[Untitled]
Facts and Figures relating to Vancouver Island and British Columbia. By J. Despard Pemberton, Surveyor-General of Vancouver Island. London, 1860.
Steaming for the first time eastward into the Straits of Juan de Fuca, the scene which presents itself to a stranger is exceedingly novel and interesting. On his right hand is Washington *Territory, with its snowy mountain range stretching parallel to his course for sixty miles, flanked with Mount Ranier and culminating in the center with Mount Olympus. Of these mountains the base is in some places at the coast, in others many miles from it. This range is occasionally intersected with deep and gloomy valleys, of which the Valley of Angels is the gloomiest and most remarkable; and every succession [Page 179] of cloud and sunshine changes the panorama. On his left is Vancouver Island, in contrast looking low, although even there as late as June some specks of snow may be detected on distant mountain tops. Straight before him is the Gulf of Georgia, studded with innumerable islands.—(P. 8.)[104]Limited extent of Fuca’s straits.
Victoria was selected by Governor Douglas, whose intimate acquaintance with every crevice in the coast ought to carry considerable weight, as “the site” in 1842, when he expressed his confidence “that there was no sea port north of the Columbia, where so many advantages could be combined;” an opinion which was confirmed by Sir George Simpson in his dispatch of June 21, 1844, in which he states, “The situation of Victoria is peculiarly eligible, the country and climate remarkably fine, and the harbor excellent.” And again: “June, 1846.—Fort Victoria promises to become a very important place.”—(P. 50.)