Excerpts from "Fort Rupert in 1850" from the Colonist, 1 January 1890, pp. 4-5 (BCARS: ADD.MSS.505, v.12)

At Fort Rupert

". . .The anchor down - the Beaver is at Fort Rupert. . .A crowd of Indians. . and the officers of the fort, viz., Mr. Blenkinsop, who had charge. . .The Quocholds had been out on a marauding expedition, brought back six heads, now slaves. . .I learned subsequently that these followed a marauding business, made expeditions for the sake of taking heads and captives of their enemies, the latter being valuable either for slaves or for ransom. . .Of course the whites thought this all wrong, but the Indians thought quite otherwise. They might have asked how many have been killed in wars by Christians

The Indian Village

This Rupert village contained at least two thousand five hundred bodies, i.e., men, omen and children, for the most part armed wither with their rude weapons, spears, knives and so forth, or Hudson's Bay Co.'s flint-lock muskets . .and were becoming rich and so independent . . the lodges were. . .long rectangular shed like buildings, with ridge poles say from 60 to 80 feet long, and a foot or eighteen inches in thickness, resting upon upright slabs. It seemed difficult to understand how the aborigines lifted these very heavy pieces into their place, but when one of the ridge poles had to be raised the builder had a "bee" and a great feast to celebrate and assist at the occasion. . . . This tribe, however, were not canoe builders. They, as a rule, bought their canoes from other professional tribes and paid therefor from a couple to twenty blankets each, according to size and other qualities. They did the same when they wanted any carved work, for the Ruperts seemed to know nothing of carving, handicraft or ground culture. They were for war, they being of the warrior caste.

. . .The chiefs, when dead, were put into a box as small as possible and placed in a tree. I was shown one perched like an eagles nest near the top of a pine about a hundred feet high . . .It is said that this dead (?) chief came to life again, and that he rattled and knocked for some time against the box in vain. No one could get up the tree, and so in process of time the sad and dismal sound ceased. Woodpeckers?

. . .It did not take long to gain the acquaintance and friendliness of the civilized within and the untamed without the stockade. The miners had struck work, being dissatisfied with the wild kind of provender and, they said, other breaches of "their agreement.". . .They expected and wanted to be their own masters - uncontrolled. On account of striking, two or three of them had been imprisoned by Captain McNeill for a couple of days or so in the bastion and shackled, ship-discipline fashion, but were now in their houses in idleness. The gold-fever contagion had been imbibed; they wanted to leave, and did not mean to submit.

The French Canadians and Kanakas, all old hands, were satisfied, and at first the Englishmen appeared so, but they, too, raised complaints about their grub and breaches of agreement.. . .They had caught the gold fever at Victoria. It was incubating. After a while they struck work also and wished to get away. The dissatisfaction and gold fever kept rising.

". . .I received a dispatch from Governor Blanshard, who had received information from the miners and others of the unsatisfactory condition of things, asking me to act as a justice of peace in and around Fort Rupert. . .Of course, I consented, although it placed me in a very false position. . .I was advised to accept, otherwise if anything untoward occurred, it would be put down to my refusal

. . .the governor also wished me to inquire into disturbances which took place on the 7^th of May (before my arrival). This referred to the strike and imprisonment of the miners by Capt. McNeill. On the following morning, of course, many came with their complaints. . . Every man now had a grievance, for most manufactured to suit his purpose. . .Indeed to judge from their tale the agent of the H.B.Co. in England had induced them to believe they would emigrate to a land flowing with wine, milk, honey and beer, where they would be nabobs and live like princes. The truth is they all wanted to get to the gold fields of California.

In December, 1850, a dispatch came to me - Rupert calling me to Fort Victoria. . .The next day I started in a canoe, with half a dozen Indians, under charge of a French Canadian, Basil Bottineau, with grub, a bottle of brandy and a few rush mat.

I left, not with many regrets, for everybody had been kind to me, and had become friends with the Indians, and, I think, an adopted chief. . ."

I look back: the fort dismantled. Of the three thousands Indians not three hundred remain; and these, how changed, how fallen! The old men died as they lived, bold, brave, dauntless warriors. Efforts were made to plant a civilized soul in them, but it rooted not. May they enjoy their ideal, luxurious bliss, peace and repose, for they new no sin. Death and desolation stares one in the face where an Indian city of thousands a few years ago stood; who maintained themselves. . ."

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