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British Columbia History
British Columbia Historical Association
British Columbia Historical Association: 1st Annual Report and Proceedings
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b ® British Columbia Historical Association (Organized October 31st, 1922) Affiliated with the Canadian Historical Association Fourth Report and Proceedings Edited by Donald A. Fraser ' Help us to save the things that go; We are the gleaners after time." —Austin Dobion For the Four Years ended October 11th, 1929 m ==a British Columbia Historical Association (Organized October 31st, 1922) Affiliated with the Canadian Historical Association Fourth Report and Proceedings Edited by Donald A. Fraser ' Help us to save the things that go; We are the gleaners after time." -Austin Dobson For the Four Years ended October 11th, 1929 TABLE OF CONTENTS. Pace. Introduction. By the Editor - 5 List of Officers 6 Secretary's Report 7 Hydrographic Survey of the North-west Coast of British North America. By Captain H. D. Parizeau - 10 Synopsis of the Above Subject. By Captain Parizeau 20 Poem, " Vancouver's Isle." By Mrs. M, H. Rathom 24 The Opening of the Pacific. By V. L. Denton 25 A Brief History of the Queen Charlotte Islands. By W. A. Newcombe 29 The Dewdney Trail. By Major H. T. Nation 30 Discovery and Naming of the " Strait of Juan De Fuca." By C. C. Pemberton 33 Address at the Unveiling of Memorial Cairn at Leechtown. By John Hosie 36 Poem, " Leechtown, 1864-1928." By Donald A. Fraser 40 Mackenzie's Expedition to the Pacific Ocean in 1793. By F. C. Swannell 40 James Charles Stuart Strange. By John Hosie 43 What I Remember of Hon. Amor DeCosmos. By Beaumont Boggs 54 Publications 58 Obituaries 60 List of Members 63 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. Fourth Report and Proceedings, 1925-29. INTRODUCTION. By Donald A. Fraser. FOR THE first three years of its existence our Association published Annual Reports, but during the last four years, owing principally to a depleted treasury, the additional expense of such publications could not be entertained. This Fourth Report and Proceedings, therefore, deals with the Association's affairs since November 20th, 1925. Although no printed reports of its activities have appeared, the Association has by no means been dormant. As shown by the report of the Honorary Secretary included herein, regular quarterly meetings have been held in the Archives Department at the Provincial Parliament Buildings, with most interesting and instructive papers presented, and discussions developed. The Association has been active in other directions outside of its regular meetings. Two memorial unveiling ceremonies have been held- that of a bronze tablet on the wall of the Miller-Court Building occupying the site of the north-east bastion of old Fort Victoria, corner of Government and Bastion Streets; and that of a cairn at Leech River, Vancouver Island, commemorating the gold excitement there in 1864. Then two banquets in honour of different groups of old-timers have been held, and another on March 11th, 1929, in celebration of the birthday of British Columbia, as on that day, in 1850, at Victoria, Richard Blanshard had read the proclamation of his appointment as Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island. The Association also collaborated with the University Women's Club in an excursion to Roche Harbour, San Juan Island, on which occasion the Honourable Mr. Justice Martin delivered an eloquent address on the British and American occupation of that territory. The hand of death has been busy gathering into his garner our old-timers. The heroic souls who first ventured into the untrodden solitudes that have since become our fairest of heritages, and who first shouldered the burdens of our new-born communities, are fast passing away, and soon the places that have known them so long will know them no more for ever. Brief notices of a few of the more notable ones that our Association has come in contact with are printed on another page. Here it is appropriate to record our appreciation of the splendid work that our Provincial Archives Department has done, and is doing, in getting together records of and from these venerable citizens, either before they pass on or before all recollection of them has died out. The untiring efforts of the Archivist, Mr. Hosie, and his able assistants, Miss Russell and Mrs. Cree, are worthy of all praise. The Association has a number of Special Committees which are doing excellent work in their several spheres. These are: Educational, Marine and Shipping, Genealogical, Indians, Bibliographical, Victoria and District Landmarks, Mining, and Editorial. Our membership roll is not large, being at present in the neighbourhood of sixty members. It contains no dead wood, however, as by our constitution the names of members two years in arrears with fees are dropped from the list. In accordance with a regulation adopted by our Council, this report contains all the papers presented at our regular meetings and other functions of the Association, transcripts of which were handed in, and which have not been given publication through other media. ; 6 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. LIST OF OFFICERS. Officers elected, November 20th, 1925. Honorary President, Hon. J. D. MacLean, Provincial Secretary. President, His Honour Judge F. W. Howay, New Westminster. First Vice-President, Beaumont Boggs. Second Vice-President, V. L. Denton. Secretary-Treasurer, John Forsyth, Provincial Librarian. Editor, Professor W. N. Sage, University of B.C. Council, 1925-26: Dr. M. S. Wade. Kamloops; R. L. Reid, K.C, Vancouver; B. G. Hamilton, Invermere; Judge Robertson, Prince George; C. C. Pemberton, G. S. McTavish, Mrs. M. Cree, John Hosie, Rev. J. C. Goodfellow, and Major F. V. Long- staff, Victoria. Officers elected, October 15th, 1926. Patron, His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, R. Randolph Bruce. Honorary President, William Sloan, Minister of Mines and Commissioner of Fisheries. President, His Honour Judge F. W. Howay, New Westminster. First Vice-President, Beaumont Boggs. Second Vice-President, V. L. Denton. Secretary, John Hosie. Recording Secretary, Miss Alma Russell. Treasurer, C. H. French. Editor, Professor W. N. Sage, University of B.C. Council, 1926-27: Dr. M. S. Wade, Kamloops; R. L. Reid, K.C, Vancouver; B. G. Hamilton, Invermere; Judge Robertson, Prince George; G. S. McTavish, C. C. Pemberton, Mrs. M. Cree, Major F. V. Longstaff, F.R.G.S., Rev. J. C. Goodfellow, and Major H. T. Nation, Victoria. Officers elected, October 14th, 1927. Patron, His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, R. Randolph Bruce. Honorary President, Hon. J. D. MacLean, Premier. President, John Hosie. First Vice-President, Beaumont Boggs. Second Vice-President, V. L. Denton. Honorary Treasurer, Cecil French. Honorary Corresponding Secretary, Harold Nation. Honorary Recording Secretary, Miss Alma Russell. Editor, Donald A. Fraser. Council, 1927-28: Rev. J. C. Goodfellow, Princeton; Denys Nelson, Fort Langley; Dr. M. S. Wade, Kamloops; Mrs. M. Cree, Major F. V. Longstaff, Hon. Justice Martin, William N. Newcombe, C. C. Pemberton, and George C. McTavish, Victoria. Officers elected, October 26th, 1928. Patron, His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, R. Randolph Bruce. Honorary President, Hon. S. L. Howe, Provincial Secretary. President, V. L. Denton. First Vice-President, Beaumont Boggs. Second Vice-President, W. A. Newcombe. Honorary Secretary, Major Harold Nation. Honorary Recording Secretary, Miss Alma Russell. Honorary Treasurer, Geo. S. McTavish. Editor, Donald A. Fraser. Council, 1928-29: Rev. J. C. Goodfellow, Princeton; Dr. M. S. Wade, Kamloops; Basil G. Hamilton, Invermere; Arthur Anstey, B.A., Vancouver; Sir C. Piers, Vancouver; Denys Nelson, Fort Langley; John Hosie, Major Longstaff, Mrs. M. Cree, C. C. Pemberton, and Hon. Mr. Justice Martin, Victoria. FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 7 SECRETARY'S REPORT, 1925-26-27-28-29. By the Hon. Secretary, Major H. T. Nation. This report covers the four years beginning with the annual meeting of November 20th, 1925. Having so many items to chronicle, the reference to each must necessarily be very brief. The annual meeting referred to above took place at the Provincial Library, Archives Department, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, where all the regular meetings are held. The President, Judge F. Howay, in his address, gave some interesting details about the early navigators and their work on the West Coast, especially referring to those who sighted or entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca. His remarks were largely in amplification of the address given by him the day before at the unveiling of the monument on Gonzales Hill. Mr. V. L. Denton, of the Provincial Normal School, also read a paper on " The Early Explorations Connected with the Strait of Juan de Fuca." January 8th, 1926.—Captain H. D. Parizeau, officer in charge of the Dominion Hydrographic Survey of the West Coast, gave a splendid description of the work of the surveys at present being carried on, as well as a history of such activities since the time of the Spaniards. His paper was illustrated with slides. The Hon. Mr. Justice Martin stated that in his opinion the celebration held at Fort Langley on November 19th to commemorate the birthday of British Columbia was not in order, as the proper date of such an anniversary should be March 11th, as on that date, in 1850, at Fort Victoria, Richard Blanshard had publicly read the commission appointing him Governor of Vancouver's Island. April 9th, 1926.—The Rev. A. W. Corker, missionary among the Indians at Alert Bay for thirty-five years, gave an address, fully illustrated by lantern-slides, on " The Kwakiutl Indians," which proved most instructive. October 15th, 1926.—The annual general meeting was notable for the paper on " The Dixon-Meares Controversy" regarding the Spaniards at Nootka, read by the President, Judge Howay. The convener of the Marine Committee reported that a list of 120 vessels wrecked off the British Columbia coast had been compiled, and that material for articles on ■" Life-saving on the West Coast" had also been gathered. January 14th, 1927.—The paper of the evening was that of Professor W. N. Sage, of the University of British Columbia, on " James Douglas on the Columbia River, 1830-1849." The Chairman spoke of the regret occasioned by the resignation of Judge Howay from the Presidency of the Association. The Hon. Mr. Justice Martin presented the Association with a gavel made from the wood of the steamer " Beaver," the first steamer to traverse the waters of the Pacific Ocean. March 2nd, 1927.—The incorporation of the Association under the " Societies Act" was registered with the Registrar of Companies. April 20th, 1927.—An excursion was taken to Roche Harbour, San Juan Island, in conjunction with the Women's University Club, and a joint meeting was held there, at which the Hon. Mr. Justice Martin delivered an intensely interesting address on the occupation of the island by the British and American forces. May 6th, 1927.—Mr. Beaumont Boggs was elected President, vice Judge Howay; •Mr. V. L. Denton was elected First Vice-President; and Rev. John C. Goodfellow, Second Vice-President. Mr. John Hosie announced his resignation from the Secretaryship, and this was accepted with much regret. An illustrated paper on " The Opening of the Pacific" was read by Mr. V. L. Denton. In this he showed clearly that the development of exploration on this coast was contingent on the discoveries of Captain Cook in regard to the overcoming of the dreaded scurvy. 8 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. Mr. Hosie reported that, in the opinion of the Round-table Conference held on the question, the proper date for celebration as the birthday of British Columbia was March 11th, 1850. Mrs. M. H. Rathom's original poem on " Vancouver's Isle " was read. October 14-th, 1927.—Annual general meeting. It was decided that the address the Hon. Mr. Justice Martin had delivered at Roche Harbour on April 20th, and which ,he had since elaborated at some length, should be published as a separate memoir. The title of this memoir will be " The San Juan Arbitration: An Averted War." Major Longstaff moved a resolution to the effect that the late Captain Walbran's book, " British Columbia Place Names," be revised and brought up to date, and that this Association is the proper body to undertake this work. November 17th, 1927.—Mr. W. A. Newcombe spoke on the exploration trip made to the Queen Charlotte Islands in 1884 by Messrs. Newton Chittenden and R. Maynard. The talk was illustrated by lantern-slides made from photographs taken at the time by Mr. Maynard. The lantern was operated by Mr. A. H. Maynard, son of the Mr. Maynard referred to. December 8th, 1927.—Major H. T. Nation read a paper on the so-called " Dewdney Trail," built to enable the miners of eastern British Columbia to travel to the cbast without going into United States territory. This trail was a linking-up of several others already constructed by the Hudson's Bay Company, and was completed in 1865 to the Kootenay River, where gold-mining was in full swing. The paper was fully illustrated. January 13th, 1928.—A joint meeting was held with the Victoria and Islands Branch of the Canadian Authors' Association. Mr. C. C. Pemberton addressed the meeting on " The History of the Naming of the Strait of Juan de Fuca," with special reference to correspondence on Mrs. Barkley's journals. Slides from those in the Archives illustrated the talk. February 1st, 1928.—A dinner was tendered at the Julia Frances Tea Rooms to certain old-timers. Those honoured were: Mrs. H. Spencer Palmer, widow of one of the Royal Engineers; Mr. Jason Ovid Allard, pioneer of Fort Langley; Dr. Mark S. Wade, historian of Kamloops; Captain Robert Barkley, grandson of the discoverer of the Strait of Juan de Fuca; and Mr. Bruce McKelvie, of Vancouver, historian of the Native Sons of British Columbia. The guests were made honourable life members of the Association. Pemmican was served at this dinner by kindness of Mr. G. S. McTavish. January 31st, 1928.—A meeting was held in the Victoria High School Auditorium, addressed by Dr. M. S. Wade, of Kamloops, on " Alexander Mackenzie and his Journey to the Pacific." This lecture was the result of much painstaking research on the part of the lecturer, and was received with great approbation by the good-sized audience. October 1st, 1928.—An interesting outdoor meeting was held at Leechtown for the purpose of unveiling a cairn erected to commemorate the finding of gold there in 1864. The unveiling ceremony was performed by His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, R. Randolph Bruce, and an address recounting the story of the gold-finding was delivered by John Hosie, Provincial Archivist. Mr. Hosie also read a sonnet written for'the occasion by Donald A. Fraser. Among those present was Mrs. Fanny Faucault, of Walhachin, B.C., daughter of Peter Leech, after whom Leech River and Leechtown were named. October 26th, 1928.—Annual general meeting. The morrow being the anniversary of Captain Cook's birthday, Mr. H. S. Henderson, whose boyhood home in England was within a few miles of Captain Cook's home, gave some reminiscences of the locality, and some interesting information about the great navigator himself. Mr. Hosie read some extracts from James Strange's journal re Captain Cook, and Mr. Newcombe offered some notes concerning the fate of Cook's ships, the " Resolution " and the " Discovery." October 27th, 1928.—A ceremony took place on the steps of the Parliament Buildings commemorating the birthday of Captain Cook. His Honour Lieutenant-Governor Bruce made a brief speech appropriate to the occasion, and placed a wreath on a picture FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 9 of the celebrated seaman. The Hon. the Premier, S. F. Tolmie, also paid a glowing tribute to the memory of Cook in a very eloquent address. November 14th, 1928.—A memorial bronze tablet marking the position of the northeast bastion of old Fort Victoria, and erected by the Miller-Court Company on the wall of its office building now occupying the site, corner of Government and Bastion Streets, was unveiled by Mrs. Edward Mohun, one of Victoria's oldest pioneers. Addresses were delivered by the Hon. the Premier, S. F. Tolmie, and P. B. Fowler, for the Chamber of Commerce. President V. L. Denton presided. December 7th, 1928.—Another dinner complimentary to a number of old-timers was held at the Dominion Hotel. Those invited were Messrs. J. R. Anderson and C. E. Redfern, and Mesdames Mohun, Stannard, Butler, Carne, and Townsend. Not all of these were able to be present. Mr. Anderson, Mr. Redfern, Mrs. Stannard, and Mrs. Mohun responded to toasts with reminiscences of their early experiences. December 14th, 1928.—Mr. Frank Swannell gave an illustrated address on the route taken by Alexander Mackenzie across British Columbia in 1793. As Mr. Swannell had been at pains to go over the route personally, and make astronomical observations at the points mentioned by Mackenzie, his address was especially informative, and proved one of the most interesting ever held under the Association's auspices. February 8th, 1929.—Mr. John Hosie, Provincial Archivist, gave a paper on the little-known voyage of James Strange. Most interesting extracts from his journal were read. The paper was illustrated with slides. A resolution was passed in appreciation of two books dealing with the history of Vancouver Island. These were Mrs. N. de Bcrtrand Lugrin's " The Pioneer Women of Vancouver Island," sponsored by the Women's Canadian Club of Victoria, and Mr. A. S. Deaville's " Colonial Postage Systems and Postage Stamps of Vancouver Island and British Columbia," the latter published as a memoir by the Provincial Library. March 11th, 1929.—A banquet, presided over by President V. L. Denton, was held in the dining-room of the Hudson's Bay Store to celebrate the birthday of British Columbia. The day was the anniversary of the reading by Governor Blanshard, in 1850, of the commission appointing him Governor of Vancouver Island. Addresses were given by His Honour Lieutenant-Governor R. R. Bruce; Commander Murray, representing the Navy; Mr. G. A. Allan, representing the Hudson's Bay Company; and Sir Alfred Young, former Official Administrator of the Fiji Islands and a native son of British Columbia. Mr. J. R. Anderson, our veteran pioneer, who had shaken hands as a lad with Governor Blanshard, was also an honoured guest. March 27th, 1929.—A special meeting was called to hear a paper by Mr. F. W. Bernard, Consul for the Argentine at Vancouver. His subject was "The Relations Between Spain and England, Especially at the Time of the Explorations on the Pacific by those Nations." May 3rd, 1929.—A large audience gathered to hear Mr. Robie L. Reid, of Vancouver, speak on the subject of " The Trail of Alfred Waddington Across Canadian History." This was a splendid tribute to an almost forgotten worthy of our early times. He was one of the first proponents of a transcontinental railway. Following this, Mr. Beaumont Boggs gave an interesting account of " Amor DeCosmos," a prominent politician of old Victoria. Mrs. M. H. Rathom produced a metal key-tag from the house DeCosmos lived in and presented it to the Archives. Mr. R. T. Williams gave some interesting information on the same period in Victoria. July 19th, 1929.—A meeting was held to listen to an address by Mr. R. T. Williams, one of our honoured old-timers, on " Early Days in Victoria." Mr. Maynard showed slides illustrating old-time street scenes. At Council meetings held at intervals much business was done, and the following list will show the range of subjects covered :— Essays on the history of British Columbia, to be written by school-children. Criticisms and suggestions re Gammell's History of Canada. Cariboo Road favoured as name for new road along Fraser Canyon. 10 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. Acting as judges with the Lady Douglas Chapter of the I.O.D.E. in awarding prizes for an historical competition, 1926, among school-children. A list of 1,825 names of pioneers supplied to the Hydrographic Survey of Canada for use on maps of the coast. Monument proposed to be erected on the spot where James Douglas first landed on Vancouver Island. Proposals for the preservation of the Craigflower school-house. Contributions to the fund for erecting a monument to the son of Sir James Hector at Revelstoke. Incorporation of the Association. The historical design on the casket holding the key of Victoria. Compilation of a list of place-names on the Lower Fraser. Compilation of names of wrecks on the Vancouver Island coast. Affiliation with the Royal Society of Canada. Co-operation with the Seattle Chamber of Commerce re. commemorating the advent of Captain Grey and Captain Vancouver to Puget Sound, Trip to the historic points on San Juan Island. The preservation of the old Court-house at Richfield. Proposals to the Department of Marine and Fisheries re the revising and publishing of Captain Walbran's book, "British Columbia Coast Names." Association represented at the ceremony of unveiling memorial at Sapperton to the Royal Engineers. Celebration of the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Captain Cook. Dinners tendered to certain old-timers, The erection of a monument at Leechtown to the miners of 1864. Unveiling ceremony in connection with the tablet on the site of the north-east bastion of Fort Victoria. Banquet to celebrate the birthday of British Columbia, March 11th, 1850. HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY OF THE NORTH-WEST COAST OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA, FROM THE EARLIEST DISCOVERIES TO THE PRESENT TIME. By H. D. Parizeau. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,—Owing to the lack of time at my disposal I was unable to carry on any extensive research-work into past history. I therefore wish to apologize in advance for any gross errors that I might commit this evening. If you will permit me, I shall take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks for the valuable help our survey has received in the past, to Mr. Forsyth, Miss Russell, Mrs. Cree, and Major Longstaff. This subject of "The Hydrographic Survey of the Pacific Coast" is rather a great one to undertake, much too great for my ability as a lecturer and historian, but with your kind indulgence I will endeavour to carry you through from the earliest stage to the present time. For the sake of making this subject clearer, I have eliminated, as much as possible, all technical words, and have divided my subject into four classes of surveys which took place on the North-west Coast of British North America. In the first grade I have placed the " Discovery Surveys." By this, I mean, when an explorer approaches an unknown land, and is able to locate by means of astronomical observations, estimated distances and bearings, a land feature, such as a mountain, cape, head of land, etc. He sets such observations on his chart and reports his discoveries. After a series of similar discoveries the geographers are able to compile a chart of all these points, more or less disconnected, and giving only an approximate idea of the existing land in the immediate vicinity. The results, therefore, could only be classified as " Discovery Surveys." FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 11 The second grade of surveys to which I will draw your attention is when an explorer could approach the unknown land, at such a distance that he is able to distinguish rocks, points of land, islands, and indentations, etc., and that the weather conditions permit him to send his small boats, taking shore observations, running coast transverses, and locating a few reliable anchorages. These I will class as " Exploration Surveys." Then comes the third grade of surveys, by which the exploration surveys are carried on with great detail and precision in certain areas, where navigation in general is more interested. These surveys are generally connected with one another by means of sketch surveys. These I class as " Preliminary Surveys." The greater number of the Admiralty charts of this coast are of this nature. The fourth grade is the " Modern Survey." In this class the navigator is supplied with a chart of very minute details, which enables him to navigate his ship by day and night and under the most trying conditions. Details of the coast-line, land and water features are shown and named. The best channels are indicated and aids to navigation are plainly visible. These surveys are supplemented by " Sailing Directions" and " Notices to Mariners." I shall try, in the course of this lecture, to develop these four different surveys, and to show how they happen to be connected with the history of the North-west Coast of America. " Discovery Surveys " I have divided into two periods—the Sixteenth Century and the Eighteenth Century. Taking those of the Sixteenth Century, we have in the first place our great British navigator, Sir Francis Drake, who came to the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Magellan in 1579. Travelling in a northerly direction, he passed a great many countries of the Spanish Possessions. Proceeding northward of the Spanish territories, he travelled as far north as latitude 48° north, which is only a few miles south of Cape Flattery. From this point he travelled southward along the coast, calling this new- discovered land " New Albion." He stopped in a large harbour for fuel, provisions, and refitting. This harbour is called to-day San Francisco. This is the extent of the British discoveries of the North-west Coast of America in the Sixteenth Century. In the year 1592, or 100 years after the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, a Greek navigator by the name of Apostolos Valerianos, usually known as Juan de Fuca, and in the employ of the Spanish Navy, made the discovery of a certain strait north of latitude 48° north. His discovery was reported through a Britisher who had met him in Venice and heard his story. But like all stories reported in our papers to-day, no doubt there was a great number of omissions and exaggerations in his report of discoveries, and for 200 years practically no geographers would believe his account of the discovery of a large strait. I believe that the modern geographers have no doubt whatever that this strait is what we call to-day the Strait of Juan de Fuca, named by Captain William Barkley in 1787. These are the two large and important discoveries of the Sixteenth Century. For a period of 182 years there seems to be very little known of discoveries on the Northwest Coast of America. The discoveries of the Eighteenth Century may be divided into two large branches —those undertaken by commissioned officers of various countries and those made by the trading officers, mostly Britishers. We could further divide the discoveries of the commissioned officers, as per their nationalities, Spanish, British, and French, in the order as they have appeared on the North-west Coast of America. In the discoveries made by the Spaiiiards, the first expedition sent out to the Northwest Coast of America by the Viceroy of Mexico took place in the year 1774. The corvette " Santiago," under the command of Juan Perez, left San Bias in a northerly direction. Its mission was to discover land south of the Alaskan possessions of the Russians. On this voyage he travelled as far north as latitude 54° north, at which point he observed a cape, to which he gave the name of Santa Margareta. This point of land, as far as we can trace it to-day, is the northern extreme of Langara Island, or the northern island of the Queen Charlotte group. From this point he turned south 12 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. on his homeward run. On the way south he sighted the summits of large snow-capped mountains, to which he gave the name of San Christoval. These mountains are on the west coast of Moresby Island, of the Queen Charlotte group. Still proceeding southerly, he came into sight of low-lying land, to which he gave the name of Estevan, after Estevan Jose Martinez, his second lieutenant, and nephew of the future Viceroy of Mexico, Don Manuel Antonio Flores. Here he apparently stayed some time trading with the natives. Prevailing westerly winds prevented him from making a landing, and after a short time he resumed his journey towards San Bias. These three points are the only discoveries established by this expedition. The Spanish authorities decided to send another expedition, and accordingly, in 1775, they sent the schooner " Sonora " and a small packet; the former in command of Don Juan de Ayala and the second one under the command of Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra. The " Sonora's " pilot was Don Francisco Antonio Maurelle, who was also to act as the historian of the expedition. All their work of discovery seems to have been concentrated towards the northern district, or just south of the 60th parallel, which was the extreme of the southern discoveries and possessions of the Russians about that time. This expedition made land at the 55th parallel, and explored a large bay which they called Puerto del Baylio Bucareli. After making extensive exploration of this vicinity, they proceeded direct to San Bias, without further notice of the North-west Coast of America. Four years later, in 1779, the Spaniards made another attempt with the northern exploration, and this time they sent