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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 ,5 6 vv ^. ^1 c. 'CM THE KooTENAY Valleys AND THE KOOTBNAY DISTRICT IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. mm iitnps. OBTAINABLF. AT Messrs. ALLSOP & MASON, Victoria, B.C.; AGENTS FOR KOOTENAY VALLEYS COMPANY (LIMITED), Of 46, Queen Victoria Street, London, England. -^■'■"*- 3i e > ' • ^ (lyyazt/uvest CdUectlorv .4 i4 The KOOTENAY VALLEYS GEOOBAPHICAL POSITION. Geographical Position. — The Kootenay District lies in the South- Eastem corner of British Columbia, and is separated from the North-west Territories of Canada by the Rocky Mountains. In shape the Kootenay District is not unlike a huge triangle, with a base line of some 150 miles resting on the 49° N. lat., which forms the international boundary line separating this portion of British Columbia from the three great western Territories of the United States, i.e., Montana, Idaho, and Washington. The centre of this triangular district is occupied by a separate chain of mountains, i.e. the Selkirks, now attracting attention as the scene of great engineering feats, by which the Canadian Pacific Railway has completed its track from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, bringing the latter within an eleven or twelve days' journey from England. The Selkirks are a range of mountains in shape not unlike a horseshoe, with t^je open end towards the south. Inside this horseshoe we observe one of the three great valleys of the Kootenay District, namely, the Lower Kootenay Valley ; while the two remaining ones, the Upper Kootenay Valley and the Columbia Valley, run round the outside of the horseshoe, isolating the Sel- kirks from the Rooky Mountains and from the Gold Range. Each of these Valleys is formed by im]>ortant streams, and each of these streams displays most erratic courses, the Columbia making a huge bend northwards, 440 miles long, the Kootenay a similar loop towards the south. The bend of the former is crossed from east to west by the Canadian Pacific Railway (C.P.R.) the loop of the latter by an equally important though less tangible line, i.e. the 49th parallel, which forms the International boundary line, so that for a conaideiable portion of its course the Kootenay Hows through the United States. 15740:} a2 V ^g A glance at the map shows that the source of the Coluin])ia River, the famous U]>j)er (,'olumbia Lake, is only a mile from the Kootenay River, aud we find that the river issues from it as a good sized stream, navigalile for river steamers, whik^ the Kootenay River, where it ap])roachea the Columbia so close, is already a one hundred mile long stream, equally navigable, ui. least during the summer months, as is its near neighljour. The mile wide space known as the Gaual Flat that sei)ax'ates them, and which acts as a water shed,; is not, as might be imagined ,- a high . mountain backbone, but a level gravel flat, raised only a foot or two over high water, and sloping gently from the Kootenay Biver to the Columbia, the difference between the two water levels being less than 10 feet. There is no possible doubt tha t a few generations ago this gravel bar was not in existence, the river occupying its place, so that what is now the headwater of tlie Kootenay was then the Columbia. - 5?he Columbia was at that time a hundreil miles longer, and forked at this spot, the left or south flowing branch fonning what is now the Kootenay Biver, while the right flowed northwards, across the gravel flat, and continued down its ]jrescnt bed. Taking these facts into consideration it is not surjtrising to find that the Columbia Valley and the Ui>per Kootenay Valley, however much they differ in climate, vegetation and general appear- ance, are practically one aud tlie same trough, lying at the foot of the main chain of the Rockies for a total length of two hundred and fifty miles, an unique instance in the topography of the Rocky -lountains. There are three circumstances that will secure to tlie Kootenay Valleys future wealth, namely their nuneral riches, of which this pamphlet will subsequently deal more in detail ; their rivers, which ai-e ready roads of comnumication, and their geographical position, •about half way between the two greatest railway systems of Nv)rth America, and with each of which these ssxiao, rivers offer means of communication; and thus while offering the advantages of two markets to the j>roducer, also pnjvent either of the railways from extorting the arbitrarily high freight rates which in so many in- stances, where a locality is at the tender mercy of one railway, lays weighty shackles u]>on the development of the country's re- sources. The Kootenay Valleys can be approached, therefore, both ^rom the North, via the Canadian Pacific Railway (C.P.R.) and from the Soiith, via the Northern Pacific Railroad (N.P.R.R.). We shall consider the former first and in doing so will begin by introducing the reader to : THE COLUMBIA VALLEY. At the point where the C.P R.. after having climbed the great Rocky Mountain range and descended its declivities by following T^ the torront-likf Kicking: Horse Stroam, first strikes the Columbia Vallev, formed on one side, as we have heard by the Rockies, on the other bv the more densely wooded Selkirks. Golden Station is situated. This is the startini; point of all traffic going up stream towards Kootenay, and it is a typical western railway settlement with its couple of general stores, post office, two hotels, a dozen or two of houses and half-a-dozen saloons. The two steamers that ply up the Cohimbia start fn»m here. The surroundings of Golden and of the Columbia Eiver till the traveller reaches the lakes at the source, are those common to a great part of mountainous British Columbia, picturesque peaks clothed with dense forest up to the timber line, and above it rugged rocks with snow fields on the more promiueut elevations. Tlie valley itself is narrow, and during the freshet season in early summer is one great lagoon, revealing, when the water subsides, expansive mi.'adows through which the not too rapid Columbia winds, branching in many places into several channels. There is good land along this 100 mile long stretch of river, but the annual overflow will make a eonsideral>le part of it u.seless for all but hay l)uri>oses till dyking is resorted to. The timber on the Selkirk side is fairly good, and consists of spruce and fir of moderate size ; no doubt it will soon feed large sawmills at Golden, the most favour- able point from where a jjaying exi)ort trade to the treeless North West can be established. At present, the wants of the settlers along the river in the way of lumber will be supplied by a steam sa,w mill, recently erected on the before mentioned Canal Flat by the Kootenay Valleys Company. . From about the middle of May to the middle of September, the Cohimbia can he navigated to the further end of the lower of the two lakes, a point called the Head of Navigation ; before and after that period the water is too low for steamers, and it is not unin- teresting to note that one of the chief obstacles to navigation are the ealmou-beds, where the river leaves the lower lake, consisting of gravel bars thrown up in ridges by the action of spawning salmon, who after an adventui'esome journey of 1400 miles up the Columbia from the Pacific Ocean, used to seek this and other spots yet higlier up in great numbers during the months of August and 8epteml)er. The wholesale luauner in which millions of this noble fish are oaught at the mouth of the Columbia has of late years materially decreased the number of salmon (sal mo qiiinnat) vfho have succeeded in evading the monster grill nets, often 1500 feet long, that s^xin the Columbia at its mouth from side > to side. 