BRITISH COLUMBIA. LOTS OF GOLD.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 5, Issue 279, 6 May 1862, Page 3

BRITISH COLUMBIA. LOTS OF GOLD.

A long letter from Victoria, in the Morning Post, gives a wonderful account of tha auriferous wealth of British Columbia : — The maps of British Columbia are all very deficient and very inaccurate, that of : the blue book being at present by far the best. On examination it will be seen that, the river Fraser, after running in a noth -westerly direction, reaches the Peak JMountains, and there turns at once to the south, and continues that course through the heart of Columbia. . Near the 55th parallel it receives the Quesnelle as a tributary, and some five degrees 'further south is joined by the Thompson. About 100 miles to the east of the Fraser lies T the Lake Okanaga, from which runs the river Okanaga. This stream is joined by , th© Similkameen, a few miles below the boundary line. Ail these rivers run north and south, with the exception of the (Juesneile, which, on leaving Lake Quesnelle, keeps steadily to the east, until it is ldst in the Fraser. Along the banks of the Fraser, Thompson, Similkameen, Okanaga, and Quesnelle, gold has been found in the form of dust and scales, and in sufficient quantity to pay well when richer districts shall have been worked out. For the present the attention of the miner has been turned principally to a number of creeks running in all directions, about' > 60.VniiIe(s-j ii nor|b'.of the Quesnelle Lakei- Early in the surri- * >il"'' : .■."■-■:■ £c\,yy ! £i , . ; : . „_■ .• -;, '■/•,-;>-•" ''. v-'v>,»V .'-,'„•''■;-

----,> jitter, reports were abroad of marvellous -doings. News came down of huge nuggets, and of the penniless suddenly enriched ; but it was difficult for a time to find a believer. At last, however, the most sceptical were convinced. When a Mr. ■ Beedy left Antler Creek on the 13th of August, both sides of it were flumed, and from 200 to 300 claims were paying largely. 'Berger & Co.'s claim,' he says, 'is probably the richest. In one little crevice were found 60 to 70 ounces. The pay <iirt is 12 feet deep in the bed of the earth. Captain Bower & Co. estimated that they would take from their claim £5000 for the season's work. Cain & Co. were making £60 to £80 a day to the hand. At William's Creek, Claims were paying from an ounce to 100 ounces each day. In a small flat the pay was s® rich that Abott & Co. were taking out from 100 to 200 ounces with sluices. On Great Lowhee Creek the smaltest return for a day's work was £8, and of the 100 men who were at work in its vicinity within a range of fifteen miles, no one would touch a claim which did not prospect £4 a day. At this period it was quite impossible tot hire a European. Every strong arm was labouring for itself, and the most unlucky prospector expected in time to realise a fortune.' A letter, written in August by a Quesnelle storekeeper, supports fully Mr. Beedy's account of the diggings. 'My brother Tom is at Antler, and writes me that Cariboo is far beyond what California was in 1849. We hear of no one making less than £8 a day, and not a few are making from £20 to £100 a day. The people at Antler and other creeks are in a great state of excitement, and prospecting parties are out in all directions. When a party starts out on a voyage of discovery merchants agree to furnish the food free of charge, provided an interest in the claims, when found, is given them. The people of England are, I know, very chary in crediting these astounding stories of gold digging. Reports, they say, during the time of gold excitement, catch the spirit of the day, and must not be taken literally. But there are certain facts which will satisfy the most incredulous We have not only letters from men of integrity, and the viva voce evidence of those who have stood by -and seen the gold dug up, but we have 'had the gold itself brought down week af- ■ ter week, and placed before our own eyes, -and the amounts received in New Westminster and Victoria have far exceeded the -expectations of the most hopeful. The first large arrival was that in the Otter, on the 16th Oct. The steamer Otter, with 130 passengers and £30,000 in gold, arrived at 2 o'clock. The amount of gold brought ■down this trip is greater than that ever received by one conveyance from British Columbia. On the 19th the same steamer brought down £25,000, and during the following week the Caledonia made two trips, bringing £50,000 and £48,000. It is useless to mention all the sums separately, as they reached Victoria, — it will be sufficient for me to state that the whole amounted to more than a million sterling. If we consider that much gold was quietly conveyed about the person of the miner, we may fairly assume that during the short season of 1861 the mines of British Columbia produced more than a million.