|
The first duty which
devolved upon Captain Richards on the ‘Plumper’ reaching these waters
was the determination of the exact spot where the parallel of 49° north
latitude met the sea. This was known approximately, but it was necessary
now to determine it accurately as a starting-point for the Commission
which was to carry the line across the continent, and also for the
purposes of the Naval Commission to which Captain Richards belonged, and
whose business it was to determine the channel by which it was intended,
by the Treaty of 1844, that the boundary-line should pass to the Strait
of Fuca.
Accordingly, after a short stay in Esquimalt Harbour, Captain Richards
decided to accomplish this part of his mission at once. The
Commissioners of the United States had already made their observations,
and, having encamped upon a spot of the mainland near the computed line
of parallel, awaited the ‘ Plumper’s ’ coming to confirm them. So on the
18th of November we steamed up the Haro Strait and across the Gulf of
Georgia, to Semiahmoo Bay.
It would be unjust to the scenery of these channels to describe it as we
then saw it in the depth of winter. Although the weather was open, and
there was hardly any snow upon the ground, both the shores of Vancouver
and the numerous other islands that we passed wore that dull, sombre hue
common to northern countries at such a season.
At all times, indeed,
the scenery of these islands, with that of the shores of the mainland,
is little attractive, covered as they are with pine-trees to the water’s
edge, through which knobs of trap show in places, but in winter it is
peculiarly uninviting.
Semiahmoo or Boundary Bay, is an extensive sheet of water, some eight
miles wide, flowing inland towards the Fraser River, from the south bank
of which it is only divided by a flat and narrow delta three miles
across.
As the parallel of 49° north latitude meets the sea in this bay, it will
be well to give a short description of it. It lies between Birch Bay,
one of Vancouver’s anchorages, on the east, and Point Roberts on the
west, the tip of which latter point falls south of 49°. The distance
between the east and west points is 8 miles, and the length of the bay
northerly is 7 miles, though at low water it dries off from the head for
3 miles.
There is anchorage in 7 to 15 fathoms nearly all over the bay, though
the western and southern parts of it are exposed to southerly winds,
which send in a considerable sea. In the eastern part there is good
anchorage, except with a southwest gale.
The south bluff terminates at its east end in a long, low spit, more
than a mile long, covered with grass, drift-timber, and a few pines.
This spit was afterwards, for a short time in the summer of 1858, the
site of “Semiahmoo City,” and it forms a small but snug nook called
Drayton Harbour, which affords shelter from the south-west gales when
the outer anchorage is not safe.
Here we stayed until the 16tli December, making the necessary
observations, when, on Captain Richards proceeding to mark the spot
where he considered the parallel met the sea, it was found to differ
only eight feet from that fixed upon by the American Commissioners.
Whilst here, of course, we were thrown a good deal in the way of the
officers of the American Boundary Commission. Their party consisted of
Mr. Campbell, the Commissioner; Lieutenant Parke, of the United States
Topographical Engineers, astronomer; two or three assistant astronomers,
a doctor, naturalist, botanist, and a captain and subaltern in command
of the military escort, which consisted of about 70 men. They had been
here nearly a year, and were able to form some idea of the work that lay
before them. Some of the party were veterans at the work, having been
engaged upon the Mexican Boundary Commission. Their instruments were
admirably packed for travelling, and of very superior make and
workmanship. Until recently, the Americans were obliged to come to our
English manufacturers for their scientific instruments; and I think it
was with some natural gratification on their part that our attention was
drawn to the fact that these were made by Mr. Worde-man, an American, at
Washington, who began life as a repairer of Troughton’s instruments.
Their estimate of the probable expense of settling this boundary
question rather surprised us, and showed us at once that the cost of a
clearing on this side of the continent could not be calculated by the
expense of a similar undertaking east of the Pocky Mountains. Colonel
Estcourt, whose opinion was asked, and formed upon his experience of
cutting a line thirty feet wide from Lake Superior to the Lake of Woods,
had estimated the whole expense of continuing it on this side to the sea
at 32,000l; but Mr. Campbell, the American Commissioner, told us that he
had asked for an annual appropriation of 45,000l. for three years.
Although he did not get this, it was much nearer the requisite sum than
the other, and the issue proved the correctness of his judgment.
Our work over at Semiahmoo, it was decided to return to Esquimalt until
the weather should be fine enough to enable us to commence om* surveying
work. Before making that harbour, however, we visited Nanaimo, a
settlement 75 miles north of Victoria, for the purpose of coaling.
Nanaimo is the only
spot in the island where the coal is worked, although it appears in
several other places. The harbour is good, and there is no difficulty in
making it.
A small island lies off the entrance, which is admirably adapted for a
lighthouse when the harbour becomes of more importance. The town, such
as it is, stands upon a singular promontory, which seems to have been
severed from the mainland by some violent volcanic eruption which
twisted the strata of which it is composed most curiously. Along the
shore are the colliery buildings, and about a dozen remarkably sooty
houses, inhabited by the miners and the few Hudson Bay Company’s
officers here. There is a resident doctor in the place, who inhabits one
of these houses, and to the left of them stands the Company’s old
bastion, on which are mounted the four or five honeycombed 12-pounders,
with which the great Fur Company have been wont to awe the neighbouring
Indians into becoming respect and submission.
