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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. errata J to e pelure, ;on ci D 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 ♦ : • 6 ^T j i MAP OF THE SOUTH-WEST PORTION 01 lonj^tude "West 89° ftw Viym»a &. S o n* . U iko _1 ST PORTION OF THE PROVINCEOF MANITOBA Longitude 'West 89° fbom. Greenwich. I 'I Gf QiMan S« London.W.C Manitoba I ^AlyIn•A JLoont. Uiiio G^Qu««D S« Lo&dlon.W.C .SV\ AS^?? M MANITOBA DESCRIBED: llnd.Res. ^-9? i!i:is(. A .sl:k[i:s of gl:xei;.\l observations ii'ijN rule Farniin^^, CliinxtCy Spjrt, Natural History, and Future Prospects of the Country. nv ROBERT MILLER ClIRLSTV. WITH MAPS. LONDON : WYMAN & SONS, 74-76, GREAT QUEEN STREET, i.i\(Oi-N\s-iN'x rir.i.ns. 1SS5. / k S^ Loxulon.W.C I' "There is, indeed, scarcely a I'ritish Colony, or a State of the Union, which has not an agency in this country engaged in distributing the most glowing accounts of the unrivalled riches, above ground and beneath, which are waiting to be picked up in their respective territories. And I am far from spying that many of the documents so circulated are not carefully prepared, and their contents, to a great extent, justified by the facts. But they are not what is needed. Not one of them, that ever I saw, tells a youngster how he will be housed and fed, what wages he may hope to earn, what sort of company he will be thrown amongst." — Tiihmas IIic.iies. I 1 r it nil upon more arc a it ni; modi value( it nov will n: Fui the re My Canac kindl> which Chi PREFACE, i tate of the listributing ijiound and respective icuments so to a j;reat ded. Not be housed nipany he IN launching this, niv little hark, upon the iruuhled sen of Literature, 1 have only to express one hope : that it may escape those perils of shipwreck and collision which, upon waters so crowded with crafts bearing larger and more valuable cargoes of intellectual goods of every kind, are always imminent ; and that, in the course of its voyages, it may ultimately reach many havens where the com- modities with which it is laden will be welcomed and valued. The good name of the firm under whose auspices it now first sets sail is at least one guarantee that this hoj e will meet with fulfilment. I'or an explanation of the scope and object of the work the reader is referred to the Introduction. My warmest thanks are due to Sir Charles Tupper, the Canadian High Commissioner in London, who has most kindly supplied the very excellent map of the Dominion which accompanies this work. R. M. C. Chelmsford, January 15, 1S85. CONTENTS. ■«o» iMkUDLcilU.V. Unc-si(lc(l nature of ntcrc journey out CHAl'IKR I. (^KNKRAL OnsKKVAT.ONS ON tHK PHV.ICAL AX,> o,„EK IKATURKS or MANITOIJA. ^'nam^'-n,''' ^"""^'^'••'■■N "i'^e. n.ul posilion-OnViu „f ,J,, 4nd 1 Uk tV'"'''"' ^' '". '''^- ^''^^"'-' ^f fJ'^' North-uVs -!^T1,, krtility of the soil-Muctuatiuns in the water-level /"s ON CHAPTER 11. 'J III-; ACJICN OF I'KAIKIK FIRLs IN THk NOR IH-WKSJ-. CANADIAN ilestroved hv fl,^,r,_n.i,«.. .7 , ' , V^'" Hie l)]ufl.s arc destroyed by them-Other damage done by ihcm /''.. 2U VI MANITOr.A DESCRir.ED. CHAPTER III. OBSERVATIONS ON THE CLIMATE OF MANITODA. The r'anadian winter — Its severity in the North-west — Professor Tanner and the Mark Lane Express — The climate of Manitoba — American stoves— Precautions against the winter — Snowdrifts on the prairies — Blizzards — Summer-time — Thunderstorms — The mirage — The Indian summer page 49 4 oi \\\x\ CHAPTER IV. FAR.MIXG IX MANITOBA. The advantages and disadvantages of prairie-farming — Breaking — Backsetting — Sowing — The various crops grown in Manitoba — Potatoes — Barley — Oats — Wheat — Self-binding reapers — Yield of wheat per acre, and cost of cultivation — The season of 1883 — Fencing materials — Particulars as to the horses, cattle, sheep, wagons, ^:c., used in Manitoba — Red River carts — " Spear-grass" — Bell l-'arm — Locusts- -The Provincial Depart- ment of Agriculture — Fruit and tree culture on the prairies, /^^f 63 lir CHAPTER V. HINTS I"OR I'HOSE WHO CONTEMPLATE EMIORATINC. ^Vho should emigrate and who should not — State-aided emigra- tion — Amount of capital required — How and when to go to Manitoba — Labour, wages, and prices — How to obtain land-- What to take and wha; not — Amount of cultivated land in the Province ... ... ... ... ... pai;c (lO CHAPTER VI. SETTLERS IN MANITOBA : THE SOCIAL AND i'OLITICAL CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THEY LIVE. The kind of settlers now in Manitoba — Their intellectual con- ditions, nationalities, and religions — The Mennonites — The tribes of Indians — The settler's shanty — A "raising bee" — Plducational and Church acconnnodation — The mode of survey — Money values — Weights aud measures — The postal service — Prairie .oads — How settlers live — The Liquor Laws — The coal-sui)ply — Manitoban newspapers — Canadian politics — JU teh'ra poi^v 1 1 \ CON'TrXTS. VII DDA, jfeshor nitoba tvdrifts )rins — 49 ;aking litoba )ers — son of :attle, irts — fipart- OK AMKKICAN KMIAVAVS ,X ,;„xkKa,.. ling conveniences ^^^^^^"-Tl.c Western plains-Travel- ••• A'^i"'-' 127 CHAPTER VIII. THE -nOOM" AX„ ITS KVIL kfFKCTS. Xature of the boom— Depression in i.o,?. ti Carbeny ... H'ression in trade -The town of ••• /''y:;r 146 TIXC. ligra- [o to nd- n the CHAPTl'R IX. I'ili; CrjA 01 DRAXDOX Brandon: its rapid rr,owth, it.s .siiuat farms near the citv ion. an<l its in-o,pccts --I.rxrrrL. •• /'(v" 151 niCAL con- The rvey :e — Tlic oj^c U\ CHAPIKR X. PORTAGE-LA-PRAIRIL AND THE PROVINCIAL AGRICULTUR M EXHIBITIOX FOR 1883. The Provincial Agricultural Kxhibition-The evhibits PnrH ia-I'rairie — Pecii Tifif^c ,.r ti „ . ^"i- c.\uious — i or trifle An Indian buHal-grolmd .. .'"''" ""^^ nei.hbo„H....L nei<^hbourhoo("l— /'rj,y 156 VI 11 MANITOBA DESCRIBED. CHAPTER Xr. THI:: CITY OF WINNIPEG. The mud in the streets — The history of Winnipeg— Its buildings —Scientific society of Manitoba — Ogilvie's mill — Old Fort Garry — The Red River rebellion fagc 164 CHAPTER Xn. DISCONTENT AMONG SETTLERS. Its probable causes — Land speculation paoc 174 CHAPTER Xni. SPORT AXn NATURAL HISTORY IN MANITOIJA. The Canadian idea of sport — Abundance of winged game — The Ciamc Laws — Big game — Death of a bear- -Prairie chickens — The Arctic army of wild fowl — Hares — Musk-rats — Wolves — Skunks — Mosquitoes — Fireflies ... ... ... .., fai^e 177 CHAPTER XR'. IS THE Hudson's bay route feasible? Hudson's Bay — Early navigation of the bay — Its harbours — Im- portance of the route to the North-west — Hudson's Strait — Its navigation — Archangel — Likelihood of the route proving feasible — Country around the Bay page 1S5 CHAPTER XV. the journey ho.me. Winnipeg to Port Arthur — Dense forests — Rocks and lakes — The Lake of the Woods — Rat Portage— Keewat in — Destruction of forests by fire — Port Arthur — Home again ... ... /(T^v 203 I dings Fort fagc 164 MANITOBA DESCRIBED. INTRODUCTION. page 174 DA. —The cens— A'CS — pai^e 177 -Im- Irait — roving page 1S5 -The lou of page 203 IN laying this little book licfore my indulgent readers, I cannot claim, as many authors arc able to do, that there is any dearth of literature upon the subject of which it treats. On the contrary, this country has, for some time past, been inunda<"ed by a surprising number of books, pamphlets, newspapers, and maps, all professing to give a true and correct account of }.Fanitol)a, and of the prospects of those who emigrate thither. Ikit every one will be agreed that there is literature and literature ; and, seeing that by far the larger ])ortion of the printed matter, which has been circulated so lavishly by the Dominion Government and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, has emanated from parties having a more or less direct and personal interest in persuading as large a number of persons as possible to proceed to Manitoba, for one purpose or another, it is plain that it must not be relied on imjilicitly, unless supported by a considerable amount of independent testimony. Nov,', I do not for one moment wish to say that there are any statements in these pamphlets which are deliberate falsehoods ; but every one who has been persuaded by them to emigrate will know that those who put forward these glowing descriptions are apt to speak enthusiastically of the advantages of the new country, whilst its disadv'antages are kept so completely in the back- ground, and are passed over with such scanty notice, that the simple-hearted emigrant is in danger of falling into the belief that he has only to proceed to the country in question in order to reach a Utopian land where his B MAN ITODA I)I:SCRI VAA). troubles will be for ever ended. For instance, in all the ])anii)hlets that have been issued conccrninii; Manitoba, I have been unable to find, afier a brief search, that the mean winter temperature is anywhere straiL;htfor\vardly stated, though figures are given from which tliis may be ascertained. There is, however, j)]enty of information as to the delights of the summer season. That these pam- phlets should endeavour to jjut the best side outermost is only natural ; but I know well, from personal experience, how old IVIanitoban settlers desi)ise such literature as that I speak of; and many a time have I heard them a])[)ly epithets to it which I should not care to repeat here. They know well enough that the very best of new countries present some hardshij)s that must be contended against. So far as I am aware, almost the only independent and detailed evidence as to the good or bad prosjjccts of the Manitoban settler, coming direct from an entirely dis- interested person who has seen the country as an emigrant sees it, is that contained in a small work by " A Retired Oflicer,"' and entitled " A Year in Manitoba." With the author of this little volume I see no reason to (juarrel, but maintain, nevertheless, that his book is now to a large extent out of date, having been written during i8Si (now more than three years sini:e), at a time when Winnipeg was only able to boast some 8,000 inhabitants, and our author, by his own confession, had not been further west than his own residence at Headingley, thirteen mi'es from the capital. Moreover, at that time the railway extended but a few miles to the west of the city. Now, Winnipeg is a place with 30,000 inhabitants ; a complete line of railway has been pushed over a thousand miles to the westward, having its present terminus among the Rocky Mountains ; six other lines of railway also run into the city ; towns and villages have sprung up in every direction throughout the province ; and it is not too much to say that the country has itself been made within these last three years — that in that time it has changed more, and made greater progress, than any agricultural iiart of England usually does in three times thirty. For these reasons I venture to think that a completely independent account of how the country and its prospects INTRODUCTIOX. las I api^carod to me during a recent visit will not be altogether unacceptable. In the llrst place, let me most clearly and distinctly state that my evidence is absolutely without bias, either one way or the other. I liave not one single cent invested in Manitol)a, nor any other reasons v/hatso- cver likely to induce m.e to represent things there ollierwise than as they really are. I paid my own i)assage out ; went how, when, and where I i)leased ; and, indeed, held no intercourse with interested otlicials until three days before leaving. I was especially careful to gain my information direct from genuine settlers ; ami, in the course of journeys from place to place, undertaken with other objects in view, I stopped at their liouses, ate at their tables, saw them at work, and generally mixed witli them a great deal. I did not de])end upon the railway for my ideas of the country, as do numberless ])ersons who, coming as they say to inspect it, rush westward to the Rocky Mountains, after- wards v.-riting newspai)er articles which provoke the scorn of the hard-working settlers. The last thing I did before leaving tlie country was to make an extensive expedition northward towards I''ort Eliice, in order to see something of the more thinly-settled portions of the country. There- fore, whatever my readers may think of the use I have made of my opportunities, I must ask them to admit that no better means could ha\'e been taken to ascertain the truth. If I have si)oken enthusiastically, I have only done so after personal investigation and inquiry ; and I have not in the slightest de'^ee endeavoured to conceal certain serious drawbacks which I found. Once for all, I wish here to acknowledge the great hospitality which I received at the hands of many English gentlemen and others who, whilst on my journeys and at other times, treated me as they would have done an old ac{[uaintance. Undoubtedly, in young countries like Manitoba, hospitality is dispiMised with a more liberal hand than in older ones. I met with innumerable acts of kindness, which I should never have expected at home ; or, expecting, should certainly not have received. To my friends, Messrs. Arthur S. Thomjjson and E. E. T. Seton, of Carberry, my thanks are especially due. I must ask those of my readers who find the minute B 2 A!ANITOBA DESCRIliin. details, into which I have entered in some parts of :ny subject, to be irksome, to remember that they are inserted for the benefit of those who would most desire such pointed information. Finally, let me repeat that this book is not written with the object of " cracking-uj)" the country of which it treats, nor for the purpose of persuading any persons to emigrate thither; but, having gone to that country before the wheat was in ear, and remained till the harvest was got in, and winter had laid its grasp upon the soil, and having, during that time, been much interested in all that was to be seen, I made it an object to intiuire into everything concerning the present state and future prospects of the country, with results which are embodied in the following chapters. Although I do not pretend that this book is the only one which an intending emigrant to Manitoba need consult, I have in it endeavoured to give just such an unbiassed account of what I saw and thought as 1 should like to have before me for my guidance were 1 a young i)erson in doubt as to the advisability of emigrating to that country ; and I can honestly ask my readers to accept tlje following state- ments exactly as they would the testimony of one of their own ])crsonal friends whom they had sent out to report impartially on the present state of Manitoba. I left Liverpool for New York by the Inman Line steamer City of Chester on July 5, 1883, and duly arrived at the latter place on the morning of the 14th, after a voyage which was prosperous and uneventful, except for the occur- rence of a few hours of very bad weather when four days out. The violence of the sea completely carried away the wheel- house on the stern of the vessel and did other damage, but the remainder of our time at sea was as pleasant as it could well be. However, an Atlantic voyage has been so often described that I shall make no attempt to describe it again. After spending a few days sight-seeing in New York, I pro- ceeded on towards Winnipeg by way of Niagara, Chicago, and St. Paul, making a short stay at each of those places. In Winnipeg only a few hours were spent before the journey was again resumed. At Carberry, 105 miles west of the capital, I found a warm welcome from kind friends, and saw the first of a setder's life on the IVLanitoban prairies, the INTRODUCTION. details of wliich I shall attempt to sketch iu the following chai)ters. pro- icago, laces. ley the and k the lirn< Since this hook was coni])lcted (in April, 18S4), I have au;ain had occasion to undertake a journey to America, and have i)aid two distinct visits to Manitoba. 'J'hese visits, though somewhat brief, afforded a most excellent oi)por- tunity for corroborating and adding to the observations made during my fust and more extended stay in that country. I have thought it desirable, in most cases, to insert as foot-notes such alterations or additions as I desired to make, rather than to insert them in the original text ; and, if the fewness of the alterations which I have thus made affords any clue as to the reliability of what I originally wrote, my readers may certainly place great faith in my observations. In a general way, I have l)Ut few additional remarks to offer. The amount of visible progress which the country had made since my first visit was not great ; the depression in business was still considerable, but certainly not so severe as during the previous autumn. The weather, during the first half of the year, had been in every way propitious, and prospects of an abundant harvest — to which every one was anxiously looking forward — were everywhere to be seen. These expectations were not, at that time, without good foundations ; but, unfortunately, since my return home, accounts have come to hand that wet and stormy weather has seriously interfered with the getting-in of the crops. In other respects, the situation did not appear to me much altered. It should be observed that the dates in the text refer to the year 1883, those in the foot-notes to 1884. MAMior.A i>is< kir.iK. ciiAPri'.k 1. (JKNr.K \1, onsiKVAI ION ; ('\ IIII': imivsicai, axd othkk KKA'l'UUl'.S OF MANirOMA. Ti'.N or twelve yonrs ngo. li;ul ;iny man in I''ii,:;laiul been asked tlu> wlKicahoiits of Manitoba, it would not have shown any unpardonaMe i^'jioranee on his jiait had he rejtlied that heilid not know : for at that time the jnovincc had seaii'cly entered upon its existence. Now, however, the ease is very different. Not even the dullest < an have failed to i;ain some knowlcclL;e of this mueh-advertised country. It we juek up almi'st any local newspaper, or enter the small general shop which serves as Posl-Oftice in some remote country villaL;e, there we are almost certain \o he confronted by an announcement as to lu)w nuich land mav be obtained in Manitoba as a "free urant "" from Cicnernment. There seems, nevertheless, to be still some misconcejition left, many perst)ns usinj; the name Manit{)b:i to signify a much larger tract of country than that to which it reallv belongs. Manitoba is situated in what is now commonly known as the North-west, or the Canadian North-west : but still it is not one of the " North-west Territories," being a province of the Dominion of Canada, and having a separate Provincial Covernment of its own. The enormous region known as the North-west Territories, including the adjacent islands in the Polar Sea, covers an area of 2.665,252 scjuare miles. It was ac([uired by purchase from the Hudson's Bay Com})any, and added to the Dominion of Canada in 1870. In 1882 a portion of this region was divided up into four huge districts or territories, which lie to the north and west of Manitoba, and have received the names of Assiniboia (95,000 square miles), Alberta (100,000 square miles), Athabasca (122,000 square (W.NI.KM, OIISFRVA'IIONS f)N M AN'I'K )r..\. by Ithe [his [cs, ive ire miles), nnd S;isk.'il( In-w:iu (i i,),coo siiuan.' miles). It juay hvrc l)c cxplaiiu'd lliat in tins hook I am only < fjuccrncd with Manitoba proper.*'' Manit(.ba, with a ,L;rc-atrr or less extent of the country surrotnulini; it, has, in the jta^t, been known by the lollow- inp; names, amons^ others : Red River ( !ountry, Red River Settlement, I'ort ( '.arry, Selkirk Scltlenient, Iluflson's I'.ay Territory, Rui)ert's Land, and ,\ssiniboia. Since its forma- tion into a jirovince in the year 1.S70, its boutidariis have undergone exteti'^ion ; and, at the present time, it is projjosed to extend them ai/ain as lar to the north as Hudson's j'.a\-. Then, as n'.- ■, the .jfjth |)arallel of north latitude, fonniiiLr tlu- boundarv Ime between ("aiiada and the United States, constituted its soutlr.rn limit. ( )n the west, the <)(){\\ de;.';. of west lonj^itude ; on the north, a line drawn -^o mil), north of the 5 ist par.dlel ;and on the east, the r)6th (K'l;. of west longitude, foiined its other boundaries. 'I'he province at that lime measured about 135 by 105 mile.--, and (oiUained an area of i.l,.vto S'juare miles, or 9,177,600 acres, with a total population of about i.S,ooo ])ersons,inchuling nearly 7.000 Indians. Fort (larry, the well- known chief trading station of the liudsc^n's iiay (Company, or rather the settlement around it (num!)ering, at that time, some 250 souls), which ! had now come to be known as \\'innipeg, was the capital ; Vv'hilst there was also a small settlement at Portage la Rrairie, as well as a considerable nmnber of Half-breeds, Indians, and old servants of the company located along the banks of the Red River and the Assiniboine. I>ut in i.SSo the area of Manitoba was increased by the addition of territory on all sides except the south. On the south, the provinc e is still divided from Minnesota and Dakota by the 49th parallel of north latitude; it extends northward as far as 52 deg. 50 min. north latitude, taking in the major portions of the great lakes of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Winnijiegosis ; on the west, it adjoins the territory of Assiniboia in loi deg. 20 min. west longitude; while on the east it extends to the Lake * Those desiring to know more of the great country to the nf)rth nnd west of Manitoba '^hould consult "Manitoba and the threat North- west " (Jack, Ludgate Hill, London, 1883), by Professor John Macoun, Botanist to the Dominion Government Geological Survey. 8 MANIT0I5A DKSCRIItEI). of tlic ^\'oo(ls, joining on to tlic province of Ontario in west longitude 95 dug. It measures, therefore, about 260 miles from north to soutli, 300 from east to west, and con- tains, rouglily, an area of about 80,000 scjuare miles, or 51,000,000 acres. JUit it should be observed that for some time ]nist the respective Governments of Ontario and Manitoba have carried on a very vigorous discussion as to which shall possess the stretch of country lying between the Lake of the Woods and Lake Superior. If this is ultimately awarded to ^Llnitoba, the province will then extend eastward as far as the 89th deg. of west longitude, and will contain about 123,200 sciuare miles, or 78,848,000 acres, which is an area considerably larger than that of the United Kingdom. As this area is the one given in the Government pamphlets, it has been usually employed in making calculations. The country thus marked out occu})ies an almost exactly central ])Osition in North America, hence the name of " the Centre Province," which is occasionally a])i)lied to it. By the route at present i)roposed for the Canadian Pacific Railroad, \Vinnipeg will, 1 believe, be within twenty miles of being eciui-distant from Montreal and Port Moody, the two termini of the line ; while its position in the continent is almost equally central, reckoning from north to south. This fact may astonish some people, but it is true never- theless. There are numbers of persons in England who, having never troubled themselves to consult a map in order to ascertain the truth, and who — forgetting that Mani- toba is far removed from that great eciualiser of temjjerature, the sea, and consequently can have its atmosphere warmed by no such kind friend as the Gulf Stream, which renders our climate so mild and damp, — have contracted the not unnatural idea that, on account of its exceedingly cold winter, Manitoba must be a country not very far removed from the Arctic Circle. I have sometimes amused myself since my return by asking friends how many hundreds of miles north of London they imagined Manitoba to be situated ; and the replies have actually ranged from " a few miles " up to " about 900 " ! No wonder, then, that some have been astonished when they have been informed that Winnipeg, being situated close to the 50th parallel, is 1 il i;i:\i:r.\i, oi!skksamons on mamioha. 'J in 11 cd icrs the old v'cd self of be e\v ime lat is nearer the latitude of Paris than that of London, or more than i,ooo miles from the Arctic Circle. The ori;j;in of the name Manitoba* which I heard given differs considerably from that which Professor Tanner mentions in his recent '* Report." It means literally *' 'i"he voice of the (Ireat Spirit," and is taken from the 1-ake Manitoba, so called by the Indians, it is said, from the tact that at a certain part of what is known as the ''narrows" of the lake, the rushiiiLj of the water jjioduces a sound which is su' erslitiously said by them to be '* The voice of the (ireat Spirit " {.\fanitou). Unless I have been wrongly informed, the name was never ajjplied by the Indians to the country ; but, when the jjrovince was formed the euj)honious Indian name of the lake was given to it. I'Tom the fcjregoing, it may be seen what an exceedingly small i)()rtion of Pritish North America (or, as it is now called, the Dominican of Canadat) Manitoba forms. An illustration may serve to make this still i)lainer: if we take a piece of pa])er exactly one yard scjuare to rei)resent the si/.e of Canada, anil mark off, in any part of it, a space about six inches scjuare, that portion will re[)resent the size of Manitoba. The Dominion of Canada has an estimated area of 3,470,392 square miles, and is actually larger than the United States, not including Alaska. It is I^igland's largest, nearest, and by lar her most important colony. The natural wealth of Canada is immense. Provided with magnificent sea-ports, both ( n the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, she has also an unui:ually excellent internal water communication ; her stores of coal are enormous ; her forests are inexpressibly vast ; her minerals, in some regions, are in immense abundance ; her fisheries are among the most valuable in the world ; one vast area has unrivalled corn-growing cai)abilities ; while a region still vaster has, for over two centuries, supplied wild animals provided with * In England the name is frequently pronounced Manitoba, with the accent on the last syllable ; but in the country itself I never heard it otherwise than Manitoba, with the accent on the penultimate syllable, as in Dakota. t Newfoundland, which has an area of 40,200 square miles, and is Kngland's oldest colony, forms no part of the Dominion of Canada. It is still a separate colony, with a Government of its own. 10 MAMTOHA Dr.sciiir.r.i). I valual)lc furs, wliich have cnnblcd one of the lari:(cst trading companies in the universe to pay a steady dividend. !»ut l)y no means tlie smallest part of Canada's wealth lies in her hardy, independent, intelligent, industrious, and pushinj^ l)opulation. which, since the year 1784 (that is, in exactly a century), is said to have increased no less than 3,000 per cent., or more than twice as fast as that of the United Stales during the same ])eriod. Canada alone, had luigland no other dejjendencies, has regions of such great fertility, and of such vast extent, that she would be able to relieve the mother- country of her surplus population for very many years to come. In spite of all the noise that has been m:ide over the few thousand colonists who have gone to Manitoba, it is certain that ik t one ten-thousandth part of nil the good and fertile land in the \orth-west is now under any sort of cultivation. A\'ere the whole of this vast region thickly settled, Canada would be able to sujjply us with her surplus grain in such immense (|uantities that we should scarcely need to trouble our heads about that arriving from any other (piarters. On the whole, it would be far more unreasonable to doubt that, in the future, Canada is destined to become a great and powerful nation, than it would have been, a few hundred years ago, to doubt that England would ever rise to the jjroud position she now occupies. But I have been diving into the future where prophets and seers alone are accustomed to tread, and, not being one of these, I will retrace my steps to speak of the present state of Manitoba. Manitoba is often spoken of as the " Prairie Province," and it is well so-called — ])rairies being its most striking feature — though, eastward from \\'innipeg, it is true there is a region of almost unbroken forest, widely different from the kind of countrv extending for hundreds of miles west of the city. Certainly the province cannot be generally described as a beautiful or very jiicturescjue one, in the usual sense of those words. No country, of which prairies are the main feature, could well be so, even though watered by great rivers and in places covered by a dense growth of small timber. Some parts of Manitoba, therefore, are of an undeniably dismal aspect; but, speaking personally, I I CKNIUAI- OIISEUVATIONS ON MAMTOI'.A. IX ^r. " 0111 est ^lly the ries led of of I do not consider that by any means tlie whole of the country answers to this description : on the contrary, I saw several very |>ictures(iiie scenes — notably Shoal Lake. Not only Manitoba, but tlie whole North-wtst has a romantic interest and a fascination about it whi< h nuist inevitably be felt by all travellers who have the slightest appreciation of Mature in her wild and untamed aspects. The unknown, solitary e\]>anse of dark pine forests, the great 'herds of wild jjuffalos which formerly existed, the roving Indians, the enormous lakes antl solitary rivers, the desolate, waste sandhills, and the fertile, endless jtrairies, have all their (harms, even for one, like myself, who has but seen their outskirts. It does not take mu( h research to fmd that the country of which I speak — and not only Manitoba, but much of that beyond has deeply impressed nearly all iiUelligent travellers who have visited it for the last twenty or thirty years. Many of them have expressed in powerful language their belief that in the near future it is destined to become a thriving agricultural region, supporting a large jjopulation. How near their prophecies are to being fulfilled will, I think, be seen from the few jjaragraphs I will next (juote. Captain (now Colonel) lUuIcr, who, as I learned from the newspajjcrs, visited the North-west during the time I was there, writes, in his charming book, "The Creat Lone Land,'' of the district around the forks of the Saskat- chewan : " It is impossible that the wave of life which rolls unceasingly into America can leave unoccupied this great fertile tract As I stood in twilight, looking down on the silent rivers, merging into the great :;ingle stream which here enters the forest region, the n ind had little difficulty in seeing another picture, when the river forks would be a busy scene of commerce, and man's labour would awaken echoes now answering only to the wild things of plain and forest." Elsewhere the same author says : " The plain through which the Red River flows is fertile beyond de- scription." Professor Henry Y. Hind, writing in i860,* says: "Many * "Narrative of the Canadian Red River, Assiniboine, and Sas- katchewan Exploring Expeditions," vol. i., p. 191. 4 I 12 MANITOBA DESCRIBED. ' l-f I % ,' million acres of land which cannot be surpassed for fertility, being composed of rich jjrairie mould from i8 in. to 2 ft. deep, lie free and unsettled on the banks of Red River, the Assiniboine, and their tributaries, inviting settlement.'' Further on (p. 226) he writes: "No fact, however, is more satisfactorily determined than the adaptation of the climate of Assiniboia [now Manitoba] to the cultivation of wheat. I'orty bushels to the acre is a common return on new land." The report of Mr. J. A. Dickenson to Professor Hind, the head of the expedition, after the former Iiad returned from a branch ex|)edition which he had undertaken in order to ex{)lore the valley of the (^u'Aj^pelle, reads now like true prophecy. Having ascended an elevation near the Crooked Lake, he writes (y). 373) : " As I stood upon the summit of *he bluff, looking down uj)on the glittering lake 300 ft. below and across the boundless plains, no living thing in view, no sound of life anywhere, I thought of the time to come when will be seen swiftly ]:)assing along the distant horizon the white cloud of the locomotive on the way from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and when the valley will resound with the merry voices of those who have come from the busy city on the banks of Red Kiver to see the beautiful lakes of the Qu'Appellc." It is needless to say how nearly all this has been fulfilled. The railway, which at that time was scarcely even projected, now passes hundreds of miles to the westward, though not yet (}uite to the Pacific ; the Qu'Appellc valley now contains the largest arable farm in the whole world ; and " the busy city on the banks of Red River," then a village of 150 inhabitants, is now an accom- plished fact. In 1S65, Viscount Milton and Dr. Cheadle, in their fascinating book, "The North-west Passage by Land," which describes the hardships of their journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and which most people will have read, speak (in the preface) of " the magnificent regions of the Red River and Saskatchewan, where 65,000 square miles of a country of unsurpassed fertility and abounding in mineral wealth lies isolated from the world, neglected and almost unknown, although destined, at no very distant period, perhaps, to become one of the most valuable i GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON MANITOHA. 13 the lutiful early- time miles the in the Red com- thcir and/' L the have )ns of quare tiding dand istant uable possessions of the British Crown." Again (p. 41), tliey say : " From Red River to the Rocky Mountains, along the banks of the Assiniboinc, and the fertile belt of the Saskatchewan, at least sixty millions of acres of the richest soil lie ready for the farmer when he shall be allowed to enter in and possess it. This glorious country, capable of sustaining an enormous poi)ulation, lies utterly useless, except for the su[)port of a few Indians and the enrichment of the shareholders of the Last Great Monopoly."' The Rev. James McOregor, D.D., who accompanied tlie Marfjuis of Lome on his journey through the North-west Territories in 1881, afterwards wrote as follows in the Contemporary Fcvien' : — " As day after day, and week after week, we drove across those fertile regions, it was a daily wonder to us all how they had so long been kept hidden from the hungry millions of luu-ope. From \Vinni])eg to the Rocky Mountains, we did not come across a tliousand acres which were not fit for grazing or for agriculture.^^ Of the marvellotis fertility of the hrst prairie steppe, tiie Red River Region, there is no doubt whatever. 'I'lie soil is a rich, black, friable mould, from 2 ft. to 4 ft. in de|)th, and has in some ])laces yielded crops of wheat for fifty years without manure." Nothing would be easier than to multiply these cpiota- tions to any extent, for such enthusiastic descriptions are the rule among travellers, and it would need some search to meet with exceptions. To the testimony already brought forward, I will merely add a few words to the effect that, although I have seen but a comparatively small j)ortinn of the lands in the valleys of the Assiniboine and Red River, and nothing at all of those in the vallevs of the Saskatchewan and ()u'A])pelle,t the innate fertility of the soil, and the fair excellence of the crops raised on it, by means which, if adopted in Fngland, would result in complete faihire, far surpassed my wildest CN])ectations. It is, 1 think, almost impossible for any one to travel through the North-west without being impressed with the fact that, in'the course of * In this case, th.-n, I think His Kxcclloncy must have been con- ducted thr()U.;li the iiick of the country, for I saw liundieds of acres that were practicably worthless for either purpose. f See p. 142. 14 MANITOBA DESCRIBED. i; time, wlien railways sliall have rendered its many capa- bilities available, the country will have before it a bright future. There could, however, hardly be a greater mistake than to imagine all the land of ^Manitoba to be of this excellent character ; for, although I do not believe that the better parts could, for fertility, be suri)assed in the world, still there are parts so execrably bad that I hardly know of any use on earth to which they could be put. They nil,^ht keep one or two sheep to the scjuare mile, but for any other agri- cultural puri)ose I believe them to be as valueless as the middle of the Atlantic ! I allude to the ranges of sand- hills which occupy a very large stretch of country-^pro- bably not less than i,ooo S{[uare miles — on the north bank of the Assiniboine, sending out s])urs far to the northward, which, crossing the main line of the Canadian Pacific Rail- way, have the tendency of very much disappointing travellers who view the country merely from the line. The sand-hills proper are merely wind-blown dunes of absolutely pure sand. They are never of great height, and are separated by hollows, in the bottoms of which water often stands. A {q.\\ spruce-trees or stunted oaks and poplars are gene- rally scattered over their surface, but never grow densely. Willows and various other shrub-like trees often surround the ponds. The surface of the sand is covered by a dry, scant growth of benty grass, which, with a plant known to settlers by the name of " ground juniper," and which sends out long, rope-like branches, thickly covered with leaves that cross and recross with one another till the sand is covered with a thick carpet of evergreen verdure, doubtless has a very marked effect in preventing the shifting of the sand during high winds. These desolate sand-hills are the home of many a bright flower and many wild birds and other animals, which might often live long months together with- out seeing a human being. Beside the sand-hills proper, there are in their neigh- bourhood large tracts of sandy soil, which are of next to no value, excei)t as grazing- lands, and very little for that. In some parts, too, immense numbers of erratic boulders obstruct cultivation : in others, innumerable ponds, lakes, and " sleughs " render the ground very wet ; while in other k i bright gcne- nsely. ■ound 0. dry, )\vn to sends eaves md is sshas sand home other with- leigh- )\t to that, ilders akes, other GENERAL OUSERVATIONS ON MANIIOF.A. 1 5 places the soil is hardly as yet capable of cultivation, on account of the fact that in the spring time it is covered with water, resulting from the melting of the snow. It is evi- dent, however, that these last are difficulties that can, and doubtless will, be remedied when, all the first-class land being taken up, the second-class land comes to be more valuable. Drainage is an operati(jn which is hardly likely to recommend itself to the Manitoban farmer for a long while to come yet ; but there is no (question that very much of the land at present wet could, by its aid, be rendered fit for cultivation. It not unfre(|uently hapi)ens that such land lies on the highest ground, as, for instance, the wet districts round Rapid Citv. This is due to the retentive nature of the clay sub-soil. The fact, too, that most of the rivers flow along the bottoms of more or less deep gorges will be found of great advantage when drainage comes to be undertaken. A friend of mine, who has seen a good deal of the country, has made a very rough calculation. He estimates that, of all ^Manitoba, one-third is prime land, ready for the plough; one-third is second-rate, but most of it ca})al)le of being made almost as good as the first ; and one-third is almost worthless. In this I think my friend is not very far wrong. Throughout the entire province there is little variation in the nature of the soil which forms the surface of the ground. Excei)t upon the sand-hills, it is everywhere a fine, black, powdery, and almost soot-like mould, too sandy in some places to be of much value, but elsewhere of surjjrising fertility and great productive power. Soil it can hardly be called : manure would be a better name. In the next chapter (where also will be found some analyses) I have given reasons for believing that its fineness, blackness, and fertility are due to the action of prairie fires. Nothing sjjeaks more strongly in favour of the soil of the prairies of the North-west than the fact that, go where you may, nearly every settler assures you that nowhere can better soil be found than that of the district in which his farm hai)pens to lie. Over and over again have people told me this, till there is scarcely any well-settled • portion of the Province of ^Manitoba which I have not been assured is absolutely the iStl! 16 MANITOHA DKSCRir.KD. best, I do not think Mr. Hcpple Hall is very far wrong when, in his " Lands of Plenty," he says : " Tlic soil, it may be safely stated, is as fertile as any the sun shines on in this world." The thickness of this stratum of black loam varies considerably : in some ])laces it is barely one foot, in others four ; but the average is perhaps about eighteen inches. In some parts a high wind will cause the surface of ploughed land to drift when very dry. l^ielow the loam is, in most parts, a stratum of very fine, imi)crvious, sandy clay, varying in thickness from two to four feet, and suital.'le for making into bricks, as is done near most of the towns. Beneath the clay, again, is often an unknown thickness of fme, pure sand, which forms the sand-hills when it comes to the surface. In some parts large numbers of erratic blocks of granite and other sorts of rock strew the surface or are found in large quantities beneath it ; but for some miles round Carberry 1 did not (with one e.\rei)tion) see half a dozen stones weighing as much as a (^ouple of ounces. 'J'here seems to be a very general, and ai)parently well- grounded, opinion that for the last few years the whole body of water throughout INlanitoba and the North-west Territories has been gradually rising ; in fact, that it under- goes ])eriodical flu(^tuations. Thinking this an interesting circumstance, T endeavoured to inquire into the matter, but with only a very j^artial amount of success, the great ma- jority of the settlers having been in the country much too short a time for them to hnve mnde any extended observa- tions. The belief in the fluctuations, however, appears to be wide-s})read, and not a few settlers could give me what seem to be actual instances. Some appeared to be of the opinion that the water had now been falling for a year, or perhaps more. About two miles to the south of Carberry is a large "mus- keg," or swamp, over a square mile in area, and presenting a good deal of open water. Mr. William Harkness, who lives on ♦^he edge of it, told me that a few years since grass could be cut with a mowing-machine in many parts where now is open water, upon which terns, ducks, and grebes disport themselves. There is a long, narrow sleugh running up towards Carberry on the eastern side, concerning which a farmer stated that he could now procure water for his cattle GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON MANITOBA. 17 ■ wrong it may s on in :k loam foot, in :iij;litt.'cn surface :ic loam >, saiuly suital.'lc 3 towns, ^ness of omes to : blocks e or are le miles 3 half a es. tly well- e whole rth-west t under- ercslinu; Iter, but leat ma- luch too bserva- k'ars to le what of the /ear, or "miis- tntinsi a |io lives Is could re now [disport ling u\i Ihich a cattle at a spot something like a mile nearer to the town, and closer to the beginning of the sleugh, than he could five years ago. I was told of other sleughs in that neighbour- hood which formerly could be crossed with a wagon, but are now almost impassable. But the most valuable piece of testimony I received was from the Rev. H. McKellar, of High Bluff. This gentleman has an extensive knowledge of some of the more remote parts of the country, having, for many years past, acted as missionary. The regular i)eriodicaI rise and fall of the water seemed to be a phenomenon which he fully recognised, and he was inclined to believe that it passed from a maximum to a minimum in about seven years. At present the water was slowly falling, having passed its maximum height about two years since. Several years ago, when returning from Prince Albert, on the Saskatchewan, whither he had gone a year or two before, he was able to drive through ])laces which had been impassable on the journey up, and there were other unmistakable signs of a falling of the water. On the whole, although the exact period occupied by each rise or fall may at present be unascertained, it hardly seems reasonable to doubt that s(jme such fluctuation does ac- tually take place ; and, seeing that periodical fluctuations in the height of the water in the Great Lakes have, for years, been well known to occur, it seems only reasonable to suppose that these two interesting i)henomena may have some connexion. Professor Hind makes a good many remarks upon this subject ('"Exploring Expeditions," vol. i., p. iS), some of which I take the liberty of ([noting : " The occasional fluctuations in the level of the waters of Lake Sui)erior certainly exceed 3 ft In the region about Lake Superior the years 1845-6 were unusually dry, and in 1847 the lake had reached a very low stage of water. The years 1849-50 were wet, and the level of the lake in 1851 was from 3 to 3 5 ft. above the level of 1847."'*^ The Pro- fessor adds : " The variations in the levels of the great Canadian lakes are phenomena of the utmost importance * "Report on the Geology of Lake Suporior District," by J. W. Foster and J. D, Whitney, U.S. Geologists. C i8 MANITOnA DESCRinED. to commercial interests. The supply of water to the Erie and Wclland Canals is dependant upon the relative height of the water of Lake Erie. Periods of great anxiety have occurred among mercantile men at IkifAalo respecting the supply of water to the great artery which unites Lake JM-ie with llic Hudson River." Professor Hind next gives a tabic showing the lluctuations of the height of the water in Lake Erie, as observed for many years past by various autho- rities : — IIekuits of Water ix Lake Erie (1790 to 1S59). Maxima. 1st. 1790, 5 ft. 6 in. above lowcbt level. 2ncl. I Sot. 3rcl. 181 5, 2 ft. below 1S3S. 4th. 1827-30. 5th. 183S, 5 ft. 3 in. above zero. 6th. 1S53, Minima. 1st. 1795. 2n(l. 1 8 10, 6 ft. below 1838. 3nl. 1820, zero of eoniparison. 4th. 1832. 5th. 1846, 2 ft. above zero. 1859 (April), 5 ft. 6 in. above zero. After commenting on these figures, he says : "As a result of observations extending over twelve years (1846 to 1857) in the variations of the level of Lake Ontario, the following facts have been established: — (i) The mean minimum level is attained in January or February. (2) 'Plie mean maximum level in June. (3) The mean annual variation is 25 in. (4) The maximum variation in twelve years was 4 ft. 6 in. (5) There is no periodicity observable m the fluctuations of the lakes, and recent observations tend to show that there is no flux and reflux dependent upon lunar influence. "■^' With the first three paragraphs I am not particularly concerned. They treat merely of an annual variation which is very easy of exi)lanation. The water is lowest at the time when all the small feeders of the lakes are frozen solid, and anything that falls will remain uj^on the ground ; while the maximum is attained during the summer month of June, when all the snows of winter have been melted and poured into the * Whittlesea and Dewey, American Journal of Science and Art, May, 1859. GKXI.RAT- OnSERVATIONS ON MANITORA. 19 inuim mean Iriation years rvablc s tend upon )hs I [ely of ation. small that limum ,11 the to the i swollen streams to be carried down to the lakes. A similar fluctuation may be observed daily in many — perhaps all — rivers which have their orii,nn among snow-cai)})ed moun- tains. They are highest during the day, when the sun is melting the snow, and lowest during the night, when the snow is not being interfered with. This annual variation amounts to only twenty-five inches, whilst I am speaking of a variation of several feet in several years. Twelve years seems to me altogether too short a ])eriod of observation for the state- ment to be made that " no periodicity is observable in the fluctuation"; for reference to I'rofessor Mind's table shows that there is a certain amount of periodicity observable, and, although there arc exceptions, that the passage from a maximum to a minimum, or rice vcrsa^ occupies about six years, or not much different from that which is stated to be the case with the water throughout the North-west. This latter, if it really takes place, will, from time to time, exercise a considerable influence on the "sleughs" and *' muskegs " on the prairies, and it seems |-robable that those settlers who have dug their wells during the recent wet years will shortly find it necessary to deepen them. It may further be observed that frightful floods, consecpient upon the overflow of the Red River, are reported to have taken place in 1776, 1790, 1809, 1826, and 1852, all of which dates, except 1809, correspond with those mentioned by Professor Hind as having been marked by a maximum of water in Lake Erie. Whether or not these few remarks may ever assist in throwing light upon the subject I cannot say. They are merely given here for what they are worth.* ^ The fact that fluctuations in the water-level do take place in the North-west has not escaped the notice of the meuil)er5 of the Geological Survey of Canada, as reference to the reports will show; but only a sinking seems to have been observed by them. Professor Selwyn, the director, speaks of this in an account of a journey r.cross the country in 1874. Art, C 2 20 MANiioiiA ni:scuiiu;i). CllAPri'.R II, ox iiii: ACTION oi' I'UMuii; 111-11, s IN riii; cax.ndian N(^KiII WKST. 'I'mur, is n vonKuico about tho vasl prairies of America wliith is not likely soon to disappear. All of us iVoin (Uir rhildliooil have reail tales ot' Indians, ol" hunters and fur- trai)pers, ot" wolves and of hullaloes, of the boundless extent of the prairies, and of the vast eonlla^rations which otlen sweep over their surface. These and other thinns have all heliKxl to create in our minds a feelinjj; of interest in these great nnendiuL; meadows ; but, to ])ersons who have travelled over their surface day after day, seeini;, perhaps, neidier man, nor house, nor tree, - nothinL; but the _i;rassy llat, bounded by an ever shit'tini;, unreachable hori/on, — no comparison will seem more a|)t than that (■om])aring them with a threat ocean. 'I'he simile is in many points strikingly (\)rrect. I'A'erywhere stretches an ocean — not of water, but o( grass ; here the surlace is smooth and level, but wo travel on, and i)resently arrive at a spot where it is uneven anil rt)lling ; travellers need a compass or the stars as their guide : the smoke of a loco- motive drills away and spreads itself on the hori/on like that of a steamer at sea ; living creatures are comj)aratively seldom seen ; a vulture may sail over with easy, magnificent flight, conjuring up the idea that he is the albatross of the Prairie Ocean, but usually all is still ; provisions and other necessaries for a long journey have to be taken in at the outset ; storms, tempests, and high winds swee[) over the ocean of grass, as over th.it of water; if a cluster of trees does appear on the tar-distant horizon, i)erhaps raised up and brought into view by the decei)tive mirage, it calls up the idea of a cluster of jialms on some low coral reef : the fact, too, that there is one great main ocean, joined by many smaller tributary seas — all these, and many other things, help to strengthen the com])arison. In many minds the question will arise : " Why should PHAIKir, FIRI.S IN' IHr, CANADIAN Nf )Rrir WIS I , \N \i)IAN Aniciii ;i inin our ;in(l lin- ;)Uii(llrsK s which •r tilings i lit I rest )iis wlu) sccinjj;, linij, hut .'achnhle ,i;ui that \c is in (lies an rtacc is It rive at need a a loco- kc that ativcly lificcnt of the d otlicr at the er the f trees sed up alls up If: the icd l)y other should the prairies l)c ?.(» hare and treeless?" 'I'lie soil, in many paits at least, is ahtuidantly feilile; the hi;.^li winds that sweep over their 'airlai e aic n(»t so hi^^h hut what trees could llourish. That the prairies lie too near to the i( y noilh till trees to !;rnw on thein is ridi<:uIous ; for by far the larger port inn of tli' ir area lies south of Scotland, while nowhere are the forests denser or niore extensive than on their northern niar;'in. To the solution of this |)oint, tlnii, let us now turn our attention. I inav at once state my unhesitating' belief that the ti(( K'ssness of the prairies is due to arti(ici;il causes — that the a'^i'iv v \>v whi( h the prairies have been biouL'ht to their pif^e'it 'tale is biki, one of the best ser\ants, but, at the '-auie lime, one of the worst masters, inan ever had, \\ hen it i; undtrslood that, to the i»revaletve of I'rairie l''iresin the past, I am inclined to attribute, to a lar^e ex- tent at least, the \ei\' existeiK e of the prairies themselves, tlu ir dreat\' treelessness, the fertility of their soil ;md its fme, blai k, soot like t(Mure, the alteration of the flora, and the extermination of certain or;^^anic creatures (which are usually abundant in similar situations, and would, I believe, exist now on the prairies had it not been for the fires), I do not know whether I shall find many persons willing to go with me so far as I go myself; but my oi)inions, iferrone<')US, are, at v.uy rate, formed from personal observation, and after coiner.^ation with many residents on the [irairies themseKes. The idea that the prairies are due largely to the action of i'\rc is not by any means a new one. It cro])S up fre<Huntly as an almost accej);ed fact in the accounts of tra\el in the I'rairie Region, which tlie more observant travellers have given us. I'.ut T do not know of any work ])ublished in this country which presents all the aspects of the (piestion and all the facts so methodically and so clearly to its readers as I shall attempt to do, I'A'ery one is fiimiliar with the glowing tales of the huge fires which are well known to occur on the prairies, and of the way in which hunters and travellers are accustomed to " fight fire with fire," when ])laced in situations of danger. But not a few persons in this country have, I believe, a vague sort of an idea that these fires are in some way due ^\ 22 MAMTOr.A DKSCRinKD. to natural agencies ; and, indeed, 1 will not deny tliat, before visiting tlic prairies, I, more or less, held this belief, if I held any !)elief at all- which, never having; thought seriously about the matter, was hardly the case. lUit though there may very possibly have been instances in which hres have been caused by some such natural ageiicies as lightning or friction of the boughs of a tree; though the change they have worketl upon the face of the country is incalculable, and the mischief they annually cause, in oneway oranotlier, is enormous ; still, all the evidence goes to show that they are, in nearly every case, due to human agency, and 1 know of little or none to the contrary. Prairie fires, in the first case, originated among the Indians who, when on their " Great Fall Hunts,"' used to " put out fire " as a signal to their friends that they had found buffalo, or with the object of more effectually gather- ing the animals together by limiting their feeding-ground. Lieut. R. I. Dodge, in his "Hunting-Grounds of the \\'ild West" (p. 29), says: "The Indians burn i)ortions of the prairie [i.e., the " plains " of America] every fall, setting the lire so as to burn as vast an extent of country as possible, and yet preserve unburnt a good section in the vicinity where they purpose to make their Fall Hunt. The buffaloes, finding nothing to eat on the burned ground, collect on that unburned, greatly reducing the lal)our of the hunt."' But the buffalo has now been exterminated, and the Indians have no longer any cause for setting the prairie alight, and yet fires continue. 'l"he fires now, however, have probably a different origin from those of years past. They are, I believe, caused in nearly every case by travellers who carelessly neglect to extinguish their camp- fires ; by persons who maliciously put out fire ; or by settlers who do so with the mistaken idea that by burning the grass they lessen the number of mosciuitoes, or for the purpose of improving the pasturage the following year. As the larva of the mosquito is an aquatic creature, burning the grass cannot lessen the abundance of this insect. The delusion has arisen from the fact that the mosquitoes hide in the grass, and have thus led many settlers to the belief that they are born there. Liiy that, lis belief, \ thor.p;lit e. J] lit mces in natunil :i tree ; he face ief they ; still, all ly every none to ontf the used to hey had / gather- -ground. ;he Wild i of the fting the possible, vicinity iffalocs, lect on hunt." nd the prairie owcver, 's past. ise by ' canip- or by )urning or the As urning The is hide belief %. I'RAIRIi: FIRKS IN THK CANADIAN NORTH-WF.ST. 2^ Fires may take i)lace either in the si)ring or autumn. All travellers, who journeyed through the land years ago when the buffalo still e\i>ited, and the Indians set fire to the grass for convenience during their Fall Hunts, speak of the |)rairie fires as taking place at the latter season, before the wiiUer snows hatl fallen ; but I am very strongly inclined to belie\e that, although great fires do still come in the autunm, the majority (or, at least, many more than formerly) nmv come in the s/^ri/ii^. 'I'he reason for this is, that the settlers do not like to put out fire in the fall, because they prefer io kee}) the pasturage for theiv cattle until as late a period in the year as j)ossible, and also because there are at that se.ison corn and hay stacks stand- ing about in every direction : but in the spring-lime none of these reasons have any force, and the settlers then burn the prairie, with the objects already mentioned, as soon as the disapjiearance of the snow has left the dead grass dry enough to " carry fire."' Towards the end of .September, the j)rairie, which u^) to that time has been so gay with a never-tailing succession of brilliant flowers, becomes of a uniform, sombre brown colour. A very abundant, bright-blue species of gentian is the last flower to a]:)pear, and, when that is over, nothiuLT remains but a few strav blossoms belonging to an odd assortnient of species ; while the grass, hitherto green, becomes dead, dry, and highly inflammable. From this time until the first tall of snow, which often does not come till December is well ailvanced, is the time when the autumn fires ajjpear ; or, if they do not come then, the dead grass remains and can be burned as easilv the fol- lowing spring. IJefore visiting the ])rairies of the Xorth-we>,t, I must confess that, like many other persons, I had no clear idea as to the great prevalence of the fires, regarding them as occasional occurrences only ; but, from what I have seen and heard, I imagine that the larger i)ortion, at least, of the whole area of the prairies gets burned over annually. This is not surprising when it is considered that the only con- ditions required for fire to run over hundreds of miles — or round the world, for the matter of that, — are a more or less strong wind behind and a stretch of dry grass in front. I H 24 MANITOBA DESCRHU:!). myself saw a fire whirli I had reason to l)clicve was forty miles in lengtli, wliile Professor H. V. Iliiul, to whose "Narrative of the Canadian Red River, Assiniboine, and Saskatchewan Ivxplorinj; Ivxjjedilions of 1857 and 185.S," I have already referred, says: "From beyond the south brancli of the Saskatchewan to the Red River, all the ])rairies were burned last autumn [1857]— a vast contlagra- tion extendin^i; for r,ooo miles in len!j;tli and several hundred in oreadth." It is, h(iwever, very ])robable that the jtrairie fu'es occurring now in the North-west are not so extensive as formerly, although probably they are more numerous, on account of the very much greater number of persons there are to start them. 