CHAPTER XX.
Nanaimo and San Juan—Resources of British Columbia and Vancouver Island—Minerals—Timber—Abundance of Fish—Different Kinds of Salmon—The Hoolicans, and the Indian Method of Taking them—Pasturage—The Bunch-grass—Its Peculiarities and Drawbacks—Scarcity of Farming Land—Different Localities—Land in Vancouver Island—Contrast between California and British Columbia—Gross Misrepresentations of the Latter—Necessity for the Saskatchewan as an Agricultural Supplement—Advantages of a Route across the Continent—The Americans before us—The Difficulties less by the British Route—Communication with China and Japan by this Line—The Shorter Distance—The Time now come for the Fall of the Last Great Monopoly—The North-West Passage by Sea, and that by Land—The Last News of Mr. O’B.—Conclusion.
Nanaimo and San Juan—Resources of British Columbia and Vancouver Island—Minerals—Timber—Abundance of Fish—Different Kinds of Salmon—The Hoolicans, and the Indian Method of Taking them—Pasturage—The Bunch-grass—Its Peculiarities and Drawbacks—Scarcity of Farming Land—Different Localities—Land in Vancouver Island—Contrast between California and British Columbia—Gross Misrepresentations of the Latter—Necessity for the Saskatchewan as an Agricultural Supplement—Advantages of a Route across the Continent—The Americans before us—The Difficulties less by the British Route—Communication with China and Japan by this Line—The Shorter Distance—The Time now come for the Fall of the Last Great Monopoly—The North-West Passage by Sea, and that by Land—The Last News of Mr. O’B.—Conclusion.
Afterour return to Victoria we received a kind invitation from Captain Lascelles to accompany him in H.M. gunboatForwardon a cruise to San Juan and Nanaimo. The cruise was most enjoyable; we inspected the coal-mines of the future Newcastle of the Pacific, and enjoyed most thoroughly the hospitality of Captain Bazalgette and his officers on the noted island of San Juan.
We had now seen a great portion of British Columbia and Vancouver. We had travelled through the former from Tête Jaune Cache by the Thompson to the mouth of the Fraser, and again through the heart of the country to Cariboo. We found the country abounding in mineral wealth. The extentand richness of the gold fields, added to every month by fresh discoveries, would alone be sufficient to render the colony one of our most valuable possessions. But the indications that many other of the most valuable minerals will be found in British Columbia, as in the neighbouring state of California, are strong. At present, however, every other pursuit is put aside for that of gold, and the real mineral wealth of the country is little known. Coal, however, crops out at Alexandria, Similkameen, and Burrard’s Inlet. In the sister colony of Vancouver are the magnificent beds of coal, which have been already extensively and most successfully worked at Nanaimo for the last four or five years.
The timber of British Columbia is, of its kind, unequalled. The Douglas pine, with its straight uniform trunk, exceedingly tough and flexible, furnishes the finest masts and spars for the largest vessels. These trees often attain a height of upwards of 300 feet, with a diameter of ten feet. The white pine and the gigantic cypress, the latter exceeding even the Douglas pine in size, grow together with it in vast forests, yielding an almost inexhaustible supply. But perhaps the most striking feature in the resources of British Columbia and Vancouver Island is the extraordinary number and variety of the fish, which frequent the shores and swarm in all the rivers. In the spring two kinds of salmon ascend the Fraser, millions of “hoolicans” crowd into its mouth, and shoals of herrings enter every inlet. The hoolican is like a sprat, but a little larger, and is a very delicious fish,rich in oil. Flocks of gulls hovering over the shoals announce the arrival of these fish; and their extraordinary numbers may be imagined from the way in which the Indians take them. The river is literally alive with fish, and the native fisherman carries a long piece of wood, armed with sharp-pointed wires on each side, like the teeth of a rake. This he sweeps through the water as he sits in his canoe, after the fashion of a paddle, and at each stroke brings up a row of hoolicans impaled upon the spikes. Three fresh species of salmon continue to ascend the river in succession during the summer and autumn, and in the winter a fifth variety makes its appearance in the harbours and inlets along the coast. We saw some of fifteen to twenty pounds each caught in the harbour of St. Juan in the month of December. Salmon of some kind is thus in season all the year round. Trout abound in the mountain streams and lakes, and the sturgeon frequents the deeps of the Fraser. In Burrard’s Inlet oysters are found in great abundance; and, in fact, everything good in the way of fish seems to be collected in this, so far, highly favoured country.