'Jhe journey performed by the sadly battered and totally exhausted ifish that do reach the head lakes of the Columbia, situated 2600 feet over the Pacific Oceau, is indeed a wonderful one, and by fai- the longest that is known to the student of piscatory lore. It : 6 almost passes comprchensiou how fish, be thej ever so lissom, im]K'lled by bliud instinct , could succeed in passing such obstacles as the "Dalles," where the vast Columbia apparently turned on edge, rushes with lightning rapidity through a troughlike rift in the basalt formation, wliich is less than a tenth of the ordinary width of the river ; how they can leap the far^ous Kettle Falls, thi' highest sheer leap performed by salmon in any part of the world (15-18 feet), or stem the cun-ent of gigantic whirlpools that knock into splinters the great monumental trunks of giant white pines 300 feet long, or breust the fierce inish of furious rapids many miles in length. Mining in the Columbia Valley. — There is but little "placer" gold mining in the neighbourhood of Golden, mining being con- fined here to the more important and more enduring development of quartz leads. Sixty -one new claims were discovered in 1887 in this part of the Columbia Valley, and recorded with the local Gold Commissioner, in addition to numerous other previously discovered lodes. Most of them are situated on the Spillamacheen River, which flows into the Columbia about half way between Canal Flat and Golden. This Spillamacheen region promises to be an ex- tremely rich field. Near the mouth of the SpilUmacheen on a prominent hill (Jubilee Mountain), which slopes down to the banks of the Columbia, is a very large and well-defined lead which hits been prospected for the last three years : Mr. C. F. Law, of Golden, being one of the principal owners. The ore on this vast lead is mostly of low grade, assaying from IG to 30 ounces of silver to the ton, but there is such an enonnous quantity of it that it would last a smelter for generations. Quite recent discoveries, made while sinking shafts on the lode, show an important im- prov',^raent in the character of the ore, and it looks as if the whole lode would turn out to be grey copper, running much higher in silver than the croppings did from which the above assays were taken. Being quite close to navigable water leading to the C.P.JJ., and when through navigation is established also to the N.P.R.R., by which the best markets in the States can most easily be reached, this deposit will pix^bably be the first to be developed V;y capital. Were it in the United States, this inviting mining i)ro|)erty would assuredly have been long ago fully developed. Further up the Spillamacheen there are much richer claims, one especially, belonging to A. MacMurdo, assays as high as 5O0 ounces in silver, besides gold, and it being free milling ore it ii considered a very valuable mine. Arrangements were made frith an English com- pany last summer to purchase this prc?;erty for $100,000, -ind considerable money, it is said, was paifl, tin account, the deal being, however, not completed at time of writi_^ f 4- The only drawback to some of these higher Spillamacheen mines 5* their elevation close to timber line and the rough characterofth.'uountry which bars ready access. ., \ isom, acles a -'■^East of Golden, in the Rocky Mountains, and close to the C.P.B., are the claims owned by the Otter Tail Gold and Silver Mining Company, who were fully prepared to commence work last season ; they having erected a quartz mill, saw mill, and intended to orect a smelter, having made roads and tra,..»..ci,ys to their mines, and had likewise a quantity of ore on hand. TJnfoa*tunately, both for the company and the district, their property was destroyed by fire in June last— totally annihilating about $60,000. The timber limits the company had secured were burnt up. This com- pany owns four or five claims, and in some of their leads there is known to exist a large quantity of oi'e (silver) assaying from 30 to 65 ounces to the ton, close to the railway ; and other parties own five or six claims adjacent thereto, one of them assaying 40 ounces to the ton. The leads vary in thickness from one to six feet, fully justifying the erection of a smelter in that locality. Scenic Attractions of the Columbia Valley. — To the tourist the journey up the Columbia presents many attracti(ms, particularly when he enters the Lower Lake, and leaves l:)ehind him the densely forested banks of the river, to behold a beautiful sheet of water 10 miles long that suddenly bursts upon his view as the steamer emerges into the lake. Girt by a wreath of peaks, bolder in shape, higher in elevation, grander in outline than he has yet seen, the shores of the lake form a charming foreground, for they consist of picturesque grasslands, with fine trees scattered over them in park- like fashion, while the whole scene is mirrored in the clear water of the lake. Here the singularly abrupt change from a wet to a dry climate is first observable, a pleasant change that shows itself in the vegetation, as well as in the sparkling clearness of the atmosphere, a difference that becomes more strongly marked as the ti-aveller proceeds southwards into the Kooteuay Valley, where the constant brightness of the sky is almost a fault. The climate in the Columbia Valley, about the 61st parallel, i.e., where the C.P.R. crosses the Selkirks, is a rainy one in summer, more liable to early frosts, and a very much more snowy one in winter than that of the Kootenay Valleys. This abrupt change in less than a hundred miles is on^> of the most remarkable instftnces of local climate in British Colombia, however famous that province is for the variety of its climes, enabling every little mountain settlement to have and to possess a little climate of its own, of course the best of its kind in the eyes of the residents. Round the Lake are scattered the ranches of whites and Indians, the central point on the Lower Lake being Windermere, an exceed- ingly pretty spot, with a wide' ex|)au8e of almjbst lev6l grassland sloping gently up to the very feet of the grand tier of giant peaks that hem in tJie spot. There is a good hotel kept by a Mr. Starke at Winderaiere, a few steps from the steamer landing, and tourists who do not expect too much from a pioneer hostelry in j^-hat a /^ 8 year or two agfo was literally a howlinij thou|ifh picturesque wil- derness, will find the quarters fairly comfortable andcl«'ati, ami the host very oV.>li|/iii}if, while at the store of JNIessrs. Brady & Baeou, which is also the post office, the tourist or sportsniau <;an fit himself o\it with provisions for ex|KMlitioiis into the nu'untains, Indian horses beinj^ generally obtuinahle in the nei}jfhlK>urh(>od. The present head of Htean]er navij;atioii is four miles bcyon*! Windermere, and from there a j^ood wagj?on road hriuf^ the traveller in seven miles to the Uj)per Columiiia Lake, wliich is connected with the Lower Lake he has just left l)y a narrow channel, which is at present uunavij^able for steamers, but which will be rendered navigable by certain imf)rovenients the Dominion Government are about to carry out. It will cheapen trausportatiun of ^otxls into Koottmay quite i}]0 per ton, and assist in opeiiiui; through navi<^ation for over two hundred miles. The steamers, one of which has fair passenger acconimodation, take a day and a half to reach the head of navigation from (iolden (fare ijo), and from there the traveller can use tiic 'vefkly sl.ajije wliich takes him in less than a day to Canal Flat (20 mile*j), and in another day and a half to Fort Steele, the new Mounted Police Post, situated half way down the Up|)er Kootenay Valley. At the foot of the Upi)er Lake the waggon road crosses this unnavigable channel, and close to this spot, aU>ut half a mile up the slopes of the moimtains, are some remarkable hot springs, the waters of which possess medicinal qualities which will make them before long a health resort, particularly if the proposed erection of a substantial hotel for summer guests is carried out. Accommoda- tion in the way of food and shelter for travellers, supplied with their own blankets, can be had at Geary's Ranch close by. From the springs a partioilarly fine view can be enjoyed, and to rcany it will prove a very novel experience to sit comfortably immersed U[) to one's neck in a bath-tub provided by natur* .ormed at the ap'^x of cone-like mounds of calcareous formation, enjoying with luxurious ease an open air hot bath, while at one's feet is spread out one of the most glorious views imaginable, ranging far over lake, river, forest, andr glacier-clothed peaks. On these hoary giants of the main range a pair of field glasses will often enable one to see Bighorn and the rare Rocky Mountain Goat, for here as well as in the Kooteaay Valley, may be seen what elsewhere, in the writer's experience, is very rare, i.e., these two animals frequenting the same ground. THE DFFER KOOTENAY VALLEY. The Upper Columbia Luke is also about 10 miles long, is even more picturesque th^Ji its sister lake. The waggon road runs along the foothills on its western shores, through a beautiful park-like coi nu' K.