_BRITISH COLUMBIA._
Sir Francis Drake--Mears--Vancouver--Astor--Hudson’s Bay Company--
Gold Discoveries--Climate--Timber--Fisheries--Minerals--Mountain
Scenery.
The western Province of the Dominion cannot lay claim to even a
geographical recognition of longer date than that of a century. Drake
first visited the Pacific ocean three centuries back, in 1579, but it
is questionable if he ascended higher than the forty-eighth parallel
when he took possession of the country now included in Oregon and
Washington Territory in the royal name of Queen Elizabeth and called it
New Albion.
There is also a tradition that Vancouver Island was discovered by De
Fuca in 1592. From this date the northern Pacific waters remained
without further notice for two centuries, until the voyage of Capt.
Cook, who coasted along the shores in 1778. Ten years later these
possessions were on the verge of causing war between England and
Spain. In that year, 1788, some subjects of Great Britain, the most
prominent among whom was a Mr. Mears, purchased from the natives the
land about Friendly Cove, Nootka Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver
Island. What was then held to be the transfer of the territory was
gone through; buildings were erected and possession assumed. Mr. Mears
shortly after left the spot to return the next season, placing the
whole in charge of Maquema, an Indian chief. During his absence two
Spanish ships of war arrived, took formal possession of the place and
declared it to belong to the realm of Spain. An appeal was at once made
to the Imperial Government for protection. Spain, on the other hand,
in the first instance, seemed determined to justify the act of its
officers. The proceeding attracted much attention in England. Public
feeling was greatly excited. The spirit of the nation was thoroughly
aroused. A fleet was fitted out, and it looked as if the dispute could
only be settled by war, when Nootka Sound was surrendered by Spain.
It was in 1792, when Capt. Vancouver, of the Royal navy, was sent from
England to receive the transfer, and to make a voyage of discovery to
the Pacific. Those familiar with the literature of the last century
will recall all that was then said of Nootka Sound. By this date the
mainland had been penetrated from the east. Sir Alexander McKenzie had
discovered the river which bears his name, running to the north, and he
had accomplished the difficult journey of penetrating to the shores of
the Pacific overland, the first of our race to find his way through the
wilderness of the Rocky Mountains. To the south, the Government of the
United States had fitted out the expedition of Clark and Lewis, who in
1802-3 ascended by the sources of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers,
and reached the Columbia and the Pacific Ocean. The name also of John
Jacob Astor cannot be forgotten in connection with the Columbia River,
at the mouth of which he established the celebrated settlement of
Astoria.
In 1821 the Hudson’s Bay Company obtained a license to extend their
operations to New Caledonia, as British Columbia was then designated,
and the country virtually passed under their control. There was indeed
little to tempt the emigrant to cast his lot there and to seek an
independent existence, for without aid from the organization of the
Hudson’s Bay Company it was impossible to cross the continent. New
Caledonia could only be approached from the ocean.
Vancouver Island continued in its state of isolation. Thirty years ago
its white population of all ages, chiefly employés of the Hudson’s Bay
Company, was four hundred and fifty. The Mainland was even less known
and had fewer civilized inhabitants. Without the influences which
caused the rush of population to the Fraser, New Caledonia might have
remained undisturbed for half a century. It is difficult to see how it
could cease to be other than a wilderness, and its gigantic forests
unpenetrated except by Indian tribes, with a few trappers of wild
animals. In 1856 the discovery of gold inaugurated a total change in
its character. The Fraser was then the scene of the gold excitement.
This, the chief river of British Columbia, flows in a course seven
hundred miles, and is marked by rare grandeur of scenery, with frequent
rapids dashing through gorges almost impassable. Mr. Douglas was at
that time chief factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company and Governor of
Vancouver Island. In April of this year, 1856, he reported to the Home
Government the discovery of gold, the miners being chiefly retired
servants of the Company. In 1857 the number was increased by arrivals
from the United States. In a short time the report of the richness
of the deposit was spread among the miners of California. The result
was that by July, 1858, some twenty thousand persons left California
for British Columbia. The parties who engaged in the new venture are
described as being of all ages and conditions; men advanced in life,
those still on its threshold, many with ample means, doubtless the
greater part extremely needy; all crowded to the Fraser, it was said,
some to steal, unquestionably some to die. They arrived too early in
the season, and the majority experienced disappointment. The river was
swollen and the bars containing the deposits covered with water. Those
who failed in patience or endurance through deficiency in resources,
returned to California, to share in the abuse of the district and of
the country in general. Those who remained received the reward of their
patience. The water ceased to cover the bars, and the miners who worked
them found what was sought after in fair amount.
