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IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-S)

1.0

I.I

l^|28

|50 *^*

25
2.2

1.8

1.25 11111.4 IIIIII.6

CIHM/lcMH

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CIHM/ICMH
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1980

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1 2 3

^:mmBr9mm^amvtv!!^jfmva- ~' • •I'^—^^rj'j'^r^'T^'^mmm^mm

Across the Continent

VIA THE CANADIAN 1 V.CIFIC RAILWAY.

j^ LEOTTJIE^E

I>BLIVBRED BV

Mr, honore beaugrand

EX-MAYOR OF MONTREAL,

ITNDBR THE AUSPICES OP THE

MONTREAL DISTRICT BOARD Of TRADE

28rd MARCH, 1887.

Thi, loci,.™, tho lirst „1 a »one., :un,lor tlu, aa.pi,-o.s „f tho (;l,u,„ber of
Co„„„„,.„.. oU,o district of .Montreal, was dolivccl on tho ovctn^t'ld
no. a^, tho .,.,, M:.,.oh, u, tho „,t,vl paflo,. of tho .St. Uw.-ooeo tw ,M '."
t.o. I by oK.Miiyo. Jioaug,a„U. ,Tho,o «a» a laf.^.o attoada.co of htdio a,,,!
gon lemc, a,.d Aid. J. Groniof, p,-o»idont of tho cha.nhof, p.asidod

ACROSS THE CONTIN

^ ^ A. I

It is not my int«ntioa in this lecture to
(ii.scu*8 tbo couKtruction of tho Canadian
Pacific, which iH to-day an accomplished
fact. The <iiiestiou was treated at tho time
by both political parties. What wo have to
deal with now is tho present and future of an
eiiterprine to which every one agrees in at-
trihiilin^? a national character and I desire
simply to relate what I have seen and to put on
record the impressions produced on me by a
journey of three weeks between Montreal and
Vicloria, during which 1 had an opportunity
of stopping over at Winnipeg, Banll', Donald.
Port Moody, New We.-tminster and Van-
couver. Neither do I purpose repeating
those ligures and statistics which the public
have seen in the journals or m^t wiih in par-
liamentary papers, or in the oflicial bulletins
issued by the company for the use of the mer-
cantile and travelling community. I am glad
to say that I have returned from the West
with new ideas as to the regions vi; ited, with
absolute certainly as to commercial possibili-
ties of which I had hitherto been in doubt
and with my patiiotic coulideuce in the polit-
ical future and national prosperity of our
common country renewed and increased.
The construction of the Pacific railway was a
tour de Jorce and I can sincerely avow that I
was agreeably surprised at the results obtain-
ed. 1 do not pretend, like the Bourbons of
the Uestoration, to be proud of my capacity of
forgetting nothing and of learning nothing.
While I recill that the party with which I
am connected by the allegiance of my entire
political career, was energetically opposed to
certain financial conditions and concessions
of territory which we considered exaggerated,
that fact does not prevent me from appreciat-
ing the actual situation from the standpoint
of the country's general interests. While I
am making my confession, I need not hesi-
tate to avow that, for years past, I bad en-
vied the indqstrial energy, tiio commercial

intelligence and the broad and bumanitariaa
policy of our neighbors of tho American re-
public. I did not believe that wo were capable
of contending with them in the arena of
colonizition, of the development of new re-
gions. The experience of recent years and
my trip across tho continent have proved to
me the contrary, and therefore I repeat that I
return from tho West with a patriotic confid-
ence with which 1 was far from being inspired
before.

Leaving aside the political aspect of the
construction ot the Canadian transcontinental
line, there cannot be a single person in the
country who is not ready to pay a just tribute
of admiration to the finunciiil Intelligence,
the energy, the breadth of view, the prudent
administration, the unceasing devotion, and,
above all, to the patriotic sentiment of Sir
George Stephen, and his colleagues, Sir
Donald Smith, and Messrs. R. B. Angus,
Duncan Mclntyre and W. C. Vaa Home.
As a Canadian, I am proud to number myself
as one of their compatriots. The United States
never produced men who were their superiors
in the execution of an enterprise so gigantic
aa the Canadian Pacific has been, still is, and,
from the commercial standpoint, will continue
to be. The history of the Union, Northern
and Southern Pacific railways, with their
difiiculties and the slowness of their progress
to completion, fully proves what I have said.
The single fact of having anticipated by five
years (1880-1891) the obligations of the
contract for the construction of our Pacific, is
of itself sufficient to justify our pride in the
results secured. One of the greatest — prob-
ably the most serious of all — of the difiicul-
ties that we had to overcome bad relation to
the conditions of our Northwestern climate
and the mountain chains that traverse British
Columbia. It was naturally feared that the
vast quantity of snow north of Lake Superior
and the snow slides iu the Eocky mouptaina

and the Solkirk rauge, would render extreme-
ly difficult and irregular, if not inipuHHible,
the movement of trains during the winter.
Experience haH, however, j)r(»ved that we are
better Hituated in that respect than the Amor-
icauH ; for, whilst thu traiuH un the Northern
and Union i'acific lineu have for a month past
been Hubjected to conniderable delays, not a
Hingle Canadian train hat) been retarded by
Hnow in thoKo regions as to which go much
apprehenuion was entertained. The trainH
set out and reach their destinations with a
regularity truly astonishing, when it is con-
Hidered that it is scarcely six months since
the tirst train started from Montreal on its
route of :{,000 miles across the Canadian con-
tinent. I had the honor, as mayor of Mont-
real, to give the signal tor the departure of
that first train, in the midst of salvos of
artillery and the acclamations of an enthusi-
astic multitude. It was an event that I am
not likely to forget.

