IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ji- /. l/u fA 1.0 I.I b£|28 2.5 11:25 ill 1.4 22 2.0 JA 1.6 #i V dmi' Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 iV iV ■1>^ '^ "«v>.'"Q .^t:' ^^ // lA -^ CIHM ICMH Microfiche Collection de Series microfiches (IMonograplis) (monographles) Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques I ^U Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. n Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagee □ Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restauree et/ou pelliculee n n n Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Caites geographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en cotieur Bound with other material/ Relie avec d'autres documents Tight bindinj may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reliure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsion le long de la marge interieure D n Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajouties lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela etait possible, ces pages n'ont pas ete filmees. Additional comments;/ Commentaires supplementaires: This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filme au taux de reduction indique ci-dessous. ^OX 14X 18X I I I 12X 16X L'Institut a nicrofilmi^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a eti possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-6tre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la methode normale de f ilmage sont indiques ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur □ Pages damaged/ Pages endommagees □ Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurees et/ou pellicultes Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages decolorees, tachetees ou piquees □ Pages detached/ Pages detachees Showthrough/ ransparence 0?: Quality of print varies/ Qualite inegale de I'imp □ Contin Paginal □ Includes index(es)/ Comprend un (des) i mpression uous pagination/ Pagination continue ndex Title on header taken from:/ Le titre de Tentite provient: □ Title page of issue/ Page de titre de la I □ Caption of issue/ Titre de depart de la li □ Masthead/ Generique (pi vraison vraison leriodiques) de la livraison 22X 26 X 30X 20X y 24X 28X 32 X qu'il cet : de vue 9e ition u6s The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: National Library of Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and In keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ♦► (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grdce d la g6n6rosit6 de: Bibliothdque nationaie du Canada Les images suivantes ont 6x6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettetd de l'exemplaire film6, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Lei exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprim6e sont film6s en commenssant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires origiriaux sont film6s en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Stre film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Stre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est film6 A partir de I'angle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 22t 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 'M' A <• fi DESCRIPTION OF OTENAY DISTRICT. ^, 3:^ ^Ivv-Oi [■ BRITISH COLUMBIA. ...,•> 4h^ir. *)ul)IiBfjrt unlifr tlje autfjoiitp of tljcMinfeffv of aflvirulturr. inlsfrv 01 VICTORIA : Prinfi-.l liv liiciunD WoLrmcDBN, Government Printer, at the Govemment Printinjf Office. Janies' Bay. 1884. -^sms'-'^^M^t^^W II V es a v> ^ i; A (^ *^ •-'■ ;i i- ■J fc- 'i i 47 Vio. Report on the Kootenay Country. II British Columbia, Victoria, 7th February, 1884. Sir,— I beg to submit a Report on the district of Kootenay from explorations undertaken by your instructions during the past season. I liavo the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, lo the Jlonoumble John J^bson, Gilbert Malcolm Sproat. Minister of Agriculture, DESCRIPTION OF < KOOTENAY DISTRICT, BRITISH COLUMBIA. ^ Surface. The surface of the district of Kootenay difters in some respects from that of the mainland of our province lying west of the Columbia River. There is not a wide plateau lietween the mountain systems of Kootenay, namely the Rockies and the Selkirks, as there is between the mountain systems of Yale District. About the top of the Big Bend the Rockies and the teelkirks almost inosculate, but as the trend of the Rockies is south-easterly while the Selkirks have a general north and south direction, with less of the character of a range, the two systems become somewhat detached, and leave between them to the southward, a country comparatively lower but not of the nature of a plateau. ^ The Rockies run along the eastern side of the Kootenay District, but the eastern boundary has not been exactly determined. They are composed of several ranges, differing in height and appearance and running transversely in parts, but generally lying close together with a parallelism north-west and south-east. It is the Selkirks that give character to the district of Kootenay. They are less entitled than the Rockies to the appellation of a ranee except from the top of the Bend to the h.-ad of Upper Arrow Lake, which area sheds water pretty regulariy east and west. Nor an> the Selkirks a broad mass filling the whole region with Alpine elevations, Their greatest elevation, or at any rate the largest collection of lofty mountains in the whole Selkirk system, is in the above-mentioned area towards the northern part ot tJie Bend. Many Hue snow peaks exist there. Going southerly there is a wide depres- sion with southeriy flowing streams. In the lowest parts of this depression lie the Upper Kootenay Lake and the great Flatbow or Kootenay Lake. This depression has rather a higli eastern run^ diminishing southeriy, which forces the Columbia River to a northeriy, and the Kootenay River to a southerly, course. On the western side of this depression, particularly between the great Kootenay Lake and Slocan Lake or the Columbia River, the mountains form a broad mass rising in parts high with some snow peaks, and shedding water in all directions What is called the "PurcoU Range" on the provincial map, is not known by that name in the district. It seems to me part of the system of the Selkirks, not to be orographically separated trom them, though thinned in its attachment to their mass for a considerable distance by the depression containing the lakes above-mentioned. „ The western leg of the Columbia and the Arrow Lakes form the natural western boundary 01 Kootcn.ay District, though tiie legal and administrative western boundary is an undefined line ten miles west from them, ^^^ ^ Report on the Kootenay CorNTRY. 1884 ovpoiit t1..,f +1 1 ■ , "^ """S ''iliDiit from , too t,i I nant * i . -i^tJU tcct ahovo [■xcfpt tliat they liavcas lai'Dcr ^l,,iw, , i , "^ '''''"' '''''t ahovc tlio s"t TI , , The wi,:,;;;;,t'':f';^;r';,it£';"-; "'""■;'" ""■■"'■'" ■■'"--•» »„r'"'"'"''>- ■ "1= ,:f' "1 f^.'™ -'f •■•■»"=■."":.«":■ tis;°H,':,:,';:';;; ,„.;, "r-. - ■■■»■■• *™- Uie Arrow- Lakes' Iiills J,avo v.-.-v vn, ' „''-'^' '' *'"' 'o^^' toot-hills have „o lu./i,-,.., ' e . between them and the wa e • il .,""' ^V' "'"".'^•'' J'»vin^., as a rl^ H. '''' ''^'"''•- ) 1884 47 Vir. liKl'OIlT OX THE KOOTKNAY COUNTRY, Orkney town, sliowiiij,' pretty, regular cones from like tlic ends of liouses to tl'.c >.trcct of itn points of view timt liiili' the (•lonj,'ation. I will (IfS(Til)e tile .;iv:it river Valleys ii) iinotlier iiliice. Tlie viilleys of tlio niountdiu streiinis, u-^ a rule, are Oiurow, niiiny of tlicni ]h-\\v^ ;,'orjjes. 'I'heir heds often lire V-sliaped for \rtun distances, iind their exiKuisioiis ended l.y liliiil's i.rojectinf,' into the stream. A conniion feature is a caHon or rni'ky ol'struetioii near tlieir mmitlis, aKove wliicli there are Ion;,' stretches of canoe navi;,'ati(in, almost invarialily, linwev cr, ended liv falls or rapids that make porta^'PS necessary. Overllowed Imltom lands yiildiiij,' coarse wild hay are not unfre(juent in the valleys of these streams. Small dry prairies occur in some of tliem. 'riirouj,di the counti'y near tlio railway line, ijiTat craiks or lissui'es in tlie mountains are here and there seen. I'^a^^le Pass (partly in Yale and partly in Kooteiiay District) is one of tliese, and the expectancy tlint this crack stretched eastward thence throu;.;!! the Selkirks, lieyond the I'cyion explored hy Mr. Molierly, CK.. in ISG."), eiialiled Major lloi^'ers to tind the pass or depression for the railway route, witli which liis name will he associated. 'I'lu- lakes in ^'eni'ral ar<' the familiar llridsh t'nlnmhian mountain lalses, I'linnin;,' north and south, and very Ion,;,' in proportion to their width, closely hordered Ky steep hillsides, with .scanty soil, and with swamp -rass jiatehes at; the mouths of the lai',i,'er streams tliat entiT them. The ahove mentioned northerly and southerly trend of the Itockies, and the general though irregular iiarallelism of the Selkii'ks give necessarily a corresponding chni'acter and course to the valleys anil rivers. The surface is coi'rugatcd, pressed togethei- like the nari'ower part of a fan. Instead of opening westerly towards the .sea, the valleys are shut off liy .several mountain ranges. Tlu- open part of the Kootenay horseshoe is to the south, where, as ahove said, tlu! great a.xial ranges separate' somewh.at. The natiu'al facilities of intercourse are therefore greater in a north and south direetion than from east to west. It was a full knowledge of the almost insurmountalile harriers to trallic pi'cseuted hy the north and south ranges of tins north- western region of America that caused tlreat Jiritain to insist so eai'nestly, during the negocia- tions ended liy the Oregon Treaty of ISKI, upon extending her territorial rights soutli so as to share at least in tlie lienetits of the Coluud)ia waterway— the single channel througli whidi the waters of the whole interior, for a length of SOO miles'north and soutli, iind an outlet to the ocean. The Canadian I'aeilic railway, cut ting across the vast ribs of our land, redresses the jiractical failure of JJritish dijilomaey in IS 1(5, and corrects nature. I was surprised to Iind so many jiasses in Kooien.ay. Yale District mav he (Mitered at O.soyoos, hut elsewhere (the Sk.agit valley heing unavailahle) everything for Y'ale District has had to go round the overh.inging Muli' at Yale, wliero the gorge grudges a twelve-foot road. ICootenay, though mountainous, is a country of passes. It is approo ■>(! by passes, valleys or waterways from