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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 OVERLAND ROUTE . TROM The urgency of a direct communication between the Canadas and the Pacific, through British Territory, is be- coming every day more and more evident. In a political point of view, and as a natural consequence of the late Con- federation, it would contribute essentially to its prosperity; for so long as there is no direct Overland route, any con- nexion with British Columbia must remain a myth, and the Red River Settlement continue isolated, instead of becoming a valuable annex to the Union. At present BngUind has no other postal communication with the Pacific but by New York and San Francisco ; and in case of war with the United States, the only possible postal line would be through her own Territory across the Rocky Mountains ; whereas by opening an Overland Communication immediately, a mail service would be established fortliwith, not only to British Columbia and Vancouver Island, but before long to Aus- tralia and Asia, In the United States the Central Pacific Railroad passes over what is commonly called the great American Desert, a vast tract of country, destitute of wood and water, dry, barren and unfit for the habitation of man ; yet in spite of this drawback, and though San Francisco possesses no coal, it is progressing rapidly, and the time is not far distant when it will be opened. Passengers, mails, and the ligliter, costlier kinds of goods will pass over it ; it is calculated to divert a great part of the trade of China and Japan from the Old to the New World, and if we do not wake up, we " all bitterly regret the lost opportunity, and an important tru^nc, which might so easily pass over our own territory, and which, from our position, ought naturally to belong to us. The cost of an Overland Railroad, with a single line of rails, from Ottawa to tho Pacific, may be roughly calculated as follows : MILIS. Distance from Ottawa to Fort Garry, partly over difficult ground . . . 1150 Prom Fort Garry vo Jasper's House [foot of Rocky Mountains], level plain , . 1050 From Jasper's House to the Head of Bute Inlet , . . ; C20 Total . 2820 106864 Two Thoujand Eigrht Ilundrecl and Twenty miles at $30,0! per niiie — $84,600,000, or with contingent expenses say $100,0t 0,000. This sum, if correct, would be too great for present possibilities or contemplation. But if such a u)a;jrnificent project as that of an Inicr-oceanic Ruih-oad cannot be enter- tained for the present, nature han gifted this poition of British Territory v/ith water conununications of the very first order, wiiich only require a few coniiocling links to make tlicm available, and which offer a quick and easy mo(|e of conveyance for mails and passengers during seven to eight months in tlio year, and for goods at one-third of the prico by railway carriage, and what is most important, through a temperate climate. Unlike the barren wilderness of the American desert, in- habited by fierce and hostile Indians, this lino would pass over one of the richest, most beautiful and fertile regions in the world ; extending from near the Lake of the Woods to the foot of ^ the Rocky Mountains, and containing from 60,000 to 100,000 square miles, or from forty to sixty millions of aci'cs; lying directly between the two Colonies of Canada and British Columbia, and possessing every possible qualifi- cation for agricultural purposes. Aline of communication, whex'c prairies covered with luxurious grasses and imme- diately available for the plough, are mingled with stretches of woodland, and well watered by numerous- lakes and streams, and which would soon be followed up and fed by an agricultural population from one extremity to tlie othei*. TiiG Eastern portion of the country thus to be opened was thoroughly explored for this purpose, as far as the Red River Settlement and the lower end of tlie Great Saskatchewan, in 1857-8, at the expense and by