I found this old chart at a garage sale on the island. This edition was last published in 1937, original information on the map dates from late 1800’s.
It covers terrain from Saltspring Island to Vancouver all the way up Howe Sound into the Elaho and all the way up to Queens Reach and Princess Louisa Inlet and north to Texada Island.
The detail shown is of Queens Reach note the little published fact that Indians travel from the head of the sound to Desolation Sound in 2 days. I looked on the the newer topographic and the route climbs to a pass and drops into the Little Toba River drainage which then leads to the head of Toba Inlet which leads to Desolation Sound.
The map 1 metre x 3/4metre is really neat in that it shows a lot of aboriginal place names and other paths less traveled.
I was fortunate to have some time in the alpine near Mt Alfred this summer. See the reflections shot in Sept posting.
Click this map to get an even bigger shot. Pretty cool eh……love the hatch marks that denote steepness of the terrain.
Comox 1st nations
Catlo´ltx, own name.
Connections. The Comox constituted a dialetic group of the coastal division of the Salishan linguistic family.
Location. On the east coast of Vancouver Island including both sides of Discovery Passage, between the Puntlatch and Kwakiutl.
Subdivisions
Clahoose, on Toba Inlet.
Comox, on both sides of Discovery Passage between Chancellor Channel and Cape Mudge.
Eëksen, about Oyster Bay.
Homalko, on the east side of Bute Inlet.
Kaäke, on the southeast coast of Valdes Island.
Kakekt, at Cape Lazo.
Sliammon, on Malaspina Inlet.
Tatpoös, on the eastern part of Valdes Island.
History. The Comox were visited by Europeans somewhat later than the Cowichan (q. v.), otherwise their history has been the same.
Population. Mooney (1927) estimated that in 1780 there were 400 Comox on Vancouver Island and 1,400 on the mainland. In 1906 he gives 59 and 265 respectively.
Notice how smallpox decimated populations of this population.
