CONTENTdm
British Columbia Historical Books Collection
Monro, A. S.
"Reprinted from the Canadian Medical Association journal, v. 25-27, September 1931-August 1932. Includes biographical information on some of the first doctors to practice in the province." -- Lowther, B. J., & Laing, M. (1968). A bibliography of British Columbia: Laying the foundations, 1849-1899. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 189.
48 pages : portraits, photographs ; 28 cm
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THE MEDICAL HISTORY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA A. S. MONRO, M.D. Vancouver Reprinted from THE CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL 1931-1932 THE MEDICAL HISTORY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA By A. S. MONRO, M.D., Vancouver The medical history of British Columbia lends itself, both chronologically and in development, to a natural division into three periods:— (1) The period of exploration and of the fur traders. This takes us from the landing of Captain Cook at Nootka, 1778, to 1849 when Vancouver Island became a Crown Colony under Governor Blanshard. (2) The period of the gold discoveries in Cariboo and other districts, 1850 to 1884. This period includes the formation of the Crown Colony of British Columbia, the union of the two Crown Colonies into the united colony of British Columbia, 1858, and also the entrance of British Columbia into the Confederation of Canadian Provinces in 1871. (3) The period of the railway and modern transportation, 1882 to present date. In the first period, half a dozen men will fill the picture, each one, for the time, practically the sole representative of the profes- To Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken goes the undisputed honour of being the first white medical practitioner in British Columbia. His arrival in the infant colony of Vancouver Island was in 1850, and his advent marks the end'of the period of the fur traders. It. is well to bear in mind that up to 1846 the British, through the Hudson's Bay Company, held sway in that vast territory bounded on the east by the Rockies, on the south by California, on the north by Alaska and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Under the Hudson's Bay Company, this vast domain, comprising the present States of Oregon and Washington and the Province of British have been used in preparing this history. "Captain James Cook's Voyages Around the World"; "Menzies' Journal of Vancouver's Voyage", April to October, 1792, Editor, C. F. Neweombe, M.D.; "The Conquest of the Great Northwest", by Agnes C. Laut; "McLoughlin and Old Oregon", a chronicle by Eva Emery Dye; "Vancouver's Discovery of Puget Sound", by Edmund S. Meaney, Prof, of History, University of Washington; "British Columbia", by E. 0. S. Scholefleld. Columbia, was known as the "District of the Columbia". It, was administered most ably for more than twenty years by a medical man, Dr. John McLoughlin, a native of Canada. Associated with him was Dr. William Fraser Tolmie, father of the present Premier of British Columbia. While the work of these men was largely administrative in character, yet both, in times of stress and need, contributed their quota of medical skill to the needs of the community, supplementing the work of the medical men employed by. the Company to care for the medical wants of their people. Before the period marking the era of the great fur company, there were the various British and Spanish exploring expeditions, attached to which were several notable surgeons. A study of the work of these men and a short account of the various expeditions will add interest to the story before touching more fully upon the life and work of Dr. J. S. Helmcken and the men who followed him. Prom the time of Cortez, the conqueror of Mexico (1520), the exploration of the west coast of North America became a matter of supreme importance, not only to the Spanish but to other nations then active in re-mapping of the world. The explorations carried out under the direction of Cortez resulted in the discovery of Lower California, but by the end of the 16th century (1590), Spanish enterprise dwindled, and practically nothing was done to add to the knowledge of the coast northward from California until 1765. Stimulated by the conquest of French Canada (1763), de Croix, Viceroy of Mexico, launched a very definite policy of expansion. The first Spanish keel to ply the north Pacific was the little corvette Santiago which sailed from San Bias, January 1774, in command of Don Juan Perez. The navigating officer was Bstevan Martinez whose name is commemorated in Point Bstevan on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, a landmark for navigators on their way to the Orient. The Medical Histc Two expeditions followed shortly in the wake of the Santiago. Being recommissioned, she was placed in command of Naval Lieutenant Don Bruno Heceta. Her consort was the little schooner Felicidad, re-named the Senora, under Lieutenant Juan Francisco de Bodega y Quadra. The vessels sailed from San Bias, March, 1775. On July 11th, the northwest coast was sighted in latitude 48 degrees and 26 minutes, from which the Spaniards searched southward in vain for the entrance to the Straits of Juan de Fuca. They anchored near Point Grenville. Here, on this point, July 14, 1775, so far as is known, Europeans first set foot on the northwest coast. Bruno Heceta, the padre, Pierre, the surgeon, and the second pilot, landed with a few sailors and after erecting a cross with due ceremony, took possession of the country in the name of the King of Spain. While this ceremony was being carried out, a large number of the crew of the Senora who had landed, were killed by a band of three hundred Indians who fell upon them without warning. Following this tragic event the ships parted company, Heceta continuing on his northward course to near the 50th parallel and touching on the west coast of Vancouver Island. He now decided to retrace his steps and turned southward, reaching Monterey, August 30th, with two-thirds of his men disabled by scurvy. Quadra, on the Senora, a little vessel 27 feet in length, undermanned, made a desperate attempt to reach the 65th parallel. However the task was too much for him and when in the neighbourhood of the 50th parallel he turned his ship around and finally reached San Bias in November 1775, after an absence of eight months. The name of Heceta is preserved on the Admiralty Maps in Heceta Straits. For half a century Vancouver Island bore the dual title of the Island of Vancouver and Quadra. When Captain James Cook sailed from Plymouth, July 12, 1776, on his third and last voyage of exploration and discovery to the Pacific, he had with him as surgeon on the ship Resolution, Mr. William Anderson, a young man of high scientific ability, who was the naturalist and ethnologist of the expedition. Capt. Cook in his journal states: "The department of natural history was assigned to Mr. Anderson, the surgeon of the Resolution, who was as willing as he was well qualified to describe everything in that branch of science which should occur worthy of notice." From the remarks of this gentleman Capt. Cook had derived considerable assistance in his last voyage, especially with regard to the copious vocabulary of the language of Otaheite and the comparative specimens of the language of the other islands which had then been visited. Capt. Cook, while in Adventure Bay, Van Die- man's Land, refers to Anderson's observations on the natural productions and the inhabitants of the country. Voyaging northward, Capt. Cook stopped at various islands, and he records in his journal the interesting observations made by Mr. Anderson on the customs and habits of the natives, their language, religion, etc. On March 7, 1778, the longjooked-for coast of New Albion was sighted, and on the 29th of March the captain came to an anchor in an inlet now known as Nootka. In his journal is a detailed description of snow-covered mountains, the valleys with their forests of high, straight trees, the wild birds and animals, the climate, etc., for which he gives Mr. Anderson due credit. The natives were not shy, and regular visiting between shore and ship soon took place. He notes that while most of them were honest in their dealings, yet there were many who were not: they would steal anything they could lay their hands on. They were particularly keen to trade their wares for anything made of metal, especially brass.. As a result of their thieving propensities whole suits of clothes were stripped of their buttons; bureaux were deprived of their knobs, copper kettles, tin canisters, candlesticks and whatever of the like could be found, all went to wreck; so that "these Americans became possessed of a greater medley and variety of things from our people than any other nation that had been visited in the course of the voyage." Of all the uncivilized tribes which our commander had met with in his several navigations, he never found any who had such strict notions of their right to the exclusive property of everything in their country, as did the inhabitants of the Sound where he was now stationed. "At first they wanted to be paid for the wood and water that were carried on board; and had the captain been upon the spot when these demands were made, he would cer- The Medical Histoi tainly have complied with them; but the workmen in his absence, maintained a different opinion, and refused to submit to any such claims. When some grass, which appeared to be of no use to the natives, was wanted to be cut, as food for-the few goats and sheep which still remained on board, they insisted that it should be purchased, and were very unreasonable in their terms; notwithstanding which, Captain Cook consented to gratify them as far. as he was able. It was always a sacred rule with him never to take any of the property of the people whom he visited without making them ample compensation. "With respect to the inhabitants of the country, their persons are generally under the common stature, but not slender in proportion, being usually pretty full or plump, though without being muscular. From their bringing to sale human skulls and bones, it must justly be inferred that they treat their enemies with a degree of brutal cruelty; notwithstanding which, it does not follow that they are to be reproached with any charge of peculiar inhumanity, for the circumstances now mentioned only marks a general agreement of character with that of almost every tribe of uncivilized men in every age, and in every part of the globe. Our navigators had no reason to complain of the disposition of the natives, who appeared to be a docile, courteous, good- natured people—rather phlegmatic in the usual caste of their tempers, but quick in resenting what they apprehend to be an injury and easily permitting their anger to subside." Their other passions, and especially their curiosity, seemed dorm; e of which may be found in the indolence that for the most part is prevalent amongst them. The chief employments of the men are those of fishing and of killing land or sea animals for the sustenance of their families, while the women are occupied in manufacturing their flaxen or woollen garments, or in other domestic offices. It must be mentioned to their honour that they were always properly clothed and behaved with the utmost decorum, justly deserving all commendation for a bashfulness and modesty becoming their sex; and this was the more meritorious in them, as the male inhabitants discovered no sense of shame. In their manufactures and mechanic arts, these people have arrived at a greater degree of extent and ingenuity both with regard to the design and the execution, than could have been expected from their natural disposition, and the little progress to which they have arrived in general civilization. Their dexterity in particular with respect to works of wood must principally be ascribed to the assistance they receive from iron tools, which are in universal use amongst them, and in the application of which they are very dexterous. Whence they have derived their knowledge of iron was a matter of speculation with Captain Cook. The most probable opinion is that this and other metals had been introduced by way of Hudson's Bay and Canada, and thus successively had been conveyed across the continent from tribe to tribe. Nor is it unreasonable to suppose that these metals may sometimes be brought in the same manner from the northwestern parts of Mexico. The language of Nootka is by no means harsh or disagreeable, for it abounds, upon the whole, rather with what may be called labial and dental than with gutteral sounds." A large vocabulary of it was collected by Mr. Anderson. On April 26th, having completed repairs to the ship, Capt. Cook set sail from Nootka and proceeded on his way northward. Early in August the expedition had reached Behring Sea and here in his journal, Capt. Cook recounts the loss sustained in the death of Mr. Anderson. "When our navigators, on the 3rd of August,, had advanced to the latitude of 62 deg. 35 min., a great loss was sustained by them in the death of Mr. Anderson, the surgeon of the Resolution, who had been lingering under a consumption for more than.twelve months. He was a young man of a cultivated understanding and agreeable manners, and well skilled in his own profession; besides which, he had acquired a considerable degree of knowledge in other branches of science. How useful an assistant he was to Capt. Cook has often appeared in the present narrative. Had his life been spared, the public would undoubtedly have received from him such communications on various parts of the natural history of the several places that had been visited, as would justly have entitled him to very high commendation." The proofs of his abilities that now remain will hand down the name of Anderson, in conjunction with that of The Medical History op British Columbia Cook, to posterity. Soon after he had breathed his last, land having been seen at a distance, which was supposed to be an island, our commander honoured it with the appellation of Anderson's Island. The next day he removed Mr. Law, the surgeon of the Discovery, into the Resolution, and appointed Mr. Samwell, the surgeon's first mate of the Resolution to be surgeon of the Discovery." The Maritime Fur Traders The latter half of the eighteenth century, like that of the sixteenth, exhibited great enterprise in the extension of trade to the distant and then little known parts of the world; but unlike the earlier period, when the eyes of the great merchant adventurers of England were turned almost entirely to the eastern shores of North America and the discovery of a northwest passage to India, attention had become centred upon the more recently discovered islands of the South Pacific and the valuable fur trade carried on between China and the storm and mist-bound coasts of northwestern Amer- Before Captain Cooke's expedition returned to England, ' war had been declared between Great Britain and France and Spain. It was not considered, therefore, an opportune time for the publication of the results of the voyage. The war was brought to a Arci.ib.ia M«>it>. From u>« p.muoS».. close by the Treaty of Versailles, 1783, but it was not, however, until the official account of Cook's third and last voyage appeared in 1784 that the new field for commercial enterprise attracted world-wide attention. Nootka became the centre of the new fur trade and numerous ships, manned by adventurers, principally British and American, came to share in the spoils. A keen rivalry arose between the various claimants for supremacy at Nootka, and to forestall any move on the part of the Russians, who it was reported were sending four frigates to establish a post there, Florez, Viceroy of Mexico, despatched two vessels, the Princ&ssa and the San Carlos, in February, 1789, in command of Martinez, with Haro second in authority, to Nootka, where on June 24th, formal possession was taken of the Port with all the pomp and ceremony the Spaniard loves so well. Trouble soon followed. Martinez seized some British ships and sent them as prizes to Mexico. Their crews were sent with them and the complaints of the harsh treatment they received at the hands of the Spanish soon reached Britain. Public feeling ran high in England, and Pitt, Prime Minister, demanded immediate tisfaction froi Preparatio: made for war and it was only averted by the signing of the Nootka Sound Convention by King Carlos IV, October 28, 1790. To the world at large this treaty was the first external evidence of the ebb of the tide, the beginning of the collapse of the Spanish Colonial sys tem. It \ : the ( press renunciation of Spain's ancient claim to exclusive sovereignty, navigation, commerce and fisheries on the Pacific coast of America. The Nootka ■ dispute was no sooner settled than the British Government again turned its attention to the affairs of western America. Captain George Van- mand of the expedition, and two ships, the Discovery and Chatham, were assigned by the emi. id iht l.iDr,™- society. Loodoo. Admiralty for this purpose. In accordance with the terms of the Nootka Convention, Vancouver was clothed with authority to receive from the Spanish officer he was to meet at Nootka the lands and houses that Meares, the British trader, claimed had been wrested from him in May, 1789. He was also to explore the northwest coast of America between the parallels of 30 and 60 degrees, north latitude. The Chatham and Discovery sailed from Falmouth, April 1, 1791, and after rounding the Horn sighted the coast of New Albion on the 17th of April, 1792. On April 29th, the two vessels sailed into the Straits of Juan de Fuca and thence on through the The Medical History op British Columbi Gulf of Georgia, coming to anchor near Point Grey, now a suburb of the City of Vancouver. It was here that he fell in with two little Spanish vessels, the Sutil and Mexicana, commanded respectively by Don Dionisio Galiano and Don Cayetano Valdez. These vessels proved to be a detachment from the expedition of Malaspina, then in the Service of Spain. Galiano and Valdez had entered the Strait five days after the British expedition and since that time had been engaged in examining the coast partly surveyed by Spanish officers in previous years. Almost the first news imparted to Vancouver was that Bodega y Quadra, the commandant of San Bias in California, was awaiting the arrival of the British commissioner at Nootka in order to restore the disputed territory to the Crown of Great Britain in accordance with the terms of the Nootka Convention. Having taken on board Louis Galvez, the surgeon of the frigate Aranzaza, the Sutil and Mexicana sailed for the Straits of Fuea and a few days later came to anchor at the port of Nunez Gaona, now known as Neah Bay, to which place the Spaniards had determined to transfer the settlement of Nootka, in anticipation of the surrender of that port to the British. The work of exploration was carried on by both Spanish and British and they frequently compared notes and charts. On August 28th, Vancouver made Friendly Cove (Nootka) and was piloted to an anchorage by a Spanish officer. The Spanish flag was saluted by the British vessels while the guns from the Port echoed the martial salutation. Vancouver, accompanied by some of his officers, then called upon Bodega y Quadra, who received the party with the greatest cordiality. The meeting was historic, inasmuch as never before had the ships of the Royal Navies of Great Britain and Spain exchanged courtesies on the northwest Coast. Moreover the two commanders, Vancouver and Bodega y Quadra, had been authorized by their respective governments to give effect to the terms of the Nootka Convention, of which Treaty it may be truly said that it marked a turning point in the history of northwestern America. Leaving Vancouver and Quadra to their negotiations, which were carried on for several weeks and then not completed, we shall now turn our attention to the medical men of the Discovery and Chatham. While at Nootka, Capt. Vancouver took the opportunity of sending Surgeon Cranstoun of the Discovery, who had been ill a long time, back to England by a vessel leaving for Port Jackson, New South Wales, and replacing him with Archibald Menzies. Vancouver records the incident as follows:— "Mr. Cranstoun, the surgeon of the Discovery, having been rendered incapable of his duty by a general debilitated state of health since o departure from the Cape -of Good Hope, : quested permission to proceed to Port J in the Daedalus, from whence he might soon procure a passage to England; he was consequently discharged on September 8, 1792, and Mr. Archibald Menzies, a surgeon in the navy, who had embarked in pursuit of botanical information, having cheerfully rendered his serivces during Mr. Cranstoun's indisposition, and finding that such attention had not interfered with the other objects of his pursuit, I considered him the most proper person to be appointed in the room of Mr. Cranstoun." Archibald Menzies Surgeon and Naturalist To many readers he will prove the most attractive and interesting member of the entire expedition. He was the naturalist. At the present time students, especially of botany, in the western portion of America are familiar with his name, though few of them have taken the trouble to learn about the man. How many men, women and children have admired the Madrona tree of the western forests! Bret Harte has sung its beauties in a poem concluding with this stanza: "When With thy polytinted fruit,- In thy spring or autumn si Where begin, and oh, whei Thou whose charms all an icend!" Ask a botanist the name of this beautiful tree, and he will tell you it is Arbutus menziesii, and then, if he loves the work, his face will lighten up as he adds, "That name is in honour of Archibald Menzies, the naturalist of the Vancouver expedition, who discovered this and many other plants on our western shores." Archibald Menzies, Scottish botanist, explorer, and traveller, was born at Stix or Styx, an old branch house of the Menzies of Culdares about four miles west from Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland, and was educated at Weem Parish School. According to the Weem Kirk, register, he was baptized on March 15, 1754. It is remarkable that nearly all the Menzies in the vicinity of Castle Menzies were either gardeners or botanists; an old record of proceedings shows that no fewer than seven of this name were employed at the same time at the Castle gardens. His elder brother William, got him a place with him as a gardener in the Edinburgh Botanical Garden. Dr. John Hope, professor of botany, helped the young man get the training for a surgeon at the University. He made a botanical tour through the Highlands and the The Medical His Hebrides in 1778, and then became assistant to a surgeon at Carnarvon. He entered the navy as assistant surgeon on the Nonsuch, under Captain Truscott, and was present with Rodney's fleet at the victory over the Comte de Grasse on April 12, 1782. He was serving on the Halifax station after the peace until 1786, when he was engaged as surgeon on board the Prince of Wales, under Lieutenant Colnett, on a fur-trading voyage of discovery to the northwest coast of America. He returned to England from China in 1789. The voyage of the Prince of Wales round Cape Horn to the North Pacific Ocean occupied nearly three years. Menzies had sent home a consignment of plants and he had brought back the ship's company in perfect health, only one man having died. He was then mustered in on board the Discovery, among the supernumeraries, as botanist. Of this fact Vancouver writes as follows in the introduction to his voyage: "Botany, however, was an object of scientific inquiry with which no one of us was much acquainted; but as, in expeditions of a similar nature, the most valuable opportunities had been afforded for adding to the general stock of 'botanical information, Mr. Archibald Menzies, a surgeon in the royal navy, who had before visited the Pacific Ocean in one of the vessels employed in the fur-trade, was appointed for the specific purpose of making such researches; and had, doubtless, given sufficient proof of his abilities, to qualify him for the station it was intended he should fill. For the purpose of preserving such new or uncommon plants as he might deem worthy of a place amongst His Majesty's very valuable collection of exotics at Kew, a glazed frame was erected on the after part of the quarter-deck, for the reception of- those he might have an opportunity of collecting." Before setting out on the voyage, Sir Joseph Banks, at the request of Lord Grenville, furnished Menzies with formal instructions. He was to investigate the whole of the natural history of the countries visited, paying attention to the nature of the soil, and in view of the prospect of sending out settlers from England, whether grains, fruits, etc., cultivated in Europe were likely to thrive. All trees, shrubs, plants, grasses, ferns and mosses were to be enumerated by their scientific names as well as those known in the language of the natives. He was to dry specimens of all that were worthy of being brought home and all that could be procured, either living plants or seeds, so that their names and qualities could be ascertained at His Majesty's gardens at Kew. Any curious or valuable plants that could not be propagated from seeds were to be dug up and planted in the glass frame provided for the purpose. He was also to examine beds of brooks, sides of cliffs, and other places in a search for ores or metals and mineral substances. He was also to note the sort of beasts, birds, and fishes likely to prove useful either for food or in commerce. Particular attention was to be paid to the natural history of the sea-otter and wild sheep, and he was to note particularly all places where whales or seals were to be found in abundance. Inquiry was to be made into the manners, customs, language, and religion of the natives and information obtained concerning their manufactures, particularly the art of dyeing. He was to keep a regular journal of all occurrences, which journal, together with a complete collection of specimens of the animals, vegetables, and minerals obtained, as well as articles of the clothes, arms, implements, and manufactures of the Indians, was to be delivered to His Majesty's Secretary of State or to such person as he should appoint to receive them. Lord Grenville, in transmitting a copy of these instructions to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty under date of February 23, 1791, emphasizes the necessity for impressing upon the commander of the ship that he was to afford every degree of assistance to Mr. Menzies, as the service he has been directed to perform "is materially connected with some of the most important objects of the expedition." Sir Joseph Banks was apparently apprehensive as to the treatment he might receive, as witness his last letter to Menzies (August 10, 1791), in which he says: "How Captain Vancouver will behave to you is more than I can guess, unless I was to judge by his conduct towards me— which was not such as I am used to receive from persons in his situation As it would be highly imprudent in him to throw any obstacle in the way of your duty, I trust he will have too much good sense to obstruct it." The Medical His' Although Captain Vancouver and Menzies were usually on good terms, the latter being permitted (according to Sir Joseph's wish) to build a glass frame for his plants upon the quarter-deck, yet the relationship became strained when the Captain demanded Menzies' journals and the latter refused to give them up until Sir Joseph Banks and the Admiralty had granted permission, which was in accordance with instructions issued to him before entering upon his voyage. Menzies' work was further retarded when Vancouver took the man who was tending the plants and placed him before the mast. When Menzies complained that he had lost many of his best plants through this action, Vancouver placed him under arrest for "insolence and contempt." Although the ability of Captain Vancouver and the fact that he accomplished fine work is readily admitted by every one, yet he appears to have been indiscreet at times in exceeding his powers in the matter of discipline. Sir Charles H. Read, who had access to a copy of Vancouver's journal which had been annotated by the surgeon's mate of the Discovery, remarks that Vancouver "seems to have been a somewhat arbitrary commander,'' but this is probably explained by Vancouver's poor state of health at, this time. From Chili, Menzies brought home the monkey puzzle tree (Auraucaria imbricata), the first to be introduced into Great Britain. The story is told that he