'J'hat their courses should be shorter now than formerly is not due to any increase of the only natural obstacle to their progress, — namely, water, in lakes or streams, — but to the amount of ploiii^lud land which now, both in sj)ring and autumn, largely checks their movements. Iwen on stubble, 1 was told, hre could only run before a very high wind. lUit, if 1 have been compelled to enlarge my ideas as to the ordinary frecjuency and extent of the hres, I have, on the other hand, found it iiecessary to contract my notions as to their average magnitude. It ajipears that on the prairies there are fires and fires : everything de])ends on the length of the grass and the strength of the wind. Every settler, with the slightest grain of forethought, i)ro- vides his house and i)remises with what is known as a " fire- guard." This is done by the very sinijjle process of turning a few furrows Avith a i)lough all round the pren"i,,..s. Many a settler, through the neglect of this jirecauiion, or when he has allowed his fire-guard to become old and overgrown with grass, has had to bemoan the loss of a stack of wheat, oats, or hay, his farm-buildings, or a comfortable house or shanty, built with the labour of his own hands. Not a few persons, whose ideas of prairie fires have been gathered from what they have read, or from pictures in which men, horses, cattle, buffaloes, hare, deer, birds, and what not, are depicted as flying before the devouring element, may feel disinclined to believe that such a simple precaution could be sufficient to stay the onward progress of a fire ; but in most cases it will suffice. On many of the drier PRAIUIi: riKF.S I\ TIIK CANADIAN NORTH-WKsT. 25 was forty whose iiie, and (1 1S5.S," ic south , all the nntlnp;ra- h unci red c prairie xtcnsive uiicrous, persons ould be e of the vater, in H'd land :ks their lid only :as as to lavc, on notions on the nds on wind. t, pro- ' iire- . urn inn- ATany when irown wheat, use or a few hered men, t not, may LUtion fire ; drier 4 portions of tlie prairies, the ^Tnss is very sliort and scanty, and a fire will not "run " unless there be ronsiderablc wind to drive it. ' I'-veii then it is but a very small alTair — merely a narrow, llickerin.i,' line of advancing flame, whi( h uuL^ht almost be llipi)ed out with a wet pocket-handkerchief; and, indeed, as a matter of fact, is olU'U brushed out for short distances with a wet sack or a broom by settlers nn\i )us to preserve their homes ; for. if the fire be stopped alonj^ the windward side of a settler's j)remises, the wind carries the tw( winus of the luv on jtast the sides of the buildin^^^s ; and, althoULih they may eventually join aicain to the leeward, they cannot then ntmn to burn the premises, unless the wind shifts completely round. Such small fues as those of which I now s])eak are often stopped for con- siderable distances by obstacles of much smaller im- jjortaiice than a settler's fire-j,aiard — for instance, by the numerous " traib." as the prairie roads arc called. These, thouuh merely, as a rule, two narrow wheel-marks with L;rass fzrowini,^ between (the "team" runnini:; in the wheel-tracks), often slo|) fires for short distances ; but, bein^ able to cross the trail at other spots, the broken line of flanie L;radually joins again, leaving many triangular patches of imburnt grass on the leeward side of the trail, the apex of the triangle, of course, pointing in the direction in which the fire has gone. I saw instances of this one bright moon- light night when T was i)assing over the dry, sandy prairie between I'ort b.llice and Klkhorn. 'i'hc short, scanty grass had been burned by a fire, the lurid glare of which I had plainly seen, miles away, after dark on the previous evening. The trail 1 travelled on, though but faintly worn, served, nevertheless, to check the fire for 100 yards in some places, so that on one hand I had burned, and on the other un- burned, prairie ; but in ])laces the flames had contrived to creep across, and had gone on their way rejoicing. On one occasion, too, I remember seeing a spot where a small fire had been checked, for several yards at least, by the wheels of a wagon having previously crossed its track, pressing down the short grass, though they had left almost no impression on the soil. Such trumpery fires as these are the rule in dry districts ; but there are times when the wind is strong, and the waving grass grows long and rank ■ ii i 26 MANITOBA DESCRIHED. in a moist soil, when fires occur of much more serious pro- portions. Then a great wall of flame, yards in height, rushes along, causing danger to travellers over the prairie, and destruction to all kinds of settlers' effects. I have been credibly informed that such fires find no difficulty in leaping such a river as the Assiniboine. The f.Uowing account of an adventure with the fire I clijiped from a newspaper. It recounts the experience of a gentleman from Toronto, and will show the danger there is at times : — A Prairik Firk. — Severe prairie fires arc raging between the North and South Saskatchewan, ar ' extending east and west for hundreds of miles, burning up everything throughout this part of the country. I left Battleford last Friday on a buckhoard, accompanied by Dr. Dyke Parker. For several days IJattlefc^rd had been enshrouded in smoke ; anc^ as we advanced southward, the smoke became denser, until some eighteen miles south of ikittlefcird a heavy column of dense smoke and flame was seen advancing towartls us, with a strong wind blowing directly in our teeth. For some little time we dnjve towards it, and then halted, with the intention of burning a patch in which to stand as the fnc swept jiast. V/e were advised by some Indians, however, who were going before the lire, to make for a butie, or hill, where the grass was short, and to run through the fire th.ere, as the smoke was becoming unbearable. This wo accordingly did, reaching it just before the llames lapped up the l<jng grass in the bottom below, and roared through the poplar bluffs on either side. Then, ns it rushed up the hill-side, we i)Ut the horse at it, and sliutting our eyes and wrapping ourselves in blankets, we dashed through where the fire was lowest, and emerged into a blackened v.'aste beyond, half suffo- cated, but none the worse. We travelled onward through burnt and smoking country all the day, and the following day again met the fire on its southern course. Taking our foregoing experience, we waited until it reachetl the short herbage on some rising ground, and again cleared it safely, but had a sharp run before it, as it swept rapidly after us, and reached the high grass in the low land beyond. All day the smoke was almost unbearable, but we pushed on, and towards evening had ,again to dash through the fire several limes, which we safely accomplished with a slight singeing. We were now nearing a long stretch of Hat prairie where the grass had attained a considerable height, through which the tire was dashing with lightning speed, and the llames rising ten feet high and more. As we advanced, in its rear, a team attached to a wagon was seen madly dashing through the flame and smoke towards us. They slackened speed as they breasted t':e. hid on which we stood, and on driving up we found the rig badly sni-'ished, the horses with manes and tails burnt completely off, and their hides burnt and torn off in large patches, leaving the raw and bleeding flesh. They were terribly burnt, and cannot live. Mr. Prince, of Battleford, and a boy were with them, and they were also much burnt, esjx'cially Mr. Prince, whose face and hands were masses I -V PRAIRIE riRES IN THE CAN'ADIAX XORTH-WI.ST. 27 ■lous pro- I height, e prairie, ave been II leaping count of iper. It )nto, and the North hundreds e country. ;l l)y Dr. roudcd in le denser, 1 of dense onj^ wind e towards which to Indinns, -, or hill, re, ns the I reaching m below, , as it our eyes the fire alf sulTo- rnt and the fire waited a^ljain y after day the id evening safely a long lucrable ed, and ts rear, igh the )reasted I badly IT, and w and Mr. re also masses of bli.^lers, and with beard and hair burnt off. lie told us he had been caught in the high grass, that the wind suddenly changed, and that before they could burn a jiatch the ilanics ruhhed down upon them. He, however, might have outslrip])ed them wiih his fast team had it not been that he had gt)ne to the help of some incoming settlers, con.-,i:^t.ir,g <.)( two men and .-.omc women and children, who had an ox- wagin heavily laden. \Ve gave him what assistance lay in our power, and travelled on. lie will leave his horses with the boy and walk into lialtleford, or wait for the chance of a lift by some incondng traveller. Shortly afterwards we met the ox-wagon. Tin; nun Mhov.ed terriljle cviiience of the severe ordeal through which they had ])asse(.l, and were ■evt-'rely burned about the face and hands. Tlie oxen were also very badly burned, and their hides were cracked and peeling off. The women and children were placed on top of the wagcjn, wliicii was piled high with furniture, and blankets were wrapped round them. They got off with burnt hands. They will cauip until some teams that arc coming up arrive. These teams v.e hurried on to meet, and sent them forward at their best speed to help the olhurs nn. Till we rcachei! the South Saskatchewan, the country was a dreary, blackened waste, liut, on the other side of the river, southward to Swifi Current; stati(.)!) on the Canadian racilic Railway, the prairie-grass v.aved in full vigour, Tlie grass on the prairies, so far as my observation goes, becomes in the autumn much drier and more combustible than it usually does in England; and when it is remembered that the IManitoban climate is drier than ours, tliat high winds are more prevalent, and that the area over which a fire can run, when once started, is very extensive, no one need wonder that very great conOagrations often take [)lace ; nor is it difiicult to see why such fires do not gain ground in civilised countries such as England. The grass here is greener and much more succulent ; it is generally fed-off so close that there is no dry, inllammable })ortion left ; the climate is moister ; high winds are not so frecpient ; while the number of hedges, and the large extent of cultivated ground, would soon check any fire that once got started. It being now understood how very prevalent these prairie fires are, the reader will, in a measure, be })rei)ared for my statements as to the very powerful effect they have been able to exercise upon the lace of the country in various ways ; but, before discussing this effect in detail, I wish to say something more of my own exi)erience of the fires themselves. j\Iy experience certainly has not been extensive ; but I crossed not a few portions of the prairie if 28 MANITOBA DESCRIBED. li!' ! "where fires had been, and saw small ones actually burning in the distance. The spectacle of a large fire at night is said to be one of the most terrific sights imaginable. The volumes of flame and smoke, and the lurid, red glare over the whole sky, give everything a most unearthly appearance. The little fires I saw were only large enough to look " uncanny," without being grand. On October 12, whilst on the prairie, at a locality known as Viola Dale, near the head of Oak River, I came upon the place where a large fire had been thirteen days before. A settlers family, living a few miles off, told me that it had come from near Fort I'lllice ; that it had burned up many settlers' effects, and that they had seen it at night, with flames leai)ing high into the air, " rushing along at the rate of a locomotive," colouring the sky with an unearthly glare, and so filling the atmosphere with dense smoke that it was un])leaHant to breathe. Another man told me that he had burned his hands whilst endeavouring to save his father's premises from the flames. In one place I saw an absent settler's house which had been saved entirely by its fire-guard. How wide the fire may have been I do not know, as it was a good de..l split up near its end by meeting with i)onds and sleughs, which, j)erhaps aided by the wind falling and the fire reaching the river, had caused its stoi;page ; but, after following up its track for a mile or two, I arrived at a place where it must have been several miles in width, as on every side nothing was visible but burned grass. The appearance of the country was most dismal, and the smell like that of a burned straw-stack. Yet this fire cannot have been a very large one, for the gra';3 it had consumed had been comi)aratively short, except in some of the moister spots, and in many places tlie trail had, for short distances, checked its advance. This being the first fire of any magnitude that I had seen, I was a good deal interested in observing the support which it gave to the beliefs already advanced as to the various effects of fire on the prairies. First, let me take the matter of the blackness and fertility of the soil. That the soil is very black and very fertile has already been put forward ; and, with the knowledge already gained as to the prevalence of fires, it seems only like putting two and two together to make four, to conclude i m PRAIRIE FIRES IN THE CANADIAN NORTH-WEST. 29 J burning : night is le. The Lire over )e:irancc. to look 2, whilst near the a large family, oni near effects, ing liigh notive," ling the isant to ncd his premises settler's >guard. 3 it was ponds wd and but, d at a dth, as The smell an not umed the short ire of rested ready :iiries. rtility 'I'rtile ledge only hide it tliat these features are due to the fires. In any case, the ash of the burnt grass was left as a black deposit upon the surface of the ground ; and this was especially the case in the bottoms of sleughs and hollows, and where the willows had made the grass long and rank by shading the soil and keeping it moist. Such siiots, at a little distance, ai)pcared much blacker than the rest of the prairie, and examination showed the deposit of ash to be sometimes as much as one-eighth of an inch in thickness. Now, it is a matter of common observation- that the black prairie- loam is usually blackest in such situations, and I do not think it is at all difficult for any well-trained mind, capable of weighing the effect of a very small cause very often repeated, readily tn comprehend that the blackness, fineness, and fertility of the soil of the prairies is the effect^ in a very large measure at least, of the annual deposition, for many generations past, of a very small quantity of this ash, which must undoubtedly have great manurial value. The thickness of the black loam varies from about one to three feet ; but, taking the average at about eighteen inches and the average annual dej^osition of ash at only one- thirty-second of an inch, we find that it would have taken just 576 years to deposit eighteen inches of soil by this means alone. But the ash would certainly rot further and l)ecome consolidated after deposition ; therefore, let us double our figures, and we get 1,152 years as the time required for the formation of eighteen inches of black loam. Of course, in moist districts, where the grass grows long, the rate would be higher, and in dry districts lower. I am perfectly aware that the foregoing is a very vague, and largely a speculative, calculation ; but it will serve to illustrate my point. The belief as to the black loam having originated thus is far from being an original one, as I met and conversed with many settlers who fully supported it ; whilst others accepted the view, when the facts of the case were repre- sented to them, and only a few dissented. If the blackness and fertility of the soil are not due to the fires, to what are these features due ? Some persons told me that the gradual decay of the grass for generations past was the cause ; but dead grass and leaves have 30 MANM(M!\ ni',^tKH'.II>. (lotMvod in in;uiv iAhcv placrs (or r^ucwxUowi without UmvIu!:. so Inv as 1 h.wc si-rn. a soil nrarlv so lilack as that ol M uiilol>a ri 10 opimon o t" r oii'^sof Shcliloti. of iho .\!:ii(ultural ('o1U\l;o, Pownton. \\ih'-hii(\ is o)ilv mother Mt^ci^ ol' o\ idonco in lavoiu' ot thcMiios, though he docs not alhido I(> th(Mn. llowrilc-s: "Thosoilot' Manitolia is ;i 1 jMUVly \^\;\t taMo loam. Mark as ink and lull ol" or^ani niatt(a-, m sonu^ placos nianv toot thicl <, I'c'stin:; o n the 'Vhv allnxial drift of iho \\(\\ and Assinihoino Rivers." viMv 1i"\v analvsi^s o[' [he soil of Manitoba that ha\o \)ccn made have hoon iniMishod in I'aniuralion Pamphlets almost tiJ 7h7USi\7?n : but, as thev bear on this subject, I will introdn<-e tw»> ot" them liere : AxAiAsis NiMra i; Om: ANAivriiM I , mum; \ rtii^v. Si'uia-oN'-' II\ii. l-aMMU'Rcn. .'\;y ;;//•(•>■ l.|, 1S76. "NToisturc Orgaiiie matter (\intainii\i; nilroL^en eijual U) anmionia, j^^ Saline matter : rhosphaies C'arbetnate lit" lime Carbonate oi' maLrncsia Alkaline salts ... CHide ot" iron ... Silieious niatter : Sand and siliea Aluminia 21-364 \l'22^ 0-47.7 ">/ 51-721 8 ■ 1 3 2 7'5(^>o 59'^'53 lOO'OOO Tito above soil is very rieh in orp;anic matter, and con- tains the full amount ot' the saline I'ertilising matters Ibund in all soils of a good bearing quality. (Signed) SrErHEXsox !M.\cadam, M.D. Lecturer on Chcmisin\ 6"V. >*MR without < ;is (hat 1. «>( llu' inollicT loi's nol )I).i is a (TUMuic ."' 'VUc ; almost , I will Ml. ■}. iS7('). '^C)o ^\53 'OOO con- :)uncl I I f -P, rKAnui: irurs fN mr ( \^'At•r^^^ nmi- i rt wi -i. ',r Anm.vsis Ntmi'I i; Two. A^('. I. — Surfiuc Sinl. 1. Moisture ... ••• ... •• 4"^^' 2. ()r<^aiiic. nuittcr, liiiiinis ( nnt.iiiiiri;; ni(ro[;cn, 'v I'liosplialo and ( atlioiiMtc of" liinc ... ,:; i '[ .|. Soliililc alk;iliii(.' salts, potash and soda >VU 5. Insoluble sili<a and [.^lavel ... ... 4,V^> lOO'O N(K 2. — Soil n I 15 ///. /i('!(>7(' S'lrfitcr. 1. Moisture ... ... ... .-• 3*2 2. ( )r<;anic matter ... ... ... ... f/o ;^. IMiospliate and < arhonate of lime ... 5 t "4 4. Soluble alkaline salts ... ... ... 4*6 5. Insoluble siliea ... ... ... ... 3r'8 lOO'O jVo. 3. — Soil a I 24 ///. />c/oii< Surface. 1. Moisture 2. Organie matter ... 3. Carbonate and j)hos])hale of lime 4. Soluble alkaline salts ... 5. lnsolu])le silicates and gravel ... 7-2 2 8- 6 io*4 5i-« lOO'O I consider the aljove a very favourable result for a wlieat soil. It contains a fair average of the constituents of an immediate crop on the surface No. i. l)Oth in ammonia and phospliate of lime, and the constituents of No. 2 and No. 3 show tliat the soil in this res])ect is endur- ing and practically inexhaustible under ordinary prairie tillage. (Signed) J. Bakkr Iu)W.\rds, Ph.TJ)., D.Ch. Professor of Chemistry, Montreal. Jan. 20, 1883. s f 32 MANITOUA DKSCUinKD. No less an authority than Dr. (lilbcrt lias also analysed sanii)lcs of Manitoban soil, and hears testimony to its extraordinary richness in nitrot^en.^' * I cannot pass from tliis discussion as to the ]H'ciiliaiitios and pro- bable origin of the black soil of the North American prairies, willuuit alluilin}; to the ((hor>to:ei>i, or black earth, of Southern Russia, so well described by Sir Roderick Murchison in his " (Icohji^y of Russia in ICurojie and the Ural Mountains " (vol, i., p. 557), and in the " 'ournal of the Royal At:;ricultural Society " (vol. iii., p. 125). The region occupieil by the black earth is an enornu)Us one. llaviiiLj its connnencenRMit in Iluni:[ary on the west, it extends completely across the whole of Munipean Russia, and, althou};h its limits upon the i)lains of Siberia are unknown, it is reported to extend "over considerable spaces in the eastern, central, and southern jiarls of that reifion," and is probably of a somewhat similar nalu'e to the nxitr, or dark soil, of Central India. A line drawn from Kief on tlie l)niei)er, through Kasan on the Volga, to ICkalerinburi; on the eastern side of the Urals, marks its northern boundary ; while another line, <lrawn from Odessa to Oreid)urj; on the Ural River, rouii;hly indicates its soutlieru limit. In the district thus marked out, the black earth is not universal, but occurs in ]ialclies only, though some of these are of great extent. It always overlies all other kinds of soil ; occurs at all elevations ; and varies from 15 ft. to 20 ft. in thickness. It is "jet black when moist" ; is similar in nature throughout the entire area ; is excessively fertile ; and, though slightly intermixed with sand, is so light and line that travellers crossing patches of it in a dry season are often thickly covered with a black dust, which rises up in clouds lluDUgh the dense covering of rich grass when disturbed by a horse's feet. Of its great fertility there i« no doubt. Sir Ro^lerick says : " Tlie tclioDio'.riii is unquestionably the fnicst soil in Russia, whether for the production of wheat or grass. It is so fertile as arable land that the farmers never apply manure ; and, after taking many crops in succession, leave it fallow for a year or two, and then resume their scourging treatment." As is the case with the soil of tlie prairies, the natural fertility of the tchoriiowin is so great that sk)venly methods of farming are encouraged, and manure is allowed to accumulate in " hillocks of considerable magnitude." The results of two analyses which are given show it to be very rich in organic matter and nitrogen. The following, which is one of them, would serve almost equally well for the black soil either of Russia or Manitoba : — Silica Aluminia ... Lime Oxide of iron Organic matter ... Traces of humic acid, chlorine, &c. 69-8 1 3 '5 1-6 7-0 6-4 lOO'O .A ''hough the nature and properties of the tchoniozeni and the prairie PRAIRIK FIRKS IN THK CANADIAN NORTH WKSr 35 analysed f to its i and pro- s, witliDiiL ia, so well Kussiri in (1 in the 25). The llavinq; its Icly across Ihe plains nsiilcrahle ^ion," and rk soil, of r, thioiii;li the Urals, awn from s southern universal, .'at extent. ions ; and ack when •xeessively It and line en thickly the dense f its ^reat n!oz</ii is hiction of ers never , leave it ■atmenl." ty of the oura^ed, siilerable low it to which is [oil either 19 -s LV5 1-6 7-0 1 6-4 17 i I prairie This point, then, l)uin^' disposed of, let us turn to others. Obviously the ])erpetual occurrence of prairie fires must have exercised a very jjowerful influence upon the flora and fauna of the country. We will take the latter first. It is a remarkable f:ict that, although very many species of fresh-water moUusca {i.e. snails) inhabit almost every ])ond, lake, and stream, not a single species, so far as my observation goes, inhabits the bare, open |)rairie. That this is not due to the cold of winter, is, I think, obviotis. I am convinced that the ])rairie fires must again be put forward as the cause of this ren^'irkable fact; for I was careful to observe that the fire l)urns the grass so com- pletely down to the ground that, had any snails been sheltering among its roots (as they habitually do in England), they would certainly have been burned. Not unfrec[uently in dry parts of the prairie the settlers cut hay round the ])onds which collect in the depressions, afterwards setting light to the rushes to make the grass more succulent next year. In many such cases I noticed, where the pond had been dried up by the drought this summer, leaving the molluscs lying on the mud, that the flames, in burning the rushes, had burned the shells so severely that their occui)ants would certainly have been killed had they not been already dead through the effect soil are thus shown to be very closely allied, it does not necessarily follow that the two have a similar origin. .Sir Roderick Murchison is altogether opposed to the belief that the Russian black earth is " the humus arising from decayed forests or vegetables during the present period," though he admits this to be "the prevalent opinion in Russia," and some of the reasons which he advances against this view- do not appear to me to be at all conclusive. The possibility of fire having had something, at least, to do with the deposition of the black soil is not referred to by Sir Roderick, who, in opposition to a certain author whom he quotes, expresses his total disbelief " in the former existence of forests which have been destroyed (for Herodotus tells us that large tracts of the Scythians were entirely bare of wood), and we are firmly persuaded that by no efforts could any Government produce forests in those districts, except in certain rocky and moist s]Jots." This may be quite true of the Russian .Steppes ; but I am conti'lent that the case is different with the prairies of America. Sir Roderick's opinion is that the tchoniozem is a sub-aqueous deposit, probably derived, to some extent at least, from the denudation of the black Jurassic shale ; but he does not deny that some speculation is needed in order to account for the whole area covered, on this hypothesis, D 1 34 MANiror.A i)r,scKii;i:D. of drought. There arc, however, a few snuill species of lantl-snails inhalMlini; the extensive spruce swamps and the wet moss beside tile slcu,<j;lis whicli, (jf course, the lire does not attack. P'urther, there are, 1 lielieve, at the present time no mammals haJMtuaily freijuenting the open praiiie except burrcnvinij; ones. A ])(jssil)le exception to tliis may have to l)e made on account of one or more .sj)ecies of liare, but these in most parts (if not all parts) of the ])rairie are very rare, though not uncommon in the woods. In times past, of course, the Buffalo formed another exception. 'I'hese facts may, I believe, be easiest explained by sup|)osing that the fires, by constantly sweep- ing over the prairies, have rendered them uninhabitable, except by burrowing animals. To the same cause may, I believe, be attributed (at least in a large degree) a still more remarkable circumstance, namely, the entire absence of ecrth-worms from the prairies of the North-west. 1 have been assured of this absence by many settlers and have verified it by my own observation. Having elsewhere treated more fully of the subject,"^ I will but briefly refer to it here. Most persons will be accjuainted with Mr. Darwin's interesting work, published shortly before Iiis death, in which he shows that over the larger port on of the earth's surface we are in no slight measure benefited by the actions of these humble creatures. They are, in fact, nature's agriculturists, which, for generations past, have regularly i)loughed and rendered the soil fertile in their own way. liut, as there are no earth-worms in the North- west, it is certain that the fineness and fertility of the soil of that country, which has of late attracted so much atten- tion, cannot be due to their actions : consequently this enormous area of over two million square miles must be regarded as forming an exce])tion to the general rule shown to exist by Mr. Darwin. This absence of earth-worms is rendered all the more noticeable by Mr. Darwin's remark that " earth-worms are found in all parts of the world, and some of the genera have an enormous range. They inhabit the most isolated islands," &c., and further that " worms throw up plenty of castings in the United States." ..•St Nature^ January 3, 1S84, page 213. i'RAIRIE FIRF.S IN TIIi: CANADIAN NOKTII-WKST. 35 )ccics of ii])s and , the fire , at the the open jption to or more parts) of >n in tlic ) formed )e easiest ly sweep- liabi table, e may, I ic) a still e absence . 1 have and have elsewhere -ielly refer with Mr. )efore Ins ort on of benefited |re, in fact, last, have in their lie North- f the soil ch atten- ntly this must be le shown 1- worms is 's remark rid, and ;y inhabit '• worms I do not know of any cause which can satisf:;ctorily account for the absence of worms from the prairies except the fire, which, by burnintf the grass over large areas, would annually ile[)rive the worms of that variety of decaying vegetable matter which constitutes their food. Frost, the only other possible cause, seems inadmissible, since worms are known to occur in Iceland hundreds of miles to the north. It appears, therefore, as if the cause which has deprived the soil of the North-west of that natural cultivation which the s(jils of most other countries enjoy has, at the same time, liberally su])i)lied it with a manure resulting from tlie ashes of the grass which is annually burned. W'c come now to the consideration of another statement that I have already put forward, which is this : That the fires, by gradually killing and consuming the forests, have caused the treelessness of the prairies ; or, in other words, that the prairies themselves are, largely at least, due to fire. The evidence on this point is, I think, very clear. Several exi)lorers of the North-west, from whose works I shall take the liberty of (quoting, since great experience lends weight to their opinions, speak of this matter without the slightest hesito^ion. It can be shown, on the clearest evidence, that, if the lires have not caused the prairies, they are at least now extending them in numberless places ; that trees still grow on the prairies in spots that are protected from the fire ; and that over large portions of the prairies young trees spring up annually, only to be at once burned ; but, if jjro- tected from the fire, they would grow, and in due time reproduce the banished forest-growth. We will consider the last point first. It is a matter of every-day observation on the prairies, that on any piece of ground over which the fire is prevented from passing (as, for instance, that inside a settler's fire-guard), a flourishing growth of willows, roses, silver-leaf bushes, and poplars at once shows itself. If a portion of the prairie escapes the fire for one year, the growth of bushes has time to attain a height of, say, one or two feet ; but, by keeping the ground moister, they en- courage the growth of long grass, and thus bring about more surely their own destruction ; for, when the relentless fire comes, it catches the grass, and burns the young shoots D 2 <i f I f 36 MANIl'OliA DKSCRIP.KI). of the bushes along with it ; but there is no reason what- ever why the poplars, at least, should not grow into trees, if they were i)roterted from the fire. There is a very general im])ression abroad among settlers that, because trees do not grow on the prairies, the soil is not suited to supi)ort them, consecjuently that they will not grow ; but no delusion eould well be greater than this, or more com- pletely opposed to every-day observation ; and it is only fair to the settlers to say that, as most of them have, as yet, been but a short time in the country, their errors of opinion may be excused. Not a few of them have i)lanted rows of trees near their houses, but, generally, with the very worst success. In a country where the winds are so strong as in Manitoba, trees, if planted at all, need some protection at first, such as being planted in clumps, or, still better, raised from seed in })lantations. That they will grow from seed in the soil of the prairies has already been shown con- clusively, and at High Bluff I saw several thick clumps of nourishing young maples that had been thus raised from seed and protected from fire. One man, who had round his house several clusters of well-grown young poplars, told me that he had observed them springing up ten years before, and had preserved them solely by means of a fire-guard. In confirmation of what is here advanced, I may mention the case of Mr. J. F. Roberts, a very intelligent Ontarian gentleman, now farming on the bare, treeless prairie, about five miles north of Brandon. On first taking up his land, he was assured by his neighbours that it was unreasonable to suppose he would ever get trees to grow on his farm, for, had the soil been suitable to them, they would certainly have been there. But Mr. Roberts was too acute a man to be- lieve this, and observing last spring a number of seedling poplars springing up in a slight depression, where the soil was more moist than on the level ground, he protected them by a fire-guard. The result of this was, that, when I saw them last September, they were a flourishing lot of young trees, some two feet high, which he hoped soon to be able to transplant. These trees must have originated from wind-blown seeds, as there were, I believe, no other trees whatever within three or four mile;, at least; and Mr. Roberts has at present co go eight or nine miles for I'RAIRir. IIRKS IN THK CANADIAN NOKTir-WLST. 37 5on wliat- ito trees, is a very because suited to •ow ; but lore corn- it is only ve, as yet, )f opinion :d rows of /ery worst rong as in tection at ter, raised from seed lown con- clumps of .ised from round his Is, told me ,rs before, 5uard. In Mition the Ontarian irie, about ) his land, easonable farm, for, ainly have an to be- seedling the soil 1 protected when I [ng lot of soon to )riginated no other bast ; and miles for 1 his sui)i)ly of firewood, which, it may well l)c imagined, keeps him pretty busy all winter. Those who have occasion nowadays to cross those por- tions of Iowa and Minnesota, where, fifteen years ago, there existed nothing but a treeless and uninhabited prairie, will see numerous clusters of nourishing aspens, while every settler's house has a few trees planted round it for the sake of shelter. What has been done in these and other States of the Union, where a 'i'ree-culture Act is in force, proves most conclusively that trees will grow well on the j)rairies, if only they are planted and i)rotecte(l. Again, along each side of the Northern Pacific Railroad, at least as far west as the Missouri, young aspens have been planted as snow-breaks wherever there is a danger of the line being blocked by snow in winter. In years to come, these will |)rovi(ie an inexpensive substitute for the wooden snow-breaks at pre- sent in use. Evidence as to the past and present destruction of forests and conse([uent extension of the prairie through fire is not less conclusive. An old half-breed told Mr. Seton that when, as a boy, he used to hunt the buffalo on what is now known as the " liig Plain," it was covered with bluffs of good timber, which have now almost completely disappeared. Many settlers can point to some dead tre- or small clump of bushes which forms the last remnant of a respectable-sized bluff that has been destroyed by the fire within the last year or two. A settler always likes, where ])ossible, to be able to shelter his house from the icy blasts of winter behind some small bluff; but if he wishes to preserve his shelter, it is imperatively necessary to surround it with a fire-guard. There is hardly a bluff that docs not show signs of the fierce conflict it annually has to wage with the merciless fire. The destruction wrought is often heart-rending to see. The prostrate trunks of trees, charred ar 1 blackened by the fire, everywhere lie around the outside, while, further in, the trees have a melancholy, drooping, woe-begone aj){)ear- ance. A typical case is something of this kind : — A fire comes over the prairie, and, arriving at the edge of a bluff (as isolated clumps of trees are always called) or at the edge of the more extensive " bush," it attacks the outer trees, burning one side of their trunks just above the ground. •^i 38 MAMTOUA Dr.SCKIISF.I). I i il i also Icajjing uj) and ronsuniing their smaller l)ranclies. Thus, i)(.rha])S, over an area of several acres the lire has eaten into the hush, consuming the imderwood, injuring (if not killing) the trees, but still leaving them standing. Next year the fire comes again from the same dire(-lion. If any young underwood has sprung up it is again destroyed, and the fire enlarges the hollow in the trunks of the standing trees that it had commenced the year before. This, if it does not ])rostrate them, effectually destroys their vitality ; while the fire proceeds on still further into the bush, destroying as it goes. The year after the hungry fire comes again. — always from the same direction. Again the under- growth is destroyed ; again the hollows in the tree-trunks just above the ground are enlarged ; again some of the trees fall and lie charred and half-burned as the fire i)asses on, again adding a larger area to that over which it has already spread hideous disfigurement. Those trees which were first attacked, and which have not already fallen, have now great black hollows scooj)ed out of their trunks as if some animal had gnawed into their bases till nothing but a shell remained to supi)ort them. Jkit the fire seldom forgets to return year by year. AMien it does come it gnaws again at the same spot where it has already several times found food for its unai)peasable appetite ; the trees fall, and the fire, jxissing on in its h. -te to attack those it has as yet only partially overcome, leaves them as charred and black- ened legs upon the ground. Year by year the fire comes ; seizes on these logs ; chars them more and more com})letely, and rushes on further and further into the bluff; until, in a few years, it is all destroyed. Tet us suppose that some twenty or thirty acres of wood have been thus destroyed in, say, seven or eight years : will any one imagine the trees will grow again in the same period ? The bluff may have been growing there for centuries, or ])ossibly it may have been destroyed, in like manner, many years before and have grown up again ; but, as growth is slow and destruc- tion by fire is swift, it is evident that, even supposing some of the destroyed bluffs do grow again — which is not impro- bable — on the whole the prairies would extend their boun- daries. And with such havoc as I have described going on year by year who can wonder at it ? I have sketched no rKAIRli: FIRES I\ TIIK CANADIAN' NOKI II-Wr.ST. 39 )rnn("hcs. flic lias injurin^r standing, lircction. cstroycd, standini; riiis, if it ■ vitality ; lie bush, ro comes le under- ee-lrunks e of the ire i)asses ch it has x's which Icn, have Links as if ing but a J seldom it gnaws ral times fall, and las as yet . black- comes ; mpletcly, until, in lat some oyed in, he trees nay have nay have fore and destruc- mg some Dt im pro- sir boun- going on :ched no I I i f iiK V i>i(turc, but one which I have seen in all stages of completion in the bluffs round (.'arberry and elsewhere. It does not seem to me reasonable for any man who has seen the destructive effect of these fires to deny that ^ufticient time inlv is wanted for exactlv the same means to have originated even the wide ])rairies themselves. Over and over again I'rofessor Hind speaks of having observed the same thing — forests of large i)ines, spruces, or tamaracs, l)rostrated by the fire, to be partially succeeded by a less valuable growth f elm, poplar, or willow, which, in its turn, is at last destroyed. Here is what he says upon the subject:-— "That forests once covered avast area in Rupert's Land there is no reason to doubt. Not only do the tradi- tions of the natives refer to former forests, but the remains of many still exist as detached groves in secluded valleys, or on the crests of hills, or in the form of blackened, pro- strated trunks, covered with rich grass and sometimes with vegetable mould or drifted sand. The aLrent which has caused the destruction of the forests which once covered many parts of the prairies is undoubtedly iu-e ; and the same swift and effectual tiestroyer prevents the young growth from acquiring dimensions wi.'-h would enable it to check their annual progress. Nearly everywhere, with the exception of the treeless, arid prairie west of the Souris, and west of l.ong Lake on the north side of the (^u'Appelle, young willows and asjjcns were showing themselves in 1^58, where fire had not been in the previous year. South of the Assiniboine and Qu'Api)elle, few plains had esca])ed the conllagration in 1S57, and the blackened shoots of willow were visible as bushes, clumps, or wide-spreading thickets, where the fire had passed." Again, he says : — " 'i'he annual extension of the prairies from this cause [fire] is very remarkable. The limits of the wooded country are becoming less year by year ; and, from the almost universal i)revalence of small asjjcn woods, it appears that in former times the wooded country extended beyond the Qu'Appelle, or three or fcjur degrees of latitude south of its present limit This lamentable destruction of forests is a great drawback to the country, and a serious obstacle to its future i)rogress." There is no mistaking the tenor of these remarks ; but the same facts must strike every observant traveller on the ' *i 40 MANITOBA DESCRII'.KD. i i prairies. Macoun, for instance, writes : — " The real cause of the absence of wood on every part of the region uhder consideration is undoubtedly prairie fires, which sweep over every ])art of it year after year, destroying the seedling trees as long as there are any seeds left to germinate, and year by year killing the bushes till the capacity of the root to send up shoots dies out, and then ever willows cease to grow Finally, there is not a series of sand-hills throughout the country, no matter how poor the soil, but what has either wood or brush ; while immense tracts of first-class soil are without a bush. The rich soil, with its abundance of grass, affords, when dry [presumably the grass is meant], fuel for the flame which destroys any seedlings which may spring up ; at the same time the sand-hills, being unable to carry fire through their extreme poverty, keep it [the growth of seedlings] alive." Professor Macoun has, over and over again, expre • ;ed ■ ■''■'-n belief in the opinions I have here advanced as to ili^ ^, .trur.tion of the forest-growth by means of fire, and many statements in supi)ort of these views may be found in his interesting work, " Manitoba and the Great North- West " (especially on pages 27 and 28), where he states that between the Rocky Mountains and an imaginary straight line connecting Moose Mountain and the Touch- wood Hills, the whole country is utterly devoid of wood as far north as latitude 52, with the exception of Wood Mountain, the Cypress Hills, and certain narrow river valleys. Elsewhere, in reference to Professor Hind's journey of exploration in 1859, Professor Macoun adds that " where he saw large forests, I passed over in 1880 and never saw a twig." Although further evidence may not be wanting to corroborate that \\ hich has gone before, I will make one more extract. Professor A. R. C. Selwyn, Director of the Geological Survey of Canada, writes as follows : " Whatever the effect may be of these destructive conflagrations, in reference to the water-supply of the region, there is no doubt that at different times almost every square mile of the country between Red River and the Rocky Mountains has been subjected to them ; and that hundreds of miles of forest have thus been converted into wide and almost PRAIRIE FIRES IN THE CANADIAN NORTH-WEST. 4it ?al cause )n uhder eep over seedling late, and the root cease to and-hills soil, but tracts of with its :he grass leedlings Is, being , keep it xpre . ;ed :d as to fire, and e found North- e states 1 aginary Touch- A'ood as \V'ood w river Hind's |in adds n 1880 ting to ike one of the hatever ions, in is no mile of untains f miles almost treeless expanses of prairie." He then goes on to speak of the large area now devoid of trees. Dr. R. IJell, the Assistant Director, in forwarding a report t ; Professor Selwyn shortly after, comments upon the foregoing sentence in the following words : " Your remarks upon the destruction of forests by fire, between Red River and the Rocky Mountains, are corroborated by all that I could hear u})on the subject. The rapidity with which some tracts between Prairie Portage and Fort EUice were stated to have been converted from forest to prairie, is almost incredible." Could anything show more conclusively than the foregoing statements the destruction which these fires have wrought? It may, however, be asked : What has become of the trunks and stumps of these destroyed trees ? The former, lying upon the surface of the ground, would be annually attacked by the fire, and at last would be entirely con- verted into ash, or they would be speedily disintegrated, when once well rotted, by a species of ant which drives tunnels through such soft logs in all directions. Dr. Bell, in speaking of the district south of Fort Ellice, writes : " The aspens of that rc^gion burn much more readily than does the wood of the same tree in Ontario and (Quebec, and the portions which escape total destruc- tion by fire rot and disappear in the course of one or two years." I have heard of charred logs being dug up from a considerable depth below the surface of the open prairie. They had probably been covered by the burrowings of gophers and badgers. 'J'he working of these animals will also, to some extent, account for the disappearance of the roots and stumps of the trees ; but it certainly is surprising that these should have disappeared so completely as they have done. It is a well-known fact that the growth of forests is intimately connected with the climate of any country, and it is natural to conclude that the disafforestisation of the prairie region must have caused some change in the climate. 7"he whole subject has of late been brought prominently before the Canadian public through an ener- getic pamphlet by Mr. R. W. Phipps, of Toronto, in which he shows that the removal, during the last fifty years or ■\{ • n 42 M \M MM! \ IMM KII'M'. SO, of (li(^ (vlrnMxr ((Mrsls wluih loiintMh' (ovckmI tin* r \o\inr('ol ( Mit.mo h;is srnoiish ;illr< ii-ti iis » lim.ilc hv low 'i'hi cnn;; llir nii-;in InnpcMlnu' nmi !«"<•. t-niii!; llir iiiml.i s. ;ii:nin. ilo ll 11,1' iliM \r;r>(^(i llu' \olnm<> ol ihc sIhmius, ImiI in;uii' llv.MU NiiDjvM t lo 'mm(o\1', llood', on Ihr MppiMiinirc o( li(\n\ i.iin. rhr- Ihmmi; tho r;is(\ onr luav liiitiv < ot\< linle th,\1 ihr viinr vc^snljs li;iv»^ lollnwrd llu' iiMno\,\l ol tho iovrsls m thr Noith wx^sl. .nul lli;i1. wimc iIu^\ ti'slnicd, iho high winds ^mrliuhnj: hii/ /rivtls') would hr !'j(\Ml\ K-sscMud. thi^ i;nr,l;\ll «^|n,ilisrd. ;ind llir iiuMii irtnprinliiro lar.rd. Tho sniuo rnuso nnist. ;is ;ilir;id\ st.ilrd. li;i\i' h;id ;i « oti sidiM;iM«' v\'\'ci'\ on \hc lltM;i ;ind (;iunn. holh iIikm ll\- ;md nidiiv«'tl\. b\ « h.inj^inj; llir ( liin;\1o ;ind b\ \hc r\l('nnin;i tion ol ihosr s]H^ri(^s iitl(^d lor ;i lorosl ]\\{\ in hivonr ol tliosr nioi(^ suitt^d \o c\\'^\ o\\ \])c ojhmi phun. or ;il)lo in soino s]HN lal w;n" to \c'^\A []\c iwc. lUMoiv jMOtin^lins; tinllioi U will Ix^ nccrssnrv for mo io ni;iKo two r\p1nn;iti(M\s. Vhc liist is. llinl in s|u\ikinj; ot " ]M,niios" 1 rotor lo tho triio jMinrios onl\, ;ind do lU"*! inrludo tho ;ni«l. stcniU^ roj^ion now » (uninonlv spokon ot' ns tho " Viiont ri;iins."" hot IohiumIn « ;ilK><l llu^ " ( ho;i(; Anicrior.n Po^oil." It is ;i \hm\- roininon thini; lor pooplo tvi oiMilonnd tho /tc^/Vvv.v oi North ,\inori«;i with tho /'/<////v; but this should on no nciount ho dono. lor tho pr;iirio- roi;ion has tonturos and ohar.utoristios (|uito dillcront troni tlit'iso of' tho i>lain roi^ion. Tho wholo oi tho ((Mitral ]>orti('(n (>t X(>rth Amorica. Ivinu hotwoon tho (iiwil 1 akos and tlio Ro(kv Mountains. nia\ \)c dcscribod as a vast plain sh^iMnu downwards h(Mn tho loot ol tlu^ mountains. North o\ tho Intornational In^undarv lino iho slop(> is nuMV north oastward. as sh(>wn bv tho ooursos ol tho Saskatoliowan. Clunvhill. No1s(Mi, and othor rivors ; while south ol" tho lino tho InMindarv is moro sinith oastward, as shown by tho ooursos ot' tho Miss(nni and tho Mississippi, so that, {o S(Mno oxtonl. tho di\ ision botwoon Canada and the Slates is a natural one. AKmiu this boutularv-lino. the surlaoe ol llie ground vises irom alu">ut 700 leet at the point where the Rod River erosses it lo alnnil 4,000 toot at the base of ilie Roeky Mountains, a distanoe ot" about 1,000 miles ; but this rise inoludes two sutldon litis ot" over ()oo t"eet each, marking the boundaries of the " three prairie IT Ml' I in ■; IN I III ( AN' A hi AN N'll' I II Wl S'f. ^^ im.\li> l)v ' i;uiil;ill. .ims, |)ii| n;li;» r n( ( OH" lildr ll »t| tlit< orcd. ll)(« losscnctl, i«' iMJscd. I ;i ton M ll\ .nul ;iV()iir nl ;il>lr in ■ Ini WW iiiiil do SpilkiMl 1 pooplc ,' /•/.;//;*•; piiiiric Iillcirnl <\Mili,d I ,lkc>S ;i v;isl inl.iins. o|H' is ol \hc ; wliilr nrd. as issii)pi, la and no. the point al the I,O0O cr boo >raiiic I ■,'* sl(>pp("; " mlo will' ll til'' y\('j\ »'iiti.d pl.iiii i; n.ifiii illy divided. '\\\v In^l. or ( ;i',trtiiiiio:;t, Ktippi nnlii.iM"; iIm- vallrv^' ol die l'''d kiv'ci ;iiid I'pprr IVI issi . -ippi. Notlli n( die Intciiialionai I'.oiiiiduw il i'; jpoiindcd "n tjic west |»V die « liain of clcval loir; known a ; die !'( iiiliin,i, Ridiru';, |)iHk, and I'a'i Moimlaiip; ; Itut dic^f air iiltoi/;! tli'T niJH naini'd inoiintaiir;, in.iaiin'li ;i;, wImii tlw ii '.iiiniiiit is ?t ;!( lu'd, aiiodici cxtrn .iv<' phiin ^di<' Sc ond I'ijiih; Steppe) i'> (oiind to ev(( lid huin it, avv;iy to the weslwaid. 'riiis, aj;ain. e; l»oiiiid<d on lie- \ve,t \ty anollier similar rise, ol wlm li tli' (ii.ind ( otenu d(; Missouri loiins pari, exli tidiii!', iiotili westwards across tlio Sask;il( liewan lo near I ,ae l,i I'.k Iir. ( )ii ;is((ndin('; this, the 'I'liird Prairie Steppe, w la* li extends to the nioiinfains, is ica< lied. 'I he li lie pr;iii ie , <,i < iip'\ I he I n.t aial Ser ond Steppes. 'I'liey are alamdantly leiiile, v.cll watered, arifl would, loi the most p.irt. Ic (f)V( icd with lore ,ts of as[»eri atid willow, did not the aiinnal fires prev( nt their {growth. The .i',real( I pari of Manitoba lies wilhin the liniifs of the l''iist Steppe, hnt a portion also Iks in the Sc ond. I'.roadly s|H'akin^, the piairie icfMf)!) ol Morth AiiKriea. (oniprises the eastern portions ol Ohio and Inrjiana ; the southern portions ol Mi( hif^'an an-; 'A'ls* oir.in ; portions o( Missouri, Kansas, and Neliraska , almost the whole (»f Illinois, Jowa, Minnesota, and Manitoha ; all of hakota as kir west as the Missouri, and all ol the North west 'I'erritot ic; ol (!ariarla, sonth ol the Saskal( hewan as lar west as the loph (\vi'ri'>'. of lon,L;itnde. 'I'lie true plains o( f iipy the Third I'rairu: Steppe, or all the country liet ween the prairie . and the koeky Mountains, "where" (as Trof. I find says) " l)f>th soil and climate unite in estahlishin;^ a slerih; re^'ion." I'ire may have ht.d somethini!; lo do with denuding.'; this re-Mon of its trees, as I'rof. Maeoun seems to(()nsider; hut, on the' f)fher hand, Lieut. K. 1. hodi^^e, in his intercstinj^' work, "Hunting- grounds of the Wild West,'' says he does not heiieve the trei'lessness of the true |)lains tf) he due solely to lire, hut also ])robal)Iy, in jiart, to liiLdi winds .and laek (jf water.* 'I'he second point on whit h I wish to offer an ex[)lana- tion is, that in discussing the destruf tion by fire of the * For further observations on the- plains, rsce p. 14 r. 44 MANIT013A DESCRIBED. ^ ■ ,y forests which once covered large ])ortions of the prairies, wc must take into consideration the fact that the fires will, in nearly all cases, travel eastwards with the i)revail- ing winds. This will be the more clearly seen when it is pointed out that the mean resultant direction of the wind for eleven years (1871 to 1881 inclusive) was N. 44deg. W. This will help us to understand several facts ; such, for instance, as why, if there are any trees, they will, in the majority of cases, be upon the eastern side of a lake or river. Thus, as Captain Butler remarks of the Red River : — " Its tributaries from the east flow through dense forests ; those from the west wind through the vast sandy wastes of the Dakota prairie, where trees are almost unknown." Roughly speaking, the whole of the region for hundreds of miles to the east of Red River and Lakes Manitoba, Winnipegoosis, and Winnipeg, is one of dense forests, pro- tected from the ravages of the prairie fires by those friendly pieces of water ; while the whole region to the west is prairie, exposed to the fire. On the north, the north branch of the Saskatchewan forms the boundary of the true prai- ries. Presumably, the fires must have had some open re- gion in the east for them to start upon, before they could gain strength to attack and destroy the forest lying to the east ; and doubtless the arm or extension of the great plain which extends northwards to the South Saskatchewan, provided such a tract. Another conclusive proof that the reason for trees not growing on the prairie is that the fire prevents them so doing, is afforded by the fact that, wherever there is an island in a lake or in the middle of a " sleugh," that island, being protected from the fire, is covered with trees and bushes. Proofs of this may be seen everywhere on the prairies. Further, when a deep ravine, formed by some rivulet, crosses the bare prairie, its sides are thickly covered with bushes, because, as a rule, the wind cannot get down into the ravine to drive the fire onwards. The same thing is often observable where there is a sudden drop in the surface of the ground. Captain Butler, in his " Great Lone Land," compares the edge of the great sub-arctic forest, " whose northern extreme must be sought where the waters of the Mackenzie mingle with the waters of the Arctic Sea," to the shore of I'RAIRIK FIRES IN THE CANADIAN NORTH-WEST. 45 prairies, the fires prevail- len it is the wind '. deg. \y. uch, for , in the lake or i River : forests ; 'astes of 1." Lindreds anitoba, sts, pro- friendly west is branch -le prai- pen re- y could to the It plain he wan, lat the he fire that, die of fire, is lay be deep rie, its rule, le fire where ipares 'thern :enzie )re of an ocean with *' its capes and promontories, which stretch far into the sea-like prairie, the indentations caused by the fires sometimes forming large bays and open spaces won from the domain of the forest by the fierce flames which beat against it in the dry days of autumn." Of Fort Carlton, on the Saskatchewan, he writes : — " Carlton stands on the edge of the great forest region, whose shores, if we may use the expression, are wasted by the waves of the prairie ocean lying south of it ; but the waves are of fire, not of water. Year by year, the great torrent of flame moves on deeper and deeper into the dark ranks of the solemn, standing pines ; year by year, a wider region is laid open to the influence of sun and shower, and soon the traces of the conflict are hidden beneath the waving grass, and climbing vetches, and the clumps of tufted prairie roses But another species of vegetation also springs up in the track of the fire : groves of aspens and poplars grow out of the burnt soil, giving to the country that park-like appearance already spoken of. Nestling along the borders of the innumerable lakes that stud the face of the Saskatchewan region, these poplar thickets sometimes attain large growth ; but the fire too frequently checks their progress, and many of them stand bare and dry, to delight the eye of the traveller with the assurance of an ample store of bright and warm firewood for his winter camp when the sunset bids him begin to make all cosy against the night." Enough evidence has now been brought forward to show that fire is the agency which has destroyed the forest- growth that once covered the prairies, and that, were the fires stopped once for all, trees in plenty would soon grow up in all parts of the prairies, which are at present so bare. Had these fires been stopped some fifty years ago, it is not, I believe, too much to say that at the present day the Pro- vince of Manitoba would better have merited the title of the Sylvan Province than that of the Prairie Province. In support of this, I will again quote Prof. Hind, who says : — '* In the State of Missouri, forests have sprung up with wonderful rapidity on the prairies as the country became settled so as to resist and subdue the encroachment of the annual prairie fires from the west." Again, he says : — " If ' 'I ii 46 M \Nll(ni\ DISCKIlilP. willmvs and aspens wimt lUMinillrd lo i;i(>\v over the piaities, ihey wouUl soon Ik' eon\eiteil into humid tracts, on which vegetable matter wonld at cunmlate, and a soil adapted to lorest trees be lornu-d. 1 1 a portion ot tlu' prairie escapes the tire tor two or three years, the result is seen in the growtli of willows, :md aspens, thst in patches, then in large areas, which in a short tune become united awA coviM' the country, thus retarding evaporation, anil permitting the necumulation ot'\egelable matter in the soil. A lire comes, destroys the voung lorest growth, and establishes a prairie once more. The reclamation oi iuunensc areas is not be- yond human innver ; the extension oi the prairit-s is evi- ilentlv due to tires, and tires are caused by Indians, chielly lor the juupose of telegra]»hic comnnmicalion, or to divMl the butfaloes from the ct)urse they may be taking. These opcrati(Mis will lease as the Indians and the bulTaloes diminish, - events which are taking place with great ra]>idity.'' lUit the whole oi' the indictment against the tires is not yet told. In the spring time, they often destroy tlie nests of the prairie chickens ; and, as might be exi)ected, when they eome in the autunm, they cause immense destrudion among the settlers' croj^s an^l buildings. The following ]")aragraphs will speak for themselves. They are a few of those I clipped Uom various Manitoban journals :* — "Prairie tires are raging at Long Lake, .l\gg Lake, and the Heaver Hills. At l\gg Lake the lire has entered C'ajnain Moore's limber limit, and is destriiying all betbre it. Twelve or fifteen miles up the river the lire has run through to the bank, and is now working east. Unless rain f:\lls soon, the chanees are tlic whole ct)untry will be burned over. Ahiny of the tarmers at St. Albert have burned around their stacks, and on the south side they have been ])loughed around. No serious losses have been reported so far, and, with a little i")rceaution, no loss of any account need be sus- tained."' ''There has been considerable hay destroyed by fire * A single copy of the /vc^/na Leader, which has just come to haml, dated October 22, 1SS4, records no less than eight instances of the loss by settlers of valuable property. There is also a leading article upon the subject. rKAIkll', IIKIS IN I UK ( \N MU AN N< U I 1 1 W I > r. 47 " |n;iinos, oil \vhi(~h l;il)tc«l to / ('S( .ipcs ;n in the n ill lnri;o rover the itting the re < (lines, a ])niiric is not 1)0- cs is evi- ls, cliiclly to (livrt ;. Those l)iilTal()os Xh i;roat res is not the nests led, \vlion struetion \)ll()\vinL!; a low of ake, and ("aptain Twolvo h to the soon, the Many ir stacks, around. 1, with a, be siis- by fire t come to istances of a leading ^> around tliis district lliis lall. Waller Wells and AIIutI Norton, we arc told, lost all tlicy Ind, in the sliapr of several stac ks, wliii li tlicv l"it n|) at the place known as \i(toria Ho.:;, jaiiies Shaw and ( leor^e Hyde are anion;; th(- lo^<rs in this line. '! iiese ^entU'inen all live in and around llalnioial, and, ol (nin 4', they were not niadr aware ol the liic nnlil it had ,L;ained too iniK h headway to lie |)nt a stop to." " .\ prairie lire, driven bv a Iii-Ii wind, swejit over a Iar<';e extent ol" this vi( inity, and (onsinned an iininense «|naiitity ol hay. As a conse(|nen(e, it is leared that sonic settlers will be obli,u,ed to dispose ot the majority of their sto( k. This should be a wariiiiiL'; lo lariners to put lire-guards around, iheii hav as soon as il is stai ked. 