Some Reminiscences of old Victoria Part 8

It is a watercolor sketch, drawn and colored by H. O. Tedieman, C.E., and artist. For me this picture has a great fascination, because it reminds me of those days gone by--"those good old days," as an old friend of those pioneer days remarked to me recently. A prettier place could not be imagined, with its undulating ground covered with gra.s.s relieved by spreading oaks and towering pines.

By the aid of this picture and information furnished me by Colonel Wolfenden and Mr. Harry Glide, I am enabled to give a pen-picture of the Queen City of the West forty-four years ago. Colonel Wolfenden says that when he first remembers James Bay he saw a gang of Indians--it may be one hundred--under "Grizzly" Morris, a contractor, and superintended by H. O. Tedieman, with pick, shovel and wheelbarrow making Belleville Street along the water and in front of the Government building. The sea beach then came up in front of the large trees on the Government grounds, about eighty or one hundred feet further inland. All this s.p.a.ce was filled or reclaimed from the sea by the Indians. I might say that Chinese were almost as rare in those days in Victoria as Turks. Indians performed all manual labor--in fact were to that day what John Chinaman is to this. James Bay bridge, which was just built, looks a very frail structure in this picture, and must have been, as Colonel Wolfenden says, intended for pa.s.senger and light vehicular traffic, there being nothing to cause heavy traffic over the bay, the only houses of any moment being the paG.o.da-like buildings erected in 1859 for the Government, and replaced by the present palatial buildings, of which there were five. In addition to these I see the residence of Governor Douglas and Dr. Helmcken, Captain Mouat and City Clerk Leigh. There was also a good-sized house on Beckley Farm, corner of Menzies Street, in charge of John Dutnall and wife. Across Menzies Street there is the cottage now owned and occupied by Mr. Jesse Cowper, since dead, which was then occupied by John Tait of the Hudson's Bay Company's service, and who was an enthusiastic volunteer of the white blanket uniforms of 1861.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Government buildings, 1859-60.]

I see what I think was the residence of W. A. Young, on Superior Street, who was Colonial Secretary, and whose wife was a daughter of Chief Justice Cameron. If this is the place I see, it is still standing, and for years was the residence of the late Andrew J.

Smith. To the right of the Government buildings is an isolated cottage which I believe is still in the land of the living, being built of corrugated iron, brought out from England by Captain Gossett, who in 1859 was colonial treasurer, mention of whom will be made later on. From Mr. Leigh's residence, which with Captain Mouat's was on the site of Belleville Street, until you come to St. John Street, there is a blank. On the corner is the house built and occupied by Captain Nagle, now occupied by Mr. Redfern, and across the street another built by James N. Thain and now occupied by Mr.

George Simpson of the customs. From this on to the outer dock I see three isolated houses, that still remain. The large one was built and occupied by Mr. Laing of "Laing's Ways," the pioneer s.h.i.+pbuilder; another by Captain H. McKay, the sealer captain; the third was built out of the upper works of the wrecked steamer _Major Tomkins_, the first steamer to run from Olympia to Victoria. She was wrecked off Macaulay Point in 1856. Mr. Laing bought the upper works and built this house. Lumber in those days had mostly to be imported from San Francisco--that is, the wood for fine work. Mr. Muir, of Sooke, bought the boilers and engines, which he put into a sawmill he built there, and good service they gave for years. Before the road opposite the Government grounds, which is now Belleville Street, was reclaimed from the sea, there was an Indian trail which ran through the woods, from Laing's Ways, in the direction of town along the water-front, around the head of the bay to Humboldt Street. I might say that the plat of ground on which the Government buildings were built in 1859 was bought from a French-Canadian who came overland from Montreal, and although in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company for years, either could not or would not speak a word of English other than "yes" or "no." He built his house here and lived here until he sold out to the Government, the house being afterwards used as a Government tool house.

[Ill.u.s.tration: First bridge over James Bay.]