The coal obtained at Nanaimo, although it burns rapidly, and is
excessively dirty, answers sufficiently well for steaming purposes, and
is not likely to be soon exhausted. It has been found at several other
places besides this promontory of Nanaimo. On Newcastle Island which,
with Protection Island, form the shelter of the harbour, coal has been
worked to a considerable extent, and found good. It has also been
discovered cropping out on the Chase River, a few miles up the country,
and further inland at a spot known as Pemberton’s Camp. As yet the
resources of Nanaimo and its neighbourhood have not been fairly
developed. The appliances for delivering the coal, for instance, were so
faulty that a ship had to lie there often for three or four weeks before
she could take in a load. There can be no doubt that with a more liberal
outlay of capital, under judicious and enterprising management, Nanaimo
might drive a very flourishing trade at home and with California, where
coal might be delivered at 12 to 15 dollars a ton, which would
be almost as desirable as the Welsh coal, which is seldom below 20, and
sometimes fetches as much as 30 dollars a ton. For domestic consumption,
and for use in the factories, I believe the coal of Nanaimo to be almost
equal to that brought at such au immense expense and labour from the
Welsh mines. Indeed, when I happened to be at San Francisco, I was
informed by one of the leading iron-manufacturers there, that they
preferred mixing Nanaimo with Welsh coal when they were able to obtain
it.
One decided drawback to Nanaimo as a harbour is the existence there of a
species of augur-worm (Teredo navalis). It is remarkable that, although
this insect infests Nanaimo to such an extent that a new pier, built
there shortly before our first visit, has since given way to its
ravages, we never found it elsew here on the coasts of the island or
mainland. Of course there are many inlets and harbours still so little
known that no positive opinion on the subject can be entertained, but
Esquimalt and Victoria, among many others, are certainly free from it.
January 1st, 1858.—A novel feature in marine merrymaking was introduced
by the ‘Satellite’s’ crew, who invited our men to a dinner on board
their ship. I do not imagine that such an entertainment was ever
witnessed before. It was capitally managed, and the crews of both ships
behaved remarkably well. The upper deck of the 'Satellite’ was covered
in with flags, under which tables were laid down the whole length of the
port side, at which about sixty of our men dined with the £
Satellite’s.’ Of course we all went to look on. The sergeant of the £
Satellite’s ’ marines took the chair, proposing the toasts with
introductory speeches that none of us need have been ashamed of.
February 10.—After
spending six weeks in Esquimalt Harbour, we sailed this day to Port
Townsend for the mails, Victoria at that time being too insignificant a
place for the American mail-steamers running between San Francisco and
the Sound to put in at. Indeed, just then the letters of the £ Satellite
’ and £ Plumper ’ formed nearly the whole contents of the English
mail-bags. Upon our way a party was dropped at San Juan Island to
commence surveying operations. Here we—for I formed one of them—remained
until the 27th, when we returned to Esquimalt. The weather we
experienced convinced us that the middle or end of March was quite early
enough to commence work with any hope of success. Out of the seventeen
days we spent there six only could be called fine, and at the best the
cold was so severe and the fogs so frequent as to render boat-work
extremely dangerous, particularly in channels so full of tide-rips and
over-falls. Upon one occasion, during our stay, the 'Shark’—as the
'Plumper’s’ pinnace after being raised and half-decked had been
christened—was a subject of great anxiety to us. In crossing from San
Juan to Esquimalt she missed her port, and having drifted during the
night past the Race Rocks—it might just as well have been upon
them—picked herself up in Sooke Inlet, twenty miles below Esquimalt.
Upon another occasion, the £ Shark ’ was caught in a storm of wind and
snow, of the violence of which the accompanying sketch may enable the
reader to form some idea. She is there depicted dragging her anchor and
drifting on shore, the men on board of her signalling to us for
assistance that we were utterly unable to give them. I may mention in
connection with this sketch that the hill on which we were standing
watching the 'Shark’s’ danger was that upon which the Americans
afterwards, upon taking possession of the island, planted their battery,
and near which, although the battery has disappeared, their camp now
stands.
The few weeks of mid-winter which we had spent in Esquimalt had been of
necessity somewhat idle. However, as the colony was new to ns, time did
not hang at all heavy on our hands. Directly the weather would permit,
it was intended to commence surveying operations. The plan of our
campaign was to spend the summer at this work, returning to Esquimalt as
winter set in again. With some interruptions, this plan was adhered to,
and the winter months of each year were spent ashore at our office,
making up the past and preparing for the future summer’s work.
March 16.—We left Esquimalt to commence in earnest our surveying work. I
have said that Captain Richard’s first duty on arrival was to determine
exactly where the parallel of of 49° N. met the sea. This was done in
the winter, and we now commenced that part of our work next in
importance, viz. to make an accurate chart of all the disputed islands
and channels. As the whole summer of 1858 was taken up with this work, I
will here give a description of these islands; the name of one at least
of which—San Juan —has since become familiar to every one.
