slanderous attacks. Conscious of his ownintegrity, he made no public answer—and in this he was notfair, either to himself, or to the public at large.

Petitions had been circulated asking that he be recalled.On the Mainland he was accused of favouring the Island,where he resided, and where senior officials of BritishColumbia were also resident. At Victoria, led by the vociferousAmor de Cosmos, he was accused, charged with "playingfavourites" to the advantage of the Hudson's Bay Company;but in London, that great trading concern was makingbitter complaint to the Imperial Government that Douglaswas unfair to the Company when its interests conflicted withthose of the Colony.

It was no wonder that, when the time came to reviewthe status of the Colonies, he expressed a wish to be relievedof his duties and to be permitted to retire. This request wasgranted, and in recognition of his great services Her Majesty,Queen Victoria, conferred upon him the honour of knighthoodas Knight Commander of the Bath—a highly covetedorder. Later she added a pension of £500 annually for life.

The citizens had given him a great banquet; he had beenshowered with compliments, and was now on his way to theRoyal City, to complete the last of his official acts, beforethe arrival of his successors—for there were to be separategovernors for the two Colonies. Arthur E. Kennedy, a formermilitary man, who had considerable experience as a colonialadministrator, was to be governor of Vancouver's Island,while Frederick Seymour, who had occupied various publicoffices in the West Indies and Honduras, was to be the chiefexecutive of British Columbia.

Douglas had ruled the Mainland Colony, since itsinception, as a benevolent dictator, but now, on instructionsfrom England, he had instituted a Legislative Council offifteen members, five of whom held their seats as electedrepresentatives of the people.

His old associate in Government on the Mainland,Colonel R. C. Moody, and his Royal Engineers were nolonger at New Westminster. The corps had been disbanded.Coolness had developed between the two men, largely as aresult of the Governor's criticism of the manner in whichMoody, as Commissioner of Lands and Works, had handledpre-emption lands. The Royal Engineers had performednotable services for British Columbia since their coming andthe majority of the non-commissioned officers and men, withtheir families, chose to take their discharge and remain in theColony rather than return to England.

In the few days that remained of his tenure as governor,Douglas was again banqueted, and was presented with atestimonial bearing 900 signatures. This really touched him, asevidencing the fact that his efforts on behalf of the Colonyhad been honest and impartial.

Before he left, he gave a grand midday rout in honourof the birth of a son to the Prince of Wales.

Three days later Sir James Douglas, K.C.B., sailed downthe Fraser, amid the good wishes of the residents of theRoyal City, into retirement.

88
KLATSASSIN STARTS WAR

It was April 30, 1864, and the men employed by AlfredWaddington to construct a road from Bute Inlet to Cariboowere asleep in their work-camps. They had no sentries onguard, nor had they any firearms with which to defend themselves.They trusted the Indians implicitly. The previous yearChilcotins had come from the interior and had professed greatfriendship. These protestations were believed. Now theChilcotins, led by Chief Klatsassin, had come again, secretly andsilently.

There were twenty-one braves in the war-party thatcrept undetected into the tents of the sleeping workers. Then,at a signal, the guy ropes were cut down. The Indians shotand stabbed through sagging canvas. It was butchery. Threemen escaped alive, and two of them were badly wounded.Fourteen died in that unprovoked attack.

British Columbia and Vancouver Island were horrified.Governor Seymour sent a strong police force under commandof Police Superintendent Chartres Brew to the scene. Therethey found the bodies and the looted camps. Brew foundthe trail by which the murderers had come from the ChilcotinPlains was too difficult for travel with a large force. Hereturned to New Westminster and suggested that an expeditionaryforce reach the homeland of Klatsassin and his peoplevia Bella Coola and the Palmer trail. This plan was adopted,and at the same time Governor Frederick Seymour instructedWilliam G. Cox, Gold Commissioner for Cariboo, to recruita force there and hasten to effect a junction with Brew'smen. Cox headed sixty-eight volunteers, while the coastalcolumn consisted of thirty-eight volunteers, largely formerRoyal Engineers, to which were later added friendly BellaCoola Indians. Governor Seymour, accompanied byLieutenant Cooper, Royal Marines, joined the party.

Meanwhile Klatsassin and his mounted braves werecarrying death and destruction over the Chilcotin plains. Alone settler at Puntzi Lake, W. Manning, was shot down incold blood. An attack was made on a pack-train. McDonald,the operator, and his seven helpers were well armed and putup a desperate defence. McDonald and two of the men werekilled and three others wounded. Then the band raced downinto the Bella Coola Valley in an effort to kill a settler namedHamilton. He managed to escape.

Cox's band missed an opportunity of wiping out theIndian killers near Puntzi Lake, when they carelessly gavewarning of their presence, and permitted Klatsassin to escape.After this Cox built a log fort on a hillock, and here Brew'smen found his company "besieged by an invisible foe."

Donald McLean, a former Hudson's Bay Companyofficer, and second in command to Cox, was killed whenSeymour ordered the Cariboo men to pursue Klatsassin intothe hills about Chilco Lake. They dropped the pursuit andfell back to Puntzi. Brew took up the chase, and using Indiantactics beat the Indians at their own style of fighting, until theIndian band with Klatsassin, now reduced to eight all told,surrendered.

The Governor sent for the powerful Chief Alexis tocome to meet him. This the Chilcotin leader did with amounted guard. They dashed up to the Governor, "and," saidSeymour in a despatch, "at once approached me. He wasdressed in a French uniform, such as one sees in pictures ofMontcalm." It had taken a century for that uniform to crossthe continent.

Though he had referred to the "successive acts of violenceas isolated massacres," the Governor wrote, "there is noobjection to our now avowing that an Indian insurrectionexisted."

Klatsassin and four of his followers were hanged, followingtheir conviction.

89
BURRARD INLET SETTLED

While engaged in making a survey of Burrard Inlet in 1859,Captain G. H. Richards, H.M.S. 'Plumper', learned ofthe existence of a seam of coal on the southern shore. Hehad Chief Engineer Francis Brockton and Dr. C. B. Wood,the ship's surgeon, examine it. They reported favourably, butthe sudden outbreak of the San Juan trouble took the warshipaway before further investigation could be done. CaptainRichards named the place "Coal Harbour."

Walter Moberly, a young engineer, and Robert Burnaby,sometime secretary to Richard C. Moody, R.E., being toldof the deposit spent some time prospecting the outcropand vicinity, but abandoned the idea of developing the coalmeasures. It was this coal, however, that brought about thefirst settlement in what later became Vancouver. John Morton,a young Englishman, and his friend and distant relative, SamBrighouse, failing to make good in Cariboo returned to NewWestminster. There Morton heard of the coal measures. Hewas a potter by trade, and knew that clay was usuallyassociated with coal. With an Indian guide he went to BurrardInlet. He found the coal and the clay. He was delighted, aswell, with the great harbour, the timbered terrain and theland itself.

Morton returned with Brighouse and a friend namedW. Hailstone. They decided to take up land, and settledupon what is now District Lot 185, west of Burrard Street.They built a log hut on the eastern side of a deep ravine, in1863. There they cleared and planted, and also utilized theclay for the manufacture of bricks.

It was also in 1862 that T. W. Graham, of New Westminster,conceived the idea of building a sawmill on the northshore of the Inlet. He secured 480 acres of splendidly timberedland, and formed a company—The Pioneer Mills—to utilizeit. Graham's Mill, a water-powered plant capable of cutting40,000 board feet of lumber daily, and the first industrialbuilding on Burrard's Inlet, went into operation in June,1863. He cut for the New Westminster market but faced manyunexpected difficulties. In December he offered the plant,with 1,000,000 board feet of felled logs, for sale by auction.John Oscar Smith, a grocer, bought the assets of the companyfor $8,000, and changed the name to the "Burrard InletMills."

Smith was an enterprising man. He started shippinglumber to Victoria and Nanaimo, and also sought off-shoretrade. He made the first export shipment from the WorldPort of Vancouver, when he sent a cargo of lumber toAustralia on board the barque 'Ellen Lewis', under Hellon.He might have made a success of his venture, had he hadworking capital, but after one year the mortgagees foreclosedand the mill was again put up at auction.

Sewell P. Moody, an enterprising and experienced businessman, who knew sawmilling, purchased the plant. By wisemanagement he developed and expanded it into a greatindustry that shipped lumber to all parts of the world. Thetown of Moodyville—now absorbed by North Vancouver—grewup about the mill.