almost e\i>ry direction, and tlierc^ are many passes, ;.,;', througli its interior ranges. From the west you can strike its chief waterway in a navigable part, from Shuswap Lake either rin .Sey"mom\ by a high trail, or th'ough the easy Eagle Pass, and from Okanagan by the valleys of the Nacht-ee oos or the Whaicli-shan strenm.s. Tiu-ee large watercourses open the southern froiitier. The Kocky ^lnuntains on the cast have half a dozen gatewav-s. To the north, the large Canoe l^iver valley leads whither you will. Internally there is a low, rugged cut from tlic \vest('rn arm of Kootenay Lake to tlio Columbia River — the scene of the much discussed local railway. Passes lead from the Upper Arrow liake along the Xacille-why-i'ct and Koos-koonaxe to Trout Lake, which also may bo easily reaeluMl from the north-eastern arm of Upper Arrow Lake. JNb'uiy a miner has gone frf>m Trout Lake down the L:ir(lo into Kootenav Lake. Yon can go up licaver Creek (on left bank of the Columliia above Fort Shepherd) and strike the headwaters of the well known Forty-nine Creek which ilows north into tlio left l)ank of the Lower Kootenay. The so-called "Purcell Piang(^" is pierced by the Coat P»iver and Mooyie valleys, and by an Indian trail from Kooten.'iy Lake to tlu' headwaters of St. .Mary's Itiver. There are trails also from the north end of Kootenay L;ik(> or from tlu> neighbourhood of T'pper Kootenay Lake, which lead over high divides to the UpjU'C Kootenay and Ujiper Columbia j'ivers. Tlio supposed snow-peak region to the north has disclosed a route for the railway across the Selkirks. Soun^ of tliese linos of internal comniuuieation, it is true, are Indian or, at the best, pack, trails; still the above shows that the country is not the impenetrable region, naturally, which many have supposed it to be. With the exception of Vancouver Island, Kootenay is in fact, naturally, tliO most acoessiule regiou i.i the pro\iiice. J5ul wc have b(;eu fumbling about and hftve not put the key into the lock, In trying, in past times, to reach and open Kootenay, wq ) Kkpobt on the Kooibnay Country. 1884 district of consKlora))le resourc..^' Ti., '* ^^'' '"*^" 'o«t for 20 voars tli.. ii«,. J Water-uays. (J.J Tlin ViilniitLla. All the water- wavj <->(■' +iw> ,i; <. • j. i A bit of History. granp; A^S llS ottlfe SeS"'5?.i?^^^^' ""^ ^-'^^-^ ^^^ ^-- rive, and the i:,^°f"f'»P "Columbia," Captain GVavwirT:; T-oo"'^" ^^ ^^'-- i^s nknt Vrun ve sel therefore our province clerivesks.amoT. '^-' '"^"■'''' '*^ "'°"tl'- i^Vom S o cl Spanish navigators, wJio appear to Lv^i ■^''^ '•"'''• ^^^^ ^"^Hwl the "St Roe " Iv t w'.' Its northern branch, nmv theX ti.I poSon n .?""• ''""'"'V'^'' "^ '*« ^-tuary o Zrcomlr headwater stream, was discover I iP'Tlt??"^"^''' ^•"' ^^r-" *« the world as Vhe , ai n Wes Conipany. He called it the ''McGillh-r^vpTT' *'"' ^^tronomor of the x\ rd Kv?"^'^- p *^r--"fe' its course ti^ j .'C^j:''; ^ J'^'' -^ V'" '""'"^ "^ ^^ ''»-*" "f the « V •'"•[ Clark in 1805, this gentleinan con i,,n' ^""tlierly tributaries disco^■ered -SVse o/- i;ently through tliem. The I'fiper Arrow Lake has a north-east 7-mile arm. Not counting,' that, the lake is about lU miles loiif;, with a width of .'t to .'{ ! miles. Tho average width of the river, or strait, lietween the I'pper and Lower Arrow Lakes is about HOO feet, but there are small expansions; the average current -' to •_'.', miles. The Lower Arrow Lake is, on an average, narrower than the Upper Arrow Lake by about a mile. Its length is inde- terminate; there is almost slack water until the mouth of the Kootenay River, a distance of "f) miles, is approached. Thence to the boundary, the low-water width V.f the river varies from .300 to ")00 feet ; high-water width about double;" current from .'i to 7 miles. The river twists much without making great bends; one seldom sees more than lialf a mile ahead. The above are "estimation" distances, Judged by the eye during a rapid reconnoissance. At Colvillo in United States territory, i2 miles by water south of the boundary, the Columbia lias been ascertained by actual measurement to be 1,25U feet wide fidin bank to bank at high-water. The Rlnr /In! (ni<-( ilirin,!,,,,, V;.. 17 _' ■!( ADiirnviiiKifn .1' i , -. Af'|.roxi,„ato distant hv ,1.,,,. f,. . ,, , ■10 19 192 .3- '"'"io t:s; ;;^ir"»:' »■■ "■■■ «« u-^ ,™„I ^„:,^ 'ii.- c,,i,„„i,i, ,,,11,,,, I ; . '.'"i;-""'" «„„M I,, „„ ,. ,1 , „■>,, .™ ' V'liii.-.' iii.Tui ,,,„,i„i„„ ' ■i«'>"i'-i. n. ii„. ,.,„„i „ . "' Z '.'""'■■ ""■ 'fiii.i™,,,,. „„,?,,' '"''"'" *i ■■....„.,ii,t,.iv ^l-nys navigal.10 ^.. st"L oS"" 1^"" '''Y' ^'■'"'^ '-<' " -^ X" 'r/' /"i';'^ -"*^' "^ ^'"^ f"^v clay.s at the Little Da es fmi , '"'^' ^'"' •''"»■ "'"''"^ a stoV,,,) , , '™A V""'^'^^' "'•^' "ot ••y Wasting. ^'^"^•'' ^^' '^ c.J.a,K.o to go througl. tJu.so ."; ''" 7'"'°''' ^Vl' *° ^^""'t a fart, or ■• ^"'"^t lake is al.o , 'i'he ^a^■igal.l.it ro i;^^ ""I'rovon.eat, but not nu.c) ' "' "'" '"^ "^ '•'•v^''' '■otw,.,.u , Ti.e bouidor-s ia th. .ship.-,, ,. ,, „ , " ""^ ^'■°'" *'- '^^-lary to l'^s.s roundod, tliou'd. fl,». ^ '^ ^ ^'"^ Columbia in iJriti^l, f, v V ALUK OP Tirpur- Xt..._ » ■—— 'ucoouuionsripstea. ^AI.UKO.™E.Els^AVI.ABtESTRKTCHES. ■^r* 1884 47 Vic. UeTOIIT 0»N TIIK KOOTKNAY COUNTIIY. a wat«T-M-fty for intiTiiul, uml also jxissilily fur fxtcriiiil tnillic. I( is a wntcr-way that will he fross.'il \,y Ji(. Cunfuliiin Pufiiio Hiiilway. Tlic river tnivcrNi's for a foiiHidi-riil.lc (liMtuiirc a tiiiilii'ml si'ctioii of till- I'ouiitry. Tin r.' nmy lie jjojd on iji.- l.uuks or in Nomcof th.' trilmtariiH. Tli(\ HiTonil sirctfh of iiiivig.itioii ul.()v,.-mi.ntioiic(l, niinicly, from l>(iitli liupjils to lioat Kiicunii.iiiciit, ini;,'lit licconii' valiialilc if iniiiin;,' uiid lo;.';,'iiij,' inllustrics •.tcw tlirrc. I.iit ii slioit liortdj,'!' ruHwiiy link of 'J or .'I iniNs (I hiw not situ tlir iila.^) would \,i- n-juirrd (o coinicct witii fill' lirst uhoNc niriilioui'il Mnti'li of nii\ i^at ion. 'I'ho short Lit of na\i;,'.il.lc wal.'r thioii;,di and aliovc KinliaslM.! i.uki; may yet l.i! Ufseful to till' miner. Alueli more im)iortant, and needinj,' j.ro\ ision imme(iiat( ly, is the navi;,'alile stret.^li of aKoiit 110 miles from the Kicking,' Horse railway station into tlie mother lakes of the Colundiia. This leads directly from the railway to ;;ra/,in,i{ and farndn;,' areas and towards estahlished mines-- hein;,' in faet a natural water-way into that portion of the district which I have caHed Kootenuy Proper, namely, the ICastern N'ailey. NAVIfi.MIMC.NK.SS 01' KoOTKXAV UlVICK ANI) LaKK. * r» Thn Kootenay liiver is imvii.'al.le at certain .seasons l>y li;,dit stern-wheel steumiMmts for nearly IC") miles hit ucen Tobacco Plains at (he Vnited States houndary and the junction of the riv^T with i'"indlay Creek, which comes in from the west near the mother lakes of the Columlila, lull this ha\ iLtatioii is somewhat iniiieded in [larts l.y drifts and .shallows. A flat-liottomcd skill', 1(1 feet lon^; and drawing f< inches, was taken iu Octoher, l^<^iL', from the Ferry (( iuH.raith's) down tlie Kootenay thi'ouyh I'ldted States territory to Itnnner's Kerry. The time occujiied was 1-2 days. There was no iioi-ta;,'e in Uritish territory, l.ut tlu^ water wa.s swift and very shallow in .several places. ]n American territory iiorta<,'es wen^ necessary duriiiy two day.s,-- at the falls (some 70 miles hefore reachiii;,' lionner's Kerrv), and at other places whel'c lioulders tilled tlie river lied. From l!onuer's Ferry (JO iiiihs down the Kootenay lliser to the l!iiti.>li houndary, and thenco farther down the river .'t:; niih's to Kootenay L.ike, the na\ i;;atioii is ^ood for any sized ve.s.scl. The river winds much. It is ."lOd to (100 fret « ide, .Sd to IU) feet deip, with few .sna^s and a gontli; current. The low soft hauks are favourahle for stcumlioat landing's almost every- wlicro. "^ Kootenay Lake in its whole length of ahoiii t»0 miles, willi its westri'ii aim of liO inile.s, is deep and clear of rocks. The lower course of K'ooteiiay liiver, namely, from the outlet of Kootenay Lake to the C'oluinhia liiver, a distance of alHUit L'O miles, is not iiavij..:aMe I'nr steanilioats, 'owiny to falls and rapids. Light heats and l.irch-liark canoes can Ikj u.scd on it; hut from five''to .seven portages have to he made, according to tin; stage of the water. 'I'ho east branch of the Lardo, which joins th(( west luai-ch and llows into the north end of Kootenay Lake, may bo found to be navigable for sfeambrats from Kootenay Lake into Upper Kootenay Lake. The principal olistacles arc a shallow iq.id near the moutli'of the stream and jams ill its bed. Ujiper Kootenay Lake, which is about :.'l) inii(>s long, is navigable, and it is .said that a ong strenni coming into it from a north-iasteily direction also could be made navigable, but 1 had not time to examine this portion of the country. It is important to find means of biinudng the L pper (Jojuinbia (and conse(iueiitly tlie Canadian PaciJic Hailwav) and Kootenav Lake as near as jm-ssiblo by .steamboat navigation in this direction. Some i.ei'sons aflirm that the above water-ways appro.acli a short low pass over to the Columbia ie its head-water stretch. Others say that the mountains immediately on the west side of the L'pper Colundiia are contimiou.sly high and do not invsent an available ;a.ss e\en if the above water-wavs in their direction could be navigated. .My impres.sion is that Upper Kootenay Lake and the head-waters of the Columbia River are sliewii too near one another f)ii the existing provincial map. Mr. Perry, who lately explored the Spalhimchoeu liiver, suggests that on the above map the I jiper Arrow Lake, or a portion of it, is shewn too far west'. ' Jordan Creek clearly is wrongly placed. Its latitude of 51' 19' IS' N. was dcteniiiued by Mr. Leecli, of Mr. Orr's explmation party, in 18G."). -Many other iiiaccuiacies exist wiiicll need not be recited, as Mr. Farwell will endeavour to amend some of them in his sketchc.-i, 10 : Report on thu KooxfiNAY Country. 1884 Lako Slocan is entirely oinittcfl. H is !i cousiflcraMe Jake, -T) ii)ilr-« l.v 1 I -i i • row Lake and ,li«..hn,.„,!. -.j: 'J' > ,^ '' ""^.^■«' '>'"';,' stret;h^'];n.irc;;-St:;;;^:^ *'" ^"'""'l'^--- »-'«'^ble, su.,ie<.t to portages, for considerable INTO THE United Statks. NaVIOAHLKNKSS of WATKn-WAV« I..., ,. I' »AJKU-MA\S HioM KOOTKNAY JJiSTIUCT 'I'hero are only two water-w, I way /h Pend d'Ore.lle Lake. The low summit of ?L . . >'''" " ^ ""''^^ '^^"■'"" ^vhid, (lows into descent to tlKUvootenav being in EvallUof^ '% •""* ^' ""'''•" ^•■"•» '^'-i-^ Pont he American nmps. The valley^" 4 or 5 'jJil' ?",! "* '-'f V'^^t-ries called Deep C eeic on Mud ^ouS^ia^^SiSr:^'^:.