The HTJMPBACK LES of Lreorgla/^o Strait -.} PRESSREPORTS FROM THE BzuTISH COLONIST

"We learn thnt whnlesare dispartingdwmselves in SannichInlet and *wt Mr. Wanen. . . is preparingwlwle boatsand" apparatus for wagingwar on tlrc monstersof tlrcDeep." . . . .September10, 1866

"TIv Douglas- (S.S.Sir Junes Danglns,steam uessel of tlw Colonial Govenrment)- reports*w watersnear DeE Bayat theentrwtce to Baynes Soundaliu e with lTumpbacl

" Six enormanswhales passed Cloq,ter P oint yesterday . . saucilyspantingand. sporting.. .within a slnrt distanceof slwre." . . . .l"b 22,1869 \MAIERS Journal of the Aquarium Volume8, l9B5

PATRONS Hon John L Nichol Mrs Peter A MacKay Hon Robert G Rocers Jim Pattison Robert E McLaren Lieutenant,Gove-rnor of Anhur Phillips Dr T G Norhcote HonWRBennett,Premier J Ernest Richardson R John Rogers Province of British Columbia Fonest Rogcrs Mrs Gordon T Southam V Robert Vyman, Chaocellor John D Simpson Villiam F Spence The University of British Columbia F Cameron Vilkinson Dr L Keirh Vade Hon William Hamilton, Chancellor C N V Voodward Mrs A Vallace Simon Fraser University Mr&MrsVMYoung PARK BOARD LIAISON MEMBER Dr Villiam C Gibson, Chancellor BOARD OF GOVERNORS Commissioner A Livingstone University of J Gordon F MacFarlane, President Ralph M Shaw, Honorary Ptesident Hon S Ronald Basford, PC, SENIOR STAFF @, CM, PhD Immediate Past President Murray A Newman, Mrs William T Barker Howard Carter, Vice.President Director Ralph MacL Brown Curator Kenneth R Tolmie, Vice-President K G Hewlett, General Dr Ian McT Cowan Mre G C van Roggen, Vice-President S J Proctor, PhD Lawrence Dampier of Education & Interpretation Dr M Valdichuk, Vice.President Curator Dr H Dean Fisher Business Managa Denis V Timmis, Trcasurer lan Atkinson, CGA, Arthur S Ham leffrey B Matliave, PhD J Thomas English, Secretary Gerald Haslam Resident Scientist V S Hoar Dr John Anderson R T Jackson Philip C Barter Edgar F Kai*r, Jr Vinslow V Bennett G Peter Kaye Jacob Brouwer Stuart Keate Richard B Buchanan C Calvert Knudsen Graham R Dawson Dr P A Larkin ur K A Engllsn I Ron Longstaffe Donald G Garnett Tonc Louie Dr Glen H Geen Noriran A M MacKenzie, CMG, QC, LLD L Haruey Gold Hon Grace M McCarthy James S Gtaham Hoo Patrick L McGer Dr Richard O Hoper H B Mclnryre W R Hourston Cyrus H McLean Dr C C Lindsey Richard I Nelon Thomas H McClelland Hon Chief Justice Nathan T Nemetz Mrs M V MacCrostie

TABLEOF CONTENTS 3 INTRODUCING THE HUMPBACKS 14 THEHOWESOLIND VHALINGCOMPANY 7 HUMPBACKS IN OUR STRAIT 14 CAPTAINTHOMASWELCOMEROYS 8 INDIANVHALING 19 POSTSCRIPT:1866TO1873 8 COMMERCIAL VHALING COMES TOTHESTRAIT 19 WHALINGFROMNANAIMO: THESECONDONSLAUGHT l1 WHALING AND THE HUDSON BAY COMPANY 23 \UHATABOUTAHUMPBACK COMEBACK? tz THERRSTBIGONSLAUGHT: 1866TO1873

VANCOUVER PUBLIC Accredited by the American EDITOR: Sharon Proctor AQUARIUM Associationof ZoologicalParks EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: ASSOCIAIION and Aquariums Roy Tanami In StanleyPark DESICNER: Greg Davies ISSN 0381-201I P.O.Box 3212 Vancouver, B.C., V6B 3XB Telephone(60il 685-3364 Foreword

This booklet representsthe effortsof many people. The original idea came from Bill Merilees,who in the springof 1983sent me a letter describinghis researchinto humpback whale hunting that once occurred in the . In it he mentioned two spurtsof whaling activities:an 1860'sfishery and a 1907one. He addedthat "by fortunate luck, pictures,at least 12 of them, on glass platesstill surviveof this last operation." At the end of the letter,he wonderedif "it might be a suitable subject for \UATERS." Our answerwas a resounding"yes"! The GeorgiaStrait whaling story is an in- terestingpart of British Columbia's history. Vhaling in the insidewaters of B.C. wasquite distinct and separatefrom that which oc- curredon the outer coast.and little hasbeen publishedon the subject.Furthermore, not many peopleeven know that at one time large humpback whaleswere a common sight in the Strait. As you will learnin this volume,it took amazinglylittle effort to kill them all off. To Bill'sarticle and pictures,we haveadded a brief biological description of humpback whales.!ile couldn't have done this without A livinghumpback pokes its headout of the the cooperation Darling, of lWestCoast Jim Watef Off MaUi. ,lir Darling,westcoast whale Besearch Whale ResearchFoundation, who provided Foundalion us with additionalphotographs and informa- tion concerningwild humpbacks. Everyonewho contributedto this publica- tion fervently hopes that these great whales will return once more to our inside waters. Your environmentalawareness and concern will ensurethis. -S.P.

