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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont fiimds en commen^ant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la derniAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la derniAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmte e des taux de reduction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul ciichA, il est filmi A partir de Tangle supArleur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, e.i prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants lllustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^■i 4.2 ^ aM«#ii A CANADIAN FARMER'S REPORT. MINNESOTA AND DAKOTA COMPARED WITH Manitoba ft-.. } AND ADIAN NoRTH-WeST. 'li *■■ THE FACTS AS PERSONALLY SEEN BY A CANADIAN FARMER;. By W. a. WEBSTER, A FARMER, I^ THR TaWNSHIP OF LANSOOWlfE, COUNTY OF LKEPS, ONTARIO. ; L^ OTTAWA; ■ MINTED BY IMK CITIZEN PRmtlNO AND fUBLISHINC COMPANY. • l- V %'* . ■ 'I •J- ,."• [f I A CANADIAN FARMER'S REPORT. ) MINNESOTA AND DAKOTA COMPARED WITH Manitoba AND Canadian North-West, THE'FACTS AS TERSONALLV SEEN BV A CANADIAN FARMER. By W. a. WEBSTER. A FARMER, IN THE TOWxNSHIP OF LANSDOWNE, COUNTY OK LEEDS, ONTARIO. 1 -t t I OTTAWA : PRINTED BV THE CITIZIN I'RINTING AND PUBLISHING COMPANY, 1888. 5 -5/ 7 A CANADIAN FARMER'S REPORT. Minnesota and Dakota Compared With Manitoba and Canadian North-West. The Facts as Personally Seen by a Canadian Farmer. Early in May, 1 started out to make a personal examination of Min- nesota and Dakota on one side and Manitoba and the Canadian North- West on the other, as fields for settlers. Before arriving at Sarnia, I had dis- covered that American Immigration Agents were operating actively through Ontario, ])articularly in the western part, so I set to work to study their modes of operations. Being myself a stranger in Sarnia, a farmer in a farmer's dress, it was quite natural, on meeting me, for these agents to conclude that they had got hold of an emigrant, on whom they could operate ])rofessionally. They are skilled in the art of making one's acquaintance. They first boomed Dakota and its wonderful wheat producing soil. When I told them *' cattle grow- ing " was my business, they droi)pod Dakota and boomed Montana as a stock- man's paradise. When I conn)laii>ed of the cold of that State, they took me (in imagination) off to Los Angelos and San Diego, told mo of the mild- ness and healthiness of that climate, th«5 fruit grown, and how much better fruit growing paid than either wheat or cattle. In this way. these smooth tongued agents ply their trade and work faitiifully for their employers. I found these agents were firm believers in the usefulness of maps and pamphlets describing and setting forth the advantages of the ])articular localities to which they desired to attract emigrants. I found excellent maps of Dakota, INIontana and other places, with concise descri|)tions of the advan- tages of the loci.Iity they were designed to represent, in railway stations, hotels, saloons, town halls, in fact in every public place in which tlu^y could be put. Tlies(? maps attract tin; eye of the emigrant ; he reads the descrip- tions and becomes interested, and in many cases becomes a convert to the persuasions of tlio agents. I then started for Dulutli, with the view, as far as tlie time at my dis- posal would permit, of exmnining the «gricnlturnl resources and possil)ilities of Minnesota and Dakota, and com[)aring them, as a field for emigrants, with Manitoba and the NorHi-West. In Minnesota, J found that the desirable Clovernment land had all l)een taken up, but much land was held by speculators, syndicates, and somo enor- •ms, and most of this land bein,i held at hi V was lously lai'ge not btnng sought after by emigrants. In fact, I found that from this cause, and a huge portion of the State having suffered last year from a partial maps ulvjin- tions, could 'scrip- heeu enor- b was drouth, quite sin emigration from Minnesota to Dakota had set in. J, there- iore, moved on to Fargo, one of the principal towns of Dakota, arriving there about the time the farmers had finished putting in their crops. Of Dakota, I had lieard and read much ; some extolling it, some decry- ing it. I knew some of the accounts must be wrong and possibly none were right. I, therefore, made up my mind to set to work in a methodical, prac- tical way, visiting County Towns and gathering statistics, especially those relating t«. asse.ssments, taxation, values of land and rates of interest paid on farm mortgages ; also, the kinds of crops grown, averages per acre, quantity and quality of live stock carried on the land ; in fact, all those practical mat- ters by which emigrant farmers are able, with some degree of cert duty, to judge of the pros])erity of an agricultural community. Many of the County Towns I could rear^h by railway, but I found that to acquaint myhelf with the fanners, soil, crops, mode of culture, water supply, land laws and regu- lations, as fully as I desired to do, I must do a good deal of travelling on foot. To a large extent I aclopted the f)lau of walking over county after county, crossing the farms, talking with the farmers at their jiloughs, seeing them and their wives at their houses, visiting their dairies, looking at their live stock, examinijig their farm implements, wells, stables, granaries, ike, and hearing trom the farmers and their wives themselves, the story of their struggles, successes and failures ; seeing for