Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1858-10-09

From tho Pennsylvania Inquirer.
British or Golden Columbia "-Queon
Charlotte's Islands.
TnE FIRE TELEGRAPH.

Visions Of wealth. comfort happiness and gran
deur--town and country mansions. with large
balance ut II bankers and immense investments
in none but the most reliable stocks" stylish
living. servants. horses carriages AMI what is fash
ionubly called, high plnce in the best society!-
Such are the dreams 10y nght,nnd such the pcto-
rial revcrics by day, Of thousands who contem-
plate long, long iournics to the new gold diggings
and washings. whether of Pixies Peak or Frazer
river. Yet niler arriving at these realms Of Plu-
tns, it is necessary 10 take many hnrd dsadvanta-
gcous "fxed fncts" into serious consideration -
such as location. climate. accessibility. spacious
deserts, overhowng rivers, rugged, mountains,
gloomy forests, hostile savages "antres vast and
cnvcrns dcsolatc'-priyntion. severe labor. semi
star, alton. disease, and tho frequent and speedy
sequence Of death! The gttcring prize i. not to
he obtained nor even to be approached. until nf
ter the most trying toll and peril and our modern
.lnsons will hnrdly bring AWAY golden fleece
from IN American Colchs, until they have earn
cd it hy patience, perseverance anu suffering
There will hc sorcercss like Mcdea. 10 mid them
with supernatural power We have already dcs-
cribcd the route from tho bounds Of civilization 10
Pixies Pcnk-thr easiest, aud most rrnchnble III
Dorado for adventures and we also. in the last
number of the hqnirrr lwclt At length on thepro
posed British rona from Canada to Vnncouvcr's
Island yin Frazer river. II will not therefore be
ont Of place, to indulge in the publication OF a few
details in relation to British Columbia. the region
in which the Frazer nnd others rivers roll down
their golden sands. We will suppose the traveller
from the East, to have eros ed the Rocky noun
tains. Then, and not till then. will hr find him
self in British Columbia or M il hns always been
called, Now Caledonia or New Grorgin--embrao-
ing the entire area fr'm the mountains to tn" Pa
cidc, and from latitude 4y up to 55'--und even
IN the Russian Possessions The Rocky Noun
tains. which form the eastern boundary "f the col
ony consist IN this part Of two parallel ridges with
n valley between. The aycrag" height Is from
1000 feet to 5000 feet; but Mount Browne. tho
summit Of which in said TO 10 about 10000 fcct
above the level of tho scn. Mount llnokcr, and
some other peaks stand ont in h"ld relief irm tho
main chain. The passes over tho mountains, by
which alone pilgrims from Canada can hope to
reach the lnnd of golden promise. are arid plains
Mt II great elevation. in the pnssagr Of which many
difficulties from want ot water and frequent meet
ings with grizzly hcnrs and other interesting ma
tivc~ who are in the habit Of l",ying toll on pas
scnrcrs nre to hc encountered. Tho breadth Of
the mountain region vnries from 40 to 100 miles.
between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific.an
average breadth of about 500 miles. are some mi
nor mpuntain ranges running in II parallel direc-
tion, the most important of which nre the Peak
md Cascade mountains. the lntier NJ named from
the numerous wu'crwall formed by the Columbia
and other rivers traversing the district. The hill
scenery is described as being very fine. and tho
charming We now come To Frazer River. This
stream which hns suddenly risen into Importance
md popular favor, has it's source in the Rocky
Muuntnins. flows in n n"rthward direction for
about 100 miles and then turns abruptly south
ward near Fort St George md rursnes its course
for n"nry 400 miles in almost n straight line, re-
ceving the waters Of many minor streams: and ut
place called the Forks. bcn" i"ncd by the
Thompson. when the united streams pursue their
course for some $50 miles. falling int" the Gulf of
Georgia, which divides vancouver l>land from the
mainland fcw miles north the United States
boundary. Tho great Oregon or Columbia river
has ts source IN m elevated lake in the Rocky
Mountains; and nitcr devious course during
which it is Joined hv several smaller rivers, IL on
tcrs the territory Of the United States, near tho
ll2h dngrce of west longitude. II il nnvignble
for smnll vessels MS high NJ the falls in the Cas-
cn lc mountains. a vast number Of inland hikes,
some Of considerable magnitude. arc in tho colo
ny: unl numerous rivers. the nanes Of which may
be traced on the map, afford grent facilities Tor
water crrommuncntinn; md il found, as in the case
Of the Frazer and Thompson rivers, To wash gold
down from the hills, give promise of hitherto un-
rivalled riches As yet the precious metal has
only been discovered on the banks Of the lower
portion Of Frazer River, and in the district ly-
Ing between Frazer river, ard in the Lakes
Shoushwap and Okanagan. Forts Yale and
Hope are at present the diggers head quart
ers Good pasturage Is found in the neighbor
hood Of this river, and what may be regarded
rs a very interesting characteristic of the eli
mate is, that the temperature in the winter is,
Mt the lowest twenty degrees higher than on the
same parallels of latitude east Of the mountains,
and it il said 10 resemble that of England
Commodore Wilkes of the United States Navy
who explored this region in ls4l, hears this testi-
mony:-"Tbc climate throughout the western sec
tion il mild, owing, probably, t2 the prevalence Of
IL 81 ind INT ia nuri iar
than in England The fall Of snow in the more
souhcrly part rarely exceeds a few inches.-
The fig orange, lemon, melon, vine, ana many
other fruits proper to the tropics are the indi-
penou. growth Of the soil ofthis favored shore
All kinds of grain can be freely raised, and Eng.
lsL vegetables and fruits thrive we'll The soil In
some parts deep black loan, and in others lighter.
There are extensive f'rests Of pine, oak, maple,
cedar. and other valuable timber trees. some Of
which grow to an immense size. There are indi-
cations, too of mineral wealth besides the all at-
tractive gold" 1t is said too. that the excellent
specimens of lead have been found But what
adventurcr is there who would not pass the lead
with contempt when the sole object Of his search
is gold? Game Of all kinds is abundant, and tho
lakes and rivers TEEN with fish. But agues and
billions fevcrs nre serious affections in the fall
of the year, especially in thick woods among the
numerous lens ami marshes. The entire area of
British Columbia proper is 300 900 square miles.
And now few words in relation to Vancouver's
Island, the discovery of which claimed by
Captain Cook, March Doth, 1888. The greatest
length of Vancouver's Island, from Cape Scott to
Gonzales Point, the southeastern extremity, is
27O miles the greatest breadth, from Point Este
van ut the entrance of Nootka Sound, to Point
Chatham, on the northern side, 70 miles. The
coast line however, is deeply indented in many
places, forming spacious and convenient harbors
The entire area, nearly as can Mt present he es-