THE NEW ONTARIO.

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 May 1910, Page 8

THE NEW ONTARIO.

Glowing reports are being published of the “new Ontario/’ the great northern territory of the Canadian province. Beyond the fertile fanning lands and busy wide sweep of forest land which stretches northward up to Hudson Bay, and westward from tire Montreal River a thousand miles to the plains of Manitoba. A few years ago the country was practically unknown, except to the hunters and trappers of the Hudson Bay Company, and to tire lumbermen who came in the frozen winter to cut the gnv.it while pine trees and float them down to the sawmills of the Montreal and Ottawa Rivers. The era of development began when prospectors, following the lone trail with canoe and tent, brought news of the discovery of silver, cobalt, copper, iron, nickel and gold. Silver was found in the Cobalt district in 1903, and live years later, in 1908, mure silver came from its mines than from any other mining station in the world. The output averaged about two tons of silver every day, and was estimated to be about one-eighth ol the world’s total supply. The whole of Northern Ontario, is being searched by prospectors now, and some remarkable. stories are told of the growth of “mushroom towns. ’ Hardy rn 1909 news came of silver lories near Gowganda Lake. On January 9 the only sign of life was the .tent of a prospector on the ice. Fourteen days later the foundations of thirty houses had been laid, the Impelial Bank of Canada, was doing business from a tree stump, and the King Edward Hotel was represented by a tent. In T)ecember last Gowgai'ula town contained three hotels, three banks and about ninety bouses, in addition to tents, one of which wan used as a Presbyterian Church. Thy legitimate mining enterprises in the new territory are being injured to some extent by a swarm of wild-cat ventures, promoted with the idea of gulling investors. There is a good deal ul truth, as many people have discovered to their cost, in Mr Dooley’s dulinition of a mine as “a hole in the ground owned by a liar,” but tho genuine resources of the ■ new Ontario” are beyond all question.