In 1904, the Provincial Government of BC was well on its way to full development. Surveys conducted by the Province were nearly complete for the large acreages ready for timber leases, mining and ore rights, and crown grants. The Mining Review in the January 31, 1904, edition made note of a coal find in Wulffsohn Bay on Malaspina Strait. The area, licensed for 9 square miles, and the coal seam, examined by Mr. W. Ashman, were endorsed for their quality.

On January 10, 1904, the Sliammon (Tla’amin) village held a meeting and sent a letter to the office of the Indian Commissioner received a letter dated January 10, 1904, reporting that the adult members of Sliammon Village (Tla’amin) held a meeting at which they voted to establish a day that they wished that the Department of Indians would purchase 2860 feet of wooden water pope and fittings, using the Sliammon (Tla’amin) reserve fund for Reserve No. 1, as advocated by Chief Tom. The requested water pipe, intended to supply the village of Sliammon (Tla’amin) with water, and the present water supply are considered improper and harmful to the health of the Sliammon people.

This notice bore the marks of Chief Tom, Chief Charley, Williams, Pierre, Domonick, Jim, Bob George, Firauk (the name may not be the correct spelling), Captain Sam, Captain Timothy, Johnny, Andrew, Harry, August, and George.

The office of the Indian Commissioner received a letter dated January 11, 1904, reporting that the adult members of Sliammon Village (Tla’amin) held a meeting at which they voted to establish a day school on Reserve No. 1, as advocated by Chief Tom. The agreement stated that Sliammon Village (Tla’amin) would provide the school and send its children to it. The members mentioned in the letter that they currently had 30 school-age children and expressed their desire for their children to receive an education. Additionally, the village offered to pay a teacher a salary consistent with that of regular day school teachers.

This notice bore the marks of Chief Tom, Chief Charley, Williams, Pierre, Domonick, Jim, Bob George, Firauk (the name may not be the correct spelling), Captain Sam, Captain Timothy, Johnny, Andrew, Harry, August, and George.

Opening with a flood of applications and many meetings scheduled with the Sliammon (Tla’amin) Chief, on January 12, 1904, Mr. MacDonald pens a letter acknowledging that BC. Mills Timber and Trading Company had sent $100 in payment for their lease on the Sliammon (Tla’amin) Indian Reserve.

Mr. R.H. Higgins, Esq., inquired about the Loquana Indian Reserve and sent a letter to Mr. MacDonald regarding a lease agreement. In his reply dated February 4, 1904, Mr. MacDonald explained that he had received a copy of the agreement signed by several members of the Sliammon Band of Indians (Tla’amin).

Mr. Higgins was requested to resubmit the application in duplicate, ensuring it clearly specifies the required rights-of-way for a road, a booming landing, pasturage, and camping. This submission should also include a duplicate sketch. Additionally, the application must state that Mr. Higgins has agreed to pay the Indians a yearly rental fee of $100.

On February 4, 1904, Mr. MacDonald writes to Mr. Vowell, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, that he has received and forwarded a cheque for $25 from Thulin Bros. for their lease, which ends in January 1905.

Mr. MacDonald stated in his letter to Mr. Higgins that another party, Messrs. Merrill Bros has also expressed interest in the Loquana Reserve. He emphasized that Mr. Higgins’ application must not conflict with theirs. Once a duplicate agreement is signed, he will present the matter to the Sliammon (Tla’amin) tribe for consideration.

Nearby on Hardy Island, Mr. Thomas Mathews received a Crown Grant for the whole island. District Lot 2005 was a whole island within Blind Bay. It was becoming rare for whole islands to be available in a single district lot by February 16, 1904, when this grant was issued.

The application from Mr. James Summer for Lot 275 on Texada appeared to be unusual. The Crown Grant approved on February 26, 1904, appears to split an existing homestead in half. The survey for this application shows there is a House, a garden, a barn, a field, and meadowland.

Bringing attention to land takeovers, the British American Development Company, on March 25, 1904, acquired District Lot 2082 and the mine named the Copper Queen. Smaller companies or individual operators owned mines. The Province of British Columbia found that smaller companies and individual operators were in breach of their agreements and reassigned their claims to other parties.

Mr. MacDonald wrote to the Chief of Sliammon (Tla’amin) on April 22, 1904, saying he understood the Chief had invited him to visit the village when the priest was present. In response, Mr. Springer wrote to the Chief regarding Mr. MacDonald’s invitation. However, Mr. MacDonald conveyed that he was unable to visit at that time but would arrange a visit after his trip to Squirrel Cove.