myself whatever tlioi-e was to be seen, that there might be no mistake about it. I soon discovered that the farmers and their wives did not give the same glowing account of Dakota, that I got from men who Ining aroiind towns and villages, and whoso occui)i\.tion seemed to be, trying to sell land, lend money on Chattel Mortgages at '22 jx'r cent., and l)oom up "Old Dakota." I was astonished to fiml the prevalence of chattel mortgages ; farmers' teams mui implements, growing crops in the field, everything in fact, to use a Dakota phrase is '•Chatted;'' t(Mis of thousands of those mortgages in Dakota ilra wr- ing interest at the rate of liO per e(!nt. I had this report from the Farniers themselves, as well as from what I gathered at the County Towns, The far- mers told me that in tiie last two dry years, wheat in several counties only averag(Ml seven bushels to the acn; ; they showed mo the great de[)th of their wells, toltl me of the cost of getting water, in most oases strong with alkali and unfit for use. One told me of the prt^valence of hail storms, ami of the enormous rate of interest he has to p ly for money he was ol)liged to borrow to carry him through this year, on aceouiit of flu* shoi't oiops the last two years. J found also that a veiy large pro|)oition of tlie Lind is held by speculators, and tlie burdt'u of taxation vtu-y uiuvpially distributed, so that the farmer had to pay far moi'e than his fair share of taxes. Ju (irand l"\jrks^ County, on(^ of the best Counties in Dakota, the total amount raised by taxes is !?l,nt!5,()00, ot which $l,r)()O,0()O is from taxes on personal property, the land l)eing only assessed Mt."?."5.73 p( r aer(^ thus letting the land sp(u;ulator off without paying anything like his fair sliaie of taxes, while the poor farmer is niadi! to pay full value for his ht)rses, cattle, slici^p, pigs, imple- ments, furniture ; in fact, nothing in or out ol" tiu' lious(< escapes tli(> sissessor. But aliout the rich man's personal propo'-ty : there isacohiuinin the Assess- ment Ivoll in which to assess mortgayes, bonds, shares, ikv. Hut l)eholil ! in tho fifty-two Townships of Cass County theie in not one dollai' in this column, ami Cass County is by far the richest County in Dakota. Still, Cas.4 County has a debt of 6-iy,'H)0. I went south-west from Fargo into Kichland, Laramee, and Jlunsom Counties. A good deal ot" iho land is light and sandy. The Uovernment land is all taken up. There is a great deal of vacant land owned by S|)ecii- lators, for which the price asked was from $7 to $12 an acre. This section is subject to fearful storms. Soon after the grain was sowri this spring, the wind blew a terrible gale for twenty-four hours. In niany places it blew the seed out of the ground, and the earth into heaps and windrows, obliging the farmers to work the land over and re-sow at that late season. This ])art is in the track of cyclones, and here J saw for the fir.-^t lime a "Cyclone Cellar," a deef» pit beneath tl:a kitchen with a trap door, into which the family plunge on the approach of a cyclone and remain until the danger is past. From this point I crossed the country to Jamestown. Travelling here over the prairie, I met the following notice, in public places, and stuck up on stakes on the prairie : — " Public Notice ! All parties are warned not to let stock graze on our lands." Just so I The ])Oor farmer must keep his cattle off the lands of the speculator. The same speculator wants $8 to $12 an acre for that land, though he manages to get it assessed for $3 per acre. In Manitoba all this is different. There the poor farmer can let his cattle graze over any land as long as it is not fenced, and the cattle of the farmer are not assessed at all, but the taxes equalised on the land, so that the speculator is obliged to pay his full share of the taxes, v hile the farmer's i)ersonal property is exempt. This is a very important matter, and one which every intending emigrant should bear in mind. I went next througli Burleigh, Stanton and Kidder Counties, to the town of Bismarck. These counties are broken uj) with lakes, and the Government land all taken up. Tliere is a good deal of light land here, but some very gojd. Prices range from $7 to .f 12 an acre. Bismarck is a growing town on the east bank of the Missouri river. This river enters Dakota at its north-west corner, runs diagonally through it and leaves it at its south-east corner. As a rule, the banks are low and siibject to periodical overflows, flooding the country on either side for many miles, and causing great loss of property and much suffering among the settlei's. While at Bismark, I attended several public meetings called by the farm- ers to protest against " high and exorbitant" railway rates on wheat to St. Paul and Minneapolis. Many bitter sj)eeches were made by the farmers denouncing the " grinding monopoly " of the railroads. The Government at Washington was also soundly abused for not aMowing "glorious old Dakota 'L to enter the Union as a state, thereby debarring her of many political privi- leges. There is naw in Dakota almost an armed rebellion with respect to the action of the Government towards the settlers on the Sioux Reservation. iHere is a verbatim extract from a speech in regard to this matter, made by ■('apt. T. F. Comstock : " I am not the only man who has a grievance against *' Piesident Cleveland and Land Commissioner Sparks. I could tell you the " names of several whom I have heard say that Sparks did well not to visit " the scenes of his depredations because he would never have got away again. '• I took up a homestead in Sanborn Cjunty. There was a jog in the line ' called an 'excess.' I was told at the land office I could have it for $1,25 ♦• par acre. This I agreed to and ])aid the money, and when I sent my papers *' to Washington, I was told that the Administration had chynged, and I was informed by Spai'ks that I could not have the land by any such arrange- " ment. He did net return my money, thnigh, so I have neither the money " nor the land. I know of a great many settlers here who have been treated in " the same way, and when you come to take into consideration such incidents " in the lot of most Dakota settlers, as the sweeping awry of their crops and tt I Mige- 1 5 ** buildinf/s by cyclones and prairie fires, you will nnilerstaiul that a Dakota ** settler's life is not full of ease and comfort.'' The land hiws here are greatly al>iiseil. To entor oa land one must be a citizen 21 years old, and must reside on the land five yeais be''oro he can got his j)atent ; but the homesteader takes advatitage of a clause in the Act, which allows him to commute, after six month's residence, by paying $2.50 an acre, if, during these six months, he shall have built a habitable house and cultivated ten acres of land. Now, this is the practice : Four young men enter for their land at the land ottice. They go to the place where the four coifners of their sections meet, and there build a sod cabin 1 2 feet square, as a joint housfl for all four. They dig four holes a few feet deep an' 6 and tliut, after tlioy got west of Devil's Like, the water got so poisonous with iilicali, and grass so scarce thit neither niafi nor heast could live there. Hence Imiidi-eds of them wee there idle. At Grand Forks several Canadians are living. They emigrated here previous to the building of the Canadian Pacific Hail way, and say that at the time they came they did not expect that road woul 1 be built during their lives. They express great a.stonishment at its rapid construction, and the growth of Winnipeg, Mjinitoba and the Xorth-West, as only a few years ago Winnipeg did its trading with Grand Forks by the slow and crooked Red River. r On the 1 2th of June I witnessed a genuine cyclone at Grand Forks. It was a fearful sight, as it came tearing down from the Montana IMountains, carrying with it dismay, destruction and death ; injuring the fine universitj building, destroying the f.iir ground and exhibition buildings. The express train was passing at the time; the cars were hurled from the track, some of them rolling over and over. The cyclone swept through the town, cutting a clear track for itself, crossed the river and disa])peared into .Minnesota after tlestroying .several lives and a vast amount of pro[)erty. I mention this cyclone because i desire to report facts, and I am satisfied there will not be an account of it in the ''Emigration Literature," of Dakota; though, to be fair, the [»eo[»le said that this was the first one that had ever visited this section. I went west from Grand Forks to Nelson County, as I had heard it called one of the good counties, and I knew a few Canadians that lived in it. I travelled over the county and examined it carefull)'. The Canadians there are generally in some little business. Very few are farmers, and the.se few seemed eager to sell out. (Everything seemed to be for sale). I was astonished to find how sparse the population of this county was, and yet the Government land was all taken up ! It was the old story — speculators had got hold of it. In this County, as in others, I found very many of the farms mortgaged. I will give an instance. On the 24th June in the county town of this county, 24 farms were sold under foreclosure of mortgage. This state of things does not show agricultural prosperity. The rate of taxation in the county is very high. The very township in which the county town (Mapes) was situated, contained only ten inhabitants, and the adjoining township not so many. From Nelson I visited Devil's Lake, Ramsay County. There is a great deal of light land and a sharp gravel in the soil, so hard that farmers ))loughing are obliged to keep tools in the field to sharpen the ploughs every time they go around it. In this and Benson County crops were very light last year. Wheat, they told me, averaged last year only seven bushels, and the prospect for this year was no better. From Devil's Lake I visited St. John, an old village near the Manitoba boundary, .settled many years ago by half-breeds, on account of its proximity to timber, this being plentiful here, as vj lies ""at the edge of Turtle Mountain, where there is line limljer, es|)ecially on the Canadian side ot the mountain, the International Itoundarv ci'ossing this mountain. Towner, Cavalier and Pembina Counties join Manitoba, and are fairly good counties. A number of Canailians settled in them some years ago. At that time the Government land in Manitoba was all settled on, and there was vacant land in these counties with oidv a line between. It was nothing strange some should crossover and settle here, though now, many of them find themselves, a long f It way from railways, and wish they were over in Southern Manitobi, enjoy- ing railway facilities a id low taxes, as taxes are very high in these counties ; in some cases, four times as high as in the adjoin*: county in Manitoba. I next visited Batineau. High dry ))rairie with light soil, excej)t on the Mouse River