House and 
Garden 
Vol. XI 
JANUARY, 1907 
No. 1 
VANCOUVER 
THE GOLDEN ISLAND OF THE PACIFIC 
By KATHERINE LOUISE SMITH 
1 YING oft' the Western coast of Canada and 
washed by the waters of Queen Charlotte 
Sound, the Straits of Georgia and of Juan de 
Fuca, is an island known to the world for 115 years 
yet unknown, for its possibilities and resources have 
yet to be discovered by the people at large. Yet this 
island bears the same geographical relation to this 
continent as England does to Europe. When the 
gallant navigator, George Vancouver, traveled its 
shores, he opened up a world that artists and scien¬ 
tific men are at last beginning to appreciate, for 
the grandeur of its scenery and the salubrity of its 
climate. Juan de Fuca had sailed the straits which 
bear his name and probably was the first white man 
to set foot on the island, but Vancouver was the first 
to discover it was not a part of the mainland. 
Its geological formation has led to the conclusion 
that the island forms part of a submerged mountain 
range, detached from the continent by some great 
convulsion of Nature, and its length of 285 miles 
and breadth of eighty miles is an area of wild 
highlands, rugged mountains and peaceful low¬ 
lands, one third of which has never been explored. 
A cruise around this island in a staunch boat is a 
delightful summer outing and the photographer, 
angler, hunter, botanist and naturalist are seeking 
this new-old land for a world of interesting subjects, 
including a rich field of research among the Indians, 
whose quaint villages dot the shores. 
Out in the golden West lies this island of Van¬ 
couver, rich in gold, silver, copper, mighty forests 
and fertile valleys, yet on its expanse, which is as 
large as Switzerland, are only three cities, Victoria, 
Nanaimo, Ladysmith and a few small centers of 
population, such as Duncan, Chemainus, and Cum¬ 
berland. Hundreds and hundreds of acres of coast 
land and interior are wholly uninhabited—a terra 
incognita, holding the finest timber in the world, 
GOVERNMENT HOUSE—VICTORIA 
Copyright, 1906, by The John C. Winston Co. 
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