In 1865, Captain Ed Stamp, who had established abig mill at the head of Alberni Canal for British associates,raised more money in Great Britain for another mill. Heselected Burrard Inlet as the best site for the enterprise. Hesought permission to locate his mill in what is now StanleyPark, extending across the peninsula from booming groundsnear Deadman's Island, to the Narrows, where he plannedwharves. Clearing was commenced—where the AthleticGrounds were later developed—but it was found impossibleto berth ships at docks in the tidal race of the Narrows. SoStamp gained permission from Governor Frederick Seymourto change the location of his mill to the south-easternextremity of Coal Harbour.

Here, on a point, the British Columbia and VancouverIsland Spar, Lumber and Sawmill Company—for such wasthe unwieldy name of Stamp's concern—erected a mill. Itwent into operation in 1867, and became known as "HastingsMill." Stamp retired, and the concern was reorganized,but for upwards of half a century it continued operations.About it grew up a mill camp, which was later namedGranville—and then Vancouver.

90
ISLAND COLONY ENDS

Citizens of Victoria gave a warm welcome to A. E. Kennedy,who succeeded Sir James Douglas as Governor of Vancouver'sIsland, but within six months they were lamenting the changein administration. They had made little or no contributiontowards the maintenance of Douglas, and were shocked whenthe Legislative Assembly members were told by the BritishGovernment that they must provide a civil list that included£3,000 salary for the Governor and £600 salary for theColonial Secretary, as well as lesser amounts for otherhigh-ranking officials. Such a list was refused by the House. Thehanding over of control of Crown Lands was conditional uponpassing such a list.

The House declared that it could not afford such salaries,that conditions would not justify such expenditures. GovernorKennedy was instructed from England to issue warrants forlegitimate requirements and amongst these was a place ofresidence for himself. He and his family were housed in ahotel for the first year of his stay. Finally he bought apretentious dwelling, known locally as "Gary Castle," whichwith repairs cost roughly $40,000.

There had been a slackening in trade in 1864 and adepression had set in at Victoria, due to the falling-off ofrealty values and to over-speculation, to reduction of theoutput from "poor man's diggings" at the gold-fields, and tothe failure of Macdonald's Bank, which had about $100,000of its own currency in circulation.

To meet the situation—and possibly to embarrass theGovernor—Amor de Cosmos introduced a series of resolutionsin the Assembly aimed at bringing about a union of theColonies, upon any conditions that the Imperial Governmentmight favour. The debate was keen and acrimonious. Oppositionwas based upon the possibility of such action deprivingVictoria of her free port. It was significant that during thecourse of the argument Dr. William Tolmie spoke in favourof the motions, not only as a logical union for the twocolonies, but as a step towards eventual federation with theCanadian provinces, then taking shape.

Governor Kennedy endorsed the idea fully. He may haveenvisioned the self-destruction of the Assembly by union.Governor Frederick Seymour of the Mainland colony wasbitterly opposed to it, and he also sent long despatches toDowning Street giving his views. British Columbia, generally,was against linking up with the Island, which it accused ofliving by the industry of British Columbia miners.

In Victoria there were hot arguments. The business interestsfeared losing the free port. If its retention were assuredthem, they would not object to the economies that might beexpected to follow a reduction of the civil service. De Cosmosand C. B. Young, another member, after a heated argument,challenged each other to submit the question to the electors.Both represented Victoria City. They resigned, and in thesubsequent election Young was defeated, the voters favouringunion.

When it was learned that a bill was being prepared forsubmission to Parliament, authorizing union, the Assemblybecame alarmed, and would have temporized on the"unconditional terms" as suggested in the previous resolution.But it was now too late.

The British Government was also having political troubles.As a result, the measure was hastily drafted and wasforced through as the final measure of a collapsing administration.All advantages went to British Columbia, and the freeport was abolished—but whether this was legally done hasbeen a matter of argument ever since. The House of Assemblyand Executive Council of Vancouver's Island[*] wereabolished—and representative government was greatly reduced.

[*] The name of the Island was changed to "Vancouver Island" afterthe union of the colonies.

It was on November 19, 1866, that the Act of Unionwas proclaimed, and old former governor Sir James Douglas,in retirement, penned: "The Union of Vancouver's Islandand British Columbia was proclaimed today; the ships of warin the harbour fired a salute. It would have been more fittingif they had fired minute guns and held funeral services on theoccasion of this sad, melancholy event."

Governor Kennedy gladly retired from Victoria, andGovernor Seymour ruled from his capital of New Westminster.

91
KOOTENAY MINERS WERE TOUGH

Early in 1863 the Findlay brothers, sons of Jacco Findlay, anoted pioneer in the Western fur trade, found gold in asmall stream that now carries the family name. Later in theyear, one of the brothers paid a visit to a small settlementof French Canadians near present-day Missoula, Idaho."Frenchtown" was crowded with a motley collection ofmen—many of dubious character—who were wintering there.

Learning from Findlay of the discovery of gold, a largenumber of them engaged him to guide them to the scene.They started off—some sixty of them—early in March, 1864,following the Kootenay River towards its headwaters. Itwas a hard trip, and the horses became jaded. When a flatwas found with feed for the animals, near the present FortSteele, it was decided to leave most of the horses there torecruit. Four or five men were left to guard the horses, whilethe others went on the forty miles to Findlay's creek.

While the tired horses grazed, the men prospected. Oneof them—said to be Bob Dore, after whom the pioneer miningcompany was named—struck rich pay above the canyon. Itwas coarse, heavy gold, and the Dore Company ultimatelytook out $500,000 from the ground that they staked.

The gravels at Findlay Creek, though yielding somevalues, proved disappointing, and so most of the men whohad gone there came back, and took up ground along thestream that was ultimately named "Wild Horse." The minersframed their own regulations and permitted the staking of onehundred feet across the creek to a claim. Ultimately there werestakings for four and a half miles. Startling stories of thewealth of the new strike were circulated across the line, andfrom Walla Walla, Colville and other places, miners andmerchants poured into the locality.

Government officials at New Westminster realized thatunless an adequate artery for transportation was provided,none of the benefits of the Kootenay mines would come tothe Coast. Extension of the Dewdney trail, of 1860-61, to theSimilkameen was decided upon, and Edgar Dewdney wasinstructed to push it through rapidly. He did so. GoldCommissioner and Magistrate John Carmichael Haynes wasinstructed to hurry in to the camp at Wild Horse to establishgovernmental authority.

Accompanied by W. Young, his constable, "Judge"Haynes made a fast trip to Kootenay, and arrived at adramatic moment. Wild Horse Creek was an armed andpotentially explosive camp. In a fight that followed aFourth-of-July celebration, one man was shot dead, and three werewounded by bullet, knife and club in drinking brawls. Friendsof the dead man were preparing to lynch "Yeast Powder Bill"and another tough named "Overland Bob." A "law andorder" organization was formed, and those two worthies wereput in a temporary lockup. It needed only a careless word tostart real trouble.

Into this seething cauldron, where every man carried agun, rode Haynes and Young. The law and order boys wereplanning to administer the law, and had appointed a "judge"to try the two men. "But," said D. M. Drumheller, who waspresent, in his memoirs, "one little English constable withknee breeches, red cap, cane in hand, riding a jockey saddleand mounted on a bob-tailed horse, quelled that mob infifteen minutes." The organized guardians of law andorder—numbering some hundreds—disbanded in favour of a quiet,determined Magistrate and one courageous policeman. Thetwo men in jail were tried and liberated, but were advised toleave the Creek. They did so, hurriedly, as did others who feltthat they would not be comfortable where the Queen's lawhad to be respected.

Wild Horse Creek diggings were shallow and amazinglyrich. Much of the gold was in the form of nuggets. One piecewent to thirty-seven ounces, worth $666. Later, deeper depthswere explored profitably with machinery. It has beenconservatively estimated that $6,000,000 was produced on theCreek.

From Wild Horse prospectors fanned out over the country,eventually finding values along the Big Bend of theColumbia, and starting another but short-lived rush to thatsection.

92
FIXING THE CAPITAL

There were only nine elected members in the LegislativeCouncil of twenty-three that convened at New Westminsterearly in 1867. The other fourteen were appointed by GovernorFrederick Seymour, who ruled over the united colonies. Islandmembers were, with a single exception (the Nanaimo Magistrate,Captain William Hales Franklyn), anxious to haveVictoria declared the Capital.

