@prefix ns0: . @prefix edm: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix dc: . @prefix skos: . ns0:identifierAIP "b7b1e6ec-03eb-4a8c-992e-a59a839b8857"@en ; edm:dataProvider "CONTENTdm"@en ; dcterms:isReferencedBy "http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1585982"@en ; dcterms:isPartOf "British Columbia Historical Books Collection"@en ; dcterms:contributor "Beanlands, Arthur John"@en ; dcterms:creator "British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:issued "2015-05-08"@en, "1891"@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcbooks/items/1.0222291/source.json"@en ; dcterms:extent "60 pages : tables ; 21 cm"@en ; dc:format "application/pdf"@en ; skos:note """ BRITISH COLUMBIA AS A FIELD FOR • EMIGRATION . AND INVESTMENT. VICTORIA, B. C. : Printed by Richard Wolfenden, Printer to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty. 1891. British Columbia. INTRODUCTION. The following pages are offered to the emigrating public, not because they are thought to be adequate to supply the general want of information about this important Province, but in order to arouse in the right class an interest in it, and to indicate in brief those avenues for the employment <\\ of labour and capital which it is purposed to treat more exhaustively in future pamphlets. fc * ■) J Information for Emigrants. & Chapter I. What an Emigrant may expect, and what may foe expected of him When a man determines upon the grave step of leaving his native land, breaking many of those ties, and surrendering many of those comforts which make life enjoyable, A Wb is only reasonable that he should do so in the expectation of some recompense. It is true that there are individuals who emigrate out of sheer caprice, or from a desire to escape the responsibilities of their home life, or because they " have made the place too hot to hold them," or for some other motive equally unworthy. But it must be understood that information is not provided for such as these, and that they are not invited to repeat their social experiments in this Province. The welcome emigrant has a right to expect three things —a Livelihood, a Home, and a Fortune. Probably there is hardly a man who leaves his old home without expecting these. It may be worth while then to define more closely than perhaps he is accustomed to do for himself these objects of his desire, especially in their relation to British Columbia, that he may know from the outset how far he may be justified in his hopes, and beyond what limits they become unreasonable and visionary. For it is a matter of common experience that, whereas reasonable hopes are a valuable and salutary stimulus to exertion, exorbitant expectations paralyze industry and end in despair. Every emigrant expects at least the necessaries of life —food, clothes and lodging. Now, it may be stated as a fact that for an honest, industrious man to be in a condition in which he is not able to make a decent living is inconceivable in British Columbia. For the most part, those who live in Canada read with horror and dismay of the congestion of population in the cities of the old (Vorld. Of course, in the great centres of life in the Eastern 6 British Columbia. States of America a stratum of absolute poverty exists. In the new towns of the Far West it is quite unknown. There are no " poor people " in the sense in which that term is used in the United Kingdom. And it may be safely stated that many thousands may come into British Columbia before the wages point sinks to anything which approaches " sweating." But this statement must not be misunderstood. The capital at present existing in the country could not employ any such numbers, were they to flood the labour market at once. Even as it is, men frequently have to wait some time before they find employment, and unsuitable men have always difficulty in finding work. But the fact remains that there is no permanent poverty, and that it will pay employers in every branch of labour, for many years to come, to hire men at wages which in England would be regarded as very liberal indeed. Every man who voluntarily leaves a home, however lowly, has a right to expect to find another. A home implies all facilities for domestic life ; i. e., a sufficiency to support a wife and family, education for children, agreeable social intercourse, avenues of occupation for children when they grow up, and the means of supplying every need which a prudent man may anticipate before he will undertake the risk of marriage. Now the industrious marrying man is a most welcome addition to a new country, and the writer firmly believes that there is no country in which facilities for domestic life are more amply provided than in this Province. Indeed, it may be said that married life is cheaper than single life. Wages in every occupation are sufficient to maintain a family, education is free, the climate is a singularly favourable one for children, young married people predominate in the population, and there is not a healthy boy born whose future career need cause a moment's anxiety to his father. This applies to all classes of society. One cannot live for long in the country without remarking with surprise the readiness, one might be inclined to say hardihood with which young people assume the responsibilities of married life. Yet this is not from Information for Emigrants. 7 improvidence, for it is generally the more provident and thrifty man who marries, but because young people need not assume a position beyond their means, they do not sacrifice the friendship of their own class by economical behaviour, and the wife, no matter what her former training, boldly accepts the natural duty of being a help-meet to her husband. It is the desire of the Government of this Province that all emigrants should be settlers indeed j that they should seek to permanently establish themselves in the country of their adoption, to link their fortunes with it, and to regard it as their home. Although some license is to be allowed to sentiment in speaking of the Mother Country, it is greatly to be deplored when the new-comer does not wish to take root, when he wants to " make his pile 1 and then go " home " to spend it. A good Government is not to be blamed if it discourages by every means in its power such a class of emigrants from whatever country, while it undertakes, in all possible ways, to render the bond fide settler prosperous, happy and contented. Few men are contented with the necessities of life : they must, at least, have a prospect of something more. And it will be generally found that the desire of reasonable men is towards the acquisition of a sufficiency to enable them to pass the later years of their lives without the need of ex- rtion. Their opinion as to the sum requisite for such a future may vary, and does vary very considerably according to circumstances, but whatever that sum may be it is to them a fortune. It may be assumed, then, that those conditions which can assure to any industrious man such a competency after, say, twenty years of steady work, will fulfil the third of the before mentioned expectations. Now the facilities which exist, and which can be shown will continue to exist for many years to come, for the profitable investment of savings in British Columbia would greatly astonish the inhabitants of an older country. The rise in land values alone, and this not at speculative but at legitimate rates, as population comes in to a new country, 8 British Columbia. is unparalleled. It may be safely said that there is not a labouring man who has bought himself a plot of land near any of the towns of this Province whose property has not doubled, trebled or quadrupled in the past four years. But it is not in land alone that such an avenue for investment exists. An undeveloped country is thirsty for capital. It can repay with liberal interest all money which is expended in almost any industry. So that whether a man may chose to invest his savings in real property, or in the extension of his own trade or industry, he will, with ordinary prudence, be certain to reap a large increase. That such a statement is borne out by facts will be seen when the wide-spread prosperity of the people resident in the Province is regarded ; when it is realized that 60 per cent, of the houses in such a city as Yictoria are owned by their occupants; that, though there are few rich men, and those chiefly rich in real estate, yet the personal property is taxed at over $11,000,000, probably not more than two-thirds of its actual value; and that a quite insignificant proportion brought any money with them at all into the Colony beyond a sufficiency for the needs of the moment. The case of Victoria is not exceptional, but is paralleled in every city throughout the Province, and there is no reason whatever to doubt its continuance, as the country becomes better known and its resources more thoroughly developed. Of course, phenomenal instances, and those not a few, of sudden prosperity might also be cited. But with prudent men the ordinary well assured prospects of a competency will have more weight than those of possible speculative success. From the foregoing remarks, the intending emigrant can CD & 7 O O judge whether British Columbia is likely to fulfil his expectations in regard to the three essential hopes of the new settler. He will find more particular information as regards the relative prospects of different occupations in subsequent chapters. But it will only b3 fair to expect him in return to consider the other side of the question, and to ask himself what Information for Emigrants. 9 he, for his part, is prepared to give the country in return for what it can offer him. Now there are three things which may reasonably be expected of him—Health, Industry, and Loyalty. The man broken in health should not emigrate. It is unfair to himself and to the country he is going to make his home. There cannot be provided, in these new places, such means for battling with chronic disease as exist in long established countries. He throws himself upon the charity of strangers, and the most they can do is to send him back to his friends. The writer of this pamphlet has had exceptional opportunities of observing the very wide-spread and unostentatious benevolence of British Columbians; but there are always sufficient opportunities for its exercise in the misfortunes inherent in life without burdening it with the support of strangers who imagine no personal disqualifications will hinder them from succeeding in a new country. The reverse is the truth, for where there is an unusual demand for personal vigour and energy, the sickly, physically incapable man must assuredly go to the wall. A still more insuperable bar to success is to be found in a certain class of emigrant. The boy who has never been brought up to exert himself, who despises manual labour, and who has not the brains for professional work, is one of the saddest phases of colonial life. He becomes the pariah of the streets, despised by honest labourers and shunned by his own class. He drags on a useless existence upon remittances from home, and, if he does not return, sinks into that residuum of civilized life which is the spawning ground of criminality. But there is yet another qualification for the colonist. It is not sufficient that he be healthy and industrious to make him. a really welcome addition to the country. He must be loyal. That is to say, he must recognize his duties to the country; he must feel the same interest, or a kindred one, to that he feels in his native land; he must not harbour the thought that he has come to get what he can and go away again. For the attitude he adopts towards J 10 British Columbia. his new home will greatly affect both his conduct as a citizen and his behaviour in social life. While colonists, as a rule, are most sympathetic and well disposed towards newcomers, suffering from the first shock of'transplantation, they cannot but dislike the chronic grumbler or alien-hearted individual; and for such an one their compassion soon changes into scorn. It is a matter of experience that the exhibition of this discontented spirit is very disproportionate to the value of the sacrifice that has been made; that whereas those who have been subject to much greater privations and much more humiliating conditions than they are ever likely to meet with in a colony, are often the first to assume airs of departed greatness and to repine at their lot; others, who have sacrificed happy homes and many little luxuries to their desire for honest independence, endure with cheerfulness such hardships as fall to their share. Chapter II. Farming and Clearing. Where circumstances differ so widely as those which attend farming in the Old Country from those in a colony, it is difficult to arrive at a just estimate of the relative profits without a systematic comparison. It is owing to the lack of such a comparison that very erroneous impressions prevail among would-be emigrants, and that while some form expectations which are destined never to be realized, others are discouraged at the outset from undertaking an enterprise which would almost certainly be attended with profitable results. The farm labourer who has been accustomed to rearard the possession of land as the sign of affluence and comfort, cannot imagine there is any dark side to a condition of things where land is to be obtained for practically nothing. On the other hand, the farmer who has been accustomed to Information for Emigrants. 