TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE IN THE TERRITORY OF ALASKA. CHAPTER I. THE VOYAGE OUT. Leaving England - Our passengers - Old Mo'- Freight for the matrimonial market-Storm on board - Mutiny - Volunteer coal-heaving Falkland Islands Port Stanley - The Horn - Out of coal - San Francisco The Straits of Fuca - Cook - Vancouver-Juan de Fuca -Victoria - Cariboo mines - -The gold - The discoverers of William's Creek Journalism on the Pacific. IN 1862, the Pacific coast, and especially British Columbia, attracted much attention at home. Having, thank God, like a good proportion of my countrymen, a little superfluous energy-which was then lying fallow-I determined to see something of those coasts, and accordingly commenced getting together my traps for the voyage. I need not say that I laid in a stock of things said to be "portable," essential, or absolutely "indispensable," and that the larger part of them proved to be exactly the reverse. Such, I take it, is the experience of most young travellers. On the 6th June of the above mentioned year-with some slight feelings of regret, it must be admitted-we left the Thames; and on the 9th saw the last of old England's shores, after a brief halt at peaceful, sleepy Dartmouth. A few hours later "the waves," to use an expression of Lamartine's, when starting on a cruise B in the Mediterranean, " had our destinies in their power," and made us aware of the fact. "Winds are rude in Biscay's sleepless bay:" at least we found them so, for a breeze increased into a gale before we were clear of its outer waters. Our craft was a staunch iron screw-steamer, the Tynemouth,' which had won a good reputation during the Crimean war by weathering out that terrible storm in the Black Sea, in which so many vessels (including the Black Prince') were lost. We were bound for Vancouver Island, via the Horn, and expected to call at one or two ports by the way. On board were some three hundred passengers, two-thirds of whom shewed a total loss of dignity and self-respect during these early days, and made our vessel much resemble a floating hospital. But there is an end to all things; and by the time we reached the tropics, our friends had recovered their appetites, and, clad in light attire, lounged, smoking, chatting, and reading under the awnings, giving our decks the appearance of a nautical pic-nic. Our passengers were a study in themselves. They included a number of young men, much too large a proportion of whom had apparently no profession, business, or definite aim in life, to augur well for their future career in a new country. Still, most branches were represented; from farmers, tradesmen, and mechanics, to lawyers, artists, and literary men. The greatest character on board was a venerable Jew, generally known as "Old Mo'." He was an Israelite of the conventional stage type, and did not neglect turning a penny, by selling to the passengers stale lemons and bad cigars, or by organizing raffles and mock auctions. Towards the end of the voyage, he purchased all the odds CHAP. I.] OUR PASSENGERS. 3 and ends on which he could lay his hands, offering the "highestch prishe for old closhe and zhewellry;" and with these he afterwards stocked a small shop in Victoria. Moses, like Shylock, had much to stand in gibes and sneers, but bore it "with a patient shrug." Our most noticeable living freight was, however, an "invoice" of sixty young ladies destined for the colonial and matrimonial market. They had been sent out by a home Society, under the watchful care of a clergyman and matron; and they must have passed the dreariest three months of their existence on board, for they were isolated from the rest of the passengers, and could only look on at the fun and amusements in which every one else could take a part. Every benevolent effort deserves respect; but, from personal observation, I cannot honestly recommend such a mode of supplying the demands of a colony. Half of them married soon after arrival, or went into service; but a large proportion quickly went to the bad, and, from appearances, had been there before. The influence of but a few such on the more respectable girls could not have been otherwise than detrimental. To speak ungallantly, but truly, many of these ladies were neither young nor beautiful, and reminded me of the crowd who answered the advertisement in the farce of ' Wanted 10,000 Milliners!' Of course much might be said about giving the poor creatures a chance! but the fact is, that the market would in the course of affairs more naturally supply itself. The prosperous settler would send for his sweetheart, or come home in search of one, and could always get suitable domestics sent out by his friends, and meet them at the port of arrival. It will be readily understood too, that in a new country there is a floating population, among whom some individuals by "chance," or by industry, have acquired a little money, and are ready to plunge into matrimony on the slightest provocation; whilst there is also a large proportion of "black sheep," who are quite ready to amuse themselves at the expense of the poor girls. We were beginning to find life somewhat tedious, when a storm arose on board that altered the aspect of affairs. In common with a large proportion of ships-as far as my experience goes-we were considerably undermanned, and the overworked crew rebelled. They came aft to the captain; and a scene ensued, in which very high words passed, and at length one of the more daring mutineers "planted" (to use the language of the fraternity) a blow between the skipper's "peepers," which brought the "claret" very freely from his nose. In consequence, the fiat went forth-instantly and indignantly-" Put them in irons!" which was, however, a thing easier said than done. At last the officers-with the assistance of some of the passengerssucceeded in handcuffing the rebels, and they were then stowed away in a rather warm compartment near the engineroom, till such time as mutiny should be melted out of them. Our captain was in a dilemma. We were almost becalmed; our sails flapped idly in the wind, while the arrangements for the coals were such, that with these men off duty, our engine must soon come to a standstill. The coal was chiefly in the fore-hold, and had to be raised, wheeled along deck, and deposited in the "bunkers.” At this juncture a committee of the passengers was convened, and it was agreed that the more active of all classes CHAP. I.] VOLUNTEER COAL HEAVING. 5 should be invited to volunteer, and act as crew for the time being. All the younger men came forward readily, were solemnly enrolled, and set to work at once, glad of an interruption to the monotony of the voyage. We scrubbed the decks, hauled at ropes, filled the coal-sacks, and hoisted them on deck, getting a fair taste of a modern sailor's life on board a steam-vessel. It is more than doubtful whether any of us would have echoed the words of England's sea-song writer, who says "Then, Bill, let us thank Providence but we found it good exercise, and worked with a will. Did we not know that the eyes of sixty maidens were looking on approvingly, as we helped them on to the consummation of their dearest wishes? We did, and even our parson creditably proved his "muscular Christianity," and soiled his irreproachable garments at one and the same time. I tasted the dignity of labour in the rôle of an amateur coal-heaver, and in the more sinecure employment of keeping the "lookout." We cooled our fevered frames with libations of beer, and buckets of diluted lime-juice; in this matter having an undoubted advantage over the old crew, who didn't get much of such luxuries. At last the tropical heat, superadded to that of the furnaces, brought the men to their senses, and the larger part of them went back to work; three, however, held out, and were kept in irons. After some rough weather off the Rio de la Plata (known familiarly by sailors as the River Plate), in which we stove in our bulwarks and lost a boat, we at last made the Falkland Islands, and came to an anchor in Stanley Harbour. This is a land-locked basin some six miles long by half a mile |