488 GRANT'S DESCRIPTION OF VANCOUVER ISLAND. [June 22, 1857. 



The deposits of coal on the island are extremely rich, and are in 

 many places favourably situated for export. The seas by which the 

 island is surrounded teem with fish of almost every description. 

 The salmon and herring are particularly numerous, cod and sturgeon 

 also abound, and several whales are annually caught by the natives 

 at a short distance from the coast. The prevailing geologial stnic- 

 tures in the higher parts of the island are the gneiss and mica schist 

 systems ; in the lower, greywacke and clay-slate prevail. These are 

 intersected by several dykes of igneous rock ; and on the sea-coast 

 basins of sandstone and of limestone occasionally occur. The native 

 population of the island is calculated at from 15,000 to 20,000 souls ; 

 who are divided into numerous tribes, many of whom speak lan- 

 guages entirely different from each other. They are in general a 

 harmless race, they live almost entirely by fishing, they are willing 

 to work for the white man, but their labour cannot be depended on 

 continuously. The island is still in its infancy as a colony; it 

 possesses numerous safe and commodious harbours, is favourably 

 situated for export to Oregon, California, the Sandwich Islands, 

 Central and South America, Australia and China ; and though now 

 but little known, Vancouver Island cannot fail eventually to be 

 of very considerable importance. The object of this paper is to 

 make its position, its products, its natural resources, and its history, 

 better known to the British public. 



In answer to questions as to the climate, the adaptability of the island for 

 colonisation, its mineral productions, &c., Colonel Geant said the climate 

 was delicious for travellers, as from April to September there was no wet. This 

 absence of humidity, however, was somewhat unfavourable for agriculture. 

 With respect to colonisation, he thought Vancouver Island fitted for it, to a 

 certain extent. The available arable land was small in proportion to that which 

 was useless, so that it could never support a large population. The wheat and 

 vegetables grown were very fine indeed. The island had not been surveyed, 

 except a small portion by the Hudson Bay Company, and of that part about 

 two-thirds were fit for agricultural purposes ; the remaining third was useless 

 rock. The quantity of coal discovered at present was small, but it was fitted 

 for steam purposes. 



Sir Habry Verney, f.r.g.s., asked Colonel Grant whether the natives in 

 the different parts of the island could communicate with each other, whether 

 their languages were similar ; and also v/hether there was any trace of any 

 patriarchal government that had at any former period ruled over the whole of 

 the island ; also whether there was any trace of religion among the natives, 

 whether it was a common religion, and whether there were any missionaries 

 there ? 



Colonel Grant said that he had never been able to trace any real religion 

 among them. They had" some traditions excessively childish in their nature, 

 and which did not point to one common object. They were scarcely aware of 

 the existence of a supreme Being, though some had a glimmering notion of 

 such a Being. One missionary informed him that they worshipped the sun, 

 but he thought this too noble a superstition to exist in the breast of such a 