^?^-/- \-^ -P- -. ^-n a pointat or near f.om Bonner's Ferry. The fonowin,^;;^^ Si Vals:! " '"''' "'' '^°°t«"^v lliver not f^r Two liorses or oxen, and waggon. ^., ., -tacli additional spaa . *2 50 Horseman 1 00 Pack animals 1 00 Loose animals ....,,'. 50 Sheep or hogi .......'.." 23 ioiii.^f^j^'iLlS'^tis":^';!;^?,;!^^^^-^^ of it ma, than the waggon ro.oll "" ""^ ^'''" ^°'' ' '-'-^y- --1 the rail Vno doubt would t slZZ Ice. t'.ou^!';S«^:^ --W:,;'1;:::i;;;::;t^^ ^V-klng of th^r navigableness areobsructedbyieeiniint;.p,o,,:^" '"^^^''^-'^r/'"'"'''- tie h.^ad of elin.ate. The;! where the current is very swift T , '^''^'^r lakes and in portions of rivers amuL,l t ick, but the snow-ie^oj; Zl, Si:,^'!^^ !" tf ''" '^""' ""« '^ *"« -^ ' T 1^;^^ the beginning of that mo.it ^::^ :^^^:.a^^S: tS' f^S 2 or ' te";:?S:/trif J^;:Sy';""lr/''^'"« «-" «"^' — ^ f.-ee.e over ,.... They hav -aid of the river i^.^SX: i^ ''i^^^l^^^^l ^^'^^^^ 1884 47 Vio. Report on tue Kootenay Country. 11 tlie foot of Lower Arrow l^akc. 'riio ico af;!iiu ljc<,'ins thorc luid coutinufs down to the mouth of Kootenay River. Thence, soutlierly, tlie rapidity of the current in most places prevents tlio river from heiii.s,' solidly covered ; there are a fringe ami patchwork of ice varying in solidity and appearance, and nxtre or less connected, according to the st>as. 'I"he ri\er does not freeze there until about the new year. It tVee/.es sooner lower down the Columbia, towards Wallula, itc, the water there being farther from the lakes and therefon^ colder. The seasons vary so much in character that one cannot stat<- when the Cohunbia opens, as a rule. Perhaps, as a general indication, it may be said that a traveller might be ready at the boundary about tlu^ 1st April, As regards ice on Kootenay Lake, that large sheet of water does not freeze over. Jce is only found in the comparatively .shallow i.ter at its ends oi- in small bays. The western arm freezes hero and there solidly along tin res, but thi^ first wind bursts it up. The Kootenay River, between the Kootenay Lake and the Tnited States boundary and southerly up to iionner's Ferry in Idaho, is solidly frozen over every year with ice of about l' feet in thickness, sometimes thinner. In 1881.' ice began at the boundary on the^ 11th of Novendier, but on one occasion it did not appear until after Christmas. I could not find when ico disappeared at the boundary in 1882. The ferry at Jionner's Ferry was in 1882-;i stopped by ice between the 20th Deceudwu- and the 20th March. In some seasons one can walk across the river after three or four days of ice. It generally holds throughout the winter, but there are many surface thaws. It is unnecessary to mention the occurrence of ict^ in other waters in the district. Cmmate. The climate of the whole district of Kootenay is healthful and less severe than its moun- tainous surface and surroundings would lead one to expect. On a broad general comparison, it more resembles that of the region from Clinton to Osoyoos than of any other region in the province. Yet there is imu'h nnlikeness in the comparison. The dill'erence is cau.sed mainly by the different surface of Kootenay which has not a wide plateau like that of \ale District, but is more mountainous and 1i.\k, at least m its interior, narrower v.ilK'vs that lie higher abovi; the sea. On the other hand, KootiMiay has greater water areas in its rivers and lakes, and is opener than Yalo District to the south, whence warm air is indrawn. The three valleys ojiening to the south, and extending far into Ignited States territory, namely, (1) the eastern valley lying along the Rocky Mountains, (2) the valley of th'j Kootenay leading to the central depression in winch the Kootenay lakes lie, and (:i) the valley of the Cohunbia, have an important inlluence on tln^ general climate of the district, particularly as tlH\v all are larg(^ waterlieds and watercourses, and as two of them, the eastern and western valleys, meeting at IJoat Encamp- ment, really form a single valley that encircles two-thirds of the district— a conduit of warmth among the mountains. The irregular surface of the country extending, as it does, over more, than three degrees of north latitude, causes local variations of climate. It is not necessary to describe these, except in districts likely to be peopled. Unfortunately, no meteorological or even temperature observations have Vieen'made systematically in Kootenay. f have had to form my opinions as to the c'inmte from the general statements of the few .scattered residents, and from observing the vegetation in autuuni— the tinm of my .short visit. Snow-Fall. Tlic most notioeabln dilTeivnec in the climatic subdivisions of the district would appear to be in the snow-fall, by which T mean ilie average depth lying on (he gmunfl. Li the ureas most inlluencod by w.-iirm winds that come in frcm the south, thaws occur and the whole of the fall docs not lie aiid p.ick. The local causes cf greater or leis snow-fall un' dillieult Jiid rainy, or >':-x of tUo. »'A;r(iiii(.(,,|. ^' '"ittonis • liiiu-fall f. lllOU^rh iiH'i'cnso •'^iiinnici-. •■ ■'^|iiin<,' i^'c niin- iiuicli raiiH'i, I'nitli.s, l.V 1111(1 iiiMial m\' lie ,!,'l'l'Ut • I leys 11(1 ill inds, ally, in a, thiv Seasons. Of the seasons in dittorent parts I liavo obtained tJie following; accounts; — Koateiinij JJo/lfiiiix. — (jold in winter— soiiu'tiincs for a day or two iT) to 30 lielow zero, hut frequent tliaws, snow not diy, rather wettish. I'^diruary the coldest niontli. Mornin,i,'s always frosty until nearly th(^ 1st May; occasional lij,dit nij^lil frosts until 10th to L'Oth .May, whicli, however, do not hurt crops; very little rain, rain clouds hi.i;h up seem to pass o\er; \('ry heavy dews, particulaily latter part of June and July and continuinj; uj) to t\w occurrence of frost; first frost, lirst week in September; weather in most years tends to become uns(^ttled and rainy aliout middle of October, but soino "falls" are dry and the bfj;innin<; of winter late. Eastern Valley. — The climate v>ill be mentioned under that head; it is (generally similar; less dew and less snow (about the Cob. nibia Lakes); the sunniier somewliat more sultry. On the Arrow Lakes and Cohnubia south of tlieiu the climate nnicli resembles' that of Kootenay liottonis, but there is more lain on I'ppi'v Arrow Lake. North from about the head of that lak(>, the winter is clinraeteri.sed by deeper snow-fall, and is slightly longer than at Kootenay Bottoms, Lower Kootenay River Bottom Lands. The (Irnhii)an Leaded Lmuh. Topographically, the Lower Kootenay bottom lands begin neai' Bonner's Ferry in United States territory, about 9.'5 miles up the river from Kootenay Lake, The boundary crosses about 33 miles up the river, so that a large area of these lands is" in the United States. The general character of the whoh^ valley north and south of the line is the same; perhaps the bottom land on the American side is slightly higher, and the soil, in parts, a little more sandy, at least on the .side-hills. Tlie valley seems to be the .southern half of Kootenay Lake, made into land by the material brought down by the Kootenay River, which still continues its hmd-foi'ming work, aided by the eliect of the annual inundation of the whole bottom lands from the lake to I'fjnner's Ferry. Probalily the elevation of the L-uid is due jointly to deposits from the water and the gradually diminishing rise of the watei' at the period of overllow. There is evidence around the lake of a liigher rise of water formerly, 'the jiartial denuding of the country of its forests by fires nmst have lessened the freshets in the Krwtenay River and also the mountain downflow into Kootenay Lak(>, The bottoms are liardening. The Indians formerly used si(U>-hill trails to get to the lake. They now use trails that run along tlu; bottoms. The valley of the bottom lands is tVoni .'! to ."> miles wide on an a\erage between the side- liill.s, tlm British part near the lake being, \ think, widi'r than the American jiortion. but the deu,se smoke prevented me from judging distances accurately, Sklc-hilh, The aide-hills of the valley arc low, say from 1,000 to 2,000 feet above the surface. Those on tlie west side are more regularly formed and ris(! higher than on the east side. They are for the most part low hills or hilly ridges, running laterally to the valley and se])arat("d by glens, ravines, or gulches about half a mile apart on an average. Some of these hilly ridges are of saddh^-back shape, others I'ounded; 1 did not see any that were sharply conical The outline of tlu; summits is soft and wavy, as seen from tlie valKy, The smoke i)revented my seeing the shape of the mountains behind. The slope of these bordering hills on the west side of tlu! vall(\v is Kteepish, with granitic rocks fre(|uently exposed, soil scanty and very little grass — j)ine-grass. Scrubby larches (tamarae) and Doiiglas fir seem to prevail, growing more or less thinly up to the suiiiiiiits. These hills d.i not all'ord any important area either for agriculture or pasture. Their inferior character as hill i)asture is a drawback to the possible value of the bottom lands when reciainu-d. The hills on the east siile of til,' valley are, as above said, lower and less regular. They also have an easier slope and do not retire to high mountains. On the Aineirican side, the countiy across to the .Mooyie has somewhat the character of a low rolling region, and t]i(>re is :•. remarkable break or d'-pre.-ision, avyraging abont 1,000 feet aljove the bottoms, through which the trail from a point 12 hiiles 'outh of the boundary strikes the Afooyie vallev and runs over the 3,000 feet summit above ^Fooyie Lake into the ('astern vallev. ^' it 1. . > \\ wilder the JieflrJ J"'^>^/''"« formofl and bordoml f). • "° viiuey. bcarcely a ivi^^ ;<, v;.;i i ! "*- ^^'indiiu's of the riv«,. ° '^^ '"^'ams n width surface reminded nnf m1/ • "■^^^■''^'' ^'''-^t Hv?Wne J^ '^ '°"ks up or down £ often lumpy f°;;';.*;«*';v^^^^ banks of iSyTwJs the ' "^^'^'^ ^""t^"- frost''^- As . t "''"'^^ °^ '^^"rso areUtr a fd s n^r!.'^'r^ ievJt^trES^::'f « ^0 he wet,:;;s «t^.so;;-3'£,j^--stHeed,;;;;r,:::^ than nea;x KiTrs the hills by detrition. ""' "•'■" '^ "arrow fringe of drier ^0!/ T""'^ *^''* ^°^^ ^'>« «oil of these bottom la.