The American territory which joins British Columbia on the south is
called “Washington Territory,” and between this and the south-east shore
of Vancouver Island lie the group of islands I am about to describe, all
of which are included in the Haro Archipelago.
In the first chapter I have said that Captains Prevost and Richards were
sent out to endeavour to adjust the rival claims of our Government and
that of the United States to the possession of these islands; the
wording of the treaty of 1844 being so vague as to leave the right to
them in doubt.
The treaty appears to have been made under the impression that there was
only one channel between Vancouver Island and the continent, and in
ignorance that any islands existed there at all. Practically at that
time there was only one channel, for the eastern, or Canal de Rosario,
was the only one about which anything was known, and had been used by
all the navigators who had entered the Gulf of Georgia.
The Canal de Haro had, it is true, been marked on the maps by the
Spaniards, but it was only when the Hudson Hay Company established their
head-quarters at Victoria that this passage became used, and even then
their vessels generally went up the Rosario Strait, which, being more
familiar with, they preferred.
Of the rights and wrongs of this question, which is as unsettled now as
it was then, my official position in the survey prevents my entering
into a discussion, and obliges me to refrain from anything like a
detailed account of the “San Juan difficulty,” which, in the year
following that of which I am now mating, caused so much excitement both
in the colony and in England.
To return to the islands: the distance between the two above-named
channels is about twenty miles, and their length the same, thus making a
space of four hundred square miles full of islands, varying in size from
ten or twelve miles long to a mere heap of trap with two or three pines
on them. The group consists of the three important islands of San Juan,
Orcas, and Lopez, and about thirty smaller ones. Of these Orcas, the
most northern, is the largest, and contains the finest harbours. It is
mountainous, and in most parts thickly wooded, although in the valleys
there is much land available for farming. On the east side of the island
Mount Constitution rises nearly five thousand feet, and is a very
conspicuous object from all parts of the Gulf of Georgia. Deer abound
more in Orcas than in any other of the islands. During our stay of about
a fortnight in East Orcas Sound, upwards of thirty were shot.
San Juan, the best known by name, and in size the second of these
islands, is eleven miles long, by an average of three miles wide. There
is more land available for agriculture here than on any other of the
group; and of this the Hudson Bay Company took advantage some years ago,
and established a sheep-farm upon it. This farm has ever since its
establishment been in charge of Mr. Griffin, a gentleman whose kindness
and hospitality render him every one’s friend. It is situated on a
beautiful prairie at the south-east end of the island, which, rising 140
feet above the water, looks most attractive to the emigrant passing
onward towards the Fraser. I have never seen wild flowers elsewhere grow
with the beauty and luxuriance they possess here. Perhaps I cannot
illustrate the attractions of San Juan better, than by saying that it
was the spot selected by his Excellency the Governor’s daughter aud
niece in which to spend their honeymoon.
At one time I believe the Company had as many as 3000 sheep on the
island, distributed at various stations, all under Mr. Griffin’s charge.
His house, which is very pleasantly situated, looks out on the Strait of
Fuca, and commands a magnificent view up Admiralty Inlet. Directly in
front of it lies a bank, which is a very favourite fishing-station of
the Indians, where they catch a large number of salmon and halibut. This
spot was, in 1859, the scene of a double murder, which excited no little
speculation that will never be satisfied in this world.
Mr. Griffin told the story thus. He was sitting in his balcony one
summer afternoon, watching a vessel working her way up the Strait, when
he saw two boats, each containing one man, pull past in the direction of
Victoria. He was rather surprised at seeing them thus single-handed, but
at that time, when the gold-fever was raging fiercely, every sort of
boat was employed to cross the Strait, and he concluded that they were
two Americans, making their way from Bellingham Bay to Victoria. They
had hardly rounded the point, just beyond the farm, and passed out of
his sight, when a small canoe with a single Indian shot past in the same
direction. There was nothing in all this to attract particular notice,
and Mr. Griffin was surprised when, an hour or so later, two boats,
which he at once recognised as those that had so lately passed, drifted
into view', floating back, to all appearance, empty. A canoe was at once
sent out to them, when one was found empty, and in the other lay the
body of a white man, shot, but not pillaged,—even the provisions that
were in his boat being untouched. Who shall say who his murderer was?
Had his white companion shot him, landed, and pushed off his boat?—for,
except in the boat in which the murdered man lay, not a drop of blood
could be seen. Or had the Indian killed him, and had his companion, on
seeing the fatal- shot fired, leapt overboard, and been drowned? If so,
it was in revenge, for nothing was taken from the boats; perhaps in
performance of that duty which is still considered “sacred”—if one may
use the word—among the Indians—of taking a life for a life.
Lopez Island is lower and more swampy than the others. It forms the
south-east end of the group, and is nine miles long by three wide. The
other islets are, as I have said, mere masses of rock covered with
pines, and too insignificant to claim especial notice.
