short distance above Hudson Hope, it would be necessary to construct a rail or
tramway to the free water, from where scows could be taken down the river as
far as Vermilion Falls, a distance of 600 miles, and the coal could therefore be
distributed about the Peace Riyer country very cheaply. The principal market for
the coal will undoubtedly be on the Prairies. The rich Peace River District itself
will, with the advent of railroad communication, develop very rapidly. Timber is
not very plentiful, large portions consisting of prairie land, and there will therefore
in the future be a large market for coal in the country.

OTHER MINERALS.

Galena and sulphide ore is found from the Peace south beyond Pine Pass; mica
with large clear sheets and fine cleavage in various places, especially near the low-
grade ore-body at Mount Selwyn, near the junction of tbe Finlay and Parsnip;
platinum and gold is reported to exist in the tributaries of the South Pine River;
and cobalt, copper, cement, and stream tin in the mountains south of the Pine
Valley. The tin is uncertain. There is also mineral tar flowing in springs, mineral
springs, lime, and other mineral resources. Some fine gold is found in the bars of
the Peace River, and attempts have been made to wash the bars with cradles and
sluices, but, while some quantity of gold has been recovered, the bars are not rich
enough to pay for this class of mining. The results obtained, however, indicate the
possibility of their being successfully worked by dredging, the character of the river-
bed and its freedom from boulders being particularly suited for such operations.
When the difficulties of transporting heavy machinery into the division have been
overcome dredging operations are likely to be carried on. On the Pine River Pass
are one or two gold-bearing quartz ledges and, some coal-seams have been staked
there. Seams of lignite are noted in many places in the division and plenty of float
is_to be seen in the creeks. In several streams colours are noticed, and surveyors
have panned fine gold in the Missinchinka. Mr. Macdonell, C.E., who acted on
behalf of the Dominion Government in locating the Peace River Block, located some
gold-bearing ore on the Peace River seventeen miles below Fort St. John. ‘There the
river had exposed a face 50 feet high of wide extent, where crushings yielded $2
in gold to the ton. The beds extend for many miles along the river-banks and may
be the source of the gold found in bars on the Peace.

The Omineca District in this division was second only in importance to the
Cariboo as a gold-mining section of the Province. Germansen, who gave his name
to the lake, creek, and landing on Omineca, discovered the placer-workings there,
and for several decades gold has been washed on the rivers and creeks of the
district. The old placer-workings were located on Manson, Germansen, Vital, and
Tom Creeks. At present placer-mining is being carried on at Manson and German-
sen Creeks and some quartz-mining near the Fall River. Mr. Swannell, B.C.I.S.,
who visited this district in 1918, says: ‘“ Some forty white men ail told are working
in this section, and a well-equipped prospecting party was encountered on the
Stranger River. Much ground known to be auriferous will remain unworked until
transportation facilities are improved. At present. it is difficult to get machinery or
supplies in from outside, every pound having to come in by pack-horse or toboggan.
In spite of this handicap, several hydraulic plants and two sawmills have been
installed, although the latter have not been worked for some years. Easy com-
munication with the Peace River, or a wagon-road joining the one now being built
from Tacla Lake to Silver Creek, would increase the mining activity in this region
tenfold. Machinery could be brought to either of these points of entry by. light-
draught steamboats.”

: THE LAND OF FUR.

For decades the Peace River Division has exported furs. It has been generally”

associated in the public mind as the land of fur. The principal furs are fox, mink,
and weasel. The Hudson’s Bay Company and Revillon Freres have important fur-
trading stations at Fort St. John and Hudson Hope. In addition to the Indians,
between forty and fifty white men live solely by trapping and make good catches.

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