This is, besides, a subject on which I can
speak with some authority, as I have just
been across the continent — going and return-
ing — and I am happy to have made the
journey in winter, as my testimony can, at
least, serve to prove the uufoundedness of
the timid exaggerations of the past and the
possibility of a regular service in the future.
A year ago, I found myself delayed for forty-
eight hours by the snow in ttie Uiton Pass,
New Mexico, on the Atchison, Topeka and
iSanta Fe line, more than 1,200 miles south
of Winnipeg and Montreal, while this year I
made the journey — nearly (J, 000 miles —
without a moment's retardation by reason of
the snow. My experience, indeed, is only
the corollary of the fact that the Canadian
Pacific will have to suffer less from snow
blockades and snow slides than the American
transcontinental roads. The enterprise may,
therefore, now bo looked up m as an indis-
putable success from a material point of
view ; and it remains for us to discuss its
immense value from the standpoint of the
agricultural, industrial and commercial in-
terests of Canada, and of its international
relations with Europe, Asia and Oceanica.
It is not my purpose to speak here at any
length concerning Manitoba and the immense
prairies of the Northwest. That is a subject
with which all those must be familiar who
have followed for some years past the develop-
ment of Winnipeg, of Brandon, of Begina, of
Calgary and the regions tributary to them,
from the twofold standpoint of agriculture

and commerce. Those vast prairies which
quite recently were regarded as uninhabitable
and unproductive, are now considered as the
richest and most fertile portions of North
America. They only needed the facilities of
communication with the East and with the
West for the development of their inexhaust-
ible resources ; and the construction of the
Pacific has endowed them with these advant-
ages. The regions situated to (he north of
Lake Superior are still little known, but tho
discovery of immense beds of copper at Sud-
bury and the great abundance of timber, have
already given rise to a commercial movement
suiUciently active to show that the pessimist
predictions of former years will not be real-
ized. They will evidently succeed in avail-
ing themselves of the advantages at their dis-
posal, and the directors of the Pacific are not
the men to leave undeveloped the resources
of a region which is tributary to their line
and from which they may derive important
benefit in tho future.

The comparison which I have instituted,
as to climate, batw<<en tho country traversed
by the Canadian Pacific and that of the
Southern Pacidc is still more applicable to
the agricultural and commercial prospects of
those regions. All those who, like myself,
have had an opportunity of crossing the con-
tinent by the American lines, can render
positive testimony in favor of the general as-
pect of our different provinces from the point
ot view of agriculture, of the development of
our mineral resources, of th'j lumber trade
and the inexhaustible fisheries of our Pacific
coast.

Taking Montreal and its general interests
as our point of departure, 1 do not believe
I need say much as to the advantages which
our city has derived from the construction of
the Pacific. Its geographic position at the
head of oceanic navigation quite naturally
indicated Montreal as the terminus of a trans-
continental Canadian line. The magnificent
net work of railways which encircles us and
converges at this point bring us already a con-
stant tribute which goes on augmenting with
all the commerce of the Northwest. Farther
on, I shall bave occasion to say a word of the
advantages that we shall obtain when the
Pacific railway shall have completed its con-
nections with the Atlantic and tho Pacific.
The Imperial Government has already per-
ceived the advantages which it may derive,
from the twofold standpoint of commerce and
strategic importance, from a Canadian trans-

col
thi
in(
tbi
tra
D(|

anj
nel
Sa(
larl

Wb|

set
ha{

futi
be

1 1

liries which
ntahabitable
dered an tbo
iH of North
! fac-ilitie8 of
id with the
r inexhaust-
tiou of the
lese ad7aDt>
ho north of
wa, but the
per at Sud-
imber, have
1 movement
le pessimist
Qot be real-
!ed in avail-
at their dis-
ci lie are not
e resources
> their line
) impartant

iustituted,
y traversed
lat of the
plicable to
srospects of
ilic myself,
ji)? the coQ-

aa render

general as-
the point

opment of
nber trade
)ur I'acitic

interests
lot believe
iges which
truction of
on at the
naturally
of a trans-
agniticent
es us and
ady a con-
tint; with
Farther
ord of the
vhen the

its COQ.

Pacific,
ady per-

derive,
erce and
Q traoq-

continental line, and it is well known tiiai
the autborities in England have been devot-
ing attention to that subjuct. Montreal must,
therefore, both as to interior and external
trade, profit more than any other city of the
Dominion by the construction of the Tacific.

It is also well known that the Qrand Trunk
and the Pacific, the one by its American con-
nections, t'je other by the construction of the
8ault iSte. Marie branch, must bring us a
large share of the export trade of the American
west. We have, accordinglj', in a local
sense, every reason to be satisfied with what
has been done and what is proaaisbd for the
future. On that point, indeed, there cannot
be two opinions.