order of the Canadian Gov- ernment ; and the chief object of the present notice is to furnish the necessary details concerning the remainder or more westerly portion. The writer has spent ovei five yea^s in studying the question, and has laid out considerable sums, in connexion witli it, towards opening the first link from tho Coast to the Cariboo mines. He was at pwfcct liberty to choose the road best suited for the purpose, and made up his mind entirely to avoid New Westminster, not only on account of the many objections it offers as a seaport, but as being im- practicable for a railroad. Besides which, he had acquired the conviction that the Passes through the llocky Mountains, between Mount Hooker, in Lat. 52^^ 17 and the Boundary Line, which would connect that Port with the South Sas- katchewan, are inferior in every respect for a railway to the Line by the North Branch and the Yellow Head or Tete Jaune Pass. This will be clearly shown when describing the geography of British Columbia ; in the meanwhile, the •writer's reasons for adopting the Northern route in preference may be summed up as follows : 1.— The arid uature of the country traversed by tho South s miles at expenses pl-esent ijrnificent be entcr- oition of very first to make moc|c of to eight tlie price tiirough Icsert, in- )uld pass egions in Woods to im 60,000 illions of Canada Ic qualifi- uiiication, lid inirne- stretclies akes and fed by an ther. )ened was led River atchewan, dian Gov- Jtice is to aiudcr or five yea "3 ible sums, : from the liberty to xde lip Ins n account being im- acquircd fountains, Boundary louth Sas- ray to the id or Tete iescribing while, the preference the South Saskatchewan, the greater part of wliich is unfit for settle- ment, its proximity to the Boundary line, and the hostile feel- ings of the Indians. 2. — The much greater altitude of the passes, the sharpness of the grades and curves, and the great amount of snow. 3. — The circuitous course the route would be obliged to follow through the Rocky Mountains after having crossed the main crest or watershed, amounting to nearly 250 miles of most expensive if not impossible railroad, 4. — The enormous expense, if not impossibility, of continu- ing the railroad in this latitude through the Cascade range and down the Frazer to New Westminster. 5. — The utter worthlci^sness of the greater part of the country thus traversed. 6. — The well-known difficulties of access to the Port of New Westminster, which render it totally unfit for the terminus of an Overland Railroad. ^ PER CONTRA. 1, — The well-known fertility of the whole country drained bv the North iraskatcliewan, and commonly called the Fertile Belt. 2. The greater navigability of the North Bi-anch, anti tlio presence of large seams of coal on several points. 3. — The facility of the road by Jasper's House and tlie Yellow Head Pass. This pass, or rather valley, presents a natural roadway through the Rocky Mountains, its greatest altitude is only 3760 feet above the sea, the Indians cross over it in winter, nor does the snow render it impassable at any time. 4. — The ready and easy communication ofTered for 280 miles by the Upper Fraser, through a comparatively open and fertile tract of country. 5. — The facility for getting to the gold mines in and around Cariboo, which at present can oIis3i3saga Channel, between Cockburn Island and the Head ot the Great Manitoulin, along Drummond and Joseph's Islands to St. Marie River, and through the American Ctinal [IJ mile long] . . . . . Thence across Lake Superior, to between We Royale at its north-western extremity and Thunder Cape [1350 feet high] into Thun- der Bay and to Curreat River, with a good harbor, G miles N.B, of Fort William. N.B — Lake Superior is GOO feet above the ■ea, according to Sir W. Logan and Keefer. The ice on Lakes Huron and Superior breaks up a little before the oad of April. 