'An ounce of l)revention is worth a pound ot euri-.'" "Sri. KIRK, ()et. 2. Prairie lires have been ra,L;ing about six miles west, and have done ( onsiderable damage to the hay." "The (oiintrv on the ('al,!j;ary trail, between the Dlack Mud and the riju'stone, has been burned. 'I'lie fire crossed the river troin Stony ('reek to the south side, and is now burnin;; furiously." "Mr. (lunnc has received information that disastrous fires have been raging in the country around Moose Moun- tain during the i)ast week, a number of settlers having had their entire cro]), and in many cases their hcnises, ( on- sumeil. The reports so far, however, are very meagre." "The ])rairie fires swept over the J^lin Valley neigh- bourhood on Tuesday, the 2n(l of the month. Mr. Dougall Cameron mourns the loss of his hay-stacks; Mr. Wright lost i,200 bushels of grain ; and liest l>ros. 700 bushels of wheat and oats, and 17 tons of hay. Mr. I)est came very near losing his house, the fire burning up his wood-pile to within a few feet of the door." " A prairie fire a few miles from Crystal City was raging the latter j)art of last month. The horizon on every side was lighted up, and it made ."> landscape long to be remem- bered for its j)ictures(|ue beauty. The fire is said to have started on the American side in Dakota, and swept into Canadian territory with great fury, and we are sorry to state that some of the farmers suffered severe loss in the destruc- 4S M.\Nir«)H\ 1)1 s(uim;i). tion ol their rro]is. Mr. D. l\)tl(.M, \vc arc told, l«)st ail of a very large rrop, and lUMrly all ol" the < roj) of Mr. Alex. MeTavish was destroyed, as was in part the crops of (lahriel llohues and Corhilt vV ( 'rookshank, and William (loult- hard. Mr. l-orsyth, in 1,15. not only lost all o( his crop, but also his granary, and nearly all the material he had on the ground tor the construction of a dwelling. This sad exjierience oi' those who have had their crops thus ruth- lessly destroyed will i)'()ve a lesson to many to secure their crops with good and j.ulli( ient the breaks." l''rt)ni the evidenie now atlduceil, it will be seen that the enormous damage tione by the prairie fires has no com- pensating features, except that the i)asturage after them is, perhaps, imj)rt)ved for a time, a matter of comparatively small moment surely. Net I am convinced that by far the largest number o\' fnes, both in the sjjring and autvunn, arc started intentionally by settlers lo improve their i)asturage, t)r, as they tliink, to ritl themselves of moscjuitoes, while the rest arc due to carelessness in not putting out camj)- lires, iVc. This being the case, most persons will very naturally ask why the starting of a fire should not be heavily punishable by law. 'i'hc only answer returnable is, that it is so ; but the difiiculty of carrying out the law is very great. Mr. Acton lUnrows, Minister of Agriculture, obligingly furnished me with a copy of the Act ])assed on February 8, 1880, and entitled "An Act to Prevent the Ex- tension of Prairie Fires.'' It is rather a curiosity in the way of legislation, and may be summarised as follows : — (i.) Any person making haystacks on the oi)en prairie shall ]")rotect them with a ploughed or burned fire-guard, not less than S ft. wide, and not less than 20 ft. from them ; and, to i^'cvent accidents, a tire shall not be lighted for this purpose unless at least three men be present to prevent it running. (2.) Any person disobeying this to be liable to a fine. (3.) Any person allowing tire to run off his own woods or prairies, to the damage of those of other persons, shall be fined, on conviction, not less than 200 dols. or, in defiiult, not more than twelve months' imprisonment. (4.) Any ]-)erson leaving a fire burning without taking effectual means to prevent its spreading on to lands other than his own, shall be finable to the extent of 100 dols., or im- I (•HSl,inA-||«)NS ON 'IlIK CI.IMNTI' (»r MANIInl'.A. lost all of Mr. AKx. of (lal)ricl ;iin (!()iilt- his crop, lie had on 'I'liis sad llius ruth .•cure their }n thai the s no < oin- •r them is, iparalively by far llie ituinii, are pasturai^e, toes, wliile out canip- s will very Id not be returnable .It the law grieulture, passed on nt the Kx- ity in the ows : - len prairie fire-guard, om them ; ed tor this prevent it liable to a his own r i)ersons, ols. or, in ent. (4-) effectual than his Is., or im- V) prisoned lor not more than si\ nionilr.. (5.) The inronncr is to receive half the line. (6.) j'ersons n)ay let out (ire to save Iheujselves from danger. (7.) In case of (ire in woods or on prairies, the nearest overseer of highways may sum- pion tlu> inhabitants to assist in putting it out. (.S.) In case of default, the parties are linabh-. (<).) Damages are recoverable bifore any compelent ( 'ourt of jurisdi* lion. (10.) ( 'opies of this A< I are lo be distributed, (ii.) Ke- l)eals former Ads and ( )rders in Council. Here we have the fust section anupclliniyx man to pro te< t his own goods, and, in so doing, either to use a plough, or, at his own option, the very means whi( h are as likely as not to <ause the same danger to all his neighbours as hi: himself is trying lo |)rovide against ; for it is fairly certain that, in many cases, no three men could be sure of preventuig a fire from riuming. A friend told me that he once a( ( i- dentally let lire out in a high wind, and before it hafl run a mile, he was sure the bla/e was two miles wide. I heard, too, of a ease in which a reverend gentleman had been fined the fiill 200 dols. ; but, as a rule, settlers (an fire the prairie with impunity. Difficult as it Uiight be to enforce, a law is recjuired which shall severely punish the lighting of a prairie fire under any ])rete\t whatever, 'i'he severity of the iK'ualties in the ])resenl Act shr)ws that the iMani- toban legislators went to work in the right sjiirit, though with a wrong method. I must ask my readers to i)ardon the great length at which I have treated of this j)art of my subject ; but enough has been said to show its great im})ortance. •c-* CHAPTER HI. OnSERVATION.S ON THE CUMATE OF MANITOI'.A. There are many persons who will be inclined to ridicule my remarks ui)on the climate of Manitoba, simjily because I have not spent a complete winter there. JUit, as a result of extensive inquiries, I am convinced that this is E 50 M \M r(M! \ I>^.^( 1:1111 l>. ii i not so meat an onussion ;.s ir.any ]ico]»lo will he iiu iincd to bclicvi". Of nil iho cansc'-: wliicli niakc I'-n^lislunon distrMstfiil ol" C'anada as a lu'ld tor scttKincnt, llio scvciilv of the winter is hv far the most poweilul. \\ ere our would he enUL;rants perl'eedy sati>i"ied in their owiv minds that the winter eerlainlv is not so ^reat an obstacle to the luturc (levelopmtMit ol" the (onntry as some lursons have repre- sented it to 1h'. the tide of emii^ration to (Canada as a whole, and to \ anitoha in partieelar, would he j^reatK increased. To tins point, then, ' will now direct my attention. To the mind ol" the avera;j;e l''nj;lishman, ( 'anada in ;onsihly jircstMits itscU" as a land of i)iM|ietual winter. The ideas ot" t'nr-cl;id nuai, ol' iinulin;; sleigh hells, of hard frosts, ot" " ice carnivals,"" aiul all other kinds of winter sports arc so iiiscparahly c uniecled with C'anada in the tlu)UL;hts of many, that the nijtio.' of there heinj; a sunmicr at all in that eonnlry — to snynothiiiL; of that sunnncr heini; a delightful one — is, at first, not altoi^ether unlikely to ai>pcar absurd. This idea, that Canada is a country know- int; no other season than the winter time, which has almost nneonsciously iKMineated our thoughts, is, 1 believe, largely resjionsible tor the bad name which Manitoba has now come to ])osscss in ihe eves of many peo])lc. What amonnt of truth there is in it let my readers jndgc after having read mv statements. I have no desire whatever to make tlic ISFanitoban winter appear cither more or less severe than it really is ; but the almost universi'l lostimony retxMvcd from actual settlers has }icrfeclly convin( ed nic that the disadvantages of the severe winter have been greatly exaggerated in this country ; though it is useless to deny that they are very great. Lest some should imagine that, having only s'.v'i things at their best, 1 am disinclined to believcthey ever reach their worst, I will here (]uote some remarks made by Captain lUitler in liis "Wild North Land"' (p. 68). He says: ''Those who in summer or autumn visit the great prairie of the vSas- katchewan can form but a faint idea of its winter fierceness and utter desolation. They are prone to paint the scene as wanting only the settler's hut, the yoke of oxen, the ()|!Sr,KV.\l IONS f)\ TFtl CF.IMVIT. OT MWIIOIM. 5' |)c iiK lim-d (listrustrul •ity »'l llir r would l)r Is thai the tlio fntuiv Kivc n'i)rc ;in;i(la as a !)(• L;rcall\ direct my Canada in inter. 'I'lie Is, of hard s i)t winter lada in the i; a summer nmer beinj;]; unhkely to nitry know- iias ahnost eve, largely 1 lias now le. What udge after )han winter is ; but the settler's has the severe s country ; reat. I .est iL!;s at their their worst, in lUitler in 'I'hose who of the vSas- ;r fierceness t the scene f oxen, the waiMin, In Ixrninr at omc the I'aradisc (A' the Inisliafid man. Thi'V lilllc know ol what they s|)(ak. Should they really wiJi to lomi a tine ( onception ol lilc in these solitudes, let tin in ;',o out towards the r lose ol November into the treeless waste; ///f// midst liert (vstorm and blindinp, cold, a!i(l snowdrift so densf that earth and Ik av<'n s(( in wrapped together in indistinguishable chaos, they will witness a sight as different from the sununer ideal as a mid-Atlantic mid-winter storm varies from a tranquil mooiilighl on the ,1'"gean Sea.'' Tius, it may be pointed out, is written as a. result of th'- author's (.'Xjierienf e under canvas merely, and, therefore, is not I'kely to be under- drawn ; but, if any one fancies that occasional spells of weather as bad, or even worse than this, renders life in a well warmed house unbearable, let him go out and a^!: the many settlers that are already on the ])rairies <•, Iiat their cxperieiK e has been, and they will answer almost to a man : " Long and severe the winter doubtless is ; but, for all that, it is not unbearable, nor even, at times, imenjoyable." The -IA^a/' /.(r//c /'^x/^/rss is leader of the anti-Manitoba faction in this country, in a recent issue, the editor of this usually-reliable journal waxes exceedingly wrolli against Professor Tanner, whose ( hief fault appears to have been that, in his " Report on Canada," he had given his opinion U])()n the Manitoban climate, after having made many incpiiries concerning it upon the spot, instead of setting to work in a London oltice to draw ujjon his imagination for his ideas u[)on the subject, as his antagonist has most clearly done. I do not wish to deny that the Professor's rcj)ort docs require rather more shading, by way of contrast with the sui)er-abundant rose-colour whi(h it shows; but, of the two, his opponent, by rushing infinitely further in '.he oi)i)osite extreme, has fallen int(j by far the gravest error. 'J'he North-west is derisively s])oken of as " Pritish Siberia," while, as to its climate, we are told that "sev^n months of winter and five months of mos(luitoe^; is the programme of the year in Manitoba." Next we have the inquiry, very innocently put forward : "Shall we ever get a report on Manitoba written by a visitor who chooses some other time than the pleasant Indian summer — f/n' only tolerable portioii of the year l/i Manitoba — for his travels ]•: 2 i i 'S I P I 52 MANTJOnA F^ESCRIIJED. in the province ? " As showing tlie value of such abuse, it will be well to observe that a few lines higher up we luid been led to suj)pose that no portion of the year was either pleasant or tolerable in Manitoba. It is usually ([uite useless to argue with an author who makes such statements as the foregoing ; but, for the sake of the readers, I wish to poinf out that many reports, such as those asked for, do exist. i''or instance, no one has spoken more highly of the North-west than Cai)tain lUitler, Viscount Milton, Dr. Cheadle, and the author of " A Year in Manitoba," all of whom have passed at least one winter in the country, and some have even suffered considerable hardship from the cold. I'or my own i)art, although I was not in ^Tanitoba during the Indian summer, — a season, it should be remem- bered, which has an average annual duration of less than seven days, — I can assert that during almost the whole of the time that I was there the weather was not only toler- able, but delightful. The author of "A Year in Manitoba," after having sj^ent a winter there, writes : "The sense of cold is certainly much less here than in England ; its dry- ness probably accounts for much of this ; but cold and heat are relative terms as regards the feelings." With 12 deg. of frost, he says, " the weather felt (|uite warm, and both gloves and overcoats seemed sui)erfluous." Ikit the editor's confidence in his own opinion has led him into a trap. He makes an extract from the Professor's report, in which the following appears : — " On account of the bracing dry atmosphere, the fluctuations of temperature are not inconveniently felt, as is the case where the atmosphere is more humid. The warm days in summer are generally followed by cool evenings, and such a thing as very sultry and oppressive heat is scarcely known. The warm days followed by cool nights, and copious dews, facilitate the growth of cereals in a wonderful degree. The winters here are also very pleasant and bracing, proceeding from the same cause, namely, the dryness of our atmosphere." "This is a little too much, and it renders one unavoidably cautious in accepting the Professor's judgment of other matters in Canada," says our editor, apparently over- looking the fact that the foregoing is no vain imagination of Professor Tanner's, but the deliberate opinion of Mr. i J f § " such abuse, it icr up we liad year was cither usually ([uitc uch statements ders, I wish to asked for, do c highly of the : Milton, Dr. nitoba," all of '2 country, and ship from the t in Manitoba jld be remem- n of less than t the whole of lot only toler- in Manitoba," The sense of ;land ; its dry- cold and heat With 12 deg. rm, and both ." But the )d him into a or's report, in Df the bracing ature are not itmosphere is are generally as very sultry le warm days facilitate the : winters here ing from the atmosphere." : unavoidably ent of other irently over- imagination iiion of Mr. IM 'M Genkral Meteorolocical Means and Ouantities from Ohservations i Mean Height of the Darorneter j 29.1369 Mean Temperature \ 32*43 Maximum Temperature | ioo'3 -Minimum Temperature — 40"3 Mean Percentage of Sky Clouded ' 0-52 Auiount of Rain in inches 15-600 Amount of Snow in inches ei-t^o Total Precipitation of Rain and melted Snow 20-i75 Xum her of Days on which Rain fell , j 56 Number of Days on which Snow fell j 48 Numbe'- of Fogs J7 Number of Auroras | ^g Number of Thunder-Storms "' j 27 32-84 99-5 -41 "o 0-50 2 1 '620 73 '02 30-170 54 46 9 59 27 29-1295 32-29 94-3 ! — ^6-0 i — 0-49 13-vSo 36-85 1 7 -040 61 55 6 81 24 29-1451 31-85 94-5 387 0-41 14-988 36-17 18-314 47 42 8 54 31 29-1474 29-63 94'3 -41 -b 0-46 12-290 47'ii 15-847 68 57 2 42 13 Certain Meteorological Means and Quantities Pmenemona. Jan. Feb. 1 March. April. May. 5475 83-5 29-2 June. Mean Temperature Maximum Temperature .... .. iSSo > 5 0-50 40-5 31-3 — 2*23 364 35-3 447 • 36-3 30-72 67-5 3-2 62-79 Minimum Temperature i^7*o 34 'o Mean Tem])erature Maxinnnn Temperature Minimum Temperature . 1881 — 9*2 31-5 -40 "5 37 29-0 -27-3 1 20-8 41 '3 ! 8-2 32-12 59 5 10-3 57'4 84-6 21-3 6-28 98-0 397 Mean Temperature (avera^j^e)... 2-9 30 i 9-0 i 30-2 51-2 63-6 •ROM OliSERVATIONS TAKKN AT ^VI^^•II•E(;, FROM 1871 iO 18S1 INXLUSIVE. IS74 1875 1876 29-3191 31 34 95-0 43*0 0-50 22-950 74-21 29-184 68 46 8 31 28 i 1877 1878 1879 1S80 1881 Mean for II Years. 29-1451 31-85 94-5 -38-7 0-41 14-988 36-17 18-314 47 42 8 54 31 29-1474 29-63 94-3 — 41-b 0-46 12-290 47-11 15-847 68 57 2 42 13 29'i5i7 36-88 95-0 44-3 0-48 22-034 30-30 24-608 78 29 16 33 25 29-0993 36-96 94-5 25-3 0-56 24-135 34-44 29*516 81 34 5 12 17 29'I'520 33-36 93-0 -50*5 0-52 19-810 57-90 25*235 91 39 9 36 31 29-1365 31-82 90-3 —44-4 0-55 21-683 58-19 27-166 76 46 7 26 33 29-1520 34'3 98-0 —40-5 0*57 8*055 80-19 18-094 79 49 II 36 29 • 29-1530 33-06 95-34 40-5 f 0-51 16-977 52-72 23-304 69 45 9 42 27 ?ANs AND Quantities observed at Winnh'ec. May. June. Julv. August. wSept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Year. 54-75 83-5 29-2 62-79 5^7-0 34-0 6S-61 90-3 39*0 62-24 84*3 37*0 51-97 78-0 27-0 38-25 74-3 14-0 12.46 46-3 25-3 —2-58 34-5 44*4 31-82 90-3 44-4 57-4 84-6 21-3 6-28 98-0 39-7 69-9 93-5 39 -o 66-4 88-7 51-1 81-0 27-0 34*3 66 -o 11 -0 121 44-8 —26-3 lo-i 387 —27-3 34*3 98-0 —40-5 51-2 i 63-6 65*9 64-8 51-3 1 40-0 1 146 0-6 32-6 To face p. 53. li ( iKM.KAJ. Mm K<)K()I.()i;i(.\ IIKNOMKNA. Mean I Icitjht of the Ijarometcr Mean 'rcni|)ei-atiirL' Maximum Temptiaturc M inimum Temperature. . Mean I'erceiitage of Sky Clouded Amount of Rain in inehes Amount of Snow in inches Total I'recijiitation of Rain and melted Snow Number of Days on which Rain fell Number of Days c>n which Snow fell Number of Foj^s . . Number of Auroras Number of Thunder-Storms 1S7 29.1 32-4 IOO\3 -403 51-5 20'I 5 4 I 4 2 1' !§ '' I Pit K.N EM ON A. j an. Fei Mean Temperature 18S0 ) » 1881 J) 5» 0-50 40-5 -31-3 — 2": Maximum Temperature Minimum Temiierature 36 V -35-: Mean Temperature Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Mean Temperature (averai^e) — 9-2 31-5 —40-5 3-: 29 'C -27-: 2-9 3c OBSERVATIONS ON THK CLIMATE OF MANir015A. 53 5 A I A 2 J) / James Stewart, of vSt. Andrews, Manitoba, who has resided there and systematically recorded the fluctuations of the weather since the year 1867. Further comment is need- less. So f:ir as the readings of the barometer and thermometer go, no one need any longer be in ignorance of the climate of Winnipeg ; for the daily readings of both, from the beginning of 187 1 to the end of 1S81, together with "certain meteorological means and ([uantities " for each year, and for ^he whole period of eleven years, are given in full in the " Report of the De})artment of Agriculture for 18S2." The first of the two tables on the accomj)any- ing sheet gives the principal results of these observations. The second indicates the maximum, minimum, and mean temperatures for each month in 1880 and 1881, and also for those two years as a whole, as shown by the report : as well as the average mean temperature of Winnipeg for the year and for each month in the year, as given in the article " Canada,'' i'^. the last edition of the "' Encyclopcncdia Britannica." Although the winter is thus shown to be excessively severe if the thermometer alone be consulted, the almost universal testimony one receives from settlers is that, although the duration might be considerably shortened with advantage, still it is far from being an unbearable or even disagreeable time ; that a temperature of many degrees below zero is not felt to be anvthing like the inconvenience it would be here. The nights are excessively cold, and so are the mornings and evenings. It is then that the mercury shrinks to 30 deg. or 40 deg. below zero, and people who are not very careful of themselves are certain to get more or less severely frost-bitten. But for several hours at mid-day the state of things is generally very different. The sun shines brightly, and even warmly, through the clear dry air, upon the dazzling white snow : out-door work can be carried on, provided there is no wind ; the mercury rises to zero, or even higher, and all nature looks so cheerful that existence itself is said to be a l)leasure. Of course there are precautions which must be taken, or the return of the intense cold at night will freeze the unlucky settlers in their very beds. 'I'he houses are 54 MAXITOIiA DESCRIBED. u ^;[^ I built bolidly and coni])actly, with small rooms that can be conveniently warmed with a stove in which a fire is kept up all night. Not a few settlers told me that if they could only get plenty of coal they would laugh at the worst frosts. The much-abused stove is, of course, as much an insti- tution in Canada as in the States. Whether or not it is more unhealthy than an open fire I do not know ; but I do know that as a warming contrivance it is vastly superior, while, as a cooking api)aratus, it is not inferior. A hot fire is very (juickly obtained in a Canadian stove, and cooking is done as easily as with a kitchen range. Unlike an open grate, a stove gives off heat all round, while the chimney or pii^e, still giving off heat, is carried u}) through the ceiling to the room above (when there is one), where a tin contrivance, called a "drum," is often used. In this the hot air circulates, often giving off as much warmth as the stove below. Thus, the whole of the heat generated by the consumjjtion of fuel in the stove, is, as far as possible, utilised, and but little is sent up the chimney to warm the clouds, which is the i)rincipal effect of open grates. The ]\Ianitoban farmer, with his small, stove-warmed house, has the power of making himself snug, which many an English cottager finds he lacks when an unusually severe winter arrives. Out-doors, great fingerless mittens of buffalo-hide are worn on the hands ; huge overcoats, made of woolly bufflilo- robes, and worn over everything, give human beings an extremely ursine api)earance ; while mocassins of soft moose-skin cover the feet, and permit that free circulation of the blood which hard leather boots would prevent, thereby causing the feet to become frozen. Though made of soft skin, there is no danger of their becoming worn out or wet through, for the fine powdery snow is always dry, and always soft, and seldom melts until the arrival of the universal and rapid spring thaw. IManitobans know what to expect during winter, and prepare for it accordingly. There is never any doubt, as there is here, whether the coming winter is going to be a hard one, or, indeed, whether there is going to be a winter at all. 'rhe hard frost comes one year much as it came the year before — perhaps a little more or a little less severe, OI5SERVATI0X.S OX TIIK C Ll.MATi: OF MAXITOI'-A. 55 t can be kept up :iy could St frosts, an insti- nct it is but I do superior, ^ hot fire cooking an open chimney :)Ugh the lere a tin this the ith as the erated by ; possil>le, warm the tes. The lOUse, has n Enghsh re winter •hide are y buffalo- beings an of soft irculation prevent, (Ugh made worn out Iways dry, val of the inter, and doubt, as rm to be a le a wmter as it came ess severe, but still always intense. During tlie night, the very earth outside, and the logs or beams of the house, can sometimes be heard cracking like pislol-shots. 'l"he })anes of the window become covered with solid blocks of ice, due to the condensation of moisture, often levelling them up with the sashes: and little buttons of ice form on the lieads of each of the tacks that nail the paper to the frame of tiie house. The winter of 1882-83 ^^"^'^ often si)oken of as a very severe one, the mercury fretjuently falling at night to 20 deg. or 30 deg. below zero, while on one occasion it is said to have reached - 50 deg. Fahr. The cracking of the beams of a house is akin to the cracking of a ship's timbers during an Arctic winter. It is imaginary rather than real, since no cracks o\^q\\. Hut it is different with the earth. In hollows and slight dei)res- bions on the prairie, where water has stood in the autumn and been frozen with the soil, the surface of the ground during the following summer may be jilainly seen to have been cracked and riven by ziz-zag, lightning-like seams running into one another every few feet or inches. The actual cracks do not ga})e open, but still it is easy enough . to see where they have been. Even on the dr)-, level l)rairie, when breaking is going on, a number of sods may often be seen to break in two in exactly the same line as the plough lifts them. This is due to an old winter frost- crack, which, though it could not before be seen by the eye, thus shows itself The winter usually sets in about the last week in October or first in November, and continues without a break until the beginning or middle of April. It is said that a thaw which does not completely clear the ground is more to be dreaded in the North-west than a temperature of 50 deg. below zero ; for the hard crust that forms during the next frost causes manv animals to starve through being unable to get at their food beneath it. lUit it must not be sup- posed that the lovely winter days that have already been spoken of are invariable. As in other countries where the cold of winter is intense, it only becomes unpleasant when a wind is added. A very low temi)erature can be easily endured when all is perfectly still ; but, when a wind is added, frost-bites at once occur. Now ^vlanitoba, being a 56 MANITOHA DKSCRinEI). level, open country, is a good deal exposed to the effect of winds ; and this fact may be blamed for the greater part of all that is disagreeable in connexion with the winter. The fine powdery snow lies on the ground ready to drift with the slightest wind, and it requires no little skill so to manage the winter drifts that they may be turned where they are the least inconvenience. Out on the open prairie, the slightest obstruction or eminence causes the driving snow to form a long, narrow drift behind it, which drift, as soon as the wind shifts round to any other ([uarter, throws another drift, as wide as the first is long, and at right-angles to it. Few things throw a worse drift than a straw-stack, or a building with sloping sides ; for, as there is '^othing to turn the wind, the snow is deposited all over and around such a building, whereas a sheer upright wall throws the wind back, to some extent, causing a drift to be formed at a little distance from the wall, — this distance being greater according as the wall is high. Of all things Manitoban, the most to be dreaded is a *' blizzard." This phenomenon is usually concurrent with a very low temperature, and woe be to the unlucky settler who is out on the prairie away from shelter when a blizzard comes on ! A terrific wind, chilled below zero, sweeps over the surface of the ground, driving the [)0wdery snow in clouds before it till it is utterly impossible to see one's way. A real blizx.ard of great severity, fortunately, is not of very frec^uent occurrence. A blizzard often lasts for an entire day, but seldom more than one occurs in a year, and that usually about February. During a blizzard, it is not neces- saiy for snow to fall, but that which i)reviously lay on the ground is lifted up and driven forward with tremendous S])eed. One man told me that he had heard of a case in which a settler, returning home with his team, had been caught in a blizzard ; but, by standing up on his load, he was able to get above the snovv into clear atmosphere, and he thus managed to find his way home. Yet, after all, a blizzard is as nothing when compared with the frightful tornadoes, which are sometimes known to sweep over Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Dakota, clearing everything before them, — levelling houses, and killing people. For "iiE OHSKRVATIONS ON llir, t'MMATK 01 MAMIOIIA. feet of jr part ^vintcr. drift . so to wlicrc ion or narrow ; rouiid as the throw a sloping e snow A'hercas extent, om the 1 wall is led is a cnt with y setder blizzard eps over snow in le's way. ; of very n entire nd that |)t neces- on the [iiendous case in lad been load, he ere, and Iter all, a frightful ep over |-erything lie. For whatsoever reason it may be, Manitoba has never been cursed with such as tliese. The following grai)hic desi riplion of a bli/zard is from the pen of my friend, Mr. E. V. T. Seton, of Carberry. 1 make no excuse for inserting it here : -- A M.\Nn()i;.\\ l'i.i/,/,.\Rr). l^raniati^ pcrsoyuc. — A Manitoban party consist incj (after ("apt. Mayiie Rcid's jilan) of some [^lecnhoins, a scientific member, and an experienced native, known as John. All Ontarians liave heard of that simoon of the snow — a Manitoban bli/.zard ; but, unless they have travelled beyond the bounds of their province, they can never have experienced one ; for a bli/zard can only take place in a land of intense cold where there is a level unbroken waste of snow. Durinj:^ our first winter we were very naturally lookint; out for the terrors of a bliz/ard. Time W(jre on into the Christmas season ; the snow lay deeper and deeper on the ground, and the thermometer was steadily below zero ; but there was no _L;real <iisturbance to note. However, one day it came on to blow hard — as hard as I have ever seen it in Ontario. 'J'he wavy expanse of snow was more and more tossed into heaps — each heaji like a curled but stable wave — and over the crest, in gusty bursts, the wind sent liissing clouds of snow, which hitl from view objects a mile ^Ai and left but smoky outhnes of tho.se nearer. It was also very cold, and to the new comers it seemed a hard day indeed. As we watched the snow-sea being tossed about, one of us asked : " John, is this a lUizzard I "—"No.'' Such little spells of blustering weather increased in number and were passed without comment ; they might stop out-door work in Ontario, but the hardy Manitobans heed them not. But a harder, fiercer one came on us about the middle of January. The thermometer had fallen 30 (X'i'^. below zero. All night the winds worl^ed around the house and over the prairie, trampling and tossing the line powdery snow in wild sport. Fences were (juickly disappear- ing beneath the fast-accumulating heaps ; while in places the hard grinding of the storm was laying bare the ground. The air was full of snow for 50 ft. up. We could not see 100 yards with clearness. The cutting cold was driven into our faces, so that an hour or more outside necessitated a return to the house to thaw a nose or an ear. Travelling was impcjssible ; and, as we looked at the careering clouds of snow- dust, one said : " John I Tliis is a lilizzard at any rate ?"' The answer was a contemptuous " No ! " Time passed, and we were in l'cl)iuary. The snow lay deep over all tilings. The winds had i)iled drills and carved hollows innumer- able about every projection, till the plains seemed like a turbulent ocean of snow. One day, <^owardsthe end of the month, dawn showed a cloudy sky : and, though the weather seemed calm, there was at times a gust 1 if wiml which blew up a cloud of snow for a minute ami 58 MANITOiJA DE.SCRIl!i:i). ir ' ; !| f ? ; ) then let it settle a^ain. Towards nit;hl it tjot wiiuly, hlowiiit,' from the nf)rlh, and the iheiniometer had fallen to 40 de^. beUnv zero. Later (jii, tlie wind increased to a gale, and snow fell steadily. All night we heard the sound of the strong wind ami tiie snow hissing over the roof. Towards morning it got worse. When it shf)uld have been day, we looked out ; hut noliiing was visible at 20 ft. There was nothing but a chaos of whirling pcnvdery snow — a steady Idast of howling, stingnig snow — snow alx ve, snow arcnmd, snow below, snow cvervwiiere -snow driven almost through you, bearing a numbing chill to your very bones. The racing clouds were swept low to earth and whisked along like ice in p to-rcnt. Round the house the wind fairly screamed ; not '■ nv ha -like crack in roof or wall Init became a funnel for sift ' r....v. Twenty feet away from the buildings you seemed to be aloi: ■'; ^w.i.'e ; even your feet were hidden in hissing snow; while the ••.,;r'l'(.: gale, chilled to 40 deg. below zero, was tearing up solid drift, m rar/.. ■ and hurling them high into the gloom. The roaring was deafening, .ike a steady r-r-r-r-r from a fan-blast. The air was like llame on one's ilesh through its very coldness. The universe seemed blotted out by a Niagara of snow. There seemed neither heaven nor earth — nothing but furious winds and driving snow — gloom and terrible frost. The day was darkened and the sun forgotten — to his eyes the lantl was blotted out in the awful tumult I can say no more ! " Storm " is a weak word to describe it. For two days it lasted and we liveil hidden. The third morning came, but calm ; it was over. The face of the i)lains was changed ; there were creatures enough dead under that chaste white covering. As we dug out the cattle, said one— "John ! That zcas a IJli/./ard." This time there was no reply ! AVhatever the reason may be, it is a curious fact, admitted by all jNIanitobans, that Juiglishmen feel the cold of the first few winters less than tliey do themselves ; but, after that, they feel it more. "Old country blood is thicker," natives tell you by way of accounting for this peculiar circumstance. In a recently-received letter, a friend of mine — an Englishman — writes from ^Manitoba as follows, under date December 18, 1883, quite unprompted by any questioning on my part : '' It is very cold, but still bright and fine ; and, to a robust man, enjoyable. I daily go shooting, and amusing myself out of doors without any inconvenience, though my nose becomes unpleasantly cool at times."' It is very noticeable in jNIanitoba that, however hot the days may be, the nights are always cool. This a[)plies equally to both summer and winter, so that the pains to which a cbrtain newspaper editor has gone to show that the oiJSERVAiioNS ON tiil: lli.maii; of mam lor.A. 59 from /cro. All issing have c was ast of snow mbint; I cnrlh J wind ill but ililings (Icn in ,v zero, iilo the from a Is very snow. ; winds likened in the I. For r came, ^; there izzard." mittcd of the after ickcr," )cculiar nc— an cr date lioning d fine ; ng, and jnicnce, , •"' ■5. hot the ai)i)Ues )ains to that the s. jiild .iri-lu -every- x days minimum temperature of all the days in the months of October and April is nearly always some way below the freezini^^-point, though not incorrect, is still hardly a fair way of jtutting the matter, since the ///i\i// of those months is nearly always above the free/ing-jjoint. l)Ut there are two scenes in the act — sumir.er and winter. The former comes in with a rush, concjuering everywhere, driving out chill frost, and taking his ])lace. While the reign of warmth and sun-shine lasts there is little to remind one of the storms and conllicts which hold sway over the prairies during the winter time. In the bluffs and on the rivers ; in the air and on the ])lains, all nature is on the move. A constant succession of bright llowers is kept up ; birds are singing and rearing their ) oung ; thous su. of brilliant -winged grasshopi)ers rise as one walks thro^ h the grass; while gorgeous butterllies by hundred, T;.iuer past, forcing all men to wonder why the two si . be so different — why such a surprising contrast ? sunshine overhead is daily succeeded by sunslr' -^ thing seems in harmony with everything else. are nearly always warm, but seldom oppressive ; for, on the open prairies, there is nearly always a suflicient breeze to be perceptible. Sometimes the mercury rises very high. 1 have seen it u]) to 88 deg. Fahr., and every one s])oke of two excessively hot days which occurred towards the end of last June, when the mercury stood at 1 18 deg. in the sun, and the heat was so excessive that outdoor work was almost stopped."'^ Certainly the summer climate is vcr)' fmc ; and, if it is fair to s])eak from one year's ex{)erience, 1 should say that it is decidedly superior to that of England. As a rule, it is "set fair" : when rain does come, it usually rains with a will, and then stops. Two or three days of half-hearted drizzle seldom occur ; and, when they do, are set down as '' English weather." I saw only one si)ell of such. Many of the summer rains are thunder-showers ; but these, though often very heavy, are soon over. All travellers on * Aliout the midille of last July (18S4), 1 c:,neticiiccd a few days of excessive heat in Winnipeg. On one occasion, I believe, the ther- mometer indicated nearly 100 deg. in the shade. < 'I 6o MAN no HA UESCRIHED. li ! I the prairies speak of the frequent and excessive thunder- storms. Their severity is probably due to the lack of trees, l)uildings, and other eminences to draw off the electricity from the air to the ground. Natives said the storms this year were not so severe as sometimes; but, in all con- science, I thought them sufficient. I never saw such light- ning or heard such sudden and tremendous crashes of thunder : they literally shook the house. Sometimes at night I have gone out mto the pitchy darkness to watch the magnificent display of brilliant llashes from storms which ajjpeared to surround the whole horizon, while the banging and crashing of the thunder was past descrii)tion. The clearness and dryness of the air on the prairies is often si)oken of, and struck me much. Whilst I was in the country I only remember to have seen one fog. As in the higher mountainous i)arts of Switzerland, one is often much deceived as to distance. On account, I supjjose, of the clearness of the atmo- sphere, auroras are seen ahnost nightly at some times of the year. I saw them night after night during last August, usually taking the form of a low, wide bow, arching over the north, or of a shapeless haze <^^ white light extending low down for some distance along the northern horizon. In winter, when the frost is severe, they are often much more brilliant. The smoke, too, of a locomotive may often be seen for a long distance, as it floats away on to the horizon exactly like that of a steamer at sea. One evening, about sunset, a train jiassed Carberry for the west. Shortly after I was surprised at seeing a distinct line of smoke, ex- tending rather low down along the northern horizon, from the north-east right round to the west, it having, of course, floated away on a slight southerly breeze. The mirage is an oi)tical ])henomenon very frecjuently seen on the prairies. On different occasions the illusion takes slightly different forms ; but its main feature is, of ccarse, a lifting up, and often a magnification, of distant objects. Often, during a hot day, what appears like a clump of bushes, may be seen on the far-off horizon as it slightly elevated ; or, as if seen on the further shore of some wide sheet of water. Another form is usually seen in the early morning, before the thin night-mists have onsr.RVATioxs on iiir. climah: of mamtoiia. 6i cleared away, and especially after a frosty night ; as, for instance, on the morning of September 8 last, when i was distinctly able to see houses and shanties dotting the plain to the north of Carberry, all ap[)earing to be of (juite double their usual height, as well as being lifted up and distinctly visible, though, of the majority, not a trace can be seen under ordinary conditions. Heyond all, in the distance, the outline of the Kiding Mountain, nearly fifty miles away, was distinctly visible, though usually (piile unseen. C)ne gentleman, living four miles from Brandon and twelve from Rapid City, told me that he had on several occasions sc.'n the former town, and jnce the latter, so raised uj) by the mirage as to be visible from his house, although in both cases, and especially the latter, there is rising ground between which, under ordinary circumstances, absolutely prevents his seeing either place. But I must not forget that i)eculiarly calm and dreamy period, the " Indian summer," which has been so often mis- understood, and about which so much has been written but so little really learned, when the summer time, as it were, summons up its last expiring energies as if determined to enjoy itself for a brief period before giving place to its chill, cold enemy — winter. The characteristics of this peculiar phenomenon have been thus described : " Sounds are distinctly audible at great distances ; objects are difti- cult to discern unless close at hand ; the weather is warm and oppressive ; the atmosi)here hazy and calm ; and every object appears to wear a tranquil and drowsy aspect.' According to Hind, the average duration of the Indian summer in Ontario for twenty years (1840 to 1S59 in- clusive) was six days ; the average date of commencement being October 27, and of termination November 2 ; but, in the North-west, the season is more marked, and pro- bably of longer duration. Unfortunately, I left Manitoba just too early to see the Indian summer this year. A few- days after my departure it set in (about November 5) ; but lasted only till the 9th, when the winter cold commenced in earnest. All parts of Canada, as well as the more northerly States of the Union, are at times subject to what are known as ** summer frosts," and it may be safely stated that, in the MA\iroi:\ DF'.scRinr.i). \i : I North-west, tlicy arc more to he feared than the severest frosts of winter. At times thev have done considerable dama_L;e to t^^rowin;:^ cro[)S ; l)ut, usually, the injury is only sli^dit. 1 l)elieve June is the month in whieli tiicy most fre<|uently a])i)ear. If the L^reat alternations of lieat and coh* n-iiicli are thus shown to exist were really painful to bear, ;> irely we should have abundant eomi)laints from those w.io have already emiL!;rated to the North-west ; but, of all the dis- paraging,' remarks which I heard made as to a settler's prospects, few related either to the clin\atc or to the country. All the testimony showed that the winter, which is usually rci)resented to be so unbearable, is, in spite of some draw- backs, (juitc the reverse. Ontarians are rare who do not prefer a Manitoban winter to that of their own ])rovince. The climate of every country has some disadvantages. Unless a man courts disappointment, he will not set out upon a search for a land where ideal meteorologi('al conditions ])revail ; and Englishmen, above all others, are. in this matter, the persons with least right to throw mud at others. Had there been of late in iMigland no disastrous seasons, no wet and sunless summers ; no mild, unseason- able winters ; no great storms to uproot trees, ruin houses, and wreck ships ; no destructive floods and no famine in Ireland, England might well find fault with Manitoba. As it is, the Manitobans are fairly well satisfied with their climate ; and they would on no account exchange it for that of England. If we look at the matter entirely without bias, we shall, I think, be compelled to admit that Nature has been far from unkind to this wild North Eand. A long and rigorous winter she has certainly imposed upon it ; but, as though in compensation for this, she has given it a fertile soil and a delightful summer climate which, in sjiite of the shortness of the latter, many another nation might well envy. MANITOP.A DISCRII'.F.Ti. 6:> ivcrest cra\)le s only \{ most fli arc cly we ) liavc he dis- ;cttler's r)untry. usually L' draw do not ovinre. mlages. set out ological [;rs, are, mud at sastrous iseason- houses, mine in 3a. As h their or that without Nature A long It : but, a fertile e of the ht well ciiAP'n:K i\ I'ARMINO IS MAMIDIlA. In speaking of the methods of agriculture as practised in Manitoba, or in any other equally young and rercntly- [)eoplcd country, it is iiardly necessary to premise that the agricultural art -if art it maybe called where art there is none — is in a very rude and primitive condition, and bears about as much relation to that jiractised in tlu; thickly- peoi)led countries of the Old World as the j)erf()rinances of the house-plasterer, working with a whitewash-brusli, bear to those of the artist, who works with a fine camel's hair ])encil. I'^ach, in its own place, serves its own purp(^se, and would be useless in the ])lace of the other. Thus, in a country where, on account of the abundance of available land, there is practically no system of tenure, but every man tills his own ground, paying neither rent nor tithe — scarcely even taxes — to any man ; where the soil is so unboundedly fertile that the use of manures, the adoption of all systems of fallowing, or the rotation ofcroj^s would be (juite useless, it is not surprising that these more elaborate methods of cultivation have not yet been emi)loyed. There is one great advantage which Manitoba possesses over all other British Colonies, l^lsewhere, as a rule, the emigrant commencing colonial life will find it necessary to expend a considerable sum of money and a great deal ofpersonallab ur in order to clear his land of its native forest-growth; but, in Manitoba, nearly the whole of the country is prairie Irnd : consequently the farmer has nothing to do but to fence and plough it, when he will find himself possessed of almost everything constituting a com])lete farm. Nearly the whole of Ontario (from which ])rovin'e Manitoba has been largely peopled) was, until com- paratively recently, covered with a dense growth of splendid 64 MANiroI'.A Dr.SCRIliKI). } i i 1 I? i I I i forests, out of wliich every :iere that was brought under eultivatit)!! had to l)e hewn lal)orit)Usly with tlie axe. If a settler added five aeres ])er year to his cuUivated ground, by euttint; down the niaL;nifieent trees, piling them in a hea]> and burning tlienv- even then leaving his ground eneunibered in" their stunins- he might consider that he liad done well in his twelve months. Henre it is often said that So-and-so has gone out into "tlie backwoods of Canada " ; but su( h an expression is wholly inai)i)licable when api)lied to Manitoba, wliere the soil recjuires nothing but the application of the ])lough to enable it to grow good crops of wheat ; and, i)rovided a sufficient number oi men, horses, and ])loughs \)c employed, there is little or nothing to ])revent one farmer from bringing several thousand acres of land under cultivation in a single year. Here, then, Manitoba possesses one marked advantage over the state of things which formerly existed in Ontario, and which now exists in many parts of Australia and New Zealand. lUit Manitoba, like all other countries, has its own peculiar disadvantages ; and these may almost all be collected together under one heading — the length of the winter and consc(iuent shortness of the summer. It is not too much to say that the great and only secret of successful farming in Manitoba, is to farna in a manner which is adapted to the climate. The settler knows well what he has to expect ; and, unless he profits by it, deserves, and will meet with, nothing but lailure. That this ui/i be done is i;roved conclusively by what /ids been done. We will suj^i^ose that the emigrant arrives upon the land which he has selected some time during tlie summer. The first matters requiring his attention will be the building of a house and the breaking of some land. Many settlers live in tents until the arrival of winter renders it necessary to remove to some warmer shelt-r ; and, through the warm summer months, this mode of life is not unpleasant ; but it will certainly become the reverse if carried on later than the end of September, and a house of some sort should be ready for occujiation by that date. It is a common practice with settlers to raise, or attempt to raise, a. crop the first year ; but I am inclined to doubt the advantages of the plan, except upon a small scale, or ;V FAKMIXC IN' MAN! lOr.A. (>5 undvv ". It" a ;;rc)iiiHl, 11 in a mouiul "hat lie s often )()ds ot [)lieal)le nothinL:; i\v i^ood iber oi little or several Ic year, lue over io, and id New has its . all be of the It is not cecsstul I'hieh is vhat he es, and be done the land ;r. The tiding of tiers live ssary to le warm t ; but it ter than t should attempt o doubt scale, or when the settler has a larL;e family to \'ccd and very little or no cajjital to purchase provisions. It is, of ('our-se, absolutely necessary for this ])ur])ose that tlie farmer be at work early in the year — certainly not later than the month of May. 'The i)lan adoi)ted is to sow the oats or potatoes upon the prairie and plouj^h them in. in moist places, or in wet seasons, this may succeed ; but, as a rule, 1 !)elieve the results are not very encourai^inu;, and all the crops which I saw grown under these conditions were poor. 'i'hc method usually adopted, however, on virgin ])rairie soil consists, in the fust place, of " breaking "' it. breaking is done by taking a thin))eel, from one inch to one inch and a half thick, from the surface with an iiihlrumenl known as a " breaking-jjlough.'" '{"his is jjrovided with a shar|)- edged steel wheel that goes in front, cutting tlie sod, which is afterwards turned by the plough-share to a width of fifteen inches at a time. .\n acre and a half is an a\erage day's work with horses ; but oxen are slower. Breaking may be done at any time c'the year e\( ept during winter ; but is usually the farmer's occu])ation alter the i)eriod of seeding. After being broken, the sod is allowed to lie and rot for six weeks or two months, when it is " backset." This operation consists in ploughing it back again, but this time to a dejjth of three or four inches. Some farmers backset their breaking crossways ; but this leaves the ground very rough, and is not a plan usually followed. This double ploughing is very necessary with fresh, prairie soil in order to break tii), as much as possible, the sods, which are rendered very tough by the grass-roots they contain, and which, in any case, do not rot comfiletely for several years. More than an acre of backsetting is often done in a single day ; and the two operations together are at ])resent usually charged for at the rate of si.x or seven dollars ])er acre, backsetting is sometimes done in the spring, and a crop grown on it the same year ; but it is far better done either during the summer, or after harvest, when the terrific frosts of winter assist in the puherisa- tion of the soil, and lea.vc it ready for seeding directly the thaw takes place in sj^ring. The ploughing of stubble land is also done both in the spring and after harvest ; but, unless 1 am greatly mihtaken, F 66 MANITOBA DESCRIIJKI). ♦1 IS to farm in a manner as spring-wheats only arc no good farmer would willingly leave it to be done in the spring ; for, as has been already stated, the great secret of success in jManitoban farmii suited to the climate ; and, grown, the most important point of all is to be able to sow at the earliest possible date after the departure of winter, in order that the crops may be able to reach maturity and escape the early frosts of autumn. It is manifestly impossible to do this if the ploughing be not done during the autumn, in which case, too, the soil loses the advantage of being exposed to the winter frosts. Of all periods of the year, spring is the time when the Manitoban f^irmer is busiest. Then it is that his resources are strained to the utmost : a few short weeks are all that he has in which to sow his crops ; and, unless they are got into the ground with all possible expedition, the result is likely to prove a disappointment. No sooner has the rapid thaw removed the snow and softened the ground to a depth sufficient to allow sowing to take place, than the harrows should be at work i)reparing a fine seed-bed. Sowing is done with an implement corre- sponding to our drill, but usually called a " broad-cast seeder," since it does not put the seed into the ground, as do our drills, but first distributes it broadcast upon the surface, afterwards covering it with mould by means of the long teeth with which it is fitted. Then again, the harrows are often used to cover it more effectually. Sowing broadcast by hand is not a usual practice in Manitoba, where, on account of the prevalence of high winds, it would be difticult evenly to distribute the seed. Such, then, are the simple methods usually adopted for the cultivation of the soil. Next, the crops commonly grown will be treated of. Maize, or Indian corn, which, in all parts of America, receives the distinctive name of " corn," cannot usually be grown to advantage, as the summer is too short to ripen it, but many settlers grow it as "green-corn," for household purposes. Indeed, there seems to be no reason why it should not be largely grown in England, for the same ])urpose. Elax is a crop which has been more largely cul- tivated ill the past than it is at present. The only cause ( 1,1 FARMING IN MANITOBA. 67 which prevents its being extensively grown is tlie want of a market. Nevertlieless, the ]\Iennonites grow a good deal ; and I saw fifty acres of it near iirandon. I'eas and l)eans are seldom grown as field-crops, though they flourish well in gardens. " Roots,"' such as swedes and turnips, will grow surprisingly well where the soil is moist enough; but many ])arts are too dry to bring them to per- fection. Potatoes, too, Hourish wonderfully, but must be got in in good time, or the early frosts of autumn will cut them down. There were 11,892 acres under potatoes in the province last year. The disease is a thing utterly un- known ; and 1 met some settlers who actually did not know what it was. Doubtless this absence is attributable to the unusual fertility of the soil, which })romotes a rapid and healthy growth. The much-dreaded Coiorado beetle, or " potato-bug,*' which is such an intolerable nuisance in other parts of Canada, and in the States, is also (juite un- known ; and Manitobans seem to imagine that they are now safe from its ravages.* The jjotato forms a very miportant item in a settler's diet. A curious and original method is adopted of stealing away, for immediate use, the large tubers that are first formed, the plants being after- ■vvards left to mature their smaller tuljers. This is effected by groping about with the hands in the soft, i)Owdery soil below the roots. The samples grown are sometimes very large ; although, of course, no manure or any other artifice is used. Near Brandon a man showed me an " Early Rose " potato, which I weighed, and found to turn the scale at twenty-six ounces. It was his largest ; but he said he had plenty over one pound in weight. Clover is a crop of Avhich I saw nothing, and was assured that it was not grown, on account of its inability to withstand the winter frosts. But in an article in the Nor'-iuest Farmer its praises are loudly sung, and its cultivation strongly urged, on the ground that, " in t'le adjacent state of ^linnesota, where the conditions of farming are very similar to what they are in Manitoba, clover is coming more and more into demand." Timothy-grass is often grown for hay. * Since the foregoing was written, the hisect has lieen met with in M-nall numbers in several districts round I'ortage la Prairie. F 2 68 .MAMiODA DESCRIDKD. , ■■! .:■ j^ fl3 i 4 ' i I ti Although tlicre were 47,356 acres under barley this year, it is not a croj) very largely grown, on account of the want of a market for it. Oats are very extensively cultivated ; and, according to the ofticial returns, there were in 1883 about 168,687 acres under the croj), or an increase of 58 per cent, over the previous year. In sj^te of the very large yield usually obtained, I fear the proceeds of such an ex- tensive area. cannot fail to cause much disappointment, as it must lar exceed the retjuirements of the i)rovince : and it is hardly likely that it would be found wortii while, or possible, to export oats. Whilst the railway was beint constructed, a large supi^ly was required, to feed the many teams that were at work ; and the ])rice per bushel for oats was higher than that for wheat. This, combined with the belief that oats were an easier and surer crop than wheat, gave a great impetus to their cultivation ; but the market is now glutted, and the price, in many places, is (or was) as low as fifteen cents per bushel, and nowhere higher than thirty cents. Of rye, the Mennonites grew 1,500 acres last year, against only seven acres in all the rest of the province. lUit the crop on which the province must depend for its future prosi^erity is undoubtedly wheat. 'J'he country is essentially a wheat-growing one ; and its welfare is, and in the future will be still more, intimately connected with the cultivation of this cereal. No less than 250,000 acres were returned as being under wheat in 1883, which was an increase of 54 per cent, over the acreage of the previous year.'" Tracticall}-, there is only one sort of wheat grown in Manitoba, — -the '" Red Fyfe," — a spring wheat, said to have had a vScotch origin. Fall, or winter, wheat has as ■'• Mr. Bunows's ninth Cro/> DnHctin, which has reccv.tly come to hand, and l)eais date ( )ctob(jr 31 . 1884, does not give a very salisfactory account of tlie liarvest oftlie year. The getting-in of the crops seem-s to liave been seriously liindered l)y tlie weather. The area under whi'at this year was 309,281 acres, an increase of 18 per cent, over •'"''•• Placing the average yield as low as twenty bushels per acre, . , : -, (. >i V ,' !>■,■ abijat 6,205,620 bushels, of which it i.s estiuKiled that about 4,750,000 will be available for export. The area iMvle; (i.u» was 86,944 acre . or 40 per cent, less this year than last ; v\ht!e there we- z 19,345 acres, or 31 per cent., less under barley. The av!i:aijc an.ler potatoes this year is not stated. -.'^ i!^ FARMING IX MAX no P. A. 69 IS year, c want ivatcd ; n 1883 3 of 58 •y large an ex- lent, as ;c ; and hile, or s being ,0 many for oats A'ith the I wheat, market (or was) ler than DO acres t of the d for its untvy is and in witli the res were was an previous It irrown said to t has as y come to alisfactory :ops seems rea under cenl. over , per acre, •Inch it is The area than last ; ilcy. The yet only been grown eN:i)criincnta!ly. That Red l''yfe should be the only kind grown is not due to any fault of the country or the settlers, but is a result which has been brought about by the combined action of the millers, the railway company, the Hudson's IJay Company, the public P'-ess, and tlie IJoard of Agricukure. These influential bodies issued a ])r()( lamation, some time back, urging the farmers to discontinue the growth of all other kinds ; while the Hoard made arrangements for ])r()curing and selling at a low i)rice a quantity of i")iH-e seed, which the "C. r. R." (as the railway is called) carried free of charge, and the (Government admitted duty-free. It is claimed for this wheat that, for milling purposes, it is the most valuable kind grown, having a thinner skin and containing more gluten than anv other kind, as well as beiuLT verv hard, and conseijuently well suited to the rollers now so largely used instead of mill-stones, esi)ecially in America. It is also claimed that, while the interior, soft, white wheats can be grown elsewhere, the valuable Red Fyfe can only be produced to ])erfection in the North-west ; and it is therefore de- sirable that it alone should be grown. Hence, the action of the authorities.* Much has been written as to the mag- nificent wheat-growing capabilities of the North-west , and nearly every one seems agreed upon the subject The few samjjles which I brought home were much admired by farmer friends and relatives, esi)ecially that mentioned else- where as having taken th'st prize at the ])rovincial show. The grain is small, but very i)lump and dark-coloured. Many farmers express doubt as to the possibility of ving winter wheat on a larue scale in Manitoba, urging i X the time between harvest and winter is too short to anow of the ground being ploughed, the wheat being sowr ind of its coming up. In many cases where it has be^n tried, failure has certainly been the result; but, whert he seed has been got in earlv enough, this has not alwav .'cen the case. As a rule, the harvest in Manitoba commences aliout the * That it certainly is a valuable kind of wheal is shown I'y the fact that it was being largely advertised for seed this spring by a Minne- apohs fn'm in the princijial newspaper of >rinnesota, in w!''