Alcalá Galiano's Sketchmaps of Gabriola
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Context: Gabriola, history, Spanish exploration, Galiano and Valdes Citation: Doe, Nick, Alcala Galiano’s sketchmaps of Gabriola, SHALE 1, pp.12–21, November 2000. Copyright restrictions: Copyright © 2000: Gabriola Historical & Museum Society. For reproduction permission e-mail: [email protected] Errors and omissions: The place where the expedition gathered freshwater is said here to be near Barnacle Road. I am now more inclined to believe it was further along the coast at Lavender Bay, see SHALE 10, pp.37–44 for details and pictures of what were possibly Galiano’s lagrimaderos. Reference: Date posted: May 10, 2010. Alcalá Galiano’s sketchmaps of Gabriola by Nick Doe In 1792, the inhabitants of Gabriola Island Cala del Descanso was not the present-day were visited by the crew of the sailing ships Descanso Bay where the ferry terminal is. Sutil and Mexicana under the command of The story of the visit really begins the the Spanish naval officers Dionisio Alcalá previous year, 1791, when an exploratory Galiano and Cayetano Valdés. It was not survey of the Strait of Georgia was made by the first time the Spanish navy had been José María Narváez, Juan Carrasco, and José here; it was however, the first expedition to Verdía in the small schooner Santa have left behind a substantial record of its Saturnina and the long boat of the San visit. This record includes six pages of the Carlos. That expedition was poorly book Relación del Viaje... (Narrative of the 1 equipped, the weather for sailing was bad, journey...) first published in Spain in 1802, and, understandably, the chart that they plus portraits by José Cardero of two Indian 2 made contained some inaccuracies. The chiefs whom the Spanish met here. A third most intriguing error was that it suggested drawing, also probably by José Cardero but that the Fraser valley, seen only at a now lost, was the basis of the well-known distance, might in fact be the opening to a depiction of Gabriola’s Malaspina Galleries3 4 waterway leading eastward into the heart of by the Italian artist Ferdinando Brambilla. the North American continent. It was this Galiano and Valdés came to Gabriola for a possible opening that Galiano and Valdés little R&R—don’t we all! They called the were most anxious to explore. By a bay where Sutil and Mexicana anchored for remarkable coincidence, the Spanish and four days Cala del Descanso, which means British navies arrived at the same place, at “cove of rest”; however, as we shall see later the same time, for the same purpose. On the in this paper, contrary to popular belief, previous day, near Point Roberts, the Spanish had met the expedition of Captain 1 Relación del Viaje hecho por las Goletas Sutil y George Vancouver, which had as a prime Mexicana en el año 1792 para reconocer el Estrecho objective determining whether or not there de Juan de Fuca, pp.55–61, Madrid, 1802. existed a northwest passage through to the 2 Shown on the front cover. Note that one of the Atlantic Ocean. chiefs, the Jefe de las Bocas de Wentuisen, is almost Just recently, my attention was drawn to invariably described in the literature as being from Nanaimo, but although this is possible, I see nothing some pencil sketchmaps in a in the title to exclude the possibility that he also was “miscellaneous” file in the archives of the 5 from Gabriola, or from one of the other near-b y Naval Museum in Madrid. These pencil islands. sketchmaps are by Galiano. Because they 3 More correctly called the “Galiano Gallery”, are only sparsely annotated, it is not easy for though no one locally uses that name. someone to recognize what they represent, 4 and they have never been published before, Alejandro Malaspina’s expedition stopped at Nootka for two weeks in August 1791. This was as close as Malaspina ever came to Gabriola. Brambilla 5 joined the expedition later and never visited the Museo Naval Ms.2456 f. 1−2. This file box is not Pacific northwest. listed in the Higueras Rodríguez Catalogo Critico…. 12 SHALE No.1 November 2000 Nick Doe Alcalá Galiano’s sketchmaps of Gabriola but to my delight when I saw them, they not specifically about Gabriola at all. show Gabriola Island. Not only does Galiano and Valdés actually only managed Gabriola have a fine existing 18th-century to find good drinking water with the help of record, there is, as it turns out, more to add the Snunéymuxw people living in Taylor to it. B a y . The most reliable record of the visit is the The written record Naval Museum’s MS 619, which has been Before I go on to describe the sketchmaps, I faithfully translated by the BC historian should perhaps say a few words about the John Kendrick.8 All the remainder of the already published journal of