CHAPTER XXI.

RETURN TO NANAIMO.

Miners-Difficulties and dangers-Good and bad luck-Gulf of Georgia -Calculating birds-Nanaimo-Duck-shooting-An Indian guideThe beaver dam-Fishing-A river-Stars-Merit-An entertainment -The coast.

DURING our absence from Victoria the town had had an influx of visitors. New gold-mines had lately been discovered on the Stickeen river, and hundreds of men stricken with the yellow fever' were on their way to the north-west of the Territory-men of all classes, all ages and occupations; men of refinement and education, and others who had never opened a book; desperadoes and law-abiding men of all nations and creeds; and all wearing the same weary, anxious, and care-worn look alike habitual to the steady and the improvident

miner.

'There is an order

Of mortals on the earth who do become
Old in their youth, and die ere middle
Without the violence of warlike death;

age,

Some perishing of pleasure, some of study,
Some worn with toil, some of mere weariness,

Some of disease, some of insanity,

And some of wither'd or broken hearts;
For this last malady is one which slays
More than are number'd in the lists of Fate,
Taking all shapes, and bearing many names.'

The difficulties and dangers encountered by miners on their way to new diggings are of no common order. Very often as in the case of the Stickeen miners-no trail exists along which even an animal could pick its way. Obstacles that would stop an engineer have to be faced and overcome. You must trudge, with your provisions on your back, up and down mountain precipices, over rocks and snow, through a country probably infested by unfriendly Indians. When hungry you must cut wood before you can cook and eat. In wet weather you must remain moist and chilled till it is fine again. Your hands and clothes will be torn to pieces; and if you are unfortunate enough to possess a tent, it will probably be only just large enough to crouch in, besides adding considerably to the weight of your pack.

And the difficulties do not diminish when your destination is reached. Prospecting' is a work of incredible toil in a mountainous region covered with thick forest; and though gold may be everywhere, it must be found in large quantities to enable the miner to live. Provision-dealers and hucksters of all kinds, who, with gamblers, &c. follow close in the wake of the army of gold-hunters, will only sell their goods at fancy prices, consequently the greater part of the earnings goes into their pockets.

Two or three may make fortunes in less than a

fortnight, and a few may by degrees accumulate large sums, but hundreds will only just make sufficient for a living, and tens of hundreds nothing at all. Mining is like any other kind of gambling-once taken to, the difficulty then is to leave off. The excitement of knowing that at any moment, by a 'lucky hit,' a fortune may be grasped, acts like a stimulant and urges on to exertion long after expectation is dead. Success in mining depends on 'luck,' and therein it differs from success in the ordinary affairs of life. In the latter case good luck is a man of pluck, with sleeves turned up to meet difficulties, and working to make things come right; while bad luck is a man with his hands in his pockets and a pipe in his mouth, looking on to see how things will come out.

In Calaveras County, California, an instance of really bad luck came under my observation.

The original locator of a claim worked for years running a tunnel through the hard rock. After he had bored a distance of about 800 feet his pecuniary affairs became so involved that he was obliged to give up the mine before reaching gold. Broken down in health and spirits, he was nevertheless obliged to seek employment, and again went to work at the tunnel for wages, the new proprietor having determined to continue the boring. He had been employed there about a fortnight, when he struck through to gravel, from

which unprecedentedly large returns have been obtained; so that after labouring for years the poor man was obliged to relinquish work just as wealth was within his grasp.

sea.

Once more in the beautiful Gulf of Georgia! but this time coasting up the island over a smooth sun-lit Every mile discloses some new charm in the beautiful landscape. The numerous islands are composed of rock and sandstone, and the action of the sea has worn the soft material into caves, hollows, and many curious and fantastic forms, all of which are overhung with luxuriant vegetation, while above thick woods extend to the summits of the undulating heights. Winding through the straits and among the countless islets requires good steering, not only on account of the narrowness of the passage, but because of the almost invisible shoals and the swiftness of the current. Wildfowl of all sorts abound in these waters-the uneatable species fluttering lazily about close to the vessel, widgeon, teal, and mallards keeping carefully just out of gunshot.

It is extraordinary with what nicety birds can calculate distances. They even appear to know what weapon is to be used against them, and will keep their distance accordingly. With an increased range of rifle or fowling-piece, birds adapt themselves to the

circumstances, and contemplate their enemy from just outside the limit of his range, and no more. It is the same force of instinct, I suppose, which enables birds of passage to strike their exact destination in precisely the calculated period.

For a yachting man, the Gulf of Georgia would be most attractive, as, irrespective of the scenery, deer and grouse are in abundance on most of the islands, and the bays, inlets, and natural harbours afford most ample anchorage.. A sketch-book, too, might soon be filled with innumerable 'bits' of charming effects of colour and formation.

Our course was past the farming districts of Saanich and Cowichan and other smaller settlements, at each of which we stopped to deliver letters and freight, and towards evening arrived at Nanaimo, where we intended to remain for some days.

The whole coast of Vancouver's Island and a great part of the mainland of British Columbia is a series of magnificent bays and inlets, and the scenery of Nanaimo is of the same character. The town itself occupies a most picturesque site, and the view overlooking the bay from the residence of our extremely hospitable host and hostess was charming. Although a coal-mining village, Nanaimo possesses but few of the unpleasant features common to such places. The neat little white cottages are scattered about in pleasant nooks and on rocky