Fishing has long been an integral part of the Sliammon (Tla’amin) people’s culture, and they have fished the coastal waters of Malaspina Strait for centuries. Today, these waters are not only shared with other fishermen but also with log booms drifting down the Strait. Mr. MacDonald shared a letter dated May 4, 1904, from Chief Charley of the Sliammon (Tla’amin) village. In this letter, Chief Charley explained that a log boom had entangled a fishing line, and he requested that others keep an eye out for the lost gear.

When spring hits British Columbia, it has meaning, and that meaning is safer travel by steam vessels. Mr. Henry L. Celerly received approval for District Lot 1474 on May 5, 1904, situated near the mouth of Malaspina Inlet. DL 1474 had its own lake and water supply.

Not far from Mr. Celerly and within Malaspina Inlet itself, Mr. F.A. McDonald applied for a cut-and-carry away timber license near District Lot 782, near the entry of Theodosia Arm. This special license, near Upper Lake and Deep Bay, was published on April 13, 1904, and approved on April 29, 1904.

Mr. David Robert Gowan, Mr. James McMurray, and Ms. Mary E. Stewart arrived in the Malaspina Strait area in 1904; all three entered mining, operating three mines: The Norman, The Porcupine, and the Josie between March 7 and March 29. This area was located far up past St. Vincent Bay and was very rugged. On one Survey map, they had a tunnel and a trail to the mine.

In 1903, at the bustling mining community of Van Anda on Texada Island, a small wooden gasoline-powered launch named Texada was built by local shipbuilder Geo. Briater (the handwritten surname may also read Briater or Breater and warrants verification). Constructed with a carvel-planked wooden hull, the vessel measured just 26 feet in length, with a beam of 8.8 feet, a depth of 3.2 feet, and a registered tonnage of 4.55 tons. Propelled by a single gasoline engine manufactured in 1903 by the N. W. S. Electric Company of Seattle, Washington, the Texada represented the growing transition from steam to gasoline-powered craft that was taking place along the British Columbia coast in the early twentieth century.

Although modest in size, the vessel was an important example of locally built coastal transportation. On February 2, 1904, Texada was officially entered into the Canadian register at Vancouver as Official Number 116468, Registry No. 2 of 1904, and recorded as a British-built gasoline screw vessel. Ownership was divided equally between George Bresler (or Brester), of Vancouver, and Frederick A. Hart, also of Vancouver, each holding 32 shares. This official registry conclusively confirms that a vessel named Texada was built at Van Anda in 1903, registered at Vancouver the following year, and that it was a small gasoline launch rather than a steam-powered vessel.

New hotels in Campbell River, constructed by a prominent company on the coast, were featured in the Victoria Weekly on May 10, 1904. The article also mentioned the Swedish Settlement at Lund, noting that it is one of the best-known summer resorts. A second hotel, which is considerably larger than the first, is currently under construction. The Malaspina Hotel, built by the Thulin family, is set to become the new resort destination of the Malaspina Strait.

Sliammon (Tla’amin) Village stands out on the coast, with improvements not monopolized by white settlers; two or three construction projects are currently underway. The first of these projects is a waterworks system for the entire village, utilizing a fine stream that runs along the edge of a lake to provide an abundant supply of pure water.

Behind the Sliammon (Tla’amin) reservation, the Hastings Mill has one or two timber limits and aims to transport its logs to a booming ground. To achieve this, Hastings Mill had to negotiate with Chief Tom, who skillfully secured a $ 100-a-year deal. Once the year is complete and the fishing season ends, the village boys will return to lay the mains and construct a small dam to improve the water supply.

The author of the article conveys that Chief Tom desires to establish a school in Sliammon (Tla’amin). This Roman Catholic village has been exemplary in morality and quality of life for about half a century. With a large, well-maintained church, Chief Tom prioritizes establishing a school so that children can learn to read and write. A school is the foremost of his wishes for the community.

Excursions to Powell Lake were still very popular, and the S.S. Comox, which serviced Texada Island, Lund, and Froek, also stopped at the mouth of Teeshquot Creek and dropped off those looking to fish and hunt. On a Powell Lake excursion on June 18, 1904, Mr. Arthur Cather, who worked as an Assistant to the City Clerk, Thos. F. McGuinan, was in the area.

