3-085-877 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Gold in British Columbia: Fraser River, 1898. 'Much has been written during recent months concerning the vast auriferous wealth which has been brought to light in British Columbia. That province has an area of 385,300 square miles, or more than three times the size of the United Kingdom. It has lofty mountain ranges, immense forests, many fruitful valleys, large rivers, a seaboard of a thousand miles in extent, inexhaustible fisheries and vast agricultural possibilities, besides mineral wealth, the extent of which it is almost impossible to over-estimate. In the southern portion the climate is superior to that of southern England or central France...snow seldom falls, and then it lies only a few hours or days. Summer is correspondingly warm. In the northern portions of the province the winter is more rigorous, but elsewhere the climate is salubrious and healthy...Lillooet district lies directly south of Cariboo, and is bisected by the Fraser River. The country is as yet only sparsely peopled, the principal settlements being in the vicinity of the river, though there are others which, when the projected Cariboo Railway is built, will rapidly become of more importance. This district is quickly coming to the front as a gold-producer.' From "Illustrated London News", 1898.