Mr. Harry Glide, from whom I got these particulars, is a pioneer of 1856, and lived near the outer wharf. He married a daughter of Mr.

Laing. He says all James Bay from the bridge to the mouth of the harbor was covered with pine trees, and all this land, together with that facing Dallas Road up to Beacon Hill, was called Beckley Farm.

The greater part of all these trees were cut down for Kavaunah, a man whom many will remember as having a woodyard about where the James Bay Athletic a.s.sociation now stands.

Mr. Glide says that there were quite a lot of Cherokee Indians here who came from their native land to the coast of British Columbia for work, and a fine body of men he says they were, most of them over six feet and strongly built. It does seem strange that they should have travelled so far from their homes and country. There were also many Kanakas here, who came on vessels from Honolulu at odd times. They formed a small colony and located on Kanaka Road, or Humboldt Street, as it is now called. I can remember them in 1860, one family attending service at Christ Church regularly.

The most prominent building in sight is Victoria District Church, as it stands out in relief on Church Hill. When I first went there as a boy, it was a most primitive-looking building, with its low steeple or dovecote (as it looked like). There were two bells in this steeple, one larger than the other, which sounded ding dong, ding dong, many a year, until early one morning James Kennedy, an old friend of mine, as he was going home saw flames issuing from the roof.

He gave the alarm, and shortly after the whole town was there, and the engines with volunteer firemen. Nothing could save it though, as it was summer-time and very dry, and it was not more than an hour or two before it had disappeared. The other day I had the pleasure of meeting one of my schoolfellows of 1859, Ernest A. Leigh, of San Francisco, a son of the second city clerk of Victoria, and who was here on a visit to his niece, Mrs. George Simpson (customs). We of course had a long talk over old times, the days of yore, the days of '59. In looking over this old picture he exclaimed, "There is the old church we went to! My father built it," and then I remembered the fact. Well can I remember the old church, with its old-fas.h.i.+oned windows, seats and gallery, and its organ that stood in the gallery, facing the congregation. When I first remembered it, Mrs. Atwood, now Mrs. Sidney Wilson, was organist, and I was organ-blower. Originally it was played as a barrel organ, as it contained three barrels which contained ten tunes each, but Mr. Seeley, the owner and proprietor of the Australian House, at the north end of James Bay bridge, made and adapted a keyboard to it, and Mrs. Wilson played it in the morning and in the afternoon. In the evening the keyboard was removed, and your humble servant ground out the hymn tunes as on a barrel organ.

It was in this gallery that I first met John b.u.t.ts we have heard so much of through Mr. Higgins. I remember b.u.t.ts as a sleek, respectable-looking young fellow with a nice tenor voice, which he was not afraid to use, and he was quite an addition to the choir, of which I was a juvenile member. In after years John fell from grace and gave up the choir, and might have been heard singing as he walked along the street, and not above taking fifty cents from someone well able to give it. He was always cheerful and goodnatured, and if a child were lost John would ring his bell and walk up and down calling out the fact.

This view of the old city is taken from the rocks on the Indian reserve, and in the foreground is a large building which occupied the site of the present marine hospital. When first I remember this building it was used as a lunatic asylum. It is the only prominent building shown on the reserve, with the exception of the Indian lodges, which by the extent might accommodate easily two thousand Indians. The harbor is full of s.h.i.+pping, taking up the whole frontage from the Hudson's Bay Company's wharf north, which is the only one distinctly to be seen in the view. The vessels reach to the bridge across the harbor.

At anchor is the historic _Beaver_, and steaming out of the harbor is the British steamer _Forward_. On the Hudson's Bay Company's wharf is a large shed or house. I do not see the present brick building, which was not built then (1859), but Mr. Glide says in a large shed on this wharf the _British Colonist_ first saw the light, the advance sheets being printed here in 1858. When the shed was torn down a little over a year ago there were brought to light a number of old letters, which was a good find for the man who had the job of taking the shed down, for there were lots of old Vancouver Island stamps on these letters.

