board the City of Seattle, or a run down to the American coast towns, forms the basis of many a most enjoyable tour for those who like sea voyages; whilst as regards people going from Canada into the United States who prefer railroad travelling, the Seattle & International Line takes them comfortably across the border, and connects with the luxurious systems of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern Companies. Thus Vancouver, though essentially a Canadian Pacific Railway town, is also an important centre of general travel, from which steamship and railroad lines radiate to all points of the compass. As an alluring spot to strangers, Stanley Park undoubtedly holds the first place in Vancouver's long list of attractions. It is a beautiful dense forest, traversed by trails cut deep into the tangle of underbrush and mosshung tropical growth; and these paths, over-arched with huge Douglas firs, and bordered by an infinite variety of broad-leaved, succulent plants, open up to the lover of nature a world of surprises and delight. The flamboyant blossoms of the skunk cabbages, the glossy foliage of the sallals with their delicate pink flowers, and the star-eyed, scarlet-fruited pigeon-berries, all contribute vivid spots of colour to the softtoned pictures of the woods. A perpetual background of ragged, grey, lichen-covered logs and dim green depths, smeared by bronzing shadows, soothes with ineffable sweetness human senses overstrained by the storm and stress of the world. A big jump to the opposite end of the city lands the stranger in Chinatown, an evil-smelling, but curious jumble of shacks, shops, opium dens and restaurants, a tour of which leaves him a wiser but much-disgusted man. Huh! the concentrated odours of those restaurants! There the Mongolian cooks offer you an assortment of chickens, geese and ducks, unplucked and uncleaned, all boiled together in the same huge pot, and, by way of relish, long stringy sausages made of plain dog. One never can be quite sure about these things, but a brew that resembles nothing so much as cockroach soup usually forms the pièce-de-resistance of the Chinese menu. Having fortified the inner man with such (fortunately) rare and revolting viands, topped off by a cup of strawcoloured tea, the Tourist may descend into an opium den, play a little game of fan-tan, climb up to the Yoss House, attend a weird performance at the Chinese theatre, or investigate the mysteries of the rice hand-mills and opium factories, as time and inclinations dictate. It is all horribly dirty, but there is, nevertheless, a piquancy in orientalism, however squalid, that survives disgust, and attracts whilst it repels. even A lovely summer morning, and away the Tourist skims over the harbour in a sloop-rigged yacht with a merry party aboard, and a spanking breeze blowing straight up from the west. Whither shall it be? To Seymour Creek, where white-stemmed alders droop over the rippling waters, and grassy banks invite to idleness-to Cypress Creek, a gorge the nakedness of whose escarped sides is clothed by a clinging mantle of tender maiden-hair ferns and rich green arbutus saplings that spring out of the crevices in the rocks-or the Capilano Canyon, where vertical walls rise up three hundred feet from the bed of the brawling stream, and a rustic bungalow, set amongst pine trees, overhangs the precipice and forms an ideal haltingplace. Close to any of these spots the snow-winged boat will carry the stranger, and a day passed picnicking under the blue and balmy sky is ever a day well spent. If a longer expedition be desired, Sechelt, the North Arm or Howe Sound may be visited by steamer, and a glimpse of the wilder aspects of the coast thus obtained. A trip to New Westminster over the Interurban Electric Tramway Line, and a few hours whiled away in this city, which was laid out in 1858 on the banks of the Fraser River by the Royal Engineers, forms another attractive excursion; especially interesting THE SALMON FLEET-ONE OF THE MOST STRIKING SCENES ON THE PACIFIC COAST. if the return journey to Vancouver is made by sea aboard a vessel calling in at the different canneries and passing through the fishing fleet when a big "salmon run" is on. Time should be taken to note the methods employed in the larger canneries, where the whole process may be watched, from the moment when the fish is first landed until it stands upon the table, canned and labelled, ready for exportation. God's own celestial weather around us, and the only sound in nature the rustle of the breeze as it sways the pine-tops slowly to and fro beneath the glorious noon-tide! It is August, and in the logging camps every one is busy. Deep down the forest glades, the lumbermen seek for the finest timber, and blaze with an axe those trees that tower up straight as masts, thus singling them out for felling. Some think it strange to find such a lonely camp safe buried in the woods within a few miles of a large city, and as the tourist looks around him he certainly sees but little that bespeaks civilization. A shanty built of rough-hewn logs, warmly mudded-up, a band of glossycoated horses to haul the sawn timber over the skid roads, the inevitable Chinese cook, and the very best of food, such are the chief adjuncts of a British Columbian logging place, as the guest who once partakes of its hospitality can testify. The process of OAK BAY HOTEL, VICTORIA, B.C. felling one of the forest giants is an exciting thing to witness; for the men. who stand on spring-boards, at either side of the huge bole, and cut it through with a two-handled saw, can foretell unerringly exactly where the trunk will fall, consequently it is perfectly safe to stand close to the doomed tree on the off-side and watch the whole operation. It does not seem so -to the tourist at least, not until he has once fairly taken his courage in both hands and tried the experiment. Back again to Vancouver in the dusk grouse, pheasants, deer, bear and cougars are all found between the Coast Range and the ocean. What can the heart of man desire more? He may go off with rod and creel, rifle and