The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-12-30
ON THE PACIFIC COAST.
MINING, NUMBERING AND SALMON
FISHING or BRITISH COLUMBIA.
Down In the Coal sfipe-Undsr the Waters
81 the Day--In tho Great Woods Hand
ling Logs Ia Feet Thick afchins and
Catlaing saimon-Tho British Indians.


/ sec tbs beginnings Of mara struggle for
wealth and natural surroundings which
seem 70 have remained untouched since
the dawn of creation, and which are per-
fcctly enchanting in their wild grandeur
While tho crowded populations Of the
great cities are busily engaged In oil the
arts and sciences and manufacturing in
dustries which belong 20 a high civiliza-
ton, thousands Of their follow men are
working 10 supply their wants, 10 furnish
them with food from the great rivers,
broad prairies and cattle ranches Of the
west, or delving in the mine or the
forest 10 procure the raw material
required In their various enterprises.
Under the shining bosom OF the lovely
bay Of Nanaimo, ON Vancouver Island,
the workings of the mines extend FOR
miles. and hundreds Of men descend the
shaft day after day and night after night
70 find the coal and iron which form the
cargoes Of those masted ships for sea
sailing away over the ripping waters
An inspection Of the work going on
under sea and land cannot fail 10 prove
interesting. On arriving at the mouth
Of the pit a little lamp will be put into
your hand, and you will enter rude
kind Of elevator with the sides entirely
open and unprotected. At the sound Of
the gong YOU sneed down the narrow
shaft, down into darkness and dampness
and cold, dropping uncomfortably till
you feel q contraction Of the heart, which
you overcome only when, with a sigh of
relief, you find yourself at last on solid
ground. Boarding a train of narrow,
open trucks, you catch dim outline Of
a mule at the other end of the cars. and
sou are whisked along down levels and
slopes, twisting and spinning through
the dark corridors and labyrinthine gal
ieries. until YOU are lost in maze of eX-
element. You see scores Of men around
you at work in a variety Of methods and
attitudes which you can only family
comprehend. They pop up from hole
here and an avenue there and dis
appear again suddenly like feeting
spirits. There are immense furnaces
which YOU are content to view
from a respectful distance, and as the
black faced and strong armed miners
move to and fro, you feel an inrushing
admiration fer their noble toll and
manly endurance You visit the stables
and cannot resist the pathos Of the scene
when you look upon the poor, dumb
animals for whom the pit Is living
tomb. for they never see the upper
world again once they have been brought
down TO work in the mine With n
thousand indistinct impressions you pre-
fer TO ascend, and after an upward jour
ncy, which gives rise TO no unpleasant
sensations, you regain once more your
footing on the earth above and feel o
thrill Of energy and gladness in the fresh
air and al the sights and sounds OF the
open day.
No greater contrast 10 the scenes we
have left behind us in the uAle could be
IMAGINED than those which we behold in
visiting one Of the many logging camps
which are planted along the coast near
the new city Of Vancouver You start
from here in a little steamship which
takes you through a perfect fairyland
Of natural beauty, through channels and
creeks and bays, with little green
islands, ike emeralds floating in liquid
sapphire. You are in full view Of the
purple mountains shadOwing the har-
Dor, and the eye wanders from
the water to some rugged pro-
HohtDtf tH thS iN5iSNHA, VI
some snowy peak beyond, until you
penetrate a glade Of the forest and find
Yourself at last in the camp. Here by
the side Of O cool and gurgling rivulet
the umbermen have erected their coy
plank huts, where they gather in the
evening. when the days work is done,
to eat a hearty supper for which venison
and bear, grouse, salmon and trout have
I been laid under contribution, and 10 spin
the winding yarn and crack the merry
joke round tho blazing log fire. What
picturesque figures and groups as the
light from the burning timber throws
some rosy tint over the rugged faces, or
brings out IN bold relief the outlines OF
the wearied forms that stretch them
selves arOundl And on some night Of
harmless revelry how the sounds Of
laughter and song rise upward through
the stately columns Of the tall trees till
they are lost in the vaulted roof above.
Some thirty men are camping here, but
Of these only two or three work at the
ok. The giants Of the forest are not 50
easily conquered and drawn home at the
wagon wheels Of the wOOdsman as many
people may imagine. In starting q
camp the first requirement is TO build q
road. This does not mean just clear
ing o track Of q few stumps and
brushwo0d, but the formation Of
road over which heavy logs,
sometimes thirteen or fourteen feet
In diameter and a hundred feet long,
may be brought down to the coast.
This is accomplished in the first place by
a gang Of swampers, who 60 ahead and
clear the way of all Instructions. They
arc followed by the skidders, who an
swer to section men on a railroad and
are constantly at work making and re-
paiFing the roads. The logging road is
made with logs about twelve inches In
diameter, places about nine feet apart.
The roads and their various branches are
made to follow the ground so as to &c
cure q gradual incline TO the water. The
logger, with AK in hand, does not stand
on the ground when telling a tree, as
its large circumference at that point
would require double the work that it
does higher up. The logger, therefore,
cuts a notch IN the tree at a height of
several feet from the ground; into this
notch he inserts his spring board, and on
this board he stands, in picturesque
poise, wbilo he hews down tho huge col
umn before him. After the trees ore
fcled comes the yarding out, which con-
sists in placing them on the road. This
is done by means of a cable, q snatch
block and an OK team Of eight OF ten
oxen. One end of tho cable is fastened
to a tree or stump, at the right angle on
the opposite side Of the road, The
snatch block is then fastened to
the trunk, the oxen pull upon
tho block and by this immense
leverage the trunk is drawn and placed.
upon the road A load OF several trunks
is then made up, the oxen are chained 20
the load, and i'm this manner some 5,Oo0
20 5000 feet of lumber at time is hauled
! down 20 water. Here q boom is formed
Of, perhaps, 800, 900 feet Of it. and, being
hitched 10 a steamer, is towed to the
saving and planning mill for which il is
destined. Here the logs are kraalcd in a
water inclOsure, specially adapted 70 re-
ceive them, till they are wanted. When
( they are, you see men with long poles
| hopping over the water from log to log.
and finally cutting out their favorite VIC
/ tins for the saw. The huge log is skin.
fully guided % a particular opening
/ where hooks, made Of the finest steel
| Iaat.....l -. 4.