In company with Mr. Olds, traffic manager
of the Pacific, Alderman Rainville. M.
Diivid, D. Sidey and Wra. Stevens, I left
Montreal on WtJnesday, December 1, during
a snow storm, to wake up next morning at
Pembroke when the temperature was ten de-
grees below zero. From the very start, we
were evidently destined to have two formid-
able enemies of the regular running of trains,
in the region north of Lake Superior. Let it
sufiice to tell you that we reached Winnipeg
only two hours late, that small delay having
occurred between Montreal and Ottawa. We
had therefore, travelled a distance of \,4'li
miles, with a temperature ranging from ten
to thirty-five below zero, and a vio-
lent snow storm, and yet, in spito of
of all that wc reached Winnipeg only two
hours behind the time announced. Those
who have made long journeys on the Ameri-
can lines will understand how surprising such
regularity was under such conditions. Reach-
ing Winnipeg at 11 o'clock in tbe forenoon,
we sot out half an hour later, reserving our
visit there for the return trip. Brandon,
Broadview, Regina, Moobejaw, Swift Current,
Medicine Hat and Calgary are the principal
points that attract the attention of the travel-
ler. These places have become in a few
years the centres ot immense agricultural
districts in the Canadian prairie region. A
hundred miles southwest from Duumore are
the famous Lethbridge coal i. Those

mines are connected with the I'acific by a
narrow guage line and are now in full oper-
ation. There are also new anthracite coal
mines near Banff, — a fact that makes up for
the lack of fire wood in the 900 miles of
prairie between Winnipeg and Canmore. It
is here worthy of remark that an enormous
difierence distinguishes our Canadian prairies

from the plains of the Western States, crossed
by the American lines everywhere in the
latter. As I have already said one encounters
veritable wastes of saiid— areas incultivable
and unproductive, where the thermometer,
during the hot season, attains a height un-
known with us. And thoHe sandy plains
stretch sometimes with hopeless monotony
for hundreds of miles through Utah, Wyo-
ming, Nevada and, in the South, through
Color''do, a part of Kansas, Arizona, and
New Mexico. Our prairies, on the contrary,
are everywhere of an extraordinary fertility,
whether for the cultivation of wheat and
other cereals, or the raising of cattle. The
superficies of arable lands is of immense ex-
tent and all along tbe Pacific route we find
evidences of a luxuriant vegetation. Water
which fails almost absolutely in tbe American
deserts is here within reach of the farmers
and cattle raisers. It is found cither in lakes
or in numerous rivers, coulees and creeks that
furrow the prairie or in wells at a depth com-
paratively insignificant. This, indeed, is so
evident that the great American cattle raisers
have been looking out in Canada for localities
where they can fatten their ca'tle and prepare
them for exportation.

But to return to my Journey and pernoual
experiences. Our first destination after leav-
ing Montreal was the famous Banff valley
between the gorges of the Rocky mountains.
I bad heard wonderful things of this district
still unknown to the travelling public but
certainly destined to win a universal reputa-
tion in a not distant future. By its pictu-
resque situation at the bottom of a gorge, en-
compassed by superb mountains and by its
famous sulphur springs which issue from
the earth at a temperature of 120 degrees,
Fahrenheit, Banfi' will soon be for Canada
what the famous hot springs of Arkansas are
to the United States. Ptiysioians attribute to
those springs curative properties which can-
not fail to attract invalids and delicate per-
sons from all parts of the world. The magni-
ficent landscapes that meet the eye on every
hand, the game which swarms in the adjoin-
ing mountains, and tbe fish abounding waters
of the Bow river will make it a favorite resort
for the sportsman, the artist and the lover of
the grand in nature. The Government have
already constructed fine roads from the Banfi'
station to where the waters issue forth, in an
atmosphere of sulphur, from the steep flank
of a mountain covered with clumps of
firs and sombre balsams. The Pacific com-

! ) pany are abuut to build a Krand hotel at the

! , bottom of the valley, at the foot of a roarinR

I caRcade. A poet could not have dreamed of

I a more enchantliif? hUo. Nature has d«)no

j ' overtldrg for UantT in the way of Bctdiery and

modern enterprise has only to add the comfort

I and luxury ncceHsary in our day, to make of

the locality a rival to (he most faniouw water-

[I inK placeB of Europe and America. Eisyof

[ I acceurt by the railway for tlie inhahitants of

I f the Atlantic and Pacific coaHtH, and nituatcd

I [ in proxiinit)) to the commercial centrcH of the

I great nei^hborin^^ prairie, the ri«in(^ city al-

I . ready oilers remarkable facilities tor cheap

living. I really believe that the first nuccH.

I saries of daily life — meat, bread and

I vegetables — may be purcliased there

j at prices C(.m parable wiili those of

the Toronto and Montreal markets, and the

[ cultivation of the lands fit for clearintc will

tend to ameliorate the situation. Two or

three temporary hotels liavo been built in

proximity to the springs, and physicians are

on the spot to attend to the patients, who are

already numerous. A Scotch artist, Mr.

