British Columbia's land surveyors traversed the province, overcoming hardships such as adverse weather, rugged terrain and bucking horses, to record British Columbia. They collected data for maps and also provided the government with other information, documenting who settled in what location, what was the best land for farming, and even road conditions:
"The Land in the Williams Lake District is well adapted for cattle-raising. To the man with sufficient capital to start in with a small herd, and who can afford to live on his land without the necessity of looking around for outside work, this locality offers many suitable places where a good ranch can be built up. (H.H. Roberts, B.C. Government land surveyor, 1914; Annual Report, Lands Department, 1915)
Lac La Hache is a beautiful sheet of water about 13 miles long and from one-half to two miles wide. The Cariboo road runs along the east shore and the Pacific Great Eastern [railway] along the west. As soon as the railway is finished the lake will become quite a summer resort. It abounds in fish. (A.F. Cotton, B.C. Government land surveyor, 1916; Annual Report, Lands Department, 1917)"