the frigate " Princessa," in charge of Don Ignacio Arteaga, with the frigate " Querida," under the command of Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, and Don Francisco Antonio Maurelle, this time first lieutenant, and also historian of the expedition. They carried on their discoveries in the vicinity of Puerto del Baylio Bucareli, extending their activities in an easterly direction towards what is known to-day as the entrance to Portland Inlet. On leaving this locality they landed on a small island, located north-west of Dixon Entrance, which they called San Carlos. Here they took formal possession of the country in the name of the King of Spain. This completed the discovery surveys undertaken by the Spanish Government on the North-west Coast of America. The next commissioned officer that came into fame for discoveries on this coast was the famous British seaman, the greatest navigator the world has ever known, Captain James Cook. Cook was greatly known in Eastern Canada, when at one time he was employed by the British Admiralty in making a survey of the shores of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. But one of the most remarkable hydrographic surveys made by Captain Cook was the survey of that part of the River St. Lawrence between L'lle d'Orleans and Sillery Cove in 1759. General Wolfe's transports having run up the St. Lawrence as far as the upper end of L'lle d'Orleans, Wolfe soon came to the conclusion that he could not attack Quebec from the east, north, or south, and that his only chance was by a surprise from the westward. Accordingly Captain Cook was instructed to make a thorough survey of the river under the guns of the citadel, to a safe landing to the west of the city. This survey was made under the most trying conditions, and he brought the results to the satisfaction of the expedition. The fleet, moving up past Quebec during the night, were able to effect a landing, and met the French army on the Plains of Abraham. This survey having been such a success, the British Admiralty decided to make the Hydrographic Survey a permanent branch of their service, and Captain Cook is therefore known as the father of the British Admiralty Hydrographic Survey, On the 8th of July, 1776, Captain James Cook left England on his third voyage around the world, in command of the " Resolution," accompanied by the " Discovery," in command of Commander Charles Clerke. They first sighted land in the vicinity of the 45th parallel, at about 90 miles south of the Columbia River. Proceeding in a northerly direction with continuous bad weather and contrary winds, he sighted a cape north of the 48th parallel, which he called " Cape Flattery," because he was in hopes of improvement in the weather conditions. Here he failed to see the entrance of the FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 13 reported Strait of Juan de Fuca, and strongly denied the existence of such a strait. Just about this time the weather became worse, and he had to put out to sea again, and the next land he observed was a large indentation of the coast-line, which he named King George Sound; which he changed later into Nootka Sound. He anchored his ships in a small cove on the east shore of the sound, which he called Resolution Cove, and which is at the southern extreme of Bligh Island, opposite Friendly Cove, also named by Cook, after the friendly natives that he visited in that cove. In Resolution Cove he refitted his ships, and sailed farther north on the 26th of April. He met with contrary winds as soon as he left Nootka Sound, but was able to make one more observation of a point of land, which he called Woody Point, now known as Cape Cook, the extreme west point of Vancouver Island, and from there on, the winds getting worse, he was unable to sight land until he reached Alaska, where he sighted and named Mount Edgecumbe, and farther north he named Cross Sound. Then sailing along the coast he sighted and located Cape Fairweather, from which point he carried a regular exploration survey right into the Bering Sea. The next discovery surveys along this coast were carried on by the French Government. After the war with England, 1778-83, the French Government sent a scientific expedition around the world for the immediate purpose of adding to the knowledge of world geography. This mission was entrusted to Captain Jean Francois de la Perouse, in command of the ship " La Boussole," with Captain de Langle, in command of the ship " L'Astrolabe," as his second in command. Parts of de la Perouse's instructions were to examine that portion of the North-west Coast of America that Captain Cook, through bad weather, was unable to observe during his third voyage around the world. Accordingly he made land a few miles south of Cape Fairweather, and located a harbour in a sheltered inlet, which he called " Port des Francais." He stayed here a month while he was refitting his ships. On the last day, when he sent his boat ashore to take water, part of his crew were massacred by the Indians, among them his favourite nephew, a midshipman. Upon leaving the " Port des Francais" he sailed along the coast in a southerly direction, naming the group of islands north of Dixon Entrance " lies des Espagnoles." Passing San Carlos Island, where the Spaniards had taken possession of the country in the name of the King of Spain, he observed a long and wide entrance, which he entered for some miles, but by night he decided to put out to sea again. This large entrance was an immense bay he observed. By the next morning he sighted land on the south of this large entrance, and by 6 a.m. sighted a large mountain to the eastward of the entrance. It was then the 10th of August, 1786, or eight years after Captain Cook had been on this coast. La Perouse had then observed the coast for ten days, when he had put to sea on account of bad weather, and returned on the 14th of August and sailed along the coast of what is known now as the Queen Charlotte Islands. On the 18th of August he observed a large bay, which he called " Baie de la Touche," which is probably Inskip Channel. Farther south he came to a rocky point, which he called " Cap Kerouart," now known as Cape St. James. He also named a group of large detached rocks south of this cape. From " Cap Kerouart" he came to the conclusion that he was at a point of a country similar to the California Peninsula. He rounded the cape and travelled in an easterly direction towards the mainland. The next day, August 21st, he rounded the point and saw the passage between the Queen Charlotte Islands and the islands of the main shore. On the 22nd he went across this body of water to a point south of Milbanke Sound, and observed the high mountains to the south, and named them, as well as the extreme south point of this group, " Fleurieu," now known as Cape Calvert. From here he made the north-east extreme of Vancouver Island, and checked his position with that of Captain Cook at Woody Point, and found that he only varied with the latter 4 minutes in longitude. As la Perouse had better weather conditions, and sailed closer to the coast, their differences may be due mostly to the estimated distances from the coast. 14 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. This completes the discovery surveys of the French expedition on the North-west Coast of America, and also what I have called the " Discovery Surveys" by commissioned officers. We will now review the discovery surveys made by the trading captains. Soon after Captain Cook's Third Voyage was published, several British and East Indian merchants outfitted ships to trade on the North-west Coast of America for the rich sea-otter pelts. The first of these trading-vessels was the " Sea Otter," under the command of Captain James Hanna, who arrived on this coast in the summer of 1785. He made a very quick and successful trip, and sold his furs in China. Returning next year, his trip was not so successful in fur-trading, but Captain Hanna visited several places, anchored in one large bay, north-west of Nootka, at almost the north-west extreme of Vancouver Island, which he called St. Patrick Bay, which afterwards was renamed by the Spaniards San Josef Bay. The cove he anchored and traded in he named " Sea Otter," after his own ship. From this bay Captain Hanna sailed farther north and crossed Queen Charlotte Sound, discovering the Sea Otter group, and naming Virgin and Pearl Rocks of this group. He also visited and named Smith and Fitzhugh Sounds. Besides the above, he made several other discoveries along the east coast of the mainland of British Columbia. Captain Lowrie and Captain Guise, with their vessels " Captain Cook " and " Experiment," were the next traders to be found on this coast, in 1786. And after trading at Nootka they travelled along the north-west coast of Vancouver Island. They located and named Cape Scott, the north-west extreme of Vancouver Island. In 1787 Captain Nathaniel Portlock and Captain George Dixon, both of whom were members of Captain Cook's third voyage around the world, came to this coast, the first one in command of the " King George" and the second in command of the " Queen Charlotte." They made land in the vicinity of King William's Sound, and after trading for some time in this vicinity they parted company, and Dixon sailed southward. He soon came into a large channel, which bears his name, located between the southern extreme of Alaska and the north of Graham Island. He traded with the natives off the south entrance point of this body of water, at which place he named " Cloak Bay." From this point he sailed along the west coast of this land in a southerly direction until he reached the south extreme, which he called Cape St. James. Rounding this cape and sailing in a northerly direction, he circumnavigated this group of islands, which he named Queen Charlotte Islands, after his own ship. Captain Dixon was wiser than most of these early discoverers and traders along the West Coast of America, inasmuch as he would not stop anywhere, but would keep trading with the natives, under sail or hove-to. In this way he never lost a man. He kept sailing slowly along the coast, and the Indians traded alongside in their canoes. Captain Portlock's activities and discoveries were mostly in the northern part, and in the district which Captain Cook had already investigated before him. Another very interesting trading navigator, and who is most important by his discoveries, is Captain Charles William Barkley, the commander of the " Imperial Eagle," who came to trade at Nootka in 1787. His outstanding discoveries are Barkley Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This gentleman was the first one to rediscover this last-named strait. He was so convinced that his discovery was the same strait as reported by Apostolos Valerianos that he named this strait after the original discoverer, Juan de Fuca. In 1787-88 came to this coast Captain Charles Duncan, in command of the " Princess Royal." His discovery surveys are very numerous, and in fact he has made more surveys than any of the early navigators. He discovered, navigated, and named Milbanke Sound, and various channels in the vicinity. He sailed along the east shore of Hecate Strait, and named the numerous islands on the east of this strait Princess Royal Islands, after his own ship. Only one of these islands at the present time retains this name. He surveyed several good harbours and anchorages, and they were all adopted by Captain Vancouver. The last trading captain that I intend mentioning this evening is Captain Gray, an American who traded on the North-west Coast of America from 1787 to 1792. The FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 15 following year after Captain Dixon had discovered and named the Queen Charlotte Islands, Captain Gray, not knowing that these islands had already been discovered, named them " Lady Washington," after his own ship. Captain Gray had also visited and explored many of the islands and channels of the Queen Charlotte Strait, long before Captain Vancouver circumnavigated Vancouver Island. Captain Gray was the discoverer of the Columbia River. This concludes this part of the discovery surveys, made by the trading officers of the Eighteenth Century. The first Exploration Surveys of the North-west Coast of America were carried on, first by the Spaniards, then the French, and finally the British. In 1788 the Spaniards made a serious attempt to real exploration survey in amongst the islands of Southern Alaska, the scene of their early discoveries. Don Estevan Jose Martinez was in command of " La Princessa," and Don Gonzales Lopez de Haro, as his second in command, was in charge of the " San Carlos." Both vessels sailed from San Bias for the exploration of the North-west Coast of America. It is not quite known the extent of their survey, but they explored a coast full of bays, islands, and rocks, north of Dixon Entrance. Coming south they did not stop at Nootka, but did so in the spring of 1789. In 1790, when the Spaniards were in possession of Nootka, two expeditions left Nootka for surveying purposes. One, under the command of Don Salvador Fidalgo, who with the " San Carlos," carried on his work in Southern Alaska. The other, under the command of Don Manuel Quimper, with the " Princessa Real," started the survey of the Strait of " Juan de Fuca." He examined the north coast in every detail, made the survey of Esquimalt Harbour, which he named Puerto de Cordova, his vessel being the first one to anchor in Esquimalt Harbour, on June 30th, 1790. Resuming his survey from here, he named Gonzales Point, the extreme south-east point of the Oak Bay golf- links, after his second in command, Gonzales Lopez de Haro. He also named Haro Strait after the same officer. Crossing over to the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Quimper continued his examination along the south shore of the strait, from Admiralty Inlet to Cape Flattery, where he reached Neah Bay, to the eastward of the cape. Here he landed and took possession of the country in the name of the King of Spain. In 1791 the Spanish Governor at Nootka, Don Francisco Eliza, organized another exploration survey. With himself in command of the "San Carlos," and Don Juan Maria Narvaez in command of the " Saturnina," they proceeded through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and resumed the exploration of Quimper. from the eastern end of the strait among the Gulf Islands, and carried on a thorough examination of both shores of the Strait of Georgia as far as Cape Lazo, returning to Nootka in the latter part of the summer. In the spring of 1792 two more Spanish exploration surveys were dispatched from Nootka. The corvette " Aranzazu," under the command of Don Jacinto Caamano, explored the north and east coast of the Queen Charlotte group. Starting from the north-west point of Langara Island, he sailed all along the south shore of Dixon Entrance to Rose Spit, and southerly along the east coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands; then, crossing Hecate Strait, he entered among the islands of the mainland through Browning Entrance, at the north end of Banks Island. Here he explored and named Principe Channel, Estevan, Campania, and Laredo Sounds, naming many rocks and islands, etc. From the entrance to Milbanke Sound he shaped his course for Nootka, where he met Captain Vancouver, and exchanged with him his information. The second Spanish expedition of the same year consisted of the schooner " Sutil," in command of Don Dionisio Alcala Galiano, and the schooner " Mexicana," in charge of Don Gayetano Valdes. These small vessels, of 45 tons each, started from Nootka with instructions to resume the exploration from Cape Lazo. Captain Vancouver met them on his way from Jervis Inlet to his ships, which were then anchored in Birch Bay, The Spanish vessels were at anchor north of Point Grey, off the Spanish Banks. Captain Vancouver was supplied by them with a set of charts of the previous Spanish explorations of the country, as far north as Cape Lazo. This Spanish expedition 16 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. accompanied Captain Vancouver part of the way on the exploration of the channels east of Vancouver Island. They parted company at Redonda Islands. They returned to Nootka in September and waited for the return of Captain Vancouver. These were the last of the Spanish exploration surveys of the North-west Coast of America. The French exploration surveys were very small in area, but very thorough, and until a few years ago they gave the only reliable information known of that part of the Queen Charlotte Islands from Langara Island down the west coast of Graham Island to Hippa Island. These surveys have been superseded by the modern surveys carried out by the H.M.S. " Egeria" and the C.G.S. " Lillooet" as far south as Port Louis. From this last port to Hippa Island the French survey is still in use. This French exploration was not conducted by the French Government. It was made by a French fur-trader, Captain Etienne Marchand, in command of the ship " Solide," who had as second in command Captain Chanal, who was a retired hydrog- rapher of the French Navy. Coming into Cloak Bay for the purpose of trading, and finding that the trade had been made with British vessels that had preceded them, they decided to spend the three weeks at their disposal in a hydrographic survey of that portion of the coast, and, accordingly, Captain Chanal and Louis Marchand, brother of Captain Marchand, started with small boats along the coast, surveyed from Cloak Bay to Rennell Sound, naming Otard Bay, Port Louis, and Port Chanal. The most extensive and complete exploration survey made on the North-west Coast of America was done from 1792 to 1794 by Captain George Vancouver, in command of the " Discovery," and Lieutenant William Robert Broughton, in command of the " Chatham." Coming into the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the 18th of April, 1792, Captain Vancouver made a thorough examination of every bit of the coast-line, going in and out of every cove, bay, inlet, etc., by small boat parties, staying as long as three weeks at a time away from the ships. Following closely his journal, one cannot but feel that his main interest was to find an outlet to the North-west Passage. With the exception of the east coast of Vancouver Island, from Cape Lazo to Alert Bay, very little time was expended to carry his investigations beyond the immediate vicinity of the mainland. From Cape Mudge to Nimpkish River, the full credit of discovery and survey of numerous channels, inlets, and islands is given to Captain Vancouver's party, and, as it has been well shown in Dr. Newcombe's latest work, there is no doubt whatever that Captain Vancouver was the first white man to make the circumnavigation of Vancouver Island. Captain Vancouver's first year's exploration had taken him from Cape Flattery to Bentinck Arm. After stopping a month at Nootka, in the fall of 1792, for his diplomatic mission with the Spanish authorities, he made for the Sandwich Islands for the winter. Returning the following May, he resumed his survey from Dean Channel up to the northern extreme of Prince of Wales Archipelago. Coming south in the fall, he sailed along the western coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands, observing and naming important headlands. After spending another winter in the Pacific islands, he returned in the spring of 1794, and resumed his exploration from Baranoff Island to Cook Inlet, Alaska. In the fall of that year he returned to England, prepared his charts and journal, but died on the 10th of May, 1798, before his final results were published. The work of Captain Vancouver was very reliable and thorough, and, failing better modern surveys in many places in British Columbia, his work is still the standard for navigation purposes. And now we have arrived at the period extending from 1795 to 1845 on the coast of British Columbia. As far as hydrographic surveys of any nature being undertaken during that time, and for all intents and purposes, it might as well be called the second period of the Dark Ages. A great deal of fur-trading was carried on, but very little information was given out towards the knowledge of geography or navigation, and no important discoveries were recorded. But at the end of the Eighteenth and the beginning of the Nineteenth Century a great many important discoveries and explorations FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 17 were carried out in the interior of British Columbia by the members of the North West Company. It is not the intention this evening to go into lengthy details of such inland expeditions, but merely to mention a few outstanding ones which were of importance to the development of the North-west Coast of America. In 1793 Sir Alexander Mackenzie made his way to the Pacific Ocean at Bella Coola, just a few weeks after the boat parties of Captain Vancouver had completed the survey of the head of Burke Channel. In 1805 Captains Lewis and Clarke made the mouth of the Columbia River and landed at Cape Disappointment. In 1808 Simon Fraser discovered a large river, which later was named after him. He came down this river from its sources to the sea. This large body of water enters the sea on the east shore of the Strait of Georgia, between Point Roberts and Point Grey. Captain Vancouver failed to note this important estuary. Then came, in 1810, the discovery of the sources of the Columbia River, and the descent of the Columbia River to the ocean, by David Thompson, surveyor to the North West Company. Thompson reached the mouth of the Columbia River just eight days after the sea party of John Jacob Astor had established themselves at the mouth of the Columbia, and had called their post Astoria. After these several explorations, the associates of the North West Company began to establish their fur-trading posts inland in New Caledonia and along the Columbia River. In 1821 the North West Company and the Gentlemen Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay amalgamated under the name of Hudson's Bay Company. Then began the monopoly of the fur-trading along the North-west Coast of America by the Hudson's Bay Company, with their headquarters at the mouth of the Columbia River. A chain of fur-trading posts was established along the coast. In 1831 a fort was built on the Nass River, some 30 miles up, and called Fort Simpson. This fort was removed in 1834 to McLoughlin Bay, now known as Port Simpson. In 1833 they established Fort McLoughlin on the east coast of Campbell Island, near Milbanke Sound. In 1838 they established Fort Durham, in the southern portion of Alaska. These two last posts were abandoned in 1843. In the same year Fort Victoria was established, at the south-eastern extreme of Vancouver Island, and a few years later became the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company on the North-west Coast of America, instead of Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia River. In 1849 Fort Rupert was established at the north-east end of Vancouver Island to protect the Company's coal- miners. In 1845-46 the Honourable John Gordon was sent by the British Government to report on this country in connection with the Oregon boundary dispute, and this brought about the beginning of the series of preliminary surveys. The first regular Admiralty surveying-vessel reached Victoria in 1846, when the H.M.S. " Herald " and H.M.S. " Pandora " arrived—the first under the command of Captain Henry Kellett and the second under the command of Commander James Wood. Captain Kellett surveyed the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Cape Flattery to the entrance to Haro Strait, as far north as James Island, including the following harbours and bays: Sooke, Belcher, Pedder, Victoria, and Neah. In the spring of 1848 and in the following years Captain Kellett was instructed to cruise the Bering Sea in search of the Franklin expedition, leaving Commander Wood in charge of the H.M.S. " Pandora" to complete the survey, which comprised Port San Juan and Esquimalt. In the summer of 1853 Commander James Charles Prevost, in command of the H.M.S. " Virago," made a cruise in the northern waters and around the west and north coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands. During this cruise the master of the H.M.S. " Virago," Mr. George H. Inskip, R.N., and assistants, made a survey of Houston Stewart Channel, Naden and Masset Harbours, and Port Simpson and vicinity. In 1856 Captain James Charles Prevost was appointed first British Commissioner, with Captain George Henry Richards as second British Commissioner, of the San Juan Islands Boundary Commission. In 1857 Captain Richards, in command of the H.M.S. " Plumper," began the survey over the islands and channels making the San Juan group. This dispute of the boundary lasted several years, during which time Captain Richards devoted, between 1857 to 1863, his attention to the survey of Vancouver Island and the 3 18 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. adjacent islands and main coast of British Columbia. This work was most marvellously done, in respect of speed and accuracy, in consideration for the need of that period. And up to the present time the only available navigation charts, for the whole of the west coast of Vancouver Island, with the exception of Quatsino Sound, and more than 50 per cent, of the coast of British Columbia from Point Roberts to Cape Caution, were made and surveyed by Captain Richards. In the fall of 1863 he returned to England, leaving Commander Pender to continue the survey of the northern portion of British Columbia. These surveys were carried on with the hired steamer " Beaver," and were completed in the fall of 1870. This brought to a close the preliminary surveys of British Columbia. Between 1871 and 1898 there were very few important surveys made on the Canadian Pacific Coast, with the exception of the Skeena River Sketch Survey, made, in 1877, by Commander John George Job Hamner, in command of H.M.S. " Daring." This survey was undertaken for a suitable location of a terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Besides this a few odd surveys and sketches were made by the officers of the Navy stationed at Esquimalt. In the latter part of the Nineteenth Century a wave of great development took place on the Pacific Coast, and the first cause was the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, with its western terminus at Burrard Inlet. Then at once the need of modern surveys began to be felt. The grounding of the C.P.R. steamer " Parthia " in the First Narrows of Burrard Inlet called the attention of the Canadian Government to the need of this survey. The Canadian Hydrographic Survey had already been organized in the East. The Great Lakes Survey had been established since 1882, under Commander Bolton, R.N., and in 1891 he sent his senior assistant, Mr. William J. Stewart, with a crew of five men and a surveying-gig, from Owen Sound, the Great Lakes Survey headquarters. This reminds me of an incident that was related to me by the late hydrographer about the first Canadian Survey Expedition on the Pacific Coast. He was authorized only a pulling-boat and a crew of five men to carry on the survey of Burrard Inlet from Port Moody to Point Atkinson. In carrying out this work, he was camping along the inlet from place to place as the work progressed. His final camping-ground was in the vicinity of Stanley Park, opposite the First Narrows. He found himself in great difficulty to make any progress with the work outside Prospect Point with only a pulling-boat, and on a couple of occasions he hired a small tug to take his party to and from Point Atkinson. On his return to Ottawa he was strongly reprimanded by the Deputy Minister for such an extravagant expenditure. Mr, Stewart made a remarkable survey in a very short time and under exceptionally hard circumstances. Until a year or so ago his work was still used for navigating the whole of Burrard Inlet. We have now made a more modern survey from Prospect Point to the Second Narrows. The Klondike Rush was another excitement which produced its share of modern surveys. The waters in the lower portion of the Strait of Georgia and the south-east coast of Vancouver Island were fairly well known by the local navigators, but when the gold-rush to the north came, and the extra demand for the coal of Vancouver Island, more knowledge of the dangers was needed. This time the Admiralty took a hand in the matter, and dispatched the surveying-vessel " Egeria" from the Asia Station to Esquimalt in 1898, and for the following eight years carried on an elaborated survey, on a fairly large scale, of the Gulf Islands, the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Baynes Sound, and from Cape Mudge to Queen Charlotte Strait, along the main channels. This period was followed by the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific. Early in the spring of 1906 the H.M.S. " Egeria" started the survey of Port Simpson and vicinity, and continued through Dixon Entrance, Brown and Edye Passages, and Browning Entrance, until 1910, when the Admiralty Survey Service was discontinued on the Pacific Coast. FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 19 In April, 1906, the Canadian Hydrographic Survey made a modest start on the general survey of this coast, and while the H.M.S. " Egeria " was employed in making the survey of Port Simpson as the future terminus of the Grand Trunk Pacific, Mr. G. B. Dodge, with the speaker as assistant, started the survey of Prince Rupert Harbour from a camp party. This party the next year was under the command of Commander P. C. Musgrave, with two assistants. In the fall of 1907 a permanent office of the Canadian Hydrographic Survey was established at Victoria, B.C. Later, in the spring of 1908, the surveying-vessel " Lillooet" was launched at the B.C. Marine Railway at Esquimalt. Since 1908 the C.G.S. " Lillooet" has been constantly employed along the coast, taking over in 1910, after the H.M.S. " Egeria" was sold, the entire responsibility of the Hydrographic Survey of the Pacific Coast, which, roughly, could be counted as 15,000 miles of coastline. The amount of work completed may be taken, including the work done by the Admiralty, as about 15 per cent, of the total coast-line. In concluding, I shall point out that, besides the regular survey-work, we have several other duties to perform, and among others is the naming of geographical features along the coast. Each important rock, island, creek, mountain, etc., has to be named. Besides, a great number of features, already named on this coast, have been duplicated, and it is the policy of the Department to have these names changed wherever feasible. This naming has proved to be one of our hardest subjects, in finding suitable names, and in number to satisfy the demand. I shall take this opportunity to request your Association's assistance to help us in this matter. We like, best of all names, those of pioneers and old residents, and, if at all possible, names of persons who have been directly connected with the locality in which the features are to be named. In this respect we have had a great deal of information through the courtesy of the Provincial Librarian and his staff of the Archives. I hope that your Association will be in a position to help us along in the same way. [The above paper was given at the regular quarterly meeting of the Association on January 8th, 1926. It was illustrated by a series of excellent slides.] The following synopsis and tabulation of the preceding subject is so graphic, and contains such an amount of useful historical matter with dates, that it has been deemed worthy of reproduction here:— s THE HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY OF THE NORTH-WEST COAST OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA, FROM THE EARLIEST DISCOVERIES TO THE PRESENT TIME. Classes of Surveys: Discovery; Exploration; Preliminary; Modern or Detail. ,.,. , r (Sir Francis Drake—"Golden Hind," 1579. ) Apostolos Valerianos, known as Juan de Fuca, 1592. t (1774. Juan Perez—Corvette "Santiago." 