Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-01-19
BRITISH COLUMBIA.
The Country and II. ,Dh.h,,.,,..
Wild Game and Mineral penosi,s

WIG o.,' Game me and Mineral Deposits.
The network Of ra,,roods hu;,d;nr
across the continent centa~;1 =. NaI
C IJ -, .ue south and in British
Oo,uU'S ir On the north, because of the
peou I u. Impetus which they are des-
tlneu 70 give to California industries
and commerce have awakened in onT
people an active interest in both onr
northern and southern neiobbors A
gentleman BOW residing in San Fran.
otSoG WI" r",i nas occupied IN important
,iuS a. PJ 1 under two administra-
LUIS - DtislSh Columbia, extending
over considerable term of wears who
spent six years in responsible most in
the employ or the Hudson Raw com.
pany' VINO has been a government ex-
plorer In wild portions Of the country
VINO mas mined in the mountains and
traversed the valleys ana forasts oo,,
s selo,,s- " oe interviewed by Chronicle
reporter, many interesting facts were
drawn from his exhaustless store
W nat Is the character of the MAIN
Iand OF british Columbia. colonelPp
81, w est OF the Cascade It is very heav-
lily wooded with dense Ar and snrnce
forests. There is something of a mo.
not0ny In the never-yarving nature of
tnese symmetrical, dark.green ever
greens, never broken by the graceful.
irregular outlines Of the oak or other
unconventional tree growths. Over the
cascade the country Is quite omen until
Caribou, the head Of the MINING region
is reached, where heavily timbered
land alternates with prairies These
prairies are covered with bunchgrass
ahd dotted with many wild flowers.
notable among which are the sunfiower
and wild marguerite. It is a peculiar
lty OF the Hover that they are absolute
ly scentless, with one execution. The
only fragrant flower Is an annual much
resembling our purple lilac, the flowers
growing in great clusters. with a pe.
culiarly sweet, subtle odor. but al
though the plant is commonly found. /
have never been able 10 learn its com
mon or botanical name. I have tray.
eled through many attractive countries
but can say truly that in pictorial in
terest British Columbia Is UNSURPASSED.
IL Is land Of mighty cataracts. mag.
n'hcent rivers, great calm lakes. val.
leys OF peerless beauty, royal snow
topped mountains, noble canyons, and
mighty forests"
what are the industrial possibilities
of the countryP"
Almost infinite i'm either range
There is a rich agricultural region. es.
peeially at the delta formed by Frazer
river, Burrard's inlet, and Mud bay.
The soil upon this delta is extremely
rich, and only needs drainage and a
good sea-wall to reclaim the whole. as
has been done at Matsqui, where the
land is under cultivation, and potatoes.
turnips, beets, and wheat of phenome-
nal size are raised. Gold and silver
mining. coal mining, stock raising.
numbering and the inevitable great
of the future offer extern
sive fields OF industry. The coal SUD-
ply is OF marvellous extent, and besides
the great coal fields, which seem to
underlie the whole of landowners is
land. very excellent quality of btu
minous coal has been discovered east
of the Cascades on the Nicola river and
in the vicinity Of Marble canyon.
Large veins of marble and a great va
riety of elegant building-stOne are treas
ured up in Natures storehouse. ready
to contribute to the solid architecture
of the future. The precious minerals
abound, and their production will be
greatly increased when they become
more accessible to the miner and the
supplies Of food are cheapened by
different methods of transportation.
The big bed of the Columbia is full of
gold but remote and inaccessible, and
diggings which can be depended upon
to yield from s5 to So a day cease to be
profitable when -four is a dollar
pound. Indeed, in 1862 l paid $3.50 a
pound in Caribou. Along the banks
of the Frazer river the placer deposits
are curious and unique in character.
The stream runs through a rocky chan.
mel, bounded by high, steep banks.
Above are succession Of terraces or
benches, as they are called, which must
have, at remote periods, formed portions
of the river bed, and these benches are
richly Impregnated with alluvial gold
detritus. This peculiar formation
gives a geological character of perma-
nence to the diggings. The vast
quartz veins Of the country have never
found the capital needful for working
them, and / may say, without exagger-
alton, heave never even been fairly
tested. A year or so ago lode of APP
parently great richness was struck on
Vancouver's island and samples of the
ore we're sent to two different assayers
of San Francisco. One of these experts
sent back a glowing and fabulous as
say. the other nothing ut all, and the
direct contradiction OF the two reports
so Disguised those interested that they
dropped the matter entirely"
what does the country offer in the
way of game2"
There is a great abundance of all
sorts of wild game, rero' IS to the con-
trary Notwithstanding. The trouble
with the average tourist is that he ex-
poets TO step outside the door and find
every thing he would like to kill within
easy shooting range. have seen this
ridiculous idea manifested over and
over again, and when the amateur
sportsman is told that it will be neces-
sary to go twenty or thirty miles to
End good hunting he is dishearted and
mathematics the country. There are
several species of deer, notably the
Caribou deer. beautiful creature, the
skin of the fawn looking almost like
that of the seal. There are foxes,
martens, the lynx, the puma common