Aitken, visited Banlf last summer and

sketched some scenes which are said to be of

ravishing beauty. I have no doubt of it

whatever, if the artist succeeded in seizing

one of those marvellous sunrises, which I

witnessed during my short sojourn in the

place. The station is situated in an obscure

corner at the b;)ltom of the valley, and in

I Decimber the sun does

o'clock in the morning.

not rise till nine
It is ten o'clock
have been able to

before his vi rifying rays
penetrate across the clumps of trees. It is
still dark among the great pines which shelter
the few primitive houses of the risiug village,
when all at once, and as if by
enchantment, without the ordinary transition
of the twilight of our longitudeiJ, the sur-
rounding peaks are in seeming ilame and the
crests, covered in perpetual snow, sparkle as
they light up in turn with the tardy r«ys o!
the winter sun. It vaguely recalls the great
tapers that are lit, one after the other, in the
sombre naves of cathedrals at the nocturnal
ceremonies of the Christian Passover. The
Bun descends slowly from the mountains,
lighting up the sombre clumps of thick set
cedars and stunted firs, crystallizing afar off
the waters of a torrent which bounds from
rock to rock to lose itself in the sinuosities of
a ravine, gilding on this side and on that the
marbled flanks of many colored granite of a
giddy precipice, and finally descending into

the valley to illuminate with all Its splendor
that (out ememhle so marvelou^ly picturesque
and sublime. One has to witn-ss these
changes and gaz ! entraiici'doii thos< ('-izzling
fairy scenes to gain an idea of them that is at
all adtquate. Kor me it woidd bo t-imply im-
poHHible to e.xpress their beauty in wordi-'.
The artists of the future have there a vast
field to cultivate, but one that demands
genius of the first order to reproduce, in all
their nature beauty, those fantastic lauds-
scapes.

Let no one set this down as false en-
thusiasm or till) ilreani of on exalted imagin-
ation. Ask Aid. Uainville, who has ttie
reputation of being fr(!e from th(^ exagger-
ations of enthusiasm, and he will tell you all
aboir. it. During our stay at iianlf we visited
the camp of a tribe of Stony Indians who had
raised their tents sorne hiindnd yards from
the station. The men hunted the liear, the
deer and the wild sheep and goat
which abound in the mountains, and the
women, while occupying themselves with
domestic duties, prepare the skins ot bears
and deer in a primitive manner. We were
told a good deal that was favorable concern-
ing those Indians, who are said to be honest,
industrious, and peaceful, which cannot be
said of all the savage tribes of the Northwest.
A present ot some pounds of toltacco to the
old chief, who was the only warrior present
in the camp at the time ot our visit, at once
won his good graces, and ho himself did us
the honors of all the wigwams of the tiibe.
Although the ground was covereci with snow,
and the temperature was rather cold than
tropical, the children, covered with a few
rngs, raced birefouted underneatli the trees,
while the mothers, squatting round the fire,
contemplated us witli an indifferent air. I
bought for a trifle a superb ramshead,
adorned with horns of enormous size.
It is said that these animals are of pro-
digious agility, bounding from rock to
rock, when pursued, and sometimes dropping
great heights on their horns which save them
from certain death. That, at least, is a hunt-
er's story which I give you for what it may
be worth, for I have never witnessed the feat
myself.

Having ppent five days at Banfl' and ex-
plored the environs for the pietureeque, we
started on Friday noon, by special train, so
as to be able to admire by day the passes by
which we were to cross the Rocky mountains.
A distance of niutty-stven miles separates

in »i

•o to the
present
tit once
did 118
10 tiilie.
(h SHOW,
>ld than
a IfW
16 treeH,
the fire,
It ftir. I
imshead,
size,
of pro-
rock to
roppins
ive them
H himt-
it may
the feat

and ex-
•que, we
train, eo
isses by
untaiiiH.
eparatcH

Banff from D'lnaM, where wo wtayed diiiinK !
the iiixht, c 'titinuiii^ next day our j ii(rni'\
thioiiKii the vall'-y i>f the Columbia river and
the Htill more (litlicult pa-<ri of the Selkiik
ran^e. Imint'dintely alier leaving lUtill" the
road iH iiivolved in idniio-'itie'', H;ip:ireiitl v
iii» xtrkable, of KoryeH atid iire( IpiceK
whicli follow ihe conr^o of the
15, )W rivtr, wiiich we vmcn and recrc ss |
nuny tiims. We ascend fillowinur an
aeclivity ninri or less rapjil h' cordiiifi to the
nereshiliert of the ^^ronnd. Two powertnl
locomutivec, whie!i drag ih kImwIv alonjr, bt ,
ns iiear at u'lznlir in'.i rvalH tln'ir eadenre I
H'ioit;iit;< wiiiih mak»t m conipr ■hend the
enoiiniiH f )r('e <d traeiidii neces'Siry to over-
(iitno the diliiciiltien whieii ninltiply at every j
liirn. (Jliii;fiii>i at lim-H to the Imttre^Hes I
and fifstle work of a viadir.'l of ^'iddy heij^ht j
that Hpaiis a torrtttit roarii!^ three hiimlred
feet below the tiain, hns|)eiitkd on the lluik
of a mountain and overhnni? by rocks that'
threaten nn by their enorniunx proportion,--
and lanta'-tic shipes, then foliovvint; to tlie
bottom of a vale, tlio traii(pnlli/,ed waterc
of a river that Keems to rest a moment in the
Kilence of an Arcadian t-cene, to risipneKiin
after its tumnltnous course over roi k^ and
precipices, it Kcems as thongh we were I
dreaming with otir eyes open. We '
see again in fantastic reality tho-^e
l!iiidHca[)e8 which Dure delighted to in-
vent, and which bin extrai rdinnry ima'^'in-
ation revealed to him without the aid of fa "t.
KoiesfH of pine, cedar and spruce cover everv-
wlii re the 11 inks of the niuunlains, and one
c;itcheK a ulimpso now and then of clear ,
Kjiaces that run clear (lom the summit to ^tie
depths of Ihe valley. Thefe are the KUites
traced by the avalancliert that sweep all be-
f'.'re them in their teriibly destniLtive descent. I
On both sides of the road liso innumerable !
peaks that take the most diverse shapes ; old
cistlesof the middle oges perchctd likeaeries on
inaccessible heights, rocks of proportions as
regular as the pyramids of Kgypt, obelisks ol
many-colored granite, sta'rs carved by nature
as if tor giantn.