1775. Don Juan de Ayala—Schooner " Sonora." Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra—A packet. Spanish\ Don Francisco Antonio Maurelle, 1st Pilot and Historian. 1779. Don Ignacio Arteaga—Frigate " Princessa." Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra—Frigate " Querida." Don Francisco Antonio Maurelle, 1st Lieut, and Historian. Discovery Surveys 18th Century By Commissioned Officers British (1778. Captain James Cook—"Resolution." ( Commander Charles Clerke—" Discovery." ' La Boussole." p , f 1786. Captain Jean Francois de la Perouse- \ Captain de Langle—" L'Astrolabe." By Trading Officers 1785-86. Capt. James Hanna—Small brig, " Sea Otter "—Sea Otter Cove; Virgin and Pearl Rocks; Smith and Fitzhugh Sounds. 1787. Capt. Nathaniel Portlock—"King George"—Southern Alaska. Capt. George Dixon—"Queen Charlotte"—Queen Charlotte Islands. Capt. Charles William Barkley—" Imperial Eagle "—Barkley Sound and Juan de Fuca Strait. 1787-88. Capt. Charles Duncan—"Princess Royal"—Juan de Fuca; Milbanke; Port Stephens. 1787-92. Capt. Gray—" Lady Washington " and " Columbia "—Columbia River. tri S3 in n o r a I—I > w H O n > r > in in O n > H I—I O Exploration Surveys Period from 1795 to 1845- 1788. Don Estevan Jose Martinez—" La Princessa." Don Gonzales Lopez de Haro—" San Carlos." 1790. Don Salvador Fidalgo-—" San Carlos." Don Manuel Quimper—" Princessa Real." 1791. Don Francisco Eliza—" San Carlos." Don Jose Maria Narvaez—" Saturnina." 1792. Don Jacinto Caamano—" Aranzazu." Don Dionisio Alcala Galiano—" Sutil." Don Gayetano Valdes—" Mexicana." (" 1791. Captain Etienne Marchand—" Solide." \ Captain Chanal, second in command and Hydrographer. j 1792-94. Captain George Vancouver—"Discovery." \ Lieut. William Robert Broughton—" Chatham." second period of the Dark Ages, so far as Hydrographic Survey is concerned. Spanish French British Sir Alexander Mackenzie—Across the continent; Bella Coola; Dean Channel. Simon Fraser, a Canadian, explored the Fraser River from its sources to the Strait of Georgia. David Thompson, a Canadian, explored the Columbia River from its sources to the ocean. John Jacob Astor established his Fur-trading Post at Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia. Establishment of various Trading-posts in New Caledonia and along the Columbia River. 1821. Amalgamation of the North West Co. with the Hudson's Bay Co. '1831. Fort Nass, renamed Fort Simpson; removed to Port Simpson in 1834. 1833. Fort McLoughlin, abandoned in 1843. 1838. Fort Durham, abandoned in 1843. 1843. Fort Victoria. 1849. Fort Rupert. The Special Mission of Captain the Honourable John Gordon, 1845-46, Oregon Boundary. Inland Explorations H.B. Co. Forts on the Coast Preliminary Survevs 1846. Captain Henry Kellett—" Herald." Commander James Wood—" Pandora." 1853. Captain James Charles Prevost—" Virago "—George Hastings Inskip, R.N. 1856. Captain James Charles Prevost, Special Boundary Commissioner of San Juan Island. 1857-63. Captain George Henry Richards—" Plumper " and " Hecate." 11864 70. Captain Daniel Pender—"Beaver." O G H X W O > a ►d o n w w a i—i o 1/3 Period from 1871 to 1898, various unattached surveys were carried on, from time to time, by H.M. Naval Officers attached to the Station of Esquimalt. Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, with terminus at Port Moody. Parthia Shoal, First Narrows, Burrard Inlet.—Survey of English Bay, False Creek, Burrard Inlet, and Vancouver Harbour by the late W. J. Stewart, 1891. Klondike Rush, 1898. Modern Surveys H.M.S. " Egeria" 11898. From China Station—Commander M. H. Smyth, 98-99—Nanaimo Harbour; Baynes Sound ; First Narrows of Burrard Inlet. Klon- tr m c 1900-02. Commander C. H. Simpson—From Cape Mudge; Discovery Passage; Johnstone and Broughton Straits to dike . ' .' „i Malcolm Island; Nahwitti Bar; Queen Charlotte Strait triangulation; approach to Juan de Fuca Strait; Rush Sidney to Active Pass. 1903-05. Commander John Franklin Parry—Queen Charlotte Strait; Cadboro Point to Sidney; Active Pass to Na- noose and Ballenas Islands. 1906-07. Commander and Captain Learmonth—Port Simpson; Chatham Sound; Masset Harbour; Virago Sound; Naden Harbour. 1908-09. Captain John Franklin Parry—Dixon Entrance; Brown and Edye Passages; Browning Entrance, Hecate G.T.P. J J"6^'" Strait; West Coast of Graham Island. Railway (1910. Commander J. D. Nares—Malaspina Strait; northern end of Strait of Georgia. Canadian ( 1906-07. Camp parties—Prince Rupert; Skeena River. Hydro. -,' 1907. Permanent Offices in B.C. I- Survey (1908. Launching of C.G.S. " Lillooet." Final closing of the British Navy Hydrographic Survey in 1910. Entire Coastal Survey undertaken by the Canadian Government and carried on since 1910. Amount of work completed; amount yet to be undertaken. t/3 X n o r c & > X t/3 H O n > r > m m O n > I—I O FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 23 Field-work. . Tidal observation Chart-room work Office-work 1. Observation spot; determination of geographic position by latitude, longitude, and azimuth. 2. Base-line measurement. 3. Building and whitewashing of triangulation stations and intermediate marks. 4. Triangulation net observed, computed, and platted on a rough sheet. 5. Delineation of coast-line and low-water features. 6. Soundings; rowboat, motor-boat, and ship. 7. Examination of shoals, under-water rocks, and doubtful casts. 8. Sweeping for dangerous channels and for pinnacle rocks. 9. Land topography. 10. Building of aids to navigation. 1. Tide-pole, automatic gauge, and bench-mark. 2. Direction and velocity of stream. 3. Reduction of soundings to datum. 4. Determination of slack water in narrow waters. 1. Computation of triangles and geographical positions. 2. Tidal reductions. 3. Graduation of rough sheet. 4. Platting of coast-line, topography, and soundings. r 1. Naming of features. 2. Preparing a fair sheet for publication. 3. Preparing notices to mariners. 4. Preparing sailing directions. 5. Correcting proofs of engraving and publication of charts. Engraving and publishing of charts. Examples of variety of Surveys during the season of 1925 1. Sweeping of First Narrows, Burrard Inlet, Vancouver Harbour—For deep-sea navigation. 2. Sounding on a large scale the Second Narrows of Burrard Inlet—■ WW. of the City of Vancouver. 3. Survey of Burdwood Bay, Read Island—Mail service. 4. Location of dangerous rocks in Heriot Bay, Carrington Bay, and Carter Bay. 5. Large-scale survey of Chatham Channel—U.S.S. Co. and logging in dustry. \ 6. Quatsino Narrows and West Arm—Passenger and mail service and pulp-wood industry. 7. Esperanza Inlet, Queens Cove—Reduction-plant industry. 8. Caamano and Laredo Sounds and approaches—General coast charts. 9. Prince Rupert Harbour—Revision of water-front. 10. Tuck Inlet—For Naval purposes. 11. Portland Inlet—Pinnacle rock. 12. Cumshewa Inlet—Lumber and fisheries industries. 13. Powell River—Pulp and paper industries. 14. Special investigations for criminal trial- Bootlegging industry. 24 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. "VANCOUVER'S ISLE." (Dedicated to the British Columbia Historical Association in commemoration of Captain George Vancouver's Great Adventure, his entry into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and subsequent landing at Port Discovery, May 2nd, 1792.) By Jeanne Valdez (Mrs. M. H. Rathom). " Vancouver's Isle! " This goodly land, Our heritage long hallowed o'er With memories of those valiant men Who hither sped in clays of yore: From leafy lanes in England, lo! A gallant band, they sallied forth : Their world well lost, what time they dared New worlds to conquer in the North. From Plymouth, Devon, Dover, lads Courageously had ventured oft; But none ere now to Western wilds Had tacked, or reefed a sail aloft. Howbeit, loved ones left behind, Home, rural hedges, song-birds, all: To far-flung reaches, headlands fair, To fertile vale and waterfall! How brightly gleam the waters where Those proud Olympics first were scanned! Withal how marvellous the sights That meet the eye on every hand! The wild-fowl in amazement wheel; Affrighted are the natives too; Who gravely draw aloof ere gifts Of trinkets, beads, and baubles woo. The balmy winds scarce bear their ship Upon her quest: the towering trees Sweet odours waft along the shore— Ah ! this were England Overseas ! Not that we boast, but racial pride Must needs full tribute bring to bear Upon the deeds of men who oft Conquered with courage, grim despair. All honour then to those who first Bore down upon this Western main— The gallant captain and his crew, Whose country's glory was their gain. Triumphantly they held their course: Lo! heroes all. whose names be blest, In that they first unveiled for us This star of Empire in the West! Victoria, B.C., May 2nd, 1927. [The above poem, by Mrs. Rathom, was read at the regular quarterly meeting held on May 6th, 1927.] FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 25 / THE OPENING OF THE PACIFIC. By V. L. Denton. Why was the Pacific for so long a time an unknown, uncharted waste of waters? Why were the shores of the North Pacific for so long unexplored, and so visionary in their delineation? When we remember that men acquired their first knowledge of the great arc of shore-line from California to Japan little more than 200 years ago, it is again to wonder why. The purpose of this article is to attempt an answer to these queries, and to clear up some popular misconceptions as well. The first European to see the water we know to-day as the Pacific was, probably, that great Venetian, Marco Polo (1254-1324). He may even have visited the islands of Japan* on one of his diplomatic missions in the service of the great Khan. But to Marco, and those who followed him, the ocean which laved the Chinese coast was merely the western side of the Sea of Darkness; for that was the common name applied to the Atlantic by our mediaeval forebears. Columbus deemed it possible to sail due west from the Canaries and reach the shore where the great cities of Cipango and Cathaio shone resplendent in the setting sun. He died still believing that he had found the Asiatic coast. Popular fancy has showered upon Balboa the credit for the discovery of the Pacific. It is true that he crossed a narrow isthmus (1513) and from Darien's peak viewed a shining sea to the southward, the Gulf of Panama. And since it lies south of the isthmus, we have the name The Great South Sea. But could Balboat see or imagine the 12,000 miles of water which separated him from China and the Spice Islands of renown ? At that time the coast of South America had been cruised as far south as the La Plata, but in such an indefinite manner that Spain continued to send out expeditions in search of a passage through the land to the sea which Balboa had found. By 1513 men had begun to realize that new lands had been found, lands which Marco Polo had not seen. Where was Asia? Just beyond, possibly a few days' sail across the water which Balboa had seen. As late as 1541 Roberval was given a charter by Francis I. which made him Lord of Norembega, and of the lands of Canada and Hochelaga, " which form the extremity of Asia toward the west." To Magellan should go the credit for the discovery and naming of the Pacific Ocean. This bold Portuguese, sailing in the service of Spain, found the way around South America, 1519, the very year that Cortez landed at Vera Cruz and began the conquest of Mexico. Passing through his strait, Magellan sailed northward past the latitude of Valparaiso, and first gave to the world the general delineation of that southern continent. Then he struck westward, and for ninety-eight days sailed across a vast ocean; an ocean empty and void, a voyage of starvation, scurvy, and misery. When his remaining vessel, the "Trinidad," arrived in Spain (1522) it had circumnavigated the earth, and the Pacific had been discovered. The confines of Asia had been pushed back to their rightful position, and two new continents appeared, interposing their mass between the European and the goal of his desire. The vastness of the Pacific held back exploration. The ships of the sixteenth century were slow sailers; the food was poor and the scurvy decimated the crew. Here is what occurred on Magellan's ship, sixty days out from land in mid-Pacific:— V The food was almost gone. The water was yellow, thick, and stringy with unhealthy slime. They ate what they called biscuit; it was no more really than a disgusting powder, wriggling with worms and stinking of the urine of rats. . . . Then came the scurvy. . . . Each day found more men who saw in themselves the horrid symptoms they had been observing in their companions. . . . There were hardly enough well men left in any watch to handle the ship. The strong did what they could, with the weak to help them. . . . When an order was given to trim sail they stumbled to the sheets and hauled pitifully; the blood ran from the sick men's mouths, * Tlie Travels of Marco I'olo. I.ondon, 1926. pages 821—383. t Bolton & Marshall : Tlie Colonization of North America, page t A. S. Hildebrand : Magellan, page 204. 4 i 26 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. and they sank down; the rope escaped from the hands of the rest, and they struggled up, and hauled again." For the next fifty years, commerce, trade, and colonization gradually spread among the islands of the Indies, and the Portuguese built up a wonderful eastern empire by, way of the Cape of Good Hope. On the American side of the Pacific the Spaniards.r conquered Mexico and pushed their way down the coast to Peru, but no one desired to follow in Magellan's track of calamity and woe. It was not until 1577-79 that an English privateer, Sir Francis Drake, ventured his way through the famous strait and up the Peruvian coast, plundering the unsuspecting Spanish ships and settlements. Drake now sailed northward hoping to find a way through the land we now call North America. When this could not be found, he struck out from Nova Albion westward across the Pacific. When he landed at the Ladrones his men were also rotten with scurvy, and he was glad of a chance to get fresh food and water. The Pacific was still too vast a sea for the sailor of that day. Toward the end of the century one ship a year sailed from the Philippines to Mexico.* Each voyage found the crews decimated by scurvy. No stopping-places en route had been found; the Hawaiian Islands were not known. Vizcaino's expedition from Acapulco in May of 1602 explored the Bay of Monterey, but nothing was done to follow up with settlement, and the coast of Lower California remained for a century and a half a dry, dim wraith. After the defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588), and the formation of the Dutch and English East India Companies, we find a few hardy souls venturing the long voyage around South America and into the Pacific. They were mostly freebooters bent on plunder, and their voyages added little to the store of geographical knowledge of the Pacific. Thomas Cavendish (1586 88) followed in Drake's track and captured the Manila galleon, the " Santa Anna." Van Noort was the first Dutch captain to succeed in entering the Pacific by way of Magellan Strait. He too was bent on plunder, and sailed home across the Pacific (1598-1601). Spielbergen (1614-17) emulated his predecessor, Van Noort. The sixth voyage of circumnavigation was more noteworthy. Le Maire and Schouten left Holland in 1615 and rounded Cape Horn, naming it after Hoorn, the town from which their ships had sailed. Crossing the Pacific they reached Java, where the president of the Dutch East India Company confiscated their vessel and cargo, refusing to believe that they had come by any other passage than the Strait of Magellan. Le Maire died on the way home, but his father eventually proved the truth of his son's exploration, and recovered heavy damages from the company. These early entries into the Pacific were notable in that the first venture sought a trading route to the Indies, while the next four voyages sought plunder from Spain's Pacific Coast colonies in South and Central America. The last voyage sought to evade the monopoly of the Dutch East India Company, whose charter covered both the Cape of Good Hope and Magellan Strait routes. In a similar manner the monopolies granted the English East India Company thwarted private enterprise in exploration and trade. In addition, the Portuguese colony of Brazil was closed to foreign vessels that might wish to venture clown the coast of South America and round the Horn. On the Pacific coast the Spanish colonies were likewise closed to the ships of the foreigner. Spanish trade made no use of either the Magellan Strait or Cape Horn. Their vessels sailed from Panama and Acapulco along the coast, while the goods were transported overland to the Caribbean, and thence in heavily armed fleets to Spain. In fact, the Pacific became for a time a Spanish lake, and this was especially true during the period (1580-1640) when Spain dominated Portugal. On the Asiatic coast Manila became the centre of Spanish influence and effectually barred the way to the foreigner. The only explorations of any moment in the Pacific during the seventeenth century centre in the voyages of Tasman (1642) and of Dampier (1699). These voyages were undertaken eastward from the Indies; new lands and coasts were seen, but trade was lacking, and the discoveries were not followed up. During the latter half of the century the Dutch pushed their way up the coast of China, and traded as far as southern Japan, 0 Bolton & Marshall: The Colonization of North America, page 08. FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 27 thus opening up a small section of new territory. For 100 years the Pacific remained a closed sea, while Spanish initiative withered and died, and a surly, dog-in-the-manger attitude warned the inquiring away. The first exploration of moment came from the north. In 1725 Bering left St. Petersburg on his memorable dash across northern Asia. In 1728 his " Gabriel" cruised northward from Kamchatka and traced the Siberian coast to and beyond East Cape. He did not see the American shore, and was sent again, in 1741, to find that elusive continent. He sailed westward from his new base at Petropavlovsk accompanied by Chirikoff. These were the first Europeans to cross the North Pacific in our latitude, and the great bend of Alaska was rather sketchily traced from 55° N. to the Aleutian Islands, and back to Kamchatka. Again it is a tale of suffering, of little food, dwindling water-supply, and scurvy. However, valuable fur-bearing animals were found by the shattered remnants of the Bering crew while shipwrecked on the Commander Islands. This led to trade, and during the next thirty years the Russian sailors from Petropavlovsk gradually extended their trade and their stations along the Alaskan coast. The Russian Government, following the usual precept of the day, formed a monopoly of this trade. Concessions were farmed out to the highest bidder, or to court favourites; the utmost secrecy was maintained, and foreign traders were rigidly excluded from their Pacific harbours. At length news of the Russian operations reached the court of Madrid, and in 1774 we find the Viceroy of New Spain sending Juan Perez northward from Mexico on a reconnaissance voyage. Perez reached the latitude of the Queen Charlotte Islands, whose westernmost shore was seen here and there. On their return an attempt was made to land at the entrance to Nootka Sound, but a storm drove the " Santiago " away, and the expedition returned to Monterey ill with the scurvy. The next year Heceta and Quadra were sent from San Bias on a similar errand. Where were these Russians? They must find them. Heceta turned back about latitude 48° N.; but Quadra persevered as far as Norton Sound. In a very general manner the trend of the coast was noted almost to that portion seen by Bering thirty-four years before. And there the matter might have ended as far as Spain was concerned. No Russians had been seen by Quadra; no trade had been developed by these voyages to warrant Spain following them up by settlement or colonization. It remained for an Englishman, Captain James Cook, the great circumnavigator, to cruise these Pacific waters, and give to the world the first authentic account of Antarctica, as well as the first survey of the North Pacific. From his third voyage trade developed, and the Pacific Ocean cast off its age-long fetters of silence, fear, and death. Let us go back a few years. In 1768 Cook sailed for Tahiti, in the South Sea, via Cape Horn. From there he sailed westward, circumnavigated and charted New Zealand; charted the eastern coast of Australia, and returned home by way of the Cape of Good Hope. He had been absent nearly three years, and his crew had not suffered in any degree from the scurvy. His vessel had proven seaworthy and comfortable during that time. The years since 1500 had witnessed a tremendous advance in ship-construction and in seamanship. Better compasses were in use, and chronometers were becoming sufficiently accurate to be of some value on long voyages. Between the years 1772 and 1775 Captain Cook explored Antarctica. On this voyage of three years' duration no seaman was lost through scurvy; no member of the crew was laid low by this disease, and it may be said that it was the first time in the world's history that a long voyage had been made where that dread disease had not appeared. Bering lost half his crew from scurvy. Perez and Quadra returned to San Bias with only a few men able to stand and hoist the sails. On this second voyage Cook was at times 120 days without touching land, yet no sailor became ill with the scurvy. It would seem as though the voyage could have been extended indefinitely as far as that disease was concerned. It cannot be too strongly stressed that the discoveries of antiscorbutics by Captain Cook made the opening of the Pacific to trade and commerce a possibility and a fact. 28 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. Magellan's crews were ill with scurvy when they found succor at the Indies. Drake's men were in a similar condition. The crews of the expeditions which followed, whether they were down the coast of Africa, across the Indian Ocean, or round the Horn, all felt the dread scurvy. Sailors died, were wrapped in a weighted canvas, and thrown into the sea. Other sailors lay rotting and groaning in their hammocks. The few who were left to man the yards were often too weak to haul on the lines. The sails were either left to the battering of the storms, or, once down, could not be hoisted, and the voyage was thus unduly prolonged, adding further torture to the stricken men. A voyage of thirty days' duration was likely to see the scurvy appear, so that sailing- vessels sought ports at which to stop for " refreshment." This meant fresh water, fresh vegetables, fresh meat, and cleaning ship. Salt beef and biscuit were the staple sailor ration, with the beef pickled in a brine so strong that it took hours to boil the salt- encrusted mass into a condition fit only for the best of teeth. The merchants were afraid the beef might spoil, hence the thorough pickling. The sailors' ration was deficient in fats, and their bodies craved this natural food. As a result they would wait around the galley and beg, buy, or steal the fat scum which rose to the top of the boiling pot. This was, however, the very worst scorbutic. It was impregnated with salt, and soon brought on the disease. Captain Cook found, by experiment, that meats could be pickled in brine one-half as strong as the Admiralty usage required, and that they would remain perfectly wholesome and much more palatable. In addition, the danger from scurvy was lessened in a like degree. These things were not known, however, until the publication of the results of Cook's second voyage. Then, he who wished might read; he who desired might voyage for months, for years, in little danger of scurvy, and with a sound and healthy crew. Such men could handle the sails quickly in sudden storms; the vessel could wear her maximum sail; the voyage could be made safely and quickly. It did not take the merchants long to adopt these improvements which paid such handsome returns in safety, in speed, and in profits. One more point, and the tale of the open Pacific is complete. On his third voyage Captain Cook found the natives of Nootka Sound in the possession of beautiful robes of the sea-otter. On the return of the expedition from the Arctic in 1789 the vessels stopped at Macao for supplies. The Chinese merchants offered $50 to $100 gold for prime skins. One robe sometimes held three skins. The sailors and the officers brought forth their peltries, and Captain King relates that they sold $10,000 worth in a few days. It is doubtful if the whole lot had cost $100 in trade at Nootka. No one had realized their value at the time the skins had been secured from the natives. The sailors were vociferous to return to America for more; but the officers refused to turn a scientific Government expedition into a trading venture. However, the news spread, there was in fact no attempt at concealment. Merchant ships took up the quest, and the North Pacific became a fur-trader's Mecca. Trade had been opened up, the scurvy had been conquered, and vessels could now make the long voyage to the North-west Coast. They came from Macao, from Calcutta, Bombay, Boston, and London, intent on Pacific trade. And this trade they secured, much to the chagrin of the Russians and the Spaniards. In conclusion, it may be noted that Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands, which provided a convenient stopping-place for traders bound from Nootka to Macao. Some traders wintered at these islands and continued their trade along the American coast the following year. In this manner, then, the opening of the world's largest ocean to trade and commerce was forced to await a scientific discovery in the realm of medicine, a convenient stopping-place in mid-Pacific, and the location of the haunts of the sea-otter. These things were all accomplished within the space of six years by the genius of one man, Captain James Cook, R.N. It is fitting that his last resting-place should be within sight and sound of the waters which he subdued. [The above paper was read by Mr. Denton at the regular quarterly meeting held on May 6th, 1927.] FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 29 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS. As many of you are aware, the first part of what is now British Columbia to have been seen by Europeans was the north-western portion of Queen Charlotte Islands; Juan Perez, in the corvette " Santiago " in 1774, managing to get his ship within 2 miles of Langara Island. From 1786 to 1796 we have many accounts of visits made to these islands by fur-traders, who, apparently, secured the greater part of their sea-otter skins in this vicinity. At the latter date the Americans and Russians had nearly full control of the sea-otter industry, which they retained until the establishment of posts on the North-west Coast by the Hudson's Bay Company, but from the many American vessels 'trading on the coast during this period, few of their logs have come to light. Fort Simpson, first established on the Nass River, but moved to its present site in 1834, secured the majority of the Queen Charlotte Island skins. Our next important date in connection with the islands is 1851. In May of this year some Haidas brought gold to Fort Simpson, the first to be reported in British Columbia. Mr. Work immediately got a crew of Tsimshian Indians with a large canoe and set off to examine the place of discovery, which turned out to be on the west coast of the islands. He put in a few " shots," but got very little gold, and fearing trouble with the West Coast Haidas he returned to Port Simpson, from there reporting to Victoria. The following year the Hudsou"s Bay Company sent up the brig " Una," Captain Mitchell, to further the exploration, and the H.M.S. " Thetis " was dispatched to protect British interests and survey the harbours in the vicinity. Little gold was secured by this or other expeditions that quickly followed, and we have little mention of the islands, except Mr. Downie's discovery of coal in 1859, until the reports of Mr. Richardson and Mr. Dawson in the seventies were published. The latter gentleman gave us a very full description of the country from North (or Langara) Island via the north and east coasts to Cape St. James on the south, together with a detailed map of the districts visited. His reports are not only valuable to the geologist and geographer, but also for their wealth of natural history and ethnological material. In 1883 Judge Swan, representing the United States Bureau of Fisheries, visited the Queen Charlotte Islands, and cruised round Graham Island, and went south as far as the village of Tanu on the east coast. I have been able to find little of value in his reports in connection with fish or fishing on the island, but he did secure a splendid collection of ethnological material for the Smithsonian Institution. We have now come to the date of the first, and, as far as I know, only, official expedition sent out by the Provincial Government for the exploration of the Queen Charlottes. Newton H. Chittenden was in command, R. Maynard as photographer, with Indians as guides and canoemen. Mr. Maynard took many photographs on the trip north; also at Masset and Skidegate, but returned to Victoria from the latter place. These photographs, chiefly of ethnological subjects, have since proved to be very valuable to all students of the Haidas, as it was soon after this date that many of the totem-poles were destroyed by the natives and the old type of house abandoned. To return to Mr. Chittenden: He continued on his tour of the islands, going down the east coast and up the west, and making many trips inland. His published report gives us little information not to be found in Dr. Dawson's, but to those who knew him he was a wonderful " storehouse " of information, and we have to thank him for securing many of our finest pieces of Haida material in the Provincial Museum. Up till the late nineties the only whites remaining throughout the year on the islands were missionaries, one or two traders, and those in charge of the dogfish-oil works at Skidegate, and even as late as 1905 one could cruise for weeks among the southern islands without seeing another soul. [At a special meeting held on November 17th, 1927, the above brief paper formed the introductory remarks made by Mr. W. A. Newcombe to the showing of a most interesting set of slides made from photographs taken by Mr. R. Maynard during the expedition in 1884. The lantern was operated by Mr. A. H. Maynard, son of the original photographer. Mr. Newcome also made a running commentary on the slides as exhibited.] 