The political history of British Columbia goes no further back than
1840. Vancouver Island was then created a colony, with Governor
Blanchard as administrator. The only inhabitants were Indians, and
there was no revenue from any source. No laws were enacted, and
scarcely anything was done to promote settlement. He returned to
England in 1851, when Sir Francis Douglas succeeded him. In the same
year a Surveyor General and assistant arrived from England, and surveys
were commenced as the first step towards emigration and settlement.
A Council of four was nominated to assist in passing laws. Shortly
afterwards one hundred and fifty persons, farm labourers and miners,
arrived from England. Mr. Labouchere was then Secretary for the
Colonies, and in accordance with his instructions Governor Douglas,
in June, 1856, issued a proclamation for the election of a House of
Assembly, composed of seven members. The qualification of a member
to be the possession of £300, that of the electors the ownership of
twenty acres of land. The first House met in April, 1858.
In 1858 the discovery of gold, which had become known, led to a great
increase of the population along the Fraser. The mainland, British
Columbia, was, however, not declared a colony until 1859, when the
license of occupation of the Hudson’s Bay Company expired. It was
presided over by the Governor of Vancouver Island, and possessed of
itself no Legislative Council or Assembly. The Assembly of Vancouver
Island, on the other hand, was increased to twelve members. There
was also this further distinction: Vancouver Island was free for
importation, whereas British Columbia had a revenue tariff.
In 1864 Governor Douglas retired, and Governor Kennedy was appointed to
Vancouver Island, at the same time Governor Seymour was named Governor
of British Columbia, with an Assembly partly nominated and partly
elected.
In 1866 Vancouver Island became part of the Colony of British Columbia,
with one Assembly, as above described--partly nominated and partly
elected. Governor Kennedy retired. On the death of Governor Seymour,
in 1869, Governor Musgrove was appointed, and it was during his rule
that the incorporation of the Province in the Dominion of Canada was
accomplished in 1871.
It returns to the Dominion Parliament three Senators and six Members
of the House of Commons. According to the census of 1870 the population
was 8,576 whites, 472 coloured and 1,578 Chinamen.
The present population is roughly estimated at 25,000 whites, 40,000
Indians, 17,000 Chinese.
Victoria, the capital, is reported to contain 8,000 inhabitants.
The Province has been described as a sea of mountains. Within its
limits, however, are considerable tracts of rolling prairie, marked by
fertility. They consist of good soil, capable of abundantly producing
cereals, although in some localities there is too large an admixture of
gravel or of decomposed rock.
Its extent is about 200,000 square miles, extending from latitude 49°
to latitude 57°. The sea coast is about 450 miles in length, indented
from north to south by a succession of inlets running many miles within
the coast line, in each case presenting a harbour of perfect security,
of great depth of water, generally to be approached with safety and in
all cases marked with the boldest scenery. In no part is the climate
so severe as in the same parallel of latitude on the Atlantic. To find
the eastern equivalent of the mildest sections we must descend twelve
hundred miles to the south.
As a rule, throughout the Province, in the habitable portions, the
climate is favourable to the conditions of human life, generally
without the great extremes of heat and cold. It is marked, however,
with atmospheric diversities. From the mouth of the Fraser, inland, it
is moist. The rain is abundant in spring, summer and autumn, in the
fall of the year continuing for days together. In winter the depth
of snow is from one to two feet, in the extreme northern districts,
frequently deeper. It remains on the ground, near the coast, from a
fortnight to three weeks, and it disappears to be succeeded by another
fall, and so continues throughout the winter. Fogs prevail in October
and November, sometimes earlier, as was the case in my experience. But
they do not occur every year, for on a former occasion I found the air
both light and clear during my whole visit at the same season.