5 From Thunder Bay, near Fort William [situated in a fertile valley on the north bank of the Kaministaguia and one mile from its moutb] to Dog Lake, by a sur- veyed Hue. .... N.B.— The Kakabeka Falls, on the river, enter for 182 feet, and the Dog Portage 3 miles below the Lake for 347 feet in this rise. 10 Across Dog Lake with its gently rising banks. Up Dog River, a sluggy circuitous stream, about 80 teet wide, with flat, swampy slopes, in a vallay about one mile wide, to the Prairie Portage This last portion navigable for steamers by making a dam 16 feet high across the out- let of Dog Lake, ^t an estimated expense of £2000. 11 Prairie or Superior Portage, over the summii ' or Divide, between Lakes Superior and Winipeg, 893^ feet above tba former and ii^i^ teet abQY9 Mip sea, , , Mll«!l. Railroad Milnt. Gl 12 2 486 12G 9G 74 345 97 1285 75 85 94 280 Staeo- rcad. 28 10 25 35 n n 98 Ptenm NutIk'ii Mllei. tlactl Rlia Veel 12 1 13 r N 14 D 534 35 0^9 P( Fi 718J level 18 N. 16T RTWREN DRlTiaH Plenm Mllai. Rlio Veet 534 718i lerel 18 36 m 1!L 893| Baotloni. Over betNYoen the Dog and Middle Portage, Savnnne Uivers SavAnno Portagu, very swampy but easily drained. . . . . . Total, throu|;b an easy country. 12 Down tb ) iSavanne (liver, a nieaiidorin(r e'.roain from 40 to 70 yards wido, with mudJy hanks and much pmbarrussed by drif'wood, to the Lac dcs Mille liiice. Through the Luke with it3 numerous Islands and bold rocky scenery, many of them, however, containing trncta of good soil. . Down the River Seine [ini;rca9ing gradually from 100 ffet wide and winding through ii flat wooded valley] to the Little Falls at the Junction of Fire Steel River. . This last portion navigable for light steamers by a dam about ."G feel high, above the Falls. 13 From the Little Falls [24J fest high] down the Valley of the Seine, now bounded by low hills, of the primitive formation, to (he upper entrance of Uainy Lake. N.n, — A broken navigation for bate.iux, with 5 portngfls, could be easily established on this portion of the Uiv*r. li Down the upper and narrow portion of Rainy Lake, 20 miles; then thiuugh the main Loke with its rocky shores, and two miles beyond, down Rainy River [with 6 feet fall] to Fort Frances, at Rainy Falls, in all, The Islands in this Lake [over COO in num- ber] are mainly composed of palo red granite and chloritic and greenstone slate, and though picturesque, presents a barren and desolate appearance. The Lake freezes over about the Ist of December. There is a population of 1500 Indians b«re; Portage at Rainy Falls, 171 yards, requiring two Locks. ..... From Fort Frances down Rainy River ffrom 250 yards to a quarter of a mile wide, and very winding], through a beautifully fertile alluvial country, studded with maple, birch, poplar and oak, and containing at least 160,000 acres of the very best soil, to the Lake of the Woods. There are two in- significant rapids 31 miles below the Fort, which a steamer of moderate power could stem with ease. .... Across the Lake of the Woods, 55 miles, and thence through a navigable channel, 66 feet wide, with two small bars of loose friable slate, in all 140 feet long, to the north western extremity of Lao Plat or bhoal Lake, in all . N.B. — The Indians grow large quantities of maize on the Islands, and wild rice grows \n (bo greatest abqnd»pce i^ \\i9 ^j^ole Mllos. 19 30 10 65 50 74 BtaKO lluad. Mlloi. 28 Bt«*m Nav Ml lex 509 66J 65 84 209 n^ Fall. Feet. 16 32 7 4 37J 367 10 23 2ei ?Q8 630 SmIIobi. Over : dlfllrict, forming th« chief luitenanee of the Induing. 