No. 70

I have the honor of transmitting herewith for your Grace's
information copy of a letter from Mr O'Reilly the Magistrate
at Hope, with enclosure, being the first report received from
the party of Gold Miners sent out from

that place as stated
to your Grace in Paragraph 8 of my despatch of the 5th June
marked "Separate."

*

2. This report though not conclusive as to the general
character of the country, yet speaks very favourably of those
parts examined.

3. The quality and value of the specimens of gold alluded
to in the above report have been estimated by a practical
assayer

here, as follows

No. 1‹‹Weight..........about 5 grains

Quality.........860 thousandth fine

Value...........9 pence

No. 2‹ Quality.........860 thousandth fine

Value...........22 pence

Weight..........about 12 grains.

from which an inference may be drawn greatly in favour of
the Shimilkomeen as a mining district.

4. A new Gold district is also said to have been discovered
in the Southern part of British Columbia, at Rock Creek, a
tributary falling into the Kettle-fall River near the

49th
parallel, and 400 Miners, chiefly from Oregon, were reported
to be engaged in working that field, and making wages from 15,
20, up to as high as 100 dollars a day. It is anticipated that
there will be a great rush of miners to that part of the country
and if so food will be required in large quantities, which will
lead to a great increase of trade, and to the formation

of new
settlements in that part of the Colony, by reason of this
additional attraction.

5. The importance of directing the supply of provisions
for this region by way of Hope is thus greatly increased, and
an additional motive supplied for opening the road between
Hope and the Shimilkameen, which is being at the present moment
vigorously carried on, and thus preventing the trade from taking
the

course of the Columbia River to Oregon.