^ ■ ^ ""'' ^°™'«I along the base *ion agriculture is impossZ'""''"''*'°"''^'''y fertile In • elevafe 7j'^" redanfation of course wn, I , ""'^'^* '''■'^■'- ''^wl winterage value by nffordin" t , ''^«t™V«l ^vhic.h now . v, ' , ' '^^^"^*'^*'°» to exist and to the east side hills l^l^^lZiu^, ","" '>'' «^ ^^-Ite" :.. o'ck ""s'"l "^ ^■'^'•*^- ""itecl bottom lands. ^^°"J'' ''e reduced, as that has to be es h^../^^'!' Snu'«g value as On the other hand everv „ ^ , estimated ,n relation to the 1884 47 Vio. Report on the Kootknay Country. U M and show '"'"g upland, ' liiJls on the 'II described sti'cani with "s in width, "•down the •less, grassy surrounding 'ortions. I uch of the walk ovei- *'etter, and «and the ? grass in I'sebac'k, is overflow, ks of the ? the hill, that flow ' tlie base ■ iiiunda- ordinary r'l water ss is cut cleepish, he sake I'operty •itli the nvever, s some as the lerican T land which vege- nd to iiiited ue as 3 the be at I the ited. for rnig has the out 3 it Jiy forecast, or by small experiments. I found that water poured on the soil quickly disappeared, apparently as it would through sand ; nevertheless, next morning, there was a puddle almost pasty, showing retentiveness. Perhaps after complete reclamation, the subterranean water percolating laterally would stand at the level of the water in the river and^conie up by capillary attraction to join the dew in nourishing plants on the surface. If irrigation should be necessary, the facilities for cheap irrigation are limited. There are not many large streams, though springs occur on the side-hills. The unevenness of the surface of the liottoms in many parts, or perhaps as tlie rule — too considerable for remedy by the plough— would be an obstacle to irrigation. It is proper to add that the general opinion among the few persons acquainted with the locality is that irrigation would not be necessary on the reclaimed lands. Tt is not necessary, they say, except in very dry years, on the side-hill land, 20 or 30 feet above the bottoms, but the soil there has more clay in it, and where not very sloping, perhaps retains better. It is a remark- able fact, suggesting many speculations for which there is no space here, that the dry almost dusty whitish soil east of the Cascades, where the average annual rain-fall hardly exceeds 20 inches, somehow does afford moisture for crops. The common explanation given is the copious- ness of the dew-deposit, but this explanation is insuflicient. Without toucliing the engineering ciuestion, I may offer a few remarks on the hypothesis that only partial reclamation is possilile, considering the lie of tlio surface, the downflow from the hills and so forth. Partial reclamation might have certain advantages if the relative cost were not too great. It would especially benefit the lands south of the boundary, as they are, as above said, some- what higher than those lower down the valley. Within the British territory the bottom lands on the east side of the river seem to be more deeply covered l)y the overflow tlian the lands on the west side of the river. Partial reclamation would open considerable tracts for agriculture, and permit areas of timothy and other cultivated grasses to l)e grown. The wild grasses, hay and browsing upon those portions of tlie bottoms not successfully reclaimed would, in connec- tion with such grazing as the east side-hills afford, be while uncovered by water a not unuseful addition to the grazing and dairying capabilities of the bottom lands that were reclaimed. Eastern Vallev. The eastern valley of Kootenay forming part of the extraordinary long valley already mentioned as stretching along the base of the Rockies far north and south of Kootenay District, is Kootenay Proper — the Kootenay Lake section and the western leg of the Columbia being adjunctive areas to the eastern valley in relation to capabilities of settlement. It is about 300 miles long from the boundary to Boat Encampment, and for the most part has an average width of 8 or 10 miles. The mother lakes of the Columbia, 2,8.'i0 feet above sea-level, lie about the centre of the most valua})le part of the \ alley. From them the Columbia flows north, and from their neighbourhood a portion of the Kootenay flows south, through the valley. It is one of the prettiest and most favoured valleys in the province, having good grass and' soil, a flne climate, established mines and promising mines, excellent waterways and an easy surface for road making. Its chief navigable waterway leads to a station of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Crass — Hast side of the Valley. The east side of the valley may be called a grazing region of about 4 to 6 miles in width between the waterways and the Rockies, and 250 miles in length from the 49th parallel (international boundary) to Kicking Horse Pass, or even to Blaeberry River. The prevailing grass is bunch-grass of good quality, but to this there are some exceptions. There are 20 or 30 miles between Sand Creek and the boundary where the wooded rolling hills of the water- shed between Elk River and the Kootenay cause too much shade for continuous bunch-grass, and give rise to pine and other grasses. A similar cause affects the low upland between Sheep Creek and the mother lakes. About 70 miles down the Columbia from these lakes, the country becomes rather wooded, and the stretch thence to Blaeberry River, in consequence, is characterised by pine and other grasses with bunch-grass wherever the absence of shade permits its growth, Grass — West side of the Valley. Tlie west side of the valley is a grazing bunch-grass region from the boundary to a point also far north, but not so far north as on the east side. The wooded hills close in upon the river about 30 miles down the Columbia from the mother lakes, and end the grazing area on 16 Khport ox the Kootkxay Country. 1884 ''■'''^'■''•'— ^'";«/»fO-y. ai Ok Witl. *i , ■■"""'—'^"iiimar,/. »» itJi tlif> aliovo ovpoi^fm,,^ ti . jf-a -,ual to al.out, .'.V) , ". " Tr '^^ ^'^<'" ^"H^y deseril,..! fn - '■ '-...loops. "' 's,; :' rs";:; °^ /^- -"^^ - -f I .uk^ jj;^ j-; - ^-i..« ^oj^i^ :2 The ■ * 11 ^^interagp, I^^ut ni several localities tJiVai*- ""^^ ^"^'^•'^ 'm.lcl^..ass tl ' ' 'f '"'"^ ''° ^^id to "t <'vou these depths • the It " '' ""'-^ 0'"'-J'aIf of this fol? i^ ^"'' '"'^'i '»"t')' «xten ^. The ^vilfl hay ,,„estion is o,„> f '""*"' ^''''^^^'^ occur f ;i-x; t^si^^^^^^^ J ---- - !^ - - .t r -"^"- =t; 'ii?" -tiSs^^^^^^^^^^ ££"r - - "-"^ ;;l..-eh ha/ could ho T p '' |;!"«- '«••«' K.-vcr (here are a revt;,.-^"'' ^^'''^l^'^ cannotlay I.at more u.ay he disco -S,,*^"'' 'l^'"'^- f however S stm u ' i""*"'"''^' ""'a^'o^v^ oj .«ls of the CoIunU.ia u" K 'Koot^r'''',"'"^?-'^^^-'''' ^^' «! ser er wo ifs^ '.T'f T^' ""^' ^'''"k troes for bron-si,w and 'i, ,?"''"' ''■''«'« t'">'-f^ are ,„ilcs of .u-n '^^' *''''^* ^'"^ ff.'cat river s«.H.ner ranges, l,? .^^ ' ;;! -", ^^^ '-tural eon,; !::;^'^^'";^™- -^th g^d a.^li" un"..xed as they are vith re ? ',; '' ',", "'''"* *'"">' ^^V is so e trnti 1, ^f," "^ '''" '"'■'-^^""'t cut for a few years they cease to "•' '""-•'""'^ ^re not suf i ient ' n rr ^'''" f"^'^'"!^ «''a««os o«;i..g to the lumpy or fuS v ^-. ^' '"'"''^'^ ''^'^>'' '-^"'l. a so t]L ' "'' *'''''* '''^*"- '^""S natural growth of' fj,.. pS.ts " .^ ?'" '''"■'^"'' ''V ^I.<' action of tL?' ?""°* ''^ «"^ ^a/iy Mouse Creek- where th n "* ^ '■''^^' ««'"« !?ood meadow^; .. ^™'* '^'"' the peculiar if to he good hav r ^ P f w,"" " ".''■^'' ^" ^''"t ''!-. h 1 ot/" ^ "T"?'-^*-" of a se?tS o, l.a.i sonu. tiniothv il i ,, \ ''" ^"^ ? «'Ttond.er.' The ea "le Z'v / '''"' '"' ^'''»^' P'-o^o I'ottoni gra.ss cut wi h n „. '" V -'^""t'.".' settler s-.o'nl ., '^ '* ''»'"' ''''^-^l it 'setter i" '.'a..y ,«rts a d i ,Uv r? ^r';-" the suri^^ce wa^ no , ' v ' TI ^f^"^^'''^^ "^ ^^"oten^ -- it. The utilisi ;^t ^ ^'^ ;^ 'fJ an, inclined to t ' that o'i.o ''"':'^' ''"'^-^^^-^^ I t!.;: "I'P.- course cf the K,' f , , ?' ■^^^■a'>'P-,i^Tass gives import., ,*/ ''^-""'ttor would ovcr- ■■'•'"'^ccl f,on, at least a no f 'I ",'^" ^'"' Colnn.hia tJ e vh , J '^ *'"' ''"^'^^^o'l "^ turninl a..'l make the e.xp^sc o e /r" "I,*'"' '''''-'' "-'-''o- -o, Id n2^^^^^ '^"""^'"^ "^ the Kootenay .s«an.pgrass..s wll i'^ T' ' " '""'■'" ^^""''t'. ^vh le Tf T "aturally l.otter grassS -:s;::;:^':;;';:t^^^^^^^ t,. question wii, • --.-s..e';j^^^^ 1884 47 Vio, HePORT ON' THE KOOTENAY CorNTRY. 17 firpa oil tbo iks foiijiijig ' Kootcnay Wo to give t'S south of hood, for instance on the Beaverfoot River, otc, morr on tho oast, I think, tliau on tlu- \Ni;,t side of th(! Oolunihia. Tho soil of tho oastorn valley is undoul.tedly fertile, Imt its qualities Imve not hoeii tully tested as very little fariiiin<; has heen undcrtakeii as yet. f think that Loth the soil and cliiuat.- are suitable for af,'vieulture for at least ITU) miics up the valley from the frontitr. 'I'he soil will yield wheat and \vhato\cr else is |,'rown in Kainloojis or ()kanii<,'aii, thoujih the ;,'rcatcr elovation and the ditlering nature of the soil will re(|uirf more care in Kootenay than in those districts. Tlie soil must he well worked and erojis atti'iidcd to in a manner which exiierienee will dictate. A whitish clay soil from one to three feet in depth, hut in some places along the river of great depth, is the common top-soil in the Kootenay valley. This generally overlies a porous gravelly subsoil. The porousness of the sul>soil makes a plentiful sujiply of water necessary in irrigating, but if too much water is applied or water is unskilfully appliocl, the soil is apt to cake and become too hard. A more retentixe subsoil occurs in parts, for instance at the forks of the St. Mary's and the Kootenay, and in other parts of the low land near the river. The facilities for easy irrigation are pretty much what they are in the Yale District interior of the province, fairly good but not in propoVtion to the arab'le land. Probably the best soil in this Eastern valley is on the river bottoms subject to periodic overtlow, and therefore at present unavailable.