CONTENTdm
Northwest bookshelf. Vol. IX
British Columbia Historical Books Collection
Lamb, W. Kayle
Ireland, Willard E.
Provincial Archives of British Columbia
British Columbia Historical Association
"Supersedes the association's Annual report and proceedings. Table of contents, index in each volume. Indexed in Canadian index. Last number appeared in 1958."-- Lowther, B. J., & Laing, M. (1968). A bibliography of British Columbia: Laying the foundations, 1849-1899. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 193. "Published by the Archives of British Columbia in co-operation with the British Columbia Historical Association. Superseded the Association's Annual report and proceedings. Table of contents and index in each volume. Also indexed in the Canadian Index. Publication suspended with vol.21, Jan., 1957-0ct., 1958, i.e. 1963. Includes many articles and reviews of publications on the precolonial period."-- Strathern, G. M., & Edwards, M. H. (1970). Navigations, traffiques & discoveries, 1774-1848: A guide to publications relating to the area now British Columbia. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 32.
307 pages : coat of arms, maps, portraits, photographs, illustrations, facsimiles (1 folded) ; 25 cm
application/pdf
THE BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY VOLUME IX. 1945 EDITOR. W. Kaye Lamb. Library, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. ASSOCIATE EDITOR. Willard E. Ireland. Provincial Archives, Victoria, B.C. (On active service, R.C.A.F.) ADVISORY BOARD. J. C. Goodpellow, Princeton. Robie L. Reid, Vancc T. A. Rickard, Victoria. W. N. Sage, Vancouvt CONTENTS OF VOLUME IX. The Royal Navy on the Northwest Coast, 1818-1850 Pai 1 Page. 7. Some Early Roads and Trails in New Westminster Ry W. N. Draper Robie Lewis Reid (1866-1945): A Memoir. Distric 25 Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Mediane. By A. G. Harvey .. _ ..._.. The Royal Navy on the Northwest Coast, 1818-1850. Par By F. V. Longstaff and W. Kaye Lamb From " Tickler " to " Telegram ": Notes on Early Vancouve By Bessie Lamb _ .... . _ 89 //. • News- 175 James Stephen on Granting Vancouver Island to the Hudson's Bay Company, 1846-1848. By Paul Knaplund . 2 David Stuart: Okanagan Pathfinder and Founder of Kamloops. By A. G. Harvey..: ' Documents: Walter Moberly's Report on the Roads of British Columbia, 1868. With an introduction by W. N. Sage The Journal of John Work, 1835. Being an account of his voyage northward from the Columbia River to Fort Simpson and return in the brig " Lama," January-October, 1835. Edited by Henry Drummond Dee. Part IV Part V. (conclusion) . Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry in British Columbia. A Cheeklist. By Marjorie C. Holmes. Part III.: 1911-1920 : Part IV.: 1921-1942 (conclusion) I Notes and Comments Arthur S. Morton: 1870-1945. ,._71, 167, 234, 289 The Northwest Bookshelf: Rickard: The Romance of Min By M. Y. Williams McArthur: Oregon Geographie Names. By W. Kaye Lamb ..... Clokie: Canadian Government and Politics. By W. N. Sage... _ — Splawn: Ka-mi-akin. By W. Kaye Lamb Jefferys: The Picture Gallery of Canadian History By Helen R. Boutilier Longley: Sir Francis Hincks. By Margaret Ormsby Parker: Locol History. By W. Kaye Lamb.... THE BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY JANUARY, 1945 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Published by the Archives of British Columbia in co-operation with the British Columbia Historical Association. EDITOR. W. Kaye Lamb. The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. ASSOCIATE EDITOR. Willard E. Ireland. Provincial Archives, Victoria, B.C. (On active service, R.C.A.F.) ADVISORY BOARD. J. C. Goodpellow, Princeton. Robie L. Reid, Vancouver. T. A. Rickard, I W. N. Sage, Vancou Editorial Communications should be addressed to the Editor. Subscriptions should be sent to the Provincial Archives, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C. Price, 50c. the copy, or $2 the year. Members of the British Columbia Historical Association in good Standing receive the Quarterly without further charge. Neither the Provincial Archives nor the British Columbia Historical Association assumes any responsibility for Statements made by contributors to the magazine. is indexed in Faxon's Annual Magazine Subject-Index. B BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY " Any country worthy of a future should be interested in its past." OL. IX. Victoria, B.C., January, 1945. No CONTENTS. The Royal Navy on the Northwest Coast, 1813-1850. Part I. By F. V. Longstaff and W. Kaye Lamb 1 Some Early Roads and Trails in New Westminster District. By W. N. Draper 25 Walter Moberly's Report on the Roads of British Columbia, 1863. With an introduction by W. N. Sage The Journal of John Work, 1835. Being an account of his voyage northward from the Columbia River to Fort Simpson and return in the brig "Lama," January- October, 1835. Part IV. Edited by Henry Drummond Dee Notes and Comments: British Columbia Historical Association Local Historical A Contributors to this Issue... THE ROYAL NAVY ON THE NORTHWEST COAST, 1813-1850. Part I. The first ships of the Royal Navy to visit the Northwest Coast were Captain Cook's famous vessels, H.M.S. Resolution and H.M.S. Discovery. They dropped anchor in Nootka Sound in April, 1778. Fourteen years later, in 1792, Captain Vancouver arrived on the coast in another Discovery, accompanied by the armed tender Chatham. Commander Broughton brought H.M.S. Providence to Nootka in 1796. But Cook, Vancouver, and Broughton were one and all explorers and surveyors. It was not until 1813 that one of His Majesty's ships sailed for this coast on a warlike mission. John Jacob Astor was indirectly responsible for this expedition. The founding of Astoria in 1811, at the mouth of the Columbia River, and the probability that Astor's Pacific Für Company would rapidly extend its Operations through the whole of the Columbia watershed, seriously perturbed the North West Company. Its agents in London, having some inkling of Astor's plans, had appealed to the British Government for help in fore- stalling the Americans; but in time of peace the Government was unwilling to act, lest hostilities with the United States should result. The outbreak of the War of 1812 removed this objection, and early in 1813 plans were made to seize Astoria and drive the Americans out of the region. In March the North West Company's supply ship Isaac Todd sailed from Plymouth, bound for the Columbia River. On the first leg of her journey she was convoyed by H.M.S. Phoebe, a 36-gun frigate that had been present at Trafalgar, though she had taken no active part in the battle. Her Commander, Captain (later Rear-Admiral Sir James) Hillyar, had served with distinction under Nelson, and had seen action in the Phoebe herseif off Madagascar and Java.1 In addition to keeping an eye on the (1) For an account of his career see William R. O'Byrne, A Naval Biographieal Dictionary, London, 1849, p. 516. This source, cited hereafter as O'Byrne, has been drawn upon freely in the preparation of both the notes and text of this paper. 2 F. V. Longstaff AND W. K. Lamb. January Isaac Todd, Hillyar was under instructions to clear all American ships off the west coast of South America. At Rio de Janeiro the Todd and the Phoebe were joined by two sloops, the 18-gun Cherub and—of special interest in the present connection—the 26-gun Racoon,2 the latter under Commander William Black.3 The four vessels left Rio on July 6 and set sail for Juan Fernan- dez Island. Off Cape Hörn the Isaac Todd, which was known to be a slow sailer, became separated, and all three of her escorts arrived at the rendezvous long before she did. After a time Captain Hillyar decided that he could not wait for her, particu- larly as Commodore David Porter, flying his pennant in the United States frigate Essex, 32 guns, was causing much havoc amongst British whaling-ships. He therefore instructed the Racoon to proceed to the Columbia River alone, while the Phoebe and Cherub searched for the Essex. A tedious hunt followed, but the Essex, in Company with the Essex Junior, was finally brought to action near Valparaiso in March, 1814. The battle was hard- fought, but the Essex suffered so many casualties and so much damage to her rigging that in the end she was compelled to surrender. Long before this the Racoon had paid her visit to Astoria, where the Situation was not without its comic element. The North West Company had sent a strong party overland to the (2) Built in 1808. In 1838 she was a convict hospital ship at Ports- mouth. As she is not shown in the Navy List for December, 1842, pre- sumably she had by that time been sold out of the service. (3) See O'Byrne, p. 85. Entered the Navy in 1793 as A.B. in the Levia- than, Captain, later Rear-Admiral, Lord Hugh Seymour, and served most of the next ten years in this and other ships under the command of Seymour, whom O'Byrne describes as "an officer of surpassing excellence." Black was present at the investment of Toulon; at Lord Howe's action of June 1, 1794; at Lord Bridport's action with the French fleet off He de Groix in 1795; and at the surrender of the Dutch colony of Surinam in 1799. Acting- Lieutenantl798; confirmed in that rank, 1801. While in the Aeolus, fought in Sir Richard Strachan's action on November 4, 1805, against the French and Spanish fleets; soon after appointed First Lieutenant in the Egyptienne, with whose boats he captured a powerful privateer in 1807; present at the expedition to Copenhagen later the same year. Appointed in May, 1808, to the Polyphemus, as Flag-Lieutenant to Rear-Admiral B. M. Rowley, Commander-in-Chief on the Jamaica Station. Promoted to the command of the Racoon, November 5,1809; Captain, June 7,1814. Returned to England in January, 1816, and placed on half-pay; retired 1846. 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coa'st, 1813-50. 3 Pacific, led by John George McTavish, one of the great figures of the für trade. McTavish arrived at Spokane House, then the farthest west of the Company's posts, as early as January, 1813. He was aware that war had broken out between Great Britain and the United States, and soon travelled on to the mouth of the Columbia, where he hoped to seize Astoria with the assistance of the Isaac Todd. McTavish expected her to arrive any day, well armed and furnished with letters of marque, whereas in reality her sailing had been much delayed, and, as we know, she did not even leave England until March. Although his intentions seem to have been known to the Astorians, they received McTavish cordially—which was just as well, for he soon found himself dependent upon them for supplies. After a time this prediea- ment became embarrassing, and he retired up the river. There, in the course of the summer, he learned the date of the Isaac Todd's actual departure from Plymouth, and it seemed safe to assume that she would reach the Columbia by the early autumn. In October McTavish therefore journeyed once more to Astoria, -this time with a force of seventy-five men; but to his mortifica- tion the Isaac Todd had still not appeared. However, the Astorians knew that she or a warship or both were approaching, and McTavish was able to wage what would to-day be called a war of nerves. To avoid the total loss of their assets which capture would involve, the partners of the Pacific Für Company who were at Astoria agreed on October 16 to seil all the Company's property in the region to the North West Company, and the agreement was signed by both parties on the 23rd. Five weeks later, on November 30, the Racoon entered the Columbia River. Exaggerated reports of the size of Astoria and the strength of its fortifications were current, and the prospect of a brisk engagement had given great pleasure to Commander Black, who had seen action on many occasions, and the ship's officers and ratings. Great was their disappointment when they learned of the peaceful transfer to the North West Company, and greater still was their disgust when they examined the reputed stronghold they had expected to demolish. Black is said to have exclaimed: " Is this the fort about which I have heard so much talking? D n me, but Fd batter it down in two hours with 4 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. January a four pounder !"4 Nevertheless, on December 13 he took formal possession of Astoria, raised the British flag, and renamed the post Fort George. The fact that the North West Company already possessed a post of that name was evidently brushed aside as an irrelevant detail; to do honour to His Majesty King George IV. was the chief consideration. The brevity of Black's official report, dated December 15, suggests that he was not much impressed with the importance of the event. He wrote in part:— Country and fort I have taken possession of in name and for British Majesty latter I have named Fort George and left in possession and charge North West Company. Enemies party quite broke up they have no settlement whatever on this River or Coast.6 Bancroft teils an amusing story about the reaction of old Comcomly, Chief of the Chinooks, to the arrival of the Racoon:— Not knowing exactly why or how, he saw plainly enough that on the Columbia King George was in the ascendant. " Ah," he cried to Captain Black, spreading a fine sea-otter skin upon the deck, " the Bostons are brave, but they have no ships like this, no men like these," his eyes running admiringly from the brightly polished guns to the gilt-buttoned officers, and along the line of marines. Next day saw Comcomly approach the little wharf before the fort from the Raccoon, flying the Union Jack at the bow of his canoe, and step ashore in füll British uniform. Upon such trifies the destinies of nations often turn.6 The Racoon left the Columbia on the last day of the year. In passing out she " several times Struck so heavily as to carry away part of her false-keel, and cause her so to leak that she reached . . . [the shelter of San Francisco] . . . with seven feet of water in the hold." Black had decided that he must abandon her, when help came from an unexpected quarter. Battling her way slowly up the coast, the Isaac Todd had been obliged to put into Monterey. There her captain heard that a British man-of- had entered San Francisco Bay in distress. Proceeding (4) Hiram Martin Chittenden, The American Für Trade of the Far id edition], New York, 1935, L, p. 223. (5) The complete text (about half of which is Captain Black's Report on Taking of Astoria," ■ly, XVII. (1916), pp. 147-8. (6) Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of the Northwes 1884, IL, p. 232. 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 5 thither, he was surprised to find that the vessel was none other than one of his own escorts.7 Means were devised to careen and repair the Racoon, which thereupon went her way, while the Isaac Todd plodded on to the Columbia, where she finally arrived in April, 1814.8 Four years later Astoria was the cause of a further excite- ment that brought a British man-of-war to the Northwest Coast. On October 4,1817, the U.S.S. Ontario sailed unobtrusively from New York, and soon after rumours reached the North West Company that she was on her way to the Pacific, with orders to seize and destroy Fort George. On November 15 Simon McGillivray wrote on behalf of the Company to Sir Charles Bagot, the British Ambassador in Washington, informing him of these reports and asking him to investigate. Bagot did so, and was informed that although it was true that the Ontario was bound for the Columbia River, her purpose was not to destroy but to re-establish the settlement the United States formerly possessed there—in other words, Astoria. This was in accordance with the American view that the post should be returned to the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Ghent, which provided that all territories and places taken by either side during the war should be restored. The British, on the other hand, held that the Treaty did not apply, as Astoria had been acquired by purchase, not by conquest. However, as the Americans had chosen to act rather than tö negotiate, the British Government, when notified by Bagot of the departure of the Ontario, decided to acquiesce gracefully and eo-operate in the formal act of repossession, while declining to admit that the ceremony would in any way prejudice the British Claims to Old Oregon. The length of time required for the various messages and ships to travel to their appointed destinations shows how remote the Northwest Coast was a Century and a quarter ago. On January 27, 1818, the Admiralty wrote to Captain William Bowles, senior officer on the Brazils Station, then flying his pennant in (7) Ibid., p. 252. (8) On this whole episode See Chittenden, The American Für Trade, I., pp. 222-3. 6 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. January H.M.S. Amphion, at Rio de Janeiro, instructing him to send a Captain to Astoria, to return the post to the United States. This order was received in Rio on April 19. Captain Bowles wrote at once to Captain William Henry Shirreff, H.M.S. Andromache, senior officer on the Pacific Coast, at Valparaiso, and he in turn gave Orders to Captain Frederick Hickey,9 of the sloop Blossom,1" 26 guns, to proceed to the Columbia River. The Blossom actually sailed on July 12, and arrived off the Columbia River at the beginning of October, eight months after the original order left London. Meanwhile the Ontario, Captain J. Biddle, had visited both Valparaiso and the Columbia. She reached Valparaiso about the end of January, 1818. Captain Biddle and J. B. Prevost, who had travelled in the Ontario from New York, had been appointed Joint commissioners by the United States Government to take possession of Astoria. When they discovered that the British naval officers had received no instructions about the matter it was decided that Captain Biddle should go on to the Columbia and take formal possession, while Prevost would remain in Valparaiso for the present, in the hope that some Joint action with the British might yet be arranged. This plan worked out very well. The Ontario proceeded to the Columbia River, where, on August 9, Captain Biddle took preliminary possession of the country in the name of the United States. In Valparaiso, when Captain Shirreff received his Orders, he offered Commissioner Prevost a passage to the Columbia in the Blossom, in order that the formalities of repossession might be completed without delay. This offer Prevost gratefully accepted. Thus it came about that on October 6 Captain Hickey of the Blossom formally lowered the British flag, and Prevost hoisted the Stars and Stripes at Fort George. As James Keith, (9) Commissioned Lieutenant, October 30, 1794; promoted to Commander in 1806, and to Captain on February 19, 1814. He was present on February 6, 1806, at Sir John Duckworth's action at San Domingo, and at Curacao on January 1, 1807. Commissioned the Blossom for the Brazils Station on June 24, 1817. As he is not included in O'Byrne, he probably died before January, 1845. (10) Built in 1805. Commissioned for the Pacific in 1817 (see foot-note 9, supra), and again by Commander F. W. Beeehey on January 7, 1825, for ! voyage of discovery to Bering Strait and the Arctic via Cape Hörn. 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 7 the Nor'Wester in charge of the post, had also received an order from the Colonial Office instructing him to surrender the fort, the business was soon carried out. Both he and Captain Hickey signed the written transfer drawn up at the time.11 After a short stay the Blossom sailed for the South Pacific, and there, for practical purposes, the matter ended. The Americans did not reoccupy Astoria for purposes of trade, and the North West Company continued in undisturbed possession. The Blossom was again in the North Pacific in 1826, this time on a very different mission. Commander (later Rear-Admiral) Frederick William Beechey, the noted hydrographer, had been appointed to her in September, 1825. Sir John Franklin (whom Beechey had accompanied on his first cruise in Arctie waters, in 1818) had just set out on the second of his great ventures in search of the North-west Passage, and Beechey in the Blossom was to co-operate by cruising through Bering Strait and explor- ing the western approaches to the Passage. This he did in the summer of 1826 and again in the summer of 1827. The inter- vening months were spent exploring more southerly waters; for Beechey was never idle, and by the time the Blossom arrived at Spithead in September, 1828, she had covered the remarkable distance of 73,000 miles.12 It was in the autumn of 1826, at the conclusion of her first season's work in the Aretic, that the Blossom sailed down the Northwest Coast. She was bound from Alaska to California, and Beechey devotes only a few sentences to the voyage in his printed narrative:— After Clearing the Aleutian Chain, we had the winds from the westward, and made rapid progress towards our port. The first part of the passage was remarkable for heavy rolling seas, misty weather, and a low barometer ... ; in the latter part of the passage we had dry foggy weather . . . On the 5th of November we made the high land of New Albion about Bodega, and soon afterwards saw Punta de los Reyes [Reyes Point], a (11) See Katharine B. Judson, " The British Side of the Restoration of Astoria," Oregon Historical Quarterly, XX. (1919), pp. 308-25; also Bancroft, History of the Northwest Coast, IL, pp. 290-5. (12) See O'Byrne, p. 67. 8 F. V. Longstaff AND W. K. Lamb. January remarkable promontory, from which the general line of coast turns abruptly to the eastward, and leads to the port of St. Francisco.1» The wars of independence in Central and South America changed conditions on the Pacific Coast so completely that a corresponding change in the distribution of the ships and com- manding officers of the Royal Navy became necessary. So long as the Spanish Crown, represented by its Viceroys and naval squadrons, continued officially to keep the door shut to all f oreign traders, non-Spanish vessels and merchants could not enter Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, or New Spain except as smugglers. By degrees rebellions in the various Spanish colonies weakened and finally destroyed Spain's authority. The casting-off of the Spanish yoke may be said to have begun in 1818, when Admiral Lord Cochrane led the infant Chilian Navy in revolt against a Spanish squadron, and to have ended in 1836, when Spain recognized the independence of the Republic of Mexico. Once restrictions were removed, British trading activities in' the Pacific, both afloat and ashore, grew rapidly. By the eighteen-thirties the Royal Navy had to take direct cognizance of this fact. The old South American Station, which up to that time had been responsible for patrols in the Pacific, disappeared from the Navy List, and a new " Pacific Station " was created, to the command of which Rear-Admiral Charles Bayne Hodgson Ross was appointed on September 4, 1837.14 Although the headquarters of the new Station was at Valparaiso, it was at Callao that the störe or depot ship was to be found. To begin with, most of the matters requiring attention arose on the Central or South American coasts. Rear-Admiral Ross was scarcely called upon to look beyond that area during the three and a half years he was in command. It was otherwise (13) Captain F. W. Beechey, Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Strait . . . performed in His Majesty's Ship Blossom . . . in the years 1825, 26, 27, 28. London, 1831, I., p. 471. On Beechey see O'Byrne, pp. 66-7; also John T. Walbran, British Columbia Coast Names, Ottawa, 1909, pp. 43-4. Cited hereafter as Walbran. (14) See F. V. Longstaff, Esquimalt Naval Base: A History of Its Work and Its Defences, Victoria, 1941, pp. 9, 110; and on Admiral Ross see ibid., p. 111, and O'Byrne, pp. 1004-5. 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 9 with his successor, Rear-Admiral Richard Thomas, appointed on May 5, 1841.15 Difficulties first arose in the Sandwich Islands, where the activities of the Royal Navy are a story in themselves. In October, 1842, Lord Aberdeen requested the Admiralty to in- struct Admiral Thomas to keep a careful watch over events there. The letter from Lord Canning, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, embodying this request, read in part as follows:— Considering the increasing importance to Great Britain of many of the islands in the Pacific, and especially of the Sandwich and Society Islands, both in a naval and commercial point of view, Lord Aberdeen is desirous of impressing on the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, the expediency of a more frequent intercourse between Great Britain and those Islands, by the Visits of ships of war, than has hitherto been maintained. ... I am directed further to suggest, that the Admiral or officer in command on the Pacific Station, should be instructed to direct all Commanders of Her Majesty's Ships of War who might be ordered to visit those islands, to treat their rulers with great forbearance and courtesy, and, at the same . time, that those officers afford efficient protection to aggrieved British subjects, not [nor?] to interfere harshly or unnecessarily with the laws and customs of the respective Governments.16 A copy of this letter was received by Admiral Thomas on April 1,1843. Soon after its receipt he was astonished to learn that Captain the Hon. Lord George Paulet, who had called at Honolulu in February, in H.M.S. Carysfort, had, upon his own responsibility, demanded and secured the surrender of the Sandwich Islands to the British Crown. Thomas immediately repudi- ated this action, hurried to Honolulu in his fiagship, and restored the islands to their lawful sovereign, King Kamehameha III. Not long after this another area, still farther north, was thrust upon the attention of the Commander-in-Chief. American immigrants were pouring into Oregon, and American Claims to the region, which since 1818 had been jointly held by Great Britain and the United States, were being pressed in Congress. For the first time in twenty-six years the Royal Navy was called upon to intervene and safeguard British interests on the Northwest Coast. (15) For biographical notes see Longstaff, Esquimalt Naval Base, p. 112; O'Byrne, pp. 1169-70. (16) Canning to Barrow, October 4,1842. In Ralph S. Kuykendall The Hawaiian Kingdom, Honolulu, 1938, p. 186. 10 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. January During the whole of the period since the visit of the Blossom to Astoria, in 1818, the only Royal Navy ships to visit the coast had been two surveying vessels. If things had gone as expected, Captain Beechey, who had taken the Blossom herseif to the Arctic in 1826 and 1827, would have been in command of them. At Plymouth, on September 25, 1835, he had commissioned H.M.S. Sulphur," a barque-rigged craft of 380 tons, outfitted for surveying duty. The next month Lieutenant (later Vice-Admiral Sir Henry) Kellett18 was appointed to the 109-ton schooner Star- (17) Built 1801; twelve guns. On this commission her crew numbered 109. (18) Born 1806; entered the Navy 1822; promoted Lieutenant, 1828; Commander, 1841; Captain and C.B., 1842. Served in the West Indies in the Ringdove, 1823-26, then on the coast of Africa in the Eden, 1827-31, being part of the time in command of the tender Cornelia. From 1831 to 1835 he was back on the African coast in the surveying ship Aetna, Cap- tains Belcher, Skyring, and Arlett; at various times during this period he was in charge of the tender Raven. On October 29, 1835, he was appointed to the Starling, tender to the Sulphur, Captain Beechey. When Beechey feil ill, Kellett was in command of the Sulphur until Captain Belcher arrived to take over. For an account of the whole cruise see Captain Sir Edward Belcher, Narrative of a Voyage Round the World performed in Her Maj- esty's Ship Sulphur during the years 1836-1842, London, 1843, 2 volumes. In the fall of 1840 the Sulphur and Starling were ordered to China, where hostilities had broken out, and Kellett served with great distinction as an officer, surveyor, and pilot. For his Services he was appointed Captain and nominated a C.B. in December, 1842. In the course of the war he and Captain Belcher were separated—much to Kellett's disappointment, as the new duties to which he was assigned prevented his return to England. Belcher, in noting this fact, adds: (Narrative, IL, p. 240): " His Separation from me was a still greater blow, all our Operations for the last six years [1835-41] having been carried on so entirely in conjunction, that they could only be unravelled by our united efforts; and as he was my only actual assistant, I was thus left burthened with the whole labour of the expedition, as well as our Chinese surveys, which even our united endeavours could not possibly ' lick into shape' before the return of the ship." Kellett was finally granted leave to return home to England, from which he had been absent nearly eight years, in 1843. On February 8, 1845, he was appointed to the surveying vessel Herald, as noted later in this narrative, and in 1848 was ordered to the Arctic to search for Franklin. He was thus employed for three Summers, and did not return to England until 1851; On February 10, 1852, he was appointed to the Resolute, one of three vessels sent to the Arctic under Captain Belcher to resume the quest for Franklin. In 1854 he was ordered to abandon the Resolute in the Arctic iee, and did so sorely against his own judgment. The Resolute later drifted free of the ice, was picked up in the 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 11 ling,19 which was to act as a tender for the Sulphur. Both vessels were " intended for carrying on the survey of the Pacific, from Valparaiso to 60° 30' N."20 They reached Valparaiso on June 9, 1836, where Captain Beechey was compelled by illness to go ashore and return to England. ■ With Lieutenant Kellett tempor- arily in command the Sulphur sailed for Panama, where she arrived on January 29, 1837. There, in February, Commander (later Admiral Sir Edward) Belcher, who had been Beechey's assistant-surveyor in the Blossom, took charge of the expedition. From Panama the Sulphur and Starling sailed to the Sandwich Islands. In August they finally headed for the Northwest Coast, and on the 17th the Starling was detached to Port Mul- grave. One object of the expedition was "to verify generally the principal longitudes of Vancouver," and Lieutenant Kellett, in the Starling, was to make the observations necessary to deter- mine the Position of Mount St. Elias.21 Meanwhile the Sulphur went to Port Etches, where Belcher visited the Russian establishment and made a further series of observations. Later he picked up the Starling at Port Mulgrave, and on September 11 the two approached Sitka, where Russian boats soon towed them into the harbour. The Russian Governor was most friendly, and the entertainment offered included a party and dance " to show us the female society of Sitka."22 On the 27th the vessels left Sitka, and pn the morning of October 3 they arrived off Woody Point (now Cape Cook), near Nootka Sound. By four in the afternoon they were at anchor in Friendly Cove, a spot made famous by its associations with Cook and Vancouver. Belcher did not find the Cove impressive. Atlantic by an American whaler, refitted at the expense of the United States Government, and presented to "the Queen and people of Great Britain." Kellett was appointed Commodore at Jamaica in 1854; promoted to Rear- Admiral on June 16, 1862; served as Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard, 1864-67; promoted to Vice-Admiral, April 8, 1868, and concluded his active service as Commander-in-Chief of the China Station, 1869-71. Knighted 1869; died 1875. See O'Byrne, p. 601; Walbran, pp. 279-80. (19) Built 1805. At times she is mentioned as a Cutter and at other times as a schooner, while to enable Captain Kellett to receive Post-rank she was rated a sloop-of-war! See O'Byrne, p. 601. (20) Belcher, Narrative, 1 p. 3. (21) 7M_,,p.68. (22) 76i_.,p.l05. 12 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. January " At first," he writes, " I doubted my senses, that so small a space could have occupied so much type, and until I had examined it myself in my boat, did not think it could afford shelter to two The local Indian chief, Macquilla, the husband of a descen- dant of Maquinna of Vancouver's time, came off to the ship with his wife, son, and daughter. The family was treated to rice, molasses, and diluted rum and sugar, with a little wine for the young princess. On shore, Belcher entertained them with a magic lantern and rocket display. Their pleasure at the former and fear at the latter seemed to him alike foolish and excessive. " If the season had permitted," he adds, " I certainly would have gone with them to Tasheis [meaning Tasis Canal, to which the Indians moved at times], and examined that part of the country, but time was precious . . ." Mindf ul of the controversy that nearly plunged Spain and Great Britain into war, Belcher noted: " No vestige remains of the settlement noticed by Vancouver, nor could I discover on the site of the Spanish battery the slightest trace of stones employed for building. The chiefs pointed out where their houses stood, and where the potatoes grew, but not a trace remains of an European."24 Belcher was anxious to visit Fort Vancouver, but unfavour- able weather f orced him to keep out to sea. In his own words:— ... the bad season had how arrived, and I much doubted even of the propriety of nearing, much more in attempting to enter, the river Columbia. On the morning of the 9th October, having completed our observations at Friendly Cove, Nootka, we sailed, intending to call off the mouth of the river Columbia, and if tranquil enter; but twenty-four hours after our departure, the weather proved boisterous, attended by a long westerly swell, which rendered it necessary to preserve our offing, and make the best of our way to San Francisco.25 Shortly after midnight on October 19-20 the Sulphur and Starling dropped anchor in San Francisco Bay. One wishes that Captain Belcher had been a more attractive Personality, for even the Dictionary of National Biography goes so far as to say that" Perhaps no officer of equal ability has ever succeeded in inspiring so much personal dislike . . ." It is (23) 76id.,p.l07. (24) Ibid., p. 113. (25) 76i_.,p. 113-114. 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 13 true that one of the purposes of his expedition was to check the longitudes recorded by Vancouver, but the obvious relish with which he remarks upon the discrepancies uncovered is not much to his credit. Referring, for example, to the visit to Port Etches, he writes: " The result of our observations at this port gives Vancouver in error nearly to the amount which he ascribes to Cook."26 There is nowhere any recognition of the fact that in Vancouver's time Chronometer longitudes were in their infancy; and Belcher would doubtless have been surprised to learn that it has since been discovered that some of Vancouver's work was more accurate than that of much later surveyors. The Sulphur and Starling spent all of 1838 in southern waters, and it was not until 1839 that they headed once more for the Northwest Coast. Generally speaking, they repeated the cruise of 1837, going first to Honolulu, and thence to the Kodiaks and Sitka. The Sulphur sailed from the latter port on July 19. " Being (as usual) unfortunate in our breezes," Belcher writes, " it was not until the 28th that we reached the mouth of the Columbia, when Lieutenant Kellett, having descried us, weighed and stood out with the Starling to conduct us in."27 Unfortunately the manceuvre was not entirely successful, and the ill-famed bar of the Columbia treated the ships roughly, as it had the Racoon in 1813. Belcher's account reads: " Just at our last tack, which would have taken us saf ely to our anchorage, the ship tailed, and the flood forced her instantly on the bank . . ." Later, freed by the tide, she " anchored in security until the morning, when we weighed and ran up to our berth in Baker's Bay. Not so the Starling; in weighing (in ten fathoms) she tailed, and instantly lost her rudder."28 This accident made it necessary to take the Starling up the river to Fort Vancouver for repairs, and Belcher complains of the cramped navigation, and of the failure of the Hudson's Bay Company to train a corps of river pilots. He acknowledges, however, that at the fort they " were very kindly received " by Chief Factor James Douglas (who was in charge in the absence of Dr. McLoughlin), and that everything possible was done to (26) 7M_.,pp.74-6. (27) Ibid., p. 288. (28) Ibid. 14 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. January assist the Starling. It is clear, however, that he was thoroughly incensed by Douglas's polite but firm contention that the Company could not undertake to furnish supplies, except for Belcher and his immediate staff. His account of the matter is worth quoting in füll:— The attention of the chief [factor] to myself and those immediately about me, particularly in sending down fresh supplies previous to my arrival, I feel fully grateful for, but I cannot conceal my disappointment at the want of accommodation exhibited towards the crews of the vessels under my command, in a British possession. We certainly were not distressed, nor was it imperatively necessary that fresh beef and vegetables should be supplied, or I should have made a formal demand. But as regarded those who might come after, and not improbably myself amongst the number, I inquired in direct terms what facilities her Majesty's ships of war might expect, in the event of touching at this port for bullocks, flour, vegetables, &c. I certainly was extremely surprised at the reply, that " they were not in a condition to supply." As any Observation here would be useless, and I well knew this point could be readily settled where authority could be referred to, I let the matter rest. But having been invited to inspect the farm and dairy, and been informed of the quantity of grain, and the means of furnishing flour,—and notwithstanding the profusion of cattle and potatoes, no offer having been made for our crews, I regretted that I had been led into the acceptance of private supplies; although at that time the other officers of the establishment had told my officers that supplies would of course be sent down. Sturgeon, however, were in abundance; and though we had lately killed our last bullock, San Francisco would soon be reached.2' Belcher was unfair to Douglas, who probably had no authority to inform him that he was expecting to hear that an agreement had been arrived at by the Hudson's Bay Company and the Russian American Company under the terms of which heavy shipments of agricultural products, which would tax the resources of Fort Vancouver to the limit, would have to be shipped to Sitka. Nor is it likely that Belcher took much account of the many years that McLoughlin had devoted to building up the herds he saw about the fort. From 1825 until as late as 1836, McLoughlin "never killed more than a Bull Calf or Two annually for the purpose of getting rennet;" and animals were slaughtered in strictly limited numbers for some years after that date.80 Indeed, not long before Belcher's visit, the London headquarters (29) Ibid., p. 296-7. (30) E. E. Rieh (ed.), The Letters of John McLoughlin . . . First Series, 1825-38, Toronto and London, 1941, p. 207. 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 15 of the Company had been asking why it was that McLoughlin was unable to properly Provision the Company's own homeward bound supply ships with beef. When repairs to the Starling were completed, she dropped slowly down stream, surveying the river as she went. All went well until she reached Puget Island, " when she unfortunately drifted on a snag . . . and broke her rudder short away, taking with it the lower part, with all the metal work."81 This new damage to the rudder was eventually made good with the assistance of help from Fort Vancouver, and the Starling dropped down to Baker's Bay. In leaving the river, however, the winds, currents, and bars at the mouth exacted a further toll, and the Sulphur and Starling each lost an anchor. Belcher abandoned them, as he feit that it was too dangerous to return and try to recover them. " Heartily sick of this nest of dangers," he took a final look at Cape Disappointment on September 14 and headed south for Bodega Bay, where he arrived on the 20th.82 Douglas's account of Belcher's visit, contained in a report to the Governor and Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company, is typically restrained and businesslike:— Her Majesty's surveying Ships the Sulphur and Starling visited this River and were employed in its survey from 16th July to the 12th September. They have not made any discovery of importance, if we except a hitherto unexplored passage from Fort George leading through the south sands and uniting with the regulär Channel about a mile west of Cape Disappointment. It will be of advantage in some cases, but the old passage is preferable and will be most generally followed. The Starling met with several accidents in this River, and on different occasions lost two rud- ders, which we furnished means to replace. We aided their professional researches to the utmost of our ability, at the same time Captain Belcher and Officers were entertained with the kind attention, pointed out to us in your instructions and by their own peculiar Situation.83 Captain Belcher proceeded to San Blas, and thence to the South Sea Islands and the East Indies. Homeward bound, he had reached Singapore when, in October, 1840, he was ordered to China, where war had broken out. After a year's adventurous service there, the Sulphur sailed for England by way of the Cape (31) Belcher, Narrative, L, pp. 302-3. (32) Ibid.,v- 312. (33) Letters of John McLoughlin, Second Series, pp. 227-8. Douglas to the Governor and Committee, October 14, 1839. 16 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. January of Good Hope, and arrived at Spithead on July 19,1842. For the next five years Belcher was in the surveying vessel Samarang in the East Indies. His last appointment was to the command of an Arctic expedition sent in search of Sir John Franklin, in 1852, which ende'd ingloriously in 1854, when Belcher too hastily ordered his ships abandoned. One of them eventually worked herseif free of the ice and was picked up adrift in the Atlantic.84 (34) See Walbran, p. 279. For biographical Sketches of Belcher see ibid., pp. 44-5; O'Byrne, pp. 68-9. Belcher was born in 1799 and entered the Navy in 1812; Lieutenant, 1818; Commander, 1829; Captain, 1841. Almost from the first days of his service he displayed a keen interest and marked ability in survey work. While still in his first ship, the Abercromby, Captain Fahie, he executed a survey of the Basque Roads from the m heads of the ships of the squadron in so satisfactory a manner that he complimented by the captain. In 1814, as a Midshipman in the Bellerop he assisted in the survey of St. John's Harbour. In 1816 he was preser the bombardment of Algiers, and made a plan of the batteries. While s ing on the west coast of Africa in 1819 he did good service against the slave trade, and discovered that the principal slave dealer was Captain Kearney, of the Royal African Corps, who was outlawed. In 1821 he joined the Salis- bury at Bermuda, and took a trip to the United States at his own ex; While there he met the British Minister, Sir Stratf ord Canning, who invited him to serve as surveyor to the boundary-line. While in Bermuda Belcher made many surveys. In September, 1824, he volunteered to accompany Captain Beechey in the Blossom, on her voyage to the Pacific and Arctic, and in January, 1825, was appointed assistant surveyor of the expei Some details of the Blossom's cruise are given in the narrative; she returned to England in 1828. In 1830-33 he commanded the surveying ship Aetna on the coast of Africa, in the River Douro (where she went to protect British interests when hostilities broke out), and in the Mediterranean. As noted in the narrative, he joined the Sulphur at Panama in January, 1837; see also notes 17 and 18, supra, for certain details of the cruise of the Sulphur and Starling. Belcher returned to England in 1842 and was knighted in January, 1843. In November, 1842, he had been- appointed to the Samarang, a surveying vessel. In her he proceeded to Borneo. There the ship sank, and he raised her unaided. His last command came in February, 1852, when he was appointed to the Assistance, one of three ships proceeding to the Arctic to search for Franklin. In April, 1853, a party from the Resolute, Captain Kellett, feil in with a party from the Investigator, thereby solving the problem of the North-west Passage. In 1854 Sir Edward deemed it necessary to abandon his ships in the ice; for this he was tried by court martial when he returned to England, but was acquitted. As noted elsewhere, the Resolute later floated clear of the ice and was recovered. Belcher received a handsome pension in 1856, was promoted Rear-Admiral in 1861, Vice-Admiral in 1866, and Admiral in 1872. He died in 1877. 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 17 It would be interesting to know where and when the first draft of the Orders which brought H.M. corvette Modeste*6 to the Northwest Coast in the summer of 1844 were drawn up. The reasons for her coming are clear. After twenty years of practically undisputed possession, the position of the Hudson's Bay Company in Old Oregon was being definitely threatened by the inflow of American immigrants. At the same time this im- migration, in conjunction with a persistent and noisy Propaganda both in and outside Congress, was also threatening the territorial Claims of Great Britain in the whole Pacific Northwest. The time had clearly come when it was desirable that the Company and British interests in general should be supported by a small show of force. The probability is that late in 1843 or early in 1844 Admiral Thomas received a general Instruction from the Admiralty, directing him to investigate the state of affairs on the Northwest Coast. Be that as it may, we know that he detached the Modeste, a trim new corvette of 568 tons, carrying 18 guns, and instructed her Commander, Thomas Baillie,86 to visit all points on the coast where British subjects had settled, and report upon conditions there. Commander Baillie's visit to the Columbia River, Fort Vancouver and the Willamette Valley may be described in his own words, as his first report to Admiral Thomas, written when he was preparing to leave the river, was found and copied by the (35) First ship of the name in the Royal Navy; launched at Woolwich in December, 1837; designed by Rear-Admiral the Hon. George Elliot; took only four months to build. Length on keel 107 feet; on deck 120 feet. Tonnage 568; pierced for 18 guns. Complement, 90 men. She had inverted semicircular troughs on each side of her keel, which gave her a good turn of speed. She was commissioned at Sheerness by Commander Baillie on June 5,1843, for the Pacific. (36) Born 1811; entered the Navy in May, 1827, and in October following was present in the Dartmouth at the battle of Navarin. Appointed Lieutenant, October 18, 1837; Commander, December 21, 1841; Captain, November 13, 1845. Served in the Dublin and President, flagships on- the South American Station. Promoted in December, 1841, to the command of the Rose, 18, on the South American Station, and on June 5, 1843, commissioned the Modeste for the Pacific. He was appointed to the Coast Guard in 1857; Rear-Admiral, November 30, 1861; Vice-Admiral, April 1, 1870; Admiral, January 22, 1877. Retired May 29, 1873. See O'Byrne, p. 34. 18 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. January writer in the Public Record Office, London. It is dated August 4, 1844, and reads as follows:— I have the honour to inform you that Her Majesty's sloop under my command arrived on the 7th July, and anchored in Baker's Bay, at the mouth of the Columbia River, Mr. Birnie, the Hudson's Bay Company's officer in charge of Fort George, immediately came on board, and piloted the ship up to Fort George; feeling convinced that the objects of the present visit would be much furthered by taking the ship up to Fort Vancouver, I determined on doing so, and a person well acquainted with navigation of the river having been sent on board by the H. B. Company, I succeeded in reaching Fort Vancouver on the fourth day from leaving Fort George, having touched on a sand bank, once for a few minutes only. Since my arrival in the Columbia I have received every attention and assistance from Messrs McLoughlin and Douglas, the principal officers of the HB. Company, they have manifested the strongest desire to render any service, and give every information in their power towards forwarding the objects in view; during my stay, the ship had been supplied with fresh beef and vegetables, also several articles of sea stores not to be procured at Oahu; I enclose the copy of a letter from Mr. McLoughlin, stating what supplies a vessel may expect here, and if Her Majesty's Government should think fit, what the Company could supply at Oahu. With regard to the settlement in this Territory all are at present on the south bank of the Columbia with the exception of a few Canadians (British Subjects) on the river Cowlitz, where the H.B. Company have a farm; the total number of settlers, their families included, in what is called " Oregon Territory", south of the Columbia river, at present amount to about two thousand (as near as I can ascertain) of which about 450 are British subjects, principally Canadians, old servants of the H.B. Company; Oregon City, situated on the Falls of the Wallamette about 20 miles above its junc- tion with the Columbia, contains between 90 and 100 houses and is fast increasing; in 1843, at a meeting of the settlers, it was agreed to establish a Provisional Government for the protection of persons and property. At the same time, the country was divided into districts, returning in all 13 members; the Executive Government was vested in the hands of three individuals to be chosen annually by the people . . . A large emigration is expected this autumn, from the United States, but nothing certain is known here, concerning their number. I intend leaving this, tomorrow morning at daybreak, in prosecution of the remaining part of my instructions, and hope, at this season of the year, to get out of the river without much detention; I purpose touching, in the first place at " Port Victoria " in the Straits of Juan de Fuca, then over to Port Discovery, and afterwards to the Northward. It is difficult to calculate the time this may require, but I am confident the ship is sufflciently supplied with provisions pointed out Correspondence which will be included in the forthcoming third series of The Letters of John McLoughlin shows that Bail- 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 19 lie's visit was not entirely satisfactory from the point of view of the Hudson's Bay Company. James Douglas, in particular, feit that he had failed completely to appreciate the yalue and possi- bilities of the Oregon country.37 To this poor opinion the bar of the Columbia did not fail to make its contribution. Instead of getting out of the river safely and without detention, as Baillie had expected, the Modeste Struck heavily in attempting to get out to sea, knocked off her rudder, and only by good luck was able to get back to an anchorage. From this plight she was rescued by Captain W. H. McNeill, who piloted her over the bar when he set sail for Fort Simpson in the supply ship Cowlitz. The Modeste thereupon visited Port Victoria (as Fort Victoria is termed in much of the naval correspondence of the day), and then followed the Cowlitz to Fort Simpson, where she was hauled ashore and some of the damage she had suffered made good. From there she sailed for the Sandwich Islands.88 A change in command on the Pacific Station took place this same year. Rear-Admiral Sir George Francis Seymour89 was appointed May 14, 1844; his flagship, the 80-gun line-of-battle- ship Collingwood, was commissioned August 13. Because of strained relations with France, she did not leave England for several months, but Admiral Seymour was in Valparaiso early in 1845. Douglas had gathered from Commander Baillie that a cruise to the Northwest Coast by one of Her Majesty's ships was to be an annual event, and the new Commander-in-Chief more than fulfilled this expectation. In September, 1844, the Admiralty had instructed him to report upon the Situation in Oregon; and the aggressive attitude assumed by the President of the United States, which gave the impression that the boundary dispute might well lead to war, no doubt was an additional reason for the increased attention devoted to the Northwest Coast, (37) See James Douglas to Sir George Simpson, private, March 5, 1845. (38) See R. C. Clark, History of the Willamette Valley, Chicago, Clarke, 1927, p. 819. Sir George Simpson to the Governor and Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company, June 20, 1845. (39) For biographical details see O'Byrne, p. 1052; Walbran, pp. 453-4; Longstaff, Esquimalt Naval Base, pp. 112-3. 20 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. January In February, 1845, H.M.S. America,*0 an old 74 of 1,758 tons that had been rebuilt into a powerful 50-gun frigate, was de- tached and sent northward. She was commanded by Captain the Hon. John Gordon,41 brother of the Earl of Aberdeen, who at the time was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and of Captain (later Rear-Admiral) William Gordon, one of the Lords of the Admiralty. Her officers included Lieutenant William Peel, son of Sir Robert Peel, the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Peel was a brilliant youngster, who in his brief career was destined to gain the Victoria Cross in the Crimean War, and to be knighted for his Services as leader of a naval brigade during the Indian mutiny. Would that as favourable an account could be given of Captain Gordon, who had secured his appointment through influence after no less than twenty-six years on half-pay. Rear-Admiral John Moresby, who served in the America as a cadet, stated in after years that the chief reason he sought the command was because the ship was bound for the Pacific, " where at that time one of the principal employments of Her Majesty's ships was to collect gold and silver specie on the coast of Mexico, a f reightage which lined the captain's pocket to some purpose." Of this more later. (40) Sixth of name in the Royal Navy. Started building January, 1808, by Messrs. Perry & Co., Woolwich; docked April, 1810. Commissioned for the Mediterranean; then in reserve at Plymouth. Commissioned at Ply- mouth by Captain Gordon on February 22, 1844, for the Pacific. Returned home in 1846; commissioned for the Channel in November of that year. In 1864 she was fitted as a target ship at Portsmouth for Excellent. An Admiralty Order dated June 27,1867, at which time the hulk of the America formed part of a pier at Whale Island, reads: " To be broken up at her moorings as far as possible and if the lower part cannot be removed it is to be blown up with gunpowder." (41) Born 1792; entered the Navy 1805; Lieutenant, March 21, 1812; Commander, June 15, 1814; Captain, December 31, 1818. He served first in the Medusa, which made a voyage to India, then- as Midshipman in the Revenge in the Channel and off Cadiz. He was next in a number of ships on the Home Station, including the Nymphe, wrecked at the entrance to the Firth of Forth in December, 1810. As a Lieutenant, served in the frigates Revolutionnaire and Seahorse, on the Western Island and North American Stations. His first command was the Carnation, 18, on the Newfoundland Station; he was there appointed Acting-Captain of the Tamar, 26, on November 20, 1818, and was confirmed in that rank in December. He had no further employment until appointed to the America in 1844. Retired, October 1, 1846; appointed Rear-Admiral (retired), 1851; Admiral, 1863. Died November 11, 1869. See O'Byrne, p. 411; Walbran, pp. 209-10. 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 21 The character of the man was shown by his conduct during the passage from Callao to San Blas. Instead of covering the distance in the usual three weeks, the America was becalmed so frequently that she was no less than ninety-three days en route. Her water-supply was limited, and as she was without distilling apparatus the condition of her crew soon became pitiable. In spite of this, Captain Gordon sailed away from one source of supply because the natives, who alone could furnish water, de- mahded a price that he considered excessive; and throughout the passage he not only used water freely himself, but actually insisted that the sheep and poultry carried to supply his personal table should be kept on a generous allowance.42 Admiral Seymour thus summarized his instructions to Gordon in a letter written later in the year:— My directions to Captain Gordon were to take up an anchorage, which will be, I have no doubt, in Port Discovery, (as there is no good anchorage for a ship of war at the new settlement of Fort Victoria) and request the officers of the Hudson Bay Company in charge at that Station, to procure him the assistance of the Company's small steam vessel [the Beaver] by which to establish a communication by Nisqually at the head of Puget's Sound, and thence overland to Fort Vancouver; and if he detached officers to make the enquiries directed by their Lordships' Instructions of September last, he was to select those of prudence and intelligence, and cause them to be accompanied by a sufficient party to seeure them against the attacks of predatory Indians, or other ill disposed persons, but to avoid any military display. After calling at San Blas the America sailed on to San Francisco Bay. Leaving the latter harbour on August 9, she moved slowly up the coast, battling the inevitable head winds most of the way. In view of the mishaps to the Racoon and Modeste, it was feit that her size made it unwise for her to attempt to enter the Columbia River, and she therefore proceeded direct to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This she entered on August 28 and anchored for the night in Neah Bay, comfortably within the entrance. Captain Gordon's report to the Admiralty describes his next move as f ollows:— (42) Admiral John Moresby, Two Admirals: Sir Fairfax Moresby, John Moresby: A Record of a Hundred Years, revised edition, London, 1913, pp. 50, 54-9. 22 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. January Weighed next morning and stood over to Vancouver Island, in search of Fort Victoria, which place is almost impossible for a stranger to find. It is situated about a mile up a narrow inlet.48 Finding the ship in shallows, Gordon judged it best to move her across the Strait to Port Discovery,- as Admiral Seymour had anticipated; but he sent Lieutenant Peel to Fort Victoria to seek Information from the officer in charge. This was Roderick Finlayson, who accompanied Peel when the latter rejoined the America on September 1. From Finlayson Captain Gordon learned that the steamer Beaver, in which he had hoped to ex- plore Puget Sound, was absent on a trading cruise. The America therefore proceeded to Nisqually, at the head of the Sound, whence Lieutenant Peel, and Captain H. W. Parke, of the Royal Marines, travelled overland to Fort Vancouver to interview Dr. McLoughlin and visit the Settlements in the Willamette Valley. The America herseif soon returned to her anchorage at Port Discovery. Captain Gordon now visited Fort Victoria, and Roderick Finlayson gives the following entertaining account of his adven- tures:— . . . we made several excursions in the district on horseback, and in the vicinity of Cedar Hill feil in with a band of deer, which we pursued until they got into a thicket and were thus disappointed in the hunt. Capt. Gordon, being a noted deer stalker in the Scottish Highlands, got much disappointed at not getting at the deer, and on our return, riding through an open, fine country, with the native grass up to the horses' knees, I happened to make the remark, " What a fine country this is," to which he replied that he " would not give one acre of the barren hüls of Scotland for all he saw around him." Another day he was preparing his fishing rod to fish for salmon with the fiy, when I told him the salmon would not take the fly, but were fished here with bait. I then prepared fishing tackle with bait for him, after which he went in a boat to the mouth of the harbour, and fished several fine salmon with the bait. His exclamation on his return was: | What a country, where the salmon will not take' the fly."44 James Douglas, who accompanied Lieutenant Peel when he returned to the America from Fort Vancouver, and who spent several days on board the frigate, had a similar experience. His arguments made no impression on Captain Gordon, who held (43) Captain Gordon to the Admiralty, October 19,1845. This dispatch is given in füll in Leslie M. Scott, " Report of Lieutenant Peel on Oregon in 1845-46," Oregon Historical Quarterly, XXIX. (1928), pp. 66-71. (44) [Roderick Finlayson] Biography of Roderick Finlayson, Victoria, n.d. [1891], p. 15. 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 23 politely but firmly to his opinion that the Oregon country was of little value, and that it was certainly not worth going to war about. At Fort Vancouver Peel had found Lieutenants Warre and Vavasour, who had arrived overland from Montreal a few days before. These two young officers had been sent out by the Commander of the Forces in Canada, in fulfilment of instructions from London, to make a secret military survey of the Oregon country. The meeting was quite accidental, as the America had been ordered to the Strait of Juan de Fuca several months before orders for the military reconnaissance reached Canada, but it was nonetheless convenient. Lieutenant Peel was to proceed to London with all speed to report on the Oregon Situation, and no doubt his discussions with Warre and Vavasour enabled him to speak with authority from both the military and naval point of view. Whatever he may have thought of plains and mountains, no naval officer could be indifferent to the importance of waterways and harbours, and in a report prepared by Lieutenant Peel while he was on his way to London, we find this passage:— May I venture to say, as expressing also the opinion of my captain [Gordon], that if the 49th degree be the boundary determined on, it must not include the southern extremity of Vancouver Island. That point commands the navigation of the magnificent inlet [the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Georgia Strait] and possesses a fine harbour. The Hudson's Bay Company have seen its advantages and security, and, by lately erecting a large stockade fort with buildings and a farm attached, are preparing to change their principal seat of business from Fort Vancouver on the Columbia to this new settlement called Fort Victoria.46 The America left Port Discovery on September 26, though she did not actually clear the Strait until October 1. Honolulu was reached on the 20th, and on the 22nd Lieutenant Peel left for England, travelling the first stage of his journey in an American vessel bound for Mazatlan. From there he hurried on to Vera Cruz, where he boarded a Royal Mail Steam Packet liner. He arrived in London on February 9 or 10, 1846, and reported at once to the Admiralty and the Foreign Office. The Oregon boundary treaty was negotiated within the next few months, and (45) Lieutenant Peel to Minister Pakenham, January 2, 1846. Scott, "Report of Lieutenant Peel," Oregon Historical Quarterly, XXIX. (1928), p. 65. 24 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. Peel furnished the latest Information available to the British Government during those critical weeks.46 As for the America, she proceeded from Honolulu to Valparaiso. There she found H.M.S. Daphne, Captain Onslow, homeward bound with a fabulous freight amounting to about three million dollars. Taking advantage of his seniority, Captain Gordon compelled Captain Onslow to give up his cargo. Having transferred it to the America, Gordon sailed for home, oblivious of the fact that he was detaching the second most powerful British man-of-war in the Pacific at a time when, for all he knew to the contrary, war with the United States might be imminent. It is scarcely to be wondered at that the Commander-in-Chief had him brought before a court martial, and that he soon retired from the service.47 The Hudson's Bay Company was not left without protection for long. Within a few days of the departure of the America, the Modeste entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca to pay her second visit to the Northwest Coast. Later she moved to the Columbia, and on November 30, 1845, took up her old Station in the river, off Fort Vancouver. There she remained for the next seventeen months. By the end of 1845 the population of the Willamette country was overwhelmingly American, and as local f eeling over the boundary question was somewhat tense, the Modeste, in Ban- croft's phrase, was " regarded ominously." To ease the Situation, Captain Baillie and the Hudson's Bay officers organized a variety of entertainments, including balls and plays in which the daughters of the American settlers could join, and such sport- ing events as horse races and curling matches. In addition, Captain Baillie had to reckon with the possibility that the Iure of 640 acres of free land, which was allowed to each settler, might lead to desertions from his crew; but he managed so well that the Modeste lost only one man.48 [To be concluded.] F. V. Longstaff, Victoria, B.C. W. Kaye Lamb, Vancouver, B.C. (46) Ibid., pp. 51-2, 65-6. (47) See Moresby, Two Admirals, pp. 59-60. (48) See Bancroft, History of Oregon, San Francisco, 1886, L, pp. 574-8. SOME EARLY ROADS AND TRAILS IN NEW WESTMINSTER DISTRICT.* To our war-ridden generation the early history of British Columbia seems by comparison to be a singularly peaceful story, and no doubt it will surprise many to learn that military needs were the chief consideration taken into account when the first roads were being opened on the Lower Mainland. In those days the Fräser River, upon which was situated New Westminster, the capital of the new Crown Colony of British Columbia, was frequently closed in winter by ice. For Strategie reasons Colonel R. C. Moody, R.E., who was a soldier first and Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works afterwards, feit that some alternative means of aecess to the capital must be provided, and with this in mind he construeted the first road built on the north side of the Fräser River. It ran from the Royal Engineers' camp at Sapperton almost due north to Port Moody, which in those days simply meant to the South Arm of Burrard Inlet. Appropriately enough, it was called—and to-day is still known as—the North Road. The distance to Port Moody was approximately 5 miles. The road was first opened in 1859 as a pack-trail, and over it supplies were brought to the city and military camp when the Fräser was frozen. During the next two years it was gradually improved to a cart-road, and later still it was transformed into a good high- way from New Westminster as far as the present Clark Road. From Clark Road to Burrard Inlet it is still very much in its original condition. It is interesting to note that the east and west boundaries of this road were used as bases for the survey of lots on each side of it. This makes it, from the surveying point of view, one of the most important base-lines in the whole Lower Mainland. Most of the British men-of-war on the Pacific Station in the sixties were sailing-vessels, and both to avoid the long beat up * The writer is greatly indebted to Mr. George Green, of Burnaby, who not only furnished information on many points, but permitted certain passages in his Early History of Burnaby and Vicinity to be paraphrased in W. N. Draper. 1945 ROADS AND TRAILS, NEW WESTMINSTER DISTRICT. 27 Burrard Inlet and "to afford the earliest and latest contacts with them "l Colonel Moody proposed that a trail should be built from New Westminster to English Bay, in the neighbourhood of Jericho. Governor Douglas was not in sympathy with the plan, and referred the question to the Colonial Office in London for a ruling. The decision was evidently in Moody's favour, as it was decided to construct the trail. Its route can best be traced by reference to present-day streets. From the corner of Douglas Street (now 8th Street, in New Westminster) and 14th Avenue, in Burnaby, it ran in a westerly direction to a point near the British Columbia Electric Railway Company's old power-house. Thence it continued on, roughly parallel to Kingsway. Indeed, judging from an old map in the files of the Department of Lands, in Victoria, the trail appears at no place to have been more than 300 feet from the roadway of to-day.2 From the corner of Kingsway and Fräser Avenue, or thereabouts, Moody doubtless intended to carry the trail westward to Jericho, along the higher ground. By the time it had been opened to the vicinity of Fräser Avenue, however, money was running short, and Douglas was not willing to supply more. Moody therefore had no alternative but to cut costs by diverting the trail to False Creek, which was relatively close at hand. A contemporary map8 shows that he continued the trail, almost in a straight line (though naturally it deviated somewhat here and there to avoid natural obstacles and take advantage of grades), to a point on the shore-line about half a mile west of the present Main Street. This placed the terminus about the foot of Yukon Street, and beyond the swampy lowland that then lay along False Creek between that point and Main Street. So far as we know, the trail was never carried on to Jericho. The original eontractors were Messrs. Brouse and Ross, and on October 9,1860, no doubt in response to promptings from Moody, they addressed a letter to the Chief Commissioner that read in part as follows:— (1) F. W. Howay, " Early Settlement on Burrard Inlet," British Columbia Historical Quarterly, I. (1937), p. 102. (2) Map 14 T 3, Department of Lands, Victoria. (3) Map 10 T 1, ibid. This map is undated, but appears to have been prepared late in 1861. 28 W. N. Draper. January As you are aware the contract just completed by us of Ten miles does not reach English Bay [meaning the naval reserve at Jericho] by some Four miles, We therefore offer to complete the same, upon receiving the like amount, per mile, viz: Sixty pounds per mile—twenty per cent Cash, the balance in Scrip at 10/ per acre.4 On the 16th Colone! Moody forwarded this letter to Douglas, with the comment:— As the ten miles of road now made cannot be approached at either end, I beg to recommend your Excellency to allow me to accept the off er of Messrs. Brouse and Ross for the completion of the road to English Bay . . .6 But Douglas was obdurate, and on the margin of the letter he made the notation in pencil: " This work reserved for consideration." On February 5 of the next year Moody returned to the attack, requesting the completion of the road to English Bay. To this Douglas now eonsented, provided the work could be done at reasonable cost. By that time, however, Brouse and Ross had withdrawn their offer, and it was necessary to look elsewhere for a contractor. A certain George Esselwood tendered, and on March 11, 1861, his offer for construction of a wagon-road to English Bay to be completed by May 31st was accepted. The annual report of the Lands and Works Department shows that Esselwood started work on March 14, 1861, and that he had progressed about half a mile by the end of the month. In October, Sapper Breakenridge was ordered to False Creek " for the purpose of examining and reporting upon the line of road which had been blazed from thence to English Bay by Mr. George Esselwood," but no further record of actual construction has been found. Some years later, when the western line of D.L. 200a, the Cambie Street of to-day, was surveyed, the surveyor noted a "trail running west" a short distance south of False Creek. This was Esselwood's work, which came to a dead end in dense forest a short distance west.6 (4) Brouse and Ross to Moody, October 9, 1860. Provincial Archives. (5) Moody to Douglas, October 16, 1860. Ibid. (6) For a detailed account of this trail see George Green, Early History of Burnaby and Vicinity, in Burnaby Advertiser, August 8 and August 15, 1941. 1945 ROADS AND TRAILS, NEW WESTMINSTER DISTRICT. 29 Settlement was now commencing, and the next trail con- structed was planned with the needs of settlers chiefly in mind. This was the trail that, when rebuilt, was later to become part of the Douglas Road. It was simply a projection of Douglas Street (8th Street), in New Westminster, which at the time itself extended from Carnarvon Street, in the business section of the little city, to the present 14th Avenue, a distance of about 1% miles. At that point, it will be remembered, the military trail to False Creek turned off to the west. The new trail continued Douglas Street practically in a straight line for about 3i/2 miles to the vicinity of the present Haszard Street, in Burnaby. At that point it was about a quarter of a mile from the western end of Burnaby Lake. The first contract for this trail was awarded to Sparrow and McDonald, but they soon abandoned it. The contract was relet in February, 1861, to Murray and Kelso, but they, too, stopped work in June, before the trail had been completed satisfactorily. By that time, however, a trail of some sort had been carried as far as the vicinity of Deer Creek. From that point John French, who had pre-empted land on Still Creek, about 1% miles farther on, cut a rough pathway through the forest, over which he carried his produce to the Murray and Kelso trail, and thence to market in New Westminster. One of the trials of the traveller by this route was the mos- quito plague that then burdened the district each year. Bishop Sheepshanks recalls an incident that happened not long after the trail was built:— On the Douglas trail I met with the Indians covered with paint, carrying branches of trees in their hand, which they were sweeping round them as they walked. They were evacuating their country, being temporarily driven out by these pests. Life was simply not livable.7 By 1864 a sawmill was in Operation on Burrard Inlet, a con- siderable settlement was springing up, and there was great need for a wagon-road between the Inlet and New Westminster. In the autumn a contract was awarded to John T. Scott (known to old-timers as " Colonel Scott") for the construction of the Douglas Road, which was to follow the existing trail as far as Burnaby , A Bishop in the Rough, London, 1909, 30 W. N. Draper. January Lake, and was then to wind its way across country to a point on Burrard Inlet which had been selected by Colonel Moody, a short distance west of the Second Narrows. This point was near the foot of the present Windermere Street, on the shore-line below Hastings Park. At different times it was called " The End of the Road," "Brighton" (at the Suggestion of John Robson), " Maxie's " (after Maximillien Michaud, who kept a hotel there), and finally, when surveyed in 1868 as a townsite, " Hastings." The road was completed in the spring, and on May 12, 1865, Colonel Scott drove Governor Seymour and A. N. Birch, the Colonial Secretary, over its entire length. The drive must have been a rough one, for long Stretches of the road consisted of corduroy, with only a very thin covering of gravel on top. Unfortunately, in spite of his good work, the contract proved ruinous to Scott. The official specifications had called for the construction of a bridge only 66 feet long over Still Creek (which in those days was known as Deep Creek), but when the time came to build the span the flats round about were flooded to such an extent that, with the consent of the road inspector, Scott increased the length of the bridge to no less than 1,188 feet. Apparently the inspector failed to realize how great an extra expenditure would be involved, and as he had agreed to the change without authority from his superiors, the Government declined to pay Scott's supplementary account covering this and other items, which amounted in all to $11,875. Governor Seymour was much distressed over Scott's predicament, as it forced him into bankruptcy; but there seemed to be no alternative but to disallow the account. The Still Creek bridge proved expensive to keep in repair. It was finally replaced by fills and a shorter, higher bridge, 134 feet in length, in the summer of 1877. The official report on the change reads as follows:— The old " Long Bridge," some 1300 feet in length, which has cost very large sums year after year for repairs, has been done away with. A substantial straining beam bridge has been placed across the creek, and the low ground on either side embanked.8 For years after that the road was often extremely bad at certain seasons. One old-timer writes as follows:— • of Lands and Works . . . 1877, 1945 ROADS AND TRAILS, NEW WESTMINSTER DISTRICT. 31 There was always an amusing side to those early days. For instance, we used to walk to church in New Westminster (how many would do that now?), and on the way home one day, Mr. Bernard Hill lost his high rubber boot in the middle of the Douglas Road where flow from a spring ran across near what is now Stanley Street; and we had quite a job to get it out of the hole. There was a section of corduroy near what is now the Burris junction, and it was generally afloat. A mis-step and you had a bath or, at least, a wet leg. In those days and using saw and axe as the occasion or trees might require, it might take four hours to get home from New Westminster with a load.9 The Government was frequently berated in the press over the condition of the road. In June, 1873, when W. J. Armstrong, of New Westminster, was Minister of Finance, the Mainland Guardian had this to say:— Our sagacious Ministers appropriated $150 for the repairs of this road— nine miles long, with quite a number of wooden bridges—but in spite of numerous applications, even this sum has never been expended. . . . It may as well be noted that a sum has been appropriated (so we are told) to keep the False Creek trail open, over which useful roadway, an average of one man passes per month. But the mail road, [Douglas Road]—the road over which the whole traffic between this city and Burrard Inlet travels, is left to take care of itself. Verily, it is a good thing to have Ministers at $3,500 per annum each, to look after our welfare. . . . The above-named road is the only one out of this city that is decently passable for vehicles—it should be kept in repair.1' Another early settlement road was that to the Pitt River. This branched off from the North Road a short distance from the Royal Engineers' camp, ran along what is now Brünette Street, continued on through the present Essondale grounds, and crossed the Coquitlam River by the " Red Bridge." From that point it continued on to the Pitt River, just north of Mary Hill. There were many complaints in the British Columbian about the delay in the construction of this road, but when finally completed it was very little used until the building of the Fräser Mills years later. It is now an important highway. Still another early travel-route was the McRoberts Trail, opened in 1861 from New Westminster to Musqueam, along the North Arm of the Fräser River. Except at two points this trail lay wholly within the limits of the present Marine Drive (better known to many as the " River Road "), running from New West- 32 W. N. Draper. January minster to Marpole. One exception was where the trail went around the base of Rose Hill; the other was at Boundary Road, where the trail was taken down to the low land to avoid crossing a difficult ravine. For his work on the trail Hugh McRoberts was paid in land scrip, and this he used to take up land in the neighbourhood of Sea Island. The first bridge over False Creek, located where Main Street now crosses on a All, was opened on October 2,1872. It has been described as a " somewhat pliable structure,"11 and was in fact a flimsy affair, continually in need of repairs. The Public Accounts show that $581 was spent on it in 1873, and in 1874 no less than 186 feet had to be replaced with new construction. But the bridge, such äs it was, did afford an easy crossing, and a road was soon constructed from the corner of Cordova and Carrall streets, in the Granville townsite, in a more or less direct line to its north end. The writer, when a boy, walked on several occasions from Granville to the end of the bridge, and then, guided by the sound of its machinery, went straight through the woods to the Hastings Mill. On the way he passed numbers of large cedar trees that had fallen so long before that hemlocks as much as 2 feet in diameter had grown on top of them. The cedars themselves must have fallen before Captain Vancouver sailed up the Inlet. As there was now a bridge giving access to Granville, the people of Lulu and Sea islands, together with the local loggers, induced the Government to open a trail from it to the North Arm of the Fräser River, at what later became the foot of Granville Street. The distance was somewhat less than 6 miles. For opening the first 3 miles of this trail in 1873 William Lister was paid $365. This carried the trail from the Eburne (North Arm) end to one of Jeremiah Rogers' skid-roads at or near Little Mountain.12 Lister tendered to open the trail the rest of the way to the False Creek bridge for $250, but his offer was refused. (11) Alan Morley, " The Romance of Vancouver," Vancouver Sun, May 13, 1940. (12) This skid-road, it may be added, led to False Creek, in the vicinity of the present Ash Street. From there a rowboat ferry was in Operation | Creek, but the ferryman spent much of his time in " Gassy t hear the shouts of would-be 1945 ROADS AND TRAILS, NEW WESTMINSTER DISTRICT. 33 The following year Jackman and Digby undertook to do the work fpr $225, their offer being the lowest of six tenders.18 Soon after this, in response to a petition from the residents of Lulu and Sea islands, the Government sent Joseph Hunter, a civil engineer, to look over the ground. He recommended that the above-mentioned trail be abandoned, and that a new road be opened from the McRoberts Trail to the False Creek Trail—in present-day terms, from Marine Drive to Kingsway—along the line of what is now Fräser Avenue. Some of the residents were much opposed to this, as we may gather from the following item in the Mainland Guardian:— On Wednesday evening last, a meeting was held at the residence of W. D. Ferris, Esq., J.P., for the purpose of taking into consideration the matter respecting the road from North Arm . . . to Granville. It will be remembered that in the early part of the winter the settlers of this place sent a petition to the Chief Commissioner of Lands & Works, praying that the trail made last year be converted into a wagon road, and from the answer received, they were led to believe that the prayer of the petition wouldi>e complied with; but they were greatly surprised to find, when the tenders for the construction of the road was called for, that instead of the road being made where the trail now is, it is to be about two miles above [i.e., up-stream or east of ] the settlement rendering it almost useless to the settlers, unless a branch road is made to connect with it. The meeting was attended by the whole of the settlers; Mr. Ferris was called to the chair and Mr. C. Wood elected Secretary. Considerable dissatisfaction was expressed at the conduct of the C[hief] C[ommissioner] of Lfands] & W[orks]. A petition to that gentleman, couched in very respectful language, was drawn up and signed by the whole settlement, showing the inconvenience that would be caused to the settlers by carrying the road by the way proposed, and praying that it may be taken by way of the trail.14 The petition evidently had little effect, for on June 16, 1875, the Guardian announced that Henry Simpson had been awarded a contract to build the " North Arm Road " on.the route recommended by Joseph Hunter. Simpson's road is now Fräser Avenue, as noted above; and to meet the needs and objections of the settlers on the North Arm it was continued westward along the McRoberts Trail (Marine Drive) to the old Methodist Church at Eburne (the Marpole of to-day). (13) One of the few maps showing this trail will be found in the Geo- logical Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1876-77, Ottawa, 1878, p. 192. It accompanies the " Report on the Coal Fields of Nanaimo, Comox, Cowichen, Burrard Inlet and Sooke," by James Richardson. (14) Mainland Guardian, June 9, 1876. 34 W. N. Draper. January There was a genuine need for this road, and for the road from Granville to Hastings which, as we shall see, was built the same year. Feed for the oxen and horses in Granville and in the logging camps was high in price owing to the lack of roads from Sea and Lulu islands and from New Westminster. The Guardian had reported a discussion of the question that had taken place in February, 1875, at a public meeting:— . . . At present, there are cattle in various Logging Camps almost starving for want of hay, when there are farmers distant only five miles, anxious to turn that very commodity into money to help them in their spring Operations. That at present the owners of those cattle can purchase hay on Fräser River at $15 per ton, which, for the want of a road of about five miles, they cannot avail themselves of, but are forced to buy it in Victoria at $20 or $25 per ton, besides having the freight to pay.1^ It will be noticed that the demand was always for a road. The forest paths from Eburne and from Hastings were useless for the purpose in view. A .personal experience may be recalled at this point. In April, 1877, the writer walked with his father along the Granville and North Arm Road (as the road built by Simpson was called) as far as the False Creek Trail, and then along the latter to New Westminster. The first sign of life seen after leaving Granville was some charcoal-pits at the corner of what is now lOth Avenue and Douglas Road (8th Street), on the outskirts of New Westminster. Then the woods closed in again until we got to 3rd Avenue and 8th Street, where there was an empty house. At that time there were five houses ön 3rd Avenue, and only three of these were occupied. The avenue had not been cut or graded through, and the only access to the houses was by means of wood roads starting from Queen's Avenue and 6th Street. One of these extended towards 8th, and the other in the direction of 4th Street. There were three houses on Queen's Avenue itself, but no road. Nowadays it is difficult to imagine the Royal City as it was in 1877. The whole population, with the exception of perhaps fifteen families, lived between Royal Avenue and the Fräser River. Leopold Place was the limit of settlement to the east, while to the west the houses did not extend far beyond 8th Street. Moreover, this small settled area was divided into two parts by a large undeveloped block of land reserved for Government offices (15) Mainland Guardian, February 4, 1875. 1945 ROADS AND TRAILS, NEW WESTMINSTER DISTRICT. 35 and parks. This extended from 4th Street to 6th Street and from Carnarvon Street to Queen's Avenue. The only road join- ing the two halves of the little city was Columbia Street. It was also in 1875 that the Government entered into a contract with Arthur M. Herring for the construction of a road from Granville to Hastings, for the sum of $5,990. Herring having failed to fulfil his contract " from pecuniary difficulties " his sureties took over the work; but as it was still unfinished at the end of 1876 the Government itself completed the road by day-labour. L. F. Bonson acted as Superintendent, and the total cost was $6,723.46. An old Canadian Pacific Railway map of the foreshore and adjacent land, on file in the City Engineer's office in Vancouver, shows that this road started at the intersection of Carrall Street with Cordova Street, ran easterly along Alexander Street to Gore Avenue, then diagonally across the present subdivisions to the Hastings Mill site; thence close to and roughly parallel to the Canadian Pacific right-of-way to near the site of the B.C. Sugar Refinery; thence roughly along Powell Street to one block east of Victoria Drive; thence easterly along Wall Street to the Douglas Road, and, finally, along the Douglas Road to Brighton; i.e., to what is now the north end of Windermere Street, at Hastings Park. Except along Alexander Street, Wall Street, and the Douglas Road, this roadway does not seem to have been utilized as the location of the existing street system of the city of Vancouver. The last road to be considered is the New Westminster and Granville Trunk Road—the modern Kingsway. The first stretch of this road was a continuation of 12th Street, in New Westminster. It crossed the Royal Engineers' trail to English Bay at 14th Avenue, in Burnaby, and again near Central Park, and finally joined it before it reached Fräser Avenue. At the latter point the road connected with the existing North Arm and Granville wagon-road. The contract to build this road was let to MeDougall Brothers in 1884, but later in the year a disagree- ment with the contractors arose and the Government, having made a settlement, took over. The work was completed in 1885, the actual cost being $13,144.70. W. N. Draper. New Westminster, B.C. WALTER MOBERLY'S REPORT ON THE ROADS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1863. In the papers of Sir Sandford Fleming, in the Public Archives of Canada, Ottawa, are to be found two letters written to him in 1863 by Walter Moberly. These letters were brought to my attention in June, 1944, by Miss Norah Story, head of the manu- script division of the Archives. They are to be found in Volume 194 of the Fleming Papers, which contains miscellaneous letters written to Fleming between the years 1863 and 1874. The first, or covering, letter, dated Victoria, V.l., December 16,1863, acknowledges receipt the previous day of a letter from Fleming. It then makes certain general remarks regarding British Columbia and its roads and concludes with some personal reminiscences and news. The second letter is Moberly's report on the roads of British Columbia. It might be well to include a statement regarding the eareers of these two distinguished railway engineers who played their part in the plans and explorations for a transcontinental railway across British territory. Of the two Fleming was the eider. He was born at Kirkaldy, Fifeshire, Scotland, on January 7, 1827, the son of Andrew Greig Fleming and Elizabeth Arnot Fleming. He received his early education at Kirkaldy and then without leaving his home town obtained his training as a surveyor and engineer. At the age of eighteen he emigrated to Canada in 1845 and joined the engineering staff of the Northern Railway, which ran north from Toronto to Barrie, Collingwood, Penetanguishene, Orillia, and Gravenhurst. In 1857 Fleming became chief engineer of the Northern Railway but later left its employ to become a partner of Messrs. Ridout and Schreiber. The people of the Red River Settlement commissioned Fleming in 1863 to proceed to England to urge on the Imperial Government the construction of a railway between Red River and eastern Canada. On his return he was appointed by the governments of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada, and Great Britain " to conduct a survey for the first link in a railway which would extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific within British 38 Moberly's Report on Roads of B.C., 1863. January territory."1 He was appointed chief engineer of the Inter- colonial Railway during its construction. In 1871 he was placed in charge of the surveys for the proposed Canadian Pacific Railway. His reports on these surveys are too well known to need comment here. When the new Canadian Pacific Railway Company was about to be formed, Fleming in 1880 left the Federal Service. His later years were devoted to science, literature, and education. He became Chancellor of Queen's University in 1880, and remained in office until his death in 1915. In 1881 he pub- lished a volume on Universal Standard Time, which he had originally proposed in 1878-79. He had also in 1879 advocated the construction of a Pacific cable connecting Canada with New Zealand and Australia, thereby providing an important link in the " All Red Route." His Services to the British Empire were recognized by Queen Victoria in 1877, when she conferred upon him a Companionship of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. In 1897 he received a Knighthood, being raised to the Knight Commandership of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, or more briefly, K.C.M.G. Walter Moberly, C.E., was the second son of Captain John Moberly, R.N., and of his wife Mary, a lady of Polish extraction. He was born at Steeple Orton, Oxfordshire, England, on August 15, 1832. The Moberly family moved to Canada in 1834 and took up their residence on the military reserve at Penetangui- shene. Walter Moberly and his brother Frank received their early education at Penetanguishene and at the Barrie grammar school whose headmaster, Frederick Gore, was a product of Trinity College, Dublin. After his father's death, Walter became an engineering pupil of Messrs. Frederic William Cumber- land and William George Storm, civil engineers and architects of Toronto. F. W. Cumberland was chief engineer of the Northern Railway, and Moberly received his first training in railway engineering while in that company's employ. Struck by the possibilities for the development of a lumber industry north of Lakes Huron and Superior, Moberly obtained timber limits and made plans for the westward extension of the Northern Railway. He carefully traversed the territory from 5, A Hand- 1945 Moberly's Report on Roads of B.C., 1863. 39 Lake Simcoe to Lake Huron and on north of Lake Superior. On his return to Toronto at the end of 1857 he learned of the Palliser expedition. His attention was attracted to the Pacific Coast by the gold discoveries on the Fräser, and late in 1858 he arrived in Victoria, Vancouver Island. He had sold his timber limits in eastern Canada and was ready for a fresh start. Before he left Toronto, Moberly had obtained from Sir George Simpson a letter of introduction to Governor James Douglas. Douglas received Moberly most kindly but showed no great en- thusiasm for his proposed surveys for a railway-line through the Roekies. Moberly, undaunted, made his way by the Harri- son-Lillooet route to Pavilion Mountain. It was a gruelling experience which convinced him that this route was not suitable for railway construction. Early in 1859, Moberly explored the Fräser canyon between Yale and Lytton. On his return to Victoria, Colonel R. C. Moody, R.E., employed him as a surveyor and he helped to select the site of New Westminster. During the winter of 1859-60, which he spent at Victoria, he met Captain Palliser and Dr. Hector from whom he obtained valuäble information. Palliser and Hector were convinced that, although passes could be found through the Rocky Mountains, there were no passes suitable for a railway over the Selkirks and the Gold Range. Moberly, therefore, determined to explore the Gold Range. By this time Moberly had come to an end of his finaneial resources and Governor Douglas, impressed by Pal- liser's unfavourable reports, was not prepared to provide the necessary funds for surveys from Fräser River to the Rocky Mountains. In 1860 and 1861 Moberly was employed in making surveys of the Fräser and Thompson rivers and in " opening a trail and construeting a wagon road over the Hope Mountain."2 The next year Moberly became interested in the construction of the Cariboo Road. As a Government engineer he, in 1863, " superin- tended the work of completing the unfinished portion of the road from the big rock bluff above Cook's Ferry [Spences Bridge] to (2) British Columbia, Biographical, Vancouver, 1914, III., p. 973. This long and rather eulogistic account of Moberly (pp. 969-985) is based largely on two addresses given by him in Vancouver about the year 1910. 