Thus of the whole group San Juan is the only island worth anything for
purposes of colonisation, while it only contains a few thousand acres of
good land. To allege, therefore, that an island of such paltry extent is
of any real value in this respect, either to a country possessing the
adjacent island of Vancouver and territory of British Columbia,—or still
more to one possessing the hundreds of miles of fertile prairie
contained in Washington Territory, Oregon, and California,—is manifestly
absurd. A study of the chart—which we were then preparing—however, will
show quite clearly why the country that holds Vancouver Island and
British Columbia must also hold San Juan Island, or give up the right of
way to her own possessions. It will be seen at once that the party that
holds this island commands the Canal de Haro. The narrowest part of the
channel from shore to shore is five miles. This distance from San Juan
can certainly be kept by steamers, but they must be thoroughly
acquainted with the navigation to do so, as they must pass inside
several reefs, and west of Sydney Island. To go up the centre of the
channel—as big ships should do—San Juan must be passed at two miles’
distance; as must Henry and Stuart Islands also, both of which would
belong to the nation holding the east side of the Canal de Haro.
San Juan can be of no use to any country but Great Britain, except for
offensive purposes; and, on the other hand, it cannot be of any use to
her but for defensive purposes, as its eastern shore in no way controls
or affects the Rosario Strait, from the western side of which it is
eight miles distant at the nearest point, with Lopez Island between.
The same argument might be used against our holding possession of the
islands which form the western side of the Rosario Strait, but here
Nature befriends us; for during our survey we found there was a middle
channel passing eastward of San Juan and a small island north of it,
called “Waldron Island,” which channel, though not so wide as either of
the others, is quite safe for steam navigation. A boundary-line,
therefore, passing down the middle channel would give to the nations on
either side a road to their dominions perfectly free of interruption,
and well out of shot of each other, for some years to come at least; and
this certainly appears the simplest and best solution of the difficulty.
I will not weary the reader by describing all the lesser channels,
inlets, and harbours which were discovered and surveyed, and of which
the accompanying map is too small to give an adequate idea. Any one who
feels an interest in such matters should obtain the large charts now
published, which show the extraordinary shape of the outline of this
coast and its islands: deep channels and inlets, with more shallow bays
and harbours running in every possible direction, sometimes between lmge
crags, and elsewhere through or into low level land; the whole forming
islands, promontories, and peninsulas of most grotesque shape, and
bearing more plainly than I have seen in any other country the evidence
of volcanic action. Two features, and two only, are constant
everywhere—the everlasting pine-trees and the igneous rocks.
We remained among these islands till the 16th of May, when we returned
to Esquimalt, to find that during our absence that most infectious of
all maladies—a gold-fever— had broken out, and had seized every man,
woman, and child there and in Victoria. The existence of gold on the
mainland of British Columbia, had been proved incontestably; and
everyone whom a few weeks ago we had left engaged steadily in pursuits
from which they were reaping a slow sure profit, seemed to have gone
gold-mad.
The story of the discovery of the precious metal in British Columbia
should have taken no one by surprise; the only wonder was that years
before, its existence in quantities large enough to attract gold-seekers
had not been discovered. Its existence had been known, indeed, to a few
people for many years, but it was only quite recently that attention had
been called to the subject, and that Mr. Douglas, who had a very
accurate prescience of what was likely to happen, had drawn the
attention of the Home Government to this fact. Common report says,
however, that the Hudson Bay Company had been in the habit of getting it
from the Indians for years; and if this be so, Mr. Douglas’s prescience
was not very remarkable.
Mr. Anderson, a chief factor in the service of the Hudson Bay Company,
and a well-known explorer, had some time since been despatched to the
mainland, with instructions to examine into its resources generally. His
expedition proved of value, resulting as it did in the discovery of the
Harrison-Lilloett route, by which, as I shall have occasion to show, the
worst obstacles of the ascent of the Fraser River have been overcome;
but he threw little, if any, light upon the main object of his search.
The Company’s brig ‘Una’ had also been despatched to Queen
Charlotte Island, and succeeded in blasting gold in quartz, at a place
called Gold Harbour. But owing in part to the fierceness of the natives,
and still more, perhaps, to the mechanical difficulties attending the
working of the blasts, the Company shortly gave up this as an
unprofitable speculation.
Now, however, time had brought to notice what the little search made had
failed to find, and the excitement of Victoria was indescribable. To any
one who had known San Francisco or Melbourne under similar
circumstances, the condition of Victoria was not surprising; but to
those hitherto unacquainted with the earliest febrile symptoms attending
the discovery of gold, the change in its aspect and prospects might well
seem magical. The value of land was raised immensely, and the impulse
given to its sale was, of course, very great, although the fluctuations
in its price, as contradictory reports came down from the mines, made
dealing with it a somewhat hazardous speculation. All the available
Government lands had been snapped up by far-seeing speculators when the
first drops of the golden shower descended. Lots in Victoria and
Esquimalt, that a few months ago had gone begging at their upset price
of 1l. an acre, sold now for 100l. an acre, and soon for more.
