LAST PHASE OF OREGON BOUNDARY 187
tained about 50,000 acres and was supposed to be of great
>trati-LjiV importance.
"It is fourteen miles long by four and a half in width. Its superficial area is fifty-four square miles ; it is eighteen miles from Victoria; the capital of Columbia, and is six and three-quarter miles from the shore of Vancouver Island," says an official Canadian report of 1872. 14
The Indians had it to themselves until 1850 when the Hud- son's Bay Company established a salmon-packing plant. In 1852 the Oregon Legislature, assuming that the intention of the Treaty of 1846 had been merely to assure to Great Britain Vancouver's Island and that the islands in the channel were American territories, included San Juan in Island County, and the following year it became part of the newly-formed Washington Territory. Subsequently, in 1854, it was included in Whatcom County. It was in 1&53 tha{ {he first steps were taken toward actual occupation \yhen from the British" side tlk- learner " Heaver" laiulcd a I'ock i thirteen Inni'lm! -beep t'>r the Hudson's Hay Company. 15 The accepted version on the American side was that this was done in order to establish a settlement claim to support British diplomacy in the conten- tion over possession not a preposterous assumption. Mr. J. M. Ebey, Collector of Customs for the Puget Sound at this time, in fulfillment of the duties of his office, warned Governor- and-Factor Douglas that the sheep were liable to seizure for having been landed without payment of duty. In reply Doug- las declared that the island was British territory, and forthwith appointed Mr. Charles J. Griffin, the clerk in charge of the sheep, as magistrate. Having no force at his disposal, Ebey could only protest against this and arrange for an account to be kept of all goods so that duty might be demanded at some more favorable time. Mr. Webber was appointed inspector of customs and left on the island. Now, Captain Sangster was collector of customs for Vancouver Island and, by the same
14 Report of the Hon H. L. Langevin, C. I!.. Minister of Public Works, Ottawa, 1872.
15 For the story of the San Juan Controversy see H. H. Bancroft's "History of British Columbia" 1792-1887, Chap. 31. Also Howay and Scholefield's Hritisk Columbia, Chaps. 5 and 6.
