THE WEST SHORE.
January, 1879.
2
1 II 1 1. OOVI RNOR'H RK8IDKNCB Victoria, H. C,
PUBLIC SCHOOL Victoma, B. C.
II rORIA. BRI1 Ml COl ' MBIA,
Excepting Portland, Victoria is the
largest .mil handtometl city in the Pa
cific Northwest, and is so thoroughly
Illustrated in iliis Issue, thai bul little re
malna to be told in letter-press, li is
the sc-.ii hi govemmenl of British Co
lumbia, luis ., population of about seven
thrtyeandiand oontaina many handsome
bulldhafB besides those Illustrated, The
pieturMquc scenery in iis Immediate
Miiniiy, tin- most superb, natural roads
brawchiajg In all directions, and the
coollai sesVbreoaes prevailing there
during the rammei months, combine
l make (lir oity a desirable place of
reekUflce. Prom Portland it can lc
irathrd m two day by rail and sir. mm
IhwI, al an i-xpriiM- of twenty doll.us
jfor an excursion ticket for the round
trip, and we pity the taste of our "sea
sides" who will persist in being nearly
devoured by fleas every summer, "down
011 the sands," when so pleasant a sum
mering place as Victoria lies at our
very doors. From a commercial point,
the city is in a prosperous condition,
supplying the mines ami agricultural
districts on the mainland, and enjoying
the distinction of being the chief port
for ships plying between the province
and England. Besides hnving a reg
ular connecting line of cant and steam
boats to Portland, it also enjoys the ad
vantage of a line of ocean steamers to
San Francisco, Beacon Hill, which
lies aluiiit a mile from I In- center of the
city, is a natural park of unsurpassed
loveliness, and in no put of the ,iuhe
can be found a place of jesort adjacent
lo an important business community,
at once so charmingly rural and so easy
, of access to those who toil for their
living in the heart of the city. From
the summit of the hill, at early dawn,
a most magnificent view may be be
held. Facing the spectator who is
looking south, the stately chiefs of the
Olympic range rise in their grandeur;
away to the left, Mount Haker and the
Cascades cleave the air for thousands
of feet upwards, and 011 the right the
lovely foliage of the opposing Vun
comer hills and the placid entrance
to Fsquimalt harbor, render the scene
superoly grand. Refreshed, as it were,
with the gentle breeze which reaches
him from the Straits of Fuca, the spec
tator lurns his face northward, or nearly
-- c
CUSTOM HOUSI Victowa, li (
POSTOFFICE VicTowa, ft. fc