< wa we coi sk go Vi J wil- Ithe HfOU, u fit ains, a. the h is rrow liifli nioii timi liiiiii: 118 country. At tlu; southeru onil of tb(> Upp«»r Lako lies tho above- meiitioued Canal Flat, that remarkahle watfrslu'd Ixjlwoen the Kootenay and Columbia. At. hij^li water a j^ood deal of Kootunay water {)eroolates tlirouj^h the gravid of which the tlat ettusists, and wells u|> in larj;e sj)rin<;s elose to the HhoreH of the lake. The tlat coutains al)ont 2000 acres, and is Uivel -m a l>illiard table, the ji^tjutle Hlope towai'ds the lake beinj^ only perceptible by usiu^ a sjtirit level. Fine groves of trees are s])rinkled over the fiat, for the underlying j^ravel has in many plaites in the course of time been covered bv three or four f»}et of rich alluvial soil, which will vield ^ood returns to the j>lou^(h. An Eui^Ush company (the Kootenay Valleys Co., of 46, Queen Victoria Stn-et, Loudon) are now con- strut;tin^' a uavi}i(al)lo canal over this flat, to connect the KooU • iiy with tiio Columbia, a work of some magnitude, in consideration of which the Company receive from the Provincial Government a grant of 30,«»00 acres of land, selected by tho Comi»aiiy in the TTi^per Kootenay Valley, mostly bottom land available for agri' urai j)Uri)oKes, situated on +1, banks of the Kootenay River. The canal will open over 200 miles ot rivei" navigation as so«m as the chauui.'] l>etwoen the f o lakes already reierred to is made navigable bj ihe Dominion Government. The canal and steamer uuvigatiou of tiie Upper Kootenay will contribute more than anything else to develop the very promising mineral, tindx'r, coal, agricultural, and graining resources of the Up[)er Kootenay country. The English Company has erected a steam saw-mill on Canal Flat, which can supply the Kootenay and Columbia valleys with luml>er at ^25 per lOOO ft., by floating the lumber down the two rivers. A. post o^ce, a large store, butcher's shoj) with ice houses, and a good hotel are now being established, and will form the nucleus of a settlement, the geognii>hical position of which caunot fail to make it an important one and certainly the centi*al one in the district. The spot is overshadowed by the noble pro« portions of Mount Warroandof Mount De S"jet, called so after the eminent general and the equally well-known missionary who first visited this spot in 1846. Behind Mount De Smet rises the sharp and much higher ])iuuacle of Mount Grohman, from which a very tine view of the four valleys, radiating from the Canal Flat, can be gained. They are the Columbia Valley towaitls the north, the Upper Kootenay Valley towards the south, towards the east the Headwater Valley of the latter river, with its valuable timber areas (yellow pine, larch, aud spruce) and promising mineral and coal deposits, while towards the west radiates the i indlay Creek Valley, where important gold mining developu;ents are now pro- gressing under a charter of the House of Legislature. The intention of the Company to lay out part of the (^anal Flat as a town site would api)ear a wise one, and has received the approval of the Oovernment. AH travel, t^s well as all roads aud railways, 10 into the Upper Kootonay Valley from the direction of the Canadian Pacific Railway mnst, from the nature of the f»roiind, pass over this spot, which forma, as it were, a natural defile, with precipi- tously rising mountains on two flanks and a river and a lake on the other two sides of the sq\iare. Concerning the geographical importance of the "Canal Flat," the -well-known world-wide traveller De Smet, wrote as far back as 1845 : " Thp advantages Nahtre seems to have bestowed on the source of the Chlumhia will render its geographical position very important, and when emigration shall have penetrated, the source of the Columbia xnll prove a very important point. The cUniate is delightful, the extremes of heat and cold are seldom, known. The hand of man wonld transform it into a trrresfial Paradise." Physical Features of the Upper Kootenay Valley. — The valley commences at the Canal Flat, where the Tipper Kootenay River first emerges from the Rocky Mountains, in the recesses of which, 100 miles away, it has its source. The valley, as we have heard, lies at the very foot of the abruptly rising main chain of the Rocky Mountains, which run parallel with the Kootenay River, while the latter is on British soil. This great range is of very bold and grand appearance ; its pinnacles rise sharply and to great altitudes from the sunny, beautifully-wooded valley at its feet, where wide, park-like stretches of meadow-land, small lakes, and grand forests combine in producing an attractive pastoral picture, unlike, I may say, anything I have ever seen elsewhere in North America. The valley is lower than the plains east of the Rockies ; its elevation above the sea varviuf' between 2250 and 2700 feet. AS it is perhaps hardly necessary to p>int out, this great wall of mountains, towering 6000 or 7000 feet over the valley, forma not only an incomparable shelter agaiust the freezing east and north winds which make the bleak elevated plains on the other side of the Rocky Mountains their playgi-nund, but also acts as a most desirable " catch," arresting the warm Pacific Ocean breezes, also known as the Chinook Wind, which, on striking this formidalile Wall, are deflected downwards into the valley to play havoc with the snow. The absence of deep snow is eiplained by this favoiu-able configuration. The Climate in the Upper Kootenay Valley is bracing and healthy : early springs, Avarni suuiniers free of frosts, fairly short and fairly cold winters with little snow. Cattle and horses winter Out without shelter or hay, but with the introduction of better stock some provision will have to be made, for it appears that every seven or eight years a severe winter occurc. it is generAlly acknowledged that March is the most trying month i'*»r cattle winter- ing without shelter or fodder. From an English gentleman. Colonel James Baker (brother of Sir Samuel Baker), who settled in the Upper Kootenay Valley three years ago, T obtained the following u T^ carefully kept records of temperatiu'es for the latter part of the winter 1884-85, a season which was a severe one in many parts of the West. Thus iu the cattle country of Wyoming in the first week in March, 1885, the thermometer was down to the forties below zero aud a iieroo wind blowing; while in the Upper Kooteuay, where, on account of its sheltered position, no high winds pre- vailed, as well as owing to its lower elevation and to its com- paratively close neighboui'hood to the warm curreuta of the Plicific, the coldest at the same period was only 14 Fahr., a difference of some sixty degrees, and yet Kootenay is quite 300 miles north of "Wyoming. .,4 Ol>HerTa» tions tiilien, Jan. 7 . » U . „ 21 . ss Feb. 4 . 12 :: 19 : 26 Noon (ill tlie shade). Dftf. Falir. 50 18 10 3J 48 2a -10 50 Mar. 5 41 Night (lialf liour after sunset.) Deg. i'ahr. 3:5 14 10 18 31 li 31 ae 22 Noon (in the ghade). Deg. Faiki; Mar. 12 54 Ohgerva- tiODS taljen. Night (half iiour after Minsftt.) Deg. Fohr. 28 Ai)r. 2 19 •M 2 9 IG 2+ 30 57 55 65 67 47 67 79 33 32 30 30 45 ..il Last night frost, May 10. Hottest day up to Aug. 12, 90" is the shade. llif»7 The frostless, warm summers and good soil produce very fine crops of wheat, oats, peas, and garden produce, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and other delicate growths, while hops, as yet only planted as creepers on houses, thrive luxuriantly. With the exception of occasional thunderstorms, there are no high winds in the Kootenay Valleys. The present spring (1888) hae again pi-oveands of beeves were driven in from Montana and Idaho. There is a good trail over the Rocky Moun- tains, by the Oow's Nest Pass, which is lower and easier than either of the passes used by the two railways to ihe north or to the south of it. It leads to the centre of the famous cattle country round Fort McLeod, while tlio approaches to the N. P. R. R., over the climatically famous Tobacco Plains and through the Flathead Country, are equally favourable and easy. The horse and cattle raiser in the Upper Kootenay Valley has, therefore, the option of ■two markets, and what is still more important, the choice of two great trans-continental railways for the trans]>ortation of his animals. The bottom land in the valley is not very extensive, and is mostly taken up. Those portions held by the Kootenay Valley's Gomi)any are for sale at reasonable rates : from iS2.50, at which they contracted to sell 60()() acr^js, to ^5 and .Sli) p. a., according to location, the Government price for all agricultural laud being also 62.50. Immediately contiguous to i-he Iwttoni lands, are the liunch grass Foot Hills, and here lies the chief value of the former land, for stock raising on a large scale cannot h} carried on here as elsewhere without an adequate amount of bottoui land to ])rodu('e feed for winter use. The summer range on the Foot Hills is of vast area, extending in places for ten miles l>ack from the main river. Towards the southern end the valley widens, and the Foot Hills, where the Iwst grazing is obtained, stretch l»ack a long way. The little farming that has hitherto Ixjen done in the valley has always paid well. The reason why It has not beeix carried oii to a Wi very isists rthor mofc do lorse riter, U.S., 88 is main lich rof tLe the tbf emy, ount the t: — vhile con- froiu onn. tliaii ) the "try over load ittle n of two his and greater extent is that till quite recently the obstacles iu the way of communicatiou have been great; ploughs had to be trail sported from Walla- Walla, for 460 miles, over miserable mountain trails, on the backs of mules or horses. This year, inconsequence of thjB much increased influx of settlers, mounted police, and miners, prices liave not only been