The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-05 00:00:00

THE GOLD _REGION OF BRITISH
COLUMBIA.

(From the Correspondent of the Times.)
VICTORIA, VANCOUVER ISLAND, Nov. 29.
I have not written much on the subject of British
Columbia of late, because the accounts which reached
us throughout the summer and autumn were of so
glowing a character, and gave so superlative a
description of the wealth of the upper gold country,
as appeared fabulous. The reports from Catiboo
were really so extravagant in their character that I
did not feel justified in giving circulation to them
on hearsay evidence: Being now, however, in pos-
session of proof of the general accuracy of the very
flattering reports which regularly reached Victoria
by every succeeding steamer from British Columbia
during the whole period of the mining season just
over, I feel justified in communicating them.
The portion of British Columbia which has
yielded nearly all the gold produced this year,
and which is destined to attract the notice of
the world to a degree hitherto not accorded to
the country in the aggregate, is a newly-discovered
district called Cariboo (a corruption of " Cerf-
beeuf," a large species of reindeer which inhabits
the country). The district is about 500 miles, in
the interior, north (or north-east rather) from the
coast of British Columbia and the mouth of Fraser
River. It is not far from the sources or " head
waters" of the south branch of Fraser River and
the Rocky Mountains, and forms a patch of coun-
try—a broken, rugged mass of mountains and
streams, 50 miles from north to south and 30 miles
from east to west, as far as yet known from recent
exploration—round three sides of which the south
branch of the Fraser makes a great bend or semicircle
from its source to its junction with the north branch,
near Fort George, a trading station of the Hudson's
Bay Company, in about lat. 53 deg. 50 min. N.
For the sake of accuracy, 1 should mention that
this branch of the Fraser, although now popularly
called the south branch (and which the Hudson's
Bay Company called the north branch from the
northerly direction of the first portion of its course),
is really the main body of the river. Its sources
are at a distance of some 60 or 70 miles westwardly
from the main chain of the Rocky Mountains. The
bend of the river, which embraces the new mineral
region within its curve, runs a course north-west
180 miles, and then takes a south-west course of
about 50 miles in length. This large section of
country is believed, from the appearances presented
on various parts of the surface, to be auriferous,
both in quartz (gold matrix) and in placeres,
throughout its whole extent ; but the portions
hitherto " prospected" (as the miners phrase is for
the search for, and for the discovery of gold) are
confined to the dimensions given above-50 x3O
miles.

Fraser River does not acquire its great velocity
in this part of its course, which runs through a com-
paratively level country until it enters the regions
of the Cascades and other mountains through which
its waters rush with an impetuosity which causes
many obstructions to navigation. Consequently
the river is navigable from Fort Alexander, in lat.
52 deg. 37 min. north for steamers of light draught
of water, say three to four feet, up to Swift River,
a distance of 45 miles, and which is within 40 miles
of Antler, in Cariboo—a fact which will facilitate
the traffic of next year by shortening the land car-
riage of the present route.

Cariboo is in New Caledonia, as known in the
division of districts west of the Rocky Mountains,
by the Hudson's Bay Company, when they held the
licence to trade with the Indians in the country
which now forms the colony of British Columbia. I
cannot state the geographical position of Cariboo
with accuracy, but the centre of that portion of the
district which was the scene of this season's mining
may be taken as lying between the sourcas of
Antler-creek, Swift (or Cottonwood) River and
Swamp river, all of which flow, and run in opposite
directions, from a chain of mountains called " the
Balled Mountains," traversing the district. This
central point (by a correction of Arrowsmith's map)
is in north latitude 53.20 deg., west longitude 121.10
deg.