-"!! state there seems to have been (|uite a demand for it. 70 MAM ioi;.\ ni.srkii'.i.i). ■11 i :f i $• i sor()nd work in .\iiu;iisl : but this year It was not in full swini; until tho tusl wwk in Soi)tcnilu'i-, ami was not entirely Unishcd hv the end of iIr- niontli. in a (•l)untr^ where labour is both scarce and dear, and the summer verv short, it is a total impossibility lor the harvest to be i;ot in after the leismvly fashion that is pursued in i'ai^land. Self hindini; reapers are almost in\ariably used. 1 did not see an ac re cut by any other means ; though in some parts ordinary reajiers are still in use. These macliines have advanced mui'h nearer ])ertection in America than with us. and. althouiih several l'-nt:lish makers have now taken to l)uildinL:;lhem ext'Misively for home and colonial use. thevdo so almost entirehon American lines. Across the water main dit'ferent makers, both Canadian and American, keep uj) a very warm competiti(M'i for ])ublic favom\ h'.ach has his own agent in all the larger towns. I'he pru e lor a sell binder in Manitoba is certainly high, being from ,/"6o to ^65 : but, as the harvest literally could not be got in with out them, the settlers /////.sV aflbrd to purch.ise them — j>oor though mauv of them are as yet. The I'aakers have adoi)ted a system under which i)ayment extends over three years, though., of course, in this case. *he jtrice is higher than if ready-money were jxrid down. This ])rice is undoubledlv nuich higher than it would ha\e been liad not the Dominion Ciovernment thoughi i)roper to i)lace the very heavy duty of 35 per cent. c>n all imi)t)rte'J agricultural implements. Thos(^ settlers who have not a sufiiciently large acreage to make it worth their while to pm-chase a binder, join with, or b.ire of, a neighbour. Many farmers are very careless of i'\'h- implements, often leaving binders e\[)oseci for months to wino and weather, largely, however, on account of the lat~k of suitable buildings to house them in. 'iliere are some eight or nine Canadian makers, all of whose machines I have seen at work, and am convin<ed that there are none better than those turned out by Messrs. Harris, Son. c\: Co., of Brantlbrd, Ontario, who are Orst- class makers. Of American makers the prin("i])al ones arc Deering and MacCormiek, of Chicago, antl Woods, o( New York. All the machines are constructed u])on the same plan, though each maker has his own special points ; and these' are so frequently being changed to niake room lAK.MINC; IN MANITOr.A. 7' in full .IS not ouiUry cv \c\\ : got ill 1/ Self nol scf c jiarts 's Ikivc with us, a Is on to I hoy do ;r many o)) uj) a has his a solf /;6o to in with 1 — jtoor IS have or thrco higher )rico is had i^ol iho vory ultural tlv laru;o )indcr, arc very o\ posed aoroimt s, all of mvinocu Messrs. \vc first- ones are Dods, of ])on the points : <.e room for frosh ini])rovotnonts, that a ina( hino niado ono year Ik anli(|natod iho next. I)ouhlloss ihore will yol ho made many vory malorial im])rovomonls : hut I can testify that, in the li^lil crops usually grown in America, they work as it is in a maniur that it is scan oly ])ossih!o to fmd fault with, hindini; tho sheaves with the utmost rei^ularity, neat- ness, and s|)eed. Tho |)art which so-oms princ ipall\' to ;e(iuire piatoc tin.L; is the canvas which ])orforms the '■ elevation " of the straw. 'I'his is liahio to .^l out of order, and its removal, if ])()ssil)lo, would }i;reatly li,L;hten, cheapen, and simplify the machine. I cannot help think- ing that eventually those machines will take the sha[)e of what is now termed a "low-down binder''; which is a machine that hinds the sheaf between the driving-wheel and the cutting table, without elevating it, I believe, however, it is a fact that some of tlie earliest machines were of this kind, and that nearly every American maker has, at some time or oilier, attempted to perfect such a machine; but all have as yet tailed to achieve any great amount of success. 'Ihat self binders will shortly come into general use here there can be no f[ueslion : it is on*. ;• matter of a little time ; but, at i)resent, the i)rice asked by JMiglish makers is outrageously high, Doubtless the greater amount of straw grown here and the dilhculty of ])assing the machines through gates will cause some trouble ; but these are by no means insuperable difliculties. True, there is not here the same necessity to use them, since labour is so much cheajier ; but, as the binder has no wife and children to keep, he can afford to do the work cheai)er than his human comj)Ctitor ; and will, in a short time, find extensive ])atronage amongst emi)loyers of labour in this country. 1 had it trom one of the agents of the principal C'anadian makers, that his firm sold about 450 binders last year in Manitoba, and 550 in Ontario: and that, for i8cS4, they contompKite building 1,500 machines to satisfy the i!U':reasing demand of their customers, 'i'he same firm last year ordered no less than 250 tons of binding-twine for use with their machines. Wire-binders have now gone completely out of fashion. Their knotting apparatus was very simj)le ; but the wire remained in the thrashinii-machines and caused much 72 MANITOr.A DKSCKinED. ann(;\ancc. 1 was told, too, of a rase in which, after death, ])ic(:cs of wire were found almost to fill the stomachs of two cows which liatl fed on straw that had been bound with wire. ]Uit, after ;i]l, il is rather surprising that binders should ])e used at jjresent in Manitoba; for, seeing that the straw is useless, and is invariably set fire to after being thrashed, it seems to me that the binding and subsequent carting and .stacking of it is an unnecessary and unremuncrative oper- ation. If the corn had to stand in stacks to harden, as in Kngland, the case would be different ; but it is not so. 'liij <:rain is almost as hard when in the field as when thrashed ; and, if the ears only were removed by some such instrument as that used in California and Australia, and known as a " header," and if the straw were after- wards burned standing, most of its component ])arts would be returned direct to the soil from which they were derived, while a considerable saving of expense would also be effected. It has often been stated, and almost as often doubted, that the yield of wheat in Manitoba averages as much as 25 bushels ])er acre. 1 therefore took especial i)ains to arrive at the truth on this matter, and, from the fretjuent and very uniform testimony I received, I can honestly say that I believe tlv,^ statement is correct ; though, of course, the above yieli is often exceeded, and as often fallen short of. As a matter of fact, very few settlers ever know what their yield of wheat is ; but I believe, nevertheless, that the foregoing is a fair average, although the (iovcrnment Re- turns ])lace the yield at 29 bushels ])er acre between the years 1876 and 1882. This figure would not, of cour.se, be very high for England, where the expense gone to in growing an acre of wheat is very much greater than in Manitoba ; but, for America, it is very high, and I doubt whether any other ])art of the continent, or even of the world, can compare with it, when the expense of produc- tion is considered. In California and Minnesota, for instance,--two great wheat-growing regions, — the average yield is given at a contemptibly low figure. It must be rememl^ered, however, that the soil which has given this return is,Mn most cases, absolutely virgin soil, and, after a FAKMINC IN MANITOBA. 73 h, after :omachs 1 bound should lie straw lirashcd. ting and ve opcr- :n, as in not so. as wlicn 3y some .ustralia, re after- ts would derived, also be Joubted, ch as 25 to arrive and very y that 1 urse, the short of. hat their that the lent Re- ^'een the f course, ne to in than in I doubt n of the produc- sota, for ; average must be iven this d, after a few years' cropping, will certainly i)ro{luce a lower average ; but, on the other hand, it must be verv manv vears before the whole of the fertile region is brought under the plough. If old pasture-land in I^ngland were broken up, a very large yield of wheat could be grown on it at first. The following paragra])h, which I clipped from a newspaper, would certainly '"beat the world," //it were true! — "Thirty acres of \\'hite Fyfe wheat on the R. C. mission-tarm yielded 1,200 bushels. Another field of four acres of the same variety yielded 360 bushels, from eight bushels ot seed. 'I'his beats the world."' Some persons seem to consider that the yield of wheat is largest about the third year, on account of the pulverisation of the soil becoming complete about that time. After being cut, the wlieat is generally stooked and allowed to stand in the field for a while, though the owner usually carts it as fast as he conveniently can with the limited means at his disposal. It is in all cases stacked in the field, and the stacks are never thatched, as they are intended to be thrashed as soon as possible. They are not even covered with a cloth, as few settlers can, or will, afford these ; conse([uently, a great deal of grain becomes half ruined if heavy rain sets in soon after harvest. One small, round slack is put uj) every day and finished at night; so that, if ram does come, there is less danger of damage being done ; and a small stack is more convenient when the settler is short-handed, as is usually the case. These small stacks are i)laced in two rows, with sufficient width between for the thrashing-machine to stand. The thrashing day is arranged for as soon as possible. It is a busy time in the settler's house or shanty. A comjjany of men usually comes with the maclune, and these men have to be lodged — often with hay and sacks on the shanty floor — as can best be done. The full strength is made up by the settler's neighbours, who all give him a day's helj), which he, in his turn, pays back when their thrashing-days come round. The whole gang must also be fed by the one for whom the thrashing is being done ; and, with the limited accommodation possessed by most settlers, this is no easy matter. Often, too, for want of a granary, the thrashed corn has to be stored in a room of the house. 74 MANIT0I5A DESCRir.lD. ^ ■ 1 ■ Jl IP ' '. -i 1 There is no l.K k of tlirasliini^-macliincs in llic country, as they arc built ( heajjer in America th:in witii us, and many a successful settler starts one. 'I"he engines are all, 1 believe, fitted to burn either wood or straw, the latter being stuffed in with a fork throui^h a iiole in the side, thouij;h in some i)la<-es they are made to be self-feedint;. The thrashing-machine is always called an ''agitator," and is somewhat different in construction from an I'jiglish machine, being fitted with an elevator, instead of recjuiring a separate one. It seems rather surprising that, where the quantities to be thrashed are small, the moves frefjuent, and sufficient motive-power often difficult to get together, the engines are not made locomotive like many in ICngland. Thrashing over, the settler is left to (h-ess his corn at leisure with his " fanning-mill " ; after which he takes it to the nearest town for sale. A few years ago, before dressing- machines were introduced, farmers were compelled to sow very unclean seed, the consequence being that their land is now in an exceedingly foul condition, wild buck- wheat being the greatest nuisance. The thistle — that curse of the Ontarian farmer — has not spread as yet in the North-west, excej't in the old-settled district immediately around Winnij)eg. Manure is nowhere used, except in the very oldest-settled portions of the country. Where cattle are kept, it is con- sidered a nuisance, and is destroyed or thrown away. Many a time has a stable or cow-shed been removed, rather than the great heap of dung that has accumulated round it ! A (cw years hence, the Manitoban fiirmer will not be so anxious to get rid of his manure as he now is. Straw- stacks are always set fire to. One day, when I was at High ]Muff, the sky was of a dull, leaden hue, and the white i)uffs of smoke from the thrashing-engines and the larger clouds from the burning straw-stacks all around the distant horizon had a most strange appearance. The straw- crops are usually short ; but, as the straw is of no value, this is no disadvantage. It is an undeniable fact that, had the settlers more capital, and were many of them to cultivate their land in a less slovenly manner, their yield })er acre would, in many cases, be much greater. One point, concerning which i took especial pains to inform myself, was the price at which wheat can be grown lAUMiNd IN M.wiror.A. 75 and sold at a |irofit to the produrcr. The results, I think, will not fail to interest I'.ritish faimeis, coniini;, as they du, from a country which promises s^on to take no mean share in the comi)etiti()n a^^ainst which they will have to fii;ht in the future, even harder than at present, 'i'he point is one on which it is very difllcult to ijbtain reliable information, as the settlers seldom know exactly how to estimate the cost of the various ojjerations involved, esi)ecially as very few of them keej) any sort of accounts. The followint,' figures, however, are corret:t, so far as I have the power of making them so. 'I'he cost of growing wheat on freshly- broken ]M-airie and on old stuljble-land will, of course, be kept separate. 1 believe the ordinary cost of growing an acre of wheat on fresh prairie scjil ami marketing the produce (provided, of course, that the settler lives within a reasonable distance of the railway), the owner hiring to perform the various acts of cultivation, is about 14 dols. per acre, made u[) as follows : — Duls. Breaking and backsetting ... ... 6 Seed ... ... ... ... ... 2 Harrowing, seeding, c\;c. ... .. i Cutting and stooking ... ... ... 2 Stacking, thrashing, (\:c. ... ... ... i 25 Marketing ... ... ... ... 1 o Cts o o 50 25 Total 14 o But, in the following years, this estimate (which, I think, is, if anything, too high) would be reduced con.siderably by the lessened amount of ploughing and harrowing recjuired. Several practical farmers estimated the cost of growing and marketing the i)roduce of an acre of wheat on old stubble, hiring labour throughout, at 8 dols. to 10 dols. Taking the mean, and supposing a man to obtain an average yield of 25 bushels, which he sells at a price of, say, 70 cents per bushel, it is clear that his gross profits from the acre would be about 8 dols. 50 cents. But it is also plain enough that, if a man i)uts in his wheat himself (as most do), he will not have to pay in cash for his own labour; consequently, the expenses incurred will IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) I /. /l^^.% %^ ii 1.0 f^^ I I.I 1.25 Z.*: lij 1^ I4S IIIIIM 1.4 1.6 'W ^ /a /a *e. o^M .%.^# /A 'W 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ;\ \ ^9) V ^N I '«- ^ 76 MANITOBA DESCRIliKD. be less and his i)rofits greater ; indeed, one gentleman even put the actual cost at no more than 4 dols. per acre. These estimates, it will he seen, do not take into account interest on capital, value of land, »!vc. ; but the constant increase in the value of the latter, as that round it becomes more settled, ought to do more than cover these, even in a country where the rate of interest is very high. 'J'he fore- going calculations are, of course, necessarily very rough, 'rhough the returns are great, the cost of implements is high, and the income of a man without sufficient capital to hire is limited by the amount of land which he can cultivate himself: hence the progress of such settlers is at first but slow and uphill work. 'J'he ])rice of wheat throughout Manitoba is just the i)ricc in ^Vinnipeg, minus the cost of carriage thither, by road or rail, from any point to the westward. When I was in the city this price was about 80 cents per bushel. It has been much lower in the past, but seldom much higher. I made many in(]uiries of railway officials and others as to the cost of transporting wheat eastward. I believe that between Winni[)eg and Port Arthur over the Canadian racific Railway '435 miles) the charge is 23 cents per bushel ; from Port Arthur to Montreal (chiefly by water) it is about i t cents per bushel. The ocean-freights between Montreal and Liverpool are constantly varying, but may be set down at about 10 cents per bushel."''' As a matter of fact, I believe no Manitoban * This would show that the cost-price of a quarter of Manitoban wheat lantled in Liverpool (without takini^ into account "handling," insurance, or profit to importer) to be about 41s. 4d. — not a very en- couraj;ing out-look, certainly, with Mn^lish wlieat at 30s. 6d. or there- abouts. 15ut, on the other hand, the jirice here will probably be somewhat higher in the future than at jircscnt, a sam]:)Ie of "No. I, Hard," Manitoban wheat would iisualiy fetch a higher price than average English wheat, and the railway carriage on the other side of the water will probably be lower in the future than now. Since last year, the charge over the Canadian I'acitic Railway, between Winnipeg and Port Arthur, has been reduced to 17 cents a bushel. Advices recently to hand show that during last October (1SS4), 239,468 bushels of wheat were " shipjied " from Manitoba over the Canadian Pacific Railway. The price now is, of course, much lower than at this time last year. I believe that at Carbcrry and Urandon the jirice is now a little over 50 cents a bushel ; at Winnipeg, something over 60 cents, or perhaps higher. FARMING IN MAMT015A. 77 wheat was exported to Kuroi)e last year. A good deal, however, was sent to Montreal. The i)ast year (18S3) in Manitoba is spoken of as having been an altogether abnormal and unfavourable one ; but, in all similarly-situated young countries, this is a tale annually told. There does, however, seem no reason to ([uestion that the weather this season has not l)een so j)ropitious as in some former years, on account of a very severe and prolonged drought (or, as it was always called and spelled, "drouth ''), which lasted from the beginning of June until the middle of July, and severely checked the growth of crops, especially in the drier districts. During the latter half of July, and afterwards, there was an abundance of rain, which mitigated the results of the drought, but never altogether removed them. On the night of September 7 came the first frost — a rather severe one — which, besides doing serious injury to some of the wheat, completely cut down the cucum!)ers, potatoes, and peas. The outcry against the Maniloban climate, which the occurrence of this frost raised, can only be silenced by presenting the real, unvarnished facts of the case, which are these : — It apj^ears, upon incpiiry, that the frost did not come this year very unusually early, but that the harvest was most unusually late : hence the damage done. For instance, the author of "A Year in Manitoba" states that in 1S80 the first sharp frost came on the very same date, causing the loss of i)art of a " late-sown " crop of barley. ]>ut the unwelcome frost which caused so much discussion last vSeptember was by no means confined to Manitoba. Its effects were felt the whole way from the Atlantic to the Pacific shores ; and it caused much damage in Ontario, as well as in several states of the Union, which are said never before to have been thus visited. l''or instance, it was stated last January in the Mark Lane Miller that "the Minneapolis millers had grown seriously alarmed, consecpient on the discovery that part of the wheat-crop of northern Minnesota and Dakota (estimated as high as one-fifth of the entire croj) of 21,000,000 buhhcls) had been greatly damaged by the severe frosts of Sei)tember --so much so, indeed, as to be unfit for milling purposes." It will, therefore, be seen that, if the climate of Manitoba '<i I 1 \i JIT- • ♦ ■ 78 MANITOliA DliSCRIHEI). ^« {•^ :? f i? f » It it ! it ' is to be blamed, a very large area besides cannot escape similar censure. Immediately after the frost occurred, grossly-exaggerated reports were set afloat, principally by interested parties, as to the amount of damage done. It is an indisputable fact that injury was caused to the wheat in all parts of the province : not a single farmer I spoke with denied this ; and I myself saw a good deal of grain that had been hurt. I]ut, after all, I am quite unable to believe that so much as 25 i)er cent, was even touched, or that as much as 10 per cent, was ruined ; and there is no question that wheat cut before the frost escaped altogether. I am confident, too, that in most cases where damage took place the fault lay with the farmer, rather than the climate : the former should have farmed in a manner suited to the climate, by sowing his seed earlier. On the whole, the damage was certainly much less than at first reported, though, in some instances where a settler had his whole crop late, it may have entailed considerable hardship. The situation may thus be summed up : a late spring threw back seeding ; a very dry June retarded the growth of the crops, causing harvest to come fully a fortnight later than usual ; which, again, caused the latest i)ieces of wheat to get frost-bitten. This late harvest hindered the getting-in of the roots and potatoes, and the still more important oj)eration of autumn ploughing ; so that I fear a great deal was left over to be done in the spring. For this, however, many of the farmers themselves are not altogether blameless. October was a cold month on the whole, with sharp frosts at nights, though the days were warm. One night a large hotel in Brandon caught fire ; and, being of wood, of course burned furiously. A good steam fire-engine threw an abundance of water over it, and in the morning I saw the blackened ruins hanging with icicles, while the unburned floors were covered with sheets of ice. In any open, prairie country, like Manitoba, the question of fencing must always remain a difficult and important one. The great scarcity of timber in most parts prevents the construction of the " snake fences " which are so common in all parts of Ontario ; while it is held to be questionable whether the ordinary "quick" could survive FARMING IN MANITOUA. 79 the winter frosts ; or, if it could, wlietlier hedges of it would not cause such extensive drifts as to be worse than useless. No doubt one or two (juick-hedges in a neigh- bourhood would throw serious drifts ; but, if the whole country were covered with hedges, as in England, these drifts could not attain very large size, on account of their great number ; for it must be remembered that it is the extensive, unbroken flatness of the prairies at the present time that causes the snow on them to accumulate in such large (juantities against the comparatively few projections it meets with as it drifts over long distances before the strong winds. There is a native species of hawthorn, with spikes nearly two inches in length, which may come to the rescue some time in the future ; but at jnesent the settlers seem to hang almost all their hopes on what is known as the "barb- wire fencing,"' which, though open to very great objections, is the only kind in use throughout a very large portion of the province. This execrable invention, though perhaps a necessity in Manitoba, has, to some extent, found its way into England, where, seeing that other kinds of fencing are available, its use should be absolutely prohibited by law. The wire is "galvanised," and consists of two strands twisted together, having short pieces of similar wire so inserted between, and twisted round, the main wire, every six inches or so, that four points, each about half an inch long, project on all sides, ready to tear any unfortunate animal that runs against them. A cheaper sort has four- pointed stars cut out of galvanised sheet-iron, and inserted between the strands of the wire, but the points of this kind are easily broken off. This wire is, of course, stretched tightly along on posts set firmly up where the fence is intended to be, the wire being fastened to the posts by small staples. The posts generally in use are of tamarac, cut in the swamps; but cedar posts, obtained from the extensive forests east of Winnipeg, last three times as long, though they cost much more in the first instance. Posts are usually about 3 in. in diameter, stand 5 ft. out of the ground, and are set 12 ft. apart. A complete fence has three wires stretched along it, each rather more than a foot apart, and a light pole nailed along the top to make the whole more conspicuous. The manner in which these I 8o MANITOP..\ DKSCRIIJKI). ii )' .i f. 'I I ( ill 1 1' f'f posts arc set up on the i)rairies is very much (juicker than the laborious method employed in England of diggin^j a hole for each, and then ramming the earth i\o\\n firmly round it. One day a master of the art showed me how it was done. The j^osts are all neatly pointed beforehand : a man takes one of them in his hands and brings the jjoint down as heavily as possible on to the ground at therecju'^-^d spot. This is done several times, until a hole is formed in the fine black loam several inches deep. Into this about a (juarter of a pint of water is poured, and the operation con- tinued as before. The water so assists the jjost in its descent that, after a few blows with a mallet, or even by merely using the hands, it quickly penetrates i8 in. or so into the ground, and remains standing firmly enough for any purpose. The effect of the water is most suri)rising : by its aid a skilful hand recjuires no more than five minutes to put in a post. The fence is run straight by the eye. For larger posts an instrument known as a "post-hole auger" is used. This is constructed something after the fashion of r irpenter's auger, with a wooden handle ; but the shank, generally a piece of gaspipe, is about 4 ft. long. The auger cuts a neat round hole : and, on being pulled up, lifts the loose earth with it. There is a hollow down the handle of the auger, which, by allowing the entrance of air to the hole, prevents suction when the earth is being pulled up. One great advantage of this style of fencing is, that it casts no drifts to delay spring-ploughing, as fences of timber, especially snake-fences, are apt to do ; and this is no small advantage, when it is remembered that to be able to sow as soon as possible after the spring thaw, is, in the North-west, a matter of prime necessity. Another advantage is, that barb-wire fencing is as cheap as anything that could be got. The posts usually cost nothing, as the settler cuts them in the swamp, if there be one near, and draws them home in winter, — stealing them, in nine cases out of ten, off some Govornnu ir -csrvvation : brt if cedar posts be used, these cost from 10 cents to 15 cents each. I understood that the barb-wire costs about i dol. 80 cents per 100 yards ; and a friend told me that he estimated the cost of fencing to be about 9 cents per yard, wire, posts, and labour ker than igging a n firmly »c how it )rchand : :he point rctjU'-'id ormed in s about a tion con- )st in its even by in. or so lough for .irprising : e minutes ' the eye. jle auger" fashion of he shank, .ng. The Hilled up, down the nee of air ing pulled IS, that it of timber, no small to sow as orth-west, re is, that Id be got. s them in n home in off some sed, these ,tood that oo yards ; of fencing nd labour iakminm; in manitoi'.a. Si included. In England, the wire is advertised at tlie i)rire of I OS. per loo yards. The great disadvantages of barb-wire as a fencing ma- terial nre that, being almost invisil)le in the dark, persons are liable to run against it. 1 remember seeing several faces very much distigured by this means. Cattle, too, are almost unable to see it, and sometimes gel hideously torn on the spikes, which, however, are misnamed "barbs"': they are merely sharp jxjints. As yet, but few farmers have been able to fuul sulficient time to procure i)oIes and nail tlum along the top ; and, until this is done, the fences will remain dangerous. Horses will sometimes become very careful not to run against the sjjikes, and probably soon learn not to " kick aga'nst the jiricks."' American cattle seem to have a greater inborn desire to break bounds than I-"nglish ones ; and a beast with this character largely developed is spoken of as being '"breachy."' l>arb-wire is a somewhat recent invention. \\'hen it first came out in Canada, it was as a single strand, round which the spikes were twisted. Uut it was found that in great frosts the tension of the wire, when stretch.ed from })ost to l)Ost, became so great as to snaj) it. Then some one brought out the two-strand wire, which was found to stand the frost, even though '' galvanised," after being twisted, thus prac- tically making one wire. A fortune, i)robal)ly, awaits the man who will invent some cheap fencing that is not open to these objections ; and inventors seem to have .their eyes fully opened, as 1 sometimes saw several other kinds of fencing. Round Portage la Prairie, where there is an abundance of timber, and much of the land has been .settled for years, snake fences are numerous, as in some other i)arts of the country ; but still, in most places, barb- wire is the rule. The style of horse used for farm work throughout Mani- toba is by no means bad ; but, according to English ideas, is too light for the purpose. Nearly all the horses I saw would ]jass with us under the name of "nag," and would be used here for driving purposes. They are seldom shod, except on the fore-feet, as the roads, not being metalled, are soft, and shoeing is not necessary, except when the ground is frozen hard before the snow comes. A farmer 83 MANIIOHA I)I.S( i<ii:i:[>. r? •i ; i tM usually has a "team " of horses (that is two), which serve- him for all i)urposes. They draw the plough, the seeder, the harrows, the binder, and the wagon; and, if the owner should reciuire it, one or other acts as a saddle-horse, or runs in the buggy. F-xcept in the last two cases, a single horse is never used. The wagon and all *'arm implements are made with a pole (or, as it is called, a " tongue "), and a " neck-yoke," and the invariable " team '' is used, no matter how light the load may be. Shafts are unknown, excej)! upon buggies. Horses are worked to an extent which, in England, would be called very hard ; but in Manitoba it seems to cause no remark. The same two plough from morning till night, with but a very brief midday rest ; and the three that are harnessed to the binder in the morning keep on till night, though the work is far from light. The reason for this is j^lain enough : if a change were reijuired, the work would generally have to stand still, for none but the most well-to-do settlers are, as yet, able to keep more than one team. A great many, if not a majority, of the settlers in AEanitoba use oxen instead of horses ; and this is especially the case with beginners ; for, vdiile the first cost of oxen is less than that of horses, they can also be kept very much cheaper, since they require, as food, nothing but the hay which may be made in any (|uantity on the prairies ; while horses require corn, and this a fresh settlor would have to purchase. I'robably, however, horses will be more kept now that oats are so cheap. Whilst in IManitoba, I saw (^uite as much as I cared of oxen as beasts of draught : as a rule, they are slow, sullen, and often vicious brutes, and I cannot under- stand how any one would use them who was able to afford horses, although many settlers said that, on account of their being steadier than horses, they were preferable for breaking. This may be so ; but I cannot help thinking that, in some cases, " the grapes are sour," and that in reality horses are best. At all events, if I were a settler, I should be inclined to make the wish the father of the thought ! A team of oxen, however, costs only about 200 dels., while horses, if good, would cost double that All the horses in Manitoba, as well as nearly all the cattle, have been brought up from Ontario. FAR MING IN' MANIT0I3A. •9 ch serve" seeder, ic owner liorse, or , a silvjilc plemenls onguc "), iiseil, IK) inknown, ui extent ; but in same two li midday der in the , far from a change to stand re, as yet, V, if not a instead of mers ; for, orses, they require, as ,c in any corn, and Probably, ats are so much as I j, they are not under- e to afford [account ot ferable for ,p thinking nd that in e a settler, Ither of the lonly about ouble that the cattle, The wagons which are invariably used are light and convenient. They weigh about Soo 11)., and cost about 75 dols. An excellent drawing of one is given in " A N'car in Manitoba." 'I'hc '* box," as it is called, is removable, and, in some pioneers' wagons, it is said to be made water- tight, in order that it may be floated across rivers. The harness used, alike for ploughing and for the wagon, is very light and simple. It is fitted with nickel buckles, and is good enough, when new, for any gentleman's carriage. Two-wheeled vehicles are very seldom driven, buggies being invariably used. These extremely light, strong, four- wheeled conveyances are equally common in (Canada and the United .States ; and it is strange that they should not be much more used than they are in luiglaiul, where the good roads are well suited to them ; but customs here arc very much like the laws of the Medes and Persians. The " buckboard ' is a species of buggy, fitted with a seat for two in front, and a platform behind for luggage. The whole vehicle is of the lightest description possible, and is largely used in travelling. But the ancient, native con- veyance of the country, though it has attained to consider- able fame under the name of" Red River cart," is, in all truth, a most primaival affair. It is constructed entirely of wood, usually without one particle of metal, though I have sometimes seen a strip of buffalo-hide nailed round the nave of the wheel, or used as a tire. The various parts of the vehicle are put together with pegs ; and, though the whole is of small capacity and of most antediluvian a])pear- ance, it is well suited to its uses, the broad, high, tireless ■wheels passing very well over the sleughs and soft ])laces on the prairies ; indeed, the strength and utility of these carts is well shown by a passage in Prof. Hind's work. He says : — "There were 2,108 in the settlement [round Fort Garry] in 1856 These carts will last for several years ; and one which conveyed some heavy boxes of geo- logical specimens from Red River to Crow Wing last autumn had previously been twice near to the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and was still in good condition." Red River carts are now chiefly used by the Indians, who drive oxen in harness in the shafts. Sheep and cattle are, as yet, not kept to a ver)- large G 2 84 MANITOliA l)i:.SCKIi;l.l). i i 1 tj ) : ■•ii-i" • 1 extent in Manitoba. The reason for this is, that to com- mence stock-raising re<iuires far more capital than to start corn-j;ro\ving ; and, although the majority of settlers admit that the former would pay them well, they are, at present at least, uiiahle to go in for it. Time, and the sure increase of ca|)ilal, will, of course, remedy this state of things ; and, as it is, more cattle are kept in the older-settled district round I'ortage la Prairie than anvwhere else. A certain Mr. Mackenzie, of JJurnside, keei)S, I understand, a very large herd, ^\'here a man is [)ossLSsed of <attle. he is generally able to let them have a very extensive run during the summer months ; for, unless he be near a town, there is sure to be a large extent of unoccupied land that is in the hands of speculators all around his farm, over which there is nothing to prevent him running his cattle, or cutting as much hay as he ])leases to feed them during the live months of " stabling,"' as the Canadian says. The imj)res- sion is very strong in Engkuid that the cold of winter is so great as to render it impossible to keep cattle to advantage in Manitoba. 'I'here may be something in this view ; but the fact that many settlers do keep a few cattle through the winter, and would keej) more had they only capital enough, is conclusive proof that the difficulties are exaggerated. During winter the animals should certainly be kept under cover^at least during the night. Although some of the more well-to-do settlers have imported excellent pedigree bulls, the animals usually kept in Manitoba are not, as yet, of a very high class, though many settlers would be glad of well-bred beasts if they could get them. Having read much as to the excellence of the prairie grasses, 1 was rather surprised to find them very different from my expectations. In the drier parts of the prairie the grass is miserably scanty and short ; and esi)ecially in the autumn, it is harsh and dry, having about it nothing of the greenness and succulence of English grass. In the wetter parts it is just the same, but much longer, and it would, in England, certainly pass as useless "sedge ;" but that cattle eat it, and that it is highly nutritious, there is no question whatever. The system of haymaking is rather peculiar. In the moist parts, where the grass grows long, the hay is cut with lAKMIN.. IN .NrANITDHA. 8$ to com n to start i;is admit t ])rcscnt : increase igs ; aiul, [ district A. certain d, a very lie, he is Lin durin;j; 1, there is t is in the lich there )r cuuini; l; tlie five le impres- inter is so advantage view ; but irough the \\ enough, <i Iterated, pt under lie of tlie pedigree )t, as yet, 1 be glad le prairie different )rairie the )ecially in nothing grass. In )nger, and dge ;" but here is no In the s cut with a mower on tlie prairie, and j)iled up in great heajjs. These are not ihalclied, but left until wanted during the winter, when drawing tliem hon^.e affords work for the horses. It is estimated that any amount of hay may thus be put u]) for i dol. a ton. In the drier dislrids, su( h as tlie country around IJraiulon and the IJig Plain, the grass on the prairie is generally so sliort as to be useless for hay, and it has to be cut in the hollows and round the edges of the sloughs. Tlie settler goes with his scythe, antl, wading ankle dcej) in water among the tall grass, cuts just as much as he wants. So little succulence is there in it that the next day it is made up into great cocks and left standing until the winter, when it is carted home. This, of course, affords winter-work for the horses ; and, in any case, the hay could not be drawn off until the surface of the swamj) or "muskeg" was fro/en: under other conditions tlie wagon and horses would be engulfed. One settler never interferes with another's hay, thcnigh it lies unprotected for months. Sheep are kept by a few farmers in small lots, and the universal testimony is that they thrive astonishingly. One man who had kept a few for several years told me that he would not be afraid to start with i,ooo. Sheej) will thrive on the very shortest grass, and there is no reason why they should not be largely kept on the prairies. The great drawback is supi)osed to be the wild oat or spear grass {Stipa spartca)^ which is very abundant on all dry i)arts of the prairies, 'i'he seeds, which ripen during July, have an excessively sharp, barbed point, and are easily able to penetrate the skins of sheep by means of what is known as •'hygroscopic r..-tion." This takes place in the shaft or awn, some 3 in. in length, with which the seed is provided. When dry this is twisted ; but, when wetted, it untwists and elongates, driving the point forward and receiving resistance from behind by means of a portion of the shaft forming a right angle with the main i)ortion, and being provided with many minute teeth which catch in the wool and prevent the whole contrivance from going backwards. That these seeds have the power of penetrating the skins of sheep has been denied on good authority ; but I am able to state, as a result of extensive inquiries, that they often do so in great numbers, (' i R6 MANnonA Dr.scRir.rn. ; i: ^ especially about the shoulders of the animals. Some seeds I brou|;ht home penetrated half an inch into the shcnilder of one of our sheep. Most settlers are well aware of this peculiarity, as the seeds also trouble curly-haired doi^s and severely ])ri(k the lej^s of any one walkin^^ throut;!! the i^'rass. I have elsewhere jjublished in detail my (observations on this point, and have l)een able to show that the seeds are only troublesome during about three weeks in the year: that, by running a mowing-machine over ilie ground infested with the grass, or by keeping the sheej) on enclosed ground, they ent the grass down, its seeds never reach maturity, and their harmfulness is destroyed ; consetiuenlly, the sj)ear-grass need be no serious hindrance to the kee|)ing of sheej) in Manitoba. I do not believe the seed has the power of killing animals, as I could never hear of a fatal case, though often told that such had occurred. The gigantic " JJell I'arm," near Indian Head, has gained such world-wide celebrity that 1 cannot pass on without referring to it, though it lies far to the west of the province of Manitoba. On the loth of July, 1884, whilst upon a journey from ^^'innipeg to Medicine Hat, I managed to spare a day for the puri)ose of visiting the Bell Farm. The following tacts are gleaned partly from notes made upon the sj)ot, and partly from information since supplied l)y Major liell : — Notes on a Visit 10 tmf. Bki.i, Farm.* The IJell Farm lies upon the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, J?I2 miles west from Winnipeg, and close to the town and station of Indian Head, in the Territory of Assiniboia, It is the property of the Qu'Appelle Valley Farming Company, Limited, which was formed in the year 18S1, but it takes its name from its able manager, Major \V. R. Hell, who resides upon the spot. The entire area contained within the boundaries of the farm is 64,000 acres, or 100 square miles ; but of this a number of sections are the property of the Iludson's Bay Com- pany, while others are reserved by (Government for educational purposes, so that the area actually covered by the farm is not more than about 54,000 acres. It is, however, I believe, a fact that Major <(i * This article appeared in ihe FiWii on December 27, 1SS4. It is reprinted (with slight alterations) by the kind permission of the editor. ic seeds iKJulder ! of this t)i^s and le grass, ions on jeds arc 10 year ; infested i^round, naturity, uly, the ei)ing of lias the f a fatal s gained without province ; upon a laged to ii."^ The de upon lied l)y Railway, station of erty of the 'onned in Major W. ncd within es ; but of Bay Com- lucalional not more hat Major 84. It is m of the I AK.MINi; IN MAM lOI'.A. -'7 r.cll i-> till' iin;i.i;,'i'r of llio l.ir;:;c>t. siii^U-, arahic farm in the uuiM ; but this >tatiiiuiit will lint be.u- ci(»e exammatioii, fur as yet i»nly a com- paratively ^mAIl jiortion i>. uikUt ciihivatiun. Nritlicr i> it ahD^rtlier correct to describe llie eoinjiany as a fannin},' company only, ^iiice it has two striiij^-. to its bow, and is aI>o to some extent a l"oU)ni>ation (,'omiiaiiy. a-< will lie hereafter explaiiieil. Wiieii, (.n April 20, iSSj, the cmnpaiiy 'ibtaiiied p>i-.sc>-.ioii of the land by >p(eial Ael ot Parliament, it lay more lliaii two hundred miles distant from tlie nearest railway station. The ditiindty nf olitaininjj so lari^e a tract uf land, iiidiroken by tlie honu-.lead-. nf Mitleia, neee-iitated the location of tlir farm so far away in the wist ; but so rapidly was the construction of the railway carried on, that Imlian Head wa-. reacheil, and the liiu- wa> running; thmu'^li t' centre of the farm, within a feu moiuli>. Nor is the >iluation of the firm in any respect other than a ^'ood one. Much ha> hitely l)een written «)f the almo>t (abulou^. Ua'tility of the line black soil of the prairies ; and nowhere i^ the >oil better than in the \allcy of the (JuWppelle or Callini; Kiver, wliere the larm lies. It is .sli_i;htly stony, however, in places, and is everywhere markeil by tlie old paths ol the buffalo. .ScviTal plea>aiit <\).'iA'ru with >lieam> in their boltoni--, interred the farm. The condiiioii-, under which >uch a lartje trad was made over to a >in}^le private company were that the company >hould have the land at the exceeiliin;ly low price of 1} dol. {$•-.) per acre, on condition that not le-.s than 4,000 acres were t" be broken ami broui^lil under cultivation aiui'.ially foi live years, or 20,000 acre> in all ; but the>e coinlitions have probably been lound too irksome, for I undersland that applica- tion is about to be made to Gi>vernineiit for their cancellation. It was con>idered that the advaiitafjje to the whole country of brini;ini; so lar<;e an amount of laiul under cultivation would more than conii)en- sate f<jr the low jirice at which it was sold. The general scheme of the company is to briii^; the land under cultivation, dividing; it u|) into about J50 separate farms of 213 acres, each ])rovided with a good house ai;d l)uildiii},'s. 'I'iieso fiarias will then be offered for sale to the men who have eliar^e of them, at a valuation price, payable in instalments (Aer a term of years. At present the selling price is from 12 dols. to 20 dol>. per acre. The whole of the land i> intended uhimalely for sale, thoujjh the home-farm of about 20,000 acres might be retained by the company if found to be sullicienlly prolitable. In any case it is expecterl to be all under cultivation two years hence — j.t\, at the end of 1SS6. No one visitini; the farm will fail to be struck with the idea that in Major iJell the Company lias a remarkably cleardieadetl iiianat;er. His cner<;y and foresight are made obvious by the perlectly methodic manner in which every operation is carried out — so dilferent from the slip-shod ways of the average settler. Roughly speaking, his system of farming, when conijilete, will be as follows : ' Kach "section," or sipiaie mile, will be divided into three portions of 213 acres each, one of which it is inteiidetl to fallow yearly. \Vhile the company retains possession of the land, a foreman will be set over about every twelve farms or four sections. 1 will next speak of what has been ami is being done. iliS^ 88 MAMTOr.A DF.SCRll'.KI*. jt jif ^ t ■' I) In li . H V f The plDUj^Ii.N commenced to "break" the rich, black, prairie soil on June 15, 1SS2, and, before winter set in, 2,400 acres were ready for croppinj^ the following year. In the middle of August the farm buildin};s were cf)nnnenced. As early as possible next sprint; one half of the broken area was sown with oats, and the other half with wheat. The latter gave an average yield of 19 j bushels per acre, and such of it as was sold (local demand taking nearly the whole of it for seed) realised an average price of one cent over the dollar (4s. 2.^d.) ])cr bushel. Some (jf the later-sown wheal was injured by the early frost on the night of September 7. In the same year (iS8^) 4,600 adilitional acres were broken, making 7,000 in all, and the following spring (1884) about 5,500 acres were sown with wheat, l,230 w'th oats, and the remainder with llax. This crop was. of course, still on the ground at the time of my visit, and it was a really line sight which the Major was able to show me during the very enjoyable drive round his farm which he was kind enough to take me. The longest furrow to be seen was two miles in length : several single pieces of wheat covered more than 1,000 acres each ; while the largest extended to 1,500 acres. In all directions ploughs were at work tearing u\i the splendid virgin soil, for an additional 5,500 acres were to be broken before winter, and the entire year's plough- ing was expected to r'ach 12,000 acres. As we gained a slight eminence and were able to look around (or miles over the level prairie, seeing, on all sides, fields of waving grain, large expanses of recently-broken ground, horses and men l.usily engaged in breaking more, ih^. substantial r.tone farmhouse, with the other farm buildings (including the large circular stone stable) grouped around it, and the sun shining biightly on the zinc roofs of the little houses of the foremen, scattered widely on every side, each with its acre of garden, one ct)uKl but feel a parclonable })ride in the thought that the energy and power of man was thus able to convert what, only three years before, had been an uninhabited waste, into the smiling and pros- perous scene then around us. As we went along I made many notes of the more interesting points mentioned by Major Bell. The whole of the ploughing is done with horses, of which 193 are now kept. The Major will not hear of steam being used, urging (with much force) thai, as he would rerpiire just as many horses as he now keeps to sow and reap his crops, they may just as well do the ploughing also, instead of standing idle for a good portion of the year while the j^loughing is being done l)y steam. The ploughs used are all sulkies and gang-ploughs, on which the men ride. Each turns more than one furrow to a depth of rather over three inches, and each is required to travel sixteen miles a day ; indeed, it is said that twenty miles forms an average day's work when no accident occurs. The width of the furrows is from fourteen to sixteen inches. At the time of my visit forty-five ploughs were breaking over one hundred acres per day. Breaking is continued during the whole of the summer. After the sod has lain a while to rot, the disc- harrows are passed o' .,'r it diagonally, cutting it up into lozenge-shaped pieces and leaving it ready for seeding first thing in the spring. *' Back-sctiing "' is dispensed with on the farm. As much as FAU.MINi; IN MAMTOnA. 89 prairie soil ivere rendy ^t I hi.' farm sprincj one other half )ushels per nearly the cent over wlieat was n tlie same ,000 in all, sown with s crop was. and it was (lurinLi; the enough t(j in len;j;th : .■ach ; wh'le oui;hs were ional 5,500 ir's plout^h- icd a slii^ht r the level ^e expanses in breakinjjj 11 buildini;'' 11(1 it, and )uses of the ; of garden, the enerj^y three years ; anil i^ros- ;ting points done with lar of steam juire just as ey may just for a good :ani. The men ride. lather over ly ; indeed, Ik when no |i to sixteen laking over the whole the disc- hge-shaped |he spring. much as possible of the sluhhle-ploughing is done in the autumn, so that the secil may he got in the moment after the frost takes its dejiar- ture in spring. Sowing is done with broadcast seeders, a kind o( coml.Mnation i)elween drill and harrows. Last year twenty-two self- hinders by Deering, of Chicago, were used in getting in tlje crops : but to these there have this \ear been added twenty-live more by an excellent Canadian firm, the Messrs. Harris, of Ihantford, making forty--even in all. Al)out sixty head of cattle and some pigs are at present kept upon the farm. Harb-wire is largely used for fencing .So great has been the number of visitors to tlie farm that the conijiany li.is l)een compelled to erect, at considerable expense, a large brick hotel at Indian lleail ; but it is not yet open. Tlie farm has become so well known that there is never any difliculty in getting sufficient men, especially as good wages are given. This summer 160 to l.So men were employed, at 30 dols. per month and l)oard. During the cijtning winter a much smaller number will be '-etained at 15 dois. per montii. The bareness of the i)rairie has been enlivened by the planting of such large nund)ers of smnll jioplar trees that, if all had been planted in a straight line at their present distances apart, they would have extended no less than twenty-four miles. The trees were dug in the " blutfs," or clumps of wood, and set out beside the roads which give access to the different ])arts of the farm. Altogether the total amount of capital expended upon the farm is ujiwards of 375,000 dols. (/77,i6o). I)uri:ig an afternoon's drive of some miles 1 had an excellent oppor- tunity of noticing the pieces of wheat through which we jjassed. In most cases the colour and ctmdition was excellent, and formed a great contrast with the foul anil uneven pieces so often grown by the average settler. Tliere were, however, jiieces which did not promise nearly so well as the rest. l'"or iiistance, there was a volunteer croj), that had appeared on a piece of land which had borne a crop the previous year, anil had been intended as a fallow this season, and looked so healthy, that it was allowed to grow by way of experiment -not, however, with very good results ; for I havi; since heard that it did not yield more than on average of six bushels per acre, though it certainly promised more in July. This was, of course, fall or winter wheat, wliich has as yet only been grown experimentally in the North-west, and even then with but little success. Then there were 640 acres sown with wheat that had been injured by frost the previous autumn through, being back- ward, gophers having eaten down the hrst spring-growMi. About half of the aiea sown was in good condition, the soil being slightly moist ; the other half was thin and |)oor, a drier piece of ground a])parenlly not suiting it ; and, as it lay close to the house, it proved a gieat eye- sore to M.ajor Hell. The whole, however, has not yielded badl_\. for the product is now estimated at twenty bushels per acre. To nie the Major's statements as to what it cost him to produce a bushel of wheat were of chief interest, as doubtless they will be to most readers, lie assured me th.at, as near as he couM ..ilculate, the cost to him of growing and placing on the rail at Indian Head each bushel of wheat that Iv. produces is from 30c. to 33c. (is. 3d. to Is, 4id.), which he also estimates to be 40 per cent, lower than the t :! ? • Id I /I 90 MANIJOJiA DKSCRllilJ). rjH isi] J 'i ; 1 ;' • mi f 1 1 . 1 t' ■ cost to the average scUlcr. l''uitlier, he says that not more than 7 e. to 9c. (3j(1. to 4^(i.) I'L'r bushel is paid for manual labour. At the l)resent time the Ireij^iil from Indian Head to Montreal (1,746 miles) is 32c. (is. 4(1.) jjcr bushel, but it will be lower next year, and Major Eell is confident that when, two years hence, the whcde of his home farm is under the jjlough, lie will be nble to lay prime hard "Red Fyfc" wheat, of the excellent (piality usually jirocluced in the North- West, down in Liverjtool at a co.^t price of 75 c. (3s. i^d.) per bushel, or 6 dols. (25s.) per (juarter, or even lower. Of the iin.-.ncial slandinij of the concern I am not com]ietcnt to speak, nor am I able to draw any coni|)arison between the Hell Farm and the large wheat-farms of the Unileil States, though I have visited the Dalrymple Farm in Dakota. The following calculations, though they may not give any very valuable results, will be interesting, as showing the magnitude of the operations which Major IJell carries on. A plough having a single share only, cutting 12 in. wide, would reijuire to travel eight miles and a cpiarter in order to plough an acre. Jf the whole of this year's ploughing were to be done with one such ])lough, it would require to travel 99,000 miles, or about four and one-eighth times round the globe, which would occupy nearly sixteen years and a half at the rate of two acres per day, or nearly thirty-three years if oxen were used, and one iicre a day only were jjlought'd. If a single team were to have started to cut this year's crops with a 5 ft- -swartli machine, and to have tra- velled twenty miles ])er day, they would have taken 577 days to accom- plish the work. When the entire home farm is under cultivation, the estimated yield of wheal will be upwards of half a million bushels, which would require a train consisting of over i,coo of the ordinary grain-cars to carry it all away. Althougli farmers in Manitoba suffer from various dis- advantages, such as short summers, cold winters, unseason- able frosts, want of labour, and the like, still, many of the principal disadvantages of farming in England are absent. There are no rent-days, no tithes, no sparrows, no rats, no costly manures to be bought, no burdensome taxes, no anticjuated landlord's restrictions, and but (cw insect i)ests. Sometimes the crops are injured by frost or hailstorms; but this is not often. .Si)arrows will, doubtless, arrive in due time, as also rats. Farmers consider gojjhers injurious to their grain-crops, and often boast of having shot 150 or 200 in a year. A gopher is a small burrowing animal, of which two si)ecies {Spcnnopliilusfrauklini and 6'. tridcccni-lincatus) are common on the prairie. One farmer told me that he had recently taken as much as half a luishel of good wheat out of a gopher's store-house. The cosmopolitan English mouse has not yet found its way to Manitoba ; but settlers FARMING IN MANITOCA. 91 't which lat he wheat ngHsh ttlers make great complaints concerning a species of prairie mouse {llcspcroniys Icucopiis)^ which enters their houses, and, by destroying clothing, makes itself even more trouble- some than our mouse does. About two years back cats were so much in request, and so difticult to procure, that there was really an opening for some enteri)rising young follower of Dick Whittington, of story-book celebrity. In one place I saw a cat which was accustomed to being regularly taken round to three different houses in turn, in order to kee}) down the mice ! For some years to come yet, however, there will always be the danger of n fresh invasion of locusts, or, as they are generally called, " grasshoppers." These destructive insects have, at irregular periods of years, invaded Mani- toba, as well as a very large area adjoining it in the United States, coming from the westward in numbers that are perfectly incredible, completely devastating the country and devouring every blade of green grass. They seem usually to appear for two years running. Some idea of their inde- scribable numbers may be gained from Professor Hind's account of his exploring expedition in 1857-58, in which years they were extremely abundant. In the past the locusts are known to have appeared in the years 18 18-19, 1857-58, and lastly in 1874-5. Should they occur again shortly, it cannot be denied that they would cause untold loss to the settler. I cannot leave this part of my subject without sjjcaking of the statistical work which is being carried out under the able management of Mr. Acton Jiurrows, J. P., l)ei)uty- Provincial Minister of Agriculture, to whom my best thanks are due for information most kindlv given. A system of " Crop Bulletins " was commenced and carried out this summer in a way that is a model for all colonial countries. The arrangements which have been made follow the lines of those previously pursued in the State of Iowa. A " crop correspondent " is appointed in every township, and to each of these men, numbering altogether several hundred, a circular of incpiiry is sent as often as information is desired. In return for their replies, the correspondents are granted certain ])rivileges by the Poard of Agriculture. The replies are digested and printed in , ■■ %\ i:| rn 1 92 MANITOBA DKSCkllSKI). i h ■' ■ ■ I ! X ■If; ; '1 1^ f the bulletins, of which five were issued at irregular intervals this year. But the "Report of the J)ei)artment of Agri- culture and Statistics of the Province of Manitoba for 1882," — a bulky, closely-printed volume of 320 pages, — contains a far greater amount of really interesting reading. The information given relates to almost every subject in which the province has a direct concern. There are long articles treating of the crops, the census returns, the postal service, the construction of the railway, the geology, the climate, and innumerable other mattc^s, among which the meteorological statistics are very prominent. The volume is altogether devoid of puff; it contains little besides solid facts ; and, in my opinion, deserves almost unc^ualified praise, except in one; particular: it is a great deal too wordy ; but this is a fault which nearly all American ofticial publi- cations of the kind exhibit to a greater degree even than English ones. The kindred subjects of horticulture and arboriculture deserve some notice here. Close to Brandon I held con- versation with an Irishman who was following the trade of nursery-gardener on a small patch of ground. His i)eas, lettuces, beets, sweet-corn, citrons, and water-melons had, he said, all done well, though the latter required to be cut and allowed to ripen under glass. He was of opinion that almost anything that grows in the open air in England would grow in Manitoba and I'icc Te/sa. On June 19, there had been a slight frost, but not enough to kill cucumbers. Potatoes, he considered, should not be put in till May, or they would be likely to suffer from the frost. Some butter-beans, — a Canadian dwarf kind of French bean, — astonished me by their prolific yield. I believe most of the plants bore far more than their own weight of pods. Although very few settlers have, as yet, kept bees, there is no reason whatever why they should not prove profit- able, — in fact, the abundance of wild flowers is a strong argument in t^cir favour; but the bees would, of course, require some procection from the winter frosts. One person has, I know, kept bees in Manitoba with good results for three seasons. Wild bees, though not abundant, are far from rare. FARMING IN MANITOBA. 