^ These contain about 20,000 acres,' which some think would be available for arable farming if the overflow of the Kootenay were reduced by the turning of tln^ upper cours(^ of that river into the mother lakes of tlu; Columbia. Irrigation of the bottom lands might then be required though generally in tliis district irrigation is not so necessary as in Yale District — and it u'iglit be necessary to construct flumes to bring a plentiful supply o' water from a distance in order fully to utilise thein. The prevailing soil in the region of the mother lakes of the Columbia diflers from that in the lower part of the Kootenay valley as the district once has been the bed of a great lake. It is more silty and varied. The soil is largely deiived from the waste of i\n'. limestone rocks which occur on the eastern side of the valley. You sometimes And a thin coating of vegetable nioiild overlying whitish clay 18 inches to 2.V feet deep, superimposed upon a considerable depth of adhesive and probably porous gravel. " I^ut the soil seems to \ary every few hundred yards. The top-soil in some places a light sandy loam on gravel; elsewhere on bluish clay. I noticed on one flat about G inches of vegetable mould and a gravelly subsoil of a foot resting on clay. The garden of a settler on the east side of the lower mother lake showed 2 feet of black loani, then S feet of clay (out of which he had made a capital chiiiniey) and then gra\-el and dirt. He showed me wheat, beans (climbers), peas, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, etc., and men- tioned that at his farm the strong frosts did not come until October. His potatoes this year were green for 22 days after the 9th September. The farm was back towards the Rockies from the lake. Proljably the frost comes earlier on lower land near the water. Wheat certainly will ripen well in most years on the east side of the mother lakes at an elevation of about 2,900 feet, though whether it'always will bo a sure crop is not yet tested. Some of the beans in the above garden were just touched, but not to hurt, by a light frost that had come after a heavy rain on the 3rd Septeinb(>r. This settler did not irrigate. N'ogetables of various kinds have been grown 20 miles lower down the Columbia, but it is doubtful if they would thrive owing to the summer frosts farther down towards the "Steamboat Landing." On the west sid.^ of the motlier lakes, tillage has not been tried, but I do not know why crops shot i I not grow there also, though the climate from local reasons may not be quite so good as on the east side, Timber, The \rhole Eastern valley is more or less wooded, but of course thinly wooded in the extensive areas of bunch-grass— a grass that will not grow well in shade. The portion of the valley examined by me will not aftbrd much timber for export. It does not grow in large bodies, and though there are inanv trees 2 or 3 feet through, th^ trees generally are rather small. ^ There is a fair body of timber, chiefly yellow pine (pinus p.), rather loosely spread on the Kootenay about the mouth of Kindlay Creek, which might be taken down the Columbia to tho railway for shipment east of the Rockies. My explorations did not reach the country between Kicking Horse Pass and the Boat Encampment, Init several persons who had visited that section told me that its tinil>er in their iudgmont was inferior. It would take two season's work to estimate correctly the timber capabiuries of the Columbia alone. My whole trip was a hasty recon- uoisMnce. 18 Report on ihe ICootenay Countrt. 1884 on the foot-hills of he ouk os T rvolLw^^ ";' '"""'"''' "t'^-.-to">arac prevailing Oolumbia,andtheDou«a li take tspkr„Zc''r^ T'"' ^* *''" "'°*'"^'' '"'^''^^ «« thi growth and will bo used for fL ct^ asftFs ,no.^3 .'" ^"'1' V^™''-, '^'"^ ''^"'''- ^^ "^ «»i^'l grows niostly up the «uld. ^ Tl e sof 30,'^ 7 ^'^ '"" r'"'"' "'''^•''' "'*'' t'^'"'^'-'^« carpentering tin bar. I saw floors a ull^^oarfbr . «pruce ovn.g moist soil is a fair more than a few scattered white phie^ '" "''* °^ *'"' *'"'''"''• ' '^'^ "«* «^o«'=° Mini'iKj, The eastern valley lias mineral as well as arable and grazing resources provailodf^ Agenflenlfi^totci/t h .^ t aT ^* ^^''"^" '''"^«° -»°ko on a tributary^of Elk River, caS ALrt-n On e 1 '™*''^r/"^'» «'<^» ^ coal vein 7 feet thick coal was. Lumps of float c^aT a o K trS S f^o^ ''f ^ay what the nature of the Bonner's Ferry. This probablv was 1. niter ,> ?, u f^" ''°'''" *'^*' Kootenay as far as in the river. ^Anotl ir hZnin sn,M ?, f T , °"''^ ^'■'' ^"^'^ ^^^en among the boulders Kicking Horse St Ihad not t?^ to e "'^ ''^''! '^''' ''''' ^ ^"'^ "^ «°^1 i" th" The old establis led gold mines S W Id Ho ""0^ "^ ^^'.^'n^P"^*"* discoveries, men are still working tliere T e hi.tn.. ' If li ''' ?'''' "' *''° ^''^"'^y- More than 100 Some half-breeds had fou, d goWol^ Slav Seek""':," ^^^ ^ 1^"°"" *° »««^ ^^P^^t^o"- Montana of their discovery. A party iSir wav /n p* ,/''"n°^ '^'"^ ^^''^ P^^P'^ "^ the mouth of Wild Horse Creek, in Ma? h 18c7%n thn^ '^ ^^'^ ^'' *''' ^^''^^ P™«P^«t ^t rush in 1865, but towards the end of 180 ' th. BlaJkfno? /'"' *'''''' ■'-'''' '^ '■"^''' '^'"' '' ^'^'Sev part of the floating population Perry Sel iS . ? J "n"^- ^f •*^'^'»^»t 'I'-ew oft" a largo Weaver Creek excltenfent was in "/o tL re" o oH!:Xt'Z'''^'t'''^r'^'''y- ''^'^ country. In July, 1882, coarse gold-one Lmnwor 1, i-? * "'' ?^,*''*' '^^°°y^'' ^^ ^ ^^^^ River, and durinr/sprintr of 1883 tlm.P^ 1 f ^ ^vorth eSi-was found by crevicing on Bull These'facts show'thS fe s^utltm a^^^ o h "Jal W ,-''°"'l V^- "'*'' ''"^''^ "^ "^ *«- ^'<^y«- Findlay Creek and other streams nZ^i^LVl? ' 'V? '' '''^'T ^'"''^ ''""^^ exists that -ill yet yield a harvest to tir^nerwli^flo^ the n,other lakes of the Columbia are favourable. Gold was fou uHn IsS n „ ^ ^ "^.f^PP''"'^ ^'"' prospecting conditions Kicking Horse River.' ^oni^^^:^t,::iS:iJ^f'' 1 f\ ^°'"">'- -- head of tlie valley at the upper part of the B ! Rend Nor ^ I e Tu ^'if' ^"^"^''^ *^^ .silver-bearing deposits, perhaps as "ood as the Letter Vn. J . H^'T ''''*^^""* '^^ S^l^na miles up the%aJlumcheen rL'' whtirflows rl tit ^^t t °tr'^^?''^^'° ^^'^^'- '^''' the head of the upper mother lak^ there is a LlTn l ? ,*° *'*' Columbia 79 miles from one can follow without a break for the lentth^nf '^T''^\^^'^'' '™PP"^g' ^^^ t«P ^^ which very slight dip. The proSty L ha " fet i ml oTu SieT' r/' 7' "^ f'' '''''' ^ Kootenay Lake Bi^ Ledtre It carrier ZZL! I %} \ ,. '^'^ '''*'*'^« ^rom that of the oxide of copper. The Sart. is 7 1 r f^^^ "i .""'"'^ "■°". ^'"^ ''^''' ""^f'^'' t° »^« The specimens that I saw'"",': remarSble^ Ahe^rlS^^^ ^'T'"^ l'""' '"^"^• carries silver, but no sufiicient assay has been nw as vet*^* 'AlT ^^''"^ ''''"^" *^^* *^« O''® prospect, but of course everything will d^nd o, w^at 1„rtb? T'"I """^^"^'y '« ^ 8°°^ show, The claim is held at present by £rs. jVs fnd Ws "In ft"'^ ^'^Pf r^^' "^^ seems to resemble the silver-bearine ealem ore Intl t ,1 • f ". ^ ,^*^ '^'^"'^'''^^ character, it think is in British ColuXa and KTibertit^e ?'''''? *°'!f'^' ^^^^"'y '"^'^'^^ «ome having been as yet deterSed ^' *'" ''''*'"' ^°""^'^''y "^ t^e province not comm?nlcSn7owrte".Se":L\et tlW ^^^^^ t ^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^ — ^i ■ boundary at the 49th pardlelAirnnnW,.% the Canadian Pacific railway to the district Jhould be clCed in thiTet^ "o%t Xs Jty " Tt ^^ "tf °"%^'*'^- '"^^ nay that the Canadian Pacific railwnv r, U 1 ^. ^" • -^^^ a misfortune for Kocte- FortunatelyaimviSe ri?er runs dZ/a L^^^o/^.P''"?^^^^^ """^^ ""^ ^^°t down it. placed on tLt strieh of the CokmbTr n oS ?;\lte%lfd\t • f" /*^"-^.^-^- ^^^uld be settlers also will require a winter road to ^^^'^i^ I^^^^'^:^ ■J ^J J *• ':S. I,' 47 Vio. KePORT on the IvOOTKNAY COUNTRY. 19 lakes down tho oast sido of the Columbia to "Htoaiuboat Laiidinj,'," l)ut beyond that thick timber be, on whom a-e sits li-htly, said to mo that tht! Government made roads thi-ouKJi Eaglo Pass and proposed to make a railway from the Columbia to Kootoiiay La^e, l)ut dul nothiuK at all to develope Kootenay Proper— the Eastern Valley. It is NvroiK' to jud^'e of the value of an undeveloped part of tli(^ province by a debtor and creditor money comparison. A judicious expenditure is necessary to enable a ( istrict to produce ail income, 'I'liat expenditure is of the nature of a capital account— a special, separate char.re. Until Kootenay is opened by comnuinicatimis and linked to mam lines ot transport, criticism of the proj^'ress of the district really is a criticism on our management of it. Tub Lands nESKRVi:n nv the Governmknt in connkction with tiik Ainsworth Grant. No part of these lands is within, or near to, the Eastern valley of Kootenay, which I have ,1 " U'nntoiinv VrniifV." 'HieV COllsist of ;he mouth of the called " Kootenay Proper." They consist of — (1.) Tracts on a portion of Kootenay River and round Kootenay lake; (2.) Tracts on each sido of the proposed railway from Kootenay Lake to tl Kootenay River (on Columbia River) ; (3.) Tracts on each sido of the Columbia River from the United States boundary to the head of navigation; not to exceed in all 750,000 acres, of wliich no part shall be within 20 miles of the Canadian Pacific Railway. _ , ., a ^ *i * *i Adopting the common view, wliich, liowever, is not made clear by tlio Act, tliat the grantees have to take nos&ession of the lands in alternate "sections," beginning at the hrst- mentioncd points in the description of the tracts to bo reserved by the Government, I will endeavour to give some notion of the general character of the extensive area included withm the reserve. (1.) Tracts on a portion of Kootenay River and round Kootenay Lake. If the Govcrninont take the first block north from and beginning at the point on Kootenay River, 15 miles from the boundary, the grantees will have very little land on this part of Kootenay River, as the estimated distance, straight from the boundary to Kootenay Lake, is little more than that. Anyhow this land need not be described under the present head, as it is bottom land and the description of the Giohinan leased land, hereinbefore made, includes it. The hill sidi^s round Kootenay Lake, part ot the reserved land, arc steep and are backed by mountains. Long, narrow sandy beaches, and low, rocky, generally rounded promontories, like those on the inner sido of Vancouver Island, are common on the lake margin. A torrent tlows in at almost all these beaches, having in fact helped to form them. Not many oven small agricultural areas can be found. A few low lying areas near the water, also small basins or narrow beaver-dam bottoms among the hills, may perhaps be culti- vated some day as gardens or farm patches. Near the mouth of the Lardo, at the north end of the lake, there are about 1,500 acres of overflowed bottom land that probably could be cultivated, if reclaimed, but the extent might not justify the cost of reclamation. The soil round the lake is scanty ; much of it has been washed down into the lake. Rocks are frequently exposed on the steep ascents, but the vegetation comes down to the water, the trees being tall rather than thick. I am inclined to think that the soil in most parts will not prove to be sterile. It may be expected that potash and soda, and even magnesia, will be found in the soil of a graiiite and mica-slate country, besides which, the soil, in many parts, is similar to that of the side-hills up Kootenay River where Messrs. McLoughlin and Hall have grown various crops. The great lires that take place reduce the already scanty covering of soil along Kootenay Lake. They of course destroy the animal and vegetable matters in it, but, perhaps, in the little basins above-mentioned where t!;' .oil is apt to be stiff, damp, and cold, the burning of an excess of inert vegetable matter n 3 beneficial by lee ing carbonaceous matter among the ashes and making a wnrir.e,- U-A fV.v ve;,'etable life. , , ■, -.r t>- If the region ever has a mining population and the bottom lands of the Kootenay Kiver are not reclaimed, scattered patches around the lake may be cultivated for vegetables or some %ir Report on the Kootexay Country. m- , I 1884 Timber on Knotenm/ Lake >sen,l.l„.