30 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. THE DEWDNEY TRAIL. By Major H. T. Nation. In these days of rapid transit, when men and goods are transported even through the air, we are apt to forget the days when the plodding beast of burden was the best and fastest means of transport. Here in British Columbia, however, we are still in touch with transportation by pack-train and on foot through our rugged mountains and over our plains. There are many persons now living who used these means entirely in their early experiences in the country. One of the best-known routes used by the pack-train was the Dewdney Trail, and it is this that we will discuss this evening. The topography of the Province is such that the travel from cast to west is necessarily over a series of mountain ranges which themselves run north-west and south-east. This fact brings to our attention that in early days all travel was north and south along the valleys, rivers, and lakes. For the purposes of the trappers and fur-traders it was sufficient to follow these trails, and further, owing to the fact that the Hudson's Bay Company carried on their business along the Columbia River as far as the sea, the main routes were along that river to its source, and up the various branches of it and overland to the upper waters of the Fraser River. On the adjustment (by the Treaty of June 15th, 1846) of the boundary between the United States and Canada, which resulted in the 49th parallel becoming this boundary, it was necessary for the above-mentioned Company to discover routes east and west which would run entirely in British territory. The Company withdrew its establishments from the Columbia area, and settled at Fort Victoria in 1843. Arrowsmith's map of 1837, a copy of which exists in the Provincial Archives, shows the only east-west route to be that taken by Sir Alexander Mackenzie in 1792-93. In 1805 Simon Fraser came in by the Tete Jaune Pass and down the Fraser River, thus making a through trip, which, however, is said not to have quite reached the sea at the mouth of the Fraser. Alexander Caulfield Anderson, the best explorer in the employ of the Company, was detailed in 1845 to find a route over the Cascade Range which blocked the way from the coast to the interior. He examined the whole east foot-hills of the Cascades and made his way through in two or three places. The route by way of the Nicolum and Sumallo Rivers, and the head of the Skagit to the Tulameen, seemed the lowest, but the Company sent its brigades through by way of the flanks of Manson Mountain from Hope. This latter was a very rugged trail and attained an elevation of 6,000 feet. J. R. Anderson, who still lives in Victoria, came over this trail in 1850 as a boy, a son of A. C. Anderson. Another event in the progress of the Province now took place, for in 1855 two ex-servants of the Company discovered placer gold on the Columbia River at the confluence of the Pend d'Oreille River. As is usual, and as was certain in those days of placer discoveries, men came in from the south and spread along the Columbia, Kootenay, Similkameen, and Upper Fraser Rivers, following up the deposits of gold-bearing gravels in the rivers. In 1857 they found gold at the junction of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers, where Lytton now stands. This last discovery was noted officially by Governor James Douglas, and he reported it privately to England. The news got out, however, and more discoveries being made in the lower reaches of the river, the Cariboo rush began in 1858. This caused a great deal of thought to be given to the possible routes from the coast and every pass was examined, including the route by Harrison Lake and Anderson Lake. Lempriere, a Royal Engineer, one of the force which arrived from England, made a detailed survey of the Coquihalla River Pass, but reported it too rough. The old Hudson's Bay route over the Manson Mountain Trail was finally abandoned in favour of the Nicolum-Sumallo Pass to the head of the Skagit. FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 31 On February 3rd, 1858, Queen Victoria appointed a Commission to locate and monument the 49th parallel as the boundary. Lieutenant Palmer was detailed to go through from Hope to Colville on the Columbia, and he made a thorough report on this route in 1859, a copy of which is in the Archives. It having been decided that the Nicolum Pass was the best, Edgar Dewdney, an engineer who had done a lot of work for the Government, was set the task of putting this trail in good shape for the traffic of pack-trains used by the miners who were now flocking in by every means possible. A trail was cut up the Skagit as far as Ruby Creek, where some gold was found, and roughly up into British Columbia, crossing the Nicolum Trail at the head of the Skagit. Trails were cut with great difficulty through the forests on the low country between Whatcom and the Fraser River, while De Lacey tried to get through the chaos of mountains north of Mount Baker, but perished in the attempt, in 1858. In 1860 Dewdney was busy with the trail, and this resulted in a fair trail being constructed, which passed up Canyon Creek, past the Punch Bowl, a hollow at the head of the Tulameen and Skagit Rivers, around the mountains to the head of Whipsaw Creek, and down that to Vermilion Forks, now Princeton. During the building of this trail many troubles occurred among the builders, and the Royal Engineers who supervised the work, and also owing to the eagerness of the miners who pushed their way over the newly-made work, often destroying it at once. Dewdney tried to exact a toll, but could not collect it. The diversion of the trail from the Tulameen to the Whipsaw disheartened Dewdney, and he left the work soon after. Later he and Moberley took a contract, in 1861, to make the trail into a wagon-road out from Hope. The trail met a mule-track built out of Vermilion Forks, and the complete route was formed down the Similkameen River in 1865 on the old H.B.C. route. This section was improved by Howell and Dewdney, and the trail carried on over Kruger Mountain to Osoyoos Lake, called at that time So-o-yoos Lake, which it crossed at the spits. Osoyoos Lake has the record of being the lowest point on the trail between the Fraser Delta and the Rocky Mountains, the elevation being 530 feet. This part of the country is very interesting, as it is where the various boundary trails and those of the H.B.C. cross. All the trails, however, were taken round the bend of the Kettle River, at that time called Nwhoilpitku, traversing United States territory, and returning at the west end of Grand Prairie at Inshwointum. The present trail rectified this by passing over the mountains by way of Boundary Creek, McCarren Creek, and down May and July Creeks to the same west end of Grand Prairie. On leaving this open country, the trail passed Statapoosten, a point south of Christina Lake, and then by way of Big Sheep Creek to the headwaters of Trail Creek, now Rossland; down Trail Creek to the Columbia, along its right bank to Fort Shepherd, near the boundary. The Columbia was crossed here, and the mountains to the east, which had been pronounced by the boundary surveyor. Captain Darrah, to be impracticable, and the worst-isolated on the boundary, were entered by way of Salmon River and Lost Creek. Down Summit Creek the trail came to McLaughlin's Ferry at the first crossing of the Kootenay River. From the Kootenay Flats the trail entered the mountains by Goat River, found by Carnes of Big Bend fame, and down a branch of the Moyie, striking that river at the present settlement of Yahk. Here the famous trail from Walla Walla, which had been serving the East Kootenay goldfields from the southern country, was met. This was followed through St. Joseph's Prairie, now Cranbrook, to the right bank of the Kootenay River, where it terminated at Galbraith's Ferry. The miners on Wild Horse Creek built a road for themselves from the river for 5 miles. 32 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. This route just described has been familiarly called the Dewdney Trail, owing to the prominent part taken in its construction by Edgar Dewdney. The further extension of this trail through the Crowsnest Pass was not accomplished until 1879, when it was built by Peter Fernie following the activities of R. L. T. Galbraith, of Fort Steele, who was member for that district, and to whose attention it was drawn by Michael Phillipps and Woods, who first discovered coal in the pass. Fernie also built the bridge over the Elk, which is popularly supposed to be on the original Dewdney Trail, but is not. As stated before, gold was discovered on the Columbia at the mouth of the Pend d'Oreille River. It was in 1863-64 found on the Kootenay, and a flourishing settlement arose on the Wild Horse Creek diggings, called Kootenay. Hence the establishment of Galbraith's Ferry at the end of the trail. Coincidental with the determination of the International Boundary by the British and United States parties came the development of the gold-placer mines all along the boundary from Kootenay to the Tulameen River. Rock Creek was the centre of this activity, and the Gold Commissioner of that day lived there, W. Cox, and administered the mining and customs laws. His reports to Governor Douglas are preserved in the British Columbia Archives. New trails were opened up in every direction by reason of rushes to new fields, but the main lines of travel were still in use towards Fort Thompson (Kamloops), and up the Columbia to Canoe River and the pass over the Rockies. Owing to the isolation of Rock Creek area, the traffic was over the border, this being quicker and cheaper than by way of the Hope-Skagit Trail, or the Lytton Trail, which latter was previously used. It sometimes took over a month to get messages through to His Excellency at Victoria. Naturally worries over Customs and the various hold-ups incidental to the trading 6ver the border and transport of gold kept the officials very busy. An office was opened at Osoyoos Lake under Mr. Haynes. An amusing instance of the excitement of the times occurred at Boundary Creek, a settlement on the boundary, which runs into the Kettle east of Rock Creek. Here a row of houses, called a town, had arisen, and most of the buildings were used for trading-stores for getting goods, including whisky, across the border. In 1861 the surveyors on the Boundary Commission compared notes, and adjusted their findings in the matter of the exact positions of the line on the ground. Several alterations had to be made, and one of these put the line to the south of the " town," thus throwing it and its trading-goods into British territory. Commissioner Cox's reports were full of interesting matter, and some notes therefrom will be sufficient to indicate the values of gold recovered in that area. He says, on July 17th, 1861, that there were on the creek ninety-three men, four ditches, and two sluices; averaging a yield per day per man of $16; wages to hired men, $16 per day. Rufus Henry wrote that his best week, July 10th to 16th, 1861, gave him profit, four hands working, of $349. Cox relates how the " Southern Boundary Act" stopped active building operations at Rock Creek, as it forced the collection of customs upon the traders from the south. Gold was discovered then, 1861, on a creek called Riviere de L'Anse du Sable, which is now Mission Creek, at Kelowna, and Mr. Cox regretted this, as it made more trails to guard. In 1861 Rock Creek began to lose its miners, as the Nez Perce Indian Reserve was opened to prospectors, and they rushed over there. Some, however, came back, and between June and November, 1861, $83,000 was taken out of Rock Creek. The discoverer of the creek was one Baume. In exploring for the trail several parts of the Province were gone over, but left as impracticable. Jenkins in 1865 went from Grand Forks north of Christina Lake, but found it too rough. Dewdney, 1865, went up the Kootenay past what is now Nelson, and up the FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 33 lake towards Argenta, and having examined the approach to what is now Earl Grey Pass, decided that there was no passage there. Several attempts were made to get through by the Upper Similkameen, and although the various passes were examined, the original route by the Whipsaw was retained. On the decline of placer-mining in the south, and the tremendous activity in the Cariboo country, the miners left for the north, and very little was heard of the Dewdney Trail from that time. The arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885 marked the change in transportation from that on a trail to that on a railway, leaving out the intermediate step of a wagon-road across the Province, and to-day, 1929, there is no such wagon-road. The Dewdney Trail can therefore be considered, with its extension through the Crowsnest Pass, as the only transcontinental route, apart from railways, which has yet been constructed. [The above paper was read by Major Nation at a special meeting held on December 8th, 1927. The paper was illustrated by slides and by a large sketch-map drawn by Major Nation for the occasion.] DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF THE " STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA." By C. C. Pemberton. The history of the discovery, naming, and exploration of the famous " long-lost" Strait of Juan de Fuca is filled with controversies and mysteries. The publication by the Reverend Purchas, in his " Pilgrimes," in 1625, of Michael Lok's remarkable account of the exploits of the ancient Greek mariner, Apostolos Valerianos, called Juan de Fuca, gave birth to the first great controversy. There are, even to-day, those who firmly believe in the marvellous feat of the Greek mariner in sailing into the Strait and the Gulf of Georgia in 1592, and, at the same time, there are others who consider Michael Lok's relation a mere traveller's tale, or a pure fiction put forward by a job-seeker. Next comes fur-trader John Meares and his celebrated " Good Old Wife's Butter- pat Map" controversy with Dixon about the American fur-trader Gray's discovery of an immense inland sea into which the Strait of Juan de Fuca was supposed to lead. This mystery had its international aspect in the San Juan and Oregon disputes. Vancouver, by his exploration of the strait and circumnavigation of Vancouver Island in 1792, not only established the falsity of Meares's assertions about a large inland sea, but also proved the non-existence of the De Fuca or any other supposed North-west Passage in these parts. The mystery or doubt concerning the identity of the first circumnavigator of Vancouver Island was effectively solved by the late Dr. Newcombe in " The First Circumnavigation of Vancouver Island," Memoir No. 1, Archives of British Columbia. In solving this question, however, Dr. Newcombe raised another—namely, the source from which Captain Walbran had obtained information about Mrs. Barkley's account of the discovery of the famous Strait of Juan de Fuca. At page 18 of the Memoir, Dr. Newcombe, in dealing with the early sources of information regarding inner channels of the coast, refers to Mrs. Barkley's diary, and to Captain Walbran's access to it while preparing " British Columbia Place Names," and remarks that Walbran embodied much information gained from the diary in a lecture delivered before " The Natural History Society of British Columbia " early in 1901, and somewhat fully reported in the Victoria Daily Colonist of the 3rd of March of that year. Dr. Newcombe then tells of Barkley's voyage southward from Nootka 34 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. in 1787, and says that after visiting Port Cox (Clayoquot) and Barkley Sound, Barkley discovered " a large opening extending to the eastward, the entrance of which appeared to be about four leagues wide, and remained about that width as far as the eye could see, with a clear easterly horizon, which my husband immediately recognized as the long-lost Strait of Juan de Fuca, and to which we gave the name of the original discoverer, my husband placing it on his chart." In thus giving what purports to be Mrs. Barkley's account of the discovery of the strait, Dr. Newcombe uses quotation- marks, but adds this marginal note: " The author has not been able to find this reference in the transcript of Mrs. Barkley's journal in the Provincial Archives." Captain Walbran, in " British Columbia Place Names," speaking of Barkley Sound, says, at page 33: "Barkley Sound (Indian name, Nitinat), Vancouver Island. Discovered and named in 1787 by Captain Charles William Barkley, of the British trading- ship ' Imperial Eagle,' after himself "; and farther on continues : " Captain Barkley had his bride with him, a young English lady, 17 years of age, Frances Hornby Trevor. Mrs. Barkley kept an interesting journal of the voyage, and from this book the incidents narrated here are taken." Farther down on the same page Captain Walbran writes:— " From Barkley Sound the ship again proceeded eastward, and to the great astonishment of all on board, a large opening with a clear easterly horizon presented itself. The entrance appeared to be about four leagues wide and remained about that width as far as the eye could see. Barkley at once recognized it as the long-lost Strait of Juan de Fuca, the existence of which Captain Cook, in 1778, had so emphatically contradicted. Barkley placed the opening on his chart, naming it Juan de Fuca, and continued along the ocean coast to the south-eastward." In the atcount of Captain Walbran's lecture, which the Colonist published on 3rd March, 1901, he is reported as saying:— " From Barkley Sound the ' Imperial Eagle' again proceeded to the eastward, and to the great astonishment of Captain Barkley and his officers, a large opening presented itself, extending miles to the eastward with no land in sight in that direction. The entrance appeared to be about four leagues in width, and remained about that width as far as the eye could see. Captain Barkley at once recognized it as the long lost strait of Juan de Fuca, which Captain Cook had so emphatically stated did not exist." In His Honour Judge Howay's Presidential address, given at the annual meeting, in 1925, of the British Columbia Historical Association, and published in the Association's " Third Annual Report and Proceedings," he refers to Mrs. Barkley's description of the discovery of the strait as follows :— "Mrs. Barkley in her diary says, under date July, 1787: 'In the afternoon to our great astonishment, we arrived off a large opening extending to the eastward, the entrance of which appeared to be about four leagues wide, and remained about that width as far as the eye could see, with a clear easterly horizon, which my husband immediately recognized as the long-lost Strait of Juan de Fuca, and to which he gave the name of the original discoverer, my husband placing it on his chart.'" There were thus four accounts giving Mrs. Barkley's description of the discovery of the strait. Those by Dr. Newcombe and Judge Howay were, from the words " a large opening," almost identical in language, and were both marked with quotation- marks. Those supplied by Captain Walbran were not marked with quotation-marks, and varied slightly in language. At page 34 of " British Columbia Place Names," Captain Walbran refers to the fact that Mrs. Barkley accompanied her husband in the " Halcyon " on a second voyage, in 1792, and says that she "kept another interesting journal." This is the "journal," a typescript copy of which in the Provincial Archives was referred to by Dr. Newcombe. Mr. Robert B. Walkinshaw, a well-known Seattle attorney interested in North-west •history, and author of the descriptive and historical work, " On Puget Sound," recently published, and who is a frequent visitor to Victoria, accompanied the writer, in 1926, on a walk' to Gonzales Hill, read the inscription on the tablet establishing the hill an official landmark commemorative of the discovery and exploration of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and became interested in the romance and mystery surrounding the early FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 35 history of the famous strait. The writer then gave Mr. Walkinshaw a copy of the Third Annual Report of the British Columbia Historical Association, in which Judge Howay's quotation from Mrs. Barkley's journal appears. On a subsequent occasion Mr. Walkinshaw visited the Provincial Archives and read Captain Walbran's and Dr. Newcombe's references to the Barkley journal, as well as the latter's comment. Mr. Walkinshaw also read the typescript copy in the Archives of Mrs. Barkley's diary, and later, had, through the kindness of Captain Robert E. Barkley, of Westholme, Vancouver Island (Mrs. Barkley's great-grandson), opportunity of reading the diary itself. Examination of the original of the typescript copy of Mrs. Barkley's diary in the Archives proved conclusively that it did not contain an account of the discovery of the strait. On the other hand, Captain Walbran had distinctly stated in his "Place Names" that the incidents he narrated had been taken from Mrs. Barkley's journal. No original or copy of any other diary or journal kept by Mrs. Barkley could be traced, Captain Walbran's accounts of the discovery of the strait were not marked with quotation- marks, and differed in language from those supplied, in quotation-marks, by both Dr. Newcombe and Judge Howay. In view of these circumstances Mr. Walkinshaw applied to Judge Howay for the source from which the account of the discovery of the strait accredited to Mrs. Barkley in the Presidential address had been obtained. Judge Howay replied that he had never seen Mrs. Barkley's journal, but that on receipt of Mr. Walkinshaw's letter he had searched, and found " a letter from the late Captain Walbran enclosing ' Note taken from Mrs. Barkley's journal, in which reference is made to the discovery or rediscovery of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, by the " Imperial Eagle," in July, 1787'"; and that this note, signed by Captain Walbran in 1901, gave, in quotation-marks, the exact words used in the Presidential address. Judge Howay admitted that if the quotation was not in the journal " a very difficult question " would arise, and through correspondence with the writer sought to unravel the mystery. The Archives contained only the typescript of the one diary. Examination of Dr. Newcombe's notes and manuscripts, made through the kindness of his son, Mr. W. Newcombe, revealed no information as to the source of the account of the discovery of the strait quoted in Memoir No. 1. Captain Walbran's notes and manuscripts appeared not to have been preserved. Finally, Judge Howay found a letter which Captain Walbran had written to him in May, 1910, which definitely answers all questions, except, perhaps, whether the first journal referred to by Captain Walbran in the "Place Names" is in existence. Extracts from Captain Walbran's letter of May, 1910, proving the authenticity of the quoted account of Mrs. Barkley's description of the discovery of the strait, were then kindly furnished by Judge Howay to the writer, and are shown in the following copy of the letter from him :— " Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, New Westminster, B.C., " C. C. Pemberton, Esq., November 28, 1927. Victoria, B.C. "Dear Mr. Pemberton,—Renewing our conversations re Mrs. Barkley's diary, I have been looking through some old letters from Captain Walbran in the hope that I might run across his letter in which he sent me that quotation from the diary. I am glad to say that I found both the quotation and the letter itself. It is dated 5th May, 1910, and the part in question runs thus:— " ' You will be pleased to know 1 need not give you my " best recollection " of what was in Mrs. Barkley's journal as regards the discovery of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, for I have fortunately and quite unexpectedly come across some of my pencilled notes in which I have jotted down Mrs. Barkley's own words recording the " Imperial Eagle" meeting with the wide opening in the land which Captain Barkley recognized as the Strait of Juan de Fuca. I attached so little importance to the verbatim notes I was taking down, seeing that I was writing with the journal in front of me, that I have omitted the exact dates of the occurrences which took place after the ship sailed eastward from Barkley Sound. I thought that for my book a general summary of the facts 36 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. was enough. It was, however, in the afternoon of the day they sailed that the strait was fallen in with. I have much pleasure in enclosing you a copy of the note I made from the journal.' " Then he gives the note which I have published. "Later he continues: 'I never dreamt that the journal would be burnt, as I feel sure it has been, but that it would have always been in evidence, or I would have taken '.many more verbatim accounts from it than I did. It was an irreparable loss to the history of this coast as the Log which is in the possession of Judge Martin ends on the arrival of the ship on this coast. Portions of the despatch box you mention, which is .supposed to have contained the journal, were found, contents entirely consumed, after . the fire, lying near the front door on what had been the verandah of the house; the old gentleman was seen to place it there,' etc. " You might send this on to our friend in Seattle. " Yours very truly, "(Sgd.) F. W. Howay." It is a most fortunate thing that, as a result of Mr. Walkinshaw's inquiry, Judge . Howay has been able to find and produce the letter of 5th May, 1910, signed by Captain Walbran. This answers Dr. Newcombe's query; shows the source of Captain Walbran's information about the account of the discovery of the Strait of Juan de Fuca; explains why his two accounts differ from each other and from those of Judge Howay and Dr. Newcombe; gives the reason for his not