The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-11-08
IN GOLDEN CARIBOO.


The Town Of Barkervflie, Thirty
Years Ago the Metropolis Of the
overwhelmingly Rich Claims
OF Williams Creek Worked In .
Primitive Way Then. and Vow
Being Developed by Modern NY
draulfc Methods.
special correspondent of the Toronto
Globe. writing from Barkerville. says;
Thirty years ago. or Whereabouts Bar
kerviIle had a population of 10000 people
Ii was then. as now. the metropolis OF the
great district of Cariboo In those DAYS
people were rushing here from all parts Oh
the earth. but particularly from Saii1or-
mia: and many man UNDERTOOK Suen =
journey as I mentioned in previous let
ter II was made by Mr.. Bray. the pres
ent provincial government agent AT Va
naimo, B. C. who left OakViie, Oh'a'io'
for New York, and sailed TO Panama,
crossed the isthrus. came up the Pacific
to the Fraser river and walked Sv miles
10 get into the Cariboo country in order
TO devote himself here to placer MINING
That was the usual way OF reaching Carl-
boo in those days from Eastern, Canada.
although some travellers used the lakes
and rivers with numerous portages TO
cover a considerable portion of the long
journey. A high old time used TO be the
order of the day among the miners or
Cariboo. and In this central town of Bar
keryille particularly. from 1862 to about
$50. There are many residents yet mere
among the now scanty population or 5o
or GO who remember seeing $500 worth OF
gold dust pass over the bar of single sa-
loon through the course OF an evening.
And they love TO tell of it. Fabulously
rich claims were discovered. worked out as
far as the primitive appliances Of those
days would enable them to be worked out.
and abandoned. Williams creek alone
produced its millions of dollars In one
day 200 pounds of gold was obtained from
one claim. valued at $3s. 400. and In the year
1863 twenty claims at least were producing
from 70 to 400 ounces of gold day. Four
hundred mines were at work at Williams
creek that year. which is still admiringly
spoken Of as 1.-The golden year" Light
ming creek was discovered about the same
time Williams creek. but was not very
much worked until 1870. when great de-
velopments occurred. The Badger mine
there yielded $50 ounces day in gold. the
Aurora 800 to 600 ounces and the Caledonia
800 ounces. A few of the miners of those
days have never forsaken Cariboo. They
have worked steadily on their claims year
and confident all the time that there will
be no failure in their means of livelihood.
Some Of them kpend their winters In Cali
fornia and return to work their claims in
the summer. Old Cariboo miners are met
with In every part of the province Hon.
G. b. Martin. chief commissioner of public
works for the province. Is among their
number. Many a good story is told Of the
way in which justice was administered in
nf he here
by the late Chief Justice Bigbie. Judge
Bigbie was an excellent boxer and fire.
quently had round with the legal celeb
rites before settling down to the formal
dfspensation of justice. almost invariably
coming out ahead. Notwithstanding this
evidence of geniality. he was the great ter
ror of evil-doers and enforced justice rig
idly as far as he was able TO ascertain or
cared to ascertain where the merits of the
case lay. He is said on more than one
occasion to have waited to see the execu-
ton of a man whom he had sentenced to
be hanged to make absolutely sure that
his sentence would be carried out.
Barkerville has lost its ancient glory. IL
Is true. but 1t looks as II it was again
about to rise into prominence as a mining
center Placer mining by hydraulic meth
DDS Is now being introduced into the Carl
boo and Liilooet districts on an extensive
scale and with most astonishing results.
Capital is coming in freely and in another
year or two the output promises to be
large. The town of Barkerville lies $50
miles almost due north of Ashcroft on the
main line of the Canadian Pacific railway.
A branch line is to be projected some time
in the future from the Canadian Pacific
railway northward through the district to
this point at least. and if the development
now promised Is only partly realized ii will
become an immediate necessity. Barker
VILE is reached in the meantime by a fine
wagon road-the finest in the country, IL
is claimed by many Cariboo people. Sew
eral millions of pounds of merchandise,
machinery and general supplies are hauled
over the road every year. There are
eighty-five teaming outfits on the road
and the whole number Of horses and mules
constantly in use is over 600. Loads of
5000. 1000 and 5000 pounds are commonly
hauled, and Ii is not uncommon for some
teams to haul upwards of II, 600 while oc-
casionai loads of even 10000 are taken by
a single outfit The stage to BarkervilIe
is carried by the British Columbia express
or the "B. c. x as ii is commonly desig-
mated out here The coaches are stout
well-built vehicles. and from four TO six
horses are used as required Relays are
esta blished every fourteen 10 twenty-five
miles. and the coach, passengers. mail and
express are taken 10 Barkerville every
-FOUR DAYS. mere are numerous WFtf-kPpt
road houses along the road. several -four
fishing towns are passed on the journey.
and the scenery generally is picturesque
and pleasing.
Modern Placer Mining.
Placer mining in British Columbia fell
away. not because IL was exhausted. but
because with the primitive methods en-
ployed IL could not be longer worked prof
itaby. The piacers OF British Columbia
are divided into two classes. shallow or
modern and deep or ancient river piacers.
the terms indicating the characteristic
difference that exists between them. These
placers are superficial deposits OF aurifer-
Gus gravel and ailuyium formed by the
modern stream that drained the gold
bearing region. and are designated by
river bar bench. gulch. creek or ravin.
digginss according to their Typographical
position The placers of the modern rivers
OF California are practically exhausted
those Of British Columbia are by no means
in the same condition. The shallow piac-
ers known as bar. creek and gulch dig
gines have been extensively worked since
the Fraser river and Cariboo excitement
of thirty and forty years ago. The more
accessible of these have teen pretty well
worked out but vast Accommodations have
remained practically UNEMPLOYED such az
along the Fraser, the Quesneile Horseffy
and other modern streams The deep
- modern -