11 employ labour to the extent and at the low rate current in the Old Country, cannot believe any profit possible where it commands the high rates which rule in the colonial markets. It will be seen that both are wrong. In the fir^t case, the man who pre-empts land must understand that he acquires the right to a certain tract hitherto untouched by cultivation of any sort. In many instances dense forests await his attack, before he can grow even the amount produced upon the quarter acre of garden ground he left at home. The choicest piece of his property is probably an alder bottom, upon which a rich deposit of alluvial soil and vegetable mould will reward the successful cultivator with phenomenal crops. But he has to clear, and to some extent drain this land before he can hope for reward. The skilful pioneer from the Eastern Provinces is familiar with the aspect of "Nature unadorned," but the British labourer, who has been accustomed to look upon nothing but the plough lands of his own district, becomes terribly disheartened when he is brought face to face with the realities of the backwoods. Not that he need despair. His prospects of a free and happy life were never greater ; but he must be prepared for the effort of becoming his own master by gaining the mastery over Nature. On the other hand, there is no such insuperable obstacle in the rate of wages as an emigrant farmer imagines. It is true that he must be content with employing a much smaller number of hands upon his farm; he must also be content with at first cultivating a smaller area of land; but against these drawbacks he must set the fact that he is rid of many serious responsibilities attending the presence of a large and poor agricultural population, and that the land he occupies is his own, which, without the use of expensive manures, he is gradually bringing under cultivation, thus ever increasing the area of his farm lands and the value of his estate till it is ready to compare with the property of his former landlord, for which he was paying a high rent. More than this, he will find that all the land of the country in which he has made his home, J 12 British Columbia. instead of decreasing in value, or at best remaining stationary, is rising, and that in many localities in a ratio beyond his most sanguine expectations. It must be clearly understood by intending emigrants that they have the choice of two distinct kinds of agricultural employment—farming or clearing. If they wish to prosecute the former they must purchase land upon which sufficient improvements have been already put to enable them to get to work at once, and they must take into con. sideration such questions as the vicinity of a good market and facilities for handling their crops at least expense. In this case, it will be found generally that the best policy is to be content with a moderate sized farm, in a good neighborhood, at a relatively high price, rather than a much larger property at a lower figure without the same advantages of market. If, however, their circumstances or inclination should induce them to prefer the alternative of clearing rather than cultivating, with a view to greatly enhancing the value of Crown lands for future sale, they must be prepared to face a life of isolation and hard labour for some years, and they should take into consideration prospective govern, menb or corporation improvements which may have the effect of greatly bettering their position as regards market facilities and correspondingly enhancing the value of their holding at an early date. The prospects for successful farming depend, like those of every other trade, upon supply and demand. The demand must be shown to be a good one, and the capacity for supplying that demand must be proved to be sufficient to insure a good profit. While in the remote districts of this Province, which it must be borne in mind is one-third larger in area than the whole German Empire, the demand for farm produce is naturally at present very limited, wherever there has been any tendency towards town population it greatly exceeds the supply. In all the cities of the coast farm produce is extraordinarily high in price, and large quantities of eggs, butter, vegetables and breadstuffs are imported. There are Information for Emigrants. 13 two principal reasons why this should have been the case in the past. British Columbia made its first reputation as a fur trading and gold mining country. This fact naturally caused a determination of import traders to its cities, and people became accustomed to the idea of subsisting for the most part upon imported goods. The country, too, was very vast in area; communication was exceedingly difficult, and the means of existence had to be conveyed to the interior in the most concentrated forms. With the ex~ ception, then, of a few cattle ranches, the beasts from which could be driven long distances, farming to any extent was hardly thought of. Again, even in the neighborhood of the towns, the land was so denselv wooded as to dis- courage individual attempts at clearing. The lighter growths were upon a dry and gravelly soil, so that though they were speedily occupied, and after a sort cultivated, they did not return very encouraging results. With comparatively few exceptions, their cultivators were not farmers, but men of various occupations, who availed themselves of the cheapness of the land to engage in agricultural pursuits with little or no knowledge of the subject. Even under these adverse circumstances industrious men have done remarkably well; but hampered as they have been at the start by lack of capital and ignorance of the right way to set out, many have become mere squatters, cultivating a few acres of the land they have occupied and allowing the rest to remain, year after year, untouched and unimproved. The aspect of things is now entirely changed. Railway communication has brought large areas of excellent land within reach of a market. The good roads, which it has been the pride of the Government to make and maintain in a condition which excites the surprise and.ad miration of our neighbours, provide every facility for the suburban farmer to bring his produce to market. But still there is as great a demand as ever for foreign produce, and a correspondingly large importation. For the cities have increased at a rate far in excess of the acreage brought under cultivation, and there is every reason to believe they will continue for many 14 British Columbia. years to increase in the same, or nearly the same, ratio. There may be said, then, to be in British Columbia a practically unlimited demand for all sorts of agricultural produce. Vancouver Island. A few words may be necessary to convey a just impression of the nature of the supply. Speaking in general terms, there are three areas of cultivated farming lands : the Vancouver Island districts, the Fraser districts, and the interior district of Okanagan. The first of these include all lands lying within what may be called possible range of the Victoria and Nanaimo markets. The south-east coast of Vancouver Island, and the islands adjacent to it, contain a very considerable extent of good land for mixed farming. To convey some idea of this it may be stated that over 70,000 acres have been occupied in the immediate neighbourhood of Victoria alone. That is to say, 70,000 have been considered worth purchase for agricultural purposes, and allowing 10,000 of this to be unfit for cultivation, there would still be 60,000 capable of producing crops. But of the 60,000 acres probably not more than 8,000 or 10,000 are cultivated, and of these a very small proportion can be considered to be highly cultivated. The land, which is of fair average quality, may be readily classified according to the timber grown upon it. Upon the wettest ground of the valleys willows prevail; upon the flat bottom lands, when not too swampy, alders and black poplar. This land is generally considered the most fertile. The subsoil is a stiff grey bolder clay, with a varying depth of black mould of great richness. The land is cold, and would be much improved by sub-draining, which, however is not much practised. The higher lands, which are chiefly of sandy loam, grow the great forest trees, and these present the chief obstacle to clearing. With patience, however, much may be done, and the land amply repays trouble expended upon it. In the neighbourhood of Victoria there is another class of land which, as has been stated above, was the first to invite agricultural operations. This was Information for Emigrants. 15 once covered with stunted oak trees—"oak scrub," with a few larger specimens here and there where some local condition favoured their increased growth. Most of this land, which is not of very great extent, has been cleared, but from the very dry, gravelly nature of the soil, conveys a poor impression of Vancouver Island property, of which it is probably the worst specimen. Although, however, as grain producing land, it is not to be recommended, it has been proved of considerable value for fruit trees, having for the most part a southerly exposure, and the soil when irrigated exhibiting much greater powers of productiveness than would be supposed. Indeed, the generally high average of fertility of these virgin soils under proper treatment is very remarkable. Circumstances here greatly favour the prosecution of small farming. The quality of the farms is so mixed, the bush is so dense, and there are so many intervening valleys and ridges that the extensive operations of the large farmer would demand an outlay of capital which the area of his cultivated land would hardly justify. On , the other hand, the demand for every kind of dairy produce and vegetables makes the labour of the small cultivator very remunerative, and the comparatively limited extent of suitable land will always render high cultivation profitable. When a man can, besides making a good living, bring the value of his land up from £4 or £5 per acre to £30 or £4:0 —which latter would certainly not be an excessive price for really highly worked farms—there is every inducement to careful cultivation. It is a mistake which has been frequently made, and the fallacy of which has been repeatedly exposed, that in a rough country rough methods pay best. A rough method is always an expensive method. The most profitable farm is that in which the stock or crop producing capacity of the land, is forced to the uttermost, and where all refuse is returned to the soil. The policy of farmers in such conditions as those which are