We again broke our trans-continental
journey at Sicamous— or “stopped-over,” as they say there—with the
view of spending a short time in the Okanagon country. The morning
after our arrival we took tho train to Vernon, a journey of two or
three hours, passing through a beautiful valley, full of
comfortable, well-cultivated, and apparently well-stocked farms.
Vernon is a pretty little place, in a very nice situation, and
supplies the mining regions to the south. It seemed to be very quiet
at the time of our visit, and there was little or nothing doing;
but, if the minerals prove to be as rich as many people anticipate,
it will make a wonderful difference to this district. A short
distance from Vernon is the property purchased by Lord Aberdeen, and
known as the Coldstream ranche. It consists of about 10,000 or
11,000 acres, and is managed by a Mr. Kelly, who seems to be a
capable and energetic man. Neither the house nor the buildings are
very pretentious, but they are comfortable and suitable for the
purpose for which they are intended. Comparatively little of the
ranch is under cultivation, but experiments are being made with all
kinds of fruits .and vegetables, and there is no question whatever
as to the suitability of the soil, of the climate, and of the
location for producing all the small fruits of temperate climates at
their best, both as regards taste and quality.
Apples, pears, and plums were shown to us of marvellous size
considering the short time in which the trees had been planted. We
were, of course, too late for the strawberries, raspberries and
currants, but were told that they yielded abundantly, and that a
ready market was found for them, at good paying prices, as far east
as Calgary and as far west as Vancouver. It is unlikely that much
fruit will be grown for some time on the prairies—at any rate, until
varieties are discovered which will stand the rigour of the climate.
So far, although experiments have boon made with that object, they
can hardly be considered as satisfactory. This leads up to the
conclusion that there will always be a splendid market for British
Columbian fruits of all kinds, not only in the Province itself, but
on the prairies between Winnipeg and the Rockies, a stretch of
country over 800 miles long and about 200 miles deep. Lord Aberdeen
has spent a good deal of money on the estate, with a view to
encourage his neighbours, and to show them what may be done, and he
has also erected a jam factory at Vernon, but this has not been
utilised to any extent up to the present time, all the fruit that is
grown being sold in its fresh condition at much higher prices than
could be paid if jam manufacture is to be made remunerative. In
addition to fruit-raising, considerable attention is being devoted
to cattle-breeding and fattening, and also to sheep. Horse-breeding
has also been taken up, and all these branches of agriculture ought
to be profitable if fair prices can be obtained. The Coldstream
ranche might almost be called an experimental farm, from the variety
of work that is carried on there, for, besides what has already been
stated, there are at present about five acres under hops, and the
area's to be considerably increased if the venture turns out
profitably. Prices a year ago yielded a handsome profit, but this
year, from one cause or another, hops are being sold on the London
market, and even locally, at prices little, if anything, in excess
of the expense of cultivation. Hop-growing promises to become a very
important industry in British Columbia. Both the climate and soil
are held by experts to be suitable for it, and experiments are being
made, not only in the Vernop district, but in the neighbourhood of
Agassiz, in the Nicola valley, and in many other places between
there and the coast, and also in Vancouver Island. Some samples
which came over in 1893 attracted very much attention on the London
market, both from their colour and the way in which they were cured,
and it was stated on the best authority that large quantities of
hops equal to these samples could readily have been disposed of at
the top market prices. But, as already mentioned, this year, while
the crop was good and the samples equal to those of previous years,
prices have fallen away considerably, and the hop-growers are not so
cheerful as they wore. Still, however, prices vary very much, and it
is calculated that one really good year in two or three would yield
handsome returns for the capital invested.
After spending a very pleasant time in this charming district we
returned to Sicamous, and again took the train for the Wost. In a
short time Kamloops was reached—the principal town in the Thompson
River Valley, along which the railway passes for a considerable
distance; in fact, until Lytton is approached. The country is fairly
well settled in the neighbourhood of the river, and in tho broad
valleys that are frequently crossed. The principal industry in the
Kamloops district will always be ranching, owing to the excellence
of the pasture land, but an endeavour is being made to provide for
irrigation in places where water is not at present abundant; and if
this can be accomplished the possibilities in the way of
fruit-growing and general farming will be greatly increased. The
scenery along many parts of the Thompson is particularly grand, and
the “Thompson River canons” comprise some of the most picturesque
scenery along the railway. As the train passes along the cliffs
above the river the old wagon road is seen at intervals, first on
one side of the river and then on the other, apparently supported in
many places, many hundreds of feet above the river, on what seem to
be slender sticks pinned to the face of gigantic precipices. The
road crosses the river at Spence’s Bridge, and is the only route to
the Cariboo country; but the point of departure is now Ashcroft. At
Spence’s Bridge the scenery is striking and peculiar, and the
Canadian Pacific Railway book, to which reference has before been
made, thus describes the coup:—“The train runs upon a sinuous ledge
cut out of the bare hills on the irregular south side of the stream,
where the headlands are penetrated by tunnels, and the ravines
spanned by lofty bridges; and the Thompson, in the purity of a trout
brook, whirls down its winding torrent path as green as an emerald.
Sometimes the banks are rounded cream-white slopes; next, cliffs of
richest yellow, streaked and dashed with maroon, jut out; then
masses of solid rust-red earth, suddenly followed by an olive-green
grass slope or some white exposure. With this fantastic colouring,
to which the brilliant emerald river opposes a striking contrast,
and over which bends a sky of deepest violet, there is the
additional interest of great height and breadth of prospect, and a
constantly changing grotesqueness of form, caused by the wearing
down of rocks of unequal hardness, by water and wind, into towers
and monuments, goblins and griffins. The strange forms and gaudy
hues of the rocks and scantily-herbaged terraces, impress themselves
most strongly on the memory.” |