using quotation-marks, and fully establishes the authenticity and accuracy of the passages Dr. Newcombe and Judge Howay had quoted. Although the terms " diary " and "journal " are applied to Mrs. Barkley's writings, the volumes were really reminiscences written in after-years, but confirmed by reference . to most authentic sources then available to her. The existing " journal " is, she states, her first reminiscence. The missing " journal," from which Captain Walbran obtained the account of the discovery and naming of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, must therefore have been a later production, and written after she had consulted letters and other authentic sources of information. Whether the missing "journal" is still in existence somewhere, or has been destroyed, remains an unsolved mystery. [The above paper was given by Mr. Pemberton at the regular quarterly meeting, held as a joint meeting with the Victoria and Islands Branch of the Canadian Authors' Association, on January 13th, 1928. Mr. Pemberton was assisted in the reading of illustrative extracts and correspondence by Donald A. Fraser.] THE SITE OF LEECHTOWN. Speech delivered by John Hosie, Provincial Archivist, at the Unveiling of the Memorial Catrn erected on the Site of Leechtown in Commemoration of the Finding of Gold there on July 17th, 1864, [The British Columbia Historical Association erected this most impressive cairn, using the stones from the ruins of the fireplace and chimney of what had been the Gold Commissioner's house in the old mining days. On October 1st, 1928, a party of sixty, members and friends, journeyed by special train on the C.N.R. line from Victoria to Leechtown for the purpose of the formal unveiling ceremony. Among them, as special guest, was Mrs. Fannie Faucault, of Walhachin, B.C., only daughter of Peter Leech, the surveyor with the party of original discoverers, after whom the river and old mining town had been named. Amid the falling rain His Honour Lieutenant-Governor R. Randolph Bruce unveiled the cairn, and Mr. Hosie delivered the following address.] Your Honour, Ladies and Gentlemen,—We meet here to-day to dwell for a little while OH a long-closed but fascinating chapter of our Island history—namely, the FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 37 discovery of gold in the Sooke and Leech Rivers on the 17th of July, 1864, the excitement following, and the mushroom birth of a considerable town, of which scarcely a vestige now remains. Prior to 1864 little had been heard of gold deposits on the Island, although desultory prospecting had been done in various accessible rivers and creeks around the coast. The coast-line, indeed, was an open book, but the interior was more or less an uncharted wilderness with locked-up mysteries in its heart. In this year (1864), at the suggestion of Governor Kennedy, several public-spirited citizens in Victoria formed themselves into a committee and organized a fund for the exploration of Vancouver Island. A considerable sum of money was raised, the Government contributing dollar for dollar. The main objectives of the exploration were the possible discovery of gold or other minerals, and the examination of the country as to its suitability for settlement. The support afforded the committee was substantial and encouraging, and soon a leader, Dr. Robert Brown, of Edinburgh, Scotland, was appointed commander of the expedition. Among the more precious relics in the Provincial Archives are the journal, accompanying notes, and numerous letters and memoranda of Dr. Brown, which provide a vast amount of curious, valuable, and interesting information respecting the operations of the expedition, which was divided into several parties. On the eve of the departure of Dr. Brown on his explorations, and apropos of what might lie ahead, he wrote this significant sentence:— " We will do our best, but I neither promise to discover prairies, nor mines, nor yet a Goschen—a land flowing with milk and honey, but I will try. We are searching for truth, and that we will find. If the Island is worth anything the sooner it is known the better; if not, make the best of what you have." Dr. Brown, you see, ladies and gentlemen, was a canny Scot, and something of a philosopher. To-day we are only concerned with one result of the expedition—the discovery of gold on the historic spot on which we now stand. Dr. Brown was not present when this discovery was made, being in the Cowichan District pursuing his investigations there, and writing his brilliant, distinctive, and sometimes ironic, diary. Before leaving Victoria he deputed Lieutenant Peter Leech to proceed to Sooke River, with the following instructions:— " You are hereby directed to take charge of the field parties of the expedition during my absence from the main body, and over it for the time being you have absolute power and authority of the direction of its movements in conformity with the general orders appended. You will proceed with the whole party with all prudent speed to the headwaters of Sooke River. Finally, trusting that you will execute this important trust in a manner which experience has shown you are capable of." I need not say that Lieutenant Leech amply justified the confidence placed in him by Commander Brown. His letters preserved in the Archives Department show that he was a most efficient, capable, and resourceful officer. He later became city engineer of Victoria, and we are honoured to-day in the presence here of his daughter, Mrs, Faucault, of Walhachin, B.C. Carrying out his instructions, he duly proceeded by vessel to Sooke, travelling up the river of that name, and on the 14th July, 1864, made the first discovery of gold on the bars of the river. In his letter of that date he states:— " I have to report for your information that we have found good indications of gold on the Sooke River at a point about six miles from the inlet and about one-quarter of a mile above the canyon shown on Mr. Whymper's sketch which I forward along with this note. The parcels which are enclosed contain the prospects obtained by Mr. Foley. Number 1 contains the result of 15 pans; number 2 contains the result of 2 pans. Mr. Foley estimates the result about 2 cents to the pan, the highest estimate being about 25 cents to the pan." Another excerpt is as follows:— " A discovery which I have to communicate is the finding of gold on one of the forks of the Sooke River about 10 miles from the sea in a straight line, and in a 38 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. locality never hitherto reached by white men, and in all probability never even by natives. The lowest prospect obtained was 3 cents to the pan; the highest, one dollar to the pan, and work like that with the rocker would yield what you can better calculate than I can, and the development of which with what results you can imagine. The diggings extend for fully 25 miles, and would give employment to more than 4,000 men. Many of the claims would take 8 to 10 men to work them. The diggings could be wrought with great facility by fluming to the stream. The country abounds with game and the honest miner need never fear but that he could find food without much trouble. The whole value of the diggings cannot be easily overestimated. The gold will speak for itself." The reference to the forks means the ground upon which we are now standing, as the Leech was then known as a branch of the Sooke. Immediately following Leech's discovery and his closer examination of the larger tributary on our right, the name " Leech " was bestowed upon the latter by a party headed by Ronald McDonald, in honour of the discoverer. Just as soon as the news of the discovery of gold reached Victoria and publicity given in the Colonist newspaper, men began to flock out in considerable numbers. Not only did they flock from Victoria, but according to Dr. Robert Brown, who was in the Nanaimo District at the time, there was a miniature stampede from Nanaimo, and even a number of Brown's party and Leech's own party showed a disposition to disengage themselves from their official duties to follow the lure of the precious metal. Leech had the greatest difficulty in retaining the services of certain members of his party-— Foley in particular. During the rush from Victoria to the Sooke mines, a celebrated local punster asked why Victoria resembled a female foundling. The answer was that she was entirely " for-Sooke." May I here mention the name of an artist of renown who accompanied Leech in his explorations—Frederic Whymper, known far and wide as a water-colour artist whose paintings exhibited great delicacy and charm. Some of his original sketches are preserved in the Provincial Archives, but hundreds executed on Vancouver Island have disappeared. It is gratifying to record that Whymper's name has now been commemorated, a lake north of Campbell River having received his name this year. Leech's instructions did not permit him to remain many days in this vicinity. Having thoroughly examined the banks of the Sooke and Leech Rivers, and sent in his reports, he proceeded northward to Sooke Lake; thence to Cowichan, the Nitinat country, and Alberni. It soon became necessary to provide suitable trail accommodation from the mouth of the Sooke River and also from Goldstream for the convenience of prospectors making for the scene of the gold discoveries. The authorities in Victoria were greatly excited over what appeared to them to be another El Dorado. The first parties travelled by steamer to Sooke Harbour, thence following the river to the claims. A trail, which presently became a wagon-road, was constructed from Sooke Harbour up Sooke River to its junction with the Leech, and almost immediately a similar trail was made over the Goldstream Mountains to Wolf Creek, and down Wolf Creek to its confluence with the Sooke. Great numbers of men of all ages staggered over these rough trails carrying their impedimenta. In the course of a month a small town had arisen on Kennedy Flat, in this immediate neighbourhood. It was at first a town of tents, but presently log houses arose, and a number of stores, saloons, hotels, etc., were erected. Within six weeks' time six general stores, groceries, and three hotels were operating. The townsite was surveyed into lots in September, 1864, and about thirty-one lots were put up for sale at the land office in Victoria on October 3rd at the upset price of $100 per parcel. A very busy man was Richard Golledge. who was sent out by the Government as Gold Commissioner. Mr. Golledge's letters reflected something of the excitement among the miners, and the difficulty incidental to keeping calm such a community. Nevertheless, he reports that as a whole the miners were exceedingly well-behaved. The staking of claims proceeded with a rush and Golledge was overwhelmed. His FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 39 reports show that in August and September, 1864, considerable quantities of gold were extracted from all bars on both rivers. Individual nuggets to the value of as high as $75 were taken out. By November 9th, 1864, four months after the discovery of gold, some 1,200 miners were at work, and at December 10th, 1864, $2,690 had been collected for miners' licences. Also at November 9th, 1864, according to Magistrate Foster, of Sooke, there were no fewer than thirty premises licensed for the sale of alcoholic liquors. A year ago the Provincial Archives were enriched by the addition of a number of photographs of the gold diggings here. In those first hectic days these photographs were transmitted by Governor Kennedy to the Secretary of State for the Colonies in London. They are of the very greatest interest and show better than anything else the method of work and the rough-and-tumble conditions obtaining. The Gold Commissioner's quarters, which included the Court-house and Police Station, was a substantial log structure where Mr. Golledge officiated and kept his records. He was provided with a safe, firearms, and other conveniences. The site was designated in official records as Kennedy Junction or Kennedy Flat, after His Excellency, Governor Kennedy. Some thirty large trees were removed to make room for the buildings, leaving an open space in front. The buildings were erected in November and December, 1864. Prior to this Mr. Golledge transacted his business in a tent. Alas for the condition of " Government House" to-day! That no effort was made to preserve it is somewhat of a reflection on public sentiment. Doubtless had the Historical Association come into being earlier, steps would have been taken to preserve the last surviving relic of the old town. In addition to the Government offices, we have here in front of us two tangible, living memorials of the Leechtown of old in the shape of two apple-trees, now hoary, but still alive and bearing fruit. Their persistence in the circumstances is remarkable. They were planted by Governor Kennedy and his daughter on the occasion of their visit of inspection to the goldfields in the spring of 1865. As to the complete disappearance of the town, which boasted some substantial buildings—years after the gold had petered out and the town became deserted, the place was swept by fire. Now Mother Nature has resumed her sway and taken the site back into her bosom again. I will not delay you further, other than to state that with regard to the amount of gold taken from this vicinity there are differences of opinion. Dawson in his report estimates that in the years 1864-66 the amount taken out did not exceed $200,000. Most of the gold was obtained half-way up the Leech between Kennedy Flat and the North Fork. We know, however, that a vast amount was taken out irregularly of which there is no record. Although prospecting still goes on, it would appear that the once rich river-bed is exhausted. In his 1877 report Dawson says this:— " There is little doubt but that some rich spots still exist in the neighbourhood of Leech River, but they must be quite limited, and from the nature of the country hard to find. I am told that in most cases the miners were content to go no lower in the bed of the Leech than the surface of the cement, which in some places passes completely under it. In this case it is highly probable that an auriferous horizon at least equally rich with the upper exists on the surface of the true bed rock." Since Dawson wrote the foregoing, hydraulic plants have operated from time to time, but with little success. Whether the Leech will ever come into its own again, whether, as has been suggested, the surface has only been scratched, and whether with the employment of new methods the Leech might not be successfully exploited, we are not competent to say. Reverting to the object of the expedition in 1864, the practical reward to individuals for the discovery of gold consisted as follows: Commander Brown, $400; Lieutenant Leech, $200; Whymper, the artist, $175; John Buttle (who discovered Buttle Lake), $150. The old mushroom mining town has gone, but the poetry and romance and glamour of it remains, and to-day we wish to pay our respects to the memory of the men who explored this area and for a brief spell made the wilderness resound with their labours, 40 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. [At the conclusion of his remarks Mr. Hosie then read the following sonnet which had been composed for the occasion.] LEECHTOWN, 1864-1928. By Donald A. Fraser. Here thronged tense hearts and hands in search of gold! And gold they found! Like magic, in a day, Uprose a flimsy town, grim, gaunt, but gay, And all-sufficient those stern lives to hold; But Fortune's smile soon, Ah, too soon, grew cold; Fickle and false she fluttered on her way; Faded the gleam, and those she did betray Passed on, and left all things to Moth and Mould. Yet can they live again through Memory! For lust and lure of yellow gold are still All-powerful to tempt Humanity, And at their tale our hearts must throb and thrill. That Memory may call in clearer tones, We here to-day uprear these speaking stones! MACKENZIE'S EXPEDITION TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1793. By F. C. Swannell. There has of late been a great revival of interest in Mackenzie and his wonderful journey. This interest, it is gratifying to surveyors to note, has been powerfully inspired by the location by one of ourselves, Captain R. P. Bishop, of the actual spot marking the westerly termination of Mackenzie's journey. This is the famous rock, upon which, as every Canadian school-boy knows, or should know, Mackenzie wrote with a mixture of vermilion and melted grease his memorable inscription:— " ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, FROM CANADA, BY LAND, THE TWENTY-SECOND OF JULY, ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND NINETY-THREE." This marks the first crossing by a European of the main continent of North America, north of Mexico, and antedates the arrival of the Lewis and Clarke expedition to the mouth of the Columbia by twelve years. As to Mackenzie's actual route, his experiences, description of the country and Indians, I shall say little. For those interested, his own journal is available in a reprint, and there have been published in the last year no less than three books exclusively devoted to Mackenzie, his life and travels. His own journal, although written in a matter-of-fact and rather bald style—for he seldom rises to flights of rhetoric—is nevertheless most interesting, especially to those who have retraced part of his route as I have. Like us, he takes much of the hardship and danger as part of the day's routine, and never dreams of " laying it on thick " for the benefit of his town-bred readers. His biographers, although they have accumulated a mass of information as to his early and subsequent career, have, in describing his actual exploration, perforce only embroidered and expanded his own unpretentious narrative. Much of his route is still very imperfectly mapped, so that their well-meant efforts to lay it down on present- day maps, with no first-hand knowledge of the actual country, has resulted in many errors. I do not propose, however, in this paper to criticize, but rather to study his expedition from a totally different angle. Following Mr. Bishop's example, we will endeavour FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 41 to deal with this matter from the point of view of the practical surveyor. What equipment and instruments did he have? How was he provisioned? And, especially, what was the accuracy of this, the first track-survey west of the Rockies? Before doing this we shall briefly run over the actual trip. Mackenzie left his winter quarters at Forks Fort, on the Peace River, May 9th, 1793. On the 31st he reached the junction of the Finlay and Parsnip Rivers, ascended the latter, and commenced, on June 12th, to portage across to the Fraser waters, wrecking his canoe a few days later on the Bad River. He continued down the Fraser to a little below the present Alexandria. He turned back up-stream on June 23rd, and on the 4th of July, having cached his canoe a few miles above the Blackwater, started overland for the Pacific, all hands " back-packing." Reaching the Bella Coola River on July 17th, he obtained canoes, and on July 22nd, on Dean Channel, having fixed his position for latitude and longitude, he started on his return trip. Travelling, as always, at top speed, he was back at Forks Fort on August 24th, 1793. His actual mileage is almost unbelievable expressed in terms of days' travel. Going westward, groping more or less blindly forward for the best route, he travelled in seventy-four days about 1.200 miles, 940 of which were by water and 260 "backpacking " overland; the average clay's travel both for land and water being about 20 miles, if one allows for the delay trail-cutting and portaging at the Rocky Mountain Canyon and over the Parsnip-Fraser Divide. He lost more time conferring and negotiating with Indians, and, when his canoe got beyond patching, in building a new one. The real test of his ability to travel is the return trip over a known route and less heavily burdened, he having left caches behind to secure his return. On foot, from Friendly Village, on the Bella Coola, to the Fraser, he averaged 25 miles per day. The 860 miles by water was made in twenty-four days, including the portages, an average of 36 miles a day. (The extra water mileage in the out trip being due to his descending the Fraser to Alexandria and having to back up.) Mackenzie's party consisted of ten men, all told—himself, his lieutenant, Alexander Mackay, six French-Canadian voyageurs, and two Indian hunters and interpreters. Upon the French-Canadians the bulk of the hard work devolved. It was they who paddled, poled, and lined the canoe, and they each started on the overland dash with a 90-lb. pack, plus their weapons. The Indians were very dissatisfied with 50-lb. packs, and in the canoe did nothing. Not only did Mackenzie drive his men hard, he worked them long hours. From daylight to dark, day in and day out, Sunday and all, was the rule unless the weather were too bad. Repeatedly in his journal phrases occur like: "At a quarter past three in the morning we continued our journey—we landed at seven, which was our usual hour of encampment." He, however, was only following the usual custom of the fur-traders. To get the fur-brigade out and the trading-goods into the interior posts all within the space of the short northern summer, it was necessary to have the brigades travel almost night and day. Twenty hours a day was not unusual. The party of ten left Forks Fort in a birch-bark canoe, into which 3,000 lb., deadweight, of provisions, arms, ammunition, presents, and dunnage was stowed. The canoe was 25 feet long inboard, 4 feet 9 inches beam, and 26 inches hold. Four 3-inch poles, called the " grand-perch," were laid lengthwise in the bottom of the canoe to distribute the weight of the lading; and probably, as in the French freighting-canoes, .a long, thin, narrow board ran from bow to stem in lieu of a keel, to protect the fragile bark bottom when running ashore in shallow water. Each canoeman, besides his .paddle, had an iron-shod "setting-pole," 10 feet long; the towing-line was 70 fathoms in length. The equipment which normally went with such a canoe would be two oilcloth covers, a sail, an axe, a kettle, a sponge for bailing, and bark gum and spruce fibres for repairs. Mackenzie had a tent for himself, but the men at best but a fly. Each man had a gun, powder-horn, knife, and axe; Mackenzie a brace of pistols and a sword or hanger. The 3,000-lb. load, I figure, would be made up of about 2,000 lb. provisions; 270 lb. in presents; arms and ammunition, 280 lb.; and dunnage, 250 lb. Various sundries, 42 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. including Mackenzie's instruments and moose-hide for making moccasins, would account for the remaining 200 lb. Mackenzie evidently figured on a three-months' trip, and provisioned on that basis, expecting to supplement the ration with game and fish en route. The mainstay was pemmican in 90-lb. bags (a 90-lb. package technically known as a " piece," being the unit of weight in fur-trade transport). Probably he started with 16 "pieces" of pemmican, the remainder of his provision consisting of Indian corn, flour, wild rice, and " luxuries," sugar, salt, and pepper. Nowhere does he mention tea. Last, but not least, was the rum. The phrase in his journal, " rum and other necessary articles," shows its importance in his eyes. How much he took we do not know, but he turned an empty keg adrift, enclosing a letter, when twenty days out. Assuming it to be a 5-gallon keg, this would give a ration of Y-, pint per man a day. His cache near the Blackwater contained a bag of pemmican, two bags of wild rice, a gallon keg of gunpowder, two bags of maize, and a bale of merchandise. From then on he had scant need of a cook. " It was determined that we should content ourselves with two meals a day, which were regulated without difficulty, as our provisions did not require the ceremony of cooking." What he describes as a substantial and not unpleasant dish was made by boiling dried and pounded fish-roes in water, and thickening with a little flour and grease. While on the subject of rations, one might add that at this period the voyageur in the East received for twenty-four hours simply and solely a quart of Indian corn. This was boiled into a mush and 2 oz. of melted suet and a pinch of salt added. Mackenzie comments that it " is not sufficiently heartening." At Fort Chipewyan the winter ration was 8 lb. dried fish. An army officer who planned a similar exploration to Mackenzie's in 1790 gives what may be styled a well-balanced ration—namely, 16 oz. hard tack, 1 lb. meat, and 1 pint rum, per diem. This diet at least " sufficiently heartening "! We have a contemporary list of the instruments considered necessary on an exploration such as Mackenzie's. They are as follows: A transit instrument, a timepiece, a refracting telescope powerful enough to observe Jupiter's satellites, a thermometer, barometer, and an azimuth-theodolite. Mackenzie had far fewer, merely a compass, a sextant, a chronometer of sorts, and a large telescope. His thermometer he had broken during the winter. The compass he used for taking rough bearings of his estimated course on the waterways. Probably it was not graduated in degrees, for his field-notes are in this form: " South-west by west three-quarters of a mile, south- south-east one mile." He states that in plotting the variation must be considered. The sextant was of an obsolete pattern, for on June 22nd he could not shoot the sun, finding its altitude too great for his instrument. He carried mercury for use as an artificial horizon. His chronometer he calls an " achrometer " or elsewhere " aerometer," a word that is not found in the dictionary in this sense. Possibly it is a subtle Scotch joke which has missed fire for 135 years; the prefix being a Greek derivative emphasizing the lack of value of his watch as a time-keeper. With this watch he was endeavouring to carry Greenwich time, or rather the longitude of Forks Fort which he had observed for during the winter. Unfortunately he let it run down on July 7th, the first time he had committed such an act of negligence since leaving Fort Chipewyan the previous year. Its rate, at Forks Fort, he found to be slow twenty-two seconds in twenty-four hours. The first edition of Mackenzie's journal, published in London in 1801, contains the first map ever made of the area now British Columbia. It shows the coast as laid down by Captain Vancouver and the plot of Mackenzie's own route. To test his survey I enlarged his map to the scale of the present-day one and superimposed one on the other. The greatest mistake, of course, is that he confused his Tacoutche Tesse (the Fraser River) with the Columbia. Vancouver himself quite inexplicably failed to chart the mouth of the Fraser, and Mackenzie quite naturally, therefore, dotted his river southward to connect with the mouth of the Columbia. As to his own travelled route, his greatest errors are in longitude, as may be expected, in view of his method of obtaining it. Yet even here we must credit him with being an exceptionally expert FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 43 observer. Forks Fort, as laid down by him, is only ten minutes too far west. The greatest discrepancy is at Finlay Junction, which he places 50 miles too far east, and the Bad River Portage, 40 miles too far east. The main Fraser he usually has within 10 miles of its true position. All his longitudes were obtained from observations on Jupiter's satellites, with a final check on to Vancouver's chart, the longitudes of which were in themselves in error. To emphasize Mackenzie's ability as an observer, Captain Bishop notes that Vancouver's determination of the longitude of Nootka differed from that of Cook by twenty minutes of arc. Vancouver and Cook each had the best instruments available at the time, in striking contrast to Mackenzie's indifferent watch and telescope of too low power. I quote verbatim from Bishop:— " It is found that Vancouver, in fixing the longitude of Monterey, used 199 sets of lunar distances, of six observations each. The 199 sets are divided into twenty-one groups of sets, and the average error of each group, compared with the mean result, is \2y2'. Of these twenty-one groups of sets, one is 28' 40" in error, and another 27' 11", so that certain individual sets are probably well over 30 minutes or 21 miles in error." Mackenzie's latitudes, determined from meridian altitudes of the sun, are, with one or two exceptions, only subject to an error of about a mile. Being delayed four days on an island in the Fraser while his men were building the new canoe, he obtained the following values for the latitude of the place: 53° 02' 32", 03' 07", 03' 17", and 03' 32". Unfortunately Mackenzie mistrusted his own ability as an observer, and placed too much reliance on his estimates of distance and direction. He was too honest to "fudge" his notes, so that by comparing his recorded latitudes and longitudes with his map it is evident he tried to shift these so as to agree with his overestimate of distance. The Parsnip-Fraser Divide he shows 15 miles east of his journal longitude, which itself was 25 miles east of the true position. The actual land route from the Fraser to the Dean River Crossing is in general direction close to a straight line. For his directions here he seems to have depended on the sun, and there being many cloudy days he erred in his sense of direction, several days' march on his plot being 30° off for bearing. In one place, obtaining a meridian altitude after missing a couple of days, he remarks with astonishment that he was not so far south as his dead reckoning had led him to expect, yet in constructing the map he gave more value to the latter. I will conclude by merely remarking that it is needless to eulogize his powers of organization, determination, and tact in dealing with the Indians. That he accomplished all he did in one short summer, and brought every man back safely, speaks in itself for all this. His men he worked unmercifully, for they were in his eyes only the means to an end. His observation was acute and accurate. It is only to be regretted that there is not more real human interest in his narrative, or even a saving glint of humour. We would like to know more about those hard-working canoemen of his, and of Mackay, whom we can only surmise to have been the same Mackay who lost his life in the Tonquin Massacre in 1811. [The above paper was given at a special meeting held on December 14th, 1928, and was illustrated by excellent views taken by Mr. Swannell.] JAMES CHARLES STUART STRANGE AND HIS EXPEDITION TO THE NORTH-WEST COAST OF AMERICA IN 1786. By John Hosie. Scattered through histories of the Pacific North-west Coast are the briefest references to James Strange, a man to whose genius and achievements justice has by no means been done. He is generally and incorrectly referred to as the supercargo on the fur-trading expedition consisting of the ships " Captain Cook " and " The Experiment," commanded respectively by Captains Laurie and Guise. Strange was no supercargo. 