And all this in view of the traveller, who, ;
seated in his parlor car, asks himself what
energv, intelligence, perseverance were needed
to corj<iuer all those obstacles that nature
had placed in the way of this Pacilic I
railway which now connects the two
oceans. We keep on ascending slowly,
traversing tunnels, snowsbeds and viaducts
of all forms and sizes. We pass Castle

Mountain, Silver City, hJulen, Ltggan, Sce-
plo'i), ir ctor an<l l''ield, when* we ^-top a few
moments to empty a cup of champagne to
the health ol the president of the company.
Sir George Stephen, in honor ot whom the
(tnlrninatiiig p'int of the II icky mMintains
li'i.s breu named — Monnt Stephen Field Is
situiteil at the foot of that cebbrated peak
wliu h I'ommands thti surrounding mountains,
with its snow coveied crest. It is one of the
most pi("urt'S(iiie spipts on the route, and the
comoany bus there built a hotel as eiegmtlyr
fiiridsheii within as its outer propoitioiH are
a tra- live, and adap'ed to its surroniidings.
We are hi-m on tlit; hiimmit of thti 11 >cky
inouni'iins, and we remark that the waN rs of
IJiNir creek now 11 )W westwar<l to mingle with
tlioxo of th*' Colurnliii whi^h drains the bisjn
formed b.-tween the Uockiep and the Selkirks
to ca>t itself failher south into tlm I'acilic
ocean after cros-ing Washitigton Territfuy.

The descent is ma lo under the same con-
diti>ns of security and with the same variety
ofs(cneiy. It is a veritihie panorama. The
(laikii»!ss which comes o<) suddenly, without
twili^;ht, in the deep valleys that we tra-
versed, surprises us Pefore reaching D >nald,
where we pass the niirht. Next day wo begin
the accent (t the Selkirk rutgi. I) )na!d is
an important cen'.re,whi^h has nitherto drawn
its resources from the iin m-n-'e woiks of con-
struction nec'Hsitated t>y the passage »)f the
roal acr'jss the neiahb trinn m iiititains The
val'ey of tht) Culiimbii, whicfi is said to be
lertilo and lit for cultiva'iin, will pay its
tribute of commuice as soon as there are
settlers in RUtlieit'nt number to develop its
agiicultural resourioi. Next day, at 'J
o'ci'K k, after having visited the rising town,
we get aboard agiiii to (limb m-w mountains
and to aduiire new scenes. We still follow
the course of the little Beaver river which
winds at tlie bottom of riivineH, flowing from
wes; to east to discharge itself into the Colum-
liia. We pa«s, hut withoiit stopping, Six-
mile Creek, 15 -ar creek, iloger's pass, and ar-
rive at the Glacier hotel, where the train
stays for twenty minutes to allow passengers
to have dinner. Lotus say here, e/i y>rt»sa/i/,
that the service of meals, whethei in the
dining cans or in the hotels and refreshment
rooms, is cofiducted to peifeciion over the
whole course of the railway. Everywhere one
(lines as well a< he could do at Montreal or
Toronto. The sleeping cars are dazzingly
luxurious, and the first and second
class cars all that could be de-

Hired ia the way of comfort. 'Viio second
claHH carM are built and furniHhed
BO aH to permit paHHenKurH to HJuep at night.
We leave the carH for a few momentH at
Glacier to viriit the hotel and reHtaiirant, and
now we reMtirae the I'escent of the Selkirkti to
attain the level of the Pacitiu ocean only at
Port Moody. I forgot to Htate that we parsed
the culminatinK point of the Selkirk^ at Six
Mile creek. We were then about to croHstbe
place where the engineern had encountered
the greatest ditlicult'.eri. It was necesdary to
make a descent of (lOO feet in a en ''He of two
and a half miles- liy a 8'3ries ol irns, re-
turns and /.ig/.'igH, by a Hystem < viadMcts
and gentle iucliuatious along the tltnk of the
mountain we prolong the distance to six
and a half miles to reach U )ss peak,
600 feet lower down. Over the whole
of this length of six and a half miles,
one can perceive the road directly above or
directly below the moving train, as it crosses
and intercrosses in a labyrinth of trestle
work marvellous to contemplate and dillicult
to realize for one who is not an engineer. At
one point in particular, the road, bendmg
back on itself, is only apart from point to
point a horizontal ditVtireuce of 120 feet,
whilst the dilTerence in level is 120 feet in
height. This tour de force of engineering
must be closely examined, in its details, to
enable a person to form a correct notion of it.
We again and iioally remark that the tor-
rents and rivers ilow towards the Pacific, and
we commence to follow, in all its winding
capric s the course of the Illecillewait. It is
a curioua but rather euphonious name
of Indian origin. We reach the Albert
canyon, one of the most remarkable
localities, I think, on the whole route. Here
the Illecillewait flows through the bottom of a
ravine cut out of the living lock at a depth
of from 150 to 200 feet. It seems almost im-
possible that the water should have hollowed
out a course tor itself in such a place,and the
opinion of engineers is that the river follows
a fissure produced in the rock by an earth-
quake. However that may be, the scene is
sublime and impressive. The iron road fol-
lows the flank of the mountain and one hears,
without always being able to see it, the tor-
rent roaring in its granite bed. Mingling with
the noise of the slowly moving train, with the
shrill whistles of the prudently guided locomo-
tive, it forms a music not out of concert with
the wild and fantastic scene that surrounds us.
Somewhat further on, at Eagle Pass and