obtained seeds of this tree when dining with the Spanish Viceroy at a banquet at the Capital St. Jago. While dessert was being served Menzies noticed some nuts of a kind he had not seen before; he put some in his pocket, and on returning to the ship planted them in the glazed frame which had been erected on the quarter-deck for the purpose of preserving plants for the Royal collection at Kew. By the time the ship returned to Britain five of the seeds had taken root and grown into young trees. One of these lived at Kew until the autumn of 1892. There are many entries in the journal showing the activities of this naturalist. As mentioned before, Surgeon Cranstoun of the Discovery had been ill and was released on September 8, 1792, to go home from Nootka. Menzies had been doing the work while the surgeon was ill, and he was then appointed to the vacancy. Vancouver afterwards complimented him by showing that no one life had been lost by sickness during the entire voyage. Menzies made great collections of plants and other objects of natural history. In the Sandwich Islands he ascended Wha-ra-raie and Mauna Loa, an active volcano over 13,000 feet high. He measured their heights with the barometer. Menzies served on board the Sanspareil in the West Indies, under Lord Hugh Seymour, but on returning to London resigned and took up the practice of his profession. He died in Lad- broke Terrace, Notting Hill, on February 15, 1842, and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London, N.S. Menzies left no family, and his wife died some five years before his decease. He had been elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society, in 1790, and on the death of A. B. Lambert, on January 10, 1842, he became the president of the Society for the one month of life that remained for him. A fine painting of this distinguished naturalist hangs on the walls of the Linnean Society's Burlington House. After Vancouver's departure from British Columbia in October 1792, three decades elapsed before the records indicate the arrival of any more medical men in this vast territory. During this period the Nor'Westers, ever in the vanguard of exploration and expansion had not been idle. Alexander MaeKenzie, a Nor'Wester, discoverer of the MaeKenzie River, which he had traced to its mouth in the Arctic Sea, had succeeded in crossing the continent. The Pacific was reached on July 22, 1793, in the vicinity of Bella Coola. MaeKenzie was the first white man to reach the Pacific by the overland route. In 1808, Simon Fraser, another Nor'Wester, explored the river that now bears his name. It had been thought that this stream might be the Columbia and to decide this, Fraser was ordered to trace it to its mouth. Before he reached the present site of New Westminster, where he saw the tide ripples on the water, he knew he Was not on the Columbia. Near the mouth and in sight of the sea, hostile Indians barred his further progress. However, he had fulfilled his order; he had followed the unknown river to tidewater. Another Nor'Wester, David Thompson, was also making history. From 1796 to 1807 he had explored and made himself familiar with the vast territory between The Medical History op British Columbia Lake Superior and the Rocky Mountains. In the latter year he reached the Big Bend of the Columbia, following it. up (south) to its source in the Kootenays. Trading forts were established in what is now Montana and Idaho, but, it was not until 1811 that he reached the Columbia mouth at Astoria, to find that Aster's men had beaten him in the race by a short two months. Eighteen hundred and twelve was a fateful year. War had broken out between Canada and the United States. True soldiers of fortune as the Nor'Westers ever were, they decided to take advantage of that war and capture Astoria. When the Nor'Westers swept down on the post, MacDougall, himself an old Nor'Wester, now in charge of Astor's interests, welcomed his rivals in trade—his friends of yore—with open arms. On October 14, 1813, Duncan MacDougall sold out the furs and provisions in Astoria, worth $100,000, for $40,000. In thirty years "The Pedlars", as the English called the Nor'Westers, had explored from Lake Superior to the Pacific, from the Missouri to the Arctic. The rivalries and enmities of the two great fur companies, Hudson's Bay and Northwest, now became so intense that it culminated in the Battle of Seven Oaks, a few miles north of Winnipeg, in 1816. Governor Semple of the Hudson's Bay Company and a number of his men were killed. A truce was called and the companies were amalgamated under the name of the older partner. A new colossus of empire appeared in the person of Dr. John McLoughlin who was to hold sway over this vast Domain for more than twenty years, 1824 to 1846. John McLoughlin, 1784 to 1857 In the early annals of British settlement on the north Pacific coast of America, there is no more interesting and romantic character than that of Dr. John McLoughlin, chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, from 1824 to 1846. McLoughlin was in charge of all their operations in that vast territory extending from Alaska to California, and from the Rocky Mountains on the east to the shores of the Pacific on the west. Styled by some of his confreres "Emperor of the West", on account of the vast territory over which he exercised the powers of an absolute monarch, yet his reign was char acterized by the exhibition of such sound justice, such wise and humane treatment towards those whose lives he controlled, that to-day he is known as the "first citizen of Oregon" and his memory is respected and revered by the people of that State. Dr. John McLoughlin was born at Riviere du Loup, Quebec, October 22, 1784. While still a boy, his father was drowned, and his mother, with her two boys, John and David, moved to the home of her father, Malcolm Fraser, and there, in the grandfather's old stone mansion overlooking the St. Lawrence, the boys grew up. They caught, a military presence from the soldier grandfather who had brought a Highland regiment with him to America and which, after the victorious campaign of Wolfe, remained to colonize these colonial domains. Here they read Scotch stories, heard the tales of Highland history, and the music of the bagpipes and the sight of kilts and tartan were familiar to them. The brothers were sent overseas, probably to Edinburgh, and were pursuing their medical studies when Napoleon was at the zenith of his power. Dr. David McLoughlin went to the wars and followed the Iron Duke until Napoleon went into exile at St. Helena. Dr. John McLoughlin said "I could never fight Napoleon, I admire him too. much". He returned to Canada. The lure and glamor of the west, the fact that his uncles, the Frasers, were great and powerful in the fur trade, no doubt led him to join the Northwest Company, the partners of which were so aptly styled "Lords of the North" by Washington Irving in his "Astoria". Birth, talent, and a magnificent presence (he was six feet three inches in height) brought rapid promotion and soon he was in command of Sault Ste. Marie. Here he met Margaret McKay, widow of Alexander McKay, one of that adventurous band who accompanied Alexander McKenzie on his trip to the Pacific Coast, 1793. This was the first party of white men to cross the continent and recently a memorial tablet has been unveiled near Bella Coola to commemorate the event. When John Jacob Astor planned to enter the fur trade on the Pacific Coast, he went to Montreal to find the men for his enterprize. McKay met Astor. They liked each other and became partners. McKay, proceeding around the Horn on the Tonquin, finally reached the mouth of the Columbia and there The Medical His the fur traders built, on the site of Astoria, a trading post for the new company. The story by Irving is one of the most fascinating tales of the fur trade. After eight years of patient waiting for a missing husband, word came by a fur brigade from the Columbia, that her husband had been killed at Nootka when the Tonquin and all her crew had been sacrificed by a murderous band of Indians of that coast. Margaret McKay, now a widow, married Dr. McLoughlin at the Lake Superior Fort. A few years later McLoughlin was in command at Fort William and in the meantime, two children were born, Eloise and David. An accident, the capsizing of a canoe and long immersion in the cold waters of Lake Superior, almost cost him his life. When carried into the Fort nearly dead, he was the sole survivor of the accident. His hair, which up to that time had been described as golden—the Indians called it, "sunshine"—turned completely white, and later on the Columbia, his waving white locks and commanding presence, led to the appellation of "The White Eagle", given him by the Indians. In 1816, the intense rivalries of the Nor'- Westers and the Hudson's Bay Company culminated in the Battle of Seven Oaks, a point a few miles north of Winnipeg, at which Governor Semple of the Hudson's Bay Company and twenty of his men were killed. A monument now marks the spot, erected some thirty years ago by the Countess of Selkirk, the last of that illustrious line whose name is so unforgetably described in "The Annals of the History of Western Canada". The wedding of the rival fur companies is historic. When the French and English were fighting at Waterloo, two rival fur companies were fighting in North America, the Hudson's Bay and the Northwest. When the smoke of battle over there cleared away, the British Parliament saw the smoke of battle over here and called a halt. So the hoary old Hudson's Bay Company that had slumbered for a century proposed to the young Northwest Company of Montreal, and both sent their best men to London to discuss the marriage dowry. It was plainly a wedding of capital and labour. The Canadian company had nothing but her hands, her courage, and her magnificent exploration. The London bridegroom had the money-bags of nobles and control of the Bank of England. In the midst of the nuptial settlement a young Canadian doctor startled them all with the boldest speech that had ever rung in those conservative warerooms. He was a study, that courageous young doctor of locks prematurely white and flashing eye, that free-born spirit that had breathed in liberty on the banks of the St. Lawrence. "My Lords and Gentlemen, I plead for better terms! Since the days of Prince Rupert this monster monopoly has sat supinely on the banks of Hudson's Bay and shut out Canada from her birthright. Did we seek extended settlement? It would drive away their game. Did we attempt to trade in furs? They claimed the only right. Westward, beyond the basin of Hudson's Bay there lay an open field. To this the merchants of Montreal sent out their traders. We scoured the forests and threaded the streams. We sought new tribes and won their friendship. We explored the Saskatchewan and the Athabasca. Our men it was that traced the Mackenzie and planted the flag on the polar ocean, and turning back found a way across the mountains to the Pacific itself. While the Hudson's Bay Company waited we ran. We built up posts in remotest wilds, we discovered new waterways, we established trade. When the profits began to flow in, the Hudson's Bay Company began to rub its sleepy eyes and claim the fruits of our toil. They claimed our trading fields and shot our traders. To obstruct our work they threw the Red River settlement across our path, cutting communication with Montreal and blockading our supplies. They prohibited their settlers from selling provisions and tried to starve us out. They used their money to buy over our traders, and when bribes would not suffice they shot us in the forest. Is this the condition of British subjects? No wonder we fought for our rights. And now you ask us to 'share equally' the profits of the trade. I do not object to the union,—God knows I regretted the war,—but ought we to give equal share of those profits they never raised a finger to obtain, nay, did all they could to discourage and destroy? What reward have we for those years of toil and trial if we hand over the moiety now to a rival? It is not right, it is not just, and on behalf of the Northwest Company I contend for better terms." So spoke young McLoughlin, in that London wareroom over one hundred years ago. The very clerks, amazed, stopped scratching with their quill pens in the dim candle-light to listen. They watched him with breathless interest, the Canadian merchants proud of their ehampion, the British baronets and stockholders wondering if of such stuff was made the rebels of the American Revolution. But he was not yet done. "Gentlemen if I contend for better terms The Medical History op Bri for ourselves, what shall I say for our voyageurs, yours as well as ours, who upon a pittance of seventeen pounds a year must man our boats and pack our furs? Wading in icy waters, cordelling canoes in rocky torrents, transforming themselves into beasts of burden at every portage, working eighteen hours out of the twenty-four, cut off from all refinements of social and civilized life, condemned to exile and rapidly sinking to the level of savages, all this that the inordinate profits of their muscles and sinews may pour wealth into the coffers of this trade. Gentlemen, let us consider the hardships of our employees' lives and realize ■that seventeen pounds a year is beggarly recompense for service such as theirs." • It was a new thing for a factor in the fur company to utter a sentiment like that. But, alas! the doctor was too direct for a diplomat. Even the merchants of Montreal were willing to profit by the serfdom of those French- Canadian voyageurs and thought their philanthropic favourite had gone too far. One vote, one voice, could not bring better terms, but one thing the doctor could and did do. John McLoughlin never set his name to the articles of the agreement. That speech was not forgotten. The Board admired and yet they feared him. He was the most popular and energetic of all the Northwest leaders. He must be quieted, he must be honoured, and. more than all, the great Northwester must have room for executive sway. He must rule in Canada, or as far as possible from Canada. No intermediate ground would do. About that time the American Congress had agreed with Parliament upon a joint occupancy of a certain wilderness called Oregon. The very place! A sort of Siberia, far off. Dr. John McLoughlin was delegated with absolute power to the Columbia Department. He knew it was a banishment, but he knew too, that he would be king in that realm beyond George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, was appointed Governor of the Consolidated Fur Companies and soon after Dr. McLoughlin's return to' Canada, it was arranged that he take up his new command at Astoria which had been held by the Nor'- Westers since 1812. On the long journey from Fort William to Astoria, the route followed was that taken by the fur brigades, via the Lake of the Woods, Fort Garry, Lake Winnipeg, up the Saskatchewan to Edmonton; across the Rockies by Athabaska Pass, first traversed by Thompson of the Northwest Company in 1811, and Canoe River to the Big Bend of the Columbia, past what is now Revelstoke, Nakusp, through the Arrow Lakes, Trail, Fort Colville, Walla Walla, and the Dalles of Astoria. Accompanying him besides his family and trading staff was the Fort physician, Dr. Barclay. Arriving at Astoria he found the situation unsuitable, being too close to the ocean to avoid visiting trading ships, and he moved his headquarters up the Columbia on the north side, opposite the Willamette River, some ninety miles from the sea. Long after McLoughlin came to Fort Vancouver in 1824 the river bristled with danger. One dark night in 1829, the Dalles Indians, the most notorious of the river banditti, appeared before the Fort, intent on its capture and destruction of its inmates. A friendly chief had rallied his forces to aid the allies. Next morning McLoughlin called a council and one by one the hostile chiefs were admitted. James Douglas, McLoughlin's chief lieutenant, was there, as were also the chiefs supporting the Governor. The hostile chiefs were sullen, when into their midst came Colin Fraser, a six-foot Highlander in kilts and flowing plume, playing the bagpipes. Up and down the great council hall he strode and played an hour while they waited for McLoughlin. The savages were so subdued they forgot their warlike errand. While still the piper played, McLoughlin entered with a treaty ready drawn up that they would never molest Vancouver. It was signed, presents were distributed and the hostiles departed happy. Incidents such as these were not uncommon and in addition there arose the graver problem of what to do with the incoming settlers. Although a tiny stream at first, they gradually increased in such numbers that, in twenty years it settled the question of the Hudson's Bay Company continuing as a fur-trading monopoly and also decided the possession of Oregon as British territory. In handling these difficult problems, McLoughlin displayed a wise judgment and his firm but humane policies won for him the name of the "Father of Oregon." The events of most interest and those which gave the greatest pleasure to the people of the Fort in these days was the coming and going of the fur brigades. One of the most, colourful was the annual fall trip of the Spanish Brigade, an event eagerly looked forward to by all. Led by McLoughlin himself with his chief officers in the vanguard, the gay cavalcade with its long array of French traders in scarlet belts and Canadian caps, with their picturesque Indian families, the plumes of men and women dancing and waving in the wind, was as brilliant as a hawking party in the days of mediaaval song. Along the valleys, gorges and canyons the brigade made its way, Mt. McLoughlin on the summit of the Cascades a conspicuous landmark on the southern trail; then over the Siskiyouse and the Spanish border is crossed; down past Shasta, (first described by Ogden) on to "the valley of the Sacramento" and the brigade finally terminated its long trek in San Francisco where the Spanish Governor, General Valejo, held sway. In 1838 McLoughlin went to London. Many motives brought this about. He was entitled to leave of absence and his holiday was long overdue. Troubles with the Russians at the Stikeen—the firing of Baron Wrangell's men on Peter Skene Ogden when he attempted to pass the Russian strip of shore—led to vigorous protest, and complaint was lodged by the Hudson's Bay Company at their London headquarters. The London papers upon our traders in Four years Lord Palmerston and Count Nesselrode had been negotiating over the privileges of the shore- strip. Four years Dr. McLoughlin had been piling up supplies that have been glad to purchase. "Let us go to Europe and settle it," wrote the governor on the Columbia to the governor at Sitka. To some who did not understand the doe- tor's statesmanship — and he kept his secrets to himself and Douglas — there were other reasons for that long and tedious trip to London. Some said that Sir George Simpson had complained that Dr. McLoughlin favoured the American Sir George Simpson, so the Hudson's Bay gossips said, had prepared the London Board to give the doe- tor a "wigging" for the high hand he held when that stately form darkened the doors in Fenchurch Street the king of the Columbia was weighed at a true value, a veritable monarch come out of the west. It was a stately occasion when the delegates of the Russian American Fur Company of St. Petersburg met the delegates of the Hudson's Bay Company in a London council and discussed matters usually relegated to the cabinets of kings. The difficulty was adjusted. "And now," said McLoughlin, "we want to lease that ten-league strip of Russian seaboard." Lord Palmerston and Parliament wondered if the Hudson's Bay Company wanted the earth. Already it controlled an extent of territory greater than all Europe. Of what value could be a barren bit of shore on that lonely northwest coast? Dr. McLoughlin knew its value better than the Russian Directorate, better than the London Board, certainly better than the English statesmen, who then regarded those distant realms as vaguely as the phantom deserts in the moon. He knew those rocky islets were rich in priceless sea-furs. For 10,000 land-otter a year the strip was leased, and further reciprocity contracted in furs and flour. Other great schemes were incubated during that London visit; the Puget's Sound Agricultural Company, to hold that inland sea for England; a plan for posts in California just ready to drop decaying Spanish rule l the Columbia; reach to the Hawaiian Islands. In fact, if those American missionaries had stayed over the mountains, England held in her hand the key to commercial empire on the Pacific. It was in 1840 that Sir George Simpson, stirred by the news of the American influx into the Oregon State, said '' I will checkmate this American move if I have to depopulate Red River." To the prosperous farmers of the Red River Valley he promised to each head of a family who would move to Oregon, ten pounds sterling in advance, goods for the journey, horses and provisions at the forts en route, and on arrival at Puget Sound, the Company would furnish houses, barns, fenced fields, fifteen cows, fifty sheep, oxen, horses, farming implements and seed. So in the following year twenty-three families, or eighty persons altogether, agreed to accept Sir George's offer and! met at a rendezvous in June on the White Horse Plains, west of Fort Garry. It was in that year (1841) that Sir George Simpson commenced his famous trip around the world and on his way to the Columbia he passed a lengthened cavalcade far back in Saskatchewan. s Medical History op British Columbia toiling westward under a broiling July sun. In .ox carts they crossed the plains, and scaled the mountains on horse back. They arrived on the Columbia and the leaders and head men of the Red River immigrants came to the Fort. Simpson was perturbed. He had not told McLoughlin about this scheme of settlement and no preparation had been made for them. He said "I am sorry to tell you that we cannot fulfil our agreement. We have neither horses, nor barns, nor fields for you and you are at liberty to go where you please. Tou may go with the California traders and we will give you an outfit. If you locate south of Columbia we will give you nothing. If you go to the Cowlitz we will help you, some. To those who will go to the Sound we will fulfill our agreement." Amazement and then rage filled the minds of the immigrants. Dr. McLoughlin was greatly distressed at the plight of these poor people who had sold their homes and after travelling 2,000 miles had been so cruelly deceived. He followed them to their encampment and in every way helped them to their destination with food, clothing, boots and horses. Slowly, wearily and disheartened they toiled through the woods to Puget Sound. Some remained there but after a severe winter and suffering many hardships, most of them moved to the Willamette Valley where their descen- dents still live. The coming of these immigrants evidently spurred the Company to enter upon agricultural developments in a larger way and it was not long afterwards on the Nisqually Plains, some few miles south of the present site of Tacoma, that the Company was operating a large farm under the name of the Puget Sound Agricultural Association and which was under the management of Dr. William Fraser Tolmie. Other happenings had conduced to put Sir George in bad humour. When he arrived at the Fort, travelling with all the pomp of a potentate, Dr. McLoughlin was absent. James Douglas received him and accorded him the honours due as Governor of the Company. McLoughlin returned next day from the Sound where he had been paying a courtesy call on Commodore Wilks, whose ships were anchored there. A rapid survey of the situation by the Governor made him realize what a thin hold the Company had on the territory. He upbraided McLoughlin for protecting the missionaries and settlers, and was incensed when he knew he had entertained the officers of a visiting war vessel. "Tou are not to encourage Americans in any way," said Sir George, in the positive tone bred of years of command. "The United States will never possess more than a nominal jurisdiction west of the Rocky Mountains, nor, if you do your duty, will it long possess even that. You make a mistake in assisting these missionaries. Let them take care of themselves, refuse them favours, drive them out of the country as soon as possible." "But," interposed the doctor, standing up beside Sir George—he could look down upon him like a little boy—"What excuse can we have for driving them out of the country? They are peaceable, industrious, helpful to the Indian. By the terms of our treaty with the United States they have as good right here as we have." "The Hudson's Bay Company was not chartered to educate the Indian," curtly responded Sir George, hitching up the wires of his glasses in a few once curly locks behind his ears. "That is no part of our business. I would not give them even a spade to till the soil. We want furs, not farms. We must tolerate nothing that interferes with o "Sir George prays only t well-known saying in the upper country. The doctor kept his temper. Better than any one else west of the mountains he understood the policy of his company, and never had that company a more brilliantly cold and calculating manager than Sir George Simpson. "By your management already you have lost us all that country south of the Columbia," continued Sir George. "I lost that country?" cried Dr. McLoughlin, bristling at this unexpected charge. "England never claimed it. The company never expected to hold it. The Joint Occupancy Treaty was in itself official notice to that effect. As for these missionaries, when they come bringing passports signed by the Secretary of War, dare I treat them like Yankee skippers or overland traders?" Sir George, by his John Bull obstinacy, was fast converting the doctor into an American advocate. He saw his error, and with the quick diplomacy for which he was noted he grasped the angry doctor's hand. "I beg your pardon, Chief Factor McLoughlin. I beg your pardon. Your situation is indeed a complicated one. I shall take immediate measures to press this Oregon question to an issue. England cannot afford to lose this territory." How he pressed this question is hidden in the English archives. A few days later Sir George left with Douglas to inspect the-northwest coast and visit Sitka. Late that fall Dr. McLoughlin and Sir George Simpson dropped down on the Columbia on board the Hudson's Bay barque Cowlitz on their way to California. On the last day of 1841 they landed on the sand dunes where in a few short years would rise the magic city of San Francisco. They were royally entertained by General Mariano Guadalupe Valejo, the "Prince of Northern California". On leaving for Mont^re-"'. Sir George remarked "England has no rivals on this coast but the Russians. The Medical History op British Colum Now Mexico owes to British subjects a debt of more than fifty millions of dollars. By assuming a share of this debt on condition of being put in possession of California—" Sir George looked what he did not say. Dr. McLoughlin was silent. He too had his dreams. Dr. McLoughlin returned to the Columbia and Sir George went on across Siberia on his journey around the world. By the end of 1843 a great tide of new settlers had arrived from across the mountains and McLoughlin had written the governing Board in London. "You must positively protect your rights here, and at, once, or lose the country." No answer had come. The threats against Fort Vancouver became bolder. The Indian conspiracy, that shortly deluged the land in blood, was throwing off all concealment. McLoughlin built more bastions and strengthened his pickets. Still no answer came to his appeal for protection by the English Government. Colonists who loved McLoughlin as "The Father of Oregon" begged him to subscribe to the provisional government. Ogden advised it. Ermatinger was ready to become an Amerieaj| citizen. Douglas was absent in the Noxrappilarful of Indian war now threatening and dreading still more an international war over the possession of Oregon, McLoughlin, after long struggles between Company and conscience, after prayers for hours on his knees for God's guidance in his choice, subscribed to the provisional government in August, 1844. Six months too late came the protection for which he had been asking all these years, the British Pacific Squadron. Perhaps it was as well that the war vessels did come too late, for Captain Gordon, commander of the fleet and brother toAberdeen, then Cabinet Minister of England, was a pompous, fire-eating, blustering