bottoms; grass very jmor. I met here a family from Minnesota which had driven all the way with waggons and stock, looking for and ex- amining land clear through much of Dakota, and they told me nothing V, juld induce them to settle there. Their cry was " no grass," " no water." I now took a north-west course for thirty miles over high, dry land with a good deal of stone, seeing only two or tliree settlers on the way, and finally came in sight of and crossed into Manitoba, west of the "Antlers," having pretty carefully examined twenty-seven counties in North Eastern Dakota, with the foregoing results, and I then started to travel over Manitoba and a portion of the North- West, and carerully and critically examine them in ordei to make a comparsion of the relative advantages of Dakota and Manitoba and the North- West as a homo for the emigrant. The first farmer I met in Manitoba was George Thompson, whose farm is on the South Antlers, Souris P. O. He came here from Huron County, Ontario, four 3 ears ago, and is more than satisfied with the country and his success here. I travelled east over forty miles of fine rolling prairie, which is fast being settled, to Deloraine. This is a right smart town, at present the end of the South Western railway, which next year is to be extended forty miles west to the coal fields. There is t>. good grain market at Deloraine, with a fine wheat section around it. A very large quantity of wheat was marketed here last year. A few miles further east is White Water Lake, with a fine hay and grass country around it. A good many cattle are kept here, and a cheese factory is running, turning out a fine quality of cheese. In walking over this district I found the wheat crop most promising. The district has been settled five years, and the farmers are satisfied with their success. The Government land is all taken u[) but splendid land can be bought in plain sight of the wheat elevators where you can get cash for your wheat at $5 per acre, witli ten years to pay for it, l»y pa>ing only 6 per cent, for the unpaid balance. Now, this question of interest should be carefully noted by the intending emigrant. The higher rate of interest and taxes in Dakota would pay for a quarter section of land here in ten years. Water is good and plentiful in this district. Twenty miles east is Bossevain, a good business place with two largo elevators and a warehouse. Large quantities of wheat are grown between this and the Souris River. I visited the farmers and their farms in this district ; many of them old school mates of mine, most of whom came here with a very few dollars, and in some cases, penniless. But how are these men today 1 On the average, 320 acres of land, lUO acres of fine wheat growing: teams, implements, buil'^iiigs, live stock ; they are to-day enjoying a degree of comfort and independen •'' nch as I never witnessed before in a new country. When these farmers settled here, they had to haul their effects from f]nierson, 100 miles, across sloughs and rivers, at a great expense and hardship and in some cases, sutt'ering ; but now they have railroads at their doors, and the emigrant coming here now will find all the conveniences he may have left in an old county in Ontario : schools, churches, mills, elevators, where he can get cash for his wheat, and in plain sight of these elevators and amidst all these surroundings he can buy land for $0 per acre Yes, land that will grow 30 bushels of wheat per acre. The quality of this deserves more than a passing remark ; a fine black mould, no stonen, no ditching required after the sod is once broke. The farmer sitt •n the gang plough and ploughs the ground ; a boy sits on the seeder and sows the grain ; another boy sits on the harrow and harrows in the seed. When the wheat is ripe, a man sits on the binder, cuts and binds the grain ; lap to this point all the work has been done sitting on a spring seat. Such are some of the agricultural possibilities of this alluvial prairie in Manitoba and the North-West. Still farther east is Killarney ; a beautiful lake and a good grain market. Tliis is a fine section for stock raising; hay, grass and water in abundance and plenty of timV)er for fuel. Drovers were here buying good fat steers right oflf the grass for the Winnii)eg market. The farmers told me they could grow stock here very cheap. There is fine rolling prairie and farmers say they have never hail frosted wheat here. M. Martin, Killarney, on a farm near the lake, had been here five years; came from Perth, Ont.; grows wheat, never had any frosted ; said he would not farm in Ontario if he got a farm as A gift. Every farmer I visited, was delighted with the country. Land can he bought for five or six dollar.s the acre. I met an American farmer from Dakota, looking at land here, and when he saw the quality of the soil and was told of the low rate of taxation, lin decided to buy and settle here. Going on eastward, T fjune to Crystal City, whore is a very prosperous oommunity ; good land, giiod fai'iners, fi'ie crops and stock and buihlings. Several of thes(! furnuM's canio hero ciyht vears aso witii little or nothing. To-day they have fine farms and -.wo in i)rosperous circumstances. I am per- mitted to cite one case. .John King, Crystal City, P. O., came here eight years ago, from Leeds County, Ont., with less than $30, I walked over his fine farm of 320 acres, 100 acres of fine wheat growing, also coarse grain, roots, etc., a lot of good fencing, good house, granary, and