Craigellachie, we get alongHide a series of
fldh and game abounding lakes which ex-
tend all the way to K<im loops. I forgot to
mention that, after leaving Laggan and be-
fore arriving at Motint Stephen, we And our-
selves in Kritish Columbia, and that the
region through which we pans is as yet
almost destitute of cultivation and is in-
habited mainly by the employees of the line.
Kiraloops is the centre of a pretty extensive
region almost entirely devoted to the raising
of cattle, and a little further west we pass
Spence's Bridge, which has hitherto been
the centre of wperations to the colonists of
the fertile valley of the Nicolai. From
Spence's bridge to Lytton, the country has
the same aspect, but at this point we enter
the valley of the FraHer, to which we keep
till we reach New Westminster and Port
Moody. From North Bend and Yale, which
is situated at the head ot navigation, the
valley of the Fraser forms one of the most
attractive portions of the Pacific route.
The waters of the river furnish for
the export trade a salmon of su-
perior quality locally known by the
specific name of the Fraser salmon. All
along the valley we meet with fishermen's
cabins and traces of a coloni/.ition compar-
atively ancient, when it is recalled that the
country has only been oc:;upted and inhabit-
ed by whites for about forty y.^ars. Yale is a
city of about 3,000 inhabit»uts and forms
with Hope and New Westminster the three
most considerable centres of that part of
Brirish Columbia which is on the inainlnnd.
We follow the windings of the north side of
the Fraser, from which we can see on the op-
posite bank the colonization road constructed
by the provincial Government. This road,
which stretches amont la cote, as our friendi
in Quebec would say, appears to ua like a
grey ribbon on the verdant flank of the
mountain chain that follows the river to the
ocean. I must confess that for people
dwelling in a level country, that road seems
somewhat risky for two vehicles meeting, for
instance, or for the rider or driver of a restive
horse. The weather which had hitherto
been splendid, now became gradually
overcast and we reached the station
at Port Moody in the midst of
a severe rainstorm. We learned that
in this place, so favored by nature, it
bad been raining for seventeen days in suc-
cession. This Is their winter weather, for,
I while we have snow and frost, they have a

Herieii of
bicb ex-
brgot to

and be-
ll u(l onr-
tbat tbe
as yet
(1 is in-

the line.
ixtenHive
le raising
; we pass
irto been
onistfl of
From
intry has
we eater
we lieep
lud Fort
le, which
lion, the
the moat
ic route,
aish far
of 8U-

by the
loo. All
ibermen' s
1 compar-
1 that the
inbabit-
Yalo is a
id forms
le three
part of
lainlnnd.
tb Hide of
tbe op-
nstruct'-d
bis road,
frieadi
us lilie a
of tbe
rer to tbe
people
lad seems
eting, for
a restive
hitherto
gradually
station
lidst of
led that
,ture, it
s Id 8UC-
iher, for,
have a

persiHtency of rain. We get aboard a steamer
that is to take us to Victoria, touching by
the way at the rising city of Vancouver.
I'wrt Bloody and Vancouver have for some
time bcou contesting before the courts the
quoHtion of the i'acitic terminus and the vic-
tory has been won by Vancouver. This re-
sult has given universal satisfaction, with
the exception, of course, of the speculator-'
who had got hold of tiie lands adjtcent to
the station at Port Moody.

In a driving rain we stop over for an hour
at Vancouver, where wo are received with
the utmost cordiality by tbe municipal au-
thorities. But in such weather it was im-
possible to pay a visit to the town. We
thereiore deferred it until our return. We
follow tbe arm of tbe sea that separates Van-
couver Island from the mainlaud, and, hav-
ing made the passage in eight hours, we
reach Victoria in magnificent weather at lO.LtO
at night. The mayor, the chairman of the
Board of Trade and several other citizens of
influence awaited us on the wharf, where tliey
gave us a hearty welcome and conducted us
to the Driard hotel. This establisbment,
kept by a Frenchman, has the reputation of
keeping one of the best tables in America,
and I am glad to be able to add my testi-
mony in confirmation of the general opinion
Never did I enjoy bolter meals in my lifd
than at the sumptuous tables of the Driard,
and in this judgment I am joined by all my
travelling companions. On tbe following
morning, Monday, December 13, we awake
to find the weather still superb, tbe tem-
perature being that of a fine May day
at Montreal. An hour's walk before break-
fast enables us to visit tbe harbor, and the
points of greatest interest in the centre of the
city, which is admirably situated in the recess
of a bay in the strait of Fuca. Here for the
first time we encounter a veritable Chinese
colony, forming nearly a third of the 12,000
wbicli constitute the present population of
the city. These ChineBe have stores and
shops of all kinds, a temple and a theatre, and
one meets them at every step in the streets of
the capital. They make skilful gardeners,
good servants, capital fishermen, and they
are also employed in large numbers as navvies
and trackmen by the Pacific Railway com-
pany.

