THE KOOTENAY DISTRICT 161 



fur traders. When gold was discovered on the 

 Fraser River in 1857, people began to pour into 

 this hitherto isolated world. The demand for the 

 establishment of some form of government control 

 naturally arose. Accordingly the mainland west 

 of the Rockies became a Crown colony and took 

 the name of British Columbia. In 1871 it was 

 constituted a province of Canada, on condition 

 that it should be connected with the eastern 

 territories by railway. The Canadian Pacific was 

 completed in 1885, which opened up direct 

 communication between the Atlantic and Pacific 

 shores. A lieutenant-governor is at the head of 

 the Provincial administration, appointed by the 

 Dominion Parliament. There is an Executive 

 Council of five who are members of the Legislative 

 Assembly, forty-two in number, who are chosen by 

 the Provincial constituencies. 



The Kootenay district lies in the south-eastern 

 portion of the province, west of the Rockies, and 

 within the region of the Kootenay and Columbia 

 rivers. In consequence of its more advanced develop- 

 ment, civic life is rapidly spreading. The population 

 has more than doubled within the last ten years. 

 Next to the mineral industries comes that of lumber- 

 ing. The timber is floated down the small unnavigable 

 streams, which also supply power for electric works, 

 mills, etc. West of Kootenay, lies Yale district, 

 rich in arable land and at the same time mineral 



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