WEST SHORE.
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fortune ; yes, a fortune for himself and a legacy for bis children
and children's children that will always insure an abundance
of life's comforts. It is a shame to allow our rivers to go hur
rying down to the sea when we need the waters for fertilizing
influences upon our lands. Let the farmers of Montana rise in
their majesty and take hold of the proposition with a determin
ation, and our word for it they will nevef regret it. Those who
are so situated that they can not cover their lands with water
from our rivers, and whose supply is short, may commence to
construct reservoirs. But for those who live on such valleys as
are threaded by our rivers the long canal is the project for them
to undertake, for this will give them a running stream of water
all the year through and one that will never grow less. Rocky
Mountain Husbandman.
FRASER RIVER COLD.
Mr. Andrew 0. Lawson's scientific report upon the claims
of the Lillooet Hydraulic Mining Company, which are situated
on the west bank of the Fraser river, about one mile above the
town of Lillooet, well known as the, old Dickey ranch, and
consisting of about 320 acres of bench land at an altitude of
250 feet above river level, will be found very interesting in
mining circles. The eastern boundary of the old ranch fronts
on the Fraser. Steps are being taken by the company to con
trol a water frontage one mile in extent on the Fraser, and of
an average width of over half a mile. It is this block of land
which it is proposed to subject to hydraulic mining to recover
the gold contained in the gravel of which both the upper and
lower benches are composed. Mr. Lawson has carefully exam
ined the location, with the object of proving first, to what
extent gold is contained in the gravel composing the benches,
and second, to what extent it is adapted to hydraulic methods
of mining. In the early days of placer mining in British
Columbia, the ground was occupied by numbers of miners
who, by the crude methods at their disposal, were taking out
' gold from the surface layers of gravel at the rate of $16 per
man per day, according to the information furnished by Mr.
Smith, M. P. P., who resided there at the time, and who has
lived there ever since. At the time of the Cariboo excitement,
in 1862, this ground was suddenly abandoned by the miners,
who went north, and white men never returned to the district
in any force, but the ground has been mined in a desultory way
by Chinese, who, not having complied with the regulation of
the Mining Act, lost their claims. The difficulty of obtaining
a supply of water has been a hindrance to more vigorous work.
The past history of this location has gone to show that it con
tains gold in sufficient quantities to repay work of the crudest
sort. Mr. Lawson received the assurance of an experienced
placer miner who had carefully prospected the locality, that
there was some "color" in every pan of gravel he had washed.
The present company have made two trial pits on the lower
bench one of which represents the removal of about 3,500 cu
bic yards of gravel, yielding $700-equal to an average of twen
ty cents per cubic yard. There seems to be no doubt as to the
auriferous properties of the gravel in paying quantities. It is
thought that this bench contains 60,000,000 cubic yards of gold
bearing gravel. This quantity, at only ten cent! per yard, rep
resents 16,000,000. All the conditions of the ground appear,
from the expert's report, to be well adapted for hydraulic min
ing, the gravel composing the benches being stream-bedded
and easily washed down and quite free from cemented con
glomerate. And the mine being situated on a powerful stream
like the Fraser, assists development. The company control
600 inches of water and any pressure can be obtained up to 600
feet. . The above records of the mining expert bear out the tes
timony of Mr. A. McNaughton, of Quesnelle, Cariboo, who has
been for thirty-six years in the mines, as to the richness of the
undeveloped gold creeks in the Lillooet district, which he pre
dicts will yet eclipse the past record of the great Cariboo
country. Coloniit.
A glance at a map will disclose that the region north of
Gray's harbor is coursed by an astonishing infinity of streams,
large and small, betraying at once the rolling character of the
country and suggesting its richness and adaptability to agricul
tural purposes. The entire tract is covered with an enormous
quantity of timber, red fir, spruce, hemlock and cedar. Along
the Humptulups alone there is a greater aggregate of timber
than can be found in the entire state of Wisconsin. It grows
in places to great heights, and there is hardly a tree that is not
erect, straight-grained and merchantable. Besides this illimit
able wealth of lumber the land, when cleared, is arable, the
soil being rich and easily worked. The plan that can coon be
adopted is this : Clear the timber and sell the logs, at a very
substantial profit, to the mills of Gray's harbor. Then till the
soil and spend your days happily following the " only pursuit
that is sure." The valley of the Humptulups is narrow but
very fertile. It is covered with a light growth of vine maple
and aHer, easily cleared. A number of settlers are now located
along the river, as far as the Humptulups falls, about forty
miles from the harbor. The stream is very clear and abounds
in salmon and salmon trout up to the falls. Above the falls,
eager mountain trout fall an eaxy prey to the wiles of the fish
erman. It is a first class driving ttream, being easily naviga
ble for logs for the entire distance below the falls. The country
bark from the bottom land is rolling, and covered with heavy
timber. It is not exaggeration to state that the Humptulups
country alone, comprising about thirty townships, will support
comfortably 50,000 people. It is estimated that at least 2,500
people will settle there during the next year. The resources of
the Humptulups country are not altogether agricultural. It is
currently stited that there are no precious or valuable minerals
there, and that the mountains are notable chiefly for the abun
dance of barren trap rock. This is untrue. Copper, iron, lead
and silver, have been discovered In many places, and the hills
are firmly believed to teem with mineral wealth. Lignite coil
has been discovered in large quantities; and there are forma
tions of sandstone and slate that promise much for those who
are in search of a better quality of coal. Qray'i Harbor Timu.
One of the richest strikes ever made in Montana was mode
a few days ago on the old Legal Tender mine near Argenta, an
assay on the ore returning 423 ounces silver and 71 per cent,
lead to the ton, and the body is reported quits large. The Le
gal Tender was located in 1863 and was the first producing and
paying mine in Montana. The first ore shipped from it was
hauled with ox teams to Sacramento, Cal, and shlped by
water around Cape Horn to England for treatment. The ore
was very high grade, averaging over f350 per ton. In 1866 the
mine passed into the bands of a New York company. They
built a smelter at Argenta and commenced working the mine.
Bad management, the high price of labor and fuel involved the
company. For several years the mine remained idle and was
finally leased to J. C. Bray and others of Dillon, who worked
it profitably for a time when the ore pinched out. Then it was
idle until a few months ago, when it was sold to what is now the
Legal Tender Mining Company, composed of business men of
Dillon. A force of men were put to work and development
work pushed. The new rich strike was made a few days ago
in a cross-cut and the Indications are that the Legal Tender