fellow, utterly incapable of steering a peaceful course through such troublous times. With Gordon boasting how his marines could "draw the Yankees over the mountains," and outlaws among the colonists keen for the loot of a raid on Fort Vancouver—friction might have fanned to war before England or the United States could intervene. The main fleet lay off Puget Sound. The ship Modiste with five hundred marines, anchored in the Columbia off Vancouver and patrolled the river for eighteen months, men drilling and camping on the esplanade in front of the fur post. There came also in October, 1845, two special commissioners from the Hudson's Bay Company to report on Oregon. The report was sent back without McLoughlin's inspection. They had reported against him for favouring the American settlers. Knowing well this was the beginning of the end, McLoughlin sent for Douglas to come down and take charge. The mail of the following spring dismissed Mc Loughlin from the service. That is not the way it was put. It was suggested he' should retire. McLoughlin gave up the reins in 1846 and withdrew from Vancouver Fort to live among the settlers he had befriended at Oregon City on the Willamette. The commissioners' report of Dr. McLoughlin irritated the London Board. "What right has a chief factor in our employ to meet those immigrants with boatloads of supplies, to nurse their sick in our hospital, and to loan them seed and agricultural implements to open up farms on the Willamette?" Across the sea there came a call to halt, and an account was demanded of Dr. McLoughlin. Strong in the consciousness of his own integrity the doctor answered: "Gentlemen, as a man of common humanity I could not do otherwise than to give those naked and starving people to eat and to wear of our stores. I foresaw, clearly that it aided in the American settlement of the country, but this I cannot help. It is not for me, but for God, to look after and take care of the consequences. The Bible tells me, 'If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he be naked, clothe him.' These settlers are not even enemies. If the' directors find fault with me they quarrel with heaven. I have simply done what any one truly worthy the name of a man could not hesitate to do. I ask you not to bear these debts; let them be my own. Let me retain the profits upon these supplies and advances made to settlers, and I will cheerfully assume all payments to the company. All that I can do honourably for my company shall be done. Beyond that I have no pledges. Shall I leave these Americans to starve, or drive them from the country? Gentlemen, if such be your orders, I can serve you no longer.'' And so, on account of assisting the immigrants, Dr. McLoughlin resigned his position at the head of the Hudson's Bay Company west of the Rocky Mountains, and thereby sacrificed a personal income of $12,000 per annum. It is unnecessary to express an opinion on his character. The record of his rule in Oregon is the truest verdict on his character. His was one of the rare spirits in this world who not only followed right, but, followed right when there was no reward; who not only did right, but did right when it meant positive loss to himself and the stabs of malignity from ungrateful people whom he had benefited. Most people can be saintly when a Heaven of prizes is dangling just in front of them, but fewer people can follow the narrow way when it leads to loss and pain and ignominy. McLoughlin could, and that Christ-like quality in his character places him second to none among the heroes of Canadian history. As Selkirk's name is indis- solubly connected with the hero-days of Red River, so McLoughlin's is enshrined in the The Medical History op Briti heroic past, of Oregon. In Hudson's Bay House in London one may look in vain for portraits or marble busts of these men. Portraits there are of bewigged and beruffled princes and dukes who ruled over estates that would barely make a. back-door patch to Red River or Oregon; but not a sign to commemorate the fame of the two men who founded empires in America, greater in area than Great Britain and France and Germany and Spain combined. Following his retirement from the Hudson's Bay Company, Dr. McLoughlin established his home.at Oregon City, a few miles below Portland. Dr. Barclay had followed him there and was his constant attendant during the few remaining years of his old chief. The end came in 1857. He and his beloved wife lie side by side in the little R.C. churchyard in Oregon City. A full length portrait of him hangs in the Legislative Chamber of the State Capitol at Salem where his memory is revered as ''Father of Oregon.'' To complete the medical records during Dr. McLoughlin's regime on the Columbia, there is noted in the minutes of the Council of the Company, 1830,- at an annual gathering of all the chief administrators from the Atlantic to Pacific and held at Norway House, Lake Winnipeg, a list of personnel at Fort Vancouver containing the names of James Kennedy, surgeon; also of Forbes Barclay, surgeon. As before mentioned, the latter fol- Dr. winiam lowed Dr. McLoughlin to Oregon City and ministered to him in his last illness. In the records of the same Council, 1843, we find mention made of Dr. William Fraser Tolmie who had joined the Company at Fort Vancouver in 1833. In the minutes of the Council in this year, orders were given to establish on the Straits of Fuca a post to be named Fort Victoria. No doubt coming events in Oregon had led to this action and it was Douglas himself who was sent, from Vancouver to establish the new post at Camosun and now Victoria. When Dr. McLoughlin handed over the reins to "James Douglas, the latter made his headquarters at the new post of James Bay, and it was in 1849 that Vancouver was made a Crown Colony under Governor Blanshard. William Fraser Tolmie Although more than four decades have passed since Dr. William Fraser Tolmie died he is still remembered by the older residents of British Columbia as one of its most esteemed and prominent citizens. Almost, one hundred years ago, in 1833, he first came to Fort Vancouver, Washington, as a surgeon in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company and throughout the remainder of his life continued an active factor in the work of progress and development here. During the later years of his life he was prominently identified with agricultural pursuits, owning a valuable farm of eleven hundred acres. He was likewise well known as an ethnologist and historian and possessed an intimate knowledge of Indian affairs. Dr. Tolmie was born in Inverness, Scotland, on February 3, 1812. He acquired his education in Glasgow, graduating from Glasgow University in 1832, in which year he* crossed the Atlantic to America as a surgeon in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. He came Fort Vancouver on the ili the Fort in 1833. greatly interested and discovered m this coast, some of which Columbia by way of Cape Horn, stopping at Honolulu and the Sandwich Islands, arriving at In his younger days he was l botany and natural history, plants and birds on :e named after him. In 1833, while on a botanizing trip, panied by two or three Indians, he made the first attempt of any white man to scale Mount Rainier, Washington, but owing to his holiday coming to an end, he was unable to get to the summit. A peak of this mountain is now called The Medical History < Tolmie Peak in his honour. In 1834 he was a member of an expedition along the northwest coast as far as the Russian boundary, now Alaska, establishing trading posts at various points for the Hudson's Bay Company and at this time also choosing the site for Fort Simpson. About 1835 he was the first white man to draw attention to the fact that coal was to be found on this coast somewhere in the In 1836 Dr. Tolmie returned to Fort Vancouver in the capacity of surgeon. In 1841 he visited his native land, and returned to Canada the following year, making the overland journey by way of Fort Garry and other Hudson's Bay Company posts. Upon arriving at Fort Vancouver he was placed in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company posts on Puget Sound, with headquarters at Fort Nisqually. He took a very prominent part in the Indian war of 1855 and' 1856, and as he was quite familiar with a number of Indian languages, it was through his efforts and knowledge that the red men were pacified. In 1855 he was made chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Nisqually, and after the company gave up their possessory rights to American soil, he removed to Victoria in 1859 and continued in its service, building at this time the first stone house erected in British Columbia and which is now occupied by his descendants. Dr. Tolmie remained in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company and also as agent of the Puget Sound Company until 1870, when he retired to his farm, which he had purchased several years previously. He was very active in agricultural affairs and did much to raise the standard and grade of cattle and horses, importing thoroughbred stock . He also gained recognition as an ethnologist and historian, contributing valuable treatises and articles on the history and languages of the west coast natives. He gave the vocabularies of a number of tribes to Dr. Seouler and George Gibbs and these have been published in contributions to American Ethnology. In 1884 he collaborated with Dr. G. M. Dawson in the publication of a nearly complete series of short vocabularies of the principal languages spoken in British Columbia. To-day, the works of Dr. Tolmie stand as authoritative in the history of the northwest and this province. All through his life he was ever ready to contribute from his extensive store of knowledge to anyone to whom it would be useful, and, being at all times public-spirited and progressive, his opinions were highly valued. He remained intimate with Indian affairs until the time of his death, which occurred on December 8, 1886, when he had reached the age of 74 years. In 1850 Dr. Tolmie married Miss Jane Work, the eldest daughter of John Work, then chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Victoria. Mrs. Tolmie, who passed away on June 23,1880, became the mother of seven sons and five daughters. Hon. Simon Fraser Tolmie, the present Premier of British Columbia and an outstanding man of affairs in his native province, is a son of this distinguished pioneer physician. Dr. Tolmie was a member of the local legislature for two terms, representing the Victoria district until 1878. The cause of public instruction always found in him a staunch supporter and ardent champion and for many years he served as a member -of the board of education. He held many positions of trust and responsibility and was everywhere recognized as a valued and respected citizen. Generous and kind-hearted, he is still remembered for his many acts of quiet charity and for his loyalty and friendship. In the western part of Point Grey, Vancouver, near the main entrance to the University of British Columbia, "Tolmie Street" brings to one's mind, the memory of this outstanding pioneer. The Period op Gold Discovery, 1849 to 1882 As the colonization and development of British Columbia practically had its inception about 1849 and onward, and was coincident with the discovery of gold, which brought in its train hosts of adventurers and others, many of whom became outstanding pioneer citizens of the province, a brief outline will be given of this important event in the annals of the young colony. The departure of the Hudson's Bay Company from their Columbia River Headquarters at Fort Vancouver to Fort Victoria was scarcely accomplished when the news of the California gold discoveries became a theme of The Medical History op British Columbia world-wide interest. Hard on the heels of the California strike in '49, Governor Blanshard, in August, 1850, reported to Earl Grey the finding of gold in the Queen Charlotte Islands. Douglas, now in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company's interests at Victoria, realizing the importance of this, fitted out an expedition in 1851 to prospect the new gold fields.. While some gold was found and numerous prospecting parties investigated the gold-bearing strata, yet the amount of the precious metal recovered was so little that it did not pay the cost of the expedition, and, as a result, this field was early abandoned. The scene of the gold search now shifts southward. The earliest, find is that attributed to Chief Trader McLean at Kamloops, who obtained gold dust from the natives in 1852. From that time on until 1856 various authentic reports of gold finds on the lower Fraser and Thompson Rivers were made. In 1858 came the first rush of gold seekers and by the summer of that year it was in full tide. The extent of this influx and its influence in determining the development of the mainland will be taken up in a subsequent chapter. In the meantime, important events were happening in the young colony of Vancouver Island. John Sebastian Helmcken In March, 1850, the ship Norman Morrison arrived in Esquimalt Harbour, bringing eighty pioneer immigrants, mostly servants of the Hudson's Bay Company. The passengers and crew had had a strenuous time fighting an outbreak of smallpox which had occurred during the voyage. On arrival the ship was placed in quarantine for three weeks. On the ship was a young surgeon, John Sebastian Helmcken, and much of the success in quelling the epidemic, in which only two persons lost their lives, was due to the skill and care given them by him. Doctor Helmcken was destined to achieve distinction in his adopted country, not only in his professional capacity but also as a statesman. Open-hearted, generous, genial and witty, the Doctor's spontaneous good humour and broad sympathy soon endeared him to all with whom he came in contact. No more distinguished citizen has ever graced the ranks of the profession in this province. John Sebastian Helmcken was born June 5, 1825, in London, England, and came of pure German ancestry. His father was a native of Bremerlee, Germany, and his mother's father was a native of Miskirch, Germany. He acquired his early education in his native city. His father having died, Dr. Graves, of Trinity Square, on Tower Hill, London, a physician well known in his day, took a liking to the boy, and very kindly gave him a position in his surgery with pay, intending him to become a druggist. Eventually young Helmcken was articled as an apprentice, during which time he had to put up all of the prescriptions, including, the making of pills, which in those days was a matter entirely different from that to-day. Before the expiration of the four years' apprenticeship, he became a student at Guy's Hospital. At the end of the four years' "connection with hospital, having fulfilled the legal requirements, Mr. Helmcken obtained a diploma from the Royal College of Surgeons, England, also a licence from the Apothecaries Society. During his first two years' residence at Guy's Hospital he saw all of the operations, great or small, performed without an anaesthetic. After this he witnessed the first operation performed under the newly-discovered ether, Dr. Gull administering the ansesthetic. Through his strenuous work, Dr. Helmcken's health became impaired, and he was given, as a reward for merit, for he had captured several prizes during the course, an appointment to the Hudson's Bay Company's ship Prince Rupert on its voyage to York Factory on Hudson's Bay and return. Accompanying the Prince Rupert was a vessel containing a government expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, the Arctic explorer, which had to travel from York Factory to the MaeKenzie River. Mr. Helmcken returned from this journey, accompanied by Dr. Rae of the Hudson's Bay Company, the celebrated explorer, who was a passenger on the Prince Rupert. Restored to health Mr. Helmcken then spent another year in study and was granted his M.R.C.S., England. We next find him as surgeon on the passenger ship Malacca, bound for Bombay. This vessel was built by the same firm, Messrs. Wigram and Green, who, it is interesting to note, built the pioneer Pacific steamer Beaver for the Hudson's Bay Company. For a The Medical History op British ( 17 re likely to i represen- of three year and a half in the Malacca he sailed the Indian Seas. At that time Hong-Kong and Singapore were in their infancy, while the gates of Canton were shortly to be opened. Returning home, Dr. Helmcken met Mr. Barclay, Secretary of the Hudson's Bay Company, who gave him an appointment as clerk and colonial surgeon in the Company's service and in the process of time he was promoted to a chief- tradership in the service. A few weeks after his arrival the Doctor was sent to Fort Rupert as medical officer and almost immediately he became identified with public affairs. In writing to the colonial secretary his record of Dr. Helmcken's appointment to Fort Rupert, Governor Blanshard refers to the Indians there as "numerous, savage and dangerous," and considered that Helmcken would be mo be impartial in his judgment than , tative of the Company. In 1850, following the massacre British subjects by the natives, Blanshard writes Earl Grey an account of the trouble and informs him that Helmcken has tendered his resignation as magistrate, as, without proper support, the office merely exposes him to contempt and insult, and he further states that being in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company he cannot conscientiously decide the cases which occurred, which were almost invariably between the Company and its servants. Soon after this, Dr. Helmcken was called to Victoria to attend Governor Blanshard, Dr. Benson, his predecessor, having been transferred to Fort Vancouver. He returned in a canoe paddled by Indians—a wild lot. For two hundred miles or more down the coast the party had to run the gauntlet of hostile red men, and were all of the time in considerable danger. Arriving in Victoria at the end of December. Dr. Helmcken found Governor Blanshard -by this time recovered from his illness, and ever since that period, from the building of the first house to the time of his death, Dr. Helmcken maintained his residence in Victoria. In 1856 the Colony had its first election, and on July 22, 1856, Dr. Helmcken was chosen as one of the representatives of Esquimalt. At the opening of the first House Assembly, as the parliament of Vancouver Island was called, he was elected Speaker. The discovery of gold on the lower Fraser, 1858, was a determining factor in bringing about the formation of the Colony of British Columbia. Thirty thousand Argonauts booked passage from San Francisco and the sleepy little village of Victoria was, overnight, transformed into a busy bustling town. Many others came overland from the south and from the east, and altogether it is estimated that over1 thirty-five thousand men arrived that year in British Columbia, all bound for the new gold fields/ New problems faced the Government. Law and order had to be preserved, and altogether the situation caused considerable anxiety in the mind of Douglas. He recommended that the mainland be made into a colony, which advice was approved of and carried out by order of the colonial office, taking effect on July 22, 1858. On that date Queen Victoria chose the name of the new colony, British Columbia, although up to that time the mainland had previously been described as a "Department-of the Columbia" by the Hudson's Bay Company, and again as "New Caledonia". The Royal Engineers arrived in Esquimalt in the spring of 1859 on the ship Thames City. They came in three sections, the third and largest arriving at Victoria in April, 1859. From thence they proceeded to the mainland, . following the first two sections which already were making preparations for the laying out of the Capital of the new colony. With the third section came Staff-Assistant-Surgeon J. B. Seddall, who was the first resident medical man on the mainland of British Columbia. Her Majesty, also, although at a later date, gave the name of "New Westminster" to the Capital of the colony. From 1858 until 1863 the dual position of Governor of both colonies was held by Douglas. In September, 1863, when the commission of Douglas lapsed, the colonial office seized the opportunity to separate the administration of the two colonies. In June of that year the Duke of Newcastle instructed Douglas in an order-in-eouncil, passed the same month, to arrange for the calling into existence of a legislative council for the - colony of British Columbia. The first legislative council of British Columbia met in the city of New Westminster, January, 1864. 18 The Medical History op British Colum: Governor Kennedy was appointed in 1864 to succeed Douglas as Governor for Vancouver Island. In the colony of British Columbia, Sir James was followed by Fred. Seymour, formerly Governor of British Honduras. In January, 1865, the Vancouver Island House of Assembly moved a resolution favouring annexation to British Columbia. This proposal appears to have been strongly opposed by Governor Seymour. Petitions for and against were circulated in both colonies, but finally the Secretary of State for the Colonies settled the question by carrying through parliament the Union Act of 1866, by the terms of which Vancouver Island was "annexed" to British Columbia. The Act was proclaimed at Victoria and New Westminster, November 17th, 1866, and Governor Seymour undertook the administration of the united colonies. The meeting of the House of Assembly of the combined colonies met in New Westminster until 1868, when, after a prolonged controversy, Victoria was selected as the permanent capital of British Columbia. In the stirring events of these days, Dr. Helmcken played a conspicuous part. In addition to attending to his duties as Hudson's Bay Company surgeon, he filled the office of Coroner, Health Officer, etc., and it was said of him that he was the leading physician from San Francisco to the north pole and from Asia to the Red River. He used to put up the medicines for the patients of the Hudson's Bay Company's trading posts up the coast and in the interior, and he wittily referred to these as so many purges, so many dozen pukes, and so many dozen of quinine and calomel, etc. The first Legislatures of Vancouver Island met in the Batehelor's Hall of the .old Fort, 1856. There was no clerk, and much writing to be done, and so, as Speaker, Helmcken had much work to do. He retained his office until the union of the colonies, 1866. Following the meeting of the first assembly in Sapperton, the same year, Dr. Helmcken was appointed a member of the Executive Council. It was he who moved the resolution that the seat of Government be at Victoria. Two years later, this was an accomplished fact. Agitation concerning confederation with the Dominion now arose. Helmcken was active with other members, of the council in formulating the terms of confederation, and when these were approved by the Legislature, he, with Mr. Trutch and Dr. Carrall, were appointed as delegates to carry the terms to Ottawa, where they were, in substance, agreed to. Following confederation in 1871, Dr. Helmcken was offered a sena- torship but declined, preferring to take care of his family and his medical practice. Dr. Robert W. W. 'Carrall. of the Cariboo, one of the delegates, was appointed senator and Mr. Trutch became the first Governor of the Prov- Hon. J. S. Helmcken was appointed first president of the British Columbia Medical Association, January 15, 1885, and his son Dr. James Douglas Helmcken was elected secretary - treasurer at the same meeting. Dr. Helmcken was married, December 27, 1852, to Miss Cecilia Douglas, daughter of the Governor. As there was no church, the ceremony was performed in the mess room of the Fort by the Rev. Mr. Staines, chaplain of the Company. The writer had the pleasure of meeting Dr. J. S. Helmcken in Victoria, in 1912 and knew his son, Dr. "Jim", as he was called in Victoria. For some years before his death Dr. J. S. Helmcken lived with his daughter, Edith Louisa Higgins, a widow. His end came peacefully on September 1, 1920. Facing the main entrance of St. Paul's, one of the major hospitals of Vancouver, is the western terminus of The Medical History op British Columbia arteries of the city. In this manner is the name of British Columbia's pioneer physician commemorated there. The Gold Rush op 1858 The discovery of gold on the Fraser, in 1858, gave the impetus that transformed Victoria from a sleepy little backwoods trading post into a populous rendezvous. At first there was a marked inclination on the part of the American miners and adventurers coming from San Francisco to give preference to the American ports on Puget Sound. Port Townsend was, for a short time, a favourite place of debarkation; then Whatcom on Bellingham Bay and lastly, Semiahmoo, just south of the international boundary, each being "boosted" in turn by the California press. Finally, the impatient and sorely tried miners, who had been lured to Whatcom, Port Townsend and other points, realized that they had been tricked by their unscrupulous compatriots. When the bubble burst, and the Bellingham Bay Trail became a byword and a reproach, it was then that Victoria—at first shunned by American citizens, or at least by a great number of them—came to be generally recognized as the one and proper place of departure for the Fraser River. A city of canvass sprang up on the shores of James Bay. The population increased by hundreds over night, and although, in the cosmopolitan throng, there were many turbulent spirits and pure adventurers they were, generally, well behaved. Alfred Waddington, one of the outstanding men of this period in British Columbia, describes the heterogeneous peoples arriving in the colony as "The outpourings of a population containing, like that of California, the outseour- ings of the world" but he qualifies this harsh criticism with the remark "Let it be said here, to the credit of the town of Victoria, that some of the worst of these characters kept away." He is careful to add: "Mixed up among all these, however, was a large body of responsible emigrants, patient, hardworking miners, and others; honest men who had come to live here by their industry, hoping to assist their families and-better their position; quiet law-abiding citizens, if ever there were. Many of these have been sadly disappointed, whilst others, more successful, have remained here and form a considerable proportion of our present population, as exemplary a one as is to be met with." As a matter of fact, the men of 1858 were western pioneers of a fine type. Naturally, there was a small residue of disreputable element, but these were soon eliminated. The early-history of no settlement, launched in such peculiar and trying circumstances, is so free from crime as the early history of British Columbia, and that, in itself, shows The Medical Men c ) 1878 Among the number of strong and able pioneers who achieved distinction in one way or another in their adopted country were several medical men, who, during the two decades 1858 to 1878, rendered signal service to their communities in various positions of trust, and also as members of the Legislative Assemblies of the Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the House of Commons and Senate of Canada. Dr. James Trimble, a native of Ireland, sat in the old Vancouver Island Assembly in 1859, representing Victoria. Later he represented the same city in the Legislature of British Columbia, 1871-76, during which time he was Speaker. He was a strong advocate of union with the Dominion in the days preceding the days of the entry of British Columbia into Confederation. He died on January 1, 1885, at Victoria. His name is commemorated in Vancouver in Trimble Street, West Point Grey. Dr. John Kennedy, a retired officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, represented Nanaimo in the Assembly of 1859. Dr. Israel W. Powell arrived in Victoria in April, 1862, via Panama and San Francisco, to engage in the practice of his profession. He was born at Simcoe, Lake Erie, Ontario, April 27, 1837, and after a liberal academical training, graduated in medicine at McGill University, Montreal. He belonged to an old United Empire Loyalist family, one of whose ancestors, Thomas Powell, settled on Long Island, 1645, and many of whose representatives had been prominent in eastern Canada. Soon after establishing his residence in Victoria we find him taking a prominent part in the affairs of the city and of the colony. Elected to the old Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island, he was a member of that body from September, 1863, to August, 1866. It was during