Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 11.djvu/449

 REVIEW British Columbia Coast Names, 1 592- 1 906; Their Origin and History By Captain John T. Walbrah (of Victoria) Published by authority of the Minister of Marine and Fisheries for the Geographic Board of Canada at the Government Printing Bureau, Ottawa This book offers a standard that would be difficult to attain unto, but an example which may well be followed. Would that some one would perform as good a service concerning the nomenclature along the coast line of Washington and Oregon, or the Columbia river and the waters of Puget Sound ! Encyclopaedias of biography and reference books of the "WHO IS WHO" class are useful and in many ways of value, but the scholar learns to use them in research work with great caution, for the reason that the information contained in them is usually contributed and not searched after or verified. Here, however, is a book of reference compiled with great care dur- ing a period of twelve years of personal research by the author and giving not only the names common to the entire Coast of British Columbia and its islands, but many biograph- ical facts concerning the persons or events or places from which the names arise ; a book that may be supplemented but will be very little amended ; a book that will be used by chil- dren of the next generation, and later. Moreover, there is a certain charm to the text. For it is quite infrequent that a sea captain has enjoyed carrying in his cabin the records left by the early navigators and explorers and consulting them as he entered harbors, channels and inlets under perhaps the same conditions of wind, weather and cur- rent. The book actually smells salty. Careful examination by competent scholars shows the errors of fact so few as to be hardly noticeable, and where the Captain has intruded upon general conclusion his opinion is worthy of new attention ; for instance, the reference to Juan de Fuca. In a few instances only do the authorities seem to suggest lack of the most posi- tive foundation. The book was not heralded by advance notices and appears in very quiet and even plain covers, with some fitting illus- trations ; for the Canadian Government recognized its worth and did Captain Walbran the honor of publication as a govern- ment document. A few copies are held for private purchase and another edition will undoubtedly have to follow. T. C. Elliott.