Ho! for the Leech River

(Part 4)

In July 1864 Victoria had become a quiet backwater, a steamer stop on the way to or from the real action in the gold diggings of the B.C. mainland.

That changed dramatically with the news that members of the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition had found paying quantities of ‘colour’ in the Sooke and Leech rivers.

Just 10 miles as the crow flies from ‘downtown’ Victoria!

For those who’d come to B.C. too late for the Fraser River or Cariboo riches, for Victoria merchants who’d been quiet and hungry since the great rush of 1858, this was a second chance to grab the golden ring.

That’s next week in the Cowichan Chronicles.

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PHOTO: Prospecting on the Leech River wasn’t for the faint of heart or weak of back. —B.C. Archives