« „, tins varied chara,.t..r lu- o ^ l f h'''' ■ '"' '";'"'"^''^' >"^^' -tto.nvnod ' io ^ t .." l.<. of tho land, tl„. sonnti.u.ss of th, soil Ind fi r"?"';" '■"^'"''' ^'""' ^1"- Ho..ki,.s Hut «aid, slender, not soruM.v luiMntl ,.f i, • '" ^'■•^"* ""^■'^'* "*" *'"' acr,.ssil.l,. ti ,1 . . '" *'■' '■'■ ""■ "■■'•'■'"■"' '■'■ '-»«•"■ /.»„ , ,,„„,„„. w 1 'nnf f . "^ "'!'''"'■ "^""ditions tlmt may ht^lSZ^i^^^ connected area of variably fertile will not try to make farms there unless TlLr ^^*""^*f'' f™m ^-hat has been said abov/ \r mmmmmwM- amp vuth a »oa of heavy bluish clay, formed apVareSLvtL'^:.'^''^ ,,i„ ^,j , pparentlj by the decomposition pf feldspathic 1884 47 Vic. Rr.ponT ON tmk Ivootenay Country, 21 rnckH. Oi\ No. 1 t'lirin wlicn! is u sine irii|). Snwii inil nf .M;inli or liri^iimin;,' of .\|iril; it is rut from lOtli to |.")tli Aii|,'iist. I''all wIumI did not siinccd in |SSl'. Show did not fover well. Outs, Mild csiiccialiy luirlcy, ;,'a\r yiciit yields. Tiniotliy and the ;,'nis.s('s succci'd well. I'otatneH lar;;i' and lini'. No iiiij,'ation. .\'". .'_/;ood ; no ii'ri<,'ation ; land lies Hat; sulisoil retentive. No. •_' farm is alioiit two weeks later than No. I farm, which latter is close down to the Kottom.s and sunny. Snow, us a I'ule, yoes first week in .Vpril ; wheat then sown ripens middle of Auj,'ust. Kirst frost first week Septemlier. The jfrasK on tliese east side hills, especially soutii of the lioundary line, is diaracterised in the (jpeii sunny parts hy a species of liunch-j,'rass less stout and lainchy than the Kandoops jj^riiss; elsewliere j)ine j;rasH jirevnils. '["he lattei- is the connuon j,'rass hetween tlie l)oundary line and Kootenay Lake; there is very little liuneh-;,'rass; prolisdily it would f,'i''>w if the tind)er were liurned ofl". I would class these wooded pine j;rass east side-hills within our territory as a third class summer stock-ranj^e for moderate hands; they do not possess naturallv winter food anil shelter for any nundier of stock. Tliey lia\e a ci'itain value in relation to tin' Inittom lands at ]ireseiit. Stock like the younji sjiritij,' 1,'rass on the hills liut seek the bottoms as soon as that ^;rass is dried hy the sun. The inundation of sunnuer forces theiu af,'ain to the liill.s, hut on the sulisideiice of th(^ water most of the catth' and horses return to ■'he hottonis and aj)pear to jirefer them until next sprinj.'. If the cattle remain on the hills, the infeiior ^I'ass causes them to wander much in search of better food and i)erliaj>s, idso, seekin;,' freedom from nios(|uitoes aiul j;iuits, and as the country is not easy for riding tliruugh, the range is one on whidi cattle are ditlicult to find. Patches of saline clay occurring yuiierally as banks or small ridges are distributed along the hill sides. h'oii/i'iiiii/ Liil,i .\/iiiiiii/. Very little is known of tiie mineral resources of Kootetiay Laice. It looks like a mining region, but pr»>s)iccting for gold has not been very suc<'essful hitherto. The old galena Ic Ige on the east side, which contaius moderate (|uantities of silver, has again attracted attention, owing to the approach of railways to tlie district, and, jierlmiis, more largely owing to improve- ments in the jiroeefs of se]iaratiiig the silver fruni the lead, which creates hopes that lUch low grade ore may now be handled profitably, (ialena ledges, supposed to be silver-beaHiig, have been discovered last year on the west side of the lake. Practical men who have been sent to examine the* region generally, and have spent several months in exiiloring, have been satisfied with its promising character. Almost everybody «hn was emjiloyed on Kootenay Lake in ]8!>.'3 has what he considers to be a silver-bearing galena claim. Half a dozen men regard themselves-already as Comstock millionaires. There is nothing in the facts as vet to justify tiny such belief. Oalena, or sulphuiet fit lead, which contains, if pure, !<('( per cent, of lead and l.Sper ceiit. of suljihur, is found almost e\erywhere in the Ignited States except in tlie bituminous, coal regions. Several varii'ties of galena contain silver; w hen in large proportion the ore is genoi'ally mixed with otlun" minerals. Some authorities .say that any galena whidi yields fifty ounces of silver to a ton of ore is considered a silver ore in the liiited States, Tlie ditliculty of smelting this ore profitably, even when containing much silver, has for a long time checked the working of deposits. Of late, as above said, processes have been improved, and galeiui ores in good localities for mining, working iuid transit, containing less silver than it was considered possible to utilise formerly, ar(> now worked to advantage. The (pu'stion about the Kootenay Lake galena ores is whether they are in sntlicieiit (piaiitity; whetlier tlu^ silver tht'.t is in them and the conditions of working bring them w ithiii this worlcable class. Tt is not solely a question of the jiercentage of sihcr, it also is a i|Uestion of oircumstnnces; ."iO ounces of silver to the ton might pay inonei)lace; the same might not ]iay in another, ilen acquainted with the conditions of extracting silver from galena think it worth while to light in the law courts about these claims. !>ut experience alone will test the real value of these deposits. Xt present it may be said that there? i i good deal undc^termlned. Even iis regards the Dig Ledge on the e.iRt KJdp nf the lake, it c:i!inot be said whether it is a v.-.^u.: ■-<; a srvati;!!! of ore only. Tt may be called a good prospect. Work in earnest to develop the claims and strike into the centre to test their true character has not yet begun. Still the fact as al>ove said of contention for HeIHJIH (>»5} TIIK KoOXKNAy CoUKfBV, 1884 the pOHSossi/^H of WW*! of fho flniins, imssildy i '>t the host in tlir n'.i,'i<)M, slmwH that it is iiilicvcd tiiut tlicro maj i,. so^ictliiu;,' ])\ tiic deposits, ciih r for Hjicuulativi' iu'(|iiirciiit'iit iiiid Kale; or for U'gitiiiiat(' iniuii.ji TM- i« :i weji^liter fact tliaii ii tVw n^iort- of ussayH timt hnvii 1 ii nmdc public. It is niisl. v uuhs aiiythiiij,' from tiic iiii|icniM.*""" of orv; tlic honest assay of a largo collection of nj.nM-m.iir Hjieeiniens from a lode i,-,tlii> true (est, ( )he of the contestants 1ms emi)loyed an assayiT on tiu> .j)ot to examine the ores, l.ut the result of course is not known outside. Having' no such ;,'eneral assay results hefore me, 1 do nut cpinte repuili'd a.ssavs mine is not always in a condition to furnish a n'gular supply of ore, hut if other mines were found, the suu'lting works could he fed. ^ All this points to much cajiital, the h.st maiiag cut and economv, as ""cpssary to make Kootenay Lake galena mining pay, with the acconi].ianiment of a consideiahle leral ling duvelopment in tlu? region. Skcond Ahea in con.; kit I on .•. rni Ainswohtii's (Jh.xnt. Tlu >ocond area of the reserve that may lie I, III, tinned is tln' strip alon^' tin- Kootenay River from the outlet of Kootenay Lake to the (Jolumliia Kiver, The length of the river hy rough estimate is ahout L'J miles. The line of the iirnjiosed railway is longitudinallv throimh this .strip, hut on approaching the Colmnliia it may perhaps turn noi tlieily and come in a couple of miles ahove the mouth of the Kouteiiay Kiver.' This would avoid the" " Kootenay '' rapids of the Columhia, which are immediately aliove the mouth of tlie Kootenay River, hut whether tliat northerly turn would imiirovo the raihvay route is not known, as only a reconnoissance of the locality has hecn made as yot. The width of the Kootenay varies in this portion of its course, hut, prohahly, is about 400 feet. The numlier of portages depends somewhat on the stage of water. At hi-h-water canoes can run the (ir.st rapids at th- outlet. Speaking of the river in August, the whole stream, a mile and a half down fiwin the aliove rajiids, falls sheer about ! l' feet. The rapids immediately above t lis fall and those inmediately below it, together with the fall, probably cause a total tall at this place of about 20 feet in (piarter of a mile. After :\ or 1 miles farther of rnjiid water navigable by canoe.s, another 10 feet fall is reached, beyond which a similar stineh brings the traveller to the big falls. These consist of two falls, separated by rapids, each :.dl about 2.") f(;et, but estimates vary much. The portage is 2.', mile , An expansion below the i.dls, with islands in it at some stagi^ of the water, atlbrus fine .scenery. Onward for L'^ • .ili s the w-ater generally is rapid and very rough in part.s, leading to a bad rapid where a oonag,' of Ii miles is necessary. A mile of comparatively ea.sy water then reaches the Columbia. It is unneces.sary to say that such a stream is useless as a coinniercial route. .,, '■'''"' ''^'"' °" 'J"^'' ^^^^^''- '■'^ >''^",t,'l>. 'IS might be expected in a narrow break through the lulls. The margin of the riv- ;s not terraced, but is struck by low .spurs of the hill.s, that inake numerous ravines. Tin vV -lo '• box " callous or fonnidable rocky blulik that cannot be for the nio.st part avoided l>y • - •-: .'r rfti;v,->.y. The rock chielly is hiose i;raiiite. It is neither an easy j)lace, nor is ir. f-o -..a engiii, ering jioint of \iew, a very diliicult placi> for a raihvay. Probably a railway . -m'c, ' r,, ! .• in a single long season, if 'everv thing for a start wr-epreviously provided in siu'i ,. ■ . -.oi.-; place. Ts. u; is no agricultural" or grazing land worth a description within thi.^ portion. c,f the reserve. Tlio timber is inferior and scanty, and has sullbred much from tires. L.VXDS HKsmtVKI) ON THE COLUMBIA RlVJ-ll IX COXNECTIOX WITH THE AiNSWOnTH CfnAKT. I ascended the river from the boundary to Eagle Pass, bui h.-we no personal knowledge of the land north from thence to Death Rapids. The soil all the way up seems to be of pretty 47 Vic. UkI'OUT 'N Till; K'OOTKNAY CoUNTKY. 