The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1874-02-06
The Town Of Victoria.

Ht Town oi NtttOria.
Ii i something 10 have taste and a sense
OF the beautiful. Certainly the English.
who discovered the little land-locked har-
bOr 81 Victoria. and chose il n the site of a
town. displayed both. Ii is by natural adj
vaniages one OF the loyeliest places ever
saw, and wonder. remote n IL j., that il
j. not famous. The narrow harbor. which
i not so big ~ one of the big Liverpool
docks. i surrounded on both sides by the
prcttiest little miniature bays. rock-bound,
with grassy knobs, and here and there
shady clumps OF cyergrecns, "A river open
ing out above the town into a Kind OF lake.
and spanned BY pretty bridges. invites You
To boating excursion: and the fresh
green of the lawn-like eNpanses of grass
which reach into the bay from different Iii
rcctiOns. the rocky little promontorics
with boats moored near them. the fine
snow-covered mountains IN the distance.
and the pleasantly winding roads leading
in different directions into the country. all
make UP a landscape whose son and gay
aspect | suppose j. the more delightful be-
cause one comes 10 il from the somewhat
oppressive grandeur OF the fir forests in
Washington Territory.
In the harbOr of Victoria the most con-
spicuous object j. the long range OF ware
houses belonging To the Hudson Bay Com
pany. with their little trading steamers
moored alongside. These vessels bear the
signs Of traffic with savage people I'M the
high boarding MEETINGS which guard
them from stem 10 stern. and
which are in their more solid parts
pierced for mu-ketry. Here, too. You see
a queer little old steamboat, the first that
ever veNed the waters of the Pacific Ocean
with IL paddlc-whccls. And a. your OWN
steamer hauls mp 10 the wharf. you Will
notice, arrayed to receive you. what j. no
doubt the most shocking and complete
collection of ugly women in the world.
These are the Indians of this region. They
are very light-cclored; their complexion
has an artificial look there i something
ghaStly and unnatural in the yellow of the
faces. penetrated by a ro cor csirmine col
or on the cheeks. They are hi,leous in all
the possible aspects and varieties of hid
eOusness-underSized squat. eyil-cyed.
pug-nOsed. tawdry in dress ungraccful in
every motion; they really mar the land
scape. so that Won are glad 10 escape from
them TO your hotel. which You find clean
and comfortable building. where. il you
arr a. fortunate a. the Traveller who relates
this, you may catch a glimpse or two of a
fresh. fair. girli~h English face. which will
make up To YOU for the precedent ugliness.
Victoria hopes 10 have lis dizziness emil
vened by railroad from the mainland
one OF these DAYS. which may
make il more prosperous. but will proba-
bly, destroy some of the charm il now has
for a tourist. ltcan hardly destroy the eX-
cellent roads BY which yon may take sew
eral picturesque drives and walks in the
of the town. nor the pretty |
views you have from the hills near BY. nor
the excursions by boat. in which YOU can
best see how much Mature has done 10 |
beautify this place. and how little man has |
done 80 far 10 mar her work.
silks and cigars are said 10 BE- very cheap I
i'm Victoria: and those who consume these /
articles will probably look through the
shops and make few purchases. not
enough TO satisfy. though sufficient 10
arouse the suspicious of the Collector of
Customs at Port Townsend. II Won use |
your time weiI. the thirty-six horrs which /
the steamer spends AZ Victoria will suffice |
You 10 see all that j. OF interest there 10 /
traveller. and you can return in her down !
the sound and make more permanent your
impressions of it, scenery.
You will perhaps BE- startled. if YOU |
chance 10 overhcar the conversation Of your /
ssengers. 10 gather that il con-
Germs itself chiefly with millions. and these
millions run 10 such extraordinary figures
that You may hear one man plying anoth- /
er for the confession that he made no more /
than hundred millions last year. IL j. |
feet of lumber they are speaking of: and 1
when you see the monstrous piles Of saw
lust which cucumber the mill ports. the 4
vast quantities of waste stuff they burn.
and the huge RATS of timber which are \
towed down 10 the mills. a well a. the /
ships which lie there to load for South |
America. Tahiti. Australia. and California.
you will not longer wonder that they talk /
Of millions. Some of these mills are
owned by very wealthy companies. who /
have had the good fortune 10 buy nj low
rates large tracts Of the best timber lands 4
lying along the rivers and bays. a saw
mill j. the center Of quite town--and a \
very rough town too. 10 Judge from the l
appearance of the men who came down 10 /
the dock 10 look at the steamer. and the 1
repute of the Indian women. who 90 from /
port to port and seem at home among thu /
mill men.