good, but the demand oiten exceeded the supply. Potatoes fetched S4i to $5 per hundred pounds ; hay, to be had for the cutting, was selling at 1^20 per to^i ; 03,ta were worth 6 and 7 cents per ]>ound iu the valley, and as flour costs from $S to %9 per hundred pounds, wheat raising would pay remarkably well, were there in Kooteuay a grist mill of larger capacity than the small pioneer mill at the Catholic Mission. The chief farming in the valley is carried on at Craubrook, Colonel Baker's finely-situated estate, at the mission, and at Mr. Mather's farm, while Mr. Philips' rauche ou Tobacco Plains is well known for its splendid vegetables. For the cultivation of the beet for sugar refineries the bottom-land soil in Kootenay appears most suitable. Beets of the Silesian kind, raised by Colonel Baker without manure of auy kind, contained as much as 10.5 per cent, of sugar, while the best European sugai' beet, w'ith the highest cultivation, exceeds this result by, only 2 percent. . . . f» -h^ - Timber Lajids. — The opinion the visitor will form respecting the quality and quantity of timber in the Upper Kootenay Valley will depend to a ceitain extent whether he comes from the Pacific Coast, where an unrivalled foi'est growth thrives, or from the Eastern part of Canada and the States, where the timber is of but ordinary growth. If he hails from the former densely-timbered ivgi(»u he will declare the Kootenay timber resources only of moderate importance in comparison to its grazing and farm lands, but if he is from the Eastern States (which will also be the market of ihe Kootenay timber), he will declare, and with perfect right, that these forests of Yelhjw Pine, Fir, and Tamarac are exceedingly fine, and form a sure source of future wealth, the facilities of chi'aj) water transportation of the logs down the Kootenay to the N.P.R.R, and down the Columbia (/;m the Canal) to the C.P.R , ensuring a future market. The chief tree is the Yellow Pine {Plmix pondenmt), the geographical distribution of which is very limited, and iu no part of the West can it be found in such large forests and of such large growth. This handsome tree, with its reddish-brown bark of great thickness (which affords a consider- able protection against forest fires), girthing often 20 feet, and furnisning, not infrequently from 5000 to 9000 feet per tree, furnishes capital lumber, and its beautiful grain makes it most valuable for i>anelling. The Douglas Fir also tlvrives in Kootenay, but the trees do not grow to the extraordinary size they do in the more humid Pacific Coast regions ; this, however, is no drawback as far as lumbering is concerned. The Tamarac, or Western i4i Larch, which is not to be confounded with the Eastern Tamarac, which is an entirely different tree, is very like the European Larch. It grows to a large size and in large forests, and for bridge- timber, foundations, railway -ties, it cannot be beaten. Besides the steam sawmill on Canal llat, there are two other water-mills in the Valley, one of which, belonging to Mr. Hanson, on a tributary of the Kootenay, cuts for the market. HGning in the Upper Kootenay Valley.— In 1863 and 1864 there occurred a great rush of miners into the then perfectly unknown wilds of Kootenay, and three streams, Wild Horse, Perry, and Finlay were more or less extensively worked for placer or alluvial gold by means pf the rude and primitive methods to which the miners had to resort in the absence of machinery of any kind. Out of the first-menttoned creek over three million dollars are reported, on good authority, to have been taken. Of late y6ars the mines on this creek havQ fallen into the hands of Chinamen, who, with rude implements, but great diligence, wash the ground discarded by the white miners, and are satisfied by making $2J or $3 per day, which is considered too little by the white miners. The two other creeks are now in the hands of substantial companies, who work them on more scientific principles than were employed in the old days, and the result so far has been most encouraging, and no doubt theii success will lead to other undertakings of the same nature, for which there are numerous equally promising looking localities (Bull River, Gold Creek, Moojea Creek, Ac), the risks attached to placer mining by hydraulics being infinitesimal when once the ground has been properly prospected. For successful quartz mining, chiefly free-milling gold ores, the Upper Kootenay Valley holds out much promise, and the fact that all the gold found in the streams is coarse, demonstrates better than anything can that the mother lodes from which all the precious metal sprung must be exceedingly rich, and that it requires only systematic " tracing up " to find tliem. No prospecting for quart* has as yet been undertaken, for the country was barely ripe for it, and capital, without which quartz mining is impossible, has not yet found its way into this inviting field. When it does it will assuredly reap a rich harvest. ': Coal Mines in the tipper Kootenay Valley. — An important economic feature of the valley is the presence of a large deposit of excellent steam coal in the Crows' Nest Pass. Fifteen seams — the largest 35 feet, the smallest 5 feet wide — have been discovered quite close to the present trail over the pass. Samples of this coal have been thoroughly examined and tested by Professor Hoffmann, of the Government fieologicjil Survey, an eminent authority, and he reports the coal to be " admirably suited for steam, coking, gas, domestic, metallurgical purposes." In comparing its evaporative power with that of the best South Wales coal, he remarks, 37 m prac, larch, jidge- 18 tho (is in itarj 11864 lectly ferry, sr or rhich cind. samples of the latter f»ave a power of 97 lbs. (i.e., 1 lb. of coal would evaporate 9*7 lbs. of wat«r), while the Kootenay coal returned 14*7 lbs. power. The amount of sulphur in it i«», he declares, infinitesimal, the amount of ash 3"7 per cent., and it makes "icellent hard coke. The seams lie on the side of a hill, and cau be worked without pumping or hoisting. i" t Anthentic Information upon the Upper Kootenay Valley.— As it is desirable, when describing a country, to gire opinions derived' from official and presumably unprejudiced sources, the writer has with some trouble collected the following matter. The most important source is the PABtiAitirKTARY Blue Book (3 volumes), presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty, containing the Report of the Exploitations by Captain Palliser, with the object of selecting the best pass over the Rocky Mountains for a British Transcontinental Railway.'*""'' Regarding the good pasturage and snowless winters in the Upper Kootenay Valley, we read : " There is very fine paetnmge in some parts of this valley, and they say that there is hardly any snow on these prairies in the winter, although the cold is severe, so that the horses do not lose their condition even in springy And again: "TAe Kootenay Indians possess a wonderful number of horses, and those very superior to tho Indian horses on the east of the mountains." And again: " They possess an enormous quantity of very fine horses." And again : " In the Wide Valley (Upper Kootenay Valley) large hands of horses are kept without the slightest danger from the snow throughout the tohole winter." And again : •' Here the Kootenays raise the enormous bands of horses for v)hich they are famous amongst all other Indians, the dry soil and nutritious bunch grass producing a breed of superior hardihood and swiftness." And again: *• These Kootenays are very fine Indians, being remarkably free from all the usual bad qualities of the race. They possess more horses than any Indians have seen or heard of, a camp of only six tents harming about 160," while of another camp of 20 tents encovrntered br the expedition the report says : " They had a band of about 500 horses, many of the.u being heautiftil animals." With re ^ to the timber resources, the report makes frequent mention of ; le Hue forests in the Upper Kootenay Valley, of '^forests of noble trees, principally of the pine I have mentioned (Pinus pon- dorosa), and of a gigantic larch (Larix occidentalip). J measured one of the former of average size, and found it to be \20 feet in height, and W feet in girth at the height of four feet. The larch is a tatter and move slender tree, hut some I saw were five feet in diameter," while the cedars to which reference is made in another place grow "fott diameter of eight feet," dhnensiona I have seen very much exceeded. And again: "The day's travel, which was through magnificent open forests, with patches of prairie, sometimes of considerable extent . . . The forests were the finest it had been my good frrrtune 16 to see. A splendid species of pine, and the larch previously spoken qf, rvith their hricfht red bark, rose from the ground at ample distances. Ifo brushwood encumbered their feet or offered