172 A MARVELLOUS FOREST. 



Mr. Barneby, who in 1884 published an account of 

 an excursion he made along the shores of Burrard 

 Inlet a year or two previously, says: 



" We trudged along through wonderfully dense forests for 

 about three miles. It is impossible to describe how dense 

 and beautiful it was. Moss hung from many of the trees; 

 indeed, numbers of these were covered with ferns, hanging 

 mosses, and creepers and many plants I did not know the 

 name of grew in every direction I never saw before, such 

 a charming forest scene; and I must also acknowledge, that 

 until this trip, I never before saw real trees I mean trees 

 of such immense growth. The timber here was magnificent, 

 and the foliage most luxuriant, the colour of the leaves being 

 beautiful in the extreme. It was quite like fairyland. The 

 ferns w r ere sometimes several feet above our heads." * 



In a still more recent book by the same author, he 

 gives an account of an excursion made in a buggy, 

 from Vancouver City along a road newly made through 

 the forest. First he alludes to the fearful destruction 

 wrought by lumberers among these noble trees, and 

 says: 



" For a mile we had to pass through burning stumps of 

 Douglas pine on each side, as the process of clearing is 

 making rapid strides in this direction. In travelling by this 

 new road it seemed odd to find some of the stumps of trees, 

 divided into two, the centre being taken out, in order to get 

 a proper width of track, instead of being cleared away at 

 once. This shows what an immense size these trees must 

 have been, as a portion was left on either side of the road. 

 We were soon in the primeval forest, where Douglas pines 

 were the chief feature, running straight up from 100 to 200 

 feet. We travelled along a gravel ridge until we reached what 



* Life and Labour in the Far Far West, by W. Henry Barneby, 

 2nd edit. 1884, pp. 120 21 