gun for one day or twenty, he may fish in the neighbourhood or shoot far afield. It matters not, the sport is alike excellent. To traverse the Gulf of Georgia on board the steamer Islander is a charming trip, and at the end of it the Queen City of Victoria affords a variety of attractions that fairly rival those of older and more established places. Picturesquely situated on a hill country and cultivated fields, the town is particularly inviting to travellers. Across James Bay the Parliament Buildings stand out in all the majesty of their cold grey splendour, and many an hour may be pleasurably and profitably spent roaming through the Legislative Chamber and committee rooms, the library and the various Government departments, or in studying the fine collection of stuffed animals, birds, fishes and Indian curios that fills the well-stocked Provincial Museum. VICTORIA-THE INTERIOR OF THE BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGISLATIVE CHAMBER. of the deepening twilight. How brilliantly the harbour lights shine out over the waters of Burrard Inlet, as the sounds of the busy city run shivering across their rippled surface. Night descends, and lulled to rest by the pinescented winds, that waft inland the song of the sea as it hushes the shore to sleep, the tourist dreams a golden dream of the West. British Columbia is a paradise for sportsmen! The streams, both on the mainland and on Vancouver Island, abound with fish, while duck, snipe, The coast cities, being essentially business towns, do not in themselves engage much attention from the ordinary stranger, unless he is interested in manufactories, shipping or some special branch of trade; therefore it is un necessary to dilate in this connection upon the general aspect of the handsome "blocks," warehouses, shops and public buildings that adorn Vancouver, Victoria or New Westminster. The tourist usually finds his chief attractions outside of such limitations. For example, at Oak Bay, beyond the treadmill of the typical sight-seer, the Golf Links are superb-large undulating meadows hemmed in by the sea, and possessing precisely those qualifications which render them wellnight perfect in the eyes of all players of the good old Scottish national game. Then there are the country roads that intersect the fertile farm lands, where one may ride, drive or wheel for miles between hedge-rows bright with wild flowers, and where the scent of the dog-roses is sweet upon the June air. Or again, there is the ocean, trimmed by a fringe of wave-worn rocks, and upon whose palpitating bosom the dull green masses of kelp with their long brown ribband-streamers heave softly up and down. There the tourist can row in an open boat, or else he can paddle a canoe up the gorge, below whose waters deep purpling shadows lie hid, whilst overhead, above the changes and chances of the clouds, the blue sky is stretched from horizon to horizon. In the environs of Victoria, whichever way you turn, an exquisite landscape or seascape meets your eye. Of course, the Queen City has its Chinatown, its park, and its share of good hotels, just like Vancouver, and there is no more delightful abiding place in all British Columbia than the "Oak Bay," an hotel that stands facing the sea, midway between the town and the Golf Links. A run down by tram-car to the Naval Station at Esquimalt, combined with visits to Her Majesty's ships in port, forms a charming way of spending a summer afternoon, added to which an expedition to the Barracks and the fortifications at Macaulay Point is most enjoyable. Every one bicycles in Victoria, and excursions awheel are largely the order of the day. Innumerable spots, such as Cedar Hill, Goldstream or Otter Point offer every inducement to picnickers; therefore, from the time when the first tender shoots of spring appear, until autumn lies brooding over the land, enwrapping all nature in her russet cloak, merry parties may be met daily bound for some outlying district with hearts aflutter and spirits gay. An immense amount of shipping is done in Victoria, and the trips that can be made thence by boat, and the expeditions that may be undertaken up the Island by those in search of pleasure and sport are countless. A journey to Nanaimo over the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway Line is also a capital means of seeing the country, and some very large coal mines at the end of the journey. Nor is there any lack of amusement for the evenings, as dramatic performances, concerts, and entertainments of various kinds are constantly in progress in all the coast cities, each of which boasts of theatres and music halls. To the artist the picturesque elements met with at the western edge of Canadian soil carry an irresistible appeal. The diversity of form, the riot of colour, and the force of individuality are all there, whilst a cosmopolitan flavour gives to the whole a daring dash of contrast. On the Siwash Indian Reserves, in the Chinese quarters, and along the waterfronts dwell types that are each a study in itself. When the sun comes climbing up over the snowcapped crests of the mountains, and you see the land touched with the witchery of a summer's day-what a picture is that! Or the reverse-the austere and treeless cliffs, stern bastions of rock upraised against an oxydized-silver sky, some log huts crouching between half-burned trees at the edge of an angry sea, and in the foreground a few spent blooms that bow their heads in grief as the chill wind moans a requiem over the dead day. Life is so full of enjoyment during the summer on the Pacific Coast, that it is difficult to discriminate and decide exactly what constitutes the real charm of existence in that glamorous Western Land. Is it sport? There is plenty. Is it sight-seeing? An unlimited choice awaits the stranger. Is it cycling, driving, riding, boating or mountaineering? Each one is indulged in. Is it tennis, golf, croquet or cricket? All are played. Is it scenery? British Columbia is full of Nature's most magnificent handiwork. Ah! well, who shall say? We of the West are content. Let the Tourist an swer. |