The Acid Pen of Rev. MacFie

Pioneer British Columbians could be a weird and wonderful lot, as the Chronicles have often illustrated in the past.

Perhaps it isn’t surprising, then, that some of the earlier chroniclers who recorded for posterity the exploits of our more colourful pioneers were every bit as intriguing—sometimes even more so—than many of their subjects.

Certainly the good Rev. Matthew MacFie, FRGS, qualifies in this category.

He was smart, learned and travelled. He wrote a massive book on Vancouver Island and British Columbia and captured the tempo of gold rush Victoria.

With eagle eye MacFie observed, analyzed and criticized all those with whom he came in contact during his five-year-long residency, from the highest office in the land to the lowest of 1860s frontier society.

What a shame that this man of the cloth with so much to work from chose to look at the world through a very small glass...

That’s next week in the Cowichan Chronicles.

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PHOTO: Rev. Matthew MacFie even looked the part of a grumpy old man.— www.pinterest.com