"Put 6 men to dig a well and 6 others to square building timber. Spoke to the Songhees today and informed them of our intention of building in this place which appeared to please them very much, and they incidentally offered their services in procuring pickets for the establishment, an offer which I gladly accepted and promised to pay them a blanket (2.5) for every forty pickets of 22 feet by 36 inches which they bring. I also lent them three axes."
...Fri - 17 Clear warm weather, frost last night the 5 squares finished one half of 40 feet + one of 32 feet."
The "Beaver" and the "Cadboro" remaining as guard vessels until the Fort was built. The weather being fine and pleasant the operations of building went on rapidly with 50 men employed. At this time there was a dense forest along the water, on the harbour, and Camosack Inlet, as the Arm was then called.
Where the Fort was built there was an open glade with oak trees of large size, where a space of 150 yards was measured each way..
The Natives for some time after our arrival kept aloof and would not come near. Afterwards some of them came around gradually and finding them inclined to steal anything they could get, a watchman was kept day and night, while we lived in tents before houses could be built. Some of the men were employed clearing the land around to raise vegetables and cereals for the use of the place, in these operations we gradually got some of the young Natives to assist, paying them in goods, and found them very useful as ox drivers in ploughing the land."
B.C. Archives
Roderick Finlayson's Autobiography
A/B/F49A
"The Fort is a quadrangle of 330 by 300ft. The buildings on for the present to be eight in number, exclusion of bastions - and there dimensions - 60 by 40 by 30 feet. Posts and Pavilion roofs.
of these edifies we have already thoroughly completed three, and two more (main and officers house) are up but as yet unprovided with covering or inside work. One octangular Bastion of three stories was built.
In the farming line we have not as yet done much, there are about three acres broken up and prepared for the plough. The soil appears excellent being composed of decayed vegetable mould with a strong clayey bottom, it is however a good deal growth of fern.
The landscape is beautiful and strongly reminds one of some of the noble domains at home - water alone being (wanting?)to complete the picture. The climate is perhaps too fine, of which you may judge, when I tell you that from June to November we had scarcely anything else thou bright sunny days."
B.C. Archives
Charles Ross private correspondence
A/B/40/R735
"Now the "lions" of Victoria then were the Fort and its contents. It had been built by Mr. Finlayson. The Fort was nearly a quadrangle, about one hundred yards long and wide, with bastion at two corners containing cannon. The whole was stockaded with cedar posts about six or eight inches in diameter, and about fifteen feet in length, which had been brought from near "Cedar Hill" hence its name("now called Mount Douglas"). There were inside, about a dozen large block story and a half buildings, say 60x40, roofed with long and wide strips of cedar bark. The buildings were for the storage of goods, Indian trading shop, and a large shop for general trade. It contained everything required. The mess room, off which lived Mr. Douglasand family, was at the corner (of now)Fort and Government streets."
B.C. Archives
J.S. Helmcken's Reminiscences of 1850
NW 971KD133C 1887
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