impedimetit to the progress of vmggons, which might move in every direction." Agaiu, when speaking of the upper portions of the valley, the remark occurs : " The bunch grass is more sparse than turf, but in other respects it wc^8 like^ riding through the open glades of a deer park, and if we had only been supplied with a sufficiency of good food at the time, there are few spots in the country that would have left a pleasanter impression." As a rule the slopes on both sides of the valley shelve off in terrace-tlike steps, dotted with good sized trees. Of these terraced iiplands the report goes on to say : " On their level surface a. rider can gallop in almost any direction!,, so free is the forest from underwood. Sometimes the trees are entirelff wanting, leaving great tracts of open plain, emhosomed in the mouniains." Here flourishes a remarkably fine growth of the bunch, or buffalo grass, a vegetation ui)on which the considerable and enduring profits of the Cattle Ranchmg industry is exclusively based. V Of remarks resjiecti'ig the chai'acter of the soil I quote : — *' The sqU of the valleys was usually a deep dark mould, supporting a luoniriant vegetation." Another Blue Book, this time an, American one, in the shape of " Eeports and Explorations and Survey, made under the direction of the Secretary of War, and presented to the Senate of the United States in 1863-4," gives (vol. 1, page 522) some corroborating details. In Captain MuUan's report, when speaking of his arrival in the month of April at the Kootenay River, not far from the international boundary line, that afterwards celebrated traveller says : " The grass here is exceedingly rich and luxuriant. The country on its left bank forms an immense low prairie bottom, in which the grass grows hixuriantl^ ; this extends to the hose of the mowntains on the ea^t. The soil along the Kootenay River is very fertile, and at the point where we struck it (April 26th, 1854) it was carpeted by a beautiful green sward, upon which was growing an exceedingly great number of beautifully-coloured and varied plants. This place is a great resort foi' the Kootenay India-ns,.u>hen not hunting in the mountains, ax here is found at every season an abuinlanee of excellent, nutritious grass. The winters are represented us being mild, and the waters of the Kootenay Bi^er afford, them at, all seasons a. bountiful supply of salmon trout." ,,i Thb Makquis of Loenk, in his widely-read " Our Railway to the Pacific," writes as follows of the IJjjper Kootenay Valley, quoting from a letter to him by an English officer (Lieut, -Colonel tfames Baker) already referred to : — " We thus have a long valley of two hundred and fifty miles, with the Columbia and Kootenay rivers fiowlny in opposite directions 1? 9poken ample ediment "Mhu." ey, tho but in a deer odfood left a from its centre. Both these rivere are navigable for the above distance, and it is contemplated to put steamers upon them next year, which will bring the whole valley into water communication with the Canadian Pacific Railway. The width of the valley varies from fifteen to twenty miles, and it is composed of foot-hills, benches, or river terraces, and bottom-lands, all (except the latter) covered with bunch grass (an ■xcellent, nutritious grass, making the best beef in the world), and a considerable quantity of magnificent pine and larch timber. " There are parts which must originally have been lakes, where the soil is deep and exceedingly rich, forming a dark vegetable loam, and I am foiiunately located on such a spot. This year I had over ten tons of potatoes from one acre, and without manure or irrigation. " As to climate, I have found it perfectly delightful. . . . Horses do admirably on the wild grazings without any other food in the winter, and come out in the spring in admirable condition There is an almost certain prospect of a very large mining population growing up in the valley, as gold is found in all the creeks, and one, ' Wildhorse Creek,' has given out over three million dollars within (he last twenty years. The country is yet in its infancy as far as mineral prospecting is concerned, but valuable discoveries are constantly beitig made. A clever mining engineer who has lately tfisited us considers this to be one of the richest mining districts on the American continent. There is no doubt that the lumber trade tvill also develop, as the timber lies conveniently for supplying the norih-west provinces. Cattle ranching, wiUi ordinary care, must prove very profitable, and there is yet a field open for settlement in tliat direction. There is no doubt that when commtmication is easy the valley will become one of the great tourist routes, as the lake, river, and mountain scenery could not be surpassed. The district is admirably suited for English gentlemen immigrants, provided they have capital." SiE Charles Wilson, K.C.M.G., C.B., one of the officers attached to the Royal British Boundary Commission, who, 25 years ago, spent two seasons in the Kootenay country, siiys in his report on the Indian tribes : " The horses of the Upper Kootenays are ivititered on the Tobacco Plains ; those of the Lower Kootenays near the Kootenay Lake, at neither of which places is there any depth of snow during the winter, a/M* theg are mitch esteemed for their hardiness and powers of endurance." Gkneral Sib Henry Warbe, K.C.B., traversetl in 1845, the North American Continent on a Government Mission of well- known im]>ortance, and passed on his way west through both the Kootenay Valleys. Fi'om the journals comprising the daily notes of this journey, placed at the writer's disposal by the distinguished General, the following passages relating to the Canal Flat and the Upper Kootenay Valley have been taken as illustrating the impres- sion left on the early visitor's mind: — *' We ascended over a fine in open country . .'V .' to the lake from, lohenee the Columbia takeg it» rise We pitched our camp at the head of the lake (Canal Flnt), from whence we had a lovely vietv ; a natural park in front gave excellent pasture for our nearly exhausted animals ; loater, wood and mountains formed the picture, which is as perfect as Nature in hfir happiest mood cmild make it." " There were innumerable tracks of moose, hear and other animals. Indeed, I think I am justified in saying that we have seen more signs of animal life in the two days since we crossed the height of land {Rocky Mountains) to the warmer western aspect of the mountains than we saw for weeks together on the eastern or colder side. The trees are (in some localities) enormous ' vhite ' or rather yellmo pine, sometimes called the sugar pine, ..... and many of the red or Nonoay pines were 20 and 30 feet in circumference. The aspect of the country is open and parklike." The Bishop of Oregon writes thus of the Upper Kootenay Valley : — " The country about the source of the Columbia River is of great prospective importance. It is divided into forest and prairie in proportions favourable for settlement; mining res&urees undoiibted; climate delightful ; snow goes generally as it falls, in fact, a most desirable country. Stockoumers now drive cattle to winter in the neighbourhood of the Columbia River lakes. The well-known author, Mr. Molyneux St. John, in his "British Colttmbia," writes as follows of the Kootenay Valleys: *'This south-east corner of the province is remarkable for its pasturage lands. It is a hilly country with rich grass lands and good soil. An excellent tract of farming country is a belt along the Kootenay River, varying from two to ten miles in width. The country produces some of the best timber in the province, and i« a good district for large game.'" And further, speaking of the same valleys : *' This district is very attractive for various reasons. It is well timbered, yet a splendid grazing country ; it has a suffi,cient rainfall, yet is out of the constant rainfall peculiar to th« mountains further north ; it ia good game country, produces cereals and roots in abundance, and is within easy reach of the rail. Oold and silver have been found and mined, and new discoveries may at any moment be made." The Illustrated London News, in three of its numbers (March 6th, 12th and 19th), recently published some interesting illustrations of the Kootenay Valleys with descriptive articles, from which we copy the following telling description, the three accompanying full-page illustrations being too large for this pamphlet. geo cer Bri Co val all tlu " Home Hunting in the Kootknat Valleys of British "Columbia. " Others besides the Eton boy who, as recent reformers tell us, can only spare from his classical labours one hour in the week for w 19 Flat), 't gave od and in her leks of fied in day a 'Mrmer her on rnioii$ pine, id 30 and geography and history, entertain somewhat indistinct ideas con- cerning the whereabouts and general topographical features of Britain's only possession on the Noi-thern