2a uniform oluvmrt.T. It violnil.lv in„ '•■• .Ihs.imIm ,i is ii UkIiI Naiwly soil, hnrdly a loain. I „l,„ul,| ex, t it t.) Im- f.'itiir, liut .uMly .■ximust.'.l. TIkic itr-' koiiic looalitU'B wlu-tv thf hoU \H nitlur .iiiyfy. N<''ir l''"il Sli.'|.iifr (corruption of t.ie I' relic 1 from its wetu<'.ss. An iiiferior growth of yellow pine is found scattered on the » sunny lower slopes. chieHy on the left bank of the Columbm a long way up trom the towards the mouth of Kootenay Elver, and it re-appe,-rs in considerable abrndance cf ..nod size in Lower Arrow Lake, casing, however. he wetter I'pper Arrow Lake region ThU tree, 1 need not reiiKirk. is the familiar tree of \ d.strict-a tree usable for general Durnoses when well grown, but much less Miluable than Douglas lir and white pme It would ^evei Znpete with^ur Coast Douglas f.r exports, but, in a dearth of timber, might be manu- factured and sent south and east from the Columbia. There are a goo.l many yellow pines of fair size for logs towards the head of Lower Arrow Lake. Mouille") ches and boundary and often 24 Report on tue Kootknav Country. 1884 I ( the coast trees. It -rows alumclantlv on il.e Onln,,,!,; ' • ""^ ''* '''*^'^'^f''' ^Jiau on Low,., An-ow ].ake and on Uj^K^r A t w La^ h''""'';'^' '" '""'•" *""'"•''« ^^'^ ^ead of ;'].i^'tly on tl,..].ill sides, .,„t rMid.o I'li't'h t^ 1 ^^''°^'' ^'»' '""^'•- ''^ke. rees are youn,M,ut tl.ey would n,ake 'o d t tlmt • ''Vril ;V'"f " ^^'^^ '"-* "^ the pine, of eourse would 1... the u,ost valual.le of all the ni.,,./; l! v "^'^' "'> '"^.•''* *" *'"^ «'''*" ot suital.le growth. ^ ^' ^""'"' ^'ves it oecurnng ni (juantity and The taiuarac lu-ohahlv is the eonnnonest tree in Tv'^„+ ■ • provnic,. w,.st of Slniswap Laic.-. I had oo o >^-^^^^^^^^ .Wenay. It ,s not found in the tan.arae fron, its yellow Uuuual In e h tCo3 d tl ^^ 'f'.'^' "'" l'-v-'"'"«" <>f the h.rd of tl,e forests on the J.ower Oolun ,1 h ' n C ■ L T ' ^^".' ' '* '■""'^titutes ahout ono- ' PI-'' Arrow Lake and Eagle Pass Is ^li ""■ ''1'* '^J^l'"'"^'''^ »" ^'^^^ ^'etweeu n .vdder l.u.k. It grows la.^erhnt i ^i; " t o irr 1}''''' "^ j'"^ ^^t^^'' '--'' -ith It IS a very heavy moo.I, lasts well under ■ ou ,1 ^ ,' i '"VT""' •?''""'^"* t^''^'"" 'F'^Hties. easy splitting. So.ne .say it does not J ml U t; ''', ".f;;';; .^y'' '■'"'«' ^"^^ .""^t to eidar for Hpiinst tins is the faet that it is used for tiX at , ' J i . v"'' '■' r'A^ ''"'"^'^^ *'"'' ^'^^' "'"t NortlK.rn Pacilie Kailwav. I believe the. me tJ; "' the Pend crOreilh- division of the to satisfy n.yself on this point. n <^,, ^ 'i^i ' 'T '' - ' *"'"' ''"' ^ ^'-''' ""* ti-ne w..re of s.nall growth. L eonunJiiS X I fZ^-^t'^ ! T^" ' ^'JY '? *'"^ ^■™^^- ^-^- heavy yellow j,i,,e. ' ^"'' ^'""■^'•" I'lfl-ahly would ai.out rank witli the -JtS'vilS^^^^^^ ..t .a.,e, is found Hrst in an nu-reased rain-fall upwards fron, 1 1 afp n is ih ' d'^:'' "" "/^'"'« *'"' "'•^•'"••vnee of lHgherupont],eColund,iaandtlnougirin.d P. Tt,?^''? 1,^'^' ^^'•™^^- I^'^'-^ and .•egion ; the ing trees are generally on the T,,,,?- r for/ !:, •'.'"■ '*'* «''«^^" t'"'^'" "' tl.« trmn the hendoeks of the^oast, wj.ieh is i i,., s of "' e ' ^ ■ '''°f' 'V'"^^ '* '"«^^r« ot the trees al.ove-nientioned ' ' "^ ^-ononiie value than that of any ^^^^'^^TtZ-^^^^^^ an,ong the other trees, a. ove elevations, it is found in various .a ■ / K o en v '''' • ' ''""^''' '"f"''"^"' ^-o^^'^only to ow ground au.ong cedars. J did not s^ anv ^So ^JTV" " T?'""^' ^*'^*">-^' "'«" «" tean. tor the sake of the white pine alone I ut there nt V 1^ "'""''' l'=^-V »" l">t a lodging say that this is, as wood, the most ^ah3eV ee of tJ e r '" T'""' ^* ''^ "•'nece..sary to the eastern wldte pine aud can he useSfoMhrs^^fne^uXr' '" ""''' '''"^'"'•''^•'^ ^''^^^ "* n.chned to think it ditier.s fro,,, the eoas/ eot^. wcid wl ,V f'"'"^'- exan.ination. I am tor nistance sugar har.-el .staves "iu«oo(l, wli„.l, „ siutahle for various purposes is eo.^::o^:5c;;;;/s:;:::;;,^;^L;rS";:^ i jji^*'^?^ r'- ^«'-^^ - -^ -''-•)• This are fron, 15 to 20 iuches i,. dianieJer'^ ^ d f^r tlalit^ 1'^* "'^^ ' '•'"* '"^'^^ °^ *'- trer, con.s,de..vl.le. Here, as elsewhere iu the p.'ovin • ho .^ " ,.. '" 'J"^""''*-^' "* "^^''^''^ '« ^^T thrs does not prevent the.n from furiiishiio-n'.'?^^^ ^'^■''■? "''^ gonerally holloM-, but with the a.xe sho^ved that in so.,,,/ K« "T,„L Vf- 1 '"Ff '°" "t" available ti.ube.-. A test Ihe du.'able.icss and easy s, littiii-' of fl,n i P'oportion of sound ti-ees was .rvater "logged " on .nany parts .iTc:A:n^^:,:;'::;j:^ ch'mand 'f '"'r^ l^''- T'""'' '^'^^ ''« .1 he e.v.stence of these considerable tracts of tb nil "' '^ ""' "* ''"' ^^o^'l^i^'^- the tnnber can be utilised. JTithe.to i s e^te s t ■ iL h's '''fT ^'" 'l"^''**'"" -^^ther struct.ou ot the Canadia.i Pacific liailwav n, , t i., ,«] ^ l . '*'"':, '' "V'" ^''''"^ ''''"^ ™»- tracts by con.iecting them with the exti^ivt ."'«'• " ^'"' '"'^'"^" «* these ti.ube.vd hat cannot be ve.y well supplied witl^ , ! f i d f nf K "'"V"' ''"' .^"^•'^^- ^l-"t-.>^ ind^cred rog.o.i of the Canadia.. NorthA\^^st TeSo. e^ pt' "n "u ",''• "■"'" *'"' ""'•t^'f''''! bo .n demand and the .s.„all..e.ss of the trees wl no ,m ^ '''■'':'^' "' i^'"'"'' «^' timber will market as ,t would be for saw-n,iiling on our ^oa t i i, n f ''* "t '^'^"''' "'' ^'"^t eastern will be one of the g..eatest i..dustrie,s"in th. pro^te w bi ""'' ' ^"''"'?'' °'^ ^''° Colu.nbia t.-ee .ss ...^lon also i,. i:„it,.a states tcr.-itofy to the so V \ ^'T-'\ ^^""' '' '^'^ <=^tensivo be found aeee.a., or protltible t^ dt^^S^'t^ ^^^^^:::^^^Z':i:^£r^^l:Z 1884 47 Vic. Hbpori on the Kootknay COUNIRT. 25 pro\'ince. Tlic taritt", plus tlie traiisjtort t'liar{,'es, may prevent niauufactnrpcl wocxl from Wing sent far into the LTnited States, but it is lielievcd liy some that, notwithstanding tiie Canadian export duty of one dollar a thousand on logs, or liy trininiing the trees so as to prevent their elassifieation as logs, wood from the Columbia can be floated down tlie river to supply saw-niills placed within American territory near to the Northern Pacific Railway. 1 had no time to examine this question. The description already given of the river imniediately south of the boundary, shows that somewhat expensive improvements would be necessary to make safe driving. The chief export of lumber will be by the Canadian Pacific Railway to suj)ply Canadian territory east of the Rockies. MiNKRALS WITHIN TIIK AiNSWOKTII RkSKHVK ON TlIK Coi,UMMIA. Witli respect to minerals on the western leg of the Columbia from the boundary to Eagle Pass, I cannot pretend to say anything as the result of a tt"n days' canoe trip up the river on the eve of winter. A few Chinamen were mining for gold on the bunks Inflow the boundary, and I noticed some worked-out diggings farther up the river within our territory, but no one appeared to know wliether the tributaries of the Columbia and the Arrow Lakes had been prospected thoroughly. In the early mining days, men passed on up to the Big Bend region. The impression is that gold probably exists but in small paying quantities at the present price of commodities. J was told that iron ore had been seen, Imt the particular locality was un- known to my informant. The only systematic exploration of this section for minerals in general is that of the •' Kootenay Bill " grantees last summer. A gentleman employed by them, accompanied by two Indians, spent three months on tlie Colundna, the Arrow Lakes, and up the Ille-cille-waet River, and took away samples with him in the middle of October. I of course have no information as to where these were found, what they wert^, or the results of their assay. The Government can only get similar information by a similarly complete leisurely method of exploring. The foregoing description of the lands reserved in connection with the Kootenay Bill shows- - 1. That the agricultural and grazing capabilities of the tracts are limited. p. That the timber has considerable \ alue if, as is expected, a transmontane demand for it arises, but the timber is in belts and patches, covering altogether (speaking of merchantable timber) a moderate part of the reservation. 3. That no systematic leisurely exploration for mineral indications has been undertaken in the interest of th' fOvernment. The existence gold in quantities, which may or may not prove attractive, on the liOwer Columbia and on Kootenay River between Kootenay Lake and the Columbia is known. A belief, stronger now than formerly, also is generally entertained that, with means of transport for lead, it may be found possible to work jirofitably the low grade silver bt;aring galena ores in the Kootenay Lake region, which seem to be in considerable quantities, though whether as mines or strata is undetermined. «i> Trade. The peculiarities of the territorial struc lure of Kootenay district, of course have a great influence upon its resources and upon everything connected with its settlement. I will now mention the I'nnle question as of present int^-rest to many. The trail to Kootenay through our own territory, known familiarlv as tlut Fort Shepherd trail (Ity Rock Creek, Kettle, and Pend d'Oreille River and Summit (?reek), has not been u.sed for many years, and is not in passable condition. The district has been supplied of late years entirely from the United States. Ther<' not having been any duly constituted United States bonded route along our southern frontier, the Portland Custom House would not bond Victoria goods for Kootenay. Some years ago, however, a few invoices from \'ictoria were taken in by the Osoyoos aiul Colville route? through United States territorj- at heavy cost, as the goods had to bo accoinj nicd from Osoyoos by a Custom House Oflicer at the exjiense of the bonder, (battle and horses from British Columbia for KootiMiay (or through Kootenay to the Canadian North- West Territory) are permitted now to be sent by the same route on the same condition, which entails a charge of >>b a day for tht> officer. A' few weeks ago the Northern Pacific Railway was made a bonded route by the United States Government, and A^ictoria nr New Westminster goods destined for Kootenay probably could now be sent by that routt; from 26 ti! '^ ItEPORT ON THE KoOTENAY CoUNTRY. 1884 the direction of the trade of Kootenav T f f *''° ""Portance of both these trails a ml ."n ^"'- IS it improbable that in H,n f . ' smmmmmm 1884 47 Vio. Report on the Kootbnay Country. 