The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-14 00:00:00

BRITISH COLUMBIA.-THE GOLD

DIGGINGS.

(From the American Papers.)
HOW TO GET TO FRASER RIVER.
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA, July 14.
The recent gold discoveries at Fraser River have
awakened quite a lively inter,st in this community, as we
believe the most feasible !route to be through Saint Paul
for that region of country, as another season will make
evident.
That part of British America lying north of this, and
extending to the Pacific, has, until within a late date,
been a terra incognita to most intelligent people, owiag
to the care which the Hudson's Bay Company has exer-
cised in suppressing all information of the richness,
fertility, and exuberance of the soil, and salubrity of the
climate of a large territory over which their chartered
rights have extended. From the little knowledge gained
of that tract the desire to know more of it has been quick_
ened, and has thus far resulted in the organisatiun of two
exploring expeditions by the British Government, one of
which will proceed from the east and the ether front the
west. The excitement occasioned by the discovery of tbe
rich auriferous valley of the Fraser River in British Oregon
will very much hasten the development of the vast re-
sources of the most favoured route to the Pacific coast for
either rail or waggon road.
With a desire to give to the public the mcst reliable in-
formation in regard to the country over which emigrant
trains from this point to the gold-bearing portions of
Oregon will have to pass, several meetings have been held
in this city, and reports made, which give to any one wish-
ing information all the knowledge they can desire.
Prom these reports we learn that the distance from Saint
Paul to the Gold Mines on Fraser River is as follows :
__

St. Paul to Pembina
Pembina to Carlton House
Carlton House to Edmonton 4OO miles.
Edmonton to Frn'er River (a branch of Fraser) 2OO miles.

Total 1,G50
It is estimated that in view of the facilities afforded by the
face of the country, and the continuous line of Hudson's
Bay Company's posts, that this journey can be accom-
plished in 70 days, at an expense to a company of 10 per-
sons of $lBO each.
There are many reasons why the above-mentioned route
is the best from the valley of the Mississippi to the Pacific.
One is, it has more water, timber, an game than those
which start from the Missouri. Another is, there is no
danger of molestation from Indians on this northern route.
Another and very important one is, that the ridge of the
Rocky Mountains, which, west of Missouri, hunches up like
a camel's back, gradually flattens out ; so the transit on the
northern route is comparatively easy.
The fact must be kept in mind, also, which Is verified by
" Blodget's Climatology," that there is a rapid increase of
heat in going westward from Minnesota on aline of latitude,
and this, even where the elevation increases, so that the
climate of St. Paul is carried far north into the Valley of the
Saskatchewan, to the Rocky Mountains, beyond which we
find a climate very similar to that of England, mild and
humid.
The; region of country through which this route to the
Pacific passes, besides being well watered, well timbered,
and abounding in game, as well as being the most easy
of crossing the mountains, is also the healthiest of any
which has yet been traversed. In the report made by
Governor Stephens, to the War Department, of the route
to be surveyed for a railroad to the Pacific, taking this
point as our terminus, is the report of the surgeon of
the expedition, in which he says the climate on the line
of their surveys is so highly salubrious that the average
amount of sickness, with all the exposures incident to a
constant march, was far less than when the troops are in
garrison. Such, in tenor, is also the report of the explorers,
surveyors, and voyageurs on the northern route.
It would not be at all surprising should the Fraser River
gold tract, which Governor Stephens states extends into our
possessions as far down as Southern Oregon, be found the
richest on the continent. The discoveries and yield thus
tar warrant such a belief. Then, there must of necessity be
some more direct communication with the Pacific than we
now have with California, and, as an enthusiastic railroad
projector once said of another route, " The finger of the
Almighty has indicated the route " by way of St. Paul, the
valleys of the Red and Saskatchewan Rivers, over the great
depression of the Rocky Mountains, in about the 52d deg.
of north latitude, is the most feasible, and in all respects
desirable, to the auriferous regions of the Pacific.

WHERE IS FRASER'S RIVER

The recent discoveries of gold on Fraser's River will lead
many to examine their maps in vain for the purpose of
finding the precise locality of this Important stream.
Fraser's River empties into the Gulf of Georgia, a branch
of Puget's Sound, a few miles north of the 49th parallel,
which is the boundary between our territory and the British
possessions. Its head-waters interlock with those of the
Columbia and the Athabasca. For the first half of its course
It runs in a southerly direction, when it turns westward.
At the distance of 160 miles from its mouth it is joined by
Thompson's River, a considerable stream flowing from the
eastward. The Cascade range of mountains, which may be
r►.garded as a continuation of the Sierra Nevada, ceases
here, at the junction of the two rivers, and in the imme-
diate vicinity, like the diggings which are causing so much

excitement on the Pacific coast. They have been worked
more or less since last summer, but their real importance
was net ascertained until lately.

Fort Langley, the lowest post of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany on Fraser's River, is situated on the left bank, about
25 miles from its mouth. Thus far the stream is navigable
for vessels of considerable burden. The next post is Fort
Hope, at the mouth of Que-que-alla River, 69 miles above
Fort Langley. To the "Falls" is 12 miles farther, and
thence to Thompson's River Forks is 55 miles. Thus the
whole distance from the mouth of Fraser's River to the gold
diggings at Thompson's River is 160 miles, or thereabouts.
Above Fort Langley the river is practicable for bateau of
three tons burden—a slow and tedious navigation—but after
passing tho " Falls" canoes only can be used. But the
journey must really be made on foot from the Falls, and is
excedingly laborious and rugged. There are no horses or
moles to be procured in all that region.
It is by the route above isalicated that most of the gold-
seekers will find their way to the new placers. There is,
however, another route, via the Columbia River and the
Dalles ; but the distance is four or five hundred mile..
The latitude of the Thompson's River Forks is about 50'30
or nearly 300 miles further north than Quebec. But it must
be remembered that the climate on the Pacific coast is mild
In comparison with that of slnailar latitudes east of the Rocky
Mountains.
On the banks of the Fraser River, in the Hudsonlßay
country, gold has been found in the greatest quantities.
Though we are informed the auriferous fields extend to the
American side, it is certain the best lie on Ellg:iSh soils. Tke
region extends from the vicinity of Fort Colville, in Wash-
ington Territory, where successful mining operations have
keen carried ou for years, in a north-westerly direction
to Fort Thompson, in the British possessions, and is prin-
cipally east of the Cascade range of mountain', and between
Fraser River and the western base of the Rocky Mountains.
The diggings are located between 48 and 51 degrees north,
and 117 and 127 degrees west longitude, covering a space
about 110 miles square.
Several steamships, laden with miners and others, have
left the American cities for the gold fields. It seems that
the Hudson's Bay Company, whose lease does not expire
until May, 1859, impose a tax of a dollar a month on every
American for the privilege of digging for the precious metal.
Of course the Americans grumble loudly at the imposition,
and not a few anathemas are occasionally hurled at the heads
of the administratio❑ who, under the Ashburton treaty,
surrendered the territory on which those gold fields are si-
tuated to Great Britain. The New Pork Times mournfully
remarks that if " 51-40" had been insisted upon, the whole
of this auriferous region would have belonged to the United
States.