93 intervals of Agri- toba for pages,— reading, lijcct in are lonij le postal Dgy, the hich the volume les solid jualified ) wordy ; il publi- en than •iculture eld con- trade of [is peas, ns had, be cut ion that England ne 19, to kill put in frost, ^rench believe weight there profit- stron*:; :ourse, One good ndant, Much controversy has been waged, and many conflicting opinions expressed, as to the fruit-growing capabilities of Manitoba and the North-west. The country certainly will never grow a very great <|uantity of fruit ; and, at i)resent, the amount i)roduced is practically //// .■ but I can see no reason why any sort of fruit should not grow that does not re(piire a very long summer to ripen it. In some i)laces (though not much where I went), plums, currants, goose- berries, cranberries, and rasi)berries grow wild alnindantly. A small strawberry, about the size of the wild English one and having a deliciously-flavoured fruit, grows wild m (juantities on the prairie, and is often used for jam. Some cultivated raspberry and currant bushes brought uj) from (Ontario in the autumn of 18S2, stood the winter well and bore fruit sparingly last summer ; but some ajiplc-trees had been killed above the graft, probably through having been too long a time out of the ground. With regard to apples, it is certain that tliey now grow well in Minnesota ; and, at the last meeting of the American Pomological Society, a collection of no less than 140 varieties from that iitate was shown, though it is but a few years since the possibility of their growing there was altogether ridiculed. Not a few attempts have already been made to plant fruit-trees in Manitoba, and most of these have certainly met with poor success ; but this has, undoubtedly, been due to insufficient care and knowledge of planting, and to the selection of sorts ill-adapted to the circumstances, rather than to the defects of climate or soil. The North-west is a country which has been denuded of its trees by artificial means ; and the fact that certain trees do not grow there is no proof that they 7c>i7/ not. In planting fruit-trees on the prairie, it is highly desirable, if not absolutely necessary, that they should be protected from the high winds that are due largely to the bareness of the country ; and this should be done by planting other trees as wind-breaks. The kinds of fruit grown in Ontario and the United States are principally those which have been introduced from the mild and humid countries of Western Europe ; and it is not reasonable to suppose that these sorts would continue to flourish and bear abundantly if suddenly transplanted to a country where the winters are longer and ■ 1 \i\ !1| 94 MANITOnv DKSCRinK.n. m M .■ i, ■u i ' < i i; 1 : Si : > ; i» ' ' ^ 1 ^ • .* If 1 1 1 '. '■« ' ''_ ' :\ ^ L'ii i more rigorous, and the summers, though bright, are short. If these sorts are ever to grow in Manitoba, it is evident that it can only l)e after a carefully-conducted system of " hardening off," which must be a slow, tedious, and often disajipointing matter. lUit it is only fair that infjuiry should be made as to what has been done in the colder and less kindly regions of I'^astern Europe. This has been done with most encouraging results. Two gentlemen have lately been in Russia, making inquiries as to the sorts of ai)ples and other fruits which are there grown in districts where the climate is less, or at all events no more, propitious than in Manitolia. After hearing the oj)ini()ns of these gentlemen and others, at a meeting held in Winnipeg in August last, an influential association was formed, having as its object the encouragement of horticulture and arbori- culture in the province ; and I understand that the Ciovern- ment, through the l>oard of Agriculture, is jirepared to back this society. It seems that at nine or ten towns and villages near the city of Simbersk on the Volga, there are thousands of acres planted with apple-trees, which, for hundreds of years past, have supplied the cities of Moscow, Nijni-Novgorod, Simbersk, and Kazan with an abundance of fruit, though these places all lie hundreds of miles north of the latitude of Winnipeg, in the dry, arid, steppe region of Russia, where the days are excessively hot, the nights very cool, and the winter climate decidedly colder than that of Manitoba. In addition to apples, i)lums, cherries, and pears are grown in large quantities, and their quality is described as being that of " really choice fruit." The fruit-trees are dwarf ones, — bushes, in fact, rather than trees, — and belong to special sorts, unknown in Western Europe. It is these sorts which are now about to be introduced, and which it is proposed, with good prospect of success, to cultivate in Manitoba. The subject of tree-culture is, to my mind, one of such great importance to the future prosperity of Manitoba — not to speak of the whole prairie section of the North- west — that it should on no account be left to private enterprise, but should at once engage the most earnest attention of the Government, — or, rather, should have done so long ago. True, certain " tree-planting regulations " are lAR.MIN'C IN M.Wiroi'.A. 95 already in force ; but they have been found inoperative, and should now be rei)laced by fresh ones. In speakini; of the scarcity of timber, it is very necessary to state whether building-timber or fuel is meant. The former is very scarce in all parts of the j)rovince lying west of Winnipeg. Years ago. Professor Hind wrote :--" Timber fit for lumbering puri)oses is only found in narrow strips on the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, and in still less (luantities on the Roseau and Rat Rivers. It consists of elm, oak, and ])oi)lar of very large growth, as is stated elsewhere ; but, if the settlements progress (and why should they not ?), these sui)i)lies will soon be consumed." The scarcity of good timber is further shown by the precise regulations in the " Dominion Lands Act '' for the careful husbanding of what little there is. That there are no valid natural reasons why the country should be devoid of timber, has already been shown ; and the matter is one which might well be urged ujjon the attention of the (lovernment. so that in years to come the province would not be alto- gether de])endent upon supi)lies from outside. Wood for fuel is, of course, much more easily i)rocurable. Wherever the country is wet, or much interspersed by lakes and rivers, or wherever there are extensive sand-hills, the supply of fuel is usually good, and sometimes abundant ; but it is very different in some other parts, such as the dry, bare prairie around Urandon, the Big I 'lain, and other places, to say nothing of the absolutely treeless i)lains in the North-west Territory, where one may travel for days without seeing any growing thing taller than a dwarf rose- bush. Even in Manitoba, some settlers have to go as much as ten miles for their firewood, and few will say this is no disadvantage ; although, of course, the matter will be of less consequence when coal comes into more general use. Yet, in spite of all this, the official compilers of the pamphlet, entitled " What Farmers say of their Personal Experience in the Canadian North-west," have the face to write as follows : — " Wood for building and fencing purposes is a matter of great importance in a prairie country, and hi this respect the Canadian North-ivcst is peculiarly favoured. [!] Although there are sections where wood is scarce, as a general rule there is a well-regulated \ .' \ w 'W •js& mA 96 MAMTOr.A DI'.StKII'.lil). f i. V'i. i I r I . \ y 5. F » \ rh • M " 1 •!" su))!)!)- throiigliout the country. " These words can give no other impression tlian tliat timher jit for building::; purposes is readily obtainable, wliich impression is wholly wrong so tar as many very extensive districts are concerned. Of course, it may be argued that there is an inexhaustible supply ol" building timber on the east, north, and north- west of the ])rairies, but this is not to the point : such wood is fiot easily obtainable. Next, we have given "The Testimony of Settlers resi)ecting Wood and iniel," from which, as we are told, " it will be seen that, on the whole, there is not much difficulty in obtaining suflicient wood for the i)urposes of the farm." 'I"he evidence brought forward will, no doubt, jn-ove perfectly conclusive to emigrants before they leave our shores ; but, after their arrival in the colony, they may learn that the whole of the testimon)- brought forward has been collected from a limited area in the moist regions around iMnerson, Winnii)eg, and the Portage, and along the banks of the rivers between those places — possibly as much as one-thousandth part of the whole North-west ! True, it may be urged that when these statements were penned no other portion of the North-west had been opened u]), but this does not alter the case ; and though, doulHless, these statements have only been sent out of late through an oversight, it is now time that they should be discontinued. CHAPTER V. HINTS FOR THOSE WHO CONTEMPLATE EMIGRATING. From the way in which Manitoba has been spoken of in the foregoing pages, some might be led to believe that I am about to adopt the persuasive ways of the ordinary emigration pamphlet-writers, and promiscuouly advise all kinds and all classes of people to take advantage of the magnificent opportunities of bettering their condition, which this promising colony affords ; but this is far from HIN'IS 10 INTKNDINU EMICRAM'S. 97 give no Purposes rong so ud/ Of aiistible [ nortli- it : siicli n "The 1," from I wliolc, It wood brought sive to cr their e of the . limited )eg, and between part of at when of the ot alter ts have is now INC. In of in that I jrdinary dse all of the idition, r from being my intention. Should any of my readers desire to ask, whether I consider it desirable for him or her to emigrate to Manitoba, the wish shall, once for all, be satisfied by my most emi)haticaliy answering : '* No : I have not the least intention of accepting the responsibility of recommending any particular person or persons to take such an important step in their lives as emigration." 1 have spoken of the country in terms of admiration because I believe facts warrant it. No other Jiritish colony has, within an ecpuilly s' ort time, made such xA\n(l progress as Manitoba ; and this is in itself a recommenda- tion, since this progress carries with it a rapid rise in the value of land which cannot fail to benefit the emigrant. But, supposing it were proved that Manitoba possesses greater advantages than any other colony, this does not affect the great fact, which cannot be too strongly put forward, that there are ]ieoj)le who sJwuld emigrate ; and there are people who should not. lianking and brewing are very lucrative businesses ; but it does not follow that every one can go into them with e([ual chance of success. To some the colonies offer magnificent advantages ; but to others they offer next to none. It must lie with every man to decide for himself whether he is, or whether he is not, fitted for a colonial life ; and I am bound to say that I think comparatively few middle-class Englishmen are thus fitted. The matter is one in which hard-and-fast rules cannot be laid down ; but let every one remember that in emigrating to Manitoba, or any other of the colonies, an important step in life is being taken which, if wrong, it may, or may not, be i)ossible to rectify. With many persons emigration is now a panacea for all the ills due to dense population and excessive business competition. I do not regard things in this light ; but yet am most strongly of opinion that, things being as they are, a very large proportion of our population would benefit itself, as well as that left behind, by judicious emigra- tion ; yet, on the other hand, unless great caution be used the intended benefit may very easily become an unintended and unexpected curse. Whilst in Canada I met many settlers, some of whom had bettered their circumstances by emigrating ; whilst some others belonged to the class H ! n ■r,r.' ) . t' 1 I'll! u '^ >: s ', ' i ',» p> .• ' i' 1' 'i i* .1 *' f 98 MANITOnA DESCRIIiKI). which docs foolishly in leaving England. It is with the object of assisting the former with reliable information, and of deterring the latter, that this book is penned. It is impossible for any person to make use of too much caution in deciding the great (juestion whether he or she should, or should not, emigrate. Nearly all the failures among settlers I saw in Manitoba were those of jjersons who never should have gone there at all ; while nearly all the disparaging accounts I ever read of any of the colonies evidently had their origin in the same cause. As a general rule in all the colonies, and es})ecially in Manitoba, young and unmarried ])ersons have a \ery great advantage over those who are already married and burdened with a family, particularly in those cases where the amount of availai)le capital is very small. A man with a young family, and without ample capital to start in a small way on his own account, should think very seriously before emigrating. A man with sufficient capital and a strong working family, the grown-up members of which can "hire-out" if need be, has usually i)retty good prospects before him. Few persons will need to be told that the life usually led by settlers is a rough one (at least, at first), or that a con- siderable amount of really hard manual labour has to 1)0 gone through — indeed the very first thing that has to be considered is that no one need ever dream of succeeding in the colonies unless he is prepared to run the chance (amounting, in fact, almost to a certainty) of having to go through both of these. Of course it is just possible that a young man may obtain genteel employment in a town, in which case he will probably receive a fair salary, but situations of this kind are generally as hard, or harder, to obtain in any of the colonies than in England. It is to agriculture, in one branch or another, that nine out of every ten emigrants must expect to turn their attention. I believe it is correct that by far the larger number of persons who have already emigrated have been drawn from the professional and labouring classes — a somewhat unusual connection of the two. Some jDeople hold the opinion that it is to young men of the former class that the colonies offer the greatest advantages ; but in this I beg to "differ from them — indeed, I have formed the opinion HINTS TO INTF.NDINC; KMIGRAX'I S. 99 that, ns a rule, surh voutm men make a mistake in cml-'ra- ting, unless useless for any purpose here. Were they to live as roughly and work as hard here as they would l)e com- l)elled to do to obtain a mere living, or, at best, a romfort- able position there, the jjrobabilities are that in the end they would reap greater results here than there. Let such young men consider that in the colonies they will in all probability waste an excellent education, far from (Hiltivated society, or in the so(Mety of men fre(iuently the reverse of cultivated ; leading, for a time at least, a life which, so far as material comforts arc confcrned, is as rough as that of the average agricultural labourer m I'jigland, and ])erfoi-m- ing manual labour which does not differ one whit from that which " I lodge " does in our fields, except that, as a rule, it will be for himself, instead of for an emiiloyer; but, supi)osing that he seeks employment on the railway at what would be called '' navvy's work " in l''ngland, his labour would not have even that advantage ; and 1 heard of cases in which well-educated young men, brought up to lirofessions, had sought this employment — indeed, it was affirmed (I know not how truly) by the newspapers whilst I was in Manitoba, that a son of the Poet Laureate was at work out West upon the railroad. Of course, however, there is, as usual, another side to the (juestion. Instead of manual labour being looked down upon in tne colonies as in l^ngland, the reverse is the case ; and, as already stated, almost the only employment that a young man who emigrates must expect to obtain, is directly manual. To some the freedom and absolute independence of the life, the feeling that they are their own masters, the owners of so much " landed property," freed from the irksome shackles of civilisation, living in a free country where they are at liberty to wander where they please and shoot what game they can — these, and other similar advantages, more than compensate for the inconveniences. But all persons belonging to the class spoken of are not cast in a mould of this nature ; and, to a very large proportion of refined and educated people, who have never been trained to do a stroke of manual labour, the early portion of an emigrant's life is one of drudgery and hardship. H 2 ' t H •»4|' vl m in 1 .'If- 100 MANITOHA DESCRIIJKD. I do not at all desire entirely io discouraL^e the emigra- tion of gentlemen's sons to Manitoba or any of the other colonies, for it is (juite certain tliat many such have left England greatly to their own advantage ; i)Ut I should do very wrong were 1 not to enjoin great caution upon them before deciding to emigrate. It is much to be regretted that there are not more thoroughly good schools at whii h the sons of gentlemen, while receiving a sound general education, might also receive a practical agricultural train- ing, which would accustom them to labour with their hands, and thus in a measure fit them i'uv a colonial life. Of course, if a young man goes out supplied with, say, j^'i,ooo capital, there is no reason why he should not do as well, perhai)S better, than in I'Jigland, without much hardship, for the very good reason that any one starting ■with a capital (in a colony, i)erhaps, more than rnywhere •else) has a very great advantage over any one without it ; but then those with the cc^nunand of even a small amount of caj)ital are not generally those who wish to emigrate. The matter ought to be considered this way : suppose the son of a doctor and the son of an agricultural labourer go out together without capital, and both take up land in the same colony. JJoth may succeed, or both may fail ; but the latter will run the greater chance of success, on account of his having had a previous training which fits him for the life which, if not distasteful, is at least novel to the former. At the same time, there is no reason why the doctor's son should not succeed, provided he intends so to do. Taken all round, however, for young men of good education, or with the remotest prospects of success in this country, emigration is very often a game which is not "worth the candle." But, if I am correct in saying that there is a class which should not emigrate, I am certainly still nearer the truth in saying that there is a class which sJiould emigrate, and whose fault alone it will be if its condition is not bettered by so doing. This class it is which comprises the agricultural labourer, the crowded working population of our large towns, and those, generally, who perform, for a bare subsistence, what, in this country, is so often called " menial work." Of this very large class, no portion would be more benefited HINTS TO INTF.NniNC. KMICRANTS. 101 by cmii^ration than the first that which contains the agrl- riiUural lal)()iirer. The present dei^'raded state of the rural labourer must be well known to every one. Much has been written as to the lowness of the farm labourer's waives, which is, to a large extent, the cause of the unsatisfai tory rendition of his class, and some statisticians take threat ])leasure in showinj^' that his wages have increased faster in proportion during a certain periotl of years than the income of any other part of the community ; but this is not to the ])oint : it merely shi)ws that the former state was 7t'rv bad, and the present state (though it may be, and is, i)Ltter) may still be, and is, bad. To admit that the farm-labourer is underpaid, but to say that he cannot receive better wages because the farmers, though they do their besi, :ire, in these times, unable to make ends meet, is not disjjo^ing ( f the (juestion, but only enlarging and making itwor. ••. Many thousands of farm-labourers' families are being brought up on 13s. to 15s. a week; and this miserable sum is gained in employment which, be the workman ever so good or ever so bad, will always remain the same, and will not, in one rase out of a thousand, offer to the workman in his old age the slightest i)rosi)ect of saving enough to spend his last days in comtbrt. Those ac(]uainted with '• Ilotige '' are usually accjuainted also with his views u\,on the matter. He knows well enough that it is impossible for him to save — that the workhouse is his perfect right — his only hold u[)on the country, given to him because he has been deprived of every other stake in the land, and must still be kei)t alive for the credit of humanity ; and why should he not take advantage of his indisputable rights, and end his days ignobly within the four walls of the workhouse, when no other alternative is o])en to him? The agriiultural labourer has, moreover, in him just the very habits and the very qualities which an emigrant wants. He is accustomed to living a more or less comfortless life in a crazy cottage, to eating coarse food, and to performing hard physical labour ; and these are the very things which offer an emi- grant success in a new land. It seems, therefore, as if one of the very classes which most require assistance has, more than any other, the best chances of obtaining it by emigra- tion to the colonies ; and, to a man belonging to this class, At 102 MAN1T0I5A 1JKSCRI15KD. i I, f |i Hl\ % * ;« I am convinced that, in Manitoba at least, to say notliing of any other place, success is, in all human certainty, assured, provided only that reasonable means be taken to ensure it. It is my honest conviction that, ])rovide(l such a man be steady and industrious, emigration oilers to him the o})})ortunity of raising himself, in time, from the con- dition of a prospectless hireling here, to that of a comfort- able and independent, but not rich, farmer in Manitoba, or some other of the IJritish dependencies. ]}ut every emigrant, of whatever class, must fully recognise that every- thing rests with himself; that in young countries, like Canada, the influences for bad are very numerous ; that in bettered circumstances it is much easier to give way to them ; and that, if this be done, success is no more likely to b ^ obtained in any of the colonies than in England. But there is one other warning needed. Some i)ersons go out with the hope and expectation of making a speedy fortune in the colonies,, and then returning home again. Let me assure any such that they had much better remain at home. Manitoba and the other British colonies are not places where a fortune is easily and quickly made. A few, by well-directed speculation, may make a considerable sum of money in a short while (often at the expense of honest workers), and are able to return home and live handsomely; but these are the exceptions which are brought so promi- nently before us : of the majority we hear little or nothing. The Canadian North-West, like all the other colonies, is a place where a great many may, and can, obtain a comtbrt- able independence, though few will ever grow rich. I am one of those who think it the duty of the Imperial Government to take steps to promote more rapid emigration to our colonies. It cannot be denied that there are in this country large numbers of ]jersons who are able and willing to work, could they but obtain employment ; while there are numberless or})hans and deserted children who, if they remain in England, will surely go to swell our vast army of paupers. I have already urged the case of the agricultural labourers, because that is the class of which I have seen most ; but many of those who are well acquainted with the state of things in our larger towns have still more strongly urged the necessity of assisting the poorer classes of urban HINTS TO INTENDING EMIGRANTS. lO' labourers to emigrate. On the other hand, our colonies have millions of acres of fertile lanrl Ivinur vacant for want of that which is the life-bh^od of all countries — jjopulation. Could anything seem more rational, or more likely to bring about a right feeling between England and her various dependencies, than that the Imperial Government should do what lays within its power to transfer our surplus labour to the place where it is so badly wanted ? The fact that, while (ireat l^ritain and Ireland have, on an average, no less than about 299 })ersons to the s([uaremile, Canada has only about 1*25, New Zealand only a little over 5, and Australia considerably under i, most clearly shows how much such a transference is needed. Yet, although I believe this to be one of the most pressing questions of the day, I am willing also to admit that it is one of the most difticult. To whom assistance should be given, or exactlv how it should be given, I am not as yet prepared to say, further than this : that whatever is done must be done with the greatest possible amount of care and forethought. It is quite true that our colonies have vacant lands, and that we have surplus labour, but to bring the two together hap-hazard is not more likely to result in tidy farms and prosjjcrous settlers than the mere bringing together of ink and j)aper is likely to })roduce a book. It cannot be too strongly urged that the mere sending out of poor and heljiless emigrants to the land that awaits cultivation, is not enough. With young, unmarried persons, able to look after themselves, and having nobody dependent upon them, this may not be altogether unsafe ; but for those who have tamilies it is imperatii'cly ncct'ssary that some provision should be made to enable them to commence life in the new country. To accomplish this a loan should be made, for the repayment of which and the interest thereon the land itself may, under the laws of Canada, be held as security. The section of the "Dominion Lands Act" (1S83, chap. 17, § 38), under which this is made possible cannot be made too well known. It is as follows : — " If any person or persons, lliereunto authorised by the Minister of the Interior, place immigrants as settlers on homestead lands in Manitoba, or the North-West Territories, free of expense to the Government, the Governor in Council may order that the expenses, lOA MANITOBA DESCRIBED. ■■n If ' or any part thereof, incurred for such person or persons for passage money, or subsistence in hrin^int; out an immigrant, or for aid in erecting buildings on his homestead [l6o acres], or in providing horses, cattle, farm implements, or seed grain for him, may, if so agreed upon by the parties, be made a charge upon the homestead of such immigrant." The (Government will not convey to the settler the fee of his homestead until he has ])aid off the charge and interests. 'J'he principal money charged is not to exceed 500 dols. (^loo), and not more than 6 per cent, interest is j^ayable. I am well aware that many Canadians will (juarrel with me for some of the sentiments I have expressed regarding emigration. " Send us," they say, " good farmers, men of stibstance, with sufficient capital to take up and cultivate our unoccupied, though fertile, lands. These poor people are no good to us." This is, of course, perfectly natural from their point of view ; but, as a rule, men of substance can find an opening here, and are, consequently, unwilling to undergo the trials which are more or less inseparable from the commencement of a settler's life in a new country. On the other hand, it should be remembered that it is chiefly the honest poor, unable to find work here, who are most benefited by emigration, and that the great advantage possessed by Canada and the other colonies over England is, that given due time and sufficient industry, a vast and almost unlimited number of such persons may raise them- selves to positions of comfort and independence. In speaking as some Canadians often do, they are apt to over- look the fact that many, if not most, of those now holding good positions in the colony, or their fathers, have raised themselves from positions (juite as humble as those of many of the poor emigrants now landing on the shores of the New World. The amount of capital required by a settler is another point concerning which information can only be given on general lines. The statements circulated by the Canadian Pacific Railway authorities in their pamphlets, that "some re([uire more than others," and that "a man with ;^ioo to ^£150 would be able to do well " are perfectly true ; but to the latter should be added the words, "provided that he knew how to use it well." It is quite certain that many men are now doing fairly well who started with much less, or even with nothing ; for, be the settler's capital great or HINTS TO INTENDING EMIGRANTS. 105 ■. <l small, everything depends upon the use he makes of it. If a man takes up land and starts farming with but little capital — say ;2£^ioo — he must not mind putting up with considerable privation at first ; as, of course, it will be a full year before his land can make him any return. Of course, too, for a man who possesses nothing but his strong arms, and has at first to " hire out "' and work and live hard in order to save something to start on his own account, the hardships encountered will be greater still ; but it is the fact that not a lew, but many men are able thus to start with nothing and raise themselves in time to comfortable independence, which is the great advan- tage possessed by Manitoba and the other colonies over England. Those who emigrate to Manitoba with the idea of hiring out till they can save enough to start for themselves, should clearly understand that, unless they make all-the-year-round engagements, they will probnbly find it very difficult to obtain employment during the winter months, /.c., from November to March, although during the remaining months a steady, sober, and industrious man will alir.ost certainly be able to get employment, if not on a farm then on the railway, though this kind of work is often hard and rough. As to the female sex, information is easily given. Any woman who can work with her hands may emigrate to Manitoba with perfect safety. Female domestic servants are in very great demand in the towns, and receive high wages. Any marriageable young ladies may also go thither with safety, as the demand for v>'ives among the settlers is considerable. There are many young men who went out when but litde more than youths, and, having now attained to a fair degree of prosperity, are anxiously looking out tor wives to keep their houses for them. Of course, the life is more or less rough, but still it need not be a hard one. I would respectfully suggest to the editor of the Matrimo- nial Neivs that he would do well to extend his circulation throughout the North-West ! Some will doubtless say that what I have now writLcn upon the subject of emigration has been marked by an excess of caution ; but I do not think so. Emigration is an important step for any man to take, and therefore re- '■ > >r io6 jSIANITOlSA DESCKH5ED. ♦ . ■f 11 I- ii 5 i quires great caution. To those, then, who have convinced themselves that they are of tiie right class, and have decided to emigrate, I will next proceed to offer a few practical remarks. No one can do better than choose the Allan Line of steamers by which to cross the ocean, 'i'hey are all first- class vessels ; and the " intermediate " accommodation with which they are ]jrovidcd is such that no man, however well brought-up, need Ijc afraid of, if he intends to go farming in the North-West. The practical recommendations given in the pam])hlcts issued by the (iovernment as to what to take and how to get to Manitoba may, I believe, be relied on. Emigrants will do well to take a ticket straight through to \\ innipeg, as it comes nmch cheaper and saves trouble. If it is desired to break the journey at any })articular i)lace there is generally not much trouble in arranging to do so. During the season "the Lake Route," 7'/ci Collingwood or Sarnia to Port Arthur, is decidedly to be recommended, as being cheaper, i)leasanter, and but little slower than the " all-rail route " : but those who cannot j)Ut up with very rough accommodation had better not take what is called "second-class'' by these boats. The accommodation would be miserable were it called steerage, no food is ])rovided, and high rates are, I believe, charged. During the coming spring, however, the Canadian Pacific Railway will start running a line of its own steamers to connect its two termini at Algoma and Port Arthur, which route will, doubtless, be found to be the best."-" The best time of year to go to the North-West varies a good deal according to circumstances. If a man is going to friends, one time of year is almost as good as another. Any man intending to hire-out vrould do well to get there in the early spring — say the beginning of April. A person intending to take up land as soon as possible can hardly get there too early in the spring, as he will then have more time to select his location, build a house, and get some breaking done ready for the following year. In any case it is undesirable to arrive out just before winter ; and a See p. 140. HINTS TO INTEXDIXC; EMIGRANTS. 107 arics a settler taking out a wile and family would do well to leave them behind in Ontario, until he has got together a habi- tation for them, as it is often nothing less than a cruelty to take a family up into the wikls of the North-West until this be done. " Land hunters," as those are called, who start out in search of land on which to settle, should procure the " Land Prospector's Manual," by Ca[)tain C. W. Allen,* which gives many detailed hints and e.\i)lains the very simple (but, at first, rather puzzling) system of survey which has been adopted. The book also contains a useful synopsis of the ])ominion Lands Act. As to clothing by all means let emigrants take what they jjosscss, especially if it be warm. Some recommend that an additional sui)ply should not be procured; but in this 1 do not agree. I believe the bulk of American clothing is far inferior to l-Lnglish goods at the same price. Emigrants could hardly do better than apply to such a firm as Messrs. Gardner tv' Co., of Whitechapel and Deptford, for their sup})lies of clothing. It is certainly desirable to take all personal belongings, such as boots ; for in Manitoba, one gives six or seven dollars for a pair far inferior to what could be obtained for ;^i at home. Great, thick-soled, iron-tipped, hob- nailed boots are, however, not in fashion, and Canadians laugh at them. On the prairies there is scarcely any wear on the soles, and these may, theretbre, be thin ; whilst the "uppers" should be stout to withstand the friction against the harsh i)rairie grasses. The boots almost invariably worn are light-soled top-boots, coming up nearly to the knee. Thi-^k corduroy and fustian clothing also is seldom seen; but "overalls" made of "duck," often put together largely with copper rivets, are in common use. Small household ornaments and nick- nacks would be found very useful in making a settler's shanty look home-like, but there is scarcely any article in ordinary use, or which could reasonably be expected to be obtainable, that cannot be had in the stores, of which there is no lack in the towns. No emigrant, however ■* London ; Simmons & Co., Upper Thames-street : The Toronto News Company and the Montreal News Company, 1881. Trice, 25 cents. io8 MANITORA DESCRIBED. ]} poor, should attempt to take any article of furniture. It is almost needless to say that an emigrant will save himself much trouble and will make sure of obtaining a first-class outfit by procuring it of Messrs. S. W, Silver & Co., the well-known colonial outfitters, of Cornhill. It is a very good i)lan to take out a variety of garden-seeds, and these may be best obtained of Messrs. Jas. Carter & Co., of High Hol!)orn. I'A'erything sent out by this firm may be thoroughly relied upon. An emigrant should clearly understand that there are various means by which he may acquire land. First, he may take up a " homestead," or a free grant from (lovern- ment of 160 acres, for which he will i)ay nothing but a registration fee often dollars ; but he will have, neverthe- less, to reside upon it for at least six months in each of his first three years, and to perform a certain amount of cultivation, before he is entitled to what settlers call a " recommend," which entitles him to the "patent" which gives him full possession of his land and "perfects his homestead entry," as the expression is. It should, how- ever, be kept in mind that much searching would now be needed to find a really good homestead anywhere within a reasonable distance of the railway or a large town, with- out going a hundred or a hundred and fifty miles, at least, west of Winnipeg. A homesteader may also take up a "pre emption " of 160 acres adjoining his homestead on payment of two dols. fifty cents per acre. This right will cease after J'^nuary ist, 1887. Any man with sufficient caj)ital to buy land could obtain an almost unlimited (|uantity, even close to the towns, by purchase from the Railway Company, the Hudson's Bay Company, the various Land and Colonisation companies, or from private owners. Full particulars are given in the various pamphlets so lavishly distributed by these several bodies. Canadians are often amused at the pride shown by young Englishmen in the possession of land. This commodity is with us bound up in so few hands, and the title " landed proprietor " carries so much along with it, that many an emigrant cannot conceal his satisfaction at having attained, at last, to the dignity of a landowner, even though it be in a country where all men are, or can be, such. HINTS TO INTLNDING EMIGRANTS. 109 mited the irious v'ners. ts so s are n in ound itor " nnot ' the intry It is a common practice for young settlers l)clonging to fairly well-to-do families, when first emigrating to any colony, to pay a premium to some settler who is already established on a farm, in order to be taught farming. This is a plan often followed in Manitoba. In some cases it has advantages : in others it has none. \\'hen the parents of a youth who is altogether fresh to farming (perhaps fresh to a country life) can afford to pay a premium, and desire to know that, for a time at least, their son will be more or less looked after, the system may not be a bad one ; but, on the other hand, there is seldom any real necessity why it should be followed, and very often the premium that is paid is simply wasted. Farming in Manitoba is not such a difficult trade to learn, or employment so hard to obtain there, but that a young man of average cai)abilities can easily obtain the latter, and consequently learn the former, receiving wages for so doing, instead of paying a premium, which may be sorely missed from a very limited ;:apital ; and, as a general rule, it is not advisable to pay this pre- mium. The reason why so many settlers are anxious to take in pupils is, that the ])remium is very often an object with them ; and, labour being scarce and dear to employ, it is an advantage to be able to obtain any one who will work for his board, without being so independent as to be wanting to leave every now and again. In all parts of Canada, the "hired man," as he is called, is in most ways the equal of his master, living in the same house on terms of perfect eciuality, excejjt that, of course, he has to work. It is obviously very difficult to give any hard-and-fast information as to wages, because these are frequently altering at different times and in different places. For all kinds of labour, wages are now considerably lower than they were during the boom. An ordinary farm-hand could then get something like 2}, dols. per day: now the same man's wages '>,'Ould be about 20 dols. to 25 dols. per month, in addition to board and lodging. During harvest wages are higher : a man will then sometimes be able to obtain i dol. 50 cents per day, with board, &c. The wages of labouring men, other than farm hands, are, as a rule, higher. The Government sets the value of a day's " statute labour" (eight hours), at road-making, at i dol. 50 cents. < ' I lO MANITOBA DESCRIBED. I'loads arc made by all householders being summoned by the " path- master," on a certain date, to give so many days' labour, or their eriuivalent, according to the number of teams they ])ossess. This is a custom which has been brought uj) from Ontario. I'V-malcs, cajiable of taking service as domestic servants, are certain to obtain situations at good wages. A good man, steady, and able to work, will be able to find emi)loyment on a farm for eight months out of the twelve ; l)ut, during the winter, the demand for hands is very slack, except for " lumber-men " in the forests east of Winnii)eg. At the present time, the demand for labour is very much greater, and wages are higher, in the North-West than in the older provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Employment can be obtained on the Canadian Pacific Railway nearly the whole year round. A comjjrehensive list of the ruling market prices of household commodities in dailv use is ufiven weeklv in the Manitoba Free Press, but would i)robably be misleading were I to quote any of the figures here. Manitoba is un- (]uestionably a much dearer place to buy in than England, or even the eastern provinces of the Dominion. This is, of course, largely on account of the stringent policy of Protection, which the province severely feels, having to buy everything in a dear market, yet having, at ]oresent, no manufactories to share in the jjrofits yielded by the ab- normal stimulation of prices. So much noise has been occasioned by the advertising of Manitoban land, that some might begin to imagine that by this time it is all taken up ; but there could hardly be any idea more absurd. The population of the province is of the scantiest kind : one may often walk for miles along trails, crossing fertile prairie lands, without seeing a house ; v.'hile, except in a few very limited localities lying close to the railway, the cultivated land is but a minute fraction of the whole. According to the official returns for 1883, there were then only 597,420 acres cultivated in the province. Adding the large allowance of one-quarter for land unre- ported, we get 746,775 acres, or about 1 per cent, of the whole ! But, as showing the vast extent of almost equally available soil lying inthestill more thinly-peopled North-West Territories, and which will in time come to be occupied by an LIFE OF SKTII.KKS IN' MANTIOIIA. I I I taking induslrions population, I will here (luote a paragraph from Captain lUitlcr's work, "The Wild North Land."' He says : — " In the deed of surrender, by which the Hudson's Bay Company transferred to the (lovernment of Canada the Territory of the North-West, the I'Vrlile l>elt was defined as being bounded on the north by the North Saskatchewan River. It will yet be found that there are ten acres of fertile land lying }iorth of the North Saskatchewan for every one acre lying soutli of it."' Astonishing as this statement may seem, who will ([uestion, at least, its ai)proxi- matc correctness, when it is deliberately put forward by a man who knows so well what he is speaking of as Captain Butler? This immense area will, \w due time, come to bo occupied; but, at present, few will find it to their advantage rto penetrate into the tar West and North. 'I'here seems at the present time, as everybody who visits >ranitoba will see, a mania for rushing West. The cry there is, " West- w^ard Ho ! " once more. For some time, at least, the settler's supplies will all come fro))! the East, while all his produce will go to the East ; and it is certain that the land in Manitoba is as good as any lying further West, while it is unquestionably far better that a great deal. ab- CH.\PTER VI. SETTLERS IN MAMTOIJA : THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THEY LIVE. The present place seems the most suitable for presenting a variety of information ns to the classes of people usually met with in ]\Ianitol)a, their mode of life, and the social conditions under which they live. To describe the general chnracteristics of the inhabitants of any country is always a more or less difficult task ; and especially is it so when any part of America is the country II MANMTOIiA DKSCRiniil). ■^. 1 under discussion ; for, in that rase, the population to be desr,ril)cd is usually the most helero,ii;eneous mixture of all nationalities imaginable. Manitoba is no exception to this rule, but rather a tyj)i(al example of it. Among tlie different sorts and classes of men there rcjiresented, may be found retired military and naval officers of all ranks (who have usually come out to settle their sons), English labouring-men of all kinds, clergymen's sons, Icelanders, Ontarians, broken-down ICnglish farmers, the sons of JMiglish gentlemen (often with college educations), Irish cotters, Frenchmen, (iermans, Scotchmen, Yankees, Mennonites, Indians, Half-breeds (of divers kinds), Swedes, Norwegians, and representatives of nearly all other European countries. The contrast between two neighbours is often most curious. As a rule, however, each class of settler is more or less confined to particular localities. Thus there are certain districts mostly inhabited by Englishmen, by Icelanders, by Mennonites, or by Onkirians ; but in all rural parts the fmely-i)olished element is in the minority. There are in the province nearly 8,000 Mennonites. These industrious i)eoi)le are of (jerman origin ; but, having a conscientious objection to the conscription, they were compelled to leav their native country, and a large body of them settled in Russia. There, however, they still met with persecution on account of their religious beliefs ; and in 1875 arrangements were made with the xManitoban Government for establishing them in a colony on a large tract of land specially set apart for them on the bank of the Red River, just north of the International Boundary. The daily life of the Mennonites is a simple one; their industry is very great, and I doubt whether, at the present day, there are in Manitoba any settlers more prosperous than they. Their small, though tidy, cottages and farm buildings, surrounded with little neat gardens, full of bright flowers, are collected together in small clusters or villages, of which a considerable number, scattered over the level prairie, may be seen at the same time from the train. The Men- nonites, from having been longer on the ground, ])ossess many more cattle than ordinary settlers. During the summer-time, many herds, each belonging to the inhabitants of one village, and in charge of a boy or girl, may be seen I,IFi: OF SF.'ITr.KRS IN MANITOIlA. 113 from the windows of a passint,' train, feeding beside the line. There have been settlements of Irelanders at Gimli and Iloosavik, on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg, since the year 1875. lUit, after all, the person most often met with is the Ontarian, Probably two out of every tlirec settlers one meets in Manitoba are from Ontario. That this should be so is, on first thoughts, rather strange, for Ontario still professes to be ojjcn for immigration. The exjjlanation lies in the fact that every Canadian wants to own a farm ; and conse'iuently the liojiulation moves where iinoc(:u])ied land is most abundant, 'i'o obtain a farm in Ontario it is necessary to purchase one, or hew one out of the forest; but in Manitoba neither of these courses is necessary. These Ontarians, of all persons, make the most desirable class of settler. Accustomed, in a large degree, in the ways of the country, to the great extremes of the ( limate, to the use of the axe from childhood, to hard work and rough living, and provided with a very fair allowance of self- reliance and intelligence, it is no wonder that they thrive in the young province, or that they should hold, as I know from exj)erience many of them do, most English settlers in considerable derision. The last Dominion census was taken in 188 1, and, although the figures relating to Manitoba were very inaccu- rately taken, they may have an interest as showing the difference in the relative numbers of the two sexes which exists between a young colony and the long-peoi)led coun- tries of the Old World. The population of the; })rovince in 1 88 1 was returned as 65,954 ; but it is safe to say that it was at least 80,000. During 1881 this was increased by about 25,000, in 1882 by 44,500, and in 1883 by about 42,772, bringing the total population, at the end of that year, to something like 192,272.* In 188 1, there were 12,803 inhabited houses (including 401 "shanties"), which housed 14,169 families. There were also 1,136 houses building. The males of the population numbered 37,207 ; * In 1884, the number of immigrants was 30,265, bringing the total population to about 222,500. I 114 MANIIOIJA Di:.SCKinEI>. the females 28,747 — a wide divergence, coiisiderini; tliat in lOnglatid the males stand U) the Icmalcs in the [jropurlion of 100 to io5"5. The difference in Manitoba is, nevertheless, largely included among unmarried i)ers(jns and children ; for, among the married persons, there was only an excess of 405 males, showing tiiat UKxst married settlers had their wives with them. In Canada, the taking of a census showing the religions of the people does not seem to l)e dreaded as in England. In Manit(;l)a, in i8Si,the peo[)le worshii)ped as follows: — Cliuicli of ICiiyland J'rL'sl)ytcri;iii IvonKin Catholic ... Mcthixlist.. liapUst, iiicliulinj; Mciinoiiitcs 7,77<^ 14,297 14,29:; 12,240 9,470 9.449 Piijjan LmliL-ran (Ju.ikcis 2,175 9S4 43 &c. live. The birth-places of the people are given as follows : — 1 1 1 1 m m i . II ^ a England Ireland .Scotland Quebec Ontario 3>457 2,Stj8 4,3^'i5 19,125 Manito!)a ... Russia and Toland, includ in;; .Mennonites United .Slates &.C. Sec. lS,020 5,651 1,752 In 1871 the population of Manitoba was 18,995, includ- ing 6,767 Indians. So far as I was able to learn, the following tribes of Indians are more or less numerously represents 1 in the province. The Crees are the original inhabitants of the country, and are divided into several sub-tribes. There are also Chippewa or Ojibway Indians, who inhabit mostly the forest country west of Winnipeg, and the Sioux, the latter being an offshoot of the great Dakota nation, and have occu[)ied the country from the south. Whether or not there ever was any foundation for the halo of poetry and romance with which the Indians are surrounded (principally on account of the writings of the poet Longfellow) I cannot say ; but certainly the glory of the Indians of to-day has departed. The present specimens of the red-skinned race, instead of being the bold, self- reliant, independent fellows their fathers were, are now, so tar as Manitoba is concerned, but little better than Mil: OF SKTTI.KKS IN MAMTOUA. I I M75 9S4 43 luingcrs-on of civilisation, cariiii^^ a \vrct( hcd j^ipsyliko Vwuvj, l)y carting firewood, siiootin:,^ anil scUint; wild ducks, and the like. Certainly on one or two occasions I did see a few sj)ecimcns of the race dressed in all that im|)()sinL^ array of beaded, hriL^htly-coloiired i^arnients for which their ])assi()n is well known ; but the majority now assume the garb of civilisation, and dress in ragged, ill-made clothes, >yhich dctra't no little from the interest with which one regards their much-talked-of wearers. Their bead-work is sometimes very handsome, but I fancy they are now a good deal leaving off the making of it. During the summer most of the Indians pitch their tents or '•tei)ees" close to the towns, retiring in winter to more sheltered situati(jns in the bush. A most inordinate number of dogs is attached to each lent. Many of them possess a Red River cart; or, in some cases, a wagon and a pair of jjonies. The Indians are, I believe, fairly honest now, as well as peaceably inclined, and there is positively less bodily harm to be fearetl from them llian from the l"'enians in JMigland, although they have no [)arlicular liking for the wliite men, and live a good deal to themselves. Whilst 1 was in Manitoba an luiglish clergyman wrote to a friend there asking whether there was any danger to be apprehended from Indians or wolves. His letter was thought such a good joke that it found its way into the news])apers ! It has often been said of the Indians on the United States side of the boundary that they are inhuman and imtame- able beasts ; but the present peaceful condition of nearly all the Canadian Indians, who liave been tairly-well treated from the first, is proof to the contrary. One day I saw an Indian on the jjlatform of the station at lirandon whilst the train was waiting there. He stood stock-still, with folded arms, gravely watching the bustling scene. The solemnity of his appearance was not a little increased by the f ict of his wearing a pair of goggles ! This he probably did f)r no other reason than that, having seen white men do so, he knew of nothing to i)revent him following their fashions I After the train had left I saw him walking back to his tent with a slow and meditative step, as if fully conscious that, of all the many agencies which had helped in taking from him the undisputed possession of the hunting-grounds of \m I 2 ii6 MANITOBA DESCRIBED. ! ,r' fathers, the railway-train was the most powerful. Never- theless on more than one occasion I saw Indians travelling by train — a most incongruous thing surely I One was evidently an old chief. He wore a blanket over his shoulders, had his gun in a canvas cover, ana was accom- panied by a younger, and rather handsome, man — evidently his son — who wore beautifully bead-worked leggings. Two other Indians had come down to see them off. Indians probably have not very resthetic tastes in the matter of diet. They religiously follow, t ^. the best of their knowledge, the principle, so often taught to young peoi)le — not to waste good food ! Dead horse is said to be a great luxury with them. It matters not in the least /i07ci the horse died, so long as it ts dead ! Skunk, too, is another of their dainties, as ebewhere mentioned. In one settler's house I was told of a skunk that had been killed at the height of summer and allowed to lay for a fortnight, when some passing Indians carried it off as a prize ! At the snrae time and i)lace I was assured that, after a number of dogs had been poisoned in a particular district by strychnine laid out for wolves, the Indians came round, gathered them up and carried them off to eat ; but, as no information was forthcoming as to what followed the feast, I took the liberty of doubting the truth of the incident. As a rule, a new settler erects, and lives in, what is known as a " shanty," and fa//<:s of the time when he will build a house. A "shanty" is a construction too primitive to have the latter title bestowed upon it. In districts where a sufficiently good supply of building-timber is obtainable, the settlers' houses are usually of rough logs ; but in othci parts they are of " lumber" {i.e. boarding), and these latter are usually the most devoid of artistic appearance. Some of the settlers seem vory })oor hands at house-building. Many of their residences are positively hid'"r»us, while others lean strongly to one side. All houses are built very small, the usual size being less than that of an average cottage here. For this, there are several reasons, the principal of which are cheapness and the greater ease with which small houses are warmed. Ontarians often laugh at the great " Englishmen's houses " built by self willed Britons. LIFE OF SETTLERS IN MANITOBA. 117 The log-house style of architecture originated in Ontario, and has, from there, been imported into Manitoba. The strength and neatness of a building in this style are sufficient to astonish any one who sees a '"raising'' for the first time ; especially as the whole of the work is usually done with the axe alone. The Ontarian is at home when he is handling the axe : it is his sole and only tool ; and the skill and precision often attained in the use of it are wonderful to see. By the axe Ontario itself has been hewn out of the primaeval forests, and the same tool now serves the Ontarian as hammer, mallet, chisel, plane, saw, and often butcher's cleaver ; while I have heard it said that pioneers have even used it to iron their linen and to shave with ! The Canadian woodman's axe is, however, a different tool from an English carpenter's axe, having a much narrower blade and a curved cutting edge. One day I had the good fortune to witness a " raising." When a settler requires some new building put up, he invites as many of his neighbours as the magnitude of the work requires. This constitutes a " raising bee." When these neighbours, in their turn, have a raising, the first settler gives each as many days' help as the other gave him. On account of the weight of the logs to be lifted, cut and fitted, eight men can, of course, do far more work in one day than one man could in eight days — if, indeed, one man could do anything at all, which is doubtful. The building I saw put up was a " cow-stable," as the term is, twenty-five feet by twelve, which is a large size. The logs used were of spruce, hewn from trees a foot or more in diameter, cut and drawn home from the bush during the previous winter. The preparation of these logs requires a great deal of time and hewing. A man stands on the log and " hacks " with his axe, as roughly and as deeply as he can, into each side of the log : this loosens the wood. A " broad axe " is next brought into use, and the sides of the log, which are to form the inside and the outside of the building, are cut down flat to a chalk line. The broad axe has a cutting edge nearly a foot wide, and requires great skill to use it well. The log is now ready to go uj). For foundation, a log-building seldom has more than four large logs laid on the prairie sod and carefully levelled. On iiS MANITOBA DESCRIHED. M , being corners. •^1 l)iiilding, these the logs which form the walls are laid securely dovetailed into one another at the The axeman stands over the corner of the turns uj) the log, cuts the notch in it, and carefully fits it into its place. 