OCR Text |
Show VICTORIA'S DOMINIONS. A Salt Laker 011 Vancouver's' Island. ViCTouiA, Vancouveu's Island, Sept. 27th, 1875. Editor Herald : 1 Wo bend you a line from British soil, which you may insert if you have tho room. This town is pleasantly pleas-antly situated at tho south end of the island and the vicinity is picturesque on account of the numerous arms and inlets extending inwards from the gulf, and tho dense timber crowding crowd-ing down to tho water's edge in ovcry j direction. This morning we took sactdlo horses, and after a ride of about four miles, over a Bplendid road, lined with trees and shrubbery, with hugegrunito boulders tastefully mixed in, wo arrived at tho navy yard, tho cosiest little bay imaginable, imagina-ble, about three-fourths of a nnlo in width, almost circular, and orna mented with the dense trees, and the huge granilo boulders aforesaid, dowi Ui tho water's edge aloresaid. Tin Uritish flag ship, the Jtepuise, ant two other of John Bull's ironclac lighters, lay hero quietly at anchor. Visitors aro chcerlully shown ovei the vessels, being rowed lrom tin 1 shore by thu jolly jack tars. Wo wil visit the ships to-morrow. This is decidedly an otl'shoot from Britain The dry goods men are linen draperc and silk mercers and haberdashers; the fruit sellers are fruiterers, anil tho hardware dealers are ironmongers. iron-mongers. Tho hotels here, of whicl: the Driard house is the chief, are nol so well oil in tho matter ot elevators, annunciators, etc., as in our own cities of America; but the care and ingenuity with which they provide pro-vide for the inner man are decidedly commendable, both as to edibles and things succulent, especially tho latter. A confirmed toper would never leavt here alter once crooking bis elbow tc a glass of Martol and Heneasey, such as i hero dispensed. Cabin fare from San Francisco hero is down to $5, about 800 miles. The trip consumes four days and each p.issenger consumes about $10 worth of sustenance susten-ance on the trip, which leaves very httlo margin ol profit lor tho steamboat steam-boat proprietors. This low rate may not prevail long an! is owing lo opposition op-position between the P. M. S. S. Co., and the G. X. & P. Co. Wo took in Virginia city, New, on our trip dowu and visited tho bowels of the earth, na tho Virginia consolidated mine, vertically, and by the Sutro tunnel, horizontally. We. met Mr. Sutro and think he would not only tunnel to the Comstock from the Carson river level, but from the Sacramento valley if he thought such an enterprise necessary. He has a line mansion at the mouth of the tunnel, or rather about 200 yards away, publishes and edits the Sittro JiitJipen tent, and there is not much doubt that Virginia city will j ultimately branch oil", house after I house, build up Sutro city and make a populous town at tho mouth of the big tunnel. More anon, j Cantab. |