(
THE WEST BHORE.
WANAIKO, BRITISH COLUMBIA.
THE ewmd largat city on Vancouver island is N
I balma, eituaUxl about seventy mil up the east
em .t from Victoria, md in the midst of one of
the ricUl otl rrgki on the Pacific coast The city
U. bot far thousand Inhabitants within lU limits,
and tUrt are Duly u many more in that immediate
vidbity. The dutrict baa a population of more than
tight thousand.
Nanaimo was formerly only a trading poat of the
HoWs Ilay Company. That company prospected
U o-l lo many localities on the ialand before it
finally found the rich carboniferous strata that are
do dwloH In the coal min around Nanaimo.
Thii discovery u made in 18H and the firat abaft
u sunk noar the sit of the present poatoflioe build
ing. Now there are four collieries in operation, and
the aggregalo output baa increuod from year to year,
Ut aMn's pro lad Wing nnarly half a million tons,
(be bulk of which waa export!
The Nanaimo colliery consists of three minea, the
KtplanvK or abaft No. 1, Wing aunk in the city near
the )g of lh bay, under which the aeveral levels
extend a lateral diatane of about threA-fourths of
mile. Thla abaft waa ojwnM in 1HS1 It ia the deep.
c aba in the dutrict, tix hundred and twenty-aix
frt, but thre are atrata of good coal at a much
greater depth, aa baa ln demonstrated by boring a
rxctirg abaft over eleven bandied feet farther
Into the tuwrla of the earth. The Bouthfleld, a abort
distance aoolh of the Ktplanade, waa opened in 1883,
and the No. 3 bear it waa opened in 17. Both are
bow in anconMifal p;ration, and ahaft No. 4 ia being
ojtmvL The North Wellington, alao belonging to
tbia comny, ia now io proems of deielopment The
output of the Nanaimo colliery lut year waa nearly
two hundred and fifty-nine thouaand torn The Van
Muter ll A Und Company, which owna theae
inlnA b4da tbe f simple, mineral and surface, of
thirty thre thousand text, a portion of which lion
the eljilDlcg ialanda that are known to contain ooal
The Wellington ci41iry, eii mil,- weat of Nanaimo,
Lu rn in oj .oration twenty yeara, and ita coal
lewellknotn In every market on the Pacific alope,
Tbw mince rnuiit of lire pita now in operation
aad a fourth Ja U l The Kut Wellington col!
lirry la lire ttiU wrt of Nanaimo. It waa opened
aUmt ail jrra a$o, and baa t.o shafts now being
wnwUl, tbe coal Uicg of similar quality to that of
tie Wfllitgtm. Tbe L'uk.n Colliery Company, com
a wpitalU IttrrratAl in tbe Southern Pacific
rail.ay and tie Wellington v.llicry, U laying out ex
Irtalre w-wks in tie CWn a .trid, a few milea
Dortbwratof Nataiaa PltivaUoti a b progrea,
for building ft railway from the mines to the harbor
on Union bay, where the largest ships may load at
any stage of the tide at the longeBt wharf in the proy.
ince. The prospecting done by the various ccmpa.
oics shows the existence of inexhaustible supplies of
coal both on Vancouver island and on the smaller
islands near it, particularly on Gabriola island, di.
rectly opposite Nanaimo. There are also indications
of iron in some localities. On Texada island are ex.
tensive iron mines now in operation. It is a very at.
tractive field for engaging in minkg.
Though in the center of a rich coal mining dis
trict, Nanaimo is not merely a mining town. A vis
itor might spend days in the city without discovering
that it bad extensive coal interests, so unobtrusive are
they. Yet when it is known that about two thousand
men are employed in the mines of that vicinity, their
importance becomes apparent. The town of Welling,
ton, five miles beyond Nanaimo, has a population of
about a thousand and is owned by the proprietors of
the mines there. The Esquimalt & Nanaimo railroad
extends from Victoria through Nanaimo to Welling,
ton, which is its present terminus. This line is pro
jected nearly a hundred miles farther up tbe coast
The city of Nanaimo is located on a small bay
known as Nanaimo harbor, which is entered by all
kinds of marine craft, the course being so free that
vessels sometimes sail in unassisted. Nearly all the
shipments are made by water, the coal going to San
Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland and the Sandwich
islands, besides to British Columbia ports. A por
tion of the harbor is now being improved by rock
dredging to remove obstacles that restrict the move
ment of large vessels near the docks when the tide if
low.
The town ocenpi s an uneven tract of land rising
quite rapidly back from the water, the altitude in
creasing until the summit of Mount Benson, nearly
thirty-five hundred feet above the sea, is reached
some ten or twelve miles to tbe westward. No regu
lar plat waa made until a consideiable settlement had
grown np there, which accounts, in part, for the ir
regular streets, the lay of the land also conducing to
the present arrangement A view of the harbor may
be obtained from almost any point in the city. Tbe
north and south ends of the town are higher than the
middle, where the main business houses are situated,
and the residence portion occupies the higher ground.
During the past year a large amount of building has
Wen done, and the outskirts of the city are rapidly
being built up with neat and comfortable cottages,
tht speak in no uncertain way of the prosperity that
is enjoyed by the people. Even greater improve
oenU are in prospect for this year. The business
interests are experiencing a decided growth, and sfl