stable, first-class set of agi'icultural inii>lemeuts, good herd of grade cattle, teams, etc., and besides he owns a busli fa; in, a tew miles from his h()mest(!iid. Now, this man's success is a fair mciisuie of the success of his neighbours. A first- class new cheese factory is running Ikm-c, jiaying the farmers well. Stock does well here; no disease of any kind. Land can bo bought close to the railway and schools for six dollars an acre. Maniton, still further east, has a first-class che(!.se factory making a fine cheese and footling a largo lot of hogs on th(^ offal. UoUing [)rairio, lots of hay and grass, and pLiity of timber. l/iml here is very fertile. Hoot crops are enormous. Tliere aie evidences of solid, sul)stantial progress among the farmers. Fat steers taken off the grass wore being rnhipiied l)y ti-ain to Winnipeg, for whieh dro\ is wiM-e paying good prices. Stock-growing is a real bonanza here. Kirst-cias.i land can be bought on ten ycMrs time for five dollars an acre, close by the stations. Mordoii is on the westei'u edge of the "Rod Iliver valley. T believe that north from it foi- (wenty miles more fertile laml is not to Ix^ foun I on the earth. I walked over this laiul,saw the crops just b'giniang to get ripe, and in plain Knglish, 1 ntner saw such cro[)s. Ai'oiind Toljacco Cr(>ek aiul up to the foot of the Peml)iua ilills, wild pi>as and v«»tchos grow in prodigious quantiti(>s. (battle can lie grown as cluaj) heri' as in any spo'. on this (,'onti- nont. May and wat(M' are in ab'.indance. 'Ihere is still a little houa^stead land that can lie pieke(l up ; and land can lie bought for $i) an acre, dose to the railway. What an o|»|ii)rtiiuity for young f u'lners ] Taxes in this muni- cipality ai'o very low, in fa -t, almost uoininal. 'llio laud speculator is made to pay his full share of taxes in Manitoba. From Mt)rden I crossed the prairie to Pluiu (!i)\dee, passing ov<>r fine lands compose I of rich black clay, with lu.xiirioin cr>>ps of hay an I grass. .h Iwiiy iuo ts of !roi)3 the ,11 to is ii tivo thiit tlio iind I]) to [ioilH 'iiti- •m\ .( to luii- i.ulo lino MSS. /. Immense quantities of cattle and dairy products will be raised here in tiie near future. There is no homestead land, but land can bo bought from agents in Winnipeg for fiom five to eight dollars an acre. This land is able to groA' forty bushels of wheat to the acre. Passing over the same kind of land I reached Morris on the Red lUver. From this place, tea miles west, over enough for drainage. The lan:l is coverelendid purpose. While on this farm I witnessed a machine at work that harvested the wheat, threshed it, put it in sacks, and [)loughed the ground behind it, leaving it ready for next year's crop. The straw is used for fuel for raising the seam. It is a steam machine, of 22-horse power, mounted on steel wheels 8 feeb high, -t feet on the face; a traction machine — a wonderful piece of human ingenuity, and it will revolutionise wheat growing on the [)rairios. This machine i)loughed an acre in forty-tive minutes, cutting the ground six inches deep. From this i)liice I cross the fine rich prairie to vVinni[)eg, passing fine farms and stock — no end to the hay and grass. On the way I visited the Mennonites. those people that came; from lliissia some years since, without caj)ital, ignorant oi our language, anl the ways of the co>intry ; to-day they are comfortable farmers. Industry and economy pro[)L!rly directed here will .soon m.ike a [)oor man rich. WinniiKig, a few years ago a Ilud^ou JJiy trading p')st, is now a line modern city, with broui paved streets, lino i>ublij buildings, S(;hools and colleges, (iight railroads leuliiig from it, and more i»roj(M'ted. linmigrantH coming here will get any information they may need at the (rovtHMiment. Land, rinmigration or Intelligi>nce otUcivs, wiu-re obliging agents will give all the assistance recjuired. IJesides these all the railways have laud otlices, where laml (!an bo bought at low rates. Tiio splendid vegetable gardens around Winni[M>g, prove, if proof is requireil, the fertility of the soil. I went next west to l'»)rtiigt! In Prairie, pissing lii'lds of goldiMi gram waving in the wind, as far as tlie eye could leach. Vmy fertile laud liere, and some i'nu) groves of timber. I follow the fine prairie to Westl>ourno to visit Mr. Sanford's stock farm and see his 700 Imad of cattle. In summer they feed on the prairie ; iu winter they aie fed some hay, wIkmi the snow is deep, but never stabled. This hay grows here in immense quantities. [t is cut and stacked up in suuuner, and in winter drawn and fed to the cattle. Men were (Migaged iu stacking 'J, .">()() tons ; six mowing machines cutting, hiiy loader i»ub it on the waggon and a stacking maehin(> put it from the waggon on the stack. I'^jveiything do!>i' by machinery — no hand woik. I was told by the foreman that Uui e')st oi cutting and stacking was 7*) eentn per ton. So it will cost aliout i^^.OO to wint(M' a cow, and nothing to summer her. l[(M'e is the pl:iee to raisti stock and make butter and cheese. T ei'ossed the pr,iiri(^ to the neighboui'liODd of hike ^[anitolt^ to se(» Mr. Fiynch's herd of short horns, 80 in nuinlt -r. They wer(^ thi^ l>est> herd of grass f(>d cittle \ (u-ei- saw. The hay here, for miles, was highei- than the calves backs, Mr, Stewart and Mr. Shannon are also very successful stocK growers here. Alfout (lladHtoU", there is als » a liui' stock region, 11 ly autl grass very plentiiul. Mr. N. McLean, a fannei' living about -t miles south of (JIadstono for the last 8 yeara, says this is tiie bi^st eonntiy in llin world for a poor man to get a start -n lif<'. LanM c»n be bought here foi- >5'i.l)0 an acre. From this I wt.'nt to Neepewa on tht; .Manitoba it North Weitern Kail- 10 ^'^y> ^ Kf*otl road and of great use to the country. Thence north to the Riding Mountain is Hne land. Farmers tell me tliey have never l>een injured by frost hero ; there is ])lenty of hay, grass and timber ; a Hue stock country all the way north for fifty miles. Nee[)ewa is a nice town, with a good mill and a tine opening for a cheese factory. Fai-mers in this section tell me this is tlie best spot in the world. Land from .