COVER:A hundred years ago, humpback whales often breached in the Strait of Georgia.The sight was similartothisoneof a humpbackbreaching off Hawaii. GraemeEllis, West Coast Whale Research Foundation z .:#*tu$l; l,* ;"tF {*"r "-6"

Introducing the Humpbacks

by Roy Thnami

One of the most fascinatingcetaceans living balaenopterids, better knou,n as rorqual

todrv..,** is th" orpat i."-t.h",'L' ,. 1."]o l r.vhales,are toothless filter fceders. Like all (Megapter a not'ac ungliae).Distir-rctive in both baleenu'halcs, they filter food from the water body shapc and hehaviour, it is r unique *'ith a seriesof baleen plates that l.rangfrom member of a distinguishedfamilv of u'hales. the roof of the mouth. This family iscalled Balaenopteridae by scien- tists and includes the great blue rvhale, the Unlike other baleen u'hales, hou,ever,the largestcreature ever to inhabit the earth. The rorquals have long pleated throat grooves Threeexamples of humpbacksthat were 30 metres below the surface of the water, and photographed in both northern and even at this depth the sounds can be heard southernwaters. The pigmenta- distinctive above the surface. Scientists are still unsure tion patternon the undersideof the tail about why the animals sing. However, they enables biologists to identify individual animals. suspect that the songs are associated with some type of courtship or meeting Photosprovided by Jim Darling, behaviour. WeslCoasl Whale Research Foundation. In the course of their studies ro learn more about the narure of humpback songs, biolo- gists have made some fascinating discoveries. At any one time, all the singersin a popula- ? tion sing the same basic song. The songs are E composed of a variety of discrete themes, and I these themes change regularly over time. I Once a song has changed, all the singers will alter their songs to fit the new pattern. ! HAWAII VANCOUVERISLAND t Through I 11February 1980 10June 1980 such discoveries researchers have I started to unravel some of the mysteries sur- rounding the lives of these great whales. I The humpbacks have had a long-standing l relationship with man. This is because they generally travel near the shore and often break the surface with acrobatic leaps, mak- ing them easy to spot. Their energericsurface I HAWAII S.E.ALASKA activities, in fact, made them easyprey for the 7 whalers, who relentlessly hunted ]a April1980 31July 1982 them and brought their numbers down to dangerously ii low levels. Granted international prorection in 1966, these great whales now enjoy a somewhat happier relationship with man. Tall misty - - --: :r-tF- spouts, songs, and magnificent breaches now MEXICO HAWAII signal the presence of humpbacks ro a 3 March1979 1 February1980 decidedly friendlier generation of humans - those who's purpose is not to destroy these animals, but to learn more about the intrica- cies of their lives. Hopefully, through knowledge and understanding, people will be able to do as much to help the humobacks as they once did to hurt them, and in so doing, ensure the survival of these fascinatins mammals.

RoyTcnami [s a stafl memberof theAquarium's Education and Interpre ation D epar tment. Humpbacl

bv Bill Merilees

Few people are aware that slightly more Map of the Strait of Georgia,showing than a century ago, humpback whales gam- placesnamed after whaling activities, and bolled and breachedin the Strait of Georgia. otherareas mentioned in this article. They evenentered Vancouver Harbour. They came each summer to both our inside and outside waters, where they fed on the large massesof nekton that built up during the long days of sunlight. In fall they would leaveour shoresto swim south to their calving grounds in warmer waters. Today, the humpbacks are gone from the Strait of Georgia, and so are most of their traces.The only cluesthat remain to remind us of them, and of their conspicuousabsence today, are place names, archival records,and old newspaperclippings. \Thaletown, Vhale Passage,and Blubber Bay appearon modern mapsas reminders of British Columbia's early whaling days.The whalersarrived herein two waves:one in the late 1860'sand early 1870's, the other in 1907. The press record is scatteredwith a con- siderablearray of whaling stories- probably becausecetaceans have alwaysfascinated peo- ple. Thus, while fossil and other biological recordsof whales in the Strait are few, many storiesand news items appearedin the early newspapers of colonial Victoria and Nanaimo. One can, in fact, document quite nicely the story of why the humpback whales disappeared from Georgia Strait, as the newspaperrecord supports what meagre ar- chival materialsexist. Using these sourcesas well as information obtained from biologists, I have pieced together a reasonably clear picture of our Srait of Georgia humpback whale legacy. I hope you find it as interesting as I did. Indian Whaling

