The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1916-09-28
WITH OUR NEIGHBORS
ACROSS The BORDER
(By Owen p. Dabney)

tie was at Victoria, the residential city
and capitol of British Columbia.
The city is situated at the southern
extremity of Vancouver island, which
is about $50 miles in length and from
FIVE to 10 miles wide and il. mostly COW
cred with forest. Ii is claimed that il
contains more merchantable timber
than any other locality of the same
size on the western hemisphere, but
owing to the war only about one out
of 10 of the sawmills is being operated.
The city has population of about
65, 0O0, GO. 600 human beings and 5000
Cinnamon. Its streets are broad and
we'll paved and it maintains some
beautiful parks. The Beacon Hill
park, close in the city. contains $50
acres, and it would do credit to New
York, London or Paris. A portion of
1t is now occupied by about 1900 SOL
diers who are in training for the Euro
pean war.
We saw the Bantam regiment drill
ing one day. They are men and boys
all under five feet four inches, and
they look like a lot of school lads
about Ia years of age.
The government buildings are COM
modious and substantial. Among the
more imposing structures is the Duns-
more Castle. 1t stands in the centre
of four-acre plot, but il bears little
resemblance to the castles in the old
world. Its cost to build was million
and half of dollars, but owing to the
enormous expense to keep it up it has
been unoccupied for a number of years.
The Conway castle has more of the
features of the English castles. and is
the official residence of the lieutenant
governor.
The Metropolitan theatre is no ordi-
nary structure. In passing it one day
our Irish guide, whom | think must
have been educated at the Chinese Un-
iversity. stated that there was a play
going on then, showing how the Sultan
of Turkey was kidnapped in four parts.
| asked, were it not possible to kid
nap him without cutting him up"
The Esquimalt navy yard is out a
few miles from the city and is now a
very busy place.
Our next stop was at Vancouver, To-
Gated on the main land and 80 miles
from Victoria.
l noticed they have on thu. Canadian
steamers what is called Approved
Bouyant Apporatis. 1t consists of two
boxes, each l8 inches in width, IL
inches deep and 10 or IL feet long. The
boxes are filled with cork. They are
placed 1S inches apart. and are strong
ly fastened together at the ends by
wooden cross bars. Then a rope is
looped, forming hand holds around the
entire concern, enough for 26 people.
so that in case of emergency two or
three men can pick one up and throw
it overheard. understand that now
all the British ships are supplied with
them and undoubtedly they will prove
to be great life savers.
Vancouver claims a population of
lbs. 900 and is very pretty city. Many
of the buildings reminded me of old
country structures. We happened to
be there on Memorial Day and there
was great procession of soldiers.
government and city officials and civil
ians of the different orders. The ma
tivity of the different companies of
soldiers was designated by banners !;
the English theirs. the Irish their own
and the Scotch by the wearing of their
kilties and with their drums and bag.
pipes. The drum major, a very large
muscular man, following an old Scotch
custom, was ornamented by the wear
ing over his kilties leopard skin
which hung down in front below his
knees, with the head showing the teeth
of the animal hanging down over his
shoulders behind.
On every prominent street corner
there were from two to six women and
girls selling the Red Cross badges, and
l was informed afterward thst their
days sales amounted to over $1,000
| believe that have never travelled
through country where the people as
a rule were more patriotic, and al
though the war is proving a very
great hardship to them they are hope
full and scarcely one of them but what
would lay down his life for his country
and his king.
There are some very interesting
places out from the city. The English
bathing beach is one of the prettiest
beaches that know of OH the Pacific
coast. Stanley park, which contains
1000 acres, is oil a peninsula. most of
which is as yet virgin forest, but
there is pretty driveway eight miles
long and 40 feet wide which follows
near the beach. There are some enor-
nous trees along the way and our
chauffeur backed his car into the hol-
low of one of them. At one prominent
stony point facing the harbor | noticed
large old fashioned cannon and was
told that every night at 9 O'Clock the
gun was fred off from Toronto by
touching an electric button.
Nearly all the way from Vancouver
to Bamff, distance of 565 miles, was
through mountainous country follow
ing turbulent rivers. deep and rugged
canyons, winding around mirrored lakes
or creeping in the dark through tun-
neled mountains, or winding our way
up its rugged side in sight of great
glaciers and castelated mountains and
rocky pinnacles extending up into the
eternal silence, while far below we
could glimpse now and then frothing
and foaming streams as they 90 wind
ing their way through narrow gorges
and falling over great precipices. And
Notwithstanding all the roar of the
maddening streams below US and the
falling of the great masses of ice as it
became detached from the glaciers
above as they slowly move downward,
and the moaning of the lonely pines as
the breeze from the snow clad noun.
tains whistle through them. the putting
and snorting of the mountain engines