the Session of 1865 that he introduced and carried the law establishing the first system of free public schools in British Columbia and was the first president of the Board of Education. Dr. Powell was a strong advocate of the union of the Colonies which took place in 1866, and subsequently was a leader on the Island of Vancouver in the agitation for Confederation, making the first public speech in its behalf. Public feeling in Victoria was strongly opposed to union with Canada, and he, therefore, was on the unpopular side; so much so, that he lost his election as a candidate for the Legislative Assembly in 1866 in consequence of his championship of the cause. After 1871 the efforts Dr. Powell had made on behalf of The Medical History < Confederation and his standing in the community were recognized by Sir John A. Macdonald who offered him a Senatorship. This, owing to the time involved and consequent neglect of private interests, he could not afford to accept, but, in 1872, at the request of the Canadian Premier, he became superintendent of Indian Affairs in the province, in which capacity he remained until 1890. Dr. Powell played a prominent role in promoting the Medical Act which became law in 1886, and was elected first president of the Medical Council of British Columbia. He took an initiative part in inducing the Canadian Pacific Railway to extend its line through Port Moody to Granville, now Vancouver City, making the latter its real terminus, and, with others, he did much to further the development of Vancouver as an urban centre. In a sense, therefore, Dr. Powell may be said to have been one of the fathers of Vancouver, a child of which any foster parent might well be proud. An important thoroughfare in Vancouver, Powell Street, is named after him. In 1862 there arrived in Victoria from England Dr. John Chapman Davie, who, with several members of his family, was destined to become noted in the affairs of the province. Of his several sons, Dr. John Chapman Davie, Jr., became one of the foremost surgeons on the Pacific Coast; Alexander was Premier of the province when death removed him; Theodore had been Premier and was Chief-Justice at the time of his death. Dr. John Chapman Davie, Sr., was a member of the British Columbia Legislature in the late 'sixties, and, in partnership with his son, carried on medical practice in Victoria until his death about the mid-seventies. Dr. John Chapman Davie, Jr., or Dr. J. C. Davie, as he was known after the death of his father, achieved the distinction of becoming the most outstanding surgeon in British Columbia for more than three decades, and not until ill health called a halt upon his activities did he give place to others. As the most prominent surgeon of his day in British Columbia, a more extended and comprehensive account of his life and work will follow in a later chapter. In these early days of the "sixties" in Victoria, in addition to the medical men already referred to, we find the names of Dr. James Dickson, Dr. Haggin, and Dr. John Ash, all listed in 1865, with Dr. J. C. Davie, Sr., Dr. James Trimble, and Dr. I. W. Powell, as medical attendants to the Royal Hospital at Victoria. Dr. John Ash, was, in the early "seventies," a member of the Legislature of British Columbia, and was Provincial Secretary, 1872-74, in the Government of Mr. Amor de Cosmos. On the mainland, as will be noted later under the caption of "Early Colonial Hospitals", Staff-Surgeon Seddall, who arrived with the Royal Engineers in New Westminster, 1859, was the first resident medical man to practise his profession there. He also established the first hospital on the mainland at New Westminster, and when he departed for England in 1863, his term of service with the Engineers having expired, the hospital was turned over to the people of New Westminster and became the Royal Columbian. Dr. Oliver, 1860-66, is mentioned as one of the early physicians of New Westminster. Dr. A. W. S. Black, 1862-71, probably one of the best known physicians of New Westminister in the "sixties", was elected to the first Legislative Assembly of the Colony of British Columbia in 1863, representing Cariboo West, and on January 13, 1864, when it met in New Westminster, among the members of council was the Honourable A. W. S. Black. He was an ardent supporter of union with Canada, and in 1868 we find him attending the Yale Convention, where representatives from the various parts of the Colony had gathered to discuss this important question. Arthur Walter Shaw Black was born at Bo'ness, formerly called Boroughstoneness, a small town sixteen miles from Edinburgh. After receiving his medical degree, he served in the Crimean War as a surgeon, and later went to Australia, arriving in British Columbia, via San Francisco, in 1862. On the head stone over his grave in New Westminster is the following inscription: Sacred to the memory o f A W. S. Black, M.D., Bo -natBo'n ess, Scotlanc iii was killed on the night of the 26th of March 1871, a fall from professioi al duties. ning to nil his Erecte 1 to tl e late D n British . Black by his i riends . The place of the accident was about midway between New Westminster and Granville, on the old Douglas Road which connects New Westminster and Granville (now Vancouver). For a number of years there was a sign indicating the place where he fell. A record of the medical men of this period in New Westminster would be incomplete without due mention of Dr. Brouse, 1862. It is noted that he attended the Yale Convention in 1868, and practised his profession there. A son was born at Yale and he later became a doctor—a graduate of McGill and practised in New Denver, British Columbia, in the late "nineties". He came to Vancouver after the war, limiting his practice to skin diseases, and died in Vancouver a few years ago. A son of the latter is also a graduate in medicine of McGill and was house surgeon in the Vancouver General Hospital half a dozen or more 5 Medical History op British Columbia r practising in Saskatch- years ago, and i Dr. W. H. McNaughton Jones was a resident of New Westminster in 1866, and later removed to Vancouver Island, where he practised his profession at Nanaimo and Victoria, and, later, up to the time of his death, at the Quarantine Station at Williams Head. The all important question before the British Columbia Legislature in 1870 was the consideration of the "Terms of Union", as proposed by Governor Anthony Musgrave. After two weeks' debate, ending March 25th, the resolutions were adopted and the task of negotiating the "Terms of Union" with the Dominion authorities was entrusted to the Hon. J. S. Helmcken, Mr. Joseph W. Trutch and Dr. Robert W. W. Carrall. On July 7, 1870, the terms were agreed upon, the Dominion accepting, almost in their entirety, British Columbia's proposals. The most important clause in the treaty between Canada and British Columbia, known as the "Terms of Union", provided for the construction of a railway to connect the seaboard of British Columbia with the railway system of Canada. The terms, as agreed upon, were ratified by the electorate in the fall of 1870, and the Crown Colony of British Columbia became the Province of British Columbia in the Dominion of Canada, July 20, 1871. It is interesting to note that the Government of Sir John A. Macdonald, in appointing the Senators for British Columbia, offered these positions, three in all, to Honourable Dr. J. S. Helmcken, Dr. I. W. Powell, and Dr. Robert W. W. Carrall. The first two declined the honour on account of personal reasons and practically dropped out of public life from that date on, devoting their time to their private interests. Dr. Robert William Weit Carrall, member for Cariboo in the Provincial Legislature, 1869, accepted the Senatorship offered him and represented British Columbia in that august body for a number of years. Dr. Carrall, a big, powerful-looking man, was a fair speaker, though declamatory in style, and, for a time at least, a social favourite at Ottawa. He was one of the strongest advocates of Confederation and assisted materially in negotiating the "Terms of Union." Across the busiest part of downtown Vancouver, stretching from north to south, across the peninsular portion upon which the business section is built, is a short but important thoroughfare — Carrall Street. In this manner has Vancouver commemorated the name of the first medical Senator from British Columbia. Medical Men op the Cariboo It is estimated that from thirty to thirty-five thousand men were attracted to the Fraser River and Cariboo gold fields during the period 1858 to 1865. Among these, no doubt, were numbered a score or more of medical men, but when, even with the assistance of men yet living who as boys were in Barkerville in 1865, an attempt is made to single out some of these pioneer medical men, one finds that less than ten are remembered as having actually practised their profession— the rest engaging in the mining business. There was little sickness among the miners, as only the strong and hardy could stand the strain of the life. However, owing to the numerous accidents and injuries, many of them of a serious nature, and which were due to the nature of the industry, a strong appeal was made by the miners to Governor Seymour to establish a public hos- The fall of 1863 saw the erection of the William's Creek Hospital at Barkerville, and Dr. John Chipps, an English graduate, was appointed its first medical officer. The financial position of the institution a year later was decidedly precarious, so much so that Dr. Chipps and the steward consented to remain on duty without salary on condition that their board be furnished. In September, 1865, Dr. Chipps sent in his resignation and Dr. Thomas Bell was appointed in his place. Dr. Chipps, who continued in practise in Barkerville, was then about fifty years of age, and was generally held in high esteem, being trusted by everyone. During his stay in the Cariboo his daughter came out from England to keep house for him, and together, when the mining business waned at Barkerville, they moved to Granite Creek and from thence to Vernon, where it is reported he died about 1886. From all accounts now available, Dr. Thomas Bell, who succeeded Dr. Chipps in the Barkerville Hospital in 1865, was the foremost medical man of the district and continued so up to the time of his death, which occurred about 1870. Not many of the old Cariboo pioneers are left, but from Mr. J. B. Le'ghton, of Savona, now over 80 years of age, but still hale and hearty and with a most retentive memory, who resided in the Cariboo from 1865 and on for more than forty years, the following facts were gleaned. "Dr. Bell was an Englishman, well qualified in his profession. He attended to his practice and did not indulge in mining as did nearly all the other doctors at that time. He was of slender build, not very robust, a skilful surgeon and well Uked by all. He was the outstanding medical man of the Cariboo at that time, as he stuck to his work and was always sober. I recall a case that will illustrate his surgical skill. A miner by name of George Murdock had the end of his nose bitten off in a fight in 1866. Dr. Bell did a plastic operation, using the skin of The Medical History c the forearm to make a graft to cover the denuded area. I saw the man walking about with his arm tied to his head. The result was perfect. "At the time of the gold excitement there were four towns close to each other, only a mile or so apart, Richfield, Barkerville, Camerontown, and Maryville. On September 14, 1868, Barkerville was destroyed by fire and the miners, in referring to any event after that dated it before or after the fire." With the decline of gold production, from 1867 onward, the population of the district by the early "seventies" 'had been reduced to a few hundred persons, and public support of the hospital had dwindled to the vanishing point. There was not even a medical man left in the once populous camp, and it was then that the Government decided to subsidize a physician to take charge of the medical work of the district. About 1873 Dr. Hugh Watt, with headquarters at Barkerville, was appointed to the position. Dr. Watt later moved to Fort Steele and probably died there. His son was also a doctor and was quarantine officer at Williams Head for a number of years, succeeding the late Dr. George Duncan in that position about 1896. Dr. Watt the younger met his death by accident while a patient in St. Joseph's Hospital, Victoria. From the records of the Cariboo Hospital, August 10,1864, the following items are noted.— Dr. Black for services and medicines, $780. (This probably was Dr. A. W. S. Black of New Westminster). Dr. Brown for services and medicines, $500. We will now continue the narrative of Mr. Leighton as related to the writer in the fall of 1929. "I was a boy of fifteen years of age when I arrived in Barkerville in 1865 to work in my uncle's store. The first doctor I met was a Doctor Metiinnis at Yale in 1865. He was a Highland Scotsman, a scholar, and a gentleman. His practice was limited largely to the care of accident cases and treatment of venereal disease. For picking powder out of a man's face he got a fee of $200. The following year he moved to Lytton and remained there until 1872 when he removed to the coast. He was clever and well liked, but his habits were somewhat irregular. "In the period, 1863 to 1868, in addition to Dr. Bell, there was Dr. Trevor, a clever English physician, located at Quesnel, whose daughter kept house for him. He left the district in 1868. "Dr. Wilkinson, a Canadian, a man of about thirty-five years of age, fine, healthy looking and wearing a full beard, which was the custom of the day, arrived in the country about 1864. He followed the mining game rather than his profession. He attended Peter Dunlevy, of Soda Creek, one of the prominent men of the district, in a severe illness and was successful in pulling his patient through. He died at Cottonwood, forty miles from Barkerville in 1866. "Dr. T. N. Foster, a Scotsman, arrived in Camerontown in 1863. He was a man of fine physique and a perfect gentleman. He was interested in the Forest Rose Mining Company, Camerontown. He did very little practice and seldom charged for his advice or service. He left the country after 1872, or may have died "In 1864 an American homoeopathic physician, Dr. Siddall, arrived in the Cariboo. He had quite a following, but engaged principally in mining. He left the country about 1868. "The man I am going to mention next, although not a doctor, did a large amount of practice among the miners. He was a chemist, by the name of F. W. Foster, who came to Lillooet in 1860. He did a large business in treating venereal disease, and although he told his clients he was not a doctor, they trusted him because he tried to help them. He moved to Clinton a year or two later, and was reported at one time to be the wealthiest man in the Cariboo. He left Clinton in 1900 and died in Victoria, probably in 1902. His wife only passed away this spring (1929), and he has a son and daughter living in Victoria. "Practice in the Barkerville Hospital was comprised largely of accident cases, no contagious diseases being admitted. "Dr. Robert Carrall came to the Cariboo in . 1867. He was interested in the Minnehaha claim at Mosquito Creek. In 1871 he was a delegate to Ottawa with Dr. J. S. Helmcken and Mr. Trutch, to arrange the "Terms of Union" with the Dominion. For his service he was appointed a Senator the same year—a genial, warm hearted man and one of my best friends. I understand he died in a New Westminster Hospital." During the decade, 1864-74, a vast extent of territory in British Columbia was prospected, a number of "strikes" were made, and the resulting stampedes caused a rush of miners to the new fields. In most instances the results were disappointing, but in some the gold recovered was not inconsiderable and justified the efforts made. In 1864, from the Kootenays came a report of gold discovery at Wild Horse Creek. A rush followed, and, as entry into the new field was more feasible from the south, most of the miners entered through the adjacent American territory. In 1865 an all-Canadian trail was built from Princeton, via Rock Creek, Midway, Grand Forks, across the Columbia to Trail, thence, via Fort Shephard, Moyie, and Cran- brook, to Wild Horse Creek. The trail was scarcely finished before fickle fortune had decreed that the field was unprofitable and the miners were casting about for another Williams Creek. In 1865-66, the Big Bend diggings was The Medical History of British Columbia the centre of attraction, but within a year the bubble burst, with resulting exodus of the disappointed miners. In 1866, the project of the Western Union Telegraph Company was in full swing, its aim being to connect America with Europe via Alaska and Siberia, and the work of members of this concern led to the discovery of the Omineca and Cassiar Placers. In 1871 the Omineca excitement reached its height, some 1,200 persons being engaged in mining within a radius of twenty miles in this district. The yield for that year was $400,000. This, however, was in the hands of a fortunate few. The majority lost everything, and for the twentieth time became, in their phrase, "dead broke". In 1875, the production of gold had fallen to 32,000 and in 1876 the mining report simply says of this district that it is "almost deserted". Just as the best days of Omineca were passing came cheering news of gold discoveries ev'en farther to the northwest, at the very northern fringe of British Columbia. This was the Cassiar field which, by 1874, had a population of 1,600 and produced $1,000,000 in gold that year. This was its best year, but its decline was slow and in 1880, Cassier produced nearly $300,000 to the 800 miners then working. It will be seen from the foregoing, very sketchy, outline of the search for gold that this was the motivating force which opened up the hitherto unknown regions of this vast province to agricultural development, trade and industry. In these successive stampedes, ranging over such a wide territory, extending from east Kootenay to Cassiar, it is not unlikely that some medical men were to be found. Who they were, and from whence they came, the available records afford no clue and, therefore, their story must go untold. Mr. W. H. Keary, now city clerk of New Westminster and a resident of that city since 1860, who has been honoured by his fellow citizens in being elected eight times mayor of the City on the Fraser, very kindly assisted the writer by preparing a list of the medical men who practised in New Westminster from 1859 to date. About the mid "seventies" two brothers, Nova Seotians, Dr. Loftus R. Mclnnes and Dr. Thomas R. Mclnnes arrived in New Westminster. The former practised in that city for a number of years and died there. He was a member of the first Medical Council in 1886. Dr. Thomas R. Mclnnes was born in 1840, and educated at the Normal School, Truro. N.S., and Harvard University. He was mayor of New Westminster, 1876-1878; member of the House of Commons for New Westminster, 1878-1881; Senator, 1881-1897; Lieutenant- Governor of British Columbia, 1897-1900. He died on March 14, 1904. Another well known Westminsterite of these days was Dr. C. N. Trew, 1876-1887. He was Vice-president of the first Medical Council in 1886, and President, 1887. He was appointed on the Board of Examiners, 1886, in the practice of medicine and medical jurisprudence. Dr. Trew passed away while in office in 1887. He was succeeded by Dr. De Wolfe Smith, who was elected a member of the Council in his stead. In addition to the foregoing, the names of the following medical men are noted as having practised in Westminster from 1875 to 1885— Dr. Featherstone, Dr. McLeod, Dr. Sivewright, Dr. Masters, Dr. J. Garrow, Dr. MacSwain, and Dr. Cooper. Early Colonial Hospitals British Columbia has always been generous in its support of public hospitals, and probably no part of the Dominion is better served by these necessary adjuncts of modern life than is this province. In the decade ending 1930, from a population of about 600,000, the contribution of the Provincial Government amounted to over $23,000,000, and this does not include grants given by municipalities and the receipts derived from patients' fees. Anyone viewing the modern well equipped hospitals in Victoria, and New Westminster, the Royal Provincial Jubilee and the Royal Columbian, can scarcely envisage the early beginnings of these institutions. In Victoria, the inception of the first hospital facilities must be attributed to the Rev. E. Cridge, Chaplain of the Hudson's Bay Company, who arrived in that city in 1854, and became, later, Dean and Bishop. The following is recorded in a little monograph entitled "Pioneer Days." "It was in 1858 that one day a sick man was found lying on a mattress inside the gate of this Parsonage. The man admitted that he had been brought there by certain parties, who shall be nameless. 'I asked him,' said the Bishop, 'Why they had brought him to my house, and clandestinely, too?' 'Oh,' he said, 'they thought you were the proper man,' and I suppose I was under the circumstances. So the Parsonage became the first Home Hospital in the Colony. The Bishop continued: 'I appealed to His Excellency the Governor, who took the matter up and nominated a Provisional Committee as follows: Mr. Dallas, a Director of the Hudson's Bay Company; Mr. A. F. Pemberton, Magistrate and Commissioner of Police, and myself, District Minister of Victoria. We used, temporarily, a cottage kindly loaned (rent free) by Mr. Blinkhorn, on the corner of Yates and Broad Streets, afterwards occupied by the B. C. Hardware Company, and now by the J. M. Whitney Company, Jewellers. Mr. and Mrs. i of British Columbia W. S. Seeley were put in charge, the latter as steward, while a man of Spanish extraction, named Emmanuel, faithful, industrious, was* 'man-of-all-work,' a title which, in those days, was not a misnomer." The name of the first patient was Braithwaite, and others soon followed, so that the cottage was generally full. As. the necessity for more accommodation became urgent, the Committee was enlarged and set to work to securje a suitable site for a building. (The additional names are not given). Finally, after much difficulty and discussion, they "took possession of" a piece of land on the Indian Reserve and erected a wooden building on the site of what was, later, the Marine Hospital. "The Government," be it noted, "though not consulted, offered no objec-. tion." Dr. Trimble was appointed Medical Officer in charge, a pamphlet containing the Constitution and By-Laws of the new institution was printed, and the Royal Hospital became an accomplished fact. From Bishop Cridge's Diary we learn that Divine Service was held in the hospital for the first time on December 19,1858, and a later note informs us that on Sunday, February 13, 1859, collections for the hospital were taken up in Christ Church at both morning and afternoon services, amounting to $149. This is the first record we have of a "Hospital Sunday." In the following year, 1863, provision was made for accommodation of female patients and an infirmary for women was established in that year. The laying of the foundation stone took place in 1864. The description of the laying of the foundation stone of this building, which was afterwards taken over by the Hospital authorities and became the Royal Hospital, should find a place in these records as it only ceased to exist when the present Royal Jubilee Hospital was built. The following is from the Victoria Daily Chronicle of November 24, 1864: "The ceremony of laying the corner stone of the Female Infirmary, at the head of Pandora Street, took place yesterday, and attracted a large concourse of people to the spot, a great proportion of whom were ladies. The building, which is to be a commodious one-storey frame, is situated on a commanding site of the head of Pandora Street, overlooking the city and harbour, Royal Bay and the Straits, from Dungeness to Point Ringgold—the view taking in for a long distance the American and Met- chosin shores, Race Rocks, etc.; the whole presenting a scene of unexampled beauty and loveliness to which the pencil of an artist could scarce do justice. "Mayor Harris opened the proceedings by introducing Rev. Dr. Evans, who. offered up a most impressive prayer, invoking the blessing of the Almighty upon the institution and upon those who had been instrumental in founding it, and concluding with the Lord's Prayer. "Rev. E. Cridge then read the following document, which was subsequently placed beneath the corner stone of the building, and is the one which has been brought to light:— This day, Wednesday, November 23, AD. 1864, was laid, in dependence on the blessing of Almighty God, the corner stone of the Victoria Female Infirmary, by Mrs. Harris, Mayoress of Victoria. Enclosed herewith are the first public appeal on behalf of the institution and the first annual report, conveying information as to its objects and early working; also copies of the local daily papers published in Vancouver Island. Patronesses: Lady Douglas, wife of Sir James Douglas, K.C.B., late Governor of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, etc.; Mrs. Kennedy, wife of Arthur E. Kennedy, C.B., present Governor of Vancouver Island, President—Mrs. Harris, Mayoress of Victoria. In a letter from Dean Cridge, July 22, 1869, the following excerpt is taken. "The building (Female Infirmary) is of a very superior character, was erected by public subscription, and cost, together with the site, $4,000." The matron of this building "of a very superior character" was to receive the princely remuneration of $25 per month, and, to quote again from the minutes, "It was unanimously agreed that when there is no patient in the Infirmary no salary shall be paid to the Matron, but that the usual allowances for board, lights and firing to continue." In the annual report of the Hospital, 1865, the following are listed as the medical attendants : Dr. Ash, Dr. Davie, Dr. Dickson, Dr. Haggin, Dr. Powell, Dr. Trimble. The medical men of the city cooperated very heartily in this movement, and the following letter was received by Rev. E. Cridge, Hon. Secretary. Victoria, May 3rd, 1865. My dear Sir, I am authorized on behalf of the surgeons attending the "Royal Hospital" to offer their services gratuitously to the Female Hospital. Will you be so kind as to place their communication before the Directresses at your earliest convenience. And in addition to this, Doctors Trimble, Ash, Powell and Davie sent personal letters to the ladies offering their "professional services" to "your valuable Institution." Needless to say, these offers were gratefully accepted, each doctor "taking charge" by monthly rotation, and being requested "to conduct to their respective terminations the cases which he begins to attend." Many references were made to the Female Infirmary in Bishop Cridge's Diary, and it was not long before circumstances pointed to the necessity for amalgamating the two hospitals. The ladies were finding the financial burden too i His j British Columbia heavy for them, and the public-spirited citizens, already over-taxed, could not respond to the demands made upon them for maintaining two separate institutions involving duplication of equipment and service, and with but one aim and object—the care of the sick and the amelioration of suffering. Dean Cridge, therefore, at the end of the year 1869, urged the union of the two hospitals, and Dr. J. S. Helmcken's suggestion "That the Board take over the Female Infirmary and that the patients from the Royal Hospital be moved there and the Institution in future be known as The Royal Hospital," met with universal approval, the Directors promising to maintain a ward for women and the ladies pledging their continued interest and support. Thus step by step this union was accomplished and the foundation "well and truly laid" for the great and noble work which later found fuller expression. in the fine institution now widely known as "The Provincial Royal Jubilee Hospital". In April, 1859, following the arrival of the main body of the Royal Engineers in New Westminster, staff-surgeon J. V. Seddall opened on the mainland the first hospital of its kind, at the Engineer's Barracks, constructed that spring at Sapperton on the present site of the British Columbia Penitentiary. Dr. Seddall's original hospital took care of surveyors and workers on the Cariboo Road during the following four years. When the Engineers were disbanded in 1863, their camp was dismantled and Dr. Seddall turned over his equipment to the New Royal Columbian, which, late in 1862, had been organized by the citizens of New Westminster with the help of Col. R. C. Moody, officer