The great whales and their annual cycles that the Coast Salish were perhaps more con- were certainly known to our native coastal tent to simply watch these truly massive peoples, particularly the Nootka. This group marine mammals. hunted both gray whales and humpback a Nonetheless, when a dead whale washed I whales on the outer coast. and had develooed ashore, the local natives would readily utilize many rituals associatedwith this dangerous the carcass,rendering what oil was available activity. from the rotting hulk. Captain Roys, a whal- Vithin the Strait of Georgia, the Coast ing man who worked in Georgia Strait, I f Salish people mainly hunted seals and sea learned this the hard way in 1869 when, due I lions. However, a brief reference in the Bricish to severeweather, his group were forced to cut Colonisrof December 24,1868, mentions that adrift a whale just harpooned and killed. The I "the Indians had succeededin landins animal floated ashore and "was subsequently I four whales." Nothing in the anthropological picked up by the Indians and appropriated to a I record appears to confirm this, and it may be their own uses." I Commercial Whaling Comes to the Strait I In British Columbia, it was the brief visit of Any story of whales and whaling along the I Captain James Cook to in western coast of North America must include I l77B that alerted the world to the abundanr the writings of Charles Scammon. His 1874 marine mammal resources on the western book, The Marine Mammals of the North- shores of North America. Although the sea western Coast of North America Together with sparked the earliest interest and quickly an Account of the AmericanWhale Flshery, lays assumed paramount importance, whaling the cornerstone to our understanding of this was about to follow. spectacular industry and resource. An North American whaling operations, enlightened whaling caprain, Scammon however, began in New England. Vith im- learned all he could about whales and made proved methods and equipment, the whalers many original field observations. Today, his extended their sphere ofoperation southward book is a classic.It is an early attempt to pro- through the Atlantic and around Cape Horn vide factual information on these animals. in the 18th and early 19th centuries.By 1835 Perhaps due to overcrowding, Scammon whaling had spread to the North Pacific. eventually quit whaling and joined the 1851 marked the beginning of shore whal- United States Revenue Cutter Service. In this ing along the California coast, which in turn capacity, he spent some time between 1868 may have led to more serious whaling in the and 1870 in Juan de Fuca Strait, which, of Strait of Georgia. It began at Monterey, where course, is just south of Georgia Strait. Coin- California gray and humpback whales were cidentally, it was during this period that whal- pursued from small boats during their annual ing became more intense in Georgia Strait. migrations. Vith the discovery of Laguna Ojo At this same time, on March 29 and de Leibre (better known as Scammon's April 2, 1869, two long letters to the editor Lagoon) by Scammon in 1855, an intense appeared in the Brirish Colonist signed whale fishery followed in the lagoons of Baja "Oleaginous" (meaning"oily"). Although too California. partisan to be Scammon's writing, the infor- 8 ThePacific Whaling Company processing plant.

ACTIVITIESOF THE PACIFIC WHALING COMPANY PAGE'S LAGOON. These photographsare from old glassnegatives that date back to November1907. The originals are owned by PeterSchwarze, of SchwarzePhotographers, Nanaimo, B.C.

Humpbackwhales awaiting processing. mation on whaling agreesclosely with Scam- Concerning the benefits from whales and mon's.writings which appearedin print five whaling to Victoria, Oleaginous argued that a yearstater. "wise and judicious government" would give "The California whaling seasonlasts only active assistance towards establishing a four months," wrote Oleaginous, "They desirable industry in Victoria. But, he con- catch principally California Grays or Devil tinued, "with such a government as we at Fish, a whale which seemsto be of migratory present have it would be worse than madness character.Two months late in the fall he goes to indulge for a moment in any such expecta- 'down south which is called the season'.. . tion." He concluded that, if any benefit would Two months early in the spring he comes be derived from whaling, the prospect would north which is the'up season'.There is this "rest entirely with the businessmen of distinction between the coast fisheriesof Victoria." California and those of our waters,and it is The colonial government was not the only an imporant one: they fish the California group to give short shrift to those promoting Gray which they havefor only four months; active support to the new industry. The Hud- we fish for Humpbackswhich we haveall the son Bay Company had experienced similar year." misgivings earlier.

Whaling and the Hudson Bay Company In 1842, the Hudson Bay Company was came from the board of governors.As his about to establish a new post on the southern hopesfaded, he further suggestedthat Cap- end of . Sir George Simp- tain Hoyeq an experiencednorth Pacific son's letters of this time to the governors of whalehunter, would be interestedin entering the Company make repeated references to the serviceof the Company.In final despera- whales, whaling and Simpson's desireto have tion perhaps,he suggestedthat the Beac)er the Hudson Bay Company engageactively in steamer,as part of her crew, should include the whaling business.From knowledge gained 10 to 12 hands experiencedin wlralefishing. along the west coast, he attempted to per- They could makeup a crewfor two boatsthat suade the governors to consider directing might be employedin hunting whales.asthe their attention ro whale fishing. steamerfell in with thenr. "For many years," he wrote, "it has been Although Simpson'sdesire for the Hudson known that whales are very numerous about Bay Company to hunt whales in Georgia the and in the Gulf of Strait was never realized,about 6300 litres Georgia." From this he concluded that an (1400 Imperial gallons)of whale oil was establishment situated on the Strait of Juan shippedannually by the Company between de Fuca would be admirably suited for the 1843and 1850from Fort Victoria. This oil purposes of whaling. was presumably obtained in trade from Apparently he was not convincing in his coastalIndians. argument. The hoped for approval never

Fasteningthe tackleso an animalcan be hauledup intothe plant. ll I The First Big Onslaught:

: 1866to L873 Several years after George Simpson's futile pleasto the Hudson Bay Company, there was an increased clamour for rvhale oil. This chance for considerable profits encouraged many independcnt companies to pursue whaling in Georgia Strait between 1866and 1873. The first reference to ivhaling in the British Colonisr newspaper in Victoria appeared September10, I866. This issuereported brief- ly that rvhales r','eredisporting themselves in and that one Mr. l7arren rvas preparing all necessaryri'hale boats and ap- paratus for rvagingwar on these monstersof rhe deep.On November 2, 1866,the paper reportcd that a Mr. Dau'son had struck and killed thrce u'halcsbut lost them due to heavy rveatheqand also that "no rvhaleshave been taken this year at Saanich." Thc rccord appcarsblank until Julv, 1868, rvhen a Captain Ross "clearedfor a ri'haling cruisc ir-rthe Gulf of Georgia." The resultsof this endeavour are unknorvn. From this point onn'ard, until 1873,a suc- cessionof companies,parties, and individuals pursuedhumpback rvhales.The most success- ful of theservas Jamcs Darvson, a well knorvn citizen of Victoria. A native of Clackmannashire, Scotland, Mr. Dau'son formed a party to pursue rvhales in Saanich Inlet. Their early efforts in 1866 \\,ereunsuccessful. In 1868, hos'ever, it n'as Darvsonand DouglasCompany. They moved reported that Dau'son, in company u'ith a their shore u'orks to Cortez Island, at a site group of San Franciscomen (including Cap- knou'n today as l7haletorvn Bay. Here, they tain Abel Douglas), purchascd the former had considerablcsuccess, taking nventy-two sealing schooner Karc and outfitted her for rvhalesbetri'een early June and late December. u'haling. Joined by four Victoria merchants Once again whales were hunted in the (Thomas and James Lowe, Robert Wallace waters around Saanich Inlet. Although and James Hutcheson), the Darvson and hampereJ by poor rveather nnd fog, th. Douglas Whaling Company Limited rva-s u'halers succeededin capturing and process- formed in 1870under the Joint Stock Com- ing eight s'hales.These yielded about 45,500 paniesAct rvith $20,000in capital. Again the litres(10,000 gallons) of oil "as good quality as site of operation was moved - this time to any ever brought from the Arctic Ocean." Hornby Island, at the place kno."vntoday as In 1869, Dau'son and Company bccame Vhaling Station Bay. The stated purpose of l2 WhalingStation Bay, Hornby lsland. In'1870 one of the largest, if not the most valuable ex- it wasthe site of theDawson and Douglas ported from the colony." Whaling Companyshore works. Today Despite this success, the company frag- thereis onlya tranquilsandy beach. mented into three groups for the 1871season. Provincial photo ParksBranch by RikSimmons The new merchant partners formed the British Columbia Vhaling Company Limited, and James Dawson and Abel Douglas ceasedto be stock holders. However, Captain Douglas, along with Alexander Strachan, then formed another whaling com- pany. They purchased equipment in San Francisco, where they outfitted the schooner Industry. The Brirish Colonist of May 77, lB7I, sug- gestedthat the Colonial Government should "meet this enterprising firm in a spirit of liberality and, if it can be legally done, remit the duties thereon (as)nothing infuses a spirit of confidence into an more thoroughly than a knowledge that an enter- prise will be met by Government in a spirit of appreciative liberality." Whether this suggestion was acted upon is unknown. Howeveq by Christmas the In- dustry had processednearly 600 barrels of oil from perhaps eight whales. James Dawson apparently formed a third group but by August had not met with any success.This is the last mention of Dawson in connection with whaling. He turned his at- tention to prospecting and died a few years later of "general debility" at age 56. In early 1872, the British Columbia \Whal- ing Company Limited went into liquidation. It is presumed that this whaling outfit was purchased by Wallace and Hutcheson, who the company was "to prosecute whale fishing fished in 1872and 1873with very limited suc- within the waters adjoining British Columbia cess.The last report in the Brirlsh Colonisrap- and the saleofoil and such other things asare pearedon July 13, 1871, and simply stated incident or coincident to the attaining of tlre that "the Wallace and Hutcheson whaling above objects." schooner was seen off Lasqueti Island on Operations began June 9th and continued Thursday. The run of whales this season has until January 1871,and during this period at been very light." least twenty-two whales were taken. At the From Dawson at Saanich in 1866 to end of the season,the Hudson Bay Company Wallace and Hutcheson off Lasqueti in 1873, wharf in Victoria "presented a sceneof activi- this series of companies took a minimum of ty to which it has long been a stranger," as eighty-one whales. With no mention to the thousands of litres of whale oil were loaded on contrary, all are believed to have been hump- rhe Ladl Lampsonfor shipment to London. It backs. was expected that this shipment would "be 13 -l

