A new !90k at B.C.’s coasta! settlement B The Terror of the Const: Land Alienation aud Colonial War on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, 1849-1863 by Chris Arnett, Talonbooks, 352 pp, $18.95 paper. Jehn Goodman This Week Editor Johng@nsnews.com A little known 19th-century war between B.C. coloniai authorities and Gulf Islands natives is the cen- trepiece of a new work by author “Dee been interested in the story for 30-odd _ years," says the West Vancouver high school d, who spent six years researching materiai r the book, What Arnett found has ramifica- tions far outside the area of conflict and relates directly to ongoing treaty negotiations, The battle between Lamalcha warriors and ‘British Royal Navy took place during the ummer of 1863 and does not appear in most general histories of B.C. When the events are ‘mentioned they are usually referred to as a “police action.” Thar description obscures what ae feally fiappening on the coast during that -and why it.was necessary to send three Ships and 500 hundred-men into battle.” :;“The policy of the day was that before there ‘ould be any. sectlernent there had to be extin-. ent of title,” says Arnett. “They actually: ‘carried this Gut in a number of arcas of .- Island up| until 1854.” At this point, © ind for a nuinbes' of reasons, the treaty process HORACE Lascelles, captain of tha HMG Forward,went licking for the Lamalcha. and his fifteen: -year-old married daughter Caroline Harvey were murdered on the sovith shore of Saturna Island where they had set up camp while en route to Mayne Island. Two days later William Brady and John ‘Henley shared a meal with a group of natives at le ‘Bedwell Harbour on the south side of the larid ’ -bridge joining the two Pender Islands. The men were attacked later that evening while they ~. slept. Brady died from his wounds while Henley escaped to alert the authorities. - .. There was no doubt thar natives _ were ‘Sens sho for the killings but . the incidents should be viewed in perspective, The colonial govern- “ “ment sent settlers into arcas where - they bad no control and the intru-.. “sions were-‘not welcome. |. Arnett believes the death of. "Salt Spring followed the same pat- tern of retaliatory violence. “In that instance, some Nanaimo chief were, : killed by some liquor traders and so’ - in retaliation they killed a‘ number ” of settlers around Nanaimo and Salt - . This information dispures the William’ “Robinson Website (www.UVic.ca/history- “robinson/>) set up by Ruth Sandwell and John ~ Luz which suggests white culprits were to. "blame. “That doesn’t wash with my research,” spondence of the black settlers they \ were unequivocal about who was harassing them. It just makes sense. They were in territories that were owned by the Lamalcha people.” Some settlers fared better than others in the - area. Single white men that married into native families were accepted and had access to’ resources. “Marriages allowed the settlers to occupy the fand unmolested,” says Arnett. “They married the daughters of chiefs who had rights to the land — they didn’t have a problem | with thar.” Most black settlers arriving in B.C. brought their families with them from the States and had: little contact with the native population. The , ' : in a'canoe the Royal Navy fired a shell at thy family of the German immigrant Marks and sin- gle men such as Brady and Henley were ata similar disadvantage. They moved into areas where they had no access to resources and no authority to back up claims. The Lamalcha are a Salish group and now identified as part of the Hulqumi’num First Nations. They wintered on Kuper Island and surrounding areas but had interests far outside the tertory, “Every summer they had this large mi tion front the Cowichan Valley and the Gulf Islands to the Fraser River Sockeye Fishery,” says Amert. “All the island people owned sum- mer villages along the Fraser. This played a key role in the thett of their lands. All the land grabs occurred when these people were away.” While some groups had reguiar contact with the colonial authority the Lamalcha wanted no part of this process. The crew of the Royal Navy’s HMG Forward knew this, but would have had little intelligence of w hat they would be up against when they went to “arrest” the murderers, ; The men of Lamalcha had built a defensive fort to counter attacks from the British. “The - blockhouse at Lamalcha was about eight-feer - . high and made of square timbers,” says Amett. * “They adopted European carpentry ~~ they” ” *’ were loopholed and had anti-artillery bunkers. Big trenches dug into the floor of the block- | house and overlaid with thick cedar planks." They did their best to prepare but they didn’ t have a chance.” In a census of 1853 the Lamalch popula: tion was estimated at just over 1 cople with’ more than half of this number ani en. There were seven or cight lodges with extended fami- fies and as many chiefs. The war chief Squ’acum - had between eight and 25 warriors to carry out ‘his tactics with muskets, pistols and possibly as few rifles. Licutenant Commander the Honourable. : Horace Lascelles had three cannon.and armed crew of 40 men aboard Her Maj : Gunboat Forward. The British force arrived i Lamalcha Bay at 11:35 a.m.on Monday pril 20th and anchored in front of the village. ship’s position put the vessel at an immediate. : disadvantage as warriors were in hidden post: * tions on either side of the bay.”: After ineffectual talks with nwo boys sent out ‘you ” Te pi scape; ontracior or a complet novice, Grain Dunes N. if w=’ Says Amett. “If you look at the original + orre- x12" exposed. aggregate, reg. $1.09 ANE 16" exposed round; reg. $499 ae sale $1.49 YOUR CLEAN... Ef CAR EXPERIENCE ’