Dr. J. S. Helmcken, who with Amor de Cosmos hadbeen elected to represent Victoria, prepared a resolutionauthorizing the change. The preference of the Governor forNew Westminster was well known, and the change was regardedby the Island members as a forlorn hope. They planneda careful campaign, and succeeded in winning over someof the magistrates from the Upper Country who had ex-officioseats on the Council. On March 29, Helmcken submitted hisresolution, and in the debate that followed made much ofthe alleged dangers and difficulties of navigating the FraserRiver to the Royal City.

Supporters of New Westminster knew that this was aserious point, and must be met. Captain Franklyn—nicknamed"The British Lion," a bluff old sea-dog—was selected tomeet the charge. He prepared a long speech, writing it outcarefully. Helmcken and his friends decided to prepare theCaptain for the occasion. They entertained him all morning,and when he rose to speak he was, as Helmcken laterexplained, "a bit shaky."

The jovial, fun-loving Captain W. G. Cox, Magistrate atBarkerville, threw his lot in with the Islanders, anothermagisterial sympathizer at his left.

The British Lion intended to explain that the HoogleyRiver in India had formerly been worse than the Fraser, buthad been improved and made into a safe waterway. He pickedup the first page of his notes that he had placed beside him."Mr. President," he commenced, "when I first went up theHoogley River...," and so on.

Finishing the page, he looked about the chamber to notethe effect that he was making, and put the sheet facedownward beside the pile of other notes. Quick as a flash, Coxpicked it up and placed it on top of the other pages. TheBritish Lion reached down, picked it up again, and once more"Mr. President, when I first went up the Hoogley River..." Againhe placed the story of that initial voyage down on thetable; once more Cox placed the notes about it on the topof the heap.

When for the third time the bold British Lion sailedup that great Indian river, the Chamber rocked with merriment.The gallant Captain could not understand it—there wasno humour in his speech. He stopped and glared about him.Then he took off his spectacles and placed them beside hisnotes, having better long-range vision without them.

No sooner had he straightened up and looked about himagain, than Captain Cox picked them up, and with a quickpressure of his thumbs forced the lens from the frame.

Having satisfied himself, the British Lion picked up theframe, adjusted it on his nose, lifted up the story of theHoogley again—but this time, according to the account ofthe incident left by Dr. Helmcken in his memoirs, Franklyncould not even see the muddy waters of the Hoogley.

The other members were almost having hysterics.Dr. Helmcken jumped up and moved a recess for half an hour.The motion was carried and the members rushed out tothe "annex of Noah's Ark," as the old barracks of the RoyalEngineers, where the Council met, was called. There, afterseveral had treated the British Lion, complimented him onhis speech and assured him that the laughter was caused bysomething else, the House reconvened.

The British Lion got up to resume his defence of theFraser: up jumped Helmcken to call attention to the factthat the Captain had already spoken. The objection wasupheld, and the House was never told about what advantagesa capital on a river could develop.

The resolution carried, and after it was approved by theColonial Office in London, the Capital was formallyproclaimed, on May 25, 1868, to be Victoria.

93
COLONY JOINS DOMINION

Canadian confederation, achieved in 1867, was the realizationof many years of planning in London and colonial capitals. Itsextension to the Pacific was essential to Imperial policies ofworld trade. The union of Vancouver's Island and BritishColumbia in 1866 was regarded by many as an advancedstep towards that objective.

As early as 1865, Dr. William Tolmie, speaking in theLegislative Assembly at Victoria, had envisioned theenlargement of Confederation—then taking shape in the oldercolonies on the eastern side of British America—to includethe coastal possessions of the Crown.

Union of British Columbia and Vancouver's Island satisfiedno one—except possibly Governor Frederick Seymour.It was not surprising, therefore, that out of that dissatisfactiongrew an active demand for inclusion of the Colony in thegrand scheme of Confederation. On May 18, 1867, a motionby Amor de Cosmos in the Legislative Council was carried,asking the Governor to take steps to include British Columbiain the new Dominion. Characteristically, Seymour did nothing.This led to formation of the Confederation League whichmet in convention at Yale in the following year. Thisgathering, attended by many prominent men, pledged unceasingwork for the accomplishment of its objective.

The United States viewed with dismay the prospect ofBritish Columbia joining a consolidation of British communitiesfrom the Atlantic to the Pacific. It had long sought tokeep Great Britain from forming a trade corridor acrossAmerica. Earlier, Russia and the United States had toyed withthe idea of forming an entente cordiale that would givethose two nations control of the Pacific Ocean. To aid such apurpose the Czar had once offered Alaska to the Republicif it would seize the coastline north of latitude 49. Now thatConfederation was an active reality, the United Statespurchased Alaska from the Russians, in order to show BritishColumbia it was hemmed in by American territory, and itwould be to the advantage of the Colony to join the UnitedStates. The annexation movement was largely confined toVictoria, but it lacked strength.

The argument for entry into the Dominion was wagedin the legislative halls, in public meetings, on street corners,and wherever men gathered. Correspondence was maintainedwith high officials in the East. Sir John A. Macdonaldfinally suggested to the Imperial Government that it would bebeneficial if Seymour were recalled, and Anthony Musgrave,a former governor of Newfoundland, and a staunchconfederationist, were appointed to succeed him.

Seymour was not recalled: he died suddenly. He hadgone to the North Coast to intervene personally to stop anIndian war. He succeeded. He left a sick-bed to make thetrip. On the way back home, he died. London was immediatelynotified by cable. The next day a new governor wasappointed—Anthony Musgrave.

The diplomatic Musgrave came charged with the taskof bringing the Colony into Confederation. He drafted termsof union, suggesting a wagon-road to Canada as an essentialcondition and otherwise following the pattern of de Cosmos'sterms. Three delegates, J. W. Trutch, Dr. J. S. Helmckenand Dr. W. W. Carroll, were sent East to negotiate withthe Canadian Government. When the talks opened, theCommittee of the Federal Cabinet made it known that,instead of a road, a railway would be built.

On July 7, 1870, the correspondent of The VictoriaColonist wired to his paper: "Terms agreed upon. The delegatesare satisfied. Canada is favourable to immediate unionand guarantees the railway."

On July 21, 1871, the Crown Colony ceased to exist, andBritish Columbia started to function as a province of theDominion of Canada.

In the meantime an election had been held, and responsiblegovernment was introduced under the premiershipof the Honourable J. F. McCreight.

94
NEW CREEKS MINED

Fire destroyed Barkerville, the gold capital of Cariboo, in 1868.The days of shallow diggings and spectacular values hadpassed. In hopes of finding new ground of equal richness, menspread over the country. Michael Burns and Vital La Forcewent some 250 miles northwest of Quesnel and struck goodpay. They wintered there and in 1869 returned to Barkerville.They were accompanied back by some twenty men, fromwhom they could not hide their secret. The rush to Ominecaresulted.

News of the new field—exaggerated as all such storiesare—reached Victoria and New Westminster, and sentexcited men up the Coast to the Skeena in all manner of craft.They followed that turbulent river to the Forks—whereHazleton now stands—and then over to Babine Lake, andon to the Omineca.

Many creeks were worked, and values were realized tosome extent from Vital Creek, Black Jack Gulch, and Arctic,Slate, Skeleton, Quartz, Lost, Burns, Germansen andManson Creeks, the latter being best. Germansen Creek in asingle week of August, 1871, produced $10,000. Packers werebusy pushing supplies into the country. Gus B. Wright broughtthe steamer 'Enterprise' from Quesnel up the Fraser, Nechakoand Stuart Rivers to Fort St. James. He proposed to operatefrom the Fort to Tatla Landing, but made a single trip, forEdgar Dewdney—the famous trail-builder—constructed atrail from Fort St. James to the diggings.

In 1871 there were 1,200 men operating claims in thedistrict. In a short season they took out $400,000—whichmeant slim wages for the majority. With the distance fromestablished communities so great, transportation difficult, andcontinuance of supplies dubious, there was a general exodusfrom Omineca that winter. But some returned and othersaccompanied them, and once again the creeks were active,particularly Germansen and Manson Creeks. Even todayoptimistic miners continue to work the old ground over againand seek new deposits.

Disappointments and moderate successes seem to havethe same effect on gold-hunters: they seem to spur them onto new endeavours. This is what happened in Omineca, forthe hunters went into even less known wilds, and soon wereon the banks of the Stikine, and about Dease Lake. Here anAmerican named Thibert, who had come from the Eastby way of the Liard, made a rich strike on a stream enteringthe Dease River near the lake. Among the earliest on the scenewas Vital La Force, the co-discoverer of Omineca.

