Quesnelle, B. C., December 6, 1874.
My Dear Edward, —
We have finished our season's work in the way of line runing and have come down the Fraser River to this place, a town, as it is called.
Alter our line was finished I took two Indians and a canoe and made a cache up the North Fork of the Fraser, where we go next winter to explore a supposed gap in the Rocky Mountains, known as the Smoky River Pass. The North Fork joins the Fraser River some 60 miles from Fort George and I went up the N. Pork some 30 miles till a canon prevented my further progress. I then cached the bacon and flour and returned down stream to this place. Quesnelle is (by the River) 82 miles below Fort George and there are two canons in that distance, both of which we passed through without difficulty.
The party (Divn. M. ) went down by stage and steamer to Victoria while Jarvis (in charge) and I are waiting here for cold weather. When the river takes a notion to freeze we start at once. Quesnelle is a queer sort of a place with a range mixture of several kinds of people. Most of the inhabitants have been miners and go Into other business when their coin runs short. The Hotel is kept by Brown and Gillis, who do things in first class style and charge $3. 50 per diem for doing it. Drinks, beer or otherwise, 25 cents per glass, very small glasses. Gillie is a native of P. E. Island and a good fellow he is. As Jarvis is also a P. E. Islander and I a Blue Blue nose, we are great friends of Gillis. The butcher in this town is also from the Lower Provinces, being a Haligonian; his brother is organist in one of our churches there and poor Mike (Hagarty) has gone into the meat business having failed in the mines.
There are several stores here, Read's, Girod's and Kuong Lee's being the most important. Read is a capital fellow and keeps a lot of good cigars for his own and friend's use. Girod is a Frenchman and hot after money. Kuong Lee the Chinese firm do a very largo business in all sorts of goals, they have on hand a lot of Green Ginger and several kinds of fruit which I had never seen before, but which I like exceedingly. Like the other merchants, they are very good at " setting it out " tor their customers.
We are here only 60 miles from Cariboo the great mining region of B. C. and the E. end of the stage road and telegraph line.
They are doing well up at Cariboo just now and each week's mail brings down more gold dust than I'd like to carry; it goes to Victoria and is there told to the banks who either sell it, or tend it to San Francisco to be coined. I may add that the Victoria company took 1,100 ounces out of their mine last week and it has been doing nearly as well as that for some time. Gold is worth $16 per oz.
We have been here since the 20th October, and are getting very sick of it. We have a telegraph wire from the main office to the office of the hotel, and Jarvis and I practice a few hours each day; I have become quite an operator, and shall keep at it till I am a better one. We take a walk each day to keep our muscles in order, for though we make light of the coming trip, it is going to be rather a tough one. In the evening we either spend the time in Read's store with cigars and talk, or sit around the huge stove in Brown & Gillis' with our pipes, and listen to the yarns of the miners, who are always ready to tell a good one. I like Quesnelle very much indeed. It is slow enough, but the follows are jolly and independent, and the grub good. The population is, I forgot to say, about 100, including Chinamen and Indians,
December 7th, '74, We have concluded to abandon the idea of going to Fort George by the river, and take the trail for it, though the latter is a good deal longer and very much the harder road, but the river shows no sign of being frozen, and as the season is getting on we must go. We had engaged an Indian (Johnny) and a young Red River quarter-breed, who has been in British Columbia some two years; his name is Alec McDonald. We had also bought two teams of dogs (8), and got the sleds loaded for a start to-morrow. The dogs look first rate, being large, long-haired and fat. One, "Chun," is a tearer; wo bought him from an Indian, who had him muzzled to ensure safety. Alec and I got him and fastened a long stick to his neck, and started to take him to the hotel. Of course the 100 Quesnellites turned out to see the fun, and they made it lively for us, with advice how to treat a dog; who wouldn't come where he was wanted. In the midst of it poor " Chun " got loose, and the way he cleared that sidewalk was a caution to dog fanciers; some of the people nearly got into the river in their fright, while Chun went off to the bush, where he was captured next day. Our dogs had made it rather uncomfortable for the people here, who prefer to sleep at night instead of being kept awake by the doleful music of eight good howlers. But you ought to hear train dogs sing to appreciate their feelings. My train is " Marquis" leader, "Cabreo " 2nd, " Sam " 3rd, and " Buster " 4th. The dogs are harnessed one before the other, and fastened to the sled by traces only; I mean there are no shafts. I'll write you from Fort George, where we hope to be in a week or so.