The _Colonist_ was moved from here to Wharf Street, about where the Macdonald block now stands. Also Wells, Fargo's express first did business in this shed, then moved to Yates Street, where it was located in a building, the lumber for which was imported from San Francisco, being redwood. This building was afterwards moved to Langley, between Bastion and Fort, and used as a feed store by Turner & Todd, whom we all know.

An incident by my schoolfellow Ernest Leigh, of Upland Farm in 1859, finishes this reminiscence.

Killing of Capt. Jack.

Referring to Mr. Higgins' most interesting account of the killing of the noted Indian chieftain, "Captain Jack," at the Victoria jail in the year 1860--the result of this shooting was to set the Indians over on the reserve wild with excitement, which condition was aided by a plentiful supply of infernal firewater obtained from the notorious wholesale joint at the end of the Johnson Street bridge.

They immediately decided to start in their canoes up along the straits toward Saanich, calling at the many farms and wreaking their vengeance upon the settlers. A man was sent out from the fort on horseback to warn the farmers. At the Uplands Farm at Cadboro Bay, where the late William Leigh and family were residing, there were some seventeen people--men, women and children. When the warning came a hasty consultation was had, Mr. Leigh being away on business, as to whether it would be best to load up the wagons and all move in to the fort, or to barricade the house and run chances of being burned out, or to hide away in the forest behind the farm. The latter course was finally decided upon, and with a supply of blankets, mats and wraps, for protection against the cold, a movement was made down into a heavily wooded ravine about half a mile back of the farm, where, hidden under the spreading branches of a large pine, the party made themselves as comfortable as they could, the women and children huddled close under the tree and the men and elder boys mounting guard on the outer edge. Some of them were perched in the lower branches with whatever arms they had been able to secure, princ.i.p.ally old Hudson Bay flintlock muskets.

It was very dark and gloomy in the ravine, which was heavily timbered with a pine forest, and the concealed partly expected that at any time the Indians might arrive and fire the farm buildings, and perhaps search for them.

Just before dawn several dark forms were seen by the best-sighted of the men on watch, creeping cautiously up the ravine towards the hiding-place. The cracking of twigs and an occasional grunt were heard, and we knew the Indians were approaching. Word was pa.s.sed not to fire until our leader gave the signal, which was finally given. Two of the old flintlocks went off, the others missed fire. One of the bullets struck one of a drove of pigs which were quietly feeding up the ravine and which in our terror we took for the foe. The squeals of the wounded pig frightened the others, and the whole drove came charging and squealing up the ravine right through our camp, tumbling over men, women and children, whose screams, added to the noise of the pigs, made matters a trifle lively until the enemy went by. The morning growing bright, and no Indians appearing, a cautious approach was made to the farm, and shortly after a runner came from the fort with word that the Indians had taken to their canoes the night before and had started out, but had been turned back by the gunboat which was on watch, and they were not allowed to leave the outer harbor, so our terror was without cause.

(Note.--I saw the arrest of the Indian chief "Captain Jack," and heard the shot fired by Constable Taylor that killed him, as I stood outside the outer entrance to the gaol.--E. F.)

CHAPTER IX.

FIRES AND FIREMEN.

I had intended telling what I knew of the fires of early Victoria, but when I sat down to put to paper what I know of any noted fires, I first realized how little there was to tell of that dread element's ravages in early Victoria. But although there is not so much to tell of great fires, there is a good deal to be said of the men who prevented those fires becoming great, so I decided to go on with my subject.