Soon about twenty miners had joined Thibert on thestream that was honoured with his name. Some high values inheavy gold came from that stream and from Dease andMcDame Creeks, subsequent locations. In 1874 it wasestimated that there were 1,600 men working in Cassiar—as thedistrict was known. They mined about one million dollars.The mines on Thibert and Dease particularly gave goodreturns in shallow ground to the early locators, some realizingas high as eight ounces per day to the man.

With the approach of winter the district was practicallyabandoned, only a few caring to stay through the sub-zerocold of the white months. They returned with the opening ofnavigation in the late spring—but heavy freshets prolongedthe period of mining inactivity. McDame Creek was beingworked by wing-damming, but it was difficult to control thewater, which often swept away the obstructions that had beenbuilt to divert the flow of the stream. Production for 1875was $800,000. There were about 1,300 men. The rushreached its peak in 1876 when more than 2,000 men werereported to have entered the country, and the gold output fellto $556,474.

From that time the interest in the Cassiar waned, butthere and in Omineca there have always been cheerfulhopeful men who have continued to go over the old ground andprospect new terrain.

95
LORD CARNARVON CHANGES TERMS

The terms of union by which British Columbia enteredConfederation were in the nature of a treaty, betweenthe Colony, the Dominion and the Imperial Government.This instrument, by Article 11, stipulated that the FederalGovernment would undertake to "secure the commencementsimultaneously, within two years from the date of Union" ofa transcontinental railroad. It was to be completed in tenyears.

There had been bitter opposition voiced in the House ofCommons to the acceptance of the terms that pledged thebuilding of a railway "through a sea of mountains." When,therefore, actual construction had not started within thestated time, British Columbia's government became fearfulthat Canada was not anxious to implement her pledge. Angryprotest was made to Ottawa.

Seeking to mollify Victoria, where the criticism centred,announcement was made in June, 1873, that Esquimaltwould be the terminus. This was supported by an Order-in-Councilreiterating the choice of Esquimalt and promisingthe construction of a railroad from that place to SeymourNarrows. This would indicate that the main line wouldreach the sea at Bute Inlet. At the same time Ottawa asked forthe transfer of a twenty-mile strip of land on the east coastof Vancouver Island between the designated points. TheProvince hesitated, saying that surveys had not been madenor had construction started. To this Ottawa answered byordering its engineers to "commence a survey at Esquimaltand break ground." "This disreputable farce," as Amor deCosmos called it, lasted only a day or two and was thenabandoned.

The Government of Sir John A. Macdonald was defeatedas a result of the "Pacific Scandal." AlexanderMackenzie, who succeeded him, had been a bitter opponentof the railway terms. When he did not immediately prosecutethe work, British Columbia became suspicious that he didnot intend to build the line.

Great wrangling between the two governments followed,leading, in the summer of 1874, to a complaint to the thirdsignatory of the treaty. Colonial Secretary Lord Carnarvonoffered to arbitrate the dispute if both governments wouldpledge in advance the acceptance of his award. They did this.G. A. Walkem, Premier and Attorney General, went toLondon to argue the matter.

Carnarvon's decision became, in fact, a substitution forthe Eleventh Article of the Terms of Union. He decided thatthe Island railway should be constructed from Esquimalt toNanaimo by the Dominion; that surveys for the main linewere to be vigorously prosecuted; that a wagon-road was to bebuilt by Canada paralleling the rail route from the easternB.C. border to the sea; that a minimum annual expenditureof two million dollars on construction of the railway shouldfollow completion of surveys, and that the time for thefinishing of the transcontinental should be advanced toDecember 30, 1890.

Mackenzie's government had a bill authorizing thebuilding of the Esquimalt-Nanaimo line passed the Commons,but the defeat of the bill in the Senate caused suspicionin British Columbia that it had been a political manoeuvreto save face. There was much bad feeling engendered. In orderto pacify the angry British Columbians, who were now intenton withdrawal from Confederation, the Governor General,Lord Dufferin, visited the Coast. An arch bearing in boldletters "Carnarvon Terms or Separation" straddled a streetat Victoria, but His Excellency refused to ride beneath it. Byhis ready good humour, tact and diplomacy he succeeded indissipating the suspicion that Prime Minister Mackenziedeliberately had the bill killed in the Senate.

The return of Sir John A. Macdonald to power and hiselection as a member for Victoria City brought action. Hearranged for private interests to build the Esquimalt andNanaimo Railway, and for the Canadian Pacific Railwaysyndicate to build the main line. The work was so rapidlypushed that it was completed five years ahead of the datestipulated by Lord Carnarvon.

96
FENIANS THREATEN VICTORIA

The first few months of British Columbia as a Provincesaw considerable excitement, both without and within theLegislature: a threat of an invasion by Fenians, and a "strike"of members in the Assembly.

It was New Year's Day, 1872. Lieutenant-Governor J. W. Trutchwas reading his mail, when he came across a warningthat the Irish revolutionary society, the Fenians, intendedto raid British Columbia. "General" O'Neill, who had latelycaused some excitement along the Manitoba border, had beenseen in San Francisco, embarking his "army" on several ships.Vancouver Island must, it was thought, be his warlikeobjective.

Trutch was not a timid man, but, remembering how theFenians had invaded the Niagara peninsula and capturedFort Erie, he decided to take no chances. There had alreadybeen trouble with the "wild Irish" in the Kootenays. So wordwas sent to Captain Ralph P. Cator, senior officer incommand at Esquimalt, asking the help of the navy in protectingthe country against attack.

Captain Cator immediately ordered H.M.S. 'Boxer'around to Victoria Harbour, where marines could be landedto occupy the Government buildings, if necessary.H.M.S. 'Sparrowhawk' was instructed to take up a station off theentrance to the city's main harbour, and to examine everyvessel entering or leaving the port. Only vessels recognized asbeing innocent carriers of commerce could escape scrutiny. Itwas a tight naval blockade of British Columbia's capital.

Guards on top of the Legislative Buildings, by day andnight, kept in touch with Race Rocks where other sentrieswatched the Strait of Juan de Fuca for the approach ofsuspicious shipping. All kinds of wild rumours were spread,resulting in the maintenance of the blockade. Three weeksafter it was sent to guard the port entrance, the 'Sparrowhawk'was still on duty. Not long after, however, it was movedand the blockade was over.

Whether or not it was "danger bonus" pay that theMembers of the Legislature wanted to justify by the "Fenianthreat" has not been recorded: but they wanted moremoney—and that before they had finished a single session of"Responsible Government." The demand, for years, had beenfor responsible government, and now the House was startingoff in direct opposition to the basic principles of democraticgovernment.

It was on March 8—less than a month after the sessionstarted—that W. J. Armstrong moved that a committee beset up to study increasing the sessional payment to ten dollarsa day, with twenty-five cents per mile for travelling. Thequestion had not been endorsed by the Ministry that mustapprove of all expenditures. The members, however, despitebeing informed of the unconstitutionality of such a move,passed the resolution. Premier J. F. McCreight tried to reasonwith them. He could get the backing of only four in theHouse.

The committee approved of an increase to eight dollarsper diem, with $500 for the session, and the increased mileage.This was reported to the House, but McCreight would havenothing to do with it; so the revolting members went overhis head and petitioned the Lieutenant-Governor.

The Honourable J. Trutch snubbed the unruly membersby telling them that he could not consider anything that hisadvisers had not recommended.

When this was reported in the Assembly, McCreightchastised the members, telling them that it was "a verydelicate matter for the House to use its powers of legislationfor the purpose of voting increased indemnity." The votersthroughout the country had not asked for their representativesto be paid higher indemnities and travelling expenses, hereminded the red-faced and grumbling men, adding thatif there was a public demand for it, the government wouldgive the matter proper consideration.

This reminder that the taxpayers might not approve oftheir attitude, and the protests of the press, brought "thestrike" to an end. But the members had their revenge. Theywaited until the next session—that same fall—and votedMcCreight out of office on a want-of-confidence motion.

97
C.P.R. COMPLETED

The construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway was astupendous work that won the admiration of the world. TheGovernment of the Dominion had defied those who had saidthat it was an impossible task for a young country, and thecourageous financiers and builders who formed the syndicatethat later became the Canadian Pacific Railway Companyaccepted the challenge of distance and geography and won.Victory had not come easily; there had been unforeseen difficulties,both physical and financial, to overcome. There hadalso been rebellion on the Prairies to face; but there had beenno slackening of enterprise or industry, particularly after thefinal decision had been made as to the route of the linethrough the Rockies.

