174 



CITIES, AMERICAN. (VANCOUVER, VICTORIA, WINNIPEG.) 



boat runs daily to Duluth, and a large fleet of 

 vessels is employed during the season along 

 the lake-shore in trade or in pleasure excur- 

 sions to that city, to Isle Royale, celebrated 

 for its brook-trout fishing, and to the Apostle 

 Islands. Within two miles of the town valua- 

 ble copper mines are in process of develop- 

 ment. It is proposed to inclose the bay by 

 means of two breakwaters, one of which is 

 partly finished, four hundred feet of it having 

 been built at a cost of $20,683 ; the entire 

 cost is estimated at $77,500. The bay is of 

 vast importance to the iron interest, as the 

 port is the place of shipment of ore from the 

 great Vermilion mines at Tower and Ely. In 

 1886 an appropriation of $22,500 was made by 

 the Government for its improvement. 



Vancouver, a seaport of recent origin on the 

 coast of the mainland of British Columbia. It 

 stands upon a gentle slope bordering English 

 Bay and Coal Harbor, near the entrance of 

 Burrard Inlet, an arm of the sea deeply indent- 

 ing the mountainous coast, and furnishing safe 

 anchorage for vessels of the deepest draught. 

 The shore was covered with forests of trees, 

 whose average height exceeded 200 feet, until 

 1885, when it was definitely settled that here 

 should be built the terminus of the Canadian 

 Pacific Railway. A town was then surveyed, 

 systematic clear! nir began, and a settlement 

 sprang up with great rapidity, anticipating the 

 railway. A year later fire swept away the 

 town, which has been rebuilt in a much more 

 substantial manner, most of the business center 

 being of brick or stone and exhibiting many 

 fine structures. The terminal facilities of the 

 railway and connecting steamship lines are ex- 

 tensive and complete, and the commerce is very 

 large. A line of steamers plies between here 

 and Yokohama and Hong-kong, under the flag 

 of the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company, 

 at intervals of about three weeks; and coast 

 lines of steamers run daily to Victoria and the 

 Pnget Sound ports, and less frequently to San 

 Francisco and Sitka. There is a large foreign 

 trade by sailing-vessels, also, in lumber, squared 

 timber, and merchandise, while the fishing in- 

 terest is becoming profitable. An important 

 jobbing and wholesale trade is carried on with 

 interior towns and northerly coast-points; and 

 the manufacture of spars and ship-timber, from 

 the gigantic Douglas fir of the region, together 

 with lumber and dressed articles, such as doors, 

 sash, blinds, and cabinet stuff, employs hun- 

 dreds of workmen. All this has come into ex- 

 istence since the last census, and no precise 

 figures are available. The town is now a city 

 in organization and appearance. Its population 

 approaches 6,000, and includes many persons 

 of wealth, whose homes are costly and filled 

 with modern appointments. A magnificent 

 hotel is operated by the railway company, and 

 the many opportunities for enjoyment and 

 sport, the mild climate and wonderfully pict- 

 uresque surroundings, attract tourists and 

 sportsmen. The city is lighted by gas and 



electricity, has public water-works, a uni- 

 formed police, and a paid fire department, 

 hospitals, and public schools. 



Victoria, a seaport at the southern extremity 

 of Vancouver Island. It is the capital and 

 largest city of British Columbia. It began 

 forty years ago as a trading-station and entrepot 

 of the Hudson Bay Company. When the 

 gold discoveries upon the upper Fraser river 

 caused a rush to British Columbia, in 1858- 1 62, 

 Victoria suddenly attained a population of 

 30.000, and it passed through a feverish season 

 of business and inflated property-valuation. 

 With the decline of the gold excitement this 

 dwindled, but under the recent development 

 of the province, due to the completion of the 

 Canadian Pacific Railway and the growth of 

 Alaska on the one hand, and the neighboring 

 region around Puget Sound on the other, Vic- 

 toria has advanced to a present population of 

 12,000. It has a beautiful site, and its mild 

 climate is healthful, closely resembling that of 

 the Devonshire coast of England. Beaconhill 

 Park, overlooking the Straits of Fuca and the 

 Olympic mountains, the beautiful grounds of 

 Government House, and many fine suburban 

 drives, make the place one of the most inter- 

 esting in Canada. Three miles westward is 

 the harbor and naval station of Esquimanlt 

 (pronounced Es-kwi-malt), which is the rendez- 

 vous of the British Pacific squadron. Here 

 has just been completed a graving-dock costing 

 $450,000. Here and at Victoria English peo- 

 ple and manners predominate, and the atmos- 

 phere of the place is in marked contrast to 

 that of the American Pacific coast towns. Vic- 

 toria has an immense shipping interest, and 

 does a large business in naval supplies, general 

 merchandise, coal, timber, and fish. The 

 transpacific steamships from Vancouver to 

 China and Japan touch here. A regular line 

 plies weekly between Victoria and San Fran- 

 cisco, and fortnightly to Alaska. Daily steam- 

 ers run to Vancouver, New Westminster, and 

 the ports on Puget Sound. A railway runs 

 thence up the eastern coast of the island to 

 Nanaimo, where vast deposits of coal are 

 mined, and agricultural and forest products are 

 made available in large quantities. Victoria is 

 growing steadily, and replacing the earlier 

 structures with handsome and commodious 

 business blocks. Banking, postal, and tele- 

 graphic facilities are of the best order. In 

 addition to public schools, there are several 

 private academies, and churches of every de- 

 nomination. The Chinese, among whom are 

 many wealthy merchants and contractors, form 

 a large element in the population, but have 

 not yet aroused that antagonism which meets 

 them in the United States. 



Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba and com- 

 mercial center of western Canada. It has a 

 population of 30,000, and an assessment value 

 of $40,000,000. This city stands in the center 

 of vast prairies, on the bank of Red river, at 

 the mouth of the Assiniboine, its principal 





