194 SPORTING ADVENTURES 



brought back from ten to fifteen brace of 

 grouse, and a few duck, and now and then a 

 deer ; this may be considered a good bag for 

 two guns : a dog is indispensable, probably a 

 close-working retriever is about the best. In 

 the middle of August we proceeded in the 

 ship to Horseshoe Bay, about fifty miles from 

 Esquimalt, to collect and bring down spars for 

 the dockyard. Streaming through the channel 

 which divides the Island of San Juan from 

 Vancouver, we threaded our way amongst 

 lovely islets and romantic scenery, and arrived 

 in a few hours at our destination. 



Horseshoe Bay, as one would suppose from 

 the name, is an excellent harbour, sheltered 

 from all winds; one solitary house and a saw- 

 mill are alone visible from the anchorage ; the 

 settlement at Chemainus is about three miles 

 distant. The timber at this part of the island 

 is as fine if not superior to any on the coast, 

 many of the trees are 200 feet high and as 

 straight as a candle ; one not far from Chemainus 

 measured fifty-seven feet in circumference, 