40 Moberly's Report on Roads of B.C., 1863. January Clinton, for which Mr. William Hood had taken the contract."8 It was in December of that year that Moberly sent to Fleming his report on the roads of British Columbia which is here repro- duced. The later life of Walter Moberly may be briefly summarized. In 1864, after the retirement of Sir James Douglas, Moberly resigned from the Government service in order to contest the election for Cariboo West. He was successful and took his seat in the Legislative Council of British Columbia. As a member of Council he secured the necessary funds for carrying out explora- tory surveys east of Kamloops. He then resigned from the Council and was appointed by Governor Seymour as assistant surveyor-general of British Columbia. In 1865 he discovered Eagle Pass. The next year, aecording to Moberly, Albert Perry, under his Orders, found Rogers Pass in the valley of the south- east fork of the Illicilliwaet River. Moberly did not favour the construction of a railway over the Selkirks, but advised that the line follow the Columbia River around the Big Bend and across the Rockies, preferably by Howse Pass. This proposal he later laid before the Canadian Government. In 1871 he entered the employ of the Dominion of Canada and was appointed engineer in charge of railway surveys in eastern British Columbia from Eagle Pass to the Rocky Mountains. All went well for a time, but subsequent difficulties with Sandford Fleming caused Moberly to resign from the Federal service. He then settled in Manitoba where he became one of the Promoters and later the chief engineer of the Manitoba South Western Railway. His last years were spent in Vancouver, B.C., where he died in 1915. The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. (3) Ibid. Walter N. Sage. 1945 Moberly's Report on Roads of B.C., 1863. 41 WALTER MOBERLY TO SANDFORD FLEMING Victoria V.l. Dec. 16th 1863 Dear Fleming, Many thanks for your kind letter which I received yesterday. I have drawn up the accompanying rough sketch of the roads &c. &c. which will serve you to base Estimates upon. I could write you details very f ully but as they might only Conf use I have given you the Cream and I have gained any knowledge of the Cost of the different works from Conversations with the different Contractors as Engineer as well as with the Govt. and from my own Contracts, so you may rely upon the figures the only chance of [error] being slight, and it is in the Royal Engineers work, but I am very near the figures indeed. This Govt. does not publish returns of Expenditure from which you could derive any Information worth having. I send a Gasette [sie] which gives only general aecounts, it is the only thing they publish to show how the cost goes. The books and maps I send will give you the best information you can get of the Colonies in a printed form. I will try and send you in a few days some printed reports which I hope to be able to get at N. Westminster where I am going next week. Pray send me a copy of your Prospectus—also let me know which way you think of taking the road and telegraph on your side and whether you wish to get as far away from the American frontier as possible. I am afraid of the Jasper House pass on account of the inclement seasons, par- ticularly for a railway. I will have a Confab with our Governor in a day or two, I know he is in favor of the Jasper Ho. route, and I think opposed to the granting of a Government Guarantee to pay interest for the capital necessary to build the road—he thinks it would be better for this Colony to borrow the money itself but I think it is very doubt- ful and as we are to have an Executive Council in a few days things will change. I am very thick with the Old boy and will find out how he is inclined to go in all these matters. I enclose a badly [?] printed Copy of the printed speeifications (the only one I have) used by the Royal Engineers and under which the waggon roads have all been built. The Royal Engineers all left the Colony about a month ago for England and at present we have not got a Chief Comm. of Lands and Works but I expect that a particular friend of mine will get it A Mr. J. W. Trutch, mentioned in my other letter, he is a very fine fellow, a thorough business man and an honest one too—"Rara Avis" in this Country. You Bet as we say here. If you go home do not forget to push my appointment which you have so kindly Volunteered. Colonel Moody proposed to me to apply for the very same thing and promised me to write to a Mr. Watkin—who he is I do not know—applying for the B. Columbian section. I have done so as it might put a spoke in the wheel. This overland road etc. will be a grand thing to be connected with and I hope to shake hands with you yet on the Rocky Mountains. I fear you will be rather disappointed in my descriptions 42 Moberly's Report on Roads of B.C., 1863. January of this Country but it is the only one I feel justified in giving—Most of the accounts in the papers are written with a View to draw Emigration here and the Essays are, in many material points, too favorable. The Expense of building roads will in proportion be less in future as the Cost of Transport of supplies will be much lower now that we have got the roads through the mountain ranges. We are expecting two new Governors, one for Vancouver Island one for B. Columbia. I am sorry our old one is going for although he is a great humbug he is a good governor. With regard to Clearing a line 2 ch[ain]s wide for a telegraph through the woods it will depend greatly which route is taken. If it Crosses the Rocky Mountains by Either the Kootanae or Vermillion Passes and thence anywhere through by Okanagan Lake, Kamloops and down the Thompson and Fräser rivers to Yale the expense of Clearing will be Very Trifling as the Country is not at all thickly timbered and little or no underbrush. The line could be carried along the Waggon road from Yale to Cooks Ferry [Spences Bridge], a distance of 77 miles at an expense of $60 to $70 per mile for Clearing. From Cook's Ferry to the Okanagan Country it can go for miles and miles with only an occasional tree to remove. The timber here is short and stunted and generally scarce. From Yale to New Westminster along the banks of the Fräser the timber grows thickly, consisting of Alder, Cottonwood and pine with a good deal of underbrush. The distance is about 95 miles and to Slash the timber would cost from $125 to $150 per mile. If the line Crosses by the Leather Pass (Jasper's House) from the inf ormation I can get, the timber along the banks of the Fräser R. to the mouth of Quesnell is plentiful and owing to the great cost of the Conveyance of supplies would be very costly to remove. From the mouth of Quesnell either along the line of waggon road or by the banks of the Fräser R. the Clearing will be light either to Cook's ferry Lytton or Lillooet. By the Bute Inlet road it will also be very easy and if the line crosses there with a submarine cable it can be brought to Victoria passing through a tolerably well timbered Country on Van- , couver Id. I intend to remain either here or in N. Westminster for the balance of the winter and then if not for the Overland road will take a trip to Carriboo [sie] or Shuswap. Any letter you write will be certain to find me, as, in this delightful place you can always find out in half an hour where anybody is, what doing, how many dollars in his pocket, how he made them and Even how many drinks he has per diem. I Trust that war in the States will soon come to a conclusion, the Southerners hold out well, both sides have come out much stronger than I antieipated. I will write again soon, so will now conclude, if you see the Duke of Newcastle or Sir E. Head or any of the Promoters of this Overland Moberly's Report on Roads of B.C., Yours Sincerely W. Moberly WALTER MOBERLY TO SANDFORD FLEMING. Victoria V.l. Dec. 16th 18631 Dear Fleming, I give you below a description of the Roads of British Columbia, their cost and a rough sketch of the Agricultural resources &c such as I have formed after an Experience of five years residence in it. As the Steamer is hourly Expected it is necessarily meager and drawn up in a hurry as I am anxious to answer your letter by return Mail. I forward you by this mail the Prize-Essays on both British Columbia and Vancouver Island2 also Begbie's Map of B.C.3 and the last and best map yet published by the Royal Engineers4. On this map I have marked in red ink the Waggon roads in continuous lines and the proposed ones in dotted lines—the Trails are already marked. THE WAGGON ROADS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 1. The Douglas-Lillooet-Alexandria road. This road commences at Port Douglas the head of steamboat navi- gation on the northerly end of Harrison Lake. It passes over four portages to Lillooet which are connected by small steamers on the several lakes. It is twelve feet in width from Douglas to Lillooet and was built partly by J. W. Trutch at a cost of about $2200 per mile. Considerable sums have been since expended for repairs, alterations &c. The first portage from Douglas to Tenass (small) Lake is 29 miles in length. The second portage between Tenass and Lillooet Lakes is % mile in length. (These two lakes can be connected by building a dam at the lower End of Tenass Lake in order to back the water to give a sufficient depth for steamers over the small rapids which con- nect the two lakes. A dam was built which answers the purpose, but owing to its faulty construction was swept away in the spring freshets. A good dam would cost $12,000. The third portage connecting Lillooet (1) The original is endorsed: " Answered Rimouski lOth March, 1864." (2) R. C. Lundin Brown, British Columbia. An Essay, New Westminster, 1863; Charles Forbes, Vancouver Island: its resources and capa- bilities as a Colony, Victoria, 1862. (31 Not identified. (4) Probably the map appearing in Papers Relating to British Columbia, Part IV, f acing p. 54. Moberly's Report on Roads of B.C., 1863. January and Anderson lakes is 24 and the fourth portage between Anderson and Seaton lakes 1% miles in length. There is a small Tramway as well as Waggon road over this last portage. From Port Seaton 3V2 miles of Waggon road brings brings [sie] the Traveller to Lillooet which is situated on the west side of the Fräser River. The whole of the above described Section of this'route is through a narrow heavily timbered Valley between high ranges of mountains, very rocky, some swamps and very little agricultural land. The Mountains on either side of the Lakes rising abruptly from the waters edge. The Grades are generally easy except two or three in the neighbourhood of Douglas which are about 1 in 10. There was much blasting on the first 29 mile portage. At Lillooet the Fräser river is crossed by means of a Ferry boat (a wire Suspension bridge is now in contemplation). From Lillooet to Soda Creek (near Alexandria on the Fräser) the northern terminus this road is Eighteen feet in width. The section from Lillooet to Cut-off Valley [Clinton] a distance of 35 miles passes a very broken Country, cut up with numerous steep ravines and s Pavillion Mountain at an Elevation of 4040 feet above the sea with steep grades and sharp turns both ascending and descending. There is little or no timber on this section—some small patches of Agricultural land which with the help of irrigation produce Vegetables and Cereals abundantly. From the northerly side of Pavillion Mountain to Clinton—the Junction of the Douglas-Lillooet-Alexandria and the Yale-Lytton-Alexandria Waggon roads—through Cut-off Valley a distance of twelve miles the road is nearly level and passes through a Valley of scattered pine timber, some patches of good soil, but large quantities of Alkali. There was very little blasting but much heavy side cutting and timbering on the first 35 miles of this section. The cost was $100,000 from Lillooet to Clinton—47 miles. This will always be an Expensive route for the Conveyance of freight owing to i transhipments. From Clinton to Soda Creek (the Steamboat Landing) a distance of 133 miles—For the first 53 miles 5 Bridge Creek it passes through a country thickly timbered with l ic] pine and poor agricultural land; the rest of the dis- i tolerably open—with much good agricultural land. There was not any blasting on this section and the grades generally very good. From Clinton to Soda Creek cost about $175,000. The whole road from Lillooet to Soda Creek was built by G. B. Wright. The Govt. advanced certain sums and gave a charter to W. for 5 years Empower- ing him to collect a Toll of 1 cent per Ib. ($20 pr. ton) on all goods & a small toll on animals & carriages. The Charter is redeemable at any me by the Government. From Soda Creek to the Mouth of Quesnell 64 miles there is a good steamer on the Fräser built at a cost of $75,000 by Wright. From e Mouth of Quesnel to Williams Creek 75 miles there is a bridle Trail 10 feet in width passing through a densely wooded Country with much underbrush—Grades easy—very muddy except for two or three months in the middle of s 1945 Moberly's Report on Roads of B.C., 1863. 45 2. The Yale-Lytton-Alexandeia eoad 18 ft. wide. Commencing at Yale the head of Steamboat Navigation on the Fräser R. to Sailors bar, a distance of 7 miles, built by the Royal Engineers—very heavy blasting, wall building and side cutting— Grades easy—cost $32,000. From Sailor's Bar to the Suspension Bridge built by Thos. Spence. Eight Miles in length Contract price $36,000—heavy blasting, side cutting and much timbering—Wire Suspension Bridge nearly 200 ft. span, private Speculation—built by J. W. Trutch at a cost of $35,000 [$36,000?] Government Grant charter for seven years—Toll Vs of a cent per Ib. on all goods & a small toll on animals and carriages—Charter redeemable. From Suspension Bridge to Boston Bar Eleven Miles built by J. W. Trutch—four miles of which is Tolerably Easy other seven miles the very heaviest description of work—high wall building, an immense quantity of blasting, heavy side cutting and timbering—cost about $150,000. From Boston Bar to Lytton thirty-two miles built by T. Spence at a cost of $104,000. Country very much cut up steep ravines, a great deal of heavy side cutting, much timbering and blasting. From Yale to Lytton along the Fräser the road passes through a rough, rocky, broken moun- tainous and sterile valley. On the whole of this section there are only three or four gardens. From Lytton to Cook's Ferry on the Thompson, a distance of twenty-four miles the road runs along the south bank of the Thompson river through a rough, rocky, broken and barren Valley—was built by W. Moberly at a cost of $130,000—much heavy blasting, side cutting and timbering. The Thompson is here crossed by a ferry (a wooden bridge 500 ft. in length will most probably be built this next season at a cost of 15 to $18,000) and for a distance of Eight Miles to Ven- able's Creek the road was built partly by W. Moberly and partly by the Royal Engineers at a cost of $32,000. Much blasting and side cutting—road nearly level. From Venable's Creek to Moberly's Camp a distance of 4 miles was built by Thomas Spence, 12 feet wide (Govt. funds short) cost $9000. From Moberly's Camp to Clinton (The Junction) a distance of forty-one miles—built by W. Moberly—Generally through an Easy Country—it passes partly along the north bank of the Thompson and the west bank of the Bonaparte rivers, through Maiden Creek Valley (Glen Hart) to Clinton—not much blasting some timbering & side cutting—Cost $70,000. Country sterile and barren—little or no timber One or two small poor farms—a good deal of bunch grass but much Alkali. 3. The Hope & Similkameen Road—12 feet. This road commences at Hope and is only made for a distance of twenty-three miles. It has never been used and is now much out of repair. It was built partly by the Royal Engineers and partly by W. Moberly—passes through a narrow and thickly wooded Valley— no agricultural land—much heavy side cutting and a good deal of 46 Moberly's Report on Roads of B.C., 1863. January Blasting. Cost about $2250 per mile 12 feet wide. The great objec- tion to this route is that it crosses the Cascade Range of Mountains at a high Elevation and through a bad narrow pass which is much obstructed by snow for seven months and sometimes more during the year. Valuäble as a frontier road for Military purposes. PROPOSED ROADS. 1. Bute Inlet and Mouth of Quesnell. Commencing at the head of Bute Inlet it is proposed to Construct a Waggon road to the Mouth of Quesnell. Estimated distance 215 miles. First portion of road very mountainous and rocky for a distance of 38 or 40 miles, rest of distance through a Tolerably open and level Country—Much Bunch Grass and some good land said to Exist. A mule Trail will probably be open next summer it is now partly made. Waggon road 18 ft. wide will in all probability cost $4 to $500,000— Very doubtful if the money can be raised. Charter granted 3 yrs. to Complete road and 10 years term afterwards. Toll 3 cts. per lbs on Goods. Charter not redeemable. 2. Bentinck Arm and Mouth of Quesnell. A charter granted but nothing done. Very doubtful if opened— Very conflicting reports about the Route. Lieut. Palmer of the Royal Engineers reports very strongly against both the line as adopted for a road and the Harbor. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. On the lower Fräser, from Hope to the Mouth of the river, there is much land adapted for agricultural purposes but generally densely wooded, the best portions flooded in the Spring and mosquitoes innu- merable. The Want of a market and the heavy Cost of Clearing the land will for many years keep this part of the Country in a backward State. The section of Country North of the 49th parallel, south of the latitude of Kamloops Lake, East of Hope and Extending to the Columbia is generally sparcely [sie] timbered with red pine, abounds with bunch grass and dotted with land Capable of bring rendered useful for agricultural purposes—requires irrigation—summers very dry—not much snow except on Cascade Range—Animals winter well, feeding on the grass, which even in the severest winters they can always get at. The Section north of the latitude of Kamloops lake and extending to the latitude of Lake la Hache and Eastward from the Fräser R. is high, mountainous, generally thickly timbered principally with a small species of fir pine, and the land almost useless for agricultural purposes. About Lake la Hache and Horse fly Creek & up to Williams Lake is the best agricultural district and the area most available in British Columbia having the Carriboo mines for a market. The Country North of this is wild, mountainous thickly timbered & unfit for agriculture— 1945 Moberly's Report on Roads of B.C., 1863. 47 it rains and snows almost incessantly Except for about three Months in the year. I may add that reports say that there is Excellent land on the Peace river but I feel very doubtful of it. The Section of Country west of the Fräser and Extending to the Coast, with the Exception of a portion in the neighborhood of Chilcotin Lake is rugged, mountainous and I may say totally useless Except for mineral purposes. Copper has lately been discovered at Skeena river, of a very inferior quality, also at several other points. With regard to its mineral resources I am convinced that British Columbia is Extraordinarily rieh, but owing to the short seasons at the mines, the want of Capital, the Expense of living and the difficulty of access to the inferior it will take years to develop. Innumerable copper mines have lately been discovered on the Coast, Queen Char- lotte's Island and on Vancouver Id. and at present the Excitement is very great and many Companies formed to prospect and work them. Very rieh gold mines have lately been reported at Shuswap and from my knowledge of that part of the country I feel satisfied that the whole of that section and the head of the Columbia R. will ultimately be the best district in B.C. as there is a good deal of good land, the climate is the best in the Colony and the poorer classes of miners can work for several months longer in the year and at a much cheaper rate of living than at Carriboo. Such is a hasty Sketch of our Colony. I consider the description of its agricultural resources as given by the Revd. R. C. L. Brown too highly colored. When you write me more fully I will give you my opinion about the different lines I would propose for the Telegraph, road, &c. but you must let me know the point at which you propose to cross the Rocky Mountains. Send me your prospectus of road &c. Roads here will have to be supported by Toll on Goods—cannot rely on settlement along them. Believe me Yrs. Truly [sd.] W. Moberly S. Fleming Esq. C.E. Toronto C[anada]. W[est]. THE JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK, 1835: BEING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS VOYAGE NORTHWARD FROM THE COLUMBIA RIVER TO FORT SIMPSON AND RETURN IN THE BRIG LAMA, JANUARY- OCTOBER, 1835. Edited by Henry Drummond Dee. [At Fort Simpson.] Sunday, July 5. Raw cold weather, some rain squalls of wind from the S.E. At a little past noon Capt. McNeill arrived with the Lama, last from Neweetie [sie]. He has not yet given in an account of his cruise, but since he went off he has been to Kygarny, Sabasses, Millbank and Naweetie, and has traded about 450 beaver & land Otters & 33 Sea Otters besides some small fürs, which is much better than we expected. A South East wind came on which he could not make head way against, and induced him to go into Kygarny, contrary to the arrangements when he left this. At that place he procured a few beaver and some land Otters & Sea Otters. Shortly after he reached Kygarny, Capt. Dominis & Allan also arrived, and they proceeded all then to Sabasses, and thence to Millbank, where they separated from Allan & the other two went on to Naweetie, & from thence they returned here. At Naweetie a good many fürs were procured, but not many elsewhere. Monday, July 6. Overcast fair weather. The men employed Sawing, building the chimney, attending the coalp[i]t16<> and sundry other Jobs. Received a deer from the Indians today which we are in much want of, as Tuesday, July 7. Fine weather, wind Westerly but very little of it. The men employed as yesterday. Had the fürs all landed from the Lama and some more supplies sent on board. They are a lot of good fürs, but cost high indeed. So long as an Opposition continues it cannot be otherwise. Wednesday, July 8. Fine warm weather. The men still employed the same. Had the fürs which were landed yesterday all aired and beat. Sent some empty casks and salt on board the Lama so that Capt. McNeill may be able to salt salmon1" should he be able to procure them in any of the ports he may touch at; but as he has our opponents to look after he is directed not to run the risk of losing beaver for the sake of salmon. It is too early in the season for salmon yet. The Lama has nothing further to detain her, but she remains to ascertain where our opponents are going; had it not been [for] that she would have sailed today. Should our oppo- inter. 50 H. D. Dee. January nents go to Millbank it is desirable that the Lama would accompany them. Little is to be expected elsewhere. Thursday, July 9. Overcast fair weather in the morning, but heavy rain wind from the Southward and dirty like weather. Capt. Allan sailed in the afternoon, unfavourable as the weather was. He said he was going to Clemencitty for spars, but we have little doubt he has gone to Nass. It is not supposed he will get much at this season, as the Indians, even had they a few beaver, are scattered up Nass River and Observatory Inlet™* fishing salmon. A Canoe from Nass arrived yesterday evening, from whom we traded 6 beaver. It is supposed they also gave a few to the ships, probably 2 & an Otter. Friday, July 10. Very heavy rain in the night & all day. Wind South- erly but very light. The men still employed as before. Late last night two canoes arrived from the Canalls1" a little inland from Sabasses, with about 40 beaver, 8 of which they traded here and took all the rest to Dominis, from whom they received 2 gall: liquor with a blanket which is a gallon more than we give (and when all liquor,154 6 gall. per beaver, which is double what we give). This is much higher than the Americans gave last Cruise, when McNeill was with them. These fürs were all traded before We were aware what price our opponents were giving or I should have ordered Capt. McNeill to trade also and give as much or more than they were giving. This I look upon as a Yankie trick. It was unfortunate that the weather was unfavorable or the vessels would have been off and we would not have lost these beaver. A scamp of an Indian, who had been furnished with ammunition and the lend of a gun to kill some deer for us, killed one but instead of bringing it here gave it to our opponents. Saturday, July 11. Cloudy showry weather. Wind S.W., but very light. Both vessels got under weigh in the afternoon, but the wind was so light that it was late before they got out of the harbour. They are bound first to Kygarny, where it is expected they will find a few fürs, as it is some time since the vessels left that. Capt. McNeill is directed to be back here in sufficient time to have the vessel and every thing in readiness to sail for the Columbia by the Ist of September.165 Sunday, July 12. Very heavy rain in the night and greater part of the day. Wind S.E., a breeze & squally. This wind is favorable for the vessels bound to Kygarny, and they have most likely arrived there before now. An Indian arrived from Pearl Harbour with 20 fresh Salmon, but de- manded too much for them, and he was allowed to take them away rather than rise our price as it would be a precedent and all the others that would come would demand the same, altho' we had no fresh provisions. During the day we received a few halibut but they are of a very bad quality. The gardens have come on very well for the last week. Some of the potatoes are flowering. (152) Extending inland from Portland Inlet, northeast of the estuary of the Nass River. (153) The network of Channels and inlets which extend around Banks, Pitt and Princess Royal islands. (154) See F. W. Howay, " The Introduction of Intoxicating Liquors amongst the Indians of the Northwest Coast," in British Columbia Historical Quarterly, VI. (1942), p. 157. (155) With the annual returns, for Fort Vancouver. 1945 John Work's Journal. 51 Monday, July 18. Rain in the night and most part of the day. Part of the men employed drawing the coal kiln which was kindled on the 16th June. There are a good quantity of coals in it, though a good deal of one side of it is not thoroughly burned. The rest of the men employed building the chimney in the dwelling house, burning lime, sawing and other Jobs. In the evening some Indians arrived from Skeena who have been lately at Millbank, and are accompanied by a Sabassa Indian. They have a few beaver with them, but have not traded them yet. Tuesday, July 14. Wind Southerly, rained a good deal in the afterpart of the day, also heavy rain in the night. Part of the men employed bring- ing home stones for the chimney, the others as yesterday. Some more Indians arrived from Skeena who have been lately at Millbank. One of them, Looking Glass, brought a letter from Mr. Manson,16« dated 5th Inst., by which we learn that they are all well. Their trade amounts to about 900 beaver and Otters, and at present is very dull. They have had a very backward spring and what potatoes and other things they sowed is getting on very slowly. These Indians brought a few fürs part of which they have traded. The Europa, Capt. Allan, passed down Nass straits in the morning and stood away towards Tongass or Kygarny. An Old Indian, the Cape Fox16' Chief, who has been remaining about the place ill for some time, died last night. He was a good friendly Indian for the Whites. None of his people were here, but his wife and a son, a boy; so that he may be said to have ended his days among strangers. Wednesday, July 15. Very heavy rain in the night and greater part of the day. Wind Southerly, stormy. The people employed boating home stones, building the chimney, sawing, and other Jobs. The Indians who arrived yesterday traded 8 beaver. They had a sea otter, but demanded too high a price for it, and took it away again. Thursday, July 16. Rain in the night. Fair weather during the day & clear in the afternoon, but cloudy in the morning. Part of the people employed bringing home the coals. The kiln in which there were 34 cords of wood, yielded about 200 barreis of coals. The other men employed as these days past. We were like to have a row among the Indians. One of the Chiefs, Legigh, though he is an old man & has 4 or 5 wives already, is in ' love with a young girl, Cogill's stepdaughter, and would have her right or wrong, though it appears she is neither willing herseif, nor are the parents willing to give their consent. The lover insisted he had got a promise and would have her right or wrong, and went so far that one of his people snapped a gun at Cogill. The girl made her escape and took refuge in the fort. Both parties are on their guard lest their opponents attack them in the night. Cogill has but few people with him, but he is a brave determined fellow and the others are loth [sie] to come to close quarters with him; there are but few of them here now either. We advised Cogill to go away from here, as there is reason to apprehend that they will come in greater force and kill him, but the poor devil is afraid to go away any where eise, as he has enemies every where, and has fled here from his own people on account of a quarrel he had with them in which 8 men were killed lately. (156) Donald Manson, in charge at (157) On the opposite side of the ei Simpson. 52 H. D. Dee. January He bears a bad character among the Indians, but he has been a great deal among the whites, and should any mischance befall him I would be sorry it would happen here. We have therefore advised him strongly to be off. Friday, July 17. Overcast weather, some rain in the afternoon. The men employed as before. Legigh and his party went off in the morning, when he declared he would give himself no further trouble about the girl, but love got the better of his resolution and he returned in the course of the day to renew his suit, but without effect, as he would not be listened to. It is suspected that he has a party of his people lurking about to carry her off by force should an opportunity offer, but Cogill it seems is keeping a look out and is prepared for them. Legigh verifies the old adage that " an old fool is the worst of fools," particularly when love is in the question. A canoe arrived from Nass. They traded only one beaver skin. They say that Allan got a few beaver when he was up at Nass, but there is no getting any information from them that can be relied upon. Saturday, July 18. Cloudy, heavy rain part of the day. The men employed as before. Cogill and his people went off today accompanied by some Indians that were here. We are glad he is gone lest the Pearl Harbour people might return & kill him at the fort. The Nass Indians that arrived yesterday also went off. Only one lodge of Indians remain at this place. It is long since we were so clear of them. They are well away, for they are so lazy that they do nothing here, not even took after a little fish. Sunday, July 19. Showry weather. We have been some time living on salt fish & venison. Not a bit of fresh meat or fish to be got. There have been plenty of salmon in the bay for some time back, but it is too early in the season for them to ascend the rivers yet, and the Indians are taking but Monday, July 20. Showry weather. The Men employed finishing the Chimney, and laying the flooring in the dwelling house, and about different other Jobs. A Canoe of Indians arrived from about Sabasses some where, & traded 16 beaver & 2 Otters principally for rum, and went off in the evening. Two of the Pearl Harbour Chiefs came along with them. Some Pearl Harbour Indians brought us 3 deer & % doz. salmon, which is a seasonable supply & will relieve us from salt meal[s], which we have been living upon for some time past. Tuesday, July 21. Rained most part of the day. The men employed about the dwelling house laying the flooring, putting up partitions, and at sundry other Jobs. The two chiefs that arrived yesterday went off. Another canoe arrived from Pearl Harbour and brought a few half dried salmon. They are taking but few salmon yet, as they have not begun to ascend the river in any numbers; though opposite the fort here, they are seen passing in considerable numbers. Wednesday, July 22. Heavy rain part of the day. A canoe arrived late last night from Clemencitty and traded a good many salmon this morning. Since the rain set in they have been taking a good many fish at Clemencitty. The men employed as yesterday. 1945 John Work's Journal. 53 days ago went off. A lodge of Indians who have been remaining about the fort all the summer also went off. Just as they were starting the man's two wives quarrelled about a paddle, and had a fight into which the man and his brother were also drawn, & became so heated that the brother snapped a musket twice at the women's husband. Luckily it did not go off. What a blood thirsty set of scoundrels they are! The man lingered on about the fort tili towards evening, and assigned as a reason for delaying .that he wished to let the others cool, and the passion go off them, before he came up with them. There are no Indians encamped about the place now, which is the first time we have been rid of them for a length of time. A Canoe arrived from Pearl Harbour and traded about a hundred salmon, mostly half dried. This enables the men to get a day's fresh provisions, a thing they have not had for a considerable time back. Friday, July 24. Fine fair weather. The men still employed the same. Saturday, July 25. Fine fair weather. A canoe of Indians arrived from Pearl Harbour and traded a beaver and a few pieces of half dried salmon. Sunday, July 26. Stormy in the night. Cloudy fair weather during the day. Wind Westerly. Three Canoes of Indians arrived from Pearl Harbour, but brought only a few pieces of dried salmon & 1 large and two small deer. The large deer was a bück in pretty good order, the carcase weighed 108 Ib. Salmon are very numerous towards the lower end of the bay a short distance from the fort. Had we either seines or nets and people that knew any thing of fishing, there is no doubt we might ourselves take sufficient for the daily use of the fort, large as our establishment is, and might salt plenty also. The salmon at this season before entering the river are in fine condition. Monday, July 27. Fine clear weather forepart of the day. Overcast some rain towards evening. Part of the men employed burning and drag- . ging away stumps and brush wood from the waterside in order to prevent the landing place from being choked up. The stumps are so heavy that they will not float away nor will they burn with out a great deal of dry wood being used with them, & from their great weight, removing them is a difficult laborious business. The other men employed at the dwelling house, sawing, and in the blacksmith's shop. In the evening a large canoe with 10 or 12 Indians arrived from Nass, but they have nothing with them, . but some half dried salmon. Tuesday, July 28. Rained in the night and all day. The Men employed as yesterday. A canoe with three slaves, a man & 2 women who had ran away from some of the people on Queen Charlotte's islands, arrived on the little island opposite the fort in the night, or early in the morning. The Nass Indians who arrived last night immediately seized them canoe and all. On learning the circumstance we secured five of the Nass men who were in the fort, and made the others bring up the slaves, which they did with great reluctance, and not before we threatened to send the ones we had hold of & seil them for slaves also. The poor slaves are from the South- ward, but how long they have been taken or from whom they ran away we could not exactly learn from from [sie] them, nor yet where they intended to go. We first intended to have given them their canoe again, and let them go on their way; but on considering that it might be the cause of getting us into trouble with the Nass people, who might perhaps seek a favorable opportunity and seize some of our men, which would be not at 54 H. D. Dee. January all improbable, and that the poor slaves would have very little chance of escaping, as they would almost to a certainty be taken by some other Indians before they could go far, and as it would be as well for them to be in slavery with one tribe as another, we allowed the Nass men to take them away, but at the same time warned them never to take any near our establishment again, or we would undoubtedly fire upon them. It is cus- tomary among them when ever they find any runaways this way to seize them at once, and dividing them is often the cause of serious quarreis among them which not infrequently terminates in bloodshed. Wednesday, July 29. Continued raining the most of the day. The people employed as before. Three Indians arrived in a canoe from Pearl Harbour & traded 2 beaver & some half dried salmon. These with some that was traded yesterday, serves to give the people a few days rations, which is a seasonable change for them from salt fish and wheat which they have had for some time back. Thursday, July SO. Rained the most of the day. The men employed as yesterday. The Indians who arrived yesterday went off again. Friday, July Sl. Showry in the morning, fine fair weather afterwards. The men employed the same. Three Indians arrived from Pearl Harbour with a few half dried salmon which they traded, and went off immediately. Dr. Kennedy16s with some of the men have been trying these two nights past to spear salmon by torch light, but without success, though fish16' are very numerous. Their spears are not good and they are not adroit themselves. Saturday, August 1. Fine weather tili towards evening when it became overcast with some light rain. The men still employed the same. Dr. Kennedy & some of the men were out last night again spearing salmon with torch light and killed a dozen or fourteen. Their spears are not well con- structed, which with want of skül in themselves, prevented them from killing more, as they saw the salmon very numerous. No Indians visited us today for a wonder. Sunday, August 2. Overcast weather, drizzling rain the greater part of the day. Part of the potatoes in the garden are growing remarkably well, particularly where there are some sand and Shells mixed up with the light peat soil especially down on the side next the water. Whereas the other parts of the garden farther from the water where there is no mixture with the peat soil some of the potatoes are not yet come up, and others only a little above the ground. There are spots where the stalks are [blank in MS.] feet high and growing most luxuriantly, while two or three paces distant they are only a few inches above the ground, though sowed at the same time. I have no doubt when the ground will be dug up and the Stratum of sand turned up & mixed with the light black peat soil, that potatoes, pease, & barley, and different garden stuffs, will thrive in it remarkably well. Some pease are sowed among the potatoes and have a fine appearance, there are also two stalks of Indian com but it is f eared it will (158) John Frederick Kennedy, clerk and physician at Fort Sim] (159) The salmon were schooling for their annual run up the.rivi creeks, where they would spawn and die, their life's cycle complete. John Work's Journal. the dwelling house, two sawing, carrying in sand to level the s( ground hard and firm. Tuesday, August 4. Rained the most of the day. The people employed as yesterday. Late in the evening a vessel was seen out off the harbour standing in beating against the wind, she fired two guns, which we answered. As the Americans are not accustomed to fire, we concluded that it was our vessel from Vancouver.^« Dr. Kennedy and a party of men went out to her in a boat, when she turned out to be the Bolivar, Capt. Dominis, so that we experienced a disappointment. The Doctor brought me a letter from Capt. McNeill dated on the 2nd Inst., by which it appears that since they left this, they have been to Kygarny, Tongass, Sabasses, & Millbank. Capt. McNeill is going to pay another visit to Kygarny and thence to Tongass to salt salmon, as nothing more is to be made in the way of fürs. Since he last left, Capt. McNeill has traded 120 Land für & 23 Sea Otters. Three Indians brought us a small deer from Pearl Harbour. For a wonder, no Indians have been here these 3 days. Wednesday, August 5. Heavy rain in the night and most of the day. The men employed the same, part of them washing out one end of the dwelling house, which is finished. The Bolivar came into the harbour in the night and anchored. In the evening two large Canoes arrived from Skidegates, Q. Charlottes Islands, with potatoes of this season; but it was late and they have not offered any of them for sale yet. These confounded American vessels are always seen to east up when any Indians come about. Luckily, these people are not likely to have any fürs. Thursday, August 6. Very heavy rain in the night and forepart of the day. Fair weather towards evening. The men employed as before. We have been getting cords161 cut to tie the fürs, but the weather continues so wet that they wont dry and we are af raid they will rot. From all appearance we will scarcely get enough of dry weather to pack our few fürs little as they are. The Blacksmith doing a little work for Capt. Dominis. The Indians who arrived yesterday would not come to terms with the Doctor about their potatoes, they demand to [sie] high a price for them. As our opponents are here, having two markets to go to, makes them more difficult •to deal with. They traded a good many of their potatoes with the Americans, for which they obtained a high price. Two Canoes arrived from Pearl Harbour with some dried Salmon, a few fresh ones, three deer and 5 beaver & two land Otters. They traded 3 of the beaver, the deer & salmon with us. The other two beaver and the otters they took to our opponents, who give a higher price than we do and are provided with a better assortment of goods than we are and of different kinds. The quantity of fürs they have to trade are so small that it is not worth our while to (160) The vessel which was to bring the fall shipment of trade goods and supplies from Fort Vancouver. Her departure north from the Columbia would be delayed until the arrival of the annual supply vessel from England, which did not arrive in 1835 until July 30. See McLoughlin to the Governor and Committee, September 30, 1835, in E. E. Rieh (ed.), Letters of John McLoughlin, First Series, 1825-38, Toronto and London, 1941, p. 137. (161) Rawhide thongs cut from deerhide. See infra entry for August 16, 1835. 56 H. D. Dee. January raise our price for and have the difficulty of lowering it again. We cannot get the Indians to bring us fresh salmon. They say it is too far to come with them. I am apprehensive we will not be able to salt any for the winter. About this time last year the Cape Fox Indians were bringing abundanee of fresh salmon from Clemencitty, but probably owing to their ' [sie] being fighting among themselves and killing each other, none of them have come near us with any fish this season yet. Friday, August 7.—Overcast, lowering, but fair weather. The men employed as before. Some more Indians arrived from Pearl Harbour but had only a few dry fish. Saturday, August 8. Overcast, showry weather. The men were all sent down to the bottom of the bay to assist the squarers with what timber they had squared to the fort. They brought 18 fine logs besides one log to saw up for stairs, & two pieces 70 to 80 feet long for eve spouts for the dwelling house. Two Canoes of Cape Fox Indians, accompanied by Cogill, arrived late in the evening from Clemencitty. They have a few fresh salmon and some dry ones, but it was too late to trade them. The Men who were down for the wood killed a good many salmon in a little brook down at the bottom of the bay. Salmon are now going up it in great numbers and might be easily taken in considerable quantities, but they are all the hunch back salmon162 and so very poor and bad that but few of them are eatable. Sunday, August 9. Drizzling, rain all day, with some heavy showers. Dr Kennedy busy the most of the day trading salmon with the Indians that arrived yesterday evening. He traded about 400, part dry, part fresh, & part split & partly dryed, the fresh half dried ones were put in salt, so that they might keep tili required. Of fürs these Indians had only two land Otters which they took to our opponents. It is to be regretted that we are necessitated to buy their salmon, or we would not take one of them, and when they could not seil them but to us they would have to bring their fürs also, or we would not take their salmon. We shall adopt this plan as soon as we get a few fish on hand to make us a little independant [sie] of them, but we cannot do so with these Cape Fox Indians as it is on them we have principally to depend for deer to salt bye & bye. A canoe of Indians arrived from Pearl Harbour with some dried salmon. It is reported among the Indians that Capt. Allan had a quarrel with the Sabasses Indians some time ago in consequence of some thefts they committed upon him, and that in retaliation he seized two of their men and 15 beaver and carried them off to the Northward with him, and that Sabasses is threatening to retaliate upon us, and carry off some of our people if he finds an opportunity for that. Though opponents we are all whites. So that if this scoundrel comes this way he will require to be looked after. Monday, August 10. Heavy rain, thick weather the most of the day. Part of the men still employed at the dwelling house, the others burning stumps & rubbish on the beach about the landing place, and sundry other Jobs. The wood is so wet that it will not burn, advanced as the summer is. The Indians that arrived yesterday, traded a few salmon and went off again. They had two beaver, but would not trade them, and took them away with them again. Capt. Dominis sailed today for Kygarny. He saluted the fort when going off with 5 guns, which was returned. I am very glad to see (162) Oncorhynchus gorbusca, or humpback salmon, an-inferior species. 1945 John Work's Journal. 57 him gone and would be well pleased to see none of them returning, for when they are here, by giving a little more, they are always sure to get the greater part of what few fürs any chance Indians that may drop in have, and for us to alter our price for every few beaver which may east up would eventually raise the price beyond all bounds, and when ever we begin to lower the tariff it is sure to stop the trade for some time and make the natives hold up their fürs in expeetation of the Opposition casting up when they are sure to obtain higher prices. Capt. Dominis means to proeeed to Kygarny to engage Indians, and go on to California and remain 6 or 7 months hunting sea otters, and trading along the coast. Although he says he will not return to trade here next spring as there is nothing to be made, yet it is most probable he will return to make the best of the residue of his cargo, unless he can seil it to good advantage elsewhere. The Pearl Harbour Indians163 that arrived yesterday quarrelled among themselves while trading to day about an axe, which one of them was bar- gaining with the Doctor for, and another took it up at the price demanded for it. In consequence of this dispute one of them was afraid to aecom- pany the others home though his friends, and remained here behind them. Another canoe arrived from the same place late in the evening. The people that arrived late on Saturday with Cogill, went off today to hunt deer, and have not returned yet. Tuesday, August 11.—-Rain in the morning, fair weather afterwards. As the rubbish & stumps along the beach is too wet to burn, it was dropped and the men sent to Square timber for a kitchen, the others employed as yesterday. We were employed assorting the fürs to be ready for packing as soon as the weather will permit. A canoe of Indians arrived from Nass, and two from Pearl Harbour. They had a lot of dry & some fresh salmon and a few fürs. They traded 6 beaver but took some more out and a lot of 30 fine Martens as they would not accept our price, though they were offered an inferior 3pt. Blanket for ten Martens. They are not yet gone and may perhaps come to terms tomorrow. Wednesday, August 12. Some light rain in the morning. Overcast damp weather during the day. The men employed as yesterday. The Cape Fox Indians who went off to hunt deer on Monday, returned this morning with 6 deer, which they traded. One of them, a good Indian named Jack, is missing, and though they again went in quest of him, cannot be found. His friends aecused Cogill, who was also of the hunting party, of having killed him and went off very suddenly as they said to get a reinforcement of their friends to come and revenge his death. Cogill on his part denies the charge, and says that probably Jack has been shot accidently by some of his own friends, as such aeeidents some times happen when parties are out hunting in the woods. Although there is suspicion attached to Cogill, yet it is not easy to coneeive what inducement he could have for committing such a barbarous act. Be that as it may, if the man be not found, it will likely stand hard with Cogill, be he guilty or innocent, as strong suspicion attaches to him. He went of [sie] to seek the lost man after the others were gone, but returned late in the evening without success. Three Canoes arrived late in the evening from Pearl Harbour, but appear to have nothing with them but dry salmon. a of that name on 58 H. D. Dee. January Thursday, August 13. Drizzling rain with occasional heavy showers all day. The men employed as yesterday. The Cape Fox Indian, Jack, who was missing these two days, returned today much fatigued and states that he had gone far in pursuit of deer, five of which he killed. Thus poor Cogill might have been knocked in the head on groundless suspicion. A large canoe of Indians was seen in the evening Coming from the North- ward, and coasting along the opposite side of the harbour, but did not come to the fort. Friday, August 14. Still rainy weather. The men employed the same. ' The Canoe which was seen last night arrived early this morning and proved to be Stikeen people, 15 men & some women. They were af raid to come here last evening not knowing how many or what Indians might be here. They put a few beaver into the shop but have not traded any yet. They got a little liquor on arrival. It appears that this and a number of other canoes have been in Tongass and traded a considerable quantity of beaver with Capt. McNeill and Capt. Allan, that the latter's blankets are all done, and that he has even sold the few Muskets which he had for the ship's defence. Capt. McNeill's large sized blankets and duffle are also all done. Capt. McNeill did not write by them. It is conjectured their object in Coming this way is to procure slaves. They have rum with them, but whether they obtained [it] from the ships at Tongass or brought it from the Russian Settlement at Stikeen we cannot say. Some Indians arrived from Pearl Harbour and traded a deer and 14 beaver, and went off again. Saturday, August 15. Overcast damp but fair weather in the morning, but cleared up and became fine afterwards. As soon as the weather cleared up, had a party of the men employed airing and beating fürs. The other men employed as before. The Stikeen Indians who arrived yesterday embarked in the morning, when we thought they were going off without trading any of their fürs, but they afterwards landed, and kept the Doctor busy trading tili towards evening. He got altogether from them 76 beaver a beaver robe & a Märten robe. They still took some skins, about 20 beaver, which they would not dispose of as we had not the kind of articles they required; but they parted with some of these beaver to the Indians here for slaves. They went off towards evening. They were treated a little more liberally than the Indians here in order to induee them to return again, which it is expected they will, yet their fürs from the articles they took amount to about 11/6 per large beaver in the goods actually paid for them, which, considering the hot Opposition now carrying on, cant be considered high. Three canoes of Nass Indians arrived in the forenoon with salmon and a few fürs, and immediately on arrival assembled about the strangers all armed. This shows the propriety of the Stikeen men embarking and having themselves afloat before they began to trade, so that they might be ready for a start should any row occur which the others evidently wished for. Moreover the goods they traded were transferred to the canoe piece- meal as it was bought, and did not appear so great in the eyes of the Nass men as it otherwise would have done, and was not so strong ar to attempt pillage. Some Pearl Harbour Indians also arrived ii of the day, with some salmon and a few fürs, but have not yet traded. Sunday, August 16. Clear fine warm weather. Wind Northerly. Nass and Pearl Harbour or Chimsian Indians who arrived yesterday, 1 Dr. Kennedy busy all day trading 22 beaver, a few small fürs and s 1945 John Work's Journal. 59 salmon. We have stopped the trade of salmon as we have a sufficiency to serve for some time, and can always get more when required. If we have many of them on hand, owing to the dampness of the climate, it is scarcely possible to keep them from spoiling. A canoe of Tongass Indians arrived, but they appear to have little with them but a few dried salmon, which they will be allowed to take away again. While the Opposition vessels were to the fore and had goods, not one of these people looked near us so that they may take their salmon and seil them where they sold their fürs. We mean to follow this plan with all the Natives except when want of provisions compells us to act otherwise. A Chimsian Indian brought us two fine bück deer yesterday, one of which weighed 116 lbs. and the other 95 lbs. These two deer cost % pint Rum, 1 quart Molasses, 6 lbs. Bück shot & 2 Heads Tobacco, which altogether amount to 2/7 and is sufficient for the rations of 26 men for 1 day or nearly less than 1%- per man per day. This is about the highest price paid for deer, they will cost on an average con- siderably less. The Americans used to seil the skins at Woahoo at Vi Dollar each. Were they to bring the same price at present by preserving the skins & sending them to that market, the skins alone would bring all that the deer cost. Since my arrival here all the skins of any size obtained, have been preserved for that purpose, but a number of them had to be cut up for cords to tie the fürs with.. At Fort McLoughlin they are also preserving them for the same purpose. Monday, August 17. Clear, fine, warm weather. Wind Northerly. Part of the men employed airing and beating fürs, and packing the beaver which were beat on Saturday. The others working in the blacksmith's shop, sawing & making tables, ladders, &c, for the dwelling house & gallery, & preparing wood to loft and fit up the Indian shop. The Nass Indians went off. The Chimsian Indians who arrived yesterday traded 25 beaver, 4 Otters, & a few fine Martens. Some more of the same tribe arrived in the course of the day with some fürs, but have not yet traded them. Last night the Indians pulled up an armful of the potatoe tops, though there is little or nothing yet at them. Previous to this at different times they have pulled up a few stalks, and have been repeatedly threatened to be fired upon if detected. This morning when called to account, they all denied [it] and the one laid the blame on the other. They were told to take care, for that the guard would be doubled, and ordered to shoot the first Indian found tresspassing. The nights are so dark now that though 'the potatoes are close under the stockades, yet the thieves cannot be seen. It is provoking after all our trouble to see the potatoes destroyed this way and before they are come to maturity, too. The potatoes where they have not missed are growing most luxuriantly, I am afraid too much so, as they are pushing too much up to stalk to yield well. They are too thick sown. About the half of what were planted have missed, part of which never came up, and the others are yet but a little way above the ground. What few pease were sowed among the potatoes in the good parts of the ground also show a lux- uriant growth and will be productive. Some of them are ready for pulling for green pease, but in the bad soil they are gnarled and dwarfish like the potatoes. Carrots are also thriving well in places, so are cabbages and some other garden stuffs where the ground is good, or where the Stratum of sand has been turned up among the peat soil. Tuesday, August 18. Still fine, clear, warm weather. The men employed as yesterday. Had the remainder of the fürs aired and well beat, and 8 packs of bearskins made. The Indians that arrived yesterday evening traded 4 Beaver and 3 Otters, and went off in the afternoon, when only one family remained here; but late in the evening a small canoe of Clemencitty men and another of Nass men arrived. Wednesday, August 19. Foggy with some light drizzling rain in the morning, fine weather afterwards. The men employed making ladders for the gallery,16* & tables & bed steads for the rooms in the dwelling house, packing fürs & sundry other Jobs. Had the remainder of the fürs packed, and part of them pressed when the weather cleared up in the afternoon. It is a wedge press166 we have, and it presses the packs well but takes like all its kind a great deal of time, and we make but slow progress with it. The Indians that arrived yesterday evening traded two beaver skins, and returned home this morning. Thursday, August 20. Cloudy, threatening weather, forenoon, heavy rain in the afternoon. The men employed the same. Finished pressing the fürs before the rain set in. Unfortunately, after all our labour and expenses there are but few to press. I accompanied Mr. Kennedy and three men down to the little river at the bottom of the bay, which is now literally swarming with salmon. Though it is so shallow that in many places it is not over 6 inches deep, the half of the fish is out of the water while going up these shallow parts. And all around the mouth of the river they are in Meriads [myriads]. In the course of three hours we caught 400, and only choosing the female ones which are best, but even these are so bad that they are scarcely eatable, and cannot possibly be wholesome. We nevertheless salted 3 Casks, should provisions be scarce they will serve with potatoes, and be preferable at times as a change from dried salmon. In the evening a canoe arrived from Pearl Harbour with two lean deer. Friday, August 22 [21]. Rain in the night and foggy with rain forenoon, fair afternoon. The men employed fitting up and putting upper flooring in the Indian shop, and sundry other Jobs. The blacksmith repairing & putting in order Axes and other tools that are in use. Sent down some men to Little river for another canoe load of salmon to salt, 3 more casks, which is all we mean to salt of them, they are so bad. Had there been nets and means of taking the salmon out in the salt water some time ago, when they were still good, a sufficiency might have been salted here for the establishment and for more if required. Indians brought two poor female deer which is a relief from dry salmon & salt meat. Saturday, August 22. Overcast lowering weather, some drizzling rain. The Indians that arrived late last night from Pearl Harbour traded 6 or 8 beaver. A large canoe of Chimsians arrived from Tongass and traded 6 ' r but took some more away with them. They had some misunder- (165) The typical modern press, used for baling für, is of the screw type, not unlike a huge letter-press. See The Beaver, December, 1943, pp. 26-7. In the type used by Work, a clumsier, slower method of securing pressure was used instead of the screw, by driving in a series of wedges. 1945 John Work's Journal. 61 which displeased one of them, & when he was embarking he was threaten- ing to stab one of the Owhyhees who was working at the water side, but the other Indians dissuaded him from making the attempt. This conversation was among themselves, some of the women in the fort overheard them. This canoe passed here some time ago to Tongass with a lot of wretched slaves, mostly children, to seil, for whom they obtained these fürs. They also no doubt traded a good many with the vessels, if their goods were not done. This scoundrel, for such a trifling affair as being turned out of the shop, threatening to Stab one of the men in revenge, which he no doubt would have done, either to a gentleman or a man,166 could he have effected it with impunity, is but another instance of the danger to be apprehended from them, and the great caution necessary to be observed, and the strict watch to be kept over them. In the evening ElgighiGl & a party arrived in five canoes from Pearl Harbour or Skeena, they were all drunk. It appears that Captain Allan had been out off that place and that the Indians had gone out to him, but probably on account of his blankets being done, he was able to purchase only a part of their fürs from them, as they have brought a good many here with them. Allan must be hard up for goods now as he is selling off his ships arms, these people have a fine metal Scabbard Saber with them, which they obtained from him. This is the way with the Americans, when they come to a winding up they part with every thing they have, and often at such low prices, as they say to, " get rid of it," that it is exceedingly diffi- cult to deal with the Indians afterwards. Indeed all along the Americans seil a quantity of articles, which stand them in cheap at such a low price, that the natives obtain them in such abundance that they lay little or no value upon them, particularly liquor and ammunition, especially the latter which is so essential to them in their hunting and continual wars, that little or no profit can be made on them to cover the loss, or at least very slight profit on woolens -and other expensive goods. Unpromising as these circumstances render our affairs, there is little likelihood of its being otherwise so long as our opponents get worth their whiles for Coming on the coast to to [sie] wind up a voyage, which is all they calculate upon, as they chiefly reckon upon the profit of their sales at the Islands,16« Sitka, and California. Sunday, August 23. Still dark lowering weather, with some rain. Eight or ten beaver were traded from the Indians that arrived yesterday. More would have been got, but Dr Kennedy was taken ill and could not attend to them. He thinks that it is the liver complaint he has. It is much to be regretted his being thus taken ill, as from his superior knowledge of the ways of the Indians and the trade his place can be ill supplied. The Indians however are in no hurry and it is hoped he will soon get better. The Indians brought two deer last night, but it was not enough to give the people a days rations and they were issued dried salmon, which they have had the most • of last week. Some of them complained, particularly the Owyhees. The salmon are certainly not good, but from the superior manner in which they (166) In the records of the Company any employee from the rank of clerk up, was termed a gentleman. Labourers, hunters, and the like, were collectively referred to as the " people." (167) Probably the Indian referred to earlier as Legigh. This native was Dr. Kennedy's father-in-law. Dr. Tolmie, in his Diary, entry for July. 25, 1834, renders the name as " Ligeich." (168) Hawaiian Islands. have been fed all along, and knowing that when better is to be obtained they get it, they have no cause to complain, and their complaints were not listened to. During this summer the supply of fresh fish was very scanty, the Pearl Harbour Indians or Chimsians, fish too far off and the Tongass and Cape Fox people, from the wars and fighting among themselves brought us very few, though last year they brought plenty to the Fort from Clemencitty where there is good fishing, both for salmon and halibut, so much so that we had calculated to obtain from thence a sufficiency to salt. Monday, August 24- Thick fog in the morning, fine clear weather afterwards. Wind N.W. A fresh breeze in the afternoon. Such of the men as can do any thing at carpenter work, employed making and puting [sie] up stairs to the gallery and bastions, preparing & fitting upper flooring for the Indian Trader's house, and other Jobs, & making spouts for dwelling house. Two employed Sawing, two in the blacksmith shop, repairing Axes and other tools. The others Clearing up, and burning wood, and rubbish off a piece of ground at the east end of the garden, which is intended for eultivation next year. This is a tedious laborious Job, and even after it is done, the worst part of the business is still to perform, that is rooting up the stumps and Clearing them off the ground. Mr. Kennedy still continues ill, and I had to send Mr. Birnie169 to the Indian shop to assist him trading with the Indians. They traded about 30 beaver and about the sanje number of fine Martens. They have still some beaver, but the doctor was so ill that he had to leave off trading. The Indians however dont appear to be in any hurry. A canoe with a man and woman arrived in the evening. The Indians immediately rushed into the water seized the canoe, the two people, & what little baggage they had. It appears that they are from Kygarny, that the woman, (who is pretty old) belongs to Sabasses, and was married at Kygarny where she was looked upon as half slave & half free, that owing to some quarrel, her husband or some of his relations threatened to kill her, when in order to escape she prevailed upon the young man who is a slave, to make his escape with her, and make their way to her friends at Sabasses, and got this far when they were again seized. The woman will be given up to her friends, but the man will be still a slave. Previous to leaving Kygarny they had stolen a good deal of tobacco and were provided with fishing tackling [sie] and a variety of other articles. They report that 4 more slaves in another canoe deserted at the same time, and the Indians here are keeping a good look out for them. These poor wretches desert frequently, but as they have little chance of escaping, and are mostly taken again by some other tribe, they seldom better their case, and as they have seldom an opportunity of providing themselves with arms, they are unable to defend themselves. The man now taken, had a new Wanket given him immediately, and sat down to eat with the Indians the same as one of themselves, after which they gave him liquor and he soon made himself roaring drunk. Tuesday, August 25. Clear fine calm warm weather. The men employed as yesterday. Early in the morning two vessels, the Lama & Europa, were seen off Dundass' Island. The former came to anchor abreast of the fort past noon, and the latter late in the evening. They are last from Tongass which they left yesterday, where they had been lying a fortnight. In the ra, British 1945 John Work's Journal. 63 evening 12 Casks of salmon which Capt. McNeill salted, the fürs he traded, and some other articles were landed. Since the Lama was last here, she traded 38 Sea Otters, 717 beaver 9 Land Otters, 31 Bears, 46 Martens, 38 Minks & some other small fürs, which is certainly far beyond what I expected, as I did not reckon on over 150 or 200 beaver at most. The success is entirely owing to having fallen in with a large party of Stikeen Indians at Tongass, from whom alone 633 beaver were obtained. Capt. Allan who was also there procured a like number, a thing we did not at all anticipate, as the Russians have an establishment at Stikeen on these people's lands, and last year the Americans obtained only about 300 from the small parties that came down to about Tongass to purchase slaves. This season there have altogether come down from about Stikeen at least 14 to 1600 Beaver and Land Otters. It is conjectured that there is some misunderstanding between these Indians and the Russians, and that they cannot obtain such a high price there as from the vessels. Capts. McNeill & Allan, who are both old hands on the coast, affirm that such a quantity of fürs was never known to be obtained from them before, and there is no doubt but that they must have given the Russians a good many too. These beaver are of a small size in general, which is a sign that they are on the decline, notwithstanding the number now got. They have cost high, Allan's blankets are all done. When they began to fail he sold a variety of other articles at exceeding low prices, for instance, a swivil gun for a beaver, a ship's cooking Camboose1'" half worn [?] for 2; a Metal Scabbard SaBre for 1; a 30 gall: cask of Molasses pure [?] for 3 beaver; a 30 gall: cask of rice for 5; a 100 Ib. Cask of fine bread for 3; an 18 gall: cask of Malaga wine for 3; an 18 gall: cask of brandy for 3 (this was reduced nearly %); 20 yd. fine calico & 2 gall: Mixed rum for a bear; a shirt, vest & Trousers with 2 gal. rum for a beaver; 4 yd. Cloth, nearly the quality of our 2d. Cloth, for a beaver; & a variety of other articles proportionally low, and he even bought a number with cash at 4 dollars and 4 yds fine calico per beaver. Thus it is always with the Americans, when they come near winding up their voyage they seil off what they have at almost any price they can obtain for it. This conduct so overstocks the Natives with goods of every description, and renders them so difficult to deal with, that nothing can be traded from them so as to yield any adequate profit, and if they dont get the price they want, they hold up their fürs, being in no pressing want of goods. Were it not for this plagued Opposition, with a proper assortment of goods, when the Indians are so rieh in beaver as these Stikeen men were, notwithstanding the high price paid for beaver in some expensive articles, yet an advantageous and profitable trade might be carried on with them; but as the business must unavoidably be carried on as at present in order to obtain a share of the trade to cover the indispensable expenses of the shipping and establishments, such a result can scarcely be expected. Capt. McNeill took advantage of his being able to supply the Natives with blankets and notwithstanding the high prices Allan was not [now] giving did not exceed a Wanket and 2 gall. mixed rum for a beaver; but still as he was not provided with cheap suitable articles to dispose of with the expensive ones, the fürs came very high. Mr. Kennedy is a good deal better today, but when the Indians, who have still some fürs, saw the vessels they stopped trading immediately expecting to get higher prices. As it would not be advisable to raise our (170) Probably " cambuse," a French-Canadian term meaning a " stove." 64 H. D. Dee. January tariff at the fort, Capt. McNeill is directed to oppose Capt. Allan and give as high prices as he does, so that it may prevent him from getting many of the skins and discourage him from remaining long here. One of the chiefs, Elgigh, traded from 25 to 30 beaver these days past and probably regrets having done so seeing the vessels east up. Be that as it may, he got drunk today, and though he is one of the best Indians about the place, became quite outrageous and abusive, so much so, that, when I was Coming ashore from the Lama with Capt. McNeill he attempted to stop the boat •from landing, and some of his people immediately came to support him and even threw some stones at the crew. His women laid hold of him to paeify him. Had not the crew not been prevented, they would have knocked him down with the oars. He is a principal man, and of weight and standing among the Natives, and Dr. Kennedy's fatherinlaw too, or I certainly would have had him severely punished on the spot, though it is likely it would have been attended with Woodshed. He had been abusing the Doctor all the morning, Thus it is that these savage barbarians, even with the very best of them we dont know the moment a quarrel may arise, and even Woodshed be the result. Wednesday, August 26. Fine, clear weather. The men employed part airing, beating, & packing the fürs landed from the Lama. The others as before. Rum, Molasses, and other articles of the outfit, remaining on board of the Lama were landed. All their blankets and powder were expended. Some more Indians arrived late last night and have been with them that were here these days past, going between the fort, and the vessels trying where they could get most for their fürs. From all we can learn, owing to Allan being out of blankets, we get the bulk of the fürs. Thursday, August 27. Weather as yesterday. Men employed the same. Some more arrivals of Indians from both Pearl Harbour and Nass. The trade going on as yesterday. Friday, August 28. Thick fog in the morning. Fine, clear, warm weather afterwards. Men employed the same, and the trade going on as •yesterday. Several of the Indians went off and some more arrived. Saturday, August 29. Thick foggy weather, some drizzling rain. Scarcely a breath of wind these several days. The men employed at the same work. The [sie] doing little in the way of trade today. Since the vessels arrived, the Lama has traded 86 beaver & Otters & 90 Martens & the Doctor 30 Beaver & Otters & 90 Martens. Capt. Allan says he has got about 60 Martens and about 30 beaver, but the account he gives cant be relied upon, and we do not think he has got such a number, most probably not over the % of it. The Indians reported yesterday that they saw a vessel, and we sent off a note to the captain directing him to send us an answer, and a boat should be sent out from the Lama to bring him in, but as we conjeetured it was a false report. I am very anxious to see the vessel from the Columbia arrive, as it would enable me to make the necessary arrangements more satisfactorily previously to the Lama's departure, which must be in a few days. The weather has been so calm that she may be lagging about at no great distance for several days past. We will be getting short of blankets for the trade, and the men are wretchedly in want of their supplies. 1945 John Work's Journal. 65 Sunday, August SO. Thick overcast weather, heavy rain in the afternoon, with a little breeze of wind from the Southward, but in a short time it died away and became calm again. A few straggling Indians arrived and some-others went away. In the evening Sabasses arrived with two canoes, but I believe they have very few fürs with them. The Indians brought five deer today, one of which a fine bück, brought by Cogill, weighed 158 lbs.—only the carcase without head, legs, or entrails. Monday, August 31. Fog with some drizzling rain in the morning, fine weather afterwards, but quite calm, so that the ship from Columbia which we are so anxiously looking out for is likely to make but slow progress wherever she may be, if she has no more wind than we have here. The men employed as last week. I bought1'1 a cask of Tobacco, weight 1010 lbs., at 13 Cents per Ib.; 3 barreis beef at 17 dollars each; 1 do. Pork at 22 dollars; & 4 boxes Soap 20 lbs. each, at 2 dollars per box, from Capt. Allan and paid him with a draft on our agent at Woahoo.™ The tobacco is rather dear, but as we have only a few hundred pounds remaining, should any thing occur to the vessel Coming from Columbia or should a short supply be sent, Tobacco is such an indispensable article & so much of it required that it will be of the utmost importance to us. Though we could have managed to get to the Columbia without the salt provisions, yet we would have been rather short, and what of it remains it is presumed will be found very serviceable. The Soap is bought to seil to the people who are wretchedly off for want of it, their supplies are so long of Coming. I was busy the most of this day reengaging the men. Several of them will not engage on any condition, as they are determined to return to Canada.1'3 Others will not accept the terms offered, none of them have any objections to the place, but not one of them would engage on any terms to go to Fort McLoughlin.1'* In the evening the door keeper turned out a Sabassa Indian, who remained outside the gate sulky, and shortly after, when one of the men Lapierre went out, he attacked him without any provocation, some other Indians of the same tribe and one of Sabasses wives, joined to assist him. Some of the Islanders1'6 were bye and aided Lapierre. One of the Indians got a cutting blow on the face, and I believe the woman also got a blow which exasperated the Indians, and though they threatened to have recourse to their knives and arms [entry incomplete] Tuesday, September 1. Foggy in the morning. Clear, fine weather afterwards, but no wind. The men employed as before. Sabasses and two canoes went off home. Two more canoes of his people arrived last night & are still here. Two more canoes also arrived from Pearl Harbour. These people have all a few beaver .skins and keep trading at the fort and the two vessels, & keep us busy. A Canoe of Chimsians which passed here some (171) Work's purchase of these goods was no doubt occasioned by his concern lest the supply vessel from Fort Vancouver might not arrive, and that Fort Simpson might have to subsist for the winter without further help from outside. (172) Honolulu. (173) Upper and Lower Canada, represented roughly by the present Provinces of Ontario and Quebec respectively. (174) See entry for February 1, 1835, British Columbia Historical Quarterly, VIII. (1944), p. 135 and n. 12, for information on this reluctance. (175) Hawaiian Islanders. 66 H. D. Dee. January time ago for Tongass to seil slaves, returned with plenty of blankets and other articles, and among the rest two casks of rum, but it is believed very few beaver. Capt. Allan meant to have sailed today but there was no wind. I would be very glad to see him off, as his being here deters us from windihg up this year's affairs and being off for the Columbia. For, though he has no blankets, yet he has plenty of many other articles, of which he gives such a quantity, that he still gets a few beaver, and gives us a great deal of trouble in obtaining what we get- Wednesday, September 2. Thick weather, very heavy rain most part of the day. Wind from the Southward, but very little of it. The men still employed the same. Captain Allan sailed for Kygarny, and I am very glad he is gone. Since he has been here, notwithstanding he had no blankets, we conjecture he has got 50 or 60 beaver & land otters; but he paid enor- mously high for them in such articles as he has got. He bought a Sea Otter when going off, for which he gave 7 pieces Cotton 30 yds. per piece, 2 bags shot 28 lbs. each, and an Axe, besides all the articles termed presents. Certainly on such a bargain he can have little if any profit. Since he has been here, 97 beaver & land Otters, 2 Sea Otters, & 86 Martens have been traded on board the Lama, & 46 beaver and land Otters and 86 Martens in the Ind. Shop. Some Indians arrived from Pearl Harbour with deer and a few skins, and some that were here went off. These two days 12 deer have been received, which has enabled us to supply the vessel & save salt provisions, and also to give a day's rations to the people in the fort. A few more of the men were arranged with to remain another year on their old terms. They all dread being sent to Millbank,1'6 which makes them afraid to engage. However, we have now settled with as many as will be required at this place. Mr. C. F. McLoughlin1" recommended the number being reduced to 15, but it is considered that it would not be safe to reduce them lower than 20 Men and two gentlemen for at least another year. A good deal of work is still to be done about the establishment, and the Indians are about & within a short distance of the fort the greater part of the year, and very easily irritated and hostilely disposed, & from their numbers very formidable. Thursday, September S. Heavy rain, blowing fresh and squally in the night, showry & a fine breeze of wind from the Southward during the day tili the afternoon, when the wind died away. The men employed as before. Had the remainder of the fürs packed. Some Indians arrived from Pearl Harbour, and several of those who were here went away. A few fürs and some deer were traded. Friday, September 4- Overcast calm weather, some light rain no wind. The people employed at sundry Jobs. Busy all day giving out supplies for the Lama's voyage to the Columbia and taking the Inventory. A large party of Indians arrived from Nass and have a good many fürs. They expected that Allan was not gone and that they would still obtain the high prices he was giving for their skins. Some canoes also arrived from Pearl Harbour, with some fürs and 3 deer. No appearance yet of the Columbia vessel, although She had a fine favourable wind yesterday. Her not casting up I much regret, as it would enable me to make the necessary arrangements more satisfactorily previous to the Lama's sailing, besides our blankets are 1945 John Work's Journal. . getting short, and we will not be able to seeure the fall trade without further supplies. The watch is doubled tonight in order to keep a better look out, and prevent the Indians, who have arrived to day and who are great thieves, from stealing the potatoes. The night before last, & last night also, they stole some of them, and right under the stockades. The nights are so dark that the watch cannot see any distance. Saturday, September 5. Very heavy rain all day. Wind Southerly, blowing fresh afterpart of the day. The Men employed as before. Finished taking the Inventory except the Indian shop, and that we could not do as the Doctor was busy trading with the Indians that arrived yesterday. We intended to have shipped the returns1'* today but could not on account of the bad weather. Mr. Kennedy busy trading all day with the Indians. The Pearl Harbour men went off. . Sunday, September 6. Very heavy rain, & stormy in the night. Fine fair weather during the day. Availed ourselves of the fine weather and had the fürs all shipped on board the Lama except what has been traded these two days which are not yet packed. Dr. Kennedy finished trading with the Indians in the afternoon, when they all went off to their home at Nass. These two days, 112 beaver, 5 Land Otters, 438 Martens & 1 Märten Robe, 5 Fisher, 21 Minks, 110 Musquash, & 3 Black Bears have been traded. These Indians had come down here in hopes of finding the Opposition that they might obtain higher prices. It was rather difficult dealing with them on the terms established at the fort. Of salampores1'9 they got only half the quantity they would have obtained from the vessels for their Martens, that is 1 yd. per Märten, while our opponents give two. They still took away a few fürs with them but not a great many. Our blankets are falling short, and more Indians are expected tomorrow. The non-arrival of the vessel from the Columbia will be a serious loss. After the Doctor had finished trading with the Indians, took the Indian shop Inventory, and closed the business for Outfit 1835. The returns for this place and the Lama stand as follows. Total Lama Fort Beaverlarge No. 1067 772 477 413 „ Cuttings lb 6 2 „ Coating 6 Bears Black large No. 157 77 „ Small 10 6 „ Brown large Castorum lb 24 Fishers No. Martens 1368 „ Robes1«» 8 189ski[n]s 6 144sk[in]s Minks 686 106 Musquash181 21 243 Otters Sea large 144 „ „ Small 3 „ „ Pups „ „ Tails _^_I_m___S-. 5 (178) Theannu al shipment of für. (179) Bluecottc n cloth. (180) Eight robes collectively, contain ng 189 skins, six 144 skins, making a total of fourteen robe containing 333 s (181) Muskrat. :obes containing Otters Land large I „ Small „ Tails Lynx Für Seals Rabbits Oil Whale Ermine Robes Gal No. 90 40 130 Amounting to about 5700 & at the established valuation, which is much better than I at one time anticipated when I saw the active Opposition we had to contend with. The high prices the Opposition caused created such a heavy expense, that our gains can be but light, I have not been yet able to ascertain exactly what it may be.. As far as we can ascertain Capt. Allan has got from 1500 to 1600 beaver & land Otters and about 45 Sea Otters, & Captain Dominis about 900 beaver & Otters & about 45 Sea otters, but they were more successful in Martens owing to their being well supplied with cheap calicoes, handkfs., & vermilion and some other articles which we were entirely without in other respects. We met them on a pretty equal footing, but still the worst of small trade, as it is called, caused us to pay much higher for our fürs than we otherwise would have done, and also caused the loss of a great many martens probably not short of 1000. The want of cheap Calico, handkfs., & Vermilion, though of little value in themselves, was a great loss to us. Monday, September 7. Fine weather, Wind Northerly and favourable for the vessel to sail, but it was impossible for us to get off. However we have every thing arranged and ready to sail tomorrow should the wind be favourable. In the afternoon sent the passengers, ten returning men, a woman & child on board, The men1«2 are J. B* Benoit, F. Faniant, wife & child, S. Grenin [?], A Lapain, J Lozeau [?], C. Lozeau, J McKirby, J Plo- seff, P. Portelanu & C Proulx [?]. This reduces the establishment to 20 Men, which are considered requisite for at least another season, when it is probable the Natives will have become more peaceable & the Fort completed, the number may be reduced 2 or 4 more. The men remaining, besides Messrs Birnie & Kennedy, are N. Auger, A Azure, P. Bibeau, A Dauphin, A. Detulen [?], J Bt Jolibois, L. Latain, J Bt Lapuni, J. Maurice, N. Mclvor, J. McLenon, A Marlell, J. Marlell, J Bl Proveau, J. Sansaucin, H. Napika, Nahia, J. Puahelle, J. Tacanui [?], J. Teneramaka [?], 22 all told. The houses have to be reroofed which will take up a good deal of time, besides ground have [sie] to be cleared for garden. However if the natives were not to be apprehended all the work might be accomplished with 4 or 5 men less. Two of these men are engaged for two years, all the others have only one year to serve & have all given notice to retire. The distance we are from head quarters causes a very heavy expence in replacing the retiring servants, and they appear to take advantage of this circumstance. None (182) Until official lists of the personnel of the fort are available, there is little chance of getting or checking information about these minor employ- ees. It is interesting to note that they consisted either of French-Canadians or Hawaiian Islanders. The following were still at Fort Simpson in 1839: Auger, Dauphin, Jolibois, Maurice, and Proveau. Antoine Azure was with the southern party of Laframboise. SeeHudson's Bay Company—Employees, 1839, p. 4, in Archives of British Columbia. 1945 John Work's Journal. 69 of these going off seemed to have any objection to the place or the gentlemen at it, but said they wished to return home to their own country. I widerstand, tho' they refused to engage, some more of them would have reengaged to remain at Fort Simpson, but none of them would on any account engage to remain at Ft. McLoughlin. At Ft. McLoughlin the work is at present but light as the fort is finished, but the living is very bad, being principally dry salmon, which from the mode of drying them in smoke, are very bad. Lest any thing might deter the vessel from Columbia from arriving with supplies, I take from this place 20 bags Pease and a sufficient quantity of grease, so that it may be a help for the people at Ft. McLoughlin. I much wish also to call at Skidegates should a favourable opportunity offer and purchase a quantity of potatoes for them, but as the season is so far advanced and we have been so long unavoidably detained here should the wind be favourable we cannot afford to lose time, but should the wind be unfavourable I shall certainly put this project in [To be concluded.] NOTES AND GOMMENTS. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. The annual meeting of the Association was held in the Grosvenor Hotel, Vancouver, on the evening of Friday, January 12. In spite of the strike of the street railwaymen, seventy-five members and friends attended. The reports presented showed that the society had had an active and successful year, while financially the Association was better off than at any time in its history. Paid-up membership on December 31, 1944, was 455, as com- pared with 423 on the same date a year before. This total was made up as follows: Victoria Section, 164; Vancouver Section, 166; members-at- large, 125. Circulation of the Quarterly had increased from 484 to 520. For his presidential address Mr. B. A. McKelvie had chosen the subject Jason Allard: Prince, Trader, Gentleman. Born at Fort Langley in 1848, Allard was justly entitled to the first designation, for, through his mother, he was the rightful heir of the Chief of the Cowichan confederacy. But young Jason chose to follow in the footsteps of his father, Ovid Allard, who was in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1853 the family moved tö Nanaimo, which had been founded the year before by J. W. McKay. There they remained until the spring of 1868, when Chief Factor James Douglas, who had a high regard for the ability of Ovid Allard, moved him to Fort Yale. The gold-rush to the Fräser River was clearly impend- ing, and it was essential that the Company should have an able and ex- perienced trader there. Jason was soon doing odd Jobs about the sales shop, and within a few years was serving as a full-time employee. In 1866, somewhat against his will, he became apprenticed to the Hudson's Bay Company, and after a brief course of training in Victoria was assigned to Fort Shepherd, the post at the junction of the Pend d'Oreille and Columbia rivers, just north of the International Boundary. It was the time of the Columbia River gold excitements, and in 1867 Jason was promoted to the charge of the störe on famous Wild Horse Creek. Soon after this he resigned in a moment of irrltation, being unaware of the fact that it was the intention of his superiors to place him in charge of Fort Kamloops. In 1871 he joined one of the Dominion Government railway surveys in British Columbia, and during the next seven years served under such well- known men as John Trutch (brother of Sir Joseph), Edward Mohun, and Walter Moberly. In 1878 he finally settled down as a trader and farmer at Fort Langley, having already experienced, at the age of 30, more variety and adventure than ten ordinary men meet in a lifetime. Jason Allard died . in New Westminster in 1931, at the age of 83. He had seen British Columbia develop from a wilderness in which the white population was probably not more than 250, to a modern community of 700,000 persons. Mr. McKelvie knew Allard intimately in his later years, and no summary of his address can even suggest the humour, drama, and romance that made it of absorbing interest to his audience. British Columbia Hittorieal Quarterly, Vol. IX., No. 1. 71 72 Notes and Comments. January Greetings from the Victoria Section were brought by Mrs. M. R. Cree, while Miss Helen Boutilier, of the Vancouver Section, welcomed visiting members and introduced them to the meeting. The report of the scrutineers, in which the result of the election for the Council was tabulated, was read by the Secretary. The new Council met after the adjournment of the general session, and elected the following officers for 1945:— Hon. H. G. T. Perry - - - - Honorary President. Miss Helen R. Boutilier - - - President. Mr. B. A. McKelvie - Past President. Mrs. Curtis Sampson ... Ist Vice-President. Mr. E. G. Baynes ----- 2nd Vice-President. Miss Madge Wolfenden - - - Honorary Treasurer. Dr. W. Kaye Lamb - Honorary Secretary. Members of the Council— Mr. E. M. Cotton. Mrs. M. R. Cree. Rev. J. C. Goodfellow. Mr. A. G. Harvey. Major Cuthbert Holmes. Dr. T. A. Rickard. Mr. E. G. Rowebottom. Dr. W. N. Sage. Dr. Robie L. Reid. Major H. T. Nation. Hon. Mr. Justice H. B. Robertson. VICTORIA SECTION. Alaskan History was the title of the interesting address delivered by Dr. T. A. Rickard at the meeting of the Section held in the Provincial Library on Monday, November 20, 1944. All the first inhabitants of North America came from Asia, presumably by way of Bering Strait and Alaska, and Dr. Rickard first sketched briefly the state of the continent at the time of their arrival, and suggested some of the reasons that may have prompted their migration. Turning next to relatively modern times, he showed how first the Iure of gold and later the search for fürs led Russian and other explorers to venture into the " geographic f og " that shrouded the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. Peter the Great took a keen personal interest in the question as to whether Asia and America were united, and it was he who sponsored the first expedition of Vitus Bering, in 1725-28. After Peter's death Bering led a second expedition toward Alaska in 1740-41. Though he sailed sufficiently far down the Alaskan coast to catch sight of the towering summit of Mount St. Elias, Bering perished wretchedly on the barren island that now bears his name, and it was left for Captain Cook to reveal the true significance of Bering Strait. In conclusion, Dr. Rickard dealt with the Russian f ur-traders in Alaska, and recalled the stirring days öf Shelekov, Baranov, and Rezanov. After the address, Archdeacon F. W. Goodman, D.D., of Port Townsend, who spent twenty years as a missionary at Point Hope, in Alaska, was persuaded to describe some of his interesting and amusing experiences amongst the Eskimos. The annual meeting of the Section was held in the Provincial Library on the evening of Monday, January 8, 1945. The Chairman of the Section, 1945 Notes and Comments. 