presented above, is undoubtedly towards the high cultivation of small farms, say of 30 to 50 acres, the profits from which, as their children grow up, will amply provide them with means to gradually bring more of their waste 16 British Columbia. land under the plough. It has been frequently proved that farms of the above size, where there is a good market, pay well, and the writer of this pamphlet would earnestly invite the attention of Old Country farmers with a little capital to the advantages offered them in these districts. Such men are very much needed, and would certainly find that the position of the farmer here contrasts favourably in every respect with that at home; indeed, that it fulfils every demand that the most extreme advocate of small farming could insist upon. Lower Fraser. The circumstances which attend farming on the Fraser are similar in many respects to those of the Island, but it may be said that on the average the land is better and less mixed in quality. The lands of the Delta have long been known as unexcelled for fertility of soil. Enormous crops of hay can be raised upon dyked lands with very little cul" tivation, and roots of all sorts grow to a size which is almost beyond belief. It was many years before any systematic attempt at dyking on a large scale was attempted, consequently the only land capable of cultivation was that nearest the sea, which could be reclaimed by individual effort. Of this many thousand acres have been now reclaimed by private owners, and the various Municipalities are doing much to help, by making dykes of considerable extent. These lands admit, no doubt, of treatment on a larger scale than the more heavily timbered farms of the Island, but it is highly probable that the small holding system will be productive of much better results both to the country and the farmer. To the former the presence of a comparatively dense and prosperous community of agricultuists cannot but be beneficial in every way,- and to the farmer himself the association of neighbours, healthy competition, and the power of numbers in achieving any object of mutual benefit are most essential aids to prosperity and comfort. There are in New Westminster district alone about 200,000 acres of land upon which improvements have been put, and a very large proportion of these is capable of a high degree of cultivation. Another 500,000 acres may be added to the ■WP Information for Emigrants. 17 above for land situated within what are called the Munici. palities, which are adjacent districts, each possessing its own local authorities and controlling its own affairs. The chief markets are Vancouver and New Westminster, both cities growing at a rate which precludes the likelihood of any possible over supply of farm produce. Okanagan. A comparatively new district, of great beauty, fertility and almost unlimited possibilities, is being placed within reach of a market by the new Shuswap and Okanagan railway and lake navigation. This district may be described as a belt of land extending from the shores of the great Shuswap lake, in a southerly direction, to the boundary line between British Columbia and the United States. For many years the value of the land has been recognized, and some large cattle ranches and grain farms have been carried on successfully by their enterprising owners. But the inaccessibility of the country and the absence of any available market discouraged settlers, and it is only quite recently that the capabilities of the district for mixed and fruit farming have been fully realized. The railway, which joins the Canadian Pacific at Sica- mouse, will render accessible some 400,000 acres of most excellent land in a country of peculiar beauty and health- fulness of climate. As regards this latter point, it may be well to remind the emigrant that there is no part of the American continent which so nearly compares with the best climate of Motherland as British Columbia. It is frequently a matter of surprise with visitors from Eastern Canada and the United States how great a resemblance exists, and'how coming into the temperate regions of this favoured province seems almost like going home to the Old Country. The balance is indeed much in favour of the new one, the seasons being very much more certain. It is rarely that a crop cannot be harvested in good condition, such a contingency having arisen only once in the last fifteen years. Gentlemen Farmers. Since this pamplet is intended to supply information to every class of suitable emigrant, it will not be amiss here to 18 British Columbia. , refer to the prospects of that ever increasing section of the emigrating public, which may be described under the above title. Although, to a certain extent, an erroneous classification, the writer intends it to comprise those who, not having been brought up to the profession of agriculture, are impelled by circumstances or their inclinations to seek a home in the agricultural districts of this province, and to whom, though not absolutely dependent upon the proceeds of their farming, the profitable management of a small property is of the utmost importance Fathers of families who wish to settle their boys, and who have no occupation at home which prevents their taking the very best steps under the circumstances, going with them; retired officers of both services; Anglo-Indians, who do not care to settle down in the United Kingdom, and men of small incomes and large families, who find the obligations of Old Country life in their own station more than they can afford; these form a large class of desirable emigrants if they succeed in establishing themselves under favourable conditions. They are desirable because their tone and culture are of the greatest value in a new world where personal influence is more felt by far than in the old one. They are of value, too, because they convey a more just impression of Old Country life and manners than those unfortunate waifs of the better class whose outrageous behaviour so often prejudices sensible Canadians and Americans against the class they represent. British Columbia is particularly well adapted to the requirements of such as these. Of all places outside the Old Country it is perhaps the most homelike in general character, and the temperate climate, good sport, and accessibility make it well suited as a place of residence. There are already several localities in which the predominating element of the settlers is drawn from this class, and where life resembles closely country life at home. It has often been a subject of discussion among the writer and his friends whether a poor gentleman can live more cheaply in this country than at home. Against this view the high price of clothing, and many other articles, has been cited; but in favour of it has been urged the greater freedom from Information for Emigrants. 19 unnecessary expenses incidental to the maintenance of a certain rank, the cheapness of land, free education, low taxes, and, above all, the possibility of settling children in an independent position so impossible in the overcrowded state of Old Country trades and professions. It has always appeared to the writer that the balance is largely in favour of this province, and that though life may in some respects seem harder, it is in many respects happier. Of course, there might be reason for hesitation before adopting such a life, were there necessity of isolation from all congenial society and from all current literature J but when it is realized that the latter is as easy to obtain as at home, and that almost every new book worth reading can be purchased in reprint at a quarter of its original price, while well educated and agreeable companions may be met with in almost any locality, it will be seen that no very great sacrifice beyond that of leaving home is demanded. Clearing. Sufficient has been said to show that there is a first-rate opening in this province for the bona fide farmer. It remains that some reference be made to the more hardy and adventurous pursuit of the pioneer. For this an entirely different temperament is requisite, as, indeed, it is an entirely different occupation. Sufficient attention has not perhaps hitherto been drawn to this fact, and consequently men have come from cultivated countries to the backwoods with altogether wrong impressions of the kind of work they were about to undertake, and have become hopelessly disheartened at circumstances with which, had they been prepared for them, they would have been able to cope. The work of the pioneer may be described briefly as con* sisting in pre-empting, occupying and improving Crown lands. Government land may be taken up by settlers in blocks of 160 acres per man, if west of the Cascade mountains, and 320 if east. It must be resided upon and improved; then, in four years, a title to it may be obtained •»--■ 20 British Columbia. on payment of $1 (4s. 2d.) per acre. After a certain amount of improvement in the way of clearing, fencing, draining, etc., has been made, and should the property be well situated, the pre-emption ranks as an improved farm and becomes a more or less valuable freehold, by the sale of which, should he be desire to part with it, the fortunate owner will be amply recouped for the outlay of his time and labour. It will be seen that the work of the most successful pioneer is always to a certain extent speculative. He goes in advance of a market, and trusts that in a few years time it will follow him. Those years have to be spent in a very rough and isolated life, so it requires a man of some deter, mination and energy, of an adventurous spirit and sound judgment, and, above all, of good robust health, to make a successful backwoodsman. Hitherto such have been found chiefly among immigrants from Eastern Canada. Brought up among the woods from their youth, skilled in every rough and ready method for overcoming the difficulties which the situation presents, expert at picking up a living by the chase and by rough farming they make the right sort of men to encourage to this undertaking. The writer has met individuals of this class who have prosecuted such work as a regular profession, never staying permanently on their various pre-emptions, never wishing to make a home except for a few years, and becoming steadily enriched by the prices they obtained for their farms as the edge of civilization reached them. There are great opportunities in the country for such men. The enormous extent of little known territory will undoubtedly gradually become settled, wherever the quality of the land justifies cultivation. Railways will be pushed in every direction where there is good land for settlement or valuable minerals to be extracted, and these railways will increase the value of all property in their neighbourhood a hundred fold. The present Government is anxious that the resources of the country should be thoroughly examined and developed. To this end survey parties have been sent into various Information for Emigrants. 