Mine Prospecting in British Columbia.
Thf Ypres Times.
77
By CAPTAIN E. D. BELLEW, V.C.
Since my return from overseas, after a very considerable period of convalescence, I
have been engaged in generally developing the, mineral resources of the great Province of
British Columbia as a prospector and miner. It is a very fascinating life for anyone who
has initiative and good health, and I have some exceedingly promising copper-gold claims
near Stave Falls, the hydro-electric station of the British Columbia Electric Railway, which
I am now developinga small prospectus of which I enclose herewith for the information
of anyone interested in this kind of occupation. At Port Coquitlam, or Westminster J unction,
B.C., on the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, I have my home, where on four acres
of good land I grow most of my vegetables and small fruitI keep a number of White
Wyandotte fowls, also Airedale dogs, and I have sufficient pasture for a cow and a horse,
besides plenty of fir and cedar timber for fuel to be had for the cutting and carting away
from building lots owned by the City. Coquitlktn is within twenty miles of the large city of
Vancouver, so that I can transact business quickly either by long distance telephone
from here, or by a personal visit on a car of the motor line stage, or by train. In prospect
ing for minerals in this Province it is necessary to obtain first of all a free miner's licence
from the Mining Recorder, which entitles a man to stake one claim on each mineral
bearing ledge discovered, besides which one may shoot game out of season for personal
use, and the standing timber on all recorded mineral claims may be used by the locator for
mining purposes. On the discovery of promising mineral areas the prospector may record
one claim for himself and one for each of eight partners on the payment of the proper fees
to the Mining Recorder, and a grant for the construction of trails and roads may be obtained
from the Provincial Government on receipt of a favourable report from the Government
mining engineer of the district. It is customary to go out prospecting only in the spring
of the year onwards, after the snow has begun to leave the higher slopes of the moun
tains, when the prospector equipped with maps, compass, gun and axe and as much food
and other equipment as he can manage to take with him by boat or pack-horse, will leave
civilization, either alone or with a partner, and seek to penetrate to some likely district,
where, from the geological formations, he may expect to discover mineral by patient
search. The whole interior country is a wilderness of mountain, lakes, and streams,
often with very heavy forest, and it is quite a job to make many miles in a dayso,
when a promising district is reached, a permanent camp is generally established, from
which the surrounding country may be prospected over methodically during the season.
The first thing to do is to get enough food into the camp for the season's work, besides
whatever tools and other equipment are necessary, and this takes some time before
the actual work can be commenced. With a good partner to help it is not such a lonely
life, but it is not always easy to find a man who is suitable or who has sufficient capital
and initiative. The rewards for successful discoveries vary, and the distance of a strike
from existing transportation facilities has much to do with that, but it must be remem
bered that most of the big mines operating to-day are the result of the discoveries of some
prospector or other, who has thus made available for civilization all this hidden wealth, and
has also created steady employment for large numbers of men. There are quantities of
deer and fish in the forests and streams as well as bear and other large game animals,
including valuable fur-bearing creatures, so that there is infinite variety to be
encountered in the pursuit of this occupation, and I shall be glad to correspond with any
members of the Ypres League who may be interested in this vocation. AddressPort
Coquitlam, British Columbia.