16 From Luc PIM to Kort Giirry, near the con. fliiL'ncu of tho lU'il fiiver and tho Aaaini- bt)ino, tind 047 foot uhove Uie sciv. Thi« Un« lias been survHycd, nnd ft very good route eivn bo ohtaiiiud over a lovel and favornble oouutry, of which tho first CO miles wooded And the romuinder levul pra.de. . These 90 miles of road wonld replace 580 miles of curtiiRO to iit Paul'fl, where the inhiibitants of Red liivor now pot their ■ upplica. Tl;« exponao hns l)ci.'n roughly ostitnatcd by .Mr Daw-on ut jC2i,500 ; i.nd the total cost of opening the uoramuuicn tion by land anu water, in above described from Lalie liupcrior to Fort darry would probably umnunt to about £80,000. The Red Rn'Ci .Scttlemeuv ;'ontuin3 a popu- lation or from 10,000 to 12,000 and beains 10 miles soutli of Winipen' Liikf.extondinir 60 miles up tho Uecl lUver and 60 to 70 miles Weai up tho Assiuiboino. Tlio land has been truly named, " a Paradise oi fertility." Many farms have been cnlll' vated for 10 years, witliout any appreciable falling ofl'; and as to climate, maize never fails to ripen, and melons grow with tho utmost lu.\uriaiice iu tho open air, and ripen in Au|j;ust. The R' d River, which is 600 or 700 miles lone, is 200 to 350 feel wide, below FortOarrj, and navit?ablo for ' Btearaers of lijjht draft. It eeneially freezes up about the middle of November or a liitlo later, and reopens towards the middle of April, 16 From Fort Garry, through tho Settlement, down Red River, and then through Cj miles of marsh at the mouth of the River to Lake Winipeg, 028 feet above the sea. From tho south end of Winipefj LaKe to its northswcsiern e.xtremity and tho Grand Rapid 2 miles beyond, on the Great Sas" katcbewan . . • 17 Portage at the Grand Rapid, 3 miles, with 62 feet fall, and a small rapid above [in all .5 miles], along a steep barren riape o) magnesian [upper Siluriau or perhaps Permian] limestone, on. the north side of the Great Saskatchewan ' N.B. — This Portap;e, and more especially another rapid further up, above Cross Lake, might be avoided by passing from Lake Winipeg up the little Saskatchewan, Mll«» «t«(te Uuud. Mili-i. 60 311 42 255 297 on ?t<(«m N'avlg'u. Mlli-i. 842 rail 530 280 2Ci idl 19 865} level Rise above Lake Wini- peg 196 70 1139 TO fltrif* I Btetm Koad. N«T. 8totloiu. Over 1 I the Mftnltonba and WlniiicROiin Lftkes, and ocroBS ibi! ^\Qtmy l'ortK(,'i>, wliich sopiirtiies the hltur from Luc bourbon, (inii which is 4} milei wiilc; but tho iitivii(:ktion wouM be roost circuitoiii, Hml the di^iaac** leiiKtlii'ru'd 83 milfji to little purpose. 18 From tho Grand Rapid up lliu tireivt So9~ katchemiin und ilirounb Lac Travern or CrosH Liil. nuwun to near Cuinberliind Liil.let Boute is, that a petition to have it opened had 1031 signa- tures against 7 refusals, comprising all the members of the House of Assembly less one, the Speaker, the Mayor of Vic- toria, the members of the Common Council, and every mer- chant or person ot note in the place. It was forwarded to Mr. Cardwell, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, 18 through our Governor, in Juno, 1865, but rornalnod witliout finy result, nor was any nolice even taken ol' it in New West- minster. EXTRACT FROM A CIRCULAR OF MESSRS. JANTON, GREEN & RUODES, MERCHANTS, VICTORIA, JANUARV" 1, 1884. "There is another route bcinf^ opened from the licad of " Bute Inlet by an enterprising jjeutlcinan Avho was convinced "of the existence of another route to the interior than that " through the valley of the Eraser, and who has, by his own " unaided efforts, worked out the problem in the most surpris- "ing manner, in tlie face of numerous difficulties, lie now " reports his trail, as nearly ready. "When this trail, or mule " road, is converted into a wagon road, it nnist greatly reduce " the cost of transit to Cariboo, as it shortens the land travel " about one-half, and the road is f o level as to offer no diffi- "culty to tlie construction of a railroad." The Indian hostilities, the plunder of all ray property and general massacre of my men, commoncod April 2!)th following, and only ended in the middle of May. Tiiis frightful event was mainly owing to tlic removal of Governor iJouglas, Avhom the Indians had so long known, and whom they had learnt to respect and to fear ; to the removal at tlie same time of the only troops in the colony, under Colonol MocJy ; and to the absence of every precaution by the local government in con- sequence of thot^e changes ; siicli as