Immediately after breakfast. Mayor Fell,
accompanied by two members of tbe local
Parliament, places himself at our disposal
and we accept bis invitation tu visit the

public edifices, the arsenal and U^qiils^ault
dry dock. Our tour is delightful, tbe euvirona
of tbe city being simply charming. Tbe
harbor proper is situitted at some miles from
the city and furnishes an ample and secure
haven for the greatest ocean steamships and
other vessels. As yoti are aware, the arsenal
at Ll-^iiuimault is the point of supply for the
British rquadrou on the Pacific and at
Victoria there are always some British men-
of-war. We pass the (iay in paying ollicial
visits to Lieutenant-Governor Cornwall, the
premier, the Hon. Mr. Smythe, and Mr. llig-
gins, M P. At the house of the latter gentle*
man we partake of a delicious luncheon and
enjoy the pleakure of seeing his rose trees in
full bloom in the open air of mid-December.
In the evening we attend an otiicial dinner at
which tbe m^iyor presides and where we hear
speeches suitable to tbe occasion from Mr.
Smythe and others. We cannot repeat too
often that at Victoria we were received
with the most cordial courtesy. Everywhere
we met persons who entertained the most
friendly sentiments towards their fellow-
countrymen of Montreal and their com-
patriots of the other provinces of tbe Domin-
ion. It was at 2 o'clock in the morning that
we bade adieu and aii revoir to our old friends
of a day, and set out on our return journey to
tbe province of <4ucbec. We reached Van-
couver at [) o'clock in the morning, and pro-
fited by the fine weather to visit the princi-
pal points of interest at the new Pacific
terminus. Vancouver is admirably situ-
attd in English bay, and notwithstanding
the terrible fire that reduced it to ashes
in June 'ast, everything to-day has the ap-
pearance of energy, intelligence and that
rapidity of execution which characterizes all
the enterprises of the Pacific company.
Having been delayed by tbe fog for more
than an hour we landeit at Port Moody near
noon only to learn that a bridge bad been
carried away by a torrent and that our
special car, the Metapedia, could not start
for the Eist that day. We profited bv the
delay to betake ourselves to New West-
minister, a pretty little town of 4,000 in-
habitants, about six miles from Port Moody,
and situated on tbe banks of the Eraser.
The lumber trade and salmon fisheries
are the principal industries of tliis
town, one of the oldest in the province. Our
friends at Montreal will doubtless be aston-
ished to bear that the Royal City Lumber and
Planing Mill company of New Westminster is

a competitor for the cedar and fir lumbor
trade in our own market, notwithstanding
the enormous distftnco of U.OOO miles and the
necessarily hi^^h freight charj^oB. This in no
mere dream of the future, but au eBtiiblished
fact. Permit me here, »y way of parenthe.-is,
as to the industrial, ajiricultural and com-
mercial resourccK of British Columl)ia. With
an area of 341,;{05 square miles, a coast stud-
cd with barbers capsAble of HheUeriiif? the
greatest fleets of tlio world, and stretching
for a distance of GOO miles along the Pacific
ocean ; with a splendid climate which is
comparatively tim[)erate, even in the mount-
ainous regions, C.)lumbia otVers a ikw atd
vast field for colonization. I say new ad-
visedly, for this immense region has n(>t at
j)reseni a population of more than 50,000. lis
natural wealth consists in its mines of gold,
copper, silver and cohI, already in the course
of exploitation ; in its tVrtile valleys, render-
ed easy of acess by the cfinstruction of the
Pacific railway, adapUd both for cultivation
and cattle raising. Its fruits, apples and
pears especially are cultivated, with success
and pr( litab'y exported. As ytt manufact-
ures are in an emiiryo condition, but the
water powers, which exist everywhere, only
await the ham} of enterpriye and capital to be
a souice of pros{crity. Such are, in brief,
the general resources of Biitish Columbia, as
yet so little linown to tiie easdrn pruviuces.
Besides what I have mentioned, there is the
iin|)ortant fact that the admission of Biiiisb
Columbia into our Confederiition haf' permitted
the jiiiRtiou by the transcontinental raii.vay,
of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the
creation of a new route to Jatian, Chiufi,
India atd the Australian colonies. Thets-
tablishuietit of a direct lino of steamers be-
tween Vancouver, Yokohama and II. /ng-
K' ng, is now only atjiiestiou ota few months
time, and already even the Canadian Pacific
has entered into competition with the Ameri-
can lines by transporting numerous cargoes
of tea destined for Montreal, New Y'ork and
London. The construction of steamer?, of
unusual rapidity, for the service between
Montreal and Liverpool in summer, and Hali-
fax and Liverpool, in winter,ha3 also been de-
cided on, and, on the completion of t!ie ar-
rangement, it is expected that the continent
can be crossed from ocec.x to ocean in five
days. These various improvements will en-
able us to attract to our Canadian Pacific n
gtoat share of the traffic now carried on be-
tweeu England and her culouiea iu Atiia and

Ocoanica by way of the Suez canal. I have
also been informed that the Pacific railway
CO., intends to compete for the transport of
the mails between London, Auckland, Mel-
bourne, Sydney and Adelaide, and ttius to
try and obtain some share of the enormous
subsidies paid by the Imperial and colonial
governments for that important service. I
have already called attention to the strategic
importance of our Pacific route to
England which has already begun the arming
and revictualliiig ofherPjcific fleet by way
of Qiiet)ec and Vancouver.

