Private journal of C.H. Warren on board H.M.S. Devastation, 1861-1863

• Main Author: Warren, C. H. (Charles Henry)
• Other Authors: University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Warren; C. H. > (Charles Henry); > 1845- > Diaries; Duncan; William; > 1832-1918; Devastation (Ship); Great Britain. > Royal Navy > Sea life > Diaries; Seafaring life > Diaries; Voyages and travels; Indians of North America > British Columbia > Social conditions > 19th century; Tsimshian Indians; British Columbia > Colonization; British Columbia > Description and travel; Metlakatla (B.C.) > Description and travel; Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) > Description and travel; Valparaíso (Chile) > Description and travel; Canada; British Columbia; Fort Simpson; Metlakatla; Tsimshian; Tsimshian*
• Online Access: http://cdm16786.contentdm.oclc.org:80/cdm/ref/collection/pioneerlife/id/18950

The private journal of C.H. Warren on board H.M.S. Devastation is a personal record kept by a British seaman documenting a voyage from England to British Columbia under the command of Dobree McCrea (1861-1862) and John William Pike (1862-1863). Warren's account begins on December 12, 1861 and ends on May 19, 1863 (the day after his eighteenth birthday). In an early entry, dated March 31, 1862, he describes himself as "one of those persons commonly called midshipmites"; accordingly, the journal offers his unique and personal perspective of events on board ship and in the various ports in which it stopped. Among those ports described en route to British Columbia are Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Valparaiso, Chile. The Devastation, a "6 paddle wheel steam sloop" arrived in the waters off British Columbia during the summer of 1862, a time of unrest in which a group of local Tsimshian Indians near Fort Simpson had been accused of attacking white gold miners and traders. The Devastation was sent to Fort Simpson in response to the fears voiced by influential missionary, William Duncan, over escalating violence in the recently established Metlakatla settlement. Warren's firsthand account of this, and other incidents involving the Tsimshian, is supplemented by contemporary newspaper clippings tipped into the journal. In addition to his text, there are several small sketches by Warren, as well as a full-page pen and ink drawing.