46 Paciric Great EasTeRN Ratnway BE tt.

OTHER PRE-EMINENT FEATURES OF THE P.GE.
RAIWAY BELT.

Qo .
Mineral Resources.

It was the feverish gold-rush to the Cariboo country in the early sixties
that first inaugurated mining cn any considerable scale in British Columbia,
operations then centring arcund the now historic village of Barkerville,
where for many years the creeks yielded phenominally rich pay. From
2y2 miles of Williams Creek and 2 miles of Lightning Creek at least
$39,000,000 was taken. Of late years, with new discoveries made at Cedar
Creek and at other points, there has been a marked revival in placer-mining,
and the advent of the railway is tending to bring about activé development
in other fields. There is a vast store of mineral wealth as yet uncovered
in this great hinterland, and though the country contiguous to the Pacific
Great Eastern Railway has been famed chiefly for its gold-deposits, the
mineralized area shows great promise in other directions. The country has
been found to carry silver, copper, iron, chromite, antimony, molybdenum,

HYDRAULICKING IN CARIBOO.

tungsten, and other lode ores; hydromagnesite, epsomite, sodium, carbonate,
kaolin, clays, tale, diotamaceous earth, lignite, muscovite, perisor. There
are also numerous occurrences of minerals carrying values in silver, lead,
copper, gold, manganese, and nickel. Platinum is found in placer-ground
very often with gold.

Transportation facilities now afforded to various mining areas by the
Pacific Great Eastern line enables the prospector and the mining engineer
to reach the heart of these districts without serious loss of time, and where
the worth of a property is proven, machinery and supplies may be shipped
in comparatively cheaply.

Merchantable Timber.

In the area tributary to the Pacific Great Eastern line there are approxi-
mately 24,000,000 acres estimated to hold 5,009,000,000 feet, board measure,
of merchantable timber. The typical stand of the Coast District is Douglas
fir, hemlock, and cedar, with some spruce, white fir, and white pine. A
flourishing lumber and shingle industry is carried on at Squamish and