"At the foot of the tree, so near that some of the roots extended into the water, was a spring as clear as crystal."

In 1904 David William Higgins, a Victoria newspaper man and politician who had arrived in the city in 1858, published a collection of short stories about his memories and experiences of 40+ years in British Columbia. One of these was the story of the Mystic Spring of Cadboro Bay. Like his friend Amor de Cosmos, Higgins was an observer of the supernatural and many of his stories centre around unusual occurrences and unexplained mysteries. In this story he records a legend of a giant maple tree which grew on the banks of a spring at the foot of todays Mystic Vale near UVic. His writing is patronizing towards First Nations culture at the same time that it seeks to appropriate their stories, and such a spring as the one he describes probably never existed, but the story is notable as an attempt to impose a new European geography on the landscape.

Here is a link to a transcription of the story if you are interested in reading it for yourself (the first paragraph was written by the transcriber), which also has a well researched if rambling comment in response:

http://www.vanisleparanormal.ca/?page_id=13

A Big Leaf Maple tree

An early shot with Mt. Baker. The far side of the beach is where the main Lekwungen (Songhees) village is recorded as having been.

For most of the late nineteenth century the Uplands Farm, which slopped up from the shoreline, was a main source of beef for the Hudson's Bay Company. In this photo looking towards the mouth of the bay you can see the old slaughter house on the right. This site, where the Yacht Club is today, was also used regularly by the Lekwungen.

After the Douglas Treaties and First Nation re-settlement closer to Victoria, Cadboro Bay beach became a popular retreat for Victorians seeking to escape the hustle of the distant town.

The Cadboro Beach Hotel (1920-30) was built more or less on the historic Village site.

The Evans' were an early farming family in the area.

Higgins' tale mentions Benjamin Evans as having directed a distraught lover to the spring.

Mr and Mrs Lovell enjoyed visiting the beach from their home on Cedar Hill

So did Nettie Blankenbach, who lived right across the street.

And so did the McTavish kids, along with countless others.