New-York daily tribune., 1858-08-16
VASCOUVEf ISLAND.


Clear IL the rou:h OF IrelsId Il !, sepNa;ed Fon
Ae mainland hy Q1een Chsilot:es SoIud, the Gall OF
Gss,sis. snd the strs. of Juan ie Facs, he sfs'
named srer Al sncent rsrrer who visited ;hsse seas
n advance OF Cspt Cook, sid xho wss oncs osAeVed
% lsxs discovered the veri..te Nor.hWest ssssss.
I.s ..suee a. sn island VS. 10. known until tne yesf
l-sq xben an American vessel sailed through .he
channel between Il and the m.inisnd lie history -
.lnos, entirely devoid oflrtsrest In tue i.tsr par oi
the ls,t century me Spanish being excited BY ne sic'
cess of he Enelilh traders North. Western Ansrc',
seized upon tie Island, srd undertook 70 estsoAsh
colopv on Nootks Sound, on the west cosst eu. 50
uncertain we're they OF their c.sm 70 the ter
Iitory, .ha. wtep, in 1872, Capt Vancouver,
VITO had previously sailed with Cook, visited
Nootka Sound TO urge the claims Of the Eaesh Gov
erpment, be wss received with great politeness oy
Csp.ain Quasrs, the Spanish Ccmnsnd.nt, snd the
possession was courteous.y made 70 Ens and aer
short diplomatic psley.
Qusdrs's name preceded tina; Of Vancouver IN nam
ing the island and ia found al but the most recent
nsps Vancouver was q brave and ski,fll navigator
Of much experience, and /; is better nst his name
should be thus pelpeus.ed than that Of the Spanish
Conmsndant, who, notwithstanding hi, prior cs.m,
wee sr interoper the premises. 10 1919 tae Island
| was made over 10 the Hudsons Bay Company TO COL
onize but so far from their having accomplished this
Il still remsrs unexplored, and the physci features OF
is interior are as little known as those Of Central
Africa At the erd Of the yesr 1853, the white popu
lstion numbered but $50 souIs, of whom about 100
were in the service Of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Tie shore Of Vancouver Islald is lower than most
other parts OF the northwest coast of Amsric,, pre-
sentng an alienation Of rocky cliffs and saudy beaches
shor: distance bsck of the shore there is line OF
lsree detached rocks covered with pire-trees ar
little further in tie unexpored Interior is range of
| lofty rugged mountains whose submits are covered
with eternal snow. Its climate lie said - be mild 10
Winter, though the Summer heat equals that of the
tropics In the latter sesson rain is unknown, and the
| little streams on the island dry up std disappear,
while the long, luxuriant grass which has sprung up
ss though by magic, becomes dried and parahed and
ready to ignite upon the first application OF ire. The
Winter season however, lasts eight months, during
which space heavy rains fall necessarily accompanied
with violent thuuderstorms and fogs of remsrkable
density and duration Notw outstanding this nclemsncy
the soil OF the slsnd s sad to be very fertile and sus
ceptble Of cultivation the shortness of the Sum-
| mer season being compensated by the rapldity
of vegetable growth. As yet, however, scarce
| y five hundred acres are under cultivation,
and these in contradiction of the theory of Henry c.
shore The IIudsons Bay Company sell the land at Il
sterling per twenty acres the purchaser being bouud to
supply one settler for every section OF twenty acres
that he buys.
a. regards its native productions Vancouver Island
s but sparsey supplied with vegetables that may be
eaten. The Indian inhabitants gather the Cdrdssia
senent0 the roots Of which, about the size of onions
they bury in the earth to for food in the Winter
The sweet blue berries OF the Guakteria which re-
sembe bleckbeuies, their favorte fruit. 10 addi
on to these they have raspbeies gooseberres straw
berries, orsb-spples, wild cherries and EQaisem hy
emale the latter making excellent fodder for cattle
Its fauna comprises two species of bears, three of deer
| black and white wolves, small panthers squirrels
rsccors, land and sea otters and beavers. The fur
trade has never yet been prosecuted to any extent
the annual export of skins from the island amounting
to only a few hundred dollars The forests lofty
ard dense. Two species Of oak abound, and the pine
trees ere reported to sometimes attain the enormous
dimensions of go feet hight and Il feet in cucum
fererce The Obip 'pars produced on Vancouver
leland said to be- in point Of sze and comparative
strength, the n.oet valuable 10 the world.
| Within the last ten years coal has been found in
abundance on the island, and il thus derives additional
importance from the possibility that it may at some
future day coal depot for the steam marine
the vicinity of Fort Rupert, but the seam averaging
scarcely six inches in thickness the works a. that
place were abandoned upon the discovery in 1885, Of
the mineral at Nsnaimo, the east coast. The Span
srds sppesr however, to have been the original dis
coverers of coal Vancouver Island as the ruins Of
fortified mine are still remaining at Mstchousn, in
the extreme south. At Nsnsimo the bed s from six
to feet thick lying within fifty feet Of the sur
face ard is supposed to territory Of four square
miles, 1t has been extensively mined by the Hudsons
Bay Company, the daily excavation Of single aborer
averaging two urs. The coal is delivered board Of
vefels at $l per tun and in 1884 il brought s28 per
tun in San Frsncisco.
The native population numbers sbsut ii 900, and
comprises &c different tribes OF which the ClsyoquOts
5000 in number the largest. -Four languages are
spoken the Island, none Of which bear any
blarce to the dialects Of the mainland. Slavery is
practioed by the inhabitants those prisoners Of
that are not behesded for the gratfcston Of their vic
tor, being consigned to lifelong servitude. The
tves particularly those the west coast tall and
well formed with coarse black hair which they suffer
TO grow without moe.tation. They have long noses,
prominent cheek bones, large mouths and eyes, and
su all low fcreheads-owrg 10 the custom that pre-.
walls Of binding strips Of bark around the heads Of
young infsnts habit that must have great effect
on ther moral and Intellectual development. The
cosr Of their skin is reddish brown and the women
almost without exception endowed with aA. noses
When the females ue old enough they are cold,
| and many d the weather. men own as many
ss ten or dozen wives, for which they pay
prices varying fron ten woolen blankets to
muske. apiece. Abortion s universally resorted to to
prevent tco sres, increase Of family and though the
| women generally fruitful they seldom bear as
tlvoa Tka4 4xao e I. .har
sists of bear skns and they have rings hanging from
| their and noses. The women wear shirts made
OF wool 6bers Of cedar bark and taoong entirely
| uoboroized bv the soff sex in Nanconver Isand