From the richness and extent of its pasturage, and the dryness of its soil and climate, British Columbia offers great advantages to the breeder of stock. But there are certain drawbacks, the principal of which is that an immense extent of country would be required by each stock farmer. The only grass is the “bunch-grass.” It covers the terraces of the Fraser, and the rolling swells and mountain-sides of the central region. Growing in the separate “tufts”from which it has taken its name, it fixes but a slight hold upon the light, powdery soil with its slender roots. Horses and cattle pull much of it up in grazing, and sheep, which thrive equally upon it, crop the delicate plant so closely that it frequently does not recover. In this way the Lilloet flats, which were once celebrated as rich feeding grounds, have now become bare, dusty plains, on which a few scattered plants of wild sage and absinthe still remain, where the bunch-grass has been destroyed. The facts, too, that the bunch-grass requires three years to come to perfection, and fully recover after being eaten down, and that, from its mode of growth in distinct tufts, the ground is really but scantily covered with herbage, confirm the belief that, for a stock farm to be successful, its range of pasturage must be very extensive. But there is room enough now, and any who may devote themselves to the raising of sheep and cattle will certainly reap a rich harvest of profit. Strange to say, from some cause—either want of capital, or the prospect of more rapid profit from other pursuits—it has been little followed hitherto, and the land lies open to the first-comer.
The extent of agricultural land in British Columbia is very limited indeed. With the exception of a small district between the south end of the Okanagan Lake and the Grand Prairie, on the road from thence to the Thompson River; a few other patches of good land in the interior; and the delta of the Fraser, which is covered almost entirely with dense forest, and exposedto the summer floods, it is a country of rocks, gravel, and shingle. The surface of the country east of the coast range of mountains consists, principally, of a high table-land, from which rise up mountains and hills, and indented by the valleys of the Thompson and Fraser, and their countless tributaries. These valleys are deep and narrow, and their sides generally steep. On the table-land the night-frosts, prevalent throughout the summer, preclude the cultivation of almost every description of produce. In the valleys the land is generally very dry and sandy, or stony, and unless some very perfect system of irrigation and manuring is adopted, would yield a wretched return.
In all the instances we saw where attempts had been made to raise crops of cereals on the terraces of the Thompson and Fraser, or, indeed, anywhere in the region of shingle and gravel, they had failed. Cabbages, and vegetables of similar kind, if well watered, seemed to flourish very well; but the oats and barley were short in the ear, and the straw weak, stunted, and miserable. Water is sufficiently abundant, but the soil of the irrigated tracts is so extremely light, and in most parts underlaid by such a depth of gravel and shingle, that the water percolates through as through a sieve, and the streams disappear without spreading over the surface. The decay of the sparsely-growing bunch-grass cannot have rendered the land rich in vegetable mould. Occasional fertile spots, of a few acres in extent, occur on the margin of the rivers, as along the north and south branches of the Thompson above Kamloops. There are also patches of good landin the vicinity of William’s Lake, Beaver Lake, and Alexandria, which have proved very productive. But these rich bottoms and alluvial lowlands are striking exceptions to the general character of the country. British Columbia, rich beyond conception in many ways, isnotan agricultural country. Vancouver Island, too, is merely a huge rock, in the hollows of which vegetable mould has collected. But this is often too shallow to be worked with the plough, and these fertile oases are generally of small extent—fit for gardens rather than farms.
In consequence, therefore, of the deficiency of the two colonies in this respect, their population is still supplied with provisions from California, and their gold goes into the pockets of Americans. California is probably the richest country in the world. Possessing every valuable mineral in inexhaustible abundance—except coal, which has not been yet found in any quantity—she has also a soil of extraordinary fertility. Her mountains are of gold and silver, and her valleys as the land of Goshen. Wheat grows so luxuriantly that “volunteer crops”—the produce of the second and even third year from the seed shaken out in the gathering of the previous harvest—spring up without the labour of man. Fruits of every kind, from the apples, pears, and grapes of temperate climes, to the pine-apples and bananas of the tropics, come to perfection within her limits. Oats grow wild on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada; and in the alluvial plains, besides the ordinary cereals, flourish maize, tobacco, and cotton.