Pacific Ocean, British Columbia — which is one of the most Ijeautiful and not least valuable of all our Colonial possessions — a lack of knowledge all the more to be regretted when we see how hundreds of thousands of Englishmen annually expatriate themselves by migrating to the United States ; and the question of emigration stalks like a ghost — worse in the prospective than in the reality — thnmgh our over-populated realm, knocking no longer only at the doors of cottages or farmhouses, but also at the poi'chefeof tlie suburban villa, or parsonage, and even at the massive portals of the coxnitry mansion. " Situated in the south-eastern corner of America's Attic, as was called until recent days Canada's Pacific province, there are probably to Englisli eyes as well as to English nuisde few more attractive looking, sunny, mountain-sheltered sjjots tliau the Kootenay Valleys, now brought within a twelve-days' jouniey from England by the recently completed ' Queen's highroad,' a title not luimerited by the strategic and commercial importance of the Canadian Pacific Kailwav. " Less than fourteen days' jouniey, four days of it by the well appointed train service of this great national lino, leads one into these valleys, to their beautiful lakes, park-like open forests of magnificent trees, such as only the Pacific coast can produce, great stretches of pastoral land, skirting the majestic Kootenay River, bunch-grass covered foothills, overtopped l>y towering snowclad peaks, such as only Switzerland can rival — in fact, to a land where Nature has provided for the wants of man in a way no spot on the vast North American Ccmtinent visited by the writer, who, in nine years of American rambles, has traversed some 150,000 miles, can show the like. The much lower altitude of the valleys than the windswept plains of the North-west, and tho famous ' Chinook,' a warm Pacific breeze, make its winters comparatively mild. Besides these natural advantages, the country's resources in precious minerals, timber, and coal, are of an exceedingly ]>romisiug nature. Gold to the amount of riCOOO.OOO was washed from one of its river beds, while unusually large deposits of galena (silver and lead) on the banks of the Kootenay Lake — without doubt the most jjicturesque sheet of water on the Continent, and a fit New World rival of the Kouigsee and Como Lake — have induced some enterprising Calif ornian and Canadian tiapitalists to set about constructing three railway lines, so that very shortly this naturally sequestered nook will be connected with the two largest railway systems in North America — i.e., the Canadian Pacific and the Northern Pacific. b2 surroniulino;s vide " Now-a-days, when the scions of good houses ' go West,* by the do'/en, when eldest as well as youngest sons, no less than sons who have to he their own fathers, turn cowboys or cattle ranchers, or engage in other industrial occupations on the frontier, where, as is often the case in new countries, large profits reward enter- prise — the country that fi?l8 the requirements of the better class of these home-hunters is becoming more circumscribed at a rapid rate and the more or less extensive ' globe-trotting * that ordinarily precedes a final settling down makes them by no means less hard to please when selecting a home. At least, such has been the experience of many the writer has met. " Placing ourselves for a moment in the shoes of such a hypercritical home-hunter, let us see wh>><^ he requires. His new home has to be, he demands, in a country where, without constant heart-burning, he can forego at least :is long as youth lasts the comforts of a more civilised existence ; whore the memories A English lanes, Scotch moors, or Irish lakes will not for ever be broxight out in haunting relief by the ugliness of his new where he can buckle to and make money to pro- for the old days of the rolling stone — for now and again moss of the right kind does accumulate, just as water can be made to flow ujthill if the force behind it is of the rigVt Iciud ; where he can live under the old flag, which to defend he has, periia]>s, on more than one occasion staked his life ; where there is a good climate, warm, b.nlmy summers, (^risp, glorious autumns, fairly short winters, with ihf; dry healthful cold that sets his blood tingling ; where there is good sport with rifle and rod ; where the back door of his modest log-house opens on a natural park, with pleasing stretches of level terrace-like * benches ' covered with luxuriant bunch-grass, and dotted with groups of the gigantic tawny-barked yellow pine (Pinus pondorosa), America's most jiictun-sque forest tree, giving the landsea])e that classic touch of sunny Italy the cultured eye loves to dwell on, while in the back-ground again a bit of the Wengem Alp with its towering peaks, vast slopes of grand forests, is for ever re- minding him of days devoted to Alpine prowess ; where, when sitting at his front door smoking his evening pipe, he can over- look a fine smooth-flowing river, skirted by groves of grand old elms, big trout rising lazily, as becomes well-conditioned fish, and the butterfly-like humming-bird goes skimming over the placid s\u*face — a scone of such home-like softness and peace, that were it not for the groat mountains rising in close proximity, he might fancy himself in one of his favourite reaches on the Upper Thames. And, to come to more p'^ctical issues, where there are fields of rich alluvial ' bottom ' soil that will yield forty to fifty bushels of wheat ; where hops and fruits of all kind will rijien and thrive under the benign influence of a Pacific coast climate n sons Ichers, Inhere, ?nter. 188 of rate larily hard the with its froBtloss suraraere ; where there is a itiU the I gatil Go^ auyl line Mai mill Ko| tr.{ boti 15 I 18 23 I J reus M to, |utrj, line tJie -itiou lit of Ises.* rried \ney. ouo line And now to come to an important point in connection with the development of the Kooteuaj Valleys by railways and navi- gation. Everybody has heard of the law passed by the Dominion Government to protect the monopoly ol" the C.lMl. prohibiting,' any Catiiulian Railways to approach the international boundary line nearer than 16 miles. No where between the Red River of Manitoba and the Kootenay River, a distance of 1100 or 1200 miles, does a navigable river cross the boundary line. But the Kootenay River does so twice, i.e., the IJ|>per River ' ows into the U.S. and the Lower flows out of the U.S. back into Canada, and both, but especially the lower one, are navigable for far more than 15 miles from the boundary line, and as the navigation of rivers IS free, the Kootenay River affords to capitalists desirous of opening this rich country the only chance of connecting Canadian railways with those of j^merica so long as the C.P.R. Monopoly Clause is enforced by th. Dominion, which they have bound them- selves to do for the next 15 or 20 years. Crow's Nest Pass is not within the 15-mile " dead line," neither is that part of the Moojea Pass which ccmld not well be avoided by a railway crossing from the Upper to the Lower Valley. -muhiiiii'!- 1 24 THE LOWER KOOTBNAY VALLEY. To understand "its position, we must first of all follow the erratic course of the Kootenay River, when, after leaving the Upper Kootenay Valley, and crossing the international boundary line, and entering first Montana and then Idaho Territory, I' *'»ri- porarily expatriates its waters. Some time before the river regains British Territory it enters the Lower Kootenay Valley, a broad sunny valley terminating in the wonderfully picturesque Kootenay Lake, a fine sheet of water 90 miles long. From the time it enters this valley the river can be navigated by the largest steamers. It is a stately slow-flowing stream, of a very considerable depth, averaging 45 feet, and about 600 to 700 feet in width, winding in immense loops through the broad, almost perfectly level valley. The river banks are throughout lined with a fringe of stately elm or cottonwood trees, leaving the rest of the valley perfectly treeless, huge ex2>anses of meadowland, with grass that svttains in September a height of four to eight feet. Tliese meadows merge on both sides of the valley into pine-clad hills and mountains that rise fi'om the level pastures in picturesque slopes to a height of from 1500 to 5800 feet. From Bonner's Ferry, which is a settlement at the beginning of the valley, to the Kootenay Lake, the soil is ai»parently of uniform composition, an amazing fertile silicated clay sandy loam, mixed with the annual self- manuring deposits of its perennial vegetation. During low water the annual layers can be easily observed on the exposed and very steep river banks. Its compo- sition ensures great and literally inexhaustible productiveness, and the hastiest examination of tlie vegetation to be found, of course at present, v/ith few exceptions, in a perfectly wild state, on this land, shows