Merchants’ stores were rising in every direction. On the shore of the
harbour, wharves were being planted; and, as if there were something
magnetic in the demand that at once attracted a supply, sailing-ships,
laden with every description of articles which a migratory population
could, and in many cases
could not, want, flowed into the harbour. Victoria appeared to have
leapt at once from the site of a promising settlement into a full-grown
town. Its future had not, previous to this, looked by any means bright;
and we had been in the habit of regarding the map of the town of
Victoria, kept in the land-office, as an amusing effort of the
surveyor’s imagination. But now the promise seemed likely of fulfilment.
Here was actually a street, and there were not wanting indications the
most palpable that in a short time there would be two, even three
erected. Several of the old settlers had already made enough by the
sudden rise in the value of their lands to be thinking how they might
spend the rest of their lives easily, even luxuriously. Expectation was
written in every face, which before had been placid, even stolid; for
with occasional visits from Her Majesty’s ships of war, the great event
of Victoria had been the advent of the ‘Princess Royal ’ once a year,
with the latest fashions of the Old World and fresh supplies, human and
material, for the Honourable Company’s service. Now, with vessels
arriving and leaving constantly, with thousands pouring into the port,
and “sensation” news from the Fraser daily, a new mind seemed to have
taken possession of Victoria; and whether the ‘Princess Royal’ arrived
or foundered on her way, was one and the same thing to the excited
people, who had hitherto looked upon her coming as the one event of the
otherwise uneventful year.
That road, too, from
Esquimalt to Victoria, about which so much has since been said in and
out of the Colonial Assembly, was changed, with the rest, almost beyond
recognition. Only a few months before, we used to flounder through the
mud without meeting a single soul; now it was covered with pedestrians
toiling along, with the step and air of men whose minds are occupied
with thoughts of business; crowded with well-laden carts and vans, with
Wells Fargo’s, or Freeman’s “Expresses,” and with strangers of every
tongue and country, in every variety of attire. Day after day on they
came to Victoria, on their way to the Fraser; the greater part of them
with no property but the bundle they carried, and with “dollars,
dollars, dollars!” stamped on every face. Miners, indeed are always
ready for change. However good the. prospects of to-day may be, the idea
of better will tempt them to exchange them without a moment’s
hesitation. The merest whisper of a new find is enough to unsettle a
whole neighbourhood, and send hundreds into the wilds “prospecting.” It
frequently occurs at San Francisco that individuals who happen to
possess land speculate for a rise by setting afloat some
cleverly-planned rumour that a great find has been made in their
locality. The greedy miners and speculators, whose experience has taught
them to discredit no account however wild, hasten to buy the land in
question at fabulous prices. I remember when I happened to be in San
Francisco in I860 that a place in the Washoe country was reported to
have been found full of silver,—a rumour which was confirmed by some
very rich specimens of that metal which were exhibited as having been
found there. Upon the strength of this, Washoe land was being bought by
feet, and even inches, and nothing else was talked about at the
dinner-tables or in the streets of San Francisco from morning until
night.
The excitement in Victoria reached its climax, I think, in July. On the
27th of the previous month, the ‘Republic’ steamed into Esquimalt
harbour from San Francisco with 800 passengers; on the 1st of July, the
‘Sierra Nevada’ landed 1900 more; on the 8th of the same month, the
‘Orizaba’ and the ‘Cortez’ together brought 2800 ; and they all reported
that thousands waited to follow. The sufferings of the passengers upon
this voyage, short as it is, must have been great, for the steamers
carried it least double their complement of passengers. Of course
Victoria could not shelter this incursion of immigrants, although great
efforts were made, and soon a large town of tents sprung up along the
harbour side. Wherever time and material were handy for building, a
wooden house was erected, and in this respect Victoria had greatly the
advantage of San Francisco under similar circumstances, from the ease
and comparative cheapness with which building timber and planks could be
obtained from the American saw-mills in Puget Sound. Of course these
buildings were run up without much regard to the previous architectural
arrangement of the town. But this was of little consequence. Wooden
houses in a new settlement in America are always built witb an eye to
their removal, -if necessary, the side supports being morticed into the
flooring; so that, should the surveyor run a new, or determine to carry
out the design of an old, street through them, their owners make no
demur, but mounting them on wheels transport them to their proper
position. It is by no means unusual to see a family residence moved from
one street to another, a distance, perhaps, of a quarter of a mile, in
this way. It happens not unfrequently that a lot which was bought by the
settler upon his arrival, and upon which he has built himself a house,
becomes in course of time the Bond or Regent Street of the place. Some
speculator then offers him a handsome price, not for his little house,
which would be useless to him, but for its site, on which he intends
building some handsome store. The bargain struck, the house is forthwith
mounted upon rollers, and wheeled into some back street, whence perhaps
in time it may be called upon to move again; and this plan was carried
out in Victoria.