I I I The

! WhalingCo*pany ': I Ferry travellers from Horseshoe Bay to each. The remaining two animals yielded I I I Langdaleon the SunshineCoast traversethe 45 barrels each, for a total of about 5,800 t watersonce fished by the Howe Sound Vhal- gallons (26,400 litres). This, the Colonisr I Il ing Company. The British Colonlstfirst refers reported, at 40 cents per gallon, put about I to thesewhalers on July 15, 1869,when after $2,320 into the pocketsof the enterprising taking two whales "Mr. Lipsett came to spiritswho formed the Company. town. . . to engagehands. He thinks they can On February3rd, the Kate arrived in Vic- securethree whales a week." By Septem- toria at the Hudson Bay Company wharf ber 17,they had startedback to their whaling with the tail of the largesthumpback whale groundsand by month's end they had taken yet. From tip to tip, the flukesmeasured 5.8 two more whales. metres (19 fee$ across and weighed 1360 Nothing more is mentioned of the Howe kilograms (3,000 pounds)! Bv this time, Sound whalersuntil lateDecember when the whalesin the Strait had becomescarce, and Dawson and Lipsett whaling crews formed operationswere closed for the season. the United Whaling Company for a winter ByJune16, 1870, the Howe Sound Whaling cruiseof six weeksoff Howe Sound. Company was once again out after whales. Newsreached Victoria in mid-January1870 \ilhere their baseof operationswas located in that, of four whales harpooned, three had Howe Sound is unknown. We do know that been landed. One of these was the largest in earlySeptember, they had their firsrsuccess takenall season.The oil from itsblubber filled and by season'send, January 12, 1871,their 100barrels, of 3lt/zlmperialgallons (143 litres) total catch was reportedto be ten whales.

Captain Thomas WelcomeRoys Vith the arrival in Victoria of Thomas more than 907,000kilograms (two million lWelcomeRoys in 1868,this British Colony pounds)ofbone. Shortly thereafterhe wrote acquiredthe servicesof a whale hunter wirh a book describingeighteen species of whale exceptionalknowledge and ingenuity.Born with which he wasfamiliar. One form of the in 1816in \UayneCounty, New York, he had bowheadwhale, in fact, was named Balaena becomea whaling captain at the ageof 25. mysticeusroysii in his honour. Royswas fascinated with everythingrelated Vhaling up to this time by necessirycon- to whalesand their capture,but nothing in- centratedon the smaller,weaker, and slower triguedhim morethan their migratoryhabits. swimming species:those most easily ap- In 1848,armed with knowledgegleaned from proachedby hand rowed whalingboats. The a number of sources,Roys became one of the larger,mightier and speedierrorqual whales, first whaling captains to work the Arctic including the blue whale, still remainedun- Oceanby way of the BeringStrait. molested.It is not surprisingthat Roysdecid- Herehe hunted the bowheadwhale so suc- ed to invent a new weaponto capturethese cessfullythat a yearlater 154ships followed in giants. his wake, taking 206,850barrels of oil and For severalvears Rovs focused his attention I4 Ventralview of a humpbackwhale. Note the .: throat grooves,barnacles, and nobs. :

lrr-'-* >:;

.-_\r._

--e'r<- rr

J ,J *- d lL' -

Thef luke end of a humoback.

cr a ,{

:

I 't F rIJ I I 1 ;-'-.--".tfl 'IT/A,-L'\\ '' ,f'"1 rJ ,{l

Baleen (also called "whale bone"),still in gum tissue. Cuttingup the whale. them. So, they relocatedto DeepBay the first week of May. Nothing improved, and on June8th, the new company decided to on the invention of a rocket harpoon. From wind up. lS>i until 1866,he patenteda number of Captain Roysdid not return to Victoria in Jevices towards the perfection of this 1870,but on May 10, 1871,turned up on "ultimate weapon,"and while not totally suc- Captain Calhoun's brigByTantiumfor a sum- cessfirl,his harpoon showed considerable mer whaling cruise in Queen promise.In fact, the famous Norwegian in- Sound. Their intention was to fish the Strait ventor of the modern whaling harpoon gun, of Georgiain the fall. No expensehad been SvenFoyn, wasintrigued by Roysrocket har- sparedwith this boat. Captain Calhoun had, poon, and even used some of its features. in fact, spent $8,000outfitting the Byzantiwn Foyn, however,thought Roys'weapon was as a whaler. too expensiveand impractical. First sailingnorth, they succeededin land- Roys tested and retestedhis rocket har- ing four whalesby September2nd. However, poons in the watersofflceland between1857 by September17th, the ByTantiumhad moved and 1866.Although the resultswere encour- south and was lying in Deep Bay,where the aging,at eachstage problems arose to impede party had formed a station. Whales were his ultimatesuccess. Finally in 1866,unable to numerous and Captain Calhoun was very compete with Sven Foyn's harpoon gun, optimisticof a successfulhunt. Shortly there- Roys sold out his Icelandicinvestments and after,disaster struck. moved to San Franciscc-r. On October 19th the Byzantfamra-n heavily In 1868,at the age of 52, he arrived in aground on a reefin \Teynton Passage,near British Columbia to try his rockets"one last Alert Bay.Captain Roysand all handsgot off time." He soon becameone of the principals safely and managed to reach Fort Rupert of the Arnold, Meeker and Roy expedition. (nearPort Hardy). Captain Calhoun wasnot Although they wereout whalingearly in July, on board at the time. The following day, problemswith their "rocketharpoons" forced when the steamshipOtter passed through the a delay.They solvedthese and wereout again area,the Byzantiumwas gone. It was assumed in the DeepBay areauntil October7th, when that sheslipped offthe reefand went down in all hands came down. Bad weather in the 60 fathoms. Strait wasblamed for their poor showing.Of This, howeve! wasnot the case.Apparent- six whalesstruck, only four werelanded. By ly, the boat floated free at the next tide and this failure,'Royswas "by no meansdiscour- wasboarded by localnative peoples, who hid aged," and still maintained there was "ex- her from passingvessels behind Malcolm cellentwhaling in our waters." Island.After stripping her, they allowedher Soon afterwardsRoys was involved in the to float out to sea via Queen Charlotte formation of the Victoria Whaling Adven- Sound.Th.e Blzantiulm was never seen again. turers'Company.This endeavourbegan with Captain Roys and the crew were taken to capitalof $10,000,and CaptainRoys himself Victoria on board the Orrer.rVhat had begun travelledto Honolulu to "engagecompetent asa well-provisionedexpedition had endedin handsto assisthim in carryingout the inten- ruin. "Cannot somethingbe done for their tions of the New Company." relief today?" asked the Victoria Colonisrof Roys was back in Victoria on January25, November 7, 1871. 1869,with his hand-pickedcrew. On March Vhen comparedto the other whaling par- 4th, they departedto Dodger Cove, Barclay tiesworking in the Strait of Georgia,Captain Sound, where once again weather foiled Roys and his party had poor success.They took only about nine whalesin threeseasons. Jawbones,showing baleenplates in the Vhile the weatherand their equipmentprob- roof of the mouth. ably accountedfor someof this misfortune,it I7 The sealingschooner Kafe, purchased at auctionby James Dawson and used by the Dawsonand DouglasWhaling Company, 1868to 1870.