44 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. He was the instigator, the inspiration, the soul of the whole ill-fated expedition, from its inception in 1786 to its conclusion in 1787. Who was James Strange, and what are the facts concerning his voyage to this coast? James Charles Stuart Strange (he had for godfather no less a personage than the young Chevalier, the romantic Prince Charlie) was the elder son of Sir Robert Strange, famous Scottish engraver, and was born on August 8th, 1753. His family was noted for its adherence to the Stuart cause, and after the Forty-five Rebellion, Strange, senior, although not attainted, sought refuge on the Continent of Europe. He afterwards achieved continental fame as an engraver, and on returning to England was knighted by the King of England, whom, however, he cordially disliked. Of James as a child we have some delightful pictures from the pen of his gifted mother, a Scots lady of the old school. When he was 6 years old she wrote : " My little Jamie was put into breeches last Sunday. He looks most charming; when we went to the park everybody called him the young Chevalier!" Again, writing of her three children, she expresses the hope: " God make them all good, for you see I make them all bonny." Later: " There is a youthful giddiness in him that is not in Andrew, yet one cannot help admiring it. Jamie I wished for, and hitherto he is all I could wish for, were I to wish again." Whilst James was absent at school she was alarmed over his attachment to dancing: " Pray remonstrate against Jamie's dancing on the stage, for I can perceive there is such an intention. Such a degree of dancing is only fit for a dancing-master and not for a gentleman." Writing of her offspring in 17b3, she says: " My children, from the oldest to the youngest, love me, and fear me as sinners dread death; my look is a law." Such was the mother of James Strange. The family lived much in London, with occasional excursions to Scotland. As a small boy he had the heart-rending .experience of being kidnapped in the City of London, and was missing for several days. His recovery was a very miraculous thing. While being carried across London Bridge by his kidnapper in a basket, the distressed child saw a gentleman whom he knew, and frantically called out his name. The latter did not at first recognize him, on account of the child's curly locks having been removed, but a second look satisfied the man that it was indeed young Jamie Strange, and he was fortunately able to rescue him. Short and fair, Strange was an uncommonly handsome youth, and grew into fine, dignified, upstanding manhood. There are many notices of " Jamie " scattered through the printed correspondence of his parents and his uncle, Andrew Lumisden, private secretary to the exiled Prince Charles Edward Stuart. He was educated with a view to entering the Indian Civil Service, in which he obtained an appointment through the interest of his kinsman, Sir Laurence Dundas. (It is a most singular coincidence that it was the grandson of James Strange, the Rev. Robert J. Dundas. who accompanied Bishop Hills as missionary-chaplain to Vancouver Island, reaching Victoria on January 6th, 1860, and became the first rector of St. John's Church, 1860-65.) Strange was articled as a " writer " under the secretary in the military department in the Honourable the East India Company's service at Madras, July 22nd, 1773, where he remained for several years. In November, 1776, he was appointed Under-Searcher of the Sea-gate, and likewise, in 1777, contractor for supplying the Company and the inhabitants with bricks and chunam. In 1780 he was permitted to proceed to England for the recovery of his health. It was in 1785, while on furlough in England, that, having read the account of Captain Cook's voyage in 1778 to the North-west Coast of America, Strange was impressed with the possibilities of the region as a new field for profitable trade. We are not informed by Strange as to whether he was conversant with the existing maps of the North Pacific seaboard, other than those of Captain Cook. We may infer that, being a man of culture and a reader. Strange would he familiar with the results of Spanish and Russian and French maritime explorations on the coast. With him in his ship's library he carried a copy of Coxe's "Russian Discoveries," from which fact we may further safely assume that he had carefully paved the way for his voyage by a consultation of all existing material in the form of printed books, maps, and charts which would in any way assist him in his enterprise. Unquestionably his most valuable aid would be Cook's atlas; but we can picture him, nevertheless, poring over the FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 45 fantastic, highly-coloured maps of an earlier date, including that of the imaginative De Fonte (whose strait he claims to have later seen), and doubtless the names of Drake, Maldonado, Juan de Fuca. Bering, Perez, Quadra, and Maurelle were more than mere names to so serious-minded an inquirer. Accordingly, on his return to Madras, he placed before the Directors of the East India Company a lengthy memorandum containing his very practical "Outlines" (as he called them) for outfitting a trading expedition to the North-west Coast of America. The expedition was to be financed jointly by Strange and his friend David Scott, merchant, another East India Company servant. Strange's share amounted to £10,000 sterling, borrowed apparently from Scott, but it is doubtful whether the venture could have been undertaken without the practical support and assistance of the East India Company, who furnished men, supplies, guns, and ammunition. James Charles Stuart Strange sailed from Bombay in command of his commercial expedition to the North-west Coast of America on December 8th. 1785. On January 1st, 1786, he bore away from Cochin, " From which." states he, " I date the commencement of this Journal, together with a thousand cares and anxieties, which of course must be incidental to my situation in this voyage. That general benefits have arisen, and will again arise from hitherto unattempted voyages, is a fact that will be readily admitted. If the present undertaking fortunately succeeds. I may thus early venture to say that it bids fair, not only to be interesting to individuals, but also to the public at large. It has for its object not only that great source of national strength, Commerce, but points likewise to discovery. A very extensive navigation, through a considerable unexplored part of the Pacific Ocean, will, I trust, crown it with success in that point of view; and in that hope I embark on it full of expectation." Upon leaving the coast. Strange, sailing on " The Experiment," determined to alter the route of the voyage. His original intention was to purchase cargoes of certain commodities at Malabar, from thence to proceed to China to dispose of the same en route to the North-west Coast of America. He failed, however, to procure the needed cargoes on the Malabar Coast. He therefore abandoned the idea of proceeding to China, and decided to go to Batavia, where he hoped to procure everything requisite for the voyage, including articles for barter with the Indians of the North-west Coast. Strange anchored in Batavia Roads on January 29th, where, in spite of the " unwholesomeness " of the place, he remained for ten days, during which time " all his wants were at length satisfied." Strange's first night on land was spent in a tavern bed from which, he was blandly informed by an English gentleman next morning, no fewer than seven corpses had been carried during the previous few weeks! Strange slept no more in that bed, but, as he quaintly puts it, " took up my lodging upon a billiard table, which I continued in possession of until my departure." The expedition left Batavia all in good health and high spirits, and flushed with the hopes of a speedy and prosperous passage to North America. By February 10th he was heading for Java and Borneo and the Straits of Macassar. On February 17th both vessels ran aground almost simultaneously in the straits. The " Captain Cook " floated off with the tide and the aid of her sails, but many days passed before " The Experiment" could be floated off, her extensive damages repaired, and the vessel made seaworthy again. The health of Strange and his officers and men suffered severely during this period, chiefly from fever, ague, and scurvy. Strange dwells feelingly upon the lack of " Sour Crout, Portable Soup and Malt—which experience has pointed out as essentially requisite in order to ward off that dreadful distemper in voyages of any duration." Of the long ocean passage Strange (June 20th, 1786) writes:— " The Tract was unfrequented in which we crossed the Pacifick, and I hoped might have been productive of novelty; to my infinite regret, however, it proved otherwise. It is probable, I think, the immortal Navigator who proceeded us in this voyage, has left little to be done in this respect by after followers." He confesses the agitation felt not only by himself, but by every man on board the vesst'ls, on their near approach to land. 46 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. " If, on making the Coast, I had found the Field Preoccupied, I confess such an Event would have called forth an Exertion of all my Philosophy, in Order to suppress with becoming fortitude, the Keenness of the regret which I should have experienced on the Occasion. I had other reasons for wishing a fortunate and speedy Land fall, and which I declare, pressed on my mind, in a manner more forcibly, than those which were excited by self interested motives, had the present prosperous Gale with which we were now blessed, failled us, and that in Consequence, our Arrival at Nootka, had been protracted Ten Days beyond the time in which we arrived there, we should in that melancholy Event, have lost perhaps a score of fine fellows, who, within that period would inevitably have fallen Victims to that fatal Disease, the Scurvy, which was at this time, making rapid progress in our Ships Company, a third part of whom, were actually Confined with it, and many of them with Symptoms which foreboded a near period to their Existence." On this date Strange states that it had been his intention to have made the coast at least five degrees more to the south than he actually did :— " Nothing would have prevented it, had not the health and future existence of the crew required that immediate relief which a speedy arrival on land could alone procure them. Had our voyage continued eight days longer, at least two-thirds of the crew would have been confined to their hammocks with the scurvy. Interest and inclination therefore on this occasion gave way to humanity, nor shall I for my part ever regret the sacrifice. Now, drawing very close to his objective, Strange (June 23rd, 1786) remarks:— " Every mind was now occupied in the pleasing thought of going on shore. The sick were languishing for a mouthful of grass; and the promise of liquor excited many of the crew to go to the mast head, who hitherto had never been there during the voyage. A gallon of Arrack was the reward to be given to the fortunate he, who first saw the land." The expedition had its first sight of the North American Coast from a distance of about twenty leagues (June 24th, 1786). High hills were seen, covered with snow, " which as the sun shone on them, had a most beautiful and majestick appearance. The Breeze now greatly favouring us, we soon approached the Land so near, as to be Visited by two Canoes, in which were Six or Eight of the Natives. It may be well believed, they were most courteously received by us. They did not hesitate coming along side; They had with them half a dozen small Bream, together with some Sardines, which I instantly bought; and I can safely say, that no purchase I afterwards made on the Coast, afforded me a like satisfaction, to that which I felt on distributing this little Mess, to our poor Invalids, who would scarcely allow them time enough to be heated through. Half a dozen bunches of small leeks which I bought at the same time, were likewise highly acceptable to them. The aspect of the Coast as we approached it, was by no means flattering; its appearance was both bleak and Rugged. We frequently sounded during the day, but found no Bottom with a line of 180 Fathoms; We stood off, and on during the night, and in the morning being within two leagues of the Shore, We were now Visited by many of the Natives. In our enquiries for Nootka, they directed us to, at least, half a dozen different parts of the Coast; each Party being desirous of Our anchoring in that part of it to which he pointed, and in which it is probable he resided. Towards the Middle of the Day, there were not fewer than fifty Canoes about the Ship, each Containing from two to Ten Persons. The quantity of Fish which we purchased from them, was at least equal to three Days Consumption of both our Ships Companies; and the Variety was far greater than I expected to meet with, according to Captain Cook's account. But it must be Observed, that the Season of the Year was now more favourable for fishing, than at that, at which he was here. The different Kinds with which we were Occasionally supplied, during our stay at Nootka, were, Salmon, Cod, Skate, Hollibut, Bream, Trout, with Herring and Sardines; and also a very fine sort of flat fish (to which I cannot give a name) resembling much in taste and size a Turbot. Our supply of these was however, by no means regular; Sometimes we got more than we could use while sweet; whilst at other times, we were in want for several days together. After having now FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 47 satisfied the longing desires of the Ships Company with respect to a good fresh dinner, it will readily be believed, I was not tardy in my Enquiries after a good Sea Otter Skin. Nor was it long before I was gratified in my turn. I this Day got several, all of which however, were old and ragged. I was not much surprised that this should be the case, when I considered the Profession of the Wretches from whom I purchased them, & who in selling them, probably parted with all their Wardrobe." During the next three days the expedition kept standing down the coast in thick and squally weather, keeping a constant look-out for " the Cove in which Captain Cook anchored." With the aid of the long-boats and after much exploration, Strange (July 6th, 1786) found the entrance to the cove he had been looking for. " During our progress up the Sound we were accompanied by many canoes and were welcomed with a song, or rather an oration, from one of the Chiefs, in the manner as mentioned by Captain Cook." Strange's first duty, after moving into Friendly Harbour, was to seek accommodation on shore for his crews of very sick men. Landing with Mackay, the ship's second surgeon, Strange's reception at the hands of the Indians was friendly and courteous in the extreme. He could not pass a house without being invited into it in very pressing terms. In a sense it was a triumphal entry; but the conditions in which the Indians lived nauseated him:— " Words can scarcely convey to the mind of the reader an adequate idea of the beastly filth in which the natives of this part of the world pass their lives; I declare, that before I was an eye witness to it, I had a very imperfect conception of the extent of it. It was impossible to move a single step without being up to the ancles in mud, fish, etc., etc., and this inconvenience was alike felt within and without doors." He follows this with a tribute to the veracity of Captain Cook's first impressions of the Nootka Indians, declaring that Cook has not " ever exceeded in his descriptions that strict adherence to Truth, which every Historian in his communications to the world should invariably prescribe to himself." Strange, seeking a house for the sick, had the offer of any habitation that he might choose. He finally purchased one for the value of about one shilling—apparently a very fine substantial structure, " Constructed of six logs of wood each of which were sufficient in thickness and length to have been a main mast for the largest 74 gun ship in the British Navy." This was probably the first purchase of property ever made by a white man from the Indians of Vancouver Island, or, for that matter, on the whole North-west Coast. The emergency hospital, however, proved unsuited to the purpose, even after a thorough cleansing, and was deserted in a few days for a commodious tent provided with wooden flooring, and sides taken from the aforesaid house. Strange records that the invalids rapidly recovered from the scurvy. Believing in the salutary benefits of exercise for his patients, he sent them in search of berries and green foodstuffs, and supplied them with garden tools and " a great variety of garden seeds. These they planted in such places, as, from their situations promised to give growth to them, and there is little doubt but that some of the number will be found hereafter in a flourishing state." And here at Nootka was planted what undoubtedly was the first white man's garden on the Pacific North-west Coast. Strange was now busy bartering for sea-otter skins. No mention is made by him of the number acquired; but on the eve of his departure from Nootka he says:— " Having by this time got possession of every rag of Furr " (being a Scot he spells fur with two "r's ") " within the Sound and for a degree to the Northward and Southward of it." He enlarges bitterly and at length on the dirty, verminous condition of the skins obtained and bemoans the long weary hours he was personally employed in dressing and cleaning the same:— " When first I embarked on this Expedition, I had reconciled my mind to the necessity of foregoing for a long period of time, the sweets of Society in General, & of 48 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. my own family in particular; and I at the same time had reconciled myself to the Idea of encountering the Various difficulties & Dangers incident to a Sea Life. But in this relinquishment of happiness, I made no allowance for the Continual Bodily labour, & loathsome Occupation, which I now found my Duty particularly required of me to discharge. It was more a matter of difficulty for me to preserve the Skins, than to purchase them and I dreaded no less their utter loss than the Want of them. Captain Cook represents the Natives of this Coast as depraved in an extreme degree in regard to Cleanliness. If so early as in the month of April Captain Cook found the Inhabitants to be swarming with Vermin, to what degree may they not be Supposed to be covered with them, by the end of July; when they shall have felt the Cheering influence of the Suns reviving powers. The Variety and loathsome aspect of this American Breed, bear little analogy to the Uncommon Beauty of the habitation where they take up their Residence, and from whence I found it by sad experience very difficult to expel them. " The furrs indeed seem'd to me to be a sort of sanctuary for that Vermin, to which they resorted from Persecution. I had often seen the Priviledge of eating the live stock of a very lousy head, the subject of much serious altercation, between three or four different Persons; whereas, I at no time perceived them to be Objects of pursuit or contention, when once they had taken refuge in the Furr. Besides the live stock with which I found the Furrs to abound, I had further to disencumber them from every other possible description of Filth whatever. However disgusting this employment was, yet it was a task which I willingly undertook, as I conceived it a duty particularly incumbent on me to perform—unskilful! as it may well be supposed I was in the Art of Dressing Skins, Yet the Process they underwent in my hands, was such, as from the testimony of those Merchants who inspected them at Canton, tended greatly to enhance their Value beyond what they would otherwise have been estimated at, had they not been thus taken care of. From the first day on which I had any intercourse with the Natives of America, untill the hour in which I anchor'd in Macao Roads, no two days elapsed, in which I was not laboriously employed in this Occupation, generally Eight hours every day. It will be readily conceived how indispensibly requisite, I considered this Task as necessary to be performed, when I shall have informed the reader, that during a months residence in Nootka Sound, I was on shore only three times, and that on the Ships duty. The Occasion I therefore had, of acquiring any knowledge of the manners & Dispositions of the Natives, were such only, as occurred in my transactions with them in the Course of Bartering." Strange sojourned at Nootka until July 28th, 1786. His high sense of duty would not permit him to prolong his stay beyond the period necessary for the recovery of the sick and the acquisition of the last possible otter-skin. Himself not greatly impressed by the " Savage state of the Inhabitants of this Coast," he doubted whether an intimate knowledge of their manners, laws, and customs would afford any gratification to the most curious reader. However, with a view to gratifying any such curiosity, he left behind him at Nootka the young man Mackay, surgeon on " The Experiment." It appears that Mackay cheerfully offered his services in the above capacity, and, according to Strange, " no description of person could better have answered the purpose I had in view in leaving somebody behind me; and no one was so likely to establish his consequence among the natives." Mackay took up his residence in the household of no less a historical personage than Chief Maquilla, whose friendship Strange had secured by many acts of liberality and who had assured Strange in the presence of Enkitsum (The God of Snow) that Dr. Mackay should eat the choicest of foods and that on Strange's return the following- year he would find Mackay as fat as a whale. Mackay had already gained the affection of the Maquilla family by the cure of the Chief's child, who was suffering from scabby hands and legs, a prevailing complaint among the children. Strange supplied Mackay with " princely presents, which he distributed among those whose protection appeared of consequence." Strange was careful also to bestow lavish gifts upon Maquilla and promised that gentleman still greater rewards for his future interest in and care of the doctor. FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 49 Mackay was well provided by Strange with all the necessaries of life: " If blankets and flannel will repel the cold, he cannot fail to be warm." As to articles of food, Mackay was likewise abundantly supplied, and Strange expresses a pious hope that the doctor would have the sole enjoyment of them. He remarks parenthetically that the Indians did not appear to relish the white man's foods. Finally, Strange furnished Mackay with a quantity of garden seeds, grain of various sorts, and the necessary implements of husbandry, together with a male and female goat; and before the expedition sailed from Nootka Strange had the satisfaction of seeing " A considerable spot of ground " allotted for gardening and agriculture; and thus Mackay became, under peculiar if not unfavourable circumstances, the first white gardener, stock-raiser, and agriculturist on the Pacific North-west Coast! Interesting proofs of the success of Mackay's farm are to be found in the journal of Mrs. Barkley, who landed with her husband at Nootka in 1787:— " I was allowed to land here often and Captn. Barkley and myself explored the Island which Sheltered and indeed made the Harbour. We lay in and were astonished to see the traces of Cultivation; the ground was covered with coarse grass, but a few Oats amongst it, Peas, one crop apparently just out of bearing, and another in bloom, a very few plants of course, but plenty of Strawberry Plants, not of the Wild sort, but evidently had been planted—they were all stripped of their fruit, no doubt by our Friends, who brought them on hoard—indeed all they brought us were dead Ripe, but of a good size of the sort we call Carolina." Books also did Mackay have, and pen and ink and paper, and he was enjoined by Strange " not to neglect committing to paper every occurrence, however trivial, which might serve to throw any light on our hitherto confined knowledge of the manners, customs, religion and government of those people." Here we may well inquire what was the fate of the journal kept by Mackay during his year's sojourn with the kindly Indians at Nootka. The writer has addressed inquiries regarding it to certain likely quarters in London and Madras without result. The East Indian Company's records contain no papers of Mackay nor any information touching him. The journal is referred to by John Meares. that stormy petrel of our early history, on page 132 of his " Voyages to the Northwest Coast of America." If John Meares really saw it, it is extremely probable that John Meares kept it, in the same manner as he retained the Dalrymple charts which did not belong to him. He says of the journal: "The perusal of this gentleman's journal would shock any mind tinctured with humanity." According to Strange, in a letter written after his return to India, Mackay was forcibly removed from Nootka by the Captain of the "King George":— " It seems he was forcibly taken away from Nootka by one of those Vessels fitted out from England, called the 'King George' (obviously meant for 'The Imperial Eagle,' Capt. Barkley), the Captain giving as his only Reason for so doing, that he had no right to stay there to monopolize the Trade; Mr. Mackay opposed in vain this Violence, and has declared, that such was the mildness and care, with which he was treated, during a stay of many months, that, had he been left to a free choice he would jiot have quitted his Station there, until by writing, or otherwise, I had given him permission so to do. Immediately on his arrival at Canton an opportunity offering of his going to Bombay, he accordingly availed himself of it, so that I am now in daily Expectation of hearing from him; Should his Communications be worth notice, I shall not fail to transmit them to you." (Fort St. George, Feb. 22, 1788.) This statement, however, is somewhat at variance with that of Mrs. Barkley in her journal, which leads us to believe that Mackay was only too glad to be taken off. Here is a moot point which will probably never be settled; but personally I am inclined to believe Strange, unless he was deliberately misinformed by Mackay as to the reasons for his withdrawal from Nootka. Strange gives a graphic account of a curious religious ceremony he witnessed in which the God Enkitsum (The God of Snow) was the soul and centre. Having set his heart on possessing some of the beautiful trappings of the god, Strange was more 50 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. than surprised next day to receive from Maquilla not only the trappings, but the God himself. Strange writes with appreciation of the happy lives of the Indians as a whole. Their love and attachment to each other, their parental tenderness, and their amicable and friendly spirit appeared exemplary to him. He commends the virtue of the women as standing the test and capable of resisting bribes. He confesses, however, that he dreaded the sight of a woman in commercial transactions, as he invariably had to pay more. Our fur-trader made a tremendous impression among the Indians, as he sang to them "a ring ting tune—the offspring of the moment" (as he calls it), accompanying himself with a pair of cymbals. This artistry drew such bursts of applause that he was encored again and again until he was no longer able to articulate from sheer fatigue. The Indians were possibly captivated more by the cymbals than by Strange's voice. At any rate, Strange had no difficulty immediately in bartering his entire stock of cymbals for the choicest otter skins and robes. As to the vexed question of the evidence of cannibalism among the Nootka Indians, Strange says:— " The practice of bringing hands and heads for sale obtained now, in like