73 the Hon. Mr. Justice H. B. Robertson, presided. His address, captioned with-a line from Tennyson's Revenge—" Spanish ships of war at sea! " dealt first with Spain's efforts to explore and monopolize the Northwest Coast, and then outlined the complicated background of the celebrated Nootka Sound Controversy, that brought Spain and Great Britain to the verge of war in 1790. Reports were submitted by Mrs. M. R. Cree, Honorary Secretary, and Miss Madge Wolfenden, Honorary Treasurer. The number of paid-up members was 164, and the work of the Section had been fully maintained in every way. Miss Alma Russell, Chairman of the Necrology Committee, paid tribute to the old-timers who had died during the year. No less than 171 persons had passed away who had lived at least fifty years in Victoria, and of these thirty-five had been born in the city. Mr. E. G. Rowebottom, Chairman of the Historie Sites Committee, reported that a number of sites had been marked during the year, and announced that a plaque in memory of Joseph William McKay, fur-trader, explorer, legislator, and founder of Nanaimo, would soon be placed on the old bastion in that city. Mr. F. W. Laing, reporting for the scrutineers, announced the result of the election for the Council, which had been held by mailed ballot. The new Council met on January 11 and elected the executive for 1945. Chairman Major H. Cuthbert Holmes. Vice-Chairman - Mr. E. W. McMullen. Honorary Secretary - Mrs. M. R. Cree. Honorary Treasurer - - Mr. John Goldie. Members of the Council— Miss Muriel Galt. Dr. J. A. Pearce. Mr. G. H. Gowan. Dr. T. A. Rickard. Mr. J. A. Heritage. Hon. Mr. Justice H. B. Robertson. Mr. B. A. McKelvie. Mr. E. G. Rowebottom. Major H. T. Nation. Miss A. M. Russell. Mr. T. W. S. Parsons. Mrs. W. Curtis Sampson. Miss M. Wolfenden. VANCOUVER SECTION. The annual meeting was held in the Grosvenor Hotel on Tuesday, November 14, 1944. More than seventy members were present. Miss Helen Boutilier, Vice-President, presided in the absence of the President, Mr. A. G. Harvey, who, though much improved in health, was still not sufficiently well to attend. In place of a presidential address, the Council had asked Dr. W. Kaye Lamb to pay tribute to the work of the Association's most distinguished member, the late Judge F. W. Howay. Dr. Lamb entitled his remarks Judge Howay: Historian and Friend, and explained that he was limiting his subject to those aspects of the Judge's work with which he was personally familiär. After briefly sketching his early life, Dr. Lamb dealt in some detail with Judge Howay's career as an historian. His methods of work, the trend of his interests, the gathering of his remarkable historical library, his publications (which appeared over a period of forty-three years 74 Notes and Comments. January and included almost 300 items), and his contribution to the history of the Pacific Northwest were all considered in turn. Many points were illustrated with personal anecdotes, or with material drawn from Judge Howay's books and papers, which he bequeathed to the Library of the University of British Columbia. The election of officers resulted in the selection of the following execu- tive and councillors for 1945:— Honorary President President Vice-President - Honorary Secretary - Honorary Treasurer Members of the Council— Mr. E. M. Cotton. Mr. E. W. Eastham. Dr. W. Kaye Lamb. Mr.- D. A. McGregor. Dr. W. N. Sage. - Dr. Robie L. Reid. Miss Helen R. Boutilier. • Mr. E. G. Baynes. Miss M. Audrey Reid. ■ Mr. George B. White. Mr. J. R. V. Dunlop. Mr. George Green. Miss Eleanor Mercer. Mr. A. DeB. McPhillips. I E. Stephens. Rev. W. Stott. The Section met in the Grosvenor Hotel on the evening of Wednesday, December 6, 1944. Dr. A. M. Sanford was the Speaker, his subject being Remmiseences of My Experiences in the Slocan. As a young minister of the Methodist Church, Dr. Sanford spent the years 1897 to 1907 in and about Sandon, then a flourishing mining town, and the many members present thoroughly enjoyed his amusing account of his adventures. Dr. Sanford ascribed his own interest in mining districts to the stories his father used to teil of the gold diggings in California, and it was that interest that prompted him to go to the Kootenay. Arriving in 1897, he held his first service in Spencer's Opera House. The church, a barber-shop, and a cigar-store " all did business at the same time," and he found the competition stimulating. Later, when a church building was erected, it had to be placed on a hillside, up many flights of stairs that totalled no less than 132 steps, and in winter time Clearing them of snow was one of Dr. Sanford's regulär Saturday chores. Level Spaces were so small and the hüls so steep that the path to the church, like practically every other path, had a switchback. (Indeed, there was even a switchback between first and second base on the baseball field!) The original church was built of logs; Dr. and Mrs. Sanford lived in the basement, where they had " two or three rooms aecording to the way we hung the curtains." The miners were a rough and ready lot, but they were generous, and within a year the little church was self- supporting. One of the local " characters " used to pass the hat at the hotel, for the benefit of those who did not intend to go to church. The most speetacular event of the early days was the great fire which wiped out most of Sandon in 1900. It swept through the town and up the near-by levels, and Dr. Sanford recalled that he had had to move a trunk farther up the hill five times in order to save it from the flames. Many of the Citizens were ruined, but the community rallied to the support of the church, which carried on in a large tent until a new' building could be c< 1945 Notes and Comments. 75 At the conclusion of the address Judge Forin, who first visited Sandon in 1892, related some of his own experiences there, and commented upon the remarkable absence of both petty and major crime in the Kootenay mining towns of the nineties. LOCAL HISTORICAL ACTIVITIES. The Kamloops Museum Association was reorganized at a general meeting held in December, and the new executive met on December 28, at the home of the President, Mr. Burt Campbell. Present were: Mrs. Isaac Oakley, Vice-President; Miss Melva Dwyer, Secretary-Treasurer; T. S. Keyes, W. H. Gurney, and Angus MacDonald, Committee Chairmen. The Association hopes soon to add to its various collections, which include Indian relics, natural history specimens, historical data, and photographs. Mr. H. E. Taylor, the Indian Agent, has kindly consented to serve on the committee responsible for the collection of Indian relics, etc. The President reported that the Association had received a most valuäble and interesting gift from Mrs. Van Antwerp, consisting of fifty-six photographs. These include many early railroad scenes and early views of Vancouver, and were collected by Mrs. Van Antwerp's husband, the late W. F. Van Antwerp, who was one of the first locomotive engineers employed in British Columbia by the Canadian Pacific Railway. His first run, upon which he served from 1886 to 1890, was from Donald to Revelstoke. He was then transferred to New Westminster, and after another four years moved to Vancouver. In 1897 he moved to the Okanagan branch line (Shuswap and Okanagan), where he remained until his retirement in 1920. He died in March, 1943. At present the Museum is open only on Saturday evenings from 7 to 9, but the President will be pleased to arrange for special showings for clubs or interested groups. Longer hours will go into effect as soon as the tourist traffie returns. The Okanagan Historical Society recently issued an attractive 32-page collection of poems entitled Songs of the Okanagan. Some of these have already appeared in the Reports of the Society. Seven writers are represented in the collection—Sara Jean McKay, George A. Meeres, Dorothy Hewlett Gellatly, Doris Walmsley, Grace Hewlett, Leonard Norris, and Elsie Ross. Miss Ross is the nine-year-old poetess whose quatrain on " The Moon " much intrigued readers of the Ninth Report. It may. be of interest to note that a kindred effort was produced a good many years ago by a housemaid in the employ of Mrs. Edmund Gosse, wife of the celebrated critic. It was entitled "Address to the Moon," and was printed by E. F. Benson in As We Were (London, 1930; Penquin Books edition, 1938). The Okanagan Society for the Revival of Indian Arts and Crafts recently printed a 20-page brief entitled Native Canadians: A Plan for the Rehabilitation of Indians, that has been submitted to the Committee on Reconstruc- tion and Re-establishment, Ottawa. A short prefatory Statement is fol- 76 Notes and Comments. January lowed by an " Analysis of Present Deficiencies as revealed by the Annual Report of the Indian Affairs Branch, March, 1942." War Services, welfare, health, housing, etc., are each considered in turn. This is followed by a Statement of the progress made in Indian administration in the United States in the last ten years. The brief concludes with a tabulation of short- term improvements that could be implemented at once, without the addition of extra personnel to the Indian Affairs Branch, and an outline of long- term plans, including a thorough investigation by a qualified Royal Commission, and a new Act to replace the present antiquated legislation, dating from 1868, that would, in the opinion of the Society, transform the Indian The Okanagan Society is an autonomous branch of the Society for the Furtherance of B.C. Indian Arts and Crafts, founded in Victoria some years ago by Miss Alice Ravenhill. The officers are as follows: President, Mr. A. Miliar; Vice-President, Mr. B. Webber; Secretary, Mrs. A. Miliar; Recording Secretary, Mrs. E. Parham; Treasurer, Mrs. S. M. Worsfold. All the officers reside in Oliver, except Mr. Webber, whose home is in Penticton. The pupils of Grades VII. and VIII. in the New Denver Elementary School have printed and published a history of their community. It takes the form of a well-produced 28-page booklet entitled New Denver: Eldorado of the Past. There are no less than forty-six illustrations. The narrative is not limited to New Denver itself—the whole Slocan region is included— but the town naturally receives most attention. Hotels, schools, churches, hospitals, lake steamers, and newspapers—old and new—are all described in lively detail. Mr. J. C. Harris contributes two interesting " Thumbnail Sketches of Slocan Oldtimers," the subjects being Eli Carpenter and R. T. Lowery (" The Colonel"). It is to be hoped that some day some one will write a full-scale study of Lowery and his paper, The Ledge, for few more interesting characters figure in our history. A special chapter is devoted to " The Japanese in New Denver," and their life and activities in the community are described and illustrated. All in all, the booklet is a most creditable production for a group of young folk in their early teens. Despite this contribution, so much of the history of the Slocan still remains unwritten that it is to be hoped that they will follow it up with a further instalment. Mr. Ernest Doe, of Salmon Arm, recently completed a project upon which he has been engaged for some years. In 1939 he compiled a 64-page typewritten brochure entitled Salmon Arm: A Basic History of the District from its beginnings to 1912. He has just completed two later and larger volumes, consisting in all of nearly 300 pages, which together form A History of Salmon Arm, 1912-1944- Since the earlier narrative was completed Mr. Doe has secured additional material on the early days, and it is to be hoped that he may be able to prepare a revised and enlarged edition of the history of the district up to the incorporation of the City of Salmon Arm, in 1912. The two later volumes constitute a remarkably complete record of the community, and careful use has been made of municipal and government records, local newspapers, etc., in its compilation. The excellent maps, 1945 Notes and Comments. 77 tables, and photographs add much of interest and value. Copies of the three volumes have been deposited in the Provincial Archives and in the Library of the University of British Columbia. Readers will recall that a History of Prince George was completed by Rev. F. E. Runnalls last year, and that an article entitled Boom Days in Prince George, based upon several chapters of the History, appeared in the October number of this Quarterly. Valuäble historical work of this kind is being done in a number of communities, and as the narratives are completed it is hoped that copies may be made available for reference in the Provincial Archives, and for review in the Quarterly. CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE. Major F. V. Longstaff, author of Esquimalt Naval Base: A History of Its Work and Its Defences (Victoria, 1941), is widely known as a writer on the history of the Royal Navy. He has contributed to the Canadian Defence Quarterly and other periodicals, and is a Member of the Society for Nautical Research. William N. Draper, B.C.L.S., has lived in British Columbia since 1877, and is one of the pioneer land surveyors of the Province. The account of the first trails and roads north of the Fräser River, which he contributes to this issue, should be read in conjunction with an earlier article entitled Early Trails and Roads in the Lower Fräser Valley, which dealt with those south of the river. It appeared in the Quarterly for January, 1943. Walter N. Sage, Ph.D., F.R.S.C., is Head of the Department of History in the University of British Columbia, and Member for British Columbia on the Historie Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Henry Drummond Dee, M.A., is Vice-Principal of Victoria High School. m BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION Organized October 31st, 1922. r of British Columbia. PATRON, s Honour W. C. Woodward, Lieutenant-Gove OFFICERS, 1945. Hon. H. G. T. Perry .... Honorary Presidi Helen R. Boutilier - President. B. A. McKelvie Past President. Mrs. Cübtis Sampson E. G. Baynes Madge Wolfenden - W. Kaye Lamb Ist Vice-President. 2nd Vice-President. Honorary Treasurer. Honorary Secretary. MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. Mrs. M. R. Cree. E. M. Cotton. J. C. Goodfellow. Robie L. Reid. A. G. Haevey. T. A. Rickaed. H. T. Nation. W. N. Sage. E. G. Rowebottom. Willard E. Ireland W. Kaye Lamb (Provincial Archivist). (Editor, Quarterly). Helen R. Boutilier H. C. Holmes (Vancouver Section). (Victoria Section). OBJECTS. To encourage historical research and stimulate public interest in history; to promote the preservation and marking of historic sites, buildings, relics, natural features, and other objects and places of historical interest, and to publish historical Sketches, studies, and documents. MEMBERSHIP. Ordinary members pay a fee of $2 annually i l the first day of January. All e the British Columbia Historical Quarterl I THE BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY APRIL, 1945 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Published by the Archives of British Columbia in co-operation with the British Columbia Historical Association. EDITOR. W. Kaye Lamb. The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. ASSOCIATE EDITOR. Willard E. Ireland. Provincial Archives, Victoria, B.C. (On active service, R.C.A.F.) ADVISORY BOARD. J. C. Goodpellow, Princeton. T. A. Riokabd, Victoria. W. N. Sage, Vancouver. Editorial Communications should be addressed to the Editor. Subscriptions should be sent to the Provincial Archives, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C. Price, 50c. the copy, or $2 the year. Members of the British Columbia Historical Association in good standing receive the Quarterly without further charge. Neither the Provincial Archives nor the British Columbia Historical Association assumes any responsibility for Statements made by contributors to the magazine. The Quarterly is indexed in Faxon's Annual Magazine Subject-Index. m BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Victoria, B.C., April, 1945. CONTENTS. Pa< Robie Lewis Reid (1866-1945): A Memoir. By W. Kaye Lamb j Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Mediane. By A. G. Harvey The Royal Navy on the Northwest Coast, 1813-1850. Part IL By F. V. Longstaff and W. Kaye Lamb 1 The Journal of John Work, 1835. Being an account of his voyage northward from the Columbia River to Fort Simpson and return in the brig "Lama," January- October, 1885. Conclusion. Edited by Henry Drummond Dee 1 Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry in British Columbia. A Checklist. Part III.: 1911-1920. By Marjorie C. Holmes 1 Notes and Comments: Arthur S. Morton: 1870-1945. By W. N. Sage _. 1 British Columbia Historical Association 1 Contributors to this Issue . 1 The Northwest Bookshelf: Rickard: The Romance of Mining. By M. Y. Williams __ 1 " ic Names. M _ i Clokie: Canadian Government and Politics. By W. N. Sage V Splawn: Ka-muakin. By W. Kaye Lamb '...._ I1 ROBIE LEWIS REID (1866-1945): A MEMOIR. Robie Lewis Reid was born in Cornwallis, King's County, Nova Scotia, on November 3,1866, the son of Gideon Eaton Reid and Ruth Ann (Cogswell) Reid. In some reminiscences, jotted down a few years ago, Dr. Reid has this to say about his ancestors:— " My people on both sides of the family were farmers as far back as I have information. I believe the name should properly be written Reed, as I find it so written in early documents. The first to use the present spelling was my grandfather, Isaac Reid. ... He had a Scotch mother, Mary Forsyth, and this may account for the change, or it may have been mere accident. "Both my parents were descendants of immigrants from Connecticut who came to Nova Scotia in 1761 to settle on the lands held by the Acadians prior to the expulsion of 1755. This was the first English-speaking immigration of importance into what is now Canada. The first grants made to settlers were those of the townships of Horton and Cornwallis in 1761. My father's people were grantees in the township of Horton, in King's County. . . . My mother's people, the Cogswells, were grantees in the adjoining township of Cornwallis." Dr. Reid was thus of pre-Loyalist stock, and he took delight in professing to regard the celebrated United Empire Loyalists as mere upstarts, to the occasional discomfiture of some of their descendants. His ancestry accounts, too, for the great interest he took in the expulsion of the Acadians. He made a special effort to seeure material relating to it, and his library includes scores of books and pamphlets on the subject. When he was about three years old he went to live with his grandparents, whose home was close by. ,fcI was not spoiled in any way. I could not get my breakfast on a weekday morning until I had memorized two verses of New Testament. On Sun- day, my morning task was to repeat the 12 verses I had learned during the week." His grandmother taught him to read, write, and spell, with the result that he skipped several grades when he started to school at the age of seven. He went first to the British Columbia Historical Quarterly. Vol. IX., No. 2. W. Kaye Lamb. April school at Chipman's Corner (so called after the Hon. Samuel Chipman, the patriarch of the township, who was then 83 and lived to the ripe old age of 101), and later to the nearby Steam Mill Village School. After a time he reached the limit of the Instruction there given, and what to do next was the subject of many an anxious family Council. " We discussed the Academy at Wolfville, but father could not see his way to meet the necessary expense. Just then a cousin of his who had married a veteran of the Crimean War, and was living at Pictou, came to visit us. Pictou Academy held a high position in, the educational world of Nova Scotia, and she insisted on my coming there to study. Father agreed, and in 1880 I became a student in the Academy and spent two years there." The reminiscences continue: " The students were mostly of little means, and were bent on getting an education. Many had obtained their money by teaching school, mostly in farming sections where salaries were small. Consequently, mostly all were in deadly earnest and spent neither time nor money unneces- sarily. I know of no place where such a large proportion of the students cared everything for work and nothing for play. . . . One of my particular friends was George Laurie, son of Major- General J. W. Laurie. He had plenty of money to spend, but the work was difficult for him. So I used to help him with his studies, and he came through with the sweets, and we both were happy. " When my two years in Pictou were over, I took the examinations for admission to Dalhousie College. Judge of my delight When I obtained a Munro Bursary of $150.00 per year for two years. These bursaries were given by George Munro, the publisher of the famous Seaside Library [of cheap editions of the classics]. ... He was a native of Pictou County, and had made a gift to Dalhousie out of which the bursaries were paid. Many of the Nova Scotia boys were in this way enabled to obtain the benefits of higher education. Without the bursary,-1 should have been forced to stop with the Academy at Pictou." In the fall of 1882 he entered Dalhousie. One amusing minor detail may be noted: " We all wore College gowns. A freshman could always be told by its newness. As the students passed into the higher ranks, the gown got shabbier, until those worn by the Seniors were wrecks. I remember those worn that year by J. P. 1945 Roble Lewis Reid (1866-1945): A Memoir. 81 MeLeod [afterwards Deputy Attorney-General of British Columbia] and his friend Danny Murray. They consisted of one sleeve and a strip of the skirt. On entering the classroom, this sleeve and strip were put on so as to be next to the professor. During the lecture they were removed to the other arm so as to make it appear in going out that the student was properly clothed." After spending the summer at home in Cornwallis, young Reid returned in the fall of 1883 for his sophomore year. However, he soon suffered a very severe attack of the mumps that affected his eyes, and was compelled to leave College. For the next six months he had to stay quietly at home, where his reading was limited "to the bi-weekly edition of the Halifax Chronicle, and one can understand what an affliction that was to one who had been reading everything he could lay his hands on since he was a very small child." Presently he wrote the examination for a teacher's licence, secured his certificate, and in the fall of 1884 was appointed to the school at Woodville, King's County. As it turned out, this was a decisive move, for it involved him in the chain of events that brought him to British Columbia. " While teaching," Dr. Reid recalled, " I boarded with my uncle, Morton Cogswell. During the winter he had an opportunity to seil his farm and made up his mind to do so and go west to the Territory of Washington. My oldest brother, Harry H. Reid, and I, caught the fever for the west, and agreed to go with the party. So in the spring of 1885 we left Nova Scotia and made our way west to Spokane Falls in Eastern Washington, now the great city of Spokane." Here things did not go quite as expected, and Robie decided to strike out on his own and push on to British Columbia. " I put my small belongings in my old suit case, and got on the Northern Pacific train for Tacoma, and thence travelled north on the old steamer North Pacific to Victoria, which I reached on July 2,1885, a little over 18 years old, 5,000 miles from home, and with one f our-bit piece in my pocket." From the first British Columbia proved to be a friendly place. School teaching was the only thing he knew, and he found that he had arrived just in time to write the examinations for a Grade A teacher's certificate. There was only one other candidate for Grade A—"a little chap from New Westminster with curly flaxen hair, and as füll of pep as any one could be." The two 82 W. Kaye Lamb. April were destined to be friends for life, for the fellow candidate was none other than Frederic W. Howay. He passed the examinations easily, and then set out for the Mainland, where he would be most likely to seeure a school. Three of his new-found friends loaned him the modest sum required to pay his bills and his fare on the old sternwheeler R. P. Ruhet to New Westminster. There he heard that the Clover Valley (now the Cloverdale) School, in Surrey Municipality, was vacant, and he trudged the long miles out into the country on foot to interview the trustees and seeure the appointment. The salary—$50 a month—seemed a princely sum, and he found a boarding place and a warm welcome in the home of one of the trustees, Duncan MacKenzie. Nine years later he was to marry Mr. MacKenzie's daughter, Lily, and fifty-nine years later, on October 17, 1944, the couple were to celebrate their golden wedding in Vancouver. Two happy years were spent in Clover Valley. He could have remained longer, but his ambition was to study law, and he wished to get on with it. His plan was to return to Nova Scotia, become articled to his uncle, E. J. Cogswell, in Kentville, and attend the Dalhousie Law School. This plan had been talked over many times with F. W. Howay, who had a similar ambition ; and in the end Howay himself was able to attend Dalhousie, and the friends travelled east together in September, 1887. " We were both earnest students most of the time," the rem- iniscences state, " but Howay was, I must admit, much the more diligent of the two. I used to spend many more evenings out than he did. . . . Still, many a night after he had gone to sleep—and he was a sound sleeper—I would come home and read for a long time before I turned in, and absorb more knowledge than if I had been at work all the evening. I did not teil him about this and when he used to chide me I would just laugh. Imagine his amazement when the results of the spring examinations were published, and he and I led the class with first class in all subjects. I was just a little ahead of him. But my joy was somewhat lessened when I afterwards met J. Y. Payzant, one of the lecturers, when he told me, what was quite true, that although I knew more about writing examinations, Howay knew more law than I did." Robie Lewis Reid. 1945 Robie Lewis Reid (1866-1945): A Memoir. 83 Vacation time proved to be important. " We spent the summer of 1888 on the farm at my home, Howay working in the [Barclay] Webster office [in Kentville], and I in my uncle's. I was supposed to be studying law, but as a matter of fact I was studying local history. My uncle, outside his work as Probate Judge, had comparatively little practice. His favorite occupa- tion was acting as a land surveyor at which he was adept, and his knowledge of the adjacent country made his Services very useful. . . . Besides using his surveying instruments, he used his knowledge of the district and the history of the locality, which was far more accurate and thorough than that of any one eise in the place. . . . " That summer Arthur Wentworth Eaton, a native of Kentville, poet, historian, genealogist, came down from Boston on a holiday. He was most interested in King's County history (he afterwards wrote a history of it)x and naturally he and my uncle spent hours discussing the subject, with myself as an interested listener. Probably that is the reason why, ever since, history has been my favorite study." It may be added that he wrote down a great deal of his uncle's local lore and published it in serial form in the local newspaper.2 So far as we know, this was his first appearance in print. It was during this same summer that he decided to leave Dalhousie. Ostensibly the reason was that he could seeure the degree of LL.B. at the University of Michigan after only one more year of study, whereas at Dalhousie the course would last another two years; but he admits in the reminiscences that " I had not entirely got over the Nova Scotian idea that I had to go to the United States if I wanted to get anywhere." September found him at Ann Arbor, where he spent a pleasant winter and completed his studies in the spring of 1889. Soon after graduation he and his classmates took the not very onerous formal examination for the Michigan Bar. Apparently as long as any one student in the group could hazard an answer to a question the result was regarded as satisfactory, and all present (1) A. W. H. Eaton, A History of King's County, Nova Scotia . . . , Salem, Mass., 1910. (2) Presumably the Kentville Advertiser. No copy of these articles may now be in existence, as the Union List of Newspapers indicates that the only nie reported, that in the publisher's office, goes back no farther than 1926. 84 W. Kaye Lamb. April . were duly accepted as Attorneys of the Supreme Court of the State of Michigan. No question of citizenship arose; non- citizens were then freely admitted to practise. From Ann Arbor Robie Reid, now 23 years of age, headed once more for the Far West. He went first to Port Townsend, where for a short time he was a reporter for the local newspaper. Thence he moved to Fairhaven, now South Bellingham, where for two years he was in business as a lawyer, real-estate agent, and insurance salesman. Fairhaven was a boom town, and when the boom ended so did the prosperity of the young lawyer. Happening to meet a friend, A. J. McColl, later Chief Justice of British Columbia, he returned with him to New Westminster, where he was first employed as a " Calligraph Operator," as a typist was then called. Four months later he became chief clerk for Eckstein & Gaynor, one of the pioneer law firms of British Columbia. He was getting back to his last; and the circle was completed when he was admitted to the British Columbia Bar in 1893, and, later the same year, entered into partnership with his friend F. W. Howay to form the firm of Howay & Reid. In the great New Westminster fire of September, 1898, the firm lost its office and the Reids lost their home and its Contents, but the disaster and its after-crop of troubles impelled him to enter civic politics. He served as an alderman in 1899 and 1900, and as a debenture commissioner under the " New Westminster Relief Act" until 1908. He was also a candidate at the Provincial election held on June 9, 1900, when he made a good showing, but was defeated by J. C. Brown by the narrow margin of 88 votes. The firm of Howay & Reid was finally dissolved in 1905, when Dr. Reid decided to leave New Westminster. The following year he moved to Vancouver, where he first entered into partnership with George Cowan, K.C. In 1907, however, he joined W. J. Bowser, K.C, then Attorney-General of British Columbia, and D. S. Wallbridge, to form the firm of Bowser, Reid & Wallbridge.3 He himself was appointed King's Counsel on December 16,1907. (3) For purposes of record it may be well to note that in 1916 the firm became Bowser, Reid, Wallbridge & Douglas; in 1922, upon Mr. Bowser's retirement, Reid, Wallbridge, Douglas & Gibson; in 1925, Reid, Wallbridge & Gibson; and, finally, in 1930, Reid, Wallbridge, Gibson & Sutton. Dr. Reid retired from active practice in April, 1942. 1945 Robie Lewis Reid (1866-1945): A Memoir. 85 Later he became a Bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia, and served in that capacity from 1927 to 1943. The new partnership quickly became one of the leading legal firms in the Province, and its multifarious affairs would have been sufficient to absorb the time and energy of most men. But it was not so with Robie Reid. He always believed in devoting as much time as possible to doing the things he enjoyed doing; no matter how busy he was, he always contrived to devote a f raction of his time to hopes, hobbies, and organizations that had won his interest. The hobbies in particular he followed with a patience and long-term tenacity that only those who knew him well can appreciate. One example is worth recalling. As a young man he became interested in numismatics, and when he came to British Columbia he was intrigued by the story of the little mint at New Westminster, in which a few trial coins were Struck in 1862. As early as 1900 he was recognized by collectors as an authority on the subject, and he contributed an article on "The Gold Coins of British Columbia" to the Numismatist. He was well aware, however, that there was much still to be learned about the episode; the difficulty was that he could devote only odd moments to the search, and the records were widely scattered. Yet he persevered; for 26 years his interest never wavered; and at last in 1926 he was ready to publish his well- known monograph on The Assay Office and the Proposed Mint at New Westminster. His interest in Rudyard Kipling illustrates this same char- acteristic in another field. Kipling's earliest stories and poems enthralled him, and for over forty years he bought each new Kipling title as it came from the press. A new volume about Kipling was on order from England at the time of his death. At one time he lectured frequently upon topics drawn from the poems and tales. An account of one of these talks was sent by a friend to Kipling himself, and soon after, to his surprise and delight, Dr. Reid received a personal letter from the poet. He remarked one time that all his life the thing he had wanted to do more than anything eise was to buy books. To him, indeed, book-buying was far more than a hobby; it was a heart's desire —one of the fundamental things of life; necessary, even when it involved real sacrifice. As soon as he was old enough to have or to earn money he had books; and no home was to him a home W. Kaye Lamb. April unless it had a bookshelf. His first considerable library was burned in the New Westminster fire of 1898, though a few items, including a first edition of Joaquin Miller's poems, picked up in Oregon in 1887, survived. For a few more years his buying was relatively haphazard. Then, sometime during the years 1908-12, when the plans for the establishment of the University of British Columbia were being worked out, it occurred to him that he might assemble and present to the University a comprehensive collection of books dealing with Canadian history and literature, and books by Canadian authors. " In the plenitude of my ignor- ance," he recalled later, " I thought this would mean some two or three thousand volumes, so I started my collecting. with the hope of completing it within a comparatively short time." He soon realized his error, but instead of giving up in discourage- ment he settled down to a systematic study of the whole field of Canadiana, in order to be able to pick and choose intelligently amongst the mass of material available. Card catalogues of the books he owned and those for which he was seeking soon appeared in his office and his home; and through the years the latter grew into an amazing bibliographical file consisting of more than 50,000 cards. The library itself consisted finally of some 9,000 volumes and 4,000 pamphlets, together with a miscel- laneous collection of maps, photographs, and clippings. Although the majority of the books were secured in the East or abroad, many choice items were found locally. Dr. Reid was a shrewd as well as a systematic collector; he delighted to match his wits against those of the book dealers, and -to find on their shelves or in their catalogues some item marked well below its usual market value. In this connection he used to recall that he once purchased a perfectly good Canadian $5 bank-note from an American numismatist for 10 cents! The University lay very close to his heart. He served it for twenty-nine years as solicitor, and for twenty-two years—from 1913 until 1935—he was a member of the Board of Governors. In 1936, a few months after his retirement, the University con- ferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Fit- tingly enough, his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada was announced the same spring. Dr. Reid's community interests were many and varied. Years ago he was a member of the old Vagabonds' Club, a literary 1945 Robie Lewis Reid (1866-1945): A Memoir. 87 group founded by Francis Bursill ("Felix Penne"). Some members of the Club, interested in drama, conceived the idea of starting a Little Theatre in Vancouver. The difficulties were great, but in 1921 the Vancouver Little Theatre Association was launched successfully, with Dr. Reid as its first President. For ten years he was a member of the Vancouver Public Library Board, serving part of the time as Chairman. There were few better-known members of the Vancouver Kiwanis Club, and the gay and intimate atmosphere of the meetings of its Programme committee, in the days when he was practically a standing member, will not soon be forgotten by his colleagues. He was a member of several fraternal orders, but in his heart the Masons had no rival. In 1923 he served as Master of Cascade Lodge, and thereafter the history and practice of Masonry became one of the chief joys. of his life. In 1929, he was chosen Grand Master, and the following year he became Grand Historian. In addition to the numerous biographical sketches and accounts of individual lodges that he contributed to the annual reports of the Grand Lodge, Dr. Reid was engaged upon a detailed history of the Grand Lodge itself. This had been completed in draft form, but failing health delayed the final revision, and it was still incomplete when he died on February 6. Some forty articles from his pen appeared in the Grand Lodge reports. Other contributions are to be found in various Masonic magazines, and in the revised edition of Gould's monumental History of Freemasonry. Most of this material is historical; much of it relates to British Columbia; yet it is probable that very few persons outside the Craft know of its existence. As this suggests, Dr. Reid's writings are widely scattered, and it will be by no means easy to assemble a cheeklist of them. Most students are familiär only with his articles in the well-known historical reviews and his papers in the Transactions of the Royal Society, whereas his hobbies and diverse interests led him far afield. Literature, the law, and numismatics all claimed his attention, while he was always ready to offer a helping hand to a struggling regional periodical. Dr. Reid was a past President of the British Columbia Historical Association, and readers of this Quarterly know how constant and constructive was the assistance he rendered the society. He was virtually the founder of this magazine, for it 88 W. Kaye Lamb. was he who in 1937 undertook to seeure the minimum number of subscribers necessary to launch the venture. He not only more than f ulfilled his promise, but gauged the interests of those he approached so well that the majority of them are still regulär readers of the Quarterly. Few men were blessed with a larger circle of friends; none gave more generously of his friendship. To his intimates the sense of loss is beyond expression. Compensation comes from the memory of many visits and ventures together that one would not for anything have missed. To my own mind come memories of visits to bookshops, and after-hours vigils in the Archives; of long arguments and longer discussions around the great fireplace in his library; of trips together to points as far-flung as Cariboo, Ottawa, Exeter, London, and Paris. Four lines written a decade ago in memory of another friend, dear to me and well-known to him, come instinctively to mind:— You are a part of memories Of all earth's Und and gentle things— Long talks beside the Winter hearth And summer gypsyings. W.. Kaye Lamb. Vancouver, B.C. MEREDITH GAIRDNER: DOGTOR OF MEDIGINE. The earliest doctors in the Pacific Northwest (other than the native medicine men) were those who made cursory visits as medical officers of the maritime expeditions of discovery. Then, some years later, came the surgeons of the fur-trading companies, some serving aboard ship, others on shore. They encountered dangers and hardships of various sorts, and their science was still in a backward state. Consequently, many of them died prematurely from disease or aecident, or otherwise met adversity—so many, in fact, that the early medicos appear to have been a rather unfortunate lot. William Anderson, surgeon of H.M.S. Resolution, of Captain Cook's third and last voyage, died of tuberculosis while off the coast of Alaska on August 3,1778.1 John Mackay, surgeon of James Strange's expedition in 1786, " being very ill of a purple fever," decided to stay at Nootka as the guest of Chief Maquinna until the ship returned next year.2 Strange says the chief promised " that my Doctor should eat the Choicest Fish, the Sound produced; and that on my return, I should find him, as fat as a Whale."3 Instead, Mackay was re- duced to a daily meal of seven dried herrings' heads washed down with whale oil, and was stripped of his clothes and obliged to adopt native dress. More than a year afterwards, Strange having failed to return, he was rescued by Captain Barkley in the Imperial Eagle, looking and smelling so like an Indian that the captain's wife (the first white woman to visit these shores) shunned him as though he had the plague.4 From the fact of his having attended the natives during his stay, he has been called the first resident practising physician on the Northwest Coast.6 (1) Captain James Cook, A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean . . . , London, 1784, IL, p. 440. (2) Captain George Dixon, A Voyage Round the World . . . , Second Edition, London, 1789, pp. 232-3. (3) James Strange's Journal and Narrative . . . , Madras, 1928, p. 22. (4) For Mrs. Barkley's account see W. Kaye Lamb, " The Mystery of Mrs. Barkley's Diary," British Columbia Historical Quarterly, VI. (1942), p. 41. (5) See 0. Larsell, " An Outline of the History of Medicine in the Pacific Northwest," Northwest Medicine, Seattle, XXXI. (1932), pp. 394-5. 90 A. G. Harvey. . April Alexander Purvis Cranstoun, surgeon of the Discovery, of Captain Vancouver's expedition, had to give up his post owing to illness and was invalided home from Nootka in September, 1792.6 Archibald Menzies, who took over Cranstoun's duties, was' the botanist of the expedition, and soon got involved in a quarrel with Vancouver about the care of his plants, with the result that he went home under arrest.7 Doctor White, who came on a ship to Astoria soon after its establishment (1811) " became suddenly deranged, jumped over- board, and was drowned."8 Doctor Crowly, who came from Edinburgh to Fort George (Astoria) as medical officer to the North West Company, was charged with having shot a man in cold blood and sent home to stand trial for murder.9 Mr. Downie, surgeon to the Company's ship Colonel Allan, of London, eommitted suicide by shooting himself in his cabin while off Fort George in 1816.10 The existence of a jinx was conceded by the early f ur-traders. " It had often been a subject of remark among Columbians," says Alexander Ross, " how unfortunate a certain class of professional men had been in that quarter, physicians and surgeons."11 Ross spent fifteen years, 1811-25, in the territory, part of the time at Kamloops. He himself knew something of surgery, having on one occasion performed a delicate Operation and saved the life of Short Legs, a Shuswap chief, whose skull had been fractured by a she-bear.12 But the list continues. John Scouler, medical officer of the Hudson's Bay Company's brig William and Ann, spent his spare time in natural history pursuits. He went too far, however, when he stole three skulls from an Indian burial place in 1825, and was forced to cut short (6) George Godwin, Vancouver, A Life: 1757-1798, London, 1930, pp. 76, 215. • (7) Ibid., pp. 139-42. (8) Alexander Ross, The Für Hunters of the Far West, London, 1855, (9) Ibid. (10) Ibid., pp. 81-2. (11) Ibid., p. 80. (12) Ibid., pp. 163-5. Short Legs' legs evidently were too short. 1945 Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Medicine. 91 his stay and rush aboard ship with a pack of furious natives at his heels.13 Alexander McKenzie, a Hudson's Bay Company's " Surgeon, Trader & Clerk," and four companions were killed by the Indians at Hood Canal in January, 1828, while returning to Fort Vancouver from newly-established Fort Langley.14 Dr. Richard J. Hamlyn, who in 1828 accompanied Governor George Simpson on his memorable " voyage " via the Peace and Fräser rivers to Fort Langley and thence to Fort Vancouver, did not get along with Chief Factor John McLoughlin, and after an open quarrel left in 1830, although his Services were badly needed.16 David Douglas, the botanist of fir-tree fame, and the first white man (other than a fur-trader) to visit the Hudson's Bay Company's posts in the Inferior, was not a medical graduate but won the title of Doctor by his success in giving emergency treatments. He narrowly escaped being drowned in Fort George Canyon of the Fräser River in 1833, only to be gored to death by a wild bull in Hawaii some months later.16 John Frederick Kennedy, an Edinburgh medical graduate, was engaged by the Company in 1829 to practise either afloat or ashore in the Columbia district at £60 per annum. A few months after his arrival at Fort Vancouver a terrible epidemic of " intermittent fever " (malaria) broke out.17 It spread rap- idly and carried off the Indians by the thousands. Whole vil- lages were wiped out, and in the territory along the lower Columbia three-fourths of the natives perished.18 Its ravages were described by a careful observer as "fearful. . . . The beeches [sie] in front of the crowded villages were strewed with dead. The aged and the young and mothers with their babes (13) The Leisure Hour, London, XXXII. (1883), p. 208; Oregon Historical Quarterly, VI. (1905), pp. 224, 279-280. (14) E. E. Rieh (ed.), The Letters of John McLoughlin . . . , First Series, 1825-38, London, 1941, p. 57; R. H. Fleming (ed.), Minutes of Council, Northern Department of Rupert Land, 1821-31, London, 1940, p. 447. (15) Letters of John McLoughlin, First Series, p. xcix. (16) See A. G. Harvey, " David Douglas in British Columbia," British Columbia Historical Quarterly, IV. (1940), pp. 221-243. (17) The epidemic has been referred to under various names. Inter- (18) Letters of John McLoughlin, First Series, p. 88. 92 A. G. Harvey. April remained in the huts to perish; only the more robust flying to the mountains arrested the progress of the malady, and pre- vented it from entirely extirpating the river tribes; smallpox could not have made a more destructive sweep."19 Kennedy soon feil ill of the fever. He recovered, but, dis- satisfied at what he was going through for the sake of less than $25 a month, he gave notice to quit and was transferred to Fort Simpson, away to the North and out of the fever zone.20 This left Fort Vancouver, the headquarters post for the entire Pacific Northwest from California to Alaska, with no doctor except Chief Factor McLoughlin. At one time he had .fifty patients among the Company's people, besides the natives who flocked to the fort in such numbers that he was reluctantly obliged to drive them away. He was kept on the go from daybreak to eleven at night.21. Finally he himself feil ill.22 To relieve this deplorable Situation, the Company sent out two more young Scottish physicians, who arrived in 1833. One of them, William Fräser Tolmie, survived his many trials and tribu- lations and spent the remainder of his long life here.23 The other was another of the unfortunate ones. Meredith Gairdner (the spelling is a Variation of Gardener, which accords with the Scottish pronunciation) was born in Cannon Street, London, on November 27, 1809,24 his parents being Ebenezer and Harriet Gairdner.26 The father was a Scots- (19) George Barnston, in Canadian Naturalist and Geologist, Montreal, V. (1860), p. 269. (20) Letters of John McLoughlin, First Series, pp. 96, 234, 316, 324, 346. (21) Ibid., p. 96. (22) See Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of the Northwest Coast, San Francisco, 1884, IL, p. 504, where conditions at the time of the epidemic are described in some detail. (23) See S. F. Tolmie, " My Father: William Fräser Tolmie," British Columbia Historical Quarterly, I. (1937), pp. 227-240. (24) Letter, T.'H. Graham, Librarian, Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, to the writer, July 11, 1944. (25) See letters, Ebenezer Gairdner to J. H. Pelly, February 23, 1838, Hudson's Bay Company Archives, London, A. 10/6; Harriet Gairdner to William Smith, June 8, 1839, ibid., A. 10/8. These and subsequent refer- ences to documents in the Company's Archives (cited hereafter as H.B. Arch.) are made by kind permission of the Governor and Committee. 1945 Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Medicine. 93 man,26 who ten years later, at the age of 43, took his medical degree at the University of Edinburgh and settled down in the Scottish capital to practise his profession and lecture on Mid- wifery and Diseases of Children.27 His previous occupation is not known. Meredith followed in his father's footsteps at the University and graduated in medicine at the age of 20. His thesis, in Latin and entitled "De Fontibus Calidis,"was on the subject of hot Springs.28 During his course he is said to have " distinguishecE himself by great acuteness, sound judgment, and extensive rang? of knowledge. Meteorology and general physics were with him favourite pursuits:—to geology and zoology he was enthusiasti- cally attached,—and the charms of botany were far from being unknown to him."29 He then went to the Continent and, under Ehrenberg, the great German scientist, made a study of the minute plant and animal organisms found in liquids. He prepared an analysis of Ehrenberg's research on the subject and got it published in an Edinburgh scientific Journal.30 Upon his return to Scotland the investigations that he had made for the preparation of his thesis, together with a visit to the hot Springs in Germany, led to the writing of a comprehensive work on mineral and thermal Springs.31 A book of 420 pages, it was published when he was only 22. He also made the acquaintance of Dr. (afterwards Sir) - William Jackson Hooker, Professor of Botany at the University of Glasgow, and later famous as the first director of Kew Gardens. At that time the study of botany was regarded as ancillary to materia medica, as a means of enabling the prac- titioner to recognize the plants used in medicine when there (26) List of the Graduates in Medicine in the University of Edinburgh, 1867, p. 58. (27) Letter, T. H. Graham, supra. (28) Ibid. (29) Note by the Editor, Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, XIX. (1835), p. 1. (30) " Analysis of Professor Ehrenberg's Researches on the Infusoria," Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, XL (1831), pp. 201-225; XII. (1832), pp. 78-102. (31) Essay on the natural history, origin, compositum and medicinal effects of mineral and thermal Springs, Edinburgh, 1832. 94 A. G. Harvey. April might be no druggist to appeal to. Hooker's herbarium was the largest and most valuäble private collection in the world, and was especially rieh in North American speeimens. McLoughlin's request for two medical assistants was written on October 20,1831,32 but it did not reach the Company in London until early the next summer. Dr. John Richardson, the Arctic explorer, who was well known to the Company. for having travelled through its territories, was approached for suitable candidates; and he in turn got in touch with Hooker, who selected Gairdner and Tolmie.33 Little persuasion seems to have been needed with Gairdner, as he already had been casting his eyes towards for'eign lands where he might satisfy his scientific longings.34 Accordingly, we find both being engaged by the Company. The terms are set forth in this extract from a letter from the Governor and Committee to McLoughlin, dated September 12, 1832 :— In consequence of your requisition for two Surgeons, we have thro' the medium of Dr. Richardson obtained two Gentlemen from Glasgow Dr. Gairdner and Mr. Tolmie, they have been engaged for five years, not only to act in their professional capacities, but also as Clerks at the establishments, to which they may be appointed and you will notice by their contracts, that they are to reeeive the additional pay of apprentice Clerks, and at the expiration of their engagements, should they continue in the Service, they will be eligible for promotion as vacancies fall in, provided their merits equal other Clerks on the establishment.86 The salary as surgeon was to be £100 per annum,36 which was a substantial advance over that at which Kennedy had been engaged only three years before (£60). In addition there was the pay of an apprentice clerk, which was £20 for the first year, £25 for the second, and £30, £40, and £50 for the third, fourth, and fifth years.37 Leaving Gravesend on September 15,1832, in the Company's barque Ganymede, Captain William Ryan, the young men (32) Letters of John McLoughlin, First Series, p. 234. (33) Oregon Historical Quarterly, VI. (1905), p. 307; J. D. Hooker, "A Sketch of the Life and Labours of Sir William Jackson Hooker," Annais of Botany, London, XVI. (1902), p. xxxvii. (34) Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, XIX. (1835), p. 1. (35) H.B. Arch., A. 6/22, fo. 139d. (36) Minutes, Committee, June 6, 1832. H,B. Arch., A. 1/58, fo. 3d. (37) Robert E. Pinkerton, Hudson's Bay Company, London, 1932, p. 285. 1945 Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Medicine. 95 (Gairdner was 22; Tolmie, 20) bravely set out on their long journey to Northwest America via Cape Hörn and the Sandwich Islands. They had joined the " Great Company," whose very name stirred the youthful imagination: "The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay," but now, since the coalition with the North West Company, extending its trade to the Pacific. From remarks of friends we gather that they had been encouraged to believe that they were going forth somewhat in the guise of scientific missionaries. Richardson, who accompanied them from London to the ship, hoped they would make valuäble botanieal collections, since they would " have the opportunity and leisure to do so."38 The editor of the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal (speaking of Gairdner) said: " In that remote region, the presence of such a man cannot but prove advantageous to science, and also to the interests of the Hudson's Bay Company, under whose auspices he is placed. The liberal and enlightened members of that body, we doubt not, will find it to be their interest to encourage and give every facility to Dr. Gairdner."39 To help them to visualize what was in prospect, a visit was made to the gardens of the Horticultural Society of London, to see the wonderful plants which had been collected in Northwest America by Hooker's pupil, David Douglas. But Gairdner was to be bitterly disappointed, as develop- ments will show. The journey—of seven and a half months—was typical of sailing voyages of that day, with the usual vicissitudes of weather, quarreis between captain and crew, and threatened mutiny. The buffeting was too much for a goat which had been taken along to provide milk for the two women passengers; it became injured and had to be killed. Gairdner noted daily the oscillations of the barometer, the temperature of the air, and that of the sea, and took astronomical observations for determining the ship's position.40 Tolmie me- (38) Letter, Richardson to Hooker, October 29, 1832. Original at Kew Gardens. (39) Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, XIX. (1835), p. 1. (40) See " Observations during a Voyage from England to Fort Vancouver, on the North-west Coast of America. By Dr. Meredith Gairdner. In a Letter to Professor Jameson." Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, XVI. (1834), pp. 290-302. A. G. Harvey. April ticulously kept a detailed diary, now in the Provincial Archives, from which we get most of our information about the voyage. They varied the monotony by catching stränge birds and fish (including albatrosses, flying-fish, and a shark), and dissecting them. On Sundays they took turn about in reading prayers and a sermon to the crew, who attended under penalty of losing their rum ration. As is often the case, Gairdner's brilliance was accompanied by conceit. Cool and reserved in manner, he left it to Tolmie to chat with the ladies and to attend them and the crew professional^, although sometimes he was called in for consultation. Tolmie became much annoyed by what he calls Gairdner's " haughty airs of superiority," and towards the end of the voyage they were barely on speaking terms. He says that the two women (Mrs. Charlton, wife of the British Consul at Honolulu, and her sister, Mrs. Taylor), after landing there, summed up Gairdner as " proud & vain of his attainments & aiming at singularity in his manner," an estimate with which he concurred. The only stop (March 28 to April 8, 1833) was at Honolulu. Tolmie described it as "a scattered village built without any apparent order. The Kings country seat, the Mission House & the Billiard Room are the most conspicuous buildings."41 Most numerous were the grog-shops—twenty-one of them. Gairdner and Tolmie separately explored the island (Oahu) on horseback, each with a party of native guides, but they joined in climbing Mount Kaala, the highest point (4,030 feet). By barometric calculations Gairdner estimated its altitude at 3,890 feet. He wrote a report on the island's geography and geology, the first of its kind, which he sent home for publication.42 It was reprinted at Honolulu, with the comment: " . . . it is . . . of great and permanent value, exhibiting the most scientific and correct geological account of the Island of Oahu with which we are acquainted . . ."43 (41) William Fräser Tolmie, Diary, in Provincial Archives. Entry for March 28, 1833. (42) " Physico-Geognostic Sketch of the Island of Oahu, one of the Sandwich Group." By Meredith Gairdner, M.D., Medical Resident on the Columbia River, Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, XIX. (1835), pp. (43) Hawaiian Spectator, Honolulu, I. (1838), pp. 1-18. 1945 Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Medicine. 97 The immorality prevailing is referred to by Tolmie with the remark that on the day they left Honolulu the Fawn, an American brig, arrived with "about a hundred prostitutes. Every Jocky had his Jenny gazing at us as we passed." Leaving on April 8 with a supply of live stock (hogs, goats, turkeys, ducks, fowls, and even a bullock), the Ganymede arrived off Cape Disappointment on the 30th. She entered the river next day and Gairdner and Tolmie were taken off in a canoe and landed at Fort George (formerly, and later, Astoria). The same evening they proceeded up the river in a canoe manned by five Indians and a Kanaka, with an Orkneyman, John More, as interpreter and guide. The two medical men were ensconced on cedar-bark mats in the bottom of the canoe—to wonder at their slowly changing surroundings by day, and to sleep by night. The party arrived half famished at Fort Vancouver at 3 a.m. on May 4, after travelling all night. The Indians along the way had refused to seil them salmon because the fish were the first caught that season, and they believed that if these were not roasted in the right native manner the fish would desert the river. Heartily welcomed by McLoughlin, and given three break- fasts at suitable intervals, they began their professional duties immediately. They visited the patients, "pretty numerous & • have been divided between us," and sorted and arranged the medicines in the Apothecaries' Hall which adjoined the school- room. Their attendant was a Sandwich Island boy, Namahama, who was slow but docile.44 The Situation seemed to call for an end to the ill-feeling which had come between them during the voyage, and after a heart-to-heart talk they became completely reconciled. At Tolmie's Suggestion they had their sleeping quarters together, among the medicine chests and shelves in the Apothecaries' Hall. The floor and walls were of wood, the boards in some places being two or three inches apart. They closed these crevices in the walls by pasting brown paper or "leather." They divided off part of the hall for a surgery, finding the supply of surgical instrumenta "excellent," although there was need (44) Extracts from Tolmie's Diary regarding their arrival and conditions and incidents at Fort Vancouver are contained in Washington Historical Quarterly, Seattle, III. (1912), pp. 229-241, and in Larseil, op. cit, pp. 483-5. A. G. Harvey. April of some cupping glasses (for bleeding the patient) and a needles (for tying up the vein afterwards). Keen lovers of nature, both were captivated by the grand scenery—far more m,ajestic than anything in their native land. "Particularly were they attracted by " the colossal Mount Hood,"46 which Gairdner wished could be " transported to Britain, within reach of so many men illustrious in the annals of physical research."46 After a bare two weeks' work together, Tolmie was sent to the newly-established post at Nisqually, leaving Gairdner to carry on alone. He was kept busy. The malaria had broken out again and there were many cases, among them McLoughlin and his son and daughter. By fall he had attended between two and three hundred patients.47 About this time a hospital was erected, the first attempt at permanent hospitalization in the Pacific Northwest.48 By another year (only a year and a half after his arrival) he had treated more than 650 cases, most of them malarial.49 Among the hospital patients who were brought back to health by "the excellent and skilful care of Doctor Gairdner"60 was William J. Bailey, a young medical student who had run away from his home in England, and, while on a trapping expedition. northward from California, had been horribly tomahawked and left for dead by the Rogue River Indians. Bailey remained and became one of Oregon's pioneer physicians and a member of the executive committee of its provisional government.61 One Operation that Gairdner performed was so exceptional that it had far-reaching reverberations. The patient (if such he can be called) was an Indian who used to dress up as a woman, go aboard visiting ships and off er himself to the sailors. Flog- (45) Tolmie, Diary. Entry for May 8, 1833. (46) " Observations . . . ," in Edinburgh New Philosophical Magazine, XVI. (1834), p. 302. (47) Larseil, op. cit, p. 485. (48) Ibid. (49) Letter, Gairdner to Hooker, November 7, 1834. Kew Gardens. (50) John K. Townsend; Narrative of a Journey across the Rocky Mountains, Philadelphia, 1839, p. 229. (51) Ibid., pp. 228-9; A. J. Allen, Ten Years in Oregon, Travels and Adventures of Doctor E. White and Lady, West of the Rocky Mountains, Ithaca, N.Y., 1850, pp. 111-4; Larseil, op. cit, pp. 534-5. 1945 Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Medicine. 99 ging having failed to stop his mischief, a terrible and lasting punishment was decided upon. Some sailors seized the rascal and got Gairdner to castrate him (whether by force or by trickery is not stated). He probably got little sympathy from either his own people or the whites, and McLoughlin, who heard of it almost immediately, seems to have made no stir. However, some one who evidently had a grievance against McLoughlin or the Company (perhaps both) went before the British Consul at Honolulu, Richard Charlton, and made deposition charging McLoughlin with responsibility for the Operation. Charlton sent the deposition to the Foreign Office in London, but news of it got across the Pacific to Fort Vancouver, whereupon McLoughlin wrote to the Company:— I am informed that Mr. Charlton the British Consul at Woahoo, has given out that some one has made a deposition before him and which he has forwarded to the Foreign Office, that I had emasculated an Indian or ordered an Indian to be emasculated. I never ordered an Indian or any one eise to be emasculated. I wrote to Mr. Charlton by this opportunity to request him to forward me a copy of this deposition but perhaps he may refuse to send it. May I request your Honors to do me the favor to cause enquiries to be made at the Foreign office, to know if such a deposition has been sent, as endeavouring to fasten such a report on me is a gross and an atrocious Then, apparently on second thought deciding he had better dis- close all he knew about the incident, he added as a postscript:— It is true that an Indian was emasculated by Dr. Gairdner but without my knowledge or consent, the fact is the fellow used to dress himself up as a female and go on board the Vessels and offer himself to the Sailors, the latter mentioned this and flogged the fellow several times to prevent his repeating his offences, but this did not put a stop to his proceedings, at last the sailors got hold of him and Dr. Gairdner emasculated him and I only heard of it half an hour after the Operation had been performed.62 Skilful and successful in his work as Gairdner was, yet in one case he failed completely. It baffled him for the rest of his life. It was the case of himself. One day in March, 1835, he coughed up some blood. Recur- rences confirmed his suspicion as to what the trouble was: pulmonary tuberculosis (" consumption "), which diagnosis was confirmed by McLoughlin. He was, of course, greatly upset, and wrote the Company that he was " quite at a loss to account for (52) Letters of John McLoughlin, First Series, pp. 185-6. 100 A. G. Harvey. April a probable cause, as up to the moment of my seizure & previously I had enjoyed the most perfect health."63 In an earlier letter to Hooker he attributed it to disappointment; nor was it disappointment in love.64 Gairdner had found his position at Fort Vancouver quite unlike what he had expected. When he engaged with the Company he understood that his duties would not take up all his time, and that in his leisure he could travel about the country and indulge his bent for botany, geology, and other natural history subjects. Upon his arrival, things turned out to be very different. His work was onerous, owing chiefly to the recurrent outbreaks of malaria, and when there was any let-up, instead of being allowed to take nature-study jaunts, he was expected to assist at the Indian Hall in trade with the natives. He had little or no time for hobbies. " Opportunities of visiting even the environs of the Fort are few and far between," he wrote Hooker a few months after his arrival. " My collections of plants in N.W. America are as yet but small having made but one small journey into the country of the Walamet river, ground already traversed by Douglas." He envied that botanist's freedom, continuing: " The true method of examining this country is to follow the plan of Douglas, whether with the view of investigating the geognostic, botanical or zoological riches of the country."66 More than a year later he again complained to Hooker of the close confmement to duty: ". . . scientific researches are quite out of the question in their [the Company's] service however liberal they may be in encouraging them in persons unconnected with them."66 He also got his father to write Richardson, asking him to intercede with the Company. (He had sent Richardson a collection of Columbia River fish but they arrived spoiled, owing to the alcohol leaking out.)67 (53) Letter, Gairdner to William Smith, May 17, : A. 10/3. (54) Letter, Gairdner to Hooker, November 19, 1835. (55) Letter, Gairdner to Hooker, August 31, 1833. I (56) Ibid., November 7, 1834. (57) Letter, Richardson to Hooker, July 1, 1835. I had better luck in sending plants home. Some are at Kei woods are at the herbarium of the British Museum. H.B. Arch., Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Medicine. 101 The only natural history trip he was able to make was the one to the Willamette Valley referred to above. A proposal to climb Mount St. Helens,68 then in volcanic eruption, had to be abandoned. A study of the salmon of the Columbia and their habits69 did not take him from Fort Vancouver. Daily meteoro- logical observations that he made at the Fort60 were dull routine. Regarded as an able physician and surgeon and a scientist of wide knowledge (his opinion was sought on such matters as the origin of the dalles of the Columbia, the eruption of St. Helens,61 and the composition of a mineral specimen from the Queen Charlotte Islands),62 he nevertheless was denied the opportunities for further knowledge, and required to serve behind a counter and weigh out sugar and measure tobacco for the natives. This was the disappointment that he blamed for his illness. From the terms of his engagement it would appear that he either did not read the contract caref ully or was misinf ormed as to what his duties were to be. Possibly he was misled by Richardson or Hooker. In any event he stood upon his professional dignity and resented having to act as a store-clerk. He was a doctor of medicine. But, correct as was his diagnosis of the nature of his illness, he was not entirely right as to its origin. Disappointment and worry may lower one's resistance to disease and thus be con- tributing factors in tuberculosis, but they are not the primary cause. He cannot be blamed for the error, however, since con- temporary medical knowledge was sadly lacking; not for many years after did the germ origin of the disease become known. In all probability he had a dormant infection when he came to the Columbia (most adults have been infected),63 and by over- work stirred it into active disease; or possibly he got the infec- Kew Gardens. i Francisco, 1886, I p. 35. (60) Meredith Gairdner, " Meteorological Observations made at Fort Vancouver from 7 June, 1833, to 31 May, 1834," Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, XX. (1836), pp. 67-8. (61) See for example Samuel Parker, Journal of an Exploring Tour beyond the Rocky Mountains, 4th ed., Ithaca, N.Y., 1844, pp. 139-140. (62) Letters of John McLoughlin, First Series, p. 115. (63) See Maurice Fishberg, Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Philadelphia, 1932, IL, pp. 287-9. 102 A. G. Harvey. April tion while attending some patient who had the disease—perhaps (as happens often to-day) one who did not know he had it, and was suffering from some other trouble. Methods of treatment likewise were mediseval. The modern rest-cure was, of course, unknown. Even if it had been, the idea of a skilled physician lying in bed doing nothing day after day, month after month, in the midst of patients, some more ill than he, all needing his ministrations, would have been as impossible for Gairdner as for the Company. Venesection was still the Standard " cure-all." Accordingly, he sought to relieve the blood- pressure in his lungs and stop the haemorrhage by bleeding himself from a vein in each arm.64 We may note that about the same time, on the other side of the continent, an occupant of the White House, having at his command the latest discoveries of medical science and all the advantages of civilized society, was treating himself in this same heroic way. President Andrew Jackson, we are told, would often call a servant to hold a bowl while he opened a vein in his arm and bled himself in a desperate effort to ward off a pulmonary haemorrhage.66 Receiving no substantial benefit from this treatment, Gairdner obtained leave of absence from McLoughlin to visit Fort Walla Walla, in the hope that its dry climate would help him. McLoughlin wrote the clerk in charge, Pierre Chrysologue Pamb- run, " to do your best to make his stay with you, as comfortable to him as you possibly can,"66 and told Gairdner to remain " tili you have derived all the advantage you possibly can, from being at that place, as your Health must be the first consideration."67 (64) Letter, Gairdner to Hooker, November 19, 1835, Kew Gardens; George B. Roberts, Recollections, MS., Bancroft Library, p. 12. Roberts, a young naval apprentice (afterwards, treasurer and probate judge of Wahkiakum County, Washington) assisted Gairdner by binding up his arms. Also present, at what was probably one of his earliest lessons in surgery, was 11-year-old William C. McKay, who became the first native- son physician in the Pacific Northwest. (65) Fishberg, op. cit, p. 424. In cases of severe haemorrhage some medical authorities have recommended bleeding, even in recent years. Ibid., pp. 424-5. (66) McLoughlin to Pambrun, May 14, 1835. H.B. Arch., B. 223/b/ll, fo. 12. (67) McLoughlin to Gairdner, June 14, 1835. H.B. Arch., B. 223/b/ll, 1945 Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Medicine. 103 He arrived in the latter part of May, 1835, and found it a quiet place compared with bustling Fort Vancouver. The natives themselves were more sedate than those of the lower river " and have a more noble and mänly aspect. They are generally powerful men, at least 6 feet high. None of the women come about the fort. . . . Though there are about 50 Indians round the Fort, with everything open to them, and nobody in it but Pambroon [sie], H.B.C.'s Clerk, the interpreter, one or two boys and myself, all is quiet. In the evening the Indians say their prayers under one of the bastions . . ." He'attended one of their religious Services and " was Struck with the earnestness and reverence of the whole assembly."68 Not knowing the importance of rest in the treatment of his disease, he could not forego the opportunity of exploring the country, an opportunity he had been awaiting for two years. Accordingly he made a horseback trip over the Blue Mountains and down into the Grande Ronde Valley and back, a journey of 200 or 300 miles and lasting several days. Notwithstanding this, he returned to Fort Vancouver after an absence of about ten weeks feeling improved in health. However, the malaria had broken out once more, and the pressure of his professional and other duties brought on a relapse. Then, seeing no prospect of his work easing, he decided to leave his position for the time being and make an extended sojourn in the Sandwich Islands.69 At this period the equable climate of the Islands was con- sidered to be highly beneficial to pulmonary sufferers, and it was authoritatively recommended. One doctor even advised patients as far distant as the Atlantic seaboard to seek relief in the balmy breezes of the mid-Pacific, notwithstanding the vicissitudes of the long voyage around Cape Hörn.70 (68) " Notes on the Geography of the Columbia River." By the late Dr. Gairdner, M.D. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, London, XI. (1841), pp. 256-7. (69) Letter, Gairdner to Hooker, November 19, 1835. Kew Gardens. (70) "Remarks on the Sandwich Islands; their Situation, Climate, Diseases, and their suitableness as a resort for individuals affected with or predisposed to Pulmonary Diseases." By Alonzo Chapin, M.D., late a resident missionary at those Islands. American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Philadelphia, XX. (1837), pp. 43-58; reprinted in Hawaiian Spectator, Honolulu, I. (1838), pp. 248-267. In contrast to this is the cautious paper, " Remarks on the Climate of the Sandwich Islands, and its probable effects 104 A. G. Harvey. April Before leaving the Columbia, Gairdner engaged in a fool- hardy venture in the cause of science which jeopardized his life and aggravated his disease. The Indian custom of elongating the skull by compressing the forehead in infancy interested him, and he decided to procure a specimen for study by British scien- tists, notwithstanding the risk he was assuming, since the natives held sacred their burial places and gave short shrift to tres- passers. The sample he chose was the skull of none other than the great chieftain Concomly, who had died a few years pre- viously. He succeeded in the escapade and sent the skull to Richardson, who presented it to the museum of the Royal Naval Hospital at Haslar, near Portsmouth, where it is preserved; but he obtained it only with much difficulty, and the exertion and excitement brought on a severe haemorrhage.71. He left Fort Vancouver late in September, 1835, and on reaehing Honolulu found haven with the American missionaries. He was down-hearted and had faint hope of recovery.72 Never- theless he longed to know more of the virgin territory on the mainland, to explore the region of the Upper Columbia and its branches, to see the wonderful Rocky Mountains and the great prairies on the other side—to roam through wood, along river bank, and up mountain slope, in search of interesting plants, shrubs, mosses, fish, birds, stones, and other specimens of nature. So, with a sort of hope against hope, he wrote the Company requesting either greater freedom to pursue his natural history researches, or permission to travel through the country on resign- ing his position. He enlisted the support of Richardson and Hooker, with the result that the Governor and Committee agreed to the latter proposal.73 However, the concession was frowned on by Governor Simpson in America, who wrote McLoughlin confidentially: " Should Dr. Gairdner determine on quitting the on men of bilious habits and on constitutions predisposed to pulmonary affections," by Gerrit P. Judd, M.D., Honolulu, Hawaiian Spectator, I. (1838), pp. 18-27. (71) See A. G. Harvey, " Chief Concomly's Skull," Oregon Historical Quarterly, XL. (1939), pp. 161-7. A photograph of the skull accompanies (72) Letter, Gairdner to Hooker, November 19, 1835. Kew Gardens. (73) Letters, Gairdner to Hooker, November 19, 1835; Richardson to Hooker, September 19, 1836. Kew Gardens. 1945 Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Medicine. 105 Service it may be well to discourage his Coming across the mountains, but that he should retur'n to England by the Ship, as I understand he is collecting materials for the press, and it is not desirable that our trade should be brought under public notice."74 Gairdner also wrote Simpson direct that he would resume his duties if they were "made exclusively medical, with an increase in salary," an offer which was declined with the reply that " highly as you stand in our estimation, we do not consider it advisable to accept the offer you have made of your Services on the terms proposed, as they are at variance with the usage of the service."76 The Company's territory might be growing up, but not the Company! And on Gairdner's departure, McLoughlin had been obliged to engage in his place a visiting naturalist, James K. Townsend, who was an American and not a doctor.76 Early in 1836, Gairdner left Honolulu (the wind and dust there were not good for his disease) and went to Kailua, on the west coast of the island of Hawaii, which was regarded as the best location for pulmonary sufferers owing to its elevation and dry atmosphere.77 Here he spent several months between the homes of Rev. Artemas Bishop and Rev. Asa Thurston.78 But there was no continued improvement in his condition, and in May he wrote the Company; "... I fear there is little chance of their [the Islands'] fine climate being beneficial, the disease had already laid too firm a hold on the Constitution. As yet there is no mitigation in the severity or unfavourable char- acter of the Symptoms My only regret is that there was not an earlier opportunity of resorting to a change of climate but this was unavoidable. I conclude of course that my salary ceases from Sept. 1835 the period of my leaving the Columbia, (74) Simpi o McLoughlin, Jur 1836. H.B. Arch., D. 4/22, fo. (75) Simpsor 24d-25. (76) Letters pp. 485-6: (77) Judd, o (78) Letters, Originals in the Honolulu. l to Gairdner, June 24, 1836. H.B. Arch., D. 4/22, : of John McLoughlin, First Series, p. 203; Larsell, op. , 106 A. G. Harvey. April Whether I shall ever be able to return to my duty, time only can shew."79 During the summer he suffered much from the heat,80 and his death was expected. In August, Thurston wrote:— ... Dr. Gairdner ... has returned to Mr. Bishop's house. He finds there is considerable difference in the degrees of heat between that house & ours, & it is more retired is another consideration. He is fond of being alone, though he likes short & frequent calls. He is gradually wast- ing away. He was able to attend our communion the last sabbath. He thinks it will, in all probability, be the last time he will have to attend. I see at present Symptoms of immediate dissolution. He gives evidence of being prepared for the event, whenever it shall come. May the Lord be with him in his last hours. He lately received a large packet of letters from his friends by the Clarion. His parents are living, & he has one sister. He had one brother who died; so that he is now the only son of his parents remaining. He remarked the other day, that he wished to write one more letter to his sister, though he had long since given them all his farewell, but he feared he should not be able, as it was a very great exer- tion for him to write now. He has given a valuäble present of philosophical instruments to the High School [at Lahainaluna, Maui] which I forwarded by the Clarion. He remarked to me respecting them, that to send them home, would be like sending coal to New Castle, & to leave the disposal of them in writing, it would be very easy to misinterpret one's intentions, he therefore chose to place them where they would be most usef ul, as he had been inf ormed that they were in want of such instruments.81 Contrary to Thurston's expectations, he pulled through, and in October was able to return to Honolulu.82 During Gairdner's stay in the Islands he was too ill to do anything and did not attempt to practise his profession. His life's work was done—done in the short two years on the Columbia. He was too weak to return there, even had he been encouraged to do so. This picture of him is given by Hiram Bingham, another missionary:— During the progress of his disorder, for fifteen months, the failure of his voice rendering it difficult to converse much, made him feel more keenly the want of society and of the comforts of home, and yet rendered every (79) Gairdner to William Smith, May 17, 1836. H.B. Arch., A. 10/3. (80) Letter, Thurston to Chamberlain, August 1, 1836. Hawaiian Mission Children's Society, Honolulu. (81) Letter, Thurston to Chamberlain, August 10, 1836. Ibid. (82) Letter, Lucy G. (Mrs. Asa) Thurston to Levi Chamberlain, October 15, 1836. Ibid. 1945 Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Medicine. 107 free indulgence in conversation the means of fatiguing him, or of increasing the bronchial irritation. His alternative sometimes perhaps pursued to weariness, was applica- tion to reading, meditation and prayer. The Greek Testament, the Septua- gint, the Eng. Polyglot Bible, Leighton's Com on Peter, Baxter's Saints' Rest, the Biographies of Howard, Brainerd, Mrs. Judson, and books of this kind, with some works connected with his former favourite studies, were his daily companions.88 Bingham also has much to say regarding Gairdner's attitude towards Christianity, alleging that until his arrival from the Columbia Gairdner " did not cherish the love of God in his heart. He did not acknowledge his claims, tili he was merci- fully called, by the failure of his health, to explore the path to a better country." Then, aecording to the missionary, Gairdner " took up the gospel and looked at its claims, as a rational man accountable for the proper exercise of his reasoning powers, as well as for the disposition and affections of his heart," with the result that He saw the truth, the beauty, the fitness, the necessity, and the value of the Christian system. . . . On the 6th of Dec. 1835, he made a public profession of his faith in Christ, took on himself humbly the vows of his covenant, and was admitted to the Communion of his table at this place [Honolulu], not, strictly speak- ing as a member of our particular Church, but, (at his own express request, against which we saw no insuperable objeetion in his peculiar circumstances) as a member of the Church of Christ in general; desiring to imi- tate the fellowship of the saints in heaven where there is no room or occasion for denominational distinetions. The change in Gairdner's attitude gave him great peace of mind, says Bingham, who quotes him as saying:— I solemnly aver that I would not exchange my present State of soul for restoration to health with the certainty of many years of its vigorous enjoy- ment with my former State of mind as to the affairs of eternity. I have indeed reason to say from the bottom of my heart " It is good for me that I have been afflicted." These statements (and more in like vein) were made in a long letter to Thurston which was written after Gairdner's death and published in a Honolulu newspaper.84 They brought a caus- tic reply from an anonymous friend of Gairdner's who aecused (83) Letter, H. Bingham to Rev. A. Thurston, April 7, 1837, Ke Kumu Hawaii (newspaper), Honolulu, April 26, 1837. Reprinted in Sandwieh Island Gazette, Honolulu, December 15 and 22, 1838. (84) Ibid. 108 A. G. Harvey. April Bingham of " wilfully misconstruing the words of a dying man: for what sinister purpose, to what ignoble end, let his conscience, if not case-hardened against remorse, answer." " Gairdiner, poor fellow! " he continued, " was not a wolf in sheeps cloth- ing, ' he was not one of those who do works to be seen of the world; who make broad there phylaceries, and enlarge the borders of their garments.' No! his feelings of devotion were not manifested by outward Symbols; he used no set form of speech tending to impress the purblind observer with an idea of superior sahctity; no sanctimonious phrases issued from his mouth, emanated from his pen, to disgust others with their specious gloze; in short he acted not in any manner, as if influenced by the pharisaical spirit which we so frequently see manifested. Notwithstanding all this, Merideth Gairdiner, I hesitate not to say, was a man deeply imbued with sentiments of devotion towards the Almighty; while his faith in the existence of our Saviour, and reverence of doctrines inculcated by the new testament, were no less conspicuously developed than the other primary Points of faith which I have mentioned." Gairdner's protagonist went on to charge that "the truth has been distorted; that words have been coined as wanted, and put down as originating from our friend," and concluded by calling Bingham " a sort of spiritual despot," actuated by " pride, vain glory and hypocricy."85 Neither Bingham nor his critic made mention (perhaps they did not know) of Gairdner's part in conducting divine Services during the voyage from England—behaviour hardly credible of an agnostie. Moreover, Bingham's allegations are contradicted by Levi Chamberlain, of the mission staff, who wrote in his Journal regarding Gairdner's profession of Christianity: " He is from Scotland: His Parents of the Scotch church & he of that Communion tho. he had never been confirmed. This act of his here is viewed in the light of Confirmation. This is his wish as I understand. . . . He is a man of science and polished man- (85) Letter, "Friend to Gairdener, To , Esq Oahu," Sandwicl Island Gazette, Honolulu., December 15, 1838. The mistakes in spelling etc., occur in the original. (86) Levi Chamberlain, Journal, MS., Hawaiian' Mission Children'i Society, Honolulu. See also Gairdner's letter to Bingham, November 8 1834, sympathetically mentioning McLoughlin's efforts to reduce the con sumption of liquor among the Indians and the missionary work of Jasoi Lee and Daniel Lee, who had recently arrived on the Columbia. Georgi Verne Blue (ed.), " Green's Missionary Report on Oregon," Oregon His torical Quarterly, XXX. (1929), p. 270. 1945 Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Medicine. 109 His disease continued to its final stage. He passed away on March 26, 1837, in his 28th year, at the home of Mr. Sullivan, next door to that of Rev. John Diell, chaplain of the Seamen's Chapel at Honolulu, and two days later was buried in the grave- yard of the mission.87 This old cemetery is still in existence, being situated between Kawaiahao Church and Kawaiahao Street.88 The funeral was conducted by the missionaries, and at the grave they used the " burial service of the Episcopal Church, to which," says Bingham, " his preferences were supposed to be inclined."89 The Church of England was not yet established in Honolulu. On the following Sunday, Diell preached a memorial sermon at his chapel, which was well-filled. A grave- stone was erected and still Stands. It has this inscription: MEREDITH GAIRDNER, M. D., son of Dr. E. and Mrs. H. Gairdner, Edinburgh, late surgeon to the H. H. B. co. who died in the faith and hope of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ March 26,1837; Honolulu, aged 28. An only son—a f ather's pride and care Fond object of a mother's ceaseless prayer— Endowments rieh adorned his vigorous mind Health, science, f riendship, f ame, their aid combined. While Nature's works he traced with eager eye, Whose guidance failed to lead above the sky, Her Author handed down the Book of TRTJTH— He scann'd the sacred page, and feit its worth.90 (87) Sandwich Island Gazette, April 1, 1837; letter, Bingham to Thurston, April 7, 1837, supra; Chamberlain, Journal, supra. (88) Letter, Bernice Judd, Librarian, Hawaiian Mission Children's Society, to writer, August 17, 1944. (89) Letter, Bingham to Thurston, April 7, 1837, supra. (90) Letter, Bernice Judd to the writer, August 17, 1944. 110 A. G. Harvey. April Despite the missionaries' concern over Gairdner's spiritual affairs they received no benefits under his will. Made only eleven days before his death, it left a fund of four or five hundred dollars to the Oahu Charity School,91 which was not a mission enterprise, and appointed as executor George Pelly, Honolulu agent of the Hudson's Bay Company.92 Apparently the residuary legatee was Gairdner's mother.93 As is fitting, Gairdner's name has been given to four species in the realm of nature that he loved so much. Two of them are wild flowers. Carum Gairdneri Gray is a caraway found in dry open places and in thickets in various parts of the Pacific Northwest. Its sweet, nutty roots were an Indian food. Pentstemon Gairdneri Hook, is a beard-tongue found in the dry regions of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada. Next is Dryobates pubescens gairdneri, or Gairdner Woodpecker, a bird of the West Coast resembling, but smaller than, the common Harris Woodpecker. Last is Salmo gairdneri (so named by Richardson) the well-known steelhead salmon or salmon trout, found in the sea and coastwise streams from California to Alaska. Meredith Gairdner: unfortunate pioneer physician. Is that all we shall say of him? Shall we pityingly pass him by merely as one who held the medical post at old Fort Vancouver for a brief period and whose promising career was cut off too soon? Nay, more. Unfortunate though he was, let us look on him as the first Hudson's Bay Company doctor in the Pacific Northwest who regarded himself as a professional man, and believed his spare time ought to be spent in furthering the interests not of trade but of science, even though it meant clashing with the " Great Company." It was a period of transition: the fur-trade was going out; settlers were Coming in. Their medical men were not far behind (the first, Marcus Whitman, arrived the year after Gairdner left), but before they came Gairdner attended the population in general. Included, no doubt, were some of the early pioneers, as well as the Company's people from (91) Hawaiian Spectator, Honolulu, I. (1838), pp. 29-30-. The fund came from the sale of clothing and other effects bequeathed for that purpose. Sandwich Island Gazette, Honolulu, April 8 and 15, 1837. (92) Letter, Bingham to Thurston, April 7, 1837, supra. (93) Letters, Harriet Gairdner to William Smith, June 8 and 20, 1839. H.B. Arch., A. 10/8. 1945 Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Medicine. 111 various parts of its vast domain. On the whole, therefore, we may say that Meredith Gairdner, short though his term of Service was, played no small part in the early development of the country, and made a distinct contribution to the establishment of medicine on a sound footing. Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Medicine. A. G. Harvey. Vancouver, B.C. THE ROYAL NAVY ON THE NORTHWEST COAST, 1813-1850. Part IL The Royal Navy was particularly active on the Northwest Coast in 1846; no-less than five of Her Majesty's ships we?e clustered there during the summer. In part this was due to the critical state of the Oregon boundary question, but routine patrols and surveying duties helped to account for their presence. The Modeste lay in the Columbia River, near Fort Vancouver, throughout the year. First of the new arrivals was the 1,069- ton frigate Fisgard, 42 guns.49 To her Commander, Captain John Alexander Duntze,60 Admiral Seymour had given the following wise and restrained instructions, under date of January 14, 184651:— ... the principle [sie] object for which you are detached is to afford Protection to Her Majesty's Subjects in Oregon and the North West Coast early in the approaching Spring, and in the event of no urgent cause appear- ing for your postponing the execution of that important Service, you are to proceed to the Straits of Juan de Fuca, timing your arrival as early as possible in the Month of April. You will endeavour, on your arrival, to communicate with Fort Victoria, a Settlement of the Hudson's Bay Company on the South side of Vancouver's, or Quadra Island, in the above Straits: There you will be probably able to gain intelligence of the State of Affairs in Oregon, and to procure the assistance of a Pilot, or the Steam Vessel of the Company to facilitate your entry into Puget's Sound, to which you will proceed. (49) Second of the name. Built at Pembroke in 1819; designed after the French frigate Leda. Commissioned by Captain Duntze for the Pacific Station May 13, 1843; sailed from Plymouth July 16, 1843; sailed from Valparaiso, homeward bound, May 17,1847; arrived at Spithead September 18, 1847. (50) Entered the Navy, 1818; Lieutenant, May 28, 1825; Commander, April 19, 1828; Captain, December 24, 1829. While in command of the Tribüne, 42, he served in the blockade at Callao, and captured the Peruvian corvette Libertad, laden with dollars. Rear-Admiral, July 9, 1855; Viee- Admiral, May 20,1862; Admiral, December 2, 1865. Retired, April 1,1870. See O'Byrne, p. 318; Walbran, p. 160. (51) Seymour to Duntze, January 14, 1846, in Adm. 1/5561; Public Record Office, London. British Columbia Historical Quarterly, Vol. IX., No. 2. 