'I'he corners made by these roui^h means are surprisingly neat — almost as straight, in fact, as those of any brick building. They are afterwards cased with boards in order to ]irevent tb.e wet getting in and starting rot in the joints. The dovetailing is done entirely with the axe. I cannot believe but that it could be done e([ually well v^-ith a saw,, but no Canadian would hear of such a thing. The saw onlv comes into use in cutting off the projecting ends of the logs, and in cutting out the door and windows, which are made afterwards. Of course the substantiality of such a building is very great, as also the quantity of timber used. The building I saw took two men two days to raise nine tiers of logs all round, but the logs used were large ones.' They had, however, ail been hewn into shape beforehand by the owner, a fi .Mid of mine, who made the ^ dculation that each required one hour and a half and about 3,500 blows with the axe to get it into shape. After the walls are up there is still much that remains to be done. The gaps between the logj have all to be " chinked " or filled with pieces of wood nailed securely in. After this every crack in the walls has to be filled with mortar to keej) out the cold. Then the door and windows have to be finished and the roof put on. Mother Earth usually provides a fioor, and often a roof too, as the settlers say sods make a warmer covering than straw. But with houses of the better sort " shingles "' are always used for roofing. 'J'hese are small boards twelve or fourteen inches long by six wide and a quarter-inch thick at one end, tapering thinner at the other. They are put on three deep all over the roof, the thin end being covered by the thick end of the one above it, so that only about one-third of each shingle is exposed. The best shingles are of cedar, but most are of spruce or tamarac, and cost about five dollars per thousand. This is the way the settler usually builds his shanty, which is never a very grand affair — seldom more than twelve or fifteen feet by twenty feet, with only just LIFE OF SETTLERS IN MANITODA. 119 , •) sufficient height to stand upright in — and many a man's pigs in England are housed in a more sightly, if not in a more comfortable, edifice — indeed, after the house is built, the shanty is often used as a pig-sty. Thick brown paper, either tarred or not, is a material largely used by settlers for lining the insides of their houses. It has several advantages, among which are its cheapness, convenience, and -warmth. The educational arrangements throughout Canada seem particularly good. In Ontario, a really promising youth can obtain a good education almost for nothing, by mertns of scholarships. In ]\Ianitol)a, two sections in every town- ship (that is, one acre in every eighteen) are reserved for school purpose?-. As soon as the surrounding district is sufficiently thickly inhabited, these sections are sold, and the school is started. It is hardly, however, to be expected that, with a population so widely scattered, there should not be many cases in which it is almost impossible to secure projicr instruction for children. Everything being considered, the Church accommodation may also be pronounced excellent. The Presl)yterians, the Church of England party, and the Baptists are all very pushing, especially the former ; and no district able to support a church is long without one. There is in Canada no '' Established Church," as in luigland. Although the Church of England is numerically very strong, it rests entirely upon its own merits, exactly like any other sect. On account of the scarcity of named places and towns, direction has nearly always to be exi)ressed by the cardinal points of the compass ; and the system of survey which has been, and is being, carried out in the country is so simple that addresses may be, and often are, given numeri- cally. The whole of the North-\Vest has been divided by certain arbitrary lines, called Principal Meridians, running due north and south. The first of these runs through the village of Rosser, about ten miles west of Winnipeg; the second is about 180 miles further west, or about ten miles beyond the boundary of the province. All the others are separated from one another by about an ecjual distance. The country between these lines is surveyed off into columns, each six miles broau, and running northward I20 MANITOI'.A I)KSCRI15ED. ( ) from ihc United Stales IJouiulary-line. These are all niiniberetl in regular order, and are called " ranges." There are some ranges east of the Mrst Principal Meridian. Next, the country is divided i)y j) uallel lines running east and west, eacJi six miles apart, and cutting the ranges uj) into " townships," each six miles s(|uare. Kach township is again dividetl up into thirty-six "sections" of one square mile, or 640 acres. These are again divided u\) into *' quarter-sections,"' of 160 acres each. The townships and sections are all numbered in regular order, so that it is possible to imiicate any j)articular (juarter-section in any surveyed portion of the country by means ot numbers only. For instance, Rapid City is in (ju irtcr-seclion north-east, sec. 20, Tp. 13, K. 1 9 west (of the I-'irst Principal Meridian under- stood). All ranges west of the Second Principal Meridian arc in the North-West 'I'erritory. This simple method of survey is extremely convenient, as distance can be easily reckoned with accuracy on a map by counting the number of sections or townships to be crossed ; and, as the corner of every section is marked by a numbered i)ost set up on the prairie, no one need ever get lost so long as he is provided with a maj), and is able to find a " section-post," and to read the numbers thereon. The Canadian system of money-values is similar to that used in the United States. The value of a cent is i)racti- cally .Ul. ; of a dollar (looc), 4s. 2d.; and of a "cjuarter" (25c.), about IS. The bronze coins are of the values of ic. and 2c. ; but these are, as yet, very scarce in Mani- toba, and I do not rembember having seen a si)ecimen of either, the whole time I was in the province. The authori- ties did on one occasion have a number brought up from Ontario, much to the alarm of the shopkeepers, who had former])- jirofited by not being able to give small change, and who now thought that *' the hope of their gains was gone."' The silver coins are of the values of 5c., loc, 25c., and 50c. A 20-cent piece has now been called in on ac( ount of mistakes occasioned by its resemblance to the (luarler-dollar. The lo-cent piece is not called ji " dime,'" as in the States. The 5-cent piece is practically the lowest coin : nothing could be bought for less, nor would change usually be given to a smaller amount. Of I LIFIC OF SKITLKRS IN xMANITOIiA. 121 notes, tlierc is the " sliin-plaster," value 25c., or is., and measuring about 4 in. by 2 in. There are ''bills" for i, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 dollars. 'I'hc convenience of these for sending by post is very great. In Canada, a liundredweight is really 100 lb., and a ton, consetjuently, 2,000 lb., or about one-eighth less than an English ton. A Canadian bushel is not a measure of cjuantity, but of weight, and varies according to the article, 'i'hus, a bushel of wheat, peas, beans, or clover-seed is 6olb. ; of rye or maize, 561b.; of barley, 48II). ; and of oats, 341b. 'I'hc " ([uarter " is not generally used as a measure of grain. The i)ostal service throughout Manitoba seems to be exceptionally good, all things considered. Offices are oi)ened in the smallest villages, and are well conducted, though the postmaster, who is always a storekeeper as well, receives no salary, as his })rivate business is supi)osed to profit through the custom brought by the i)Ostal business. Although the settlers are so scattered, there seem to be but few letters lost in Manitoba, though at "the end of the track" there are great comj)laints of the uncertainty of the post. Registration is, however, a good deal more used than in England. The number of trails crossing the prairies in every di- rection is very great. A settler's wagon, passing over the same ground several times, leaves a mark which often remains for a long while. Some of the trails are very old ones, made by the trading carts of the Hudson's liay Comi)any. These are distinguishable from the more nu- merous wagon-trails by their appearing to have three wheel-marks, the centre one being formed by the feet of the ox. On wagon-trails there are only two tracks, as the horses run in the wheel-marks. As a space has been allowed in the survey for a road to run down the side of every section, the settlers always plough up the old trails, and turn the traffic into the si)ace that has been left to accommodate it. I had heard much of the shocking con- dition of the roads in Manitoba, and, for some time after my arrival there I wondered how such good roads could have got such a bad name. When it is considered that the trails run across the fine soil of the prairie without ever having been made, and that there is often no material within miles m 122 MANITOBA DESCRIED. m to make thcni of, the trails must be pronounced wonderfully good ones. But this is their fine-weather appearance : a season of rain works a vast change. The fine black soil is then kneaded up into a paste by the wheels of the pass- ing vehicles, and the roads become most objectionable, either to walk or drive upon. The state of the Winnipeg streets will hereafter be alluded to. After the spring thaw, the trails are generally in an indescribable condition. It will be scarcely necessary to say that, as a rule, the settlers live a simple and frugal life. They themselves supply, where possil)le, the articles they use or consume, and the amount of actual cash which passes through their hands in the course of a year is but small. Breakfast is generally taken as early as six or seven o'clock ; dinner about 12; and tea (always called "supper," being the last meal of the day) at six. Tea is drunk at all meals; though coffee and cocoa (the latter bearing the well-known brand of Kpj)s & Co.) ap[)ear on some tables. Potatoes, and a very coarse sort of treacle, known as " molasses," are two edibles which frecjuently appear on the table ; but salt pork, fried in slices like bacon, is in most cases the staple article of diet, both for breakfast and dinner. All settlers will find it needful to harden their hearts and eat largely of this article ; for fresh meat, other than game, is, of course, difficult to procure away from the towns. Nearly every settler has his well close to his door, but the usual quality of the water is not first-class. Sometimes it is stinking and alkaline ; but the water in wells which are in constant use is generally of fair (pality. Unless, how- ever, it is frecpiently drawn, it acquires a rather disagreeable smell and taste, which is usually attributed to the woodwork put to prevent the sandy sides from caving in, but which, I think, is more likely due to a slight admixture of alkali. The average depth at which water is met with is about 20 ft. I took considerable pains to inquire concerning the liquor laws in Manitoba, and talked with many temperance advo- cates ; but the law, on this point, seems to be in such a confused state that I was about as wise at the end as at the beginnin-^. In the North- West Territories the sale of all intoxicatmg liquors is totally prohibited : without an official "permit" none may cross the boundary. A member of MFK or SETTLERS IN MANITOBA. 123 ider fully iiicc : a ack soil he i)ass- ionable, Winnipeg ig thaw, iile, the ;msclves on s lime, gh their akfast is ; dinner the last meals; l-kno\vn 'otatoes, classes," )le ; but ises the ;r. All and eat ame, is, or, hut netimes lich are s, how- reeable 3d\vork which, alkali, t 20 ft. liquor ) advo- such a at the of all official ber of the mounted police occasionally searches the trains, and should any alcoholic lifjuors be found, he empties them out of the window. Such a regulation sj^eaks volumes for the social condition of that part of the country ; but I fear it is not infrefjuently evaded. Manitoba, however, is not under what is called the "North-West Act : '' let no mistake arise on this point. There are many persons now in Manitoba who have gone there under the impression that by so doing they will be able to escape from the temptation to drink which has been their ruin in this cour.try This is more especially the case in that part of Manitoba which has been somewhat recently added, having formerly been in the North-West Territories. I have known of cases in which friends at home have been under the impression that their relatives in Manitoloa were free from that temptation to over-indulge in drink which was tb.eir ruin at home, whereas they really were not. Any man living an isolated life tar away from a town would, very probably, find it difficult to obtain intoxicating drinks ; but, however thi; law may stand, I can state positively that in the towns nearly every hotel is provided with a bar; that there is a good deal of drinking and drunkenness ; and that, by those who wish them, alco- holic liquors are as easily obtainable as in England. They are, however, seldom taken at meals, and their sale to Indians is, I believe, at all tinies i)rohil)ited. The importance of an ami)le supi)ly of coal can nowadays hardly be exaggerated in any country. This applies with especial force to the North-\'rest, where the cold of winter is so great, and timber for fuel, in some parts, so scarce, that coal is next door to an imperative necessity. It is, therefore, encouraging to learn that there is every })rospect of the supply of coal to the region in ([uestion becoming, in the immediate future, enormous. Far away to the West, on the bunks of the rivers which, rising in the Rocky Mountains, feed the Saskatchewan, large seams of excellent coal lie close to the surface ; and although the railway has but recently reached the district, several mines are already at work. Sir Alexander (lalt has a mine on the Belly River, from which, when in Winnipeg, I saw a pillar of first-rate coal weighing 610 pounds. The Woodworth Mine, near Medicine Hat, made its first shipment of coal eastward 124 MANITOBA DESCRIBED. ^ mi Hi 4- i ."V on tlic 26th of September last. Hitherto the transport difficulty has been the great drawback, the coal having had to be brought in barges down the river to the rail at Medicine Mat ; but, daring 1884, it is expected that a line of rails will be laid down direct to the mine.* Already the railway company is using this native coal on the western portion of its line, and whilst I was in \Vinnipeg it was selling there at the rate of 9 dols. per ton. It must, how- ever, be remembered that the Canadian ton is about one- eighth less than an English ten. As the coal, in order to reach \\'inni[jeg, has to be carried some 600 miles by rail, it is clear that the carriage will come to more than the first cost. Coal, of some kind or other, is said to be found in the Turtle Mountain district, close to the boundary, and the Souris Coal-fields are occasionally spoken ofj but some doubt may legitimately be entertained as to the nature, value, and extent of the deposits in these places, as there has been no little excitement concerning coal in Manitoba, and many a man cherishes the belief that it will shortly be worked on his flirm ! As already stated, the settlers are very anxiously looking forward to the time when they shall be able to obtain coal at a reasonably low price. Settlers in Manitoba and the North- West Territories will find themselves decidedly well off so far as newspapers are concerned. I noticed the following journals all advertised in one panii^hlet : The IVinniJ^eg Sun, Minnedosa Tribune, Manitoba Free Press, Selkirk Herald, Rapid City Standard, NortJi- West Advoeate, Manitoba Liberal, Stoiieivall Nezvs, the Signal, the Daily Sentinel, and the Regina Leader, beside which I know of several others. Canadian journalists are c^uite as enterprising as their proverbially- pushing brethren in the United States, and many a ludicrously small place has its own newspaper. The price of all, or almost all, papers is 5 cents ; but a weekly edition is generally issued for circulation among farmers, and the price for this is 10 cents. The Alanitoba Free Press and the Winnipeg Times are the leading journals. The weekly edition of the former (" the monarch of the weeklies," as it calls itself) contains an astonishingly large amount of * This has been partially done. LIFL OF SETTLERS IN MANinJllA. ^25 ;ransport v'ing had i rail at at a line cady the \vestern g it was 1st, how- Dut one- order to > by rail, the first found in ary, and of ; but : nature, as there anitoba, lortly be tiers are ley shall ries will jers are ertised Tribime^ andard, l NeivSy Leader^ madian rbially- nany a le price edition nd the ss and weekly es," as unt of really well-written matter. As a rule, however, tlie quality of the matter printed by these ])ioncer journals is not up even to a low standard of cxccllcnre — no one, indeed, would expect it to be of a very hi^h-class kind. I brought home a copy of the Por/aj^c J)iuly Tribune. This in- fluential organ is merely a ])rintc(l sheet measuring 20 in. by 27 in. The news with which it was laden covered just 165 sfjuare inches, or rather more than one-sixth of the available s])ace, the rest being reserved for advertise)iients. The distribution (jf news seems, in fact, to be but a secondary object with some Manitoban journals : their pnmary object appears to be to slander and abuse their contemi)oraries and opponents of the opjxjsite jjolitical party. Jkoudon, with its two nev»sjxipers, is, indeed, a veritable second edition of the far-famed borough of Eatanswill. Directly and intentionally dishonest motives are constantly attributed to ojjponL-nts ; and even the very best journals are not altogether free from blame on this head. In Cr.nada political feeling often runs very high ; and, as, of course, each province has its own House of Legislature (and, con.;e([uently, its own elections), there is plenty of scoi)e for loud and energetic controversy, which it cannot be said is always carried on with a strict regard to good taste, any more than that carried on by the various political parties in Kngland. The last Dominion (Government called itself *' Liberal," but the present Ciovernment, which calls itself " Conservative," calls its predecessors "Grits." The existing Government has now been in i)Ower over five years, but there was a general election about a year since. The Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald is Premier. Of course, all the legislators receive salaries as well as " mileage," according to the distance they have to travel in attending to their duties. The Manitoban Legislature is also Con- servative, and the Hon. John Norquay is Premier. xAs a rule, the average Canadian is strictly loyal to the British Crown and House of Commons. England is almost invariably spoken of as "the Old Country" — a term which undoubtedly had its origin in the minds of emigrants who entertained atTectionate memories of home, although, nowadays, it may be used conventionally and without any 126 MANITOIJA DESCRIKED. Iri ' * m ! i ■•; i 'I' ,. direct meaning. Tlierc are, of course, persons who arc in favour of throwing off all dependence uj)on the IJritish (iovernment, but this is not the desire of the majority. The Canadian, however, lives next door to, and is very intimate with, the members of a great and flourishing re- ])uhlic, in which class-privilege, he'"editary legislators, and the like fmd no i)lace ; and it is but natural that the Canadian's thoughts and opinions should have been, to some extent, at least, influenced l.iy this fiict. The result of this circumstance is that in Canada there is an under- current of feeling that the country ought to have some more direct re])rcsentation in the Imi)erial House of Commons, in order that she might be better able to make known her wants, and this feeling cannot fail to increase as time goes on. The ordinary Canadian is able to tolerate Royalty, but an hereditary, legislating House of Peers is to him a wondering-stock. One settler confided to me the opinion that it would bej^etter for England " if all the Lords were thrown into the sea ! " My reply to the man who preached this doctrine was that I agreed with him as to the object which he had in view, but not as to the means he thought it desirable to take in order to obtain that object. An " Established" and State-supported Church is also an anomaly in a Canadian's eyes."^ * Since llicse sheets went to press, iievvs ]i;is come to hand tliat some of the Indian tribes have joined tlie Half-breed revolt now goinf; on in tlie Saskatchewan district under Lcjuis Kiel. In spite of the apparently peaccal)le state of the Canailian Indians, it is certain that many of them are now in a very unenviable condition, through the extermination of the buffalo ; and it is, therefore, not sur])rising that some of them shouUl be ready to join any movement of malcontents tliat may arise. The present revolt is not likely to be very serious, unless it produces a general rising of tlie Indian tribes throughout the North-West ; and, in any case, settlers in Manitoba are not likely to be placed in situations of real danger. Although nearly all the newspapers spoke of the "revolt in Manitoba," the seat of the rising lies more than two hundred miles north-west of any part of the pro- vince. arc in Hritish najority. is very hing re- jrs, and hat the jccn, to c result 1 under- ^e some )use of to make increase tolerate ers is to me the ■ all the he man I him as i means lin that lurch is ml that \v goiiifj of the ain that ugh the ng that ontents serious, oiit^hout t likely all the : rising le pro- MANITOIJA DKSCKIIiF.I). 127 CHAPTER Vll. OF Iiri: CANADIAN PACiriC RAIIAVW IN' I'ARriCUI.AR AND OF AMERICAN RAIIAVAVS IN (iKNKRAI,. Tin: Continent of North America is, and for long has been, the home of great railway undertakings. The necessity for oi)ening uj), and providing transit across, her vast territories has fostered this entcr[jri^,e and led originally to the proposal (at first regarded as an insane one) of building a line of railway from the Atlantic Ocean, across the barren plains of the West, and over the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast. All the world knows that our enterprising cousins, the \'ankces, have long ago found out that, like many other " impossibilities," the thing was by no means so very diliictilt when )nce it was taken in hand ; and it has now been done, not once only, but several times. But it is now some twenty-five or thirty years since we ourselves began to talk of doing the same thing for our e(iually wide possessions on the American continent, antl, though the project is at the present time on the high-road toward completion, still we must confess that it is not yet done — that the more pushing inhabitants of the United States have, in this matter as in so many others, given us a lead. Since the thing first came to be agitated, several well- equipped exploring expeditions have been sent out to dis- cover and survey the best route ; whilst private travellers, who have been over the regions to be crossed, have also given the world the benefit of their opinions. The expedi- tion on which Viscount Milton and Dr. Cheadle suffered such hardship had partly this object in view ; while Captain (now Colonel) Butler, whose entertaining stories of travel 128 M.\\rroiv\ DKscRinr.i). H; in the "Great I-r)nc Land" every one knf)ws, urged, in an appendix to his second book, that the route to i)e taken should lie north of the north branch of the River Sas- katchewan, where, he says, it would traverse a country " fitted for inniiediate settlement ; a country where ri( h soil, i;ood water and abundant wood for fuel or buildini; could be easily obtained." 'I'iie point at which the i)ro- posed line should cross the Rocky Mountains has always been especially diflicult to decide. It was orii;inally intended that the route should lie far to the north of the location which has now been selected, and that it should cross the mountains by what has been variously known as the Tete Jaune, \'ellow Head, or Jasjjcr H(juse I'ass ; but Colonel Uutler has shown that this is impossible — that the difficulty of crossing the canons of the I'Vazer, Columbia, and 'J'hompson Rivers is insurmountable. In its i)lacc he reconmiends the Peace River or Smoking River Pass, All these, Jiowever, have now been rcHn- quished in favour of another i)ass some 150 miles further to the south. Thus it will be seen that, since the proposal to build the line was first put forward, its ])rogress has been much che [uered, and has evoked mu'^h discussion. Rut the plans assumed a much more definite form when, in 1871, the Province of Rritish Columbia entered the Dominion, one of the articles of confederacy being, that the Dominion Government should undertake to promote the construction of a trans-continental railway, which would bring the mineral resources of the new province nearer to the older provinces, and, generally, connect the former with the world at large. With the object of fulfilling this condition the late Liberal Government, before it was overturned by the present Conservative one, had already taken the matter hi hand, and actually commenced work on the railroad, intending to carry it out slowly, bit by bit, as their resources permitted or opportunity offered. A commencement had been made east of Lake Superior ; another portion had been begun between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg ; and yet another piece had been commenced west of the Rocky Mountains on the Pacific Coast. This plan, if carried out, would have.had its advantages. It would have been slow, THi: CANADIAN I'ACIFIC RAILWAY. 129 1, in an c taken cr Sas- rounlry ;rc ri( li miklini; lie pro- always riginally 1 of the should ■\o\\\\ as L" Pass ; ssiblc — l""ra/.cr, Lintahle. hiioking n rclin- i further uild the much ut the iSyr, minion, pminion uction nir the e older h the mdition ned by matter ail road, sources nt had Dn had ind yet Rocky ed out, n slow, hut sure ; and the line, when comjjleted, would have belonged to the country instead of being owned by a ' omjjany o monopolists with a huge land-grant. I'ut a new Ciovernn.'.nt came with a new policy. An agreement was entered inti, with a powerful and wealthy ".Syndicate,"' which bound the latter to build and comjjletely c(\u'\\) the line before the ist of May, 1S91. A friend has kindly ))rocured for me a c{>\y of the extra number of the CiviaJa (iazctte^ dated February 16, 1881, which contains this agreement. It is of such great importance to the whole North-West that I make no excuse for inserting an abstract of its conditions here. The agreement, dated February 16, 1881, is between the Canadian (lovernment and the following persons, who constitute the " .Syndicate " or directorate of the company : (leo. Stephen and Duncan Mclntyre, of Montreal; John S. Kennedy, of New York ; Richard W. Angus and J. J. Hill, of St. Paul ; Morton, Rose, t.V Co., of London; and Kohn, Reinach, c\: (!o., of Paris. The sections of the contract provide as fo'lows : — I. That portion of the Canadian Pacific Railway to be constructed al(jng tlic north shore of Lake Superior from near Lake Nipissing to Port Arthur shall be called the Kastern section ; that portion between Lake Superior and Winnipeg is the Lake .Superior section ; that portion between Winnipeg and Kamloopson the west of tlie mountains is the Central section; and that portion between Kamloops and Tort Moody on the Pacific Coast is the Western section. The whole shall be called the Canadian Pacific Railway. 2. The company shall deposit with the Government i,o<X),ooo dols. as security for the com- pletion of the line, on which the Government will pay interest at the rate of 4 per cent, per annum until a default occurs : on completion of the line the whole sum with any accrued interest shall be returned to the company. 3. Provides for arbitration in case of dispute ; for the construction of the line at a standard eijual to that of the Union Pacific R.ailway ; and with a gauge of 56! in. 4. Work shall com- mence at the eastern end of the Eastern section before the following July I ; and on the Central section before May I ; both to be pushed f'orward vigorously so as to be fully equipped and in ruiming order before May i, 1891, unless unavoidably prevented. 5. The company to pay to the CJovernment the cost of the construction of the portion of railway extending west from Winnipeg for 100 miles. 6. Unless unavoidably prevented the Government shall in every way complete the Lake .Superior section and that portion of the Western section between K.imloops and Port Moody by the dates of the then existing contracts. 7. These portions, when in every way complete, to be K a>J %■■' ,'(,( 130 MANITOPA T)ESCRII'.r;i>. handed over to the company (Init without cqi'ipment) as then- pro- perty, to be by them eOkiently maintained. 8. The company shall at once ecpiip and maintain these several portions. 9. Ciovern- mont grants to the company a subsidy or bonus of 25,000,000 dols. in cash and 25,000.000 acres of land, to be p-^.d in instalments on the completion of portions of the line not less than 20 miles in length and subject to various conditions and regulations, ic. Govern- ment also grants all land required by the ccjmpany for the railway, stations, workshops, wharfs, &c. ; and agrees to admit, duty-free, all steel rails and every other sort of material to be used in the firsl construction of the railway or line of telegraph in connexion there- with. II. The grant of land to consist of every alternate section of 640 acres in a belt 24 miles broad on each side of the line ; but if any of such land be "not fairly fit for settlement," the company may reject it and choose any other vacant Government lands elsewhere. 12. Indian title to be extinguished where necessary. 13. The com- pany may build the line where they please, subject to the approval of the Governor in Council, so long as they preserve the terminal points already mentioned. [The Yellow Head Pass has since l>een relinquished in favour of the Kicking Horse Pass.] 14. The company may buM any branch lines, subject to the approval of (Jovernment, whic? It all the necessary lands that are in its possession. 15. "tor lu^.ity y°ar= from the date hereof, no line of railway shall be authorised by the Dominion Parliament to be constructed south of the Canadian Pacific Railway, from any point at, or near, the Canadian Pacific Railway, except such line as shall n:n south-west or the west- ward of south-west ; nor to within fifteen miles of latitude 49 [the United States frontier]. And in the establishment of any new pro- vince in the North-West Territories, j^-ovision shall be made for continu- ing such prohibition afier such establishment until the expiration of the said i)eriod." 16. The entire railway shall be for ever free of every kind of taxation ; and its lands shall not be taxed for twenty years unless they are previously sold. 17. Empowers the company to issue bonds secured upon their land grant under various conditions. 18, 19, and 20. Relate principally to the said bonds. 21. Relates to the incorporation of the company. 22. Provides that the Railway Act of 1879 shall apply in all cases where it does not interfere with the foregoing provisions. The document also contains ntmierous other regulations and conditions relating })rincipally to the management and incorporation of the company ; but those already set forward are the ones that are of chief public interest. Were any English line of railway to be constructed under such conditions as these, the British public would indeed have good reasons for expressing astonishn:ient ; but the conditions previously existing in England are widely different frpm those existing in America. Here, it is not rin: caxaimax pacific raiiavav 131 cii- pro- ly shall Liovcrn- )0 dols. alments miles in Govern- raihvay, ■free, all the first n there- jction o( lit if any my may ■;ewhcre. 'he com- appvoval terminal ;icc l.^een company ernment, issession. svay shall south of Canadian the west- ; 49 [the new pro- \ continu- liration of r free of [n- twenty iiipany to nditions. .flates to Railway ere with ilations mt and idy set under indeed )ut the ^videly It is not the custom to make large grants of public money and land in order to enal)le a private conii)any to build a cue of railway ; but, in America, this is far from an uncommon occurrence. Enormous as are the benefits which Canada may expect to derive from the line in (question, no one will deny that the concessions arc also enormous. Relieved of all fear of competition, of all taxation, and of all the exi)ense of purchasing land ; with a cash bonus of 25,000,000 dols. ; with portions of their line over 700 miles in length, already completed by Government at an estimated exi)ense of 35,000,000 dols. (exclusive of large sums previously spent on surveys), and handed over to the company gratis; with a land-grant of 25,000,000 acres, which it is especially stated is to be *' fairly fit for settle- ment," and which is now being sold at 2 dols. 50 cents per acre and uj) wards (although, of course, the process of sale is a slow one) — with all these concessions, surely the Canadian Pacific Railway ot/i:^/it to thrive. Let us look for a minute at the advantages which tlic construction of the line will confer upon the Dominion of Canada. In the first place, a new and higlily advantageous route will be opened up between England and the Eastern J^siatic countries — China, Japan, and even India — and, on the completion of the railway, it is intended to start lines of steamers to these countries, as well as to our colonies of Australia and New Zealand. From Montreal (the present eastern terminus) to Winnipeg by the "CP. R." (as the line is invariably called in (panada) will be 308 miles shorter than the existing all-rail route 7'/i7 Chicago ; the distance from Atlantic to Pacific by the Canadian Pacific Railway will be 494 miles shorter tlicm the distance between New York and San Francisco ; and the route from Liverpool to Yokohama by the same line of railway, when completed, will have the advantage of being 1,053 niiles less than the existing route 7'id San Frnncisco. In the next place, an enormous extent of boundlessly fertile country will be opened u]) as a home and as a source of food for the struggling millions of lun-ope ; trade of every kind will be stimulated : the mineral resources of Pritish Columbia will be brought nearer to Europe; while the K 2 132 MANITOBA DESCRIUKD. agricultural products of the prairies can be sent westward to feed the mining population across the mountains ; the enormous stores of coal in the upper valley of the Sas- katchewan will be made available ; the extremes of the wide Dominion will be more closely bound together ; and in a thousand indefinable ways Canada, and a large portion of the civilised world besides, will be benefited — indeed, in the complex state of society which we call Civilisation, it is almost impossible to over-estimate the importance, if not the necessity, of such easy means of transit as railways alone provide. It is not too much to say that the line in question has practically created an enormous area of country ; for, though it is true that the land was there before, still it lay almost uninhabited and unapproachable, and, consequently, was almost worthless. Looked at in this light, the price which Canada has had to pay seems insignificant ; but it may still be doubted whether one, at least, of the con- cessions is not a little too great — that which practically gives the company a monopoly being, of course, the one referred to. All railways are, to a certain extent, monopolies ; and this is truer of American railways than of those in England. But few, even in America, are such unmitigated monopolies as the one now under discussion. Not long since I read in an American newspaper that some New York financier had expressed his opinion that the Dominion Government would have done better had they handed over their power and position to the Syndicate (as the company is always termed), reserving only the railway and its vast concessions to themselves ! As a matter of fact, the Syndicate is now omnipotent over the larger part of the Dominion, and is the virtual, if not the actual, Government of this portion. The large concessions and financial aid which, as now described, the Government of Canada has thought fit to grant to the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, are so enormous that in this country, where arrangements of a similar kind are but seldom made by governments, many people might be readily excused for falling into the belief that the company would henceforth be able to build its railway without further assistance. But this has not turned out to be' the case. The difficulties encountered have THK CANADIAN PACIFIC RAIIAVAV. ^33 ward to ns ; the he Sas- of the ;r ; and portion ieed, in on, it is i, if not ys alone i^uestion ry; for, ;ill it lay quently, lie price ; but it ;he con- •actically the one |ies; and ngland. mopolies e I read financier ernment ir power always icessions e is now 1, and is ortion. as now It fit to are so nts of a ts, many le belief build its )t turned ed have proved so great that, although there can be no (luestion as to the soundness of the com])any as a commercial ( oncern (which the traffic receipts for last year clearly show), the privileges which the company already possesses have now been found insufficient to enable it to build the line at the rate at which it is in every way desirable that it should be built. Last November, therefore, fresh negotiations were opened with the Government, the objects of which were to obtain for the company furtner financial assistance in order to enable it to continue vigorously its work of con- struction ; and, so great are the advantages which the early completion of the line is expected to confer upon the whole country, that, after careful consideration, the Government decided to enter into engagements by which it guaranteed a semi-annual dividend of 3 per cent, upon the whole of the outstanding stock of the company for ten years, upon certain security being given. This, it was thought, would so promote the sale of the company's stock as to i)rovide it with sufficient funds to carry the work to a completion ; but, for various causes, the results were not as had been confidently anticipated ; and, :.lthough the company was in possession of resources amply *rge enough to have com- pleted the line within the contract-time, so desirable did it seem that it should be completed at as early a date as possible, that the Government were again ap])iied to for further aid. This time a direct loan was asked for. American railways of all kinds are fickle-minded concerns in the extreme, while the intentions of their directors are perfectly inscrutable. The various lines there are, to a large extent, in the hands of private speculators, who use them tu attain their own ends, and to cut out rival lines, much more than could be done in England. With a new line everything appears to hang on the matter of a honiis^ which may thus be regarded as *' the root of all evil." The conditions under which American lines are constructed are, of course, widely different from those existing with us. Here, railway companies have a ready-made country, with old-established, deeply-rooted towns, from one of which to another the lines are made to run, gaining usually an immediate return on their outlay — in short, the towns make the railways. But in America the railways make the ■•MiiM |i» 134 MANITOIJA DKSCRIP.El). 1 Sst ' 1 towns. In building a railroad there, such as the Canadian Pacific Railway, the new line nearly always passes through more or less uninhabited country, where there can be but a very slow return for the outlay until the railway itself, by opening up and rendering the dist»-ict available, has populated it — hence arose the system under which Govern- ments make enormous land-grants to any new company. The land is usually (juite valueless to the Government without a railway ; but the comijany, by providing the line, render the land at once of marketable value ; and being, thereui)on, enabled to sell it, gain for themselves some return for their outlay ; and, at the same time, perform a public service by finding a population for the new district, which, again, will provide them with dividends and the Government with an increased revenue. From much the same causes arose the custom of particular localities giving bonuses to railway companies. It is difficult, under the circumstances, to see exactly how the matter could be arranged otherwise ; but it is undeniable that the bonus is very often a source of dispute and uncertainty as to the route to be taken by a new line. For instance, a company of speculators or capitalists meet together, and, after a little agitation, procure a charter from Government. It is then master of the situation, except, perhaps, in the matter of funds — a great consideration, it is true. The country to be traversed, though it may be fertile, is unavailable and thinly inhabited. What few towns or settlements there are already in existence are young and small and, metaphorically speaking, have got no roots. If the company chooses to spite the inhabitants of any such a town, it can start a new one of its own near at hand on its own land, when the old one may as well " bust up and go on West," as the Yankees say. But the inhabitants of the town naturally have no wish to " bust up : " they want the railway to increase the value of their property, and, if the line goes elsewhere, they may be ruined ; w^hile, on the other hand, the company usually wants funds to help it to build its line. Hence arose the custom of the towais giving bonuses — a system under which mere villages saddle themselves with a debt of 50,000 dols. or 100,000 dols. The directors always skilfully latters and make them appear unsettled. lay Tin; lANADIAX PACIFIC RAILWAY. 135 until they finally know which towns will give them the largest bonus : and this is the reason why i)roi)osed railways in the North-West are expected any time, years before they actually come ; why the intentions of the directors are always doubtful ; why all manner of contradictory rumours are current ; and why there is no certainty of knowing where the line will run until the rails are actually laid down. 'I'he following newspaper-cutting will serve as a specimen : — '" Portage la Prairie, September 10. — Various railway rumours are current here. One has it that the Canadian Pacific Railway Company have promised backing to the Souris and Rocky Mountain Company, and are urging the latter to proceed rapidly in order to cut out the Alanitoba and North-Western in the North-Western district. Another is that the Grand Trunk is about to purchase the Manitoba and North-Western. Many here hope the latter is true." It must be clearly understood, however, that the Canadian Pacific Railway has a semi-official status which places it above such i)etty hagglings as those just described as the usual accompaniments of the birth of the smaller and less important lines. Having now treated at some length of American railways in general, I will next proceed to give further information regarding the construction and working of the Canadian Pacific Railway in particular."^' The rapidity of the progress of construction since the company was incorporated on February 16, 1881, has been far ahead of the rate at which any of the trans-continental lines in the United States were built, and is altogether unparalleled in the history of rail- way building in any part of the world. Within three months of the company being incorporated (that is, about the beginning of May, 1881), work was commenced on the main line west of A\'innipeg ; and, by the close of that year, the track was laid as far as Oak Lake, 165 miles from the commencement, while considerable progress had been made with the grading beyond. In the spring of 1882 construction was much delayed by the floods in the Red River valley, which, for a time, caused a break in the rail- '■' I have pleasure in acknowledf^ins; the courtesy with which Mr. II. Moody, tlie I^ondon manairer of the Canadian Pr.cific Railway, has supplied me with some of the following items of information. 136 MAMIOI'.A DLSCKIliia). .u "ii way communication with the south. On this account only sixty-nine miles were completed l)etween tiie beginning of April and the end of June. After this, however, the work was pushed forward with surprising rapidity, as the following record in miles will show: July, 64; August, 86; Sep- tember, 7I2 ; October, 59?.; November, 38; and De- cember, 30. By the end of 1882, therefore, "the end of the track " had been advanced to Rush Lake, 585 miles west of Winnipeg, while the year's record was raised to 420 miles. The best month's work was done in August, when eighty-six miles were laid, being an average of 3*2 miles for each working day; though, on two occasions during the month, more than four miles of track were laid in one day. Grading was stopped by the frost on November 13, but recommenced again at the end of the following March (1883), and track-laying on April 18. From that date until the track reached Calgary, on August 15, the monthly record in miles was as follows : April, 17^ ; May, 52 ; June, 67; July, 92; and August, 26. On seven occasions during June and July the day's record exceeded four miles ; twice during the latter month more than six miles of track were laid in the day ; while the average for all the days in the same month on which any work was done was as high as 37 miles. At Calgary the line enters the Pass, and the ascent of the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains begins. On November 27 last the summit, 122 miles west of Cal- gary, was reached, raising the year's mileage to 377 miles, and making the total distance from Winnipeg 962 miles. The entire mileage constructed during 1883 upon all the main and branch lines of which the company has the management is returned as 918 miles. Looked at in any light whatever this is a record which cannot be called a poor one. More than t,ooo miles of railway laid within a little more than thirty consecutive months (or in about twenty-five months during which work was actually going on), is a triumph which, as already stated, has yet to be equalled. It must not, however, be for one moment suj)- posed that because the work has been done thus rapidly it has been scamped or done in a slovenly manner. When compared with some of the best English railroads, the laying of the track of the Canadian Pacific Railway will, of THE CANADIAN I'ACIFIC RAILWAY. ur course, appear to have been done in a very temporary manner ; but, on the other hand, it is certain that the work would compare favourablv with that which any other western American railway could show. The Union Pacific Railway was from the first selected as a standard of excel- lence which the Syndicate were compelled to come up to, or the conditions of their agreement with the (lovern- ment would have been broken. As a matter of fact, the line was entirely completed, piece by piece, as construction went on : the grading was done, the rails laid down and secured, stations were built, engine-sheds erected, tele- graphs ])ut up, sidings laid down, and the line was ecjuipped with all necessary rolling-stock as fast as the work pro- ceeded. This was, in fact, a necessity, or the materials for construction could not possibly have been got to the front. There is a siding at each station — that is to say, about every eight miles — and the aggregate length of all the sidings is sixty-six miles, which amount is not included in the figures which have been already given as to the length of the line. It is hardly necessary to say that the track is a single-lined one, and that it was laid down from one end only. The " ties," or sleepers used have all been cut in the forests around the Lake of the Woods. I'he rails used have all been of best English or German steel, about one- half having come from Barrow, and the other half from Krupp's works at Essen, Prussia. All the stations and other buildings are of a substantial and permanent cha- racter. The greater part of the work has been done by the firm of Langdon, Shepard, & Co., contractors. This firm, within fifteen months (including, of course, a winter), completed 677 miles of main-line, 48 miles of sidings, and is estimated to have moved something like ten million cubic yards of earth. In most places it was necessary to keep the grading done a long way in advance of the track- layers, in order that the work of the latter might not be interfered with. In some cases it was even necessary to have men as much as 200 miles in advance, and the diffi- culty of keeping them supplied with necessaries in a country where there were no roads, can be better imagined than described. During the construction of the line, yards were established at intervals of 100 miles : at these all the I3S MANITOBA l)i;SCRIP.i;i). ^ \ necessary materials and supplies were carefully sorted and forwarded to the front in selected lots, each train taking exactly the proper number of rails, ties, spikes, telegraph- poles, cV'c, to comi)lete a certain amount of track, so that there was no material scattered along the line in small quantities. 'J"he houses composing the village which sur- rounded each yard were made portable, so that, when it became necessary to shift the seat of operations nearer the front, the houses were put on Hat trucks, and carried for- ward to the i)oint at which the new yard was to be estab- lished. As showing the admirable arrangements that were in force, it may be mentioned tliat the materials for con- struction were delivered at the end of the track, day after day, with such regularity that, during two seasons, it is said the greatest delay experienced by the track layers did not once exceed three hours. It has also been stated that, with one exception near the crossing of the Saskatchewan, the maximum gradient between Winnipeg and a j)oint four miles below the summit of the Rocky Mountains (a dis- tance (jf 958 miles), does not exceed forty feet to the mile. The amount of earthwork l)ctween Winnipeg and Calgary (840 miles) has averaged 16,300 cubic yards to the mile, which is a very high average for a ^irairie country, but is accounted for by the fact tliat the line has been well raised up above the level of the ])rairie in order tcj avoid its being blocked by snowdrifts in the winter. It should, however, be pointed out, in connexion with the rapidity with which the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway between Montreal and the Rockies has been carried out, that nearly the whole of this distance (800 miles of it, at least), was upon fairly-level prairie, where the difficulties of construction were reduced to a mini- mum. There are still some 260 miles of the mountains to be crossed, and over 400 miles still remain to be com- pleted in the wild, rocky region north of Lake Superior. It is now, however, confidently announced that the entire line from the Atlantic to the Pacific will be completed and in running order in less than two years from the present tiuie, or before the end of 1885, which wid be no less than five-and-a-half years before the contract-time I It ought, then, to be possible to go from Liverpool to Yokohama by tin: CANADIAN PACIFIC KAII^VA^• ^39 the Canadian I'acifir. Railway willi hut two changes — one at Montreal and the other at Port Moody.* J.ast autumn rumours were s]iread ahroad to the effect that the Kicking Horse Pass liad Ijeen ijrv)nounced im- practicable by the company's engineers, and tliat work had been suspended in conseiiuence — one rumour, wliich I heard in \\'innii)eg, actually said for two years ! I have, however, been jjositively assured that the Kicking Horse Pass has not been abandoned : but, as work on the moun- tains had necessarily to be suspended for a time on account of the snow, the engineers thought it worth while to occupy the interval of enforced idleness with a fresh survey of tlie route selected. Ily this })ass the company claims to have found a route through the mountains which will effect a saving of 120 miles over the 'J'cte Jaune Pass in the distance between the two oceans ; which will give gradients easier than those that have had to be crossed by any of the lines in the United States ; and which will concentrate all its steep gradients into three short sections of twenty miles each. That section of the line between Port Arthur and Lake Nipissing is being pushed rapidly forward by enormous gangs of men. Some 8,000 or 9,000 have been kei)t at work the entire winter through : and it is confidently antici- pated that, with the aid of large (luantities of dynamite, the line will be completed about the same time as that ])art which crosses the mountains. Already the track is laid over 100 miles east of Port Arthur, and, with the oj^ening of the spring of the present year (1S84), a branch line will be completed to Algoma Mill, on the shore of the (leorgian Ray, Lake Superior. From this i)oint the company will at once commence running a line of steamers on their own * At the time of writing (December 1S84) the latest advices to hand state tliat unexpecleilly rapid progress has been made witlr the line north of Lake Sup-erior which is expected to be complete by April next. The "end of the track " is now said to be seventy miles west of the summit of the Rocky Mountains. StMiie difficult work has been experienced in descending the Kicking Horse Pass and live tunnels have been bored. Two more ranges in Ikitish Columbia have yet to be crossed, but 3, coo men will be kejit at work all winter, and it is said that the main line will be com])lete and in running order by November next. ']■•".* 140 MANIT0I5A DKSCRIUKI). account to Port Arthur (360 miles), when they will, at last, be able to convey passengers by a route entirely their own from Montreal to the summit of the Rocky ^iountains — a distance of 2,300 miles. This route will also be more direct than any at present existing between the North-West and the Atlantic sea-board, and will, doubtless, find much favour until the final completion of the line renders it an unnecessary one. 'J'hree fast, steel, Clyde-built steamers have been already delivered over to the comj)any, ready for work when navigation oi)ens.* In addition to the main line between Montreal and Port Moody (which, when comi)leied, will be 2,875 n^il^'S in length), the company has '\\\ 0])eration branches from Winnii)eg running to Stonewall (20 miles), to SelKirk (22 miles), to Manitou (loi miles), and to St. Vincent (68 miles), on the boundary, where connexion is made with the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and M.an»Loba Railway, and, through it, with the whole American railway system. It has also acquired possession of the Manitoba and South- western Line, feeding the much-ta!ked-of Turtle Mountain district, which will this summer be pushed forward ;t while the Manitoba and North-Western Railway and the Souris and Rocky Mountain Railway are independent lines, which are being j^ushed north-westward, and will, in time, serve as useful feeders for the main line. That portion of the line between Port Arthur and AVinnipeg was completed by Government and handed over to the Syndicate in May, 1883. It is now busily in operation. Shortly after its incorporation the Syndicate purchased the partly-finished Canada Central Railway, in order to connect its eastern terminus, near Lake Nipissing, with Montreal on the Atlantic coast. Several other short branch lines have * At the last moment, and just as I myself was preparing to travel over this route, it was ann<ninced that, on account of difficulties con- nected with the getting of tlie steamers to Algoma, and because of the insufficiency of buoys in the channel, the vessels would run from Owen Sound, at the south end of the Georgian 15ay, instead of from Algoma. The three vessels on this line are named Alherta, Athabasca, and Algoma. They are splendid ships, lit entirely by the electric light. I made the first trip up the lakes, which any of them made this springs on board the last-named. f This has not been done. Tlir, CANADIAN PACIFIC KAILWAV. 141 at last, jir own tains — e more :h-West 1 niiicli rs it an teamers ', ready sal and 5 miles js from Sekirk Vincent i made Railway, system. I South- ountain 1+ while Souris 5, which e, serve of the cted by n May, ifter its inished eastern ion the have to travel ties con- se of the m Owen Algoma. >va, and light. I spnng» construction, arrangements also been purchased, or are now under by the Syndicate ; and it is stated that arc now in progress by which the comi)any will gain access to the winter ports of Boston, Portland, and St. John, and which, when completed, will })lace the two termini of the railway considerably more than 3,000 miles apart. The total mileage of the Canadian Pacific Railway, oi)en at the end of 1883, was 2,963 miles, of which 503 miles were constructed by the Government, 1,414 miles by the Syndicate, and the remaining 1,046 miles consisted of lines that have been leased or i)urchased. Some idea of the enormous number of men to which the construction of the line gives emjjloy- ment may be gained from the fact that, during the first half uf last July over 800 were sent West by the Winnipci-; om- ployment-bureau. Probably, when work commences in earnest this year (1S84), the company will have in its employ over 20,000 men. Mr. Moody writes: — "The company employs on the line as many thousand men as it can get : next season we ho[)e to have 10,000 men at work in the Rocky Mountains."' According to the returns the company's " pay roll "' (presumably including wages only) amounted to 2,241,638 dols. in 1882. From the foregoing, every one will see what an enormous power this young Railway Giant will wield when he comes to attain his full growth. The route across the prairie-region which the company's engineers have chosen has caused surprise to not a few people. Certainly it does not show by any means the best aspect of the country to those who merely pass through it by rail ; but it is very direct, and probably that fact was the one which weighed most strongly with the authorities. About sixty miles west of Winnipeg the line i)asses through a wet and thickly-wooded country, while the stations of Sydney and Melbourne are situated among desolate sand- hills, where but few persons have been fools enough to locate. After this, the line passes through good country for several hundred miles, until the Great Plains, which occupy the Third Prairie Steppe, are reached. Much dis- cussion has been waged as to whether or not this bare, arid, and treeless tract is fit for settlement. It certainly is a northern extension of the vast plain which used formerly WM ■ ■ i.jj MAMior. \ i)i;s(Uir.i.ii. to 1)0 known as "ThcCiivat American Desert"; but tlic nieni'oers of tlie Syndicate arc evidi-nlly of opinion that their |>orlit)n of it is capable of cultivation, for they have not rejected it as i)art of their land .