During my trip to Haida Gwaii we went ashore to explore an old logging camp. At the beginning of World War II they harvested high quality Sitka Spruce which was used to build aircraft, including the famous Mosquito bomber. There was a donkey engine, logging trucks, glass bottles and logger work boots.
At Mathers’s Creek there are pre 1900 burials of people who had lived in the village of Clue. This area of Haida Gwaii is isolated by today’s standards, I can’t imagine what it was like in the 1880’s. What would you do if you became ill, had a toothache or a broken bone? Below is a gravestone that read:
In Memory of
Annie Kanskiny
Died
Sep. 21, 1887
at Clue Village Q.C.I
Her last words were
The Lord have mercy on me
And wash away my sins
There was also the gravestone in memory of:
Kitty M. Clew Q.C.I
Died
In Peace
April 1888
Aged
26 years
I wonder about Annie and Kitty and how they ended up living in such a remote part of the world in the 1880’s. What are the stories of their lives? Where did they come from? How often would they receive supplies or mail from a passing ship? What was their daily life like in the village of Clue? The moss is slowly growing over the gravestones. I can only imagine what this place is like during the winter months when the area is hit by strong Pacific storms. You can see a gallery of my Haida Gwaii images here.