the appointment of an In- dian agent, a Justice of the peace or oven a constable, thongh I had paid nearly $3000 or X600 of taxes levied on the enter- prise. Since then I have in vain petitioned for an indemnity, and not only has the little amount of protection which would have been necessary to enailc me to carry on the works, been constantly refused mc, but I have been cautioned by the Government in New Westminster not to continue them. GENERAL FEATURES OF THR GROUN'D OVRR WnFCII THE RAIL- ROAD WOULD PASS FROM BUTE INLET TO THK MOUTH OF QUKdNELLB RIVER. The valley of the Ilomathco river, which falls into Eite Inlet, presents a deep cut or lissure through the Cascade Mountains, varying from three miles to less than a quarter of a mile in width ; is 80 miles in length, and rises impercept- ibly to a height of 2,400 feet or more above tho sea, at the point where it enters on tho plain beyond the mountains. For the first 31 miles, up to the canyon or defile, the bed of the valley is composed of diluvial soil, consisting of a sandy clay or loam, and forming a hard, dry bottom. The canyon itself is exactly one milo and a quarter in length. Beyond the canyon the valley again forms and opens for about six miles, the soil partaking of the nature of tho rocks from which it is derived and becoming more gravelly and of a red- dish cast. The river after this is again confined to a narrow ^ed) but the country is more open, and the road passes for 10 BIX other milcfj near the rivor along tlio foot of tlie nioim- taina; until the valloy oiico more opon^ end rcoovorB its flat, level aspect, wh'ush it niiiiiitiiins up to tlio plain. The tnoiintainons roi^ioii tlius tr!iv(!rse(l in composed for tho first forty iiiiloH, up the ii(n<;;liborliooil of Tiedcinan's Glacier, of brittle quarlzose ^[riiiiite; hard to drill, but yieldiu;^ easily to the blast. Tho rock then becomes more feldspathic and containa more lloriiblcnde, tho foimcr olomciit decom|)03iiig into a roildish-wliito, gri'ii^y clay. This continues until a short distance below tho Fir;st Lake, wliero tlio {granite ceases and is replaced for six or VA'^hl miles by a ciuy sdato of varie- {^atcd colors bearing' tlie uiarivs of igneous action. This slaty zoue is supposed to be aurifToas, and ia in all probability a conlinuation of tho Brid^'o iliver di,i?i?in<^s. It is followed by beds of stratihed granite, of ajjpareiitly more modern origin, and which arc intersected here and there for a short distance by veins of augilic rock, varying from six inches to two feet in thickness. The valley now opens more and more, till at a distance of SO miles Irom tho Inlet tho mountains cease ab- ruptly, and the road enters on the plain beyond. The rise in the valley, though ai»parently uniibrra, presents considorablo variations. Tlius tho canyon presents a rise in 3().j- niilcg of only 800 feet above the sea. The river then becomes mucli more rapid, and gives for the next thirteen miles an ascent probal)ly of 780 feet, after wliich for 40 miles and up to Fifth Lake, tho rise diminishes to 030 feet ; beyond •whicli there is a sharp ascent for a couple of miles more, of say 150 fm^t, when the summit, or watershed, is attained. We shall thus have the following gradients : Feet FfCt Rise 805 in 30 J miles— 23., '!G per mile, or 1 in 186.2 780 in 13 „ GO. 00 „ or 1 iu 88 C30 in 40 „ 10,'j „ or 1 in 335.2 150 in 2 •„ T;>00 „ or 1 in 70.4 >) I) Total 2425 The o,bovo figures must of course be considered as only ap- proximate. Tho plain consists of a deep sedimentary soil, watered by nuT-orous lakes and small streams, and varied by occasional elevations formed of sandstone belonging probal)ly to the lower scries of the chalk formation, and apparently owing their upheaval to plutonic action, whicli has hardened or cal- cined the rock. Tliey form hero and there conical elevations varying from 500 to 'SOO feet in height. Such, for instance, are Mount Palmer to the north of Bonehec Lake, and several