^rant, which the terms of their a,i;reement with the (lo.ernment expressly ^'ives them power to do, should they so wish. Probably in time a very larj^e part will be settled, but not until the better anc lly uil; iu)rtli and e;ist is a ()C( upie( * So many coiUrary ami lonlliotin!^ staleiiuMil-. and opinions liavr boon |uU foiwaril as totlic capaliilitics ol this region tliat i may as well sol liMtli luTo my own oljscrvalion-,, altlioiii^li (lie sulijrt:! is not one (liii'iily coMncclicI wiili Manitolta. Lasl July ( iSS.}.), I had occasion to uniU'itako tlu' joniiu-y (Vom ^Vinnipci; W'. -.twards almost as far Mcilicinc Hat, in the valky of the Saskatchewan, and back. Im- mediately attcrwaids I went south, and then journeyed out over the Ni)ithein I'acitic as far west as Helena, Montana, at the foot of the main ranije of the Rocky Moimtains. I will speak of the last journey fu'st. The country in the Red River \'alley ai)oul I*'arj;o, and in Dakota as far west as the Misscwui, seemed to he ([uite as i^ood as, and not very dissimilar from, the coutitry I have praised so highly in Manitoba. West u{ the Misxiuri, however, the threat plain of the Third Prairie Steppe is at once reached. The vey;etalion is scanty, but affords fair pasturage for cattle, except in those parts wlicre a parched and sandy soil ])roduccs nolhiu;^ but cactus, or where alkali is especially abundant. The vei;etation in the valley of the \'ellowstone is very parched and scanty in appi-arance ; but it is, perhaps, hardly fair to jud^e of the surrounding country ])y what may be seen in the river-valley alone. Of the country lyini^ Immediately west of Winnipeg I have already .spoken. With the exception of the wet, wooded, ami sandy tracts between rortageda-Prairie and Carberry, it is of fairly uniform ex- cellence, at least as far as Regina, 356 miles from the capital. A few miles west of l\.egina the Third Prairie Stepjie, or True Plains, are reached, and the line, black, fertile loam of the true prairies to the east is exchanged for a drier, sandier, and less fertile light brownish soil. From this pomt to Medicine Hat (a distance of 300 miles) very little change of any kind is observable. The surfiice is never ilal, but invariably rolling. This circumstance did not at all agree with my preconceived ideas of the country. The elevations never attain to any great height, but are always of a sufficient altitude to prevent the traveller obtaining a view from the train more than a few miles in extent. The face of the ground is so completely devoid of everything of the nature of a shrub that, for hundreds of miles, no stick large enough to form a pen-holder is to be seen, except here and there when crossing the valley of a small stream. The vegetation has both a scanty and a parched appearance, and there are large patches of sand, alkali, and cactus ; but, on the whole, I am bound to confess that I was most agreeably surprised at the nature of the country. Ilea.'say had 'Ilir CWAhF.W I'\(III( MMI.WW. I !•> One |)assL'nL;cr liain runs over llic ti.uk «.a( Ii way ilail) as tar west as Moose Jaw, while twi( c a wick trains run tn the end of tlio track and l)a( k, 'I In- ( ars arc seldom otlur wise than well filled. ( )n most (kiys also there is a _L;ooili (or, as it is always railed, a " freight train ") ea<li way. 'I'hose {.^oin^ West are ^^eiierally " ( onslruction traiiv." They are laden with rails, lies, and other material for the end of the tra< k, and arc often of ;^reat len,t;th. 'I'he ordi- nary passen.^er fire east of Urandon is ^^ c. per mile; west of that place it is 4 < . This rate is lower dian that ( har^'ed by most other western railroads (notably by the Northern Pa( ific), and comjjares very favourably with the fares (jii most i'ai^lish lines, beinir, in fact, K ss than the avera,L;e second-class fare ; while the (omfort afforded, even by the ordinary American "cars,"'*' is, to my thinking, greater tlian led nu" to suppose llie whole aicM ;i uscles'^ desert ; Imi it is nio>t cmpIiiUieally iiotliiii;^ of the l.iinl. .\ \\yy ];w^c poilion ol tlic ri'jMoii I p;is>c'i| tliidu^li would un<|iiLs!i(.n;il)ly support \ast licids of tattK- ; while, further west, anions; the foot-hills ol the Kocky Mountain^, is a still better eountry, where nxire sheltered valleys, <^reeii''r ^'ra>s, and a milder winter hold out great pioiiiise to ranch-men. I'urther, I am not afraid to say (indeed, I feel eonlidenl) that in years to come, when the increase of population shall have over-run tlie more fertile prairies, we sliall hear of the plouijh and the harrow heinj; successfully employed upon these now clieerless, solitary plains. I feel hut little douht that they could he rendered more haliilahle by the careful plantini; o( tree-., which would have a stron}^ tendency to increase the present scanty rain-fall, and break the now violent winds. Whether, however, trees ever grew naturally on the plains, and have been destroyed by fire, is a point I cannot decide. I'rof. .Macoun states his belief that this has been the case ; but the fact that the soil is not black, like that of the prairies, lends no sui)port to this view. 'Ihe Canadian i'acilic Railway authorities have made a commendable effort to solve the (picstion of the fcrlility of the jjlaiiis for themselves. Last year a special train left Winnipeg laden witli horses, ploughs, men, fencing materials, and other implements of husbandry. Tatchi's of ground were roughly cultivateii and sown. 1 have had the opportunity of inspecting several of these " ICxperimental Farms," and can testify that, alllujugh it would be untrue to say the crops were good, still they were fairly so, though evidently in want of moisture. On the whole, I consider the average of the country along the Canadian Pacitic Kailway to be decidedly superior to that along the Northern Pacitic Railway. * l""or a berth in a Pullman-car an additional charge ol fr(jm 3 dols. to 4 dols. a (lay (twenty-four hours) is made. 1 have covered some very long distances in " sleepers," as they are called, and consider they afford the utmost perfection of comfort as yet attainable in railway travelling. m 144 MANITOBA DESCRIBED. iifiMt that given by any English first-class carriage, except in the matter of that " solitary confinement " which the insular- minded Britoi so dearly loves. A complete American train generally contains the following kinds of cars : — first, the baggage- jar, the mail-car, and the express car; next, the emigrant-car, the second-class (01 smoking-car), and the first-class car; after that, the dining-car ; nnd, lastly, one or more " Pullman palace sleeping-cars." '* On board '' such a train as this little is wanted beside bath- and reading- rooms to convert it into a travelling hotel or club-house. The advantages possessed by such a train over an English train are these : the cars are better lighted at night, are more roomy, and better warmed (often, indeed, far too well warmed) ; the seats are more comfortable, and, being re- versible, no one need ever sit with his back to the engine ; further, the traveller can obtain all conveniences, such as walking about, partaking of meals, washing, going to bed, purchasi-^g books, newspapers, fruit, &:c., without leaving the trail). The " checking " of luggage, too, is a system almost too excellent foi" praise. It is quite impossible to see why it should not be adopted here. For my part, whether the journey be long or short, I much i)refer rail- way travelling in America to the same in England.* * The author of "A Year in Manito'oa " must surely be an Irish- man ; at least he strongly reminds me of the Irishman who complained bitterly because all his grievances had been talien away and he had nothing left to grumble about! Our author writes that checking "is done by giving the traveller a brass ticke'. for each package, the baggage-man retcining a duplicate. With a lot of luggage this is a serious cttcttmbrance !^^ Vox myself I can say that, although I have travelled o\ :r 20,000 miles by rail in the United States and Canada, I cannot remember ever to have had my baggage labelled with my name or destination (my address was placed inside for safety), nor have I ever lost anything. Why, too, cannot oui engines be provided with whistles similar to those used in America? Instead of the discordant and detestable screech we now hear, we should then have a base *'boom," which would be jiudible at much greater distances, and would be in no way unpleasant. Certainly one drawlxnck to American rail way travelling is the totally unnecessary destruction of baggage that goes on. Trunks are often thrown bodily out of the baggage-cars on to the platform and then rolled along on their corners, bumping heavily. I have two suggestions to oifer to travellers : the first is, that they should apply to Mr. Griffiths, " the safe man," for one of his massive, burglar^iroof constructions, into which their goods might be THE CANADIAN' PACIFIC RAIIAVAV, 145 t in the insular- nerican : — first, • ; next, and the , one or 1 " such reading- D-house. English ght, are too well eing re- engine ; such as to bed, leaving , system jsible to ny part, ;fer rail- an Irish- implained :1 he had |:king "is age, ihe this is a iih I have Canada, with my nor have ided with liscordant |c a base id would tican rail ;age that t-cars on ibumping |e first is, ine of his ight be The guard is always a "conductor," and, on freight- trains, his van is always a "caboose." There are already over 200 cabooses in use on the line. The conductors are always men of a superior class. Those connected with freight-trains are paid by the number of miles they run, and are said often to earn as much as 130 dols. per month, whilst those on passenger-trains often earn 100 dols. 'I'he following ideal regulation is said to have been issued to the company's servants, and to be now in force, but I fear the force must be a weak one : — " In future, the use of all intoxicating liquors, either on or off duty, is strictly pro- hibited. Any violation of this order will be severely dealt with." All the post-office and baggage-cars in use on the line are built with sliding, instead of folding, doors, and the windows are securely barred, so that an effectual resistance could be offered in case of an attack. Some interesting figures in the Report of the I)e[)artment of Agriculture and Statistics show that in 1882 the total mileage of passenger- trains was 281,377, o^ freight-trains 1,841,146, and of mixed trains 44,451. Altogether, 758,448 tons of freight were carried over the Western Division, of which, however, rather more than one-half was for the use of the com})any itself. At Winnipeg, no less than 109,164 "pieces of baggage were handled," as the expression is. The number of passengers travelling over the line during the year was 258,058. The gross traffic receipts of the entire line for the year 1882 were 2,536,420 dols., or at the rate of about 3,500 dols. per mile. Considering the fragmenta'-y state of the main line, and the fact that that year was only the second of the company's existence, this result may be said to be most surprising ; still more so when it is added that in the following year the gross receipts amounted to 5,281,811 dois., or more than double. Passengers are allowed to travel by freight-trains at the packed with safety ; the second is, that they sliould employ ordinary trunks and label them " Dynamite loith care." The last plan is worth a trial. The American hotel system is, to my thinking, superior to the ordinary European plan. A fixed daily charge is made for a bed- room and three meals. There are a few hotels in London that are carried on under this system, — for instance, the American Hotel, 34, St. Martin's Street, Leicester Square. .-oiMMMM r' t i 146 MANITOBA JJKSCRlllKD. regular fare and at their own risk. The cabooses attached to these trains are fitted uj) with greater comfort than an average Knglisli third-class carriage, and generally have occujjants. No one should imagine, however, that these trains afford very smooth or enjoyable travelling, or that they keej) to anything like their ai)pointed time. Those I journeyed by were from one to eight hours late ! ciiArTJiLR vm. THE "BOOM AND ITS EVlI, EFFECTS. u No visitor to Manitoba will have been more than a very short time in the country before he hears of the " boom.'' A " boom •' is, I believe, strictly an American institution — at least so far as land is concerned. It is, in principle, identical with the "gold-rushes'' which have taken place in Australia and California in years past. The wildest and most insane speculation is the only foundation on which a " boom'' can thrive. During its existence business of every kind is in a state of altogether abnormal and unhealthy activity ; wages and i)rices are exceedingly high ; and every one is endeavouring to buy and sell at an unusual rate. In ^Manitoba the " boom " took the form of a mania for dealing in " town-lots." It seems to have extended to nearly every town in the province ; though, })erhaps, it was more fully developed at some than at others. It originated in the autumn of 1881 ; and "the bottom fell out," as the expression is, about the end of the following spring. During this time the condition of business was almost beyond the conception of those who did not see it. Town-lots, measuring usually about 30 feet by 100 feet, were bought, houses were run up, and stores opened by the score. In the towns it is literally a fact that nearly every place of business was also a real-estate office. Every hotel-bar was placarded with advertisements and crowded with people cra^y to sell town-lots. It mattered nothing if 4 r ! tachcd i:in an ,' have these )!• til at lOSC I a very boom.'" iition — inciple, 1 place est and Ahich a f every |healthy ; and iinusual mania ded to aps, it irs. It m fell llowing kss was lot sec )y 1 oo )pened nearly Every fowded Ihing if nii; I'.OO.M AND MS i:\ll, IIFKCIS. '47 these lots were at the bottom of the Assiniboine, or in the middle of a pond, or even if they had no existence at all ; so lonj^ as they were shown on ))aper they were eagerly bought by persons willing to give enormous ))rices for the prospect — usually a g(j()d one of selling them again at a liandsome jirofit. Inspecting them was an altogether supcrlluous accompaniment either of sale or purchase. Auctions, at which these ])aper towns found ready sale, were, I believe, held in all the j)rincipal cities of Canada. It is a fact that the town of lirandon was surveyed for a radius of several miles in every direction beyond its present limits ; and many other ])laces were in the same state. Professor Macoun gives the f(jlIowing sket'^h of the "boom" in his work on ''Manitoba and the (Ireat North-West" : — " Nothing to ecpial it had ever before occurred on Canadian or ih'itish soil. Thousands of dollars were made by operators in a few minutes. Vast fortunes were secured in a day. The excitement s})read like wild-fire all over the country. Cool-headed professional and business men (clerical as well as lay) left their callings in other parts of the country for the scene of the modern Canadian VA Dorado. Real-estate agents became as numerous as the sand on the seashore. The educated and refined, as well as the illiterate, took part in land transactions. No regard was i)aid as to whether the vendor had a right to sell or not : everything was taken for granted." ^\^^o will wonder that there should come a time of reaction and dei)ression after such proceedings as these? During the time the boom lasted, a common labouring man's wages were something like 2\ dols. per day, and he lived on champagne like a lord. In Winnipeg it was difficult to get a bed to sleep in at night, so great was the incoming tide of people, attracted by the i)rospects of realising a speedy fortune through gambling with town-lots. Farm- land, too, shared in the inflation produced by the boom, but not to the same extent as town-lots. None, however, but the very simplest could ex])ect this state of things to last long ; and, as already stated, the depression which inevitably follows a ])eriod of abnormal business activity soon began to be felt, and is now only slowly removing its woful effects from the towns all over L 2 .,s Ai \M loi'. \ ni -<( i^iin n. \ I lilt thr pvo\i>u v\^ M;\nv ;\ l(n\i\ lol is now not wmlli ;is i(i;mv thousaiul « cuts ;is ilollais wcvc i\\\v\\ (or it (Imin;', llu- homii ; m.mv ii st»Mv IS now « IosimI. mam a hiisinrss innn a hank vnpt. an»l nian\ a s)>rr\ilalor mined ; winlr. cvi-n now. 1"ailui\ s aro j^unj; »>n wlnrh avr »lni'< tl\ altiihiilaMr lo llu- c\\\ riVt t ts ol till' boom. \ \c\\ of llu' sliaipiM ones niav \).\\\' ba« kr»i onl \\\ Inno. an«l iua»lo }m>o(1 hauls ; Iml tlu- ■,.^,aio\it\ \\c\r. as nsnal. j'jillod. and nian\ nuisl liavi' lost lira\il\. 1 luwnl ol nion who, ihnnig tho hoou), wtMc aiio\nUi*l to \\c worth iipwanls of a hnndn'd thousand «1ollars. who arr now baiolv W(mi1i ihorlothrs thr\ stand ui Ono m-ntliMuau told \\\c that, durinj; the boom, he niadc o\or ^>. 1 .ovv^ \]\ U'ss than si\ weeks; ImiI. luueh shai|Mi th.in most, he knt^w how to keep it, as widl as how to make It. an«l let! tlu^ smkin;; ship in time. The eomplaml now is. that lan»l i\nmvl tlu^ towns is out ol" ullivation, jieinu owned m tmv lots In imknown perso)is all omm ihe OonnnuMi. who kei^p ihemsidxes < aielulh, in the haik ground, lest the\ slhHild he <alled upon to pav rurlhei instahnenls v>n j^K^ts ot u\o\md whieh aii^ now worth less than the lirst instalnuM\t aheadv ]i.iid. l.ookini; l);t(k now. when men's reason has ivtmiied to lluMii. it seems impossible to imder stand livnv sueh .i slate o[ things could ever have aiisen ; but. then, .ill eia/^^s and manias the mlamous .South S(m lUibble, ior instanee, whieh w.is ol a kindred nature with the boiMU seem equallv oulr.igeoiis when (almlv viewed .\ller tho oxeitement has ]ussed away. That the ilcpression in business is n»)w teiribly severe in nearb all tlie tv>wiis in Manitoba, as elsewhere mentioned. is ob\ ivnis to e\erv person who mav have oee.ision to \isil tiicm. and its existenee is not tlenied bv the i)ui>lie news- papers ; that it is both direetb and iiulireetly attributable to tlie boom, by it.s liaviiii; eaused i^reat t>ver-li\ulinL; and .m excessive supply ot' goods ; that the present number ol" bankruptcies, though iwint'ul to see, will, in the end, liave a benelicial elTect, by placing l)usiness on a secure looting : *" I li;i\o boon croiliMy infiMmoil thai, ilurinj; tlic hoii;lU of llio hi)oiu, l.;nil in WinnijtOjL; ihon .) jilaoo o( only io.».x\) inlial>it;\nts, and 51x3 milos from any oontro of oivilis.ition sold for hiq;hor piioos than land will totoh at tho jM-osoni day in (he middle of Chicago— a place of ivx>.ooo inh.tbiianl?.. I III lini.M \M. II, I VII, I I I I f I ' 1'^ \ir.rn ; .> with iowihI VVC 111 it)iu-(l. n visit ncws- it;il )!(• and Iht oi have lotuu boom, kill 5*>t) liii land ace o i fital, wIh I) llii; l,il<("; )ili(r. ItimiiM"^'; will ai^aiii floiirisb ; ainl iIkiI iIh' |a«',( 111 (|r|iir;'.iMii in Im aiic^;';, lirifu^ the MM VllaMc K Mill n( |||ll,ilii)|i rlijr Id flic iiia'ld' ';l ';|i(v l|lallf»ri, • aniiitl ill llir slii'lifi 'it di imi r Ik- alliilmh (| Io any lanlt rtiliiict led Willi ill! ((iiiiih\-, air ,ill (,m|:; wIikIi will lie ( tinallv n|t\|(ii|'; |(» rvi'iv oliM iv< i, 'I'lir f I' 1 1| » ;, ,|oii |i;i<;^ in !!(» 'illj'jil <l('|Mi'c, |m'(|| ;i;'tM;i\';ilr(| Ky ill'' total want, I liMiiij'Jioiil llir hoirinion, < >i ;in\' liw of liank ni|itf y, 'io that the .ilCair ha"; In Ik- niaiiajnd liy ihr r iiinNroiis aii'l wa'^lf'liil |ii(i{ (s'i of hailid^ sci/iirr an<l '.,il''. ( )|)vif»ii';l\', wJKac lllf II- ;i|r <;<» ni,in\' "miIi <, ,111(1 wIm ir ni'iiiry r; now so •>(ai<r. ihiiii-;, inn a 'all loi (,m Ic.-; tli.ni 'Inn nal v-ilnr, as. imlrt'd, is jm nci.illv ihc « a'.c ; ;inf| I Ik ,n'l of many aiti« Ics wliif h had hn n sold at ;in ahsiiiflly low n'Mirc. Ihil, as there is no iiile willionf ,-iii » xfeption, so there is one town wliii h, liavin;; esf,i|ie<I the l»of»ni, has, ( onse- (incntly, seen iiothin!; (»l the de|»iession. This town is ('ailMii\-, ;i |i|;i(e of ;- ■ . oi ,(oo inli.il )it;Mils, l»iit III wlijfh all the laisiiiess done i, heallh\' ;ind tla re h.ive hefai no sales or |)ankMi|tt( ies. .\t the jaesenl time ( arherry is };ro\vin!.'; sl(»wly, honestly, and siihstaiitially, a' eordinj,; to its r(M|iiirein'nls, and does not, like its neifdihoiirs, seem to ONpcel its rei|iiir(Mnents to j.',row alonij; with if. It. is thr only villa,!;e wcafli the name lietwe(ii Itiandon and the Portage, and, hein^ siiironiifled hy an exr eljenf, and well- sc'ttli"d agricultural disfii(t, may expeef to ;/row steadily in the Intiire. Its |)ros|)( i ity may he dircf tly attrihiifed to the laihire of the hooin, whieh seems here to liavfr defeated its own ends. The folhtwin^ is an acj oiint I had ^iven nie of the i;rowth of ('arheny perhaps not altogether rorreet as to detail : — -When, in Aiif^nst, iKXi,the railroad rear hed the liii; IMain, as the district round ( "arherry is railed, the station and town of" " I )e W'inton " were (ommenc.ed anrl named alter deiKaal I )e Winfon, aide de eamp to th(,' \lar(|iiis of Lome. This was done on a section of land about two miles east of tiie present town, the property helongin}^ to a certai i (leneral Kosser, who was in Sf)rnc way eonnec ted with Ik; syndicate, and wonld, douhtless, have lined his juxkets finely had he not, about the fcjllow- ing June, found occasion to differ from his cr^lleaL^ues, who, naturally, had no further wish to aid him in his speculations. wn \fi '50 \| \M |t>Il \ ItlSl Kllll I). Iff ^t I Hi. i V 1 * V ,1 < I » 4t If A('cor(lini;lv tlu\ « Ioscm! tlirir sl;Uii)n, nnd (Mim t(Ml ;i (cm ]K)r;\r\ imc on a (K-sobtc spot ntnoiii; tlu' s;nul hills, where no one would iIkmui «)r sclllinj;. Ilere it roinniniMl loi- (ucr a month, while the svn(h( ate was l),ngainin,i; lor anolhiM- seetion ol Kind, thi^y tliems(-lves not possessing a suitable one and yet retjuirini; a station to supply the Wu^ riiiin. At last, lor a very high ligure, they pur( has(>d that on whieh ('arbtMi}- now stands. Il«a(> they innnedialelv bnill a new station, surveying the Innd oil' into town lots. whi<h the\ sold as fast as possible. Ol < ourse. \)c \\ inton languished and died : at the ]iri'sent time only a houst" iuid a hall remain, all the others having beiai nioved two unles over the ]>vairio to Carbi'rry. and, to this day, some ol them are considerably out ol the perpendicular, and ben other signs ot injuiy receivcul (luring tln^ ji^urncv. Tln- lH)st otiice was not nu)ved until some time later, when the inconvenience began lo ])e telt (leneral Kosser is s.iid to have sold his land to another speculator, in constMpuaice ol which, though ot" Inst class (|ualilv. it still remains unculli vated. Thus the ( 'ity ot 1 >e W inton '' bust up and went on west," as the \ ankees say. C'arberry has niwv somelhing like lilly houses, iniluding three hotels, si^vcr.il excellent st(>res, a blacksmith's, ilnei^ grain warehouses, \(\ \-c. As the railway reaches turlher out into tin- l'"ar \\'est, il carries the boom along with it. ami one reads in tlu^ i);ipers that "things are biu)ming "" at such-and-such a jilace. AMien it reachetl Calgarry. the materials ol" a house were \mloaded t'rom the tr.un one Momlay afternoon, and on Tuesday evening the .said house was built anil 01 c upied. This is the way they do things in the W est ! ',•-> ccllonl apors ilaci.'. Ill 1 on MANirnMA ni'SCRinri). '5' CIIAn'KK (X lirK ( I IT or I'.KANDDN. On Scplcinbcr iStli I ("irst saw the rity of Brandon, in the vi<inily of wliich pl.'u c I spent a sliort time. To nic, lifter a h)n^ sojourn in the rural dislrif t round Carl)erry. it ajipeared indeed a city of no mean si/e, although, I |)eheve, its |)Opulation falls a trillc short of 4,000. The history of the ra|)id growth of lirandon is a sur- prising o!ie- or, rather, it would he so for any Old World town ; hut, on the other side of the Atlantic, instanf cs t'ould he given even more wonderful. At the time I was in the city 1 l)elieve that its age was almost exactly Iwo years and five months ; and that before the month of May, iH8r, there literally was not a single inhabitant of the spot it now occupies. 1 made the ac(|uaintance of a gentleman who claimed the honour of having jait up the first building. In the spring of iiSSi, after the Canadian Pacific Railway had ]>assed into the hands of the present j)owerful syndicate, and there was every |)rol)ability that the rich prairie lands of the North West would at last be opened up to th.e world by the much-talked-of trans-continental railway, speculation began to be rife among a few keen-sighted men as to the point at which the track would cross the Assiniboine River, believing (and that rightly) that a town would eventually spring up at that spot. During May a complete change in the pro- l)osed route indicated the present site, and the following month of June saw the city born. The streets were sur- veyed, and a number of settlers arrived, who, though most of them spent their first nights on the open prairie, are now among Brandon's foremost men. Within twenty-four hours of the time when the first purchasers of town-lots from the '52 MAMIOBA DKSCRinp:D. '*:\ A'' agents of the syndicate had become owners, they had started a l)risk real-estate business, and when, on May 28, a heavy consignment of lumber arrived from Winnipeg by the steamer Auii-i/i-U'esf, it was eagerly bought ujj, and the boom was in full swing, ^\'ithi^ two weeks of this date it is said that " some half-a-dozen stores were already in operation, and every business man had a real-estate branch, of greater or less magnitude, cnnnectc .1 ^"ith his regular calling.'' 'i'he first rush over, h iv-e' , , ,1 iem])orary lull ensued; but the track of the C.^-avlian Pacific Railway, reaching the city about the end ■'" /Vtgnst, brought a revival, and a steady stream of immigrants ■ ok i)lace for the remainder of the year, till, in December, the place must have contained a population of several hundreds, while churches, hotels, a post-office, and a station were all in operation. The first number of the Brandon Sun was published on January 19, 1882 (that is, when the place was less than eight months old), and recorded that at that date the population was estimated to number 700, the buildings 170, and their cost was put at 200,000 dols. The progress of the city continued so steadily that, with the commence- ment of sj^ring, the population was 1,500, and the number of business establishments^ 120. On May 30, when just one year old, the city was incorporated by Act of the Pro- vincial Parliament, and the first municipal election took l)lace just a month later. Steadily the growth continued, till, towards the end of September, 1882, the population numbered 3,000 ; but, about that time, an occurrence took place which is commonly described by saying that *' the bottom fell out.'' This, being interpreted, means that the boom, which hitherto had raged furiously, came to a timely end. The situation of Brandon is excellent in a commercial point of view. For miles around extends a splendid country for agricultural purposes, while a number of smaller villages must at i)resent draw their supplies from it. Its position, too, is not altogether unpicturesque. It lies on the right-hand sloi)e of the wide, steep-sided valley which the Assiniboine has cut out of the prairie, and which is often called the '-' Grand Valley." Below the town, the river threads its way through a dense growth of willows I UK CITY OF HRANDON. »53 which covers the level bottom of the valley. Elsewhere, on all sides of the town, extends a rolling, treeless i)rairie of excellent soil. Brandon, at first sight, strikes one as (juite a decent sort of ])lace, very largely on account of its ex- cellent streets, which are far ahead of anything of the kind possessed by any other Manitoban town ; and so they ought to be, considering the large supply of boulders, stones, and gravel of glacial origin found in the neighbourhood, and even under the very town itself. I understand that until last autumn the streets were as bad as those of any other town in the province, but that the municipality s[)ent many thousands of dollars, keei)ing a large gang of men at work until late in November, with the result that Rosser Avenue is now^ as well macadamised as many a London road. An- other thing in flivour of iJrandon is its compactness, in which it forms a great contrast to Tortage-la-Vrairie. (Jn the whole, Brandon has the appearance of a brisk, busy little place, and no doubt will rise to be a thriving city in the future ; but at present the ill effects of the boom are very apparent in the number of stores and shanties which are " for rent." The depression in business is, or has been, exceedingly severe, and I was told that there were very few of the business firms which had not undergone some species of" legal whitewashing."' The number of hotels is quite asto- nishing : I believe they have accommodation for over i,ooo guests. How they all live is a marvel, and probably they all could not but that each is provided with a large billiard- room and a bar at which all spirituous licjuors are freely sold. Most of the buildings are still of wood, but some few of stone or brick are now going up : one, of especially pretentious dimensions, was, I understood, intended for a Masonic Hall. The Ontarian element seems very strong, but still there is a good admixture of P2nglishmen. 1 found that nearly every one had speculative dealings in land — hotel-keepers, shopmen, clerks, even the barber — and wished either to buy or sell, though some worked their farms by hired labour. Although the boom is over, the number of agencies for the sale of town-lots struck me as very great, and the agencies of money-loaning companies are also numerous. Things, on the whole, did not appear to be outrageously dear, though I found, from experience, 154 MANnor.A DKscRinr.i). that tl"'C price of gethnii; one's hair cut amounted to 35 cents, or IS. 5 Ad. !* Lrandon has now two new,si)ai)ers, the Afail and the Sun : the latter is Liberal, the former C'onservative. l»oth come out in the evening, and, from an iM"ij.^lish point of view, are equally poor. A f. shion of advertising one's goods on the " board-walks " seemed to be muc h in vogue. 'I'here are two bridges over the Assiniboine, at which toll is taken to the amount of 20 cents for a conveyance and 2 cents for a foot-passenger. There are generally a few Indian " tepees " on the outskirts of the city, and on one occasion I counted as many as twenty. Their inhabitants fre(|uent the streets, where they try to scrape together a little of the " where- withal " by selling the wild-ducks they shoot. iJeing dressed in ragged coats and trousers, they often cut a very sorry figure, but the mocassins they wear are sometimes nicely bead-worked. The enterprising Chinaman seems even to have reached Brandon, and is already at his favourite trade. I left some garments to be washed at the laundry of Mr. or Mrs. Wah Hcj) (I am obliged to confess comi)lete ignorance as to which it was), who gave me a receipt with curious inscriptions thereon, which he (or she) subsequently informed me represented merely the number twenty-five. This surprised me, for I never imagined that, even in China, such an amount of learned-looking cali- graphy (there were thirteen distinct strokes) was required to express so simple a matter. I thought from the first that the situation of the Post Office was most inconvenient, it being the last house but one on the western extremity of the town ; and it was only just before leaving the i)lace that I discovered the reason of this. It seems that the postmaster moved his office to its present situation about a year since, becau.se the house was his own private property ! The newly-erected public school is quite a large building for the district, and, like several others of the better class of buildings, is of white brick, made from clay dug about two miles to the north. * 1 have since paid tlie sum of 50 cents (2s.) for the privilege of having this operation performed, and the sum of 25 cents (is. ) for getting my boots l)lac4<ed I This, however, was among the Rocky Mountains. THE CITV or nRANDOX. .■>D Around Urandon may l)c found a small, though sub- stantial, class of farmers, which is but slightly represented in any other ])art of the ])rovince. 'I'hese men are |)ersoiis who i)ossess cajjital and tliorou^h business capabilities, and work large farms by means of hired labour, somewhat on the English ])lan. Such are the Hon. j. W. Sifton, Charles Whitehead, J. A. Johnson, Alexander l*"leming, and others. Their farms would average at least a sriuare mile, or 640 acres, in extent, and are almost entirely under cultivation. Their owners, being men of capital, have a considerable advantage over the ordinary settler, who has seldom one-half of his land under crop, and often can barely afford the necessary imi>lements to work even that much and to get his harvest in with. Whilst I was in IJrandon, some of the above gentlemen were already thrashing their corn and delivering it in the city at the rate of hundreds of bushels a day, receiving the high price (over <So cents ])er bushel for wheat) to which they were entitled from being the first in the market, whilst many of their neighbours had still their grain in the field. There is room in Manitoba for many more men of this class. I saw the farms of several of the gentlemen 1 have mentioned, and all exhibited good manngement. That of the Hon. Mr. Sifton, who regularly em])loys ten men and eight teams, was well fenced, and, in addition to several hundred acres of wheat, showed some fifty acres of fiax. Another gentle- man — an English ca})italist, who must not be overlooked-- is Mr. J. D. MacBurnie, who is universally res])ected in the neighbourhood. Though not one of the earliest arrivals, this gentleman seems to have been so struck with the prospects of the place as to accjuire an estate of some 4,000 acres of farm property, which he has fenced off into farms of about 320 acres, on each of whi( h he has built a house, erected the necessary farm-buildings, and dug a well. These farms are leased to tenants on the following terms : the landlord provides the farm and secd-coni, in return for which he receives one-half the crop, the tenant l)roviding farm-stock and implements, and being thus in time enabled to purchase the fiirm. Mr. Macliurnie also holds a farm of nearly 1,000 acres on his own account. 156 MANITOI'.A DF.SCkir.F.D. CI I A ITER X. PORTA«;i: l,.\-I'K.\lkll- AM) TlIK J'KOVINCIAI- AGRICUL'l UKAI, Kxmr.iTiox FOR 1883. On tlic I St (lay of Ortohcr 1 left IJrnndon and ])rocccde(l to Porta^a'-la- Prairie in order to attend tlie I'rovincial Agricultural I'Ahibition, and to spend a short time in that neighbourhood. 'I'hese exhibitions seem to be great institutions both in Canada and the United States, and are often attended by very large numbers of people. Ueing usually held after harvest, the results of the year's farming operations may be seen at them to great advantage. They often also go by the names of (aW fairs, shows, or industrial exhibitions, the last title best indicating their nature and purpose. The Dominion has a show of its own, which is moved about from city to city, one year after another, the last having been at St. John's, Newfound- land. Then each province has its own fair, as well, 1 believe, as most counties ; and generally each of the larger towns has one of its own. The young Province of Manitoba is by no means behind-hand with its shows, for, besides the principal one, nearly every town of any size has a show of its own, \Yhich is generally held in or about the month of September. In 1882 the Manitolvin Legislature ])assed "An Act concerning Agriculture and Statistics,'' which, among other things, provided for the formation of a Provincial Board of Agriculture, consisting of one representative from each electoral district. This lioard makes the arrange- ments for holding the Provincial Exhibition, and under its auspices the affiliated societies, of which there are now over two dozen, each receiving an annual grant to augment its funds, hold smaller shows. With the Provincial P^xhibition, at which I spent two days, I must confess to a slight feeling of disappointment, — A(iUICUI,IUI<.\l. SHOW |(»U iSSj. / great not so much with what I saw (wliic h I considered most creditable to the infant province) as witli what I (Ud not SCO, — the very extensive i)ri/e hst havin-f led nie to expect a much hirger show ; whereas^ in many of the sections, there was not a single entry. The railways had agreed to con- vey passengers for the return journey at the rate of a fare and one-third ; the gates were to remain open a whole week ; and the general regulations and arratigements set forth beforehand were on such an elaborate and extensive scale, that I was expecting something which would at least surpass an ordinary ICnglish county show. In this, how- ever, 1 was somewhat disap])(;inted, — perhaj)s unreasonably. With the arrangements which the officers had made, but little fault could be found : everything was done much after the fashion of an English agricultural show. 'I'he ground was rather inconveniently situated, being over a mile from the station; and, covering some iS acres, was open to the rather unusual objection of being too large for its reciuirements, so that at the best it only looked half full, especially as the attendance, throughout the whole time it was open, was miserably small. Although the exhibition was advertised as the ninth annual one, it was in reality the first, the former ones having been held by a society which was not in reality provincial, having always held its shows at its head-(iuarters in AN'innij^eg. 'I'here was, therefore, every reason for marking the commence- ment of the ])resent exhibition ; and the streets of the town were gaily decorated when the Lieut. -(lovernor, accom- panied by Mr. C. J. JJrydges, President of the Jioard, and various members of the (iovernment, oi)ened the show with all due pomp and ceremony on the morning of the first day, the judges being afterwards set to work. The prizes offered (ist, 2nd, an^ ' 3rd, in nearly every case) numbered altogether about 1.570, and amounted to no less a sum than 8,000 dollars, while the list of entries numbered 2,053, — a very handsome total, ail things con- sidered. There were 41 distinct classes, each being again divided into " sections," in whic'.i im/.es were offered for horses, cattle, sheej), i)igs, poultry, dogs, manufactures, cereals, roots (and all other field, garden, and dairy produce), fine arts, natural history collections, ladier,' work, i(!||r iss MAXlTOr.A DI'.SCRIDKI). school work, and bands of nuisic. In one ivsj^ert tlie show, regarded only as an agricultural exhibition, was decidedly ahead of many lOnglish shows, which, inasmuch iis they do not usually offer i)ri/.es for grain or roots, are i\r ///t' s/iOK's rciihcv \.h{\n (igrii'i///i/ral s/io7js. At the I'ortage, no class was better represented than the grain class. Taken all round, the show was an excellent index to the industries of the ])rovince. M'he horses, shec)), <attle, and ])igs, were highly creditable to such a juvenile country as Manitoba. In Class 30 (field ro(>ts) the ex- hibits formed a very striking series, and included i)ota- toes, various sorts of turnips, mangold-Vv'urt/.el, beets, carrots, kohl-rabi, ])umpkins, c\:c., not one of which gave me reason to alter the opinion previously formed as to the great fertility of the soil. The potatoes struck mc as being very su[)erior to those usually found at shows in I'.ngland, and of the disease there was not tbc least trace. The few sorts represented were those which seem to find very s])ecial favour throughout the })rovince, namely, I'.arly Rose, Early Ohio, lieauty of Hebron, and the Climax. Turnij)s and mangolds, although there were few of the latter shown, were a' least as good as those usually exhibited in England, which ii.' saying no little, seeing that these are among the most expensive cro])S a farmer here grows, whilst tliere they arc grown of eciual size by the very roughest and least expensive cultivation, their excellence being solely due to the inherent cai)abilities of the soil. Such garden products as carrots, sweet corn, onions, squashes, and cabbage, were well represented and uniformly of good ([uality; but fruits of all sorts were conspicuous only through their absence, except in the shape of bottled wild fruit for winter use. Pickles were in great force, also for use in the long winter when no green things are obtainable. An interesting feature was a collection of garden vegetables, &r., grown by the Sioux Indians on "White Eagle's reserve. liut Class 27, containing the cereals, was, after all, the one which i)roved to me the most interesting. The samples of oats were fairly numerous and uniformly good, Avhile the same might be said of barley and peas, though there were not many lots of either of these, both being, as yet, but little grown in the i)rovince. The samples of A(.RICUl.rURAL .SHOW 1 OR 1 8S3. 159 wheat sliown were Ijotli very numerous and very good — so much so, indeed, that the /'>"<■<• Press considered itself justified in remarking that, ''Tlie (juaHty of wheat shown on this occasion was, no doubt, the best ever seen at an exliibilion in tliis or any other country, and will, jM-obably, never be excelled." Willi the exception of winter wheat (fall wheat), of which, however, none was separately shown, all the prizes were for " Red l''yfe,'' in accordance with the desire of the millers and the Board that no other sort should be grown in the ])rovince, as elsewhere ex])lained. The first prize in this section of loo dols. (or gold medal at ojjtion), was given by the Hudson's Bay Company, and supplemented by a Diploma from the Board. In obtaining a sample of the best lot from the grower, Mr. J. R. Hartney, of Plum Creek, Souris District, 1 received the information that he arrived in Manitoba from Ontario about June, 1882, getting about 200 acres broken and backset during the fall. Between A])ril 30 and May 8, he ])ut in 140 acres of wheat with seed obtained from tue Board. Cutting commenced on August 30, finishing on September 12, or just four months after sowing. The average yield of the 140 acres was 30 bushels 16 lb. per acre. It would be difficult to find any more convincing j^roof of the whcat- ])roducing ca])abilities of Manitoba. There was also an exhibit of Red Fyfe wheat grown on the Bell Farm, which, on account of its j)urity, was being sold at the rate ot I dol. 25 cents per bushel for seed. Nearly every agricultural implement manufacturer doing business in the province was represented on the grounds, although nothing of great novelty was shown. Some of the machinery was in motion, es])ecially the binders, many of which were binding sheaves by hand-power. Among these was one which attracted a good deal of attention on account of its being a " low down "' manufactured in the province. It is intended to be used with two horses instead of three, as usual, and when manufactured for sale will weigh about 1,000 lb., or fully one-third lighter than any other as yet obtainable, excepting one now advertised by Messrs. Harris dv' Co. My presence at the show also enabled me to learn a good deal of the neighbourhood around Portage-la-Prairie. i6o MAXITOliA DKSCKir.KD. f " the I'ortage," and in writing the abbreviation '' V. la is frequent. The name is due to the fact that the old There are considerable complaints as to the length of the name of the town, and the adoption of some shorter desig- nation is under consideration. If called Portage merely, it might be confused with Rat Portage and various other Portages, although in conversation it is usually s])oken of as P." I'oyagciirs made a " ])ortage "' there across the i)rairie fron^ Lake Manitoba to the River Assiniboine. The most curious feature about the town, and the one which will first strike a visitor, is the great amount of ground covered in i)ro})ortion to the number of inhabitants. The jjopulation is, I believe, somewhat larger than that of Brandon, or about 5,000, against 500 in 1880. The length of the town, however, from end to end, is somewhere about three miles, and its breadth a mile and a half, although, I believe, the actual corporation boundaries are even larger ; so that, were the whole built up and lived \\\)0V\, the town could accommodate u})wards of 100,000 persons. This great scattering of the inhabitants, and conseciuent incon- venience, is, of course, due to the Boom, in which town- lots were sold over the whole area, but only some of them were built upon, while the rest now lie unoccupied, and their owners, for the most part, are unknown. The town is divided into two })arts, — the East End, where most of the business is transacted, and the West End, which is "backed" by the Hudson's liay Company, on account of their store being there. The Portage has the appearance of being, and in fact is, a very much older place than Prandon. There has been a settlement of some sort on the spot for sixty or a hundred years past, and a few general stoves have been doing business there for the last dozen years or so. Of course, the size of the place was increased many fold by the boom, which came in the autumn of i8Sr, and ran as high as anywhere ; indeed, I am inclined to think it ran higher than in most other places ; for I read in a newspaper that Portage had been nearly "boomed to death," and that " altogether it was a great misfortune to the Portage that it was not allowed to expand and grow in a natural manner." If one may judge by the number of closed stores and liotels, of which there are more than in Brandon, some of PORTAGE-LA-PRAIRIE. l6l them being the largest in the town, and from what I heard and saw as to the number of sheriff's sales, I should imagine that, at the i)resent time, business must be labouring under a terrible dcjiression, and that it must be difficult for even sound firms to keejj on their legs at all. Probably this may be partly attributed to the fact that the Portage is only some sixty miles from the larger city of AVinnipeg, so that many persons make their purchases there, while this would be less likely to be the case with ]>randon. But in the future, Portage, being the centre of a grand agricultural district, and also the junction of two lines of railway, may look forward to times of prosperity. As in Winnijicg, the principal business street is called Alain vStreet. The build- ings, both private and commercial, struck me as being superior to those in Jkandon, i)robably on account of the greater age of the town ; and it is certainly a ])leasanter and less dreary place to live in, on account of there being a few trees ; indeed, between the river and the town there is an extremely dense bush. There are already several manufacturing establishments in the i)lace, the largest being, })erhaps, the mill and elevator of the l*ortage Milling Com- jany, which are situated near the station, and are the largest of their kind in the province, except the Ogilvie Mill at Winnipeg. One day a friend drove me out a few miles west of the city along the Sleugh Road to a ])lace where there is an old dismantled fort of the Hudson's Pay Company, — a substan- tial square log building, surrounded with the remains of a high palisade, — now used as a stable. The view from this spot up the river, with its steep, densely-wooded banks, is rather a fine one. On the side of the road just opjjosite the fort is an old, disused Sioux burying-ground. There were a good many Indian " tepees " scattered about, as well as a number of their inhabitants, one of whom — an old lady — I remember particularly well, on account of her wearing a most gorgeous blanket, strij^ed with all the colours of the rainbow. I was told that the farmer, on whose ground the burial-place is situated, had i)rohibited the Indians from making use of it on account of their performing the operation of burial so superficially, that the place had come to possess certain gastronomic attractions M lC2 IMAMTOHA DESCRinEI), "r for all the dogs of the ncighl)oiirhood. However, tlie Indians had chosen a fresh spot, half a mile or so further on, and the graves there — some twenty or so in number — presented an extremely tidy and well-kept appearance. In the centre was an erection of poles about lo ft. high, set up like the poles of a " tepee,"' evidently over the grave of a dead chief. Around it were the other graves, all of which were designed on the same plan, but of different materials. Each was covered with a construction resembling the roof of a house, about 7 ft. long and 2 ft. wide and high. Some of these were made of canvas sheeting stretched over a frame, and ornamented with pieces of ribbon, which fluttered in the wind, whilst others were very neatly made of split poles cleverly nailed together. At each end of this covering a small triangular hole had been left, probably for the use of the spirit of the " dear dejxirted," and at the foot of each grave was a stick supporting a linen bag, in which, at certain times of the year, tobacco is placed to satisfy the wants of the spirit of the dead man. as it roams through the " hajjpy huntmg-grounds.'' About a hundred yards from the burial-ground, on an elevated si)ot close to the river-bank, was a small area enclosed with bushes, and having stuck up in the middle a taller bush, in the top of which were, for some undivinable reason, a nuniber of small twigs arranged together after the manner of a crow's-nest. The place thus marked was, as my friend told me, one of the old gambling-dens, in which the Indians were accustomed to give way to their insatiable desire for gambling. Many an Indian has, doubtless, entered possessed of several ponies, a rifle, and various household effects, and left, as my friend put it, " with a mortgage on his shirt." Another day I started in a drizzle for a walk round the High Bluft" district lying a few miles to the east of the city. The district round the Portage is very different from that further to the Ai;st. Lying just between the lake and the river, the soil itself ^- much moister, while the rainfall is also heavier ; so th ii ilie arought, which was this year felt so severely throu'rh -^11 Western Mrnitoba, was not experienced rcv-iic' tae Porta go. Owiiig to this greater moisture, the g'.is and all the prairie plants grow much I'ORTAGE-LA-I'RAIRIK. ]6' city. more luxuriantly than on the comparatively dry and arid prairies round Brandon and Carberry, the country being consecjuently much better fitted for cattle-rearing, while, at the same time, it can grow magnificent crops of all kinds. Taken altogether, I consider the district round High Bluff and the Portage was the best ])art of Manitoba I saw. Nearly everything met with on my walk gave evidence of a comparatively old settlement of the district, as is but natural, considering that many of the farms I saw had been occupied for ten or twelve years. For several miles nearly all the land I passed through seemed to be under the plough, one field joining on to another, and separated only by a wire or snake-fence, the latter being largely used on account of the much greater abundance of timber. There were also fenced cattle-yards, which I do not remember to have seen further West. Quite a number of farmers kept sheep in small lots of ten or twelve, and these were invariablv stated to do well. The wool does not seem to be much valued, as there are no mills at which the farmers' wives can get their carding done, as in Ontario ; but one, on whom I called, more thrifty than the rest, said she did her own carding. On account, too, of the greater length of time the country has been settled, the roads are well defined and fenced, and generally a good deal beaten. The farmers' houses and farm-buildings also are more commodious and better built. I was surprised to observe ([uite a number of ruinous log shanties standing here and there beside the road, and, upon inquiry, learned that most of them had been built by half-breeds on their grants of land, which, on the advent of the white man, of whom they are by no means fond, they had sold to speculators and decamped westward. Firewood is easily obtainable from the dense bush, and the general as])ect of the country is much pleasantcr than that of the districts I saw further West. M 2 164 MANITOBA DESCRIIiED. CHAPTER XI. THE CITY OF WINNIPEG. ■ < i With the exception of few minntes spent in Winnipeg on the outward journey, I first saw the city when I entered it on the evening of the i8th of October last; and a more miserable introduction I have seldom had to any place. It was dark, with a bitterly cold wind, accompanied by snow and sleet. The only thing upon which it was jxjssiblc to make observations that night . was the mud in the streets : this I could not have overlooked had I wanted. Much has been written of the bad roads in Manitoba, and I had seen something of muddy streets in the Portage and elsewhere. But the term " muddy " conveys no idc.. of the streets of Winnipeg : mire or slough alone correctly describes their condition, a true conception of which can only enter the mind of man through the eye, not through the ear. Main -street, the principal thoroughfare, 130 feet wide, and over a mile in length, instead of being the best, as might be expected, is the very worst, in con- sequence of the heavy traffic. The whole road, as I saw it, lined with shops, thrc /ged by foot-passengers and brilliantl)! lighted by the electric-iight, was literally wi'/ies deep in nift black mud, through which carts and wagons slowly toiled, many of them having the spaces between the spokes of the wheels almost filled by masses of mud. The tram-cars ran down the centre of the street in a little river of slush. The worst of country lanes in Essex in a mild, wet winter are hardly so bad. Top-boots were in high fashion, being worn, indeed, almost as a necessity, though the board-walks were fairly clean and men were at work with shovels — brooms were nowhere — making crossings here and there. Winnipeggers seem so accustomed to this state of things that they scarcely notice THK CITY OF WINNIPKO. I ^'5 it ; but ncw-comcrs do, and often express no little astonish- ment.* Nevertheless, all the circumstances being considered, Winni|)eg is truly a fine city, and certainly the only place in Manitoba deserving that designation, — Brandon and the Portage being mere country villages when compared with it. They, and to a greater or less extent the whole country, are supplied from \Vinnii)eg which is the metropolis, not of the province only, but of the whole North-West. As a settlement, Winnipeg is much older than the other places referred to, but its progress has, nevertheless, been much more wonderful than theirs. The city is not uni)ictures(iuely situated on the level ground close to the junction of the Assiniboinc, with the great Red River of the North, f Its nucleus, Fort (larry, which gave the name Garry to the little settlement before it was finally dubbed AVinnipeg, has for nearly loo years been the head-cjuarters, alike of civilisation and of the Hudson's Bay Company, in the North-west. Vov a good deal o^ the following information I am indebted to the Winnipeg City Directory, a comprehensive and well-printed volume of over 500 pages. It seems that about the year 18 19, or about the time when Lord Selkirk was attempting to carry out his scheme of colonisation, a certain Mr. A. McDermot * Rumours without number, to the eflcct that the paving of Main- street was just about to commence, liave been circulated since the foregoing was written ; but, in spite of the falsity of most of these, it is now a fact that this much-needed work has l)cen actually bc^un. f Fine as the situation may be in most respects, there is one un- pleasant fact connected with it which should not be altogether over- looked. It is, I believe, correct that no less than seven times within the last no yea/s the present site of the city has been more or less seriously flooded in consequence of ove'-flows of the Red River. In 1776, 1790, 1809, l8:,'.6, and 1852 the whole of the surrounding country, including the highest part of the city, was covered by several feet of water ; in 1S61 by about 2^ ft. ; in 1882, the lower, though not the higher parts were submerged. It should be noted that the size of the floods seems to be on the decrease. In 1861 it was less than in j.revious years, and in 18S2 still le^s. This may perhaps be attrilnited to an enlargement of the channel of the Red River. Tradi- tio-^ very confidently states that the width of the river at Winnipeg has very greatly increased since th.e advent of the Selkirk settlers, seventy years ago. It seems, therefore, as if we might look for a still greater diminution in the extent of the floods in future. iCCy -MAN ITOHA I ) KSCK 1 BED. i< < opened a small (general store : but, excepting that of the Hudson's J5ay ('onij)any, this was the only business esta- blishment until 1848, when Mr. A. (1. IJannatyne ojiened another, which still exists as the large wholesale house of Bannatyne «S: Co. In 1862 about a dozen houses of business were at work ; and at the end of 1870, after the sui)i)ression of the rebellion, the inhabitants of the village numbered just 215 souls; but, when once the unsettled times were over, the population began rai)idly to increase, for in 1874 we find ''^e place being incori)orated with a jjopu- lation of 3,700, whicii had risen to 5,000 in the following year. "At the ])resent time (April, 1883) the manu- facturing institutions of the city number over 170, and give employment to over 3,000 persons, male and female ; there are three saw-mills with an annual capacity of over thirty million feet cut ; three Hour-mills arc in operation, whose daily capacity averages over 1,200 barrels of flour; three "*• 'ndries, with machine-shops in connexion, give emi)loyment to over 250 hands ; two steam furniture- factories are in full blast ; and over 60 institutions in the city employ steam-power in connexion with their business. .... With the opening of this spring the wholesale houses of every description number ovc" 80 The financial institutions of Winnpeg comprise branches from eight of the leading chartered banks of Canada, which are supplemented bv seven private banks, and the agencies of eleven loan and investment companies Over 300 mercantile concerns are now in operation No city in the universe of the same size i)ossesses so many com- modious homes for the travelling public Fifteen houses in the city are capable of accommodating over 100 guests, and five can house comfortably over 150." This is a ])icture of business activity which could be equalled by few, if any, towns of ecpial size and age in the world. Jt is said that between January ist and July 30th, 1883, no less a sum than 1,710,850 dollars was expended over building in the city of Winnipeg. The number of inhabitants at the present time seems a little uncertain ; but I was told that at the last census, whenever that was, i-t was as high as 25,000, and that now it probably amounts to nearer 30,000. It seems almost I in; trrv of winnii-kc i() like an insult to pat \\'innii)eL; on the back, and commend it, as many people do, for havini; made such i^ood use of its time : the city has now arrived at a state of maturity Avhen it no longer needs such patronage. As with many other young towns, however, the larger i)ortion of its busi- ness is cunfmed to a single street, whi( h is known as Main- street. This thoroughfare, from its great width and length, would do crt:dit to a much larger ])lace, but the odd and incongruous assortment of the buildings which line its sides is most ludicrous. Here a small frame-house, scarcely deserving the name of shanty ; next a substantial block of well-fdled stores ; then a small wooden hoiel, or eating- house ; next a huge, many-storied warehouse, such as that of the Hudson's IJay ('ompany ; all tending to show that, whether l)y choice or necessity, \\'inni[)eggers are believers in the trite saying that " variety is pleasing."' 