Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, JULY 27, 1897. Gold in Columbia.

Manawatu Herald, 27 July 1897, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, JULY 27, 1897. Gold in Columbia.

•» **— Gold in British Columbia is not a surprise as thei o is scarcely a stream of any importance in which the 4 colour ' of gold can not be found. I!* i-i not so -much the finding of the | gold that has been, and still is, tha i difficulty, but the getting of it, and the transportation of stores and machinery to the site of the gold, as well as the weather, that is the bar to the develnpem*?nt of the fields. Gold and silver ores were exported in 189_ to the value of $784,965. Gold v/as first found in British Columbia in 1858 and the yield up to the present time is estimated at over ten million pounds sterling. At the time of the formation of the Canadian Pacifio Railway it was expected that the line, when finished, would help materially to open up the country to miners, and as a fact the formation of the line discovered several rich quartz reefs. The Cariboo district, discovered in 1860, has been the most productive. It is the remnant of a great high level plateau, intersected by innumerable streams, which flow into it from every direction, but all eventually reaching the Fraser river. Owing to the isolated nature of the districts in which digging is carried on, both freight and food are excessively high. The gold in the bars and beaches of the Fraser river from Hope to above Alexander is very fine and requires working by quicksilver. The character of the country comprised within the boundaries of British Columbia can be well estimated by remembering its position. It is separated from British North America by the Rocky Mountain?, which rise to the height of nearly sixteen thousand feet, and the boundary line runs across to tbe coast on the 60th parallel of north latitude, dividing it from Alaska, the coast extends south to the straits of Fuca, and then east to the Rocky Mountains along the 49th parallel of latitude, and thus the whole area is outside of what is termed the north temperate zone. We can further gather the character of a portion of this vast district, containing as it does some 883,300 square miles, from the description given of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which, it raay bo imagined, was not taken through the roughest of the country. After leaving the town of Vancouver, the writer says ** and very soon we get a sample of the kind of country through which the engineer has to pick his way. . . . The road has seldom a chance of a level course, but is carried along sides of mountains, and over deep ravines, and through tunnels in solid rock, or is notched into the face of the cliff. The canon of the Fraser is sometimes so deep that the sunlight barely reaches the dark and angry waters that struggle beneath. . . . These trestle bridges that cross the ravines every few hundred yards are wonders in their way. The forest furnishes logs in abundance, and the bridge is built up of logs horizontal and perpendicular, tier upon tier, till it attains the proper level. I have counted as many as ten tiers or storeys. . . . The truth is, there are so many bridges that the most nervous passenger would have to give up being frightened. No nerves will stand a shock every second minute." After passing through the Fraser Gorge the line runs through the valley of j the South Thompson river and then ! plunges into another • deep and j narrow gorge through the mountains j of the Gold Range at the end of which the Columbia river is reached. The writer says " if the atmosphere had been clear, we should have had something to say of magnificent snow-clad mountains which ought to be seen in the distance." Crossing the Columbia river the Selkirk chain is met, probably the most magnificent of all the mountains of the province. We dash through another series of dark gorges, then begin to climb. . . . Descending the eastern side of the Selkirks, we pass along the Beaver valley, through. more cuttings and tunnels, and light again on the Columbia river. ... The broad valley of the Columbia separates the Selkerks from the range of the Rocky Mountains." From thia description a birds-eye view of the charaoter of tbe country can be obtained and justifies the statement that " tbe district is described as the most desolate mining camp in the world."