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

mule travel, were then impassable for animals, and 1
provisions had to be carried on the backs of Indians,
who were paid 50 dols a day for packing. Labour-
ing men, who had no mining claims of their own,
were hired to work those of the miners-at 7 and 8
do's, and found. Provisions were relatively high in
price. Flour was at 38c (is 7d) per lb. ; bacon, 75c.;
beans, 40c ; tea, 1 dot 50c ; sugar and coffee, 75c per
lb. Single meals at the restaurant's, consisting of
beans and bacon and a cup of bad coffee, cost 2 dols
(8s 4d). A correspondent of one of the newspapers
in Victoria, writing from Cariboo at this time, quotes
the prices of what, in the grandiose style of these
parts, he calls " miners' luxuries," as follows :—A
tin pan (worth 3d) sold for 8 dols (X 1 12s 9d);
picks and shovels, 6 dols each ; ditto, with handles,
i.e., shovels, 7 dols 50e each (£1 4s Gd and £1 lOs
6d). Washing was charged at G-dols a dozen pieces
(£1 4s Gd). The latter is the only item of luxury I
see in the " Price Current," and I cannot believe
the laundryman was much patronised. It was added
that " business of every description was lively." At
such prices a man would need to earn his £5 to £2O
a day to enable him to keep business lively. These
wages and prices show the large gains of the miners.

The first news of operations in June exceeded the
glowing accounts of May. The melting of the snow
kept many miners idle, and the country was covered
with mud and slush, which made travelling almost
impossible. However, those who could work earned
largely, one rocker washing out 50 ounces of a
forenoon, and three men washing out 100 ounces
from a flume in a week. Omitting these big
strikes, which fell to the lot of the favoured few,
we find that the fickle goddess was more sparing in
her gifts to others. 50 dols. to 100 dols., and as
low as 20 dols. a day, are quoted as individual earn-
ings. A person on the spot wrote, what seems to
have been the truth, judging from what one knows
of the temper and habits of the miner,—" Those
who have claims are making piles. Those who
have not are making nothing and have nothing.
These were the unlucky ones, who would not choose
to work on hire, and who were waiting on Provi-
dence for 'something to turn up,' and for good
weather to set out on a prospecting' tour, from
which many of them would return footsore, and
strapped,' i.e., 'dead broke.'"

In June intelligence reached Cariboo that gold
had been discovered on the east side of the Rocky
Mountains in British territory. This news, and
the return to Antler Creek of exploring porties
with a report that they had found "favourable in-
dications of gold and plenty of rich quarts veins,
30 miles off," added intensity to an excitement
already at fever heat. Many of the miners wan-
dered about the pathless wilderness "prospecting"
for rich and yet richer "claims" which would con-
tain the philosopher's stone, and lost their time and
their strength and health in their restless wander-
ings, and earned nothing.

Presently the weather improved, provisions be-
came abundant, new discoveries were being made
at great distances apart, and success attended the
efforts of all who worked steadily and stuck to one
spot. On Keithley's Creek a party of five "divided"
1,000 dols from one day's labour, and their daily
average was a pound weight of gold a day.
Several " sluices" were set to work on this creek,
and the results were 20 dols to 50 dols per man per
day. There were 200 men on this creek, of whom
75 were at work about the middle of June. The
gold found was in small nuggets, of the value
of 6d. to Bs. sterling each piece. No quicksilver
was used to amalgamate the gold, which made a
vast saving in time and expense, and which enabled
the miner to make such large gains as I have
stated above. Another fact, peculiar to the
Cariboo Diggings generally, is that the gold
is found near the surface—a few inches, a foot
or two, and very seldom more than six feet
below the surface. There is an efflorescence of
gold near the surface in the virgin soil of most
gold-bearing countries, but I never knew it so gene-
ral as it is here.

The diggings on Snow-shoe Creek were ope.ned
in June, and yielded 12 to 25 dols to the hand per
day:

The native Indians very quiet, civil, and industri-
ous ; very useful as carriers of provisions, &-c. The
mule trails rendered Impassable ; but the Govern-
ment apropriated 2,000 dols for opening a bridle
road to the district, and the miners of Antler and
of Keithley's subscribed 800 dols to open a trail to
the former place. Labourers' wages at Antler, 8
dols a day; at Keithley's, dols a day—and board
in both cases. A conxiderable number of hands
thus employed. When a member of a "company"
cannot work himself, he pats a hired man in his
place.

We had from the first discovery of this gold
district heard most unfavourabi9 reports of the
severity of the winter season, which was said to
render the country uninhabitable. '1 he matter was
set at rest by some Canadians who wintered in
Cariboo last year. They found the intensity of the
cold so much less than in the Canadas that they
represented the climate as mild compared with that
of their native country. It is inhospitable from the
altitude and the abundance of mountains, the level
land being about 3,000 feet and the mountains
5,000 feet more above the level of the sea. The
spring is wet, and the summer subject to frequent
rains. The snow falls in October, and when the
winter is fairly set in the weather continues cold,
clear, and dry. The mining season continues from
May to October at present; but when accommoda-
tions increase, and the miners begin to tunnel the
banks and hills for gold, as they soon will do, the
winter will present no obstacles to continuous
work, under cover of adits, during the whole sea-

son.

