Editorially speaking…
Long gone are my feckless days of youth when I wrote with all the confidence of a newbie, all of it based upon my mimicking newspaper reports and the works of others, and none of it from the well of my own experiences.
But time has marched on, times have changed—and, thankfully, so have I.
To write for popular consumption I must show more sensitivity, be more understanding of what I choose to write about, particularly in this age of Truth and Reconciliation, not to mention Misinformation. Some of it’s minor, such as terminology, but there’s much more to it than that.
Which is why I’ve long hesitated to introduce you to Captain John, the subject of today’s Chronicle. How could I tell his story without disparaging all B.C. First Nations people?
The answer, I think, is tell the truth. History has a dark side and there it is; do we recognize that harsh fact even a century later, or do we bury it for fear of offending?
In this particular case, I’m drawing from the memoirs of pioneer journalist D.W. Higgins who has appeared in the Chronicles numerous times and who shall do so again, I’m sure. In his reminiscence about Captain John he’s speaking from personal knowledge and observation.
Yes, it paints the Aboriginal people of early day Victoria in a negative light. But what does it also say about the so-called “respectable” Victorians who poisoned them with bad booze? What does it say of the Victoria police who were on the sellers’ payroll and turned a blind eye to the suffering they caused?
Without, in this case D.W. Higgins, we wouldn’t know this sad story. It never made the newspapers of the day, it probably wasn’t even talked about by the average Victoria citizen. What they chose not to know didn’t upset them. And wasn’t it, in its cruel way, solving the “Indian problem” by killing them off?
Does this sounds sensationalistic today? Then recall how the romantic age of rum running and bootlegging begot the Mafia; the bootleggers are long gone but the Mafia’s still with us. How about today’s drug trade which has brought us the scourge of fentanyl? We live in a sad world in many ways and, Heaven forgive me, it all makes for “great” storytelling. How we all love to read about tragedy.
May I fill this want with empathy and respect for those I write about.
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This just in from Maureen Alexander of the Malahat Mill Bay Historical Society:
Hi Tom and Belinda:
Just wanted to let you know our theatre show is coming up in July and Tom’s story of Minnie Paterson is being featured.
Thanks again for sharing your stories with us and we hope to see you at the show.
Maureen
DREAMERS & SCHEMERS
Fascinating True Stories From Vancouver Island’s Past
Details:
Produced by the Mill Bay/Malahat Historical Society
Presented by the Seeds and Salt Theatre Co.
Features 3 stories of real people who all had dreams and visions but thanks to their personalities had very different results
1. Major MacFarlane’s Malahat Mania (the story of how an obstinate Irishman got the Malahat Highway built)
2. Minnie Paterson Heroine of Cape Beale Lighthouse (the story of how a young wife and mother rescued the crew of a sinking ship)
3. Painless Parker’s Dashing Dental Circus Extraordinaire (the hilarious story of how a rather incompetent dentist used a circus act to attract patients)
We certainly shall attend one of the performances. Hopefully, we’ll see some Chronicles readers there!
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