THE BRITISH COLUMBIA GOLD DIGGINGS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIX, Issue 1702, 2 January 1863, Page 4

THE BRITISH COLUMBIA GOLD DIGGINGS.

The following is an extract from a letter dated Victoria, Vancouver's Island, August 22, which appears in the Hamilton (Canada West) Daily Spectator. — To the pi esent date no new diggings have been found, and you may imagine what a sell ther3 has been to thousands who came from England, Canada, California, and even Australia and New Zealand. There is gold, no doubt, in Cariboo, but from the high price of provisions in the mines («ay averaging $1£ per ft.) it is impossible to prospect the country properly. Your readers can hardly imagine the severity of such a country, where it rains almost all day and free7es all night, and the risk a man runs of getting starved, or at least invalided, when he lives theie woiking and walking six months. Before my return here, a great crowd had come back from Cariboo, and since my arrival they are returning on an average of 100 daity, in an awful condition, almost naked, and gaunt with liunger. On my own return the scattered cimvd, before, behind, and aiound me, reminded me of Xenoption's account of the retreat of tlio ten thousand Greek*, only every man was hastening away as fast as he could from the last two dollar feed, and anxiously inquiring how. far it was to the next house to be reached before dnrk. was caused by a light pocket and a good Appetite, and time was an important matter, as a journey on foot takes fourteen days good walking to this place. It was laughable to see many of my companions in misfortune, how they were dressed. Most of them had a gunny bag tied on each foot, not having shoes, which are rather a luxury to a poor man in the upper country, have used up what was brought along in fording creeks and wading marshes searching for gold ; the rest of the dress was made up of all kinds of things, but principally old flour bags. There is no employment in the mines this year, and as many were almost starving some took jobs of carrying one hundred pounds on their backs from the village at the forks of the Quesnelle xiver to Antler Creek, mules not being able to go over the trail. As this gave the workers only enough on which to live, and no surplus to enable him to go to Victoria with by and bye, it was not an unusual thing for men to tell their burthem and go away. I am acquainted with one from Hamilton having done so, and who, I am glad to say, has got saff to San Francisco. I don't blame him, it was do this or do as others have done, lie down and starve in the cursed country. Miners and others returning did not better their condition much. The place is poor, the inhabitanti of which are living by supplying the pasinir miners with provisions brought from San Francisco, as there aie only about a dozen farms on the island. The place it a fiee port, and no use for mechanics of apy kind, everything being brought to it, and all the employment offering being of the most ordinal y kind. Every job, however, has a couple dozen applicants, many wanting means to leave the place, as the cheapest board it $8 a week. The American Consul has sent all citizens forward who were unable to pay $20 to San Francisco, and most Canadians have gone to Washington Territory to work in saw mills. Every man who could raise enough of money to leave has gone away, and every steamer leaving this place for San Francisco has earned an average of 800 passengers. Since my at rival there have left seven steamer* for that port. The lot speculators are getting alarmed, and try all sorts of dodges to keep the crowd here. A meeting was called a few days ago, to take into consideration the unfoi tunate state of the immigrants, as they kindly call the miners ; and all sorts of nostrums were proposed. A lieutenant in the navy said no man need seek work, as Her Majesty's navy was in want of 100 landsmen at $10, and found ; and another, since elected to the mayoralty 'of the place, told the public he would give a dozen employ merit at $15 a month, and found, exceept in blanket*. The Canadians don't heed this trash, but push across Puget Sound and get f2J a day, and live oheaper than here.- Passing down Johnson-itreet, a Jew clay* ago, I went into a greengrocer's, and found •even men (helling peas at $1 a day, one of whom was an ex-Fellow of College, Oxford, and another formerly an officer in the army. Such ii life towards Cariboo. A few day* ago three men were murdered in •"tho mines, and robbed of tome £16,000 ; these make ■ome seven already known. To-day I hear some four , more have been ihot, and I have no doubt of it. These are not the last.

Deedi dp but comparatively \imall miichief in the ordinary run of civilised life. It is word? that wound, rankle, poison, and kill.