A iy i

This news-sheet was the pioneer of today’s present
development in the realm of newspapers in British
Columbia.

The "Courrier de la Nouvelle Caledonie” enjoyed
but a brief existence, either because the undertaking,
modest as it was, was yet beyond the resources of
its originator, or because the noble editor was unable
to retain the confidence of the bishop. Whatever
the reason, publication ceased after only a_few
numbers had appeared. The story runs that Count
de Garro, who, after his exit from the newspaper
field, had worked for some time as a waiter in a
Victoria restaurant, met with a tragic fate a few
years later, when he was the victim of a boiler explo-
sion on board an old steamer which was carrying
him, together with other gold seekers, towards the
placer diggings of the Cariboo.

At this juncture, gold was reported as being dis-
covered among the Cariboo hills, bringing an influx
of immigrants from California as well as from Eng-
land, until it is estimated that there were approxi-
mately 15,000 people gathered in Victoria. It was a
restless, seething population who yearned for a
newspaper as an outlet for the expression of their
ideas and ambitions. Therefore, it was quite natural
that in a period of six months, no less than three

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