District Lot 1480, first purchased on October 15, 1891, by Mr. J.S. O’Dwyer, was preempted by the Moodyville SawMill on April 4, 1894, and was used as a loading area for the sawmill’s timbers. The Moodyville Sawmill was not the only company that operated there. The British Columbia Mills, Timber & Trading Company purchased the lot on June 18, 1904, to supply timber for its business. In 1904, it acquired the land and was one of the first to manufacture Ready-Made Houses in the Province of BC. With a steady supply of timber and an area already developed with a wharf, it was a perfect location to get its timber from.

The Printing companies that produced magazines and newspapers distributed them to newsstands, hotels, trains, ships, and other businesses in popular locations. When the August edition of the British Columbia Lumberman hit the stands and pages were opened, readers were reading about the Pacific Coast Pulp and Paper Company Ltd. The company was looking for subscriptions from British investors to assist in the development of a new mill at Powell River, BC.

The most notable part of this article is that the Pacific Coast Wood, Pulp and Paper Company has practically absorbed the Pacific Coast Power Company and the Industrial Power Company, both of Vancouver, and that it is now the company that has obtained large concessions of pulpwood lands and possesses the water power license to carry out its undertaking.

It seems the companies trying to build a mill at Powell River were taking over competing companies by buying up leaseholds or the companies themselves in 1904.

Trade between the Sliammon (Tla’amin) village and the outside world was gradually developing, focusing on timber, fish, vegetables, and other items for sale. In June 1904, a payment dispute arose, prompting August, a member of the Sliammon (Tla’amin) village, to write to the Indian Agent, Mr. MacDonald. In a letter dated July 13, 1904, August claimed Mr. C.V. Smith of Vancouver had not paid him for furs he sold to him.

In his response, Mr. MacDonald explained that he had spoken with Mr. Smith, who asserted that he could prove, through the Purser of the Steamer Cassiar, that the letter containing August’s payment had been delivered to the boom man at Sliammon (Tla’amin) by the Purser of the Steamer Cassiar. Mr. Smith also mentioned that he had received a letter from Mr. Chick confirming this.

Mr. Smith clarified that the furs had already been shipped east long ago, making their return impossible. He expressed regret that Mr. August had not received the payment letter but emphasized that he did not feel responsible, as he had sent it by the usual method.

The coast of Malaspina experienced many cases of illness, leading to growing fear and uncertainty about the nature of the sickness. On July 18, 1904, Mr. Jim Williams from the Sliammon (Tla’amin) Band reported that he had been very sick and requested to go to a hospital. Mr. MacDonald, unaware of the specific illness, recommended that Mr. Williams be taken to a hospital for a short period and asked for confirmation regarding whether the Indian Commissioner could arrange this.

Mr. MacDonald wrote another letter on July 21, 1904, to Mr. August about the missing payment, and replied that he had enclosed a letter from the Purser of the Steamer Cassier, who had given the letter to the booman at Sliammon (Tla’amin). Mr. MacDonald recommended that Mr. August take that letter, show it to the boomman there, and see what he says about it.

A letter arrived at the Indian Agency from Mr. MacDonald, the Indian Agent for the coast, dated August 8, 1904. In this letter, he mentioned receiving a communication from Dr. Brydone-Jack at St. Paul’s Hospital stating that a member of the Sliammon (Tla’amin) Band was unable to pay for his hospital treatment.

Michael Murphy came to the area on August 9, 1904, with the Crown Grant of District Lot 2091. This DL once covered the entire area from what is now Mermaid Cove and Hummingbird Cove to the Saltery Bay Ferry Terminal.

With the area’s notoriety in the Malaspina Straits, those with the will and the money, like Farquhar McRae, arrived, applied, and received District Lot 2090 on August 10, 1904. Lot 2090 was a large tract of land with many small bays, and at its end sat Scotch Fir Point and a small cove now named McRae’s Cove.

In August 1904, a large forest fire raged along the coast of Malaspina, destroying nearly everything from Lund to Powell Lake. On August 27, 1904, Mr. MacDonald wrote to the Chief of Sliammon (Tla’amin), expressing his concern that while his village seemed to be out of danger, it was frightening to learn that the fire had destroyed all the houses and the church. However, Mr. MacDonald later received word from a man in Vancouver that the town of Sliammon had not burned, which brought him great relief.