A mining claim is a (parallelogram) :piece of
ground 100 feet wide, running from hank to bank
of a creek. The depth is indefinite, varying, of
course, with the width of the creek. Each miner is
entitled to one of these " claims," and there may be
several miners associated together to work a claim.
In case of such an association amounting to five
miners, the "company" would be entitled to 500
feet of ground in width, and running from bank
to bank. At first many miners "took up" claims
in simulated names, and thus caused a monopoly—
an evil which was remedied by the Government
Gold Commissioner when he visited the ccuntry in
the summer.
Under the mining laws of British Columbia, which
are well adapted to the country, the miners have the
power to regulate their own mining affairs, such as
settling the size of claims, which must vary in dif-
ferent localities, Cc., with the assent and assistance
of the Gold Commissioner in each district, and sub-
ject to the approval of the Governor.
The provisions of the mining laws are very sel-
dom, if ever, complied with in all respects; but still
the mining operations are conducted with exemplary
propriety, and no body of men, upon the whole,
could conduct themselves more peaceably than do
the miners of British Columbia. All disputes are
submitted to the Commissioner, and if his decision
is not acquiesced in an appeal is taken to the judge
of the Supreme Court of Civil Justice (the only one
in the whole colony), who goes circuit to all the
inhabited parts of the country.
While on this subject I should not be doing justice
to the country if I failed to remark upon the ab-
sence of crime generally in British Columbia. The
fact is as remarkable, considering the heterogeneous
nature of the population, as it is gratifying. It
speaks well for the miners, and for the magistrates
also, who are a very efficient and respectable body,
all young men in the prime of life; and I am cer-
tain, from my knowledge of his character, that the
moral effect of the judge's free intercourse with all
classes, of his disinterested counsel when appealed
to extra-judicially—as he frequently is, to settle
disputes—and of his urbanity, is very beneficial.
The exercise of his good nature prevents litigation,
and the fearlessness with which he punishes crime
prevents the commission of heinous offences.
July opened with increased exertions and pro-
portionate results, in consequence of the disap-
pearance of the snow. Six miles from Antler, 31
ounces were " cleaned out" in n
only two feet under the surofacee.
daynien
baothtoomle
was composed of " rotten slate,"—a favourable
formation, indicative of gold. 8,00 dols had pre-
viously been taken out of the same claim. Another
spot was discovered where the pay-dirt was two
feet thick and full of nuggety gold, 1,000 dols was

paid for a claim, which the purchaser re• sold shortly
afterwards at a profit of 500 dols. Wages now rose
to 10 dols a day. Quartz leads (the matrix of gold)
of considerable breadth were discovered near Keith-
ley's. Some claims began to pay as high as 1,000
dols a day, and several from 20 to 25 ounces. Four
days' work yielded a man 104 ounces, and some
men from Victoria were making two and three
ounces each a day. The town of Antler growing
" like magic." Instead of 10 houses, as it counted
last month, it now boasts of" 20 substantial stores,
whisky shops, and other edifices, surrounded by
any number of tents. Provisions still rather dear
in consequence of the scarcity caused by increased
consumption ; meals, 2 dols ; flour, 70c per lb ; beef,
50c (2s) ; beans, 00c per lb ; and liquor—' Minie
rifle and tangle-leg, warranted to kill at any dis-
stance,' was snapped up at 50c (23) a glass." The
prosperity of the town was in part .indebted to an
evil influence. Professional gamblers track the
successful miner as the carrion crow scents the
dead on a battlefield. " The chink of money and
the sound of gamblers' voices is heard at all hours.
Monte and Paro Banks and Poker Games are all
the go. Large sums of money change hands con-
stantly." I heard of one party who lost, between
three of them, 27,000 dols.

I met a Spaniard on his return fron Cariboo. He
is a muleteer, and was engaged in packing. On my
asking him about the richness of the mines, he an-
swered that the gambling was as rife and carried
on as high as in California in her palmiest days.
The Spaniard did not penetrate far into the mining
region, neither did he gather many statistics, He
saw piles of gold bullion and of 20-dollar pieces laid
out on the gambling tables, and he sAw a bank of
portentous size, and he saw large stakes played and
won and lost ; and all these evidences of wealth
satisfied him that " the country was saved" with-
out going beyond Antler. He had been informed
that Cariboo was a ‘i fizzle ;" but at Antler he
changed his opinion, and went vigorously into the
packing business, made money, and is now building
a house to enjoy his otium cunt dignitate.
It is hard to suggest a cure for this vice of new
mining countries. The miner requires relaxation,
and no healthy means of relaxation exists. He will
adopt the first and readiest.
I do not see what the Government can do except
to discourage it. It cannot put it down with the
strong arm, for the rapid growth of population and
of wealth outrun Government administration in
these cases of sudden developments of the treasures
of the earth. The magistrate intimated that he
would hold the tavern keepers who permitted
gambling in their houses responsible. Beyond this
his means of enforcing the law would not carry hin►.
The vice will wear itself out, as it did in California.

