Official Report of the Exploration of the Queen Charlotte Islands for the Government of British ColumbiaChittenden, Newton H.
History
Official Report of the Exploration of the Queen Charlotte Islands for the Government of British Columbia
Chittenden, Newton H.
Haida Indians; Queen Charlotte Islands (B.C.)
On the inlet extending from Skoonan River westward, there are about
seventy-five acres of tide-lands which could be reclaimed by a short,
inexpensive dyke. Near Yakan Point, to the eastward, there are about
twenty acres of level meadow land, with a small patch adjoining, where
the Indians have raised potatoes. In the meadow I found cranberry
vines, upon which last season's fruit was still hanging. About one
mile south-west of Tow Hill and half a mile from the sea shore, with
timber intervening, there is a marsh containing about 200 acres, which
could probably be drained and converted into good grass land. Here I
also found cranberry vines in a flourishing condition and their
fruit. Three or four miles back from the coast at this point, lies a
tract of several hundred acres of swamp grass land, which by drainage,
would afford considerable pasturage. A narrow strip of grazing land,
from five to fifteen rods in width, extends for about three miles
along the seashore, eastward from near the mouth of the Hi-ellen
River. Five or six miles south-west of Rose Spit peninsula, I found a
hay marsh of probably 150 acres.
Rose Spit peninsula embraces from 1200 to 1500 acres of rolling
grazing land, portions of which are suited to agriculture. Immediately
to the eastward of Long Lagoon there are about 200 acres of meadow
land, a portion of which is quite low and wet. To the south and
westward lies an irreclaimable swamp, covering from five to seven
thousand acres, filled with dead trees, standing.
South of the Hoya-kund-la River, and near the seashore, there is about
250 acres of grazing land, interspersed with groves of small
spruce. From the mouth of Tlell River, south and westward, there is a
considerable body of grazing land, estimated at two thousand acres. It
produces, besides the usual coarse sand grasses, a nutritious wild pea
vine.
THE SOIL
Is uniformly sandy and of too recent formation to be much enriched by
decomposition. It varies but little in quality, there being no
alluvial deposits, owing to the flat character of the eastern portion
of the island. There is no sub-soil, except in a few localities, sand
and gravel extending down to the rock layers. As far as I penetrated
the interior, the roots of the fallen trees exposed only sand,
sea-washed stones and shells. Clay was observed at one or two points,
for a short distance between Hoya-kund-la and Tlell Rivers, also a
formation resembling peat.
TIMBER LANDS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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