In a letter dated August 31, 1904, to Mr. Vowell, the Indian Superintendent, Mr. MacDonald mentioned several things, including a tragic incident involving Indian Johnny from Sliammon (Tla’amin). Johnny, along with his wife and two children, was fishing at the mouth of the Fraser River when a squall overturned their boat. Unfortunately, his two children, aged 3 and 5, drowned. Their bodies, later recovered, and the company for which Mr. Johnny was fishing graciously arranged for the remains of the children to be transported back to Sliammon (Tla’amin) on their steamer, where an interment took place.

Mr. Robert Graham and Mr. Kendrick Sharp received their land grant for Lot 271 on November 12, 1904, just two lots away from Lot 274, and began creating small farm settlements on Texada Island. The Board of License Commissioners, published in the Cumberland News on November 29, 1904, approved Hotel Licenses for the sale of liquor; among those listed was Chas. Thulin of the Malaspina Hotel in Lund, British Columbia, which was the only hotel permitted north of Vancouver at the time.

Texada Island was actively redeveloping its mines, with rapid takeovers, similar to developments on the mainland. In 1888, Mr. Robert Gordon received a grant for Lot 12, which he recognized contained a large quantity of ore. Many years later, on December 12, 1904, Henry Whitney Treat acquired Mr. Gordon’s ore and likewise took control of Lots 11 and 13, thereby bringing the entire tip of Blubber Bay under a single ownership.

Robert William Gordon applied for and was granted 575 acres of land on August 3, which covered the entire point. It is unclear what ultimately happened to Mr. Gordon; however, on December 13, 1904, both DL 12 and DL 11 were purchased by Harry Whitney Treat.

In 1904, Lund was slowly expanding its infrastructure, including new farms and buildings, roads, and small creek crossings. There were 3 miles of road constructed through difficult country, from the Government wharf at Lund to Oke Over Point on Malaspina Inlet. To construct this road, over 4500 feet of forest were cleared to a width of 20 feet, and surveying it was very difficult due to heavy underbrush.

By 1904, the Province of British Columbia was accelerating into a new phase of land development, resource extraction, and corporate consolidation. Provincial surveys were nearing completion, opening vast acreages for timber leases, mining rights, and Crown Grants. Along the Malaspina Strait, on Texada Island, and in the inlets feeding into Powell Lake, individuals and companies moved quickly to secure land and mineral rights.

Coal seams at Wulfsohn Bay, whole‑island grants like Hardy Island, and unusual applications such as the split homestead at Lot 275 on Texada illustrate a landscape in rapid transition. Small operators—miners, homesteaders, and early settlers—were increasingly overshadowed by larger syndicates such as the British American Development Company, which acquired failing or forfeited claims and consolidated holdings like the Copper Queen. Steamship travel resumed with spring, bringing prospectors, clerks, and excursionists into the region. At the same time, new timber licenses and mining claims pushed deeper into rugged terrain from Theodosia Arm to St. Vincent Bay.

By summer and fall, the pace of industrial expansion intensified. Timber giants like the British Columbia Mills and Timber & Trading Company secured strategic waterfront lots, such as DL 1480, leveraging existing wharves and timber access to fuel their ready‑made house manufacturing.

As the year was coming to a close, Mr. MacDonald wrote the annual Indian Report to the Commissioner. In the area of the Sliammon (Tla’amin) Reserve, the report stated that the reserve covered 4,712 acres and that the population was 106, with 5 births and 3 deaths during the year. The report included standard information regarding good health, a clean village, and sanitary conditions. The report highlighted that the residents had consistently received their vaccinations. Fishing, hunting, and hand logging were still practiced, along with some small-scale farming.

The buildings in Sliammon (Tla’amin) Village were reportedly in good condition and well maintained, although they had very little inventory. The residents were predominantly Roman Catholics and held a deep attachment to their faith. The members of the Sliammon (Tla’amin) band were described as industrious, law-abiding, and honest, exhibiting good temperament, with only a few exceptions. The Sliammon (Tla’amin) people were respected and recognized for their strong moral values.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Coast Wood, Pulp and Paper Company began absorbing competing power and industrial firms, positioning itself to build a major mill at Powell River, a move publicized in the August issue of British Columbia Lumberman. Land speculation surged as newcomers such as Michael Murphy and Farquhar McRae acquired large tracts along the Strait. At the same time, Texada Island saw renewed mining consolidation under figures such as Henry Whitney Treat.

Even Lund, still a small coastal settlement, pushed forward with new farms, buildings, and a difficult three‑mile road cut through dense forest. Across the region, 1904 stands out as a year when corporate ambition, government surveying, and individual enterprise collided to reshape the future of the northern Sunshine Coast.