the visit. It was quotes in this paper are from this translation. by studying these shortly after I first came to Gabriola that I realized that Descanso Bay The story so far... 6 has probably been mis-identified. We can pick up the story of the visit of the What is not often recognized is that the 1802 Sutil and Mexicana on June 13, 1792, when book Relación del Viaje... (Narrative of the the vessels reached Boundary Bay.9 The journey...) is an inaccurate account of the forty-or-so strong expedition had left voyage.7 It has been edited by people that Acapulco in March, and after a trying never took part in the 1792 expedition. In journey, which included unfavourable winds the pages on Gabriola for example, there is a and a broken mainmast, finally reached passage sometimes rendered: Nootka in the middle of May.10 Here they “...Under a clear sky there was displayed to did what they could to repair the damage us an attractive country; the green of varying and patch up their poor-quality rigging. tints and shining, of some woods and Early in June, they left Nootka and headed meadows, and the majestic rush of the waters down into the Juan de Fuca Strait. which fell from the heights at various points, It was the expectation of Galiano and entranced our senses, and for us was all the Valdés, based on the chart made in 1791, more pleasant because we had so recently passed through many trials and labours.” that they would be able to sail into the supposed eastward-trending straight or inlet Nice words, but unfortunately words that (Boca de Florida Blanca), by sailing were lifted from some other document, or northward between Point Roberts and written about some other place. They are Crescent Beach. Point Roberts (Isla de Zepeda) was thought to be an island, which 6 Nick Doe, The 18th-Century Spanish Expeditions indeed it often appears to be when viewed to Gabriola, The Gabriola Sounder, p.7, Sept. 17, 1999. 8 7 John Kendrick, The Voyage of Sutil and There is also to make matters worse a bad Mexicana–1792, Arthur Clark, Spokane, 1991. translation around. A Spanish Voyage to Vancouver 9 and the North-West Coast of America by Cecil Jane, A very detailed account of the Spanish although an enjoyable read if you are new to the explorations in the Vancouver area is in Tomás subject, does not have many admirers among Bartroli, Genesis of Vancouver City—Explorations of “serious” historians. The recommended translation is its site 1791, 1792 & 1808, Marco Polo Books, in Henry R. Wagner’s, Spanish Explorations in the Vancouver, 1997. Strait of Juan de Fuca, pp.228–300, but 10 unfortunately this excellent book has become very John Kendrick, The Men with Wooden Feet, NC rare outside of libraries. Press, Toronto, 1986. SHALE No.1 November 2000 13 Alcalá Galiano’s sketchmaps of Gabriola Nick Doe from the south from a small boat. Once into Sketchmap 1 (page 17) shows their route Mud Bay however, the deception was along the coast of Valdes Island to the Flat quickly apparent; the Isla de Zepeda became Top Islands (Punta de Gaviola).13 Punta de Zepeda; and Galiano ruefully The expedition of the previous year had marked on his chart that Boundary Bay was found an anchorage somewhere near the the Bahía del Engaño, the “fraudulent” bay. eastern end of Whalebone Drive on It was time for Plan B. This was to try to Gabriola, but evidently the wind for Galiano enter the Boca de Florida Blanca by way of and Valdés was not conducive to their Burrard Inlet. This was not such a bad idea stopping there and they proceeded on toward of course, but again the chart that they had Berry Point.14 Sketchmap 2 (page 18) caused some confusion. It showed Point shows their route along the north coast of Grey (Isla[s] de Lángara) as an island in the Gabriola Island passing between Gabriola entrance of what we now know is the Fraser and Entrance Island, now the site of a River. After running into shallow water off lighthouse. Roberts and Sturgeon Banks, and spending Doubling Berry Point, the two sleepless nights because of the insecure two ships quickly found anchorages, they finally called a “time out”, shelter from the fresh east and in the morning of June 15, headed out wind (NE by the compass) across the Strait of Georgia to the Gulf and anchored close to the islands, which is where our story really entrance of Pilot Bay, as begins. shown in Sketchmap 3 Anchorage symbol (page 19). Here they Porlier Pass to Descanso in Sketchmap 3 remained until June 19, About midday, they arrived at Porlier Pass11 spending time repairing (Boca de Porlier) between Galiano and sails, overhauling their boat and making Valdes Islands, which they somewhat rashly spars for it, taking on water and wood, entered without first checking it out with writing up their notes, making drawings, their small boat.