Originally the easy Yellowhead Pass had been determinedupon, the line coming down to the vicinity of Kamloops,where it was to meet the western sections, from PortMoody on Burrard Inlet, to Savona, which the DominionGovernment undertook to construct and turn over to theCompany. This included some of the most difficult railroadconstruction on the continent, particularly through thecanyons between Yale and Lytton.

It was in September, 1882, that President George Stephenof the C.P.R. telegraphed to Prime Minister JohnA. Macdonald: "The route through the Rocky Mountains is bythe Kicking Horse Pass. This has been adopted, and MajorRogers reports having found the looked for pass through theSelkirk Range, thus making the connection with Kamloopsby the shortest possible line. The grades for twenty miles oneither side of the summit, though heavy, are easier than anyof the American lines. No tunnel necessary. Hope to be within250 miles of Kamloops by this time next year. Expect to havethe whole line from Montreal to the Pacific Ocean open byJanuary 1, 1887."

Major A. B. Rogers, C.E., was over-optimistic. The lastfour miles of the pass that now bears his name proved to havesuch heavy gradients that it became necessary some yearslater to construct one of the longest mountain-tunnels in theworld.

It was November 7, 1885, when the rails from the Eastmet those from the West, at a point between Sicamous andRevelstoke—known as Craigellachie. A special train bearingVice-President W. C. Van Horne and other officials of theCompany had come from Montreal to witness the completionof the "iron road across the continent." It was a raw day,with just a powdering of snow. As the last rails were laid onthe ties, the official party crowded close. A hammer wasgiven to Donald Alexander Smith (later Lord Strathcona),and he hammered home a spike. There were no flags flying,no bands blaring; there were no oratorical outpourings, justa cheer from the crowd of grade workers, and a remark byVan Horne that the work was well done. But this rathermatter-of-fact proceeding was the culmination of the dreamsof British statesmen for centuries: it was the realization of theall-red route, and it had bound Canada together with bandsof steel.

As soon as the visitors had clambered back on the trainand it had continued to the Coast, a track-layer picked up aspike, exclaiming, "I'm going to drive the last spike," anddrove it into the same tie. "No, I will," shouted another manas he pounded a third spike into the wood. Another andanother followed suit and, as Harry Hardy, who witnessedthe happening, said, "Before that competition ended there wasno room for another 'last spike' in that tie."

The next day the train steamed into Port Moody, to thecheers and welcoming speeches of the populace. The littletown that had sprung up at the head of the Inlet was "theofficial terminus" of the line. A townsite had been surveyedand there was a scramble for lots, at boom prices; investorshad swarmed into the tide-water town; professional men andartisans had settled there, and business men had openedstores and shops. Now that the first train had made atranscontinental crossing, there was real rejoicing—but the townwas doomed to disappointment. The road was to move onto a new terminus.

98
GRANVILLE CHANGES NAME

In 1882 Engineer J. Ross came to the Coast to make a studyof Burrard Inlet for the C.P.R. The great harbour impressedhim, as did Coal Harbour where he found plenty of waterfor docks and land for railway yards. He reported that theterminal of the line should be pushed down the Inlet fromPort Moody, where there were poor facilities for developinga volume of deep-sea shipping, to Coal Harbour and EnglishBay.

Premier W. Smithe of British Columbia was in Montrealin the spring of 1884 and discussed with Vice-PresidentW. C. Van Horne of the railway company the abandonmentof Port Moody as a terminal. Van Horne asked for largesubsidies in land for making the change. Under the terms ofunion the Province had to convey to the Dominion, in trust,a strip twenty miles on each side of the main-line right-of-way.When, however, Port Moody was announced as the terminal,the Federal Government released the lands west of that placefrom the reserve. Smithe, at the interview, told Van Hornehe would withhold the lands from being put on the marketuntil the railway executive could reach the Coast.

Van Horne did not come when expected; so, on May 23,the Premier wrote to him emphasizing the necessity for anearly visit and settlement of the land question. To this theVice-President replied: "The Company will undertake tomake the Pacific terminus at Coal Harbour and English Bay,if the reserved lands referred to in your letter of May 23 ashaving been relinquished by the Dominion Government maybe secured to the Company, and if we are able to makereasonable arrangements with private holders of lands in thatvicinity."

The lands involved included Crown holdings in what isnow Burnaby, Vancouver South, and Point Grey, at Granville,and in what is now the West End of Vancouver. The privateholdings to which Van Horne made reference indicated ademand that owners surrender one-third of their property tothe Company, particularly in respect to townsite lots.

Mr. Van Horne came to the Coast later in the year.He was delighted with Coal Harbour, but said that there wasanother condition that was imperative. It was that the nameof the terminus must be "Vancouver." This suggestion raiseda storm of protest from Victoria, but that did not bother therailway executive, who bluntly said that no person knewwhere "Granville" was, but that "Vancouver" was a nameindelibly associated with British Columbia—and he insistedon making the change.

After completing arrangements with the Governmentabout the public lands to be given for the extension of thefew miles from Port Moody, lots were drawn for theCompany's share in the private holdings.

When Van Horne was satisfied and it became a certaintythat the terminus would be moved to Coal Harbour, therewas a tremendous boom in the old sawmill camp about theHastings Mill that was to become a great city. Woodenbusiness blocks, houses, shacks and other structures went upon all sides; businesses and small industries opened, andworkmen poured in looking for the work that was waiting forthem. But Port Moody was in torment. Hundreds had purchasedlots there speculating in realty on the strength of theannouncement that the town would be the end of steel.Citizens delayed extension temporarily by going to the courtsfor an injunction to stop the change. This did not succeed.

It was early in 1886 that a petition was circulated askingthe Legislature to incorporate the City of Vancouver—notunder the provisions of the Municipal Act, but by specialcharter. This was granted and the special legislation requestedwas passed, and Vancouver came into corporate existence onApril 6, 1886. It had between sixty and seventy businessestablishments two months later, including a dozen hotels,three restaurants, five groceries, four boots- and shoes-shops,and—of course—ten real-estate offices.

Malcolm MacLean was chosen mayor. Aldermen were:Robt. Balfour, C. A. Caldwell, Peter Cordiner, Thos. Dunn,Joseph Griffith, J. Humphries, Henry Hemlow, E. P. Hamilton,L. A. Hamilton and Joseph Northcott. The election washeld on May 3.

99
VANCOUVER DESTROYED

Sunday, June 13, 1886, was another warm day, but the freshbreeze from the West carried clouds of acrid smoke fromC.P.R. land-clearing operations towards the wooden city ofVancouver. As the morning wore on the wind strengthenedand people returning from church services coughed andspluttered, but they made no complaint: it was an annoyancethat was inseparable from pioneering progress, something thatmust be endured to assist in the building of a great seaportand railway terminal.

In the inlet that summer Sunday the old barque 'RobertKerr' swung at anchor in the harbour, while several smallsail-boats carried pleasure parties over the waters of the Inlet;some had gone to picnic on the North Shore, and some to afuneral at New Westminster. No person was fearful of thatwind and the fire, which the smoke indicated was pointed atthe little city.

About two o'clock the wind increased to gale proportions.A small girl, holding the hand of her little brother, was onher way to Sunday School. A man ran past her, then stoppedto tell her to go home, that fire was coming—and resumedhis flight. The children continued to church, where theminister dismissed them and told them to hurry home. Beforethey could reach home the bell of St. James's Church wasclanging out a warning. The little ones and their parentswere saved, finding shelter on the Hastings Mill Company'swharf, and later in the old 'Robert Kerr'.

Within an hour, Vancouver—the busiest, most energetic,fastest growing community in the Province—was a smokingwaste. How many died in that holocaust will never be known,but searchers amid the smouldering ruins found seven dead.

"Never was there such a fire before," declared theVancouver Advertiser when publication was resumed in thecity, June 29. "No one ever saw anything more franticallyrapid or terribly complete. The startled populace barely heardthe cry of 'fire' when they were compelled to flee for theirlives with what small traps they could conveniently carry.Hastily packed trunks were barely moved away from theburning buildings a hundred feet, and those who lingered tosave a few valuables barely escaped with their lives. Twothirds of the people of Vancouver the day after the fire, couldnot boast of more than the clothes they stood in.... Therewas not time for consideration of ways and means. Crazed byexcitement and terror, our people fled hither and thither,seeking any avenue of escape from the relentless flames thatrapidly choked up every outlet from the furious fire that ragedon every hand. People became bewildered and fled in alldirections and to control in the smallest degree the ragingelement was beyond human genius and human power."