113 114 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. April From Port Nasqually at the upper part of that Inlet, or other c( Anchorage, you will place yourself in communication, by way of the Settlement on the Cowlitz, with Fort Vancouver on the Columbia, employing for that purpose, Officers whose prudence and intelligence may be relied upon; and you will cause them to be accompanied by a sufficient party to seeure them against the attacks of predatory Indians, or other ill-disposed persons; avoiding any Military display if the Country is in Peace, and being guided ä% to the number, by the intelligence received at Nasqually or Fort Victoria. You are to obtain every information from the Heads of the Hudson's Bay Company, or leading British Settlers, and will form your opinion in what manner the Rights of Her Majesty's Subjects in that Territory may be best secured; observing that no infraction of the rights of the Settlers of the United States in the Country, under the Convention at present in force, is to be attempted, and that it is des'irable the peace of the Territory should be preserved during the pending negociations [sie], while hopes remain of the question between the two Governments being brought to an amicable issue. If you should find that under the influence of a Contrary Spirit, the Citizens of the United States have entered upon any proceedings which are of a hostile character to the just rights of Her Majesty's Subjects, or that they are employed in the erection of Forts or Strongholds to enable them to hold an adverse Military possession of the Country, you are to remonstrate against such proceedings, and if necessary, to cause the entrance of any of Her Majesty's Sloops of War which may be ordered off the N.W. Coast, into the Columbia, and even of the Fisgard; but as the difficulties of the River are Considerable, you are to abstain from that step unless it should become essential, and that you have reason to believe your presence will afford British Subjects due security. At, or towards the conclusion of the Summer, if you should have reason to consider the continuation of the Fisgard's Services are no longer essential to protect Her Majesty's Subjects on the North West Coast, and you shall have received no further directions for your guidance, you are to return to San Blas by the latter part of November, calling at San Francisco or Monterey, on your way to ascertain if British Interests require your aid. While on the North West Coast, you are to make it your endeavour to preserve a friendly State of feeling on the part of the Natives, Canadians, and all others who frequent the Shores; and you are to obtain every information in your power as soon as possible after your arrival, whether the Coals which are represented to abound on the Northern part of Vancouver's Island can be collected in sufficient quantity to afford a Supply for Steam Fuel, and respecting the Provisions which the Hudson's Bay Company may have the means of affording to your Ship's Company. . . . The Fisgard entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca and anchored in Port Discovery on April 30. On May 5 she moved over and 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 115 anchored near Fort'Victoria, where she received supplies from the Hudson's Bay Company. On the 13th she weighed anchor and proceeded into Admiralty Inlet, and on the 18th was moored at Nisqually, where she remained until October. Special interest attaches to the next arrival, H.M.S. Cor- morant,™ 6 guns, for she was a paddle-sloop—the first man-of- war with steam engines to visit the Northwest Coast. She was a vessel of 1,057 tons, built at Sheerness in 1842, and was fitted with engines of 300 horse-power. She had been sent north by Admiral Seymour to assist the sailing craft by towing them through the narrow and tide-bound Channels. She was com- manded by Captain George Thomas Gordon,63 who had served almost continuously in steamers since 1832, and whom Seymour characterized as " one of the best steam officers in Her Majesty's service."64 The exact date of the Cormorant's arrival is not available, but it was probably about the middle of June, for, as we shall see, she was in the Strait and took the surveying ships Herald and Pandora in tow on the 24th of the month. On July 11 she arrived at Nisqually, with the brig Rosalind in tow. There, on September 15, Captain Duntze instructed Captain Gordon to visit the coal mines that had been discovered in the vicinity of Beaver Harbour, at the north end of Vancouver (52) Seventh of the name. Built from a design by Sir William Symonds on the lines of the Stromboli, but with increased width, for power and coal. When built she had two masts, but later, after serving in the Pacific, she was refitted in 1848 at Portsmouth, and a third mast added. She was commissioned on August 23, 1849, for the South East Coast of America Station. This was her last service, as she was broken up at Deptford in 1853. Length 180 feet, beam 36 feet, draught 6 feet. (53) Entered the Navy 1818; Lieutenant, May 6, 1829; Commander, August 1, 1840; Captain, November 9, 1846. His first appointment to a steam vessel was to the Rhadamanthus, in October, 1832; later he was in the steamers Phoenix and Comet. In the former he was present at the siege of Bilbao, and for his Services was awarded the Order of San Fernando. In 1854 he was Flag Captain to Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Napier, Com-- mander-iri-Chief of the Baltic Fleet. Rear-Admiral, 1864; Vice-Admiral, 1871; Admiral, 1877. Died, 1887. See O'Byrne, pp. 407-8; Walbran, p. 212. ' (54) Rear-Admiral Seymour to the Admiralty, February 8, 1847. Copies and Extracts of Despatches and other Papers relating | Island, London, 1849, p. 4. 116 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. April Island.66 The Cormorant went thither up the east coast of the Island, and it is interesting to note that the reference in Captain Gordon's report to " The difficult and dangerous navigation of Sir George Seymour's Narrows," is the earliest known use of the name Seymour Narrows.66 It was, of course, bestowed in honour of the Commander-in-Chief on the Pacific Station. Captain Gordon took with him in the Cormorant Captain James Sangster, one of the Hudson's Bay Company's shipmas- ters, and his report makes it clear that Captain Sangster's assistance was of great value:— ... I made known to the natives, through Mr. Sangster, my wish to obtain a supply, and the next day several canoes came laden with coal, and they continued to increase in number until our departure. At the advice of Mr. Sangster, I slung a tub, holding about 6 cwt., from the fore-yard, which was lowered into a canoe and quickly filled; in this manner we received 62 tons from the 24th to the 26th [September], paying for each tub as it came up, by articles of trifling value, which I procured at your Suggestion from the officer in Charge of Fort Victoria. The whole of the expenses incurred, including a few presents necessarily made to the Chiefs, will make the coals average not more than 4s. per ton.6' Captain Gordon tested the steaming qualities of the coal as compared with that of Welsh and Scottish coal, and although consumption of the Vancouver Island product was considerably higher, he feit that this was probably due to the fact that the samples used had come from surface croppings, and were therefore naturally inferior in quality. His report on the mines was on the whole most favourable, and Admiral Seymour duly transmitted this opinion to the Admiralty. However, by the time his dispatch was written, in February, 1847, the political Situation on the Northwest Coast had changed and there was no immediate need for the coal. "As I withdrew the Cormorant from the north-west coast, on hearing of the arrangement of the Oregon • question," Seymour wrote, " I presume none will be required, under present circumstances, for Her Majesty's service, as the freight of coals to other parts of this Station would be less expensive from England."68 (55) Ibid., p. 4. (56) Commander Gordon to Captain Duntze, October 7,1846. Ibid., p. 5. (57) Ibid., p. 4. (58) Rear-Admiral Seymour to the Admiralty, February 8,1847. Ibid., 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 117 Reference has been made to the arrival of the barqueiJeraM,69 Captain Henry Kellett, and the smaller brig Pandora?" Lieutenant Commander James Wood.61 These two surveying ships had left Plymouth in June, 1845, having been commissioned for duty in the Pacific. They reached Valparaiso in November, and the following month moved first to Callao and then to the Gala- pagos, where their work started in earnest. In the spring they called at Panama for mail, and then sailed directly for the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which they reached in seventy days, not having sighted land in that time.62 It was on June 24, 1846, that they arrived off Cape Flattery, and the same evening the Cormorant took them in tow. The latter must have arrived very recently, for the following passage in the published narrative of the voyage implies that Captain Gordon shared Lieutenant Kellett's ignorance of the region:— . . . [The Cormorant] lugged us up about sixty or seventy miles, until we had passed Port Victoria. Our knowledge of the place not extending beyond (59) Built at Cochin in 1823; 500 tons, 8 guns, sloop-rigged. Commissioned at Chatham February 8, 1845, by Captain Kellett for survey duty on the Pacific Station; returned to Spithead on June 6, 1851. (60) Fourth ship of the name in the Royal Navy. Designed by Sir William Symonds; launched in 1833 at Woolwich; 319 tons, 12 guns. Lloyd's Surveyor at Falmouth reported in November, 1833, that the brig had many excellent qualities. Commissioned by Lieutenant Commander Wood at Devonport on February 8, 1845, as tender to the Herald. The Pandora is last shown in the Navy List in January, 1862, as a watch vessel, Coast Guard. (61) Entered the Navy May, 1825; Lieutenant, October 1, 1841; Commander, December 31, 1850. Commenced his service as surveyor in 1827 at Fernando Po, under Admiral W. Fitzwilliam Owen; afterwards in the Hecla in the Bight of Benin, and then on the coast of California. In the Aetna, Captain Belcher, he assisted in surveys on the coast of Africa, and later served in the Raven on the west coast of Morocco and in the Canary Islands. It will be noticed that he was for much of this time in Company with Captain Kellett (see foot-note 18, supra). In 1836 he served with Captain Hewitt in the North Sea survey, and in 1837 took part in the survey of the coast of Wales and the south coast of England. Commissioned the Pandora in February, 1845. After his return to England he served as assistant to Captain Louis Sheringham on the Home Station; in 1855 he was given charge of the survey of the northwest coast of Scotland. See O'Byrne, pp. 1317-8. (62) For a general account of the voyage see Berthold Seeman, Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Herald during the years 1845-51, London, 1853, 2 volumes. 118 F. V. LONGSTAFF AND W. K. Lamb. April Vancouver's Information, we did not know where to look for the Hudson's Bay Company's settlement.68 It is clear that the vessels anchored in Cordova Bay, and on the 27th, when Fort Victoria had been located and visited, the Cormorant towed them back to its vicinity. The log of the Pandora shows that she anchored in " Victoria Bay" on June 27; weighed on July 3, and anchored in Port Discovery the following day; visited New Dungeness on July 9-11; was at Port Townsend on July 14-15; returned to " Port Victoria " on July 25-27; was at Port San Juan on August 15-17, and back once more at " Port Victoria " on August 29. Most of this time Lieutenant-Commander Wood was away from the vessel, surveying; and he seems to have had only two officers quali- fied to assist him in this work—Mate H. A. Clavering and 2nd Master J. Ottley. The printed narrative states that the survey, which included Sooke Bay and Neah Bay, as well as Victoria Harbour, Esquimalt Harbour, and the various anchorages already mentioned, was completed for the season on August 29. Captain Kellett had not accomplished as much as he had hoped, chiefly because " f ogs in August had been so dense and continuous that the month was in a great measure lost."64 The Herald and Pandora were off Sooke Bay on September 2, and the log shows that the latter actually passed out to sea on September 9. For both vessels the survey of the Strait of Juan de Fuca had merely been an interlude in their primary occupa-- tion, which was the surveying of the west coast of Central and South America. This vast task kept them f ully employed through- out 1847, but in 1848 Captain Kellett planned to pay a second visit to Vancouver Island. In April, 1848, however, he was ordered to take the Herald to the Arctic and there endeavour to find some trace of the missing Franklin expedition. This assign- ment occupied him for three summers, and the Herald did not return to England until 1851. Of the Pandora we shall hear more later. 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 119 The Fisgard spent the summer of 1846 moored at Nisqually,66 where Captain Duntze, in accordance with his instructions from Admiral Seymour, could keep in close touch with the Hudson's Bay officers at Fort Vancouver. In the autumn he made ready to return to the South Pacific. On October 10 the Cormorant took the Fisgard in tow, and the next day she anchored in what contemporary records call Fisgard Harbour—probably the Port Angeles of to-day. On the 12th she shifted across the Strait to the vicinity of Victoria. Presumably she put to sea a few days later. The Cormorant was soon after recalled to Valparaiso, as already noted, and after a busy summer the Modeste was thus once more left alone on the Northwest Coast. Little had happened to disturb her as she lay in the Columbia in the shadow of Fort Vancouver. The most exciting event of 1846 appears to have been the arrival of the U.S.S. Shark, a 12- gun schooner commanded by Lieutenant Neil M. Howison. She entered the Columbia River on July 18 and arrived at Fort Vancouver on the 24th, where her officers and crew were cordially received by the ship's Company of the Modeste and the staff of the Hudson's Bay Company. She stayed a month, and then on August 23 started dropping down the river in leisurely fashion. On October 10 she attempted to cross the famous bar, and was totally wrecked on the south spit, fortunately without loss of life. As soon as news of the disaster was received, the Modeste's cutter was loaded with provisions and clothing and rushed to the relief of the survivors. The latter were eventually taken to San Francisco in the Hudson's Bay Company's schooner Cadboro.™ News of the signing of the boundary treaty was received in Oregon before the end of the year, but the Modeste lingered for a few months until the first excitement had died down. It was on May 4, 1847, that she finally left Fort Vancouver. From her log the writer has secured the following dates and notes, which enable us to trace her progress on the long voyage to Valparaiso (65) There were fourteen midshipmen aboard the Fisgard, and George B. Roberts, of the Hudson's Bay Company, recalls in his Recollections that " A small building [was] erected for a midshipmen's school at Nisqually," and adds: " It was known to us as the ' Castle of indolence.' " See Bancroft, History of Oregon, I., p. 579n. (66) Ibid., pp. 584-8. 120 F. V. LONGSTAFF AND W. K. Lamb. April and thence to England. She anchored in Baker's Bay on May 10; but Commander Baillie, remembering how narrowly the ship had escaped disaster in 1844, waited for favourable wind and sea conditions before attempting to cross the notorious bar. It was not until June 12 that he deemed the weather suitable, and the Modeste got safely out to sea that day. Proceeding first to the Sandwich Islands for provisions, she dropped anchor in Honolulu Harbour on June 28. On August 4 she was at Papeete, where she took on board six distressed British subjects. On the morning of September 6 she entered Valparaiso Bay, and saluted the flag of Admiral Seymour with 13 guns. There, on September 9, Commander Baillie, who had been in the Modeste since June, 1843, left the ship, as he had been promoted to Captain as long before as November 13, 1845. The same day Lieutenant Algernon Austen, f ormerly of H.M.S. Carys- fort, joined the Modeste, and on the lOth Acting Commander Reginald Macdonald was transferred from the Commander-inChief's flagship, the Collingwood, and took command. On October 5 the Modeste weighed anchor and proceeded south. Round- ing Cape Hörn, she reached Rio de Janeiro on November 13; sailed on the 18th; crossed the equator on December 5, and finally moored in Sheerness Harbour on January 11, 1848. She had been absent from England for nearly five years. The boundary settlement seems for a moment to have taken the edge off the Royal Navy's interest in the Northwest Coast. The Modeste was the only one of Her Majesty's ships that appeared there in 1847. Possibly this neglect was due in part to a change of command on the Pacific Station. On August 28, 1847, Rear-Admiral Phipps Hornby67 was appointed Commanderin-Chief in succession to Sir George Seymour. His flagship, the 84-gun line-of-battleship Asia, had been commissioned three days previously, but several months passed before she and Admiral Hornby arrived in the Pacific. (67) For biographical sketches see O'Byrne, p. 542; Walbran, pp. 248-9; Longstaff, Esquimalt Naval Base, pp. 113-4; also Mrs. Fred Egerton, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Geoffrey Phipps Hornby, London, 1896, a life of Rear-Admiral Hornby's son, in which interesting references are made to his own service on the Pacific Station. 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 121 Another of the ships assigned to the Pacific Station was the fine new 50-gun frigate Constance,® which had been launched at Pembroke as recently as March, 1846. She was commissioned at Devonport on August 3,1847, by Captain George William Con- way Courtenay.69 She reached Valparaiso on April 26, 1848, and sailed almost at once on a patrol to the Northwest Coast. She came north by way of Honolulu, where she arrived on June 11, and from which she sailed on the 28th. Less than a month later she entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and on July 25 made naval history by entering Esquimalt Harbour, being the first ship of the Royal Navy ever to anchor there. Although the Constance was a sailing ship, Captain Courtenay had been instructed to take certain steps regarding the coal deposits on Vancouver Island. Their existence had attracted the attention of Samuel (later Sir Samuel) Cunard, the founder of the Cunard Line, and in January, 1848, he had written to the Secretary to the Admiralty suggesting that it would " be well, in granting lands on this island, to reserve the mines for the use of the Crown, and to take such measures as may prevent the natives or others from acquiring or ceding rights to these mines." He was apprehensive that they would " not long escape the vigi- (68) Second of name; built at Pembroke in 1846 from a design by Sir William Symonds. Length 180 feet, beam 52 feet 9 inches, depth 16 feet 4 inches; 2,132 tons. Commissioned at Devonport on August 3, 1847, by Captain Courtenay for the Pacific. Converted to a screw frigate at Devonport in 1862; last appears in the Navy List in January, 1875. (69) Born 1795; entered the Navy-1805; Lieutenant, July 19, 1813; Commander, December 26, 1823; Captain, April 14, 1828. First served in • the Amazon, 38, in which he remained more than six years, and saw much action; later served in a number of famous ships, including the Victory and Bellerophon. In the eighteen-twenties he spent most of his time on the African coast. While serving there in the Cyrene in 1822 he commanded the ship's boats when they destroyed two" slave factories on the Gallanis River; later, in the Bann, he captured two Brazilian vessels with 728 slaves aboard. After further service in the West Indies he returned home in 1831,v and held no further appointment afloat until he took over command of the Constance on August 3, 1847, from Captain Sir Baldwin Walker, who had commissioned her at Devonport on April 23, 1846. He remained in her until she returned to Devonport early in 1850 and was paid off. Promoted Rear-Admiral of the Blue, November 24, 1854; Vice-Admiral, July 26, 1861. Died, 1862. See O'Byrne, p. 234; Walbran, pp. 115-6. 122 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. April lance of the Americans in that neighbourhood."70 The sequel appears in the Journal of Fort Victoria, kept by Roderick Finlayson, who in 1848 was in charge of the post:— Thursday, July 27, 1848. Capt. Courtenay of the Brig [frigate] Constance handed me a letter from Mr. Samuel Cunard, to the Secretary of the Admiralty regarding the propriety of keeping the Coal Mines of Vancouver Island for the use of the British Covernment. Thursday, August 4, 1848. Capt. Courtenay of H.M.S. Brig [frigate] Constance brought on shore a printed notice showing his having taken possession of the Coal District on the Island for the British Crown, which notice he is to leave here for the Company to erect as early as possible in order to keep away all foreign intruders.'1 A further reference to coal is found in Captain Courtenay's report. The passage reads:— The Indians do not claim payment for the coal, but they insist upon being employed in taking it on board, the payment of their labour constitutes the sole expense. With reference to the 67 tons of coal left at Fort Victoria, I have the honour to State I found it there, and on re-weighing it, there proved to be rather more, as I received 16 tons on board for the use of the ship, and left 57, which I caused to be built round with logs and thatched Continuing, the report turns to another topic:— I could not dispose of it as there were no civilized inhabitants to purchase it, except the Hudson Bay Company, and I never had the honour of a com- munication from Mr. Douglas, although that gentleman was made aware of my having proceeded to the North West Coast ... I lingered on to the latest day my Orders justified in the hope of hearing from Mr. Douglas; and on the 3rd of September, not having any tidings of him, I addressed a letter to him of which enclosed No. 7. is a copy; with reference to the Contents thereof, I beg to State that the Company's Servants were in a per- fect State of ignorance of any aggressive measure taken on the part of the Americans and I have every reason to believe that Mr. Douglas's Statements to General [William] Miller [the British consul at Honolulu] on that subject were written under a misconception. . . . The extent of the outrage committed, was the American Expeditionary Force making a f orced requisition of gun- powder, the Hudson Bay Company having refused to seil it, though the (70) S. Cunard to H. G. Ward,-Secretary to the Admiralty, January 3, 1848. Printed in Papers relating to Vancouver's Island, London, 1849, p. 11. (71) Quoted from notes (now in the possession of W. Kaye Lamb) made many years ago from the Fort Victoria Journal. These and the other entries quoted below probably vary verbally from the original, but there is no reason to believe that the general sense is not accurately recorded. The original Journal, now in the Archives of the Hudson's Bay Company, is at present in safe-keeping, and therefore not available for checking. 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 123 Americans offered to pay for it—which if Vattel,'2 is any authority, they appeared to be justified in having done. Presumably the Americans had required the gunpowder for defence against the Indians, who, since the Whitman massacre in 1847, had been giving more and more trouble, and for some reason Douglas must have regarded its seizure as an alarming depredation against which he should protest to the nearest repre- sentative of the British Government. Why he failed to communi- cate with Captain Courtenay we do not know; such neglect of an obvious duty was quite unlike him. Finlayson himself had had some difficulties with the Indians at Fort Victoria, but had always managed to avoid bloodshed and keep them under a measure of control by his firmness and good sense. In August, 1848, it so happened that several tribes, none too friendly to one another, were encamped near the fort, and late one evening a warlike demonstration by one of them led to an exchange of shots. Notes compiled from the Fort Victoria Journal pick up the story at this point:— Thursday, August 24, 1848. . . . Captain Courtenay of the Constance on hearing the firing and seeing so many Indians paddling towards the fort, supposed something serious had happened, and very considerately came over with four armed boats. Finding only some Flatterys haranguing the Clalams in front of the Fort, [he] ordered a salute of 7 guns to be fired from the boats, which was done and answered by us from the Bastion. All hands including some thirty or so marines came on shore. All arrived and promenaded around the front yard, after which the Captain with the four boats returned to the ship. Tuesday, August 29,1848. About 8 A.M. Captain Courtenay at the head of 250 sailors and marines came on shore for the purpose of exercising them,- and were all day performing various evolutions in the Fort Yard and in the field behind. The ships band was at their head and the march through the fort to the field was performed, our people having solicited and obtained permission to enjoy the novel spectacle.73 In his printed reminiscences Finlayson adds some amusing details to this account:— This Summer, also, H.M. ship Constance, Capt. Courtney [sie], arrived and anchored in Esquimalt, a frigate with 500 men and officers. Capt Courtney [sie] landed and asked if he could be of any service to me, to which I replied (72) The reference is to the classic work on The Law of Nations, by Emmerich de Vattel, first published in London in 1758. . (73) See footnote 71, supra. 124 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. April that I was situated here surrounded by treacherous Indians, and that if he would be kind enough to land some of his men for exercise in the use of arms, to show the Indians what a man of war was, to which he consented, and landed a large force of marines and blue jackets next day, with an armed long boat, who performed various evolutions, such as is customary on parade ground, and at the close of the day, the Captain asked the chief, through an Interpreter, what they thought of the men of war. The reply was: "Is that the way the whites fight, killing each other in the open? We fight behind the trees and rocks and kill our enemies in this way." The Captain was not at all pleased at the savage's reply. The chief, not losing a chance to beg, asked the Captain for a present, when he was told to go on board for one. The next day he appeared among his people, quite proud, with a large white jacket on, with " thief " marked in large letters in front, and " liar " on the back, which his people much admired—its mean- ing they were, of course, kept ignorant of. This display of arms from the Constance had a good effect on the natives, as they were evidently afraid ' to pick any quarreis with us for some time afterward.'4 During her stay in Esquimalt the Constance was joined by the surveying brig Pandora. It will be remembered that Captain Kellett had received Orders in April, 1848, to proceed in the Herald to the Arctic, to search for the Franklin expedition. Hastily equipping his ship as best he could, Kellett sailed from Panama on May 8. The Pandora was still in Company; but on the llth the vessels parted, and Lieutenant-Commander Wood, in the Pandora, laid his course first for the Sandwich Islands and then for the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where he arrived on August 11. The next month was spent in completing the survey commenced in 1846. Then, on September 13, the Pandora left once more to resume her major assignment, in Central and South American waters. It is interesting to note that it was Commander Wood who surveyed Esquimalt Harbour, and when doing so he named many of its features after the captain and officers of H.M.S. Fisgard.15 The Constance sailed a few days before the Pandora. Captain Courtenay's report records the details: " I sailed from the Roads of Esquimalt on the 4th of September, during my stay I received daily supplies from Fort Victoria, of fresh beef and latterly, some potatoes, partly from the Indians, and partly from ' the Fort. Having cleared the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the 5th September and obtained an offing, I proceeded to San Francisco, 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 125 which I reached on the 16th ..." All was still • quiet in California; but a little later, at the Sandwich Islands, Captain Courtenay heard of the gold discoveries that quickly transformed the country. After further service on the west coast of South America the Constance returned to Devonport in 1850 to pay off. The only ship of the Royal Navy to visit the Northwest Coast in 1849 was the 36-gun frigate Inconstant,16 which had been commissioned at Portsmouth in December, 1847, by Captain John Shepherd.77 She arrived at Esquimalt on May 12, having been sent north by Rear-Admiral Hornby on the usual duty of pro- tecting the interests of the Hudson's Bay Company and British settlers. James Douglas reported that General Joseph Lane, who had recently taken office as the first Governor of the new Territory of Oregon, seemed disposed to carry out the terms of the boundary treaty in a most liberal manner. Douglas expected further that the Hudson's Bay Company's establishments in Oregon would be sold to the Americans during the summer, and its servants withdrawn from the country. As we know, this expec- tation was not fulfilled, and the Company did not withdraw from Fort Vancouver until as late as 1860. It is interesting to note that Midshipman (later Rear-Admiral) R. C. Mayne was serving in the Inconstant, and he recalled some years later that " when (76) Third ship of the name; designed by Captain Hayes; laid down at Portsmouth in 1834; launched June, 1836. Length 160 feet, beam 45 feet 5 inches, depth 13 feet 7 inches; 1,422 tons. Commissioned at Portsmouth for the Pacific by Captain Courtenay on December 4, 1847; returned home and paid off on December 6, 1850. Laid up at Devonport until 1857, then used as an emigration hospital ship at Cork. Sold 1860. There is a model of the Inconstant in the Science Museum at South Kensington, London. (77) Entered the Navy 1805; Lieutenant, February 2, 1813; Commander, August 28, 1828; Captain, October 26, 1840. First served in the Audacious, 74, then in the Eurydice, Druid, and Endymion, all commanded by Captain Sir William Bolton, 1807-11. Then served (1812-33) succes- sively on the Halifax, North American, Jamaica, West Indies, Mediter- ranean, and Lisbon Stations. In command of the Sparrowhawk on the North American Station and at the Cape of Good Hope, 1837-40. In 1846 served for some months as Captain pro tem. of the St. Vincent, 120, flying the broad pennant of Sir F. A. Collier, in the Channel. Took command of the Inconstant December 4, 1847, and remained in her until she was paid off, December 6, 1850. Appointed Commodore Superintendent, Woolwich Dockyard, December 31, 1853, and granted a Good Service Pension. Rear- Admiral of the Blue, November 24, 1858; left the active list in 1862. -1 126 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. April we spent some weeks in Esquimalt Harbour . . . there was not a house to be seen on its shores; we used to fire shot and shell as we liked about the harbour, and might send parties ashore and cut as much wood as we needed without the least chance of interruption."78 Within five years all this had changed. Both on her way north and when returning southward the Inconstant called at San Francisco. Writing from the frigate there, Lieutenant H. F. Winnington-Ingram gave an interesting glimpse of conditions at the time:— The gold fever was raging among the crew, and extraordinary pre- cautions had to be taken by all officers to prevent wholesale desertion of the *ship. . . . Two or three officers, armed, had to be sent in each boat, ordered to use their weapons in the event of the men breaking into mutiny and attempting to carry her off. They were also to fire on any individual of the crew who had quitted his work. The Constance eventually returned to England the following year, and was paid off at Portsmouth on December 6. This brings us to 1850, the year that marked the end of one era and the commencement of another in the British possessions on the Northwest Coast. On January 13, 1849, a Royal Grant had ceded Vancouver Island to the Hudson's Bay Company, at an annual rental of seven Shillings, upon certain conditions, chief of which was " that the said Governor and Company shall establish upon the said island a settlement or Settlements of resident colo- nists, emigrants from Our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or from other Our Dominions . . ." The Hudson's Bay Company was to manage many of the new colony's affairs, but it was nevertheless to have a government of its own as well. Richard Blanshard, a young barrister, was appointed Governor in July, 1849, and in September he left England, bound for Fort Victoria, which was to be the capital of the colony. To con- vey him from Panama to Vancouver Island, Admiral Hornby detached the paddle-sloop Driver;19 Commander Charles Richard- (78) Commander R. C. Mayne Vancouver Island, London, 1862, Walbran, p. 327. (79) Second ship of the name; designed by Sir William Symonds; launched at Portsmouth, 1840; 1,056' tons, 6 guns. Commissioned for the Pacific at Woolwich by Commander Johnson on September 16, 1848; paid off there in June, 1852. Employed in the Baltic and up to Cronstadt in 1855, during the Crimean War. Wrecked on Mariguana Island on August 18, 1861, and became a total loss. 1945 Royal Navy on Northwest Coast, 1813-50. 127 son Johnson,80 the second British naval steamship to visit the coast. Launched in 1840, the Driver had already seen service on several far-flung stations. Amongst other distinctions, she was the first steamer to ply the waters of New Zealand, which she visited in 1846.81 She was a small vessel of 1,056 tons, with a length of 180 feet and engines of 280 horse-power. She had three masts, with square yards on all three. The long passage north from Panama appears to have been made in good time, and on March 9 or 10, 1850, the Driver arrived at Victoria. The harbour was then undredged and shallow, but as the Driver drew very little water she was able to enter. On the llth, Commander Johnson and his officers were present at the historic ceremony which included the reading of Governor Blanshard's commission, and which marked the inauguration of formal government in what is now British Columbia.82 (80) Entered the Navy,'1826; Lieutenant, February 19, 1840; Commander, October 11, 1847. In 1840 joined the Princess Charlotte, flagship of the Hon. Sir Robert Stopford, and during the Operations on the coast of Syria in 1841 saw much action on shore. Later he was in the Ganges and other ships in the Mediterranean. The first steamer in which he served was the steam-sloop Eclair, to which he went as First Lieutenant in September, 1844. She was employed on the coast of Africa, as was the steamer Ardent, to which he was next appointed. After a few months in the Trafal- gar, 120, in the Channel Squadron, he was appointed to the steamer Comet in June, 1846, on particular service. He commissioned the Driver for the Pacific on September 16, 1848. On June 21, 1855, he commissioned the iron screw störe steamship Transit, 500 horse-power, at Portsmouth. Captain, November 22, 1856; retired Captain, July 1, 1864; Rear-Admiral, retired, January 1,1875; Vice-Admiral, retired, June 15,1879. See O'Byrne, p. 584. (81) See History of Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, Limited, 1875-1940 [Wellington, N.Z.], 1940, p. 9. (82) Aecording to Roderick Finlayson's reminiscences (and Bancroft, who follows this source), H.M.S. Cormorant was also in Victoria Harbour at this time. See Finlayson's Biography of Roderick Finlayson, p. 23; Bancroft, History of British Columbia, p. 266; also Walbran, p. 212. This is clearly an error, for we know that the Cormorant had returned the previous year to England, where she had been recommissioned on August 23, 1849, by Commander Herbert Schomberg for the S.E. Coast of America. While on that Station she cruised against the slave trade. Finlayson wrote many years after the event, and must have momentarily confused the Cormorant with the Driver. 128 F. V. Longstaff and W. K. Lamb. As no accommodation for him was ready on shore, Governor Blanshard lived on board the Driver as long as she remained in local waters. Fort Victoria was short of supplies at the time, and Commander Johnson volunteered to go to Nisqually and bring back cattle and sheep. The Driver, with Blanshard on board, arrived there on March 19 and sailed for Victoria on the 22nd, carrying 25 cattle and about 800 sheep.83 She next proceeded to Fort Rupert, on Beaver Harbour, which the Hudson's Bay Company had built the year before with a view to mining the coal deposits in the vicinity. There the Driver coaled, but whether she filled her bunkers or merely took on a small ship- ment for testing, we do not know. Soon after this she left Vancouver Island waters, and her departure furnishes a convenient point at which to bring these notes to an end. Local government had been instituted; settlement was about to make its first feeble encroachments upon what had long been an exclusive preserve of the fur-traders. Within a few years the Fräser River gold-rush would transform the whole scene. These changes would be reflected in the increased attention devoted to the Northwest Coast by the Royal Navy, and, eventually, by the shifting of the headquarters of the Commanderin-Chief from Valparaiso to Esquimalt; but the details must be given upon another occasion. F. V. Longstaff, Victoria, B.C. W. Kaye Lamb, Vancouver, B.C. THE JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK, 1835: BEING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS VOYAGE NORTHWARD FROM THE COLUMBIA RIVER TO FORT SIMPSON AND RETURN IN THE BRIG LAMA, JANUARY- OCTOBER, 1835. Edited by Henry Drummond Dee. PartV. [Aboard the " Lama," en route for Fort McLoughlin.] Tuesday, September 8. Thick fog in the morning, Wind Northerly. On account of the fog the Lama could not get under way tili 10 A.M. when I took leave of Messrs. Birnie and Kennedy, and the people at the Fort. The wind was light, we only got through the passagei83 between Dundass' Island & Isle de Zea by sunsetting, however the weather appears settled and the wind likely to keep from the northward. Wednesday, September 9. Eine weather. Had a fine 7 knot breeze all night and the forepart of the day but the wind died away in the afternoon, and in the evening we were only off the S. end of Banks Island. Thursday, September 10. Fine weather hazy in the morning. During the forepart of the day the wind was light, and blowing off the land from the Eastward. In consequence made but little progress and were swept out off the land. In the afternoon the wind shifted round to the Westward and the sea breeze set in, when we got better on, and entered Millbank Sound, and by 8 P.M. had passed Actives Coveisi where I left the vessel in a boat and reached Fort McLoughlin an hour after, where I had the pleasure of finding Messrs. Manson & Tolmieiss and the people all well. [At Fort McLoughlin.] Friday, September 11. Fine weather. The Lama kept under way all night, but the wind was so light that it was the afternoon before she anchored abreast of the fort. There was a thick fog in the morning which rendered the navigation in the narrow sound very dangerous, & the vessel was one time very near ashore. It was determined that she should anchor below, and the fürs be taken down in boats, but this plan was abandoned at Mr. Manson's Suggestion on account of the danger to be apprehended from the Indians, who have for a considerable time been very insolent and daring, indeed so much so that a row with them is momentarily expected. Taking down the fürs in the boats would have been a saving of time but the risk was represented to be to [sie] great, and it was deemed advisable not to ineur it. The disturbed State of the Indians and their discontent, arises (183) Camaano Pass, between Dundas and Zayas islands. The Lama was retracing her way southward over the same route which she had followed in her voyage north in January and February. (184) Now Kynumpt Harbour. See Walbran, p. 294. (185) Donald Manson and Dr. William Fräser Tolmie. Dr. Tolmie entered a brief note on the arrival of the Lama in his Diary under date September 13, 1835. 129 130 H. D. Dee. April from their being under the impression that our being established here is the cause of their not getting such high prices for their fürs as formerly, in consequence of the Americans not visiting them so frequently, and also the loss of the Interior trade or a considerable part of it, as the Interior Indians dispose of their fürs themselves at the fort, and they do not pass through the hands of the others as formerly.186 Mr. Manson has every thing about the place in high order. The garden, notwithstanding the great labour bestowed upon it has completely failed, and it is to be doubted it will be difficult to ever make any thing of it. The soil is black light peat on a bed of rock and no clay or gravel to be found to mix with it to render it productive. In a few spots the potatoes look well, but in general they are but a short way above the ground, and a great many of them never came up. Cabbages, turnips, carrots & other garden stuff came up but either died away again or did not thrive so as to come to any account. Notwithstanding this unfavourable beginning, it is I think probable that the ground, by exposure to the sun, will improve the soil and that yet the labour bestowed on the ground will be repaid, particularly could enough of clay or gravel be obtained to mix a sufficient quantity with the light peat soil. The Inventory had been taken some time ago but a new Inventory had to [be] take[n] today, and all the fürs traded included in this outfit, which was done. Six of the men have been reengaged some time ago. I applied to the others today but none of them would agree. They did not State any objection to the place but say that they wish to return home. The bad living [is the cause] principally dry salmon and salt salmon & Venison, this food is certainly not good. I intended to have called at Skidegates and buy some potatos [sie] for the use of this place but the wind being favourable & the season so far advanced we .could not afford time to do so, without running the risk of being too late of arriving at the Columbia, as we have to go round by Frazer's river.W I bought 20 bags of Pease & 120 lbs. grease from Fort Simpson for the use of this place. Saturday, September 12. Overcast fair weather in the morning, a good deal of light rain afterwards, no wind. In the morning had the pease and grease brought from Fort Simpson landed, and the fürs all shipped, and water taken aboard and every thing ready for sea, but as there was no wind nothing could be done and the vessel did not move. Four of the men whose times will be up Ist June, next, will not engage, nor will any of the men whom I brought from Ft. Simpson engage, so that I have no resource but to leave these four men here, as they cannot be dispensed with at the place, and that means may be devised at Vancouver to have them replaced and conveyed there in the winter to go out with the spring express. Should this not be practicable the only remedy is to let them remain tili next year, and make them some remuneration for being detained after after [sie] their time. I leave one Man, Portelanu, in place of an Islander, Horapapa, who is represented as in a very bad State of health and otherwise unfit for the place. (186) These Indians, in common with many of the Coast tribes, had acted as middlemen between the tribes of the hinterland and the maritime traders. Naturally they resented the intrusion of the Hudson's Bay Com- (187) In order to visit Fort Langley. 1945 John Work's Journal, 1835. 131 The returns of this place shipped today are as follows— 1051 Large Beaver (say 1061) 348 Small „ 15 Black Bears 8 Fishers 300 Martens 1 „ Robe, 8 Skins 54 Minks 5 Musquash 6 Sea Otters 107 Land do 185 Deer Skins. Which at the established valuation amounts to £2095.15.10<ä, which is some- thing less than the trade of last year. But considering the hot Opposition carried on here, as well as elsewhere; during the season may be considered not amiss, though far short of the returns the first year. Here as well as elsewhere, on account of the want of an assortment of cheap calico, Handkfs, Vermilion principally, & some other small suitable articles such as fine toothed hörn combs, the fürs cost dearer than they would otherwise have done, besides the loss of a great many martens. [Aboard the " Lama," en route to Fort Langley.] Sunday, September 13. Overcast lowering weather, rain in the afternoon. Wind from the Southward but very little of it. We took leave of Messrs. Manson & Tolmie, and got under weigh at 2 P.M., and by 8 had got past Cape Swain, the wind being light we made but slow progress. Now in the outside of the cape the wind is contrary though light. There is a nasty jabble of a sea on, and has all the appearance of being a dirty unpleasant night, and moreover very dark. Capt. McNeill is now without officers, Mr. Scarborough the first officer is ill, and has been confined to bed since before we left Ft. Simpson, and Lattyiss the 2nd Officer has been a long time suspended from duty, now Oigh [?] the boatswain acts as mate. Several Indians came along side wishing to trade as we came down the Sound, but they were desired to go to the fort which they thought stränge. There were also a number of Indians at the fort trading when we came off, and appeared to have at least 100 beaver skins among them. I instructed Mr. Manson that should he find that the Indians would not part with their fürs at the present tariff but would hold up their skins, to raise it to a gallon of mixed liquor with a Wanket for a large beaver, so that the fürs might be drawn out of the hands of the Natives before our opponents would arrive in the spring, so that few would remain for them. The tariff had been raised to this, when the Opposition were here in July last, but was lowered again towards the end of last month. Though it is most desirable to reduce the tariff and get the fürs as cheap as possible, yet as it is almost certain our Opposition will be back early in the spring, I deem it advisable and advantageous to have as few skins remaining in the hands of the natives for them as possible and that it is better to pay a trifle more for them, than incur the certainty of lossing [sie] them or at least a considerable part of them, and what part we would then get be obliged to pay much higher for. (188) It is quite possible that Alexander Lattey, or Lattie, had been suspended for habitual drunkenness. He was so suspended in 1845. See H.B.S. IV., p. 190, and H.B.S. VI., p. xiii. n. 132 H. D. Dee. April Monday, September 14. Dirty, stormy, rainy weather in the night, and a nasty jabble of sea on. Rainy during the day with a disagreeable swell on, Wind variable from S.E. to S.W. Owing to the heavy head sea, and having to make a considerable angle, we made but slow progress. Made only 45 Miles direct course. Tuesday, September 15. Wind still light from S.W. Got round Scott's Islands189 in the morning but the wind was so light that we were still within 15 Miles of them at noon and had not lost sight of them by the evening. Some rain during the day, hazy weather. Made 56 Miles. Wednesday, September 16. Thick fog with drizzling rain, Wind still light and baffling, and a heavy swell on, notwithstanding there is so little wind. Made only 1, 2 to 3 knots an hour and only 62 miles all day and not more than half the distance direct. Thursday, September 17. Still a dense fog, with drizzling rain forepart of the day, but fair weather afterwards. The Wind from the S.W., which is f avorable but so light that we made little more than a mile an hour. For the last 24 hours made only 39 Miles. Though the sea is smooth, there is a heavy swell, so much so that the vessel rolls so that even when the wind does freshen up a little occasionally, it does not fill the sails and and [sie] they remain flapping about the masts. From the continual wet and no weather to dry the sails and ropes, they are rotting, particularly the seams. Light as the wind was, two of the sails split within these 3 days. At noon we were 30 Miles from Woody Point19» which bares [bears] North of us. Friday, September 18. The fog cleared away in the forepart of the night and became fine clear weather, delightful clear warm weather all day. The wind from the Westward, which was fair for us, but so light that we made very little way not more than from 1 to 3 miles an hour. The last 24 hours made 63 Miles. Early in the morning we were we were [sie] off the entrance of Nootka Sound191 about 15 Miles distant, and continued along the land about the same distance all day. The country is very mountainous and has an exceedingly rugged appearance, many of the higher peaks still covered with Snow. Saturday, September 19. In the night the wind changed to the East- ward, which was ahead and carried us off the land tili about noon, when the wind shifted to the Southward which was favourable for entering the straits of De Fuca,i92 but such a thick fog set in that nothing could be seen, and by 6 P.M. when by computation we were within about 15 miles of Cape Flat- tery,i93 it being deemed unsafe to approach nearer the land nothing being to be seen, sail was taken in and the vessel had put about to lie off the land (189) Off the northern extremity of Vancouver Island. (190) So named by Captain Cook in 1778; renamed Cape Cook by Captain Richards in 1860. The cape is on the west coast of Vancouver Island, about 70 miles north of Nootka Sound. (191) Famous in the great days of rivalry between Spanish and British maritime explorers and traders. (192) Between the south coast of Vancouver Island and the mainland of the State of Washington. Its width at the entrance is 13 miles. See Edmond S. Meany, Origin of Washington Geographie Names, Seattle, 1923, pp. 291-293, for an interesting historical sketch of this strait. (193) So named by Captain Cook in 1778. It forms the southern entrance to Juan de Fuca Strait. 1945 John Work's Journal, 1835. 133 and not go near during the night. During the day yesterday a great deal of [word omitted in MS.], resembling little lumps of jelly with a small red speck in the middle of them, were seen floating in the water.19* A number of whales were seen about the vessel during the night. Made only 56 Miles during the last 24 hours. Sunday, September 20. Weather still continues thick. Wind from the Southward but light and not steady. The vessel was kept laying of [sie] and on during the night and morning, after which bore up for the land, and in the afternoon got sight of Cape Flattery when we entered the straits, and at Y2 past 7 P.M. anchored in Nia Bay.™ The wind being light, and the night so exceedingly dark that there was no prospect of making any head way, and it being moreover deemed unsafe to run in the night, when the tide might again have swept us out of the Straits. Some Indians came aboard from whom we learned that the Cadborough,™ Capt. Duncan, had been here twicef during the summer, and the Dryadpi Capt. Kipling, once. Monday, September 21. Remarkably fine warm weather, clear overhead, but a haze hanging over the land. Light wind from the Southward. It was calm in the night and forepart of the day until 11 A.M., when a little breeze springing up, we got under way, but the wind was so light that we made but little progress and did not get over 15 Miles from Cape Flattery by Sunset. During the delay occasioned by the want of Wind in the morning, we traded about 40 gall. of Oil, 1 small Sea Otter & 4 Land Otters, & a quantity of fish sufficient for all hands for a couple of days. Saw remarkably fine salmon late as the season is. There were about 50 canoes of Indians, not less than 500 persons, about the vessel when we got underway. The Indians have a few more Beaver & Sea Otters, but having no blankets we could not buy them. An Islander, J. Horapapa, whom we brought from Fort McLoughlin, and who had been ailing with a sore. leg before he left, has been getting worse and is so bad tonight that there is little prospects of his living tili morning. He is become very ill internally, nothing will remain on his stomach, besides he is troubled with a looseness and a discharge of Wood. He had been long ill with sores on his legs, at Ft. McLoughlin. Mr. Tolmie had effected a partial eure but the sores broke out again. Here we are able to do nothing for him. We have but few Medicines nor do we know what would be of use to him. Tuesday, September 22. Fine warm weather, clear overhead, but such a dense fog below that we could see the land or any object but at a very short distance. Wind baffleing [sie], light and variable. The wind was so light (194) These would be jelly-fish, with their disk-shaped bodies, probably (195) Neah Bay, 4 miles from Cape Flattery, inside Juan de Fuca Strait. Aecording to Meany, Washington Geographie Names, p. 184, this bay was for a time called " Scarborough Harbour " in honour of Captain James Scarborough, who in 1835 was first mate of the Lama. (196) The Cadboro, a schooner of about 70 tons, was built at Rye in 1826, and purchased by the Hudson's Bay Company the same year for £800. At this time she was commanded by Captain Alexander Duncan. For a biographical note see H.B.S. IV., p. 343. (197) The Dry ad was a brig of about 200 tons. Her master, Captain Charles Kipling, had been in command of the Hudson's Bay schooner Vancouver when she was wrecked on Point Rose in March, 1834. 134 H. D. Dee. April that the tide swept us back in the night so far, that in the morning, so far as could be judged, we were we were [sie] as far back as where we started from yesterday, and all the progress we made during the day advanced only a few miles, as far as could be judged, farther than we were last evening. These continual fogs & light baffling winds, and being able to make such slow progress is extremely annoying, but it cant be helped, and we must have patience. The delay is much to be regretted as the season is advanc- ing, and the vessel for England may be delaying in the Columbia waiting for us. John Horapapa, the Islander who was so ill last night, suffered greatly during the night and died at half past six O'clock this morning. He received some medicines such as we had to allay his sufferings during the night but they were of little avail. Indeed it is doubtful whether, in the State he was, any medicine would have had any effect. It was the venereal disease he had, and probably of long standing, he was literally half rotten. . . . It was wished to bury him on shore, but as we could not get to land, and it being uncertain when we could, and as he could not be properly kept for any time on board, we were constrained to give him a sailor's burial and comit [sie] him to the deep. The funeral service was read. What little cloths [sie] he had were nailed up in his ehest to go on to the Columbia. Wednesday, September 28. Foggy in the night, and a very dense fog all day, tili four P.M. when a breeze sprang up from the Southward and cleared away the fog. A light breeze during the night. The vessel was kept under way, but made little progress tili 11 A.M., when it feil dead calm, and we were obliged to anchor a little above Dungeness19^ (though we could not see the land we did not know exactly where we were) in 55 fathoms water, in order to hold our own & not drift back. The ebb tide ran out very strong. A[t] 4 P.M. when the fog cleared off, got under way again with a fine breeze, but a very strong tide runing [sie] against us, and continued on with a fine breeze tili past 12 O'clock, when the wind died a way, and the Anchor was let go on the N side of Strawbery [sie] bay island,™ in 25 fath. water. It is a fine clear starlight night to be no moon light, but owing to the narrowness of the Channels between the islands, änd the very rapid tides that run through them, it is a very intricate and dangerous Navigation, but the Captains skill and perseverance surmounted it. It is to be regretted that the vessel, with such a valuäble cargo as she now has on board, is necessitated to be brought in this way when so much risk has to be run. But we have to land here to take on the Fort Langley-00 returns. The woods on both sides are on fire, which shews [sie] that the season for (198) New Dungeness, a harbour on the south shore of Juan de Fuca Strait in Clallam County, Washington. Named by Captain George Vancouver in April, 1792, after its similarity to Dungeness in the English Channel. (199) Strawberry Island, in a bay of the same name on the western shore of Cypress Island. The Lama was proeeeding north-through Rosario Strait. (200) Fort Langley was built on the south bank of the Fräser River in 1827 by Chief Trader James McMillan. Sir George Simpson had origi- nally intended that this fort should become the outlet, via the Fräser River, for the interior posts. However, because of the navigational difficulties in the river, the fort never became more than a secondary post. It was rebuilt in 1839 on a site 2 miles above its original position, to be nearer to better agricultural land. See Robie L. Reid, " Early Days at Old Fort Langley," British Columbia Historical Quarterly, I. (1937),- pp. 71-85. John Work's Journal, 1835. [At Fort Langley on the Fräser River.] Friday, September 25. The weather fine these two days. Fog part of the forenoon yesterday. At 5 yesterday morning, the vessel got under way, and at noon anchored at Point Roberts,2»1 and at 2 P.M. left the vessel with longboat and 8 Canadians, and the gig and five sailors, to proceed to Fort Langley and though we marched all night, Owing to the weight and bad going of the longboat it was 5 Ocloek this morning before we reached the fort.202 We ran a good deal of risk in the night by running foul of stumps. My object in leaving the vessel, and Coming up here, was in the hopes of being able to procure large Indian canoes, which with the longboat and a boat we expected to find here, we might be able to take down the fürs and salmon in less time than by bringing up the vessel which would be tedious, and thereby get here quicker on to the Columbia. But on arrival here, I found that the boat is unfit for service, and that no canoes of sufficient size can be obtained. There was therefore no alternative but for the vessel to come up. At % past 9 A.M. I sent off the two boats with a letter to Captain McNeill directing him to proceed up here as expeditiously as possible with the vessel. The men are instructed to make all the haste they can down. I sent back all the Canadians to assist in towing if necessary. The water is low now and the flood tides strong so that I am in hopes the vessel will not take long time to get up. I much regret this delay as it may be the means of detaining the homeward bound vessel in the Columbia longer than is wished, but we cant help it. Our instructions are to touch here and at Nisqualy2°3 to take on the returns, of which the salt salmon is a part. We met great numbers of Indians204 yesterday on their way going down the river'from the fishing ground, their canoes all loaded with bag- gage, and proceeding on to cross to Vancouver's Island where they generally winter. The woods on both sides of the river are all on fire, which no doubt is in part the cause of the prevalent fogs we have experienced for some time back. In the night on passing an Indian village, the men very impru- dently did not speak, and the poor Indians hearing the oars became alarmed that it was their enemies, the Yokiltas2°5, and fired two guns either at us (201) A cape on the Strait of Georgia. The boundary-line between Canada and the United States passes through the peninsula 2 miles north of this point. Work had passed Point Roberts on his return journey with McMillan from the Fräser River in November-December, 1824. The cape was named after Captain Henry Roberts by his successor in H.M.S. Discovery, Captain George Vancouver. See Walbran, pp. 425-6. (202) The distance from Point Roberts to Fort Langley is about 40 (203) Fort Nisqually, the first white settlement on Puget Sound, was built in 1833, at the southern end of the Sound. It was intended to be both a farming centre and a shipping depot, and had the further advantage of being within reach of Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia, by an overland (204) These were of the Cowichan tribe, to which the Indians on the lower Fräser and the southern end of Vancouver Island belonged. (205) A large Kwakiutl tribe living between Knight and Bute inlets. Their name is rendered variously, Yookilta, Euclataw, Euclitus. They were also known as the Lekwiltoks. See Handbook of Indians of Canada, Ottawa, 1913, pp. 265-6. 136 H. D. Dee. April or to let us know that they were on their guard. As soon as they were informed that we were whites they were much pleased, and two canoes accompanied us some distance. I found Mr. Yale206 and his people well, He has about 3 packs of fürs and 200 barreis of salmon.20' The Cadboro left this [place] on the 16th last month, with very little cargo on board. These salmon were not then cured. The salmon fishing this season has been indifferent. There are two kinds of salmon taken in quantities here, the real salmon as they are called, which are good and those generally cured, and an inferior kind called Hones,2°8 which are deemed not good enough for salting. The Hones this season were far the most numerous. It appears to be the case that when they are very rous the others are proportionably scarce. r. Yale also thinks there will be a considerable falling off in the returns of fürs20» this season. The causes he assigns, are that a considerable number of the Indians who used to resort here, now go to Nisqualy as they are afraid of the Northern Indians which deters them from Coming here, and also that the Coquilth210 Indians who inhabit about the N.W. of Vancouver Island and owing to the Opposition receive a high price for their fürs from the coasting vessels and at Millbank, come on trading excursions up to near this place, and can afford to give a higher price for the fürs than is given at the fort here, and carry off a good many skins. Wind Westerly, but d stock about the fort, and today I accompanied Mr. Yale out to the big piain,211 as it is called, (206) James Murray Yale, appointed to the command of Fort Langley in 1833. He had entered the service of the Company in 1815, and in 1821 had been sent to the Pacific Coast, where he spent the rest of his life. Fort Yale, on the Fräser River, was named after him. See H.B.S., I., pp. 473-4. (207) This salmon was intended for export. Between 1828 and 1830 attempts had been made to eure salmon for this purpose, but the produet had not been satisfactory. However, the difficulties were finally overcome, and the shipment of salt fish from Fort Langley increased yearly, until by 1838 large quantities were being sent to the Hawaiian Islands. See Robie L. Reid, " Early Days at Old Fort Langley," in British Columbia Historical Quarterly, I. (1937), pp. 79-81. (208) It has not been possible to identify this type of salmon. By the " real " salmon, Work may refer to the sockeye, for which the Fräser River is still famous. This is to-day the best fish for canning. However, the spring salmon is considered the best for salting. The inferior kind may have been the dog salmon, or even the cohoe. " Hone," " hoan," or " hän " is the word for salmon in the language of the Tsimpsean Indians around Fort Simpson. See W. F. Tolmie and G. M. Dawson, Comparative Vocabu- laries of the Indian Tribes of British Columbia, Montreal, 1884, p. 21b. (209) Ten years later the trade in fürs at Fort Langley had become very slight. (210) Kwakiutl. Spelled variously by Work as Colcauth, or Coquilth. See British Columbia Historical Quarterly, VIII. (1944), p. 236, n. 95. (211) The " big piain" spoken of here is now known as Langley Prairie. The land in the immediate vicinity of the fort was being culti- vated, as the text would indicate, but the soil was poor. Hence, in 1834, McLoughlin had ordered that the piain be eultivated, although it lay some distance from the fort. This was one of the reasons for the removal of Fort Langley in 1839 to its new site. See Reid, " Early Days at Old Fort Langley," in British Columbia Historical Quarterly, I. (1937), pp. 81-4. Curiously enough John Work had crossed Langley Prairie on his way from 1945 John Work's Journal, 1835. 137 and inspected the improvements going on there. Much credit appears due to Mr. Yale for the exertions & perseverance he displays, and the progress he has made in improvements with the means he possesses. There are about 60 pigs, and 20 head of cattle, 5 of them calves of this year, 6 of the Oxen are broke in & working, two of these have been lately brought from Nisqualy. The cattle are in fine order, but the pigs are rather lean, The water in the river was very high this season, and overflowed the ground where they were accustomed to feed, and there was a lack of means to supply them with a sufficiency of food. The ground has never been measured, but is reckoned that about the fort about 30 Acres are enclosed and under cultivation, and at the Big Piain about 40 to 45 Acres are enclosed, including what was ploughed & under crop last year, and what is being ploughed to put under crop this fall and next spring, The soil appears excellent and after being broke up a year or two will no doubt yield abundant crops, but owing to the great quantity of fern and other weeds and the toughness of the turf it requires great labour to break it up. Indeed so difficult are these weeds to banish, that some of the ground under crop this season appears as if it had never been ploughed. This year, owing principally to the unusual dryness of the season, a good deal of the crops failed and yielded very indifferently. At the fort 200 bush. potatoes were sowed & at the big piain 80 bush.; at the fort 5 bush, wheat, & at the big piain 10 bush.; at Fort 15 bush. Pease, and at piain 45 bush.; at the fort^-bush. barley sowed, & at piain 8 bushls. Some oats and Indian com were also sowed but yielded indifferently. Mr. Yale estimates that he will have about 300 bush. pease, 200 bush. wheat, and about 50 bush. barley. The soil about the fort appears very indifferent, part of it is very shingly, and a good deal in swamps, that have been drained, composed of black peat. There are a few knolls and spots along the bank of the river that appears a strong good clayey soil. The big piain is reckoned about 7 miles from the fort, straight through the woods, but the way we went by the Little river212 it is much farther. There is another piain of considerable extent, the nearer end of which is only about one mile from the fort, straight through the woods, but though it is a very rieh soil, as it is subject to inundation, it cant be culti- vated except some small spots. But jt is covered with a most Iuxuriant crop of fine grass and might yield pasturage for 1000 head of cattle, and were there a stock of cattle here, beef might be raised with far less trouble & at a much cheaper rate than pork. The Natives who inhabit the village close bye [sie] the fort have also a good deal of ground under cultivation, each of the principal men a little garden, Mr. Yale, by encouraging them to tili the ground and raise potatoes, has conferred a great benefit, for which he teils me they appear grateful, and indeed well they may, for it is the most effecient [sie] step that could be taken to promote their civilization, and in some measure to seeure themselves against the occasional scarcity of food which people dependant on the precarious produce of the chase so often experience. the Columbia to the I raser in 1824, and had not d its fertility " The soil here appears to be is] a black r nould. The remains of a luxurioi s crop of fern and grass 1 und." John Work, Journal, 1824 entry for December 14. (Original in Provincial Archives.) (212) The Salmon River. Work in 1824 had crossed fro Bay to the Fräser River by way of the Nicomekl and the Salmi Sunday, September 27. Still fine weather Wind Westerly but very light. I am afraid the vessel is making but slow progress with these light winds. But tedious as it may be bringing her up here was the only mode we -could adopt to take the salmon, as taking them down with boats even had we had them would have been an endless job, and had it Wown the least from the Southward the boats could not have got to the vessel at Point Roberts. A great number of canoes passed today on their way to their wintering ground on Vancouver's Island, and traded a good many dry salmon. Mr. Yale has now on hand [blank in MS.] pieces of salmon, which he reckons will be enough. Monday, September 28. Heavy rain in the night and forepart of the day. Wind Southerly but very little of it; yet, as it is down the river I am afraid it will retard the progress of the vessel. Tuesday, September 29. Heavy rain in the night and all day. Blew fresh in the night from the Southward. Wind Southerly all day, but not very strong, but I am afraid sufficiently so to retard the Lama's progress. Wednesday, September SO. Fine weather. Wind Westerly, but very little of it. The Indians brought us inteligence [sie] that the Lama is in the river some distance below the Nanima21^ village. The wind is so light, and the flood tide lasts such a short time, that she is probably [able] to make but slow progress. Mr. Yale commenced taking up his potatoes today. The crop is but indifferent owing no doubt from the dryness of the season. A party of Indians arrived from Nisqualy, from whom I received a letter from Mr. C. F. McLoughlin dated 7th Inst., directing me to proceed across land from Nisqualy, so that every thing may be arranged to dis- patch the vessel as soon as possible for the Northward, as the ship from England arrived too late, only in Äugt.,2" to be sent to the coast. Also to take 12 barreis salmon & 35 bush. Pease to Nisqualy for the use of that place. This will cause more delay. He also directs all the spare grain from here to be embarked with the salmon for the Columbia. The grain is not yet thrashed, but even were it ready we would not be able to take it, as I doubt whether we can get the salmon all embarked. These Indians have brought two ploughshares for Mr. Yale, which he is much in want of. Thursday, October 1. Thick fog in the morning, fine weather afterwards. We hear from the Indians that the Lama is above the Nanima village, no great distance off. She could not do much this morning tide owing to the fog which was so dense that nothing could be seen. Friday, October 2. Fog in the morning, fine warm weather afterwards. The Lama arrived and moored alongside the wharf in the afternoon. They had to tow and warp all the way up, and could do nothing but with the flood tide, which lasts a much shorter time than the ebb, so that they advanced very slowly. In the evening they were busy Clearing up pre- paring to land the fürs &c, to make room for the casks of salmon. (213) Not identified. The Nanimos, Snanaimoohs, or Nanaimos were a subdivision of the Cowichan Indians. The city of Nanaimo was named after these people. (214) The Ganymede actually arrived at Fort Vancouver on July 30, 1945 John Work's Journal, 1835. 139 Saturday, October 3. Fine weather. Both the crew and passengers busy all day landing the fürs, water casks &c, and discharging ballast, pre- paratory to taking in the salmon. The fürs, notwithstanding the pains taken in stowing them in dry places in the vessel, are a good many of them mouldy, but it is dry mould. I had it all carefully wiped off. Sunday, October 4- Fine weather. One of the Indians who arrived here from Nisqualy on the 30th ult. it seems, had been boasting that he either had or would kill some of the people here with Medicine or conjuring, which exasperated the Indians here. The man probably supposing it not safe to remain much longer among them, started this morning on his return home accompanied only by his wife. A party pursued them to the other end of the portage,2" big piain, where they had embarked in the canoe, and shot the man and cut off his head and brought back the wife with them as a prisoner or slave. Mr. Yale on hearing of the circumstance went, accompanied by a party of men armed, and released the woman and beat one or two of the Indians, for behaving so to any strangers that come here, when at the same time they are depending for their own safety in a great measure on the protection of the fort. The poor woman seems frantic with grief for the loss of her husband. This affair will most likely cause a war as the deceased belonged to the Sinahomish21^ which is a powerful tribe. Their chief, the Frenchman,2!' was here but has gone down to the Namima village on a visit. It is intended that the woman will be given to him, or sent on to Nisqualy where she can join her friends. Monday, October 5. Fog in the morning, fine warm weather afterwards. The men busy on board all day. Discharged a good deal more balast [sie] in the morning, and afterwards took 160 Barrels of salmon on board. We are favoured with fine weather which is a great advantage. It takes a great deal of time to clear out the vessel but without doing so the salmon could not be all got on board. The season is now so far advanced, and the baffling winds to be expected at this season would cause such a tedious passage to & from Nisqualy, that taking the vessel there with the 12 casks of salmon and 35 bush. of pease added from this place, would occasion a great loss of time and be attended with a heavy expense, as the homeward bound vessel will be delayed wait- ing the arrival of the Lama, and besides a vessel should be dispatched to the Northward as early as possible. Taking all these things into consideration, it is considered most advisable to not delay the vessel for this purpose, but send her on without loss of time to the Columbia, And endeavour to get the supplies for Nisqualy or part of them taken on with large canoes, for which purpose a large old canoe belonging to the fort here is being repaired, and we are bargaining with the Indians for another, when the few fürs at Nisqualy can be taken across the portage. The men must be taken that way, even should they be longer than by going by the vessel, as she will be so füll that there will be no room to aecomodate [sie] them on board. Perhaps we may be able to hire a canoe from the Indians to take some of the . supplies to Nisqualy. At all events any thing rather than take the vessel there with the valuäble cargo on board of her there at this late season, (215) The portage from the Salmon to the Nicomekl River. (216) Inhabiting Possession Sound and the south end of Whidbey Island. The name is rendered to-day as " Snohomish." (217) Not identified. mm 140 H. D. Dee. April which might be the cause of her being delayed off the Columbia bar so that she could not get in for a fortnight and exposed to danger at the same time. Tuesday, October 6. Still very fine weather. Busily employed loading the vessel. The salmon are now all aboard. Purchased the canoe we were bargaining for yesterday, and finished repairing'the other. But I am afraid that with what men, only nine, I will not be able to man them sufficiently to take any cargo worth while in them. We expect to get some Indians below to go with us, & perhaps be able to hire another canoe to take more of the things. The Chief Chalahen218 who came from Nisqualy with the letters went off today, and is to meet us below. He also left two of his men Wednesday, October 7. Weather still continues the vessel, and every thing got ready for sailing t< deep laden. [By the " Lama " and by canoe to Fort Nisqually.] Thursday, October 8. Very close foggy, sultry, weather. The vessel was hauled out from the wharf in the morning, and we got under weigh at % past 10, and dropped down the river towing tili past 3 P.M., when a sea breeze blew up the river which we could make no way against, and we had to anchor 8 miles from the fort. Several Indians came off to us from whom some cranberries and a couple of geese were traded. Friday, October 9. A dense fog with scarcely a breath of wind all day. It was the Captain's intention, to have moved on with the night tide, but it was so thick that it was too dangerous to attempt it, and we did not get under way tili the tide turned at 11 A.M., when we kept towing and dropping down the river as yesterday, tili the tide turned at % past 4 P.M. when we again anchored, having made only 10 Miles during the tide. The landmen accompany us down with the two canoes that I am to go on to Nisqualy with, with the provisions for that place. Some more Indians came off and traded a sturgeon, and some geese and ducks. Saturday, October 10. Still foggy weather in the morning, heavy rain afterwards. The wind being down the river and favourable, the vessel was got under way at 6 A.M., and proceeded at a slow rate against the flood tide 6 miles, when she anchored about 10 A.M. about 5 miles from the mouth of the river, as it set in to rain and the weather became so thick that nothing could be clearly seen, and it would have been too great a risk to have attempted to pass down the very winding Channel through the sands. Sunday, October 11. Weather still thick, rain part of the day. Light wind from the Eastward. The vessel was got under way about sunrising, and proceeded slowly against a flood tide from 3 to 4 miles down the river, tili about 9 A.M., when she touched on a sand in consequence of which the anchors had to be thrown overboard, and after a good deal of exertion she was got off. The remainder of the day was mostly occupied in getting up the anchors again. We have only now about a mile & a half to go to get out clear of the sands, but even were we out, with this wind we could do nothing as it is right ahead. The weather continues always so thick that objects at any distance cannot be distinctly seen. When we got aground it was near high water and we run a risk of not getting off tili another tide, (218) Not identified. John Work's Journal, 1835. Monday, October 12. Thick showry weather forepart of the day, cleared up a little with a breeze from the Southward afternoon. Got under way a little past 6 oclock in the morning and got out of the river, but as the wind was ahead and light forepart of the day, we made but little progress, and late in the evening we were only opposite Point Roberts, and at % past 10 at night anchored near Birch Bay.219 As the wind is ahead and light, it is deemed unsafe to go down among the narrows in the islands in the night when the tides run so strong. Though the wind was not strong, yet when the vessel was making to windward today, our canoes that are im tow, took in some water. I would have been glad to have been ashore with them as I was apprehensive had it blown strong they might have swamped, & we would have lost them. Tuesday, October 18. Still showry weather, Wind S.E. The weather having moderated, we got under way at a little past 10 A. M. and continued working to windward, but the wind being right a head and falling away light, we made but little progress and at 4 P.M. again east anchor in the entrance of Birch Bay, having made in upwards of 5 hours, only about 3 miles. It is really vexing to be thus baffled and able to make so little progress, particularly as the season is so far advanced and the winter approaching but it is out of our power to remedy it. The business to the Northward will suffer for want of supplies, and as the Lama, even on arrival at the Columbia must delay some time refitting, she runs a risk of being detained by the ice and not getting off in sufficient time. Had we not unfortunately lost our canoes, I would have proceeded on to the Columbia by Nisqualy at once. But it blew strong last night, and towards morning a heavy sea swept over the vessel, carried away new head boards which were put on at Ft. Langley, and hove our two canoes, which were riding astern of the vessel, so high out of the water that in the fall they were both broken and rendered utterly useless and unserviceable. With these two canoes and [those] which Chalahen, the Nisqualy chief, who left Ft. Langley a short time before us, was to procure about McLoughlin's island,220 I intended to take on the provisions for Nisqualy, but now I am afraid we will have to give up the idea of taking them on and if I can get a canoe, push on without them in order to reach the Columbia as expeditiously as possible so that arrangements may be made to have supplies sent on to the coast as expeditiously as possible. The homeward bound vessel will also be detained waiting for us, and as the weather is now there is no knowing when the Lama may reach the river. !. E. in the morning, iged to the S.W. for (219) In what is now Whatcom County, Washington, not far from the Canadian border. It was named by Captain Vancouver in 1792. Work camped at Birch Bay on December 20, 1824, on his return from the Fräser (220) Lummi Island, in the vicinity of Bellingham Bay. It was known as McLoughlin Island in Work's day, after Chief Factor John McLoughlin; given its present title in 1853 by the United States Coast Survey because it was inhabited by Indians of the Lummi tribe. See Meany, Washington Geographie Names, p. 152. 142 H. D. Dee. April a short time, and in the evening again shifted to the S.E. but continued very light. Got under way at 11 A.M., but the wind was so light and baffling that that [sie] we made only about 7 miles and anchored near McLoughlin's island at 8 P.M. The weather appears settling, and we are antieipating a favourable wind tomorrow. There being little or no wind and the tide very strong and a narrow passage to pass the island, as very little progress could have been made, the Captain deemed it most prudent to anchor for the night. A few Scatchet22! Indians came off and traded some wildfowl & salmon and a few beaver. Chalahen also came off, and informed me that there are no canoes sufficiently large for our purpose among these Indians, but that some large ones may be obtained from the Clallams,222 who are yet some way ahead so that we must wait tili we reach them. I much regret having lost the two that I brought from Ft. Langley, as had I had them, I might have left the vessel any where here. And even should the Indians have canoes it may be difficult to procure three from them. Thursday, October 15. The Wind changed to the Westward in the night about ten Oclock, and blew fresh for some time right on the shore with rain, but afterwards it moderated. The vessel pitched at her anchor a good deal for a while, but the anchor held well. Fair weather during the day, Wind Northerly, but light & variable. Got under way at 6 A.M. and proceeded down the narrows, but as the tide was strong against us in the forenoon, we made but little progress, & when the ebb tide turned with us the wind was so light that we did not get on much better, and by 6 P.M. we were only between Whidby's island and Smith's island.223 Some Clallam Indians came off from behind McLoughlin's island where they are fishing salmon, wishing to trade beaver but we would not buy them. I applied to them for some canoes to go to Nisqualy, which one of them who represented himself as the Chief, proposed to furnish if v, wait tili he would bring them, but as there i up, and the wind being favourable, his propi was deemed better to proceed on to Port Ton will get them. I desired the Chief to come on after u which as far as I understood him, he said he would d not stop him. He wished much to trade his beave of the Walla Walla Indians22« he was afraid to go to Nisqualy. Chalahen was in Company with him, and I sent off his two men who accompanied me from Ft Langley. I wished to keep one of them as a guide, but was afraid I might perhaps be able to get only one canoe, and not more than large enough to carry my own men. I very much regret the loss of the two canoes I brought from Ft. Langley, as had I had them I would have left the vessel here at once and not delayed her a moment going into Port Townsend. e would anchor and uitable place to bring it acceded to, as it rhere we expect we with three canoes, do, if the wind would eof a n part of Whidbey Island. it between New Dungeness and (222) A powerful tribe li Port Townsend. (223) A very small island at the eastern end of Juan de Fuca Strait. The Lama had just passed south through Rosario Strait. (224) On the south shore of Juan de Fuca Strait, lying to the east side of Quimper Peninsula. Work was now just a few miles to the east of his inward route via New Dungeness. (225) The Walla Walla Indians occupied an area around the present city of Walla Walla, on the Columbia. Why the Clallams should have expected to find them in any numbers at Nisqually is a mystery. 1945 John Work's Journal, 1835. 143 But as it is of importance that I get to Ft. Vancouver as quick as possible with the papers, I must endeavour to get a canoe—even at the expense of a short delay. The Captain means to go into the port in the night if it does not fall calm, at present (6 P.M.) the wind is very light, indeed, scarcely any, and we have yet 15 miles to go. A little past 6 P.M. the wind shifted all at once to the S.W., and blew a nice breeze for some time when it died away calm again, so that the vessel with difficulty got into the entrance of Port Townsend, where she was anchored at ten O'clock. Friday, October 16. Rain, with gusts of wind in the night and during the day. In the morning I took some men with me, and went up to the head of the harbour in quest of Ind[ian]s. to procure canoes to go to Nisqualy. I found a few miserable Indians at the head of the harbour, but they had few canoes & very indifferent. They informed us that there was another large village of Indians in Port Discovery226 with plenty of large canoes. I then went across a portage about 5 miles, but there were no Indians in the village, they were all off fishing. I returned without loss of time, and bought two of the largest of the canoes from the Indians I first found. By the time I got back to the vessel it was past 3 P.M., and immediately had all the pease intended for Nisqualy put on board the canoes, and sent ashore with the men and followed them immediately after, when it was getting dark. Where we are no fresh water is to be found, and all we have for the whole party is a 2 gallon keg we brought from the vessel. It is impossible for me to get the Salmon intended for Nisqualy taken on, and I cant detain the vessel to seek larger canoes. I have directed Capt. McNeill to proceed on to the Columbia without loss of time and as expeditiously as possible, and should the vessel arrive in the Columbia before the homeward bound ship has dropped down to Fort George,22' to proceed up to Vancouver without delay; but should the vessel be waiting at Fort George, he is to remain there tili he receives instructions from Vancouver. I have sent a letter to Mr. C. F. McLoughlin with the packing accounts of the fürs &c on board, which is to be forwarded as expeditiously as possible. Should the vessel have a favourable run she may be in the Columbia two or three days before me. Our canoes clumsy and heavy, and I have but 4 men for each; besides the pease, and our baggage, and provisions for the people, load them heavily and we may be retarded by wind. Saturday, October 17. Stormy in the night. Heavy rain during the day but very little wind. Some time was occupied in the morning repairing and putting the canoes in order. We had them loaded, and were off. At a quarter to nine Oclock passed by the Clallam portage,228 proceeded past the entrance of Hood's Canall,229 and at % past 5 P.M. encamped on a beach towards the head of Admiralty Inlet.» The tide in the afterpart (226) On the west side of Quimper Peninsula. Named by Vancouver after his ship, H.M.S. Discovery. (227) The present Astoria, on the south bank of the Columbia, about 14 miles from the river's mouth. Fort Vancouver, which had replaced Fort George in 1825 as the main depot, lay on the north bank of the Columbia almost opposite the mouth of the Willamette River. (228) A narrow strip of sandy land between the head of Port Townsend and Oak Bay, to the south. (229) Hood Canal, an extensive arm on the west side of Puget Sound. It was named by Vancouver in 1792 after Samuel, Lord Hood, of the Royal (230) Admiralty Inlet is the waterway connecting Juan de Fuca Strait with Puget Sound. of the day was very strong against us, & we were able to make but slow progress, as the canoes are heavy and and [sie] four paddles have but little weight upon them against the tide. We had some difficulty getting a place to encamp. It was 3 Oclock before we found any fresh water and some of the people were badly off with thirst. It was still only about half flood when we crossed the Clallam portage and we had to carry the baggage & drag the canoes about 200 yards. At high water the portage would be only 10O yards. A boat was ashore from the vessel before we started, Capt. McNeill was going to get under weigh immediately. Sunday, October 18. Thick foggy weather and some heavy rain and the rest of the time drizzling rain all day. Where we put ashore last night, was a flat shore though we did not pereeive it, and the tide had left us so far this morning that we had to carry the baggage & drag the canoes 300 yards, which detained us tili a quarter to nine O'clock, when we started and proceeded on to near 6 P.M. when we encamped opposite the North end of Vashon's Island.231 As the tide was against us the after part of the day, we were not able to stem the current, cutting from point to point, and lost a good deal of time passing along shore along the bays. Passed a camp of Indians in the evening but did not go ashore. Monday, October 19. Thick weather, drizzling rain in the morning, cloudy with a fresh breeze from the S. W. afterwards. Blew fresh from the northward sometime in the night. As the wind was right on shore, I had to rouse the people in the night to unload the canoes and drag them up on the beach. We had them loaded again and got under way a little past 6 in the morning, and arrived at Nisqualy a little past 3 P.M., where I found Mr. Kittson232 and his people all well. There is an Indian here from the Cowlitz233 who will aecompany me, and provide a canoe immediately on ' arrival there; but he has to go some distance for his horse tomorrow morning, and immediately on his arrival I shall start with two or three men for Vancouver, and leave the others here to follow immediately after accompanied by one of Mr. Kittson's men and take the fürs here along with them, about ten packs, which I expect will reach the Columbia in time for the vessel going home. A fair wind for the Lama today if she has got past Cape Flattery, which I rather doubt, as the wind was very light these two days past; but if she has not got out of the straits, the wind will be right ahead for her, if it was the same there as we had it. [Act s the Cowlitz Portage to the Columbia and thence to Fort Vancouver.] Tuesday, October 20. Overcast cloudy weather, but fair. At % past One Oclock P.M. the Indian who is to aecompany me to the Cowlitz arrived but without his horse, which he was seeking, and which is still at Nisqualy (231) A large island on Puget Sound, separated from the mainland on the west by Colvos Passage. Named by Vancouver after Captain James Vashon, of the Royal Navy. (232) William Kittson served in the war of 1812-14 and entered the North West Company as a Clerk in 1817. In 1826-9 he was in charge of the Kootenay post for the Hudson's Bay Company, and in 1834 took charge of the farming, stock-raising, and fur-trading at Nisqually. (233) The Cowlitz River fiows into the Columbia from the north. The Cowlitz farm of the Company was situated on this river. 1945 John Work's Journal, 1835. 145 river23*. I started with two men and a boy and sent the Indian on ahead, we came up with him and encamped at Nisqualy river at 4, where the Indian's horse was brought him after dark. Left the rest of the men to aecompany one of Mr. Kittson's men with his fürs, ten packs, the day after tomorrow. Wednesday, October 21. Fine fair but cold weather, a heavy dew in the night. Started236 at 7 A.M. and continued on all day at as brisk a rate as the horses could bear, and encamped at sunsetting at the second piain on the Cowlitz side of the Mountain23«. Some of the horses were a good deal fatigued. The road is not yet miry, but from the rain that has fallen, slippery & fatiguing on the horses. There were a good many long points of wood to pass, and the branches were so loaded with dew that we were wet to the skin the forepart of the day. Passed several lodges of Indians at the Chehaelis river.23' They are taking considerable numbers of salmon. Thursday, October 22. Very heavy rain the greater part of the day. Proceeded on our journey before 7 A.M. and at 11 reached the Cowlitz river where we left the horses in charge of our guide's brother. Our guide's canoe which we expected to find here, and embark in immediately, had been taken away, and we lost 3 hours getting another one, and after we did embark, our guide had to call at another house where one of his wives is dieing of the fever and here we were detained, though it was pouring down rain, another hour. Finally after a short delay at another house, where we took another Indian in the canoe, we proceeded down the river and at near dark encamped a little above the South fork of the Cowlitz on a small Sandy beach, where we had some difficulty getting wood and making a fire, which we much needed to warm ourselves as we were almost benumbed with cold and completely drenched with the rain, which continued tili the evening, when it changed to snow, which feil thick and in very large flakes. Friday, October 23. Fair a short time in the morning but thick snow with raw cold weather all day afterwards. The soft snow, which is worse than rain, & the cold rendered, it very unpleasant traveling [sie]. We stopped (234) The Nisqually River, not far from the fort, flows into the head of Puget Sound from the Nisqually Glacier, on Mount Rainier. (235) Aecording to T. C. Elliott in "Journal of John Work," Washington Historical Quarterly, III. (1912), p. 227, n. 68, the trail from Nisqually to the Columbia followed the present line of the Northern Pacific Railway through Centralia and Chehalis to a point on the Cowlitz River near Toledo. It was described by Warre and Vavasour as follows: " At the Cowlitz [Farm] we procured horses and rode to Nisqually, a distance of about 60 miles this route or Portage as it is usually called, passes through small plains traversing the intervening points of woods, crossing the Quinze, Sous [Chehalis], Vassais [tributary of the Chehalis], Chute [Deschutes], & Nisqually rivers, all of which are fordable in the summer but become deep & rapid in the winter & spring." See letter, " M. Vavasour to Colonel Hollo- way, Fort Vancouver, March 1, 1846," in Provincial Archives, Record Office Transcripts, F.O. 5, Vol. 457, 1846, p. 67. The Archives also has a copy of the sketch-map of the route from the Columbia to Nisqually prepared to aecompany this letter. (236) Either Mud Mountain or merely the height of land between the Chehalis and the Cowlitz rivers. (237) The Chehalis River flows into the Pacific at Gray's Harbour, in the State of Washington. Work had proceeded up this river from its mouth on his first expedition to Puget Sound and the Fräser in 1824. 146 H. D. Dee. a short time in the morning to get our clothes. partially dried, and then proceeded on our journey at % past 8 A.M., and encamped at near 5 P.M. near the head of Deers island233 in the Columbia river, where we put ashore the Indians, and most of the people were benumbed with cold, for though our clothes were dried a little in the morning, they were soon completely wet with the soft snow. The snow feil so thick in the night that the trees, which have their leaves all on yet, could not bear the weight, & only a few hours after the snow began, we could hear them breaWng down with the weight in every direction. Many of a considerable size are broken, and the small ones all bent down. In the Cowlitz the Indians are taking great numbers of salmon, some of them still pretty good. Saturday, October 24. Snowed thick during the night and greater part of the day. Stormy also in the night and morning. Wind S. Westerly. It blew so strong in the morning and raised such a swell in the river, that we could not move tili past 8 Oclock, when it having moderated a little, we got under way and arrived at Fort Vancouver at 4 P.M., when I had the pleasure of finding our friends all well. The soft snow which feil in such abundanee and wet us through, together with the raw cold weather, rendered it very unpleasant traveling [sie], and much retarded our progress. The weight of the snow has laid flat all the willows and small trees along the river side, and broke limbs of a large size of [sie] the large trees. Sunday, October 25. Still dirty snowy weather. Monday, October 26. Still unpleasant rainy snowy, raw cold weather. A canoe was sent sent [sie] down the river with a letter to Captain McNeill directing him to come up here with the Lama without delay. If he has got into the river as it is expected he is, or if he is not yet arrived, to come on as soon as he gets in. ither but f i Shar ROYAL COMMISSIONS AND COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY UNDER THE "PUBLIC IN- QUIRIES ACT" IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. A CHECKLIST. By Marjorie C. Holmes. Part III., 1911-1920. 