168

southwest winds, and a heavy sea rolls in when a moderate gale is blowing
from that direction; and though it is possible that a vessel with good
ground tackle would ride out a gale if anchored in the most sheltered
part, it is by no means recommended to remain with any indication of
such weather.”

The shipment of ore in any considerable quantity from such an exposed
port would require, therefore, the construction of tidewater loading facilities,
of great strength and durability.

(46 a) Conqueror Deposit, Bugaboo Creek
(See Figure 28)
LOCATION

The Conqueror group of Crown-granted mineral claims, consisting
of the Conqueror, Cyrus, Daniel, and Jennie Fractional, is located on both
sides of Bugaboo creek (See Figure 27), a tributary of Gordon river, which
enters Port San Juan opposite the town of Port Renfrew.

Fifteen or twenty years ago when the Conqueror and adjoining groups
were being actively explored, there was an excellent pack trail for a distance
of approximately 10 miles from the mouth of Gordon river to the most
westerly of the workings, but today most of the trail, and particularly the
lower 5 miles of it, is either obliterated or impassable.

The valleys of Gordon river and Bugaboo ereek are in general neither
deep nor precipitous, the water gradient is not steep (130 feet a mile),
and timber is abundant on the valley slopes. The claims lie mainly on
the smooth valley slopes of Bugaboo creek at elevations varying from
1,300 to 2,000 feet above sea-level. A thick mantle of glacial drift covers
the country and supports a heavy growth of hemlock, balsam, spruce,
and some cedar. Fallen timber and underbrush are thick in places,
whereas in others there is little except moss covering the ground between
the trees. Rock exposures are consequently few and intermittent, and
the local topography does not give expression to any marked linear trend
of formations. Here and there cliffs and bluffs of diorite, limestone, and
magnetite protrude through the mat of vegetation, and these together
with rock canyons in Bugaboo creek are the only indications of the character
of the bedrock geology.

HISTORY AND OWNERSHIP

The depcsits of magnetite on Bugaboo creck were originally staked
by Robert Elliot, of Port Renfrew, in 1898, but the claims lapsed and
four of them were re-located as the Conqueror group in 1899 and Crown-
granted in 1905. The principal surviving owners are John W. McGregor,
Harry Cathcart, and Thomas Parsell, of Victoria.

GEOLOGY

Exploration on this group has been concentrated on the Conqueror
claim where it is bisected by Bugaboo creek which falls 35 feet over a
spectacular bluff of magnetite. The geological relations of the deposit
are well exposed in the falls and rock canyon, but these exposures constitute
little more than a vertical cross-section, as the rocks on both sides of the

creek into which the deposit is believed to continue are concealed beneath
a thick mantle of drift and vegetation.

1 Personal communication from J. W. McGregor.