Vancouver was physically obliterated except for theHastings Mill, the vacant oil-plant, and a few small buildings,mostly near False Creek, the ruin was complete. But thecourage of the people, their faith, and their industry wouldnot admit defeat. Speaking proudly, the Advertiser in thesame issue boasted:

"At 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, the 13th of June, the city wascompletely destroyed by fire; at 3 o'clock on Monday morningteams were delivering lumber upon the site of the smoulderingcity; before the sun had gone down on that day severalbuildings had been erected and were being occupied. In lessthan three days a dozen firms were doing business in hastilyfinished frame structures, and at this date [June 29] we havea stirring, active community, the nucleus of a considerablecity in as many hours as it usually takes days."

The tragedy of June 13 proved how quickly and generouslypeople respond to human need: from communitiesnear and far there came contributions and offers of help.Such kindness inspired the citizens of Vancouver to restoreand rebuild their city on a larger and grander scale.

100
VANCOUVER CHARTER SUSPENDED

Less than a year after Vancouver was so proudly incorporated,the city's charter was suspended and Provincial Police underSuperintendent H. B. Roycroft took Vancouver into"protective custody."

It was February 24, 1887: the C.P.R. grade was beingconstructed from Port Moody, and contractors proposed touse Chinese labour. Already citizens had demonstrated theirhostility to the employment of Orientals, who worked forlower wages than whites would accept. A number of Chinesehad come from Victoria, only to be met at the dock bydetermined men who forced them to return to the CapitalCity. Now an excited man hurried through the streets of thebusiness section, bearing a large placard. It read: "TheChinese have come: Mass Meeting in the City Hall, tonight."

That evening a crowd estimated at 300 persons jammedinto the City Hall. They listened to inflammatory speechesand shouted approval of several resolutions. Then thechairman quitted his chair. He had no sooner done so than anunidentified voice called, "Those in favour of turning out theChinese tonight say 'aye'." There was a thunderous assent,and the meeting broke up, with men shouting, "Tonight!Tonight!", as they would a battle-cry, while they stumbled outinto the winter night.

Chinese had reached the city and were placed in temporaryquarters in some shacks about a mile west of thetown. By the flickering light of one or two lanterns, the angrymen hurried over the trail that wound through a maze ofstumps, and over rough and uneven ground.

"On arriving at the Chinese camp," the Daily Newsreported the next day, "the mob immediately surrounded theshanties and amidst howls and yells commenced the work ofseizing the Chinamen. A number got away in spite of theirefforts to surround them. Those who were caught in someinstances were badly kicked by some of the crowd, thenordered to pack and leave, in which they were assisted in nogentle manner."

It was at this juncture that a whistle was heard, and thegigantic form of City Police Chief J. Stewart, followed bySuperintendent Roycroft of the Provincial Force, emergedfrom the blackness of the night into the dim circle of lightcast by the lanterns. Shouting to the mob, which had beenstilled by the piercing note of the whistle, to stop molestingthe Chinese, the two brave officers stepped between thefrightened Orientals and the whites. The Chinese wereherded into one of the tumbledown shacks, and Stewart andRoycroft took a position in front of the door. No oneattempted to get past that pair.

Gradually the crowd dispersed. Then from Chinatown,in the heart of the city, flames fingered up into the night air.A white man had set fire to a Chinese shack. The flamesspread, and soon there were two or three structures burning.The sight of the wall of fire chilled the hearts of those whohad so recently witnessed the destruction of the town.Animosity was forgotten and some who had just returned from theraid on the Orientals now rushed to help the fire departmentbattle the flames. For a time it looked as if Vancouver mighteasily be destroyed a second time.

Official Victoria was shocked when the happenings ofthat wild February night were reported. The Cabinet met andauthorized the raising of a force of some thirty-five specialpolice. These were despatched to Vancouver to be underthe orders of Superintendent Roycroft, who was to suspendthe City's charter and take charge until all prospects of arepetition of unruliness had disappeared. So Roycroft dulypresented himself at the City Hall and assumed control.

The C.P.R. extension from Port Moody was completedin the late spring. It was on May 23—on the eve of thebirthday of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, who was celebratingthe Golden Jubilee of her reign—that gaily decorated EngineNo. 374 steamed in to the terminal at Coal Harbour, to betumultuously greeted by the citizens, once more in possessionof their charter.

101
KOOTENAY TROUBLE SPOT

When Chief Isadore and a score of his armed Kootenaybraves raided the lockup at Wild Horse Creek and liberateda tribesman named Kapla, a murder suspect, both the Provincialand Federal Governments were alarmed. It was in thespring of 1887, only two years after Louis Riel had lightedthe flames of rebellion on the plains, and it was feared thatanother Indian insurrection might be in the making. Kaplahad been arrested by Harry Anderson, the lone agent ofgovernment south of the C.P.R. line, and F. W. Aylmer, asurveyor, who acted as a special constable. Isadore demandedthat Anderson and Aylmer quit the country. The frightenedwhite settlers—there was but a handful—recommended to thetwo representatives of the law that they leave the vicinityfor the time being, for fear of inciting the Indians to furtherviolence.

Word of the high-handed action of Isadore was carriedto Donald, on the C.P.R., by R. T. Galbraith, of Galbraith'sFerry. The news was telegraphed to Victoria, where theGovernment immediately wired Ottawa asking for a divisionof the famous North West Mounted Police to be sent toKootenay.

Before the arrival of the Mounties, a commission composedof Dr. I. W. Powell (Superintendent of Indian Affairs),Assistant Commissioner L. W. Herchmer of the N.W.M.P.,and Magistrate A. W. Vowell went to Wild Horse and heldan inquiry. Isadore was impressed and agreed to the return ofthe two white men, and the surrender of Kapla. He said thathis young men were getting hard to handle; they were fearfulthat the advance of the white man was going to rob themof their hereditary lands.

It was June when Division B—seventy-five men—underthe redoubtable Major Sam Steele arrived at Golden. Withconsiderable difficulty they made their way up to theheadwaters of the Columbia, and from there to Bummers' Flatnear Wild Horse. Ten acres of land were purchasedfrom Galbraith and there a post named "Fort Steele" wasconstructed.

In reporting on the circumstances of the trouble, MajorSteele was critical of the delay in trying to solve the murderof two prospectors, Kemp and Hylton, three years beforebetween Wild Horse and Kicking Horse Pass. Steele thoughtthat the crime might have been committed by some of the"bad characters either making for the railway," then underconstruction, "or escaping from justice in Canada."

"The action of Isadore showed the whites," Steelecommented, "that although the Indians had up to that timeabstained from any hostility they did not do so through anyfear of consequences. It was evident to all that the whiteshad been there on sufferance. A meeting of the white settlerswas held, the situation discussed and the decision arrived atthat Commissioner Anderson and the Hon. F. W. Aylmerwere to leave the country temporarily."

The Kootenays were suspicious and un-cooperative whenthe police arrived. Major Steele sent for Isadore, whohesitatingly agreed to the meeting, but he complied with thedemand of the Inspector that Kapla be brought in as well asanother suspect. This was done and they were brought beforeSteele for a hearing. He could find no evidence to sustain acharge of murder, and liberated the two men. This deeplyimpressed the Indians with the fact that the police were fair.Steele felt that the killing had probably been done by whiteruffians.

Experienced in the ways of natives, Major Steele learnedto respect the Kootenays, and commented that during theyear he was amongst them he had never had complaint of asingle theft. Isadore and his people also came to admire thered-coated officers and constables. When orders came, thefollowing year, recalling the division, Chief Isadore made aspeech at parting, in which he said that the conduct of theforce had changed the attitude of his people towards thewhites, and that if difficulties arose in the future he wouldcross the mountains and discuss his troubles with hisred-coated friends at Fort Macleod.

The quick action of the two Governments and the fineconduct, the impartiality and the discipline of the North WestMounted Police had prevented what might have been aserious conflict with a brave and well-armed people.