others that figure on ray map. These elevations, and the low spurs or ranges of hills that accompauy them, necessitate but lew deviations from the straight line, and the plain in general olTers every facility for the CHtablishmcut of a railroad. Towards the mouLli of the Quesnelle there is a grar'ual de- Bcent for some miles, but unattended by any difficulty ; and at the terminus on the bank of the Fraser there exists a rich piatoaa oi cultivable soil. mA 20 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES ON THE LINE. Tho valloy, above deacrlbod is in ponoml licavily timbered, but studded, as aforesaid, with ricili liottoms, ca|)al)lo of pro- ducing any Kind of crops, and offorini^ open spots for small farms. Tho plain itself [tho only one in British Colum- bia of any extcntj has been admired by all who liavo seen it, on account of its vast pasturages and park-liko scenery. Its width, whore it is crossed by the Biito Inlet trail, is about 120 miles, and it strot.clu;s from tho SW end of tlie Great Quesnellc Lake and the neij^hborhood of tlio Eraser, in a NNW direction, more than 300 miles to tho Skecna, beyond which river it has not been explored. It contains luillions of acres of good ground, and some of the best along the proposed route, where largo tracts of land are sure to bo taken up as soon as the first communications are established. Somo ob- jections have been raised as to its elevation, whicb averages 2500 feet above the soa in the southern part, though gradually lowering towards tho Skoena, whore tlie climate, in consequence. becomes considerably milder. l»ut this makes it none tlie less valuable fsr grazing purposes, whicli will be by far the most profitable branch ^ of farming in tho country, when tliorc are means of conveyance. At present, the cattle consumed in Cariboo, aro driven overland somo 500 or COO miles from Washington Territory. Cereals can also bo cultivated with success, as is fully proved by the following list, showing some of tho crops which were raised last season on the Fraser route, together with the corresponding latitudes and altitudes : Deep Oreek Willinm's Lake Cut off Valley Mr Oornwall Lat. N 52:17 52:12 51:10 51:00 Altitude Feet. 2255 2135 2973 1E08 100 acres of oats 200 ncres of onta, barley and wbaat 200 acres oati>, bnrley, potatoes and a little wheat 70 acres oats, barley, and 300 busbels wheat But the above localities are all to the East of the Fraser, and it must bo born in mind, that as the isothermal lines ap- proach the Pacific, they extend diagonally towards the North, in the proportion of about 1° of Latitude to 2° of Longitude. Thus at Benchee Lake, on the Chilcoatcn plain, in the same latitude as William's Lake, and rather more elevated, but 2° more to the west, and therefore very probably iaentical in climate. I saw in the autumn of 1863 a small crop of oats, barley and turnips, which Mr Manning had raised on trial, and which had perfectly succeeded ; whilst some potatoes, which had been planted in an exposed situation to the south, had been frost-bitten. The Indian horses pass the winter out of doors without fodder or stabling ; the best proof that the winters are not very severe. The Buperioritjr of the Bute Inlet route [the onlj one lil 21 which opens a cotiimuiiication, available for a railroad, with this majrnilianit plain I l)cinj? tliurf proved, it remains to sny a few words on the (lifforout passes which liavc been explored throuKli tlie Rocky Mountains on IJritish Territory; leaving out tlio Atliabascii Pass by Peace River, iu Lat. 56'':28, as being too far nortli for present purposes : NAMES OP "rnR PAS?E3. 1 Yellow lloftd P«3S, from llio Athabasca to the U[)i)cr Frtispr .... 2 llowse I'liss, Irom Ducr Uiver by Blaeberry River tn ibe Upt'fr Colmnbin , 3 Kickiiift Horse Puss, by How River nnd Ricking Hnrie llivpr, to the Upper Coliimbiii 4 Vermillion Pihr, from Hit- South S i8l i>f-i\ . ,(■ :'«, <■«. ■' '.i'M: tlie 3cade ISSCS, t and :) tl\o IN.