1911 58. [Commission to hold an enquiry into all matters relating to the application in the name of Charles William Corby to purchase lands embraced in Lot 10012, Group 1, Kootenay District] No report found. Commissioner: Albert Edward Bull, barrister, of Vancouver. Appointed March 14, 1911. 59. [Commission . . . to inquire into the eonduct of, and fully investi- gate eharges and eomplaints against Nigel B. Ewairt, whilst Provincial Constable at Princeton, with the view of ascertain- ing whether the said Nigel B. Ewart acted improperly whilst on duty.] No report found. Commissioner: William Howard Bullock-Webster, barrister, of Nel- Appointed June 27, 1911. 1912 60. Synopsis of report and füll report of Royal Commission on Taxa tion, 1911. Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Exeellent Majesty. 1912. Cover-title, 38 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1912. pp. B 1-B 38. The proceedings are on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Commissioners: Hon. Price Ellison, Minister of Finance; Hon. A. E. McPhillips, K.C., President of the Council; C. H. Lugrin, of Victoria; W. H. Malkin, of Vancouver. Appointed September 14, 1911; report dated January 19, 1912. This commission was appointed to inquire "into the Operation of the Assessment Act with regard to its practical bearings on the finaneial requirements of the Province." Nineteen cities of the Province were visited, and evidence heard by the commission. Recommendations were made, the principal ones being the abolition of the poll tax, personal 147 Marjorie C. Holmes. land, and the Substitut 61. Report of the Commissioners for revising the Statutes, 1911. 10 pp. In Sessional Papers . . . Session 1912. pp. N 13-N 22. Commissioners: Charles Wilson, barrister, of Victoria; A. P. L ton, barrister, of Victoria. Appointed January 11, 1910; report dated January 16, 1912. This report sets out the plan followed by the c 62. Public Inquiries Act re Vancouver General Hospital; Commission- Original typewritten report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Robert Wetmore Hannington,-barrister, of Vancou- Appointed April 26, 1912; report dated September 13, 1912. The commission was appointed to investigate conditions at the General Hospital. This was a fact-finding commission, inquiring into the running of the hospital, both finaneial and otherwise. No specific com- plaint of medical inefficiency was submitted, and other complaints against the management of the institution were held to be trivial. The commissioner called attention to the lack of adequate staff. . [Public Inquiries Act: Reeord of proceedings . . . to ascertain to what extent registration has been effeeted of subdivisions of lands granted by the Crown since the passing of the Land Act Amendment Act, 1896, and what lots and blocks of land comprising such subdivisions have been conveyed to the Crown in aeeordanee with the requirements of said act . . .] No report found. The original typewritten proceedings are on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: William Alexander Macdonald, K.C, of Vancouver. Appointed January 26, 1912. The estigated fully the ä to the land u „ Report of the Commissioner appointed . . . under the Public Inquiries Act for the purpose of inquiring into all questions relating to the proposed incorporation into a City Municipality under the name of the City of Alberni of certain parcels of land situate in the Alberni District, Vancouver Island. 1945 Commissions of Inquiry. 149 Original typewritten report, evidence, and maps on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Thornton Fell, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Victoria. Appointed July 4,1912; report dated August 13, 1912. The commissioner reported that he endorsed the proposed incorpo- 65. Report of Royal Commission on Matters relating to the Sect of Doukhobors in the Province of British Columbia, 1912. Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1913. Cover-title, 66 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1913. pp. T 1-T 66. Original typewritten report, evidence, and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: William Blakemore, Journalist, of Victoria. Appointed August 15, 1912; report dated December 21, 1912. The commissioner investigated the " Organization, habits, customs and practices of the Doukhobor Community at Grand Forks, Brilliant and elsewhere in the Province, including in the inquiry an investigation into the nature, source and scope of the authority held or exercised by the leader or leaders of the Community over other members thereof; the tenure and ownership of property, real and personal; the solemni- zation of marriages; the registration of births, deaths and marriages, and domestic relations generally; naturalization; the observance of law; and generally all matters appertaining or relating to the Community and its social, intellectual, moral and religious life." The commissioner made the recommendation that patience should be exercised in dealing with the Doukhobors, that the clause granting exemption from military service be cancelled, and that no more Doukhobors be admitted to the Province. The report is an interesting one. A Synopsis of the salient facts connected with the Doukhobor immigration is given, the history of the sect, which explains the tenets of their creed and beliefs, and the effect of their social conditions upon their mode of living in Canada. Up to the date of the report, it is the best history of the Doukhobors in British Columbia. 66. British Columbia. Report of the Royal Commission on Municipal Government, 1912, under " Public Inquiries Act." Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1913. Cover-title, 18 pp. ü Papers . . . Session 1913. pp. L 1-L 18. 50 Marjorie C. Holmes. April Commissioners: W. H. Keary, of New Westminster; H. A. Mac- lean, K.C, of Victoria; A. E. Bull, barrister, of Vancouver. Appointed August 7, 1912; report dated December 30, 1912. The commissioners investigated the system of municipal government of seven cities in Canada, and of twelve large and several smaller cities in the United States, where commission government was in force. The commission was fact-finding, for the purpose of drafting a new Municipal Act for British Columbia, which was to be submitted for approval. The report digested the forms of government in the places investigated, and the application of such forms of municipal government in British Columbia. The report includes a six-page analysis of the evidence obtained in British Columbia. 1913 | Report of Royal Commission on Mük-supply in British Columbia: under "Public Inquiries Act." Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1913. Cover-title, 29 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1918. pp. J 1-J 29. Commissioners: A. P. Procter, M.D., of Vancouver; F. J. Coulthard, of New Westminster; Anson Knight, chief veterinary inspector for British Columbia, of Sardis. Freeman Bunting, Secretary. Appointed December 9, 1911, naming Dr. Fagan, Director of the Provincial Board of Health as chairman, but as he was unable to act, a new commission was issued June 24, 1912, naming Dr. Procter (as above) chairman; report dated January 26, 1913. The commission was appointed to investigate " the sale of milk and the management of dairies, cow-sheds and milk-shops in the province." Investigation was made of conditions in the larger towns of the Province, existing legislation, and that of other Provinces. The report recommended that a good, workable Act should be passed to regulato milk distribution and supply; urged that milk should be classified, and that an educational campaign on the subject of a pure milk-supply should be undertaken. !. Re Board of School Trustees of the City of Nelson: Commissioner''s report. 14 pp. Original report on file in the Pro The evidence and exhibits are filed Victoria. Commissioner: Peter Secord Lampman, Judge of the County Court, Victoria. Appointed February 20,1913; report dated March 12,1913. The commissioner was appointed to inquire into affairs of the board of school trustees, both past and present, of the city of Nelson, and also to investigate complaints made by members of the staff of the Nelson public school regarding the actions of Robert Thompson, principal of 145 COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY. 151 the school. Financial transactions of the board were criticized, and the commissioner found that the board had paid for materials not received. However, the school board had made satisfactory explana- tions, and since then all funds had been handled by the city of Nelson. In the second matter, the principal, Robert Thompson, was found by the commissioner to be at fault, in that he was unable to control his temper. The school board had previously held an inquiry, as nine teachers had resigned and affairs were very unsatisfactory at the school. The board passed a resolution of dismissal. Owing to local politics and the election of a new school board, Robert Thompson had been rein- stated. Judge Lampman thought that the board had made a great mis- take in the reappointment, as Thompson had deliberately falsified his age in applying for the Position, thereby committing a fraud for which he should suffer some penalty. He also advised all those teachers who had signed the complaint to leave Nelson, as continuance in their posi- tions would only lead to constant bickerings and allusions to past troubles. '. Royal Commission under the " Public Inquiries Act | to inquire into the administration of affairs of South Vancouver Municipality. 19 pp. Original typewritten report and proceedings on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: ,Matthew Joseph Crehan, chartered accountant, of Vancouver. Appointed May 16,1912; report dated May 16,1913. The commissioner examined the administration of school affairs, the purchase of school sites, the awarding of contracts, and the purchase of school supplies. He commented on the fact that the duties of school trustee were not clearly defined, and that the trustees evidently did not understand the " School Act." He investigated also the administration of municipal departments, and made recommendations regarding the finaneial affairs of the municipality. 1914 ! Report of the Commissioners for revising the Statutes, 1911. 2pp. Typewritten copy of final report on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: Charles Wilson, barrister, of Victoria; A. P. Lux- ton, barrister, of Victoria. Appointed January 11,1910; final report dated January 19,1914. This is the final report of the commissioners appointed to revise the Statutes, following their report of two years previously. (See No. 61, supra.) In this report the commissioners explain their reasons for including in the Revised Statutes of British Columbia a number of Imperial Acts which " are yet of importance and may be in füll force in this Province." 152 Marjorie C. Holmes. April 71. Report of Royal Commission re coal in British Columbia under " Public Inquiries Act." Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. Cover-title, 30 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1914, L, pp. 11-1 30. The exhibits are on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: William Ernest Bums, barrister, of Vancouver. Appointed February 7, 1913; report dated January 21, 1914. The commissioner was appointed to inquire into- the cost of coal production, profits, transportation, and shortages for consumption in all phases of the coal business. Evidence was taken in the large towns and coal-mining districts of the Province. It was recommended that the various classes and grades of coal known to commerce be made applicable to all the different coalfields of the Province; that supervision or inspection be enforced in both mine weighing and grading; and that a reduction in rates be made on coal from the mines of the interior, and also a reduction in cost of bulk delivery to customers. 72. In the matter of the Public Inquiries Act and in the matter of a Commission issued to the undersigned Herbert W. R. Moore, to enquire into all matters in connection with the proposed severance of Shaughnessy Heights from the Municipality of Point Grey and its incorporation as a separate municipality and any other matter that may be included in or relevant to the Bül intituled " An Act to Ineorporate Shaughnessy Municipality " now before the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. 29 pp. Original typewritten report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Herbert W. R. Moore, barrister, of Victoria. Appointed January 22,1914; report dated February 16,1914. The report gives the history of the subdivision, and investigates the argument for secession from the municipality of Point Grey. The commissioner, however, recommended that the proposed legislation be dropped. 73. [Commission . . . under the Public Inquiries Act] into the mat ters connected with the oceupants of land comprised in the timber leases held by The North Pacific Lumber Company Limited on the Chilliwack River in the Province of British ■, Columbia. 7pp. Typewritten copy of report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Frederick W. Howay, Judge of the County Court of New Westminster. Appointed July 2,1913; report dated February 23,1914. i45 Commissions of Inquiry. 153 Settlers had entered upon portions of the land embraced by the lease, which comprised some 4,000 acres north of the Chilliwack River. An arrangement had been made with the lessee under which Crown grants would be issued to the settlers for the land occupied by them, on the understanding that no timber land would be embraced in such grants, and that all rights and Privileges of the timber lessee would be protected. However, on six Crown grants no reservation of timber had been made. The commissioner recommended that the Company be reim- bursed by the Government for failure to reserve the timber, up to a stated amount. . (a.) Province of British Columbia: Report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture appointed on the 4th day of December 1912, under the " Public Inquiries Act." Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1914. Cover-title, ix; 42 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1914, II., pp. L1-L 42. Original report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: W. H. Hayward, M.L.A., of Duncan; Alexander Lucas, M.L.A., of Vancouver; S. Shannon, of Cloverdale; William Duncan, of Comox; J. J. Campbell, of Belson; Thomas Kidd, of Steveston (who resigned owing to ill-health); J. Kidston, of Vernon. C B. Christiansen, Secretary. Appointed December 4, 1912; report not dated. (b.) Füll report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture appointed on the 4th day of December 1912, under the "Public Inquiries Act." Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1914. Cover-title, ix; 398 pp. 1 map. Commissioners: as above. The commission was appointed to inquire into all conditions affecting agriculture in all branches, and hearings were held in all parts of the Province. The report was issued in two parts; Part I. dealing briefly with the findings and recommendations presented to the Legislative Assembly; Part II. issued with the Füll Report later, and not included in the Sessional Papers. The Füll Report, with Part IL and Appendices, included extensive recommendations. The principal ones concerned the administration of the Department of Agriculture, the Institution of Systems of agricultural credit and agricultural education in the Province, and the promo- tion of co-operation among producers. The report included a lengthy account of agricultural conditions in British Columbia and d' co-operative farming and agricultural credit in o - - of references on these subjects is found on pp. 381 154 Marjorie C. Holmes. April 75. Province of British Columbia: Report of the Royal Commission on Labour appointed on the 4th day of December, 1912, under the " Public Inquiries Act." Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly, Victoria, B.C.: Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1914. Cover-title, v; 28 pp. Also in Sessional Paperi The proceedings are or file i Commissioners: A. M. Harper, of Vancouver; J. A. McKelvie, of Vernon; R. A. Stoney, of New Westminster; J. Jardine, of Victoria; H. G. Parson, of Golden, chairman. Appointed December 4, 1912; report dated March 3, 1914. The commission was appointed to inquire into conditions of labour generally, the wages paid in mines, in the woods, on railways and tram- ways, the methods of safety employed, the preservation of health, and the prevention of unsanitary conditions. Each of these subjects was reported on separately and recommendations made. The commissioners also made a short report on mothers' pensions, free school texts, elec- toral Privileges, and daylight saving in regard to industry. The " Workmen's Compensation Act" passed by the Legislature the following year was based on this report. 76. [Commission . . . for the purposes of inquiring fully into all matters affecting the values of lands forming part of the former Songhees Reserve and apportioned to the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Company and the Canadian Northern Railway Company for the purpose of the said railways . . .] Original typewritten report on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. j Commissioner: Frederick W. Howay, Judge of the County Court of New Westminster. Appointed January 6, 1914; report dated March 18, 1914. The commissioner inquired into all matters affecting the values of two portions of the former Songhees Indian Reserve, containing 29.59 and 33.93 acres respectively, apportioned to the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway and the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway for railway purposes. The Canadian Northern Pacific Railway was not represented at any sitting of the commission, but the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway did place some evidence before the commissioner, who therefore based his conclusions on that evidence. The land apportioned to this railway, on which it was hoped that a new terminal would be built, was claimed by the city of Victoria, to be worth $34,000 an acre; if used for future business and residential purposes, but inasmuch as a considerable amount of excavating would have to be done before the land could be used for railway purposes, the railway claimed the amount was too much. The commissioner found that the land value was $12,000 an acre, taking into consideration the expense in developing it, making L 1945 Commissions of Inquiry. 155 a total of $355,080, if used for railway purposes, or if used for future business and residential purposes the net value would be $24,000 an acre, or $710,160 in all. In reference to the 33.93 acres which had been allotted to the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway, on the same basis, for railway purposes, the land value was $12,000- an acre or a total of $407,160, and on the basis of future business and residential purposes the net value would amount to $24,000 an acre or a total of $814,320. 77. In the matter of the " Public Inquiries Act" and in the matter of an inquiry into the affairs of the present Board and past Boards of School Trustees of the City of Vancouver. 15 pp. Typewritten copy of report and proceedings on file in the Department of Education, Victoria. Partial proceedings on file also in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: H. O. Alexander, barrister, of Vancouver. Appointed February 10, 1913; report not dated. [May 1914.] The commissioner inquired into contracts for school buildings and their construction, which he found to be faulty. The finaneial affairs of the school board were in a State of chaos, and the aecounting system so lax that funds had been overdrawn approximately $50,000 without the board being aware of the State of affairs. Two trustees were found to have acted improperly in borrowing money from the contractors. Nothing was found by the commissioner against the personal characters of the trustees, but his report uncovered many instanees of petty incompetence and ignorance on the part of the school board. In calling attention to these facts, the commissioner advocated that some system of auditing be adopted by the Department of Education, and that a Standard set of books be instituted for the use of school boards through- out the Province. 78. [In the matter of the " Public Inquiries Act" to inquire into all matters in connection with the avplication for the Incorporation under the " Municipalities Incorporation Act" of certain lands situated in Comox District, in the County of Nanaimo, to be known as Courtenay, B.C.] 3pp. Original typewritten report, petitions, and correspondence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Herbert E. A. Robertson, barrister, of Vancouver. Appointed May 9, 1914; report dated July 6, 1914. After taking evidence, the commissioner recommended that incorporation should be granted for a portion only of the land in question, since in his opinion the original area was too large. In view of the fact that a proper system of water supply and distribution had become a vital necessity for the population of the district, he recommended that the Waterworks Company be allowed to proceed with the works which it had already commenced, and that the municipality should be Marjorie C. Holmes. j. In the matter of the " Public Inquiries Act"; reports of the Hon- ourable Mr. Justice Morrison and the Honourable Mr. Justice Macdonald, Electoral Redistribution Commissioners, appointed by Royal Commission 18th July, 1914. Two reports, 6 pp., 5 pp. Original typewritten reports, correspondence, and map on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: Mr. Justice Aulay Morrison and Mr. Justice William Alexander Macdonald, of the Supreme Court. Appointed July 18,1914; report (Morrison) dated January 4,1915; report (Macdonald) dated January 5, 1915. The commissioners differed slightly on some points in connection with the boundaries of the proposed electoral districts in the Kootenay, and for this reason two reports were submitted. However, they were entirely in agreement regarding the theoretical methods of redistribut- ing the electoral districts of the province. . Report of explosio n B. North Mine, Coal Creek. vincial Secretary's Office, Typewritten report on file i: Victoria. Commissioner: John Stewart, J.P., of Ladysmith. Appointed March 13,1915; report dated April 24,1915. The commissioner was appointed to inquire into the causes of an explosion in B. North Mine, Coal Creek, on January 2, 1915. Thomas Graham, chief inspector of mines, represented the Department of Mines, and S. Herchmer, barrister, of Fernie, the Crow's Nest Pass Company, who were the Operators of the mine. The inquiry opened at Fernie on March 29, 1915. The cause of the explosion was found to be the ignition of a body of gas which had accumulated with the stoppage of a fan during the New Year's holiday, and the failure to re-establish Ventilation previous to the arrival of the workmen. This resulted in the death of one man and injury to several others. Thomas Graham gave a Synopsis of the evidence in his annual report to the Department of Mines for 1915 (Sessional Papers . . . Session 1916, p. K327). The commissioner commented on the lamentable lack of discipline on the part of mine officials, and severely criticized the indifference of the mine Superintendent. . In the matter of the " Public Inquiries Act" and in the matter of the inquiry into the cause of and responsibüity for the accident which occurred on the 9th February, 1915, in the No. 1 slope of the South Wellington Coal Mines. 1945 Commissions of Inquiry. 157 Original typewritten report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Mr. Justice Denis Murphy, of the Supreme Court. Appointed May 29, 1915; report dated July 27, 1915. The commission was appointed to inquire into the cause of, and responsibility for, the accident in the South Wellington coal mine which occasioned the death of nineteen miners, and to inquire into the plans and workings of the mine. The report gives a history of the South Wellington mine. The commissioner held that one man was negligent, but did not consider him mainly responsible for the accident. Thomas Graham,- inspector of mines, summarizes this report also in his annual report to the Department for 1915 (Sessional Papers . . . Session 1916, pp. K329-K 334). 82. [Commission . . .to inquire into all matters pertaining to the , proposed adjustment of the boundaries of the Municipalities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.] No report found. Commissioner: Harold Claude Nelson McKim, barrister, of Van- Appointed December 4,1915. 83. Report of the Returned Soldiers' Aid Commission (British Colum bia) appointed by order in Council approved by His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor November 29th, 1915. Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1916. Cover-title, 15 pp. Commissioners: Dr. H. E. Young, LL.D., M.L.A., chairman; A. Stewart, mayor of Victoria; A. Wells Gray, mayor of New Westminster; A. E. Planta, of Nanaimo; R. H. Gale, of Vancouver; A. C. Burdick, of Victoria; and E. W. Hamber, of Vancouver. James H. Hill, Secretary. Appointed November 29, 1915; report dated March 16, 1916. The commission was appointed to make Provision regarding the immediate employment of discharged soldiers, to provide technical training necessary to assist disabled soldiers to obtain work, and to devise a practical way of placing returned soldiers on the land. The report ineludes also the findings of a sub-committee on training in agriculture, by G. H. Deane and J. W. Gibson. 84. (a.) Report of the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for the Province of British Columbia. Printed by order Victoria, British Columbia; in four volumes. Printed by the Acme Press, Limited, 1916. Cover-title, 966 pp. 8 Marjorie C. Holmes. April Commissioners: N. W. White, chairman; J. A. J. McKenna; S. Car- michael; J. P. Shae; D. H. Macdowall. C. H. Gibbons, Secretary. Appointed April 23, 1913; report dated June 30, 1916. This was a Joint commission appointed by the Dominion Government and the Government of the Province of British Columbia to try to settle the vexed question of Indian reserves in British Columbia, e appointed by the Dominion Government, and two by the Provincial Government. These four commissioners selected a fifth who was appointed to act as chairman. The report is extensive and ineludes descriptions of the boundaries of all Indian reserves within the Province, accompanied by maps. The recommendations were not wholly adopted by the Government, and therefore the interest of the report is chiefly historical. (b.) Confidential report of the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for the province of British Columbia under Order in Council dated the lOth day of June, in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Thirteen. Printed by Order, Victoria, British Columbia. Printed by the Acme Press, Limited, 1916. 28 pp. Original typewritten report on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: as above. Appointed as above. This report is a confidential report made by the Indian commissioners to the Governor-General of Canada bearing on the social and physical condition of the Indians in British Columbia. 85. [Commission . . . to enquire into certain claims respecting lands situated within the Esquimalt and Nanaimo railway land belt, and the present status of all lands excepted out of the said belt] No report found. Commissioner: Mr. Justice F. B. Gregory, of the Supreme Court. Appointed August 3,1916. The commission was appointed to inquire into the claims to Crown grants of any or all persons who, prior to December 19, 1883, occupied or improved lands situated in the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway belt, and the status of lands excepted out of that tract as not passing with the grant to the Dominion Government, or held as school reserves. 86. [Commission to inquire into the sale by public auetion in November 1909 of the lands speeified in the Minute . . . and to investigate all matters relating thereto.] 57 pp. Original typewritten report and appendices on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Robert Wilson Harris, K.C, of Vancouver. Appointed April 28, 1916; report dated September 29, 1916. 1945 COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY. 159 The lots in question were Lots 139, 140,186, 538, 640, 206, 217, and 2027, New Westminster District, and also lands surveyed as Lot 2, Block 13; Lot 1, Block 19; Lots 1, 2, 3, and 4, Block 20; Lots 2 and 3, Block 21; Lot 3, Block 44. The commissioner was to inquire into all transfers and assignments regarding these lands, and the disposal of money so made. The history of each piece of land was inquired into thorougMy. The commissioner made recommendations in each case, including certain concessions on the part of the Government in the matter of finaneial arrangements. 87. Commissioner''s report, Vancouver Island riots, 1918-H. 15 pp. In Sessional Papers . . . Session 1919. pp. F1-F15. Original typewritten report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Mr. Justice P. B. Gregory, of the Supreme Court. Appointed August 3, 1916; report dated December 21, 1916. The commissioner was appointed to inquire into "all claims for compensation or injury, either to person or property, arising out of and in the course of the riots or disorders which oecurred during the coal- miners' strike on Vancouver Island in the years 1913 and 1914." The commissioner was not required by the terms of the commission to inquire into the cause of the riots of August 12 to 16,1913, during which considerable damage was done by the miners to person and property at Extension, South Wellington, and Ladysmith, and in suppression of which the militia was called out, but to report on the claims for compensation, numbering 380. Schedule A of the report lists the names of the claimants, the amounts claimed, and the amounts allowed by the commissioner^ Certain specific claims with particulars and recommendations are set out in Schedule B. 1917 . [In the matter of a commission . . . to enquire into the Charge made by the sixth member for the City of Vancouver in the Legislative Assembly on the 17th day of April, 1917, John Sedgwick Cowper did charge " that the sum of $25,000 was placed in the safe of the Hotel Vancouver by, or on behalf of the Canadian Northern Railway on the night of the ISth of September last, and that the same money was received or taken away the next morning by a person who was a Liberal candidate at the by-election of February 26,1916, and also at the General Election of September 14,1916."] 5pp. Original typewritten report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Mr. Justice F. B. Gregory, of the Supreme Court. Appointed April 24, 1917; report dated May 12, 1917. iO Marjoree C. Holmes. April This is commonly known as the " Cowper commission." The commissioner investigated charges made on the floor of the Legislature by J. S. Cowper, that the sum of $25,000 was placed in the safe of the Hotel Vancouver on behalf of the Canadian Northern Railway, and that the money was taken away by a " Liberal candidate." At the com- mencement of the inquiry the charge was revised to read $15,000 instead of $25,000. The evidence did not prove that the money had anything to do with the Canadian Northern Railway, but it was brought out that it had been received by the Attorney-General (Hon. M. A. Macdonald) , and paid into campaign funds. i. In the matter of the Fort George election inquiry act and in the matter of an investigation and inquiry under the said act; report of the commissioner. 43 pp. Original typewritten report, proceedings and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Co'mtiussioner: Frederick McBain Young, Judge of the County Court of Atlin. Appointed May 19, 1917; report dated August 18,1917. The commission was appointed by Statute (1917, chapter 20), to inquire into alleged irregularities in connection with the election of a member of the Legislative Assembly for Fort George electoral district held September 14, 1916. The commissioner found that the charges were not substantiated. i. Report of Commissioner appointed to investigate the Economic Conditions and Operations of the British Columbia Electric Railway Company and subsidiary companies. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1918. Cover-title, 50 pp. Original typewüHten report on file in the Eroyincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Adam Shortt, C.M.G., F.R.S.C, of Ottawa, formerly Civil service commissioner. Appointed July 11, 1917; report dated November 5, 1917. The commission was appointed to make an investigation of the economic conditions and Operations of the British Columbia Electric Railway, to make such recommendations as might be suggested as the result of such inquiry, and " to investigate the question of transportation in the city of Vancouver and surrounding districts and to decide definitely as to the possibility of the Street car service being maintained in competition with jitneys." The first part of the report gives a Synopsis of the agreements between the British Columbia Electric Railway and various municipalities in regard to transportation, the second part deals with the Situation in Victoria and Vancouver Island. The commissioner, as a result of his inquiries, found that transportation deficits should not be chargeable to the light and power business; 1945 Commissions of Inquiry. 161 that urban and interurban street railway business cannot be conducted on the basis of free competition, but as a public Utility should be regarded as a natural monopoly. 91. In the matter of a public Inquiry under an Act of the Legislature for the purpose of making certain inquiries regarding the By- Election held in the City of Vancouver, B.C. on the 26th of February 1916. „ Daily Times, August 18, 1917, Typewritten proceedings and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: Mr. Justice W. A. Galliher, of the Court of Appeal, chairman; Mr. Justice Denis Murphy, and Mr. Justice William Alexander Macdonald, of the Supreme Court. Appointed May 19, 1917; report dated August 9, 1917. This commission is commonly known as the " Plugging case." The commissioners were appointed by Statute (1917, chapter 21) to investigate all circumstances in connection with the by-election held in Vancouver on February 26, 1917. The report found that "an elaborate and expensive scheme of personation was adopted on behalf of M. A. Macdonald, the Liberal candidate . . . but there was no evidence adduced other than the so-called confession of Scott (hereinafter further referred to and rejected except as evidence against Scott) showing that Mr. Macdonald had any knowledge of or connection with such illegal practices. This scheme was engineered by one John T. Scott." The report reviewed the connection of Scott with the Liberal party at some length, and also reviewed the methods employed in the personation of voters. The report completely exonerated M. A. Macdonald from com- plicity in the affair. 7pp. Original report on file in the Provin Commissioners: David Whiteside, F Members of the Legislative Assembly. Appointed May 19, 1917; report [1917]. The commissioners were appointed by the provisions öf the " Prohibition Overseas Vote Investigation Act" (1917, chapter 50), to inquire into charges that " frauds, irregularities, and improper proceedings " had occurred m taking the votes of the soldiers overseas in the United Kingdom or elsewhere on the continent of Europe on the referendum regarding prohibition. The commissioners proceeded overseas in the course of their investigation, to take evidence of Ernest Alfred Helmore, chartered accountant of Chancery Lane, London, who had been appointed by Sir Richard McBride, Agent-General, acting under instructions, " to compare poll-books and military records available in England; ascertain 12 Marjorie C. Holmes. April if names in poll-books represent men from British Columbia entitled to vote, who were actually at the polling points on the day of polling; also numbers of repeaters (if any), including final count." The commissioners reported that " grave frauds and irregularities were committed, and that the regulations laid down for the taking of the vote were in many instanees not observed." 1918 . Commission . . . to inquire into the unlawful importation of liquor into the Province of British Columbia since 24th December 1917, names of firms and disposition of liquor. No report issued. Commissioner: Mr. Justice William Henry Pope Clement, of the Supreme Court. Appointed December 23,1918. s held to be ultra vires. One witness, former r W. Findlay, refused to testify, and a lawsuit resulted when another witness, Alex L. Gartshore, also refused. Chief Justice Hunter issued a writ on January 22, 1919, restraining Mr. Justice Clement from proeeeding with the inquiry. Although this decision was reversed on appeal (See 27 B.C.R. 121), the commissioner did not proceed further. 1920 :. In the matter of the " Public Inquiries Act" and in the matter of a commission to enquire into the question of compensation in respect of losses alleged to have been sustained by persons, firms and corporations by reason of the Operation of the British Columbia prohibition act Original typewritten report on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Mr. Justice Aulay Morrison, of the Supreme Court. Appointed January 6, 1920; report dated January 20, 1920. Mr. Justice Clement was first appointed to be commissioner of this inquiry on October 28, 1919, but on account of illness he resigned after taking a portion of the evidence. Mr. Justice Aulay Morrison was appointed in his place in January of the following year. A partial judgment of the commissioner appears in the Daily Colonist, Victoria, January 20, 1920, in which it is stated that Mr. Justice Morrison refused to proceed further with the inquiry since it was conceded by the counsel for the claimants, Sir Charles Tupper and A. Dunbar Taylor, " that there was no legal right to compensation " though they proceeded to argue on "moral grounds." The commissioner in his report states: " I find there are no classes of persons, firms or corporations who are entitled to be compensated by the Province of British Columbia in respect to such loss, if any." 1945 COMMISSIONS OF INQUBJY. 163 95. Commission on Health Insurance etc. (appointed under "Public Inquiries Act" November 19th, 1919). Report on Mothers' Pensions with appendix. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by William H. Cullin, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, 1920. Cover title, 16 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1920. pp. T 1-T 13. Commissioners: E. S. H. Winn, chairman of the Workmen's Compensation Board; Mrs. Cecilia Spofford, of Victoria; T. Bennett Green and D. McCallum, of the Department of Labour. Appointed November 19, 1919; report dated March 22, 1920. The commission investigated the general principles involved in mothers' pensions, and made a study of legislation which had already been passed in other parts of the world, with a view to making recommendations to be embodied in future legislation for British Columbia. 96. In the matter of the Public Inquiries Act; a commission to con sider, investigate and inquire into the matter set out in Section 58 of the Local Improvement Act. No report found. Typewritten proceedings are on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: George E. Hancox, of Vancouver. Appointed August 9,1920. The commission was appointed to investigate inequalities in the taxation of property owners in connection with the paving of Kingsway, Vancouver. From correspondence on file in the Public Works Department, it would appear that the Government decided not to take any action on the report of Mr. Hancox. NOTES AND COMMENTS. ARTHUR S. MORTON: 1870-1945. In the recent death of Professor Arthur Silver Morton, M.A., D.D., LL.D., F.R.S.C, Western Canada has lost one of her leading historians. From 1914 to 1940 Dr. Morton was Professor of History and Librarian in the University of Saskatchewan. From 1937 to his death he was Keeper of Provincial Records of the Province of Saskatchewan. Born in Trinidad, British West Indies, on May 16, 1870, of Nova Scotian parents, Professor Morton was by descent a Scot. His father, Rev. John Morton, was a missionary among the Hindu labourers who were working on the sugar estates in Trinidad. Arthur S. Morton received his early training at Queen's Royal College at Port of Spain, and having won high honours in the local examinations set by the University of Cambridge, he was awarded a scholarship by the Government of Trinidad. He elected to attend Edinburgh University. There he obtained his Master of Arts degree and, after completing his theological course, the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. He spent one summer in France, and also studied church history at the University of Berlin under the well-known Professor Harnach. Returning to Canada in 1896 he was ordained by the Presbytery of St. John, N.B., and from 1904 to 1907 lectured in Pine Hill College (Presby- terian), at Halifax, N.S. The next few years were spent in London at the British Museum. In 1912 he returned to Canada to lecture in Knox College, Toronto. Two years later he was appointed to the chair of history in the University of Saskatchewan. During the first World War he gave many public lectures in different sections of the Province. His interest in local history was quickened, and in 1917 he founded the Historical Association of the University of Saskatchewan. From then until his death his energies were devoted to the collection and preservation of materials for the history of the Northwest, and to the writing of that story. Summer after summer he might be found patiently working away in the Public Archives at Ottawa, and winter after winter he employed all the time he could afford from his regulär duties in working over^the materials he had gathered. He was an indefatigable worker, and his efforts never flagged. It was typical of him that at the time of his death he was at work with his old friend and former chief, President Emeritus Walter C. Murray, writing the history of the University of Saskatchewan. Professor Morton spent the summer of 1932 in the Provincial Archives at Victoria. He was then working on his History of the Canadian West to 1870-71. In 1933-34 he obtained a sabbatical year and spent it in the Archives of the Hudson's Bay Company, in London. He was fortunate in obtaining access to valuäble records that had not previously been made available to Canadian research workers. The summers of 1935, 1936, and 166 Notes and Comments. April 1937 were also spent in London at the Hudson's Bay Company's Archives, the British Museum, and the Public Record Office. In 1932 Professor Morton was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and in 1941 he received from that society the J. B. Tyrrell gold medal, an annual award presented to an outstanding Canadian historian. The University of Saskatchewan in 1941 conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Author of numerous articles published in the leading Canadian historical Journals, and of papers presented to the Royal Society of Canada, Dr. Morton was well-known for his tireless research and for the enthusiasm which he treasured for a new theory. At times his historical " finds " brought him into conflict with some of the other authorities in the field. But Dr. Morton was a " bonny fechter " and did not easily withdraw from the battle, even though he could not convince his opponents that Duncan Finlayson was as outstanding a figure in the story of the fur-trade as David Thompson. Possibly his most valuäble historical revision was in the case of the La Verendryes. He pointed out that La Verendrye and his men were really fur-traders rather than explorers, and that their explorations were largely forced upon them by the incessant Orders from France relayed through the Governor at Quebec. Professor Morton's chief title to fame will, however, rest upon his two volumes Under Western Skies and History of the Canadian West to 1870-71. In collaboration with Professor ehester Martin he wrote The History of Prairie Settlement, the second volume in the series " Canadian Frontiers of Settlement." Under Western Skies is a' populär work, a reprint of articles which had originally appeared in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. It is a bright little book which told in simple, straightforward language fascinating tales of the Old West of the fur-traders. The History of Prairie Settlement dealt with the story of agriculture and settlement from fur-trading days down to 1925. But Dr. Morton's History of the Canadian West to 1870-71 is, by all odds, his most permanent contribution to Canadian history. In it he attempted to deal with a vast field stretching from Hudson Bay to the Pacific, and from the international boundary to the Arctic. It was a stupendous task, but he bent himself good-humouredly and whole-heartedly to the work. As originally planned the volume was to be the first of two. The second was to toll the story of the Canadian West after Confederation. Possibly amongst his massive collection of papers sufficient materials may be found for the construction of this volume, but Professor Morton did not live to complete it. The History exhibits Dr. Morton's virtues and defects as an historian. His remarkable knowledge of the geography and topography of Western Canada, his thirst for information, and his painstaking, careful scholarship are everywhere in evidence. So, too, unfortunately, are his prolixity and excessive devotion to detail. In order to shorten the work, which as it is runs to over 1,000 pages, Dr. Morton eliminated practically all foot-note references. It is thus impossible to check the sources of his numerous quotations. Many of them, no doubt, are from manuscript material in the Hudson's Bay Company's Archives, but he does not indicate this. He 1945 Notes and Comments. 167 might have followed the custom adopted in the Champlain Society's Hudson's Bay Series of citing the call number of the manuscript volume; but, alas, the exigencies of space f orbade. As a result this great work is neither adequate as a guide for the research student, nor, on the other hand, is it a populär history of the West. One may perhaps be allowed to wonder whether Professor Morton ever seriously considered cutting down the length of his narrative by omitting interesting but often unnecessary detail and thereby saving space for essential foot-notes. But, taken all in all, Morton's History is an outstanding volume which will hold its place for many years to come. And now he has left us. We shall m kindness, especially to younger historiai gentlemanliness. We shall not see his II BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. VfCTORiA Section. It has for years been the custom of the Section to observe, in some fitting way, the anniversary of the arrival in March, 1850, of Richard Blanshard, first Governor of the old Crown Colony of Vancouver Island, and the establishment of formal British rule in what is now British Columbia. This year the celebration was specially noteworthy, for His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor and Mrs. Woodward graciously entertained the members at a reception in Government House on Tuesday, March 13. Some 200 guests attended. The Chairman of the Section, Major H. Cuthbert Holmes, presided, and outlined briefly the short but interesting and historically important regime of the first Governor. Major Holmes then introduced the Speaker of the evening, Inspector Henry A. Larsen, R.C.M.P., Captain of the celebrated motorship St. Roch, which last year travelled from Halifax to Vancouver by way of the Northwest Passage in eighty-six days. The St. Roch had made the journey in the other direction in 1940-42, but her second voyage won her enduring fame as the first vessel ever to accomplish the passage from east to west in a Single year. Captain Larsen's attitude towards the voyage has been well expressed by J. Lewis Robinson. To him " this historic feat was an achievement of which to be proud, but nothing about which to become excited. He and his police crew had been travelling around amid the ice-floes of the Western Arctic in good and bad seasons for fourteen years, and had conquered the Passage as a side-activity while successfully carrying on with their other police duties." Captain Larsen did, however, describe some of the relics of former expeditions that were encountered in the course of his two voyages, including the mast of the yacht Mary, left on Beechey Island by Sir John Ross in 1850. More interesting to British Columbians were the cairn and cache of goods left on Dealey Island by Captain Kellett in 1852. Six years previously Kellett had visited the Strait of Juan de Fuca in H.M. surveying ship Herald, and had commenced the first surveys of Victoria and Esquimalt harbours. 168 Notes and Comments. Captain Larsen expressed his intention of presenting certain relics of Sir John Franklin and other early explorers to the Archives, and Miss Madge Wolfenden, Acting Provincial Archivist, expressed the department's appreciation of this Suggestion. Dr. T. A. Rickard, in moving a vote of thanks to the Speaker, insisted that, in his modesty, the Captain had not sufficiently emphasized the historic importance of his achievement, for the St. Roch had realized the dreams of some of the greatest sea captains of former ages. Mrs. M. R. Cree next presented a musical Programme, which included solos and duets by Mrs. Rickard and Miss Eva Hart, who were accompanied by Mrs. George Phillips, and two piano solos by Mrs. Harty Morden, the singers and Mrs. Cree being attired in period costume. Colonial corsages were presented to Mrs. Woodward and the artists by Mrs. Cuthbert Holmes, and a delightful supper brought the evening to a Vancouver Section. The Section met in the Grosvenor Hotel on Tuesday, February 13, when the many members present were addressed by Dr. W. N. Sage, who spoke on the interesting topic, British Columbia becomes Canadian. It is obvious that the mere fact that British Columbia joined the youthful Dominion of Canada in 1871 did not at first cause her to be Canadian in anything except political affiliation, and Dr. Sage had assigned himself the task of discover- ing just when, and by what steps and stages, the population and economic structure of the Province had become genuinely Canadian. The old colonial regime suffered relatively little disturbance until the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885. Thereafter the change came fairly rapidly. Several well-known biographical dictionaries of prominent Citizens had served as rough yardsticks with which to measure the transition, and Dr. Sage's conclusion was that British Columbia by 1901 had become Canadian in fact as well as in law. No mere summary can attempt to present the evidence tabulated in the address, and it is to be hoped that a complete study may appear in print in the near future. CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE. A. G. Harvey, Vancouver barrister, contributed an article on The Mystery of Mount Robson to the first volume of this Quarterly, and in 1940 published a second paper on David Douglas in British Columbia. The article here presented once again refleets his interest in the naturalists who visited the Pacific Northwest in early days. A fourth article by Mr. Harvey is sched- uled for publication in an early issue. Miss Marjorie C. Holmes is Assistant Librarian of the Provincial Library, Victoria. It is a pleasure to be able to announce that her Checklist of Royal Commissions, the fourth and concluding part of which will appear in the July number, will be reprinted as a separate publication by the Provincial Library. Merton Y. Williams, Ph.D., F.R.S.C, is Professor and Head of the Department of Geology and Geography in the University of British Columbia. THE NORTHWEST BOOKSHELF. The Romance of Mining. By T. A. Rickard. Toronto: The Macmülan Company of Canada, 1944. Pp. 450. $3.75. In this most interesting volume Dr. Rickard, the Dean of mining his- torians, takes as his motto, " Truth is stranger than fiction." In his clear, incisive style he first pictures " The Prospector," mythical, ancient, and modern. In chapter two he associates " Discovery " with the progress of civilization. Then follow thirteen chapters describing mining ventures in all ages and all over the globe, ranging from Jason's " Golden Fleece " to the Bulolo Company's " New Guinea Gold." The final chapter is fittingly entitled " The Flag follows the Pick." Of particular historical interest are the chapters on " The Discovery of Gold in California," " The Australian Diggings," " Gold and Für in British Columbia," and'" The Diamonds of Kimberley." The accounts of the finding of gold on the Fräser River and the discovery .of the Cariboo are interwoven with the early history of this Province, and the author concludes: " They [the discoveries] served to unite the separated provinces of Canada and f ulfilled the national motto: A mari usque ad mare." Canadians will be especially interested in " The Gold of the North." The discovery of the Klondike to the outside world is credited to Carmack rather than to Henderson, who had prior claim to the discovery of gold in that vicinity. It may be noted that in the text Circle City instead of Fort Yukon is placed at the mouth of the Porcupine River, and that this important tributary of the Yukon is pictured as dependent on primitive transportation long after power-boats were used extensively, as they were by 1911. The chapter on " New Guinea Gold " has an especial appeal to British Columbians as the Bulolo Gold Dredging Company, Limited, has its head office in Vancouver, and Mr. C. A. Banks, its managing director, was for- merly a resident of this city. To him is largely due the modern air trans- port employed so successf ully by his Company. Quoting Rickard: " On May 10, 1938, the Mining and Metallurgieal Society of America awarded its gold medal to Charles Arthur Banks for ' distinguished service in the application of aerial transportation to the development of remote mining Operations.' " The author has also dedicated this volume " To Charles A. Banks, whose professional career has been alike honourable, successful and romantic." Minor errors in names, spelling, etc., will be noted. For example the reference to Edward S. Dana on page 148 should be to J. D. Dana; Barklay on page 276 should be Barkley; likewise on page 280, the year of James Douglas's transfer to the Columbia District was 1830, not 1824, as stated".' Such errors are bound to creep into so comprehensive a work. The last chapter elaborates a theme which is already familiär, for throughout the volume Dr. Rickard has not only fastened the reader's The Northwest Bookshelf. April e true romance of mining, but has clearly linked the find- M. Y. Williams. Vancouver, B.C Oregon Geographie Names. By Lewis A. McArthur. Second edition, revised and enlarged. Portland, Oregon: Published by Binfords & Mort for the Oregon Historical Society, 1944. Pp. xii., 581. $6. The publication of the original edition of this Standard work in 1928 evidently did little more than whet Mr. McArthur's appetite. The labour it represented was immense; but the amount of searching, note-taking, and letter-writing that has gone into the preparation of this enlarged volume staggers the imagination. Even so its tireless author still considers that his task is no more than well started. In a preface he teils us that the new edition ineludes only 3,400 headings, covering approximately 5,000 physical features, whereas there are in the State of Oregon no less than 25,000 place-names that, in his opinion, are " worthy of serious study." Actually this cömputation is grossly unfair to an outstanding volume, for the present work approaches the definitive much more closely than its modest author admits. Practically every place-name of more than local significance will be found between its Covers. The names dealt with have an infinite variety. In date they ränge from Ouragon, a first Version of Oregon, that appeared in print as early as 1765, to Vanport, the war-born emergency housing settlement for shipyard workers that sprang up between Portland and Vancouver, Washington, in 1942. Some are as far-fetched as Gladstone (named after William Ewart, for some quite inadequate reason); others are- as indigenous as Concomly. Many are as commonplace as the inevitable Salmon River; a few are as colourful and original as Cathlamet and Kuamaski. Many of the great figures in the history of the region are, of course, commemorated. Captain Cook Point, Cape Meares, and Heeeta Head bring to mind three celebrated navigators, while other place-names recall such Champions of American rights in Old Oregon as Hall J. Kelley, Thomas Hart Benton, and Senator Linn, and such outstanding Oregon pioneers as Jesse Applegate and J. Quinn Thornton. Yet the number of notables who are not so immortalized is striking. Alexander Ross, Ross Cox, Gabriel Franchere, James Douglas, and John Work, all great figures of the fur- trade, do not appear; nor does Ewing Young, whose death brought to the fore the necessity of setting up some sort of local government authority in the region. Oregon has its quota of less dignified place-names. Bakeoven, Beetles Rest Spring, Boüing Point, Crazyman Creek, Horse Heaven, Senoj (" Jones " in reverse), Shirttail Guleh, and Teneent Lake are examples. And although Mr. McArthur's text is compact and, above all, informative, his pen has a light touch, and such names as these arouse his sense of humour. Thus he explains that Shirttail Gulch received its name when one Richardson, out gathering a load of wood, was attacked by Indians and fled preeipi- 1945 The Northwest Bookshelf. 171 tately from the scene. " His speed was so great that his shirttail fanned out behind him and even the jackrabbits were amazed." A few pages farther on he makes a spirited defence of Skunk Creek, which some residents of the vicinity have more than once endeavoured to rechristen. " If the Compiler lived on Skunk Creek he would be glad of the Publicity and would print a picture of the little black and white animal on his letterpaper. The skunk is independent, brave and capable ... an animal of distinction." To quote more would give the entirely false impression that the book is facetious; but it is important to know that the solid meat of the volume has flavour. Author and publisher alike are to be congratulated upon the excellence of the printing. The only typographical error of any importance noted occurs on page 126, where the date of Meares's visit to the mouth of the Columbia is given as 1778 instead of 1788. Other points noticed are matters either of detail or of opinion. For example, the place-name Klondike, bestowed on a post-office in 1899, would seem to be sufficiently explained by the notoriety of the Yukon goldfields at the time; and if Dreadnaught Island was so called " because it resembled a dreadnaught battleship," the spelling should have been Dreadnought. The index is not entirely satisfactory. The idea of having an index is an excellent one, as any one who has tried to find some of the material hidden away in Walbran's British Columbia Coast Names will appreciate; but the entries are neither entirely consistent nor complete. Cape Meares is indexed under Meares, Cape, but there is no entry for either Peter Skene Odgen Park or Captain Cook Point. Mount David Douglas is entered as David Douglas, Mount, whereas Douglas, Mount David, would surely be more helpful. A consistent indexing under surname would appear to be the best Solution of what is admittedly a troublesome problem. A few entries relating to less well-known personages have been missed. Thus Alecs Butte was named after Alexander Carson, but there is no entry for Carson. As it is probable that a second printing will be required shortly, a careful check- ing and considerable expansion of the index would be well worth while. Finally, the writer would like to enter a very strong plea for the addition of an outline map of Oregon. Physical f eatures are located in the text by county, and a simple sketch-map showing the county lines, and possibly the principal rivers, lakes, and mountain peaks, would add greatly to the con- :e of the book. Vancouver, B.C. W. Kaye Lamb. Canadian Government and Politics. By H. McD. Clokie. Toronto: Long- mans, Green & Company, 1944. Pp. viii., 351. $3.50. Professor Clokie, of the University of Manitoba, has done a real service to Canadians in writing this book, which fills a long-felt want. It is not a theoretical discussion of the nature of government but a practical " de- seription and analysis of Canadian political institutions." As the author teils us in his pref ace, " Attention is centred on organs of government, 172 The Northwest Bookshelf. April constitutional problems and political processes rather than on economic and social purposes." The volume is lucidly written and is, as far as possible, free from personal Was. After, a well-thought-out treatment of the unsolved problems " Is Canada a State? " and " Is there a Canadian Nation? " Professor Clokie traces the constitutional development of the British North American provinces to 1867. It is clear that " The British North America Act of 1867 did not create a ' State,' it simply created a new and larger colony." The transition from colonial to Dominion status was accomplished only in rela- tively recent years. In 1914 Canada automatically went to war as part of the British Empire; "in 1939 entrance into the war was a matter of independent national decision." After this brief but penetrating analysis of Canada's constitutional growth, Professor Clokie deals with the Canadian constitutional system. He points out the divergence between British and American usage of the word " Constitution." When Americans refer to " the Constitution " they mean specifically the well-known document formulated in the 1780's. The British Constitution is, of course, unwritten. It is "the actual System of government under which the people of Britain live." The Canadian usage of the term is, as might be expected, somewhere between the two. In the broader sense the Canadian Constitution is our form of government; in the narrower it is the British North America Act, 1867, and subsequent amending Acts. On the whole, Professor Clokie uses the term in the broader In his chapter on Canadian political parties and the electorate, the author tries his best to be fair to both the old " major " political parties and to the new crop of " minor " parties. The major parties have been national in the sense that they have for years attracted adherents from all portions of Canada. The minor parties have often been " provincial," e.g., le bloc populaire, but the chief of them, although it originated on the prairies, has now become national in scope. The outstanding feature of Canadian politics has been the dominance of the party leader. Canada was the first nation to pay a salary to the " leader of the Opposition " in the Federal house. It is a sure sign of party disintegration when political henchmen refuse to follow their leader, or when there are frequent changes of leadership. " The Parliament of Canada " receives adequate treatment in chapter V., and chapter VI. deals with " The Administration of the Dominion of Canada." Most of us have some notion about the composition and functions of the Canadian Parliament, and possibly even concerning the Federal administration, but all of us can profit by reading carefully through Professor Clokie's clear and penetrating discussion. In fact, these two chapters are a veritable storehouse of information from which any reader can draw for his profit and pleasure. Chapter VII. on " The Provinces and Canadian Federalism" is, in many ways, the keystone of the whole work. Canadian federalism differs from American federalism in this most important point. When the American : into being the sovereign states gave up certain rights to The Northwest Bookshelf. 173 retained sovereignty over all other matters. not based on a contract between individual sovereign states, it arose from political agreement between dependent, though responsible, colonial governments." By the terms of the Britisn North America Act a Separation was made between Federal and Provincial powers. The intention apparently was that the " residue of powers " was to be in the hands of the Federal Government, but the series of decisions of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, dating from Lord Watson's judgment in 1896, have had the effect of creating a sort of omnibus or residuary clause out of " property and civil rights " as belonging to the Provinces. As a result Provincial rights have encroached on Federal rights, and the Federal Government is supreme " only in national disasters and " Local Government in Canada" is the theme of chapter VIII. Here Professor Clokie has also made a real contribution. Sir John Bourinot in 1877 published a volume on this topic, but it has had no successor. Professor Clokie has gathered together, worked over, and " boiled down " a great mass of material. The result is a most useful chapter. In his conclusion the author deals with "Problems of the Future." These include the completion of national status and constitutional revision. " The problem in Canadian federalism," he teils us, " becomes one of devis- ing maehinery by which regional differences may find expression without disrupting the Dominion and may be brought to co-operation for the general The appendices contain relevant and important documents ranging from the British North America Act to the Declaration of War in 1939. They cover sixty-six pages, and form a most useful compendium of essential illustrative material. There are a few minor errors. In some places Professor Clokie's own opinions are perhaps a little obvious; but, on the whole, he has done a fine, wörkmanlike job. It badly needed doing. W. N. Sage. Vancouver, B.C. Ka-mi-akin: Last Hero of the Yakimas. By A. J. Splawn. Second edition, revised and enlarged by Margaret C Splawn. Portland, Oregon: Published by Binfords & Mort for the Oregon Historical Society, 1944. Pp. xv., 500. $4.75. The title of this book is misleading. True, its first hundred pages are devoted to Chief Ka-mi-akin and a vivid account of the Yakima Indian wars of 1855-56 and 1858; but a more truly descriptive title would have been The Comments and Recollections of Andrew Jackson Splawn, a Singu- larly Observant and WelUinformed Pioneer of the Yakima Country. Splawn was born in Missouri, but within a few years the family emi- grated to Oregon. In 1861, when he was 16, he went to the Yakima country- There he became prominent, first in the cattle industry and then in local and State politics, and in North Yakima he died in 1917, after having made 174 The Northwest Bookshelf. his home in the district for fifty-six years. The bulk of his personal recol- lections relate to the years between 1860 and 1880, but to these has been added a good deal of earlier material gleaned from pioneers who had par- ticipated in the events of the fifties and even of the forties. The narrative, while primarily a contribution to the history of the State of Washington, touches British Columbia at several points, as Splawn paid at least four Visits to the Colony in the sixties. In 1861-62 he was one of a party that drove a band of cattle from the Yakima Valley to Cariboo. This was one of the first ventures of the kind, and the detailed account of the journey here given is of considerable historical importance. The drive commenced in August, 1861, and as it was too late to travel through to Cariboo that season, the cattle were wintered in the vicinity of Cache Creek. They Were finally marketed at the mines in the summer of 1862. The fol- ' lowing year Splawn was back once more, this time with a pack-train laden with bacon. He took part in a second cattle-drive in 1868, and in 1869 he and his brother drove a band of horses to Kamloops. Splawn obviously had a remarkable memory, and he seems to have taken pains to check dates and details whenever possible. His book has the ring of authenticity, and contains countless incidents and stories that will interest the general reader as well as the historian. Unlike many American pioneers he writes of the Indians with sympathy and appreciation—indeed the volume is dedicated " To the North American Indian, the greatest wild tribe that ever existed. ..." Ka-mi-akin was first published in 1917, and has long been out of print. This new edition ineludes considerable new material which Splawn had in his files but did not himself use. Readers will be glad to find that an index has been added, and it is a pleasure to reeeive a book in which printing, paper, and binding are all up to pre-war Standards. It is a pity that the spelling of British Columbia place-names was not corrected; Lytten, Cash Creek, Barkersville, Chilcatan, and Savanos are all recognizable, but there would seem to be no good reason to perpetuate such mistakes, particularly as they cannot but shake one's confidence in the book's general level of aecuraey. W. Kaye Lamb. Vancouver, B.C. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION Organized October 31st, 1922. PATRON. His Honour W. C Woodward, Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia. OFFICERS, 1945. Hon. H. G. T. Perry .... Honorary President. Helen R. Boutilier - President. B. A. McKelvie Past President. Mrs. Curtis Sampson ... jfst Vice-President. E. G. Baynes ..... 2ndVice-President Madge Wolfenden .... Honorary Treasurer. W. Kaye Lamb Honorary Secretary. MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. Mrs. M. R. Cree. E. M. Cotton. J. C. Goodfellow. A. G. Harvey. T. A. Rickard. H. T. Nation. W. N. Sage. E. G. Rowebottom. Willard E. Ireland W. Kaye Lamb (Provincial Archivist). (Editor, Quarterly). Helen R. Boutilier H. C Holmes (Vancouver Section). (Victoria Section). OBJECTS. To encourage historical research and stimulate public interest in history; to promote the preservation and marking of historic sites, buildings, relics, natural features, and other objects and places of historical interest, and to publish historical sketches, studies, and documents. MEMBERSHIP. Ordinary members pay a fee of $2 annually in advance. The fiscal year commences on the first day of January. All members in good standing receive the British Columbia Historical Quarterly without further charge. Correspondence and fees may be addressed to the Provincial Archives, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C. THE BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY JULY, 1945 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Published by the Archives of British Columbia in co-operation with the British Columbia Historical Association. EDITOR. W. Kaye Lamb. The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. ASSOCIATE EDITOR. Willard E. Ireland. Provincial Archives, Victoria, B.C. (On active service, R.C.A.F.) ADVISORY BOARD. J. C. Goodfellow, Princeton. T. A. Rickard, Victoria. W. N. Sage, Vancouver. Editorial Communications should be addressed to the Editor. Subscriptions should be sent to the Provincial Archives, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C Price, 50c. the copy, or $2 the year.. Members of the British Columbia Historical Association in good standing receive the Quarterly without further charge. Neither the Provincial Archives nor the British Columbia Historical Association assumes any responsibility for Statements made by contributors to the magazine. The Quarterly is indexed in Faxon's Annual Magazine Subject-Index. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY "Any country Worthy of a future • should be interested in its past." ol. IX. Victoria, B.C., July, 1945. No CONTENTS. Page. From "Tickler" to "Telegram": Notes on Early Vancouver Newspapers. By Bessie Lamb 175 Pioneer Days in Pulp and Paper. By Herbert Carmiehael 201 Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry in British Columbia. A Checklist. Part IV.: 1921-1942. (Conclusion.) By Marjorie C. Holmes 213 Notes and Comments: The Last Journey of British Columbia's Largest Canoe. By E. M. Cotton 229 Leonard Norris: 1865-1945. By Margaret Ormsby 232 British Columbia Historical Association 234 Contributors to this Issue. 235 The Northwest Bookshelf: Jefferys: The Picture Gallery of Canadian History. Vol. IL By Helen R. Boutilier 237 Longley: Sir Francis Hineks. By Margaret Ormsby. 239 FROM "TIGKLER" TO "TELEGRAM": NOTES ON EARLY VANCOUVER NEWSPAPERS. A 26-year-oId lumber clerk in the long vanished sawmill at Moodyville, on the North Shore, was Greater Vancouver's first newspaper editor. Just sixty-seven years ago, after much burn- ing of midnight oil, William Royde Colbeck managed to produce the first issue of a provocative little Journal, the Moodyville Tickler. English born1 and said to have been educated at Oxford, Colbeck had displayed his literary bent a few months before, when he contributed a poem entitled " A Happy New Year!" to the New Year's Day issue of the Victoria Colonist.2 The first issue of the Tickler was dated July 20, 1878. Colbeck was evidently aware that he was making history for a sub-title announced the paper as " The Pioneer Advocate of Bur- rard's Inlet." The spritely leading article on the first of its four small pages, each of which measured approximately 8V2 by 12 inches, commenced as follows:— The present is decidedly an age of civilization. One of the chief signs of progress in this respect is the possessing a local paper. Moodyville, then, can now claim to be, what it really is, a go-ahead, prosperous, civilized locality. For here is the proof—here is its newspaper! Craving " a more than ordinary amount of indulgence from his readers," Colbeck then explained that the Tickler had been Written at odd intervals, during the wee sma' hours of the night, in moments hurriedly stolen from that sleep which one was loth to renounce—when nought was to be seen but the fitful flash of the night-watchman's lantern, as he went his stealthy rounds—nought to be heard but the steady splash! splash! of the dripping water as it drops with its never-ceasing monotonous thud on the floor of the " Old Mill" (where the office of the Tickler is for the time located), drawing scanty draughts of inspiration from nought but the plaintive melody of a couple of Thomas cats . . . (1) He was the eldest son of the Rev. W. R. Colbeck, vicar of Fressing- field, Suffolk. (Death notice in the Victoria Colonist, June 23, 1892, which in error places Fressingfield in Norfolk.) In April, 1879, in New Westminster, he married Anna Jane Young. (Ibid., April 13, 1879.) After her husband's death Mrs. Colbeck returned to British Columbia with her family. A daughter, Nora, now Mrs. Hörne, resides at Port Mellon. (2) Colonist, January 1,1878. 175 Elsewhere he explained further that Owing to the- enforced participation in the somewhat active duties of life as they present themselves around a saw-mill, the Editor will not be able to devote more than three nights a week to the interests of the Tickler. Only the editing of the little paper was done at Moodyville; the printing was done in some shop, as yet unidentified, in New Westminster. At this late date it is difficult to judge how serious a venture the Tickler was intended to be. The motive for its appearance may have been partly political. A general election was impend- ing, and Colbeck devoted considerable space to the questions of the day, and in particular to the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. He was an ardent supporter of Sir John A. Macdonald and the Conservative party, and condemned Alexander Mackenzie and the Liberais in no uncertain terms. But a newspaper must win local support if it is to survive, and this the Tickler evidently failed to do. The price—50 cents per copy—doubtless limited its circulation; its satirical touch (one news column was headed " Current Falsehoods "), and Colbeck's habit of indulg- ing his lively sense of humour at the expense of his fellow mill- workers, may well have further limited its popularity. One of the less personal sallies deserves quotation:— Notices of deaths, unless accompanied by a special fee, will be restricted to two lines and a half, but an enclosed five-dollar bill (silver taken at a discouht) will ensure a double-headed, double black-edged column, devoted to praises of the deceased, and enumerating his peculiar vices (if he had any). His pedigree will be traced back to the Conquest, and his whole life's career will be " done up " so brown that his dearest relative, not even his mother-in-law, would be able to recognize the picture. For a gratuity, however, of twenty dollars, the editor guarantees to indite a delightfully sublime and pathetic obituary notice in blank verse, to put in a personal appearance, if requested, at the wake, and ere morning dawns amidst the ruin of broken heads and broken bottles, so customary at these mournful family gatherings, to pronounce such a eulogy over the dear remains as would bring tears to the eyes of a Dromedary! How long the Tickler survived we do not know. It was intended to be a weekly,3 but only three issues, or at the most four, are thought to have appeared.4 The only copy known to be in (3) In noticing the first issue, the Colonist described the Tickler as "a small four-page hebdomadal." (4) See the account in the Vancouver Province, October 12, 1935. 1945 From " Tickler " to " Telegram." existence is the well-preserved first issue presented to the Vancouver City Archives ten years ago by Mrs. H. A. Christie. She received it from her father, the late Joseph Mannion, well known in early days as proprietor of the old Granville Hotel, and later a member of the first City Council of Vancouver.5 Colbeck was active and public-spirited, and although the Tickler vanished, he soon gained some prominence in the community. In 1881 he was elected President of the Burrard Inlet Mechanics' Institute,6 and the following year was serving as a Director of the Royal Columbian Hospital.7 But he had decided to try his fortune elsewhere, and left for Australia, apparently in the summer of 1882. There he turned once more to journal- ism, and became sub-editor of a Sydney paper.8 He died at the early age of 40 on January 13, 1892, in Cape Town, where he had gone to visit a brother.9 The second newspaper published on the shores of Burrard Inlet was the Port Moody Gazette, a four-page six-column weekly that first appeared on Saturday, December 15, 1883. At that time Port Moody was confident that it would be the terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and a real-estate boom was in füll swing. Steel rails had b^egun to arrive in March, and the first locomotive for the railway, then under construction through the Fräser Canyon and Fräser Valley, had been landed on the Port Moody dock, amidst great excitement, in October. The price of the Gazette by subscription was $2 per annum, "invariably in advance." Ostensibly the paper was an inde- pendent venture, edited by P. S. Hamilton, formerly of Halifax, (5) Ibid. (6) The old Minute Book of the Institute (original in the Vancouver Public Library; transcript in Provincial Archives) shows that he served two years on the Committee before being elected President on April 9, 1881. He presided at the annual meeting held on April 1, 1882, but evidently resigned later in the year, as one of the purpo November was the election of a successor. (7) See R. T. Williams, British Columbia Din 88, Victoria, 1882, p. 227. (8) See the brief article by A. Cromar Bru« Herald, September 11, 1942. (9) Colonist, June 23, 1892. s of a meeting held i: ',ory for the Years 1882- n the Vancouver News- 178 Bessie Lamb. July who had been at one time editor of the Winnipeg Times.1" Actually it was merely an offshoot of the New Westminster Mainland Guardian, owned by J. K. Suter, and as such was promptly pounced upon and torn asunder by the Guardian's local contemporary, the British Columbian, which greeted it as follows:— On Saturday the first number of the Port Moody Gazette made its appearance. It is a 24 column paper, edited by Mr. P. S. Hamilton of Port Moody, and printed at the Guardian office in this city. It is always a pleasure to welcome new faces in the great journalistic family, when there is any ground for expecting that the addition will be for the public good. We are sorry that in this latest venture we are unable to discover any promise of usefulness. The Port Moody Gazette is practically a reprint of the Guardian, under a changed name. From beginning to end it is a fraud. While professing to be issued at Port Moody, it is wholly made up, printed and published in this city. The first page is devoted to a description of Port Moody, which is quite proper, followed by some extracts from the Guardian. The second page has a brief introductory article, followed by over two columns of old Guardian editorials. The reading matter of the third and fourth pages is verbatim from the Guardian. . . . The " salutatory" states that the paper will be independent in politics, and the editorials are as rabidly partisan as anything that could possibly be conceived. It bristles all over with political misrepresentation and falsehood. We really cannot congratulate either Port Moody or its editor upon the first issue of the Gazette. If its initial number is so completely devoid of merit, and so thoroughly unreliable, there is not much hope for those that are to come. If Port Moody needs a paper, let her have one by all means; but let it be an honest, independent newspaper and not a Guardian with the label changed, so as to deceive." The Gazette's relatively mild rejoinder appeared in its second issue:— The Editor of the British Columbian . . . has no more conception of gentlemanly courtesy than a Thug might be supposed to have of Christian Charity. He hails our first appearance with savage abuse. No doubt, he does find it provoking after having had Port Moody vigorously canvassed ... in the effort to make it his own preserve, to find that now a new and vigorous Journal has occupied the field and is certain to hold it. ... the fellow tries to be witty (!) over some defects in our first issue, which any sane reader could see were errors of the compositor and proof-reader. . . . Until our arrangements are perfected and our own new press up . . . we (10) See the note from the Halifax Herald reprinted in the Gazette for February 9, 1884. (11) New Westminster British Columbian, December 19, 1883. 1945 From " Tickler " to " Telegram." 179 have made . . . arrangements for being printed at the office of another Journal.12 But Hamilton (if he it was) might as well have saved his ink and paper, for the appearance of the Gazette could not help but rekindle the time-honoured feud between J. K. Suter of the Guardian and John Robson of the Columbian.1' The quarrel had been fast and furious during the Provincial election of 1882, in which Robson was a candidate. Many of the exchanges had been both personal and highly abusive. Suter's remark that Robson was " unprincipled and untrammeled with the feelings of a gentleman," and Robson's counter charge that Suter was "a coward and a moral assassin," are typical. After Robson entered the cabinet in July, 1883, he had less time for journal- ism, and the Columbian was left in the hands of his brother David. But, as the item quoted above shows, David was both able and willing to continue the feud with the Guardian. Perhaps because Robson is a muoh more prominent figure, Janies Kay Suter has usually been ignored or misrepresented by historians. His venomous editorials give a completely false im- pression of the man, and suggest nothing of his interesting background. Born in Scotland in 1823, Suter went thence to Liverpool. He was highly educated in languages, literature, and music, and was proficient as a chorister, pianist, and Violinist. When a young man he emigrated to the Southern States, where he seems first to have turned to journalism for a living. While there he trained a church choir of negro singers, whose lovely voices delighted him. He was attracted to British Columbia by (12) Port Moody Gazette, December 22, 1883. (13) The differences between the two dated back to 1869, when, during a period of hard times, Robson moved the Columbian from New Westminster to Victoria, where Suter was then employed by the Colonist. Within a few months the Colonist purchased the Columbian, and the latter ceased publication. Robson became editor of the Colonist, and about the same time Suter was'discharged. Robson always denied that he was in any way responsible for Suter's dismissal, but a life-long animosity sprang up between the two men. Later in 1869 Suter moved to New Westminster and founded the Mainland Guardian. Robson himself returned to New Westminster in 1880, purchased the Dominion Pacific Herald, and in 1882 changed its name to that of his original paper, the British Columbian. See " John Robson versus J. K. Suter. Three articles on Robson's early career," in British Columbia Historical Quarterly, IV. (1940), pp. 203-15. 180 Bessie Lamb. July the Cariboo gold rush. (One small incident in his travels there remained long in his memory: he awoke one morning to find what he was sure must be the devil himself staring at him, but instead it turned out to be one of the famous Cariboo cameis, which had stuck its head into his tent!) Returning to Victoria, he joined the staff of the Colonist, and then, in 1869, moved to New Westminster and founded the Mainland Guardian.14 Suter crowned the Royal City's first May Queen on May 4, 1870, and his own account of the ceremony deserves quotation:— Meanwhile a forlorn-looking object, who was stated to be the " oldest bachelor" present, was made to place the crown on the fair young head, that waited to receive it. The unfortunate man muttered some words which our reporter did not think worth while to take a note of; but we really thought it the refinement of cruelty to bring the poor fellow into the midst of such a group of lovely young creatures, who must have made his miserable condi- tion more glaringly apparent to all. We hope, for the sake of humanity, that some kindly disposed young lady will usher him into matrimonial bliss ere another May Queen ascends the throne.18 Those who knew him personally teil us that Suter was a gentleman of the old school; that he was of an artistic and retiring nature, except in his political writings, which were at times so charged with vitriol that they involved him in difficulties and damage suits which virtually ruined him. Despite his May Day plea, he never married, and in later years lived alone with a negro servant. He died in poverty in New Westminster on December 18, 1899, at the age of 76, and lies buried in an unmarked grave in the old Sapperton Masonic Cemetery.16 But to return to the Port Moody Gazette. The paper was more than an ordinary speculation to Suter. He believed in the future of Port Moody, invested heavily in the townsite, and lost as heavily when the boom finally broke. In the interval he had had his difficulties with the Gazette. P. S. Hamilton served as (so-called) editor for only three months, and then set up shop as a barrister, notary, and real-estate agent. Thereafter ,the Port Moody representative of the Gazette was listed as " man- ager " instead of " editor " of the paper. Several persons held the post in succession; of these Frisby Logan held the post for (14) Information kindly furnished by Mrs. I inster, a grand niece of J. K. Suter. (15) Mainland Guardian, May 7, 1870. (16) Information chiefly from Mrs. Dingle. G. Dingle, of New West- 1945 From " Tickler " to " Telegram." 181 the longest term. His duties were confined to soliciting sub- scriptions and advertising, and to reporting local events. The bulk of the material for the paper was drawn from the Guardian, and the printing continued to be done by the Guardian presses. The fate of the paper was always bound up with that of Port Moody itself, and that in turn depended upon whether or not the town actually became the terminus of the transcontinental railway.17 During the greater part of 1884 negotiations were in progress bötween Van Home and the Hon. William Smithe, Premier of the Province, with a view to extension of the line to Coal Harbour. It was known that something of the kind was afoot, but the Gazette refused to recognize that actual construction of such an extension was even remotely possible. Even the official announcement that the railway was to be built to a point farther down the Inlet was not accepted as final, and the Gazette and Port Moody fought on gallantly. The Gazette was still appearing regularly when the first regulär passenger train arrived at Port Moody from the East on July 4, 1886; but it did not live to record the passing of the first train that travelled on to Vancouver. The final issue, dated March 15, 1887, appeared a little more than two months before that event. By the first days of 1886 it was apparent to all that Port Moody's star had waned, and that Vancouver was destined to be the chief centre of population on Burrard Inlet. The infant metropolis greeted its first newspaper, the Vancouver Weekly Herald and North Pacific News, on Friday, January 15, 1886. Copies of the first issue were placed in the Deighton Hotel, the Sunnyside Hotel, Joe Mannion's Granville Hotel, and other favourite haunts, and the Citizens soon foregathered to see what kind of a paper " Bill" Brown had produced on the hand-press he had brought from Toronto, and installed in an office on Car- (17) Legally, it may be noted, Port Moody remains to this day the terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway; technically, the line thence to Vancouver is only a branch line. In every sense that matters in a practical way, however, the terminus moved to Vancouver in 1886-87. 182 Bessee Lamb. July rail Street, between Powell and Oppenheimer (now East Cor- dova) streets.18 The city had not yet been incorporated; a notice to the effect that application for incorporation would be made to the Provincial Legislature at the next session was perhaps the most important item in the paper. In a sense Vancouver did not yet exist, and this fact was reflected in the advertisements that filled about a third of the Herald's pages. Some of the mer- chants indicated the location of their premises by using the older names Coal Harbour, Hastings, and Granville; others used Vancouver, followed by one or more of the older names in brackets. But the Herald was looking to the future, and had much to say about the present activity and impending development of the community. It noted that the Canadian Pacific Railway was building its first wharf; that there had been thirty-six ships in the harbour in 1885, and that lumber shipments during the year had aggregated 20,000,000 feet. It quoted from a speech by the Hon. John Robson, then Provincial Secretary and.Minister of Finance, who had remarked:— It is impossible to form any conception of the future of this new city but with the Dominion and England at its back the probabilities are that it will soon become a place of importance. It is the city on the Pacific Coast and towards it.many eyes are turned. William Brown, editor and proprietor of the Herald, was a native of Fife, Scotland, where he was born in 1827. Before coming to British Columbia he had published the Walkerton Herald in Bruce County, Ontario. His Vancouver Weekly Herald was a seven-column, four-page paper, and the venture fared so well that within a few months he was able to seeure a new and more elaborate printing plant. His intention was to publish the Herald tri-weekly; but before this plan could be carried into effect the great fire of June 13, 1886, swept the city, and Brown lost everything. ssue of the Herald in the Vancouver City i that would have destroyed most papers. It went down in the steamer Prince Rupert when she sank in Swanson Bay in September, 1920, and was found to be relatively undamaged when it was dried out after the vessel was raised in January, 1921. Facsimiles of the first issues of the Herald, Advertiser, News, and World will be found in the special edition published by the World in June, 1896, pp. 49-50. 1945 From " Tickler " to " Telegram." 183 He was not a lone sufferer, for two other papers had been established in Vancouver shortly before the fire. The earlier of these, the Vancouver Advertiser, made its bow on Saturday, May 8, and had the distinction of being not only the first daily published in Vancouver, but the first daily published on the mainland of British Columbia. Its office was on the north side of Powell Street, west of Columbia Street—about opposite the Europe Hotel of the present day. The editor and manager of the Advertiser was William B. Macdougall, who soon became known locally as "Wandering Willie." He was the son of the Hon. William Macdougall, then a well-known Journalist and politician, who is now remembered chiefly as Governor of Rupert's Land at the time of the Red River Rebellion. The son had had some experience on a weekly paper in Ontario, and hoped to accomplish great things in the Far West. He had gone first to Nanaimo, where he was asso- ciated with a short-lived weekly, Westward Ho! In Vancouver the original stake that enabled him to launch the Advertiser is understood to have been furnished by John Hay.19 The Advertiser was a five-column, four-page paper, approxi- mately 13 by 20 inches in size. It took its own advent somewhat seriously, and noted in its fourth issue that "About the first enterprise that really marks the transformation of a community from a village to a city is the establishment of a daily newspaper." About half its columns were filled with advertising, while a great show was made on the front page of mail and telegraph dispatches from world centres. At the same time local events were by no means neglected. Thus on May 11 a whole column was devoted to the first meeting of the new Vancouver City Council, and Mayor MacLean's inaugural address was printed in füll. On May 19 an elaborate account of the plans for the original Hotel Vancouver appeared, while on the 22nd a great Indian potlatch, held on the North Shore at the Second Narrows, was described by a special reporter in all its vivid details. A feature of the paper was a roundup of local notes that appeared regularly on the last page. Critics of Vancouver's climate may care to (19) The original printing staff of the Advertiser consisted of: J. J. Randolph, foreman; Jerry Maxwell, W. E. Peck, W. B. Miller, Colonel Phillips, and E. K. Sargison, printers. 