t f :: {' ;, appearsthat during most of their whaling cisco.Here he continuedwork on his rocket operations,Roys and his crewwere simply in harpoons.At the end of 1876,he boardeda the right placeat the wrong time. shipsailing south from SanDiego, and on this Evidently some humpback whales were voyage,contracted yellow fever. He waseven- presentin the Strait of Georgiaand adjoining tually put ashore "at the grubby little watersfrom early May, and their southward Mexican fishing port of Mazatlan," and died migration wouldn't have started till the shortly afterwardson January 29, 1877.On autumn and early winter. Thus, by winding his personwas a roll of papers,including an up operations in June, 1869, the Victoria autobiographyas well as some drawingsof \Thaling Adventurers Company indeed new whaling inventions. For all his work, missedthe bestpart of the whaling season. Thomas WelcomeRoys is now regardedas Following his bitter disappointment in the "pioneerof modern American whaling." BritishColumbia. Rovs returned to SanFran-

Postscript:1866 to L873 During this early whaling period, blubber eachof which wasthe equivalentof aboutfive and some whalebone (baleen) were the only barrels or about 680 litres (150 gallons).A parts of the whale utilized. Normally a dead story in the Colonistdescribed how the timber whale was brought to a nearby beach for used to make these casks "was cut by flensing and the blubber loaded for transport Mr. Dawsonthree yearsago, split to the pro- to the Companies' shore works. It was then per lengths,and left to seasonthoroughly, so boiled in large try pots to extract the oil. that no leakageis to befound in any of them." This method of processing partially ex- Dawson cut and stored enough material to plains the former presenceof whale bones on make nearly 200 casks.From this observa- and near beachesaround Georgia Strait. Due tion, the Colonistconcluded "that whaling in to their age, however, they are no longer a our inland watersis a safeand payingbusiness common sight. that creates numerous additional occupa- In the case of James Dawson's early opera- tions." tions, the oil was put up in Island-made casks,

Whaling fromNanaimo: The SecondOrxlaught After 1873whale hunting in BritishColum- Sound in 1905. Four more stations soon bia by BritishColumbians remained dormant followed - and Page's until 1905.\7hen it resumed,whaling had Lagoon in 1907,Rose Harbour in 1909,and enteredits modern era. Armed with the new NadenHarbour in 1911. SvenFoyn harpoongun, stronger,faster steel- The third station, at Page'sLagoon, was hulled steamersnow permittedthe easycap- located just north of Departure Bay, ture ofeven the largest,fastest whales. Nanaimo.It cost$114,000 to constructand Taking advantageof this new technology, wasa somewhatsmaller version of the one at the PacificVhaling Company, of Victoria, Kyuquot. Despitea ten-daystrike in Juln it openedits first station at Sechart,in Barklev wascompleted and readyto beginoperations t9 steamship Orion in mid-November, when the steam whalers Artist'srendition of the 'S7est harpooninga humpbacknear Nanaimo. Orion and St. Lawrence arrived from the NOvembef 1907. s"n*"r." Photographers,Nanaimo Coast. Hunting began on November 16th, and five whales were taken during the first two days. The Nanaimo Free Pressdescribed how "a smart little vessel of some hundred feet with clean lines and engines capable of mak- ing 12-14 knots per hour leaves the station very early in the morning so as to reach the probable hunting grounds around duy break." Hunting was brisk. In early Decembeq good catcheswere made offthe mouth of the , where it was believed the whales were lying in wait of small fish running up the river. As many as nine whales were seen in one pod here, and during the first week of this month 20 a-=i' ,-::