21 remote districts in order to ascertain the extent of good and, to lay off townships, locate centres of distribution, and to aid by reliable information those who may wish to settle. As an instance of the success of this plan may be cited the exploration this summer—1890—of a region to the north of the Chilcotin country, hitherto little known except to a few fur traders and prospectors. Hundreds of thousands of acres of valuable land have been located in a beautiful country with an excellent climate, and there can be little doubt that at no very distant date a large and prosperous community will be established there. It would appear to the writer that good work might be done in such a case as the above by combined effort; that an emigration society might establish an entire settlement under conditions which would repay all outlay and return a good profit on the undertaking. Such schemes have been already attempted in the North- West, where the rigours of the climate, the extreme uncertainty of the harvest, and the prevalence of devastating fires and storms have rendered the venture a far more hazardous one than it could possibly be in British Columbia. Cattle Grazing. There is one branch of farming peculiar to the grass ranges of the Interior, where excellent facilities are afforded for its prosecution. The rolling hill-sides of the eastern slope of Coast range, and the many similar table lands found throughout this elevated region, are clothed with a natural grass of the most nutritious qualities. This, the famous " bunch grass | of the stock-raiser, provides a better feed than any pasture known. Unfortunately, in those districts which have been longest occupied, this invaluable grass has been in many places destroyed—-eaten out by overstocking. Where this has taken place it has been generally superseded by the sage bush, which although a tolerably good food, does not compare with the grass. Bunch grass is not found much to the north of latitude 53°, where it yields to red top, blue joint and other natural grasses. There are, however, excellent facilities for stock-raising 22 British Columbia. even so far north, for these grasses make good fodder, and grow to a height which makes it profita'ble to cut them for winter feed. Stock-raising is pre-eminently the farming of the rich man. It cannot, be engaged in successfully without considerable capital, and though the profits are large the risks are usually greater than those undertaken by the small farmer. Yet in none of its forms can farming be regarded as a risky occupation in this province. There are, of course, the vicissitudes of the seasons to expect, as elsewhere, but it is questionable whether any other country could be pointed out having greater immunity from the terrors of the farmer—drought, storm, and destructive pests. Chapter III. Mining There is no field in which enterprise may be more profitably employed than in the mining regions of British Columbia; there is none in which rash and imprudent attempts are more likely to be productive of disastrous results. Past experience has made the residents of this province exceedingly cautious of embarking in such operations, and with reason, for some of them have paid dearly for their experience. The comparative facility with which placer mining was carried on in the early days of the gold discoveries, and the success which attended these undertakings, induced many to turn their attention to the more serious and expensive work of quartz mining, buoyed up by the undoubtedly promising assays which on all sides rewarded the prospector Difficulties of transport and cost of development were not realized, and shares were readily taken in companies which, being formed in good faith, were yet of necessity subject to all the vicissitudes of mining enterprise in its infancy. Shareholders who had expected speedy dividends soon became disheartened, and failure was the inevitable result. Information for Emigrants. 23 A brighter period has dawned since railway construction. Men thoroughly competent to administer mining properties are coming into the country, and there is every reason to believe that the era of successful quartz operations has begun. Mining for the precious metals should not be regarded otherwise than as a perfectly legitimate undertaking. Where proper prudence is exercised good returns may be confidently anticipated; nor should the preliminary expenditure necessary to establish the value of a claim be so excessive as to preclude the attempts of men of moderate capital. It is only when the fever of expectation carries the public beyond all bounds that opportunity is afforded unscrupulous men of floating wild-cat schemes upon easily gulled speculators. Such a point has never yet been reached in this province. There is a great absence of speculation in mining properties, and those who undertake this form of enterprise do it with the honest determination of making the property, not shareholders, pay for their expenditure. No " wild-cat" has ever yet defaced the record of British Columbia mining men. British Columbia has been proved to be exceedingly rich in metalliferous deposits. This is only what might have been expected from its geographical position. The great metalliferous belts, which are found to correspond roughly with the axes of the Western mountain systems of the United States and Mexico, might be supposed to persist with the course of those upheavals through the province. This is undoubtedly the case, for wherever exploration has been made through the 1,200 miles of mountain ranges which traverse British Columbia, metal-bearin^ ledges have been discovered accompanying geological formations which correspond with those of like discoveries farther south. There are some notable exceptions to this rule due to local modifications in the mountain systems, but such variations, so far as has been ascertained, are, if anything, in favour of a wider distribution of the precious metals in the province. 24 British Columbia. The principal metalliferous regions of British Columbia, which extend laterally from the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains to the coast, and include the Selkirk, Purcell, Gold, and Cariboo mountains, the interior plateau,; and the Coast ranges, correspond roughly with the regions of the Cceur d'Alene and Bitter Root Mountains of Idaho and Montana, the Great Basin of Utah and Nevada, and the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Through these regions belts, more or less defined, occur containing valuable deposits of the base and precious metals, of which those in Cariboo—gold gravel and quartz; in the Selkirks—argentiferous galena, copper and associated ores; in the Nicola—gold and silver sulphurets; and in the canon of the Fraser, gold gravels—have been so far the most prospected. " Everything which has been ascertained of the geological " character of the province, as a whole, tends to the belief " that so soon as similar means of travel and transport shall " be extended to what are still the more inaccessible " districts, these also will be discovered to be equally rich *l in minerals, particularly in the precious metals, gold and " silver." (Dawson's "Mineral Wealth," p. IS, R.) Gold. Gold was first discovered in any considerable quantity in British Columbia in 1848 upon Queen Charlotte Island. Although large nuggets were at first obtained from a reef close to the waters' edge, this was soon found to dip into the sea, and after various disasters the enterprise was abandoned, some $20,000 of gold having been extracted. In 1858 the great gold discovery of the Eraser was made, and in the first two years several million dolk.'s' worth of the precious metal was obtained. A few years later, as the stream of mining prospectors penetrated further into the country, the Cariboo, Omineca, and Cassiar regions were respectively opened out. Subsequently small local discoveries have been made in various districts, and almost every year fresh sources of the gold supplyjcome to light. Altogether about $55,000,000 Information for Emigrants. 25 [have been taken out of the province, the present annual output amounting to from $500,000 to $600,000. The discovery and working of the rich placers of the Fraser are now matters of history. In the years 1858, 1859, a very large amount of gold was extracted, and something like theee million dollars' worth is considered a Moderate estimate of the amount derived from this source iince 1860. Although little is heard outside the province >f this industry now-a-days, there is still an annual output 1 between $100,003 and $300,000 (£20,000 to £40,000). The ricm benches which were abandoned when no longer -remunerative, offer a promising field of enterprise to bydraulicing companies. In their hands gravel which ;ould not possibly pay the individual miner to wash will, 10 doubt, eventually return large profits, as has been the jase in California, where by the aid of modern appliances ;he abmdonecl plasers hive been made to yield far larger and more constant supplies of the precious metal than ever whey did in the days of their first discovery. The gold discoveries of Cariboo, of Omineca, and Cassiar were a repetition of those on the Fraser, with even greater results. Enormous sums were taken out on Williams Creek in Cariboo, as much as fifty-two pounds weight per day having been secured in one claim alone for several days in 1862, and the average of that claim's earnings amounting to $2,000 per day through the entire season. In 1863 three claims on this creek yielded $300,000, and twenty claims produced steadily from 70 to 400 ounces per day. A more astonishing haul even than any of the above was made in one day's work on another claim upon the same ground, when 200 pounds weight of gold worth $38,400 (£7,680) was taken out. At the present day, although placer mining is still carried on in a limited way, Cariboo is looked to as the coming gold quartz district. Strong ledges have been prospected, and a good deal of work put upon them. An experimental reduction mill has been erected by the Government, which is anxious in every way to assist in the establishment of this industry. A railway will certainly 26 British Columbia. be introduced into the district shortly, means of cheap transport at present being the greatest bar to development] Silver and Base Metal Discoveries in Kootenay. During the process of railway construction through the; Selkirks valuable deposits of argentiferous galena and tetrahe- drite were discovered not far from the track. Several claims were taken up in the neighbourhood of the Illecillewaet, a mountain torrent which discharges into the Columbia neaa Revelstoke. Steady work has been done upon these properties, and there is every reason to expect a large production of ore from this source. The ores of the Illecillewaet District are chiefly argentiferous galena, running from 40 to 120 oz. silver per ton of 2,000 lbs., and from 50 to 70 per cent. lead. There| are also veins of tetrahedrite, or grey copper, which runs very high in silver, from 200 to 1,000 oz. Where this 1 latter is found associated with the galena the average of silver in the ore is raised proportionately. The veins occur with a general north-west strike and south-east dip so far as has been ascertained, though there are some strong cross courses, in a country rock of black slates and bedded limestones, probably of Cambro-Siiurian age. The gangue is chiefly quartz, calc-spar and decomposed earthy matter impregnated with oxides of lead. The slates abound in iron pyrites, and zinc is also found associated with the other ores. About $25,000 of ore was shipped to San Francisco in 1887-8, averaging 60 oz. silver and 70 per cent. lead. Further discoveries were made to the south, among the mountains bordering on the great lakes through which the Columbia flows. Of these the Toad Mountain camp is, perhaps, the most famous, very valuable deposits of high grade ore having been discovered there. The Hot Springs camp is also the centre point of rich discoveries, and there are many other claims, probably of equal value, in the neighbouring districts. Indeed, this region appears likely to become one of the most famous lead and silver producing districts on the American continent, to judge by the size Information for Emigrants. 