$5.00 to ii?7.00 an acie, and plenty of homestead land north of Neepewa. Next to Minnedosa, a very pleasant town with grand land and crops north of it. Some homestead land is to be got yet, and railway land is good and cheap, all down the valley of the Little Saskatchewan to Rapid 'ity. Tens of thousands of sheep could be fed and grown in this valley — it lias gi'ass, shelter and pure water. There is a fine woollen mill here, a good wool njarket, a new roller-process Hour mill, with a capacity of 200 barrels, a cheese factory, a lot of high bred grade cattle, building materials, good hotels ; in fact, this is a little ))aradise for immigrant farmers. They can bring their stock here, get cash for their milk and wool, feed their Hocks and hei'ds on vacant land belonging to speculators, and, where the fun comes in, the speculator nnist pay the taxes. But it is not this way in Dakota. P. A, Cam[)bell, Rapid City P.O., came hero 8 years ago from County Grey, Ont., with the proceeds of HO acres of land sold there. I walked over his fine fai-m of 4")0 acres — L")0 acres, wheat; fyO acres, barley, roots and vegetables, a fine herd of cattle, full set of implements and good teams. House and buildings are all paid for, and he has cash on hand. Mr. Cam|)l)ell says anybody can do the sajne thing, if they half try. From Rapid City to Shoal Luke, vdii-i'c is a good cheese factory at •work; a fine stock region all round here, and good land cheap, and splendid crops. Next to Rinscarth to \isit the Rinscarlh stock farm and examine the stock, which is a credit to ('anadii, and doing much to improve the stock ot this country. Then over a fine stock region to Shell lUver, the home ot Major Uoulton, of " Houlton Scouts'' fame. Horses and cattle Hre grown here V(;ry cheap. A three year oM steer killed off tlu* grass on July 26th weighed 903 pounds dressed beef, and for the twelve months ])revious he never was in a stable, nor cost his owner one cent. I mention this case that came und(U' my own observation just to show the stock possibilities of the country, and it includes dairy products as well. Theri^ is plenty of land here. From Sludl River I went over the prairie to Birtle, passing fine land and crops. Keeping on south-east over the gnut growing plains of Car- berry, wheat, golden wheat stretched as far as th(! eye could reach ; in fact, one becomes diir.rj, looking at wheat. Fimilly, 1 cam(^ in siijht of the river Assiniboine, and the fine city of Brandon, snugly nestling on its south bank. Brandon, that six years ago only contained a tmv tents, is now a fine city with two costly bridges aer'i.ss the river, several wheat elevators and good pul)lic buildings. It is surrounded by a most productive wheat rc^gion, and will this year, nmrket two million bushels of wheit fro'u the Brandon district. Here is the liomn of Mr. I>aly, M. P., who represents Brandon distiict in the Dominion I'arliament. Immigrants coming Ikm'c will do well to Cidl on Mr. Diiy, fiom whom they can g(*t a great deal of valuable infor- mi'^ion in regard to that section ol' countiy. A lailroad is now lieiiig built froui lb indou to Bapid ('ity on the north, and to the Souris on the south, and then west to the Moose Mountain coal lields. where coal is in abi.ndanco. There is a grand chance to got land cheap along this new line of railway. 11 As time was now jivessiiig, I had to leave Manitoba for the i)iesent and plunge into THE CREAT NORTH-WEST. the land Car- in tlie ><)tith (iuo and I arrived in due time at Moo irnin, a thriving town but four ycrars old, containing a flour mill, elevatoi-, and splendid sciiool. This is a very im- portant business centre, as it do"s tiie trade of the country for a hundred miles south, to the Moose Mountain, and this througli a fairlv good tract of land, which is being fast settled up. The country here is said to bo fully up to the average as a stock country, and the farmers say the climate is fine and very healthy. Benjamin Long came hero from Wellington County, Ontario, where he had had very i)oor health for years. He has been farming here for five years He is now a sti-ong, i-obust man, the picture of ht;alth. Men and women tell me one and the same thing, tiiat the climate is fine and healtliy. There is plenty of good homestc:\d land from Moosomin south to Moose Mountain, where there is a land office, plenty of grass and good smooth roads. North of Moosomin is a fine farminof country. The best 500 acres of wheat I ever saw grown in one field is here, on the farm of Mr. J. R. Neff. He will thresh 15,000 bushels of No. 1 wheat. Close by he has 1G5 acres of barley tliat will give 40 bushels to the acu;. He has now, summer fallowed and ready for ne.x.t year's crop, 800 acres. Seven miles north of Moosomin is the farm of Thos. Hoobiei-, who had then, nearly ripe, 200 acres of