In the mean time the gold-seekers had, as they arrived in Victoria,
provided themselves with such necessaries as they required for their
adventure; and, by every means of conveyance at their disposal—by
steamer, sailing-vessel, canoe, and boat—were making their way across
the Strait of Georgia to the mouth of the Eraser River. For this passage
steamers had already been brought up from the Sacramento River at great
expense and trouble. Too frail to bear an ocean passage, it was
necessary to construct an enormous skow or lighter for each steamer. The
lighter was decked over and fitted with pumps, like a caisson. It was
then sunk under the steamer in shoal water, built up at the bow and
stern, so as to completely cover her hull, and pumped out, a mast being
stepped through the deck and bottom of the steamer on to the lighter’s
kelson. The whole was then taken in tow by an ocean steamship, some sort
of sail being fitted to the mast above-mentioned, so that, if she should
break adrift from the consort, or it should be found necessary from
stress of weather to cast her off, the two or three men who made the
voyage in her should not be left altogether at the mercy of the waves.
A good story, illustrative of that American “cufeness” about which so
much has been heard, was told me by one of themselves, relative to a
steamer that had been bought to ply upon the Fraser. She had been
purchased of an American company, which had secured the monopoly of the
Sacramento Fiver steam-navigation, by the process of buying up all the
vessels started to oppose them. These they sold occasionally for use on
other rivers, with the one stipulation that they should never be brought
back to the Sacramento. The Fraser River season being over, the
stipulation stood very much in the way of the Yankee owners of one of
these boats, who were prevented from making the only profitable use of
it that was then open to them. A way, however, to keep the letter, if
not the spirit, of the bond they had entered into, was found. They
exchanged their steamer for another that was then plying on the Fraser,
and, putting her on the lighter that had brought the other up, took her
to San Francisco, where the monopolising company had to buy her off at
the owners’ own price.
The most glowing accounts of the successes of the miners reached
Victoria, and, stripped of the exaggeration natural to the subject,
enough remained to prove that the mineral resources of the country had
not been over-estimated by those who were most likely to be acquainted
with them. The miners had, during the first few months after their
arrival at the month of the Fraser, pushed far up it, finding gold still
more and more abundant. I shall have in due time, and of my own
experience, to speak of this route through a wild and rocky country to
the valleys indenting the minor ranges that rib the country west of the
Rocky Mountains, although, travelling with the aid of men and means that
the miners first in the field could not command, my difficulties were
not to be compared to the dangers of life and limb that beset them. The
voyage alone across the gulf from Victoria to the mouth of the Fraser
was fraught with peril to many who, too impatient or too poor to wait
until they could take passage in the ordinary steamer or sailing-vessel,
fitted up a crazy boat or old canoe, and committed themselves to the
mercy of one of the swiftest and most capricious channels in the world.
Several, no doubt, of whom no record was taken or left lost their lives
in this adventure; more, perhaps, in the perils of the Fraser, or from
exposure, want, and hard living at the mines. But these were few in
comparison to the hundreds lost in trying to cross the continent to
California in 1849, whose bones, are now bleaching in the Sierra Nevada.
Those who were then disposed to blame Governor Douglas for many of the
calamities that occurred, could scarcely have reflected upou, or made
due allowance for, the difficulties of his position. Roads to the
interior there were none, if I except that most dangerous path from Fort
Hope across Manson Mountain, in which the Hudson Bay Company’s brigade,
experienced as they were, yearly lost a number of horses. The “freshets”
had commenced; as the snow melted, the river rose so that its navigation
above Yale was impossible, as several found to the cost of their lives.
Added to this, the only vessels upon the river were two belonging to the
Company, the ‘Otter’ and ‘Beaver,’ whose draught of water prevented
their going above Langley, whence the journey to Yale had to be made in
boats and rafts extemporised oil the spot, or in canoes navigated by
Indians. Half despising, and more than half fearing these Indian
auxiliaries, as the miners do, they frequently treated them with a
degree of cowardly cruelty that in many cases cost them dear. The only
way to travel safely with Indians is to trust them, or affect to do so,
implicitly, and, above all, to show no fear. I have frequently travelled
alone with them, and slept alone among them, and had the greatest care
taken of my life and property, whereas when travelling in a party
nothing is safe from their thievish hands.
It must be remembered also that as yet the colony had no revenue to work
with. Except the small amount realised by the sale of lands, the sole
source of revenue then existing was the licence of five dollars from
every miner ascending the Fraser. However, despite these difficulties,
the Governor determined to make an effort to open up a route to the
upper country, by which the miners might journey with comparative
safety, and supplies be conveyed to them; and a body of about 600 men
was organised to cut a way from lake to lake along the route explored
and recommended by Mr. Anderson, and since known as the Harrison-Lilloett
trail.
The difficulties of this work can scarcely be estimated by any one who
has not seen British Columbian bush. Some idea may be formed of it, if I
state that I have travelled for days in this country where we scarcely
advanced at the rate of one mile an hour.
By the middle of the summer, however, the Fraser had been taken
possession of unmistakeably. The banks between Forts Hope and Yale were
being worked productively, and some of the miners liad forced their way
as far up as Lilloett, or Cayoush as it was first called, about 220
miles from the mouth of the river. A few had settled at the forks of the
Thompson and Fraser Bivers, 160 miles from the mouth of the latter, and
their group of huts had been dignified with the name of the then
Colonial Secretary—“Lytton.”