102
FORTUNE FOR FEES

Joe Moris and Joe Bourgeois stood outside the assayer's officein Nelson dejectedly studying the analyses of a number ofsamples that they had brought to be tested. They had beenprospecting on Red Mountain, near the head of Trail Creek,and had staked four claims and put in protecting posts on afifth, the "Le Wise," just to keep the ground open. They werepermitted to have only four claims: these they had markedout as the War Eagle, Centre Star, Idaho and Virginia. Theyhad gathered samples and had taken them to the fast-growingtown on Kootenay Lake that came into existence after theHall brothers had found the Silver King on Toad Mountain.

The assay returns were disappointing: the best wasthree dollars and twenty-five cents, while six of the samplesshowed no values. Bourgeois was disgusted and said that hewould not bother with the claims any more, but Moris wasmore optimistic, arguing that better values might be found ina more intensive examination. His partner agreed, but insistedthat he could not see any sense in paying two dollars andfifty cents a claim for recording fees. After a moment ofsilence, Bourgeois had an inspiration. "I know that fellowTopping, the deputy recorder," he said. "He will take achance: suppose we offer him that Le Wise claim if he willpay the fees for the other four?" "Sure!" exclaimed Moris.Topping was willing. He was a sportsman, and readilyagreed to put up the money necessary for recording fees. Buthe insisted he would have to go to Red Mountain andpersonally stake the ground they offered him.

It was July 20, 1890, when he left Nelson to follow theothers to see the property. He examined it carefully, and then,addressing Bourgeois and Moris, he said, "I'll keep it, andwill call it 'Le Roi', instead of 'Le Wise', and next month I'llgo to Spokane and raise money to work it."

And that is how Eugene Sayre Topping, sailor, writer,trapper, miner and all-round adventurer, became possessedof one of the world's spectacular gold-mines—for twelvedollars and fifty cents! He did not get to Spokane before hefinanced it. Having met Colonel R. W. Ridpath, a financier,and George Forester, a lawyer, on the train, he showed themthe samples he was carrying. They too were ready to take achance. The result was that they organized a syndicate to takeover a sixteen-thirtieth of the claim for $16,000 and guaranteedto spend $3,000 in development work before June, 1891.

When it became known that American capital was interestedin Red Mountain, there was a regular stampede ofprospectors to the area. One of the early men on the scenewas Ross Thompson, a young fellow with imagination. Hepre-empted 160 acres near the mines, and laid out a townsite.It was named "Rossland" in his honour.

As the Le Roi and the War Eagle and the Centre Starand other noted mines went into production, Rosslandbecame a busy, noisy, rough-and-tumble mining-camp. Men—andwomen—of all kinds hurried there to share in the wealththat was being produced. This production was slow at first,but eventually it was almost fabulous. Then when a largebody of ore was uncovered in 1893, according to LanceH. Whittaker, editor of The Golden City, "merchants,hotel-keepers, doctors, lawyers, gamblers, painted women and allthe rag-tag and bob-tail of civilization gravitated to this newstrike. 'Boomers' of every description were seen coming downthe hills and up the valleys. Tents mushroomed and the scentof whip-sawn tamarac and fir was everywhere as the TrailCreek has become a seething locality."

Then came one of the most colourful figures of the NorthAmerican mining world, F. Augustus Heinze, a youngspeculator who had challenged the great manipulators of theAmerican West. He negotiated contracts for ore supplies fromRossland mines and constructed a smelter where Trail Creekemptied into the Columbia, and laid the foundations of thegreat Trail metallurgical works of today.

Heinze built a railroad from Trail to Rossland to handlethe ore, and on this narrow-gauge line he used equipmentthat he purchased in Utah; and men and women trundledup and down the steep grade in a passenger car that hadonce been the private coach of Brigham Young. It was inkeeping with the times, as was the dinner given in Rossland'sAllen Hotel, where the napkins were one-hundred-dollarbank-notes.

103
VICTORIA ANCHORS CAPITAL

Vancouver was regarded with grave suspicion by Victoria;the ambitious Terminal City was jealous and contemptuousof the leisurely Capital. This mutual dislike had been growingever since Granville had changed its name to Vancouver, anaction that Victoria regarded as a direct injury. In 1890-91the bitterness had been increased over the prospective site fora University.

The administration of Premier John Robson carriedan act through the Legislature creating the University ofBritish Columbia. A regular convocation was held, attendedby some 125 university graduates, and a senate had beennamed. Dr. I. W. Powell of Victoria was Chancellor, andR. P. Cooke, of Vancouver, Vice-Chancellor. The legislationset the time and place for the Senate to meet. It was Victoria;Mainland Senators would not attend. There was no provisionin the Act for such a contingency and without a Senate therecould be no University.

The sacrifice of the University on the altar of intercityenmity is credited with being one of the activating causes in"anchoring" the Capital on the Island. With the growingimportance of Vancouver there were suggestions that the seatof government should be moved to the Mainland. Victoriabusiness interests suggested to Premier Theodore Davie thathe should take steps to fix the capital permanently at Victoriaby constructing new and costly legislative buildings there.

There is no doubt that there was need for more accommodation.The five pagoda-like buildings, off Birdcage Walk—asthe present extension of Government Street through theJames Bay District was known—had been constructed in1859 for the official purposes of a small colony, but wereinsufficient for an active and growing province of Canada.Theodore Davie submitted a bill to the House in 1893 for theborrowing of $600,000 for new legislative and business offices.The bill carried, despite bitter opposition from some sectionsof the Mainland.

The buildings were completed in 1897, and were openedfor the early session in the following year. The occasion,February 10, 1898, was one of great magnificence, theLieutenant-Governor, the Honourable T. R. McInnes, officiating.F. M. Rattenbury was the architect. His designcontemplated a massive building in general Renaissance style,with a noble central dome, but taking much of its inspirationfrom the palace of an Indian prince. Supported by twosmaller buildings connected by colonnades on either side, itsproportions gave harmony and balance to the whole.Construction was largely carried out with native materials. Thegrey stone from Haddington Island, with which the mainbuildings are faced, has a peculiar property of reflecting theshades of the sky; the Assembly committee-rooms are finishedin woods from B.C. forests. The Legislative Hall was enrichedby Italian marble. The entire cost of the main buildings wasapproximately $981,000.

It was an immense sum for its time, but the Governmenthad not been extravagant in all things. It was necessary tohave a new mace for the opening of the House in such ornatesurroundings. The old wooden one that had served for yearswas to be replaced. So a second-hand "symbol of authority"was purchased—along with some ink-well tops—in a job lotin Chicago, left-overs from the World's Fair in that city. Thatmace was used for every sitting of the Legislature fromFebruary 10, 1898, to February 16, 1954.

It was a commodious building. One minister, on movinginto his spacious offices, complained that he could not getanyone to answer his bell. He would dash out into thecorridor, and jump up and down, exclaiming that "they'llnever fill this great barn in five hundred years." Additionalspace for Government has required the construction of manybuildings in and about Victoria since that time.

Theodore Davie succeeded in "anchoring the capital"when he constructed the Parliament Buildings, but theUniversity, when it was again made the subject of publicconsideration by Richard McBride, in 1910, went toVancouver—and both cities were satisfied.

104
RUSH TO KLONDYKE

In keeping with other parts of the North American continentBritish Columbia was hard hit by the depression of the early"nineties." Dependent as the Province was on capital fromoutside, the financial stringency brought unemployment.Building stopped; idle men walked the streets; some churchesopened soup-kitchens; vacant houses were to be found innearly every block in Vancouver. The one bright spot wasthe activity in mining, as the result of interest engendered bythe Rossland discoveries. The slack period had one goodeffect, however: it turned men's attention to land settlement.But even land development required money.

Then in 1897 there came whispers, quickly changing intojoyous shouts, "Gold! Gold! Gold!!!", as almost unbelievablestories of treasure-paved creeks of the frozen Yukoncirculated. A new strike had been made in the streams draininginto the Klondyke. Little had been heard of the discoveryuntil word of the clean-up of 1896-97 came down in thespring of '97—$2,000,000! Soon the world was on the movetowards the unknown land of such fabulous richness.

Vancouver and Victoria were slow to realize the tradeopportunities of the rush. Seattle, much more alert, reachedout for business. Vessels of all sorts, steamers that had beenrotting in the backwaters of every Pacific port, were hastilyrecommissioned, to sail north with every inch of spacecrowded with passengers and supplies. At last the BritishColumbia towns became busy; vacant stores were rented totraders specializing in mining outfits; shipyards startedbuilding stern-wheeled river-boats for northern streams and lakes;rooming-houses bulged with tenants, and cafés and lunch-countersstarted in every convenient corner of the businesssections.

