MINERAL PRODUCTS 157 



raging and sighing by turn. If wealth be power, 

 who shall approximately reckon the force of the 

 treasure that lies slumbering in its breast ? The 

 creator of the fabled Aladdin might well have had 

 his imagination fired in the heart of these wondrous 

 ranges. 



The late Dr. George M. Dawson, Director of the 

 Geological Survey of Canada, has reported that gold 

 is so generally distributed over the whole of British 

 Columbia that there are few streams of any impor- 

 tance in which " colours " may not be found. Up 

 to the present only 20 per cent, of the province is 

 really known, and not half that portion has been 

 sufficiently examined to ascertain its real value. 

 What has been ascertained is that 300,000 square 

 miles of country is extensively mineralized. 



Development has been slow, owing to want of 

 railway and road communication. For six years 

 previous to 1893, the lode mines had only yielded 

 about ;^ 1 2,000 annually, but in that year the output 

 reached i^6o,ooo. This has been bettered in 1909, 

 by amounting to ;^984,8i8. The geographical posi- 

 tion of the province was in the past a hindrance to 

 rapid development, and the markets for mineral 

 wealth had been practically confined to the Atlantic 

 shores. All this has been changed, and along the 

 Pacific coast the complete progress of manufacture 

 from the rough ore to the finished article is taking 

 place, saving time and the expense of freightage. 



