AMONGST THE WILD GOATS OF THE CASCADES. 271 



I had " struck" Nanaimo on one of its "off" times, 

 Saturday ; and, moreover, at the commencement of 

 the month, which is paytime, when dollars are wonder- 

 fully plentiful, and are, unfortunately, mostly spent in 

 drink and gambling. 



The row of inns and bars in the main street were 

 thronged with a " hard " crowd, loud-voiced, coarse- 

 featured, and dressed " up to the nines," whatever 

 that may mean ; others were lounging with a kind 

 of studied and conscious aimlessness in the centre of 

 the street or " side-walks," which were paved with 

 boards, with an " eave-'arf-a-brick-at-the- stranger " 

 sort of manner, so embarrassing to a solitary visitor. 

 A new-comer would scarcely guess from their appear- 

 ance that these men were coal-miners. 



At Nanaimo village, or city, as its inhabitants doubt- 

 less think of it, comfort or refinement is unknown. 

 Everything is sacrificed to the acquisition of the all- 

 powerful dollar. The inns (called hotels) are bad, 

 and the food worse. Its dwellers are men of the 

 type which builds up and develops a new country. 



No Chinamen were visible. Since the terrible 

 explosion which occurred in the early part of the 

 year 1888, none have been employed in the mines ; 

 only as cooks or launderers, or in some similar capa- 

 city, do they now find work. 



Dollars are to be had in plenty for a moderate 

 amount of labour (a sum equal to ten shillings may 

 be earned by a few hours 7 work in the mines) ; and 

 as I heard it described by one of the miners them- 