27 's t(!mtoi-y ' 1 rciisury some distance by train. Except in sonic linos of sca-l)orno goods 1 do not think that our sea- board cities can get inucli of tin; Kootenay trader of the future. An cfTort may be made to secure a portion of it, say the trade of th(t westei'ii h'g of the Cohindiia, by the Kagle Pa.ss, Hhuswap, or Thonijjson River railway town, where will be centred the bulk of tlie trade of the interior of the pi'ovinee the town itself mainly sujiplied from the east by railway. In similar cases elsewhere, it has been found that towns or villages already established, not too far off and having a local trade of their own, may compete successfully with new rivals that liave SOUK! advantage in cheapness of transport from c<;ntrcs of supply. A town somewhere between Spallumchci'n and Savoiia's Ferry may prevent the growtli of an Eagle Pass centre of dis- tribution. IMucli will depend on the trathc arrang(!mcnts of the railway, and on tlie enterpri.se and foresight of men who may b(^ interested, as well as skilful, in collecting lines of busine.ss at a suitable place. In the above, the Kootenay Jjake secluded region has not been mentioned. This region, as I ha\e said, is something like a pocket, or it may be likened to a horseshoe with the ojien jiart to the .south. A finc^ long navigable stream — the Kootenay River— meanders from the lake through that open, and Hows into Idaho, within, as already stated, about 30 miles of the Northern Pacitic Railway. This is the only natural inlet and outlet of the Kootenay Lake region, and its infant tratk; goes that way. A mining region, if ever anything, American- made; mining machinery will be in demand irres])ectively of price. It is doubtful if much of the future trade of that region can be taken, (iveii with the; help of tariff's, from the Kootenay water-way, sii}(plemented as the navigable facilities would be, if traillc grew, by a ."iO-mile railway feeder to the Northern Pacific Railway. The only possible way in which the trade of that region can be got at by Canada, is by the propo.sed "Kootenay Bill" railway which breaks through one of the rough sides of the liorseshoe. With tliat, an attempt might be made by Canada to secure the trade, if there ever will be any trade;. Without that, not even an attempt could be, made. So simple a matter needs not a further word. Nature has sliut all argument by mountain walls which encircle the whole region except across the southerly opening in I'nited States territory, and except across the westerly narrow, nigged cut in our own territory from Kootenay lake to the Columbia River, which cut is the channel of an iin- navigable stream and the line of the jiroposed railway. The other important water-way, for possibh; United States traHic, is, as above-mentioned, the Columbia itself. This is more obstructed than the Kootenay water stretch above described. It is open at the boundary and for 17 miles southerly beyond it. The Little Dalles (American) there occur which steamlioats cannot pass except at low stages of water. The portage is about a mile, on ground suitable for a railway. A waggon road from the south leads to the Little Dalles. About 27 miles below the Little Dalles, and of course al.so in United States territory, the impassable Kettle falls occur. In the event of a large tiatfic on the British side, these obstructions to trafhc with the United States by the Columbia River could 1)6 overcome by portage links. ■ Spokane Falls City, the nearest station of the Northern Pacific Railway, is about I.'IO miles distant by waggon road from the boundary where the Columbia cro.sses it, and it is about 100 miles from White's Landing (I'oundary Commission old barracks), to tlie neighbourhood of which latter a railway feeder of the North Pacific, constructed to tap th- Cohillc District, might by and by come-, though no survey of such a line has been made. The western leg of the Columbia, in British territory, is therefore not so well circumstanced either as regards water or land for United States trafHc "on the Northern Pacific Railway, as is the secluded horseshoe district of Kootenay Lake up the Kootenay River to Bonner's Ferry and through Pack River Pa^s to the Sand Point .station. Tliese two portions of Kootenay District— what I have tailed the " western leg region of the Columbia " and the secluded Kootenay Lake region -are, it must be understood, shut ofV naturally tlu' (Jiie from the other, and each has its water-way stretching southerly ; the western leg has the Ciilumliia for its water-way; the Kootenay Lake ivgioii has the Kootenay. This orographital fact does not appear to have been appreciated in discussions last year on Kootenay matters. Px'tween the two above-named regions, forming part of Kootenay District, all ordinary traflic is impossible owing to the existence! of a wall of mountains and hills. The shortest and the only direct cut through that wall is the bed of the lower course of the Kootenay ]?iver which flows from the head of tlic western arm of Kootenay Lake into the Columbia River. This portion of the Kootenay River, as above said, is useless for sreneral navigation owing to falls and rapids. The proposed Kootenay Jiailway, of which so much has been^ said, runs along that unnavigablc river, couuecting for any purposes it may serve, two regions which nature has practically separated. 28 Report on the Kootenay Country. 1884 prese wc _—;«■, a snort line from .San, What seems more dear is timt I. 'i<.-h always ,vill I,. I,.l.,' ; .*' '. '^°">'"^y l^"*"*" Hiul tht) Columbia m.;., Xu::vi;z\z^iriS,rr "^ *'?;; ™''""^' '-*-;.;: k; w,.oodt.ti.eLo:JSt^:;'^S[;;rt.rt'V'"^'-°r «'"'^ <.■■ its nd... !. acetate of, lirown " >• white „ rtiitimoiiial, as tvix- m,.ta| .. it cr;s;;':''' " '"* i»™»'-8- of i«d.; i«d oi. ■ : : : : : : ; ; " <;'>'-onmte of, as a ,:,>]ouv ., dross !) nitrate of I. ore ' ' ' ' ' ' red ' an «rtide« made of lead nototherwise specified in connection and sih-er ore 2 cts. V ft 3., „ ^. „ ,." " " 20 per cent. II 10 „ „ U cts. V lb Free. 25 per cent. li cts. Vft 3 1,1 3' ., 45 per cent, I) )> II X 1884 47 Vic. Report on the Kootenay Country. 2d Any ore containing more than two per cent, of copper shall pay in addition thereto 2i ct. per lb. on tl»e copper contained therein. The duties on niinorah in f?eneral are a.s follow. I quote from a late edition of the Tarift', which took .'irect l.«t July, 188;{. Tlie editor remarks that the provisions seem to conflict, and his remark is correct, l)ut, as far as I know, no case has arisen to require an olticial or legal interpretation of the meaning of these apparently contlictinj,' provisions: — Mineral substances in a crude state and metals unwrought : not otherwise specified ; 20 per cent Minerals, crude, not advanced in value or condition or by other process of manufacture; not otherwise specified Free. Minerals, all non-dutiable crude minerals but which have been advanced in value or condition by refining or grinding, or i)y other process of man- ufacture; not otherwise specitied 10 per cent. But the etlect of duties on Kootctnay Lake products shipped into the United States for consumption or use there, is only part of the question as to the availableness of the Kootenay waterway route for future tratKc. It may be desired to ship these products in bond, through the United Stixtes, for exportation to foreign countries. The remarks which I already have made on the bonding question, at the lieginning of this chapter on "Trade," are applicable here. The Northern Pacific Railway Company and the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company have been accepted l)y the United States Government as common carriers by rail and vessel, of appraised and Canada transit merchandise; in other words, what is popularly called the " Northern Pacific route " is now a bonded route from the East right through to Portland, Oregon. This bonded route, of course, can only be struck from Canada at designated places, as neither the United States nor Canada can make Custom House Bonding arrangements along their whole frontier. The Customs Acts of tho United States authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to designate places and to make regulations in harmony with the intent of Treaties between the United States and Great Britain. What then will be necessary to make the Kootenay water-way available for Canadian transit goods in bond for exportation, say from Portland, Oregon, or any other western sea- port, is a regulation on the part of tho United States Treasury Department to cover the un- bonded route of GO miles navigation up the Kootenay, and .30 odd miles thence by land to strike the bonded route of the Northern Pacific Railway at Sand Point. If the Northern Pacific made a railway feeder from Sand Point to the Kootenay River, and had a steamboat down that river, the extensioti would be part of their bonded route without further Treasury regulation. Until that were done, the regulation probably would take the form of requiring the presence of a United States Custom House Ofticer with the goods from the boundary to Sand Point, at the expense of the bonder. The question then would be whether that expense, and the for- malities and inconveniences attendant upon the exportation in bond from the United States sea- port, would counterbalance the natural advantages of the Kootenay water-way route, and throw the traffic across to the Columbia by the proposed " Kootenay Bill " railway and up to the Canadian Pacific Railway at Eagle Pass. For more authoritative information as to the above question of a bonded route from our boundary to Sand Point, I addressed a letter to the Honourable the Secretary of the Treasury, Washington, and annex his reiJy, 9th January, 1884:— "Treasury Department, Office of the Secretary, "Washington, D. C, January 9th, 1884. " Collector of Customs, " Portland, Oregon, " SiR,~Ihis department is in receipt o* your letter, dated the 22nd ultimo, transmitting a communication from the Honourable G. M. Sproat, Commissioner of the Province of British Columbia, relative to the transit through the United States, for export, of lead or silver ore from the Kootenay country, and stating that the ore is to be transported by the Northern Pacific Railway to Portland, and thence exported to foreign countries. " it appears I'rom your report that there is a body of "mineral ore about to be developed in the Kootenay Country, the product of which would naturally find exit via the Northern Pacific Railroad. 80 Report on ihk Kootenay Country. 1884 Ihe statements before the Denartmnnf ,„?i .i consideration to the sul.iVct " Very respectfully, (Signed) "H. F.French, Gilbert Malcolm Sproat. •0 11 ^ » "°""t:.Ksssis-i--rsr"-- ti 1884 "T!