in charge of the Engineers. The first building was at Agnes and Fourth Streets and accommodated 30 beds. The work of the hospital from that time reflects interesting stages in the settlement of the mainland. Sir James Douglas, Governor of British Columbia to 1864, and Frederick Seymour, Governor to 1869, always showed interest in the work of the hospital. W. H. Keary, secretary from 1875 to 1911, records numerous distinguished patrons and contributors, including Lord Strathcona and the Duke of Sutherland. Lord Milton was a patient during his western tour in 1863. While the gold rush was in progress, during the "sixties" and early "seventies", the majority of the patients were miners, either ill or injured at their work. They often had to be transported immense distances by stage and wagon from the Cariboo to New Westminster, and in many cases they suffered from gangrene by the time they arrived. Numerous patients were treated for bullet wounds received in brawls at the mining camps or in clashes with hostile Indians during the height of the excite- Expanding with the growth of the population, the original Royal Columbian Hospital was moved from Agnes Street to its present site in Sapperton in 1889. In 1902 the women's hospital on Third Avenue was merged with it. Several frame structures were added on the ten-acre site by 1908. The modern brick building, capable of further expansion, was completed in 1914 and is now accommodating 212 beds. Williams Creek Hospital, Barkerville In 1863 when the Cariboo gold fields attracted thousands of men, the need of a public hospital became urgent and the following record gives an account of the establishment of the hospital at Barkerville: Cameronton, July 2, 1864. To His Excellency Frederick Seymour, Esq. On the 22nd of July, 1863, the inhabitants of Williams Creek resolved at a public meeting "That a Hospital among them was imperatively demanded. I' On the 29th of that month they decided on building and on the first of October following, the institution was the reception of patier i that 3 till i) sick i been discharged c have died, and 3 remain in the building. Up to June 1864 the sum collected for the Hospital .amounted to $2694, (the approximate) expenditure up to that time being $7000. The Government grant of $2500 (for which we beg to tender our grateful thanks) being added to the former $2694, leaves a debt of $1806. All audited, many of them axed with s e desire of tl follows tereased and cannot the food are taxed and n prices of transfer ha Government provide, out of its own revenue, a Hospital for our needy sick." The additional objections are also urged of the scarcity of labour and the consequent dearth of money. Your Excellency will allow that the exclusion of sick men from the benefits of Hospital . . . . is no less a calamity than (we had almost must come if the institution has to depend on the voluntary subscriptions of an unwilling public. We have been informed that it was the declared intention of the late Governor Sir James Douglas to appropriate the entire "Head Money" of the Colony to Hospital purposes . . . It is our belief that $6000 per annum would suffice to maintain the Hospital in an jj Medical History op British Columbi Colonial Secretary, dated November 9, 1865, offered to take charge of the hospital for two months without salary. Subsequently, Dr. Thos. Bell took, over the superintendency. Chartres Brew in a letter to the Colonial Secretary, suggested closing the hospital. "As the sum already expended greatly exceeds the amount which His Excellency is willing to grant for the maintenance of the Hospital, and as there is little prospect of obtaining subscriptions here to, any amount sufficient to defray the difference between the sum granted and the amount expended. I regret to say that I fear the Hospital will have to be closed. The medical salary was reduced some months ago from ath to $100 and the steward's salary from I, besides which he is to do the washing. the Hospital closed he will give his professional attendance gratis after the 31st of December next. The method formerly pursued was to pay the steward $40 a month for the board of each patient, at present the actual expense of providing food, etc., is paid on production of the bills, the result is that the monthly cost of feeding each patient is reduced to a little over $30 a month. $120 "Ther •dingly." In 1870 the total number of patients from 1st of January to 31st of October was 34, and the average number of days in hospital 42. Attendance and medicine was given to 350 outdoor patients. The daily cost of each patient averaged about $1, and the balance of the government grant, after deducting wages and food of hospital attendant, but poorly remunerated the doctor in charge for his services, as no public subscription was raised for the support of the hospital until this year, when through the exertions of the Grand Jury, subscriptions to the amount of $1,540 were given. With the decline of mining in the Barkerville district the number of patients requiring attention dwindled to such small numbers that the government found it necessary to put in a subsidized medical officer to take care of the work, as no longer could adequate support be expected from the small mining population. To-day, the hospital needs of this section are cared for in a well appointed and well equipped institution at Quesnel on the Fraser River, some 60 miles from Barkerville. Medical Legislation from Colonial Times to the Present Century With the gradually increasing population of the colony, it was felt necessary to organize the profession and give it a legal standing. To this end the "Medical Ordinance" was enacted. It was termed "An Ordinance respecting practitioners in medicine and surgery" and was passed at New Westminster 1867. Briefly, it provided—that anyone possessed of a diploma and then practising in the colony, could register on payment of a fee of $10.00— also, that anyone possessed of a diploma or license to practise medicine or surgery from any school requiring a compulsory course of study extending over not less than 3 years, was permitted to register on payment of the fee. Later, it was found that the Act ran counter to an Imperial Act, whereby those registered under the latter were exempt from the provisions of the new "Ordinance" of 1867. This exemption of old country graduates did not last long and was dealt with in 1868 by amendment, thereby bringing all Imperial practitioners under the provisions of the Provincial Ordin- The name of the first registrar was Charles Good, who was also Clerk of the Legislative Assembly. In 1867, "An Ordinance respecting the practice of surgery and for the encouragement of the study of anatomy" was passed. In 1870— "An Ordinance respecting practice in medicine and surgery" was passed. Its preamble outlines its object. "Whereas it is expedient to amend the Medical Ordinance of 1867 and to bring the same into uniformity with the Imperial Legislation, by providing for the registration in British Columbia of the members of the medical profession already in the United Kingdom, under the Imperial statutes, Ch. 21 and 22, Vict. Cap. 90, etc." These Ordinances continued in force until the Medical Act of 1886 was passed. The members of the first Council were:— Drs. Powell, Trew, Davis, Milne, Tunstall, Cluness and L. Mclnnes, and the officers were Dr. Powell, President, Dr. Trew, Vice-president and Dr. Milne, Secretary. 0~f all the practitioners whose names appeared on the first list of the Register of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, April, 1886, only one remains to-day—Dr. Geo. L. Milne, of Victoria. There were no candidates for examination at the first meeting of Council at Victoria, August 3, 1886, and it was not until November 2nd of the same year that Dr. W. A. De Wolf Smith applied for examination and passed, being the first one to be entered in the Register by examination. Dr. Smith continues to lead an active The Medical History ( life, although not in practice, and still resides in New Westminster. The Act of 1886 was later amended in 1898 and an entirely new Act passed in 1909. In 1912 British Columbia passed the necessary enabling Legislation to permit of the operation of the Canada Medical Act in that province. Since that date practically all names admitted to the Register of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia have qualified through holding the L.M.C.C. Doctor John Chapman Davie, Jr., (1845 to 1911) This history would be incomplete without a detailed reference to John Chapman Davie, Jr., the most outstanding surgeon of his time in British Columbia. In an interview on June 15, 1930, at Vancouver, with Horace Samuel Davie, his last surviving brother, the following interesting data were obtained: The family migrated to Canada in 1862 by Royal Mail boat Shannon to St. Thomas, West Indies; thence they went to Colon in the ship Tamur, across the isthmus by rail, and thence to San Francisco by the tugboat Norah. They then proceeded by boat to Victoria, arriving there in 1862. Dr. J. C. Davie, Jr., the subject of this sketch, left for San Francisco a short time later, where he graduated from the Cooper Medical College in 1865. Returning to Victoria, he practised with his father until the death of the latter, somewhere about the "mid-seventies". In the late "eighties," Dr. Davie proceeded to Europe, where, having studied the fundamentals of surgical asepsis, he became an ardent follower of Pasteur and Lister. He exemplified in his practice from that time on his faith in the teachings of Lister. The following are newspaper references published at the time of his death. "A notable figure in the medical life, not only of Victoria but of the Pacific Coast, passed away yesterday morning in the death of Dr. John Chapman Davie, M.D., CM., at the family residence, corner of Saratoga and Monterey Avenues, Oak Bay. Deceased, whose name will always be inseparably associated with the early surgical history of the province, had been in failing health for a long time past, suffering from tuberculosis which terminated fatally yesterday." "The late John Chapman Davie, Jr., M.D., CM., was born in Wells, Somersetshire, England,-on March 22, 1845, son of John Chapman Davie, Sr., M.D., a well known physician of that place. His people, on both sides of the family were west country stock. From the first, John, who was one of several brothers, was intended for the medical profession. He was educated in England in the elementary forms and in the arts, principally at Silcoats College, situated close to Wakefield in the west riding of Yorkshire. He was ail able student and even at that early stage of his career he evinced abilities that were more amply proved in his later life. Among his schoolfellows and companions at Silcoats were many lads who have since become well known men. Two of these.were Mr. W. T. Stead, editor of the Review of Reviews, and Sir Thomas Newnes. The headmaster of Silcoats under whom Dr. Davie pursued his studies was, at the time referred to, considered one of the most learned men in England. The Rev. James Bewglass, he .was, and among his many accomplishments of learning he rated the ability to teach eight languages, speak sixteen and read and understand twenty-four. He was a magnificent man, according to some of his old pupils, and was much beloved by them. "When Dr. Davie left college his father had been practising for some time in the town of Merton, in Surrey. It was planned that John, the late Dr. Davie, should take up the study of medicine at once. Suddenly, by a turn of fortune, all of the father's plans were altered, and in 1862 the entire Davie family removed from Merton to British Columbia. Since that date members of this family have resided in this province and, as is well known, have left their mark on its history. "Doctor Davie, after the family had settled in" British Columbia, was allowed to follow the original plan as laid down in the Old Country, that of taking up the study of medicine. He took up his residence in San Francisco and began his studies at the foremost medical school in the west, that connected with the University of California. Among the members of the faculty under whom he studied and who influenced him to a considerable degree in his work were two well knownumen of the past in medical annals, Dr. H. H. Toland, a The Medical History op British Colu pioneer in medical education in San Francisco, and Dr. L. C Lane, the most prominent medical man in California in his day. Dr. Lane erected Cooper College in memory of his uncle and Lane Hospital as a monument of his own work. "Dr. Davie graduated after a brilliant college career, and came to Victoria where he joined his father in practice here. At this time Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken was a foremost practitioner in this city and as years passed Dr. Davie became n the best ith Dr. Helmcken. Afterwards both became famous in this part of the country and up and down the coast, as physician and surgeon, and for many years they sultants in sense of the "When i became apparent in Victoria that a new hospital was necessary to care for the needs of the city, and when the present Jubilee Hospital was decided upon, the work of designing and planning the institution was left in the hands of Dr. Davie. He carried the work out to a most successful issue and for some time after the opening of the hospital; he was the Only John Chapmi surgeon connected with the institution. During that period he performed many daring and clever operations under the old system of surgery, and almost before the world was aware of the new era in surgical work opened up by Lord Lister's discovery and perfection of the antiseptic system, based on the original work of the great Pasteur of Paris, Dr. Davie saw and grasped the benefits of this discovery and inaugurated Lister's ideas and methods in both the Jubilee and the St. Joseph's Hospitals. He was among the first to use the antiseptic system in western America. Speaking of this in conversation with a Colonist representative shortly before his death, Dr. Davie said: 'The Lister methods, as I inaugurated them at the local hospitals, have not been departed from since. It was those methods that made the success of modern surgery. The deadly ^ fatal surgery of the old days was due wholly to the fact that Lister's discovery had not been made known to the world.' "When Lord Lister visited Victoria a number of years ago, Dr. Davie and others drove with him around the Saanich peninsula. Describing him, the late Dr. Davis said: 'He was an affable, unpretentious, observant man who saw things which other people overlooked. He told us that his ideas on antiseptic surgery had arisen out of a visit to Paris where he met Pasteur. Lister's system was founded on Pasteur's.' "Throughout his long career as a medical practitioner in and around Victoria, the late Dr. Davie accomplished a good work that will not be forgotten while the children's children of those whom he relieved and comforted live. As a physician he was noted for his clever surgery and for his kindness of heart and over-readiness to respond to a call for help from sufferers, rich or poor, well known or obscure. Apart from his private practice, during the official service of his brother, the late Honorable Theo- Davie, Jr. dore Davie, Dr. Davie was of great benefit to the province. The Honorable Theodore used to consult Dr. Davie on all matters connected with the medical profession which came up in the course of his public work. In this manner Dr. Davie was of valuable assistance to the government and had much to do in the formulation of the new health laws of the province. Referring to this assistance to his brother Dr. Davie said, not long prior to his death: 'Theodore and I were more than brothers; we were intimates. It was a trait of Theodore that if he lacked definite knowledge on a certain point he went at once to the best source, man or book, to get it. Thomas Carlyle said that books were the best university. They were Theodore's and they have been mine.' "The late Dr. Davie was a great admirer of The Medical History of British Colum Lord Lister. Speaking of him and his work he said, 'One Frenchman declared that Lord Lister should have erected in his honour a statue of pure gold. I believe in that sentiment most sincerely and I hope that it will be hearkened to in some degree at least. At the same time I would add that Pasteur should have a similar statue. Those two men made surgery, as we practise it to-day, successful. They threw a blaze of daylight on the dark places where, beforehand, all was imagination and supposition. They did a more magnificent work than any two human beings of the last century. When a patient, operated on now by Dr. A. or Dr. B. or Dr. C, makes a brilliant recovery, it is because Dr. A. or Dr. B. or Dr. C had Lister and Pasteur at his side to show him how.' "The late Dr. Davie was a humanitarian in the broadest sense of the term. He had a horror of suffering and it was one of his greatest causes for thanksgiving that he was enabled in his profession, to relieve human suffering around him. 'No work,' he is quoted as saying, 'is of greater import to the human race, or more satisfying to the man carrying it out, than the succouring of the sick from the awful sufferings that befall them. The one thing in my life that I regret least is that I have been a medical man and that my profession has enabled me to help my suffering fellow creatures. No man knows what suffering is until he lies on a sick bed. It is then that he appreciates it for himself.' "Among his last utterances were: 'During my long, long illness I have met with the greatest amount of kindness from people of all walks in life and I take this opportunity of thanking them for their kind thoughts of me. Victoria has only to know that some man is hard hit for him to find out that this city is full of people of the finest kind of sympathy.' "The late Dr. Davie was a very strong Imperialist. He believed in the unity of the Empire and in the blood brotherhood of the subjects of the Empire. It was during the smallpox epidemic of some years ago in Victoria that he rendered Victoria a great assistance. The town was in panic, for many cases of the dread disease had developed with incredible swiftness and the sickness was spreading rapidly, when the Hon. Theodore Davie called his brother in and made him chief provincial health officer. Dr. Davie was given as his working orders the same set of rules that was enforced in Montreal during the epidemic there not long before. With these rules, Dr. Davie was given a free hand. He set to work vigorously. The isolation wards were established in the Jubilee Hospital grounds and the suspect station was established at Ross Bay. All sick persons suffering from smallpox were removed to the isolation hospital where they received the best-of care. Suspects—those who had been in contact with cases—were taken to the suspect station and carefully guarded until they either developed the disease or were proved free from contamination. All houses where the disease had been were rigorously disinfected and their personal effects were burned. In a very short time order was brought out of chaos, and the epidemic was quickly stamped The writer had the privilege of meeting Dr. Davie on several occasions. • The first time was in 1898 when he was called to Vancouver in consultation on a case of obstruction of the large bowel. I was asked to meet him on the arrival of the Victoria boat, the old Yosemite.. Dr. Davie, on the way up to the hospital in the cab, said that he had studied a good part of the night the most recent work on this subject by Greig Smith, and that he had brought a large Murphy button with him and although he had not done this particular operation before, he felt that he would be able to successfully cope with the situation. This proved to be the case. The patient had a scirrhous cancer of the sigmoid which was quite mobile and lent itself readily to resection of the growth. The Murphy button was placed in position and the two portions brought together. The line of anastomosis was protected by a free omental graft. The patient made an uninterrupted recovery but three years later succumbed to metastases in the liver. On another occasion, about 1898 or 1899, at the meeting of the British Columbia Medical Association in Vancouver, Dr. Davie was the principal speaker. He had prepared a paper on appendicitis, based upon one hundred cases he had operated on. In the audience was Sir Michael Foster, Professor of Physiology, Cambridge, then en route to San Francisco to deliver the Lane lectures. Sir Michael was accompanied by his son, a practising physician 30 The Medical His i Briti; [ Columbia in England. The audience was small, and Dr. Davie, although English by birth and not easily moved to criticize the practice of English surgeons in connection with the treatment of appendicitis said, "I am English myself and give way to no man in my admiration of British practice, but when it comes to the treatment of appendicitis,-they don't know a damn thing about it.'' Sir Michael stroked his beard and said nothing) but looked a little surprised. Dr. Davie proceeded to read his paper and pointed out that the acceptance of the principle of early operation in all cases of appendicitis was the one that would show the lowest mortality. In appearance, Dr. Davie was a man of small build, probably about 5 feet 6 inches or. 5 feet 7 inches in height, with a clean shaven face and keen intellectual features. He was a man of strong convictions and was never afraid to express his views whenever called upon to do so. His adoption of Listerian principles in surgery almost twenty-five years after he had graduated, and his complete mastery of aseptic technique, show the manner of the man and the keenness of his interest in his chosen profession. This distinguished British Columbia family has been honoured in Vancouver by having an important thoroughfare named after it. It is the main, direct traffic way from Granville Street to the English Bay bathing resort. The Period op Modern Transportation and Industrial Development, 1880 to 1910 In 1870, just before the entrance of British Columbia into Confederation, a census of the province was taken and the white population was found to be less than 10,000—to be exact, 9,100, and-the number of practising physicians was less than 10 (7 or 8 at the most). The prospect of obtaining rail communication with eastern Canada was not very bright, and many gloomy forebodings were expressed both by the people of British Columbia and eastern Canada when the matter became the subject of negotiation between the representatives of the Colony and the Government at Ottawa. However, in spite of all the real and seeming difficulties of carrying out this great national enterprize, a satisfactory agreement was reached and embodied in the Terms of Union which were signed at Ottawa and later ratified by popular vote in British Columbia. Realizing that a most complete exploration and examination of all the known roads from the Pacific to the Rocky Mountains was necessary before a final decision could be made and contracts let, the Dominion Government in 1872 commenced an intensive survey that continued for nearly eight years. Late in the autumn of 1879, having adopted the line through the Yellow Head Pass to Burrard Inlet (the present C.N.R. route), via the North Thompson River, Kam- loops, Lytton and Yale to Burrard Inlet, it determined to build at once from Emory's Bar (4 miles west of Yale) on the Fraser to Savona at the outlet of Kamloops Lake, a distance of 128 miles. Tenders were called for its construction in four sections. The first two were awarded to eastern Canadian contractors who sold out to Mr. Andrew Onderdonk to whom were awarded direct the last two sections. The whole work thus came under the latter's direction. Mr. Onderdonk was. a young engineer of marked ability who had been successful in sundry contracts in California, and he was backed financially by Mr. D. O. Mills, multimillionaire, of California, so that he had unlimited means at his disposal—a most fortunate circumstance for all concerned as the difficulty of obtaining supplies was very great and a poor man would have been greatly handicapped. Shortly after the work of construction from Emory to Savona had been begun in 1880 a syndicate was formed to organize a company to build the Canadian Pacific Railway as a whole, and as part of the subsidy to that company the Government undertook to build the line from Port Moody to Savona, 212 miles, and hand it over to the Company. By January, 1885, Mr. Onderdonk had completed the line between these two points. The "extension" of the line from Port Moody to Granville (now Vancouver) was arranged during a visit of Sir William Van Home in the winter of 1884-85. For this the Canadian Pacific Railway received a subsidy from the Provincial Government of 6,275 acres, the tract extending from Burrard Inlet to the Fraser River. However, since the use of the word "extension" was found to be illegal, as by the Dominion Act Port Moody had been specified as the terminus, the difficulty was The Medical Histo j Briti circumvented by describing it as a "branch" of the main line and Port Moody remains to this day as the statutory terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway. When the Canadian Pacific Railway was organized in 1880, they pushed the work from Winnipeg westward with all possible energy and appointed General Rosser chief engineer. He came to the conclusion that many advantages would be gained by adopting the Kicking Horse Pass as the one through which the railroad should be carried, instead of the Yellow- head Pass which had been chosen by the Government. In March, 1881, General Rosser determined to explore the Selkirks and ascertain if a pass could be found through them which would cut off the Big Bend of the Columbia, and detailed Major Rogers, a man of indomitable courage and experience in this line of work, to explore the possibilities of this route. After two years of strenuous work, Major Rogers reported favourably on the valley known as Rogers' Pass (the site of the present five-mile Con- naught Tunnel), and the line was carried through the Rockies and Selkirks, via Kicking Horse and Rogers' Passes, instead of by the Yellowhead Pass. In the spring of 1884 the Company made arrangements with Mr. Onderdonk to continue the construction from the end of the government work at Savona eastward to Griffin Lake, where it was expected he would connect with the party (of James Ross, contractor, of Montreal) which was building westward from Calgary. By October, 1885, he had completed track-laying to Craigellachie, sixteen miles east of Shuswap Lake (Sicamous Junction) and three hundred and thirty-nine miles from Port Moody, but could not continue farther westward as the work done had exhausted all the rails that had been shipped by water to the Pacific coast. On November 7, 1885, the track from the east reached Craigellachie and was linked to that from the west, thus completing the transcontinental line from ocean to ocean —a consummation which had been looked forward to with hope from the time of Dominion Confederation in 1867. When construction commenced on the Onderdonk contract, 1880, the medical work was placed in charge of Dr. E. B. C. Hanington, who had previously been practising in Victoria. As the work progressed, Dr. S. J. Tunstall, who had recently arrived (1881), in the province from Montreal, was added to the medical staff and was in charge of the work, first, at Lytton where he spent two years, and, later, at Kamloops. Dr. Charles Hanvey was also on the staff about this time and, when he resigned, was succeeded in June, 1884, by Dr. M. S. Wade, who joined the staff as assistant surgeon to take charge of the medical work at Spence's Bridge, then "at the end of the track". Telling about this later, Dr. Wade wrote. First Dr. S. J. Tunstall had charge of the work that was to be mine, and when he removed from Lytton to Kamloops, where he remained until he went down to Vancouver to practise, he was succeeded by Dr. Hanvey, and I succeeded Hanvey. I had been in a few frontier towns before that—Winnipeg, Moose jaw, Begina on the prairies, others across the line, and later saw mining towns—but they were all calm, peaceful Sunday school towns as compared with wicked, spritely, noisy, gold- lined Vale. It was a wide-open town. Faro, roulette, poker, ecarte', stud—every conceivable game provided for the one purpose of separating greenbacks and dollars from the pockets of the railway workers—could be indulged in morning, noon and night, weekday or Sunday. Every pay-day saw another gory coat added to the flaming colour of the little Gehenna that sits so modestly at the feet of Yale Mountain, and past which murmurs and ice-cold waters from the silver-streaked hills behind. In 1884, Dr. H. E. Langis, for many years one of the prominent pioneer medical practitioners of Vancouver, arrived in the province. In April, 1885, he succeeded Dr. Hanington, who had retired from the work to resume practice in Victoria. Dr. Langis, who now resides at Parksville, Vancouver Island, enjoying a well earned retirement, writes of his railway medical experiences as follows. In April, 1885, I took Hanington's place and had for field of duty from Port Moody to Savona. We had a small hospital (12 beds) at Yale, with very little had t under sesthet only s my time, only nurse, who would administer chloroform under the vigilant eye of the performer. Anyhow, we had very few mishaps and bad results, as the contractors, in blasting, would kill their men outright and do very little injury to those that fell under our care. In the fall of 1885 we all came to Granville, which a S. J. Tunstall remained in Kamloops and, if I remember well, came to Vancouver only in 1891 or 1892. 