When the rush to the river began, it was resolved, as I have said, that
a gold licence of five dollars should be charged to every man ascending
the river. Of course considerable difficulty was found in enforcing this
tax, and numbers evaded it. Even now, I believe, the cost of its
collection is so great in the out-of-the-way places, that the Colonial
Exchequer is little, if at all, benefited by its imposition. Captain
Prevost was at this time requested by the Governor to undertake the
enforcement of this tax, by placing the ‘ Satellite ’ at the river’s
mouth, and stopping all miners who refused payment. This was done, and
she remained there until the middle of the summer, when a small schooner
named the ‘Recovery,’ formerly belonging to the Hudson Bay Company, was
bought, armed, and stationed in the Fraser River for this purpose.
12th July. — H.M.S. ‘Havannah’ arrived this day at Esquimalt, bringing
from Panama a commission under Major (now Colonel) Hawkins, R.N., who
had been appointed to determine and mark the 49th parallel in
conjunction with the United States Commission, of which I have before
spoken, from the coast at Semiahmoo Bay to the Rocky Mountains. It was
then thought probable also that this commission would cross the Rocky
Mountains and carry on their observations to the west side of the Lake
of the Woods, to the east of which it had already been completed by the
late General Estcourt. This was not carried out, however, and the party
have now returned from the westward, having gone as far as the summit of
the Rocky Mountains.
This party was composed much as the American Commission with which it
had to work in concert was, and consisted of Captain Haig, R.A.,
astronomer, and two officers of Engineers, Lieutenants Dahrer and
Wilson, with a naturalist, geologist, and botanist; the latter office
being undertaken, as I have before said, by Hr. Lyall of the ‘Plumper.’
Upon his arrival, Major Hawkins was naturally anxious to commence work,
and accordingly the ‘Plumper’ took him to Semiahmoo Bay for a few days,
that he might see the nature of the task that lay before him and meet
the American Commission. We found that the spirit of emulation had
seized upon Semiahmoo and Point Roberts. Since our last visit the
greater part of the spits and all the level land at the extreme of Point
Roberts had been “Pre-empted,” half-a-dozen wooden huts had been built
on each, and called respectively Semiahmoo and Roberts “City.” My
English readers who know only the “cities” of the Old World should be
informed that, in such a rapidly progressing country as America, any
spot whereon a liquor-store and a post-office, with two or three huts
about them, are built, is immediately named a “city.” All over the
country these “Bogus” cities, as the more staid Americans call them, are
to be found. Many, of course, to use their own phrase, “cave in,” and
this was the fate of Roberts and Semiahmoo Cities, for in less than six
months they were deserted.
A few days after our return from Semiahmoo, on the 29th July, the quiet
tenor of our life in Esquimalt Harbour was disturbed by a messenger from
the Governor, with a requisition that an armed force should be at once
despatched to Victoria to quell an imminent disturbance in that city of
wood and canvas. Steam was with all haste got up, and embarking the
engineers of the Boundary party, we started for Victoria. Things had for
some time been critical there, and it had been thought more than once
that it would be necessary for the Governor to make an exhibition of
force at least, that should effectually tame the more unruly of the
strange, heterogeneous population that had placed themselves under his
rule. The new-found mineral wealth of British Columbia had attracted
from California some of the most reckless rascals that gold has ever
given birth to. Strolling about the canvas streets of Victoria might be
seen men whose names were in the black book of the Vigilance Committee
of San Francisco, and whose necks would not, if they ventured them in
that city, have been worth an hour’s pm-chase. Aware of this, and that
the police force had only just been established, and consisted of some
dozen untrained men, while it was well known that no naval or military
auxiliaries were nearer at hand than Esquimalt, it may easily be
conceived that we were not much surprised to receive the Governor’s
message, and while we steamed round to Victoria thought it advisable to
prepare ourselves for what might possibly be a grave encounter with the
lawless spirits of California. Many a subsequent laugh have the
recollections of that night’s work excited. Upon the quarter-deck,
small-arm companies were having ammunition served out to them; forward,
the ship’s blacksmith was casting bullets by the score; while our doctor
was spreading out his cold, shining instruments upon the ward-room
table, and making arrangements for the most painful surgical operations
with that grave, business sang-froid, which is no doubt caused by a
benevolent desire to show the fighting men what is in the opposite scale
to honour and glory.
Directly the ship anchored outside the harbour, we were landed and
marched into the Fort square, where we were left under arms, while
Captain Richards waited upon the Governor. Whatever disturbance there
had been had now evidently ceased, and his Excellency was found going or
gone to bed. However, upon being informed of our arrival, he turned out,
thanked and dismissed the troops, and our evening, begun so fiercely,
wound up with a supper in the fort. The fact proved to be that the
police, in endeavouring to arrest a drunken rioter, had been prevented
by some of his companions, by whose aid he had been got on board a
schooner lying in the harbour. Under the escort of one of our boats, the
police now felt themselves strong enough to effect his capture; and the
schooner in question being boarded, a harmless, sleepy, drunken miner
was dragged out of the hold and lugged ashore, where on the morrow, no
doubt, he was soundly rated and fined. And so ended the first and only
difficulty which has ever threatened the peace of Victoria from its
white population.
