ITS DEPARTED GLORIES, OR ESQUIMALT, THEN AND NOW.
The other day I had occasion to go through the town of Esquimalt, to
the end of the principal street, which runs north and south. It was
to the north end I went to take a boat to board the cable-ship
_Restorer_ to see my son off for Honolulu.
I had not been on this spot, that I can remember, for thirty years,
and I could not but stop and stare and wonder. Could this be the
Esquimalt I used to know years ago?
I could not but conjure up memories of the past, of Esquimalt's
departed greatness, bustle and busy life. In 1858, and before my
time, this was the British Columbia headquarters of the San Francisco
steamers, as well as the headquarters of the navy. Of the latter
there were always three or four vessels with nearly always a
flagship, and such a ship! It seemed like climbing up a hillside as
you passed tier after tier of guns, and finally reached the upper
deck.
The steamers running from San Francisco in those days were large
also, so large that they could not come into Victoria harbor, and the
_Panama_, I see by the _Colonist_ of that date, brought
1,200 passengers on one trip.
Well, to proceed. As I walked down the street I turned from side
to side, trying to remember who lived in that house, and who in that
one, in the days that have gone by. Oh! what desolation! What ruin
and decay! Only about every fourth house was occupied--the others
given over to the dull echoes of the past. I looked in several
windows and saw nothing but emptiness, dust and decay.
Of the notable houses and notable people who formed the population of
this once important town, there were the residences of Fred.
Williams, a prominent Mason and Speaker of the Legislature; William
Arthur, William Sellick and John Howard, hotel and saloon-keepers;
William Wilby, the mail carrier, with his numerous family; the
Millingtons and the Dodds. Of John Howard I have already written in
my description of an early-time Queen's birthday celebration on
Beacon Hill. John was a great horse fancier, and owned some winners,
which were generally ridden by the Millington boys. John, with his
friend, Thomas Harris (first mayor of Victoria), and Captain the Hon.
Lascelles, R.N., were then kindred spirits, and many a day's sport
they afforded to the public of Victoria.
After reaching the end of the street and the landing, what did I see
of the bustle, business and life of forty-nine years ago--a small
forest of worm-eaten piles sticking up in the water in front of me.
They were the remains of a large dock which had been covered with
warehouses and offices connected with the shipping of the port. The
late Thomas Trounce, of this city, owned the property and managed it.
Imagine what the arrival of a large San Francisco steamer with 1,000
or 1,500 passengers and 1,000 tons of freight on this dock meant? All
these passengers and all this freight were for Victoria.
The freight was transferred to small steamers for this city, and
also carted up by road.
We ourselves landed here from the steamer _Northerner_ with six
hundred others in February, 1859, and came around to Victoria in a
small steamer and landed at the Hudson's Bay Company's wharf. There
were several stages plying also, the fare being "only one dollar."
The "'Squimalt" road of that day was not that of to-day. It branched
off the present Esquimalt Road at Admiral's Road and ran eastward
parallel with the present road, climbing up a very steep grade before
reaching Lampson Street, and then keeping on straight till reaching
Craigflower Road. Then it branched into the present road again at
Everett's Exchange. This great change in 'Squimalt has not taken
place in late years. The loss of the naval station lately does not
seem to have made a deal of difference to its appearance. It dates
back to the "wooden walls" of old England, and the appearance on the
scene of the ironclad of later years. Whatever was the cause, the
effect is there, and I suppose good reason could be found for the
great change. Melancholy it was to me, who had seen the place full of
life, jollity and laughter as bluejackets and scarlet-coated marines
by scores landed with plenty of money in their pockets, and maybe
three days to spend it in. They were soon on the road to Victoria,
stopping at the wayside houses as they jogged along, singing and
laughing like a lot of schoolboys let loose from school.
On one of these occasions a laughable incident occurred, as scores of
these bluejackets and marines passed up Esquimalt Road. A squad or
more might have been seen walking along, headed by a bluejacket
playing a lively tune on a fife or tin whistle. One or two were
dancing to the tune, when all at once the music stopped, as a halt
was made, the command being "'Alt all 'ands!" They had come opposite
a wayside house and the sign over the porch--saloon--had attracted
their attention. One of the sailors had commenced to spell out the
sign. "What's this blooming sign say? A hess, and a hay and a hell
and a double ho, and a hen--saloon! Why blast my blooming h'eyes,
mates, it's a blooming pub! All 'ands come in and take a drink,"
and you may be sure "all 'ands" forthwith filed into the saloon and
"smiled," to use a Western phrase.
"For Jack's the boy for work,
And Jack's the boy for play;
And Jack's the lad,
When girls are sad,
To kiss their tears away."
These good old days of 'Squimalt, I am afraid, are gone for ever with
her prestige as a naval station taken from her. Shall we see her rise
again as a commercial port, as a headquarters of the C.P.R.? Shall
the echoes of commerce take the place of the echoes of Jack's
laughter and song? Let us hope so, and so end my little reminiscences
of 'Squimalt's early times.
Since writing this I have come across a cutting in my scrap book from
the _Colonist_ of May 17th, 1870, which gives the account of the
arrival of the first and only flying squadron (under Admiral Hornby),
which ever arrived here. By the by, we were promised flying squadrons
in lieu of stationary squadrons on this station. When is the first to
arrive? As there was a flagship here with two other vessels, at this
time, my readers may imagine the number of men in Esquimalt
harbor at that date; not less than three thousand five hundred, I am
sure, and how lively this must have made Esquimalt and Victoria. The
whole population, figuratively speaking, turned out to welcome these
six vessels as they came in from Race Rocks under full sail. It was
a beautiful sight. The _Zealous_ (armor-plated), Admiral Farquhar,
welcomed Admiral Hornby of the _Liverpool_, flagship of the
flying squadron.
[Illustration: First bridge over the Gorge.]