184 Bessie Lamb. July know that in one of the earlier issues the first item in the column consisted of the three words: " Rain! Rain!! Rain!!! " On May 31, the Advertiser, hitherto published in the evening, suddenly changed its policy and became a morning daily. Two small news items called attention to the change. One read: " Good morning Vancouver Daily Advertiser," and the other: " Last day of May, 1886. First issue in Vancouver of a morning daily newspaper." The reason given for the new policy was that the Advertiser was determined to keep pace with Vancouver's progress, and that a morning paper was an advertisement for a city. Actually the paper switched to the morning field because it was known that a rival Journal, a morning daily, was to commence publication the next day. This was the Vancouver News, which duly appeared on Tuesday, June 1. Its publishers were James H. Ross and N. Harkness; its printers, W. Rogers and Percy Whitworth. Ross, who spent his boyhood in Belle- ville, Ontario, largely determined the character and policy of the paper. Wanderlust had led him as a young man to Winnipeg, where he joined the staff of the Free Press. The West still called, and presently Ross found himself in Vancouver. A few lines from his introductory editorial will be of interest:— For the News we have only to say that i i business enterprise. Understanding that individual prosperity depends upon general progress their primary aim will be to advance and maintain the interests of the city of Vancouver; to make known to visitors and impress upon residents its splendid prospects and unparalleled possibilities. In politics the News will be independent, the organ of no party or f action. . . . Our aim will be to improve as the town improves, to keep pace with its progress, however rapid; to make the paper at all times worth its price. The public shall judge whether that effort is successful. In this same issue the News declared Vancouver to be " the most promising young city in America," and it continued to be an enthusiastic booster for the community as long as it existed, and in spite of all difficulties. Not the least of these was the great fire of June 13, which destroyed its office and equipment. As we have seen, the Herald suffered a like affiiction, and so did the Advertiser. All three papers were thus left bereft of premises and printing presses, and with the slenderest resources from which to make good the heavy loss. 1945 From " Tickler " to " Telegram." 185 The News was the first of the three to reappear after the fire. Ross, who was in church when the alarm was raised, escaped with his wife and child running to the Hastings Mill wharf, [and] lost everything in the way of worldly goods except the clothes on his back. He spent that memorable Sunday night .sitting outside a fisherman's shack at Moodyville, just across the Inlet, while his wife and child slept on the fisherman's cot.20 On the Monday he went to Victoria, and there purchased a printing plant belonging to J. B. Ferguson, proprietor of a book and stationery störe. The next day he returned to Vancouver, bor- rowed a horse, and rode bare-back to New Westminster, where he spent the night writing up the fire. John Robson, then Minister of Finance, had taken a friendly interest in his predica- ment, and had arranged to have a stop-gap edition of the News printed in the British Columbian office until such time as Ross could get established again.21 Tradition has it that the News was on sale in Vancouver on the afternoon of the third day after the fire—that is to say, on Wednesday; and a news item in the Columbian confirms this.22 But the fact remains that the paper itself is dated Thursday, June 17. As the Columbian expressed it, the News " came out . . . on the half-shell,"23 in a diminutive three-column edition, measuring about 9 by 12 inches, and consisting of a Single sheet printed on both sides. But if the paper was physically small, its spirit was courageous. The entire issue was devoted to the fire, and the Single brief editorial is worth quoting in füll :•— The Caldwell block, wherein the Neios office was situated, was one of the first to be overtaken by the fire, and not even a scrap of paper was saved. Like nearly all others who had started in business in the new city, however, we perceive that the fire, whatever may be its effect upon individuals, is to the city as a whole not a very serious matter; in fact it can scarcely impede the progress of Vancouver at all. A few months, or even a few weeks, will restore the city to as good a basis as it was on before the fire. We have therefore determined to continue the publication of the Daily News. It will (20) Province, December 20, 1935 (an article on Ross published at the time of his death). Mrs. Ross is said to have died later from the effects of exposure. Ibid. (21) The first issue of the News is said to have been printed on a hand- press by ".Sid " Peake, from type set by " Bob " Matheson, later a dentist in Kelowna. (22) See Columbian, June 19, 1886. (23) Ibid. Vancouver was pictured as already literally "rising from the ashes," and the forty or more structures detailed in a " partial list of buildings already commenced " included a new office for the News on Cordova Street, near the site of the present Manitoba Hotel. Ross continued to publish his small-sized emergency edition for a fortnight or more,24 but this involved a round trip ride every day to New Westminster, and the effort was too great to continue for long. Publication therefore ceased temporarily in the first days of July, but the News reappeared in full-size for- mat on July 23, by which time its new office and printing plant were capable of use. Friday was the regulär publication day of the Weekly Herald, and it managed to appear as usual on Friday, June 18, though in a reduced size. This edition, like that of the News, was printed in the hospitable office of the British Columbian?6 But William Brown, too, found the strain of improvised publication too great, and the paper lapsed for a time. Meanwhile construction of a new building and plant went on apace. Both were ready by the latter part of August, and on September 3 the Herald resumed regulär publication from its new premises.26 The new building, which is shown in the accompanying illustra- tion, was erected on the southeast corner of Cambie and Hastings streets—a site destined to be associated permanently with journalism in Vancouver, for it is now occupied by the Province building. In later days the Advertiser was to claim proudly that it "was the first Journal to resume publication on the ruins of our pros- perous and promising city after the great conflagration . . . "27 (24) The first issue published after the fire was No. 12, dated June 17. The Provincial Library file of the News ineludes a copy of No. 21, dated June 26; the size is still 9 x 12 inches. As the first full-size issue, dated July 23, is No. 27, presumably publication of the emergency edition continued until No. 26, i.e., until July 1 or 2. (25) See News-Herald, August 6, 1942. (26) See R. T. Williams, Vancouver City Directory 1888, Victoria, 1888, p. xv. (27) Vancouver Advertiser, December 20, 1886. 1945 From " Tickler " to " Telegram." 187 The claim was justified, for although no copy of the paper appeared until June 29, this issue was printed by the Advertiser's own new plant, which had been set up in a tent on Carrall Street, between Cordova and Water streets. Editorially the Advertiser Struck a noble attitude, and declared: " Our immediate pros- pects are indestructible. We will rise again superior to all difficulties. Fortis in arduis."28 But the Advertiser's own prospects were, in fact, anything but indestructible. Macdougall had reached the end of his finaneial resources, and he was hard put to it to keep his venture afloat. In September the paper ceased to be published daily and became a weekly; a sub-title, Pacific Coast Canadian, was added at the same time. Macdougall contended that the amount of news available was not sufficient to justify the publication of a daily: but there is little doubt that the real reason for the change was lack of funds. The wages of the staff were falling in arrears; and in October dissatisfaction reached such a pitch that the staff abandoned the Advertiser and launched a new paper, the Evening Register. Only two copies of the Register were published, however, as Macdougall managed to scrape together a little money, and his staff returned to their posts. On December-20, the Advertiser even resumed daily publication, and at the same time increased its size from four to five columns. Macdougall bravely asserted that this was necessitated "by pressure upon our advertising columns at this time. . . . "29 The News meanwhile seems to have fared somewhat better, though Harkness sold out his interest in the paper in July, when things were at their worst, and left for California. Henceforth James Ross was sole proprietor. The pride which the paper took in the city is striking; special attention was always devoted to local matters. Ross sensed that Vancouver had a great future, and even attempted occasionally to preserve some of the pioneer lore that he feit sure would be of interest to posterity. Thus in September, 1886, he printed what he believed to be the real story of " Gassy Jack " Deighton, the character who won for Granville the nickname " Gastown," and stated speeifieally that he 188 Bessie Lamb. July was Publishing it for the benefit of future historians who would be seeking the truth about Deighton's career.30 One other small incident may be noted in passing. Ross's good friend John Robson came to town, and Ross himself thus described how the visit nearly resulted in physical violence to himself:— Hon. John Robson came to Vancouver and addressed an open-air meeting, speaking from a large burned stump. He was much annoyed by a man named Moody, a hotelkeeper from Moodyville, across the harbor. The next morning the Daily News said some severe things about the interrupter. This so angered the Moodyville hotelkeeper that he came over in the afternoon armed with a big horsewhip with which he intended to thrash the editor. Fortunately, I had been called to Victoria that morning, so could not be found, and so escaped the chastisement that was intended for me. The hotelman did not make a second visit.31 In January, 1887, the News increased, its size from six to seven columns, thereby maintaining its two-column lead over its rival, the Advertiser.32 In spite of the fire, and regardless of the difficulties met with by the local press, it was evident that 1886 had been a year of remarkable progress for Vancouver. In its last issue for the Old Year the Weekly Herald commented as follows:— The calm repose of the little village of Granville was only beginning to be disturbed by the tread of the stranger on her streets a year ago. The few acres on which the village stood were surrounded by tall and stately pines sheltering its inhabitants from the stormy blasts of winter and the scorching rays of the summer sun. But where are those guardians now? And where is the little village around which they stood as sentinels? All are gone. ... The woodman's axe laid low the tall pines and the fire blotted out of existence every vestige of old Vancouver. The transformation has been so complete that really nothing remains to remind the old resident of the past save the waters of the Inlet and the mountains beyond.33 In the last days of 1886 the Advertiser, with a characteristic touch of melodrama, announced the coming of a new era in international communication with the completion of the MacKay- Bennett and Canadian Pacific Railway telegraph system, a com- bination of land lines and cables that placed Vancouver in direct (30) For the sketch of Deighton's career see the News, September 14 and 15, 1886. (31) Quoted from the Province, December 20, 1935. (32) The change in size was made with the issue of January 24,1887. (33) Weekly Herald, December 31, 1886. 1945 From " Tickler " to " Telegram." 189 contact with Europe. The progress of the press has always been so closely associated with improvement in Communications that it will be worth while to digress briefly and outline the history of the telegraph in British Columbia. The telegraph first came to the Province as a result of the celebrated Collins' Overland venture, which aimed to connect the United States and Europe by means of a wire running through British Columbia, Alaska, and Siberia.34 The Collins' line (also known as the Western Union Extension) was completed to New Westminster in time to bring the news of the assassination of President Lincoln over the wires on April 18, 1865. Construction northward continued rapidly, and before work stopped in 1866 the line had reached Fort Stager, on the Kispiox River. Though the portion north of Quesnel was soon abandoned, a branch line was run into Barkerville, and the newspapers at the Coast were thus able to keep in close touch with the chief centres of population then existing in the Interior. Victoria was linked with the mainland by telegraph in 1866. The line followed a roundabout route through the United States, passing from the Saanich Peninsula to San Juan and Lopez islands, and thence to the Washington mainland. The line linked up with that from New Westminster to the Interior at Matsqui, which was the relay Station for all messages Coming from or through the United States. The last of the three cables necessary for the connection with Vancouver Island was laid on April 24, and the same afternoon greetings were exchanged between New Westminster and Victoria. The capital, in the words of the Columbian, was at last " in communication with civilization."36 Burrard Inlet was first linked directly with the telegraph system in 1869, when S. P. Moody had an extension brought to Brighton (Hastings), and a cable laid from there across the Inlet to Moodyville. The first message passed over this wire on April 11. Moody paid for this extension himself, but the Western Union Company supplied wire, insulators, and instruments. He generously allowed the general public to make use of his (34) A comprehensive account of the Collins' Overland Telegraph is scheduled for publication in an early number of this Quarterly. (35) Columbian, April 25, 1866. 190 Bessie Lamb. July private wire, and at first the charge for a message to New Westminster was no more than 25 cents. Later it was found necessary to double the rate.36 In February, 1871, the Government of British Columbia secured a perpetual lease of the lines of the Western Union Company that lay within the Colony, and in July the Dominion Government took over the lease, in accordance with the terms of union. The Dominion inspectors found that parts of the lines were in bad repair, and that maintenance costs were frequently unduly high. A rebuilding and expansion Programme, intended to reduce costs and increase revenue, was therefore carried through by degrees during the ensuing decade. A line from Victoria to Nanaimo was completed in 1878-79. But 1881 was Canadian cable was laid between Vancouver Island and Point Grey. From Point Grey the new line came direct to Granville, on Burrard Inlet, and then continued on to New Westminster. The first telegraph Operator at Granville was Samuel Mac- lure; his office was on the southwest corner of Water and Car- rall streets. Maclure belonged to a family of telegraphers. His father, John Maclure, assisted by his daughter, Sara, the first woman telegraphist in Western Canada, operated the repeating office at Matsqui. As noted above, this busy office was then the the most memorable year, for two reasons: First, the Government purchased the Western Union lines, and, secondly, a direct junction between the lines in British Columbia and the Western Union line to the United States. Later, when arrangements were changed and the Matsqui office was closed, Sara Maclure was transferred to Victoria. There she met and afterwards married J. C. McLagan, who, as we shall see, later founded the Vancouver World. Following her husband's death Mrs. McLagan for a time herseif acted as editor of the World. Samuel Maclure was succeeded as Operator at Granville by his brother, John Charles Maclure, who is still a resident of Vancouver. Burrard Inlet was thus in telegraphic communication with the world for years before the completion of the railway, but changes were swift and advances rapid after the coming of the rd Inlet," British 1945 From " Tickler " to " Telegram." 191 Canadian Pacific. On September 20, 1886, the railway opened its telegraph system for public business throughout the Dominion. Early in October the Dominion Government sold to the railway most of its lines in British' Columbia, including the through line from Kamloops to Victoria. Finally, on December 20, 1886, the Vancouver Advertiser was able to announce the completion of arrangements whereby the land lines of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the cables of the MacKay-Bennett System were united to provide a through wire from the Pacific Coast to Europe. On the day of its completion New Westminster and Old Westminster exchanged greetings by cable. The local newspapers were jubilant, for they would now be able to publish each day regulär press dispatches from all over the world, instead of being dependent, as heretofore, on a more expensive and erratic service routed through the United States.37 The New Year—1887—was to witness important develop- ments in journalism in Vancouver. These were occasioned by the arrival in the city'of Francis L. Carter-Cotton, a 40-year- old Yorkshireman, who had first visited Canada in 1879, and who decided to take up permanent residence here in 1886. Associated with him was R. W. Gordon, an Edinburgh-born financier of large means. Their first enterprise was the Vancouver San Juan Lime Company, of which Gordon was President and manager. Their second venture was to be a newspaper, of which Carter-Cotton would be managing editor. Though not a trained Journalist, he was a shrewd man of business, and a forceful writer. More- over, Carter-Cotton had political ambitions, and he undoubtedly hoped that the paper would be a political asset as well as a good investment. (37) It may be of interest to note the location of the Canadian Pacific telegraph office in early days. It is believed that for a few weeks the old wooden Canadian Pacific building at the foot of Richards Street was used for telegraphic purposes, but the first permanent quarters were in the Bay- view Block, on Cordova Street, between Granville and Seymour Streets—just opposite the present Canadian Pacific depot. By 1890 all the Canadian Pacific offices had been moved to the. New York Block, on Granville Street, the site of which is now covered by the northern end of the Hudson's Bay Company's department störe. The telegraph office was on the second floor. 192 Bessie Lamb. July He seems at first to have thought in terms of an entirely new Journal, but decided instead to buy out both the News and the Advertiser. Neither was in a position to ask a high price, and the purchase would both reduce competition and gain him what- ever good-will had accrued to the old papers. The purchases became effective on March 31, 1887, when the News and Advertiser were merged in the first issue of a morning daily, the Vancouver News and Daily Advertiser. Formal announcements on the editorial page, signed by James H. Ross and W. B. Macdougall, gave notice that they had disposed of their interests to Messrs. Gordon & Cotton. Macdougall served for a time as a member of the editorial staff of the new paper, after which he drops from sight. Ross left Vancouver, and later published a paper in Smith's Falls, Ontario. Eventually he moved to Winchester, Ontario, where he seems still to have owned the Press at the time of his death on December 18, 1935. The arrival of a new printing plant from San Francisco made possible certain changes in the new paper, and on May 12, 1887, it appeared as the Daily News-Advertiser, the name under which it became famous, and under which it continued to be published for more than thirty years. Carter-Cotton's excur- sion into journalism was faring well. "With a circulation nearly doubled, and an advertising patronage at about one-third more in value than existed before," he wrote in this same issue, " there can be no doubt of the public appreciation of the advent of this paper." As already noted, Carter-Cotton was not a Journalist by pro- fession, and many writers have enlarged upon the defects of the News-Advertiser, judged even by the Standards of the 1880's, let alone those of a later day. A former member of the editorial staff wrote in 1911:— The News-Advertiser, under Mr. Cotton's management, never became what is popularly known as an up-to-date newspaper. Its editor had not been trained in newspaper work and did not recognize the true value of news or the importance of method and arrangement. . . . To the deficiencies of the telegraphic service then supplied to this province his paper added a seeming lack of ability to discriminate between what was important and what was valueless. Nor did it ever occur tö Mr. Cotton, apparently, to Supplement the regulär press service with special correspondence, except by occasional meagre despatches from Victoria and Ottawa. Of departments 1945 From " Tickler " to " Telegram." 193 such as are now relied upon by newspapers to win populär patronage and approval the News-Advertiser had none.38 But the paper progressed steadily in spite of its defects, partly because a decade and more passed before it was faced with a more enterprising local rival, and partly because it possessed important merits and was shrewdly managed from a business point of view. It gained an enviable reputation for accuracy. Local news and Provincial affairs were carefully reported. Carter-Cotton was a member of the Legislature almost continuously from 1890, and for years the proceedings of the House were reported so conscientiously that the News-Advertiser gained the nickname " the Hansard of British Columbia." Then, again, the paper had political drive and direction. Its editor was an ardent Conservative, and he advanced his point of view consistently and vigorously. As a consequence the Journal quickly became a force to be reckoned with in both civic and Provincial affairs. If the News-Advertiser was unenterprising in its news columns, it was relatively progressive in the matter of mechanical equipment. At first this had been of the simplest description, consisting of little more than a few frames upon which rested cases of type, a paper-cutter, and a hand-power Country Campbell press that printed only two pages at a time. The plant was soon improved, however, and commencing with the issue of February 22, 1888, the News-Advertiser press was run by elec- tricity. It was the first newspaper so printed in Canada, and perhaps the first on the continent. Details are none too clear, but apparently electricity was not used after electric street-cars began to operate in the city, at the end of June, 1890. One story has it that the street-cars taxed the power supply to the limit, with the result that the News-Advertiser press slowed down every time a car passed near the office; another states that the cars made a change in voltage necessary, and that the motor in the Neivs-Advertiser's press-room could no longer be used. In any event, we know that a water-wheel was installed, with a steam-engine for reserve power. George Bartley, a well-known pioneer printer, later recalled: " When I started with the News- (38) J. B. Kerr, " Journalism in Vancouver," British Columbia Magazine, VII. (1911), p. 577.- This interesting article is unfortunately marred by errors of fact in its account of the News and Advertiser. 194 Bessie Lamb. July Advertiser we had every possible power: steam, gas, water, electricity, candles, and coal oil lamps."39 Mention of the coal-oil lamps brings to mind the fact that a cold snap could prove extremely troublesome to a newspaper in the 1880's. Tradition asserts that Carter-Cotton planned to publish a special Christmas edition in 1888, but that owing to cold weather it was still not through the press in February, 1889. This experience may account for his lack of interest in " extras " of any kind. In January, 1893, Vancouver experienced one of the coldest periods in its history, and as a result the News-Advertiser almost missed publication. Setting type was like handling chunks of ice with bare hands; type-cases had to be crowded into the reporters' room, while Tom Spink, wrapped up in his overcoat, made up the forms in the chilly composing-room. Printing was difficult, for there was frost on the rollers, and oil- lamps had to be placed under the ink-wells. In spite öf all hard- ships -the News-Advertiser finally appeared, though several hours late. That same year—1893—mechanical typesetting was first introduced in Vancouver. The News-Advertiser installed four Rogers Typograph machines, and their arrival caused a week- long printers' strike, much to the regret of all concerned. During the strike the paper was brought out by the editorial and business staffs, and not an issue was missed. The News-Advertiser commenced publication as a four-page seven-column paper. A little more than a year later, on May 5, 1888, it was increased in size to six pages, each of six columns, and on July 1, 1888, expanded again to eight pages, each of six columns. This size it retained for many years. At the beginning the paper had been housed briefly on Carrall Street, near Cordova Street, but by July, 1887, it had moved to a one-story frame building on Cambie Street between Hastings and Cordova streets. The site is now occupied by the rear portion of the Dominion Bank building. In 1890-91 new and much larger quarters were built on the northeast corner of Cambie and Pender streets, where the editorial offices and press-rooms of the Province now stand. The new premises cost $20,000, and al- (39) Notes by George Bartley in Vancouver City Archives. 1945 From " Tickler " to " Telegram." 195 though barn-like in appearance were regarded at the time as a notable addition to the city's business district. Old notes and photographs make it possible to give some idea of the premises and staff of the News-Advertiser as they were at this period. The business office was situated to the left of the entrance. William Keene, one of the first settlers in North Vancouver, was the book-keeper. H. Neville Smith was in charge of circulation and delivery, and many leading professional and business men of to-day started their careers as News-Advertiser route boys. The editorial room was next to the business office. Here, for many years, Carter-Cotton would be found every night, remaining at his desk until the paper had gone safely to press. This room served, too, as a grand rallying place for prominent poli- ticians during the stirring elections of the 90's. Adjoining was the reporters' room, with J. B. Kerr in charge of local news. " Husky" Jack Wilson, killed in the Boer War, was proof-reader, and Thomas Spink, later of Port Haney, was foreman in the composing-room. George Pound was in charge of the press-room, while old " Pete " Atkinson ran the newspaper The News-Advertiser soon became firmly entrenched, and it was clear that any rival would have to have a long purse if it were to compete successfully. Carter-Cotton made this doubly certain, and further increased the difficulties of any would-be competitor, by securing a monopoly qf the news service f urnished by the Canadian Pacific telegraph. To begin with, the only competition was that offered by the city's first paper, the Weekly Herald, owned by William Brown. In an effort to keep up his end, Brown commenced publication of a daily evening edition on June 1, 1887, and the name Evening Herald was adopted on October 12. But the Opposition offered by the News-Advertiser proved to be too strong, and the Herald suspended publication in June, 1888. The Herald building, on the southeast corner of Hastings and Cambie streets, was adja- cent to that of the- News-Advertiser, on the northeast corner of Cambie and Pender streets, and it was later taken over and occupied by the bindery department of the News-Advertiser. G. A. Roedde, whose sons are still in business in Vancouver, was in 196 Bessie Lamb. July charge of this bindery. The land upon which the Herald building stood was owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway, and as the Company was unwilling to grant a lease, Carter-Cotton purchased the property. Eventually the Herald office was demolished to make way for the Carter-Cotton building, now the Province building. William Brown had become known locally as the "dean of the printing industry," and though he retired from both newspaper work and the printing trade the title stuck. He entered into partnership with Henry Mutrie to form the real-estate firm of Mutrie & Brown, and continued to serve the city for many years as alderman, chairman of the waterworks committee, and school trustee. The last years of his life were spent quietly at his home in Mount Pleasant. He died in September, 1917, at the age of 90. Only three months after the demise of the Herald the News- Advertiser was faced with a new rival, the Vancouver Daily World. The managing editor was J. C. McLagan, who in 1884 had helped to found the Times, a Liberal daily, in Victoria. He was attracted by the possibilities of the new city of Vancouver, and by the field offered there for a paper opposed politically to Carter-Cotton and the News-Advertiser. The World, a large seven-column evening Journal, first appeared on Saturday, September 29, 1888. The office was located at first in the old Masonic Hall, on Cordova Street, between Homer and Cambie streets. From there the World moved in May, 1891, to a building of its own near the corner of Pender and Homer streets, a site it occupied for many years. Politically the World professed to be " independent," as many another paper has done. In this connection Carter-Cotton's comment on the first issue is amusing:— Although on this coast the circumstances are such as forbid an evening paper ever attaining to the circulation or influence of a morning Journal, there is ample room in this city for a bright and crisp evening paper, and the World appears determined to- fill this position while its profession of " peace with everyone, no politics in mine " would carry even a Grit through much warmer climes than that of Vancouver.40 McLagan's chief assistant was J. M. O'Brien, a clever and able writer. The new paper fared not too badly, though it was (40) News-Adver. r, Septen NEWS THE DAILY NEWS. Vol. 1. VANCOUVER, B.C., JUNE 17,1886. No. 12. THE FIRE Probably never since the dsn!s of Pompeü and Herculaneum was a town VVIPED OUT OF EXISTENCE "so corapletely and suddenly as was Vancouver on Sunday. All the morning the usual pleasaift breeze from the occan was spoiled by smoke from fires Jn the ..'portion of the townsite owned by the C. P. R. Co., west of the part of the town already built,"but no alarm was feit in consequence. The place wherein these fires existed wa's"j&ntil • two or three months. ago. coverßd 'with forest A large force cf rmen had been engaged in clear- t>"fc> ing it. The trees were alLföfled, and the fallen trees, stumps, etc., ;Wete being disposed of by burrf- iögf here and there-'in separate* •fieags. A few weeks ago,' dur- mgfa gale from the west, the city was filled with smoke and ein der s from these fires, and fire reached close to several outlying buildings, but. after some fighting danger was averted. This, gathered hundreds of frightened this being the case, a number inevitably PERISHED IN THE FLAMES. It is to be feared that the seven whose bodies were recovered constitute only a fraction of the whole number who perished. The total number of-victims and their identity will probably NEVER BE KNOWN. With the exception of Mrs. Nash and Mr. Craswell, the bodies recovered were all burned to crisp and barely recognizable as human remains. Mr. Cras- well's body was found in a well wherein he took refuge and died* of sufTocation. A young man named Johnson, and his mother were found. in the same well. Johnson was dead and Mrs.Jqhnr. son has since*died. The body of Mr. Fawcett," the* soda water'•. . toanofacturer, • w%s identified by his wife by means of his wateb-chain. Persons living near the Harbor ärtid Tri'."the eäSterft pärt öf'the cityhurried toward the wharves at the Hastings Mill, anderowd- ed upon the steamers moored to the wharves. On the steamers and wharves, while the city was a mass of roaring flame, were doubtless, tended to lull the peo ple into a sense of security on Sunday. It- was about two o'clock in the afternoon that the breeze which had been blowing from the west BECAME A GALE, and flames sürrounded a cabin near a'large dwelling*to the west of the part of the city solidly .built up. A few score men had and excited men and sobbing wo men and children. . Anon there emerged from the dense smoke one and another, GASPING 'AND BLINDED, with singed hair and bfistered hands and faces, who had strug- gled almost too long tosave property. A considerable number of people were sürrounded by the fire and cernered near J. M been on guard with • water and Clute & Co's störe, and their only buckets, between this dwelling means of escape was to make and the cabin, but when the rafts of the planking in a wharf wind became a gale they were forced tc FLEE FOR THEIR LTYES, and in a few minutes the awel- ling was a mass of flames and the whole city was filled with fiying cinders and dense clouds of smoke. The flames spread from this building to adjoining ones with amazing rapidity. TNF WHOLE CITY WAS IN FLAMES less than forty m*.miles after the first house was afjre ' Of course. at that place, and push out into the harbor. The wind was blowing fiercely, making the water rough, and the part)' were in no little PERJL OF DROWN1NG. They made their way to a vessel which was at anchor in the harbor, and the watchman on the vessel, with all the proverbialin- solencc and stupidity of "insect authority," refused to. let the party come ,aboarÜ, .-JHLe, very s<»-»n pereeived, howeyer, that his refusal "did not count," and that his very life would "not count" for much if he attempted to keep the people off the vessel, and surrend*red unconditionally. Those who Htnessed the confia- gration froni the water describ« the sight as APPALLING VAND WONDERFUL beyond description. Many ol * the large number who lived nearer False Creek than the harbor, and made their way toward ihat body of water, had a hard struggle to escape with their h'ves. Mr. Joseph Tempieton got through only with the assistance of others Mr. Martin, bf the Burrard hotel, barely escaptd with his life, and was prostrated when he reached a place of safety. John Boult- bee and C./ti Johnson saved their lives hy lyinig.down and BURROWiNG THEIR FACES in the earth* ; Both are still suf- fering from ; their injuries. Ev- eryone sufV<f"Vod noi a Htii'v from the blinding and suffocating smoke. Families were separa- ted, and agonized women ran wildly about crying for missing children or husbands. Many men were completely crazed, and did not recover their senses for hours. The disaster was one of the most sudden and terrible which ever« in the history of the carth has overtaken a community. The number of BUILDINGS DESTKOYED is estimated at from f<oo to looo. In the 'west end of the city one building alone remains. In the ea"!st end are the Hastings mill, which was saved by the wind veering to the north, and the dwei- lings of "Mr.. k. H. Alexander and Aid. Caldwell On the banks or False Creek two hoteis and eight or ten other buildings escaped. This is all that remained of the citv of Vancouver on the morning after the fire. LOSSES. There were probabf) not more than,a ,score of people in the city on' Sunday who cfid not lose Isomething in the shape either of goods, personal propertv or Courtesy Vancouver Daily Province. Facsimile of the first page of the first issue of the Vancouver Daily News published after the great fire of June 13, 1886. 1945 From " Tickleb " to " Telegeam." 197 greatly handicapped by the priority on the telegraphic news service held by Carter-Cotton. In its earlier years, however, it was scarcely more progressive in the arts of journalism than the News-Advertiser. The great days of the World belong to a later period. - The fact that the World was not giving the News-Advertiser a real run for its money probably contributed to the launching of another newspaper venture in 1890. For some time past Carter-Cotton's attacks on the civie administration had been both vigorous and pointed, and Mayor David Oppenheimer and a group of associates, including J. W. Hörne and C. D. Rand, determined to found a paper that would Sponsor their policies and point of view. The result was the Daily Telegram, which commenced publication on Friday, June 6.41 It was an evening paper, but nevertheless was intended much more as a challenge to the News-Advertiser than to the World. The manager of the Telegram was W. J. Gallagher, who had been foreman of the News-Advertiser. Unfortunately, actual control of the paper lay not with him but with a committee con- sisting of Oppenheimer and his friends, and all the deficiencies of committee control soon became apparent. Differences of opinion within the group were inevitable, and the Telegram as a result lacked the consistency that can characterize a paper domi- nated by a single personality. In addition, Carter-Cotton's news monopoly made it necessary for the Telegram to have recourse to a Substitute service that was so expensive that it could not be continued indefinitely. The first office of the Telegram was on Homer Street, but in July, 1891, it moved to the Hörne Block, on Cambie Street. It seems to have paid some attention to advertising novelties, and some of its efforts now make amusing reading. A solemn warn- ing against the use of Chinese sugar, for example, pictured the . many-legged creatures with which it was alleged to be infested, and many of the patent medicine advertisements are on a par. Turning to another aspect of advertising, the Telegram on October 13, 1891, charged that the News-Advertiser was spreading (41) See Vancouver World, J Telegram actually seen by the wri file in the Provincial Library. 198 Bessie Lamb. July type in the printing of its advertisements, thereby making them occupy more space and bring in more revenue. This was held to be contrary to contract and to constitute unfair competition. The World was persuaded to take up the same cry, but this display of energy could not save the Telegram. The issue for October 14 carried a notice calling a general meeting of the shareholders to consider the advisability of increasing the capital stock of the Telegram Company to $100,000. As finaneial difficulties multiplied the enthusiasm of the paper's backers vanished. More and more of the work involved in its publication feil upon Gallagher, until he found himself doing even the office boy's work, but unable to earn an office boy's salary. In the autumn of 1892 the inevitable happened; the Telegram feil into the hands of a reeeiver and quietly expired. Gallagher soon after tried his luck with a weekly paper, the Monitor, but it survived for only a few months. He then went to Nanaimo, where for a time he ran the Nanaimo Daily Telegram. This, too, proved financially unsuccessful, and sometime in 1894 he went to the Hawaiian Islands. His last venture was the Financial Times, published in Honolulu. There Gallagher died in December, 1898.42 It so happens that the first edition of McKim's well-known Canadian Newspaper Directory appeared in 1892, and the facts and figures there given enable us to summarize the State of the press in Vancouver at what is seen to be, in retrospect, the end of a period of the history of journalism in the city. Aecording to the census of 1891 the population of Vancouver was 13,685. In this little city three full-fledged daily newspapers were battling for existence. The News-Advertiser's daily edition had a circu- lation of 1,500, and cost $8 per annum; its weekly edition had a circulation of 2,000. The World reported a daily circulation of 1,500, and an annual subscription of $10. Its weekly edition was credited with a circulation of 3,500. The Telegram, nearing the end of its career, had a circulation of 750; its subscription rate was $8 a year.43 About the same time Mayor Oppenheimer made a survey of business and industry in Vancouver, and reported (42) Information given to Vancouver City Archives by W. J. Gallagher's son, Eex Gallagher. (43) Canadian Newspaper Directory, Montreal, 1892, pp. 185-6. 1945 From " Tickler " to " Telegram." 199 that the capital invested in Vancouver newspapers amounted to $50,000; that their annual pay-roll was $55,000; and that they had a total of eighty-six employees.44 After the disappearance of the Telegram, the News-Advertiser and the World went their quiet way for a number of years. It was not until 1898 that a new personality and a new paper— W. C. Nichol and the Province—blazed into the journalistic heavens and opened a new era in Vancouver's newspaper world. Bessie Lamb. | T. Williams, British Columbia Directory 1 PIONEER DAYS IN PULP AND PAPER. Not long before his death, which occurred in September, 1944, Mr. Herbert Carmichael completed the first draft of an autobiography, entitled Memoirs of an Emigrant. Born in Ireland in 1866, he came to British Columbia in 1889, and soon became widely known in the business World. Few men took a livelier interest in the industrial development of the Province, and his autobiography contains many passages of interest to the economic historian. This is particularly true of the chapter in which Mr. Carmichael teils the story of the first paper-mill in British Columbia, and indicates briefly how it led on to the vast pulp and paper industry of the present day. This chapter is here printed through the courtesy of the author's son, Mr. Maurice Carmichael, of Victoria. Except for a few changes in punctuation, the original text has been followed throughout, but footnotes and an appendix have been added in order to permit the incorporation of additional material. The story of the little paper-mill at Alberni was first told in detail by Mr. J. A. Lundie in the Powell River Digester, the house organ of the Powell River Company, in the issue dated June, 1930 (Vol. 9, No. 6, pp. 1-8), and retold for a larger audience in Pulp and Paper of Canada for December, 1932 (Vol. 33, pp. 473-5). Certain details gathered by Mr. Lundie and not repeated by Mr. Carmichael have been included in the footnotes.—Editor. In 1890 I met William Hewartson, Mr. Hewartson had been manager of a little mill at Yarm, in Yorkshire, where they made the wrappers for Bryant & May's match-boxes. Residents of England will remember that match-box, of a yellow colour, depicting a bride and groom and the inscription: " At last I have found a match to please me." After conversations with Hewartson I became convinced that there was a future for paper-making in British Columbia, and I got together a Company for that purpose called the " British Columbia Paper Manufacturing Company, Ltd."1 We had as directors five of the most successful business-men in Victoria, (1) Aecording to the records on file in the office of the Registrar of Companies, Victoria, the papers incorporating the Company (which are dated July 15, 1891) were filed on August 17, 1891. The object of the Company was " to manufacture paper and all its products in the Province of British Columbia "; the capital was to be $50,000, divided into 500 shares of $100 each. British Columbia Historical Quarttrlv, Vol. TX., No. 3. 201 J 202 Herbert Carmichael. July with myself as secretary.2 Collectively we knew quite a lot, but unförtunately that did not include paper-making. William Hewartson was manager, and he chose as a site for the mill the first falls on the Somass River, in Alberni District. As it turned out, the site was not the best, as the fall in the river was low, not more than 10 feet, and barely that when the tide was high, as high tide affected the tail-water of the turbines. Hewartson was sent to England to purchase the plant, but as his knowledge was confined to making paper from rope and rag, he bought that kind of machinery, which was not suited to making paper from wood, the natural raw material of this country. Land was purchased, and a dam built across the Somass diverting part of the flow into a flume, which took the water to three turbines.3 We first built a small sawmill, which turned out all the lumber used in the construction of the paper-mill. The machinery arrived from England4 and was installed in the mill. It consisted in the main of one Galloway steam-boiler, two spherical rag boilers, five beating engines, a 60-inch Four- drinier paper-making machine, and a three-roll calender. There was also a bag-making machine, and a dynamo for electric lighting.5 (2) The five directors -were W. P. Sayward, Joshua Davies, J. Stuart Yates, Thomas Shotbolt, and James Thomson. Herbert Carmichael was secretary and general manager; William Hewartson was the first manager of the paper-manufaeturing department A list of shareholders dated February 26, 1894, shows that at that time 270 shares had been issued and were held by twenty-nine persons. Herbert Carmichael owned 150 of these shares, practically all of which were fully paid up.' The total sum paid in atthat date was $26,450; unpaid calls amounted to only $550. (3) "A 24-H-P. Leffel turbine was installed in the machine room; a 100-H.P. turbine ran the beaters, and the third, generating 40 horsepower, catered to the power requirements of the saw mill." Powell River Digester, June, 1930, p. 7. (4) The machinery was brought by the British bark Ariadne; she arrived at Esquimalt on May 4, 1892, 147 days from London. The actual unloading took place about a month after her arrival, and the machinery was taken to Alberni in the steamer Mascot. (5) See the elaborate description of the machinery published in the Victoria Colonist, June 4, 1892, and reprinted as an appendix to the present article. It will be noted that the. writer assumes throughout that the machinery was intended for the manufacture of paper from wood-pulp, 1945 Pioneer Days in Pulp and Paper. 203 We started building the mill in 1892,6 and the first sheet of paper was made in June, 1894.' Samples of this sheet, and of all the other papers made in the Alberni mill, are now in the Provincial Archives.8 We made a lot of good wrapping-paper,9 but we Struck our first snag when we tried to make wood-pulp. Hewartson's idea was to make soda wood-pulp, treating the wood chips in the rag boilers with soda ash and quicklime, thereby making caustic soda. We did not have pressure enough in'the boilers to reduce the wood to pulp, but Hewartson argued that if we treated it long enough we would get the result without the pressure, but in actual practice it did not work. We started in with 5 Ib. of chemical to the boiler, and increased this until we had 500 Ib. in the poor little 6-foot spheri- cals. It broke down the chips a little, but when mixed with rag and old newspaper and run through the paper-machine, it looked which was not the case. Aecording to the Powell River Digester, June, 1930, p. 4, the plant was second-hand. (6) Delay in completing the dam in turn delayed construction of both the sawmill and the paper-mill. See Powell River Digester, June, 1930, pp. 3-4: "... in 1891, the contract for the dam across the Somass River was let to the firm of Russell & Johnson, of Victoria. In the spring, a big freshet swelled the waters to unusual heights, washed away all the work already done, and the firm abandoned the projeet. In 1892, Mr. R. H. Wood . . . aeeepted the contract to proceed with the construction of the dam. The flood tides during 1892-93 retarded progress, and it was not until 1894 that the dam was completed and ready to supply water to the mill." (7) On one of the samples in the Provincial Archives, Herbert Carmichael wrote: " First paper properly made at Alberni made from rotten jute. July 24, 1894." A note in the Colonist for August 7, 1894, reads: " The first paper turned out by the mills at Alberni, a fine quality of brown wrapper, has just reached the market." All the paper produced at Alberni found a ready market in Victoria and Vancouver. (8) The collection ineludes some seventy samples. Ordinary brown wrapping-papers predominate, but the special paper required by butchers, and Manilla, blotting, and tissue papers are all included. The sample made from " pure fern " is light greyish-brown in colour. (9) The Powell River Digester, June, 1930, estimates that the plant had a maximum capacity of 50 tons daily. " Oecasionally it produced near capacity, often it worked on curtailed schedules, and not infrequently was closed down for weeks at a Stretch. Probably on an average it ran for six months a year during the two years of its precarious existence." (Ibid., p.8.) 204 Herbert Carmichael. July like a wallpaper you might see in a nightmare or the artistic product of a cubist. There were bits of paper on which you could read the news interspersed with miniature cordwood held together with rope and rag. We abandoned wood as a source of paper and continued to run until we had collected the last pound of rope, rag, or waste paper to be had in Victoria, Vancouver, or Puget Sound.10 Even then we tried bracken fern, as it was the fall, and made a fair sheet of paper, but it could not compete with wood in price. Then we shut the water off the turbines and considered what was best to be done.11 I might say here that many legitimate enterprises have come to grief in British Columbia due to lack of experience in the matter in hand, but I believe this must always be the case in any young community; however, the attempt is often praiseworthy and leads to greater things. I was left with the Alberni mill on my hands, and had to decide what was next to be done. With the experience gained at this mill I realized several things—first, that Alberni was not the best site available for a wood-pulp mill, and secondly, that we did not have nearly enough capital for such an enterprise. I decided that the best I could do would be to get together the essentials for the business and turn them over to persons who were familiär with wood-pulp paper, and who could raise funds adequate for a large undertaking. The first thing was to get the best site, so I arranged to get reports on all the large-sized water-powers on the mainland and Vancouver Island as far north as the Island extended. When the reports came in, the fall at Powell River seemed to be the best. It was not too far away, some 80 miles north of Vancouver, on the mainland. The falls were close to the sea, and (10) The Digester (p. 4) states that the bulk of the rags used were imported from England. " Everything from ships' sails to construction overalls were used—and when this supply showed Symptoms of exhaustion, ferns, manila rope, and even tarred hemp imported from the Esquimalt naval depot was commandeered." (11) This would be sometime in 1896. By that time Hewartson was no longer manager of the plant. Notes ön the file of paper-samples in the Archives indicate that he was succeeded by a man named Flemming, who in turn gave way to Dunbar, a Scot, who had previously been foreman. 1945 Pioneer Days in Pulp and Paper. 205 were fed by a lake 2 miles wide by 40 miles long. I visited the site and'found the natural falls to be 119 feet, which could be increased by a dam. I filed an application for the water-right, though not in my own name as I was still in the Government service; and while there was nothing to prevent my doing so, I decided to keep in the background, and thus others have got the credit for starting the enterprise. I foresaw that the finaneial load would be too heavy for me to carry alone, so got a partner and later expanded into a small syndicate. The next thing was to seeure the timber for pulp-making, and from my mining trips through the country I knew where the best timber was; but how to acquire it was the question, as there was no legal machinery for taking it up. We jumped that hurdle [in 1901] by having the Legislature pass an Act to allow timber to be taken up for pulp purposes.12 We incorporated the Powell River Paper Company, Ltd., in 1908 [sie], and shortly after another Company sprang into being, incorporated as the Clowhom Power Company, with a water- power on Seechelt Inlet.13 Frank Beer and Henry B. Thomson were behind this Company. I suggested to Thomson that we had better combine forces than work separately, which we did, but at the same time keeping the companies intact. (12) This legislation provided for leases of pulp-wood forests for twenty- one years; the annual rental was to be 2 cents per acre, and the royalty 25 cents per cord of pulp-wood cut. In addition, the lessees were required to build and operate in the Province a mill with a certain speeified minimum daily Output, proportionate to the acreage held under lease. In all 354,399 acres of forest were taken up under the Act before it was repealed in 1903. See R. E. Gosnell, The Year Book of British Columbia, Coronation edition, Victoria, 1911, p. 251. (13) Mr. Carmichael's recollection of events is here not entirely aecu- rate. The Powell River Paper Company, Ltd., was not organized until 1909; see note 16, infra, for details. The Company that first took up the water-right at Powell River was known as the Pacific Coast Power Company; the directors included J. J. Shallcross, a great friend of Carmichael's. The water-right to the Clowhom River Falls, on Seechelt Inlet, was acquired by the Industrial Power Company, of which Frank Beer and H. B. Thomson were directors. No doubt the latter was referred to popularly as the " Clowhom Power Company." J 206 Herbert Carmichael. July The " Pulp Act" [passed in 1901] allowed a certain time in which to select pulp lands which would afterwards be surveyed and granted to the companies applying for them. After this Act was passed the bright idea occurred to several gentlemen that they might hörn in with profit to themselves, so at least four survey parties were sent out to select timber under the " Pulp Act." While they were busy going north by steamer and boat, we were equally busy marking two maps with red ink, showing the applications of the Powell River Pulp & Paper Company14 and the Clowhom Power Company under the same Act. Some two months later, when these survey parties returned and presented their applications to the Department of Lands, they were met with: " We are sorry, but that tract has been granted to the Powell River Company." " Then we will take this one." " That has been granted to the Clowhom Power Company." And so on, covering most of the timber that was suitable. Then these people stirred up the hand-loggers, telling them they were. going to lose their livelihood, and petitions began to come in to the Government asking that the pulp applications be annulled. By Government grapevine I heard of this in time to have other petitions arrive supporting the applications, and thus the one lot of petitions cancelled the other. The final result was that we had secured 400 square miles of timber, from which we could survey 200 square miles. These were of course pooled, and later the Clowhom Company sold out to the Powell River Company. We employed Herbert Dawson, who later became Surveyor-General of British Columbia, to make the surveys, which took two years to complete. During the first fight between the two companies,16 I sailed from Texada Island in the Viola, a half-decked 18-foot boat with (14) As pointed out in note 13, supra, the Powell River Company was not yet in existence at this time; the reference should be to the Canadian Industrial Company, Ltd., which leased a total of 134,551 acres of pulp-wood forest under the Act passed in 1901. When the Powell River Paper Company, Ltd., was formed in 1909 it took over the water-right filed by the Pacific Coast Power Company and the pulp-wood leases held by the Canadian Industrial Company. (15) As the context shows, the writer intends this to mean the fight between the Canadian Industrial Company and the Clowhom Company on the one hand, and the outside groups who were attempting to " hörn in " on the other. 1945 Pioneer Days in Pulp and Paper. 207 jib and mainsail, to Powell River, a distance of 5 miles, and pushed the boat as far up the river as possible. My wife and small son [Maurice] were with me; we camped on the south bank that night, and heard that a party of surveyors had gone up to the lake. This looked suspicious. Next day, wandering round, the small boy saw a notice on a tree and drew our attention to it. It turned out to be a rival claim to the water-right. The only thing to do was to get back to Victoria and seeure our water-right before the application was opposed. At Powell River there is only one big tide in the day, and if we were to get the boat off we must catch the tide at 4 p.m. It was then 3 o'clock. The tent came down in rapid time, and everything was stowed aboard just as the survey party came down on the opposite bank, and gazed at us in astonishment. It was the end of October, and a storm was Coming up from the south-west, over Texada Island. It was getting dark, and there was a lot of choppy water between us and the Island, so I decided to try and make the lee off Grief Point, 4 miles south. We got there just as a storm of sleet and rain burst on us. It was an uninviting spot, strewn with huge boulders; on shore were the remains of an Indian fish-drying shed, with a room 8 feet square. I got my passengers ashore, made a fire, and we had some- thing to eat. There is only a little shelter at Grief Point from a south-west wind, and as the tide went out in the night I heard. the boat bumping against the boulders. I said that I would have to anchor her farther out, but my wife did not like my going on board. " You will be drowned," she said. I said that without the boat we would starve, as it might be long enough before any one passed the shore. I got on board and poled out, but found that to get clear of boulders I had to go into much deeper water. Then there was nothing to do but take off my clothes and swim. I rolled them in my slicker and slipped over the side, balancing the bündle on my head. All this time there was a wail from land—" Come ashore!"—and remember it was pitch dark. As soon as there was any light we were on board, and under reefed sails we made a fast but wet crossing of the 4 miles to- Marble Bay, Texada Island. At 8 a.m. we caught the steamer to Vancouver, where we arrived in the evening, and a wire from Herbert Carmichael. me to my partner got him to the Government Buildings in Victoria just in time to have our water-right saf ely recorded. Powell River presented a different aspect then from what it does now. Then there were neither buildings nor people; now it is a good-sized town. For some years both our syndicate and myself had some hard finaneial siedding. The times were not good and investors were few. I was urged to abandon the enterprise and told that the wood in this country would not make good paper, that we could not get chemicals, etc. To combat this I had tests made of different British Columbia timbers, and found that they would all make paper—some, of course, better than others. Spruce seemed the best, with a long, strong fibre and little resin. Douglas fir, while good, had too much resin, which interfered in both chemical and mechanical pulp. Hemlock, of which there seemed an unlimited supply, was nearly as good as spruce, and now, I am told, makes the best rayon pulp. I went to Howarth & Jordan, who were running a sulphate of soda pulp and paper mill at Everett, in the State of Washington. I asked Mr. Howarth to come in with me. He said that I had a good scheme, but that he and his partner had just bought the Everett mill from the Astoria interests, and that they would have their hands füll to keep it running. From Everett I went to Oregon City, on the Willamette River, above Portland, Oregon, to see the managing director, Mr. Johnson. I found he was in San Francisco, so went on south to that city. It was winter, and the road-bed of the Southern Pacific Railway was not as it is-now. It was washed out in three places, with the rails hanging in the air. We had to get out in the middle of the night and go round by a path to where three cars and an engine were waiting to take us on. Twice more we were blocked in the same way, and for miles we were running without train orders, and the whistle going most of the time. I did not like the f eeling that we might meet a train at any curve coming north while we went south. When we got near Sacramento the track was under water for miles, and we only made 3 or 4 miles an hour, and when we arrived at Oakland ours was the last train over that line for a week. The two little sphei-ic al boilers from the old Alber i paper-mill they appeared i n 1930, almost hidden by th bushes that e the ir ill ceased Operations in 1896. 1945 Pioneer Days in Pulp and Paper. 209 When I saw Mr. Johnson in the big city I used my best powers of persuasion to get him to join me. He listened attentively and gave me a good hearing, but he finally said: " Mr. Carmichael, you have a good proposition, but you are fifty years ahead of the times. There is enough newsprint made now to supply the Pacific Coast and a mill of the capacity you propose will not be wanted for many a long day, but I wish you luck." A few years later this same Mr. Johnson was a director of the Powell River mill, after my friends and I had sold out. I went to his office in San Francisco and reminded him of our previous conversation. I asked him: "What do you think of it now?" His reply was: " I never would have thought it possible, and I can hardly credit yet the growth of the Pacific Coast." He died shortly afterwards. We then went to London, England, to see if we could raise the funds there, and got a flotation underwritten. The public, however, only took 20 per cent. of the subscription, leaving 80 per cent. on the underwriters' hands. One of these tried to see if there was a loophole whereby he could get out of his contract. There was a clause in the contract stating that we could not go to allotment unless we had a certain amount subscribed and paid for in cash. We did have this, and went to allotment. Part of what we considered as cash were two cheques accepted by the banks concerned, and the treasurer of the company allowed these cheques to remain in his safe without putting them through the bank. The underwriters took action to annul the allotment, stating that a certified cheque was not cash. We claimed that it was. It was the first case of its kind to come before the Courts, and it was argued at length. The Judge held that an accepted cheque was not cash, for the reason that if the bank had failed the cheque could not have been turned into money, so the case went against us, and we had to look elsewhere for funds. We returned to British Columbia and made a connection with the Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company, an American Company operating in British Columbia. After some negotiating they became sufficiently interested for the principals to wish to see Powell River and as much of the timber as possible. We chartered a small steamer and took the party north from Vancouver. There were in the party Dr. Dwight F. Brooks, 210 Herbert Carmichael. July head of the Brooks-Scanlon Company; Mr. Michael J. Scanion, a genial Irishman; J. J. Shallcross; Charlie Olts, our timber- cruiser; and myself. I was deputed to be the showman. Dr. Brooks was past middle-age, and seemed to be the most taciturn gentleman I had met for quite a long time. To my remarks about the beautiful day, the sheltered waters, and the fine sunset, he mostly grunted; this continued for a couple of days, so I said to myself, if that's your idea why bother, so I left him severely alone and talked to Charlie Olts and the others. We were a week away on the trip, and on the third or fourth day Dr. Brooks came over to where I was and asked questions, and finally became most friendly and talked to me all the time tili our return. They were pleased with the prospects, and agreed to purchase the property for cash. I said I was willing to take part of my interest in shares, but they said they wanted it all.16 In this I think they made a mistake, as they made several costly Wunders which I could have steered them clear of. They took in as partner a pulp man from the East who was unfamiliar with Western conditions, and I understand his ideas cost them a lot of money, so much so that he was replaced by the Mr. Johnson of Willamette Mills. Since then there has been a steady increase in the size of the Powell River mill, tili they now have an Output of 700 tons of paper per day, and a development of 25,860 horse-power. They are using all the power available at Powell River, and have also taken in Lois River, some 16 miles south, which gives them an additional 22,000 hörse-power. (16) The memorandum and articles of association of the Powell River Paper Company, Ltd., were dated October 21, 1909. All the important directors and large shareholders were residents of Minnesota; practically all of them were lumbermen. The authorized capital was first set at $1,000,000, but this was increased to $1,500,000 in 1910. The present Powell River Company was formed in July, 1911, " To acquire by purchase from the Powell River Paper Company, Limited, all the property, real or personal, rights, contracts, Privileges, powers, and franchises" held by the latter, and the sale and purchase were duly provided for in an agreement between the two companies dated August 22, 1911. Clearing Operations in the Powell River area commenced in the fall of 1909, and the first ton of newsprint ever produced in British Columbia was shipped in May, 1912. 1945 Pioneer Days in Pulp a ) Paper. 211 Thus the little mill at Alberni became the father of the Powell River enterprise, with an invested capital of over twenty million dollars,17 and still going strong. Herbert Carmichael. Victoria, B.C. (17) The Powell River Company's authorized capital was originally $4,000,000. This was increased to $5,000,000 in 1912 and to $10,000,000 in 1925. Aecording to the latest figures available, the capital investment of the Company now amounts to just under $35,000,000. The plant is one of the largest individual producers of newsprint in the world. HOW PAPER IS MADE The Ariadne is Now Discharging the Necessary Special Machinery. The bark Ariadne has just discharged a very large and extremely valuäble portion of her cargo, which consists of the principal machinery for the new paper mill at Alberni. It has all arrived safely, with the exception of two small breakages which can easily be made good. The machinery belonging to the Company makes up four separate plants —a wood pulp plant, a paper making- plant, a bag making plant, and a sawmill outfit. The pulp mill consists of one massive chipping machine, with heavy chipping disc 6 ft. 6 in. in diameter, which will chip logs up to 8x18. The knives are fixed to the disc, which revolves at the speed of 180 per minute, and will dispose of about twenty tons of logs per day. Connected by a conveyor with this machine is another, equally heavy and massive, for crushing up the chips as they are made, the object attained by this severe crushing being that the wood is better prepared for the boiling, the fibres being all opened out and partly disintegrated. The next Operation is the boiling of the chips in a globular reyolving boiler, of which there are two in this plant. These boilers are each about seven feet in diameter, and very strongly made. A large manhole with suitable bolts, etc. closes the opening by which the chips are filled in. The liquid to boil the wood being first introduced, the boiler revolves, and when the mixture has been sufficiently boiled, the lids are taken off, and the boilers automatically empty themselves into small wagons placed below to receive the fibre, which is now partially reduced to the consistency of pulp. Herbert Carmichael. If the wood is being utilized, the Kollergangs or grs r by 18 " ift or non-resinous fibre, or in case of waste paper ; process is to fill the boiled material into two large -edged runners. The running stones are five feet in wide. These machines have seif acting attachments r keeping the pulp always in front of the running stones. In the p for strong obres the boiled material is poured into oval beating machines in which a heavy roll of metal with steel knives on the circumference revolves at a speed of 200 per minute. This roll circulates the pulp around the oval tanks and grinds at the same time. When the pulp is sufficiently reduced, it is emptied by a valve at the bottom of the tank into a east iron circular reeeiver, and then kept in con- stant motion. In connection with this part of the mill there is also a rag and rope-cutting machine, capable of preparing ten tons of rags, etc., daily; also steam tanks, for soaking waste papers, taking out the ink from printed papers, and preparing both for manufacture. The paper-making machine marks the second process in the formation of the liquid pulp into the sheet of paper. This Operation is performed by straining the pulp through a special machine, which separates all the knots or lumps from the finer pulp. This machine consists of a reeeiver, the bottom of which by which a jogging motion is gii machine consists of that portion This is made up of a fine iron fra endless piece of brass wire cloth; rubber. The formation of the wi red with slots of the necessary width, sn to this reeeiver. The paper making n which the wet pulp is first received. lework, copper and brass rollers, and an also two thick, endless bands of India t pulp into the damp sheet of paper is After leaving the wire cloth the paper, in its first stage as paper, is passed on endless blankets through heavy press rollers, and thence under and over five steam-heated drying cylinders. These thoroughly dry the sheet of paper as fast as it is made. The paper is then passed through a stock of calendar rolls, and wound on a spool—the sheet of paper, as finished is often five feet wide, by any length wanted. The machine for cutting the reels of paper into Square sheets is a large and heavy one. It is intended to be used when the manufacture of paper necessitates a much larger and wider paper making machine than the one described above. This cutting machine will cut a sheet 112 inches wide, or any width down to 6 inches, and any length from 9 inches to 144. The paper, in passing through, never stops; the knife that makes the cross cut is a revolving one. The paper bag machine is a marvel of ingenuity. It is designed to make any size of bag, from the one to hold four ounces of choeolates up to the one for 20 pounds of sugar. The machine works at a speed of 60 to 250 bags per minute, and will also print anything wanted on the bags as they are made, the printing capacity being 10,000 per hour. The bags are pressed, pasted, dried, printed and delivered ready for the market all at the —Victoria Daily Coloni ROYAL COMMISSIONS AND COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY UNDER THE "PUBLIC INQUIRIES ACT" IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. A CHECKLIST. By Marjorie C. Holmes. Part IV., 1921-1942. 97. Commission on Health Insurance, etc. (appointed under the "Public Inquiries Act," November 19th, 1919): report on Maternity 20 pp. Original typewritten report on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: E. S. H. Winn, Chairman of the Workmen's Compensation Board, and T. Bennett Green, of New Westminster. Appointed November 19, 1919; report dated March 18, 1921. The commissioners were instructed to gather information on maternity insurance legislation in other parts of the world, and to inquire if public interest warranted the introduction of such legislation in the Province. Some valuäble suggestions as to the administration and value of public health nursing were made in the report, including the recommendation that the Province be divided into public health districts supervised by public health nurses. \: Report of the Health Insurance commission submitted by E. S. H. Winn, Chairman; Dr. T. B. Green; Mrs. C. Spofford; D. Mc- Callum. Original typewritten report and proceedings on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: As above. Appointed November 19, 1919; report dated March 18, 1921. The report was signed by E. S. H. Winn; Dr. T. B. Green express- ing himself as being unable to agree with the recommendations. The commission confined its efforts to a study of literature from other countries, with a view to investigating British Columbia's needs, and the extent to which legislation in other countries was applicable to British Columbia. Mr. Winn's report recommended that Province-wide compulsory health insurance should be brought into force, but before such legislation was enacted, a tentative bill should be drawn up and circuiated widely among those interested, to test public reaction. 213 214 Marjorie C. Holmes. July 99. In the matter of the Public Inquiries Act and in the matter re coal commission, etc. (before Alex. Henderson, Esq., K.C, commissioner); report of commissioner. 20 pp. Original typewritten report and proceedings on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Alexander Henderson, K.C, of Vancouver. Appointed March 2, 1921; report dated April 25, 1921. The commissioner investigated the cost of coal production, transportation to dealers, cost to consumers, profits of coal-mine Operators, and the profits to dealers. He recommended that the short ton be used as a measure in all Government compilations; that dealers be licensed and required to furnish monthly returns to the Government; that Stocks of coal be accumulated during the summer; that Standard grades be adopted; that combines be dissolved; and that an effort should be made to reduce freight charges. 100. [Commission . . . to inquire into the question as to whether the purchase by the Vancouver and District Joint Sewerage and Drainage Board of a portion of District Lot S86, New Westminster Land District, for the sum of $75,000 was a justi- fiable one; and into the disposition of the purchase moneys by the said Board for the said land.] No report found. Commissioner: Robert Wark, of Victoria. Appointed April 13, 1921; report dated [June, 1921]. The commissioner's report is quoted extensively in the Victoria Daily Times, June 30, 1921, and the Daüy Colonüt, July 1, 1921. Charges had been made that members of the Greater Vancouver Sewerage Board had profited in the purchase by the board of a gravel-pit at Coquitlam. The commissioner found that the board was justified in buying the gravel-pit, but could have bought it for less, if it had not been deliberately misled and lied to by the auditor for South Vancouver, H. J. Perrin. The report stated that Perrin had benefited by $29,350 by the purchase. 1922 101. Royal Commission re Albert Richard Baker, Chairman of Game Conservation Board. (Under " Public Inquiries Act") Report of H. C. Shaw, Commissioner. 5 pp. In Sessional Papers . . . Second Session 1921. pp. V 17-V 21. Original typewritten report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Henry Curtis Shaw, police magistrate of Vancouver. Appointed November 21, 1921; report dated February 16, 1922. The commissioner investigated charges of malpractice in office against Albert Richard Baker, chairman of the Game Conservation Board, which had been made in the Legislature by Robert Henry )45 Commissions of Inquiry. 215 Pooley, member for Esquimalt. Mr. Pooley made eighteen specific charges against Dr. Baker as well as the allegations of malpractice. The commissioner dismissed ten of the charges, but investigated the remaining eight. Evidence of bad feeling between the Police and Game Departments was uncovered, and certain evidence of loose dealing in fürs was found, but in the latter matter no evidence was brought out to show any personal gain for Dr. Baker. 102. Report re the Pacific Great Eastern Railway by Hon. Mr. Justice W. A. Galliher of Court of Appeal of British Columbia . . . Commissioner. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banneid, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1924. Cover-title, 21 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1924. pp. M 1-M 21. Original typewritten report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Mr. Justice W. A. Galliher, of the Court of Appeal. Appointed February 20, 1924; report dated April 22, 1924. The commission was appointed in response to a petition made by members of the Provincial Party to investigate charges that the Pacific Great Eastern Railway Company had made certain payments to the Conservative and Liberal party funds to seeure the good-will of those parties in the Legislature; that the Company had made gifts of money to William J. Bowser, Leader of the Opposition, and William Sloan, Minister of Mines; and that there had been gross wastage of public money in the building of the railway. Sixteen specific charges were set out in the terms of the commission, but the commissioner found that there was nothing in the evidence to warranfe the imputation of any- thing dishonest in the carrying-out of the work by the Government. 1927 under the United Church of Canada Act. Original typewritten report on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: Rev. William Leslie Clay, D.D., Thomas Humphries, William H. Maclnnes, all of Victoria; Rev. James S. Henderson, D.D., Rev. Robert G. MacBeth, D.D., William Wright Fräser, Rev. Albert E. Mitchell, D.D., Rev. George A. Wilson, D.D., Rev. Edward McGougan, all of Vancouver; James G. Robson, of New Westminster. Appointed December 30, 1925; report dated February 14, 1927. This commission, having the force of a public inquiry, was appointed under the " United Church of Canada Act," to advise upon the settlement of certain properties to be awarded to the congregations of the Presbyterian Church in British Columbia. James G. Robson did not sign the report. J 216 Marjorie C. Holmes. July 104. Report of the Royal Commission on Mental Hygiene (appointed under the " Public Inquiries Act" by Order in Council dated December SOth, 1925). Membership of Commission: E. J. Rothwell, M.B., M.L.A. (Chairman); Brigadier-General V. W. Odium, M.L.A. (Secretary); W. A. McKenzie, M.L.A.; Regi- nald Hayward, M.L.A.; P. P. Harrison, M.L.A. Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banfield, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1927. Cover-title, 54 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1926-27. pp. C 1-C 54. Commissioners: As above. Appointed December 30, 1925; report dated February 28, 1927. This commission was originally appointed as a special committee of the Legislature,* but the members asked to be permitted to continue their researches, and report at the next session of the Legislature. Accordingly, on December 30, 1925, the commissioners were appointed under the " Public Inquiries Act" to pursue their investigations. The commissioners recommended the establishment of a psychopathic hospital, sterilization of certain classes of mental patients, and some administrative changes in the hospitals. This report also ineludes a study on " The heredity and place of origin of the patients admitted to the Provincial Mental Hospitals of British Columbia," by Helen P. Davidson. See also No. 109, infra. 105. Royal Commission held pursuant to " Public Inquiries Act," Chap ter 114, Revised Statutes of British Columbia, 1924 (re " Cam- paign funds"); findings. 14 pp. Original typewritten report, evidence, and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: Mr. Justice Aulay Morrison, of the Supreme Court; Rev. James S. Henderson, D.D., and W. H. Malkin, both of Vancouver. Appointed February 23, 1927; report dated April 6, 1927. This commission was appointed as the outcome of a Dominion royal commission investigating matters connected with the Customs Department, which revealed that the liquor interests had made large contribu- tions for campaign funds to both political parties in the Province. A Select Committee of the Legislature had already investigated and reported four specific charges: (1) increase in the price of beer; (2) lobbying by brewery interests; (3) higher prices for whisky paid by the Liquor Control Board; (4) use of secret service funds for political purposes. The commission was appointed to investigate these charges. The commissioners found that any money paid by the brewers had had no effect on the enaetment of legislation to bring about beer-by- the-glass, and that no undue prices had been paid by the Liquor Control 1945 Commissions of Inquiry. 217 106. Re " Public Inquiries Act"; a Commission issued to the Hon. Mr. Justice Morrison re allegations of Frank Carlow. 15 pp. Original typewritten report, evidence, and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria^ Commissioner: Mr. Justice Aulay Morrison, of the Supreme Court. Appointed April 14, 1927; report dated June 2, 1927. The commission investigated the charges made by one Frank Carlow, that public business had been improperly transacted, and that members of the Legislature or Government officials had resorted to improper methods to obtain campaign funds, but found no evidence to support the claim. 107. Final report under the commission issued on 14th April, 1927, to the Hon. Mr. Justice Morrison; re Gauthier charges. 20 pp. Original typewritten report, evidence, and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Mr. Justice Aulay Morrison, of the Supreme Court. Appointed April 14, 1927; report dated June, 1927. The commission is properly part of the preceding one, but is mentioned separately here as a separate report was submitted. There is no record of an Interim report to which the commissioner refers in his report. The commissioner found that there was no evidence to support the charges of " improper conduct of public business" made by J. A. Gauthier. 108. Report on the Economic Conditions in certain Irrigation Districts in the Province, by William George Swan. Appointed a Commissioner under the "Public Inquiries Act." Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banfield, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1928. Cover-title, 107 pp. Also in Sessional'Papers . . . Session 1928. pp. U 1-U 107. Commissioner: William George Swan, of Vancouver. Appointed July 26,1927; report dated December 16,1927. The commissioner was appointed to investigate the economic and finaneial condition of certain Irrigation districts, and to make recommendations to better the condition prevailing in those districts. The main recommendations made by Mr. Swan were the lowering of the rate of interest payable, and the increasing of the repayment time from thirty to fifty years. 1928 109. Final Report of the Royal Commission on Mental Hygiene (ap pointed under the " Public Inquiries Act " by Order in Council dated December SOth, 1925). Membership of Commission: P. P. Harrison, M.L.A. (Chairman); V. W. Odium, M.L.A. 218 Marjorie C. Holmes. July (Secretary); W. A. McKenzie, M.L.A.; Reginald Hayward, M.L.A. Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banneid,. Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1928. Cover-title, 20 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1928. pp. G1-G20. Original evidence and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: As above. Appointed December 30,1925; report dated March 9,1928. This is the second and final report of the Mental Hygiene commission. (For the ea'rlier report'see No. 104, supra.) The work of the second year was concentrated largely on the problem of mental defi- ciency. Data were gathered on existing legislation and the best methods of tackling the problem. The commissioners recommended the appointment of a provinciar psyehiatrist and the establishment of a Psychopathie hospital, special classes for mentally deficient children, and the establishment of vocational schools for mental defectives. 110. [Commission . . . .to inquire into the economic conditions throughout the Province with respect to immigration, land settlement, and colonization, and especiaüy with reference to the several areas Coming under the Sumas Drainage, Dyking and Development Board, the Oliver District, and areas adminis- tered by the Land Settlement Board.] No report found. Commissioner: William Henry Gaddes, of Kelowna. Appointed November 21,1928. 1929 111. Final report Sumas Relief Commission, 1928. 6pp. Original typewritten report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: Bruce Dixon, Inspector ofDykes, chairman; David Whiteside, of New Westminster, and William Lyle Macken, of Chilli- Appointed March 21, 1928; report dated January 17, 1929. The chairman of this commission was appointed by Statute (1928 chapter 42), the other two commissioners by Order in Council March 21, 1928. The commission was appointed to investigate specific cases in regard to the adjustment of assessments in the Sumas area covered by the " Sumas Dyking District Relief Act, 1928," and to determine damages in certain areas occasioned by the Sumas reclamation projeet. The commissioners were impressed by the possibilities of the entire Sumas area, and recommended that if any further relief was contem- plated, or any adjustment to be made, that it be done without delay. 1945 Commissions of Inquiry. 219 112. Report of Milk Inquiry Commission, 1928. Presented to the Legis lature January 22nd, 1929 . . . Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banneid, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1929. Cover-title, 112 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1929. Vol. 1, pp. K1-K112. Original typewritten report on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: Frederick Moore Clement, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of British Columbia; Hibbert Winslow Hill, M.D., Director of Laboratories, University of British Columbia; George Ernest Hancox, barrister, of Vancouver. Appointed May 19, 1928; report dated January 17, 1929. The commissioners were appointed to investigate the whole question of milk-supply to the city of Vancouver and the adjacent and neighbour- ing municipalities. The commissioners made recommendations regarding the marketing and supervision of dairies, prices of fluid milk, and also recommended changes in the Acts regulating the marketing and sale of milk. 113. Report of the Royal Commission appointed by Order in Council No. 1852, approved on the 5th day of December, 1928, under the authority of the " Public Inquiries Act" re Saanich Secession. 15 pp. Original typewritten report, evidence, and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Peter Secord Lampman, Judge of the County Court, Victoria. Appointed December 5, 1928; report dated May 31, 1929. The commissioner was to investigate any matters of administration in Saanich municipality, the valuation of agricultural holdings, the question of a separate municipality for Wards 3 and 4, the division of the municipality into wards, domestic water-supply, sewer System, and the cost of local and other improvements. After investigating, the commissioner gave it as his opinion that Wards 3 and 4 would be too small 'a municipality for economical administration, and that land was assessed and taxed for more than it could stand. He thought that the ideal Situation would be for the more thickly populated portions to amalgamate with the city of Victoria, and the country districts to form a separate municipality. 114. Report of the Royal Commission appointed by Order in Council No. 748, approved on the 16th day of May, 1929, under the authority of the " Public Inquiries Act" to inquire into certain allegations against John L. Bärge, of Queen Charlotte City, Province of British Columbia. Marjorie C. Holmes. July i file ii ; Provincial Secretary's Original typewritten report o Office, Victoria. Commissioner: W. E. Fisher, barrister, of Prince Rupert. Appointed May 16,1929; report dated August 23,1929. Bärge was charged with retaining Government property, which charge was found to be proved. pp. 11, xxviii. Original typewritten report, appendix, evidence, and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Lindley Crease, K.C, of Victoria. Appointed April 16, 1929; report dated September, 1929. Charges had been made by Provincial Constable P. Corrigan, of Kelowna, that members of the city police force were lax in the Performance of their duty, and of maladministration of the force. The Kelowna police made counter-charges against Provincial Constable Corrigan. The terms of the commission enabled the commissioner to investigate police administration generally, in the city of Kelowna. He found that the Chief of Police of Kelowna, Robert William Thomas, had not faith- fully served the Citizens of the town, that the city police were lacking in the Performance of their duty, and that they had failed to co-operate with the Provincial Police Constable. 116. [Commission . . . authorizing an inquiry into the grading, mixing, handling, and marketing of grain . . . ] 157 pp. Commissioners: Hon. James Thomas Brown, Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench, Saskatchewan; John August Stoneman, of Saskatoon; William John Rutherford, Dean and Professor of Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan. Appointed (British Columbia) March 15, 1929; report dated September 5, 1929. This was a commission granted by the Government of British Columbia to give the royal commissioners of the Saskatchewan grain inquiry authority to pursue their investigations in British Columbia. As far as British Columbia was concerned the evidence related to the facilities for grain handling at Pacific coast ports. 1930 117. Progress report of the Royal Commission on State Health Insurr ance and Maternity Benefits; Presented to the Legislature ' February llth, 1930. Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banneid, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1930. Cover-title, 30 pp. 45 Commissions of Inquiry. 221 Typewritten evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: C. F. Davie; William Farris Kennedy; Lorris E. Borden, M.D.; George S. Pearson; John Joseph Gillis, M.D.; all members of the Legislative Assembly. Charles H. Gibbons, Secretary. Appointed April 16, 1929; report dated January 15, 1930. estigated existing legislation on health insurance is of the world, having in mind the application of such legislation to British Columbia. For a later report see No. 122, infra. 118. Report of the Royal Commission Investigating the Fruit Industry (and inter-related conditions) of the Districts Territorially known as the Okanagan, Kootenay, and Kettle River of the Province of British Columbia, by W. Sanford Evans. Appointed a Commissioner under the " Public Inquiries Act." Part I. Dealing with the subjects set forth in the terms of the Commission under Classifications A, B, and C. Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banneid, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1930. Cover-title, 23 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1980. Vol. 2, pp. AA1- Original typewritten report on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: W. Sanford Evans, economist, of Winnipeg. Appointed August 26, 1929; report dated February 8, 1930. The commissioner was appointed to investigate the value of land, irrigation, water-supply, farming, and fruit-growing, varieties of produce, packing, distribution, marketing, manufacture of by-products, stor- age and transportation, and relations between the producer and vendor in the districts of the Province named in the commission. The report mentioned above deals only with the first three subjects of the commission. After investigating, the commissioner came to the general conclusion that the agricultural industry in the territory was worth maintaining and developing. In spite of the expense involved, in view of the fact that the Province had already made extensive loans to irrigation districts and had one large irrigation project, he feit that the finaneial position, while difficult, was not necessarily incapable of betterment. He recommended that a complete soil and topographical survey be systematically proceeded with; that the Government accept the principle of payment aecording to ability to pay, and abandon the existing plan of payment by regulär fractions of the debt; that 'the amount a district be required to pay in any one year on account of construction costs should be proportionate to the value of its products, and that the question of ensuring an ample water-supply should be a primary duty. By Order in Council dated Octob.er 31, 1929, the area in which the 222 Marjorie C. Holmes. July inquiry was to be held was extended to include the Kettle River and Kootenay districts of the Province. For a later report see No. 120, infra. 119. [Commission . . . to hold a füll inquiry, investigation and examination into the administration of the Board operating under the Government Liquor Act] No report found. • Commissioner: Albert F. Griffiths, chartered accountant, of Victoria. Appointed October 22,1930. 1931 120. Report of the Royal Commission Investigating the Fruit Industry (and inter-related conditions) of the Disiricts Territorially known as the Okanagan, Kootenay, and Kettle River of the Province of British Columbia, by W. Sanford Evans. Appointed a Commissioner under the "Public Inquiries Act." Part IL Dealing with the Subjects of Production and Marketing under the Terms of the Commission. Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banneid, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1931. Cover-title, 29 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1981. Vol. 2, pp. Wl- W29. Original typewritten report on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: W. Sanford Evans, economist, of Winnipeg. Appointed August 26, 1929; report dated January 15, 1931. The commissioner, in this report, considered problems of production and marketing. He investigated marketing during the previous ten years, taking apples as the main example, and going fully into the facts regarding supply, export, cost of production and yield, cold storage, and markets. He criticized the existing " Produce Marketing Act," calling it " an extraordinary Statute" and pointing out its defects. He recommended that immediate Steps be taken to institute a method of dealing with prices by means of an association of shippers; that all trade matters needing common action be handled by this Shippers' Council; and that the growers be organized so that matters of common interest could be discussed by them. For the earlier report see No. 118, supra. 