Few men could perhaps have been selected better adapted for dealing with
the strange, heterogeneous population of Victoria than Mr. Douglas. Many
stories are rife in Victoria of his coolness and readiness, when without
these valuable qualities dangerous consequences might have ensued. I
remember one, which, however, loses much of its point to those who are
not familiar with the man, and his slow, deliberate action and
utterance. Many years ago, when white men were fewer in these regions,
and Indians less cowed than they have now become, Mr. Douglas was in
command of one of the Company’s trading stations. His subordinate
officer was alarmed upon one occasion by the Indians, who had for some
time past showed symptoms of insubordination, becoming more violent than
usual, and forcing their way in large, unruly numbers into the Fort
square. Hushing to Mr. Douglas in an excited tone and manner, he
reported that the Indians were in possession of the Fort, and desired to
know whether he should turn the men out and man the bastion, &c. He was
not a little surprised to hear his senior say in his measured,
deliberate fashion of utterance, “Give them a little bread and treacle,
Mr. ; give them a little bread and treacle.”
And indeed the specific completely soothed the excited multitude, which
probably no force they could command would have done. Another annecdote
of the same kind occurred while we were out there. A blustering Yankee
went to the Governor apparently with the notion of bullying him, and
began by asking permission for a number of citizens of the United States
to settle on some particular spots of land. They would be required, he
was informed, to take the oaths of allegiance.
“Well,” said he, “but suppose we came there and squatted?”
“You would be turned off.”
“But if several hundred came prepared to resist, what would you do?”
“We should cut them to mince-meat, Mr.; we should cut them to
mince-meat.”
From this time until the 8th October, we were engaged at intervals among
the islands of the Haro Archipelago surveying. On that day ended our
outdoor work for 1858.
21st November.—Work over for the year, we proceeded to Nanaimo, where
the ‘Plumper’ was beached in Commercial Creek, for the purpose of
repairing the mischief she had done herself by running ashore. And a
very moist, unpleasant business it was.
The low water was at night between the hours of 9 p.m. and 1 a.m.; it
froze all the while, and the mud on which the si lip lay was so soft
that half the working time was taken up in keeping the trench, which had
to be dug under her, open, so that the injured false keel and forefoot
could be got at. At last, however, the carpenters got their work done,
and on the 9th December we returned to Esquimalt for the winter.
On Christmas-day the packet arrived, bringing Colonel Moody, R.E., the
Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works; Mrs. Moody; Captain Gosset, R.E.,
Treasurer of British Columbia, and his wife; and the Rev. B. Crickener,
now chaplain at Yale. The arrival of any officials from England was
welcomed as a sort of connecting link with home, and a practical
acknowledgment of the colony’s existence.
By this time the gold-fever had subsided, and something-very like a
reaction had set in. Many declared that British Columbia was a bubble
that would soon burst, if, indeed, it had not burst already. Victoria
now was full of miners, who had come down the Fraser, and were as eager
to get back to San Francisco as they had been to leave it in the spring.
And although they all spoke well of the bars, brought much gold with
them, and talked confidently of returning directly the winter was over,
Victoria was uneasy at their departure, and would not believe in then’
return. The exodus, indeed, was startling, but not without a cause. To
winter at the mines was scarcely suited to the tastes of men the
majority of whom, accustomed to the climate of California, where snow is
never seen, were ill adapted to endure the severity of a British
Columbian winter. Such of the miners, principally Canadians and
Englishmen, who passed the winter season up the river, suffered
severely. The weather, which, with the ordinary comforts of
civilization, might be easily borne, told heavily upon men poorly clad
and housed, and obliged, from the exorbitant price of provisions, to
live hardly. Indeed, more than once no little fear was felt lest, from
the difficulty of getting supplies up the country to them, the inland
population might be starved outright. At that time, and subsequently, a
great number of the Indians who, in the hunt for gold had neglected to
store fish and roots, and otherwise to prepare for the winter’s coming,
did die of sheer starvation.
The task of transporting provisions to the bars high up the river was,
indeed, great. The Harrison-Lilloett trail had, it is true, been cut,
but as yet it was impassable for mule-trains, so that the only way of
transporting things from lake to lake was by Indian packing. The snow,
too, had blocked up many of the trails, the navigation of the Fraser
itself was impeded by ice, so that it cannot be wondered at that such of
the miners as had the hardihood to pass the winter near their claims
were paying as much as 6s. a lb. for flour, and os. for bacon.
The old miners of California and Australia, men whose lives had made
them impatient of hardship, except in the immediate pursuit of their
darling object, and whose rapid gains provoked and permitted the utmost
licence and extravagance, were little likely to remain up-country, with
the comforts and vices of Victoria and San Francisco within their reach.
But the people of Victoria did not then understand this; and when they
saw their friends and customers of the summer depart southward, and
heard accounts of the gold-bars being comparatively deserted, it
required more faith than they possessed to enable them to believe that
the tide of immigration would ever reflow, and that it was better for
the country that these dubious Californians should leave and be replaced
by a more steady and plodding population. |