The mining localities are distinguished by local
names given to them by the miners this year. Here
are some of them :—Antler-creek, Keithley's-creek,
Hawey's, Williams's, Nelson's, Lowhee, Cunning-
ham's, Lightening, Vanwinckle, California, Canon,
Grouse, Goose, Steven's, Salt Spring, Burns's, Snow-
shoe, Jack of Clubs, and Last Chance Creeks, all
being streams (creeks) of various sizes ; most of
them of small size, issuing from the Bald Moun-
tains, which rise to a height of from 7,000 to 8,000
feet above the level of the Pacific Ocean.
Other mining localities are called Chisholm's
Gulch, Davidson's Gulch, and Hall's Gulch, &c.
(" Gulch " is Yankee for a ravine.)
I insert these names, because they give an idea of
the extent of the gold diggings hitherto unequalled
for their productiveness, because they are likely from
this fact to acquire celebrity abroad, when their
wealth begins to be distributed over the world, and
also because the nomenclature will assist the reader
to understand the references in the following nar-
rative :

Cariboo was discovered late in the season of last
year, but its riches were not developed till this sum-
mer. I can only spare room for an epitome of the
mining operations of the season.
In May the miners got to work on Antler-creek,
and some of the new hands--raw at the work—
" took out gold to the value of 200 dollars a-dayi
each, while new claims were daily opened with like
prospects of success." One man, working with a
rocker, a very slow and inefficient implement,
took out 400 dollars (1:40) in one day ; while
two men washed up 16 ounces (worth £44 55.)
a-piece in one day, also with a rocker. A Mr. Smith
earned 3flb. (worth £lB5 65.) in one day. His claim
averaged 26 to 30 ounces a-day. What are called
" Bench claims," terraces situated 100 feet above the
water of the creek, were yielding from 4 to 8 ounces
of gold to each rocker every day. Few claims yielded
less than 50 to 100 dols a day to the hand. Confi-
dence in the mineral wealth of the district was in-
spired from the first, It was seen to exhibit all
the characteristics of a rich gold region, and bore a
striking resemblance in all its features to the richest
regions of California in 1849. In the early part of
this month (May), there were 5 feet of snow on the
ground, but this did not prevent several miners
from getting to work. A company of five men were
getting out 37 ounces a day. Two men had got out
000 dols in two days. As the miners constructed
flumes, which economised manual labour and en-
abled them to discard the slow and tedious rocker,
the results were much higher, amounting to all
sorts of amounts from £lOO to £5OO a day to a com-
pany composed of three to five and six men.
On Keithley's Creek the yield was not so large-
-25 to 75 dols, and in some cases 100 dols a day to
the hand were the
results. We know in June that
one man from Port Yalet has earned 1,800 dols in
about a fortnight by the remittance of the dust.
Other creeks were: orTbeeing discovered, and they
were worked with varied
l oeleess,ranging from is to
the pan of " pay dirt" to
a day to the hand.
The truth of these accounts
l
time, but they had the effect ofv inducing a consider-
able emigration of miners from
gings in the country to Cariboo, Which increased
the mining population to about 1,400 by the end of
May, and the number was constantly receiving
fresh accessions. On the 9th of June 30
,000 doll.
in gold arrived from Cariboo, besides the Sums.
carried by 35 men who came down on business,
and who, it is supposed, returned to the mines. The
same day 40,000 dols arrived, some of which was
a'so from Cariboo. These receipts awakened con-
fidence, and a description of the gold of the dis-
trict, which corresponded with the character of
that just received, accounted for the enormou3
earnings. The gold was all coarse gold, granulated,
gravelly stuff, mixed with pellets and pebbles
of pure metal of considerable size. Of the
fine scale gold of Fraser River, a man could not
Physically wash out so much as the reported indi-
vidual earnings, but of such nuggets as then came
down it was easy to take out pounds' weight in a
day. Freshets from the melting snow carried
away the flumes, and the miners' labours were sus-
pended for some time towards the end of May by
the floods from the melting
e mountains, and there snow of the edjacent
f. aWes a scarcity of food. 'The
rr :.goads, or tracks and trails, at any time only fit for 1