Vancouver, particularly, became active. Thousandstumbled in from every train: youngsters who had no idea ofwhat lay before them; robust men totally inexperienced; oldmen who possessed courage and understanding but wereweakened in physique—and women too, the painted brazensthat participated in every rush; faithful wives and sturdymothers who would not let their sons go unaccompanied—allwere there. They came with piles of "supplies" that theycould not transport beyond Vancouver, or if they did, wouldfind of little use; or they came empty-handed hoping topick up the bare necessities before boarding ship—any ship.And all wanted dogs. Never had such ignorance of caninesbeen exhibited; never had such prices been paid for mongrels.Dogs were reputed to be the best means of transportingfreighted sleighs over the frozen terrain—therefore dogs mustbe secured. The streets of Vancouver and Victoria witnessedill-matched thoroughbreds and curs harnessed to laden sleighsbeing trained in the mud of the thoroughfares, withfur-coated, parka-clad, perspiring men shouting and crackingwhips, urging recent lap-dogs and hounds to "mush on."

Never had there been such an "army of innocents" onthe march, and with them, naturally, went many of the dregsof the underworld, thieves, gamblers, bullies, not to work inthe frozen ground, but to prey upon those who did. Andamid that motley throng were scarlet-tunicked, stetson-hattedmen of the North West Mounted—a handful only, but representingthe majesty of the Queen's laws, and justice—to wina new reputation for themselves and for Canada.

Hardly had the rush to the Klondyke creeks got underway before the heavy gold from the Atlin country, in BritishColumbia's northwest corner, drew thousands there in asecond rush.

Gold, there was—for some; failure for the majority, butthe gold from the Yukon and from Atlin gave new impetusto Vancouver and also brought a measure of prosperity toVictoria—and to lesser degrees the whole of British Columbiashared in it.

105
FIRE DAMAGES ROYAL CITY

New Westminster was in a happy mood that Saturday nightof September 10, 1898. Arrangements were being completedfor the "biggest and best" exhibition ever held in the old city,on October 3. Business had been good that summer; cropshad been abundant, and that very day 1,750 cases of cannedsalmon had been shipped to London, as an initial order.People were on their way home, and stores were being lockedup, when about 11.45 p.m. there was an alarm of fire.

Horse-drawn equipment, under Acting Chief Watson,came thundering down Columbia Street, towards the flameson the river front that shot high against the dark backgroundof the night. A spark from a passing steamer had ignited agreat stock of hay piled on Brackman & Ker's wharf. Tinderdry, the hay whipped across Front Street to set the LyttonHotel, the Webster and the Lee Tung Buildings alight.

Firemen, aided by the willing citizens, fought desperately.They might have won, had not two river-boats, the 'Gladys'and the 'Edgar', moored at the B & K dock, taken fire. Sooneach was a mass of roaring flames; the cables burned throughand these fire-boats were carried by the stream along thewharves, bumping from one to another—and setting firewherever they touched. The 'Bon Accord' was set on fireand soon joined the other blazing vessels in their destructivecourse.

Valiantly the firemen fought, but were gradually forcedback, and some hose was lost. Then Chief Watson ran to atelephone and asked Chief J. H. Carlisle, in Vancouver, forthe loan of additional fire-hose. In a matter of minutes onethousand feet were on their way, and the chief was arrangingfor a second thousand to be sent. He detailed nine men toaccompany the hose. Then he started for the scene himself inhis light rig, and is reported to have reached the fire, twelvemiles away, in approximately one hour.

When Chief Carlisle arrived the whole of ColumbiaStreet's fine business section was a cauldron of flames;Chinatown was a furnace, and sparks and whirling embers carriedby the high wind were raining down on the parched roofsof the residential areas. Men, women and children foughtthe spread of the fire and worked to salvage valuables. Therewas neither panic nor wailing, only desperate purpose.

Chief Carlisle, his men and the hose were welcomed byChief Watson, who asked Carlisle to take charge of theeastern section of the city, where he rendered efficient service.

Nun Lee, a Chinese merchant, died in trying to savesomething from his burning office. Two firemen were severelyinjured, while many persons suffered lesser cuts and burns.All told, there were sixty blackened blocks when daylightcame and the conflagration was finally stayed. The loss wasestimated to be $2,500,000—or nearly twice that of Vancouver,suffered twelve years before. It was some hours laterbefore Victoria learned of the burning of her old rival, the oldcapital city's telephone and telegraph lines having all beenbroken.

The Government took prompt action. The Federalauthorities and the mayor were also informed, and by oneo'clock a special train, laden with army and civilian tents,blankets and other supplies, was on its way to Nanaimo,seventy-five miles distant. It made a record run of ninetyminutes, and by five o'clock the steamer 'Joan' was on herway with the relief stores for the stricken city. Vancouver andother nearby communities poured aid into the smoking town,while more distant centres wired funds and offers ofadditional help.

Within twenty-four hours New Westminster started rebuilding.The wonderful spirit of the people was exemplifiedwhen it was announced that "the exhibition will be held asarranged."

106
DEVELOPMENT & SACRIFICE

The Twentieth Century arrived to find the Empire at warand in that terrible conflict on the parched fields of SouthAfrica Canada played a notable part. Among the finest ofthe Dominion troops in the Boer War were those from BritishColumbia. It was on February 27, 1900—the anniversary ofa British defeat, some years before, at Majuba Hill—thatCanadians helped to storm Cronje's position at Paardeburgand forced the "old fox" of the Boer army to surrender.

As troop-trains carried the laughing, cheering recruitsoff to the East, British Columbia flocked to the railway stationsand crowded the right-of-way to wave adieu and shout goodwishes. There were still sturdy, silver-haired old men who hadseen the mad rush of gold-seekers to the Fraser and Caribooin that throng; men who had stampeded to Cariboo and whohad faced the dangers of savage wilds when the colonies wereyoung. They had come to encourage by their presence thebrave men who were off to protect the Empire. It was theend of an era; and here, too, the Pageant of B.C. should end.

It was indeed the end of one age, and the commencementof a new: the expansion and activities of new ways andnew industries. And in the second year of the century theGreat Queen—Victoria the Good—closed her eyes. She hadmothered an Empire for more than three score years. She wason the throne ten years after Fort Langley was started, andsix years before Douglas had laid out the plan for the fortthat was named in her honour. Elderly people could scarcerealize a world without her dominating personality.

Twice more in the next half-century were gallant youngmen from British Columbia destined to follow the war-trailin defence of the freedoms that the Empire represented; intheir tens of thousands they went, and in every corner of thevast Province cenotaphs and plaques bespeak the reverenceand gratitude of their fellow citizens for the great sacrificesmade for King and Country.

The new century saw tremendous and varied development.Expansion of world trade followed close upon the endof the Boer War. Business delegations from the MotherCountry came to see the land that had sent its fine fightingmen to defend the Empire. They were astounded at the size,quality and quantity of the forest growth of British Columbia,and new orders for lumber were received—the start of thegreat trade that was to develop.

Mining, too, flourished, and on the Coast several smelterswere constructed, while, in addition to the small plants atinterior points, the furnaces that Heinze had built on the flatabove Trail Creek grew and continued to grow until theybecame recognized as the foremost metallurgical works of itskind in the world.

Land settlement extended, and in the cities real-estateboomsters for a time ran riot, but the era of speculation thatthey initiated brought thousands of new citizens to theProvince. Along with the realty madness of the cities, theredeveloped a wild period of railway-building. The GrandTrunk Pacific and Canadian Northern (both now merged inthe Canadian National system), the Kettle Valley line,consolidating various charters, and the Pacific Great Eastern gaveemployment to thousands of workers. Scores of villages, townsand cities sprang up along these lines.

Manufacturing followed population, and in turn demandedelectric power beyond the possibility of productionby steam-plants: this meant the tumbling rivers of the countrymust be harnessed. Today there are great mills and pulp-plantsand industries utilizing the hydro-electric energy ofmighty power-developments—and even larger ones are incontemplation. Burrard Inlet, the natural harbour, overlookedby the twin lions that Nature herself sculptured from mountaintops, is one of the great ports of the world. Her environsspread across to the north shore and up the steep slopes; andthe city itself extends to the Fraser. And Victoria is still theCapital, and is even more admired by reason of its beautyand gracious living. There are scores of other cities—eachwith its own charm and character—and all playing theirseveral parts in the Pageant of British Columbia.

[End of Pageant of B.C., by B. A. McKelvie]