27 and number of the veins and the high average grade of the ores. To indicate the high opinion formed in well qualified circles of the probable value of these discoveries, it may be mentioned that no less than four railway companies are seeking to provide them with facilities for shipment. A large smelter has been already erected at Revelstoke, land another is nearly completed at Golden, the two crossing points of the Canadian Pacific Railway over the Columbia. The ores of the Kootenay may be roughly classified as : 1. Low grade galena, strong veins occurring lowest down the mountains, running 5 to 30 oz. silver per 2,000 lbs. (as at Hendryx's camp.) 2. High grade galena, with oxides and carbonates of lead and wire silver; from 30 to 300 oz. silver (as at the Hot Springs' camp.) 3. Pyriteous copper ores, averaging from 200 to 700 oz. silver (as at the Toad Mountain camp.) "When sufficient is known of this region it is probable that these classes of ores will be found, as in other mining districts, to range in well defined zones parallel to the axes of the mountains in which they occur. Interior Plateau. The Highland District, between the Gold range on the East and the Coast range on the west, has been found to contain many indications of mineral riches. In the Nicola, considerable development has been made upon veins bearing iron and copper pyrites with galena, tetrahedrite and associated gold and silver sulphurets. At Rock Creek good hydraulicing claims are being worked. At Cherry Creek a valuable lead of very high grade argentiferous tetrahedrite was discovered some years ago, and a company is at present employed in exploratory work upon it. Many other prospects have been made in this extensive district, but with the exception of those mentioned not much development has been undertaken. Coal. Coal constitutes the most important mineral export of the province at the present day. 28 British Columbia. It was discovered upon Vancouver Island as early as 1837, and before 1850 some 10,000 tons had been mined by the Hudson Bay Company. Since that date about nve million tons have been extracted from the Vancouver Island coal measures, the output of the various mines during the past year totalling a value of no less than two and a half million dollars. The two principal sources of this coal are the Nanaimo mines, owned by the Vancouver Coal Company, and the Wellington mines, owned by Messrs. J. and A. Dunsmuir. The latter company have also recently opened the extensive coal field of Comox, their nbw mine, the " Union," being situated in that district. These mines together employ about 3,000 men. •^ The Vancouver Island coal measures are of cretaceous formation, and produce a very excellent bituminous ccal, the best at present known upon the Pacific coast. The seams are from 6 to 10 feet in thickness. The chief point of export is San Francisco, where they hold the market against all other coals imported. The Nanaimo coal district embraces an area of some two hundred square miles, that of Comox about three hundred square miles. The quantity of workable coal in the latter district has been computed at 16,000,000 tons per square mile. Excellent coal has also been discovered on the Queen Charlotte Islands, and successful borings have been made in other parts of Vancouver and on some of the adjacent islands, so that there is every reason to believe that many new collieries will be established at no very distant date. Upon the Mainland considerable deposits of lignite have been found in the districts of the Lower Fraser, also a good bituminous coal in the Nicola. These occur in the tertiary formations. Farther east, there has been an astonishing discovery of fine bituminous coal seams in the Crow's Nest pass of the Rockies (in the Kootenay District). Here fifteen seams have been found, two of which are respectively Jourteen and thirty feet in .thickness. This valuable property awaits railway construction to bring it within reach of a market. I Information for Emigrants. 29 Iron. Magnetic iron ores of a good quality have been found in several localities, but not much development has so far been done in this class of mining. The ores of Texada Island, a large island lying between the north-east shores of Vancouver Island and the Mainland, have been worked to a limited extent, present shipments aggregating about 10,000 tons per annum. The ore is of good quality, containing about 69 per cent, of iron and only .003 of phosphorus. It is found in lenticular masses about 25 feet thick, and is apparently very abundant. The country rock is a contact of limestone and granite. Other localities of its occurrence are Sooke, a district to the extreme south of Vancouver Island : Harriet Harbour, Queen Charlotte Island; Rivers Inlet, Hope, Nicola and Kamloops on the Mainland. Copper. Copper ore, in considerable quantity, in the form of pyrites, tetrahedrite, and native copper have, from time to time, been found in various parts of the province, but hitherto hardly any mining for that metal has been attempted. " In connexion with the mining of the precious metals, " the output of copper from British Columbia is likely " before long to become considerable, and it is only a ques- I tion of time till copper ores shall be worked as such." Platinum. Platinum has frequently been met with in the gold placers. The most remarkable discovery was at Granite Creek, in the Similkameen District of the Interior. Here some 3,000 oz. of the metal, in combination with osm- iridium, were secured during the years 1887, 188S. It would be beyond the scope of this work to enter more exhaustively into so technical a subject as that of mining. Very careful and complete data of explorations and development up to the present time have been supplied in a pamphlet issued by the Dominion Government, entitled § The Mineral Wealth of British Columbia," by Dr. 30 British Columbia. Dawson, of the Geological Survey Department of Canada.* This gentleman, to whom the thanks of all interested in mining matters in the province are due, has done more than anyone else to investigate scientifically the mineral deposits of the country, and the writer would advise those who seek further information upon the subject to obtain this work. It remains only to add a few remarks which may prove of use to any who are desirous of undertaking or investing in such enterprises. There are generally three classes of operators in quartz mining. There is the prospector, who is a man of local experience, acquired by continuous exploration, but who has no sufficient capital for systematic development. He hunts for good surface croppings, and when he has found one which, from the quantity of ore in sight, would appear to justify some labour being expended on it, he stakes out a claim 1,500 feet by 600 feet in that direction which he thinks will include most of the lcde. This he registers in the office of the Recorder of the district in which it occurs, and holds from the Government until he can secure a title, by doing $100 worth of development work upon it per annum. In this way he can obtain a title in five years. Then there is the small capitalist, who by obtaining an interest at the outset in some promising claim is induced to find the funds necessary for its development into something like a mine. And, lastly, there is the wealthy or influential mining man, who is able to command sufficient means to purchase and thoroughly work a developed claim. It is necessary to warn the prospector that men of this last class will rarely touch such properties as he may have to offer. Their operations are too extensive to be hampered by preliminary work, and their credit in the American and European centres of capital is too valuable to be hazarded on the possible failure that might attend these early efforts. It is to the small capitalists that he must turn; they are his best friends, and he should give them no reason to doubt his good faith, nor should he readily suspect these * Montreal, Dawson Bros., 1888. 25c. (Is.) Information for Emigrants. 31 whose interests are identical with his own of wishing to take advantage of him. Any one of practical experience in elementary mining will know how necessary are these cautions, for the amicable relations of the two classes are easily disturbed, on the one hand by the prospector conceiving that his partners are seeking to defraud him of his rights, or on the other by those who, at considerable pecuniary risk have attempted the development of a prospect, discovering that the original owner values them only so long as they can be plundered with impunity. It must be remembered also that the hazard of developing a claim absolutely precludes the expenditure of any large sum on its first purchase. Though the assays obtained from surface specimens of the ore run into the hundreds of dollars per ton, and though the ledge appears wide and well defined and rich in mineral, yet until a sufficiently large body of ore has been exploited to justify the outlay of capital upon outside works the property is practically of no value. It is, therefore, to the interests of all parties that, every dollar of the purchase money should be expended in judicious work upon the claim. Then, if success rewards the efforts of the miners, it is fair that the prospector should receive a good premium on his fortunate discovery. Chapter IV. Lumbering. The growth of the forest trees upon the north-west shores of the Pacific has always excited the surprise of travellers. The enormous dimensions attained to by the Douglas Fir (Abies Douglasii) and the Cedar (Thuja gigantea) are unequalled by any tree occupying corresponding latitudes in other countries. It is not, however, the excessive size of individual trees, but the very high average of the growth and quality of the timber, which has placed British Columbia in the first rank as a timber producing country. 32 British Columbia. "Whereas in the eastern lumbering districts of Canada and the United States, the timber limits average from 9,000 to 15,000 feet per acre, on the Island of Vancouver and the Mainland coast they run from 20,000 to 500,000 feet,f and a very moderate average estimate would be 30,000 feet per acre. Under 20,000 per acre, a timber limit would scarcely be considered worth acquiring. Douglas Fir. The principal timber cut is that of the Douglas Fir, which is justly celebrated as the best ship-building timber in the world, and is also largely used for all building purposes. It is exported to Australia, South America, and China. The latter trade, which has only of late years been initiated, bids fair to become of much importance in the future. There is great scarcity of lumber in China, and when once the possibility of obtaining supplies from this province becomes fully known the demand for it will undoubtedly be very considerable. At present there is a ceitain amount of prejudice against the use of a foreign article to be overcome, and an import duty, which is regulated per piece of lumber imported, has confined the trade to large baulks of timber, which are subsequently cut up on reaching their destination. The completing of the Nicaragua canal will greatly facilitate eastern transport, and will, no doubt, increase the volume of Atlantic trade in proportion. There is also a large and rapidly increasing trade with the province of Manitoba and the North-West Territories, which are becoming verv considerable consumers of British Columbia lumber. The Douglas Fir attains to a height of over 300 feet. The circumference of the largest specimens, six feet above T Messrs. King & Casey, prominent loggers in the province, have actually cut and measured 508,000 feet of timber on an acre in the Comox district, and this case has been paralleled upon other occasions. When it is considered that, contrary to the custom in the Eastern Provinces, where every tree down to 4 inches in diameter is cut, those under 2 feet or over 7 feet in diameter are rarely felled, the much greater average growth on this Coast will at once be apparent. Information for Emigrants. 33 the ground, has been found to range from 30 to 50 feet. These, as has been previously stated, are not of much commercial importance at present, since they cannot be moved and sawn economically when of so great a size. The best trees average about 160 feet to the first limb, and are in the neighbourhood of 70 inches in diameter at the butt, which is now cut about four feet above the ground. Formerly eight or ten feet was the height at which trees were cut, but since the saw has superseded the axe this height has been reduced and a corresponding saving in each log has been effected. These splendid sticks are found perfectly free from shakes and flaws, straight and sound all through. The lumber cut from the Douglas Fir is admirably adapted, as has been stated, for all purposes in which strength, elasticity, and even quality are desiderated. It constitutes about 85 per cent, of all which passes through the mills, and the supply is practically unlimited. The fine British Columbia spars familiar to yachtsmen are of this wood, and it would astonish those who pay from £4:0 to .