BRITISH COLUMBIA. 



73 



Hope, Yale, Lytton, Kamloops, Lilloet, Rich- 

 field, Cariboo, and Quesnel, in the Fraser val- 

 ley, and Cassiar, in the northern part of the 

 province. 



Geography. The Rockies run in three near- 

 ly parallel chains, although in some localities 

 they almost unite. Between these ranges are 

 rough valleys, or narrow plateaus containing 

 small tracts of arable land, besides larger areas 

 suitable for grazing. Its timber is chiefly the 

 far-famed Douglas pine, though in many locali- 

 ties, especially along the mainland and Vancou- 

 ver island shores, the sturdy hard- woods are 

 found growing to a considerable size. Between 

 the Rockies and the Cascades or Coast-range, is 



a broad, irregular plateau nearly one hundred 

 miles in width, forming another district of 

 "oases." In its valleys are found slopes, 

 openings, and expansions, such that while, on 

 the one side, grass grows luxuriantly, and oats, 

 barley, and wheat ripen, on the other the ice 

 is packed in the gorges throughout the year. 

 But as rain falls very rarely on this plateau, 

 the ice is of value in supplying moisture neces- 

 sary to mature fall wheat and other grains. 



Meteorology. T lie following table, illustrating 

 the temperatures and rainfalls of some of these 

 plateau valleys, compared with Esquimalt on 

 the straits of Juan de Fuca, is from official re- 

 ports of the Canadian Government : 



LOCALITIES. 



II 



B 



ii 



Esquimalt 



Plateaus, inland. 



Deg. 



48-42 



47-79 



57-98 

 68-41 



Deg. 

 89-46 

 26-01 



Deg. 



89-17 



29-84 



Per cent. 

 58 

 46 



Inches. 

 28-41 



10-10 



SK 



Deg. 

 17-2 

 -9-4 



Deg. 

 85 

 105 



Dg. 



8 



Deg. 



62-9 

 108-2 



The cause of the dry climate of the plateaus 

 is found in the wide and high Coast-ranges, 

 which intercept the moisture of the westerly 

 winds. It may rain for several days over the 

 western slope of these mountains, while not a 

 drop falls on the eastern, only fifty miles dis- 

 tant. The clouds fly eastward, but appear in- 

 capable of forming rain. However, on the 

 Gold and Selkirk ranges of the Rockies rain 

 falls abundantly. 



Along the mainland shore and on Vancouver 

 island are many large tracts of land admirably 

 suited for farming, and toward the head of the 

 Fraser and in the Thompson valley many agri- 

 cultural and grazing farms are established. 



Forests. The plateau valleys and the pla- 

 teaus are, as a rule, thinly wooded, although 

 the Douglas pine and various hard-woods afford 

 supplies far in excess of the present or the pro- 

 spective demands. On the coast, and in Van- 

 couver, however, the trees are of an enormous 

 size, rivaling the giant pines of California. 



Metals. The province abounds in minerals, 

 the most precious and vrluable having already 

 been found in paying quantities. It was only 

 in 1857 that the first gold was discovered in 

 British Columbia. The gold is found in nug- 

 gets, three brought forth in 1877 being worth 

 $40, $90, and $130, respectively. In other places 

 it is. found in thin scales, the rocks in all such 

 cases being igneous. Hitherto gold-mining has 

 been conducted in the primitive way, washing 

 the sand or gravel of the streams, and collecting 

 the proceeds. In places a lucky miner averages 

 $20 to $100 a day ; but, as the claims are 

 small, good luck does not last long. From ex- 

 periments conducted in San Francisco, it seems 

 there are localities where the quartz yields 1-21 

 ounce of gold, 2'43 ounces of silver, and sever- 

 al pounds of copper to the single ton. Some 

 specimens of silver-ore have yielded $300 a ton, 



but ordinary specimens furnish 8*25 ounces of 

 silver and - 6 ounce of gold. Native silver pel- 

 lets have often been found, hut in isolated locali- 

 ties. Copper is found in rich veins in several 

 places already, and also in ores. It occurs in a 

 native state in the Thompson river district. 



Coal. Coal is very abundant. The extensive 

 fields of Nanaimo or Vancouver are worked, 

 while many others on the mainland are await- 

 ing development. The following are the ex- 

 ports of coal mined in British Columbia for the 

 year 1882 : 



DESTINATION. 



During the same year British Columbia ex- 

 ported to the United States $723,225 worth of 

 gold-quartz. 



Education. The system of free public educa- 

 tion was established in British Columbia in 

 1872. During the first ten years of their exist- 

 ence the total expenditure for public schools 

 amounted to $480,395. Up to the end of 1882 

 only 50 school-houses had been erected, and 

 provision was made for 64 teachers for 1883. 

 The number of pupils enrolled in 1882 was 

 2,653, with an average daily attendance of 

 1,359. There is one high-school in the prov- 

 ince, with a registered attendance of 74. The 

 education department is presided over by a 

 chief superintendent, who acts under the di- 

 rection of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, 

 through the Provincial Secretary. The indi- 

 vidual schools are controlled by school boards, 

 consisting of three members each,, who are 

 elected by resident male freeholders and house- 