an almost tropical luxuriance. The depth to which this composition extends must be very great, for careful soundings of the river prove that the bottom consists of precisely the same material. There is ample evidence that the soil and climate is eminently suited, not only for cereals, maize, and roots, but also for the more delicate species of fruits and for hops. Under similar climatic conditions, and on similar alluvial land, on the Lower Fraser River (British Columbia), and on some other in the adjoining Washington Territory, astonishing crops are raised, of which we have authentic information : sugar bett, 240 bushels to the acre ; hops, 2500 lbs. per acre ; potatoes, 10 tons per acre; wheat, from 50 to 80 bushels; turnips, 50 tons j^er acre, single bulbs frequently weighing up to 36 lbs., and occasionally as much as 62 lbs. each. Good judges declare that for hops this alluvial bottom-hind in the sheltered and w.arm Lower Kootenay Valley is eminently sui'.i^d, 25 even more so than is the celebrated hop-land in the adjoining Washington Territory, of which, so I am told, at present none can be bought under $60 to $75 per acre. The highly-protectiye custom tar.ff of Canada would further add to the value of this hop-land in the British Colum bian portion of the valley, for there is, as we know, but little land suited for this crop in Canada, and a duty of six cents per pound on imported hops protects home-grown supplies to an advantageous extent. In the year ending 30th June, 1885, 328,818 lbs. of hops wcx-e imported into Canada, mostly from England and the United States. The Lower Kootenay Valley could, when reclaimed, easily make Canada a hoi)-exporting rather than a hop-importing country. ' Overflow in the Lower Kootenay Valley. — It is needless to point out that, notwithstanding the remoteness, up to recent days, of the attractive Lower Kootenay Valley, it would long ago have been settled, and the wonderfully fertile soil brought under culti- vation, were it not for the heavy overflow which almost annually occurs tlu're (June and July), and which makes agriculture on these lands at present impossible. It is caused by the rising of the Kootenay Lake and River, which again is brought about by a curious feature — namely, the narrowness of the single outlet the Kootenay Lake possesses, and through which it sheds its wat«r through a narrow, gorge-like, unnavigable river some 25 miles long (with a fall of 800 feet in that distance) into the Columbia River. In the months of Mav and June the water in the lake cannot flow off fast enough through this outlet, for it must be remembered that during the spring the inflow into the lake is vastly increased. The mountains round the lake shed their snow-water first, then comes the water from the mountains of the vallev, and by the time the snow in the main chain of the Rockies begins to melt, the lake has risen some six or eight feet ; so that, by the time the late snow-water comes pouring down the river, the lake is full, and the incoming volume is.backed up and floods the level river side valley land. While it would be quite possible to dyke the valuable bottom-land in thin valley, and thus prevent the overflow, in 3, manner similar to the system by which the almost equally fertile and valuable bottom-land on the Fraser River in the western part of British Columbia has been reclaimed and rendered highly productive, a more radical, and under the circumstances more economical, remedy against the overflow has suggested itself to the Government and to the Directors of the Kootenay Valleys Com- pany, who propose to carry out the project first discovered by Mr. W. A. Baillie-Grohman, who is also the initiator of the canal in the Tipper Kootenay Valley. It consists in widening the Kootenay Lake outlet at two points ("Rapids and Narrows"), where the channel of the outlet is unnaturally contracted bv the action of two side streams coming in at right angles. These 26 turbulent mountain torrents have, at their mouths, in the course of ages, accumulated fan-shaped bars of boulders and gravel, washed from the impending heights, and these accumulations have partially choked up this important vent. The work, therefore, consists practically in restoring the original condition of thiiigs by removing a portion of these bars, an undertaking which, while costly, even when once the necessary appliances can be got to the spot, without unreasonable expense will, it is pi'esumed, reclaim one of the most inviting ti-acts of land in the Province and in the North West of America. Minerals on Eootenay Lake and in the Lower Eootenay Valley. — The mineral outlook in the Lower Kootenay country is a very promising one, though not in the same direction as in Upper Kooteuay. There are fewer gold mines, but on Kootenay Lake there are immense deposits of silver bearing lead (galena), the ore containing from 65 to 80 i>er cent, of lead, and on an average from 20 to 40 ounces of silver to the ton, though some quite recently discovered very extensive lodes, on the west side of the lake, run np, it is reported, to 90 ounces of silver *i)cr ton. The ore is iu many places so plentiful, and so easy of access^ right on the banks of the lake, that it is more like quari-ying than miiung '?*" ""^^"6- f-v .;,..,...,,i, 1,,.. 1 I -..,,, -I These argentiferous lead 'deposits on Kootenay Lilke, experts have pronounced to be of very unusual size and extent, though the contents of silver iu the ore is, in comparison to some other mining regions in the States, not particularly great, making cheap transportation and rough smelting of the ore, for which all the essentials except coal are piesent on the spot, advisable. On Kootenay Lake Outlet, or West Arm, as it is often called, ex- ceedingly promising discoveries of peacock copper ore, running very high in silver, nave quite lately been discovered, local assays' running as high as $1,600, in silver, per ton. An assay by Pro- fessor HofEmann, of the Geological Department at Ottowa, of an average specimen, returns 119. tVo*o ounces of silver, and specifies the ore as coruite, a valuable copper ore. The locality where these late discoveries have been made enjoys the not very euphonious name of " Toad Mountain Mines." They are situated at an estimated altitude of 4,500 feet over the level of the Kootenay Lake Outlet, and at a distance of about 8 miles from its banks, the intervening country being rough. On the other hand the best of water communication from Bonner's Ferry to within 8 miles of the' mines will undoubtedly facilitate develop- ment very much. Like all other mines iu the Kootenay Lake region, all the 8upi>lies and all the output must iueviiably come from aud go to the United States, vi4 Bonner's F'?rry and the N.P.R.E., tillthe plan of making a railway down the unnavigable part of the Kootenay Lake Outlet to the Columbia Rirer for 4-1 27 '^ J k which a charter aud large land grant has been granted, has been carried out. Present Modes of Communication and Future Bailways. — Bonner' S.Ferry is about 26 miles from the N.P.R.Ep.,and a waggon road (32 milt h long) comiects it with Kootenay and Saudpoint, which are N.P.R.K. stations on the banks of Lake Pend d'Oreille, where waggons and saddle horses can usually be liired, the drive or ride occupying the Ijest part of a day. From Bonner's Ferry down to the Kootenay Lake (80 miles) the river affords magnificent navigation and there is not a single place in it where two " Great Easterns " could not get out of each other's v,-ay, no spot where H.M.S. *' Hercules," were she twice her- rr,al draft, could not float as safely as the Indian's pine bark canoe drPvwing two inches of water. At present two small steamboats, which take i)as8engers, 1 avigate the Lower Kootenay River and Lake, but the tourist or sportsman can always obtain at Bonner's Ferry boats or canoes. The latter, although somewhat frail craft, will, in the eyes of the more adventurous, be preferable to the steamer or heavy rowboat. Manned by two stout nativt; paddlers tlie traveller can reach Koi.)tenay Lake in two days axid enjoy one of the most i>icturesque journeys imaginaule, lying comfortably stretched out on his buffalo robe or blankets in tlie centre of the canoe. The Lower Kootenay Indians are cai)ital canoe men, and will take their frail bark canoes down ra}>ids in the Kootenay Lake Outlet over which no white man would dare to take a boat. Kootenay Lake is unquestionably the most beautiful mountain lake on the continent ; nothing that the C.P.R. or the N.P.R.R. can offer to the sightseer iu the way of sctmery apprt)aches the sublime beauty of this mountain-girt sheet,* and it will not be long before this hitherto isolated sjmt will be invaded by tourists, artists, and sp<^)rtsnien. To the latter it holds out great inducements, not only on account of the good big-game shooting (Rocky Mountain Goat, Cariboo, and Grizzly Bear), which the snow-tipped ])eaks