?--a;,"ry_: *'':ff.- thirteenwhales were taken. Such success so The steamwhaler St.Lawrence used bythe overtaxedthe station's capacity that the ships Pacific Whaling Company at Page's wereforced to be id1e. Lagoon, from October 1907 to February provinciat Hunting continued into the New Year, but 1908. Archivesof Britishcorumbia by early February 1908, whales were scarce and hunting ceased.In total, 97 humpback whales had been killed and processed. The station. however. was not to close. Ar- rangements were made for it to be used by Japaneseand Canadian fishermen who were fishing dogfish for their oil. In 1908,for reasonsnot stated in the press, rvhalingfrom the Page'sLagoon station never resumed.The equipment \\'asmoved or sold, rnd roday the area is a quiet. residential suburb of Nanaimo. Not a trace remains of rhe station. ,l.ccounts of this station's operations z1 published in the Free Pressprovide us rvith someinteresting biological observations: first, all the whales taken were humpbacks; no other speciesis mentioned. These whales were mostly taken "hard by the shore," and, curiously,while the herring fishery was in full operation during the whaling period, only two of forty whales examined had consumed ai 1. \------r-:* a' herring. The remainderhad been"apparently I Vegetable,Flower and Field i living on small fish somewhat resembling a Seids,reaOy for Spring Seed- | shrimp" [sic]. ing areopened up. Despite this observation, in 1909a Japanese x wueru FERTILIZTIRFoB sar,E * herring fisherman from Nanaimo suggested i herring no longer entering the A finelineof Spraysand that the were bays near Nanaimo becausethe whales were SprayingMaterlals lt . .. no longer present to drive them inshorel If we compare whaling activities in 1907 I A.lt. n,ltr J0HIIST0I{ouu'tutult &w lj0'$tru u rvith those fifty years earlier,some notable dif- i +'.-r Wholegato and S,etail Grocers. * ferences in processing are evident. In the (i;rrrr (i,l)rrcf(iirl r lrrrl llrrstiorrSts., Nrrririnro a captured whale was beached, flensed ! 1860's, and the blubber loaded onboard for shipment to the parties'tri works. The carcasswas left Advertisementin the NanaimoFree Press, to rot. November1907. Later. in 1907. whales such as those har' pooned by the Orion and St. Lat'rence rvere Logsheet of the Pacific WhalingCompany towed to a station for processing.At thesesta- forthe weekending December 21,1907. tions, like the famous "Chicago pig," every- thing was processedbut the squeal.Only in Tfi€ PAC|FIC WHAL|ilC COmPArv, LrD. the caseof the whale, it was the smell. Even tctdvr'ffi' * I g( , . this, the FreePresssuggested, might be bottled sat;^, tr'..t ..di'g, -zez'a\'&L L/ tq,? I e!e: - Lr@oN No. 3 and retailed in drug stores at so much perl l-'F*t;;;;;-'l : -1- The products produced at Page'sLagoon in- ,:*;*"^- ,/tf*' i iZa &^2., cluded oil, whale bone, guano, and fertilizer. uu!-rm / ;/t'1^*t."t' )ii "iz 1zi, i The skin was also saved and turned into the : ( a 6 3d ludr ? .u finest leather. trEcu.cD lm i 'i r i ri t I '-, t,/t' L'/' '' / /: Whaling never returned to the Strait of l"no* j 16 t t,t"i frar i'qi,ro tt ltx t,Pitof, Georgia, but it continued along the outer ftr.n(d.)l*i I'i coast until 1967,r.vhen the Iast shore station l*w',?'/ Ja a{ t/, Y5 ll'zt at Coal Harbouq on Sound, closed trdr .uf'3a ^t Jo Ja /at br t rrD lb. I permanently. The final flurry, aided by spotter I Bt.k t"ao ///t' aircraft, probably killed off those last few I 116r /d0 ^7d ^t t' tat /ra humpback whales intent on passingthrough the Strait of Georgia. All told, rvhalingin British Columbia lasted 101 years.For the humpbacks in B.C.'s in- shoreu'aters, there was never any recognition of their olisht. The stock was all bur eliminated, and with its passing coastal British Columbia lost a spectacularand sensa- tional resource. 72 Harpoongun used by the PacificWhaling Companyin 1907.

