The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-09-03

of the island of Vancouver. They were
both sunburnt almost out of recognition,
but were in splendid health and full of
enthusiasm for the dangerous and excit-
ing experiences through which they have
just passed.
ut was trying trip" said Mr. Bolton,
but we were fortunate in having no acct
dents, and as we made the distances
we wished to cover we are thoroughly sat-
lshed with the results of our journey"
Mr.. Laing, who organized the expedi-
ton and covered the financial end of it,
was full of information about the beauty
OF the island, but he said they have dem
onstrated that the central portions of in
terror Vancouver are no place for settlers
1T is a magnificent country for the
lovers of nature, but jagged. snow capped
mountains and steep declines offer little
temptation to people to settle. In Victo-
ria we looked up the records left by previ-
GUS explorers, who, however, do not pre-
tend to have penetrated so far into the
interior as we did, and we found that they
often misrepresented things. In some
cases imagine they must have examined
the patches of arabic land they speak of
from the top of some neighborlng noun
tain with the aid of telescope. At the
head of Woss Lake, for instance, one ex-
piorer says there is a fine tract of arabic
land. We examined it, and found it to be
a swamp. The Government makes a mis-
take in accepting the word of some of the
explorers whose records we found in Vic
toria. Most of the rivers and lakes in
Northern Vancouver are very inaccurateiy
marked on the maps. We are now prepar-
ing maps for the admiralty, which will
be official.
Mr.. Laing says that Vancouver is one of
the best watered countries he ever saw in
his life, but that nowhere in the course of
his explorings in the northern portion of
the island did he or Mr. Bolton find traces
of the precious metals. The only discoy-
cry was quantities of beautiful marble.
but that was in such inaccessible places
that there is very little probability That it
will ever be utilized.
The party, in addition to the gentlemen
mentioned, consisted Of two guides from
Seattle, both accustomed to mountaineer-
ing and pac k-carrying, ana e. Fleming of
Victoria, a photogra pher. Packs with
provisions to last two weeks were carried
as well as axes, guns, instruments for
measuring attitudes and cameras. The
distance covered in the wilderness was 315
miles, 200 of that being by canoe and raft.
The other 100 miles were walked, throucb
dense brush and forest, over snow-covered
mountains and down slides of rock and
gravel.
The start proper was made from Alert
Bay on the east coast, about240 miles from
Victoria, a settlement thickly peopIed
with Indians of the Nimpkisch tribe. and
with two of the chiefs the party contracted
to be taken in canoes TO Woss Lake, be-
yond which no explorer had ever pene-
trated. The only way open is up the
NImnl<icPh u fvQr " hirh ha in oil
ids. At each of them the party had to
leave the boats and pull the canoes against
stream. At the junction of the Nimpkisch
with the Kla-Anch River the Indians de-
c!ared that they could 90 no further. as
the water was ton shallow to carry the
canoes. They insisted on being paid for
the whole distance, however, and when
they departed stole thirty pounds of bacon.
which caused the party to live on beans
and biscuits for the next nine days.
The next move was to walk seven miles
through almost impenetrable timber land
with the aid OF compass and an ak, to
Woss Lake. There raft was built and
rude oars were constructed out of limbs of
trees. After waiting all day for a fierce
gale to subside the explorers set out by
night down the weird, solitary lake
where no sound could be heard but the
rush oil waterfalls, some of them descend
ing distance of 1000 feet.
At the end of the lake steep, rocky as
cent led to pass in the mountain. This
was traversed for some distance, and then
the party found an inaccessible wall of
rock over 1000 feet high facing them
There being no valley 10 pass through n
was necessary to right-about face and To
return to the divide, from whence the ex
plorers struck off eastward to the coast in
order to replenish their store of nro-
visions, for, though deer and elk were