For a city of its size and age, there could not be one more immune from fires. Was it the fir of which we built most of our princ.i.p.al buildings? Some contend it was. The Douglas fir was hard to burn, and the honesty of those fir-built houseowners no doubt was also a reason. In the _Victoria Gazette_ of 1858 there are many references to the subject of fires that might occur, and also to the fact that there is no water to put out a fire should one occur. Then the editor suggests a public meeting to consider the important subject and also as to the building of large tanks to hold salt water at the bottom of Johnson Street. Subsequently Governor Douglas is pet.i.tioned to procure a fire engine, with the result that he ordered two. Later one of these engines, named the "Telegraph," arrived from San Francisco, and I believe was second-hand, as the price paid was $1,600. Another pet.i.tion was sent to the Governor to organize a fire department under an officer appointed by himself. Soon after a public meeting was called by advertis.e.m.e.nt by the following gentlemen to organize: M. F. Truett, J. J. Southgate, A. Kaindler, A. H. Guild, Chas. Potter, Samuel Knight and J. N. Thain. This was the initial movement to form a volunteer fire department.

At a subsequent meeting, E. E. Eyres was appointed secretary, and the following a working committee: James Yates (father of Alderman Yates); Chas. A. Bayley, hotel-keeper, corner Yates and Government Streets; Capt. J. H. Doan, since died (his daughter is still a resident); Leopold Lowenberg, a real estate agent, and uncle of Carl Lowenberg, German consul; and Roussett, Truett and Myers. This committee was to select one hundred men to each engine to form the companies. The first meeting of No. 2 engine was called and the notice is signed by David Green (clothier, whose widow is still a resident), H. J. Labatt, W. F. Bartlett and J. W. Turnbull. The first meeting of Engine No. 1 was called to meet at the business place of Thomas J. Burnes, August 6th, 1858 (customs staff.) His photo, taken in 1860 by Robinson (over Theatre Royal), is here reproduced, showing he has been elected foreman of his company. Mr. Burnes was a most enthusiastic fireman for many years after this. The photo of Jno. C.

Keenan of same date is also given. He was another good fireman.

(Note.--Both these photos have been lost.--E. F.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: Hook and Ladder Company.]

A picture is here reproduced of a May Day parade of Victoria's volunteer firemen of forty years ago. I am sorry I am not able to give the names of more of those in line, but the photo is so old it is hard to make them out. Would you believe it, May Day was a general holiday, and set apart as "Fireman's" day, and celebrated with a parade and picnic, either at Medana's Grove or Cook and North Park Streets. The weather was usually fine with the warm suns.h.i.+ne of spring. I hear the gong of the engines as the procession moves along--the hook and ladder company, the Tigers and the Deluge company, all decorated with flowers, flags and evergreens. Under a canopy of flowers sits a beautiful little girl as the "May Queen."

On each side and following behind march those who have const.i.tuted themselves the salvors of their fellow-citizens' property and life.

Among these men were some of our prominent business men, merchants, tradesmen and professional men, as well as workingmen. Would the citizens of the present day believe that these men had banded themselves together, put their hands in their pockets to build engine-houses and equip engines, had given their time, either by night or day, attending fires, and had paid monthly dues to keep the concern going, and all without fee or reward? It is even so, and no night was too cold or wet to keep these men from their duty. The picture I produce of the "Hook and Ladders" in a May Day parade of 1862 was taken from the original, and is here produced by the kindness of Mr. Fred Morison (customs). He was then a torch boy and continued a volunteer fireman for nearly thirty years. On account of the age of the photo the faces are rather indistinct, so that some of those present cannot be recognized. I should like to have known who the six or seven boys are, and whether they are with us to-day, but I make out of those present: Robt. Homfray, C.E.; J. D. Edgar, of Edgar & Aime; Richard Lewis, undertaker; Murray Thain, now of Moodyville; Henry and Robert Thain; Louis Vigelius, barber; Philip J. Hall, the banner-bearer; W. T. Liveock, Chief Factor of Hudson's Bay Company; Fred. Morison, customs, torch boy; Wolff, merchant, of Yates Street; E. Grancini, merchant, Wharf Street; Wm. Harrison, now of Saanich, and J. R. Anderson, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, secretary.