What About a Humpback C-omeback? After 1907,no humpbackwhales disturbed Vhile this informationis scanty, it certainly the insidewaters of GeorgiaStrait for nearly indicatesthat a comebackfor our humpback seventy years.And if there were a few occa- whale population is possibleand quite likely sional transients,their passagewent unno- on the way.However, because the natural an- ticedand unrecorded.These waters remained nual increasein whale stocksis exceedingly silentuntil October 1976,when a smallgroup small,such a comebackwill take a long time. wasobserved in . One day, perhaps fifty cr more years from Since then there have been further sight- now, ferry patrons from HorseshoeBay to ings.During the summersof 1984and 1985a Langdalemay seethese spectacular animals few humpbacks were regularly observed onceagain playing in the sameareas of Howe around the mouth of , and in Sound,where more than 150years before, the Georgia Strait proper a lone animal was Howe Sound \Thaling Company stalked observedin Harbour in Mav 1984. them with oar, sail, and hand-thrown har- Small numbers are also seenfairly regularly poon. around the Queen Charlotte Islands. On August 17,1985,ferry patronscrossing from Nanaimoto HorseshoeBav were treated BiIl Merileesis a native o/ British Columbia and a resident to an impressivespectacle - a singlehump- of Nanaimo, with strong lnterestsin natural and local history. in 1979 a seriesof coincidencesstarted a chlin reac- back whalebreaching. Lee,who report- John tion of discoueriesthat anlminated in this edttion of ed the action to whale biologists,said the \VATERS. Currently employed by the Provincial Parks animal wasfirst seentail lobbing,then began Branch, BilI has been a member of the Aquarium Associa- to breach repeatedly, coming as close as rion since 1958and a Life Member (alongwith h* family) 200 metres from the ferry. stnce1970. 23 Page'sLagoon was the site of a whaling References stationset up in 1907by the Pacific Whal- ingCompany. Today alltraces of thestation 1. The Brirish Colonist(Victoria). October 30, 1868, afe gOne. BillMerilees November14, 1868, March 31, 1869,April 2, 1869, September 28, 1869, December 29, 1869,Janu- ary 18, 1870,July 27, 1870,January 12, 1871,Janu- ary 20, 1871,December 23,1871. Acknowledgements 2. Emery,M. 1963.Victoria's first whaler went to sea. Daily Colonist(Victoria), January 13,1963. The author is pleasedto acknowledgethe stimulation 3. Kool, R. 1982.Northwest coastIndian whaling: new and assistanceof the following people during the considerations. Canadian Joumal of Anthropology, preparationof this manuscript: vol. 3, no. I, pages3l - 44. Dr. I. McT. Cowan, of Victoria, and Cass, of John 4. NanaimoFree Press (Nanaimo). September 23, 1907, Nanaimo, for their encouragement. November 8, 1907, November 18, 1907, Novem- Brian Young,Archivist at the B.C. ProvincialArchives ber 27, 1907, December 7, 1907, December l l, in Victoria, and Richard Mackie, for suggestingand 1907, December 13, 1907, December 24, 1907, providing referencesthat meaningfully expanded the March 12, 1908,January 6, 1909,May 9, 1910. scope of the story. 5. ProvincialArchives, Victoria, B.C.: Memorandum Robert Webb, of the Kendall \(haling Museum in of Association,The Dawson and DouglasWhaling Sharon, Massachusetts,and of Richard Kool, the B.C. Company Limited. Report of the Registrar.Joint Provincial Museum, for information on whale hunters, Stock CompaniesAct, 1870. PeterSchwarze, for permissionto his wonderful use old 6. ----Report of the Registrar, Joint Stock Com- ^L^.^^-^^L- P'rurutsrdPrrs. paniesAct, December5, 1871. Don Pearson, of the Ministry of the Environment, 7. Scammon, C.M. 1874. The Marine Mammatsof the Toponomy Section, for information on coastal place Northu,estCoast of North America,l.H. Carmany & names. Co. Reprint: Dover, New York, 1968. To Michael Bigg, of the Pacific Biological Station in B. Schmitt, F.P.,C. de Jong, and F.H. \Uinter. 1980. Nanaimo, Darling and GraemeEllis, of WestCoast tMelcome 'Whale Jim Thomas Roy, Amertca's Pioneer of Modern Research,Jim Borrowman and Bill McKay, of \Yhaling,University Pressof Virginia, Charlottes- StubbsIsland Charters, Telegraph Cove, for permission ville, Virginia. to usetheir data and observationsfor the current status 9. VtctoriaColonrst, October ZZ, 1976. of the humpbacksin the Strait. 10. \Ualbran, J.T. 1909. Brittsh Columbia Coasr Names, Margaret Dickson, for typing the draft of this material. 1592- 1906.Reprint: J.J. Douglas, Ltd., North Van- The staff at the Vancouver Aquarium who took my couver,B.C. draft and materialsand with skill and fine judgement 11. Webb, R.L. 1984. \Yest \Yhaling. Vancouver produced this edition of \UAfERS. Maritime Museum, Vancouver,B.C. Many thanks. 12. \ililliams, G. (ed.) 1973. London correspondencein- Bill Merilees,Nanaimo, B.C. ward lrom Sir GeorgeSimpson, 1841-1842. Hudson August 28, 1985 Bay Record Society,No. 29. )4 "Yesterd"aymoming abatt nine o'clocka largewhale enteredtlw matth of Mictoria) hnrbovtrand rounding Shoal Point carnegallently spantingas he cane to the sntionary buo1.A schaonerrunning out of *w lwrba,tr passedso near to tlw marine monsteras to receicrea few banek of water on her deck which wet the handsto the skin.Irnmediately upon tlis performance.. . the monstertlvew l'timselfentirely ant of dle water. . .He descendedunidst a clatd of sPraY' . . . Aug.'st6, Ig69

"The Howe Sound Whaling Cunparry have caughttwo mare whales. Severalof tfuse lwge finny uisitarshnue alsomade their appearcurcein Bunard Inl"etmd spoutedtheir defiance at tlw millrnen." . . . .September28, 1869

" On tlw up-trip of theD otrgkls,tlv ee whales w mt dvaqh D odd.I.l arr ow s in companJ with tlw steemer.They w er e rathermor e playf"l tltnnw os agr eeable or safe.One of thefellows, tLvowinglimself fulllengthinto tlw air,woshzd thesteuner's decks with thespray as hesuuck dle water." . . . .September30, 1871