JOHNSTON'S STRAITS. 157 



no scenery that was comparable, in wild gran- 

 deur and picturesque grouping, to the scenery 

 on my left. The coast-line of Vancouver Island 

 presented a series of small projecting headlands; 

 the bays and creeks between, seldom rippled by 

 the breeze, are very Edens for wildfowl. In 

 the background, the hills rise sharp and conical, 

 at this time crowned with snow, but all alike 

 densely timbered. In the distance, Hardwicke 

 Island, like a floating emerald, hid the water 

 beyond it. To the right, islands of all sizes 

 and shapes, so thick that one might suppose it 

 had rained islands at some time or other: on 

 the least of them grew pine-trees, any of which 

 would have made a mainmast for the largest 

 ship ever built. I have again arid again threaded 

 the intricate passages through the 'Lake of a 

 Thousand Islands,' in the Great St. Lawrence; 

 but I say, without fear of contradiction, that 

 the scenery from Chatham Point to the mouth 

 of the Nimkish river is wilder, bolder, and in 

 every respect more beautiful, lovely as I admit 

 the Canadian scenery to be. 



The ship-channel hugs the shore of Vancouver 

 Island, passing close to Cormorant, Haddington, 

 and Malcolm Islands, and the mouth of the 

 Nhnkish river, navigable for canoes some con- 