On reading Mr. Levy's interesting sketch appended, I see that the Hotel de France was also destroyed by fire, and, being built of California redwood, was entirely consumed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Colonial Hotel.]

The first mention of a fire that is recorded in public print is taken from the _Victoria Gazette_ in 1858. It is that of one of those primitive erections, a house-tent, with the contents thereof. At that time Victoria was covered in all directions, I am told, with canvas houses. In February, 1859, there were a great many, I know. As a member of the Victoria fire department, hook and ladder company, I attended many fires, but they were small comparatively. The destruction of the Colonial Hotel on Government Street, as here produced, is one of them. The Colonial was situated on Government Street, between the Alhambra building on the corner of Yates and the San Francis...o...b..ths (then kept by an old fireman, Thos. Geiger), occupying also the upper portion of the building now used as a music store by Fletcher Bros. The old photos of the Colonial show the hotel before and after the fire. Sosthenes Driard, who was subsequently proprietor of the Driard House, was the proprietor, and Mons.

Hartangle, who was afterwards co-partner with Driard in the Driard House, was chief cook. He may be seen standing in front of Alex.

Gilmore's clothing store (now Fletcher's); also a man with crutches, nicknamed "Pegleg Smith," who was an M.P.P. of that day, and behind him is, I think, your humble servant. Further south, and on the same side as the Colonial, was the Hotel de France, Manciet and Bigne, proprietors. Of this hotel I have a vivid recollection, as I paid several visits there with my mother when I was a boy. She had heard of a sick miner (maybe from Cariboo) who lay there dying. His physician, Dr.

Powell, had done all he could for him, and he knew his end was not far off. He had, like hundreds of others, risked his precious health for gold, had been successful, and now was to leave this beautiful world and the gold with it. My mother thought it her duty to go and see him, read to him, and tell him of the better world beyond. So one Sunday afternoon she went, and I with her, to carry some little delicacy which he might not be able to get in the usual way. She got sufficient encouragement to go again and again, until the end came, and my mother was satisfied that she had done him some good spiritually. To come back to fires. There was the fire in Theatre Royal, after the play of the "Octoroon." Although the theatre was gutted, it was not consumed, the reason being partly, no doubt, that it was built of Douglas fir logs. The surroundings being of a most inflammable nature, this was very surprising. I might also instance the first and second fires at Christ Church, the second of which only was successful in consuming the building. It was the custom for every citizen present to lend a helping hand when a fire was of any dimensions. It was only doing for another what you might want yourself next week. If the fire was in the business portion of the city the stores on the opposite side of the street were thrown open to receive goods from the burning building, which were carried by many willing helpers. Oh, the good old days! As I have stated in a former article, the bluejackets from the war vessels at Esquimalt were telephoned for, and ran all the way up and worked like the bluejackets always do--with all their heart and soul. I might go on discoursing on these incidents of bygone days, but as Mr. H. E. Levy, one of the pioneer firemen, has promised to add to this imperfect account, I shall leave the fires and say something of the firemen. I would draw the attention of my readers to the picture of a May Day parade in 1862. It is the Union Hook and Ladder Company, drawn up on Bastion Square with their truck.

The Pioneer Engines.

(By H. E. Levy.)

"First in order comes the Union Hook and Ladder Company, a very swell affair, composed of the leading merchants of the city, sixty-five strong. They were first located on the present site of the Board of Trade building, then removing to Government Street to the spot on which now stands the new Promis building. Next came the Deluge Engine Company, No. 1, who ran a very c.u.mbrous Hunneman tub, made in Boston, afterwards securing a Merryweather steam engine from England. This company also consisted of sixty-five men, and were first located about where the Poodle Dog now stands, moving thence to that point on Yates Street now occupied by the Maynard shoe store, again moving to their own building on the north side of Yates Street east of Broad.