32 The Medical History of British Columbia None of the aforementioned medical men are now living except Dr. Langis and Dr. Chas. Hanvey, and it was only by chance that the writer, in the summer of 1931, in discussing the work of the Onderdonk contract with Mr. Thomas White, C.E., now retired, learned that Dr. Hanvey was still living in California and had visited Vancouver only a year or so ago. No doubt there were other medical men engaged on this work during the period 1880 to 1885, probably in a temporary capacity, but the available records are silent regarding them. Dr. Ernest Barron Chandler Hanington (1851 to 1916) Dr. Hanington was born at Shediac, N.B., on January 20, 1851. He studied medicine at McGill and graduated from that University in 1875. He was the first superintendent of the St. John General Hospital. In 1878 he married Miss Ida Tilley Peters, of St. John, and in the same year came to Victoria, B.C., where he at once engaged in general practice. In 1880 Dr. Hanington was appointed chief surgeon at Yale during the Canadian Pacific Railway construction and had charge of medical work from Port Moody to Savona. On completion of the line (1885), he returned to Victoria, to resume private practice in that city, and continued in active work until the time of his death, in May, 1916. Dr. Simon J. Tunstall (1852 to 1917) A native of Quebec, Doctor Tunstall was born at St. Anne de Bellevue on September 19, 1852, a son of Gabriel Christie and Jessie (Fraser) Tunstall, both of whom, natives of Montreal, were descendents from pioneer families, identified with the early history of the province. Through General Christie, Dr. Tunstall was Co-Seigneur of Lacolle and de Beaujeu. On the maternal side his greatgrandfathers were Major Fraser, who,- as an officer of the Fraser Highlanders, was present at the capture of Quebec under Wolfe, and Donald McKay, United Empire Loyalist. Simon Fraser, a famous "Nor'Wester," discoverer of the Fraser River, was a grandfather on the maternal side. Dr. Tunstall received his education in Montreal. After attending the High School, where he won the Davidson gold medal, he re ceived his arts degree, 1873, and in 1875, the degrees of M.D., CM., being Holmes' medallist in his graduating year. Locating at Papineau- ville, Que., he practised there for four years and then a year at Montreal before coming to British Columbia in 1881 to associate himself with Dr. E. B. C Hanington, a classmate at McGill, who had undertaken the medical work under the Onderdonk contract. Following completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1886, we find Dr. Tunstall established at Kamloops, where he filled the position of Canadian Pacific Railway surgeon and also engaged in general private practice. He was also medical officer to the Royal Inland Hospital. In 1892 he removed to Vancouver and soon established for himself a fine general practice which he carried on until a year or two before his death. Dr. Tunstall was a member of the British Columbia Medical Council, 1886, and later served as President of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. He was a Past-president of the Canadian Medical Association, presiding at the 1904 meeting in Vancouver, that being the first occasion when the National Association met in British Columbia. His activities in hospital work embraced both the professional and lay fields. He was one of the incorporators of the Vancouver General Hospital, as well as a director of that institution for a number of years. He occupied a prominent place on the medical staff up to the time oi his retirement from practice in 1912. Following an extended visit to Europe before the war, he returned to Vancouver where he passed away in 1917. Dr. Mark S. Wade (1858 to 1929) The writer had the privilege of practising in the same community with Dr. Wade from 1896 to 1898. As a medical man he possessed those qualities of sound judgment and professional ability, combined with an innate sympathy and courtesy towards his patients, which endeared him to all those with whom he came in contact. At the time of his death the press, both in_ Kamloops, his home city, and in Vancouver, bore eloquent testimony to his outstanding qualities displayed in varied fields over a period of more than.forty years. We read: Dr. Mark S. Wade, police magistrate and historian, passed away April 19, 1929, in the Royal Inland Hospital, Kamloops, after a short illness, in his 71st year. Dr. Wade died in harness, having sat on the Bench on nmg h s perf ( apparently he was holding his own until yesterday. through a serious operation four years ago, and made a complete recovery. Born in Sunderland, Durham, England, November 23, 1858, Dr. Wade studied medicine in Glasgow, and was an M.D. of Fort Wayne Medical College, 1882, and M.D., University of California, 1889. He came to British Columbia in 1883, and, being ahead of the railway, to tised in New Westminster, 1883-1884; was an assistant surgeon, Canadian Pacific Railway from 1884 to 1885; practised in Clinton, 1885-1889; Vi< ' oused Dr. a Colun respect for the pioi st in the v— ra i pioneei North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company days, and the argonauts of gold-rush times, many of whom were still active in the province when he arrived. Whatever the reason for it, Dr. Wade's interest in the early history of British Columbia was deep and abiding. He collected records and stories; he investigated, and his iliarity with the country enabled him to check and t the droi The * 33 andai s of his "as and in t iish Columl 1912. edi The late Dr. Wade was in gres speaker. He was founder and Pi loops branch of the Canadi~ Historical Association. > he made i feted. lecture tour of the Dr. Wade was aumor or "The Thompson Country," "History of Kamloops and District," "Tales of the Cariboo Boad," whieh first appeared in the Daily Province about eight years ago, phlets, besides his magnum opus. "Mackenzie of Canada," published in the fall e only equalled by those was formerly Miss Emma Following is an appreciation by the editor of the Vancouver Province: The late Dr. Mark S. Wade c British Columbia triple service in h: pioneer physician; he interested hii and preserving the history of the served for a decade as police mag sound and fearless justice . . . fade v. itry that was particularly difficult, sparsely settled; there were no other doctors within scores or hundreds of miles; roads were few and often very bad, and usually a faithful horse was the only means of transportation. Ministering to the medical needs of his district not infrequently entailed tremend- the duty. He knew the pioneer and his-troubles and the he gave to the public in 1< or three books. A dozer had three pioneer physiciai about the early history of the province, Dr. Wade, Dr". W. W. Walkem, of Vancouver, and Dr. C. F. Newcombe, of Victoria. All are gone now. Dr. Wade was the last of the very interesting and notable trio. The work of carrying the line through from the eastern approach to the Rockies, westward, was in the hands of the railway company. The North American Construction Company, a subsidiary, had direct charge of the work. Its superintendent was the late Mr. James Ross, of Montreal, who was assisted by Mr. Herbert Holt (now Sir Herbert Holt), of Montreal. The medical work was in charge of Doctors Orton and Brett, both then practising in Winnipeg. Dr. Orton was a member of the Federal House, and to Dr. Brett, unhampered by parliamentary duties, fell largely the task of supervising and carrying on the medical work of the contract, on which were employed some ten to twelve thou- . Wade In September 1931, the writer had the privilege of meeting at Banff, Alta., two brothers, G. M. and W. H. Fear, now in their "mid-seventies," who had followed the Canadian Pacific Railway in its progress westward from Winnipeg to the Selkirks. From these gentlemen the following facts were gleaned. In 1883 construction and medical headquarters were at Holt City — also known as Silver City—and, later, after the completion of the line, called Laggan, and now the station known as Lake Louise. Here a small hospital was located in charge of Dr. R. G. Brett, who was assisted for a time by his brother, Dr. William Brett, who died there. Dr. J. A. Sweat, who had been in the mounted police, was also on Dr. Brett's staff and, later, when the line was completed, we find him located at Donald in 1886, where he continued for a year or so. Dr. Wood was also on the staff at that time. The most prevalent disease among the workers was "Rocky Mountain fever", or what was known in Winnipeg in those days as "Red River fever", and this disease was the cause of a few deaths. Blasting operations -w use of black powde accidents from the us while often resulting in the victims, did not' e carried out with the and dynamite and of these explosives, death of nearly as great the tality as that resulting from fever. Just down the mountain side from what was then known as Tunnel City, now Field, B.C., near the entrance to the Mount Stephen tunnel, may yet be seen the disused cemetery in which these were buried. As the work progressed the headquarters were moved in 1884 to Beavermouth, and 1885 to Revelstoke (then known as Far- well). In a personal communication to the writer, under date of October 6, 1931, from Mr. J. E.Griffith, Deputy Minister and Chief Engineer of Railways, in the Department of Railways at Victoria, the following additional names of medical men on Dr. Brett's staff, between Banff and Revelstoke, are mentioned: Dr. Grier; Dr. Moore; Dr. W. J. McGuigan (later mayor of Vancouver, now dead); Dr. 0. I. Grain,* and Dr. Milroy.t Mr. Griffith adds: "The above information was given me by Mrs. Haldane, a daughter of the late Dr. George Turner Orton. She and her mother are now residing in Victoria; they both spent the summer of 1884 in the mountains. "As to Dr. Sweat, it was my impression that he was in private practice during a portion of the construction, and Mrs. Haldane is inclined to be of the same opinion. He was, however, in the employ of the Canadian Pacific Railway when we were constructing the snowsheds in 1886. He was an American citizen and left for the States in 1887. "I started with the Canadian Pacific Railway in the spring of 1881, when the end of track was practically at Winnipeg. We had very little sickness on the prairie and few accidents until we got into the mountains. I only remember one case of smallpox on the - Prairie. One of the engineers had been to Winnipeg on business and stayed in my camp. On his return he complained of being sick, but *Dr. Grain was a nephew of Mr. Griffith's grandfather and died recently in Winnipeg. He was a member of the Federal House for some years, represent- There W "As we i and very £ camped a we thought the rash was measles, but a few days later when a doctor arrived he pronounced it smallpox. In course of time we got a new outfit and burned everything in camp. Fortunately no one else developed it. "Conditions were different in the mountains, the work being so much heavier; the number of men employed in every construction camp was much larger, the space for camp sites very often limited, and sanitary measures, to say the least, very primitive. Moreover as camp remained in the same spot very much longer than on the prairie it naturally made conditions much worse, and, although many of the camps had their water. from small streams running into the main rivers, such as the Kicking Horse, Beaver, Columbia and Illeeil- lewaet, out on the work the men would be mostly drinking from the main rivers. Hence when 'Mountain Fever' became fashionable, it was reasonable that all the main rivers became polluted and men became sick, even in new camps down stream. As we never heard of fever after construction was finished, safe bet that it was really typhoid, s also quite a lot of scurvy, were always ahead of the end of the were not in touch with any hospitals ldom saw a doctor. We always ar as possible from any construction camp, and were only concerned with the actual work, so that I am unable to give you any reliable information regarding mortality and where the dead were buried. I have no reason to think that the number of deaths on the Canadian Pacific Railway construction was anything near as large as reported on the other transcontinental railways to the south. As far as the engineers were concerned, I can only remember four deaths. I was only sick once, that was just before Christmas, 1884, at camp between Donald and Rogers' Pass. It passed, at the time, as inflammation of the bowels. Dr. Brett arrived about a week later and ordered me out, placing me in a freighting sleigh with lots of hay in the bottom; nice clear weather, but 40 degrees below zero. Unfortunately, the sleigh turned over on a narrow tote road in the Beaver Canyon. The three men jumped clear, and when the sleigh turned over I was jammed in the hay across a stump, but the horses continued down into the river. They soon got me up the tote road, while I had to lie in the snow for an hour before they could get another sleigh to take me to the end of track at Beavermouth. I was troubled with occasional cramps for about a year afterwards. A long time afterwards Dr. Brett told me that it was appendicitis, and if they had known as much about it at the time they would have operated. I was certainly in terrible pain, and can't The Medical Histoi help but think that if the boys had known what it was they would have been a little more sympathetic; evidently from their point of view a 'tummy-ache' was no worse than toothache. On the other hand, if I had been told the truth it might have frightened me to death! "End of track of C.P.R. construction was as follows.—End of 1880, Winnipeg; end of 1881, Flat Creek, west of Brandon; 1882. Maple Creek; 1883, Silver City (Holt City); 1884, Beavermouth; 1885, Nov. 7, last spike driven at Craigellachie. "The information given you by the Fear brothers is about correct; they were evidently employed at the end of the track." Dr. Robert George Brett (1851 to 1929) As the time elapsed since the passing of Dr. Brett has been so short and since the November, 1929, issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal contains a most excellent and comprehensive biographical sketch of him, prepared by Dr. G. E. Learmonth of Calgary, together with an appreciation by Mr. J. H. Woods, Editor of the Calgary Herald, and a beautiful tribute by the Hon. J. E. Brownlee, Premier of Alberta, it would seem almost a work of supererogation on my part to attempt to add anything to what has already been written. It is always difficult to assess at their proper value qualities that make up the general character of a man whose activities were so varied as were those of Dr. Brett. However, on account of having personal recollections of him covering a period of nearly fifty years, the writer may be pardoned for adding his meagre quota to what has already been said. My first recollection of Dr. Brett was in November, 1882, when he was called in as a consultant to see my father who was in his last illness, suffering from what was then known as "Red River fever." Although Dr. Brett was a young man and a newcomer to Winnipeg, it was evident that he was looked upon, even then, by the older practitioners as possessing some of those qualities that made him sought after for his opinion and advice. In the winter of 1893-4, the writer being then a student in the medical school at Winnipeg, Dr. Brett spent a month or six weeks in the dissecting room, reviewing anatomy, preparatory to taking post-graduate work at Vienna. His genial optimistic temperament, friendly spirit, and the keen manner in which he carried out his anatomical investigations, at once made him a favourite with his fellow students. The very fact that a man of his experience and reputation should deem it advisable to take a course in the dissecting room before proceeding to further studies abroad .made a deep im-f pression on our youthful minds, and the worth of a thorough knowledge of anatomy as applied to the practice of medicine took on a new value with us all. The next occasion of our meeting was at Banff in the fall of 1909, when delegates from the four western provinces met there to discuss important questions of medical policy affecting the profession in the west. Dr. Brett, as one of the delegates representing Alberta, and also in his capacity as host to the convention, did much to make the meeting an enjoyable one, and, by his wise counsel, to bring the work of the convention to a satisfactory conclusion. t)n the return journey from a trip in the Peace River country, in 1920, the writer again had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Brett—this time at Edmonton, and enjoyed his hospitality at Government House. Although not in active practice at that time, he was always interested in the problems of the profession—and they were not a few. By his active influence, used wherever possible, pnd his keen political sense, he was an invaluable friend, counsellor and guide to his medical colleagues in Alberta in those years. Towards the close of his tenure of office as Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta, he suffered a great loss in the sudden death of his only remaining son, Dr. Harry Brett. In 1925, his health, until then rugged and wonderful for a man of his years, commenced to fail. In the fall of 1925 we met in the corridors of the Windsor Hotel, Montreal. He was then on his way to Baltimore to consult his old friend Dr. Lewellys F. Barker. During the succeeding years he wintered in California, enjoying a fair measure of health. On his way through Vancouver each fall his custom was to foregather with a few old friends before leaving for the south, talk over events of the day, spin yarns, at which he was always most interesting, and make a most enjoyable evening of it for all. During the long life, colourful and full of action, the impressions he made upon those around and associated with him must have been many and varied, and the writer could not conclude this sketch in any better manner than by quoting the words of an old friend, the Rt. Hon. R. B. Bennett, Prime Minister of Canada, who paid this tribute. "Dr. Brett was one of the last of the great pioneers of the west. He was a leading medical practitioner of Winnipeg. He established Banff as a health resort and enjoyed a wide reputation as a skilful physician, whose sympathetic personality inspired innumerable patients with confidence and hope. "He was privileged to take no insignificant part in- the early political life of the North 36 2 Medical History of British Columbi West Territories and for a brief period was head of the government, but it was as Governor of Alberta for upwards of ten years that his genius for friendship found its fullest expression and made him not only an ideal host but the popular and beloved representative of the Crown. "His long and varied career is ended. He will be remembered as a great physician, a devoted public servant, and useful citizen. But his passing is a personal sorrow to many who, like myself, knew him as a steadfast and loyal friend who diffused a spirit of optimism and happiness as he journeyed along life's way. We shall not look upon his like again." The Period of Modern Transportation and Industrial Development (1880 to 1910) With the completion of the transcontinental railway there came an influx of new population, also a development of the mining industry in the southern part of the province which, in turn, brought about the opening up of numerous small centres of population in this territory. There had also arisen at that time a rival to Victoria, hitherto supreme as the largest city and capital of the province, in the city of Vancouver, today the commercial capital of British Columbia. The expansion that commenced at this period and the probability of its rapid extension as time went on was, no doubt, a factor in the steps taken by the medical men of Victoria at that time to organize and unite under the aegis of a provincial society. At a meeting held in . Victoria, on January 15, 1885, the following practitioners, Drs. J. C. Davie, Matthews, Row- botham, Jackson, Milne, Dearden, Harrison, and J. D. Helmcken, met for the purpose of forming a medical society. By unanimous vote it was decided to name the new organization the "British Columbia Medical Society." Invitations were sent out to all practitioners, about thirty-five men, in the province to become members. The first officers elected were, President, Hon. J. S. Helmcken; Vice-president, Dr. Row- botham; Secretary and Treasurer, Dr. J. D. Helmcken. Dr. G. L. Milne, of Victoria, is the sole survivor of this group. At the next meeting of the Society, on January 21,1885, a committee was appointed to "frame regulations and the Constitution of the Society, and to draft an Act to regulate the laws governing the medical profession of British Columbia." The work of the Committee was brought to a successful conclusion when, on April 6, 1886, the Provincial Legislature passed "An Act respecting the Profession of Medicine and Surgery." The Report of the Registrar of the British Columbia Medical Council shows thirty-nine names registered in 1886, of which number, Dr. G. L. Milne, of Victoria, and Dr. W. A. D. Smith, of New Westminster, are the only members now living. The Development op Public Health Control in British Columbia As early as 1869 it was deemed advisable to have some legislative machinery to work with. Accordingly, in that year was passed, "An ordinance for promoting the Public Health in the Colony of British Columbia," which empowered the Governor-in-Council to create Health Districts, establish local Boards of Health, define the duties and jurisdiction of these Boards, with the proper method of enforcing their rules by fines and imprisonment. There was also special provision for the appointment of an extraordinary officer, to be called the Health Officer, to act during extraordinary crises such as serious epidemics "whose duties it shall be to provide that the Local Boards carry out the orders in Council." In municipalities, the Council of the municipality constituted the Local Board, while in unorganized districts the Government Agent of the district acted. The ordinance was very imperfect, but still served its purpose until the first stress came in a small-pox epidemic in 1892. To combat this, Dr. J. C Davie was appointed Health Officer, and by his efforts the storm was passed. But the need of better legislation was obvious. Accordingly, in the following year the "Health Act, 1893" was passed. As the epidemic had subsided, the Act was not at once put in force. However, later on, there was an outbreak of cholera in Japan 'which spread over into Honolulu. As this was getting near home, the Government, on September 26,1895, proclaimed the Act, whereupon it came into force. This The Medical History op British Columbia 37 Act called for the creation of a central board built. In this connection the names of Drs. with very extensive powers. The board ap A. P. Proctor and R. E. Walker deserve more pointed consisted of Dr. J. C Davie, Chairman, than honourable mention, and the former con Drs. J. M. Lefevre, R. E. Walker, L. T. Davis, tinues to give his active support to the good and Geo. H. Duncan, who was the Secretary. work whenever the opportunity affords. We It at once commenced the work of organization. are indebted to Mrs. Alice Fagan, of Victoria, It prepared regulations regarding smallpox, scarlet fever and diphtheria, and supplemented for the following brief biography of her late husband. them by a well digested pamphlet on disinfec "Dr. Charles Joseph Fagan was born at tion. The regulations embodied provisions for 'Lismaeaffrey', County West Meath, Ireland, on the enforcement of modern methods of isolation May 31, 1857. A Roman Catholic in religion, and quarantine, disin- his early schooling was lection, ana vaccination, etc. They pro witn tne vrneentian Fathers at Castleknock, vided also for the where he excelled at appointment of medi games, was champion cal and other health runner of the school, officers, and establish and a keen cricketer. ment of isolation hospitals and suspect sta ^v-lHi # His professional edu cation was obtained at tions. A serious out §#1 Trinity College, break of typhoid in Dublin, where he took the Kootenays in 1896 the Degrees of B.A., proved the value of M.B., B.Ch., in 1883. the new order of He practised for a things. Dr. A. T. Watt, time in Staffordshire, who was the Secretary, England, and then was toured the infected induced by the Rev. district, and on his Father Norris to come return, Clive Phillips- with him to New West Wolley was appointed minster as Medical as a special officer to Superintendent of St. see that the provisions Mary's Hospital, of the Board were which had lately been carried out. Some of built there. Later, he the regulations at this and Dr. R. Eden time were impossible Walker were together to carry out and so for many years. They gave rise to consider- parted when he was a b 1 e dissatisfaction. appointed secretary to Sandon was prohibited the Provincial Board from using the only of Health in Novem water supply' available ber, 1899. He held this and from disposing of position until forced its sewage into the only by continued ill-health plaee which nature epn rd«... to resign, in November, had provided; Ross- 1914. land was treated much the same way. Later on, "Dr. Fagan was known to every medical man when the Semlin Government came into power, of the province, as, for fourteen years, he held the Board was abolished. Health matters came the position of Registrar to the Medical under the jurisdiction of the Attorney-General; Council, doing much to raise the tone of the the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council became the profession. During his tenure of office he Board of Health, and Dr. C J. Fagan was brought many valuable ideas into play, one appointed Secretary and practically Chief notable improvement being the regulating of Executive Officer. Those who knew Dr. Fagan the salmon fishing industry by supervising the will remember him as a man of large build, of class of persons engaged in the canneries and a genial, optimistic temperament, and earnest seeing that the fish were packed under sanitary in his work. conditions. The campaign against tuberculosis in the "The service for which he will perhaps be province owes its origin practically to Dr. best remembered, and in which he never spared Fagan, and without his Irish fighting spirit the himself, was the establishing of the Anti- Sanitarium at Tranquille would not have been Tuberculosis Society, and, later, the sanatorium. The Medical History op British Colum: at Tranquille in the early days of the fight against the 'Great White Plague,' and under great difficulties, which in itself will ever remain a monument to his memory. He did not long survive his retirement and died at Victoria on February 10, 1915. "He was married to Alice Clute at New Westminster on August 2, 1893." The Kootenays The last decade of the nineteenth century witnessed an extensive mining and railway development in the southern part of the province. Important centres sprang up rapidly, and these were linked together by an excellent transportation system. The towns of Nelson, Rossland, Trail, Grand Forks, Greenwood, Phoenix, Kaslo, Sandon, Nakusp, New Denver, Fernie and Cranbrook had their beginnings in this period. In the far northern part of the province, just below the 60th parallel, the town of Atlin came into existence in 1899, and for a short time enjoyed a hectic prosperity and boasted a cosmopolitan population of five or six thousand people. As was to be expected, medical men found their way to these new towns, some arriving before the advent of the railways, of which the two most important were the Columbia and Western and the B.C. Southern (Crow's Nest Pass Line), while others came as medical officers on railroad construction and later settled in the new towns along the railway. In collecting data of the early medical men of the Kootenays the writer has had invaluable assistance from Dr. E. C Arthur, Medical Officer of Health and School Medical Inspector of Nelson. Dr. Arthur has done his work most thoroughly and has included in his account practically every man who ever practised in that district. As it is not the purpose of the writer of this narrative to deal with the living but rather to call to memory some of those who have passed on or who have left the province, mention will only be made of those who come within the latter category. To quote Dr. Arthur.