surrounding the lake afford, but because in: its profound depths are found what only one other lake in North America is known to contain, i.e., the true land-locked salmon.,* It was generally supposed tliat numerous falls and a senes of rapids reudeivd un navigable tliat jiortion of the river lying between the Upper Kootenay Valley and Bonner's Ferry. Recent exploration disproves this, aud establishes .the fact that with a fall of only al)out three feet to the mile, the entire river from Caiial Flat down, including the Middle River, with the exception of two cascade-like obstacles which occur at the southernmost point * Siiltnon iiHCcud the Coliiiubiu iu uillioiis, bnt uouc cau Ket over tbu fulls in ili? Kootenay Lake outlet, tho only oonnectiou betwMn the Colnmbia uud the Kootenav Lrnke, 80 that the preaence of lancUocked aalmoa ia the latter would b« an iohthyological puzzle wen it not demonitrntable that the Colombia and Kootei^ay Kirers were once iu direct oommonloatlon iMar«r their souroei, •■ already ihowa whan ipttaking of th« Canal Flat. 28 of the big bend, is perfectly navigable for four or fire months of the year. At present, a short portage is necessary at the cascades, but it is expected that the U.S. Government who have spent many millions in improving the American portion of the Columbia, will do likewise at this important point, for improve- ments here will make the Upper Kootenay Valley almost entirely tributary to their own railways. The Lower Kootenay Valley is partly in American Territory, and the Canadian portion of it is, as a glance at the map and some subsequent remarks will show, also entirely tributary to the U.S., and will remain so until Kootenay Lake is connected by rail with theC.P.R. Fi*om late news it appears very probable that the Directors of the N.P.R.K. will soon carrv out the intention entertained since 1883, when a preliminary survey for the future railroad was made, of building a branch line to the Kootenay Kiver, following mainly the present waggon road route to Bonner's Ferry. The nature of the ground is very favourable, the greater part being an almost level forest with an imperceptible watershed, and with an easy grade to the Kootenay River. The following altitudes were obtained by thi preliminary survey, Lake Pend d' Oreille, 2050 feet ; the highest point on the new road 2090 feet ; Kootenay River, where tbfe road strikes it, 1760 feet. Only one stream, Pack River, has to be crossed, from which the Pass receives its name. From the future terminus at Bonner's Perry an unrivalled stretch of navigable waters extends down the rivei' to the lake; where the largest steamers, as already mentioned, can ply ; •while, up the river, smaller steamers of light draught can navigate to the Cascade, and by a short portage connect with steamers on the upper river, thus securing the entire trade of the Upjier Kootenay Valley. This is an opening for inland water navigation unrivalled on the Pacific Coast. The enterprising San Francisco capitalists, Messrs. Ainsworth, the pioneer steamboat-men of the Coiu.nbia, have applied for, and are about to have granted to them, a charter for thie establishment of a line of steamers to navigate the Kootenay* ' River to the outlet of the Kootenay Lake, where it becomes unnavigable, and remains so for a distance of 25 or 30 miles, till its junction with the Columbia River, from where again there is good navigation down the Columbia to Oolville, in the United States, and up the Cuiumbia to Revelstoke, on the C.P.R. To connect these long stretches of fine inland navigation on the Kootenay and Columbia, they propose to construct a railway (their Charter obliges them to complete it in two years) along this unnavigable outlet, and to run a short branch line up to the newly-discovered and most promising Toad Mountain Mines. 3ome Canadian capitalists are the owners of a charter ani land grant for th»> constructiou of a railway from the C.P.R. at RereU ^ f \ 29 stoke OT- Farwell down the Lardo RiTer to the north end of Kootenay Lake, a very feasible project indeed of connecting this important section of country with their National line. There is one low watershed to cross, where an easy pass only 16 miles long affords good access, while the valley of the Lardo, famous for its gold- bearing tributaries, and quartz ledges of free gold, holds out every inducement. The grade is easy. Climate. — The Lower Kootenay Valley, being 500 or 600 feet lower than the Upper Valley (its elevation is only 1760 feet over the sea), has, as it is equally well sheltered, a warmer summer climate. Indian corn, tobacco, melons, and other delicate plants ripen fully. Heavy dews are a feature of the valley, and one of vital impor- tance when the temporary overflow of the land is stopped. Mosquitoes are for about six weeks (end of June to middle of August) very bad on the river lands in the Lower Kootenay Valley, but there are none on the lake, and none to speak of in the Upper Kootenay Vallev. The drainage of the land would, as experience in other places iias shown, do away with these pests. The winters are short, and not much snow falls. Kootenay Lake has never been known to freeze, but the sluggish- flowing river is usually partly closed by ice for three or four months, with frequent intervals of thaw. Authentic information respecting the Lower Kootenay Valley. — Sir G-eouge Simpson, the veteran traveller, gives space to warm admiration of the Lower Kootenay Valley, " a ZtWZe jjaradise," as he calls it, in his " Narrative of a Journey round the World." Looking down from a promontory overlooking a part of the valley, ho writes : '* At our feet lay a valley .... hounded on the western side by lofty viountaine, and on the eastern by a lower range of the same kind, while the verdant bottom, unbroken by a single mound or hillock, u'as threaded by a meandering stream and studded on either side with lakes, diminishing in the distance to mere specks or stars. In the immediate neighbourhood was a standing camp of the Kootenays, beautifully situated within a furlong of the river. An amphitheatre of mountains, tvith a small lake in the centre, was skirted by a rich sward, of about half-a-mile in depth, on tvhich were clumps of as noble elms as any part of the world could produce. Beneath the shade of these magnificent trees the white tents were pitched, while large bands of horses were quietly grazing on. the open glade. The spot tvas so soft and lovely, that a traveller, fresh from the rugged sublimities of the Mountains, might almost be tempted here to spend the remainder of his days amid the surrounding beauties of nature." Palliser's Blue Book report contains, amongst other favour- able references to the Lower Kootenay Valley, the following : — " We were off before sunrise, and followed up the stream through a most beautiful valley (Lower Kootenay), offering no obstacles whatever (80 to our progrest, water avd fine grass everywhere, and we passed the best camping places that I have seen to the west of the Rocky Mountains." The ^' Field" of 26th Decemljer, 1885, contains a letter upon Kootenay, from an Englishman who has settled in the country. The writer says : — " 8m,— In refepeu"e to a letter about British Colninbia in your paper of Nov. 21, 1 afaonUl like to make a few reinurka, as I am very well acqiiaiuted with a jmrt of the country to which it refers, haviuff travelled and hunted all over it, hoth summer and winter. The districts to which I refer more partioulaily are tlie Upper and Lower Kootenay Valleys. " I pissed the whole of last winter in the Kootenay Valley, and can fully testify to the correctness of Mr. W. A. Baillie-Qrobman's observations about the climat«, as I had u thermometer Imiigimf just outside my door, and looked ut it every morniuf;; j>ost of the bottom lands on the Kootenay Uiver were bare durinff the winter . " From the o]iiuion ' Countryman ' gives of the winters in liritMi C'«liuii.!, Addison Gardens, Kensing- ton, W., Director of the Manitoba Mortgage and Invest- ment Company (Limited), late of the Hudson's Bay Company. R. H. Venables Kyrke, Esq., J.P., Nantyffrith, Wrexham, Denbighshire. Wm. a. BAILLIE-GROHMAN, Esq., Belgrave Mansions, S.W., Managing Director. gankers. Ubion BaiJk op Scotland (Limited), 62, Cornhill, London, E.C, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Branches. Arthur Fell, Esq., 46, Queen Victoria Street, E.C. inkers. George Strachan, Esq., 2, Copthall Buildings, E.C. J. A. Sinclair Maclaoan, Esq., 135, Buchanan Street, Glasgow. 46, Queen Victoria Street, E.C. Local Office ; Grohman P.O., vid Golden, B.C. \. MAPOF EiRITISH COLUMBIAand Reduced (ViHii Uio (itiveriiiiu'iit Mfip3,Mlu>winft' details in cutiiioctioti witJ RAILWA )LUIVIBIA ANDTHE KOOTENAY DISTRICT, s in cutiiiocfioii wiUi tlii' Governmenl Conueaaiaiisinihc Kootciiay valloys. RAILWAYS PROPOSEDfORiNPROpRCSS' GOLC MINES .. u • KOOrENAV Ct LAND THU3 EII*i3 COMPLCTCO RAILWAYS ThUS