Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 12.djvu/281

 REPORT ON OREGON TERRITORY 273 after. North of 48 the ranges are nearly parallel and have the rivers flowing between them. ISLANDS. Attached to the territory are groups of islands bordering its northern coast. Among these are the large islands of Vancou- ver and Washington or Queen Charlotte, the former being 260 miles in length and 50 in breadth, containing about 15,000 square miles, and the latter 150 miles in length and 30 in breadth, containing 4,000 square miles. Though somewhat broken in surface their soil is said to be well adapted to agri- culture. They have many good harbors, and have long been the resort of those engaged in the fur trade. They enjoy a mild and salu- brious climate, and have an abundance of fine fish frequenting their waters, which are taken in large quantities by the natives. Coal of good quantity is found here, specimens of which I obtained. The Hudson Bay Co. have made a trial of it, but owing to its having been taken from near the surface it was not very highly spoken of. Mines of mineral are also said to exist by those acquainted. They both appear to be more densely inhabited than other portions of the territory. The natives are considered a treach- erous race, particularly those in the vicinity of Johnstons Strait, and are to be closely watched when dealing with them. At the southeast end of Vancouver there is a small archi- pelago of islands through which the Canal de Arro runs ; they are for the most part inhabited, well wooded, and composed of granite and pudding stone, which appears to be the prevailing rock to the north of a line east and west of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. They are generally destitute of fresh water, have but few anchorages, and strong currents render navigation among them difficult. The islands near the mainland, called on the maps Pitts and Banks, or the Prince Royal Islands, are of the same character and are only occasionally resorted to by the Indians for the purposes of fishing.