Chapter 9 - Ward's Pass

Ward’s Pass, on the trail south of Bitter Creek, was called after Ward Brightwell, who slashed a trail over the rocky bluffs there, when the river shifted course and wiped out a narrow path that ran between the rocks and the river. The trail was a straight-up-and-down variety with some good handholds in places, and for some was a hard climb for the heavy-laden prospectors, who had to use it. It was known as “Ward’s (Blank! Blank!) Pass.

With the summer of 1904, a considerable number of prospectors arrived in the district and, to meet the growing traffic, a small steam launch, the Rustler, started to ply between Port Simpson and the head of the Canal. This was followed about a year later by the Camosun making regular sailings from Vancouver.

At that time there was no steamer landing, and the Stewart Trading Co. built a floating wharf and anchored it a short distance out in the bay from where the Crawford dock now stands. The wharf was constructed of logs, with a warehouse on it, and served for some years, until it was carried away by a whale, which became entangled in the anchor cables.

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