£60 a piece for them if they could see the abundance in which they grow in their native woods. Cedar. The Cedar, which exceeds in picturesque grandeur every other tree in the province, attains to a girth greater even than that of the Douglas fir. Specimens have been measured from 60 to 80 feet in circumference several feet above the ground, their wide-spreading roots greatly increasing the area which they occupy. All cedars of any considerable size and age decay at the heart, and this decay gradually spreads until a mere shell is left supporting an apparently vigorous tree. The wood of the cedar is employed chiefly for fine dressed lumber, doors, frames, sashes, etc. The veining is very beautiful, which renders it well adapted for all interior work, and it is now being extensively used in Eastern Canada and the United States for that purpose. Cedar posts and rails are also in great request, as they are of all woods the most durable and least affected by weather, requiring no 34 British Columbia. paint and remaining for years, even in damp ground, without rotting. The Hemlock (Tsuga Mertensiana) is a handsome tree, which grows in some localities in great abundance. Although inferior to the two former, it makes useful lumber for building purposes, and its bark is of great valuo for tanning. The Oak (Quercus Garryana), which grows plentifully upon the gravelly soils of the southern extremity of Vancouver Island, attains under favourable circumstances to a considerable size, is a very striking feature of the landscape, but is not of much value commercially, as it is brittle and frequently flawed. The Spruce (Picea Sitchensis) grows in swampy places, inhabiting delta lands and similar situations. It enjoys the monopoly of the salmon cases and fruit boxes, for which purposes it is in good demand. Its high quality as a boat building wood is also well known. Of the other trees the most useful are the Cyprus, the maple, and the alder, all of which are employed extensively in the manufacture of furniture. The second of these is the most beautiful of the deciduous trees, and grows in some localities in great abundance, resembling the sycamore, but with more massive foliage. It must be understood that though there are dense forests throughout the interior, the valuable timber areas to which reference has been made are chiefly confined to the humid a/ regions of the coast. Climate appears to have more influence on the growth of trees than soil, large trees frequently growing in situations which make it a matter of surprise whence they can derive sufficient nutriment, while others, apparently living under much more favourable circumstances, attain to only moderate dimensions. But granted the peculiar adaptability for forest growth of these shores, there can be little doubt that the law of the survival of the fittest has much to do with the result attained. When tree has struggled against tree for count- less generations in dense forests where only those which attain to a superior height secure the best advantages of Chapter V. The Fisheries. Information for Emigrants. 35 sun and air, it stands to reason that a race of giants will be fostered, the most lusty and rapid of growth in each generation surviving, and producing the most healthy and numerous offspring. Timber limits, or forest areas suited to the requirements of the lumberman, are leased from the Government at a low price per acre, under conditions of actively working them. Ten cents per acre per annum rent is charged. Fifty cents per thousand feet cut, with a rebate of 25 cents per M exported out of the province is the royalty. Each mill is allowed to lease limits up to 400 acres per M. per diem, producing capacity. Thus a mill sawing 20,000 feet a day might lease 8,000 acres, at a rent of $S00 (£160), paying $10 a day royalty, or $5 if the gross output were exported. There is a steady demand for labour in the lumber trade. All strong men who can handle an axe may find employment at high wages. Messrs. King and Casey pay their hands from $50 to $100 (£10 to £20) per month and board. These have to be first rate men, average wages at the mills running from $45 per month. Old country hands are not in as good demand as men from Eastern Canada and the States, for these latter understand far better how to use an axe, and are more at home in the woods. Many backwoodsmen take up land, having excellent facilities for locating good claims, and improve them during their spare time when they are not working in the woods. Thus they get a good homestead almost for nothing, where their families can live and increase their income by farming while the father is earning good wages at another occupation. f! Attention has repeatedly been drawn of recent years to the abundance and excellent quality of the food fishes in the seas of the North Pacific, and especially in the Archipelago of British Columbia. Notwithstanding this, even ."36 British Columbia. the local market is but indifferently supplied by a few Scotch, ^Greek and Italian fishermen, and in one branch only of the industry has any considerable progress been made. A fishing population is perhaps the most difficult to transplant. Peculiarly inured to hardship, they are the last to yield to the force of adverse circumstances; and skilled in the local navigation of their own coasts, they are not easily persuaded to exchange the known for the unknown, to forfeit their experience and to begin life over again in a new country. Yet probably to no class of labour does this province offer so tempting a field and so certain a remuneration as to the fisheiman. Here he will find a steady and increasing market at paying prices. He will find a great plenty of salable and easily caught fish; and he will find facilities unequalled elsewhere for establishing a home in which his family may thrive and be happy. The Salmon. The exception to which reference has been made in speaking of this neglected industry is that of salmon canning. The salmon of British Columbia has acquired perhaps the widest reputation of any product of the province. Canned salmon, indeed, may be considered at present the best advertising medium of the country, for it penetrates into regions where the source of its origin is otherwise wholly unknown. Unfoitunately, mankind in general are so little curious as to the source of their food supplies, that probably not cne in every hundred of those who consume canned salmon, troubles to^ enquire whence or how that delicacy is obtained. It is difficult to persuade those who have never witnessed the sight, of the existence of a river swarming at certain periods with large fish, which may be plainly watched excitedly jostling their way past every obstruction until the last survivors of the struggle are found in remote streams five or six hundred miles frcm the sea, haggard and worn, bright scarlet in colour, their scales scraped off against rock and gravel, but still in sufficient numbers to Information for Emigrants. 37 almost fill the waters, and to become the parents of other countless myriads which in their turn will one clay repeat the scene. Year by year, at stated seasons, this sight presents itself to travellers on the Canadian Pacific Railway. It is the great salmon run of the Fraser river, and is duplicated upon every river and stream of the coast of British Columbia. There are three principal migrations each year of these remarkable fish,—the winter and spring run of "tyhee" salmon, the summer run of the "sockeye," and the autumn run of the "cohoe" varieties. The Tyhee, or spring salmon (Oncorhynchus Chouicha,) is the finest, of a flavour and delicacy equal to the best Scotch fish. The tyhee runs in all the larger rivers of the province from between November and March. It varies in size from a two-pound grilse to an eighty-pound salmon. Twenty or thirty pounds is a fair ordinary size. The Sockeye (0. Nerka), which, as has been stated, is not quite so choice a fish as the former, is nevertheless the commercial salmon of the coast. It is a fine, dark-fleshed fish, averaging from five to fourteen pounds, of good flavour, though rather dryer and less rich in curd than the tyhee. It runs through July and August, upon the Fraser, the Skeena, and many other streams, but is much more local in its distribution than the first named fish, and is said never to be found in a river which does not issue from a lake. The prodigious numbers of the sockeye in a good run on the Fraser cannot be estimated. The mouth and lower reaches of the river during the run present an appearance of great activity. Early in the morning hundreds of boats may be seen drawing in the nets, and bringing loads of bright silver fish to the cannery wharves. There they are tossed up, caught and counted, and rapidly passed into the factory, where, in an incredibly short time, their heads and tails are cut off, they are opened, cleaned, tinned and steamed by a large stall, chiefly composed of Indian women and Chinese. ■ 38 British Columbia. This third variety (0. Kisutch) is found in all streams in September, and is in no way inferior to the sockeye. It is followed in turn by the hooknose, and in some localities the humpback, but these have no commercial value, and are rarely eaten except by the Indians. The salmon pack from all the canneries has this year amounted to about 400,000 cases, a slight decrease from the previous season, when about 435,000 were put up. The price per case has fallen considerably, a circumstance which, however much it may be regretted so far as it affects the year's profits, cannot but produce an increase in the demand for the fish, and a subsequent corresponding development of the trade. The most valuable commercial fish, next to salmon, is undoubtedly at present the dog fish, of which there are two; one (Squalus Acanthus), about three feet in length, and one locally known as the Tope shark, which averages about six feet. Their value consists in the excellent lubricating oil which they yield, and which is extensively used throughout the province and the interior of Canada. The high tariff practically excludes it from the States, where a mineral oil is chiefly employed for the same purpose. Of the food fishes of British Columbia the variety is so great as to exclude particular mention. Among them may be mentioned the Skil, commonly called the black cod (Queen Charlotte Islands), a very fine large deep-water fish, which weighs up to twenty or thirty pounds, and is beginning to come into favour as a salt fish of delicate flavour. The Bock Cod, a first rate table fish, found on all the coast. Tho Red Cod, which is capital stuffed and baked. The Halibut, very plentiful up to 600 pounds weight; identical with the British variety. The Sturgeon, only made use of as a fresh fish; weighs up to 1,000 pounds, and is good eating. The Oolachan, a particularly rich little fish of fine flavour, from which an oil is extracted. Information for Emigrants. 