wheat that would average 35 bushels to the acre. His barley and oat crop was really wonderful, and his crop of roots and vegetables simply the full of the enrth, tho best kitchen ga/dcn I was ever in. Currants, red and black, cherries, plums, hops, tomatocss, cauliflow- ers, etc., etc., and this is away up in the North-West, where some would fain make us believ(! there is nothing but Indians and icebergs. Farmers ! if you want land come and see — yes — and feel. Otlitu'S (tre doing and any farmer can do the same as those I have cited. There is plenty of lanoine. He showed me over a gootl deal of this section, away north to the Qu'Appelle riviT and valley, over fine rolling j)rairie — a fine stock country. The l)eef they tmiko right off the grass is very s\irprisiug. Fortunes could bo made hiu-e in sheep-growing. I do not belitn'(( tlu^re is any healthiei' climate on earth for man or beast than this. South of Wols(»k!v is a fine rolling piairie, with timber bluffs and pliMtty of grass and water. Immigrants coming here to look for land, if timy would c/»ll on Mr. Fcrlcy, would get all the assistance they niight i-etpiire, as he is well accjuainte 1 with this section, and there is plenty of good land to homestead. A cheese fare it, is roal prairie ; no finer land on earth ; good rieh black clay, full ot' \egetal»l«' inatUu-, and not one stone. A plough ei>uld l>e run for miles in one straight furrow. Mr. Mac- kay, of this place, said to bo one of the l)est fai'iners in tlu^ territoiies, drove me away north, across and beyond the (^)ii'A pp.'lh valli'V, out ovei- the IMumis- ant plains. It was a sight to behold. Wiieat ! Wheat! Wli<"at,! in every direction. J'inders at work everywhere, cutting ami l)imling the ufohjen grain which will avei-age 30 l)ushels to the acre. Fine farms ami Imiidings, and 12 roads and stock — tlio lm[)|)iest lot of farmers I ever met ; and all this going on where a few years ago the wild Indian and buffalo held undisputed sway. In the Qu'Appelle Valley thousands of sheep could be grown. There is grass, pure water, shade and shelter — a grand place for sheep-growers. The cattle are all fat, even the milch cows are now good beef, and they are giving lots of good rich milt. Here is the Bell Farm with 4,1^00 acres of wheat now ripe. This is a sight to look at. South from Indian Head there is rolling prairie- -good land here to homestead. Further west I visited Qu'Appelle town and station ; a real live town, a good grain market, with a flour mill. The trail goes from here to Prince Albert and Eduionton, to wliich places a railroad is being built, and also south to Wood Mountain. This road will pass through good land. I went over a good d?al of it. There is plenty of grass, water and wood on it. I will give the story of one settltr here. S. Dundas came here from Scotland five years ago, a poor man without a dollar, and settled on a homestead six miles south of C^u'Ai)|)clle. I went over his fine farm of 320 acres. He is now cutting a tine croj) of barley ; a fine crop of wheat is ripe ; he has a large crop of field roots and a vegetable garer of Indians on it ; one was cutting hay with a jiair of oxen hitched to a mowing machine, and he was doing it well. A l)oy was raking with an ox hitched to a hay rake, others weie hauling and stacking it, and all was being done (juietly and well, uiuler th(! supervision of the farm instructor. Two Indian l)oys were giinding mowing machine knives (a y these Indian l)oys and gills woidd have lin»' that all was Ijeiiig done that could l)e, to iinurove those children of the plains. If innni;.4r.ints coming to (,^)u'Appelle, will call on Mr. Maker, rmmigra- tion Agent, or .Mr. (>-|er. Intelligence AgcMit, they will get all ia;ceHsary in- 13 of ivy mil ho lit) iit- ■slk of iiiil M try )iu it 'If- it> of ru- in- formation as to land location, &,c. Grass, water, hay and wood are plentiful. This is a most excellent dairy country, and men wishing to engage in cattle and sheep growing will find Qu'Appelle a most desirable place. Society is good, and there are churches and schools. Some wealthy English philan- throphists have started a Model Farm and School near this town ; a grand institution. I next reached llegina, the Capital of the North West, situated in the centre of a vast ])lain. Here the real prairie region begins. I travelled over this district |)retty thoroughly and examined it critically. The land is level, a vast deposit of alluvial soil, averaging in depth 3 to 5 feet, rich in plant food, with the necessary amount of moisture. The protluctive power of the land for either grain, roots or vegetables, is almost incalculable. I defy coa- tradiction on this point. All the farmers engaged in stock raising told m« that horses and cattle could be grown very cheaply ; there was no disease of any kind among them. Regina is a live jdace growing fast. One mile from the town are the Police Barracks. They are a credit to Canada. In these barracks is a very high tower from the top of which I saw more rich, alluvial land, than I ever saw in my life at one time or place. I/ifb and right and all around me, a vast sea of rich land. Such is this plain — a heritage in itselt". Immigrants will find plenty of this land to homestead, and if poor, they can get ])lenty of work at good wages, till they get a start. Good servant girls are in great demand, wages 10 to 12 dollars a month and board. Railways are being built north through this good land, and farmers will have a wheat market at their