Next comes the Tiger Engine Company, No. 21, first located on Johnson Street, next to where the Jubilee saloon now stands, and afterwards moving to the north side of Johnson, just above Government. This company commenced business with an old double-decker that was brought up from San Francis...o...b.. the Hudson's Bay Company, and was there known as Telegraph No. 1. This machine was very similar to the one brought here last summer by the San Francisco veterans; it was succeeded later by an up-to-date 'b.u.t.ton and Blake' hand engine, and still later by a fine steamer from the same firm. These three companies were very effective and presented a fine appearance in their semi-military uniforms, as they turned out in full force on their gala day, the first of May.

"On the arrival of the steam fire engines, six of the younger members of each company were taught to manage the same, and soon became proficient as engineers. Each company sent three members to the board of delegates, who made laws for the entire department. Whether owing to good luck or good management, we had very few large fires in those days, the most notable being the Rosedale store, owned by Reid and McDonald, on the north-east corner of Bastion and Wharf Streets; the Sam Price warehouse, then used as a lodging-house, opposite the Occidental Hotel--this fire brought out for the first time the Tiger steam engine, with Mr. H. E. Levy (one of the engineer cla.s.s) at the throttle. Another large fire not to be overlooked was the Hotel de France on Government Street, nearly opposite Bastion. It is a notable fact that a great number of the most efficient heads of the department were nearly all Americans, viz., John d.i.c.kson, S. L.

Kelly, John C. Keenan, Charles Brooks, J. A. McCrea, James Drummond, and many others, who no doubt are still remembered by the old-timers.

There was a strong spirit of emulation between the companies, which added greatly to their efficiency, each striving to be first at the fire, as it was considered an honor to have first water on the same. At the tap of the fire alarm men could be seen running from all quarters to the engine-houses, as the first man at the engine-house had the honor of carrying the pipe into the fire, which was a position of some danger."

CHAPTER X.

A SIBERIAN MAMMOTH.

Some four or five years ago I came across an American ill.u.s.trated newspaper containing an account of the discovery of a perfect mammoth in Siberia, where it had been imbedded in a glacier for thousands of years. It was stated that an expedition had been sent from St.

Petersburg by the Imperial Academy of Sciences, headed by Dr. Herz; also that later a telegram had been received stating the expedition had been successful in securing the animal complete, and that all the princ.i.p.al parts, including even part of the contents of the stomach, had been secured and were being brought on sledges overland for thousands of miles. I was intensely interested in the alleged discovery, and made many enquiries of various people to find out if there was anything in it more than sensation such as is often got from some of the American papers. The result of my enquiries was very disappointing; most of those I interviewed considered it a yarn. I let the matter rest for some time and then decided to write a friend in St. Petersburg for particulars. Mrs. Calthorpe (_nee_ Dunsmuir), wife of Captain Gough-Calthorpe, who was naval attache to the British Legation at the time, responded in due course of time, sending me a photo (Since lost.--E. F.), reproduced herewith, of the animal as it appeared stuffed in the Imperial Museum, and the promise of a description, which Mr. Norman, secretary of the legation, had kindly promised to translate from the Russian for me. This has lately come to hand, and as Mr. Norman states, is rather disappointing--that is, as regards the size of the mammoth, it being a young one. The wonderful part of the story is that the stomach of the mammoth contained food as fresh as the day it was eaten thousands of years ago. The food seems to have been young shoots of a species of pine tree, with vegetable matter. The hair on its back was about 13 inches long, with a thick fur at the roots of the hair. I submit the translated account by Mr. Norman, with his letter to me, which I think will be interesting to the many friends of the two British Columbia ladies mentioned therein. I also give an account of the expedition as contained in the newspapers at the time of discovery, as follows:

Story of the Scientific Expedition.

"The discovery of the mammoth to which the cable despatch on this page refers, was reported during the summer, and has excited the widest interest in scientific circles.