manner, as when Captain Cook was here. " In my second visit to the shore, I had the pleasure, or more properly the dissatisfaction to ascertain for a fact (and which, when Captain Cook visited Nootka remained a matter of doubt on his mind) that the savage and barbarious practice of devouring human flesh exists here as well as in the Sandwich Islands." He proceeds to describe what happened during a walk taken in company with Clamata, " one of the most celebrated warriors of the Sound, a man famous for his bravery and address in war, having personally slain eight and twenty of the enemy within the last ten moons." Clamata carried under his garment a basket, from which he produced three human hands and a head, which he desired Strange to buy. Strange, desirous of further enlightenment on this revolting practice, told Clamata that he was ignorant of what use to make of them if he bought them. Clamata replied that they were good to eat, and presently gave ocular and horrible demonstration by eating a portion of one of the hands. Strange did not hide his horror and detestation of the act; whereupon Clamata proceeded to explain that the hand he had eaten was the hand of an enemy. Strange's testimony is a valuable addition to the scarce printed evidence on this subject, as affecting the natives of Vancouver Island. But perhaps the most valuable work done by Strange at Nootka was his addition of several hundred names to Captain Cook's vocabulary of the Coast Indians, a commendable piece of work. On July 27th Strange wrote: " The season being already far advanced and the most interesting part of the voyage being as yet unperformed, I conceived it therefore high time that we should now take leave of our Nootka friends"; and on the following day the " Cook " and " The Experiment " put to sea. Four days later he is in the neighbourhood of Cape Scott (which wild landmark he named after his friend and patron David Scott, of Bombay, chief financier of the expedition). Here in his longboat he made close investigation of several channels, inlets, and bays, and landing on a fine sandy beach, "took possession of the country and bay in the name of His Britannic Majesty, which I accordingly did with the usual ceremonies of hoisting the colours and turning a turf." This bay he named " Oxenford Bay" in honour of his " much respected friend," Sir John Dalrymple (of Oxenford). In this bay he observed a great many fishing stakes and weirs. Rounding Cape Scott on the 3rd of August, the ships proceeded north to a distance of about eight or nine leagues off the coast. Next morning they were visited by a canoe and four Indians, from whom a few skins were received. Followed days of perils and adventures for Strange, accompanied by eight seamen and three officers in his long-boat, with the object of locating the village from whence the Indians had come. The village was never found. Great difficulty was experienced among the now well- FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 51 known, treacherous tide-rips and reefs of this particular part of the coast. By means of present-day Admiralty charts and Strange's own chart we can follow fairly well the adventurer's course, but upon his explorations and questings and discoveries in these difficult waters at this time we need not dwell. Two vital facts emerge, however, While manoeuvring in what, presumably, is now " Goletas Channel," he sees a great opening which, because of its magnitude, he thinks may be the strait said to have been discovered by Admiral De Fonte, " the existence of which Captain Cook in his narrative regrets not being able to discover" Having to leave this strait unexplored caused Strange " infinite uneasiness." Before turning back Strange displayed the flag and took possession of the inlet and sound, honouring it with the name of Queen Charlotte's Sound. " From the transient view I had of this place," he remarks, " it surpasses far in appearance, both in beauty and extent any other Sound as yet discovered on this Coast." His last act prior to returning to his ships was distinctly spectacular, and his own testimony of it should excite the interest of this Association and of the Historic Landmarks Committee in particular. " Before we quitted our present station," he says, " I left many testimonies behind me of our having visited and taken possession of this part of the Coast. In the body of a large tree, opposite to one of the huts, I cut a deep hole, in which I deposited both copper, iron and beads; besides leaving the name of our ships and the date of the discovery." It would be a matter of some difficulty if not altogether impossible to determine the exact location of this tree after a lapse of 143 years. Yet trees—even trees with holes in them—do live for centuries in British Columbia, and it is within the bounds of poetic possibility at least that the tree containing the Strange relics may still be standing with the secret locked up in its age-old heart. On the other hand, if the deserted Indian village in which the tree grew were again inhabited, it is a certainty that the relics would soon be discovered and quickly removed by the Indians, although, on the other hand, the Indians might be deterred by superstitious fears. The abandoned Indian village was in all probability located on the western shore of Nigei Island, in a small bay at the foot of the " high mountain " described by Strange, which happens to be the only mountain on this island. If this hypothesis is correct, then the locality of the historic tree is fairly definitely settled, and a search for it should be instituted without delay. Returning at length and with great difficulty to his ships lying far to the north, Strange set his course towards Prince William's Sound. He bestowed the name of Mansfield's Bay on the large sheet of water as a mark of respect and veneration for " that great luminary of the law, Lord Mansfield." In Prince William's Sound the expedition met with little success. Strange was a disappointed man. " In my intercourse with these people, I now found by woeful experience that I was not to be gratified in the object I had in view, in visiting this remote part of the globe." The Indians of Prince William's Sound, in contrast to those at Nootka, were almost destitute of furs. A four-day exploration of the sound in the long-boats convinced Strange that the sound was either very thinly populated or that the great majority of the Indians were absent at their fall fishing-grounds. On September 5th, in the midst of Strange's rather painful lucubrations on the non-success of his venture, there suddenly appeared, as if from nowhere, the " Sea Otter" (Captain Tipping) from Bengal. Strange's mortification was complete. He had not dreamt of meeting any rival fur-trader in these waters. Tipping, divining correctly that Strange's next contemplated place of call would be Cook's River, soon got under way, shaping his course directly for that point. Thus forestalled, Strange saw the futility of now attempting to carry out his original plans, but he did not decide to abandon the northward cruise without due and careful pondering of all the facts. Three matters influenced him in coming to a decision: The unexpected presence of competitors in the field; the scarcity of otter-skins; and the insufficiency of ships' provisions for so extended a voyage. 52 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. Strange finally decided that " The Experiment" would set sail at once for Canton to dispose of her cargo; and that the "Captain Cook," abandoning all further quest for furs, would proceed north to the fabulous Copper Island in Russian territory, there to load a cargo of copper, or (as Strange puts it) "to ascertain whether or not it produced copper in the manner set forth " (in Coxe's " Russian Discoveries.") Strange considered further that by proceeding in " The Experiment" without delay to China, and finding, as he fondly hoped, a profitable market for his skins, he might be able to undertake a second voyage to the North-west Coast in the near future, provided he were joined by his consort, the " Captain Cook," in which case both ships could be refitted and provisioned from the East lndiamen there without the necessity of returning to Bombay. On September 14th, 1786, the " Captain Cook " took her leave and sailed away for Copper Island. Strange in " The Experiment" remained in Prince William's Sound for two clays more, leaving finally on September 16th, after examining the coast south for a short distance. His impressions of the natives of this region vary considerably from those of Captain Cook. According to Cook, the Indians were a bold, masterful race; to Strange they appeared timid, shy, and distrustful. He found them less skilled in the art of trafficking than those at Nootka, but more ingenious, " excelling them greatly in works of art, not only in regard to execution but also in point of variety." He greatly admired and coveted what we suppose to have been a Chilkat blanket, a beautiful and artistic article of clothing happily described by him as " a most excellent substitute for our thickest and warmest bath rugs." In this he failed, although offering a price equal to that of half a dozen good otter-skins. It was inexplicable to Strange that the Russians, in view of their comparative nearness to it, had not exploited the sound. " The Experiment" bore away from Prince William's Sound on September 16th, 1786. A fierce gale was raging as they stood out to sea. " The Experiment" sprang a dangerous leak, necessitating the employment of all hands at the pumps, but with the abatement of the storm " we caulked in the best manner wc could about the head of the ship, and reduced the leaks so considerably, as to make it unnecessary to work the pumps oftener than three or four times a day." In this manner, favoured by good weather, they reached the Sulphur Islands on November 3rd, passing Formosa a few days later, and eventually coming to anchor in Macao Roads on November 15th, 1786. The scurvy had played disastrous havoc with the health of his men during the trans-Pacific voyage. He was overjoyed when surrounded by myriads of fishing-boats bearing fish and fruit in profusion. " The good effects of the fruit," he says, " were almost instantaneous," and, referring to two very sick men, continues: " Their speech (which was before almost extinct) returned; and their spirits which were totally sunk, revived. They were, in short saved by means of a dozen oranges without which . . . they must inevitably have perished." A month later the "Captain Cook" joined "The Experiment" in Macao Harbour, having failed in her effort to reach Copper Island owing to adverse winds and storms, the sickness of her ship's company, and the shortness of provisions. " Thus ended," says Strange, " our expedition, which, although it did not succeed in the extent expected, is, nevertheless (in justice to the motives on which it was undertaken, and the liberality with which it was supplied) certainly entitled to the approbation of the public in general." Strange has nothing to say in his journal or subsequent correspondence as to where, when, and at what figure he disposed of his cargo of furs; but he leaves us under no misapprehension as to the complete failure of the expedition financially. According to his niece, Mrs. Mure, in her privately-printed book, " Recollections of By-gone Days," " the expedition failed as a commercial undertaking, only because the market of China, to which my uncle had looked for the sale of the really fine collection of furs, was overstocked." Nevertheless, Strange was optimistic over the possibilities of the fur trade, and strongly advised the East India Company to establish a settlement at Nootka; and that FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 53 the Company proceeded to act broadly upon his suggestion is evident from the minutes of the Court of Directors in 1794, wherein the Rules and Regulations for trade between the North-west Coast of America and China are approved in pursuance of the Act of 33 Geo. 3, cap. 52, sec. 78. Strange's journal, as far as we know, is the only record extant of this ill-fated expedition. It is not unlikely, however, that unofficial journals were kept by such men as Wedgborough (the chart-maker) and Captains Lowrie and Guise, as well as other officers. For example, many logs and journals were privately compiled by Captain Cook's men and only brought to light after many years. A peculiar circumstance in connection with Strange's journal, as presented to the Directors of the Honourable the East India Company in 1788, is that it appears to have been written in retrospect, based probably upon a rough-and-ready log or journal kept regularly from day to day during the hazards, excitements, and stale periods of the voyage. Besides the copy among the records of Fort St. George, Madras, two others have been traced—one at the India Office in London and another in possession of Miss Trotter (a descendent of Strange) at Colinton, Midlothian, Scotland. It is hoped that eventually the last mentioned will find its way to the Provincial Archives, as it was doubtless Strange's own personal copy. Returning to India, Strange found himself a widower, his young wife having tragically died during his absence, after giving birth to a daughter, " the beautiful Isabella," who afterwards became the wife of James Wolf Murray of Cringletie. Strange, broken-hearted as he was, resumed his former duties with the East India Company, and in the course of a few years accumulated a large fortune, retired to England, and in 1798 married the Honourable Anne Dundas, daughter of the first Lord Melville. He represented the Borough of East Grinstead in Parliament from 1797 till 1802. About this time he unfortunately lost his entire fortune through the failure of the Bond Street Bank. Overwhelmed, he did not despair. His attitude of mind is well reflected in the following extracts from a letter bearing on his troubles:— " We have got three gentlemen to act as trustees, who are the most unexceptionable men in the city of London. Under their management I am sanguine in hoping that the estate will pay 20S. in the pound. To effect this purpose, however, every shilling I possess in the world must be sacrificed ! . . . I have met with a deal of countenance and support on this trying occasion, otherwise I should have sunk under the misfortune. Indeed, I have had before my eyes such a pattern of fortitude and virtuous resignation on the part of my wife, as would have made it criminal in me not to copy; though, I must confess, that in this instance I am far from bearing up against the evil in the dignified manner in which she has set me the example. Previous to this overthrow, I had all the reason in the world to love and admire her, but her unexampled great conduct, on this trying occasion, adds a lustre to her character which exalts her in my eyes to a degree beyond what the power of words can convey to you. She is my sheet anchor and great stay in life, and for her sake I hope I may yet live to retrieve my present ruined fortune, and replace her in that situation in society of which she is one of the greatest ornaments, etc., etc. I see but one only course to pursue, and that is to endeavour to get leave to return to India." Strange, undaunted by adversity, did return to Madras, and resumed his service with the Honourable the East India Company, and in the twelve prosperous years following he was able to redeem his fallen fortunes. In 1788 Strange was appointed Paymaster at Tanjore and in 1792 Collector of one of the Tanjore Divisions, which he held with the Paymastership till early in 1795, when he retired from the service. It is recorded "That he had uniformly conducted himself to the satisfaction of his superiors, and that the Rajah had also adduced the fullest testimony in favour of Mr. Strange's management." In 1804, after an absence of nine years, he obtained the General Court's permission to return with his rank on the Madras Establishment. In March, 1805. he was called to the Council, which appointment, however, was not confirmed, and he was removed in August, 1806, to make room for a Mr. Noakes. In September, 1806, he was appointed as Magistrate and Collector of Pondicherry, and the following year he received the 54 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. high appointment of Senior Judge of the Court of Appeal and Circuit in the Southern Division. Fortune continued to smile upon him and in September, 1811, he became Sub-Treasurer and Postmaster-General with a princely allowance of £4,190 per annum. After his final retiral he lived for a time at Bath; followed by an extended residence in Italy, finally settling at 7 Ainslie Place, Edinburgh. He died at the ancient Castle of Airth, Scotland, in 1840, which fine baronial residence he had rented for several years. He was buried in St. John's Churchyard, Edinburgh. He left two daughters by his second wife, one of whom, Mary, married her cousin, William Pitt Dundas, whose son, the Rev. R. J. Dundas (as already mentioned), came to Victoria with Bishop Hills, and became the first rector of St. John's parish there. Louisa, the other daughter, married Archibald Trotter, of Dreghorn, Scotland. Strange's younger brother, Sir Alexander Strange, was a distinguished jurist, and prior to his appointment as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Presidency of Madras, held the office of Chief Justice of Nova Scotia from 1789 to 1798. As to James Strange's character and attributes, there are many sincere and truly delightful pen pictures in that charming book by his niece, Mrs. Mure, " Recollections of By-gone Days." Mrs. Mure remarks upon his " many endearing qualities," and that " There never was one who so completely planted himself in the hearts of those who knew him as he did. My uncle's nature was to be easily elated and easily depressed, and yet to bear apparently all things that befel him with almost stoical calmness." Mrs. Mure refers to Strange's " great liberality and generosity in his expenditures," citing the ample doweries bestowed upon his three beautiful daughters. Strange was a patron of the arts and was considered an excellent judge of pictures, of which he had a fine collection. He had a keen sense of humour, which is entirely absent, however, in his " Narrative," but finds its happiest outlet in letters to his relations. Referring to the birth of his second daughter he says: "She (his wife) has presented me another girl. I would rather have had a litter of boys: they are never an encumbrance, the army, navy, and the gallows being certain outlets for them." Mrs. Mure relates that Strange, on his last journey home from India, spent an evening with Napoleon at St. Helena, the two playing a game of picquet, and Strange winning a gold coin from the ex-Emperor. As Strange took his leave Napoleon presented him with a box of French bon-bons for his daughters. As to estimates of Strange by his contemporaries, the record is apparently silent. His conduct during the expedition to the North-west Coast appears to have been entirely admirable. A strict disciplinarian, he was always just and honourable and kind to those under him. There have been few voyages of a similar nature conducted with less friction than his. Great responsibilities were upon his shoulders; the anxieties and decisions were all his. At no time does he seem to have shirked his duty, however disagreeable, and he never lost the confidence and the whole-hearted obedience of his officers and men. As the story of his achievements becomes better known, a literature will gradually grow up around his name, and he will eventually be accorded his rightful place in the annals of the fur-trade on the North-west Coast. [Mr. Hosie read the above interesting paper at the quarterly meeting held on February 8th, 1929. The paper was illustrated by slides.] WHAT I REMEMBER OF HON. AMOR DeCOSMOS. By Beaumont Boggs. Just a few blocks away from my home in Halifax, N.S., there resided a nice old gentleman named Smith. He had a good home, and kept a carriage-and-pair, and seemed to be of independent means. This old gentleman had some nephews named Simpson, who came from Grand Pre, the home of Evangeline. Through one of these nephews I received, when I set out for Victoria, a letter of introduction to the Hon. Amor DeCosmos, once known as Wm. FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 55 Alexander Smith, this nice old gentleman's brother. So in January, 1886, I in due course called upon the Hon. A. DeCosmos. Now I was young, so you must pardon me when I tell you how I was impressed by this august person. I met him just where the old Bank of Montreal stands, and he was talking to a Mr. Thos. C. Nuttall, an insurance agent. Mr. DeCosmos was dressed in a black frock coat, black trousers, high white collar and white shirt, and wore a black beaver hat. He carried a large umbrella hung over his arm by a big crook. Mr. DeCosmos was a tall man with a good pair of shoulders, and rather a Jewish type of face, and had long black beard and hair, both of which were supposed to be dyed, and very piercing eyes. Mr. DeCosmos struck me as a most egotistical man. He certainly was clever, but had a habit of talking to you in a very lofty or superior manner. After asking why I had come to " this glorious Province of the Pacific Coast," he informed me that "the gateway to the Province was through the mines" (placer mines), and that "no man ever achieved success until he had been strapped." I cannot say that I was elated with my reception, but later on, after having mined in the Similkameen and come out strapped, and had worked in the sawmills, I again met the Hon. Mr. DeCosmos, and I informed him that I had taken his advice and was now prepared for success. He seemed pleased, but assured me that I need never starve, as there were lots of clams on the beaches, and if I could not cook them, I could always find a Klootchman who would do it for me. However, I became a reporter on the Standard newspaper, of which his brother (Charles McKay Smith) was the Editor, and then I appreciated the good points he possessed. From what I gathered, and from papers now in the Archives, I find Wm. Alexander Smith was of Puritan stock, which originally came from Derbyshire, England, his parents being Jesse and Charlotte Esther Smith, of Windsor, Nova Scotia, the home of Judge Haliburton, known as " Sam Slick," and King's College, the first university established in Canada. It was here Mr. Amor DeCosmos was born on August 20th, 1825, and christened William Alexander Smith. He was educated at a private school and afterwards attended the Windsor Academy. His family removing to Halifax in 1840, we find Smith in the employ of Charles Whitman & Co., wholesale merchants, and attending the night-school of John S. Thompson, father of the Premier of Canada before Sir Charles Tupper. As a member of the Dalhousie Debating Club he no doubt acquired knowledge which assisted him in after-life, for we start our interest in political affairs very young in Nova Scotia. In 1851 the call of the West was heard, and as the California gold excitement was at its height, Smith decided to seek his fortune in that El Dorado. Upon leaving Halifax, Smith went by boat to New York, and thence to St. Louis, on the Missouri River, where he joined a caravan that owing to attacks by Indians, in which two men and one woman were killed and much of their provisions lost, eventually reached Salt Lake City, and spent the winter there. Now I must refer to what I believe is romance, for I was told that Smith joined the Mormons, but owing to some trouble with Brigham Young (it may have been about wives; they say women are at the bottom of most troubles; perhaps he wanted as many as Brigham; or he was not satisfied with the selection made for him) he decided to leave the city of " Latter Day Saints." Now, it was easy to get in, but supposed to be impossible to get out, as the " Danites" or mounted men controlled the passes. It was stated to me that DeCosmos was one of the few who up to that time had ever escaped. This romance does not appear to me to be founded on facts, but it was given as the reason for Smith having changed his name to Amor DeCosmos upon his arrival in California, and to this change he secured the sanction of the Court of Assembly. I find from papers in the Archives that our friend started in the spring of 1853 from Salt Lake City with a party to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains, but after a few days, finding that the travelling was too slow, went on alone. He had a good horse, a gun, and a pistol, so by fast travelling reached the Humbolt Valley, and at last entered Northern California. Both horse and man suffered from alkali water, but 56 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. arrived in " Placerville," Eldorado County, in June, 1853. When some weeks later the caravan arrived with Smith's outfit, he produced a camera and daguerrotype stock, with which he set up business taking views of mining claims and their owners. This proved remunerative at $20 a picture, so he moved from camp to camp as far as the Mexican boundary. Upon his return from the south, Smith settled down in Orville, Bute County, and was engaged in mining, trading, and speculation for some time, and was, I have always understood, prominent in the councils of the " Vigilantes." When the news of the Fraser River strike reached California, DeCosmos, for under that name he was then known, came north on the steamer " Brother Jonathan," and arrived in Victoria on May 16th, 1858. After a few days' investigation, and being satisfied with what he had seen, he returned to California and sold out his interests, returning here in the latter part of June to make his home. On December 11th, 1858, the British Colonist made its appearance, published every Saturday at a yearly subscription of $5, with A. DeCosmos as Editor. The first article, headed " The Fraser Mines Vindicated," is by Alfred Waddington. The editorial states the views of DeCosmos, and reads in part: "In our National Politics, we shall ever foster that loyalty which is due to the parent Government, and determinedly oppose every influence tending to undermine or subvert the existing connection between the Colonies and the Mother Country. Particular interest will be taken in the absorbing questions now before the British North American Colonies, the Union of these Colonies, representation in the Imperial Parliament, the Pacific Railway, and the Overland Wagon Road and Telegraph. We shall counsel the establishment of Responsible Government, by which the people will have the whole and sole control over local affairs of the Colony. In short, we shall acKocate a constitution modelled after the British, and similar to that of Canada." Under "Governor Douglas' Administration," a most direct attack is made upon the administration of the Governor and his Executive for their tardy, ill-digested, and ill-advised policy which had forced thousands to leave the Colony in disgust; and a charge that their intention was to consider of more importance the claims of the Hudson's Bay Co. for the exclusive rights to Trade and Navigation, than the Colonization of the country. I think we may consider the opinion of one of our most reliable writers of the period, Mr. Gilbert Malcolm Sproat, as giving the popular view of my friend DeCosmos. He writes: "I have met several high-placed pioneers of California who knew him there, and spoke of him with respect. I first met him in 1860, a tall handsome man; pale complexion; dark hair combed back; regular features. He was wide-minded, yet methodically laborious, and a master of details; a great reader, chiefly, but not exclusively, in the lines of History and Politics. He made no parade in conversation of what he knew. Only by some incidental allusion would you become aware of his familiarity with Shakespeare and Scott. Few ascribed to him humour, but in reality Mr. DeCosmos had a pretty good, though perhaps limited, sense of it." Sproat says: " Like Sir James Douglas whom he constantly assailed, and like Mr. Alfred Waddington, with whom he found it easier to act, Mr. DeCosmos was, in relation to the Eastern Colonies, what might be termed a ' Pacific Seaboard Confedera- tionist,' although confederation was not as yet a practical question, either in the East or West. He was a ' Canadian Nationalist,' favouring, nevertheless, a connection of some kind with the Empire. A Victorian and a Canadian, first, last, and all the time, DeCosmos was one of the first to espouse the cause of Confederation. He made a trip to the Eastern Provinces in 1866 in the interests of this object; and he was most sincere in rejoicing at the accomplishment of the natural destiny of the British North American Possessions." It was through the efforts of Mr. DeCosmos that Victoria became the Capital of the United Province of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, and for this alone he should be esteemed. In 1863 Mr. DeCosmos was elected at the head of the poll to represent Victoria in the Legislature, and upon the resignation of the Government led by Mr. McCreight. he was chosen Premier, and President of the Executive Council (December 23rd, 1872). At the same time he was representative of Victoria in the FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 57 Canadian House of Commons, where his striking figure and wonderful flow of language drew upon him the attention of the Eastern members of Parliament. During his representation at Ottawa he was able to secure the appropriation of $250,000 for the construction of a first-class graving-dock at Esquimalt. This he followed up by a visit to London, where he prevailed upon the Imperial authorities to grant a similar amount towards this important work. So we have Mr. DeCosmos to thank for the first Esquimalt Dry Dock. The Oriental question was even at that time (as now) a popular subject with which to catch votes for the politicians, and as many Chinese were employed upon the " Onderdonk Contract" for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Cascade Mountains, their exclusion was desired. A motion having been made to prohibit Chinese landing in Canada, the mover was informed that he was out of order, as treaty rights would not allow such action. Mr. DeCosmos then moved that no man should be employed on Government or railway-construction work who had hair longer than 8 inches. At that time all Chinamen wore queues, and could not return to China without them. There has erroneously been attributed to Mr. DeCosmos the honour, if such it can be called, of having made the longest speech in the Provincial Parliament, but it was a Mr. Maclure, Editor of Mr. DeCosmos's paper, who spoke for twenty-three hours while Mr. DeCosmos kept him supplied with subjects and refreshment. I understand Mr. Maclure shortly afterwards died of the severe strain. The object was to defeat a Bill Concerning the Sale of Land for Taxes, by lapse of time, and it was successful. Mr. DeCosmos was in the Ottawa House when the Pacific terminus was under discussion, and at this time, I am reminded, he became aware of the efforts of certain speculators to remove the terminus from Esquimalt, as provided under the terms of Union, and make it on Burrard Inlet, thus abandoning the Bute Inlet route via Seymour Narrows, as surveyed by Marcus Smith. Mr. DeCosmos at once sent a telegram to his brother, the Editor of the Standard, to call a public meeting to protest against this action. Mr. Smith often told me how he had gone to prominent citizens of Victoria to secure their support, but he said they were too much interested in selling lots in " Gass-town," the name Granville (now Vancouver) was called by the Standard, and instead of a meeting, he was laughed at; and when Mr. DeCosmos rose in his place in the House to protest, his opponent produced a telegram from Victoria stating that their representative did not have the confidence of his constituency. Mr. DeCosmos was a great believer in Victoria, and if all her citizens had been as true to her, we would be in a much more prosperous condition to-day than we are. When in 1893 and 1894 there was a feeling that Victoria should have closer connection _with the transcontinental railways, Mr. DeCosmos was the first to suggest that a line should be built through the Saanich Peninsula to Swartz Bay, about two miles north of Sidney, there to connect by car-ferry with the Mainland. I think it was in advocating this scheme that Mr. DeCosmos made his last public appearance at the old Methodist school-room on Broad Street, but owing to his physical condition he was unable to speak, and the crowded meeting dispersed without hearing of the convener's plans. Mr. DeCosmos died in Victoria on the 4th day of July, 1897. Now, in thinking of the Hon. Amor DeCosmos, I must ask those of you who remember him as last seen upon the streets of Victoria to wipe out those memories and mentally transport yourselves back to a period fifteen or twenty years earlier. It was a time when British Columbia was peopled with strong, virile men and women of the true pioneer type, and of the same character as peopled the Eastern Provinces a century earlier, the U.E. Loyalists, and it was from this stock, I believe, DeCosmos sprang. He was undoubtedly physically strong; he was brave; he had the gift of leadership, or he would not have been repeatedly elected by his fellow-men to represent them in the various offices which he held. DeCosmos was an educated man, and a great reader, as shown by the editorial articles he wrote when at his prime, and in these Archives some of the earliest treasures were secured by Mr. Gosnell from his library. 