— "While Dr. Labau was in the district before I came, he did not register until May, 1892, and I believe that from May to November, 1891, I was the only registered practitioner south of the main line of the C.P.R., from Crow's Nest to the Hope Mountains. "Dr. Labau was a licensed practitioner in Nelson from May, 1892, until sometime in 1907, when he removed to Spokane, Wash. He there practised some years and then removed to Victoria, B.C., where he practised until his death in 1921. In his later years in Nelson he had several partners who will be mentioned later, but he and I were the only practitioners in Nelson from September, 1892, until Dr. Symonds came in 1896. "Dr. J. R. Williams, M.R.C.S., Eng., and L.R.C.P., Lond., 1890, registered, May 5, 1891. With his family he arrived in Nelson from Seattle on November 26, 1891, and remained until September, 1892, when he removed to Ashcroft, B.C. How long he remained there I do not know, but my remembrance is that he removed from there to some place in southern Alberta, where he was reported to have died some years ago. During his stay in Nelson, Dr. Williams and I were always friendly and worked in harmonious competition for practice which was insufficient for one. "The need of hospital accommodation had already made itself felt, and the first steps towards meeting this want were taken on Saturday evening, January 23, 1892, when Dr. Williams, Mr. G. 0. Buchanan and I met in my house and spent the evening in discussing the question and formulating tentative plans for establishing a hospital at Nelson to supply the needs of Nelson and the surrounding district. We next placed the matter before John Houston, editor of the Nelson Miner. Houston took an active interest in the matter, and called meetings at which committees were appointed to carry out different branches of the work. "The Kootenay Lake General Hospital Society was incorporated under the Benevolent Societies Act. A constitution based largely upon that of the Royal Jubilee Hospital of Victoria was framed. The Society was formed of citizens who paid an annual membership fee of ten dollars, in return for which they were qualified to vote at elections of officers and entitled to free hospital treatment during that year. The first Board of Directors was elected on May 20, 1893. "A small building of two storeys was erected during that year and it was hastily opened on December 23rd to admit John Cameron, a deck hand on the S.S. Nelson, who had sustained a simple fracture of the left tibia and fibula. He made a good recovery and returned to work, but neither the bill of the hospital nor mine for professional services was ever paid. "I shall here introduce the subject of contract medical practice as it existed for many years in this section of the province. There were very many cases like the one quoted above of men who earned good wages, but spent them mostly on wine and women, with the result that when sickness or accident befell them, the medical attendant received little or nothing for his services. This led medical men to enter into contracts with employers of labour to render all necessary medical and surgical attendance and hospital care to the employees in return for a monthly fee, usually of one dollar, which was deducted from the payroll by the employer, and by him paid to the medical man. These contracts usually covered sickness and accident sustained while upon the work, but excepted venereal diseases, injuries received when not at work, and treatment requiring the services of specialists. The medical man attended at the camp when called and kept a small supply of simple remedies and dressings there for use in his absence. If the camp were not too inaccessible the physician usually made a visit once or twice a month, to see that all was going well. Under this system the men received some attention, the physician had some small remuneration, and the employer was relieved of a certain amount of responsibility. Where large numbers of men were employed as upon railway construction or large mining operations the physician usually profited, but small operations were usually unprofitable and sometimes the source of loss. Under the system abuses arose. For instance, on large railway construction the man who had the contract, or in some cases the railway company, employed other physicians on salary to do the medical and surgical work on allotted sections of the road under construction. Sometimes these physicians, through drink or other cause, shamefully neglected the men under their care. The construction of the Crow's Nest Railway caused so many complaints that a Royal Commission was sent from the east to investigate. Not long after that time legislation was passed in this province whereby the employees were given the right to select the physician to whom their fees would be paid, with the result that on large construction work physicians attending men upon the same work. "The Kootenay Lake General Hospital from verv early days had considerable competition from small hospitals privately owned and operated by nurses or physicians. Probably this was due to the fact that the first Board put in charge a woman who was not a competent nurse. Be that as it may, the Kootenay Lake General Hospital, like most similar institutions, had difficulty in financing its operations, small as they were, and in 1898-99 the Board decided to enter into competition with the medical men of the city in taking contracts to supply treatment for the employees of companies. The medical men protested and were told that the Board refused to be dictated to by the physicians. (I still have the Board's letter). When the hospital undertook contract work it became necessary to have a physician resident on the premises. Dr. W. 0. Rose was the first, from August, 1899, retaining the position for eight months before he settled in private practice. "Geo. H. H. Symonds, M.B. (Edin., 1884), M.D. (Edin., 1892), registered on October 16, 1893. Dr. Symonds was a naval surgeon on the . Pacific Station, I believe on H.M.S. Drake. He located in Nelson early in 1896 and practised here some three or four years when he returned to England, married, and had a family of four boys, the eldest of whom had died not very long before I visited him at his home in his native city of Hereford in June, 1919. "One of the early practitioners of this period also was Dr. Herman F. Titus (M.D., Harvard 1890), registered in British Columbia in May, 1893. Dr. Titus had the contract for the medical and surgical work on construction of the Nelson and Fort Sheppard Railway, 1893. He had a temporary hospital in Nelson on the west side of Stanley Street at about Block 23. After leaving Nelson he located in Seattle, where he was last heard of many years ago. "Among the pioneer practitioners of Nelson was Dr. Isabel D. Arthur, M.D. (Univ. of Oregon, 1897), registered on May 7,1897. She practised in Nelson from May, 1897 to 1923, in August of which year she died of cerebral haemorrhage while visiting relatives in Orillia, Ontario." "Dr. John 0. W. Malloch, M.B. (Tor. 1896), practised for a short time in Nelson (1898) before removing to Revelstoke where he remained for a year or more and then returned to Toronto. The writer had the pleasure of meeting him on several occasions—in London, 1905, when he was studying for the English Fellowship and, later, at Salonika, in 1915. He was recognized by his confreres as a most capable surgeon, a diligent worker, and was well liked by all who knew him. His untimely passing a few years ago, after the close of the war, was much regretted by a host of friends. "J. F. Bruce Rogers, M.D., CM. (Trinity University, Toronto, 1889), registered on May 4, 1893. He located in Kaslo early in 1893 and practised there until 1903, or possibly till 1904, when he returned to Ontario and, I believe, is now practising at Port Burwell, Ontario. Dr. Rogers has to his credit, I believe, the first ovariectomy performed in this section of the province. There was no hospital in Kaslo at the time, hence the operation had to be performed in a room prepared in a private house, January 12, 1895. I was his assistant and a drug clerk was anaesthetist. Circumstances combined to make the operation long and tiring. Gauze sponges had not come into general use in those days, hence, we had a limited number of regulation surgical sponges. The contents of the cyst were too viscous to flow through the tube of our only trocar, which was a small one. For tying the pedicle, which was a large one, he had the only kangaroo tendon nearer than Spokane which was more than two hundred miles distant. In his efforts to tie the unusually large pedicle very tightly he broke it. Fortunately, the one The Medical History of British Columbia end was long enough to use, the operation was safely completed, and the patient made a good recovery. In later years Dr. Rogers established and operated a small private hospital of some six or eight beds capacity. "Dr. Samuel A. Metherell, the first man to be registered in British Columbia on his Imperial registration, was registered 'by order of the Court', February 7, 1893. I think he came to Kaslo very shortly after Dr. Rogers, and later in the same year he worked with Dr. H. F. Titus under the medical contract covering the men who constructed the Nelson & Fort Shep- pard Railway, which was built that year. When he left that work Dr. Metherell disappeared and I have never heard of him since. "Dr. N. W. Bruner (M.D., American Medical College, St. Louis, 1891), registered on May 4, 1893. He had an office in Kaslo till about midsummer 1893; he then removed to Sandon, B.C., where he practised till 1898 or 1899, when he removed to Dawson City, Yukon; there I lost all trace of him. "Dr. Gilbert Hartin (M.D., CM., McGill, 1896), registered on May 6,1896. He came from near Ottawa, and located in Kaslo in May, 1896, where he practised until 1907, when he removed to Nelson and entered partnership with Dr. G. A. B. Hall. In September 1908, Drs. W. 0. Rose and Hartin entered into partnership, and bought the practise of Dr. G. A. B. Hall. This partnership endured till the death of Dr. Hartin in February, 1921." ROSSLAND Rossland in its heyday was one of the best known mining camps in America. The Le Roi, War Eagle, and Center Star mines made it famous, and it was only natural that medical men should be attracted to this promising new centre of wealth. Many of these were possessed of qualifications and training more befitting a practise in a metropolitan city or university teaching school than a rude mining camp. Such a one was Dr. Harold D. Senior (F.R.C.S., Eng., 1895), registered May, 1897. Dr. Senior will be remembered by many men of that day as a man of high professional attainments, but after a comparatively short residence in Rossland he transferred his activities to Philadelphia where he has, for many years, been connected with the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. "Dr. Angus W. Kenning (M.D., Detroit School of Medicine, 1895), commenced practice in Rossland about 1897, and was for many years one of its most prominent surgeons. For a time he was in partnership with Dr. E. J. Bowes, another well known medical man of Rossland, until the latter removed to Nevada at the time of the Tonapah gold fields excitement. Dr. Kenning later removed to Victoria (1911) where he soon enjoyed an extensive practice. He was on the staff of both the Jubilee and St. Joseph's Hospitals and was also prominently identified with the Victoria Medical Society. His death occurred on August 21, 1922. The writer had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Kenning in 1897. The high estimate of his character and professional ability formed at that time remained unchanged during the subsequent years—up to his untimely passing. Dr. Gordon C Kenning and Dr. Stuart G. Kenning, his sons, are well known in Victoria, where they have been engaged in practice for a number of years. '' The first resident physician in Rossland was Dr. H. L. A. Kellar, (M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., Eng., 1892), registered on January 10, 1895. He told me that he was an Oxford man in- Arts, of London University in Medicine, and had practical charge of a large children's hospital in London for a year before coming to Canada. Dr. Kellar and I went together to Rossland in February 1895, with the intention of entering into partnership and locating in that city. I remained a month and then returned to Nelson. He continued to practice in Rossland until about 1897 when he removed to Ymir, being the first resident physician in that town. He practised there some three or four years and established and operated a small private hospital. Later, upon leaving Ymir he practised a short time in Nelson, after which he moved to Kelowna, where he died some years ago." Rossland old-timers will readily recall the names of Dr. Robert Reddick, who came to Rossland in 1897, and after a short residence there, returned to Ontario; also Dr. Duncan D. Campbell, who practised in Rossland for a short time, and Dr. Alexander Forin, who was one of the early Rossland men and came there in 1897. Dr. Forin later removed to Nelson and was in partnership for a short time with Dr. Labau. In the early years of the present century he removed to Edmonton. Dr. A. C. Sinclair (Victoria University, Toronto, 1863), registered in B.C., 1897, after three or four years' practice in Rossland returned to Ontario where he passed away many years ago. One of the first women to practice medicine in British Columbia was Dr. Annie Verth Jones (M.D., CM., Trinity University, 1896). Dr. Jones practised in Rossland from 1897 to about 1904 or 1905, when she removed to Nelson. She left the province ten years ago or more. New Denver Dr. J. E. Brouse (M.D., CM., McGill Univ., 1892), registered on May 4, 1893. Dr. Brouse was a son of Senator Dr. Brouse of Brockville, Ontario. He had the medical contract on the construction of the Nakusp and Slocan Railway between Nakusp and Three Forks, B.C. This line was finished in the late autumn of 1894. Either that year or early in 1895 he located in The Medical History op British Colum New Denver, where he practised many years before his removal to Vancouver, where he specialized in diseases of the skin till his death a few years ago. Early in his practice in New Denver he established and operated a private hospital which has since been taken over by the community and is now operated as a public hospital. Sandon In the latter years of the century just past, Sandon reached the height of its prosperity as a mining centre. Visiting it during the summer of 1897, the recollections of the writer about it are—a humming hive of humanity—a mining camp set down at the bottom of a narrow gulch —its only street about the width of a lane, separating the fronts of the buildings ranged along on each side of it; the rear of the structures backed into the sides of the gulch which ' rose at a sharp angle on either side. It boasted a medical population at least of three—probably four. Two of these, Dr. G. P. Young and Dr. Pierce H. Power, removed to Vancouver a few years later, while •"the third, Dr. W. E. Gomm (Bellevue, 1888), remained for a longer period, finally removing to New Denver where he passed away in 1928. Dr. George P. Young (M.D., CM., Univ. of Man., 1895), registered in January, 1897, was a brilliant student at medical school and head of his class on graduating, and gi becoming one of the foremost medical the city of his adoption. He was a member of staff of the Vancouver General Hospital at the time of his death and his untimely passing (1907), due to an accident, was deeply regretted by his numerous friends. Dr. P. H. Power, registered in British Columbia in November, 1895, under the Imperial Act, was a retired naval surgeon and practised in Sandon during its boom days for several years. He later removed to Vancouver where he died in the first decade of the present century. The Boundary Country With the building and completion of the Columbia and Western Railway 1897-99, the towns of Greenwood, Phoenix and Midway sprang into prominence. The mining industry thrived and for a number of years the mineral production supported a very considerable population. During these active years the medical men of the district, although limited in numbers, were generally, men of a high order of professional ability. As mining declined and large producers like the Granby ceased to operate, and with the diminishing population, these practitioners removed to other fields. Several of them, both from the Boundary and from the Kootenay, who came to the Coast in the first decade of the present century, have made an enviable reputation for themselves in their chosen specialties. These will readily recall the railway construction activities Of this period and the names of the medical men prominently identified with this class of work. Dr. Dutton, now of Spokane, was associated with Dr. F. J. Ewing in a number of these enterprises, but as he was not registered in the province, the onus of responsibility in connection with the medical construction fell upon the latter. "Dr. F. J. Ewing (M.D., CM., Trin. Univ. Toronto, 1890), registered on May 7, 1897. Dr. Ewing had the contract for the medical and surgical work on construction of the Columbia and Western Railway,—Castlegar to Midway, 1898-99. Large numbers of the men on this work came from construction of the Crow's Nest Pass Railway and many were infected with typhoid fever when they came upon the Columbia and Western work. Dr. Ewing had his headquarters and Hospital at Broklin, B.C. In writing about this Dr. Arthur states, 'I saw in the fall of 1898, at one time, eighty typhoid cases in double decked, double bunks, in two tents and the number of deaths was surprisingly small.' There were some 3,000 men employed on this contract. In 1900 Dr. Ewing had the contract for the medical and surgical work on construction of the CP.R. branch between Nelson and Proctor. On this work about 1,500 men were employed. During the years 1908 to 1914 Dr. Ewing was in charge of the medical work on construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific, Prince Rupert to Edmonton. On this work some 8,000 men were employed." In 1916 he went overseas and served on the staff of the Quarter-Master General until the close of the war. He then engaged in private practice in Vancouver where he passed away rather suddenly in 1926. Dr. R W. Jakes (McGill, 1893), registered in British Columbia in 1895. He was probably the pioneer medical man of the Boundary. He practised for a number of years at Midway and Greenwood. In the early years of the present century he removed to the United States. The names of Dr. S. S. Oppenheimer and Dr. Ed. R. Northrop will also be familiar to many of the old timers of this section. These men were in the Boundary in the early years of this century, and later removed to Spokane where they engaged in practice and still reside. Dr. J. D. MacLean (McGill, 1905), registered in B.C. in 1906, practised in Greenwood for a number of years. He represented that constituency in the Provincial House as a private member for a considerable period, was a member of the Cabinet for several years and later, upon the death of the Hon. John Oliver, succeeded him as Premier of the province. Dr. MacLean The Medical History op British Columbi East Kootenay We are indebted for the following excellent and very interesting sketch to Dr. F. W. Green, of Cranbrook, one of the pioneer medical men of the district. "The medical history of East Kootenay is short, but filled with interest and progress. The first record of any medical practice in this district was in the year 1895 when Rev. Father Cocola, O.M.I., then working among the Indians at the Saint Eugene Mission, fitted a log cabin to accommodate four patients. At first these patients were attended by Father Cocola, and later by Dr. Mott who was the first qualified medical man to settle in the country. He was in private practice at Fort Steele. There is no record of any further change in these conditions until two years later when the C.P.R. started constructing their Crow's Nest Branch. Dr. F. W. Mewburn, of Lethbridge, later Professor of Surgery in Alberta University, was made general surgeon of the construction. It was his task to appoint medical men, on a salary to $100.00 per month, for the various construction camps, and at intervals to visit these men and receive reports on their work. "The first appointments in East Kootenay were given to Dr. Brodie and Dr. Mott, who were stationed at Elko, and apparently attended camps between Crow's Nest and Cranbrook. These men remained with the C.P.R. for no longer than six months, and then, as partners, they went into private practice in Fort Steele, which at that time was the largest and busiest town in the district. "They were followed by Dr. Gordon and Dr. Philip Roy, but likewise these men did not stay long in the district. Dr. Roy retired to Edmonton and from there he was appointed to the Senate of Canada, and later was made Canadian High Commissioner at Paris. Since then he has been appointed Canadian Minister at Paris. Then, in the early spring of 1898. Dr. J. H. King, now Senator in the Federal Government, came from the east to begin his work as a C.P.R surgeon between Cranbrook and Elko. A few months later Dr. F. W. Green, coming from the wst, took up the same position in Kuskanook, and patrolled all camps between there and Moyie. During this time Dr. D. Corsan was between Elko and Crow's Nest. Dr. Corsan is still in the district and resides at Fernie. Dr. Bonnell became a Federal member' of Parliament, in the Union Government of 1917, and later moved to the coast and is now a C.P.R. surgeon in Vancouver. "The experiences of these early men were cis, and in order to give some idea of conditions it would be as well to make mention of a few of the more outstanding incidents. Twice a month the doctors patrolled their sections. This was done on horseback, and meant in some cases a ride of thirty miles a day. As a rule at the end of this journey they found no sleeping accommodation, and they were forced to provide for themselves, usually using their saddles as pillows. "In the summer of 1898, typhoid swept through the country. The old log hospital at Goat River Crossing was filled with typhoid cases, and the overflow had to be provided for in the town. At the height of the epidemic the hospital staff, which consisted of a cook, and three male nurses, resigned and the doctor had to attend the patients, cook for them and bury the dead. The unfortunate doctor had to make all funeral arrangements, and carry out the funeral service. In one case the men refused . to carry a coffin and the doctor was obliged to pay each man $2.00 to have the coffin carried a few hundred feet. The doctors were young men who had just graduated and their method of treatment was somewhat crude. It is said that in their right-hand pockets they carried a quantity of lead and opium pills, and in their left-hand pockets, compound cathartics. The usual treatment was to administer either one kind of pill or the other according to the patient's condition, and evidently, from the popularity of the doctors, their system met with "The Canadian novelist, 'Ralph Connor,' in his book, 'The Doctor', has given a description of the Kootenay district at the time of the C.P.R. construction work. The main character, who is a doctor, has been drawn from the characters of the early doctors in this district, and although all statements are not absolutely orthodox the book gives a good idea of the difficulties under which medicine was practised. "Early in 1898 Mr. J. Haney, Superintendent of the Crow's Nest construction, requested that a hospital suitable for the needs of the men on construction be erected. He gave a generous donation of $5,000 towards this, and on May 1, 1898, a hospital, sixty feet by forty feet, two stories high, with about twenty-five beds, was opened at the Saint Eugene Mission. This was a great advance, as previous to this the doctors had been working under almost impossible conditions. Between 1898 and 1900 five hundred and sixty patients were admitted, and among these there were thirty deaths. During this time Sister Meletine, Superior of the Hospital, and four other Sisters from Montreal managed the hospital and attended the patients. At this time all C.P.R. work was done on the contract plan. The C.P.R. paid the hospital $1.50 per day for each patient, and i Medical History c of this 12 per cent was received by the doctors. At the same time the Sisters tried to maintain the hospital by selling 'hospital tickets' to the men in the mining and lumber camps. The tickets entitled the men to free medical and hospital care during an illness. However, this proved very unsatisfactory as the men would not buy until they were ill, and this plan was soon abandoned and a new system, under which the mining and lumbering companies deducted so much from each employed man's salary for medical and hospital fees, was adopted. This was much more satisfactory, as each employed man had to respond to the maintenance of the hospital, but at the same time the doctors and hospital were running the risk of losing during an epidemic. This was the beginning of the contract system which in this district had gone through an evolution until to-day, when, if times are prosperous, nearly every patient attended comes under this plan. "Soon it became obvious that the Mission Hospital was not large enough or the situation convenient for such a rapidly developing community, so plans were made to erect a more up- to-date and suitable building in a more central place. No time was wasted. Early in 1900, Colonel Baker donated five acres of his Cranbrook property to the Hospital. In June of that year the contract for the construction was given to Mr. Nevin, and on February 6, 1901, the Saint Eugene Hospital, operated by the Sisters of Providence, was opened. Since then the building has been greatly improved, new buildings added, and an up-to-date Nursing School has been attached, until to-day the whole institution is considered one of the best hospitals in British Columbia." Nanaimo ranks with Victoria as one of the oldest settlements in British Columbia. For that reason its history, extending over a period of over eighty years, is of more than passing interest. It was in 1849 that the barque Harpooner dropped anchor in Nanaimo harbour, bringing some twenty-one settlers to the new colony of Vancouver Island. Among these were eight coal miners destined for Fort Rupert on the north eastern end of the island, to open up the coal measures there, while the rest made their way south and settled at Sooke, near Victoria. It is interesting to note that in the colonization projects of the Hudson's Bay Company on the Pacific Coast medical men played a prominent part. So we find, as one of the passengers on the Harpooner, Dr. Alfred Robson Benson, listed on the ship's register as surgeon and clerk. As no white settlers were established at Nanaimo at that time, Dr. Benson joined the group in the" southern part of the island, and in 1850 we note he attended Governor Blanshard at Victoria. With the discovery of coal on the beach at Nanaimo, in 1851, by an Indian, who received on that account the name of "Coal Tyhee," the Company decided to concentrate its mining activities on this more convenient and accessible area. On June 1, 1854, the ship Princess Royal left England on its long trip around the Horn, with a number of settlers for Esquimalt. Among these was a small group of coal miners, accompanied by their families, destined for Nanaimo where they arrived November 27, 1854. With the development of the coal industry, Nanaimo early in the history of the colony became an important trade