In 1842,
James Douglas refers to Sooke as “Sy-yousung”, and makes several entries about the geographical
features of Sooke in
Pelly, Sir John Henry to Hawes, Benjamin 24 October 1846, CO 305:1, no. 1301, 25. In another spelling, with the addition of the letter “i”,
Douglas refers to “Sy-yousuing” again in an
1849 despatch, wherein he states that it is
25 miles distant from Fort Victoria,
and
has the important advantage of a good mill stream and a great abundance of fine timber.
Another possible Sooke-landscape reference exists in the name
“Whoyring”, present day Becher Bay, which
Douglas refers to as a port, located eight miles east of “Sy-yousuing”.