39" Anchovy. Capelin. Smelt. Herring. All first rate pan fishes. And of Shellfish, the Crab, Prawn, Shrimp, Clam, Cockle, Muscle, and Oyster. This last, of which there is great abundance, is small, but in the writer's and many of his friends' opinions, one of the best oysters in the market, and more choice and delicate than any Eastern variety. In good situations they attain to a plumpness and flavour which is unrivalled except by the best natives. The peculiar advantages of this province for the pursuit of fishing industries are not confined to the abundance of fish which may be caught, nor to the excellence of the average quality. The fact which ought, perhaps more than any other to commend itself to fishermen, is the safety and comfort of the occupation upon these inland waters in so temperate a climate, compared with the danger and hardship which he has to face elsewhere. The islands off the coast of Vancouver Island have numerous little landlocked bays and coves where a boat may ride safely in all weather, and where a fisherman's family, within reach of Victoria or Nanaimo, can live with comfort, cultivating a little farm, the produce from which may be taken off to market with the fish whenever required. The sea will provide as much fishing as can possibly be wanted, and no disastrous storms need be dreaded to break in upon the happiness of the home.f Should his circumstances be such as to preclude the purchase of boats and nets, the writer would advise the intending emigrant to time his arrival with the opening of the salmon season, when he will be pretty certain to obtain employment, and will earn enough money over and above his keep to go someway towards the purchase of an outfit, T The atmosphere of this province will be fonnd to he peculiarly favourable for prosecuting fish curing operations. Salmon and halibut can be dried m slices in the open air without any o.her preparation, which, inch ed, is the con anon method pursued by the natives, and is entirely successful in the result. .1 40 British Columbia. when the run is over. A family of brothers succeeded, in this way, in establishing themselves with hardly any capital, and although inclined upon their first arrival to be disheartened at life so far from their old home in Scotland, now consider British Columbia a fisherman's paradise. In reference to this temporary discouragement of the •emigrant, the writer may say that he has never yet met with one in any condition of life who has not at first endured a period of apparent disappointment. Whether it be that proper information is not sought, that false hopes •are foolishly aroused by the reckless language of friends, •or that—as the writer suspects in most cases—homesickness is as certain to attack the emigrant as a new boy in a boarding school, there is nearly always a time when regret is felt and expressed for ever having left the I old home." But for the benefit of those who may anticipate this •disagreeable malady, the writer would say that he has haidly ever met with a case which was not followed by a pleasant reaction, when the patient, in the enjoyment of health, steady occupation, and every reasonable comfort, has learnt to regard in their true light the benefits he enjoys in comparison with the sacrifice he has made, It is also a point well worthy of the consideration of emigrants that the abundance of fish and the ease with which they may be caught in the creeks, streams and lakes secures a certain and wholesome food supply to the settler, be he professional fisherman or not. Chapter VI. Sealing and Fur Trading. No reference has as yet been made to the above important industries, for they lie somewhat outside the track of the •emigrant. There are already some thirty schooners engaged in the seal fisheries, employing about five hundred men, and returning an annual yield of from $200,000 to $300,000. Information for Emigrants. 41 It is a matter much disputed, as is well known, whether or no the fur seal is being threatened with extinction. Opinions are freely advanced on both sides, since many conflicting interests are at stake, but the point cannot be said to have been scientifically determined. It is otherwise, however, with the fur-bearing animals of the forest and plain. There can be very little reason to doubt that the more valuable ones are becoming scarcer year by year, and that those who are already employed in the pursuit are probably quite sufficient to secure the annual harvest of skins, without danger of extinguishing the supply. The avenues of trade and manufacture, other than may be immediately connected with the great staples of the province—Farming, Mining, Lumbering and the Fisheries —are such as may be found in any growing community. Wholesale and retail trade is well represented, though with a rapidly increasing population there is necessarily a corresponding extension of business and opportunity afforded for the establishment of new houses. It is clear, however, that no advice can be given on this point, and that success will be due to the particular qualifications of the individual. In home manufactures a great development has been mide of recent years, and ironworks, furniture factories, soap works, brick yards; woollen, rice and flour mills, breweries, tobacco factories, and potteries are successfully in operation. Yet one cannot fail to be struck by the fact, on examining the returns of the Minister of Customs, that heavy duties are annually being paid for many articles which might profitably be produced in the country. The inauguration of such industries must, however, be left to the enterprise of individuals, who will be able best to decide for themselves what prospects of remuneration are afforded in their especial occupations. c ■ 42 British Columbia. Chapter VII. General Considerations as to the Introduction of Capital and Labour into a New Country. In the preceding pages it has been shown that the natural resources of British Columbia are to a great exttnt undeveloped, and that the province could support a population in comfort and prosperity vastly greater than the present one. "When this condition exists in a country it is manifestly to the interest of the Government to force its capabilities by increasing the number of its producers and consumers, even if it were for no higher motive than that which leads a farmer to increase the number of cattle upon an understocked farm. But when, as in the present day, the deplorable spectacle is exhibited of the older world, in which the avenues of capital are blocked by over-production, and in which the labourer is starved by over population, it becomes no longer a matter of interest only, but of duty, to draw the surplus in a direction where it may be profitably employed. The chief difficulty which presents itself to those who -are anxious to assist in emigration is to secure a just proportion between the labour and the capital which they are seeking to introduce. For if the labour should exceed the capital ready to employ it, the labourer will suffer; or if the capital be in excess, it will be no longer capable of profitable employment and can return no increment, and this condition, though temporary, would prove of considerable embarrassment to many. Great caution has, therefore, necessarily to be exercised in inviting the right class of emigrants in just proportion. Nor is much help afforded by the emigrants themselves. The labouring man who hears that he can obtain ten shillings a day for his services, does not stop to enquire who is to pay him, and often does not trouble to write for any information, but presents himself destitute at the immigration office under the impression that work must immediatelv be forthcoming. Information for Emigrants. 43 Among a more educated class there is generally found to be extreme reluctance to leave the beaten paths of life until driven by actual force of circumstances. When every resource has failed and ruin stares him in the face, then, and not till then, will a man talk of emigrating, as if a mere change of habitat would reverse every misfortune, and as if none but Adullamites were welccme in a new country. If, on the other hand, he had otily had the courage to transfer his interests to a profitable field while he had anything left to transfer, he would have been spared a great deal of suffering and loss, and he would have found that the little capital he was able to bring with him would at once have placed him in a position which it Avould be years before he could hope to occupy without its assistance. Again, in seeking to influence capital, it is found that there is nothing more absolutely the sport of fashion and caprice than the investment of money in foreign securities. Millions of pounds of English capital are annually plunged into the investment of the moment, whether it be African colonization schemes, American syndicates, or Argentine bonds. And for no other reason than that it is the craze of the moment. No doubt, the same thing will happen with reference to this province. The mines, or the fisheries, or some land venture, will catch the public favour, then nothing will be talked of but British Columbia investments, and every facility will be afforded adventurers of impairing the reputation of the country by floating bubble companies. But, until that time comes, must the British investor remain in ignorance of the possibilities of profitable investment within the boundaries of the Empire, and must the development of the country be retarded by lack of the necessary capital? Of course, if time be given it, a country will, no doubt, gradually develope its own resources up to their extreme limit, and it is plain that the inhabitants can far better afford to wait for that time than their more crowded neighbours. But there is no reason why, considering the congestion of capital and labour in one part of 44 British Columbia. the Empire, those conditions should be allowed slowly to evolve themselves in other parts, which it would be to the benefit of all to hasten by every legitimate means. Capital, under the same law and government, should find its level like water, and it is plainly detrimental to the best interests of any nation that its available wealth should bo squandered in millions upon the development of alien countries, while the resources lying within the limits of its own territory remain unemployed. What, it may be gravely asked, is the practical use of the so-called dependencies of Great Britain, if they are not to provide a natural field for the expansion of the surplus energies of the Mother Country ? But although there is occasionally manifested a keen desire to avail themselves of this field, when impecunious relations, scapegrace sons, or homeless waifs need eliminating from their immediate neighbourhood, it must be acknowledged that there is little dispoiition among British capitalists to select a sphere for their investments under their own flag. On the contrary, they rush headlong, like a flock of sheep, into every venture outside the empire that presents itself, never pausing to enquire whether more solid inducements may hot be found nearer home. But can it for one moment be imagined that a sentimental attachment will be forever exhibited by those on the circumference of theE npire while those who are at the centre seldom allow their feelings to confine their interests within its circle? It is surely idle to talk of Imperii! Federation as a scheme of government, as if by adding to the machinery of legislation ties would bind more closely, and the conflicting forces of commercial life would thereby be lulled to rest. Federation, to be anything more than a name, must be a union of interests. While every obstacle is put in the way of the profitable interchange of commodities between the integral parts of the Empire, there will be a continual tendency towards dissolution, no matter how specious an appearance of unity may be outwardly preserved. Interests ' Information for Emigrants. 