Let me now say a word or two as to the
immense progress that we have made in rail-
way criusl ruction during the last ten years.
In 187(; Canada possessed T), 157 miles of rail-
way ill operation, valued at $cii7,7!>5,-lGH,
transporting 5 544,814 passengers and (j :',M,-
757 tons of fie'glit. Well those figures have
more than doubled in ten years. According
to the < Ifif'- poits, there were in Canada
in 1885 ■ 24 5 liiles of railroad in operation,
represey ... i- ■ id up capital of Se^iJ, 172, 145,
transporting inually 0,(j85,:j04 passengers
and 14,071 :i tons ot freight. The extra-
ordinary a iL'ntafion indicated by these
sta'isticsue -i no comment. Itisofachar-
ater to arouse in all Canadians, of whatever
origin, a le^itmate feeling of pride.

I have now only to speak briefly of
my return trip, and to bring this narrative to
a close. As you aie aware, it is the Goveru-
Hient that built the p-rtion of the road be-
tween Port Moody and S.ivo:ia's Ferry, a
disttiuce of 213 miles. As usual, iu public un-
dertakings the work was performed carelessly
and the company was put to great expen.se to
give the road the neccessary security iu a
ruciuntainous region where the diffieulties of
construction were great and numerous. It
was, t.)r instance, one of the Government
built bridges that the torrent had carried away
and whose removal ciused us the delay
alrtady mentioned, with the compensating
visit to New Westminster. Starting on
Thursd ly, December 10, we reached Winni-
peg at ten minutes past five on Sunday even-
ing, the precise time marked on the railway
time tabIe^!. At llegina, we had the pleasure
of melting an old friend, Mr. Amedee Forget,
clerk of the the Northwest council. It is
not ray purpose to give you any description
of Winnipeg. That flourishing city you all
know as well as I do, if not by actual ex-
perience of a visit, at least, by what you have
read of its progress in the j jurnuls and else-

I hiivo
railway
port of
J, Mel-

tllUB to
lOlUlOUH

coloiiial
.fico. I
trategic
Lit« to
arming
by way

s to the
J ill rail-
n yoav8.
J ol rail-

71>5,4G8,

i G :j;n,-

ufS liavo
ccordiiig
. Canada
peration,
172,1 Ifj,
essengers
lie t'Xtra-
jy tlioso
)fa thar-
Iwhatcvcr

wlitML'. Scaicfly tittetu years ngo, tlie site}
now uccnpied by the capital of Mmiltoba was
but a va-t pruiiif — th^ only olj-ct of in- j
leitst in whicli wasFoitOmy luundt*! by-
the Hud^^ou^s Bay coni[)tiiy in 18 Ki, ^
lor the trailt' with the Indiai s Today it is
a (.itv of 25,000 inhabitunii*. with imposing |
public buiblingH, cburciifH, collc^ies, Hch'.ois, !
liONpitaN, aij(l the inicliii try of niddern j
Uiunicipai afiniinistratiiio. liy itH getigraphi- '
tal .siiujitioii ill (hf 01 ntrc of the contimnt, |
in tlie uiitist of the feitile praiii'S of the
Northwest, Winnipfg is (Ifstintd to oci.n[)y j
ere loi g the same |)ositiiiii in t^io U. miuion '
that Cliictigo has in the United Stat- s,

We were leeeived with the U'luost eourte-y ,
by the Uiunicipal authoiilies who pbiCMl;
tbeai>elve8 at our disjiosal atid iti their kind- |
Iv chaige we vi-ited all the leading points of
intereht. A dinner at the Manitoba elub, on
the evening of our arrival and an ( Ificial
lui.clieon t!ie rxxtday fl^tlI^hed the pleasure
(d lueetiug and payir'g oin lespects to the
Hon. Mr. Norqnav, the premier, tlie Hon
Senator Girard, the Hon. Mr. H orison, tiie
Hon. Joseph lloyal, a number (if luemben, the
etit-going ma\oi', Mr. Westbronk, and his
successor, Mr. Jenes, Mr. W^hyte, 8ui)erin-
tendeijt geneial of the Pacific lailway, stveral
ald< rmen, tuerchants, bankers and mannfact-
urerH.

I de.-<ire, in my own name and the names
of all my comj.iffnons de voyage to return
(hanks, here in public, tor the sympathetic
ittentnms of oui compatriots of the western
proviiios. They did everything in their
power to make our sej .urn with them as
pleasant and as pn litable as we could desire,
tiy accompanying ns to points of in erest and
by fully answering our erquiries touchinir
every hubject of importance as to which we
•^(.•iigtit information.

Leaving Winnipeg on Monday, December
20, at six o'cl<i:,'k in the eveidng, we were
b'ick in Montreal on the Thursday t<dlowiiig,
vj'hout tieintr sul j oted to a moment's delay,
md thus fompleted one of the most delight-
I'lil and inteie-tiog j mrneys tluit could be
made in any part of the world, liaTing ex-
perienced thiougliont the most perfict comfort
md sccuiit). If I biive awelt on these feat-
ures of Canadian racilic travel, it is liecauso
I would like to iniluce iliose of mv compatri-
ots who have not yet visited the Northwest,
fo do so, if po.'silil'i. A- I Jiavealrtady said
of myself, they will return with add d con-
tidence in the future of Caiiada and a broad-
ening aiid detpening of that pride in our great
I'ommon ciuntr) which is our best bond of
union and the most quickening stimulus to
our prosperity as a people.