- On the morning of the 28th, therefore, we ran across to Col. Eby’s and camped on the beach under the bluff on which his house is situated. We found him at home looking the pioneer that he was. He wore an old hickory shirt, trousers rent completely across the knees, which had been patched before, and on his head a most shocking bad hat. He entertained us liberally for the three days that we camped near him. Whidby island in its wild state was and still is wonderfully beautiful and rich. The only obstacle to settlement was the absence of water, as there was not a running stream on the island. The whole is over fifty miles long, and raised about 200 feet above sea level.
- May 28th [of 1853]. We had a troublesome time with our boat. The tide was coming in, and the beach being lined with small boulders, the launch was in danger of being thumped to pieces by the action of the waves which beat the shore with great violence. There was no alternative but to put some men to work to keep her away from the beach until the tide was at the highest. This involved five or six hours of hard rowing, and at 9 o’clock when I did order the boat in she came in with such a force as to knock down the men who were on hand to pull her up. The waves did the work for us and landed her high and dry and safe for the night. Fortunately there were no bones broken. There is not a sailor among us, but if experience is to be relied on, it is to be hoped we will learn something.