There is much to be learned about the climate and its variations, and
it is difficult to form a close generalization of the extent of the
localities where changes begin and end. We pass by insensible mutations
from the one zone to the other. There is no definite arbitrary line
shewing when we are in another climate. It may, however, be said that
the humidity of atmosphere is found to extend from the sea coast up
the Fraser, as far as Lillooet, above the junction of the Thompson,
and that it is continued along the Upper Fraser to the Forks. Within
this district the level land is fertile and densely wooded. In the more
northern Cariboo section there are extensive tracts of forest land
and of open prairie, highly fertile, fitted for farming purposes,
and well watered and drained. The soil, most strongly marked by these
characteristics, is found more immediately in the neighbourhood of
the Fraser and of the innumerable lakes in this district. In these
localities the climate is superior to that of the Lower Fraser, for it
is drier. In Winter it is of a lower temperature, much like that of
some parts of Ontario.
Leaving the Fraser to the east by the Valley of the Thompson, the land
is elevated but the winter is less cold. Indeed whatever varieties of
climatic influences may be found in different localities, it can with
certainty be affirmed that Southern British Columbia is free from the
extreme heat of summer and the intense cold of winter experienced in
Eastern Canada and North-Eastern United States.
So far as such a statement can be made, it may be said that snow on
the Upper Fraser and its tributaries does not reach the depth found in
Eastern Canada. Often it is not deeper than from six to twelve inches;
frequently the ground is quite bare. The authorities I have referred
to assert that the larger lakes in the district do not freeze, as in
Eastern Canada, nor do the Fraser and other streams become locked up
in ice like the tributaries of the St. Lawrence. Stock can subsist on
the bunch grass throughout the whole year. On the more lofty ranges and
summits, the height to which they ascend must be taken as typical of
the depth of snow.
There is, undoubtedly, east of the Fraser an extent of country where
the dryness of the soil calls for irrigation, especially in the
direction through which I passed; but wherever artificial moisture has
been obtained by this means, the result has left nothing to be desired.
Around the more southern coast and the lower lands of Vancouver Island
it is not possible to live in a more favourable climate. The winter is
especially mild, the thermometer seldom falling below freezing point.
The summer is temperate; the thermometer, Fahrenheit, seldom rises
above 72°, the lowest range being 23° 30′. Southerly winds prevail for
two-thirds of the year, and summer lasts from May to September. The
atmosphere is sensibly affected by the current which flows from the
southern latitudes of Japan and China. The Kuro-Siwo brings the warmer
temperature of the southern seas in the same way as the Gulf Stream has
heightened the salubrity of the British Islands.
It has been said that the weather of Vancouver Island is milder and
steadier than that of the South of England, the summer longer and
finer, and the winter shorter and less rigorous; and this is saying a
great deal. The climate of this Island must be almost perfection. It is
its oldest inhabitant who should be the most free from disease.
There is one recorded fact to establish the salubrity of the general
climate of British Columbia. I refer to the miners, who suffered
great hardship and exposure, toiling in cold, rapid streams, camping
on damp ground, constantly wet from the rain, wading in water of
low temperature, and even suffering from insufficiency of food.
Nevertheless, no sickness, no epidemic was experienced by them. It was
the saying at the time that many increased in weight, and it was the
boast of not a few that they were never so robust. This circumstance
was brought into strong prominence by a recollection of the contrary
results which had been experienced in California when the conditions
of mining operations were much the same, and where there remained a
painful record of broken health and shattered constitutions. To a far
greater extent is this condition experienced in Vancouver Island,
described as one of the gardens of the world. The residents of
Victoria speak of the delight which Her Royal Highness the Princess
Louise experienced in this healthy locality, the more so as she could,
unrestrained and without annoyance, follow the simple habits she
prefers. Many anecdotes are still told of Her Royal Highness during her
residence, and twelve months have elapsed since she left.
Medical men prophesy that the lower lands of Vancouver Island will be
constantly visited by many whose health exacts absence from latitudes
marked by severe temperature. Such as now visit Colorado will find
a more salubrious and genial retreat on the waters of the Pacific.
Vancouver Island promises not simply to furnish coal and to be a site
of many a manufactory of iron, but equally, to offer to the invalid a
home and a sojourn where he may hope for renewed health.