It is far otherwise with British Columbia. She probably equals California in mineral wealth, but, being as it were a mere continuation of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, a sea of hills, a land of mountains and forests, or shingly swells and terraces covered with bunch-grass, the former looks in vain for rich alluvial valleys. No colony has been more misrepresented than this.
In former times, when a preserve for fur-bearing animals under the sway of the Hudson’s Bay Company, it was reputed to be “little better than a waste and howling wilderness, wherein half-famished beasts of prey waged eternal war with a sparse population of half-starved savages; where the cold was more than Arctic, and the drought more than Saharan;” and that—to quote the words of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the House of Commons a few years ago—“these territories were bound by frost and banked by fog, and woe betide any unfortunate individual who might be so far diverted from the path of prudence as to endeavour to settle in those parts.”20
But the accounts sent to this country soon after the first rush of emigrants to the land of gold, differed widely from the old story. It was now as much the interest of speculators and property-holders to attract emigration by exaggerated praise of the colony, as it had formerly been that of the Hudson’s Bay Company to repel it, and keep their possessionintact by representing it as a barren wilderness. The most glowing reports were sent home, and were published in the leading newspapers. The new colony was represented as a very paradise for the farmer, and many men went out believing this, to find bitter disappointment in the reality. Neither of the two accounts is correct; the truth lies, as is usually the case in like matters, between the two extremes, and we have been induced to set forth the truth somewhat fully, from a desire to do away with the injurious misconception which has prevailed on this subject.
Although there is little land fit for agricultural purposes within the boundaries of British Columbia, the fertile belt of the Saskatchewan is separated from it only by the barrier of the Rocky Mountains. Of the beauties and resources of this pleasant land, we have already made mention in these pages. The rich prairies, with from three to five feet of alluvial soil, are ready for the plough, or offer the luxuriant grasses, which, in the old time, fattened countless herds of buffalo, to domesticated herds. Woods, lakes, and streams diversify the scene, and offer timber, fish, and myriads of wild fowl. Yet this glorious country, estimated at 65,000 square miles, and forty million of acres of the richest soil, capable of supporting twenty millions of people, is, from its isolated position, and the difficulties put in the way of settlement by the governing power, hitherto left utterly neglected and useless, except for the support of a few Indians and the employés of the Hudson’s Bay Company. And this rich agriculturalcountry lies but a step as it were from the gold fields. It is the very supplement required to British Columbia. That communication could be easily established has been already demonstrated. Why, then, should not the miners be supplied with provisions from British territory, instead of from California, and the gold of British Columbia enrich British subjects rather than Americans?
We would not, however, stop here. The advantages of a route across the continent of America, which passes entirely through British territory, seem palpable enough. The Americans, ever in advance of us in like enterprises—not from individual superiority perhaps, but having a more liberal and less lethargic government—have constructed a road, and laid a telegraph line across the continent to California, and have commenced a Pacific Railway. Greater difficulties had to be encountered in carrying a road over more barren prairies, where wood and water are scarce, and which are infested by hostile Indians. The pass through the mountains in American territory is abrupt and high, unlike the easier gradients of the Vermilion and Jasper House passes. But all these obstacles were overcome, and San Francisco is now in daily communication with the Atlantic States by both post and telegraph; the latter having paid the cost of its construction in a single year. The principal obstacle to be overcome in carrying a road across the continent which shall pass entirely through British territory, appears to be in the district between Lake Superior and Fort Garry. This region consistsin great measure of swamp and forest, and considerable outlay and labour would be required to render it passable. But Professor Hind21has satisfactorily proved that the difficulties are far from insuperable, and not worthy of consideration in view of the magnificent results which would follow its successful accomplishment. In California and British Columbia, where far greater obstacles have been successfully overcome, such objections would be considered light indeed.
