Squamish Photos and Stories

Finally! Slab Alley.

Quitting point Atkinson, and proceeding up the sound, we passed on the western shore some detached rocks, with some sunken ones amongst them, that extend about two miles, but are not so far from the shore as to impede the navigation of the sound ; up which we made a rapid progress, by the assistance of a fresh southerly gale, attended with dark gloomy weather, that greatly added to the dreary prospect of the surrounding country. The low fertile shores we had been accustomed to see, though lately with some interruption, here no longer existed; their place was now occupied by the base of the stupendous snowy barrier, thinly wooded, and rising from the sea abruptly to the clouds ; from whose frigid summit, the dissolving snow in foaming torrents rustled down the sides and chasms of its rugged surface, exhibiting altogether a sublime, though gloomy spectacle, which animated nature seemed to have deserted. Not a bird, nor living creature was to be seen, and the roaring of the falling cataracts in every direction precluded their being heard, had any been in our neighbourhood. Towards noon I considered that we had advanced some miles within the western boundary of the snowy barrier, as some of its rugged lofty mountains were now behind, and to the southward of us. This filled my mind with the pleasing hopes of finding our way to its eastern side. The sun shining at this time for a few minutes afforded an opportunity of ascertaining the latitude of the east point of an island which, from the shape of the mountain that composes it, obtained the name of Anvil Island, to be 49'30, its longitude 237’3,......
...it soon narrows to half that breadth, taking a direction to the NNE as far as latitude 49° 39', longitude 237° 9', where all our expectations vanished, in finding it to terminate in a round basin, encompassed on every side by the dreary country already described. At its head, and on the upper part of the eastern shore, a narrow margin of lowland runs from the foot of the barrier mountains to the Water-side, which produced a few dwarf pine trees, with some little variety of underwood. The water of the sound was here nearly fresh, and in color a few shades darker than milk ; this I attributed to the melting of the snow, and its water passing rapidly over a chalky surface, which appeared probable by the white aspect of some of the chasms that seemed formerly to have been the course of water-falls, but were now become dry. The gap we had entered in the snowy barrier seemed of little importance, as through the valleys, caused by the irregularity of the mountaintops, other mountains more distant, and apparently more elevated, were seen rearing their lofty heads in various directions. In this dreary and comfortless region, it was no inconsiderable piece of good fortune to find a little cove in which we could take shelter, and a small spot of level land on which we could erect our tent ; we had scarcely finished our examination when the wind became excessively boisterous from the southward, attended with heavy squalls and torrents of rain, which continuing until noon the following day, Friday the 15th, occasioned a very unpleasant detention. But for this circumstance We might too hastily have concluded that this part of the gulf was uninhabited. In the morning we were visited by near forty of the natives, on whose approach, from the very material alteration that had now taken place in the face of the country, we expected to find some difference in their general character. This conjecture was however premature, as they varied in no respect whatever, but in possessing a more ardent desire for commercial transactions ; into the spirit of which they entered with infinitely more avidity than any of our former acquaintances, not only in bartering amongst themselves the different valuables they had obtained from us, but when that trade became slack, in exchanging those articles again with our people ; in which traffic they always took care to gain some advantage, and would frequently exult on the occasion. Some fish, their garments, spears, bows and arrows, to which these people wisely added , their copper ornaments, comprized their general stock in trade. Iron, in all its forms, they judiciously preferred to any other article we had to offer....
...about nine o'clock landed for the night, near the west point of entrance into the sound, which I distinguislied by the, name of Howe's Sound, in honor of AdmiraL Earl Howe...

If my memory still works I believe the cove Vancouver and his boys dropped anchor in is porteau cove.

As you'll see from the second photo, it's Helen Habgood "in a far-away place", photo credit to Jim Sibley.