The timber of British Columbia, drawn from its majestic forests,
might supply the markets of the world for years without a perceptible
diminution of its extent. In many localities trees, tall and straight,
stand so close together as to be a marvel. Its wealth in the pine
or cone-bearing family is very great. It consists of the celebrated
Douglas pine, white pine, hemlock, spruce and balsam. The cedars, I may
say, are of fabulous size. I have measured them and found the diameter
not less than twelve feet. At the saw-mills where the Douglas pine is
manufactured, it is strange to have to relate it, no log of greater
diameter than eight feet is received, for the trees of larger diameter
are unmanageable.
There are localities of prairie destitute of trees, but the growth on
the river flats is abundant and varied. Birch, oak, ash, yew and maple
are found in some localities, and in the swamps alder, cotton wood and
Balm of Gilead.
The wild fruits and berries seem inexhaustible. With fish they furnish
the diet of the Indian in his native state. They consist of the
wild plum, the cherry, the crab-apple, prickly pear, the raspberry,
blueberry, scarlet currant, gooseberry, bearberry, and on low ground
the cranberry.
The game is most varied and plentiful, as every one who has lived at
Victoria can bear witness. I have counted fifteen deer hanging in a
butcher’s shop. The mountain sheep, when full grown, weighs several
hundred pounds. It is covered with long hair resembling coarse wool,
with enormous horns. There is a tradition that when escaping pursuit
the animal leaps over precipices to a lower level, and it is upon these
horns it throws itself. The flesh is equal to that of the domestic
sheep, but they are rarely caught as they keep up in the mountains
until forced down by the snow in search of food.
The fisheries have already become a prolific source of wealth and yet
they are in their infancy. The British Columbia salmon is well known,
even in the English market, in which it has been introduced preserved,
and has been favourably received. Herrings abound around the islands,
and many kinds of fish are caught off the coast. The development of the
fisheries naturally will create other industries, such as are connected
with their own requirements, with fish oil and isinglass.
The mineral deposits are coal, iron and copper, with the precious
metals. More or less gold is found in every stream. There are immense
iron ore deposits at Texada Island, in the Gulf of Georgia. Bituminous
coal is found on Vancouver Island at several points; at Nanaimo the
mines are profitably worked. Anthracite coal is obtainable on Queen
Charlotte Island. The proximity of iron and coal cannot fail to have
a large influence on the fortunes of the Province, especially as
manufactured articles will find an outlet to the east by rail equally
as by water in the opposite direction.
It remains only to allude to the scenery, of which it would be
impossible to omit mention, for it is in every respect remarkable. It
presents the most marked contrasts. Gigantic mountains, themselves
overcapped by snow-covered peaks, quiet prairie, foaming cascades,
striking waterfalls, the most rapid of running waters, river reaches
with scarcely a ripple. Everywhere it is bold and even its occasional
sylvan quietude is impressive, sometimes reaching a grandeur as
majestic as it is wild. The canyons are clefts in the mountains which
ascend almost perpendicularly from the rivers and in some spots incline
inwards, while a torrent fiercely rushes through the fissure. On some
sections of the Fraser terraces are seen to rise in regular gradations
and to extend far back, each change of level shewing angles and slopes
as defined as if formed by art. The peaks, in clear weather, are seen
standing out in bold relief, receding by gradations until the last
outline can with difficulty be traced. Among all these bewildering
spectacles are seen waterfalls descending hundreds of feet of
perpendicular height.
The fiords indenting the whole line of coast run into the Cascade
Range. Their shores rise perpendicularly to peaks, often a
perpendicular mile from the water’s edge, while the water is so
sheltered as to be without a ripple and lies dark and fathomless at
their base.
Travellers relate how, in the solitude of the wilderness, sounds have
come upon them as of muffled thunder. It is the descent of an avalanche
from a glacier, miles away from them; or one of those mountain slides
of earth and trees which occur in the summer heat in the lands at high
elevation. These spectacles are among the most wonderful movement of
the earth’s forces. I have spoken of some of these phenomena as traces
of them passed under my notice.
It would be difficult to find in any one of the four continents more
majestic or more varied scenery, marked by more of Nature’s fertility
of resource in grouping together scenes of astonishing grandeur. I
do not except Switzerland, with which no comparison can be made, for
British Columbia has a character of its own. It must be seen to be
appreciated.