121. Report of the Royal Commission appointed by Order in Council No. 1873 appointed on the 19th day of November, 1930, under the authority of the " Public Inquiries Act " re Mount Douglas Park. 1945 COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY. 223 Original typewritten report, evidence, and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Oscar C. Bass, Deputy Attorney-General. Appointed November 19, 1930; report dated March 16, 1931. The commissioner investigated the management, regulation, protection, and control of Mount Douglas park, near Victoria. Charges had been made by F. A. Grahame, of Victoria, that the Victoria-Saanich Beaches Association, administrators of the park, had neglected it, and had despoiled its natural beauty by selling gravel and cutting a new road. The commissioner found that the charges were sübstantiated by the evidence brought forward. 1932 122. Final report of the Royal Commission on State Health Insurance and Maternity Benefits, 1932. Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banneid, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1932. Cover-title, 63 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1932. Vol. 2 pp. X 1-X 63. Original typewritten report o.n file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: C. F. Davie, chairman; George S. Pearson; Dr. L. E. Borden; Dr. J. J. Gillis; W. F. Kennedy; all members of the Legislative Assembly. Appointed April 16,1929; report dated January 30,1932. The commissioners had already presented a Progress Report to the Legislature on February 11, 1930 (see No. 116, supra). This Final Report consists of a digest of the evidence received on world laws, and discussion of the need for health insurance in British Columbia, the class of persons to be served, the mode of levying the contribution, and other administrative details. The commissioners strongly recommended that a compulsory scheme of health insurance and maternity benefits be set up in the Province at an early date. 123. Report of the Royal Commission on Chiropractic and Drugless Healing. Held under the Provisions of the " Public Inquiries Act." Printed by authority of the Legislative Assembly. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banneid, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1932. Cover-title, 11 pp. Also in Sessional Papers . . . Session 1932. pp. Q 1-Q 11. Original typewritten report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Mr. Justice Denis Murphy, of the Supreme Court. Appointed September 10, 1931; report dated February 17, 1932. The chiropractors and drugless healers of the Province had applied for an Act regulating their practice, and the commissioner was charged to investigate in order to ascertain which of the chiropractors and 14 Marjorie C. Holmes. July drugless healers now practising should be so registered. The commissioner made a füll inquiry, and in the first case recommended that an examining board, composed exclusively of duly qualified chiropractors, be set up and should be authorized to grant recognition of graduates of Colleges, which, in their opinion, gave a proper course in chiropractic of not less than six months. The commissioner stated that the Act should prohibit the prescribing or administration of drugs or medical preparatives by chiropractors, and the practice by them of midwifery or surgery. In the second case the commissioner recommended that no change be made in the " Medical Act" in respect to examination of drugless healers, but saw no reason why an Act should not be passed regarding the " protection of persons skilled in the use of what may be termed the mechanics of such drugless healing." 1934 / the Municipal Taxation Cover-title, 90 pp. mimeographed. Original typewritten report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioners: His Honour Andrew M. Harper, Judge of the County Court of Vancouver, chairman; A. D. Paterson, of Ladner. Appointed May 22, 1933; report dated February 9, 1934. The commission was appointed to inquire into and review the finaneial and administrative condition of the various municipalities of the Province, as constituted under the " Municipal Act," and also the finaneial relationship between the Provincial Government and the municipalities. The commissioners made forty-two recommendations after taking evidence in all parts of the Province. The principal recommendations • were: (1) that mothers' pensions be a wholly Provincial Obligation; (2) that the thickly-populated parts of Saanich be annexed to the city of Victoria; (3) that social Services should not be a Charge upon the land; (4) that municipal grants should be a fixed amount for a certain term of years; (5) that certain institutions and certain social Services should be wholly a charge upon the Province, and (6) that hospital grants should be increased. 1936 125. [Commission issued to His Honour Algernon Ernest Doak . . . to inquire into matters (relief camp strikers) in so far as they took place in the Province of British Columbia.] Commissioner: Judge Algernon Ernest Doak, of the District Court of Saskatchewan. Appointed February 13, 1936. This is a commission issued by the Province of British Columbia to facilitate the work of Judge Doak, appointed by the Saskatchewan Government to inquire into matters connected with the riöt of relief camp strikers at Regina on July 1, 1935. The report was made public in Saskatchewan on May 16, 1936. Commissions of Inquiry. 126. Report of the Royal Commission approved by Order in Council No. 5, appointed on the 6th day of January, 1937, under the authority of the " Public Inquiries Act," re the Home of the Friendless; commissioner's report. 24 pp. Original typewritten report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: H. Irvine Bird, barrister, of Vancouver. Appointed January 6, 1937; report dated July 23, 1937. Complaints regarding the administration and conduct of the Home for the Friendless, in Burnaby, and the similar institution in West Summerland, were the cause of this investigation. In the main, charges made were found to be proved, in that the aged were likely to become public charges, that fire protection was not adequate, and that discipline was harsh. The commissioner urged that some legislation be enacted by the Legislature to regulate the Operation of such homes. 127. Report of the Royal Commission approved by Order in Council No. 24, approved on the 6th day of January, 1937, as amended by Order in Council No. 552, approved on the 5th day of May, 1937, under authority of the " Public Inquiries Act" . . . re projectionists and kinematographs. 20 pp. Original typewritten report on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: James M. Coady, barrister, of Vancouver. Appointed January 6, 1937; report dated August 9, 1937. The commissioner investigated motion-picture theatre projection- rooms, and described the methods employed in various types of theatres rather fully. The question of whether it be in the public interest to allow fewer than two licensed projectionists to operate a kinematograph in a projection-room containing more than one kinematograph, and whether a machine should be operated in a theatre which has no rewind-room was also inquired into. In neither case did the commissioner find that such things were necessary. 128. Report of the Royal Commission approved by Order in Council No. 944 appointed on the 25th day of August, 1937, under the authority of the " Public Inquiries Act" re Beban mine disaster. 6 pp., 2 maps. Original typewritten report and evidence on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Ridgway R. Wilson, mining engineer, of Vancouver. Appointed August 25, 1937; report dated September 7, 1937. The commissioner investigated circumstances leading up to and surrounding the flooding of Beban mine at Extension, which led to the 226 Marjorie C. Holmes. July death of three miners. No evidence of negligence was brought out at the inquiry, but the commissioner found that an error of judgment in allowing an insufficient factor of safety in connection with the distance the old No. 1 Extension mine-workings extended beyond the point shown by the old mine plan, had occurred. The error was not attributable to any one person. The direct cause of the disaster was the failure to file with the Department of Mines an accurate mine plan of the old No. 1 mine. Recommendations were made by the commissioner to prevent such circumstances happening in the future. 129. Report of the Royal Commission approved by Order in Council No. 186 appointed on the 19th day of February, 1937, under authority of the " Public Inquiries Act" re Labour Dispute between Burns and Company, Limited, and its employees. 9 pp. Original typewritten report, evidence, and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: His Honour Judge J. C. Mclntosh, Junior Judge of the County Court of Nanaimo. Appointed February 19, 1937; report not dated. The dispute concerned not wages, nor hours of labour, but the activities of the newly-formed labour union, and the retaliatory action of the Burns Company manager. As no agreement had been arrived at, the commissioner submitted a plan for settlement of the dispute. 1937-38 130. Coal and Petroleum Products Commission (British Columbia). Volume I. Report of the Commissioner The Honourable Mr. Justice M. A. Macdonald relating to The Petroleum Industry (Being Paragraph 2 and part of Paragraph 3 of the Terms of the Commission) October 21st, 1936. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banneid, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1937. Volume IL Report of the Commissioner The Honourable Mr. Justice M. A. Macdonald relating to The Coal Industry (Being Paragraph 1 and part of Paragraph 3 of the Terms of the Commission) September 27th, 1987. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banneid, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1937. Volume III. Report of the Commissioner The Honourable Mr. Justice M. A. Macdonald relating to Paragraph 3 of the Terms of the Commission December 5th, 1938. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banfield, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1938. Cover-title, pp. xxvii., 332; pp. xl., 422; pp. xxxv., 500. Also in Si HH332; III- 2, pp. HH1-HH 500. 1945 Commissions of Inquiry. 227 Original report, evidence, and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: Mr. Justice M. A. Macdonald, of the Court of Appeal. Appointed November 28, 1934; reports dated October 21, 1936; September 27, 1937; December 5, 1938. The commissioner was appointed to inquire into matters connected with the coal and petroleum industries—the cost of production, manner and cost of preparation (both for wholesalers and retailers), transportation, cost to dealers and consumers, profits (both to owners and sellers), and "generally, all matters tending to show the comparative value of coal and petroleum products for economic use as aforesaid in British Columbia, and the value to the economic welfare of British Columbia of the development of industry based upon the production of the fuels enumerated, or tending to show whether or not the prices charged for coal and petroleum products respectively are unjust or unreasonable ..." The commissioner divided his report as shown above, and reported on each part separately. The principal Undings of each part are summarized in the introduction. The report is very exhaustive in its treatment of the subjects discussed, and the findings are too detailed to enable them to be quoted or even summarized in this checklist. 1942 131.. Report of the Commissioner appointed pursuant to Section 492 of the " Municipal Act" and the provisions of the " Public Inquiries Act" to inquire into the Police Administration of the Corporation of the City of New Westminster. 19 pp. Original typewritten report, proceedings, and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: His Honour Frederic W. Howay, Judge pf the County Court of New Westminster. Appointed April 14, 1942; report dated May 22, 1942. On complaint of E. C. Mills, alderman of New Westminster, of dereliction of duty, inefficiency of administration, and laxity of law enforcement on the part of the police department of New Westminster, the commissioner was appointed to investigate the charges. However, he did not find that the evidence supported the complaints. 132. " Public Inquiries Act" " Natural Products Marketing (British Columbia) Act." Report of His Honour Judge A. M. Harper, Commissioner appointed by an Order of the Lieutenant- Governor in Council, dated the SOth day of September, A.D. 1941. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banfield, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1942. Cover-title, 72 pp. Original typewritten report, evidence, and exhibits on file in the Provincial Secretary's Office, Victoria. Commissioner: His' Honour Andrew M. Harper, Judge of the County Court of Vancouver. J Marjorie C. Holmes. Appointed September 30, 1941; t dated September 14, 1942. appointed to investigate the Operations generally of marketing boards and of the agencies set up by them; the rules, regulations, and transactions of these marketing boards and agencies; complaints of administration; and any other relevant facts. After investigating, the commissioner.recommended sweeping changes in the set-up and Operations of the British Columbia Marketing Board and the B.C. Coast Vegetable Marketing Board, advocating changes in personnel and enlargement of the Jurisdiction of the Board. He also advocated changes in the Constitution of the B.C Coast Vegetable Board to provide for election of members by delegates from local units, and he advised further that the Board be given power to exempt small growers of vegetables from Operation of the Marketing Act, and that fruit-growers be given a better accounting of all deductions and over- ;. Public Inquiries Act (British Columbia). Report of the Commissioner The Honourable Mr. Justice Gordon McG. Sloan relating to The Workmen's Compensation Board, 1942. Victoria, B.C.: Printed by Charles F. Banfield, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1942. Cover-title, 245 pp. . Session 1943. Vol. 2, pp. DD 1- :t and proceedings on file in the Provincial ce Gordon McG. Sloan, of the Court of Also in Sessional Papers DD 245. Original typewritten re Secretary's Office, Victoria Commissioner: Mr. I Ji Appeal. Appointed July 1, 1941; report dated September, 1942. This commission was fact-finding, and investigation was made into any complaints which had been made concerning the administrative policy of the Workmen's Compensation Board. The commissioner was also to investigate and examine relevant facts and reasons therefor, relating to proposed amendments to the existing Act which might be brought to his attention, and any other facts pertaining to the general scope of the inquiry. In his report the commissioner recommended that certain allowances under the Act be increased; that the Act be broad- ened to permit the Board to order and pay for chiropractic treatment to compensation cases; that a per diem allowance be permitted to men brought to Vancouver for medical examination, etc., from other locali- ties, in addition to travelling expenses and time-loss compensation. The commissioner discussed the question of certain occupational diseases, notably hernia and silicosis, very fully, and made certain suggestions in this connection. In the early pages of the report the history of workmen's compensation in British Columbia was reviewed. NOTES AND COMMENTS. Editor's Note.—In the first and it was on this return journey that the events here chronicled The approach of cold weather early in November warned us that it was time to break camp and head down river for " Outside " or run the risk of being frozen in where we were for the winter. The camp's only means of travel was an old river scow, which unfortunately was not large enough to carry us all with safety. We decided that eight, including myself, would remain behind and try to find some other means of getting away before the freeze-up came. Failing that we would spend the winter in Fort St. James. We did our best to locate a boat but could find none large enough to carry eight men and equipment. We had almost given up when we heard about a large Indian dug-out canoe near Fort St. James. We were told that this canoe would more than fill our needs, in size at least. It was certainly large enough! In fact it was believed to be the largest ever built in British Columbia—55y2 feet long, and 4 feet wide. It was of the dug-out type, hewn from a Single huge log. Strangely enough it was made of cottonwood instead of the usual cedar. It had been used several years by the Hudson's Bay Company as a freighter on Takla Lake. It was very ancient and almost paper thin in places. We realized that we were taking our lives in our hands to venture into those ice-filled rivers in such a craft. But beggars can't be choosers, and we feit that we had no alternative. We either had to take our chances with the river or stay where we were for the winter. Of the two we pref erred the river. We took the precaution, however, of hiring Jimmy Alexander, an Indian guide, with the reputation of being the best fast-water canoeman in the country, to act as our pilot. Including Alexander there were nine members in our little party. They were: Harry Reid, the expedition's cook, Bill Wright, Glen Pluver, a chap named Anderson, my brother W. H. Cotton, myself, and two whose names I cannot recall. At the present time Harry Reid lives in New Westminster, Glen Pluver in Clayburn, and my brother in Notes and Comments. Smithers, where he is Government engineer. I have lost track of the ' We must have been a memorable sight that cold December morning as we left Fort St. James in our odd craft, propelled by six large oars, three on each side, steered by a huge 15-foot sweep at the stern (the canoe was too large for paddles), jammed with equipment, and with smoke pouring from the full-sized camp stove that we had erected on a platform at the rear. We must have looked like something left over from the flood. For all its unsightliness, that stove certainly proved a comfort. It rained and snowed most of the time, and as we had no covering over the canoe we feit the cold bitterly. We travelled without stopping all day, and camped on shore at night. At intervals during the long cold day the men would leave their places at the oars and make their way back to the stove, where Harry Reid always had a steaming pot of soup or tea ready. This, followed by a comforting smoke by the fire, soon had us ready for another turn at the oars. We had little or no trouble until we neared the Fräser River at Fort George. There we ran into large quantities of pancake ice which kept rubbing through the soft cottonwood of the canoe, forcing us to go ashore and find spruce gum to patch the leaks. The canoe was old and thin, and while in the ice area we were forced to stop for repairs five or six times a day. In sub-zero weather this was anything but a pleasant task. Arriving at Fort George Canyon v • over, and the ice piled so high that y carry, or rather slide, our huge canc After leaving Fort George, where w< clear sailing until we reached dangeroi the water is exceedingly swift and foams and churns through the narrow rocky canyon at a great rate. Even the light and easily- handled river canoes seldom tried to run this tricky and extremely dangerous canyon, and we knew that to attempt it in our clumsy 55-footer was out of the question. We went ashore, and Jimmy Alexander went on ahead to size up the possibilities of portaging our equipment along the river bank. After some time, he came back to report that it would be impossible to carry the canoe on the shore, as the banks along the canyon were too steep, and covered with several feet of snow. That left us no alternative. We must run the canyon, 55-footer or no. This decided, we wasted no time in starting lest we lose our nerve, for we needed steady nerves for the task ahead. With our hearts in our mouths we started, and it seemed that we had no sooner left the shore before we feit the rush of the canyon. We gained momentum like a falling stone. Faster and faster, cutting through the angry waters like an arrow, our bow sent showers of spray over the feverishly i found it completely frozen e were forced to go ashore and e along the river bank to open 1945 Notes and Comments. 231 straining oarsmen, whose oars seemed to barely touch the rushing waters. Had it not been for Jimmy Alexander we never would have made it. He did a wonderful job of steering our clumsy craft through the dangerous maze of huge rocks. Time and again, by what seemed only inches, we missed great jagged rocks which would have torn gaping holes in the sides of the canoe, and in an instant consigned us to swift, certain death in the icy waters. The swift manceuvring almost cost the life of Harry Reid, our cook. A sudden lunge of the canoe caused a section of the stove pipe to fall overboard. Harry made a wild grab for it, and was saved from falling overboard by Jimmy Alexander, who pulled him to safety by the seat of his trousers. After what seemed a lifetime, we finally got through. That ride was the fastest and most thrilling I ever had. It is great to look back upon. But never again! After that, pancake ice was our only trouble. We made good progress, and at nightfall on the sixth day camped just a few miles from Quesnel, and were off to an early Start the next morning. As we approached Quesnel we were surprised to see a large crowd lining the river bank awaiting our arrival. We were at a loss to explain the unexpected welcome until Mr. Collins, of the Hudson's Bay störe, explained. We had been sighted as we rounded the bend of the river, about 3 miles above Quesnel, by Mr. Allison, a druggist. The odd appearance of our craft, with the smoke pouring from our stove, aroused great curiosity as to just what was the queer type of ship approaching. Soon the whole village gathered to witness the arrival of the mysterious craft. We must have been a great sight at that, nine woefully tired and unshaven men in a giant six-oared, stove- cluttered canoe. We soon had the canoe unloaded on the bank, and having enjoyed the open-handed hospitality of the good people of Quesnel, we continued our journey homeward, leaving the river and travelling overland. We were sorry to leave our great canoe behind. It had served us faithfully and carried us through dangerous waters to safety. After we had gone the people of Quesnel erected a shelter over the canoe, and I believe it is still there, on view to all who wish to see this giant 55%-footer, reputed to be the largest canoe ever built in British Columbia. E. M. Cotton. The party arrived in New Westminster the day before Christmas. the great canoe is no more. Though it had been protected from the weather to some extent in recent years, it had been left exposed so long that the bottom, and finally the sides, rotted away. The 232 Notes and Comments. July LEONARD NORRIS: 1865-1945. Leonard Norris, who died in Vernon on April 18, 1945, lived many long and useful years in the Okanagan, and devoted the last twenty years of his life to collecting historical information concerning the Valley he knew so well. Mr. Norris was born on a farm at Brampton, Ontario, in 1865. His parents brought him to Langley Prairie in 1874. He was a young man of seventeen when he first came to the Okanagan Valley, intending, as he once said, " to stay probably a year and then move on "; but " the beauty and magic of the country laid its spell" on him, and he " soon grew to love the bunchgrass hüls, the lakes that mirror the beauty of tree and sky." For a while he worked on ranches in the Lumby district, then in December of 1887 he pre-empted land in the vicinity of Round Lake, just off the Vernon-Kamloops road. He had hardly commenced to farm his land when he was asked to take over the duties of provincial police constable at Lansdowne. - He accepted the appointment on the understanding that it was only a temporary one and that some one eise would soon replace him. This step, however, marked the beginning of his public service, for in July, 1890, he was asked to serve in the capacity of Provincial Collector of Taxes. Three years later, in October, 1893, his integrity and ability were recognized when he was appointed Government Agent in Vernon, to succeed Moses Lumby. He remained in this office for thirty-three years, until his retirement in 1926. In carrying out his duties as police constable, Mr. Norris sometimes travelled as far north as Enderby or as far south as Penticton. He knew a great many of the early settlers intimately, and later, in speaking of his early days in the Valley, he always emphasized the fact that the people were law-abiding and peaceable. As Government Agent, most of Mr. Norris's work was centred in Vernon. He knew the district before the city was incorporated in 1892, and while it was still known by the name of Priest's Valley. He lived through the " boom days " of the nineties, when the cattle ranches were divided and the first orchards were planted. He remembered the Coming of the railway in 1891, the sale of the Coldstream Ranch to Lord Aberdeen, and the early days of steamboat travel on Okanagan Lake. He saw Vernon grow from a settlement of four or five scattered houses to its war-time population of somewhere between six and seven thousand. He supervised the removal of the Government offices from the old red-brick Court House built in 1892, at a cost of $8,000, to the fine new granite structure, costing $200,000, opened in 1914. He watched the development of the fruit-growing industry from the days of experimentation to those of specialization—and remained convinced that the Okanagan farmer was producing fruit which was too expensive for the taste of the prairie consumer. As the official representative of the Government in the Vernon district, Mr. Norris carried out multifarious duties. He dealt with 1945 Notes and Comments. 233 matters which came to his cognizance as Magistrate, Collector of land and other taxes, Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Registrar of the County Court, District Registrar of the Supreme Court, Registrar of Voters, Judge of the Small Debts Court, and Official Administrator. Everything from the supervision of road-work to the care of the destitute and the sick called for his attention. The wide knowledge of local affairs which he gained from his work could hardly be equalled by others, and after his retirement his interest in the development of the Vernon district never waned. The Okanagan Historical and Natural History Society (later the Okanagan Historical Society) was founded on September 4, 1925, as the result of a meeting called by Mr. Norris in Vernon. The members were interested in the whole field of British Columbia history, but their primary purpose was to preserve historical material relating to the early history of the Okanagan Valley. " It is only by securing information from all possible sources," Mr. Norris declared in his first presidential address, " and then by comparison and deduction, that it is possible to reach that degree of accuracy which is so desirable in dealing with matters of local history." The eleven Reports of the Okanagan Historical Society (the latest of which is now in the press) are a testimonial to the industry and to the Standards of the man who was the real force in the Society. For, as every contributor to the Reports knows, Mr. Norris had great enthusiasm for collecting data, and he assumed the responsibility for seeing that the Reports continued to be issued. To carry out his researches, he spent his winters in Victoria, working in the Provincial Archives and the Provincial Library. In 1939, when he went east to visit his old home and to arrange to have one of the Reports published, he spent some time in the Public Archives in Ottawa and in the Provincial Library in Toronto. He was a model to local historians for patient and industrious research, and he was far too modest in accepting credit and thanks for his efforts. The Reports of the Okanagan Historical Society are a mine of information about the early settlement and development of the Okanagan Valley. There are life-histories of early farmers, tales of adventure and of the vicissitudes experienced by the pioneers, historical accounts of the evolution of institutions, and descriptions of natural phenomena. There is a good deal of spontaneity in the writing, so that one has the feeling that this is, as Mr. Norris intended it to be, "history . . . as told by the people themselves." Perhaps it is because the reader obtains a real feeling for the life in a pioneer community that the appeal of the Reports and the demand for them have not been confined to the Okanagan Valley alone. In his articles dealing with the wider field of British Columbia history, Mr. Norris did not hesitate to tackle controversial subjects or to question the authority of recognized historians. He took up cudgels on behalf of the " wronged " miners of Cariboo, largely because he was inspired by his faith in the goodness of the common man. 234 Notes and Comments. July When he denounced politicians who had tried to use legal technicalities to advance their own cause, he voiced his suspicion of any one who was without principle. He tended to project his own sympathies and feel- ings into his writings, and to weigh the intentions and actions of others by his own measure. As a public servant and as an historian, Mr. Norris showed steadi- ness of purpose. One could recall his other fine qualities, but those who knew him need no reminder of the warmth of his friendship, or his ability as a raconteur, or his subtle sense of humour. They can properly regret the extreme reticence which prevented him writing his own reminiscences, and his modest refusal to accept during his lifetime füll credit and recognition for his work as a local historian. Margaret Ä. Ormsby. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. Members and friends of the Vancouver Section enjoyed a rare treat on Tuesday, April 10, when a crowded meeting was addressed by Mr. William Bleasdell Cameron. Author of The War Trail of Big Bear and co-author of When Für was King, Mr. Cameron was the sole survivor öf the famous Frog Lake massacre of 1885, and the meeting was planned in recognition of the 60th anniversary of the North West Rebellion. Seven or eight vet- erans of '85 were in the audience, including Judge J. A. Forin, who spoke briefly but most entertainingly, and Rev. C C Owen. Mr. Cameron devoted the first part of his address to a graphic account of his own experiences at the time of the massacre, and he and Judge Forin exhibited various photographs and relics, some of which related to Louis Reil personally. The Speaker then passed on to kindred topics, one highlight being an explanation and demonstration of the Indian sign language, the deftness of which delighted those present. Mr. Cameron was until recently in Charge of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police museum at Regina, and now plans to make his home in British Columbia. Both the Victoria and Vancouver sections had called meetings for Monday, May 7. Owing to the " V-E Day " celebrations the Victoria meeting was postponed, but the Vancouver Section judged it best to carry on. The Speaker of the evening was to have been Major J. S. Matthews, Vancouver City Archivist, but illness unfortunately prevented his attendanee. The Substitute Speaker was Dr. W. Kaye Lamb, who spoke on Some Pioneer Journalists, and described the development of printing and the press in British Columbia from the late 1850's to the Coming of the telegraph in 1865-66. Seventy members attended the postponed meeting of the Victoria Section, which was held in the Parliament Buildings on Friday, May 11. The Speaker was Mr. P. M. Monckton, B.C.L.S., of the Forest Branch of the Department of Lands. His subject was Historie Trails of the Cassiar Country, and both Mr. Monckton's talk and the coloured slides with which 0 COMMENTS. 235 it was illustrated were much enjoyed by the large audience. The old overland telegraph-line, the gold excitement of the seventies, and other historic events and relics were described and illustrated. The Victdria Section held its last meeting of the season in the Parliament Buildings on Monday, June 4. The Speaker was Mr. B. A. McKelvie, whose subject was Jason Allard: Prince, Fur-trader and Gentleman. It will be recalled that Mr. McKelvie delivered this same address in Vancouver in January, at the annual meeting of the Association. The text will appear in an early issue of this Quarterly. CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE. Bessie Lamb, M.A., is a member of the teaching staff of the Vancouver High Schools. Miss Lamb's thesis for her Master's degree dealt with the origin and development of newspapers in Vancouver, and the article in this issue is based upon the first chapters of this study. Marjorie C Holmes is Assistant Librarian of the Provincial Library, Victoria. Her long experience in Legislative reference work has given her a unique knowledge of Government documents, and it is no exaggeration to say that no other person could, at this time, have compiled the Checklist of Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry, the last instalment of which appears in this issue. Margaret A. Ormsby, M.A. (British Columbia), Ph.D. (Bryn Mawr), is Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of British Columbia. THE NORTHWEST BOOKSHELF. The Picture Gallery of Canadian History. Illustrations drawn and col- lected by C W. Jefferys, assisted by T. W. McLean. Vol. IL: 1763 to 1830. Toronto: The Ryerson Press, 1945. Pp. xvi., 271. $2. The many Canadians who have been eagerly waiting for the second volume of The Picture Gallery will find in it much to satisfy their curiosity. The period covered is 1763-1830, and readers would do well to ask themselves these questions before they open the new sketch book: What do 1 know of this period? What are the characteristics of this stage in my country's development? Far too large a proportion of our Citizens will have to admit that they can recall little more than the beginnings of British rule, the Coming of the Loyalists, and the War of 1812. Others may add " Selkirk started the Red River Colony," or " Talbot brought settlers to Ontario." Readers of this Quarterly will look for references to Cook, Vancouver, Mackenzie. All will find some old friend, and much that is new, for the author-illustrator has presented a pictorial record of the era when the newly acquired colony decided to remain loyal to her conquerors, when a form of government acceptable to the varied elements of her population was being sought, and when the vast area from Atlantic to Pacific was either being discovered, or was providing a home for those whose economic well-being had been upset by the American and French Revolutions and their aftermath. In his introduction, Dr. Jefferys explains his motive in setting forth a Visual interpretation of Canadian history: " My purpose is merely to supply a guide to further research, and to indicate by a limited number of typical drawings the resources available." (p. vi.) On the whole, he has achieved his ambition. The notes refer to many titles which are accessible to readers «throughout the Dominion, and the suggestions are made in such a way that the general reader, as well as the research scholar, is tempted to delve further into the subject. In this connection, British« Columbia readers will be surprised at the lack of definite references to the work of Judge F. W. Howay on the maritime fur-trade. His contribution is listed as an editor of The Colnett Journal for the Champlain Society, but his earlier and even more important contributions to the Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada are not mentioned. Much the same criticism might be made in relation to the study of Indian totems. Local studies such as those of Dr. G. H. Raley might have been mentioned, or the pictorial presentation given by Emily Carr in her paintings and in Klee Wyck. The volume is divided into four parts, and although the author's plan is not always clear to the reader, it is possible to give a sub-title for at least three of the sections. Part I. might be called " The Beginnings of British Rule." A large proportion of the Sketches relate to the American Revolution and its effect upon Canada, both during the period when many hoped British Columbia Historical Quarterly, Vol. IX., No. 8. 237 J 238 The Northwest Bookshelf. July to add Quebec to the rebellious thirteen colonies, and also to the time of the Loyalist migrations. The Sketches and notes are presented in such a way that contrasts between the New England states and the interior sections of the middle colonies, with their consequent influence upon Loyalist colonies in the Maritimes and Upper Canada, cannot be overlooked. In this section also there are Sketches of Samuel Hearne and of exploration and trade to the Pacific Coast. Included in the reference to Captain Cook's voyages is an interesting note on John Webber, R.A., the official artist attached to the expedition. Part II. might be described as " Pioneer Settlement." Sketches of Government buildings and churches show that Upper Canada was emerging from the first Clearings. Scenes of Canadian cities include buildings still in existence, such as Prince's Lodge, Bedford Basin, near Halifax. Detailed drawings of sawmills and grist-mills show developments, and Sketches of furniture depict the beginnings of industry in central Canada. Pictures of axes and hatchets show the influence which climatic conditions had upon tools designed for Canadian forests. The west coast is represented by a sketch of John Jewitt, captive at Nootka, and Simon Fräser and the North West fur-trade. The War of 1812 is the subject of over a score of the sketehes in Part III. Many of these are from The Field Book of the War of 1812, by Benson J. Lossing, while the details of the march of the 104th Regiment of New Brunswick were provided by Mr. G. H. Markham, of Saint John, N.B. Dr. Jefferys has rendered a service in making such material available. A small section is devoted to the Red River Settlement, and there are two Sketches of David Thompson. The last part suffers most from a weakness which is unfortunately apparent throughout the whole book—lack of Organization. There are Sketches of lighting equipment, ddorways, houses, churches, bridges, governors, spinning-wheels, Colleges, and totem-poles, following one another without any reason for their being so placed. All are interesting, and all have a place in an account of the social development of Canada, but they would be much more valuäble if they were grouped. One sketch, totems for example, suggests something which appeared earlier, patient searching enables the reader to find i There are one or two unfortunate defects meeting of the first Legislative Assembly c Charles Huot, who is known for his murals Quebec, but this fact is nowhere mentioned i merely told to look up a reference in Volume but only a good memory or ;, as there is no index, in editing. The picture of the f Lower Canada, 1792, is by in the Legislative Building in n this volume. The reader is I. The note relating to canoe routes to the north west, sketched on page 111, is wrongly placed, and is inserted between notes referring to pages 76 and 77 (p. 120). Winter cos- tumes sketched on page 106 include that of a priest; a note on page 133 calls attention to the fact that he is wearing a " rabat"; but for a detailed drawing of this one must turn to page 142, and for an explanation to page The Northwest Bookshelf. 239 urely have been possible to bring illustrations and text into t relationship than this. In some respects the second volume of The Picture Gallery is disappoint- ing. For one thing, introductory notes to the various parts, which proved so interesting for the first section of Volume I., are lacking. A topical or geographica! arrangement would have made the work more valuäble for reference. But while there is reason to criticize the editing of the work, it has real value and should be included in school and public libraries as well as in all collections of Canadiana. There is one respect in which it will prove more attractive to members of the British Columbia Historical Association than did Volume I. The Pacific Coast does receive some attention, the Quarterly is listed among periodical publications of value, and the Provincial Museum is given as a source of information, although the Archives is still unrecognized. The appearance of this volume is particularly timely, and it is to be hoped that it will find its way into the hands of many service personnel. During the war years young Canadians have learned more about their country from actual travel than the most optimistic teacher could ever hope to inspire them to learn by study—more, probably, than many teachers whose experience has been limited to one province know themselves. Younger students have become conscious of other parts of Canada through letters from their service friends; curiosity has been aroused, and Canada is no longer merely a succession of names on a railway timetable. Helen R. Boutilier. B.C. Sir Francis Hincks. A Study of Canadian Politics, Railways, and Finance in the Nineteenth Century. By R. S. Longley. Toronto: The University of Toronto Press, 1944. Pp. vi., 480. $3. In this biography, Professor Longley, of Acadia University, has supplied us with a painstaking account of the career of an Irishman, Francis Hincks, who came to reside in Toronto in 1831, and who later played an important part in Canadian political life from 1838 to 1854, and again from 1869 to 1873. In the interval between his periods of residence in Canada, Hincks served as governor in the West Indies and in British Guiana, earning the reward of knighthood for his Services as an Imperial administrator. Hincks entered public life in Canada as the result of his business con- nections and his friendship with Robert Baldwin, and through the office which he held as editor of the Examiner, a Toronto Journal sponsored by the Reformers of Upper Canada after the rebellion of 1837. In his editorials he came out strongly in favour of the principle of responsible government. He did much to form opinion in Upper Canada, and apparently had some influence even on Lord Durham. He also wrote in favour of the establishment of party government, and he laid the basis for the creation of the Lafontaine-Baldwin alliance. 240 The Northwest Bookshelf. July With the support of the Reformers, Hincks was elected as member for Oxford County in the first Union Parliament. Within six weeks of the opening of the session he yielded to Lord Sydenham's "mesmeric power," decided to put constitutional issues aside and to support the Governor's legislative Programme. This Step strained his friendship with the Reformers, and brought forth charges involving Hincks's loyalty and honesty. Similar reversals in policy later in his career make it difficult to estimate his worth and to assess the importance of his röle in Canadian politics. Mr. Longley is careful to point out in his conclusion that while Hincks "advocated party loyalty and party Organization, he himself was never a dependable follower of any political party " (p. 439) and that " he earned for himself an unenviable reputation of being a political Opportunist" (p. 440), but it is obvious that the author feels a certain amount of embarrass? ment on account of his subject, and his explanations for Hincks's conduct are not always completely satisfying. For example, he writes in explana- tion of Hincks's action in 1841: " He knew that responsible government as he desired it had not been conceded, but, with an ability to compromise which was to characterize his whole political career, he considered half a loaf better than no bread and accepted what the Governor offered." (p. 87.) Hincks seems to have put his own interests first from this time. Without Baldwin's approval, he accepted the office of Finance Minister from Bagot in 1842. A reconciliation was effected late in 1843 between Hincks and Baldwin, but lingering suspicion of Hincks on the part of some of Baldwin's supporters probably had something to do with the dislike which George Brown bore for Hincks for a period of thirty years. Hincks, however, worked for the Reform cause for some years. When the Reformers suffered a reverse in 1844, he became editor of the Pilot, published in Montreal to spread the party's doctrines. He also promoted the Lafontaine- Baldwin alliance, and in 1848 had the satisfaction of seeing the principle of responsible government recognized when Elgin called on Baldwin and Lafontaine to form a ministry. He served as Finance Minister in their government. In this capacity he revealed sound business sense by succeed- ing in bringing order into Canadian finances and in restoring public credit. He also took vigorous action to combat the annexation movement, both because of his desire to keep the Imperial connection, and because it was affecting negotiations he was conducting with the Baring Brothers for funds to assist the development of Canadian industries. During the period from 1851 to 1854, Hincks was Frime, Minister of United Canada. On more than one occasion during this time he showed impatience with those who did not readily fall in with his designs. He sacrificed the support of the radicals within his group by his caution in the matters of the secularization of the Clergy Reserves and the abolition of seignorial tenure. He broke off the railway negotiations with the Colonial Secretary, Sir John Pakington, in 1852, and engaged the service of private capital in spite of his previous stand in »pposing construction by private enterprise. He reversed his policy with regard to opening the St. Lawrence to American shipping, and he arranged the Reciprocity Agreement of 1854 1945 The Northwest Bookshelf. 241 without consultation with Nova Scotia. Finally, in 1854, when there were more than a few murmurs that he had used public office to favour his own interests, he resigned before the Speech from the Throne had been read. The following year he joined the Imperial service. Mr. Longley is of the opinion that Hincks " made his best contribution to Canadian development before 1851, and that after this date he was too often a combination of shrewd politician and efficient administrator." (p. 445.) He does not exonerate Hincks of all the charges current in his time: that he introduced the spoils system into Canadian politics, that he used his knowledge concerning plans for the expansion of the Grand Trunk Railway for personal profit, and that he took advantage of other circumstances; b"t he is not very harsh in condemnation of Hincks's f ailings: " The best that can be said of the reports is that they lowered his political Prestige and led to his defeat; at their worst they teil the story of a public man to whom the temptations of office proved overwhelming." (p. 241.) At the conclusion of his study he arrives at the opinion that Hincks's " achievements far out- number his failures, and that he should be listed as one of our great Canadian statesmen." (p. 446.) This view seems to be tenable if one takes into account the important finaneial measures, such as the Bank Acts of 1870 and 1871, the promotion of railway enterprises, and the negotiations with the United States which he .conducted in connection with the Reciprocity Agreement of 1854 and the Treaty of Washington of 1871. • In these matters he showed vision, and revealed faith in the future of his country. • One cannot, however, forget his connection with one of the greatest scandals in Canadian political life, the Pacific Scandal of 1872. Mr. Longley has dealt carefully with details and ineidents in Canadian political history and recounted Hincks's röle at particular moments, but one could wish for less formality in tone and attitude in discussing the work of a figure who sometimes aroused violent antipathy to his policies. It is dis- appointing that the reader does not gain a clearer impression of Hincks's Personality. One would like to know, too, whether Hincks had any political philosophy, or whether he was motivated solely by self-interest. More attention might have been paid to his relations with other public figures in Canada, particularly in the later years of his life. Margaket Ormsby. Local History: How to gather it, write it, and publish it. By Donald Dean Parker; revised and edited by Bertha E. Josephson. New York: The Social Science Research Council, 1944. Pp. xiv., 186. $1. This excellent handbook calls to mind a minor but treasured item in my own library—a manual for the motorist published thirty-two years ago by the Buick Company. The latter not only takes it for granted that the pur- chaser of a new Buick car may be unable to drive an automobile; it assumes further that the car may be delivered to him by rail, and that he may have to extract it from a box car and learn to run it without benefit of The Northwest Bookshelf. is with Local History. It has been written in the light of two First, there are not nearly enough professional historians to record the regional history of this vast continent; much of great interest must inevitably be lost unless it is noted down by capable amateurs. Sec- ondly, many of the most promising amateurs are without any formal training in research methods, and many of them have no one to whom they can turn for direction. This handbook is intended to help make good these deficiencies. It is "meant to give to the individual of intelligence, with more than average educational advantages, the necessary information for gathering, writing, and Publishing the history of his own community—his village, town, city, or county." Like the old Buick manual, it takes nothing for granted. Every likely source of material is indicated; the relative merits and the difficulties peculiar to the use of each is pointed out. The pages devoted to " Old Residents," for example, will interest any one who has ever interviewed an old-timer, and few who read it will fail to pick up a new trick of the trade. Even the professional historian can read this handbook with profit, for an elementary yet comprehensive outline of the technique of one's trade is frequently useful, particularly if it is as well arranged for ready reference as this one. W. Kaye Lamb. Vancouver, B.C. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION Organized October 31st, 1922. PATRON. His Honour W. C Woodward, Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia. OFFICERS, 1945. Hon. H. G. T. Perry - - Honorary President. Helen R. Boutilier .... President. B. A. McKelvie Past President. Mrs. Curtis SAMPSON - - - IstVice-President. E. G. Baynes 2nd Vice-President. Madge Wolfenden - Honorary Treasurer. W. Kaye Lamb Honorary Secretary. MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. Mrs. M. R. Cree. E. M. Cotton. J. C. Goodfellow. A. G. Harvey. T. A. Rickard. H. T. Nation. W. N. Sage. E. G. Rowebottom. Willard E. Ireland W. Kaye Lamb (Provincial Archivist). (Editor, Quarterly). Helen R. Boutilier H. C. Holmes (Vancouver Section). (Victoria Section). OBJECTS. To encourage historical research and stimulate public interest in history; to promote the preservation and marking of historic sites, buildings, relics, natural features, and other objects and places of historical interest, and to publish historical Sketches, studies, and documents. MEMBERSHIP. Ordinary members pay a fee of $2 annually in advance. The fiscal year commences on the first day of January. All members in good standing receive the British Columbia Historical Quarterly without further charge. Correspondence and fees may be addressed to the Provincial Archives, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C THE BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY OCTOBER, 1945 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Published by the Archives of British Columbia in co-operation with the British Columbia Historical Association. EDITOR. W. Kaye Lamb. The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. m-mL ASSOCIATE EDITOR. Willard E. Ireland. Provincial Archives, Victoria, B.C. (On active service, R.CA.F.) ADVISORY BOARD. J. C. Goodfellow, Princeton. T. A. Rickard, Victoria. W. N. Sage, Vancouver. Editorial Communications should be addressed to the Editor. Subscriptions should be sent to the Provincial Archives, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C. Price, 50c. the copy, or $2 the year. Members of the British Columbia Historical Association in good standing receive the Quarterly without further charge. Neither the Provincial Archives nor the British Columbia Historical Association assumes any responsibility for statements made by contributors to the magazine. The Quarterly is indexed in Faxon's Annual Magazine Subject-Index. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY "Any country worthy of a future should be interested in its past." ol. IX. Victoria, B.C., October, 1945. No Jason Allard: Fur-trader, Prince, and Gentleman. By B. A. McKelvie James Stephen on Granting Vancouver Island to the Hudson's Bay Company, 1846-1848. By Paul Knaplund Early Trails of Burrard Peninsula. A new map, with commentary, by Thomas R. Weir David Stuart: Okanagan Pathfinder and Founder of Kamloops. By A. G. Harvey 2 Notes and Comments: New Archives publications 2 Engine 374 returns to Vancouver 2 Memorial plaque to J. W. McKay 2 The Northwest Bookshelf: Maloney: Für Brigade to the Bonaventura. By Henry Drummond Dee Morton: Life of Sir George Simpson. By W. Kaye Lamb Tompkins: Alaska. By T. A. Rickard Brebner: North Atlantic Triangle. By W. N. Sage JASON ALLARD: FUR-TRADER, PRINCE, AND GENTLEMAN.* Jason Ovid Allard was born at Fort Langley, September 8, 1848, and died in New Westminster, December 16, 1931. His life encompassed the sweep of British Columbia history from the rüde fur-trading days, when there was no form of government in the British west, to times and conditions with which we are familiär. His personal contacts went back to more primitive times, when explorers were invading the wilderness and settlement had not commenced. He heard of the Coming of Simon Fräser from natives who were present when that noted man visited the lower reaches of the river that bears his name; and he learned from a former Indian slave the details of the blowing-up of John Jacob Astor's unlucky vessel, the Tonquin. The meagre outline of his life that I am privileged to give— too measured and circumscribed by the space at my disposal— I obtained from Jason Allard himself. Over a period of years I made notes from his dictation, and it is from his personal narration that I have prepared this inadequate summary. Jason Ovid Allard was a remarkable man; kindly, courteous, and efficient. He possessed a keen intellect and a retentive memory. His mind was cultivated by careful reading of good litera- ture. His understanding of human nature was broad, while his appreciation of humour was quick and discriminating. On one occasion I questioned him as to the number of persons constituting a party with which he had wintered in the Rocky Mountains fifty years before. He replied that he would let me know the next day. When we met again he looked wor- ried. In reply to my question as to his health he said: " Physi- cally, I am feeling fine, but I am afraid that my memory is going. I know that there were twenty-two of us in that party, but for the life of me I can only remember the names and initials of twenty-one;, there was an Indian there and I forget his name." 244 !. A. McKelvie. October Another incident, illustrative of his humour, occurs to my mind. We were travelling together and stopped at a most expensive hotel for the night. In the morning we went to break- fast in the grill-room. I noticed Jason studying the menu with a puzzled expression. "What's the matter, Jason?" I asked, " Can't you find anything you like?" " Oh, it's not that, for there is an excellent assortment of dishes," he answered, and then putting the menu down he went on: " You know, for nearly eighty years I have been wondering why my father named me Jason; at last I have come to the place of the Golden Fleece." Jason Allard was a half-breed, and he was a credit to both his French-Canadian and Indian ancestry. His father, Ovid Allard, was born in Quebec and was brought up by his uncle at Point Levis. He joined the Hudson's Bay Company in 1834, and for several years was employed in what is now the Northern States. He was one of the party that established Boise, Idaho. He was transferred to Fort Langley in 1839. In 1848 he completed the building of Fort Yale, and the following year constructed Fort Hope. These were brigade posts on the new overland route to the Northern Interior made necessary by the settlement of the International Boundary dispute. Later Ovid Allard went to Nanaimo, where he remained until 1858, when he returned to Yale in an endeavour to keep the Indians in check when the gold-rush to the Fräser started. Eventually, in 1864, he returned as officer in charge to Fort Langley, where he died in August, 1874. Jason's mother was the sister of the great' tyee of the Cowichan confederacy, Chief T'shoshia. This federation included all the tribes bordering the Gulf of Georgia and up the Fräser River as far as Yale. Jason, through the matrilineal law that governed native inheritance, was his successor as King of the Cowichans. I had evidence of this princely status of my friend. We got off the train together at Duncan. Across the street were four young Indians. They crossed over and approached us. One of them, speaking in English, addressed Jason and asked: "Are you Chason ?" " Yes," he replied. Immediately off came the Indians' hats, and they bowed. " You are our king," the spokes- 1945 Jason Allard. 245 man said in the native tongue, which Jason translated to me. All the time we were there Indians bothered Jason to come and take up his abode with them, promising to build him a magnifi- cent home if he would. In explaining how it came that he was born at Fort Langley, instead of Fort Hope where his father was officer in charge, Jason said:— One day, shortly before I came on the scene, my little sister drank some poison and died. My parents were heart-broken, but hid their grief before the natives, for if the Indians had suspected for an instant that the family was mortal the consequences might have been disastrous. That night, with the tears Streaming down his face—for he was very devoted to his children—my father took up the boards of the floor of the house and dug a grave, and into this the rüde little coffin of cedar planks was lowered by the flickering light of a tallow dip. Kneeling down, the two mourners muttered the prayers the father had learned as a boy in far-off Canada, and had taught to his native princess; and then, with sorrowing hearts and tender care, they filled in the little grave. It was this sad event that took my mother to Langley, where I was born two months later. She was placed in a canoe with a trusted man from the fort that very night and started down the river. You see, it was feared that the Indians might ask for the little girl. Mrs. Allard did not return to Fort Hope. The year after Jason's birth his father was transferred to Langley for the second time. In speaking of his early recollections, Jason told me:— When I was old enough to run about, the old Indians told me stories of my mother's people, and of events that had happened long before. Young as I was, I can still recall some of those tales. Many of the Indian stories are of historic value; for instance, I heard from those who were present how, forty-five years before, Simon Fräser had come down the river and stopped with the Quantlans who had a village opposite to the site of the penitentiary at New Westminster; how plans were made to kill him because he had kicked several young men who had pilfered a rope and an axe from his stores; and how Chief Wattle-kainum potlatched all his wealth to buy the white man's life and so prevented the attack from being made. Then, too, I remember an old bow-legged Indian who carried water for the fort. He had been a slave on the West Coast and had been liberated by the Company. He had witnessed the blowing up of the Tonquin. In describing life at Fort Langley in his boyhood days, Jason told of the ever-present danger of treachery, and of how the notorious Chief Tzouhalem, the bad man of the Cowichans who had led the attack on Fort Victoria in 1844, had attempted to 246 B. A. McKelvie. October kill James Murray Yale, officer in charge at Fort Langley. He had lain in wait outside the fort to shoot the officer when he emerged. Ovid Allard learned of Tzouhalem's purpose, and leaving the fort by another gate he crept up behind him and seized his gun and took it away from him. Then he booted the chief down the bank and into his canoe and sent him away. . " There were gay times at Fort Langley, too, especially when the annual für brigade would sweep down the river with the fürs from New Caledonia," Jason recalled. " Or when the Company's ships would arrive with supplies. Then there would be high celebration; bagpipes and fiddles would be brought out, and reels and square danees—and the inevitable dram—would be the order of the day. The voyageurs would dance and fight all night and have a mighty good time of it. At the Big House, as the officers' quarters were known, there would be feasting and merriment galore. Dangers and privations were forgotten when there was occasion for a celebration." He recalled many noted characters in the Hudson's Bay Service who came to Fort Langley, mentioning such individuals as Chief Factor James Douglas, Donald Manson, and A. C. Anderson, who would never stay at the Big House, but would pitch his tent outside of the fort. He mentioned others who had played important parts, complaining that they had escaped the notice of historians. Such, he said, was Etienne Pepin, the blacksmith, who had turned the first sod for agricultural purposes in the lower Fräser Valley. This was in 1827, when the first Fort Langley was built. Pepin continued to reside in the vicinity, as a farmer, until his death in 1874. Another colourful and useful man was William Emptage, a former sailor, who lost his left arm by a premature explosion in the first gold-rush to Queen Charlotte Islands. James Murray Yale, the officer in charge of Fort Langley, was a courageous, peppery little man, as Jason remembered him. He was small in stature and yery conscious of it. Governor Douglas, who towered above six feet, knew of Yale's dislike to stand near him, emphasizing the difference in height between them. Douglas was amused at Yale's efforts to avoid such a comparison and always contrived to get as close to the little man as possible. 1945 Jason Allaed. 247 When Ovid Allard was moved to Fort Langley in 1849 he found it most difficult to work with Yale. They had many dif- ferences of opinion, which finally ended in a row, which was made more bitter when Allard killed a vicious dog belonging to Yale. The dispute was over a cargo of cranberries. Captain Webster, of the Honolulu Packet, came to the riyer in 1852 to gather a shipment of the berries, that grew in great profusion on Lulu Island and the low lands bordering the Pitt River. He applied to Allard for barreis. There was a cooperage at the fort. Allard referred the request to Mr. Yale who, he said, gave permission, and the captain was given the barreis. When Douglas heard of it he was angry and upbraided Yale for encourag- ing trade on the Fräser. Yale blamed Allard. Allard bundled his family into a canoe and went to Fort Victoria to tender his resignation personally to Douglas. The Governor realized the value of Allard, and got him to reconsider his intention of leaving the Company's service, promising him that he would not again have to serve with Murray Yale. In March, 1854, he was sent to the new coal mines at Nanaimo as Superintendent of Indian labour, where he remained for the next four years. It was here that Jason received his first schooling. He had many memories of Nanaimo in those early days. One incident he recalled with delight. It eoncerned the second jury trial in what is now British Columbia. (The first was also at Nanaimo, when a jury was empanelled to try the murderers of Peter Brown, in 1853; the trial that Jason remembered was several years later.) A French-Canadian miner in a drunken brawl kicked another man, who died. Captain Stewart, officer in charge, who held a commission as a Justice of the Peace, knew that there must be an inquest and a trial. He was rather hazy in matters of law, so he decided to combine the two. There were no lawyers, so the French-Canadian asked Ovid Allard to act for him. Allard had been raised as a boy in a notary's office and was the nearest approach to a lawyer available. When the jury was sworn in Allard raised an objeetjon. " What's the matter with the jury? They're all sober," exploded Captain Stewart. " Yes, yes," answered Allard, " but I base my objection on the Magna Charta." 248 B. A. McKelvie. October " What's that got to do with it?" demanded the magistrate. " Well, you see, the Magna Charta says a man can only be put on trial before his peers or equals. There is not a French- Canadian on the jury, and we will not admit that these Scotsmen and Englishmen are our peers." Captain Stewart considered for a moment and then said that he thought there was something in the argument, so the jury was dismissed and another was chosen with half of them French- Canadians. There was a disagreement. By this time Stewart was f ed up with the whole proceedings, so he bound the accused over.to keep the peace—and that was the last of the case. In February, 1858, when the first gold-seekers, heralding the stampede, came from Puget Sound communities to the Fräser, Douglas went personally to Nanaimo to ask Ovid Allard to return to Fort Yale. The vicinity of that place, known as the " Couteau Country," was the objective of the prospectors. Douglas feared a clash between the miners and the Indians and knew that Allard exercised great influence over the natives there. Allard stipu- lated that he was not to be under Orders from Yale, but would report directly to Victoria. Allard left his family at Fort Langley for several months, and Jason saw the first wave of California miners as they made their way up the Fräser. He was old enough to remember them. Men of all descriptions, nearly all bearded, the majority wearing red shirts, and all armed, they" were a picturesque horde. They came in sailboats, rowboats, canoes, and even rafts, and swarmed up the bank to the fort in search of supplies and information. They tented and camped in brush shelters about the stockaded post. He recalled how, in June, the steamer Surprise arrived off Langley, laden with miners, and how Captains Lubbock and Huntington came ashore in search of a pilot who could take them to Fort Hope. Yale endeavoured to dissuade them from the attempt, but when he found that they were determined he loaned them an Indian named Speelset, who knew the river well, while August Willing, a clerk, went along as Interpreter. The journey was successfully completed. 1945 Jason Allard. 249 "I remember," said Jason, "that Speelset came back all dressed out in nautical style, wearing a broadcloth suit and high boots. He changed his name with his dress, for thereafter he was known as ' Captain John.' Instead of being paid one or two blankets for his Services the grateful captain of the Surprise had paid him at regulär pilotage rates, giving him $160 in gold." The journey to Yale was made by the Allard family in one of the bateaux of the Company. It was on this trip, at Hill's Bar, that Jason first saw gold washed. He had previously had the idea that it was found already minted in the river gravel. He upset a pan of black sand belonging to a young Indian miner, and it was only by giving the youth a gaudy scarf he was wearing that he was mollified. Yale was already crowded when the family arrived, and daily the population grew. Soon the river all the way from below Hope to the canyons above Yale was alive with men washing every bar, their tents showing up against the dark of the forest background. Often a miner near Hope would start a long wail, " O-o-oh J-o-o-e-e-e!" and others would instantly take it up, the plaintive call being carried right up to Yale, 15 miles away, in the matter of minutes. Soon the miners were pushing their way into the rocky canyons that extend to the Forks (Lytton). There was an old Indian trail, little improved from the time when Simon Fräser used it. Jason went over it with his father, and was soon acting as guide and interpreter for the miners. " I had a small bag füll of gold coins that I earned this way," he laughed. "One day my father saw me playing with the money. He wanted to know where I got it. I told him the miners had given it to me, but he didn't believe me. Just then a miner accompanied by an Indian came along and asked if I was the boy who could interpret. I answered that I was and translated for them, while my father looked on. When we were finished, the miner handed me a five-dollar gold piece and went 'off. ' That's how I get my money,' I told my father, and he was satisfied." Young Jason became a great favourite with the miners. There were many College youths among them. " They taught me a great deal," he said. " Some of them had brought their books 250 B. A. McKelvie. October with them, and when they found that they could not carry them farther, they gave them to me. Those College men also taught me to box and wrestle, arts that were useful to me later," he said. " One of the College men was named Francis Kelly. He had just been admitted as a lawyer in [the] United States. He was asked by Colonel R. C. Moody, of the Royal Engineers, why he was wasting his talents in the wilderness of this country. He replied that he was broke and could not afford to open a law practice. Moody loaned him £100 and he immediately left for San Francisco. Whether or not the Colonel ever got his money back, I don't know, as Kelly was later killed in the Civil War." Jason acted as guide and Interpreter for Sergeant McColl and Corporal Turner, of the Royal Engineers, when they went up the river over the trail beyond Fort Yale. He knew all the officers of the corps, for they stayed with his father when visiting Yale. When Lieutenant R. C. Mayne and Paymaster Brown made their exploration into the Interior they wanted to take Jason along, but his father would not let him go. He recalled the short war between the Indian braves and miners in the canyons of the Fräser, and blamed the white men for causing it. The miners demanded guns at the Hudson's Bay post. These Ovid Allard refused to let them have, and they became threatening. He held them at bay with a pistol. Finally he agreed to loan them the weapons if responsible men would guarantee their return. This was done, and the guns were brought back a few days later. He also recalled the visit of Lady Franklin in 1861. She was in search of news about her husband, the Arctic explorer, who was lost. She was conducted up the river, and while she was absent Jason constructed a big banner bearing the name " Lady Franklin's Pass," which was hung at the entrance to the moun- tain cleft where the Fräser breaks through the barrier ränge. It is still known by that name to pioneers. Another recollectionof those days was of Quitz-ka-nums, the Indian prophet. This Indian aroused a great spiritual revival among the natives along the Fräser. His teachings were a mix- ture of Christian doctrines, Indian mythology, and common sense. He had a stränge parchment which he said he had found 1945 Jason Allard. 251 in a cairn on top of a mountain back of Katz Landing. Jason noted down a number of the prophet's sayings:— " Indolence is the cause of a great many evils." " Do not be called a thief." " In accepting gifts from neighbours exchange the gift with profit." " Be kind to the aged and those beneath you." " The Indian prophet was one of the finest Indians I ever met," Jason stated. " I will say of him that he was an intelligent man among his people. He was also a weather prophet. He had four wives. He and his wives would bend down their heads to thank Nature for the food they were about to consume. The parchment he had with Jewish (?) writing or hieroglyphics was picked up by him on the mountain back of Katz Landing near Hope. " When Father Fouquet, O.M.I., pioneer missionary, came on the scene he asked to see the parchment. He spat on it and east it into the fire and told the men he was an imposter. Insulted by Father Fouquet and loss of his favourite wife, who eloped with a white man, was more than he could bear. He wasted away in distress, refused to eat and died." With the discovery of gold in Cariboo and the building of the Cariboo Road, Yale lost much of its importance. There had been four clerks in the Hudson's Bay störe there during the rush to the Lower Fräser. Headquarters in Victoria questioned their being continued. Allard replied that all four could be moved, and that he and his son would carry on. So Jason started to work. The boy overheard Judge Matthew Baillie Begbie offering the Position of Indian Interpreter to his father. He went privately to the Judge and offered to do the work for half the amount. " What!" exclaimed Begbie, " would you run Opposition to your father?" Jason said that he would. The Judge thought him too young, but, liking his spirit, secured him the post as Interpreter in the Police Court, where his fees often amounted to as much as those of his father in the higher Court. He recalled many of the stirring events of the gold-rush days that are so well known, such as Ned McGowan's war, and the 252 B. A. McKelvie. October shooting of Rice by Foster, which he witnessed—but space will not permit an elaboration of these incidents. In the spring of 1866 Ovid Allard had to visit Victoria. Jason was left in charge. One morning a Cariboo miner came to the störe with a large order. He wanted it packed by 2 o'clock. There were some articles required that were not in stock, but Jason promised him that they would be secured and . packed on time. While he was serving the miner he noticed a stranger watch- ing him. As soon as the customer went away the lad asked the stranger to step outside as he was going to close the störe. " Why?" he was asked. " Oh, I've got to go out and buy some of the things that man wants." " But why not send him to do his own buying? " demanded the man. I Well, sir," Jason replied, " you see, if I do that the next time he comes to Yale he may go elsewhere for all his purchases." The required articles were obtained and the order was properly packed on time. The stranger was still at Yale when Ovid Allard returned. He introduced himself as Dugald MacTavish, the inspecting Chief Factor for the Hudson's Bay Company. He was loud in his praise of the manner in which Jason had handled matters while his father was absent, but was astonished when he learned that he was not regularly articled. He insisted that the boy should be taken into the Company's service, and to this Ovid agreed, especially when Jason was to be given seniority dating from the time that he had first started working. But Jason did not relish the idea. He wanted to become a free trader. The Company sent the lad to Victoria to learn book-keeping. Apart from his attendanee at classes at Nanaimo this three months was the only schooling that he had—but due to his own efforts he could be classed as a fairly well-educated man. At the conclusion of his course he was sent as a recruit to Fort Shepherd, at the junetion of the Pend d'Oreille with the Columbia River. This post, with those at Wild Horse Creek and Keremeos, came under the supermtendence of Chief Factor Angus MacDonald at Fort Colvile, in Washington Territory," 1945 Jason Allard. 253 where the Hudson's Bay Company still retained a number of their trading establishments. .Joseph Hardisty was in charge of Fort Shepherd. He had come from the post at Honolulu and knew so little about the für trade that he was ignorant of how to bale fürs. Jason con- structed a fur-press and so won Hardisty's favour. Shortly after my arrival at Fort Shepherd [Jason recounted] I was sent to Fort Colvile to work on the books. It was part of my job to look after the accountancy at both places. I shall never forget my arrival there. Old Angus MacDonald was a wonderful man. He stood well over six feet, with tremendous Shoulders, and had a great black beard, that gave to him his Indian name of " O'pee-chun." He would only keep champion athletes about his headquarters. A recruit from the Coast would have to fight, wrestle, or run against a man of MacDonald's selection, and the loser was banished to the Fiat Heads, Spokane, or some outlying post. As soon as I arrived the Laird of Colvile looked me over from beneath his bushy eyebrows. " Can ye run? " he burred. IA little." " Can ye wrestle? " " A little, sir." " Can ye fight-t-t? " " A little, sir." " How little? " Old Angus boomed. " We'll see." He selected a young fellow and we had to run around the fort. I won. Then he picked out another retainer to wrestle me. It was here that the tricks the miners taught me at Yale were useful, for I managed to trip him up and pin him down. The old lad was delighted. He stood rubbing his hands in glee. Then I had to fight. His wife and daughters were there and tried to beg off for me. " He is so little," one of them said. That made me mad, and I determined to win if it killed me. The man I had to fight was much bigger, but he had no science, and I managed to keep away from his swinging fists and punish him pretty badly and finally he quit—and I was prime f avourite with Old Angus. There were dangerous times at Fort Shepherd. Hardisty was away on one occasion and Jason was left in charge. One day he looked up from his ledger and saw an Indian named Kee- as-tem chasing Fred Lenfesty, a Clerk, across the yard. I made a grab for my revolver [Jason said in telling of the incident], but I missed it; and then, as I sprang for the door, I tried to reach an ebony ruler, but failed, so I plunged out into the yard empty-handed. I raced after the pair as hard as I could and caught up with the Indian when he was only about a yard behind Fred. He turned and made a thrust at me, but I was expecting it and was too quick for him. I dodged to one side and catching his wrist, I wrenched the knife from bis grip, threw it on the 254 B. A. McKelvie. October ground and broke the blade by stepping on it. Then I booted the Indian out of the gate. That night, as I was Walking across the yard about dusk, I feit something fly past me, grazing my coat. I looked down and as I did so, an arrow Struck the inside of my coat which I had opened. I instantly knew that it was Kee-as-tem who wanted revenge for the kicking I had given him. I ran for my rifle but when I returned he was nowhere to be found. It was a year before I heard of that Indian again. Then one day his squaw came to me and said he was sick with a big lump on his abdomen. She wanted me to look in the big medicine book and do something for him. I refused at first, but when she came back and said he was sorry that he had tried to kill me, I agreed. It was my chance! I made a mustard plaster about a yard Square. Putting my revolver in my belt I went with her to where he was camped. I covered his stomach with the plaster and told him he must keep it there until the sun was in a certain position, about three hours away. Then I left him. Half an hour later the squaw came and asked if the plaster could be taken off, as it was beginning to burn him. I refused. She came again and once more I refused, but when she came the third time I consented to aecompany her to her bellowing spouse, for you could hear him for a quarter of a mile. I removed the plaster and when I saw his blistered hide, I knew that I had my revenge. I doctored another Indian, an Iroquois from the East, who threatened me while he was drunk. He wanted rum and I gave him some—with the addition of a generous helping of croton oil. After that he was a strict prohibitionist until he met his death some time later by drowning. In 1867 Jason was moved to Wild Horse Creek, where he had charge of the Company's störe. He was there about a year and then went back to Fort Shepherd. On the way he had what he described as one of the most trying experiences of his life. He had $6,000 in his saddle-bags. Going up Mount Shepherd, nearly 50 miles from the fort of that name, he got off to rest his horse. The animal took fright at a bear and started to run. Jason went after it—and ran behind the horse for the greater part of the way to the fort before he caught it. In some notes he left on Wild Horse Creek, Jason wrote:— •s got to white horse and it was perfectly wild. They named the creek Wild Horse This was in the year 1865. The party camped on the creek, afterwards going up the creek to prospect. Jack Fisher made the discovery a They had to go back to Montana for supplies, it being the nearest settled, and they turned back at once. They were in such a hurry 1945 Jason Allard. 255 people began to suspect and the news spread and there was a rush on. Hundreds rushed into the Kootenays. Those who got there first made good. The creek is right in the mountains. It was, I believe, a lovely place while it lasted. A great many made piles of money, and in those days in the winter time, the miners made for the cities for a good time; spent all their money and returned as paupers. Bob Dore, Jim McGinlay, Ed. Casey, Fred Leifholdt, Big Mike Brenan, Pat Moran, Wm. Corbett, and Hy. Rogers were among a host of pioneers. Jack Fisher and his old pal Joe Herring reappeared at Fisherville in 1868; still prospecting and their fortunes gone. Wild Horse Creek was soon worked out by the white miners, and most of them left for the Omineca mines. The Chinese came in and took the white man's abandoned claims and worked several years after the whites left. They cleaned up big money. They drove tunnels under the old tailings and Struck it rieh. Jason's account of another episode of the Fort Shepherd days is interesting. He had returned from a trip to Wild Horse Creek to find Hardisty in a state of great excitement, for it seemed certain that a Company brigade, and $80,000 worth of merchandise, would shortly be seized by the American Customs. In bringing in supplies through the United States it was necessary to • enter properly and take a Customs Guard through United States territory. This the man in charge of the brigade had neglected to do, and it was learned that the Customs officers at the Little Dalles were waiting to seize the whole train of 80 horses. " Jason," exclaimed Mr. Hardisty, " you will get £100 if you can save the train from seizure." " Which side of the river are the Customs men waiting on? " I asked. " On the other side, on the trail." " That's good." I called together a number of Indians, and got two white men—woodehoppers who had been wintering there. They were invet- erate gamblers. Together we started for the Little Dalles. I sent the gamblers across first after providing them with some money, then I left my horse and the Indians on the other side and went over too. I started chum- ming with the men in the combined trading störe, stopping place, and saloon, and pretty soon a card game was started. The gamblers commenced losing the money I had given them, and every now and then I would call the players to have another drink. After a while I said I was going to my room, having hired one there. I slipped out of the window and ran down to the river and signalled to one of my Indians, who came over. I at once mounted my horse and rode to meet the brigade. While we had been entertaining the Customs men and others, the Indians had secured every boat and canoe and raft on the river and had taken them across the streai away, and the men whipped up thei Dalles as fast as it was possible for the animals to make it with their loads. The Customs men rushed out and down to the river, but they could only 256 :. A. McKelvie. October stand there and shake their fists. It was a close shave alright, and I never got the reward either. It was in 1869 that Jason left the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. Chief Factor Roderick Finlayson was at Fort Colvile inspecting the books, and upbraided Jason for his familiarity with the young American army officers. The youth lost his temper and resigned. Finlayson and MacDonald tried to per- suade him to reconsider his decision, but he refused. He did not know that it had already been planned tp move him to Keremeos for a brief stay to relieve the officer there, and then to put him in charge of Fort Kamloops. He became a free trader for a few months at Colvile, but soon sold out and returned to Fort Langley. His fur-trading days were over. When British Columbia joined Confederation he obtained work as an axe-man with the first surveying party sent out for the transcontinental railway, the " U " party, under John Trutch, brother of Sir Joseph Trutch, the first Lieutenant-Governor of this Province. It was in August of 1871 that he started with the survey party. The following year he was with " T " party under Mohun, and later went across the mountains to work from Tete Jaune Cache to the Athabasca under Walter Moberly, under whom " S " and " T " parties operated. He started as an axe- man with Moberly and ended as a topographer. It was while he was with the " T " party that Jason came across the skeletal remains of the " headless Indian," first found by Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle. He was doing his washing at the river when he saw a piece of fishing-line, and then other articles, and finally the headless skeletön. He and companions started a search and found the missing skull about 75 yards away. They interred the remains and erected a tombstone recounting their discovery on June 5,1872. In summarizing his work with the surveys, Jason said that the summer of 1873 was spent in the Fort George area, and the next year in the Kamloops and Fräser River districts. Then he went out with the party seeking a route from Kitimat to Fort Fräser. " Altogether," he said, " I was engaged in survey work for nearly seven years, returning to Fort Langley in 1878 determined to settle down." 1945 Jason Allard. 257 He married and took up farming. He continued on his place until after the outbreak of the last war, to which several of his sons went, one making the supreme sacrifice and another being wounded. His wife died, and, unable to carry on, he moved to New Westminster. At the time of his deäth Jason was collaborating with me in writing his biography for publication in book form. His last letter to me was in the form of a " Narratoi^s Preface " for the intended work. I can do no better in concluding this paper than by quotingit:— When a man has lived in a country as long as I have resided in what is now British Columbia, and has witnessed its development from a wild wilder- ness to a settled community doing trade with the World; when he has seen the birth of government in a savage land and has lived to see his fellow Citizens chosen as advisers to a World Court, then there should be something of interest in his recollection of mighty men and epochal events that should be recorded. Such, in brief, is a digest of the arguments of my friends, and they have persuaded me to set down some of my experiences in the British Columbia country West of the Rockies. My kloshe tillicum (friend) who collaborates with me in producing this modest volume, often jocularly calls me, " Jason the Fleece Hunter," and as such I am offering to the public my story—in the hope that it may prove interesting to some and to others may indicate something of the romance that has f eatured the settlement of my native land. My father was one of those mighty men of the Hudson's Bay Company, who pioneered the pathways through the forest and laid firmly the founda- tions of the future Dominion. My mother was an Indian princess—sister of the great King T'shoshia who commanded the allegiance of the Cowichan confederacy of a dozen tribes who could man a thousand canoes with ten thousand warriors, and I, her son, through matrilineal law that directs native inheritance, am the rightful ruler of the remnants of that aboriginal kingdom . . . and I live in a second floor back apartment in a New Westminster apartment house. I was born in a stockaded für trading post before there was any sem- blance of authority other than that proclaimed by the Honorable the Hudson's Bay Company; when the savage warf are of hostile tribes raged along the Coast and to the very portals of the isolated stockades of the für trade . . . and today my life is daily endangered by careless motorists, licensed by a provincial government. My first trip across the Gulf of Georgia was made in an Indian dugout and required four days to accomplish, and now the trip is made, as a matter of course, in forty minutes in an airplane. And then there are people who believe that Romance is dead! And if such things have taken place within the limits of memory of a Single individual, what wonders does the future hold for my native land? Victoria, B.C. B. A. McKelvie. JAMES STEPHEN ON GRANTING VANCOUVER ISLAND TO THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY, 1846-1848. James Stephen,1 the powerful Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1836-47, was a determined Opponent of efforts by private companies to seeure control over large areas of colonial lands. In 1832 he reported adversely on the request of the South Australian Land Company for the grant of territory " larger in extent than Spain and Portugal." The fact that the plans of the Company harmonized with the policies employed in coloniz- ing North America carried no weight with him. " Counties palatme," he wrote, " were erected in favour of Individuais with a disregard of the public interest of which it were difficult to find an equally strong example."2 These early mistakes might be excused on the ground of lack of experience in founding overseas colonies, but this extenuating circumstance existed no longer. In January, 1837, he suggested that the activities of the New Zealand Company should be limited to a certain part or parts of the islands, and that other companies or private individuals should be allowed to found Settlements.3 In harmony with his attitude on these occasions Stephen was severely critical of the Hudson's Bay Company's projeet for securing control of the British territory in North America north and west of Rupert's Land, and he delayed for nearly two years the grant of Vancouver Island to that Company. (1) James Stephen (1789-1859), counsel to the Colonial Office and the Board of Trade; Assistant Under-Secretary for the Colonies, 1834-36; Under-Secretary, 1836-47; K.C.B. and Privy Councillor, 1847; Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge, 1849-59. See Caroline Emelia Stephen, The Right Honourable Sir James Stephen, Gloucester, 1906, and Paul Knaplund, " Mr. Oversecretary Stephen," in The Journal of Modern History, I. (1929), pp. 40-66. (2) Report of July 14, 1832, on draft of charter for the South Australian Land Company, Public Record Office MSS., CO., South Australia, 13:1. (3) Draft by Stephen dated January 3, 1837, of letter Lord Glenelg to Lord Durham. Ibid., CO., New Zealand, 209:3. 260 Paul Knaplund. October Shortly after the treaty of June 15, 1846,4 had settled the Anglo-American boundary dispute over the Oregon country, the Hudson's Bay Company formulated plans for entrenching itself in the area allotted to Britain. It was believed that unless British Settlements were established in this region Americans would move in and seize control, like they had done in Texas. On the ground that such an eventuality must be forestalled, Sir J. H. Pelly, the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company,6 on September 7,1846, wrote a letter to Lord Grey, the Colonial Secretary,6 inquiring about the Government's intentions concerning granting of land and colonization in British Oregon. Attention was called to the Hudson's Bay Company's establishment on Vancouver Island, which was in the process of being enlarged, and to the fact that the Company by a grant from the Crown of May 13, 1838, had for a period of twenty-one years secured the monopoly of trading with the natives west of the Rocky Mountains.7 This was the opening gun in the Hudson's Bay Company's campaign for control of British Oregon. On September 12, 1846, James Stephen reported as follows on the topics mentioned in Sir John Pelly's letter:— It is scarcely possible to determine what are the limits of the Territory of the Hudson's Bay Company. But I suppose it to be quite clear that Van Couver's Island and our part of the Oregon Territory are not within those limits. The Company have no proprietary or other rights there, save only the right which they derive under the License of the year 1838 for 21 years (4) For the text of this treaty see British and Foreign State Papers, XXXIV., pp. 14-15. (5) Sir John Henry Pelly (1777-1852), created baronet in 1840. For a sketch of his career see E. E. Rieh (ed.), The Letters of John McLoughlin, second series, Toronto and London, 1943, pp. 399-401. (6) Henry George, 3rd Earl Grey (1802-94), Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, 1846-52. (7) For original MS. of this letter see CO., Vancouver Island, 305:1. It was printed, together with selections from correspondence dealing with the transfer of Vancouver Island to the Hudson's Bay Company, in Parlia- mentary Papers (hereafter cited as P.P.), August 10, 1848, 619. Pelly brought the letter in person to Lord Grey who on the same day, September 7, 1846, asked Stephen to report on this question. The complete correspondence with drafts, letters, minutes, and memoranda are found in CO., 305:1. All quotations from original sources given in this paper are from this volume unless otherwise indicated. For a brief discussion of the transfer of Vancouver Island see W. P. Morrell, British Colonial Policy in the Age of Peel and Russell, Oxford, 1930, pp. 444-446. 1945 James Stephen. 