58 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. DeCosmos was a powerful speaker, and it requires a fluent tongue and powerful voice to lift any man above his fellow-citizens at a public meeting. There is no doubt in my mind that had DeCosmos died twenty years earlier he would have been looked upon as one of the foremost statesmen of the West; but he lived too long, he left no descendants to keep his name before posterity, and being, so to speak, outside the Fort, the Great Company which he so persistently fought could hardly be expected to record his work. Therefore, in all humbleness of spirit and sincerity of heart, I have gathered together these few memories of a fellow Nova Scotian, who with all his faults was true to his city and an outstanding character of his times. In closing, I feel that I cannot help quoting the words of the Colonist of December 22nd, 1907. In referring to DeCosmos, it says:— " Of the part he played in the making of British Columbia's history, much might be said. He was not always right, nor was he at all times ready to concede that those who differed from him in opinion were actuated by the same honest motives, which, to his credit, undoubtedly actuated him. He was a strong, positive writer, and an equally emphatic speaker, making up for what he lacked in oratorical power, in precision of statement and fertility of argument, and these, with his immense fund of information on every public question, constituted him a powerful opponent in any debate. Conscientious, persistent, industrious, he was a man whose individuality would have forced him to the fore in any community. That he was a power for great good to British Columbia none will for a moment question or deny." [The above paper on this most unique character of early Provincial history was given by Mr. Boggs at the meeting held on May 3rd, 1929.1 SOME PUBLICATIONS. By the Editor. Simon Fraser. By V. L. Denton, author of " The Far West Coast." This little booklet of 32 pages appears in the series of the Ryerson Canadian History Readers, edited by Lome Pierce, and published by the Ryerson Press, Toronto, Ont. Price, 10 cents. With the youth of our Province and country in mind, Mr. V. L. Denton, of the staff of the Provincial Normal School, Victoria, has briefly narrated the epic exploit of Fraser's descent of the great river that now bears his name. It gives a graphic, lucid, and interesting account of this event so important in British Columbia's history. The many dangers and trials which the explorers encountered and the almost superhuman courage and indomitable force of character of the leader are so clearly and attractively portrayed that this little work cannot fail to touch the hearts of our boys and girls, and impress their imaginations, so that a deep interest in the things that have to do with our Province's story will be created. Fraser's life before and after his famous journey are also touched on. Although written for children, the tone of the work is by no means childish, and a perusal of the work will well repay an adult desirous of obtaining a summary of Fraser's adventure. The book is made doubly valuable from the fact that there has been little other material published on this intrepid explorer. Mr. Denton has been President of the British Columbia Historical Association for the past year. May he give us other works of this nature. The Pioneer Women of Vancouver Island, 1843-1866. By N. deBertrand Lugrin. The Women's Canadian Club, Victoria. Price, $2.50. What is probably the most unique book yet published in British Columbia is the above-mentioned work on the women of the early years of Vancouver Island. It is an all-Victorian production, too. The work was sponsored and commissioned by the Women's Canadian Club of Victoria; Mrs. N. deBertrand Lugrin did the actual writing; the editing was done by FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 59 John Hosie, Provincial Archivist; the cover design was by Mrs. Fitzherbert Bullen, a granddaughter of Sir James Douglas; the pen-and-ink sketches decorating some of the pages were executed by Mrs. Ina D. D. Uhthoff, and the printing and binding was done by the Colonist Printing & Publishing Co. The book deals with the lives of the women who came to Vancouver Island in the years 1843 to 1866; that is, with the wives and daughters of the first emigrants and settlers. It is a tribute of love from the women of to-day to their sisters of yesterday, and aims to show through the experiences of the women-folk of those old families how we are equally indebted to the gentler sex as to the sterner for the many privileges and comforts that we now enjoy; in fact, that there were heroines as well as heroes in those days of old. The life-stories of women in every walk of life are charmingly told, often in their own words. The story of the humble farmer's wife, the merchant's lady, and the fair chatelaines of Government House are impartially narrated, and many of the narratives are intensely interesting. Romance, hand-in-hand with Heroism, has walked as freely through our history as through that of any other part of the world. The compilation of this work illustrates the value of the Provincial Archives. Without the records contained therein, it is safe to say such a book could not have been so splendidly achieved. The format of the book is all that could be desired. The type is large and clear; the illustrations good. A number of errors have been noticed, which no doubt will be corrected in a subsequent edition. Many of these errors were consequent on following personal narratives of people well advanced in years, and whose memories were possibly not at their best. Much material in addition to that used was collected, and it is hoped that a second volume dealing with the women of the years subsequent to 1866 will make its appearance soon. The Colonial Postal Systems of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, 1849- 1871. By A. Stanley Deaville. Memoir No. 8, Archives of British Columbia. Price, $4. At the regular quarterly meeting of the Association held on July 17th, 1925, a very able paper on this subject was read by Mr. A. S. Deaville, of the staff of the Victoria Post Office. This was published in the Third Annual Report and Proceedings. Later, Mr. Deaville amplified and intensified his study of the subject to such a degree of excellence that the Department of the Archives determined to publish it as a separate special Memoir. Mr. Deaville has dealt with his subject in a masterly fashion. A vast reading and an untiring research must have been necessary before this record could have been so splendidly compiled. He deserves the thanks of the people of British Columbia for what will prove a most valuable record for our Western Province, and it must have been largely a labour of love on his part. He is the pioneer investigator in this subject, there being no other work on our postal and philatelic history. Mr. Deaville's treatise deals with the picturesque years preceding our entering Confederation, when the conveyance of mail must have been attended with much of daring and adventure, so his work is intensely interesting to the general reader, as well as to the philatelic enthusiast, for whom there is also a great mass of detailed information about Vancouver Island's and British Columbia's rare stamp issues. Mackenzie of Canada. By M. S. Wade, M.D. William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and London, 1927. Price, 15 shillings. It is remarkable, as the author of this work observes, that no book has been published giving an account of the life and work of Sir Alexander Mackenzie. That one who over one hundred years ago had traced a mighty river, till then unknown, for over two thousand miles of its course, and in addition had crossed an untracked wilderness of half a continent, should have had to wait that length of time for a faithful biographer and chronicler of his achievements, is indeed strange. 60 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. Dr. Wade has remedied that deficiency and has performed the work well. He gives a straightforward and dignified account of Mackenzie's two great expeditions, and of his life previous to, and subsequent to, that more heroic period. His work shows a careful striving for accuracy and much painstaking research. Having spent much of his life in the rugged interior of British Columbia, the author has been able to sympathize with the intrepid explorer, and to appreciatively describe the multiplied dangers and difficulties of his hazardous undertaking. Dr. Wade's book will establish itself as the authoritative work on the life of Sir Alexander Mackenzie. It is a sad circumstance that its author should have had to set out on his own "Great Adventure" so soon after the publication of his greatest literary work. Fort Langley, 1827-1927: A Century of Settlement. By Denys Nelson. Art, Historical & Scientific Association of Vancouver, B.C. Price, 35 cents. The late Denys Nelson compiled this interesting and graphic account of the historic spot where he spent the last years of his life. He recounts the story of the old Hudson's Bay Co.'s trading-post from the time of its founding by a part}' from Fort George, as Astoria was then called, until the celebration of its one hundredth birthday was held in 1927. In this historic place Sir James Douglas was installed as Governor of the new Colony of British Columbia on November 19th, 1858. Forthcoming Publications. The Overlanders of '62. By M. S. Wade, M.D. The late Dr. Wade completed shortly before his death a work on the party of hardy immigrants who came into the interior of British Columbia in the year 1862, and who are variously known as the " Overlanders " or " Argonauts." This work the Department of the Archives intends issuing as a special Memoir next spring. The San Juan Arbitration : An Averted War. By Hon. Archer Martin. On the 20th of April, 1927, at a joint meeting of the Women's University Club and the British Columbia Historical Association held at Roche Harbour, San Juan Island, the Hon. Mr. Justice Martin gave an admirable address on the occupation of San Juan Island by the British and American forces, and the subsequent arbitration proceedings. This address was so valuable that the Hon. Mr. Justice Martin has been persuaded to prepare a Memoir on the subject, which will be entitled as above. This Memoir will be published by the Archives Department next spring. British Columbia Place-names. By Capt. J. T. Walbran. This well-known work of the late Captain Walbran, published in 1909, has been long out of print, and has become so rare that copies command a high price. It has now, however, been revised and brought up to date, and will be republished by the Dominion Government shortly. OBITUARIES. By the Editor. Mrs. William Sinclair. A "Mother in Israel" surely departed this life when on May 22nd, 1927, Mrs William Sinclair, in her ninety-first year, breathed her last at the home of her daughter. Mrs. H. Rudge, 426 Helmcken Street, Victoria. At the time of her death all of her ten children were living, as well as twenty-seven grand-children, and thirteen great- grand-children. She began life as Jemima Eloise Kittson, and was born on July 25th, 1836, in old Fort Nisqually, Washington, then under control of the Hudson's Bay Company. Her father was William Kittson, First Chief Factor in the Company's service. Her mother was a daughter of Finnan McDonald, one of David Thompson's associates in his FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 61 explorations in the West, and who is said to be the original of Ralph Connor's " Man from Glengarry." After her father's death she became a ward of Sir James Douglas. She was married to William Sinclair, a son of Hon. William Sinclair, of Brock- ville, Ont, at Fort Cowlitz. She came with her husband to live in Victoria in 1859, he being in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company. Later the Sinclairs moved to Hell's Gate, Montana, now known as Missoula. After some years they returned to Victoria, where Mr. Sinclair went into business for himself. Then in 1870 he sold out, and returned with his wife to his boyhood home of Brockville. But the West attracted him back again, and he returned to farm a large tract of land in the neighbourhood of Mount Tolmie in the outskirts of Victoria. Tiring of this, Mr. Sinclair returned to the service of the Great Company and became Chief Factor at Fort Fraser. He died in 1899. Mrs. Sinclair spent the closing years of her life with her daughter, Mrs. Rudge, and was active and possessed of her faculties up to the end, which came peacefully in her sleep. Mrs. Edward Mohun. On December 28th, 1928, Victoria lost by death one of her oldest, most respected, and most interesting lady citizens. This was Mrs. Edward Mohun. Mrs. Mohun was one of the very few citizens of recent times who could boast of having lived in old Fort Victoria. She had reached the advanced age of 93 years when she was called to her long home, and had been a resident of Victoria since her nineteenth year. Her maiden name was Emmaline Jane Tod, and she was the daughter of John Tod, an employee of the great Hudson's Bay Company and a pioneer legislator of British Columbia. Her mother was Eliza Waugh, an English lady whom her father had met when on a visit home to England. Losing her mother when but a child, she was brought up by the Greenshields family, living in England, and later in Montreal. While again in England, at the age of 19, her father sent for her to come and live with him in Victoria. She came around the Horn in the good ship " Princess Royal " in the early fifties. She married Mr. William Henry Newton in 1857, her wedding taking place in the old Christ Church, the precursor of the building that has recently, in its turn, been replaced by the magnificent new Cathedral. In illustration of the primitiveness of those times, it might be staged that her wedding-ring was forged out of an American $2.50 gold piece by the Company's blacksmith, and the wedding-trip was a journey to Metchosin in an Indian canoe. After her marriage she moved to the Mainland, living in Fort Langley, and later in New Westminster. The piano she took with her was the first instrument of that kind to appear on the mainland part of our Province. Later, in 1875, Mr. Newton died, and subsequently his widow married Mr. Edward Mohun, a well-known civil engineer. Since Mr. Mohun's death Mrs. Mohun has lived quietly in Victoria, retaining a lively and intelligent interest in people and events. On November 7th, 1928, at the invitation of the British Columbia Historical Association, she performed the ceremony of unveiling of the bronze tablet erected by the Miller-Court Co. on the wall of their building standing on the site of the northeast bastion of old Fort Victoria; and less than a month before her death she was one of the honoured guests at a banquet given by the Association to a group of pioneers at the Dominion Hotel. On that occasion she gave a short, reminiscent account of some of her old-time experiences. Mrs. A. A. Townsend. Another of Victoria's Pioneer Mothers passed away on January 7th, 1928, when Mrs. A. A. Townsend died at the home of her daughter. Mrs. T. C. Hubbard, Clarence Street, at the age of 95 years. Mrs. Townsend was born in England and her maiden name was Charlotte Townsend, marriage thus only changing her name from Miss to Mrs. She, and her older sister, Louise, came to Victoria on the ship " Tynemouth," arriving at Esquimalt 62 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. on September 17th, 1862. They came out with the intention of teaching, and did so, giving piano lessons and teaching children privately. They brought a piano and a sewing-machine with them, and both these contrivances were much sought after for loan or rent. The piano was much in demand for concerts and other events where music was desired. Charlotte was an accomplished performer on the piano, and all her life was able to give pleasure to others by her playing. It was not long before both sisters were married, Louise becoming Mrs. Edward Mallandaine, and Charlotte, Mrs. A. A. Townsend. Mr. Townsend was an expert book-keeper by profession, but he later went into business for himself. Mrs. Townsend's life after her marriage was an uneventful one. She devoted herself to her husband and family. Her husband died in 1888. Mrs. Townsend never revisited her native land. She made a trip to Dawson, Yukon Territory, to visit her son in 1901. She went up on the steamer " Islander," which vessel very shortly after was wrecked with terrible loss of life. Mrs. Townsend was one of the guests at the reception given to Pioneer Ladies of 80 years of age, and over, by His Honour Lieutenant-Governor R. R. Bruce at Government House last year. Mrs. Mallandaine predeceased her sister by two years. Mrs. Townsend left two daughters and two sons. Charles E. Redfern. A truly notable citizen of Victoria was the late C E. Redfern, who passed away on March 26th, 1929, at the age of 89 years. He arrived in Victoria on the ship " Tyne- mouth " in 1862, with the intention of going to the Cariboo goldfields, but he found Victoria attractive enough to hold him, and from that time till his retirement was closely identified with the affairs of the city, mercantile and municipal. He started a business as watchmaker and jeweller in 1863 and continued to operate it till 1914, and during that time he was four times Mayor of Victoria, the first time in 1883, and later in 1897, 1898, and 1899. The large clock that he imported and affixed to the front of his place of business did the duty of town clock for many years, and is still in operation. When a town clock was installed in the tower of the City Hall, Mr. Redfern had the task of keeping it in order. Upon giving up the jewellery business, Mr. Redfern was employed in the Dominion Marine Department, where he remained until his retirement. Mr. Redfern's partner-in-life was Miss Eliza Arden Robinson, an English lady, a niece of the Reverend Percival Jenns, Rector of the old iron Church of St. John, One son and six daughters survive him. Always one of the most public-spirited of citizens, he was ever ready to shoulder his share of civic responsibility. He was a member of the Jubilee Hospital Board at the time of the erection of that institution, and was at one time President of the Pioneer Society and also of the Navy League. His interest was always extended to musical and dramatic affairs, and in his younger days he took an active part in such events. His life passed out in the hospital he had done so much to help forward at its inception. Mr. Redfern was one of the honoured guests at the banquet given to a group of old-timers in the Dominion Hotel by the British Columbia Historical Association on December 8th, 1928. Although very deaf and unable to hear much of what others said, he spoke briefly and humorously of the early days. Dr. Mark Sweeten Wade. The British Columbia Historical Association lost a valued member, and the Province of British Columbia a faithful and whole-hearted citizen, when on April 23rd, 1929, death took away Dr. Mark Sweeten Wade, of Kamloops, who had been a resident of this Western Province for forty-five years. FOURTH REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS. 63 He was born in England in 1858 and came out to Canada as a youth, but did not come to British Columbia until 1884, when he was appointed surgeon in the C.P.R-. construction camps. He later practised medicine in Clinton, Victoria, and Kamloops. In 1904 he became Editor of the Kamloops Sentinel. Dr. Wade was a man of sterling character and of varied attainments. He was physician, historian, lecturer, author, editor, and magistrate, and was successful in each calling. He married Miss Emma Uren, of Victoria, and leaves one son, Leighton, General Superintendent of the East Kootenay Power Company. His literary works include: " The Thompson Country "; " History of Kamloops and District"; " Tales of the Cariboo Road "; and his chief work, published in 1926, " Mackenzie of Canada," a truly monumental work dealing with Sir Alexander Mackenzie and his journeys to the Arctic and Pacific. Shortly before his death he had completed a work on the " Overlanders of '62," which is to appear shortly as a Memoir to be published by the British Columbia Archives. Denys Nelson. British Columbia lost an intensely earnest student of her history when death removed Denys Nelson, of Fort Langley, on June 10th, 1929. Mr. Nelson was born in Warwickshire, England, in 1876, and several years before the war came to reside in Canada. He lived for some years in Quebec, Montreal, and Winnipeg, coming to British Columbia in 1915. After a few months' duty as a fire- ranger, he joined the staff of the Royal Columbian Hospital at New Westminster. In December of that year he enlisted in the Medical Corps, and going to France was attached to the Third Canadian Field Ambulance, and served with it from November, 1916, to March, 1919. After the war he returned to Vancouver, where he was employed as night pharmacist at the Vancouver General Hospital for several years. Mr. Nelson's health not being able to stand the confining nature of his hospital duties, he resigned his position and bought a drug business at Fort Langley. Here he arranged the pageant in the old fort building at the celebration of Douglas Day in 1926. He also wrote a history of " Fort Langley," which was published by the Art, Historical & Scientific Association of Vancouver in 1927. Next year the Washington Historical Quarterly published his " Yakima Days," an account of the Mission Fathers of the church on this coast. He also left a great mass of notes on the place-names of British Columbia, particularly of the Lower Fraser. These will in all likelihood receive publication in the near future. Mr. Nelson was also a valued member of the British Columbia Historical Association. LIST OF MEMBERS, 1929. Life Members. Allard, Jason Ovid. 425 Columbia Street. New Westminster. Anderson, James R., Union Club, Victoria. Barkley, Capt. Robert. McKelvie, B. A., 1459 Vining Street, Victoria. McMicking, Mrs. R. B., Y.W.C.A., Victoria. Palmer, Mrs. Henry Spencer. Wade, Dr. M. S., Kamloops (deceased, 1929V Ordinary Members. Bullen, Mrs. W. F., 924 Esquimalt Road, Victoria. Boggs, Beaumont, 620 Broughton Street, Victoria. Boulton, Oswyn J., 322 Sayward Building, Victoria. Cree, Mrs. M., 974 Island Road, Victoria. Canadian Historical Association, Dominion Archives, Ottawa. 64 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. Denton, V. L., 1803 Belmont Avenue, Victoria. Dean, John, 572 Head Street, Victoria. Eastham, J. W., Court-house, Vancouver. Ella, Harry R., 1156 Fort Street, Victoria. French, Cecil, Box 352, Victoria. Fraser, Donald A., 314 Phoenix Place, Victoria. Forsyth, John, 851 Fort Street, Victoria. Goldie, John, 1151 McClure Street, Victoria. Goodfellow, Rev. John C, Princeton. Hosie, John, Provincial Librarian, Victoria. Hubbell, C. S., 1015 Alaska Building, Seattle. Hart, Mrs. E. C, 1513 Laurel Lane, Victoria. Holmes, Cuthbert, 336 Newport Avenue, Victoria. Henderson, H. S., 869 Humboldt Street, Victoria. Hamilton, Basil G, Invermere. Harrison, V. B., Brumpton Block, Nanaimo. Jones, Stephen, Dominion Hotel, Victoria. Kerr, Mrs. E. H, 112 Cambridge Street, Victoria. Longstaff, Major F. V., 50 Highland Drive, Victoria. Lady Douglas Chapter, I.O.D.E., Victoria. Matheson, C. Winfield, Macalister. McTavish, George S., 733 Lampson Street, Victoria. Martin, Hon. Justice Archer, Appeal Court, Victoria. McVicar, Mrs. M. E., Rocky Point Road, Metchosin. McMullen, E. W., 1715 Rockland Avenue, Victoria. Macdonald, Hon. Justice M. A., Appeal Court, Victoria. Nation, H. T, 2380 Windsor Road, Victoria. Nelson, Denys, The Fort Pharmacy, Fort Langley (deceased, 1929). Newcombe, W. A., 138 Dallas Road, Victoria. Pemberton, C. C, 323 Sayward Building, Victoria. Peters, E. S. (J.P.), Sheriff of Cariboo, Prince George. Piers, Sir Charles, 3218 Twenty-sixth Avenue West, Vancouver. Plaskett, Dr. J. S., Astrophysical Observatory, Victoria. Plaskett, Mrs. J. S., Astrophysical Observatory, Victoria. Russell, Miss Alma, 27 Boyd Street, Victoria. Reid, R. L., 1333 Pacific Street, Vancouver. Ross, Francis H., 146 Eberts Street, Victoria. Robertson, W. H, 428 Government Street, Victoria. Sewell, R. F. F., Royal Oak Municipal Hall, Saanich. Sage, W. N, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Shiels, Archie, Pacific American Fisheries, Bellingham, Wash., U.S.A. "Smith, John F., 130 Second Avenue, Kamloops. Swannell, F. C, 564 Dallas Road, Victoria. Shaw, Mrs. A. deB., c/o Archives, Victoria. Tolmie, Miss J. Wark, Box 1176, Victoria. Tolmie, Miss Josette C, 1618 Richmond Avenue, Victoria. Warden, R. C, 1444 Forty-third Avenue East, Vancouver. Wheatley, Mrs. M. S., 712 Lampson Street, Victoria. Williams, R. T., 934 View Street, Victoria. VICTORIA, B.C. : Printed by Charles F. Banfiei.d, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1920. 500-1120-838B
Titled "British Columbia Historical Association Report and Proceedings" from 1923-1929; "British Columbia Historical Quarterly" from 1937-1957; "BC Historical News" from 1968-2004; and "British Columbia History" from 2005 onward.
Periodicals
FC3801.B72 H44
English
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Victoria : British Columbia Historical Association
Images provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these images must be obtained from the British Columbia Historical Association.
Original Format: University of British Columbia. Archives.
British Columbia--History
British Columbia Historical Association Report and Proceedings
Text