Nearly 200 years have elapsed since Cavalier de la Sale conceived the project of opening a communication between the Atlantic and Pacific by a route across the continent, and in pursuit of this scheme, in 1731, the French Canadians were the first to reach the Rocky Mountains. Since then the subject has been repeatedly brought before the notice of the Government and the public.
The dream of the old enthusiasts, of thus reaching China and Japan, is on the point of being realised—not by Frenchmen or Englishmen, but by Americans. They have already made the road across the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and as we write, the intelligence has arrived that a bill has passed the United States Congress, granting a subsidy for the establishment of a line of steamers between San Francisco and Hongkong.
Victoria, with the magnificent harbour of Esquimalt,offers far superior advantages, for the coal-mines of Vancouver Island are the only ones on the Pacific coast of North America. Victoria is but 6,053 miles from Hongkong, or about twenty-one days’ steaming; and if a railway were constructed from Halifax to some point in British Columbia, the whole distance to Southampton would be accomplished in thirty-six days—from fifteen to twenty days less than by the Overland RouteviâSuez.22
At the present time this subject acquires additional interest from the projected Federation of the British North American Colonies, and the uncertain condition of our relations with the Northern States of America.
The time seems to have come when the Hudson’s Bay Company, having done good service by a beneficent rule over the territories granted it, which contrasts strongly with that of the American Fur Companies, should share the fate of all the great monopolies which have fallen before it. Lord Wharncliffe has lately brought this question before the House of Lords, proposing the formation of the north-west territory into a separate colony, and inquiring whether any steps had been taken in the matter. But of course the Government had done nothing, and apparently has no intention of moving.
Millions of money and hundreds of lives have been lost in the search for a North-West Passage by Sea. Discovered at last, it has proved useless. TheNorth-West Passage by Land is the real highway to the Pacific; and let us hope that as our countrymen gained the glory of the former brilliant achievement, valueless to commerce, so they may be the first to establish a railway across the continent of America, and reap the solid advantages which the realisation of the old dream has failed to afford.
Thecacoethes scribendiis upon us, and we would fain run on through many pages, to describe our sojourn in the fair land of California, fruitful in strange scenes and curious adventures. But the reader, wearied perchance by the dull details and prosings of this last chapter, will agree with us that the book is already long enough, and we dare not gratify our wish to write more. He might ask, however, what became of our friend, Mr. O’B. That migratory gentleman, like the Wandering Jew, or the soul of the celebrated John Brown, is doubtless still “marching on.” When we returned to Victoria, after our journey to Cariboo, Mr. O’B. had departed, and his portrait is therefore wanting in the Frontispiece. He had “moved on” to San Francisco. When we arrived in that city, he had “moved on” to Melbourne, Australia. From there he has probably “moved on” to New Zealand, or again reached India, to circle round to England in due course, happy in any country free from wolves, grisly bears, and Assiniboines.
The many kindnesses we received from Sir James Douglas, and numerous other friends in Victoria, must remain undetailed, though not forgotten. Wesailed in the S.S.Pacific, on the 20th of December, for San Francisco; were caught in a white squall off Neah Bay; the boiler burst; and Christmas Day came off before we reached our destination.
The glories of the Golden City; the pleasures enjoyed in the society of Mr. Booker, and the other kind members of the Union Club there; the wonders of the Big-tree Grove in the Mariposa Valley, where grow Wellingtonias (called Washingtonias in the States), upwards of 400 feet high—higher than St. Paul’s—on the stumps of which are built ball-rooms, and on the prostrate trunks bowling alleys; the beautiful ladies of “Frisco,” as the Californians playfully denominate San Francisco, and the fraternising rowdies of “Copperopolis” and Columbia City, must remain undescribed. These things, and how we dreamed through the voyage down the smooth Pacific, with the languid carelessness of lotos-eaters; how we escaped the wiles of the grass-widow,23and quarrelled with argumentative Northerners on board the steamerGolden City, are they not recorded in our journals?
We reached Liverpool by way of Panama and New York, on the 5th of March, 1864, and entered at once into the pleasures of a return home in the company of old friends, who welcomed us as we disembarked from theChina.
LONDON:CASSELL, PETTER, AND GALPIN, BELLE SAUVAGE WORKS,LUDGATE HILL, E.C.