centre, and we find the name of Dr. Benson associated with it as pioneer physician in those early days, first in the Hudson's Bay service, 1857-1862, and later as colliery surgeon to the Vancouver Coal Company, 1862- 1864. Dr. Benson was returning officer in the celebrated Nanaimo election for the Provincial Legislature, June 23, 1859, the candidate being Capt. John Swanson, of the Hudson's Bay Company steamer Labouchere and Capt. Charles E. Stuart was the only qualified voter. The return mentions that Capt. John Swanson was duly elected by a majority of one. In recording the election and the incidents in connection with it, the local paper comments:— "This caps the climax of all elections that were ever heard of where Anglo-Saxon language is spoken." In the Colonist (Victoria, B.C.), July 1 and 6, 1859, we find mention of an election that had taken place there a short time before when John George Barnston, of Victoria, had been elected by Stuart, but for some reason not stated, Barnston did not take the seat. A story is related of Dr. Benson that a man who had aroused the ire of the Doctor by unmercifully kicking his dog came to him one day to have an aching tooth pulled. . With the tooth firmly in the grip of the forceps, the Doctor said "So you are the man who kicked my dog!" - - this followed by a pull, the same remark again and another yank, and so on a number of times until no doubt the man heartily wished he had never seen the dog. Local chroniclers connect Dr. Benson with the late Archbishop of Canterbury. Certainly the name was the same, but whether he was a brother or not could not be verified. When Dr. Benson's wife died in Nanaimo he installed in her memory three windows in the original St. Paul's Church. These windows seem to have disappeared, and it is reported that they are at present located in some District Anglican Church. Mount Benson, named after him in 1859, by his friend Captain Richards of H.M. survey ship, Plumper, is a beautiful elevation, 3,366 feet in height, about two miles west of Nanaimo, from the summit of which an unequalled view of the Gulf of Georgia is had, The Medical History op British Columbia from Jervis Inlet to Mount Baker, and on a clear night one may see the twinking lights on the streets of Vancouver, some forty miles distant. Previously this mountain had been called by the Indians and officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, "Wake-siah", a Chinook word meaning literally "not far." Doctor Benson spent his remaining years in Whitby, Yorkshire, the place of his nativity, where he died about 1905. In the little cemetery at Nanaimo one may see the grave of Dr. Klyn Grant, about whom local tradition has woven an interesting story. It is said that he was a man of note in London . and an editor of The Lancet. For reasons that made it desirable for him to leave England he found his way to this little known outpost of empire and remained there until his death some sixty years ago. He lived alone in a small cabin, cooking his own meals, and generally isolated himself from his neighbours. A story of him is related by Mr. David Stevenson, a pioneer of Nanaimo. Dr. Grant announced one day that he had discovered the quickest way to boil water. Upon being asked what his method was he said,—"Boil it in a frying pan.'' Another story told by Mr. S. relates to a deer- hunting expedition, when he had as a companion a young doctor recently arrived in the district. After bringing down their deer, the doctor was asked to eviscerate it and make it ready for packing. As liver and bacon were to be on the breakfast menu, the doctor was requested to segregate the liver for the morning meal and this was accordingly done. He was next reminded that the gall should be removed and the doctor, after a diligent search, confessed to defeat as he could not find it. Mr. Stevenson then sprang his little joke when he said, "Don't you know, doctor, that a deer hasn't a gall?" In the seventies we find Dr. Loftus Mclnnes in the position of colliery surgeon. Later he removed to New Westminster, where he passed away a decade or so later. Dr. Phillips, Dr. Gamble and Dr. Robert W. W. Carrall, the latter mentioned in a previous chapter, all practised for a time in Nanaimo about this period. In the "eighties," in addition to the foregoing, the names of Dr. Cluness, a member of the first Medical Council, who died in 1886, Dr. S. B. O'Brien, Dr. W. W. Walkem, Dr. P. J. Rice, Dr. Praeger and Dr. W. Bell Campbell, all of whom have passed away, are still remembered by the older citizens of Nanaimo. Dr. Michael Callanan, L.R.C.S. & P., Ireland, 1874, practised in Nanaimo in the late "eighties." He removed to the Cariboo in the "nineties" and for a time represented that constituency in the local legislature. His last years were passed in New Westminster, where he died some years ago.* Dr. L. T. Davis, whose death occurred recently, practised for over forty years at Nanaimo and district. He was a man of genial disposition and well liked by a large circle of his fellow citizens. The writer met him on numerous occasions and entertained a high regard for him. From his widow we obtained the following brief biography. "Lewis Thomas Davis, born in Portland, Maine, July 4, 1862. He went to Canada at a very early age with his parents. He first went to school in Port Hope and then to Queen's University, from which he graduated (M.D., CM., 1881). He first practised in Redwood City, California, coming to Nanaimo as assistant to Dr. Cluness in 1884. For many years he held the post of medical officer to the Indian and Marine Departments. He was also physician to the Nanaimo Gaol, and was medical officer to the Nanaimo Hospital until 1911, when he removed to Victoria to accept a position as health officer. He finally settled in Parksville; V.I., in 1918 where he continued to practise until his death, September 23, 1929. He married August, 1887, Eve M. Reynard, daughter of the late Rev. J. Reynard, pioneer minister of the Cariboo and Mrs. Reynard." Kamloops Kamloops, on account of its situation at the junction of the North and South Thompson Rivers, has since the days of the fur traders been an important point on the line of travel between the coast and the interior. In 1882 the Royal Inland Hospital was built, and from a small beginning it has developed into one of the leading hospitals of the province. Old timers in Kamloops will remember Dr. Sibree Clark, one of the first physicians to practice in that city, and his name appears in the first medical register of the province (1886). Like many of the older school (he graduated in 1877) Dr. Clark combined a drug-store business with his practice. He was also coroner for a number of years. He took a great interest in Masonic affairs and was generally held in high esteem by his fellow citizens. He passed away many years ago. Dr. Edward Furrer (Trinity Medical School, Toronto, 1884, M.R.C.S. Eng.—registered B.C., 1887) commenced practice in Kamloops the same year and was Canadian Pacific Railway surgeon at that point for many years. Dr. Furrer was a native of Switzerland and at one time was a master of Upper Canada College. * The writer wishes to express his grateful thanks to Mr. William Lewis, Mr. David Stevenson, well known i of Nanaimo, and \ " The Medical History op British Colum: He was a man of liberal education, pleasing personality, and of a genial disposition. His passing in the early years of this century was much regretted by all who knew him. Thomas Wilson Lambert, M.B., B.C., Cambridge, England, 1889, (registered in 1892). He was a native of England, his family residing at Hull. He was related to the Wilsons of Tranby Croft, a place that achieved some prominence in the early "nineties" of the last century. Dr. Lambert was for a short period before removing to Kamloops stationed at Lytton in charge of a. small Anglican Hospital for the care of Indians. He was associated in practice with Dr. Furrer, of Kamloops, for several years when he achieved a reputation as a capable and dependable surgeon. During this period he was also a member of the British Columbia Medical Council. Following his return from a visit to England in 1897, he accompanied Capt. John Irving, of Victoria, 1898, on a trip to Dawson, going by way of Nome and the Yukon River. Being possessed of private means the lure of practice did not greatly appeal to him, and soon after his return from the northern gold fields, he went back to England to reside. He died in London, England, on April 10, 1920. Dr. Lambert was well known to the writer, who acted as his locum tenens for some months (1896-7). He was a man of fine appearance, tall, straight, of athletic build, and very fond of sport, particularly fishing, at which he was an expert. He and a companion made a record haul in 1897, when they caught in four or five days with the fly some seventeen hundred trout. The fish were strung on a line and a photograph taken of them, so that all and sundry might see and believe. Although Vancouver can trace its origin to the early "seventies," when the Hastings sawmill was built on the shores of Burrard Inlet and the little hamlet was known as Granville, yet it was not until 1886, having discarded its former appellation and adopted its present name, that it became known to the world as the Pacific terminus of Canada's transcontinental railway. During this period, when its population was small, practically consisting only of loggers and mill employes, medical service was supplied from New Westminster, a dozen miles away. Dr. W. W. Walkem, in the mid-"seventies," made Burrard Inlet his headquarters for a few years. In addition to providing a medical service to the local population he was Justice of the Peace and Coroner. In the early "eighties" he removed to Nanaimo, when, after twenty years or more of practice, he finally settled down in Vancouver, where he remained until his death about the close of the Great War. Dr. Duncan Bell-Irving, a graduate of one of the London schools, 1883, came to Burrard Inlet in 1884 as medical officer to the mill industries and after a short period he left the country and did not return again until about 1888, when he made Vancouver his permanent home. While Dr. Bell-Irving was well known to Vancouverites for four decades, yet it was only during the first years after coming to Vancouver that he actively practised his profession. He early associated himself with his brother, the late Henry Bell-Irving in the salmon-canning industry and other commercial activities which he continued until the time of his death a few years ago. The medical population of Vancouver in 1886, the year of its birth, consisted of less than half a dozen practitioners. Two of these, Dr. H. E. Langis and Dr. W. J. McGuigan, had been engaged on Canadian Pacific Railway construction and with the completion of the railway in 1885, had established themselves in the new Pacific port. Dr. J. M. Lefevre, formerly of Brockville, Ont., had, in 1885, been appointed Canadian Pacific Railway surgeon at Vancouver, and as the construction of the Port Moody- Vancouver branch was still in progress he established a small hospital at Powell Street. As the medical history of Vancouver is contemporaneous with its hospital development, a brief sketch of the latter will suffice to give us a picture of the former. We are indebted to Dr. A. M. Robertson (McGill, 1885; registered B.C. 1887), for the following interesting account of those early days in Vancouver's history. '' On my arrival in Vancouver, six months after the great fire in 1886, to be exact, on the last day of January, 1887, I found that the only hospital accommodation was a small shack at the east end of Powell Street, near where the sugar refinery now stands. There were only five or six beds under the care of a man and his wife and it served for the reception of Canadian Pacific Railway surgical and medical cases. It had been in operation for a few months on my arrival and Dr. J. M. Lefevre, then Canadian Pacific Railway surgeon, was in charge. As his partner it soon became part of my daily routine to plough my way through the mud out to this so-called hospital, as the Canadian Pacific Railway was still under construction between Port Moody and Vancouver, to say nothing of the work on the main line from North Bend westward as well as that of Vancouver itself. It is needless to say that this first hospital in Vancouver was kept pretty busy, and, if I may say so, a lot of good work was done, in spite of an almost total absence of nursing, trained nurses being conspicuous by their absence. "At the time of the incorporation of Vancouver, April, 1886, there were in practice, Drs. D. L. Beckingsale, H. E. Langis, J. M. Lefevre, and W. J. McGuigan. Lefevre had come with The Medical His i of British Colum Mr. H. Abbott and other Canadian Pacific Railway officials, as in the fall of 1885 the last spike had been driven at Revelstoke by Lord Strathcona, and in the winter 1885-86 the Dominion Government that had built this western part of the road had turned it over to the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, and Dr. Lefevre was going to be the Canadian Pacific Railway surgeon. With a rapidly growing city like Vancouver, however, this state of affairs could not last long; so late in 1887, or early in 1888, I think, the real foundation of the Vancouver General Hospital was laid when the City Council opened its first General Hospital, a small two-storey wooden building on Beatty Street, the first unit of buildings that afterwards extended to Cambie Street. It was called the 'City Hospital,' and as City Health Officer, it came under my care for some years, until the first medical staff was appointed by the Council. - "The first matron was Miss. Crickmay, with a small staff of two or three nurses. She was followed by Miss McPhee, Miss Clendenning, Miss Turner and Miss MacFarlane, The first resident Superintendent was Dr. MeEwen, followed by others. These men had no sinecure, being responsible not only for patients in charge but also for moneys received and paid out, had to be ansesthetist, pharmacist, as well as bookkeeper, buyer, and checker of stores such as cordwood, coal, etc., a one-man job without assistance for many years. The matrons and nurses, too, labouring under many and varied disadvantages, unheard of to-day, deserved the greatest credit and well earned it, doing noble work. As time passed different units were added, such as the central administration building, private wards, and operating rooms, as well as the large general wards—an addition still standing on Cambie Street. It was here in these old buildings that a most important event occurred in the history of hospitalization in Vancouver, namely the founding of the training school for nurses." An important factor in the hospital service of this early period was St. Luke's Home, situated on what was then called Oppenheimer Street, now Cordova, a block east of the present police station. Its founder was Sister Frances (Mrs. Dr. Wm. Redmond) and from the time of its opening in 1887 and for a quarter of a century afterwards, it did valuable pioneer work in those days when hospital accommodation was limited. In addition to handling general medical, surgical, and obstetrical work, it also carried on a small training school for nurses. The esteem in which Sister Frances was held by the citizens of Vancouver was indicated in 1929 when she was made the recipient of the coveted "Good Citizenship" medal awarded annually by the "Native Sons of British Columbia," in appreciation of her high qualities of citizenship and unselfish service rendered to the community. At her passing in April, 1932, the local press acclaimed her as the "Florence Nightingale" of Vancouver. During the first five years after the incorporation of the city, in addition to the names already mentioned, the medical population had been added to by the arrival of Dr. D. L. McAlpine and Dr. E. Stevenson who came in 1886, Dr. Duncan Bell-Irving, Dr. G. D. Johnston, Dr. John T. Carrall, and Dr. G. F. Bodington, who arrived in 1888; then, Dr. D. H. Wilson and Dr. W. D. Brydone-Jack, in 1889, Dr. John A. Mills in 1890 and Dr. Wilson Herald in 1891. A number of these men, in addition to establishing for themselves a fine professional reputation, were active in the public and business life of the city. Dr. Lefevre was a member of the first City Council of Vancouver. His name will always be associated with the British Columbia Telephone Company, of which he was one of the founders and for years a prominent director. Dr. McGuigan served as an alderman, a school trustee, and finally as mayor of the city in 1904. His name appears as one of the incorporators of the Vancouver General Hospital, 1902, and he was a member of its first Board of Directors.. He was also a member of the staff of that institution. Dr. D. H. Wilson, before coming to the Coast, had been a member of the Manitoba Legislature and a member of the Cabinet in the Norquay Government. When the Vancouver Medical Association was founded in 1898 he became its first president. Dr. D. L. McAlpine (Toronto University, 1863) was a familiar figure on the streets of Vancouver up to the closing years of the last century. Drs. John A. L. McAlpine and T. K. McAlpine, now practising in Vancouver, are sons of this pioneer. Dr. E. Stevenson died a good many years ago, leaving in his will a very considerable bequest to be used for Vancouver charities. Dr. Bodington (M.R.C.S. England, 1849) also F.R.C.S. England) settled in New Westminster a few years after coming to the province and was for a time before his death Superintendent of the Provincial Mental Hospital. D. L. Beckingsale, M.D., CM. (Univ. Edinburgh, 1872) was probably the first medical man to hold the appointment of port doctor at Vancouver. In the fire of 1886, when the city was consumed, he suffered the loss of all his personal effects and medical equipment, but in spite of this his faith in Vancouver was undiminished and he continued to practise in the city for a number of years before removing to the Okanagan on account of health reasons. From thence he went to California, and later we find him in San Francisco where he was during the earthquake of 1906. In 1912 he returned to England, re-established himself in practice in Wales and continued during the s Medical History op British Columi period of the war. Several years ago he rned to Vancouver' on a visit and spent e with friends here. He passed away in 1929 at the advanced age of 82 years. Of the aforementioned there are still with us Dr. Langis and Dr. A. M. Robertson, both of whom have long since retired from active practice; also Dr. W. D. Brydone-Jack, the doyen of the Vancouver profession, is still in active practice and, in spite of his three-score years and ten, shows no abatement in mental and physical vigour. In the early "nineties" we note the arrival of Dr. S. J. Tunstall, who came from Kamloops, and Dr. F. X.' McPhillips, who, since his arrival in 1893, has been closely identified with St. Paul's Hospital since it was opened in 1894. Dr. Lachlan N. MacKechnie (M.B. Toronto, 1892) came to the province the same year, and after a short period of practice in Victoria removed to Vancouver and was for many years one of its best known physicians. He passed away in 1926. Dr. Alfred Poole arrived in Vancouver, 1893, and practised for sixteen or seventeen years. He was an active member of the staff of the Vancouver General Hospital and past-president of the Vancouver Medical Association. Of a quiet, almost shy, disposition, he was well liked and respected by his colleagues, and his passing about 1912 was regretted by a host of friends. Dr. Octavius Weld, for many years one of Vancouver's outstanding medical men, settled there in 1895. Early associated with Dr. Lefevre as medical officers to the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, he soon became well known and established a reputation that placed him in the front ranks of the profession in Vancouver. For many years and up to the time of his death in 1922, he was a member of the staff of the Vancouver General Hospital. He was also a past-president of the Vancouver Medical Association and at the time of his passing, a decade ago, the Vancouver profession lost one of its most valuable members. Dr. Beecher Weld of Toronto is a son. Many of the older members of the profession in Vancouver will recall Dr. I. M. McLean who was medical officer of health in the late "nineties"; also Dr. Ivan Senkler who practised in Vancouver for several years about the same period. Dr. D. McLeod, who arrived in the province in 1891 and practised at Nanaimo for a number of years, went to the Klondike, and on his return settled in Vancouver where he continued in active work for a number of years before his death. Among other names that one may recall is that of Dr. A. E. Bolton, medical missionary to the Indians at Port Simpson, 1890-1902. Giving up this work he removed to Vancouver and engaged in practice for nearly ten years before he passed away. Dr. George W. Boggs came to the province about 1891 and practised in New Westminster for a number of years. He finally made his home in Vancouver where he was well known to the men of a generation ago. Dr. Robert Lawrence came to the province in 1893. He was a graduate of Victoria, 1871 and after several years in practice on Vancouver Island, finally settled in Vancouver in the early part of the present century, and continued more or less in active work up to the time of his death. For the first fifteen years of its existence the Vancouver City Hospital, as it was called, was operated as a Department of the City—practically all the medical men who so wished were ■ members of its staff—and it was not until the Klondike rush occurred, in 1897-1898, with its resultant effect in increasing the population of the city that the need of larger and better hospital accommodation became urgent. The medical men of the day led the agitation for reorganization and finally, in 1902, the Act incorporating the Vancouver General Hospital was passed by the Provincial Legislature. We find among the fifteen incorporators the names of Drs. S. J. Tunstall, John T. Carrall and Wm. J. McGuigan. The first staff after incorporation was made up as follows. Consulting Staff John T. Carrall, M.D. J. M. Lefevre, M.D. W. J. McGuigan, M.D. D. H. Wilson, M.D. B. C. Boyle, M.D. W. D. Brydone-Jack, M.D. E. Newton Drier, M.D. G. D. Johnson, M.D. H. E. Langis, M.D. J. A. Mills, M.D. A. S. Monro, M.D. E. E. McKechnie, M.D. J. M. Pearson, M.D. A. Poole, M.D. S. J. Tunstall, M.D. O. Weld, M.D. G. D. Johnson, M.D. I. Glen' Campbell, M.D. It is noteworthy that there was no division of the medical staff into medical and surgical at this time. This did not take place until 1906, when the hospital moved into its new quarters in Fairview. It is interesting to note that in the year 1905, which was the last year in the old Cambie Street buildings, that the number of patients treated was 828, the cost per diem $1.52 and the hospital days were 20,777. The report of the training school shows that the graduates for that year numbered ten, the largest class in the history of the hospital. Indicative of the growth of Vancouver we find that in 1920, fifteen years later, the number of patients admitted was 13,714, the cost per diem $3.12 and the hospital days were 330,490, an increase during that period, of admissions and days-treatment of 1600 per cent. While there had been an attempt in the early years of the city to form a Medical Society, with more or less success, the present Vancouver The Medical History op British Columbia Medical Association dates its beginning to 1898, with Dr. D. H. Wilson as its first President. Five of the original members are still with us— Drs. W. D. Brydone-Jack, F. X. McPhillips, F. T. Underbill, J. M. Pearson, and A. S. Monro. The year 1906 witnessed the incorporation of the Vancouver Medical Association Library. Great credit is due to the work of the Committee, composed of Drs. J. M. Pearson, F. X. McPhillips and Stephen, who were entrusted with the organization of this very important department of the Association's activities. Public health service in Vancouver up to 1904 had been carried on by part time medical officers. In that year, Dr. F. T. Underhill, D.P.H., was appointed full time medical health officer for the City of Vancouver. Vancouver was one of the first cities in Canada to have a full time, qualified, medical officer of health, and the present high standard of public health organization-in Vancouver, is a monument to the quarter of a century of service that Dr. Underhill gave to the city. In 1904 occurred an event of major importance, at least to Vancouver in those days of its youth—the meeting of the Canadian Medical Association, the first occasion when it was held in the province. Dr. Simon J. Tunstall was President and Dr. W. D. Brydone-Jack was general secretary. Mr., now Sir A. W. Mayo Robson, gave the Address on Surgery. His subject was "Surgery of the pancreas," at that time a comparatively new field. Mr. Robson was asked to see a patient who had undergone a few months previously the operation of chole- cystotomy on account of a persistent jaundice. The jaundice had subsided but the fistula remained. Mr. Robson very kindly consented to do an exploratory laparotomy and found a carcinoma in the head of the pancreas. To overcome the disagreeable consequences of a permanent external fistula, he made an anastomosis with a small Murphy button between the gall bladder and the transverse colon. The operation achieved the result intended and the fistula closed, the patient enjoyed comparative comfort for several months before the disease finally carried him off. The operating room was small, and outside of the necessary nursing surgical staff would only admit less than a dozen spectators. Among the latter was Dr. Charles Mayo and several prominent surgeons from eastern Canada and south of the line. The closing years of the last century and the first decade of the present one witnessed the commencement of that transition in medical practice, viz., the advent of the specialist and the changing status of the general practitioner, so much in evidence to-day, especially in the Coast urban centres. In 1900 Vancouver, with a medical population of about thirty, had one specialist—in fact he was the only one in the province. To-day there are about ninety full specialists or near-specialists in Greater Vancouver with its 300,000 population and three hundred registered practitioners. A generation ago the name of British Columbia, together with its remoteness from the rest of Canada, no doubt was a lure that attracted to the province many of the more enterprising and adventurous recent graduates of the day. In this period, the well trained general man here, as elsewhere, combined in himself, the practice of medicine, s,urgery and obstetrics, now numbered among the major specialties. In addition to these main branches, there were a number of men well qualified to give splendid service in gynecology, paediatrics, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, otolaryngology and judged by the standards of the day their results were generally of a high order. The great distance separating British Columbia from the important medical centres of the east, and the comparative isolation of the various smaller towns within the province, conduced to the development of a self-reliant type of practitioner, compelled by circumstances to depend upon his own judgment in making decisions, and resulting in a relatively high standard of professional ability—adequate to enable him to care successfully for 90 per cent of the ailments of the people served. This type of practitioner remains supreme in British Columbia, taking it as a whole, and even in the Coast cities, where half the population of the province reside and where specialism is more advanced, he is still the mainstay of the bulk of the population. It is an interesting speculation what the next generation will bring forth, particularly in view of the seeming imminence in this province of compulsory health insurance.
Other copies: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28581173 Part of: William C. Gibson History of Medicine and Science Collection ; Wallace B. Chung and Madeline H. Chung Collection
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WZ70.DC2.1 B7 M6
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Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Vancouver : [publisher not identified]
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Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. WZ70.DC2.1 B7 M6
Medicine--British Columbia
The medical history of British Columbia
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