doers. I went no further west, but now turned my face eastward, collecting as I went from different stations of the North-West and Manitoba, samples of the products of the soil. Grain in the straw and threshed, prairie hay and grasses, roots, vegetables, hops, cheese and butter to biing with me to Ontario and exhibit at as many of the fall fairs as time would permit, so that the young men of Ontario wanting farms, may see with their own eyes, what the soil and climate of Manitoba and the North-West can produce, and what agricultural possibilities awaits them in that portion of our Dominion. Hon. D. A. Harrison, the Minister of Agriculture for Manitoba, ren- dered me valuable assistance with the exhibits from his Pioviace, for which J beg to render my best thanks. After having (I'avelled over more or less, every covmty in Mnnitoba, and a good deal in the North-West ; after having boon over pretty thoroughly twenty-seven counties in Dakota, going on foot 1,500 miles, besides on rail- ways, buckbaards and on horseback, and after having carefully (examined the natural advantages of both countries, studying their Land Jjriws and Jtegu- lations, tluur municipal institutions, and social conditions, their taxation and rates of interest, as well as the fertility of the soil, and the ease with which it can be cultivated, their capacity for stock growing and dairying, the water supply, the climate, and mU those thini^s that go to mike up a good agricul- tural country, in which an itnmigrant fai-inor could make a coujfortable home for his family, with the greatest ceiLainty, I, as a practical tai-mei*, am firmly convinced that in all these things, Matiitoba and the North West stand pre-eminently ahead of Dakota. And this opinion will bo endorst^l by every man that is ecpially well ac(piainted with both counti'ies. And I fur- ther atHrm that there is no en)igration from Manitoba to Dakota, for the above and other reasons, and furtluir, the near future of Dakota (firumciidly) is not of the kind to inspire conti'n siicriliood to the fury of tlie bli//,iinl. I'he present storm, terrible iu its result , oiine without warning. A TKKRIIILI': HKCOKD. MiNNKAPoi.T.s, Jiinuiiry Hi.— The J<)untol'n re- vised list of bli/./.ard fatalilies fhows !l7 dead in Dakota, 12 in Minnesota,'! in Iowa. 17 in Nebr.tck.i and 2 in Montana ; total 13o, besides f 5 reported missing. aOMK ADDITIONAL VICTIMS. In adilition to those publisbed yesterday, the followinK deaths aio reported :—Vear Mifuhell, Diik., ayouiKMinn named Munifer; Mrs. Phillips and !-on, Alixuia, l)ak. ; nn unknown man, near Aberdeen, Dak. ; at VVyiid'imtM-, noir Watipoton, ])iik., a .school toaclior a;id two of her pupils; near Kuldi, Minn., the twolvo yotr old sun ot .John Walsh; neiir 'I'racy, Minn., Tom Aiderson, a farmer, is inisfitm ; near .Mbert Lpp, Mi n., Olea Ekkc, a brotli«T of Prof. E^jro, ot Nonhlield Col- lego. \ Faulkton, Diik .spociiil siiys si.x persons are known to h^ive perished in the storm nenrihere and tlieie are iinvcrilied rumors ot si.x or sevon other deallis Uelarade, Vl< nt., reports rumors ol cowboys Ireczing in the Madison valley. IG THE COLD CONriNURS. Saturday night and Sunday were exoeedinirly cold all over the North-West, At Bruinard the thermometer registered 58 degrees below zero at 5 o'clock Sunday morniiifir, and at Bird Island, Minn., 38 below. At Faribault, Minn., on Satur- day night it was 47 below. At Duluth, Sunday, 34 below, and at Clearwater, Mian., 43 below. APPALUNG NEWS KHOM KANSAS. Kansas City, January 16.— Saturday and Sun- day nights were the coldest ever experienced in this section. A few cases of freezing have been reported here, but the reports that come from Western Kansas are appalling. The blizzards th^it raged through that section a few weeks ago leit the people in such bad condition that they were unable to stand the severe weather of the past twenty-four hours and a large number of deaths from cold and starva'ion occurred. A carload of provisions was started yesterday trom Wichita to Ashland, but the storm stopped the train. It is estimated that throe thousand people in Clark County are in a destitu'e condition. On the Mis- souri Pacific railway, two train loads of caule coming in from the west were caught in the bliz- zard and every anim tl was frozen to death. A HAPPY CONTRAST Winnipeg, January 16.— Although such a ter- rible talo comes from Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraskaof appalling loss of lifo durinir the late cold soap, not one death from exposure hns been reported in Manitoba and the Canadian North- West. Trains in Dakota and Minnesota are block- aded and have been for some days. None bnve reached here for five days from the States. Yet the Canadian I'aciiio is running pretty regularly, notwithstanding the cold snap, and no trains hare been cancelled. St. Paul, January 15.— Therfl is no sign of the extreme cold moderating. Albert Lee, Minn., reporting 42 below; Nebraska city, Neb., 28 be- low; Helena, Mont , 45, with a maximum of 25 below ; Belgrade, Mont., 54 below. NOTES. A Grafton, Dakota, special says:- The North- ern Pacific train from Grand Forks left here for Pembina Inst night, and three miles north of here was thrown from the track by a huge drift. 0. E. Stearns, teaching school six miles north of DeFmet, Dak . with his three children, was caught ill >« blizz lid and was out in it for 22 hou. . 'I'll'' >nji had his feet frozen solid to itie atikieb lie will lose both feet. The girl was so chilled tint t