261 to trade exclusively with the Indians and to carry on the Für Trade. But that License expressly reserves to the Crown the right of founding Colonies and of establishing any form of Civil Gov.ment within the Territory com- prized in the License. Consequently the Company have no right, in strict- ness of Law, so far as I can perceive, to any land in Van Couver's Island or elsewhere, westward of the Rocky Mountains, and there may be serious difficulty in assenting to the application they now make. It wd., I think be hardly consistent with the terms of their Charter. It wd. be very unusual to grant Lands to any Company or indeed to any one eise in the vague and comprehensive manner here suggested and without any previous inquiry. Probably also the United States' Gov'ment wd. object to such an act. The Company at the date of the Treaty of Washington [Oregon Boundary Treaty, 1846] had no Proprietary or other rights in the Oregon Territory save only under the License of 1838 which License must expire in 1859. Now the Treaty which gave to British subjects the right of navigating the Columbia in order to trade with the Company, and which declared the navi- gation of the River free to the Company must, I presume, be understood as having been made with the füll knowledge of the fact that the Company's rights westward of the Rocky Mountains will expire in 1859. Now to give to that Company a new interest and title in Lands in those regions wd. be said to be an attempt to prolong beyond 1859 the right of navigation. Whether this objection wd. be well-founded I do not undertake to say. All I wd. suggest is that caution should be used in laying any ground for it.8 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, Benjamin Hawes,9 agreed with James Stephen that the Hudson's Bay Company had no rights under the charter to territory west of the Rocky Mountains, but he thought that the Company might hold land, which Stephen apparently doubted. Hawes did not believe that the Oregon Treaty precluded granting Vancouver Island to the Hudson's Bay Company. He was anxious to preserve for British subjects the right to navigate the Columbia River, and observed that the Canadian right to navigate the Mississippi had been lost by a geographical blunder. The British Government must be careful lest the rights on the Columbia should be lost through a diplomatic Omission. The opinion of the Colonial Secretary, Lord Grey, was recorded in a minute dated September 16,1846. He wrote:— This is a very difficult and important question. Looking to the encroach- ing spirit of the U. S. I think it is of importance to strengthen the B[riti]sh (8) Original MS., CO., 305:1. (9) Afterwards Sir Benjamin (1797-1862), Parliamentary Under- Secretary for the Colonies, 1846-51. Hawes's memorandum is undated, but it was obviously written after Stephen's report of September 12 and before Grey's minute (see below) of September 16. Paul Knaplund. October hold upon the territory now assigned to us by treaty by encouraging the settlement upon it by B[riti]sh subjects; and I am also of opin[io]n that such settlement cd. only be advantageously effected under the auspices of the Hudson's Bay Co. wh. I am therefore disposed to encourage — But certainly great care must be taken in adopting any measures with this view to avoid any irregularity or informality — Instead of writing a letter throwing a doubt on the right of the Co. to lands they now occupy, the best course I think wd. be for Mr. Hawes and Mr. Stephen together to have an interview with Sir J. Pelly in order to ascertain clearly from him what rights the Co. claims — what they now wish to have done — and what measure may now safely and properly be adopted with a view to establishing more B[riti]sh settlers in this territory. Lord Grey suggested that a letter should be written pointing out that Grey was leaving London, and that Pelly should consult Hawes and Stephen. On September 21,1846, Hawes wrote such a letter, and a Conference between Hawes, Stephen, and Sir John Pelly took place at the Colonial Office two days later. Memoranda by Stephen and Hawes recording what took place at this interview are dated September 24,1846. Stephen's memorandum is a lengthy document summarizing answers by Pelly to questions asked. From these Stephen drew the following conclusions:— Ist That the Hudson's Bay Company was unable to define the extent of the territory granted to it by the charter of 1670 except that this territory included all lands drained by rivers falling into Hudson Bay.10 2nd That the Company claimed no rights west of the Rocky Mountains save the general powers of trading with Indians and from the license to carry on trade in the Oregon country which would expire in 1859. 3rd That it was doubtful if the Company had any right in " British Oregon " except those under Act of Parliament by which the license was granted and under the license itself " so that, after the year 1859, the Company wd. have no rights at all in any British Territory West of the Rocky Mountains, (10) For the text of the Hudson's Bay Co.'s charter see Minutes of the Hudson's Bay Company 1671-1874, ed. by E. E. Rieh, Toronto, 1942, pp. 121-148. James Stephen. 263 save only such rights, if any, as may be now, or hereafter, conferred upon them." " 4th That the Hudson's Bay Company have certainly no right to the soil in the British Territory West of the Rocky Mountains, or to any part, however incon- siderable, of that soil. " 5th That it is very doubtful whether, consistently with their Charter, the Company could accept the grant of any such Lands. " 6th That, therefore, it wd. be better that whatever may may be granted, shd. be so granted, not to the Company, but to a subordinate Association [the Puget Sound Agricultural Association] which some Members of the Company have formed in their personal and independent characters, and to wh. Association really belong all the Possessions of the Company in American Oregon. " 7th That the real object and wish of the Company is not to have any grant of Land either to themselves or to the Association but merely, to have an assur- ance that if Vancouver's Island shall hereafter, be brought within, and under, any Colonial Gov.ment; and if the Company or the Association shall then appear to possess the requisite Legal competency to acquire and hold lands within the limits of any such Gov.ment, then a grant shall be made to them of the Lands they have already occupied: and, further, that they shall not, in the interval, be dis- turbed in the occupation of them. " 8th To this is to be added that the Company have no maps or other means of showing what the Lands which they have so occupied are, nor what the exact extent of them may be, though it is supposed to exceed 1,000 acres. " 9th Sir John Pelly had no definite plan for Colonizing the Country but expressed his readiness to concur with any other persons who might be interesting themselves on the subject in devising such a plan." 264 Paul Knaplund. October James Stephen remarked further: " From these statements it may, I think, be concluded that the right answer to the present application from the Company is that their first step must be to specify, with greater distinctness, what is the particular Territory to which their application refers, and to state whether they are of opinion that the Hudson's Bay Company are legally capable of becoming owners of those or any other Lands in H. M's Dominions West of the Rocky Mountains. This last inquiry will lead to a statement regarding the Association of which Body we have, as yet, no knowledge, save only as far as it is derived from Sir John Pelly's conversation." Hawes wrote to Lord Grey, September 24,1846, that Stephen's statement contained an exact account of what took place in the interview with Pelly. As additional information Hawes mentioned that Pelly had compared the climate of Vancouver Island with that of England; that corn and wool had been exported from the Hudson's Bay Company's settlement on the island to the establishments on the Willamette River; that the Company had supplied its farms with agricultural implements and was willing to send more; and that the island had harbours suitable for naval stations. This might be important for Britain in case the United States acquired San Francisco.11' Upon receiving this letter, Grey wrote on September 25: " These facts are of considerable importance and will make it necessary soon to consider what is to be done as to colonizing this territory—in the meantime the answ. suggested by Stephen shd. be sent." On October 3, 1846, Hawes wrote to Pelly, in behalf of Lord Grey, inquiring how much territory the Company desired to seeure,-and asking for a detailed description of this territory, and whether the Hudson's Bay Company could hold land west of the Rocky Mountains.12 In .reply Sir John Pelly on October 24, 1846, stated that the charter of the Hudson's Bay Company did not preclude the hold- ing of land west of the Rockies; new areas might simply be added to Rupert's Land. He considered it important that Vancouver Island should be colonized by Britain, and its natives (11) San Francisco and California were included in the large area ceded by Mexico to the United States by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848. (12) Printed in P.P., op cit, pp. 3-4. 1945 James Stephen. 265 Christianized; and he expressed the belief that these ends could be best achieved by placing the island under the control of the Hudson's Bay Company. Enclosed with this letter was a report by Chief Factor Douglas13 of July 12, 1842, with description of the territory desired by the Company.14 This letter with enclosures was referred to Stephen, who after a careful examination of it presented a lengthy report, dated November 25, 1846. In this report Stephen called attention to discrepancies between claims made by Pelly in the letter of October 24 and what he stated at the interview of September 23. On the earlier date Pelly had explained that by creating the Puget Sound Agricultural Company the Hudson's Bay Company had overcome legal obstacles to holding land west of the Rockies, while now he asserted that the legal competence of the Hudson's Bay Company was undoubted. Then he said that the Company did not want a grant of land but only assurance that it should be allowed to keep what it controlled, while now he renewed the application for an additional land grant. Stephen observed: " My inference is that he has no steady opinion on the subject." In discussing the request of the Hudson's Bay Company, Stephen wrote:— I shd. dissuade a grant for the following reasons:—Ist, Sir John Pelly is even yet unable to describe the Lands to be granted with any degree of precision. 2nly, To grant Lands is impliedly to promise to the Grantees protection in the enjoyment of them. 31y, To accept such a grant wd., I believe, be to infringe the spirit, if not the letter, of the Company's Charter. 41y, To make such a Grant wd. be to give needless ümbrage to the Americans, who wd. say that it was done in order to impart to their late Treaty with us in a wider sense and a more enduring effect than properly belongs to it, or than was contemplated by the contracting parties. And, 51y, Every useful end could, I think, be answered by a simpler method. I would give the Company an assurance that they shd. not be dispos- sessed of any Lands on which they have already entered, or on which they may yet enter, within some definite time, provided, that, within Ten years from the date of their first occupation of such Lands, they shd. make and (13) James (later Sir James) Douglas (1803-77), Governor of Vancouver Island, 1851-63, and of British Columbia, 1858-64. See Walter H. Sage, Sir James Douglas and British Columbia, Toronto, 1930. (14) This letter was received at the Colonial Office on October 28. Frederic Rogers observed that it made no mention of the method by which the Hudson's Bay Company hoped to hold this land. Hawes suggested, October 30, that the letter should be referred to Stephen, and Grey agreed. 266 Paul Knaplund. October shd. be able to prove the having made, an expenditure on them in Buildings, or other permanent works, equal to £10 per acre; and provided that the Lands so occupied, and improved, shd. be surrendered up, if requisite, as the site of any Works required, for the Public defences or other Public interest of any future Colony within the limits of which they might fall. Furthermore, Stephen complained that Pelly's letter did not advance the discussion of colonization beyond " what has already been written." Hawes agreed with Stephen16 that Pelly had in his letter put " a larger construction " upon the charter of the Hudson's Bay Company than he did in the interview. " What passed upon that occasion," wrote Hawes, " Mr. Stephen, in my opinion most accurately recorded." On the other hand, Hawes feit that the terms proposed by Stephen were discouraging where they should be encouraging, because it was important to have Settlements established on Vancouver Island, which had a good harbour, and whose climate and soil favoured agriculture. Hawes said further: " Without the agency of the H. Bay Co. I despair of any speedy colonization mov[emen]t in that quarter, except at the Expense of the Treasury." He believed that to require an expenditure of £10 per acre within 10 years with surrender without compensation would prevent all enterprise, and he suggested instead that the grant of Vancouver Island to the Hudson's Bay Company should be made on conditions similar to those stipu- lated in the case of the Auckland Islands, where the Government had agreed to pay for improvements on land required for public purposes. " It must not be forgotten," observed Hawes, " that we are now dealing with a Company of both standing and capital—and sound policy." Lord Grey agreed with Hawes16 in considering it very desir- able to encourage the Company in colonizing Vancouver Island. "I shd. have no objctn (reserving a power to the Crown of resuming possession in payment of the value of improvements) to granting a long lease provided Mr. Stephen thinks there is not the same legal objctn to a lease as to a grant." Stephen concurred17 in the advisability of encouraging the Company to establish Settlements, but he saw no real distinction (16) Minute by Benjamin Hawes, dated November 25, 1846. (16) Grey's remarks are dated November 26. (17) On November 27. 1945 James Stephen. 267 between grant in perpetuity and a long-term lease. He would, however, advise a grant in perpetuity if the law officers of the Crown considered this legal under the charter and if the Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston, said that there was " no objection to it as far as respects our relations to the United States." But Stephen adhered to his conviction that the grant, whether in perpetuity or for a term of years, should include the reservation concerning resumption without compensation. Grey then instructed Stephen18 to draft a letter to Pelly. This had been accomplished by December 3, 1846. In his draft Stephen stated that the Government would be happy to consider specific measures proposed by the Hudson's Bay Company or by private individuals for colonization in British Oregon. Land might be granted to the Company provided (1) it could get an opinion from the law officers that this would be consistent with its charter; (2) the Foreign Secretary saw no objection to such a grant from the standpoint of relations with the United States; (3) that the Company accepted the condition that the land it secured would automatically revert to the Crown if within a ten-year period £10 per acre had not been expended on buildings and other permanent improvements; and (4) if the Company agreed " to the stipulation that land should be surrendered to the Crown without compensation if needed for the public defence" or "otherwise for the Public benefit, of any future Colony within the limits of which such Lands may fall." Hawes and Grey considered these terms too onerous.19 The former repeated his advice that the precedent set in the case of the Auckland Islands should apply to Vancouver Island, and the latter saw no need for mentioning the United States. He would conf er privately with Lord Palmerston concerning this point. On December 7, Grey reported that Palmerston had " no objctn to allow the Co. to colonize Vancouver island but on the contrary considers it desirable that we shd. as soon as possible do acts of ownership there." Stephen then prepared another letter20 in which Grey was to express readiness to make grants of land to the Hudson's Bay (18) November 29. (19) The observations are dated December 5, 1846. (20) The draft is dated December 10; it was approved by Hawes the same day and by Grey the day following. The official letter, dated December 268 Paul Knaplund. October Company if land-holding were not inconsistent with its charter. Land within this grant needed for defence or public works might be taken over by the Government upon paying the cost of actual improvements made upon it by the Company. Shortly after the receipt of Grey's letter, Sir John Pelly transmitted to the Colonial Office the opinion of the law officers that under its charter the Hudson's Bay Company had the power to hold land in British territory west of the Rocky Mountains. Hawes then informed Pelly that the Government was ready to consider a proposition from the Company relative to grant of land in the Oregon territory.21 On March 5, 1847, Pelly's draft of an agreement assigning to the Hudson's Bay Company all British territory north and west of Rupert's Land was drawn up.22 Three days after this document reached the Colonial Office Stephen wrote the following memorandum, addressed to Hawes:— It seems to me that this calls for much more explanation than is here given. The Hudson's Bay Co. propose that the whole of the Oregon Territory shd. be granted to them as Lords and Owners of it, exactly in the manner in wh. the ancient proprietary Gov.ments were constituted on the North American Continent in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Without a word of preliminary discussion (so far as I know) they have sent the dft of a Charter to accomplish this object. My own belief is that to execute such a scheme now wd. be impracticable, unconstitutional, and illegal; and that even if it were otherwise, it wd. be indispensable to ascertain Ist That the H. B. Company are capable of such a grant—a point wh. the recent opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown does not ascertain. Secondly, That they have resources and capital available for the Colonization and Settlement, of this Territory—a subject on wh. they say nothing. Thirdly—That they have some well-considered plans of proceeding, wh. is here taken for granted. Fourthly, That it wd. be possible to maintain a Proprietary Lordship with powers independent of the Crown and Parliament, in the immediate vicinity of the Great Nation now peopling the North American Continent—a circum- stance wh: totally changes the present State of such a questn. from the State of corresponding questions in the reigns of Elizabeth and the Stuart 14, 1846, is printed in P.P., op. cit., p. 8, but this Version contains no reference to the conditions upon which land might be taken over by the Crown. (21) The opinion of the law officers was dated January 19, 1847; it was transmitted to the Colonial Office on January 22; and Hawes wrote to Pelly on February 2. The letters, but not the opinion of the law officers, are printed in P.P., op. cit, pp. 8-9. (22) Ibid., p. 9. 1945 James Stephen. 269 family. Fifthly, That there is any good reason why if we are to have a Colony at all at Oregon, we shd. not also have the Electoral and other Franchises prevailing in every other part of the North American Continent. Sixthly, That there is any good reason why the Crown shd. abdicate to this, or to any other Company the prerogative, privilege and duty, of Colonization if Colonization be desirable. Seventhly, That it is politic to establish in the 19th Century a new Proprietary Govmt. in defiance of the proofs wh: all History furnishes of the impossibility of maintaining such a Govmt. any longer than the inhabitants are too few and too feeble to shake it oft'. Long before the American War the Colonists had thrown off every vestige of those Institutions; and had universally established the Representativeform; buying up the rights of the Lord proprietors at a heavy expense of money; or trampling upon them at a still heavier expense of Justice. For the reasons, wh: I thus rapidly suggest, it seems to me that this scheme is a Sir John Pelly had clearly overshot the mark and Hawes wrote: " I quite agree with Mr. Stephen that it is quite impossible to make this grant with or without an explanation." This was, also, the opinion of Lord Grey who informed Pelly that the Company must submit a more moderate plan.23 No official reply was made to the Hudson's Bay Company's proposal of March 5, 1847. The negotiations concerning Vancouver Island were in abeyance until early in 1848, when J. E. Fitzgerald presented a proposal to form a Company for working coal deposits and establish a colony on Vancouver Island.24 (23) On Hawes's minute, dated March 10, is found the following marginal note: " I have seen Sir J. Pelly who will communicate with Mr. Hawes and submit some less extensive demand. G[rey] 25/3 [1847]„ (24) For a biographical sketch of James Edward Fitzgerald see G. H. Scholefield (ed.), Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Wellington, 1940, I., pp. 256-8. Beginning in June, 1847, Fitzgerald wrote numerous letters to the Colonial Office advocating colonization of Vancouver Island by a joint- stock Company. For selections from this correspondence see P.P., op. cit, and " Report of the Provincial Archives Department of the Province of British Columbia, 1913 " in Sessional Papers, 1914, pp. V 55-V 68. It appears that Fitzgerald at first thought it would be possible to work with the Hudson's Bay Company. In a letter to Hawes of June 9, 1847, he expressed the opinion that the Company would not oppose his project (original MS., CO., 305:1), and in February, 1848, he had an interview with Pelly and supplied the latter with a prospectus of a Company organized " for the Purpose of Working the Coal, and Establishing a Colony in Vancouver's Island." No agreement was reached. From then on Pelly sought to obtain the island for the Hudson's Bay Company, and Fitzgerald became the bitter Opponent of this project. During the latter part of 1848 and in 270 Paul Knaplund. October Lord Grey then let Pelly know that the Government was anxious for the colonization of the island and would consider propositions from the Hudson's Bay Company more limited in scope than those of March 5, 1847. Stephen was no longer permanent Under-Secretary in the Colonial Office,26 but was consulted by his successor, Herman Merivale,26 concerning the terms of grant outlined by Sir John Pelly in a draft of April 15, 1848. On June 21, 1848, Merivale reported to Hawes that Stephen had suggested that nothing should be granted to the Hudson's Bay Company except land in Vancouver Island. " The reason is," Merivale wrote, " that the power of the Crown in these days to make a grant like Charles 2nd's and to transfer to the Company the right of governing British subjects is to say the least 1849 he wrote numerous letters to W. E. Gladstone (original MSS., the Gladstone Papers) accusing the Company of being oppressive, monopolistic, and hostile to colonization. This material formed the basis for Gladstone's attacks on the Company in the House of Commons. See Hansard, 3d series, CI. pp. 268-89, 315; CHI., pp. 1355-9, 1361-2. Fitzgerald also inspired attacks upon the Company by J. R. Godley in leading articles in the Morning Chronicle, 1848 and 1849. Another Opponent of the Company was Lieutenant Adam D. Dundas, R.N., who for two years had been stationed " within limits of Fort Vancouver." Since his brother was a Member of the House of Commons this testimony could not be disregarded. Among the supporters of Pelly's proposal was Charles Enderby, who with his. brother had been given the right to establish whaling stations on the Auckland Islands, and who contemplated making Vancouver Island their headquarters for whale-hunting in the North Pacific. Of greater weight, however, was the aid which Pelly secured from the Governor-General of Canada, Lord Elgin. In a letter to Grey of June 6, 1848, Elgin wrote that he had instituted inquiries concerning the conduct of the Hudson's Bay Company in Rupert's Land, and received favourable reports on its activities. Moreover, he cautioned that to throw open the trade of British Oregon might have dangerous consequences. Another famous person who took an interest in Vancouver Island was Samuel Cunard, the great shipping magnate. On January 3, 1848, he called the attention of the Admiralty to the coal deposits of the island, and suggested that they should be reserved for the use of the Crown. He warned that unless something was done soon the mines might fall into the hands (25) He retired in October, 1847, and was made a Privy Councillor. For the next few years he was the guiding spirit of the revived Privy Council Committee on Trade and Foreign Plantations. (26) Herman Merivale (1806-74), Under-Secretary in the Colonial Office, 1847-59. 1945 James Stephen. 271 very questionable. I should therefore suggest (if the Company accept these terms) that a simple Commission and Instructions should be issued as nearly contemporaneous with the grant as may be to any governor whom the Company may choose to appoint with the Crown's sanction empowering him to govern and make laws. with the advice of an assembly of inhabitants. This Sir J. Stephen considers perfectly legal. But this governor must be responsible not to the Company but to the Secretary of State. Nothing short of an Act of Parlt. can make this other- wise." Hawes agreed with Merivale that the government of Vancouver Island under the Company should be placed in the hands of a governor and an assembly but he did not see why the Company's governor should be responsible to the Colonial Office.27 Grey wrote on June 24, 1848, that since the governor " wd. be restrained by an Assbly represent. the inhabitants I can see no danger in allowg. the Compy. to select him. . . ." With the main points in dispute settled the road was cleared for an official presentation of the Hudson's Bay Company's terms for securing control of Vancouver Island. These were submitted to the Committee of the Privy Council for Trade and Foreign Plantations, of which Sir James Stephen was a member. Amendments to the grant contained in the report of this committee bear the imprint of the ex-Under-Secretary. Reluctant to hand such a rieh prize as Vancouver Island over to the Hudson's Bay Company, he, tili the end, insisted upon hedging restrictions which would safeguard public interests. Paul Knaplund. The University op Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. (27) At this time Benjamin Hawes showed little enthusiasm for transferring Vancouver Island to the Hudson's Bay Company, which he did not think would do much to promote colonization. See undated memorandum written some time between June 21 and June 24, 1848. Original MS., CO., 305:1. Grey, on the other hand, favoured this transfer and hostile critics called attention to the fact that a leading member of the Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company, Edward Ellice the eider (1781-1863), had been married to an aunt of Lord Grey and that Lady Elgin was Lord Grey's niece. EARLY TRAILS OF BURRARD PENINSULA.* The accompanying map showing the evolution of Communications on Burrard Peninsula was compiled from a number of sources, including the Map of New Westminster, by Woods and Turner, 1882 (in the Provincial Archives), and a Map of Burrard Inlet, by Albert J. Hill (in the Vancouver City Archives). A British Admiralty chart of 18601 shows a trail from the Royal Engineers' Camp (New Westminster), extending north- ward to Burrard Inlet. This very early route antedated the North Road, but was soon superseded by it and feil quickly into disuse. The original military trail, later called the False Creek Road,2 was extended as far as False Creek, although it was sur- veyed to the " outer anchorage," near the present Jericho Beach. A Royal Engineers' map of 18613 shows the proposed extension as completed, but it is very doubtful if the actual construction was carried out. Hill's Map of Burrard Inlet shows a road proceeding from the North Road in an easterly direction, following the trend of the Inlet to the " wharf." Presumably this road was built to facilitate the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, commenced in 1882. Lots were cleared on the site of Port Moody in 1883, and in December of that year Clarke's Road was built from the North Road to the Inlet. Shortly after this a stage began operating twice daily between Port Moody and New West- * Editor's Note.—The sketch-map that accompanied the article entitled Some Early Roads and Trails in New Westminster District, by W. N. Draper, which appeared in the January issue of this Quarterly, has been found to be in many details either incomplete or inaccurate. Mr. T. R. Weir kindly undertook to prepare the thorough revision that is here presented. It remains to add that Mr. Draper was in no way responsible for the deficiencies of the map that appeared with his article. (1) No. 1922. (2) See, for example, George A. Keefer's map, New Westminster District, 1880. (3) British Columbia. New Westminster to Lillooet from a General Map in Preparation by the Royal Engineers. Copy in Provincial Archives. The legend states that this map was made under the direction of Captain Parsons at New Westminster in August, 1861, by order of Colonel Moody. Early Trails of Burrard Peninsula. 275 mlnster. The same route is followed to-day, with the result that the North Road beyond the junction with Clarke's Road has become overgrown through disuse. The people of New Westminster journeyed over the Douglas Road to Brighton (subsequently Hastings), where swimming in the waters of the Inlet was a favourite pastime. History is repeating itself, in that the same spot to-day is the site of a super- vised swimming-pool maintained by the City of Vancouver. Many of the original boundaries and place-names have been changed in recent "years. Near Moody's Mill sprang up the settlement of Moodyville, which became a part of the incorporated City of North Vancouver. Coal Peninsula, so called because coal measures were known to underlie the area, became Stanley Park. Maps of the seventies and eighties commonly show Burrard Inlet as extending from the First Narrows to Port Moody, although earlier Admiralty Charts, as well as those of the present day, correctly define it as extending from a line between Point Atkinson and Point Grey eastward to the extrem- ity of the Inlet. English Bay is a much smaller body of water, formed by the jutting of Stanley Park peninsula into Burrard Inlet. The North Arm of the Fräser River appears on an early naval chart as North Fork,4 which name might well have been retained, since the present one is easily confused with an arm of Burrard Inlet. Thomas R. Weir. Vancouver, B.C. (4) Admiralty Chart No. 1922, dated 1860. DAVID STUART: OKANAGAN PATHFINDER —FOUNDER OF KAMLOOPS. To reach Kamloops from the region to the south one travels up the far-famed Okanagan Valley and crosses over to the Thompson River. It is a pleasant journey through open country, past khaki bare or lightly timbered hüls, shimmering blue lakes, extensive orchards and farms, and through prosperous towns— a district which justifiably is proud of its sunshine, scenery, and wealth. It is a route that relates far into the past. One of the oldest regularly used travel routes in British Columbia, it is 134 years since the first white men, a party of four brave souls, travelled it from end to end. Not gold-miners, stock-ranchers, fruit- growers, nor health-seekers, were they, but fur-hunters. While engaged far to the south they had heard of an abundance of pelts in the region beyond. They came to investigate. Kamloops' fur-trading days are long since gone,1 but it is to für that the Okanagan Valley owes its discovery, and the Interior city its origin. Für put Kamloops on the map, and gave it the double distinction of being the first permanent white settlement in Southern British Columbia, and the only place in the Province founded under American auspices. Fort McLeod (founded in 1805) and Fort St. James (1806) are far to the north. Fort Langley dates from 1827. Kamloops was founded by a Scottish partner of a New York für Company in 1812. Like many of his contemporaries in the Far West, the subject of our sketch was a Highland Scotsman. Born at Balquhid- der, Perthshire, on December 22, 1765,2 and named David, he (1) See P. Henry Johnson, " Fur-trading Days at Kamloops," British Columbia Historical Quarterly, I. (1937), pp. 171-85. (2) Aecording to his gravestone. Philip Ashton Rollins, The Discovery of the Oregon Trail. Robert Stuart's Narratives of his overland trip East- ward from Astoria in 1812-13. New York and London, 1935, p. 18, also mentions another date (December 19, 1766), but on investigation this turns out to be the date of christening, as recorded at the General Registry Office, Edinburgh. Information given the writer by Mrs. Charles Lester Marlatt, of Washington, D.C., a great-granddaughter of David Stuart's nephew, Robert Stuart. 277 278 A. G. Harvey. October was of the Royal Stuart (or Stewart; originally Steward) family,3 founded by Walter Fitz Alan, Lord High Steward of Scotland, whose son (grandson of Robert Bruce) became King of Scotland as Robert II. in 1371. His great-grandfather was the famous Alexander Stuart, who successfully crossed swords with the notorious freebooter, Rob Roy.4 Two other members of the clan were prominent in the early affairs of the Northwest: John Stuart (1779-1847), a cousin of David's, who accompanied Simon Fräser on his memorable descent of the river bearing his name, and Robert Stuart (1785-1848), David's nephew, the discoverer of the Oregon Trail.6 David was the younger son of James McTavish McAlester Stuart6 (Seumas na Coille, "James in the Wood"), farmer, of Tigh-na-coil, Cuilt, Balquhidder,7 who had served as a private in the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment ("Black Watch")8 and retired with the rank of Captain.9 Nothing is known of his early life, but we may assume that he was educated at the parish school (the family was Presbyterian, the established church10), and helped on his father's farm. In 1796 the father died,11 and before the end of the Century David had emigrated to America, where he engaged in fur-trading in Nova Scotia12 and Lower Canada,18 and in fishing in Labrador.14 It was at his Suggestion that nephew Robert came from Scotland in 1807 and joined the North West Company, with which uncle David was then engaged.16 Thenceforth the lives of the two men were much in (3) The family tradition, aecording to David Stuart, was that they descended from the earliest or main branch of the Stuarts. Mrs. Marlatt. (4) Mrs. Marlatt. (5) See Rollins, op. cit. (6) Mrs. Marlatt. (7) Rollins, pp. xxxv.-vi. (8) Ibid. (9) Mrs. Marlatt. (10) Ibid. (11) Rollins, p. xxxvi. (12) Daily Advertiser, Detroit, October 19,1853. (13) Rollins, p. xxxvii. (14) Washington Irving, Astoria, Ideal Library edition, Chicago, 1894, pp. 49, 52; Charles C. Trowbridge, "Sketch of the life of Hon. Robert Stuart," Michigan Pioneer Collections, III. (1879-80), p. 53. (15) Rollins, p. xxxvii. 1945 David Stuart. i, more as if they were father and son (David was twenty years the eider) than uncle and nephew. Wherever they went their breeding and ability made them stand out among their associates, by whom they were regarded as " very uncommon men."16 They did not forget their ancestry, and even in repub- lican America used the Royal Stuart coat-of-arms with its crest of a demi-lion rampant surmounted by the motto, Nobilis ira est leonis (Noble is the anger of the lion), contracted by usage to Nobilis ira.11 In 1810 both men were induced to join John Jacob Astor in his great venture, the Pacific Für Company. The New York merchant badly wanted men of experience, and to such he made attractive proposals of partnerships without finaneial Obligation, he f urnishing the capital and assuming all the risk. Accord- ingly he offered David Stuart four shares out of a total of one hundred, and Robert a clerkship with prospect of a partnership. They accepted, and on September 6, 1810, with several others they embarked at New York on the long journey via Cape Hörn and the Sandwich Islands to the mouth of the Columbia River.18 It was a perilous voyage. The vessel (the ill-fated Tonquin of the Nootka disaster) sprang a leak three times and got on fire twice. Tempestuous gales tore the sails into rags and ripped loose the rigging, while mountainous waves broke over the ship and washed the deck cargo overboard. Raging even more bit- terly was the human element on board. Throughout the journey there existed between choleric Captain Thorn and the fur- traders a continual feud which broke out spasmodically over various ineidents and was marked by reeiprocal threats to blow the other's brains out. On two of these occasions, when pistols were seized ready for use, it feil to David Stuart to play the röle of peacemaker. Well qualified by age (45), good sense, and a kindly but firm and fearless disposition (" a good old soul," (16) Trowbridge, op. dt, p. 53. (17) Mrs. Marlatt. (18) Alexander Ross, Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River, London, 1849; Lakeside Classics edition, Chicago, 1923, pp. 9-11, 16. A. G. Harvey. October Alexander Ross calls him19), he intervened at the right moment and bloodshed, perhaps mutiny, was averted.20 At the Falkland Islands, where they stopped for water, the Captain, taking offence at a harmless practical joke, sailed away, callously leaving Stuart and eight others to their fate on the inhospitable shore. However, he was forced to turn back by Robert Stuart's threat to shoot him. Ross, who was one of those marooned, has left us a vivid account of the incident.21 Towards the end of March, 1811, the Tonquin scraped across the treacherous bar at the mouth of the Columbia, where Thorn's cruel and despotic conduct climaxed in the loss of eight of his own men, who had been ordered into small boats to find a Channel. Finally, on April 12, the fur-trading party, consisting of thirty-three men (including eleven Sandwich Islanders), all under the leadership of Duncan MeDougall, one of the partners, landed at the mouth of the river and, handicapped by sickness, hunger, and the necessity of working " with an axe in one hand and a gun in the other " to guard against prowling savages who sueeeeded in killing three of their number, founded Astoria, the first American settlement on the Pacific Coast.22 The difficulties were aggravated by Astor's choice of MeDougall. " All things considered," says Hubert Howe Bancroft, the well-known historian, " David Stuart, with his mild determination and humane fearlessness, would have made the best manager."23 But Astoria was not to be an only post. No sooner had f oun- dations been laid and trade begun than consideration was given to the setting-up of posts in the Interior, as contemplated by Astor. Haste was necessary owing to the advance of rival traders. So, on July 22, David Stuart and eight men, including Alexander Ross, started up the river. They travelled in two . clumsy Chinook canoes (equipped with sails and oars), laden (19) Ibid., p. 18. (20) For Ross's accoi (21) Ibid., pp. 26-9. (22) Save as otherwise noted the authority for. these and the following Statements regarding David Stuart's experiences in the Pacific Northwest is Alexander Ross, op. cit. Small discrepancies in dates, etc., unimportant for the present purpose, oeeur in narratives by other writers. (23) Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of the Northwest Coast, San Francisco, 1884, IL, p. 215. ! voyage see ibid., pp. 16-68. 1945 David Stuart. 281 with about 1,500 Ib. of freight (including leaf tobacco, cotton cloth, and trinkets, for trade with the Indians), as they were to winter away. For mutual protection and safety they travelled some distance in Company with David Thompson, of the North West Company, who with nine men was returning from his reconnoitre down the Columbia. They might have fared badly had they been alone, for, aecording to Thompson, " Mr. David Stuart and his Men were in a manner unarmed, and the Natives who were all well armed viewed them with a kind of contempt."24 Anxious for relief from the harassing and dangerous Situation at Astoria, they went on to meet more hardships. Poorly equipped for the journey, and inexperienced with dugout canoes, they were ill-suited for overcoming the strong rapid current which bore down on them relentlessly. Sometimes their progress was only a mile an hour. At other times they were swamped and nearly drowned. There were long portages across which the canoes had to be dragged and goods carried, while hordes of covetous Indians—armed and painted, making them objects of terror—crowded round, threatening and pilfering. In some places the banks of the river were literally lined with them. Nights were spent on guard against marauders or in smoking with approachable chiefs, while all around their men, women and children danced, sang, and smoked. On occasions when attack seemed imminent, the chiefs were induced to come into Stuart's camp and spend the night smoking—a bit of strategy which, though successf ul, meant sitting up all night. Described as " one of those intrepid souls who are born without fear,"26 the Scotsman combined with his fearlessness a dig- nity and a winsomeness which overcame the aborigines. " His eye saw everything at a glance," says Ross, "and his mild and insinuating manners won their affections." As a result he suc- ceeded in getting his party through without loss of life or serious injury. As they proceeded inland the natives became less trouble- some. They helped with the portaging, being paid ten metal buttons for each piece carried. The chiefs were given toys or (24) J. B. Tyrrell (ed.), David Thompson's Narrative of His Exploration in Western America 1784-1812, Toronto, 1916, p. 511. A. G. Harvey. October other presents. One of them was highly pleased with a suit of Stuart's clothes. Farther still they became quite friendly, and by the time the " Oakinacken "26 River was reached they begged the whites to settle among them, pledging themselves "to be always our friends, to kill us plenty of beavers, to furnish us at all times with provisions, and to ensure our protection and safety." While the general aspect of the place was barren and dreary, the valley through which the stream meandered presented a pleasing land- scape. Moreover, in the afternoon the western sky showed a brilliant comet which the natives said was put there by the Great Mother of Life as a good omen of the party's arrival. Accepting the invitation, Stuart unloaded his canoes on September 1, after the irksome voyage of some 600 miles,27 and began erecting out of driftwood a small dwelling which was to be Fort Okanagan, the first and principal inland post of the Pacific Für Company. Then, sending four of the men back to Astoria and leaving Ross to finish the building, Stuart with the other three men (two of whom were French-Canadians, Ovide de Montigny and Boulard) set out to explore the region to the north, where the Indians said the river passed through three lakes, one very large. The route (at least that used by subse- quent fur-traders) was up the east side of the Okanagan River to the head of Osoyoos Lake; then, crossing to the west side and leaving the river, it climbed the open country above Oliver, through Meyer's Fiat, White Lake and Marron Valley and crossed Sheep Creek at its junction with Shingle Creek. Following up Shingle Creek for some miles the trail crossed a height of land and dropped down into Trout Creek above Prairie Valley, and from there continued to Three Lakes, the head of Garnet Valley, and down the mountain side to the shore of Okanagan Lake at Deep Creek, a few miles south of Peachland. From there it followed the present motor road to the Kelowna ferry. From the ferry it ran along the lake shore to the head of (26) Now speit Okanagan in Canada, Okanagan in the United States, this name has the distinction of having had no less than forty-five different spellings. See L. Norris, " Some Place Names," in Sixth Report of the Okanagan Historical Society, 1935, pp. 133-6; T. W. Symons, Report on Upper Columbia River, Washington, D.C, 1882, p. 130. As to its meaning there are various opinions. See Norris, op. cit. (27) The actual distance is 539 miles. Symons, op. cit, pp. 52-3. However, the course taken by a canoe in avoiding the current and making frequent landings would be much longer. 1945 David Stuart. 283 Okanagan Lake and then in a westerly direction to Grand Prairie and Kamloops, much as the Government road does today.28 Stuart left Okanagan on September 16, intending to be back in about a month (presumably they travelled on horseback), but he was away much longer, as his own account of the journey shows:— After leaving this place, we bent our course up the Oakinacken, due north, for upwards of 250 miles, tili we reached its source; then crossing a height of land feil upon Thompson's River, or rather the south branch of Frazer's River, after travelling for some time amongst a powerful nation called the She Whaps. The snow feil while we were here in the mountains and pre- cluded our immediate return; and after waiting for fine weather the snow got so deep that we considered it hopeless to attempt getting back, and therefore passed our time with the She Whaps and other tribes in that quarter. The Indians were numerous and well-disposed, and the country throughout abounds in beavers and all other kinds of für; and I have made arrange- ments to establish a trading post there the ensuing winter. On the twenty- sixth of February [1812] we began our homeward journey, and spent just . twenty-five days on our way back. The distance may be about 350 miles.29 This was the first party of whites to travel the Okanagan Valley or to visit the site of Kamloops.30 Leaving Okanagan on April 30,1812; with 2,500 beaver skins —the winter's trade there and at Cumcloups—Stuart arrived at Astoria on May 11 or 12.31 The results of his journey were so satisfactory and his report so favourable that at a meeting of the partners it was resolved " that Mr. David Stuart proceed to his post at Oakinacken, explore the country northward, and establish another post between that and New Caledonia."82 Accordingly he left Astoria on June 29, with other parties bound for the Interior, including that of Robert Stuart, then on his way to lay down the cross-continent route which, with some (28) F. M. Buckland, " The Hudson's Bay Brigade Trail," Sixth Report of the Okanagan Historical Society, 1936, p. 14. (29) Quoted in Ross, pp. 163-4. Instead of a month, Stuart was absent no less than 188 days, or over six months. The present highway mileage from Brewster, Washington (near old Fort Okanogan), to Kamloops is 275 miles. Stuart's route by trail would be longer. (30) Although the Thompson River is named after David Thompson he never saw it. The name was given by Simon Fräser in honour of his friend. (31) See Rollins, p. lxxx. (32) Ross, p. 209. New Caledonia was the name given to what is now the Central Interior of British Columbia. 284 A. G. Harvey. October deviations, became in later decades the Oregon Trail.33 There were more narrow escapes from the natives, in the course of which David Stuart's fearlessness was again demonstrated. This incident is related:— . . . when Uncle David and Robert were ascending the river to establish an outpost, they were warned that a body of hostile Indians had assembled just above the Dalles to intercept them. They encamped below the Dalles and extinguished their fires, expecting a rencounter next morning. Uncle David w,as the last watch of the night. His time would expire at day break. At that time Robert discovered that Uncle David was not in camp. It was still dark. They tracked him cautiously to the Indian camp, where they found the warriors all asleep in a circle with their feet toward the central fire, and Uncle David sitting quietly in their midst, smoking his pipe, waiting for his enemies to awake. When they did so, he apologized for Coming without leave, and very soon they were warm friends.84 Another Version is as follows:— ... he [David Stuart] awoke during the night, and impelled by curiosity, visited a camp of hostile Indians, whom the party had struggled all day to escape. Finding them all asleep in a circle around the fire, he seated himself in the center near the fire helped himself to a pipe, and when the Indians awoke was found quietly regaling himself with a whiff of hostile tobacco. So astonished were the warriors at this display of coolness that they shook him by the hand, made him a present of the pipe, and sent him in safety back to his comrades, among whom was his nephew, Robert, who by this time had become alarmed for his safety and ready to Cover him with rebukes for his rashness. His reply was, " there is no fear of an Indian if you have no fear for him."36 Arriving at Okanagan on August 12, he left on the 25th with his men, a larger party than the previous year, and merchandise, and again proceeded north to winter among the friendly Shu- swaps. Reaching the confluence of the Thompson and the North Thompson, he set up a trading-post at the Indian village on the east bank of the latter, near its junction with the main stream.36 (33) See Rollins, p. lxvii. (34) Trowbridge, op. cit, p. 54. (35) Daily Advertiser, Detroit, October 19, 1853. (36) The site chosen by Stuart is included in the present Indian Reserve, opposite the City of Kamloops. See Mark S. Wade, The Thompson Country, Kamloops, 1907, pp. 47, 57, 92. Aged Indians say the post was situated just south of the cemetery near the present Indian village. (Information given to the writer by Burt R. Campbell, of Kamloops.) The post was moved across to the west side of the North Thompson in the 1840's, and again moved to the south side of the Thompson in 1863. See Wade, pp. 90, 92,109. 1945 David Stuart. 285 This was the beginning of Kamloops. Variously known as Cumcloups (meaning "the meeting of the waters")37, the She Whaps,38 Thompson's River Post, the Forks,39 Fort Thompson, or Fort Kamloops, it has become the City of Kamloops of to-day. Stuart again found trade good. " I sent out parties in all directions," he says, " north as far as Fräsers River, and for two hundred miles up the south [north?] branch. The accounts from all quarters were most satisfactory. The country is every- where rieh in fürs, and the natives very peaceable."40 As many as 2,000 would congregate at Cumcloups for trade. Soon after his arrival the North West Company, anxious for a share of the business, established an Opposition post nearby with Joseph Larocque in charge. However, the field was large enough for both parties, and though rivals, they followed a fair and straight- forward course of trade and got along well together, profiting as much as, if not more than, if they had been enemies. Next summer he took his fürs down to Astoria and returned in the fall with more trade-goods. It was during this year (1813) that the negotiations for the sale of the Astor enterprise to the North West Company took place. Stuart was one of the partners who were averse to selling out, but on its being urged by the others that since Great Britain and the United States were now at war a British warship might enter the river at any moment and confiscate everything, he reluctantly coneurred in the transaction.41 On the way back t.o his post he stopped a band of several hundred warlike Indians from advancing on his party by boldly marking a line on the sand, as much as to say: This (37) Wade, op. cit, p. 47, quoting John Tod, who took charge of the post at Kamloops in 1841. Rev. John Goodfellow, of Princeton, B.C., says that it has been suggested to him that the name may be a contraction of campement des loups, meaning " camp where wolves abound," or " camp of the wolves." However, as this presupposes a French-Canadian origin, and conflicts not only with Wade but also with Ross (op cit, p. 215: ". . . a place called by the Indians Cumcloups "), it seems unacceptable. (38) The name used by Ross when referring to the Shuswap Indians. See Ross, op. cit, p. 163. (39) Wade, op. cit, p. 47, quoting John Tod. (40) Ross, op. cit, p. 225. (41) Eight years later, upon the amalgamation of the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company, the old Astor posts became the property of the reorganized Hudson's Bay Company. 286 A. G. Harvey. October far and no farther. He did not stay at Cumcloups through the winter, owing to the transfer of the Pacific Für Company's posts and assets to the North West Company. Unwilling to re-engage with his old employers, he made his sixth and last journey through the Okanagan Valley and got to Astoria (by this time renamed Fort George) on January 7, 1814. Oddly enough, his cousin, John Stuart, was one of the Northwesters sent to take over the Astor posts in the Interior, and he had come from Fort St. James via Cumcloups and the Okanagan Valley during the summer.42 Leaving Fort George on April 4, with several others, David made the great transcontinental journey via Athabasca Pass and River, the Saskatchewari River, Lakes Winnipeg, Superior, and Huron, and the Ottawa River—the first regularly travelled route across North America—and reached Montreal on September 1,1814.43 So ended David Stuart's experiences in the Pacific Northwest. But he had not finished with the für trade. Joining the American Für Company, another Astor enterprise, he went in 1817 to Mackinac, where his nephew Robert was the company's agent.44 The trade was then in its hey day and the headquar- ters of the Americans engaged in it was Mackinac. There the Stuarts settled down. Making his home with Robert, who had married and was bringing up a family, David was a respected member of the f rontier community and an active supporter of the Presbyterian mission.46 In 1834 both David and Robert Stuart left the für trade and moved to Detroit, where Robert engaged in business and politics (he was in turn State Treasurer and Federal Indian Agent), until his death in 1848.46 (42) See Daniel Williams Harmon, A Journal of Voyages and Travels in the Interior of North America, New York, 1903, pp. 188, 191-2, 198-9. (43) For a detailed account of the journey see Gabriel Franchere, Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America, New York, 1854, pp. 263-357. Franchere accompanied Stuart across the continent. (44) He was later manager. See Martin Heydenburk, " Incidents in the Life of Robert Stuart," Michigan Pioneer Collections, III. (1879-80), p. 58. (45) See Jackson Kemper, "Journal of an Episcopalian Missionary's Tour to Green Bay, 1834," Wisconsin Historical Collections, XIV. (1898), pp. 406, 409-10. (46) Rollins, pp. xliv.-v. Robert's high regard for his uncle is expressed as follows in a letter to his daughter:— Show love and reverence to my beloved Uncle, above all; for remember that he has been to me as a parent; to him, under God, I owe everything, and I trust you will aid me in cancelling the debt; at least gratefully showing him our due sense of it, for more we cannot do, and less I trust we would Called " our worthy and venerable friend and brother" by the clergyman officiating at Robert's funeral,48 David, now 83, continued as a member of the family, by whom he was äffection- ately known as " Old Uncle David."49 No doubt he followed with interest the career of his grand-nephew, Robert's eldest son, who was named after him,60 and who became one of Michigan's most brilliant lawyers and served as a member of Congress.61 His relations with Mrs. Stuart were always most pleasant. He was very respectful—even formal—towards her, and addressed her as " Ma'am." She was continually kind and attentive to him, notwithstanding that with the infirmity of old age he became quite a responsibility. He is frequently mentioned in her letters and those of her children, the picture being that of an old man, fiercely loyal, stamping out of the room when anyone suggests that Mrs. Stuart should go off on a short holiday—setting his room on fire twice through carelessness—losing his treasured watch—generous as a child with money, and needing constant unobtrusive watchfulness and He survived his nephew by five years. Then, having reached a ripe old age, general debility took him off. He died at the family home on Jefferson Avenue and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, where the grave marker bears this simple inscrip- tion:— (47) Text supplied by Mrs. Marlatt. (48) Rev. George Duffield, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Detroit, " Extracts from a Funeral Discourse on the death of Robert Stuart, Esq." Michigan Pioneer Collections, III. (1879-80), p. 61. (49) Mrs. Marlatt. (50) Mrs. Marlatt. (51) Robert B. Ross, The Early Bench and Bar of Detroit from 1805 to the end of 1850, 1907, p. 189. (52) Information and quotation from Mrs. Marlatt. 288 A. G. Harvey. DAVID STUART BORN IN BALQUHLDDER SCOTLAND DEC. 22, 1765 DIED OCT. 18, 1853.63 The following tribute is from the newspape death:— r account of his The deceased force of characte comrades, who a was a man of the highest mor r and of physical nerve. It wa that early day accompanied hii al qualities, and of great a common remark of his n to the wild and solitary region " Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound Save its own dashing," there to find a home, a habitation and a business in tracts familiär only to the beast and the savage, that Stuart never knew fear. Many anecdotes have passed from mouth to mouth around the camp fires of the trappers and hunters upon the western f rontier, of the hair-breadth 'scapes and desperate rencontres between the deceased and the wild men and wild beasts of that region. . . . Mr. Stuart possessed in a great degree the higher order of moral attri- butes, and was an attractive Ornament and a blessing at the fireside of his relatives, after the active duties of life had been efficiently and boldly performed. He was peaceful, loving, charitable, kind-hearted and true, ending a well-spent life in the earnest and well-grounded hope of waking in a better and purer sphere of existence. There are few like him, and their numbers are daily growing fewer. " Time runs his ceaseless course, the men of yore Who danced our infancy upon their knee, And told our wondering boyhood legends störe Of their stränge ventures, happ'd by land or sea, How are they blotted from the things that be."64 A. G. Harvey. Vancouver, B.C. (53) Daily Advertiser, Detroit, October 19, 1853; inscription from the records of Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit. (54) Daily Advertiser, October 19, 1853. NOTES AND GOMMENTS. NEW ARCHIVES PUBLICATIONS. The Provincial Archives announces the publication of a new addition to its well-known Memoirs series—No. X., being The Journal of John Work, 1835, edited with an introduction and notes by Henry Drummond Dee. The Journal, which first appeared serially in this Quarterly, is here presented in a collected and revised Version, with a number of new illustrations. The attractive format conforms to that of the earlier titles in the series. Two editions are available, one of which, bound in buckram, is priced at $2.50, while those bound in heavy paper seil for $1.50. The total issue is limited to 400 copies, and the type has been distributed. Publication of the Memoirs was interrupted by the depression, and this is the first new title to appear in fourteen years. It is hoped that further additions may be made to the series fairly frequently in future. Some of these will be revised editions of material first printed in the Quarterly, while others will be original publications. | Steamboat 'Round the Bend ": American Steamers on the Fräser River in 1858, an article by Norman Hacking that appeared in the Quarterly for October, 1944, aroused such widespread interest that the demand for copies quickly exceeded the supply. The article has therefore been reprinted, and is now available in pamphlet form, with cover. The price is $1. A second article by Mr. Hacking, dealing with- another colourful aspect of early steamboating on the Fräser, will appear in an early issue. ENGINE 374 RETURNS TO VANCOUVER. Canadian Pacific locomotive No. 374, which hauled the first regulär transcontinental passenger train into Vancouver on May 23, 1887, returned to the Pacific Coast in August, and on the 22nd of the month was formally presented to the Vancouver Parks Board, who will provide her with a permanent home in Pioneer Park. Jhe famous old engine was built in the Canadian Pacific Railway's Delorimier Avenue Shops, Montreal, where she was completed in May, 1886. After her moment of glory a year later she was operated for some years in British Columbia, but eventually found her way back to Eastern Canada. Refitted from time to time, and in many respects modernized, she continued in active service for the amazing period of fifty-seven years. She was finally retired in September, 1943, and consigned to the boneyard. Though her number had been changed several times—first to 92, then to 245, and finally to 158—some one fortunately discovered her identity, and plans were soon afoot for her preservation. In the Angus Shops she was refurbished and restored as nearly as possible to her original appearance. Her old smoke-stack and old-style oil headlight were replaced, mudguards were once again fitted to her driving wheels, and her cab was rebuilt in the style of 290 Notes and Comments. October 1887. She was then hauled across the continent for the presentation cere- mony in Vancouver. For this occasion her decorations duplicated as nearly as possible those with which she had been adorned upon her first arrival in 1887. The fir branches, shields, banners, and inscriptions were all in place, and the photo- graph of Queen Victoria in the headlight was a copy of the original in the Vancouver City Archives. The original Vancouver Station building now Stands at Heatley Avenue, and the old engine's final run was from that point to the present Canadian Pacific depot. The coaches behind her were filled with some seventy pioneers, most of whom were in costume, and many of whom had witnessed the arrival of the engine fifty-eight years before. During the presentation ceremonies Mayor J. W. Cornett delivered the same speech of welcome that was given by Mayor Malcolm MacLean in 1887, and C. A. Cotterell, Assistant General Manager of Canadian Pacific Western Lines, replied with the speech given by Harry Abbott, who in 1887 was General Superintendent of the Pacific Division. In addition to the reports in the Vancouver newspapers, two excellent illustrated articles describing the occasion in detail appeared in the Canadian Pacific Staff Bulletin for September (p. 27) and October (pp. 8-9). MEMORIAL PLAQUE TO J. W. McKAY. On Sunday, September 16, a handsome bronze plaque honouring the memory of Joseph William McKay, founder of the city, was unveiled in Nanaimo by his daughter, Miss Agnes Mackay. The plaque is set into the wall of the historic bastion, and a large crowd assembled around the old building to witness the ceremony. The Speakers included Mr. Victor Harrison,'ex-Mayor of Nanaimo; Mr. George Bertram, Chief Factor of the Native Sons, Post No. 3; Mr. George F. Wilson, Secretary of Post No. 3; Major H. C. Holmes, Chairman of the Victoria Section of the British Columbia Historical Association; and Mr. E. G. Rowebottom, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. Mr. B. A. McKelvie was to have delivered the principal address, describing McKay's life and achievements, but most unfortunately illness prevented him from doing so. Dr. W. Kaye Lamb was the Substitute Speaker, and outlined McKay's remarkable career on the Pacific Coast. He arrived hereabouts in 1844, at the age of 15, when the fur-traders of the Hudson's Bay Company were the only white men residing in what is now British Columbia, yet he lived to serve for seventeen years as an officer of the Department of Indian Affairs of the Dominion Government. Moreover, he was only 23 when James Douglas entrusted him with the difficult task of founding the settlement that was to become Nanaimo, and preparing the way for the development of the coal-measures in the vicinity. At the conclusion of his remarks Dr. Lamb, acting on behalf of Mr. McKelvie, announced that the high peak between Ladysmith and Victoria that has been known as Buffalo Observation Point will henceforth be called Mount J. W. McKay. 1945 Notes and Comments. 291 Four daughters of Joseph William McKay were present: Miss Agnes Mackay, who unveiled the plaque; the Misses Gertrude and Aline Mackay; and Mrs. L. M. Spalding, of South Pender Island. It is interesting to note that the correct spelling of the family name is Mackay, but as the Hudson's Bay Company, in order to simplify matters, insisted that all its employees with the same name should spell it the same way, J. W. McKay was com- pelled to use the spelling McKay as long as he remained in the Company's Also present were Mrs. W. Curtis Sampson and Mrs. H. R. Beaven, of Victoria, daughters of the late J. D. Pemberton, who named Nanaimo and made the first surveys there, and Mrs. W. Fitzherbert Bullen, granddaugh- ter of Sir James Douglas, under whose general supervision the development of Nanaimo took place. The plaque was provided by the Department of Trade and Industry, which has been able to mark a considerable number of historic sites in recent years, while the unveiling ceremony was arranged jointly by the Native Sons of British Columbia, Post No. 3, and the Victoria Section of the British Columbia Historical Association. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. A meeting of the Council of the Association was held in the Hotel Gros- venor, Vancouver, on the evening of Tuesday, October 2. The President, Miss Helen Boutilier, presided. The chief business of the evening was to consider preliminary plans for the celebration in June, 1946, of the cen- tenary of the Oregon boundary settlement. This anniversary is a matter of national, and not merely local, interest, for until settlement was achieved British occupation of what is now British Columbia was by no means seeure, and it was the title to the region given to Great Britain by the treaty that made possible a Dominion stretching from sea to sea. Many possibilities and suggestions were reviewed, and a committee was appointed to co-operate with a similar committee about to be named by the Washington State Historical Society. It is hoped that definite plans may take shape in the near future, and that the celebration may be both on a considerable scale and international in scope. Several amendments to the Constitution, designed primarily to clarify various points, were discussed, and it was decided to submit these to the membership at the earliest possible moment. The Treasurer's report showed that the Association was in a better finaneial Position than ever before. Membership was increasing, and paid subscriptions to the Quarterly had passed the 500 mark. Victoria Section. The Section's annual midsummer garden tea was held on Saturday, August 18, in the beautiful grounds of Molton Combe, the home of Mrs. W. Curtis Sampson. There was a large attendanee, and all present enjoyed the occasion. Major H. C. Holmes, Chairman of the Section, welcomed the members and friends, and presided during the Programme. This consisted 292 Notes and Comments. October of a group of songs sung by Mrs. T. H. Johns and Miss Eva Hart, followed by a number of dances by the pupils of Miss Wynne Shaw. Mrs. Cecil Warn acted as accompanist. Tea was served at small tables scattered throughout the grounds. Some thirty-five members of the Section journeyed to Nanaimo on Sunday, September 16, to be present at the unveiling of the plaque erected in honour of the memory of Joseph William McKay. The ceremony was under the Joint auspices of the Section and the Native Sons of British Columbia, Post No. 3. The first meeting of the autumn season was held in the Provincial Library on Monday, October 15, when the Section was addressed by Mr. Arthur P. Dawe. His address was entitled Steel of Confederation, and dealt largely with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Perhaps the most interesting part of the address was that devoted to a perennial question in Canadian history—exactly why the route of the railway, which apparently had been settled definitely, and was to cross the Rockies by way of the Yellowhead Pass, was suddenly shifted far to the south. Mr. Dawe believes that the explanation lies in the fact that Donald Smith (later Lord Strathcona) was a power in both the Hudson's Bay Company and the Canadian Pacific Railway, and that he contrived to have the change made in order to delay the breakup of the Hudson's Bay Company's fur- Vancouver Section. The Section met in the Grosvenor Hotel on Tuesday, September 25, when the Speaker was Major J. S. Matthews, Vancouver City Archivist. The subject announced was Linking the Atlantic to the Pacific—Locomotive 374, but by way of introduction Major Matthews first gave a most interesting description of the Vancouver City Archives and the nature of the work done by his department. He stressed in particular the help he endeavoured to give to the many young people who visited him or wrote to him in search of historical information, and outlined as well the service given to newspaper- men and feature-story writers. As any one who reads the magazine Supplements of the Vancouver papers at all carefully must be aware, much of the material incorporated in them has been found in, or with the assistance of, the City Archives. Locomotive 374, her first arrival in Vancouver on May 23, 1887, and her final return to the city on August 22, 1945, furnished starting-points for an interesting commentary on the building of the railway, the emergence of Vancouver, and the recent ceremonies at which the old engine was presented to the city. In conclusion, Major Matthews repeated the address he had delivered to the old-timers at the banquet held in their honour after the presentation ceremony. Mr. George Green is to address the Section on October 29, when his subject will be The Early History of Burnaby. 1945 Notes and Comments. 293 contributors to this issue. Bruce A. McKelvie, Journalist and historian, is the author of Pelts and Powder, The Black Canyon, Early History of the Province of British Columbia, and other books. Students of the history of this region long ago learned to watch for the articles that he contributes frequently to the Vancouver and Victoria newspapers. Paul A. Knaplund, Ph.D. (Wisconsin), is Chairman of the Department of History in the University of Wisconsin. He is an authority on British Colonial history, and his books include a recent volume entitled The British Empire, 1815-1939. Readers of Dr. Knaplund's article in this issue will find an interesting earlier study entitled " Sir James Stephen and British North American Problems, 1840-1847," in the March, 1924, issue of the Canadian Historical Review (V., pp. 22-41). Thomas R. Weir, M.A. (Syracuse) recently completed a comprehensive geographica! and historical study of the City of New Westminster. He is a member of the Department of Geology and Geography in the University of British Columbia. A. G. Harvey, barrister and historian, will be remembered as the author of three interesting articles in this Quarterly—The Mystery of Mount Robson, David Douglas in British Columbia, and Meredith Gairdner: Doctor of Medicine. He is particularly interested in the naturalists who visited this region in early days, and has thrown much new light on their lives and activities. THE NORTHWEST BOOKSHELF. Für Brigade to the Bonaventura. John Work's California Expedition 1882- 1833 for the Hudson's Bay Company. Edited by Alice Bay Maloney from the original manuscript Journal in the Provincial Archives of British Columbia. With a foreword by Herbert Eugene Bolton. . . . San Francisco: California Historical Society, 1945. Pp. xxii., 112. 111., map. $4. In this volume Mrs. Maloney has published two of the sixteen Journals of John Work, sometime Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, who was stationed on the Pacific slope during much of his long and interesting career. All of his Journals, with the exception of one in the Howay Collection at the University of British Columbia, have now been published in one form or another. Most of them appear in the British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, or California Historical Society Quarterlies, but not in book form. Consequently readers should be grateful to the editor and to the California Historical Society for reprinting these Journals from Volume XXII., Nos. 2, 3, and 4; and Volume XXIIL, Nos. 1 and 2, of the California Historical Society Quarterly as a separate volume. The great value of all of the Journals of John Work is that they furnish posterity with a minute account of the für trade as it was practised one hundred years ago. These two Journals constitute a record of the last of the big old-style trapping expeditions in which the Hudson's Bay Company placed the emphasis on the dispatching of companies into the field fully equipped for a year with supplies, horses, ammunition, traps, and the like; the motley crew being accompanied by their women and children. These ventures were now to be superseded by trading expeditions. The Journals supply us with the details surrounding the management of the business, with the current prices paid for fürs, and indicate how many were collected. They relate the fact and not the fiction of dealings with, and the customs of, savage and treacherous tribes. They teil of stony trails, of thirsty days, of shortages of food, and of mosquito-ridden camps. They teil, among other things, of a leader, not one of the great men of the für trade, but a hardy, conscientious, industrious individual who, in spite of extreme privation, won profits for his Company. As suggested by Mr. Bolton in the foreword, the story " has a Continental as well as a local bearing." The two Journals which have been edited by Mrs. Maloney are no exception to the rule. They describe Work's departure from Fort Vancouver, up the Columbia River to Walla Walla or Fort Nez Perces, and thence southward overland to the Sacramento River. On the Sacramento and in the San Francisco Bay area the Company spent the winter, returning to Fort Vancouver by way of the Shasta, Rogue, Umpqua, and Willamette One cannot help but admire the efforts of Mrs. Maloney in her personal exploration of much of the trail followed by John Work in his California 296 The Northwest Bookshelf. . October expedition, nor can one but admire, and not without a touch of envy, the sumptuous format of her volume (even though explanatory notes are all placed at the end of the book). Unfortunately, the admiration and envy pale somewhat on closer inspection. The text of the Journals as here given is fairly accurate. However, it is fortunate that Mrs. Maloney saw fit to send copies of the instalments of the Journals, as they appeared in the California Historical Quarterly, to the Provincial Archives where they received extensive revision, since a com- parison of these instalments with the volume reveals many a correction. It seems a pity that these corrections were not made prior to the original appearance of the text, especially as the book is represented as being a reprint of the instalments. A few differences remain still between the Journals as printed and the original. Some of these stem from the difficulties in reading Work's handwriting, and are therefore entirely justifiable, but others are definite inaccuracies. Two courses were open to the editor in dealing with the punctuation of the Journals. One was to keep to that of Work's Originals; the other was to modernize the punctuation so that the long and often involved sentences would be easier to read. Mrs. Maloney seems to have followed neither procedura. Moreover, there is deviation from Standard practice in indicating omitted, duplicated, and misspelled words. A number of typographical errors have been noted. On page viii " Word" should read " Work." On page xxi the usual spelling was " Colvile" not " Colville." On the next page " Reilly" should read " O'Reilly." In note 16, page 85, the reference should be to page 534. In the following note, on the same page, the name " Graham " should con- tain a final " e" and " Charles W. Wallace" should be amended to "Charles W. Wallace, Jr." Errors in interpretation and fact are scattered through the text. The misspelling of such a prominent explorer's name as that of Alexander Mackenzie (p. xiii) tends to lessen the reader's confidence in Mrs. Maloney's work. Exigencies of space appear to have led the editor into unfortunate and misleading Statements. An example or two will suffice. Thus on page xiii we read: "... He served the Hudson's Bay Company in many capacities: from his enrollment in 1814 as a writer he advanced through the ranks of Steward, clerk, trader, and factor, and finally served as a member of the Legislative Council of Vancouver Island." In the reviewer's opinion this would seem to give the impression that Work's position as a member of the Legislative Council was a post in the Hudson's Bay Company, which is not the case. On page xv, Mrs. Maloney indicates that, in 1821, Work was at Red River (itself a questionable point, and no verifica- tion is given) and that, on July 18, 1823, he started for the Columbia District. Here again the impression created is that he left Red River directly for the Columbia, while in actuality he set out from York Factory. The same feeling is created on page xx, when the events surrounding Work's return to Fort Vancouver after the Bonaventura expedition are recounted. No mention is made of his expedition in 1884 to the Umpqua 1945 The Northwest Bookshelf. 297 River. Moreover, the implication given the reader is that subsequent to the Bonaventura expedition, 1832-33, he spent three years on the Columbia before proceeding to Fort Simpson. Actually, in December, 1834, after the Umpqua expedition in the summer of the same year, Work embarked in the Lama for Fort Simpson, which was to be his headquarters until 1849. The list of sick people is referred to as having been found among some uncatalogued papers in the Archives of British Columbia. Actually this list constituted pages 12-16 in the Fort Simpson, Correspondenee Outward, September 6,1841-October 11,1844- It was not verified how they had been placed there. On page xxi the date given for Work's purchase of land near Victoria is 1850. If one may judge the date by the deed as listed in Registry Book No. 1 in the Department of Lands of British Columbia at Victoria, the date should be August 1, 1852. In the Register of Baptisms, Forts Vancouver and Victoria, the date of the birth of Work's youngest daughter, Josette, is given as September 16, 1854, and not 1843, as given in note 17, page 85. Work was buried, not in the churchyard of Christ Church Cathedral, but in what is now called Pioneer Square, adjacent to the present cathedra! Mrs. Maloney represents that Victoria has both a Work and a Wark Street. To-day Work Street exists no longer. For years it has been swallowed up in what is now Bay Street, near Point Ellice Bridge, on the north side of Rock Bay. One regrets these inaccuracies in an otherwise vivid and extensive effort. Henry Drummond Dee. Victoria, B.C Sir George Simpson, Overseas Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company: A Pen Portrait of a Man of Action. By Arthur S. Morton. Toronto: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1944. 111. Pp. xii., 310. $4.50. " To write the life of George Simpson," Dr. Morton notes in his preface, " is no easy task. There can have been few men who identified themselves with their office and its duties more than he." Even letters marked ".private " or " confidential " are rarely about personal matters; § these also are business, almost nothing but business." As a result, though so prominent and familiär a figure, Simpson has remained to a considerable extent a man of mystery, hidden from view by the very bulk of the documents that chronicle his activities. And not even Dr. Morton's prodigious patience and application have been sufficient to make him emerge. No one has spent more time studying the history of the Hudson's Bay Company, and no other scholar has enjoyed an equal opportunity to examine the Company's archives; yet this volume, which deserves to rank as the first real biography of Simpson to appear in print, is rightly presented as being only a preliminary sketch for the final full-scale " life " that will some day be written. Indeed, it would not be unfair to describe the volume as being essentially an appendix to Dr. Morton's monumental History of the Canadian West to 1870-71. His research for that work brought to light many points about Simpson that could find no place in a general history, and this biography simply gathers them together and presents them in a most interesting and 298 The Northwest Bookshelf. October readable form. At the same time the genesis of the book is probably responsible for certain of its deficiencies. One is conscious of important episodes in Simpson's life that are not even mentioned, while the accounts of others are neither well-rounded nor complete. One senses, too, a ten- dency to avoid material that is not entirely to Simpson's credit. All char- acters are composed of light and shade, and Simpson's positive achievements were so great that a sympathetic biographer need not fear the result of subjecting his career to a frank examination. On the other hand, two points are dealt with at some length and to great advantage. It is too often assumed that, so far as the für trade was con- cerned, Simpson was something in the nature of a supreme being, whereas in actual fact he worked within limits and in accordance with policies that were determined in surprising detail in London. In the second place, Dr. Morton rightly emphasizes Simpson's adaptability. The far-flung trading System that he perfected in the " golden age " of the für trade never became a sacred thing that he was unwilling to modif y when changing conditions made this desirable. On the contrary, he was ever on the watch to see that the Company changed with the times. Thus in our own region he encouraged farming, fishing, lumbering, and mining as well as fur- trading, and if circumstances had permitted he was prepared to experiment with whaling. We come nearest to Simpson personally in the account of his marriage, and in the revealing chapter entitled " Governor Simpson, the Servant of the Servants of the Company." Through the years he became a combination of father-confessor and finaneial adviser to scores of the Company's officers, and the sympathetic and meticulous attention he gave to their affairs is greatly to his credit. It is said that no man ever lost a penny through any investment made by Sir George on his behalf. In spite of these intimate glimpses of Simpson one feels that in many ways he has eluded his biographer—possibly, as suggested above, because at the time the mass of material relating to him was being examined, the author was interested primarily in the general history of the Company. One wonders if a different approach, even if applied to a much more limited ränge of material, might not produce a more satisfactory result. Would not a careful and imaginative examination of six or eight of the crises of one kind or another in which Simpson was involved reveal the man in all important aspects? For example, his experiences in the Athabasca Department in 1820-21, and his differences with John McLoughlin (both of which, incidentally, are now adequately documented in print), are contrasting episodes from which much can be learned. There are a number of slips in dates that should be corrected in future printings. Captain ^milius Simpson died in 1831, not 1832 (p. 7); the date 1820 on p. 133 should be 1825; James McMillan examined the lower Fräser River in 1824 and not in 1826, as implied by a phrase on p. 148; Fort Nisqually was founded in 1833, not 1831 (p. 152). It is a pity that the süperb photograph of Simpson, found recently in Montreal and published in the Beaver, did not come to light early enough to The Northwest Bookshelf. Norman: University of Oklahoma This book has an attractive paper cover, for on it is an outline map of Alaska, implying that there will be more maps inside, as proves to be the case. Many books are incomplete because they lack the maps needed to an understanding of the text. The sub-title of this book: " Promyshlennik and Sourdough," might provoke an interesting discussion as to what extent the rough and irresponsible freebooters that sought for fürs in Alaska are to be likened to the sturdy prospectors that made their flap-jacks, or pan- cakes, without the aid of yeast. The book runs to 350 pages and in those pages gives a great deal of trustworthy historic information. I venture to express my regret that it is not published in larger print. It is worthy of such dignity. For the sake of the young and the old alike, books should be printed in 12-point type, to preserve the sight of the youngsters and to ease the reading of the oldsters. The mental acquaintance of the author had been made previously by the reviewer, as he had read appreciatively Mr. Tompkins' earlier paper on " Drawing the Alaskan Boundary," reprinted from The Canadian Historical Review a few months ago. It will be noted that Alaskan is used, and not Alaska. The adjectival use of the noun is a common illiteracy, such as is entirely foreign to Mr. Tompkins. The reviewer happens to know Alaska f airly well, having written a book on that Territory, so he is in a Position to appreciate the excellence of Mr. Tompkins' treatment of the subject. It is careful and precise, and therefore scholarly. The author knows how- to use his medium of expression, the English language. As an example of his attractive style I quote from the first chapter, which is mainly geographic:— " The northern summer, with its long hours of amber sunlight and its night a brief interlude of twilight between sunset and sunrise; the all too short autumn, then the swift onset of winter, with its almost overpowering cold; the winter landscape lonely, yet with a sparkling beauty all its own; the sublime loveliness of the northern lights of early winter; the gladness of the advent of spring; the mad rush of waters that heralds the break-up of the winter ice and the approach once more of summer—everything tempts the cheechako to hyperbole and even the sourdough to the grudging admis- sion that the ' country gets you.' " It is noteworthy that in this paragraph the author uses no long words, and those of Latin origin are few. It is good literary English. One criti- cism may be permitted. It is unwise to use words from a foreign language unless the meaning is indicated in the immediate context. The author uses many Russian words to give local colour, and some of them are present appropriately, whereas others are not. The word yassak, or iasak, might 300 The Northwest Bookshelf. well be replaced by tribute. Promyshlennik and its plural promysfilenniki are employed too frequently. Why say Russian promyshlenniki? The latter must necessarily be the former. You read of a voyevode at Yakutsk and of an ostrog in Kamchatka without being told that one means a Commander and the other an outpost. In his detailed description of the Russian advance into Alaska and down the Pacific coast, the author refers frequently to the political conditions at St. Petersburg and the vagaries of the Russian court in the days of that female voluptuary Catherine the Second. This is necessary for an under- standing of the spasmodic and ineffective support given to the fur-trading The author's account of the Nootka controversy is well done. What a world-wide fame at that time, and later in history, accrued to that little cove on the west coast of Vancouver Island! His references to the Spanish voyages and to Captain Cook's surveys are likewise made skilfully. This book is a valuäble addition to the history of our northwest Pacific coast. T. A. Rickard. North Atlantic Triangle: The Interplay of Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. By J. Bartlet Brebner. New Haven: Yale University Press; Toronto: The Ryerson Press, 1945. Pp. xxii., 385. $5. Professor J. Bartlet Brebner, of Columbia University, is well fitted to be the author of North Atlantic Triangle. A graduate of Toronto, Oxford, and Columbia he has himself been trained in each of the countries which provide a side of the triangle. This volume is a fitting conclusion to the well-known series on " The Relations of Canada and the United States," prepared under the direction of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Division of Economics and History. The general editor of the series, who is also the Director of the Division of Economics and History, Professor James T. Shotwell, is a Toronto graduate who has been for many years a professor at Columbia. This great series owes its existence to a discussion opened years ago in Ottawa by Professor Brebner on the theme of whether or not the pattern of Canadian development had or had not conformed to American. Professor Shotwell, taking up the problem, decided to launch an investigation conducted by experts in both countries. As a result, a preliminary discussion was held at the Banff Conference of the Institute of Pacific Relations in 1933, and "by 1934 a large group of scholars and experts was at work on various elements of the political, economic, and social connection " of the two countries. Professor Brebner's original paper presented at Ottawa in 1931 was expanded to become an outline history of Canadian-American interaction " for use as a manual." To date twenty-five volumes have been issued and the series is now concluded by North Atlantic Triangle. The volume is original both in design and in treatment. The author states that his original aim was " to get at, and set forth, the interplay between the United States and Canada—the Siamese Twins of North 1945 The Northwest Bookshelf. 301 America who cannot separate and live." By " interplay," Professor Brebner did not mean " merely the manifestations in what are normally called international relations, but the various kind of things which the people of the two countries did in common, or in complementary fashion, or in competition." For nearly two centuries there was little or no attention paid to the international boundary in so far as it affected the movement of population. Settlement practically ignored it. Nova Scotians went to New England. New Englanders and New Yorkers moved into Upper Canada: Upper Canadians crossed over to the Middle Western States. Californians came to British Columbia. Men and women from the prairie states helped settle Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The fur-traders, the lumber- men, and the miners crossed the boundary almost at will. But the two nations did not coalesce either politically or economically. What they did was to co-operate " in creating the unique North American Standard and pattern of living." Above all " they invented and have operated for one hundred and fifty years an increasingly comprehensive and effective international machinery for the liquidation of some inescapable consequences of their interlocked destinies." But Professor Brebner had not gone far into his researches when he came across another factor which could not be ignored—namely, Great Britain. It is true that Canada and the United States are both " Children of a Common Mother " but, historically, they stand in different relationships to that mother. The United States became a nation as a result of rebellion, and all American (i.e., United States) history is separated by the red thread of the American Revolution. Canada reached maturity by a process of evolution within the British Empire. As a result American and Canadian " responses to the mother country were usually sharply contrasted " and "their understandings of each other were habitually warped." The French-Canadians were another complicating factor. " Although estranged from their own mother country by her course after 1760 and thrown back upon the Vatican for their principal outside reinforcement," as Professor Brebner wisely remarks, they " could not be expected to develop an emotional attachment to their conquerors, whether thought of as Britons or as North Americans." In comparison with the United States and Great Britain, Canada, except for her vast area, has always been a pygmy between two giants. None the less she bulks large in the North Atlantic Triangle. For that reason the author has devoted more space to Canada than could be justified by a purely proportional representation. This general statement of aims is necessary for a proper understanding of the treatment of the theme. In sixteen chapters the author Sketches " The Pattern of the Continent " and deals with the development of North America, north of New Spain, since 1492. His canvas- is wide and his brush-strokes bold. Most of the facts he gives are well known, 'but his Interpretation is his own. Gradually, at times painfully, the North Atlantic Triangle takes form. In spite of Isolationist tendencies the United States is forced into two World Wars. Canada, too, finds herseif involved. The Northwest Bookshelf. Shotwell states in his foreword, •" is based upon the strongest of all forces for international peace—the will to have it." But down to the end of the nineteenth Century the threat of war was never completely absent. Canada was often a pawn in the Anglo-American diplomatic game. But Canada steadily was becoming stronger and was at last to be recognized by both the United States and Great Britain as a full-fledged partner. This is a notable book. It will repay close reading and study. It is a suitable conclusion to a unique series. Walter N. Sage. Vancouver, B.C. INDEX. Begbie, Sir Matthew B BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION Organized October 31st, 1922. PATRON. His Honour W. C. Woodward, Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia. OFFICERS, 1945. HON. H. G. T. Perry .... Honorary President Helen R. Boutilier - President. B. A. McKelvie Past President. Mrs. Curtis Sampson - - - istVice-President E. G. Baynes 2nd Vice-President Madge Wolfenden - Honorary Treasurer. W. Kaye Lamb Honorary Secretary. MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. Mrs. M. R. Cree. E. M. Cotton. J. C Goodfellow. A. G. Harvey. T. A. Rickard. H. T. Nation. W. N. Sage. E. G. Rowebottom. Willard E. Ireland W. Kaye Lamb (Provincial Archivist). (Editor, Quarterly). •Helen R. Boutilier H. C. Holmes (Vancouver Section). (Victoria Section). OBJECTS. To encourage historical research and stimulate public interest in history; to promote the preservation and marking of historic sites, buildings, relics, natural features, and other objects and places of historical interest, and to publish historical Sketches, studies, and documents. MEMBERSHIP. Ordinary members pay a fee of $2 annually in advance. The fiscal year commences on the first day of January. All members in good standing receive the British Columbia Historical Quarterly without further charge. Correspondence and fees may be addressed to the Provincial Archives, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C. This book is for use in Library Building ONLY Hollinger pH 83 Mill Run F3-1955 r Mt.Juoge Howay 7396' Mt. Robie Reid 684"/' Mount Howay and Mount Reid. This photoKtaph. here reprodueed through the eourtesy of Lt. Col. G. G. Aitken, Chief Geographer of British Columbia, was taken from a triangulation Station west of Pitt Lake. Mount Howay is almost due east of this point. It will be recalled that Mount Howay was named in the fall of 194:!. shortly after Judge Howay's death : the eompanion peak was named in honour of Dr. Reid in July, 1944. Hollinger pH 8.5 Mill Run F3-1955
Includes an index Includes bibliographic references There are 21 volumes of The British Columbia historical quarterly. A photograph and an envelope attached at the end of the book Other copies: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/937942070 Part of: Dr. C.E. Dolman Collection
Books
Periodicals
FC3801.B75 H59
English
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Victoria : Provincial Archives of British Columbia ; Victoria : British Columbia Historical Association
Images provided for research and reference use only. For permission to publish, copy, or otherwise distribute these images please contact digital.initiatives@ubc.ca.
Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. FC3801.B75 H59
Canadian periodicals
British Columbia
Public Archives of Canada
The British Columbia historical quarterly. Vol. IX
Text