The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-04-29


vast snow-waIled gorge under massive
overhanglng rocit In ad out OF tunnels
and snow shedss now angling above a
raging river AID now shooting about
curves into other ano.lssqually as grand.
The cab OF the rg!ne vas walled with
glass, and coult see well as though
/ had been riding on IL iron snowplow
fastened to its fFnt inplace of COW
catchers. The greet iro horse throbbed
like thing Of f.. itpnffed out vast
quantities OF smoH in tw spiral columns.
and as we neared me ofthe little noun
tain stations IL CIT thecold air with a
steam Shrek whifi mae me think that
all the souls in nhes 1re loose in the
Rockies and the ipent-o agony OF the
damned was concentrate IN the escaping
steam Of that egine. After riding a
while, however, oles eryousness goes
off. You see thelcare ( the engineer,
the parties of wAtehnn stationed at
almost every mile.of trek, the frequent
snow sheds, whers M danger is the
greatest and you can then note the
wonders of nature aboryou. The scene
changes at every turn o.. great wheels
of the locomotive. Nor the mountains
on both sides Of he ;sck rise almost
straight upward II a rowy wall for
hundreds upon hurired-It seems to me
for thousands-of ieet. hutting out the
su and their tops kisag the pure sky.
Now YOU shoot oft In. the open, and
there is a long vista of r,ged hills, which
rise one above the 9th till they fade
away into the gla9er Ilks Of the hori-
ION. Here a great rfveiof blue ice runs
for miles along the trac. and you know
you are almost at the lsdwaters of the
Columbia, which goes otis course down
through Washington and)regon and emp
ties into the Pacific. lrther back you
saw the Saskatchewan lver Rowing to-
ward Winnipeg and Hlson bay. and
few miles further you vi find the rocky.
blue Frazer blowing its W through great
gorges and over the goen sands which
so excited the gold hunts In the days of
early California. and vich. by the use
Ct modern dredging Hchinery, | 3D
told, bid fair to excite hem again. On
through these waters IN scenery which
almost takes away yfr breath. You
think OF the Texas ccboy who made
bis pile and awOke o. morning amid
the finest Of the mountaii Of Switzerland.
Ills life had been spent | the plains, and
the grandeur filed hts I'll, TIL ne could
contain hImsef no long, and he threw
up his hat and yelled. lot irreverently,
but honestly, these wois, "Hurrah for
Godn'
Speaking Of Frazer rer and It's gold
deposits this. was, yo remember. one
Of the richest placer rifs In the world
along late in the nftes, III something like
fifty million dollars with OF gold has
been washed out 81 thsands Of British
Columbia. The stream very rough and
rocky, however, and uch Of II has
been inaccessible TO thelacer miners. IL
is known, however, contain great
| quantities OF gold al four different
American companies ae now at work
| here. trying to get thl gold out They
| have had dredge-like pups made, which
are TO suck up the old-bearing sand
an throw ii into a slue-box, which will
| extra the gold. Theexperiment Is a
| new one, but IL was ,sted oniy a day
or 50 ago. in the shaow water at the
| edge of the river, and ,me gold was the
result. l talked last Mat with the rresi-
dent of one OF these ,ompanles--a Mr..
Young-who comes. / link from Mime
apoiis. Said ne: 'rhre is no doubt
| but there are milionsupon millions OF
dollars OF gold IN thse rivers, and |
| think there is no dout but that we are
| going TO get out q. lars part OF IT, We
| lease certain strips OF le river from the
government at so rnuchoer mile per year
We now have under lease ffty-seven
miles, and we have mn prospecting and
locating other tracts. ar machines cost
us from four to sevel thousand dollars
a piece. and l expo to see some Of
them earning a thousand dollars a day.
In a month from ioy l can tell just
what they VIII DO. Laeh saachine ought
to wash and reduce one hundred cubic
yards OF gravel a ,ay, and we can get
out stuff from the very centre Of the
river, where The most gold Is supposed
10 be- In the Old iays Of placer mining
a man did well 10 wash out three cubic
yards a day and here he had TO rely
upon the banks Oily"
what viii be ne result If you succeed
as you elpect?"
1T wiImake his whole country boom.
| don't think there is a doubt OF our
success, bnd / expect to see great deal
of placet mining done in this way in the
future. bt is only applying TO mining
the machinery that has been used for
years b dredging. II we succeed it will
bring tiiIions of capital TO Vancouver,
and wi make times good again."
"Hoi are the times here now?"
"Ths are hard here. and all over the
world. The only place | know where they
are al all good is in South Africa, and
you you'd be surprised to know what
an eiigration is taking place 50 that
county. Within the past few months at
leastDne hundred have sailed from here
alone and others are going. They ex-
pect O make fortunes in the new gold
mine there. As for me, | would rather
stay here"
Reprring to the hard times, met witt
a cuious evidence Of them on my way
over the Canadian Pacific. At several o
the cations ] noted great piles OF buffalo
bone which had been gathered upon tn
plails and had been brought TO the sta
tion for sale For some time there La.
been a great demand for these bones
from parts Of the United States The,
are exported and are bought at so niuci
per ear lead. the usual price being $40
Der EAR Of seven tons. Since the panic
howyer the Americans have had NJ
mou.y to cay for them, and the skeleton
and old b)nes lie bleaching in the snow
waiting FOR the financial skies 10 bright
Ell.
There arr about 5000 Cinnamon In thii
town Of D. coo people, Victoria, which
about as hrge as Vancouver, mas INK
number. and It IS from here that man.
Chinese are struggled into the uhite'
States There are numerous trails owe
the border and many are taken In o.
sea. We have no good protector OF Gu
northern boundaries, and / am told una
quantities If opium as well as NUMBER
OF Chlnam.n are taken in every month
The opium is prepared at Victoria II ]
said. and smuggsed In. II takes onl!
a small pickage TO hold pounu' an
each pounC thus brought In escapes uu
" of Sl2. Ten pounds can easily De ma
den, and q hundred or so pounls ca
be carried in a canoe Inc nuiare'
pounds would bring proht OF N,zT
90 xon So there Is money in the busl