In August and September mining was at its
height. Here are a few facts culled from a mass
of correspondence and verbal information received
here :—On the Antler Creek the rocker yielded 50
ounces of gold of a forenoon. The average yield on
the fluming claims is 60 ounces a day to the hand.
Later the creek yielded 100 and 130 ounces a day
from small claims. Three-quarters of a mile
below the town of Antler 40 or 60 ounces a day to
the hand, obtained by a company of two men from
one of the richest claims on the stream. Since last
spring these two men have taken out 18,000 dols
with a rocker. Mr. Donnell's claim not paying so
well for the last three weeks, but up to that time it
gave 60 to 100 dols a day. The town site is threat-
ened to be washed away, as the miners are entitled
to all mineral ground which lay waste when they
staked it off for mining. Water for sluicing sold
at 50c (2s sterling) an inch (cubic measure, flowing
through a square tube), yet after paying this heavy
charge the yield left 40 to 50 dols a day to the
miner. Eleven companies on this creek making
large gains. Others not doing so well-15, 20, and
up to 50 a day to the hand only.
On Keithley's Creek the companies were making
from 50 to 100 dols a day to the hand, and on the
hillside (dry diggings) 120 dols a man per day.

The miners were by this time enabled to extend
their means and appliances to save manual lubuur.
" Flumes were built of enormous size and length,
with numerous wheel-pumps to supply water for
washing the gold, which were to be seen turning
constantly, as far as the eye could reach." "The
magnitude of the works was surprising." These
were due to the neighbouring sawmill, which pro-
duced lumber on the spot, and must have also
yielded a rich return to the proprietors, for the
price was high, of course, 25c a foot and upwards.
The mining " holes" were described as shining
with gold. When the " bed-rock" was laid bare it
was found studded or paved with " lumps" of gold,
and every shovelful contained a considerable amount,
in some cases to the value of £lO sterling, and re-
quired no washing, the nuggets or pellets of gold
being picked out by hand.
The diggings were now found to be not only rich
but extensive, which led to a new enterprise. A
drift was driven into one of the hills. This " tun-
nelling" is now the chief mode of working practised
in California, where the efflorescence of gold has
been long exhausted, and where the placers are
nearly so. Labourers were in demand (in Cariboo)
for this work at 8 dols a day and board, so that,
with health, no man who chose to labour could fail
to make money. A miner told my informant, at
this time, that his " claim" would last him ten years
" to work it out."

The Lowhee Creek yielded to four miners on the
first two days of their work 5,200 dols, and on the
third day 72 ounces. These returns appeared
fabulous, yet private information and published
accounts agreed as to the facts, and in duo time
similar statements were verified by the appearance
of the miners with the gold in New Westminster
and Victoria.

The miners were now in good heart. Their con-
dition was much improved by the abundance of
salmon caught in the Fraser and other up-country
rivers. There was abundance of grass also on the
mountains all through the summer—a supply as
necessary as human food, as all commodities being
" packed" there were many mules and horses to
feed.

A miner writes that his gains far surpass any-
thing ever produced in California, and cites the fact
of 1,700 dols. having been dug out of two crevices
in the rock less than three feet under the surface.
In fact, the explanation of the enormous yields is,
as I before stated, the large, solid, nugget.y charac-
ter of the gold and its proximity to the surface.
Men who had never mined before, tradesmen,
mechanics, and labourers new to the work, did just
as well as the old, practised miner. This result
will cease as the efflorescence of gold near the sur-
face becomes exhausted. Then some skill and
much labour will be required to produce far less
results than paid the exertions of the Cariboo men
lart season.

" Veins and boulders of quartz are seen in every
direction in the hills, such as would of themselves
create an excitement in any other country," but
they are here neglected for the placeres, which are
so much more easily worked. A person writing
from the diggings, says, " The country is covered
with quartz and with indications of volcanic action,"
and concludes " that this is the richest gold country
in the world." The development of the wealth which
lies in quartz must be obtained by the application
of capital and engineering and mining skill. It is a
fit subject for the capitalists of England, and as
capital has justas much protection in British Colum-
bia as in any part of the Empire, and property and
life are equally as well protected, I have no doubt
the quartz magnet will attract the necessary capital
in due time, and that we shall hear the Stock
Exchange resound with the quotations of shares in
many mining companies in Cariboo and elsewhere
in the colony by and by.
At this time (in autumn) a man who left Victoria
penniless arrived with 2,000 dols. in dust, which he
had dug in about two months. Williams's Creek
which finally turned out the greatest success of all
the creeks for rich single yields, began in August to
produce, Dawson and Co. took out 50 ounces in one
day, and in a few days reached the bed-rock, when
in one pan of pay-dirt they got 600 dols: Abbott
and Co., on sinking three or four feet, obtained 900
dols. in one pan full of dirt. This extraordinary
fact was confirmed by Mr. Abbott himself when he
came down to Victoria the, other day. He and his
two partners made each a fortune in less than three