45 are divergent, and so soon as a sufficient accumulation of interests compels it the cord of sentiment will be sundered. But if it were possible—and there is no reason why it should not be possible—for men throughout the Empire to regard their interests as identical, for those who have the capital, as well as the labour, to strive together with those whose wealth is potential and whose fellow labourers are few, towards the development of the ample resources of their common heritage, then a new era of prosperity, more sound because more national, would arise, there would be a continual drawing together of the ties which bind the old and the new portions of Greater Britain, there would be a continual and discriminating interchange of social and commercial relations, and the dream of the federationisfc would be realized. The American Republic has already set the world an example of how to foster national sentiment over vast areas of territory by creating common sympathies of trade and commerce. It is for the mother and her younger daughters to learn the lesson from their elder sister. Let them practice a real federation of interests; let them seek in every way to know and respect each other better; let the rich and poor unite in building a more lofty commonwealth, and Britannia shall yet rule over distant seas, nor sink into slavery, dependent upon the wage of starving labourers and upon the increment of other nations' wealth. The tables in the Appendix will afford the emigrant information as to the trade, climate and resources of the province, from recent trustworthy sources. Attention is especially drawn to those on Mineral Assays and Strength of Timber. r Appendix. 47 \\ «o >» »-* «4 r—4 •y 0) o & o o fc a> CO **-* ^M 43 & 52 c 00 " oo co .a o » co •-^ 03 00 QJ C$ *M •OS k* ** (M +^> ctf frj .t~COiC«O P Oj co 'COON^NOIOOIMW* 00OINiO01®NOO00OM °00 HOOOOOOOOO^HlON TO 03 CO » co 0) ooo CCS •■-4 •■-* .i-H » 1*3 t— >QOt> t~- » »D co'i^of oooooo oo oo oo o3 •i-t a 00 30 >-. s< ei _, si s* s-. eS co co co 59 Q) o & v o o o c c c a c k£5 lO CS "* 00 CD !* t-1 h-t- CO 00 CN CM CM IN 00 00 00 oo 00 00 00 00 eS a c-0 3 « « , CO I. ™ g •-« X • CO CO t*. r.-S o r a» 2* =o o-is - o 3 ffo.o co ^SmS-^St^-'ScoO^P 3 o Vl cj a o o o cu co 00 »< O C >4 CO (3 S-i CO -»3 '3 a -»3 CO ci O O O 43 c3 .£3 ■*» a" ci fan a o CO o g a c3 CO 00 CO u o CO T3 O co CO - £•£ CO 43 t-l O -»3 ci 43 /f #1 48 Appendix. # a m a G> o OO bo oo CO rH r* o .a « ci 43 o O Ph rH o CO bo PO S ci o PS a cq ci (4 H fe S ci (-H ^ CO S H OS F—t o ci oa OS +3 H lO CO CO .£ 0 Hi fN £-1 i i—I CO 43 CO w bO a )2i a o o H i M CO .a H <1 •* % UJ . & i- CM o •^ O 43 «—1 H ^ TJ <1 r—1 CO o fc o OS 3 T3 P=i Tj< CO H • -rt c ci co ci co CO O ,Q ci 43 CO CO eo eo co a o ci w © © r-l CM C © eo cm r-< t~ o O b- © id © CD© 00 r-i eo .* hi cm eo eo £-rH m M1" m o CM © O • ffilO OOHC1IJJO US CO CM „? ^rH eo > o SO £35 131 CM © ©' CO CM iOOCOhO ir -HI © r-i © OS hi ^j co eo in co Hi CO OS in CM H) CD • • •' (NHN • • • I Hn ... . • • | SO © rH © CM © rH WSOrH • co rH £2 CM **. H CJ o 00 O CO H< O OS CO CM N!SOO>CO> CM Hi rH OS 00 © m „, t- so © h» co oo os 00 !>. 00 ■*c'oid M-1 NO'* r^ r-i SO t^CMfr-©© © CO r-l _• 2" s H ■ P. H 1- 00 CO u.S O 03 eo CM CO © © •* Hi 00 m ^ t- gj co hi oso: in tO T CM CO ©'t-r-" 1 00 t © H< "» rH © © © CO oo m t- T-H © © t- © •* © CM » < ie* HI JO r-i rH O OS CO CM rH 00 CD © © © od cc in hi t~ os o ^ oo "* co ^i © in cm i_^ © rH eo cd oo rH : . : j . • . CM © CO • • .11-11-1 : ; : 1 H< r-i © © H< © cm i°. 3 < tji © CM CO CD OS eo cm oo Hi o o r-i m r-i CO H in rA oi m <- i— eo co ■** © © >c; CO Hi © CM* ©' CM © 00 © CM CM O ©©©CM © CMSO Hi rH -^ © rH gi> CM © P3 1 *sh o .o CM rH © Os eo cm oo oo © o oo oo ■* ^ co eo >n co C3S L— CO TC rH © rH . ; | © CO CO r-i rH OlNH-iiOO CO .O Hi • H< —i 3 CM " &H CM rH CO CD ©' os co sg HNOOXm © co hi in h" io H" ^ m CM H* CO rH t>. © CM © © H* O4 CO © © © r-i rH CM rH CM © .!—1 r^ © « co ^; COrH £2 l ^ in hi da' CO CM OS t- © © © rH in rH i-^ ■* os cm eo ^ •* cm co co OS 00 CO © in co id rH 00 r-i © © CO CM CM © H«J>. CM © © H( © CO C 00 H" CM • CM ^ ■ B • O •T3 CO 4-1 CO ci cq fl 5 = 3 co ci ■—i f-t "^ co *•« f\\ CJ ij "J 5! ^ CO Cj H CO C > ci O CO ,Q • a • • • ci • • ! * ' _J • CO • • . . - -a fl "S '-^ * »-^ * . . . "2 3 • ci . OS . ; ; £3 a • ? • •" 05 „ —< . . . i Maxi Minii Belo n fel day's •Mm DO " '. goo Sap A ci ci a co co ainfall. bove or ays Rai reatest r^-» e a co a "H eoOQ t» 43 „ S* ci £? o co >> a sh ci >»C«T3 S w ^ 5?SS CCy CO Wh Remarks.—Mean temp, for year, 51.1; being 3.2 above yearly mean. I Rainfall, 46.16inches; being 12.37 below mean of 16 years. Days rain fell, 199; ab^ve mean, 8. Snowfall, 16.5 inches. ' Days snow fell, 14. Cloudy days, 134. Fair days, 127. Clear days, 104. January, moist and mild, snow and sleet. February, very mild. March 5th, swallows and frogs. April 11th and 19th, white frost; 21st, lightning and thunder. May 1st, lightning and thunder; 31st, mock suns. June 1st and 2nd, mock suns; 14th, highest freshet, 9 ft. 1 in.; very low. July, smoke and fog; fires ; 21st, heavy run of salmon. August 1st, smoke and fog; fish continue ; 15th, rain off and on until end of month; heaviest run of fish for years. September 9th, hail and rain ; new snow on mountains; 11th, frost on sidewalks ; 12th, small tidal wave; 29th, heavy S.E. gale. October 6th, robins, geese, ducks; 20th, slight earthquake at Port Moody; 27th, worms in rain gauge. November 2nd to 6th, fogs; 17th, tremendous circular gale from S. E., trees down by hundreds; 22nd, first general frost. December Sth, snow; 19th, lightning; 29th, ice on river; sleighing; 31st, river fast; total snow on ground, 11 iriches. A. PEELE, Captain. ] Appendix. 49 co Eh O Ph i M p o ft OS 00 <3 1—1 r=T w 43 o H CO Ph oc o jH h rH r-0 W M &D O W ■ rH Ph -HrHi—lt»©r-l lOCMHIOnOOTOHIHiOusHI©!:!© — OI^Ol- CD r- I- CM © © ■— 00©©00CMHICO00©©COrH O no CM f- © © 00 00 Hi „ © © © i—I 00 m m HI © r— © TP © . . 00 © /) Hi r- © J>- CM •.^s 'JO 00 t- t~ t~- t~ t-. CM CO rH r-i 'JO © t~ r-H—ICMCMrMCMCMCMCMCMeOCOCOCOCMeoCOHi© o o a © r— co Hi © Hi in i-h hi •"/> 00 © © © © NCMtocoKx-Hi-noa ©^ CM--H11-HH1 — rHCMOO i-H © HI Hi © 00 © 00 © CM I © CM rH © CM 00 O bo CM"^©I^OCO'M©COOO©i—'lOHJNlffHH HI 00 © CM /J00©O-r"-HHI©HiCM3:oe0V'> -HOOCM)>~©OHimOOCM©t-J>-CO©CM©00 CM™©"oT SO so" esfcd" ccTr-Tof rH^cTl^-hT rH CM rH OCM©OJ^-©Hli-H00H,©H1©HI00©©© © © ^ rH CM © ■— t^t— KiMO>O>»Hi(MC000 t~CMCC00©30CO©'MHiHlCOI.— COCMr-ijt.'© ir" os* cT —T oT c? t-^ oo oT cd"o"i>^ i-" hT of -~" od i M rHincii—'CMCOin©CO©©'TOt~-H»>3 00 — © CMCMCOHlCOCMCMCMSOeOSOCMCM-HICOCOCOeO CO CO o t~©©oo©(M©©Hit-in-HiOi-i r> cf Hi'id rH oT rHr-iCO©I^00CM(^©t~©C;ir;©©MH1Hl CMCMCMCMCMCMCOCMCMrHCOHIHlc~irHCMHiHI 4& p 2 O ft o M 02 H EH HH ® co ^3 t '00©00eO©e0C~HICO>Or-i'M(M©©CO. ©©r-iO0CO©Hi©rH00"S00i>-t^ lCr-J'M t-C0rH0>e0©00"HIHI©©e0C0©©ir:O© t~ co" hT co" —* id co eo" r—' © cd of oT t-^ co" cT hT eo" SO HI i—'CONOC-I COr-1 I~-CO©CM-*-rH©© r-i rH rH HI © CO HI © CO 00 t-© © rH © *& i-T rH CO a H ©CM©H-C500i-HCM©©'^©l^00©©r-icM,^-tiiO©t--r^©© J>t-r-i-t-t^£~l~nr->0OO00Q0000O0O0O0O0© 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 OO OO OO OO /> OO "00 00 0000 50 Appendix. h I Ps V-> a CO a o o co g o ■a CO a CO CO Ti o o O co o CO o O Q • © ■ © * o ■ *- ■ HI • rH • Hi o • H> • © • ■M • 00 Hi • i—! HI • © • CO CM . CM . © . CO 00 HI . O eo . t—t 00 CO eo . eo . HI . HI t# . . • o CM so" o Hi © CM CM HI HI • © • eo • O • *- • CM • t~ ■ rH Hi • Hi © . © . 00 . m . 00 . HI . "* : • • © . 00 © 11 H © Hi © HI SO Hi 00 «n © CM 0^ t* HI HI i-i © CM © T-i © rH 1~ o co CD © IO i- CO © HI cm in m © .- t~ r-i r-i "ci O CM HI © © r-H ic © © i— t- r-i rH t~ Hi © rH © © r-i t-Tof © in 00 © <~ t- hToT CD SO CJ Hi i> HI 1- rn © t— o © CM i^ t— HI © © rH Hi CM CO © t~ HI r-i 00 in © CO 00 H t~ O HI r-i © rH rH i—l CM rH © rH Hi CM t-eo r-H CM CM CM CM (M CM CM CM rH m= ' •a o o O CO CO T3 o o O h-m HI -*> HI HI r-l H> © © 00 CM © HI © r-i rH CM CO r-i © rH ©o H> © rA 'n o CO rH HI c^i in CM © IO I- © |-H *-:*! CO © © r-i rH © ©I> CO I—1 ©£- © © HI © © rH CO CM t-^id rH CO !CI> i^oT © CO t- hi © HI . CM orT CM t— © CM o t- r- © © r- © CM H" © CO Hi CM 00 CM © HI 00 rH © eo © rH .t- rH CO i-h CO rH © rH rH CM CM CO c©= & 1 rH . CO . - . Hi . CD CO CM . rH . r-i . r-i o • © - © ' HI ' 1— ' {—•. ' in ' t- • HI " HI * © ' © " 1— " id*oT t-» Hi 00^1 *»oa 00 © CM t- ■Hi © © HI Hi Hi Hi CM ©t- © t— CM HI eo 00 CM ! 00 CM eo cm H< © *"* CDHl' ©"©" eot- IH ©CM HI 00 CM "M rH 00 © ©^© © '8 Hi HI t^ © 00 CM r-H © CD © Hi 00 co CO l>» co i>— 1 CO HI | -eg © © 00 CM "0 00 CM ©CM ©"hi" CM © hTjC © CM © 00 © M 1 Hi 00 HI cD HI CO CM r-i <-> © t>- © CM © in t~ 00 • CO j CM © CM . Hi . CM 0 © . r-i Jt- 00 co • in CO © HI SO • co : : so © I— SO © © CO HI © © © Hi CO csT © © eooo © t~. ©r~ CM HI CM r-H t~ Hi CM © CO © 00 00 Os in © in © CM r^ CM L~ © CM CM CM hi © CM 00 © r-H H1 cTof r~ hi CM Cb ©r~ © fci OS* CO CM OS Hi eo -m HI 00 00 CM .n Hi © © Hi 00 Hi os© 1— r~ © © © m m t^ Hi CM CO HI hi CO CO CO © HI §p Hi 00, 00 00, CO CO 1> co 00 00 00 00 © 00 o Yi m o o bo a o co CO a o o -a a ci 0 (71 ca a 0 0 ci -M Ph 43 ci O a J"5 CO O CO CO CO .a J3 4-J H-3 Cft ?£ CO O rl 43 CO 43 a ci ■H-f TJ O -w O co Eh CO I 52 Appendix. FARM PRODUCE, Which is imported, from the United States chiefly, and which might readily be srrown within the Province. Grains and Meal. Fruit and Vegetables. Meat,. Dairy and Poultry Yard. Total. Duty. $181,722 $57,496 $88,218 $125,505 $452,941 $74,568 This does not include the importation from Canada, which in some lines is very heavy; nor canned goods, which arc also largely consumed. Average Price obtained, by the Farmer on the Coast of B. C. for Grains, &e. Hay (Timothy), per ton of 2,000 lbs $18 00 to $22 00 Wheat, 11 Oats, per cw Barlev, Peas. Roots, per ton Potatoes, Hops, per lb. 30 00 to 35 00 1 35 to 1 50 1 35 to 1 75 1 75 to 2 CO 8 00 to 10 00 2J 00 to 30 00 OS to 12 WAGES IN BEITISH COLUMBIA. Stonecutters, stonemasons, and bricklayers , Their labourers Plasterers Carpenters and joiners Ship caipenters and caulkers Cabinet-makers and upholsterers Painters Shoemakers Tailors , Tailoresses Bakers (with board and lodging) Butchers (cutters) Slaughterers Cigarmakers Boys, as strippers, etc Printers . Waggon-makers Tinsmiths, plumbers, and gasfitters Machinists, moulders, pattern and "boiler-makers, and blacksmiths Longshoremen Female domestic servants per day. 2 CO to 2 50 per day. 4 00 to 4 50 ,, 3 00 t'O 3 50 „ 4 00 to 5 00 ,, 3 00 IS 3 50 to 4 00 2 00 to 3 00 „ 2 50 to 3 00 „ 1 00 to 1 50 65 00 per month. 75 00 to 100 00 ,, 75 00 J> 2 50 to 4 00 per day. 2 00 to 5 00 pet week. 45 & 50 cts. a 1000 ems. 3 50 to 4 00 per day. 3 50 to 4 00 „ 4 00 to 4 50 ,, 50 cents an hour. 12 00 to 25 03 per month. Appendix. 53 LIST OF EETAIL PEIOES Of ordinary articles of Food and Maitnent. PROVISIONS. Bacon $0 18 per ft. Bread, white and brown 08 • ,, Butter, salt SO „ Butter, fresh 40 „ Beef,' mutton, and veal 124 to 15 „ Pork. 12£tol6 „ Beer 10 per quart. Candles 20 per lb. Cheese 20 „ Coffee 25 Corn meal 4 00 per 100 fts. Eggs 25 per dozen. Flour, 1st quality 5 50 per bbl. Flour, 2nd quality 4 75 ,, Flour, buckwheat 6 00 per 100 fts. Fish, dry cod 8 00 per cwt. Firewood 4 00 per cord. Ham 18 per ft. Ham, shoulders 12?} ,, Mustard 25 ,, Milk 10 per quart. Oatmeal 4 50 per 100 fts. Pepper Potatoes .' Rice Soap, yellow Sugar, brown •. Salt Tea, black Tea, green Tobacco Coal CLOTHING. 25 per ft. 90 per bushel. 05 per ft. 05 99 09 99 02 99 50 99 50 75 99 8 00 per ton. Coats, under, tweed $ 6 00 Coats, over, ,, 10 00 Trousers, ,, 3 50 Vests, „ 2 25 Shirts, flannel 150 Shirts, cotton 1 00 Shirts, under, " wove " 1 00 Drawers, woollen, " wove " 1 00 Hats, felt 2 00 Socks, worsted 25 Socks, cotton 20 Blankets, per pair 4 00 Rugs 3 00 Flannel per yard, 40 Cotton shirting „ 10 Sheeting ,, 25 Canadian cloth „ 75 Shoes, men's 3 00 Shoes, women's : 1 50 Boots, men's 3 50 Boots, women's 3 00 Rubber overshoes, men's l^OO- Rubber overshoes, women's *6 """@en, "UBC Catalogue record lists Beanlands, Arthur John as the creator.

Other Copies: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/264169065"@en ; edm:hasType "Books"@en ; dcterms:identifier "F5803.12 .B85"@en, "I-0915"@en ; edm:isShownAt "10.14288/1.0222291"@en ; dcterms:language "English"@en ; edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ; dcterms:publisher "Victoria : Richard Wolfenden"@en ; dcterms:rights "Images provided for research and reference use only. For permission to publish, copy, or otherwise distribute these images please contact digital.initiatives@ubc.ca."@en ; dcterms:source "Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. F5803.12 .B85"@en ; dcterms:subject "British Columbia--Description and travel"@en ; dcterms:title "British Columbia as a field for emigration and investment"@en ; dcterms:type "Text"@en ; dcterms:description ""@en .