Yours,
C. F. H.
My Dear Edward, —
We have finished our season's work in the way of line runing and have come down the Fraser River to this place, a town, as it is called.
Alter our line was finished I took two Indians and a canoe and made a cache up the North Fork of the Fraser, where we go next winter to explore a supposed gap in the Rocky Mountains, known as the Smoky River Pass. The North Fork joins the Fraser River some 60 miles from Fort George and I went up the N. Pork some 30 miles till a canon prevented my further progress. I then cached the bacon and flour and returned down stream to this place. Quesnelle is (by the River) 82 miles below Fort George and there are two canons in that distance, both of which we passed through without difficulty.
The party (Divn. M. ) went down by stage and steamer to Victoria while Jarvis (in charge) and I are waiting here for cold weather. When the river takes a notion to freeze we start at once. Quesnelle is a queer sort of a place with a range mixture of several kinds of people. Most of the inhabitants have been miners and go Into other business when their coin runs short. The Hotel is kept by Brown and Gillis, who do things in first class style and charge $3. 50 per diem for doing it. Drinks, beer or otherwise, 25 cents per glass, very small glasses. Gillie is a native of P. E. Island and a good fellow he is. As Jarvis is also a P. E. Islander and I a Blue Blue nose, we are great friends of Gillis. The butcher in this town is also from the Lower Provinces, being a Haligonian; his brother is organist in one of our churches there and poor Mike (Hagarty) has gone into the meat business having failed in the mines.
There are several stores here, Read's, Girod's and Kuong Lee's being the most important. Read is a capital fellow and keeps a lot of good cigars for his own and friend's use. Girod is a Frenchman and hot after money. Kuong Lee the Chinese firm do a very largo business in all sorts of goals, they have on hand a lot of Green Ginger and several kinds of fruit which I had never seen before, but which I like exceedingly. Like the other merchants, they are very good at " setting it out " tor their customers.
We are here only 60 miles from Cariboo the great mining region of B. C. and the E. end of the stage road and telegraph line.
They are doing well up at Cariboo just now and each week's mail brings down more gold dust than I'd like to carry; it goes to Victoria and is there told to the banks who either sell it, or tend it to San Francisco to be coined. I may add that the Victoria company took 1,100 ounces out of their mine last week and it has been doing nearly as well as that for some time. Gold is worth $16 per oz.
We have been here since the 20th October, and are getting very sick of it. We have a telegraph wire from the main office to the office of the hotel, and Jarvis and I practice a few hours each day; I have become quite an operator, and shall keep at it till I am a better one. We take a walk each day to keep our muscles in order, for though we make light of the coming trip, it is going to be rather a tough one. In the evening we either spend the time in Read's store with cigars and talk, or sit around the huge stove in Brown & Gillis' with our pipes, and listen to the yarns of the miners, who are always ready to tell a good one. I like Quesnelle very much indeed. It is slow enough, but the follows are jolly and independent, and the grub good. The population is, I forgot to say, about 100, including Chinamen and Indians,
December 7th, '74, We have concluded to abandon the idea of going to Fort George by the river, and take the trail for it, though the latter is a good deal longer and very much the harder road, but the river shows no sign of being frozen, and as the season is getting on we must go. We had engaged an Indian (Johnny) and a young Red River quarter-breed, who has been in British Columbia some two years; his name is Alec McDonald. We had also bought two teams of dogs (8), and got the sleds loaded for a start to-morrow. The dogs look first rate, being large, long-haired and fat. One, "Chun," is a tearer; wo bought him from an Indian, who had him muzzled to ensure safety. Alec and I got him and fastened a long stick to his neck, and started to take him to the hotel. Of course the 100 Quesnellites turned out to see the fun, and they made it lively for us, with advice how to treat a dog; who wouldn't come where he was wanted. In the midst of it poor " Chun " got loose, and the way he cleared that sidewalk was a caution to dog fanciers; some of the people nearly got into the river in their fright, while Chun went off to the bush, where he was captured next day. Our dogs had made it rather uncomfortable for the people here, who prefer to sleep at night instead of being kept awake by the doleful music of eight good howlers. But you ought to hear train dogs sing to appreciate their feelings. My train is " Marquis" leader, "Cabreo " 2nd, " Sam " 3rd, and " Buster " 4th. The dogs are harnessed one before the other, and fastened to the sled by traces only; I mean there are no shafts. I'll write you from Fort George, where we hope to be in a week or so.
Yours,
C. F. H.
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