'I'he outskirts of the t(jwn swarm with numbers of minute tents and shanties inhabited by the lower classes of tlie poi)ulation. The modern name is, of course, borrowed from the lake or river of the same denomination, and is said to be derived from two Indian words, ouic ncpiquc^ signifying "dirty water." In \Vinni])eg, one is surrounded by signs of comfort and civilisation to a much greater extent than can be found elsewhere in the i)rovince ; and to me, after an exile of three months in the West, it seemed, indeed, as if I must have got a long way towards home when I reached the capital and saw the wide streets, brightly lighted by elec- tricity, with tram-cars running down the middle, the many churches, the fine bridges which span the rivers, and the numerous stores crammed with all kinds of goods, among which I remember noticing Christy's hats, Keen's mustard, and Huntley & Palmer's biscuits. Of all the buildings which adorn Main-street (or otherwise), that constructed of red brick, which serves as stores for the Hudson's 15ay Company, is certainly the finest ; and th(; variety of goods with which its windows are filled are of a class one would expect to find in Regent-street or Piccadilly, rathei than in what many people would call the "wilds of Manitoba.'' Had my observations been a little less close, I should have given the first place to a large pile of buildings opposite that just mentioned, and known as the " Cauchon Block," i68 MANITOBA DKSCRIUKD. < ' after a local M.P. At first I took it for stone, hut was not long in discovering that it was in reality a ivooden huilding, covered with sheets of ////, cunningly sanded and painted over ! This truni[)ery style oi construction is rather in vogue with our neighbours across the Atlantic, because by its aid a very pretentious house can be run up very cheaply. The city contains many good buildings of white brick, made in the neighbourhood. The various religious sects are pos- sessed of surprisingly large churches, and from having spent a Sunday in \\'innipeg I can testify that it is a ver\' sabl)alarian i)lace : business of every kind is totally sus- pended, and the street-cars stoj) running. 'l\vo fine iron bridges si)an the Red River, and one the Assiniboine. Of course, the telephone is the means by which the Winnipeggers are accustomed to communicate with one another. To deprive the town (or, for the matter of that, any other American town of e(|ual size), of its telephones, would seem to its inhabitants almost as great a catastrophe as the annihilation of the jienny post would seem in London. Every kind of business is transacted through the telephone. I had once the honour of being introduced Ijy one business firm to another through it. At first, the ignorance of the people as to tlieir own city surprised me ; but, on con- sidering its newness, and their own recent arrival in it, 1 no longer found cause for wonder in the fact that, whether I asked the whereabouts of any i)articular street, a i):ir- ticular store, or the name of the i)arson belonging to such and such a church, no one had the least idea. I actually had to inquire of seven or eight i)ersons before I could learn the whereabouts of the Government offices ; while I positively found one sho^) where the folks inside did not even know the number of their own house, though it was up over the door."*^ From all that I could learn, business is not so dull in Winnipeg as it is in ]>randon and the Portage. It has been * Tliis extraordinary ignorance of everything "more tlian a yard away " (as one writer expresses it), is far more noticeable as one gets into the more primitive parts of the States, especially the West and South. People tell one such things as the time of starting of a train or the distance to such ahd such a place, apparently without in the least caring whether their information is right or wrong. THE CITV OK WINNII'Kd. 169 bad, tlianks to the l)oom, but is now said to be improving ; thougli, from the number of slieriffs' sales, sales of bank- rupts' stocks, and closing businesses, I should imagine times are, as yet, not very good. In the due course of things, however, recovery will be assured ; and Lrade will, in time, be pla<'ed on a firmer commercial footing. One evening I attended several sales which I chanced to see going on ; and, from the wav articles of food and clothing were being disposetl of at far below what I knew must be their cost prices,- the auctioneer and sellers not seeming to care, the buyers being evidently accustomed to purchase in that way, — I could easily understand that even sound business men must find it very difficult to keej) on their legs. In Main -street (or, as it seems the custom all over Canada to say, " On Main "), I was both pleased and surprised to discover the rooms of the Manitoba Scien- tific and Historical Society, a nourishing institution, with some 200 members who pay a subscrijUion of 4 dols. per annum. It is the nucleus of what may, in the future, prove a most useful scientific body, and has already (being now about three years old) done some good work in the v'ay of publishing, opening grave-mounds, and establishing a Library and Museum. >\'hilst in Winnipeg, I had the privilege of going over Ogilvic's mill, which 1 understood to be the largest in the Dominion, and to have cost, together with the elevator adjoining, upwards of 300,000 dols. The mill is a huge white-brick structure of five stories, and altogether is over 100 feet in height. The motive power is given by an engine having a fly-wheel weighing 22 tons and carrying a belt 24 inches in width. The internal arrangements of the mill are as near an approach to perfection as is ])ossible at the present day, all the machinery being of the latest and most improved kind. The flour-making ai)pliances consist of two i)airs of the old-fashioned stones (probably for same special purpose), and 36 double pairs of porcelain and chilled-iron rollers, through several of which the flour has to pass before it is ])erfected. On other floors is the machinery by wliich the flour is dressed. It is difficult to describe the i)erfection of the plan on which the whole mill is contrived ; but it will be better understood when I say A^ ^. ^ ^^' .0 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // .^V 1.0 I.I 1.25 *- u kUi. 111= U III 1.6 6" V] <^ /2 /^^ ^/ J>i > //a W^'^^ '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716) 872-4503 V ;V iP <v "% V o^ pc^ ^5^ : f II?' 170 MANITOl'.A lii:sCKlI!l.li. m (fl tliat, tlioiigh it is cajKiljlc of turning out Iiundreds of sacks of Hour per day, only ten mi!' liands i)roi)er, excluding engineers, are emi)loyed. The mill started running on full time on October 3 last, and now works both night and day. The elevator was not fully comjjleted at the time of my visit, but was expected to lie in working order before winter, when it was intended to fill it, as a reservoir from which sui)])lies might be drawn during the spring and summer months. Jt is fitted with machinery capable of unloading, weighing, and storing the contents of a railway-car (500 bushels) in twenty minutes. It has six huge bins, each about 15 feet sfjuare, of great de])th, and caj)able together of containing 140,000 bushels of wheat. One day I walked down Main-street to the sj)Ot where it crosses the Assiniboine, close to its junction with the Red River. The object of my visit was to see Fort Ciarry, which formerly stood there. Ijut, what was my surprise, when I found that the building had been almost completely demolished ! It seems a thousand i)ities that this well- known — even historical — old building should not have been s])ared ; but I understand that i)art of it jirojected so inconveniently into the st'/eet that it was difhcult to avoid the act of Vandalism. Ruilt about the year 1829, an interest had collected round the old fort, on account of the visits paiil to it by almost every traveller who has written of his journeyings in the North-west. Tliis interest culminated in its connexion with the Red River Rebellion ; and, although it was, of course, no longer of any actual use to the Hudson's Bay Company, still it seems a ])itythat the old place was not allowed to stand. At the time of my visit the substantial old stone palisade had (juite dis- ai)peared, although many of the antique beam-and-plaster buildings, which served as stores or residences, still stood, and much resembled many of the old farm-houses, built of the same materials, that are so common in the Eastern Counties. A few small guns and rotting gun-carriages were scattered about ; and foundations were visible in several directions. A tram-car was standing on the very spot where, 1 was informed, Scott was murdered by order of the infamous Riel on March 4, 1870 ; and, just on the opposite side of the street, I was shown the prisoji — a small THE CITV OF WINNIl'llC. 171 timber building, with barred windows, and now used as a ])ainter's warehouse— in which Dr. Schultz was confined. It seems extraordinary, looking at tlie place now, with a busy city of 30,000 inhabitants close at hand, to think that such scenes as those of the l^igmy Red River Rebellion could have taken place there only such a short time as thirteen years ago. It is quite unnecessary again to set forth in detail all the particulars connected with this rebellion. luiough has already been written upon the subject to commemorate some much more important his- t*" ical event. The causes which led to the rebellion were, briefly, these : — After having held undisi)uted sway over their vast and silent territories for upwards of two centuries, "the (iovernor and C'ompany of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's J]ay" began to fmd themselves the object of a good deal of complaint from various ([uarters. It was urged against the Com[)any that it had, in view of its own private interests, i)ersistently opposed everything likely to lead to the oi)ening up of the country over which it ruled ; that it had endeavoured to conceal from the outside world the true value of its vast territories ; and that it had failed adequately to punish certain offences that had been committed under its rule. An inquiry was accordingly held in London, as a result of which the arrangement was made that the Company should surrender its territorial rights to the Government of Canada, receiving in return a large money-compensation and extensive grants of land. This was in the year 1869. At that time it was estimated there were sonie 15,000 half-breeds and others, many being old servants of the Comjxany, settled in the districts around the Red River. These knew no other law or authority than that of the Company, and were not unnaturally alarmed when they hearcl that a new power was about to enter in and rule over them. Their fears were most un- necessarily increased by the very hasty and objectionable means taken by the parties sent up from Ottawvi to form the new government. The native j)opulation accordingly rose in revolt ; the road to the fort from the United States boundary was barricaded ; the new Governor was informed that he was not to advance ; and, finally, the insurgents, under Louis Kiel, established themselves in the fort, where 172 MANIT015A DESCRIUKD. they remained for nine months, until, in the year following- (1870), they were dislodged by Colonel (now (Icneral Lord) Wolseley. These are but the bare outlines of the whole affair. 'I'he half-i)reeds were undoubtedly in the rii^ht to a hirge extent ; and, although the matter never came to be one of fighting, and the only blood si)illed was that of the unfortunate Scott, the half-breeds obtained an acknow- ledgment of what they considered their rights. Titles to their land were ])romised to all those found in peaceable possession, while a grant of something like a million and a half acres of land was made to the half-breeds and their children for their supjjort, a certain number of acres being given to each. These half-breed grants have now, how- ever, mostly i)assed out of the hands of the original holders, who have moved away further to the North-west, not liking the increasing numbers of the white men. Having seen something of the larger towns of the province, 1 started from IJrandon one morning late in October, upon an exi)edition T'/d Rapid City, the Oak River district. Shoal Lake, and Birtle, to Fort Kllice, and thence southward to Elkhorn station, close to the western boundary of Manitoba. Whilst upon this tour 1 covered some hundred and fifty miles of very interesting country, but lack of space compels me to do no more than briefly notice two of the most picturesque scenes I saw. The first was Shoal Lake, which is certainly a very pretty spot, and would be accounted so in many a country more generally picturesque than ALanitoba. The conditions, too, under which I saw it, on a clear, frosty morning in October, \\ ith a keen air and a bright blue sky overhead, increased its attractiveness not a little. Unlike all other INLinitoban lakes which I have seen, — even those close adjoining it, — the waters of Shoal Lake are perfectly clear and entirely free from weeds ; the well-defined beach is ^f a fine sand and shingle, such as any fashionable English watering-place might envy ; the shores are strewn with many a great rounded granite boulder, and fringed with numerous clumps of poplar. As I sat on one of these great stones, admiring a scene as calm and tranquil as any I had ever viewed, a tiny sand-piper every little while would dart out from the beach with a shrill whistle ; a fish •i.^ THE CITY OF WINNIPEG 173 ^1 would occasionally ripi)le the surface, or a musk-rat swim leisurely across in front of me, or the ducks, far out on the shining water, would rattle their wings with a splash and a (juack ; while, close at hand, within easy gunshot, three dapper little grebes kept constantly bobbing up and down, the snow-white gulls sailed smoothly overhead, and the frozen froth on the water's edge crackled loudly as it thawed. The other scene to be spoken of was of a different kind. Early one afternoon I came rather suddenly on the left bank of the Assiniboinc, just opposite the place on the right bank where l^'ort Ellice is perched. The view one obtains from the side of the great gorge which, in the course of ages, — and those ages geologically short ones too, — the river has cut for itself out of the level country, is certainly a striking one. The valley itself is just one mile and a third in width, and 250 feet in dei)th, having steep sides, densely covered with trees and brushwood. It must not, however, be sup})osed that the river occupies the whole of the bottom of this valley. The bottom is itself something under a mile wide, formed of alluvium, perfectly flat and covered with a dense growth of willow bushes, among which the river meanders from one side to the other with such an astonishingly tortuous course, often turning almost back upon itself, that, whilst standing on the top of the bank, I was really unable proi)erly to fit together the numerous twists and bends seen among the willows below me and on either hand. Lesser tributary creeks, also deep, and with steep wooded slopes, run in on both sides of the main valley. Arrived at the ferry I found the scow under repairs, having been sunk a few days before, but managed, at last, to get across in a small boat, the river being quite narrow. After scrambling to the top of the steep river-bank I found myself at the well-known trading station of the Hudson's Bay Company, which has so often served as a resting-place for weary travellers through the "(ireat Lone Land." The fort, of which Professor Hind gives an illustration, is a collection of unpretentious, low, wooden buildings, con- sisting of a store (which also serves as a i)ost-office) an hotel, and sundry dwellings, the whole being surrounded by a construction which is doubtless meant to be called a *' palisade," but which would hardly repel an attack of I n- 174 M \MT0I:A DKSCKir.Kh. babies, much less tliat of an Indian war-party. Fortunately, however, there is now no longer any need to act upon the defensive. There were, as usual, a few '* tepees " of friendly and peaceable Indians on an open piece of ground close to the fort, and within a f(',v miles there is a con- siderable scattering of settlers. -•o*- CHAPTER XII. DISCONTENT AMONCl SET'JIJIRS. 'I It would not be accounted honesty on my part were I to pass over, without notice, the fact that in Manitoba there exists, among settlers and others, a good deal of discontent and ill-feeling against certain of the i)owers that be ; but I shall endeavour merely to enumerate the chief causes of that discontent, and shall abstain, as much as i)ossible, from criticism thereon, in the belief that an outsider is very likely to take erroneous views ui)on such matters. Not a little hardship undoubtedly exists among men who have attempted to become settlers in the North-west when provided with insufficient capital. Indeed, it is certain that among the settlers a considerable number have heavy mortgages on their farms. It is but natural that persons so situated should prefer to blame others rather than them- selves. It is, also, quite certain that a T'erv laj-gc portion of the outcry is due to political bias. Not a few complaints are made in some quarters against the actions of the Railway Syndicate, whose charges are sometimes called exorbitant ; but I have already brought forward facts that are utterly opposed to this ; and I may here state my belief that, on the whole, the Company is a straightforward concern, honestly endeavouring to open up the great country which has been intrusted to its care. But the chief charge usually made against the Syndicate is that it has failed to supply sufficient branch lines. It is, however, only natural that the Syndicate should wish to concentrate all its energies upon its main line — indeed, the LH.-^CUM KM' AMONC; Si:ilI.l.K,- /D provisions of its charter, and the conditions which led to the granting of that charter, leave but little alternative. Looked at in the light of the re(iuirements of the whole of the Dominion, it is in every way desirable that the main line should be comi)leted first ; but, looked at in the narrower light of the re(iuirements of Manitoba alone, it is clearly desirable to have the branches constructed at once. With the l^rovincial (lovernment I did not hear much fault found. It seems not to possess much power, the management of the lands, timber, and minerals, and the granting of railway charters over a large portion of the province being still in the hands of the Dominion Govern- ment, against which most of the outcry has been raised. A " North-west Farmers' Union," for the redress of grievances (real or supposed), was formed in lirandon in November last, but it does not seem to be an organisation of any real importance. The secession of the i)rovince from the Dominion was urged by some of its members. I will next endeavour to enumerate (without necessarily endorsing) some of the things most complained of. It is held that the policy of Protection, instituted by the present Ciovernment, tells very severely on a i)rovince like Manitoba, which has no manufactures of her own to be benefited. It is further urged that, while all the ot'.ier provinces have control over their own lands, timber, and minerals, those of Manitoba are managed by officials 1,500 miles away at Ottawa, whose land-policy the agitators state to have been a bungle from beginning to end. Complaints were heard from some quarters on account of two orders which, for some reason, the Government thought proper to make : one withdrawing from settlement all the Government lands south of the railway, and the other withdrawing from settle- ment a belt one mile wide along each side of the line. These have now, however, been withdrawn. The order which provides that, when a homestead has once been thrown up, it shall not be open for homcsteading again, has also caused some complaints ; but Mr. A. H. Whitcher, Dominion land agent at Winnipeg, kindly explained to me that the reason for this is to prevent one man fraudulently attempting to get possession of another man's homestead. The recent appointment of homestead inspectors is a most ■i , ■ 1 176 MANIT0I5A DESCRIHKI). I i*j satisfactory arrangement. These men visit the various homesteaders on their homesteads at uncertain intervals, in order to see that they fulfil the conditions by not remaining off their land more than six months at a time. Another matter which has caused complaint is, that the rights of " scjuatters '' are said to have been ignored, in the face of assurances that they should be respected. A scjuatter is a settler who goes ahead of the surveyors, and locates on land which is not really open for homesteading ; but, obviously, he has as much right to be regarded as a home- steader. The right of homesteading a second time, after the entry for the first has been jjcrfected, is one which has only lately been conceded. Land speculation, of one sort or another, has undoubtedly been, and is, the curse of Manitoba. If it has not been fostered, it has, at least, l)een in no way discouraged by the action of the Government and the Railway Syndicate. Speculators may, or may not, benefit themselves, as the case turns out ; but it is certain that, in a country like Manitoba, they do not benefit the community ; and the thing has been so overdone that but few can have benefited even them- selves. So many speculators now hold land in Manitoba that a large area is, by this means, kept out of cultivation, and settlers are driven away from the railway and far a[)art from one another. This should have been checked by making residence and cultivation, in most cases at least, the necessary companion of ownership ; but the damage has now been largely done. As a result, there is much talk of settlers who have left the province, crossed the boundary, and entered the Territory of Dakota. This has certainly taken place to some extent ; but I believe the amount has been enormously exaggerated by political partisanship. But, after all, the fact does not need much pointing out, that all the disadvantages that have been just alluded to cannot be attributed to any shortcomings of the country. They are matters which can easily be remedied by Government. MANITOIIA UKSCKini;i). »77 CHAITKR XIII. SPORT AND NATURAL HISTORY IN MAMTOliA. To those persons to whom the shooting of winged game presents itself as the consup">^.iation of existence, Manitoba holds out considerable inducements. The country will dis- appoint any one going there with the idea of finding a large variety of game. To find this it is now necessary to go far beyond the bounds of civilisation, into the wild, thinly- peopled and thickly-wooded regions further to the north. Even there much disappointment is likely to be met with, for the greed of gain has long ago sadly lessened the numbers of the larger game-animals, such as the moose, elk, deer, bear, and buffalo, — even the last being now practically exterminated from the face of the i)rairies.* The country, however, still affords an abundance of winged game, and, consequently, of sport. But the idea of sport existing throughout America is radically different from that existing here ; and Englishmen going out must be prejwred to give up many cherished notions as to private property in game, and as to the proper ways of killing it. Here, where land is in comparatively few hands, and game a matter of expense to rear, it is but natural it should be fondly cherished. But in America none of these conditions exist. Land is in plenty, and game likewise, without ever having been preserved ; and the average Canadian, for instance, has not the least idea of going out to shoot it (or, as he says, " for a hunt ") for any purpose or object what- soever, except the pot. Hence one universally-recognised *■ Quite a trade in old bufialo-bones is now beginning to grow up both along the Canadian and Northern Pacific Railways. They are gathered up and sent east to be used in making artificial manure. Forty-eight tons of bones, valued at 312 dols., recently passed through Winnipeg, from Regina to St. Paul. N I7S MANITOBA DKSCKllJl,!). 1 V Li.-i If" 1« T . I'^nglish law of sport is abolished ; and the Manitoban sportsman is unable to sec any reason why he should shoot prairie chickens by any other means than gettin<; as near as possible and literally "potting"' them as they sit. 'I'o make his game-birds rise, as a matter of course, would appear to him a i)roceeding as insane as it would be for him to attempt to shoot them when once they were ujjon the wing. The shot regularly used to kill wild-ducks and prairie chickens (birds about the size of grouse) is preposterously large for such a purpose. Outrageous as it may seem, shot smaller than No. i or No. 2 is very seldom used, and is, indeed, actually difficult to purchase. It is jjerfectly useless to expostulate on the absurdity of using such shot : it is the custom of the country, and therefore no other would kill I The guns in use among settlers are by no means of the most recent pattern : some of them are really most curious pieces of ordnance. Nearly every settler, however, owns a gun of some sort, and it is the custom to carry them a good deal. Emigrants desiring to take out with them a good gun cannot do better than communicate with Messrs. Bland &: Sons, of the Strand, W.C., and Whitall Street, Birmingham, who are first-class makers. During the season, ducks and " chickens," as they are called, form a very considerable article of diet, on account of the cheap- ness and ease with which they are procured. The sportsman in the North- West is not hampered by any such vexatious restrictions as his brother in England. He has not even to take out a licence of any kind ; and, as a matter of fact, game is public property, although, I believe, it is not legally so : any way, one man shooting over another's land is seldom interfered with. A man may take his gun and proceed almost whithersoever he chooses, shooting game as he goes. He may cross the great wastes of sand where the prairie chicken abounds ; he may penetrate the dense swamps where the spruce partridge lives; or he may wander on and on tor miles, bagging the ducks which blacken a thousand lakes, and nobody questions his perfect right to do so. Such liberty as this, so widely different from anything usually obtainable in England, except by persons in comfortable circumstances, is a great temptation, which has caused many an English SI'Okl AM) NAIl KAI. HISroRN IN M A N I I ()|;A. '7'; a good settler to neglect his farm, and to follow the abundant game, till the Canadians, who care little or nothing for sj)ort, have said in ridicule, "These people are no good to farm : they only come for the sport.'' 1 do not wish it to he thought, however, that there are no game-laws in force in the i)rovince of Manitoba, for there are ; and it is only reasonable that there should be. (lame of every sort, no matter how abundant, ([uickly disappears when i)ersecuted in the breeding-season, and a "close- time "' is, therefore, desirable in every country. I have before me a copy of the Clame Act passed by the Pro- vincial Legislature in the beginning of the year 1883. It provides that none of the following animals maybe shot at, trapped, hunted, taken, or killed, during the following close seasons: (a) Deer, elk, moose, reindeer (cariboo), iheir fawns, or harc.>, from January i to October i. (b) Grouse, prairie chicken or partridge, from January I to Sep- tember I. (c) Woodcock, plover, or snipe, from March 15 to August I. (d) Any kind of wild-iUick, widgeon, teal, or wild goose (except the species known as " wavey "), from May I to September i. (e) Otter, fisher, beaver, musk rat, or sable, from May i to October I. (f) Mink or marten, from April 15 to November i. Several other provisions make it illegal to have any of the above in possession during the close-time ; to use any punt-guns or batteries ; or to take any of the animals mentioned above, except those in sections e and f, by traps, nets, snares, gins, " or other contrivances."' It is further provided that no person shall shoot, kill, injure, take, buy, sell, or have in possession, at any time, any bird except eagles, falcons, ha^\ ks, jays, crows, or ravens, or their eggs, nests or young, though the Minister of Agriculture may grant permission for them to be killed for scientific purposes. The line for breaking the Act is fixed at not less than 10 dols. or more than 50 dols., the whole of which is paid to the prosecutor. It is intended to api)oint game guardians in every district to see that the Act is carried out. A settler will find but few opportunities of pursuing the larger game mentioned above. Elk and moose are now- very scarce in Manitoba, and those that still survive are exceedingly wary.* Deer are considerably more numerous, * My friend, Mr. Seton, has lately (October, 1S84), however, suc- ceeded in killing a fine moose in the woods on the sand-hill!- south of Carberry, after a hunt extending over many days. N 2 i8o MAMioiJA i)i;scRn!i;i). -!; . ■ J A' 1 life .. but also very wary, and I never saw one, tliough I not unfreiiucntly saw their tracks when crossing swanii)S, sand- hills, and other wild places. To hunt these animals with any degree of success re<iuires much skill and an intimate knowledge of their habits, liears' tracks, too, were occa- sionally seen ; and, on the whole, these animals are far more likels than any of the others just mentioned to give the sjjortsman, ardent for an encounter with big game, a chance of distinguishing himself. They are, I believe, far from rare in some parts of the province ; but, being of a shy and retiring nature, there is positively no danger to be ajjprehended from them, unless first attacked and wounded, when, like all their kind, they turn to bay and become really dangerous. As a rule, the black bear keeps to some snug and undisturbed retreat in the woods, and is seldom met with unless gone in search of, though I heard of one curious exception to this. During the time I was in Brandon a great black bear was actually killed by some young iMiglish settlers out on the open prairie, miles away from any trees, and only about three miles from the town. The picturesciue ** hunting scenes" inserted in the pamphlets sent out by various agencies in London, though not altogether imaginative, nevertheless, do not represent scenes of by any means every-day occurrence. Large game may abound in some places, but those places are far removed from the abodes of man; and the statement that "large game abounds in great profusion in many places west and north-west of Winnipeg," though perfectly correct, t's equally true of London. IJut there is in the country, as already mentioned, a very considerable abundance of winged game. Of this the prairie c\)\c\iQn{Pedio:cetisp/iasiancnus)\s the most important bird. It is not the prairie hen or pinnated grouse {Tetrao cupido)^ so common in the United States, and which, of late years, has been so largely imported as dead game into this country, but it is the very acme of perfection as a game-bird. It is common, a good breeder (often laying 15 or 16 eggs at a time), is widely distributed, its flavour is more than excellent, its weight is greater than that of a red grouse, and, although a strong flyer, it is generally { SI'OKT AND NAIIK.M. HISIOKV IN MAMUdA. i;si l>ossil)le to ^ct within shot l)c'forc a covey rises, even at the end of the season, when they begin to get wiltl. Mr. Seton has been (arctully gathering information as to the natural history of these birds, and I am indcl)ted to him for miu h of what follows. 'I'heir danc ing and strut- ting in large parties on any slight elevation, when pairing in the spring, is a most laughable jierformance. W'lien young, the birds are largely insectivorous, and I liave often turned out of the croj) I" a single bird several scores of the little grasshoppers so common on the ])rairies. .Succulent, green garden vi.-getables are also eaten with great relish, .md the hijtsof the prairie rose often serve them as a meal. In ])laces where no grit is obtainable for the birds to swallow, as on the ]>ig Plain, the hard seeds of this shrul), roasted and dried by the prairie fires, serve instead to grind the food in their gizzards. The prairie chi( ke)i is, in many ways, esj)ecially well fitted to survive the inclement winter of the region it inhabits. Hardy it is, of course, in the extreme. J)uring the autumn a row of short stiff bristles grows along both sides of each toe : these as act as snow- shoes, and enable the bird the easier to walk on the fine I)()wdery surface of the snow. During the winter the chickens retire to the bluffs, where they roost freely in the trees, and, curiously enough, when the cc-ld is at its greatest, dive dcnvn into the soft snow, and remain, warmly hidden for the night, beneath its surfLice, though, when in this situation, many fall a i)rey to the foxes and wolves. Whilst I was in \\'innii)eg, chickens were selling at So cents l^er pair. They are not, however, so numerous but that there will be considerable likelihood of their extermination after the country becomes more thickly settled, if con- siderably greater attention be not paid to the close season than it at present receives. For several miles around the town of lirandon, where a good deal of shooting goes on, I saw no chickens. Among the islands and estuaries, as well as on the level, treeless, grassy region which abuts ui)on the Polar Sea in both the Old and the New Worlds (called "tundra" in the former case and often " barrens "' in the latter) countless thousands of wild fowl have their summer home and rear their young in peace. In spring time, soon after \h 182 MANlTOllA DESCKir.Kl), the snows have melted, a vast army of Arctic migrants crowds northwards, stop])ing a while to feed here and there in the countries over which it passes. Just before \vinter sets in, this great army returns, having its numhers aug- mented by the yearling birds, and not unfrequently pro- ceeding along some route quite different from that it took in the spring, but often following the course of some great river. This huge army of migrating wild fowl passes over Manitoba twice annually : and, as the majority of those flocks which I observed last autumn seemed to be taking a south-westerly course, it seems ]:»robable that, commencing at the (ireat Bear Lake in the iar north-west, they follow the remarkable chain of lakes, extending in a straight line south-east to Lake Winnipeg, after which they strike across the narrow watershed between the valley of the Red River and that of the Mississippi, and continue their way to the southward along the latter. On the nth and 12th of October, when near Rapid City, I saw thousands of ducks on the lakes close to which the trail ])assed. But the number I saw on this occasion was as nothing compared with the nuuiber to be seen a little earlier in some other places. I often heard the expression that "the ducks made the water black " during the autumn migration. A good many mallard and blue-bills breed in the lakes,, and these, of course, afford shooting long before their brethren arrive from the north. One day I saw Mr. Seton kill three by a single shot through some rushes, when he only knew that he was aiming at one. Not less than a dozen species of duck may be obtained on migration ; and the Indians derive a considerable revenue from shooting them for sale in the towns.* According to accounts, many of the lakes and rivers swarm with fish ; but, being no fisherman, I can say nothing from personal experience, except that an hour's fishing in the Assiniboine yielded absolutely nothing. Frozen white fish, taken by the Indians in Lake Manitoba, are sold during winter in some of the towns at an excessively cheajy rate. * JNIy observations upon the birds of Manitoba will l>e found in an article in the Ziwloi^isl for April, 1S85 (vol. ix., p. 121). SPOKT AND NATURAL HISTORY IN MANITUDA. 183 rivers More than one species of hare exists in Manitoba ; but tiiese animals, as a rule, do not frequent the open prairie. The prairie hare {LcJ^ns ca/n/^csfris) is a large animal, but T only saw one specimen — at Beaver Creek, near Fort P^llice. Another species which I have shot is the J.cpus aincncanits, which is very abundant some years in the bluffs, but in other years scarcely one can be seen. Throughout the province, wherever the prairie is inter- spersed with numerous ponds, the musk rat is an exceed- ingly abundant animal, and I have sometimes seen as many as seven or eight of their "houses" in a single lakelet. The musk rat is allied to the beaver and to our own water- vole or "rat," but is much larger than the latter. Plis house is a construction of no mean size, as it often attains a height of 4 ft. or 5 ft., and, being built of reeds and flags, looks for all the world like a great haycock floating on the surface of the water. The owner and architect does not seem to be at all shy, and may often be seen swimming leisurely round his dwelling. His soft, thick fur is largely exported, and used for lining mantles, ^c, hundreds of thousands of the animals being sometimes killed in a single year. His flesh also, at certain times of the year, furnishes the Indians with food. To secure the beast, the\ take a long, spiked iron rod, and run it down through the roof of his house, thus impaling the tenant,- a most bur- glarious proceeding surely ! In winter-time, the hungry wolves and foxes frequently come round the houses, but are always very careful to keep out of shot. The prairie wolf is a shy, miserable brute, from which not the slightest personal danger need be feared, unless, perhaps, when hunger has brought him to the last stage of desperation. Possibly it may, at times, be different with the larger timber wolf, but this animal is scarce. I met an Indian one day, whilst upon a trail near Fori Ellice, mounted on a white native pony, and wearing a bright scarlet blanket. We gravely saluted one another, and passed on. The ; roper way to salute an Indian whom you meet casually anywhere in Manitoba is to say, " Bon Jour, neche.'^ This is the salutation they themselves give, and they are often called " neches " in consequence. The M- . '■'■y ■ ,1 • 'y- ''l-Vf. ' • r ! ■^ ^•;f i s 1 - ,;?!■;. » 1 ■-■^■v' ^^.: ^ 1S4 MANITODA Di;scKini:D. words mean literally, "Good day, friend." The Indians are fond of being thus noticed. But he had no sooner got to the windward of me than the stench became inde- scribable : the fellow had been eating skunk, ])ure and unadulterated ! Not a few travellers have recorded that they also have eaten of this dainty dish, but in nearly every case we are informed that some days — or at least sufficient time — had been allowed to elapse after death for the body to get rid of the superfluous effluvium with which the animal is so abundantly })rovided. Archbishop Tache, in his book of travels in the North-west, records, not only that he has actually partaken of a meal of skunk, but that he intends, and is even eager, lO do so again ! Now, of all things which an archbisho[) might eat, I should have thought that the flesh of skunks would have been the last selected. I'ruly it has been said by wise men that " there is no ac- counting for tastes "' ! Probably, however, the archbishoj) would differ from some in })referring not to take his skunk- meat of its full flavour, as this Indian had evidently done. Skunks are very common on the prairie, and one is con- stantly coming across their scent, though the animal himself may be a mile away up wind. In the distance, the smell is not disagreeable, but close at hand it becomes disgusting. Skunks are not unfre(|uently killed in the act of robbing hen-houses. I shot one once from a boat, as he was returning from his morning bath on the edge of a lake. A handsomer beast is not often seen : about the size of a cat, he is covered with very long and glossy black hair, with a narrow stripe of pure white, extending from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail. If only the fur could be easier disin- fected, it would come much more into use. To those who have experienced the annoyance caused by mosquitoes, it may appear almost like a piece of grim irony to treat of them under the heading "sport"; for it is certain that, if any sport at all ever results from their contact with man, it is on their side, and not on ours. It cannot be denied that, during the months of June, July, and August, mosquitoes are so numerous and so exasper- atingly troublesome (especially on still evenings), as to amount almost to a curse to both man and beast. During these months, most settlers keej) a fine gauze netting IS THE Hudson's hav rouik FKASinLE? 1S5 stretched over their windows, and at night a "smudge,"' or fire of danij) sticks and straw, is Ht, so that the cattle may find some refuge from their persecutors in its smoke. In time, doubtless, when the stagnant swami)s and ponds become fewer, the moscjuitoes also will decrease in num- ber ; and, as it is, old stagers seem to mind them little ; but, for my i)art, the injunction, " Love your enemies," finds no favour, if the list of my enemies be held to include moscjuitoes. No wonder the Indians regard them as agents of the Evil Spirit !* 1 ' CHAPTER XI\'. IS THE Hudson's hav route feashhj;? The prosperity of any country depends in no slight degree upon the excellence, or otherwise, of its internal water communication, and upon the facilities which the nature of its coasts afford for the interchange of its commodities with tliose of other countries. In both these respects Canada is peculiarly favoured. It is doubtful whether any other country on the face of the earth excels it in the possession of so large a number of si)lendid inland sheets of fresh water, from the size of the " Great Lakes " down to that of the numerous ponds and lakelets which so abound in all parts of the Dominion, while the way in which many of these are connected together by their own long, * Another insect which, in many parts of the country, abounds (luring the same season as the moscjuito, l)Ut forms a great contrast to it by reason of its harmlessness and beauty, is the little firelly. Well do I remember a long, late drive which I had over the prairie in Southern Manitoba one very dark night in July last. On every side were hundreds upon hundreds of these insects, lllling the air with in- numerable tiny luminous streaks, each of which lasted for an instant and then faded away. So numerous were they that I am quite sure the darkness was perceptibly lessened by the tfiousands of their tiny sparks. If ' iS() MAM \o\\\ i)i:srRim:i>. ■v/'V *■ ■ ;■ strc\ui;linL; ;inns. as well as hv streams a. id oIIut wakM fumses, is a most strikini; iValmo. With !;ivat atid navii;al)lc riviMs, also, Canada is particularly well provided. Canadians wouKl have hut small <ausc of « (Miiplaint, were the St. 1 .awrenei' the only L;real river ol" their country; hut, beside this, there is the IVace River, the waters of which How tull 2,000 miles before they reach the ocean ; and, if we regard the Nelson Kiver as a continuation of the Saskatchewan (a distinction to which it has sonu* claim), we have another river over 1..500 miles in length. lUit, in addition to such natural facilities for internal water conununication as these, Canada is possessed of several excellent seaports, by no means the least important of which lies in the very centre of the vast Dominion, u])oii one oi the largest inland seas that the world contains. No one is ai present able to say how great an influence this fact will not exeri'ise upon the future development of the North west ; f"or it may yet be tounil that the turnini; to account of this great natural advantage will have as desirable an elTect upon the *' Creat Lone Land" as the construction of the Canadian Lacific Railwav has alrcadv had. Hudson's l>ay (or, as it would more appropriately be called, Hudson's Sea) is, of course, what is referred to in the foregoing ])aragraph. The ([uestion of the navigability oi' Hudson's Hay and Strait has, for many years past, excited an amount of interest in the minds of the people of Canada, which it is difficult for any one to com])rehend who has not been in that country ; and, although iXIanitoba does not extend to Hudson's Bay as yet, the future pros- perity of the former dei)ends so much upon the feasibility of navigating the latter, that no apology is needed for discussing the matter here. Fortune has not so favoured me that I am able to bring the light of personal experience to bear upon the subject ; indeed, the number of those who know any- thing of it from jicrsonal experience, is exceedingly small. There exists, nevertheless, a surprisingly large amount of inforniation which has been bequeathed to us by those early and enterprising i)ioneers, who entered the Bay ii\ the 17 th and i8th centuries for purposes of trade or ex- IS 'rm, IIIKSON > i:\\ ROUli; II,A^Ii:i,l', |ilt)r;ili()n. l'"()r niiu h ol our v:\\\\ iiifortnalion on tlic siil)jc<t we ;irc in(k'l)tr<l (o thai (inioiis cra/c for the discovery ol a passa^'e through tlie Polar Sea lo thr coiintnes ol the east, which, for iiiorc than a centnry, attracted so niiK h attention in tlie various countries ot Western h!uro|)e it is, indeed, a fact that Henry Iludson was in search of the nui< h-t.dkedol' " North west I'assaf^e," hen, in 1610, lie discovered the threat I'.ay whicli no w hears ins name, Til )f th le eviuence 01 these early explore \v rs has, of late years, been su|)|)leinented i)y thrtl of the captains of tlie vessels (jf the Hudson's I'.ay (.'oin|>any, of various American whalers, and other i)ersons. It is a few of the more iirominent facts to he gleaned from such sources as these, that I now desire to place before my leaders, in order that they may be able to form their own opmions as to the ultimate jjiobability ot the establisli- ment of what may a))propriately be called " The New North-west Passage." In (loini:; this I wish to acknowledge the great assistance 1 have vlerived from a ])ami)hlel entitled ''Our Northern Waters," by my friend Mr. (Charles N. IJell, of Winnipeg, as well as from several official publications, and from evidence given before committees of the Dominion Parliament by Dr. Kobert P.ell, of the (Icological Survey of Canada,* and by Professor II. Y. Mind. The ])resent c.ha])ter, therefore, may be briefly summarised as an examination of existing evidence as lo the feasibility of establishing a coinmen ial route between ('anadaand luiropc 77<r Hudson's Pay. Hudson's J3ay, together with its southern extension known as James's I Jay, is a great inland sea, lying between the 51st and 63rd parallels of north latitude and the 78th and 96th degrees of west longitude. Its greatest length from north to south is 1,000 miles, and its greatest breadth about 600. It has an area of about half-a-million sf|uare miles, and drains a region measuring over 2,000 miles from cast to west, 1,500 miles from north to south, and <'overing upwards of three million square miles. On the * Dr. IJcll, who must not be confounded with Mr. C. \. licll, lia-- l)cen engaged for si\ years past in exploring Hudson's I5ay and the country surrouniling it, conse(]uently his statements carry much weight. V'". ■ ♦• ' ill': ! I >;•• ,1^; . iilll:.^ ii 188 MANITOBA DESCKinED. north-east it is connected with Davis's vStrait and the o\)cn Atlantic by several channels, the chief of these, in every way, being Hudson's Strait, which has a length of about 500 miles, an average breadth of about 100; is bounded on the north by xMeta Incognita ; on the south by Labrador, and has its main entrance in N. latitude 61"^, or about the latitude of the Shetland Islands. The southern jjortion of the Bay lies in the latitude of Devonshire and Cornwall : no part, either of it or of the Strait, lies within 150 miles of the Arctic Circle. The Bay is singularly free from shoals, and its waters are said to have a very even, average de[)th of about seventy fathoms. One of its harbours is described by all travellers as an extremely good one, while there are several others of lesser importance. It is now very many years since forts or trading posts were first built on the shores of the Bay by the French, and afterwards by the Hudson's I Jay Com[)any. The earliest of these — Fort York, or York Factory — is the most imi)ortant station at the present day. It lies on the west side of the Bay, near the mouth of the Hayes River, and was built in 1676. Fort Severn, on the Severn River, some way further east, was built in 1686; while old P'ort Churchill, near the mouth of the Churchill River, further to the west, was first built in 1688; but in 1733 a large stone fort, with sides 300 feet in length, mounting forty guns of large size for those times, and occupying a very commanding j)osition on the west side of the harbour formed by the mouth of the river, was commenced. It occupied several years in building, but in 1782 was surrendered, without a shot being fired, to the French Admiral La Perouse, who had entered the Bay with three men-of-war. The fort was by him destroyed, and is said now to be " probably the largest ruin in North America." Fort Albany on the west side, Fort Rupert on the east side, and Fort Moose at the south end of James's Bay, all lie near the mouths of rivers of the same names, and were built in 1664, 1C68, and 1730 respectively. The mouths of all these rivers are navigable to a certain distance inland, but the harbours at the mouths of the Nelson and the Churchill will probably carry on the great bulk of the commerce of the future ; and it is to a discussion of the facilities which these rivers afford for iJ'i.'. IS THE Hudson's hav rolte ieashu.e? 189 communication between Winnipeg and the IJay, that I will next direct attention, taking the former first. Lake Winnipeg constitutes the centre of a great sub- drainage basin, which is supplementary to that of Hudson's Hay. The waters of a huge district, extending to the Rocky Mountains on the west, to the sources of the Miss- issippi on the south, and for some distance to the east, are all poured into the lake. The great main channel, by which nearly the whole of these waters are discharged into the Bay, is the Nelson River. From the point at which it leaves the lake it is 360 miles in length, and descends 710 ft. in that distance. Unfortunately it affords no facili- ties for navigation. Dr. Bell is very cx})licit on this point : he says that, except for a chute of 1 5 ft., there is a navi- gable stretch of 180 miles in the central j)ortion of the river. For a distance of forty-five miles down from its source, and a like distance up from its mouth, the river is also navigable, but the remainder is not. Of the harbour at its mouth, Dr. Bell says : " Most of its estuary becomes dry at low tide, but a channel runs through it at the centre, as far as the head of tide- water." This channel has " an average depth of about two fathoms at low water." The tides at the mouth of the Nelson River amount to 15 ft. York Factory is not on the Nelson, but on the Hayes River, which flows into the Bay close to the Nelson, and is navigable by shallow-draught vessels for 140 miles inland. The fort was established on the Hayes River because, being smaller than the Nelson, the Indians found it easier to navigate in their canoes. York Factory has been termed " the Archangel of the West " ; but it would appear as if this name would be more appropriate if ai)plied to Fort Churchill ; for although, according to Dr. Bell, " the Churchill River would afford no facilities " for navigation, being " rapid down to the head of tide within eight miles of the sea," the harbour at i<"s mouth is a very excellent one. Of the Churchill, the same authority has said that, " unlike all the other rivers, it has a deep, rocky, and comparatively narrow mouth, which can be entered with ease and safety by the largest ships at all stages of the tide " ; while Sir J. H. Lefroy has stated that " it will un- doubtedly be the future shipping port for the agricultural i^' f ■ it:, , 190 MAM rOI'.A DI.SCRIlU.li. V ,^- ' 1 „1 •'•■ i ! 'j ■' 1 ■ I'i ♦' , 1 .1 products of the va:jt Xortli-wcst Territory, and tlic route !>) which immigrants will enter the country." Another au- thority, possibly too enthusiastic, has spoken of it as '* one of the finest harbours of the world," and as taking "a front rank among ocean ports." Archbishop 'J ache says it is " capacious, safe, and convenient." ]>ut it is not sufficient to show that the harbours themselves are good, unless it be also shown that they may be safely entered during a sufficiently long period of the year. On this point, Mr. Ik'U says, in his interesting ])amphlet : *' 'I'he records of the Hudson's Hay Company, as presented to the (iovernmeni in 1880, show that the Hayes River at York ivictory, for an average of fifty-three years, was open on the 15th of May. Only once in the fifty-three years did it remain closed till the end of May or beginning of June. Once in 1878 the river closed as early as the 3rd of November, but the average closing for fifty-three years was about the 20th of November." Of the much larger Nelson River it is stated that it " closes much later than does the Hayes, if, indeed, it can be said to close at all." IJr. Bell says : *' I think the average of the rivers is about six months.'" In considering this part of the subject, it should be re- membered that the average time during which the harbour of Montreal remains open has been officially stated to be from May ist to November 25th, while the i)eriod of navi- gation on the Great Lakes has about an equal average duration. From the foregoing statements it will be clearly seen that the only possible means of communication between Winnipeg and the Bay will be by means of a railway. 1 understand that two companies were formed some time back for the purpose of constructing such a railway. Both received from Government the offer of a liberal land- grant; but, in neither case, was this sufticiently large to induce either to commence work, and during last year the two companies amalgamated. Preliminary surveys have already been made, and the route is reported as "not presenting any very great engineering difficulties " ; but, until more is known as to the navigability of the Bay and Straits, it is not to be expected that a commencement will be made with the actual work of construction. To this -I. foi- ls THK Hudson's isay routk ikasiiile? 191 point, then, I will next direct attention, after liaving first .said something; of the great advantages which would follow from the establishment of such a route, setting aside, for the moment, the question of its feasibility. The importance of the jjroposed new route to the whole of the Canadian North-west, both for purposes of export and imj)ort, and for immigration, as well as its advantage over the existing route to England by way of Montreal, will at once begin to become apparent when it is i)ointed out that, although Winnipeg occupies an almost exactly central po^.tlon in the North American Continent, it is, nevertheless, situated within 600 miles of the salt sea- water of Hudson's Bay ; so that, if found feasible, the proposed route would effect a very great saving in the necessary amount of land-carriage (which, as everybody knows, is much more expensive than water-carriage), while the length of the ocean voyage will be increased very little. This would be an especial advantage in the case of bulky goods, which are particularly unsuitcd for land-carriage ; and the more northerly route would have an equal advan- tage in the case of meat and dairy produce, since these could be the easier 1 ?pt cool. The distance between Winnipeg and Liverpool by the Canadian Pacific Railway, when complete, will be 4,654 miles, of which 1,434 will be covered by rail, and 3,220 by ocean-steamer. By the combined Canadian Pacific Railway and Lake routes, the distance between Winnipeg and Montreal is ninety miles less, or 4,544 miles to Liverpool. By the Hudson's Bay route, if feasible, the distance between Winnipeg and Liver- pool will be reduced to about 4,000 miles, which will be a saving of 800 miles in the land carriage, though only of about 650 miles altogether. On account of its more northerly latitude, the distance between Fort York and Liverpool, which is given as 3,415 statute miles, is only 200 miles further than from Montreal to Liverpool, while the distance is actually about 150 miles less than from New York to Liverpool. This fact alone confers an immense advantage on the proposed route ; but we must remember, in addition to this, that a great stretch of country to the north-west of AVinnipeg will be brought, practically, as near to England as Winnipeg now is. For instance, if we follow Dr. Bell I'll.'" ■ ■ .1 ■ ■ } '- 1. ! •'. » ' t t , 1. »■ 'i i f ' • i;'l t ^;-"; ■' 193 MANITOP.A Dr..SCRII!F.I). in regarding Lac La Biche as the centre of tlie great agri- cultural region, we shall find that the journey from there to Liverpool, if ])erformed 7'/<7 Hudson's Day, instead of by the St. Lawrence, would effect a saving in land carriage of a distance efjual to the distance between Winnijjeg and Montreal. In short, if the Hudson's Hay route prove practicable, ]\Lanitoba and a large i)ortion of tiie North-west Territories will be brought almost as near to England as Ontario and Quebec pre at the present day. Moreover, if the Hudson's Bay route were ever established, it is pro- bable that a good deal of the grain from Minnesota and Dakota would go by it to Europe. After the foregoing statements, few, I think, will be inclined to deny that tlie opening of a great commercial route through Hudson's Bay, if found feasible, would be fraught with advantages to the whole of the north-western portion of the American Continent, which it would be almost impossible to estimate too highly. I will next discuss the evidence as to the possibility of navigating the Bay and Strait. As far as the former is concerned, evidence is so clear that discussion is almost useless. Although James's Bay (the water of which is sufficiently fresh in places for drinking-purposes) may, at times, become frozen over, all the evidence goes to show that Hudson's Bay does not freeze over. A fringe of ice forms round the coast, and extends for a mile or two out to sea, but not more. An experienced whaling captain writes, " Hudson's Bay is open all winter, and what little ice makes on the shore breaks up with every gale of wind." Dr. Bell has stated that " the Bay is open all the year round, like the ocean in corresponding latitudes On parts of the eastern coast, I am told that the sea washes against the rocks all the winter, just the same as on the coast of Nova Scotia or Newfoundland." The Doctor has bathed in the waters of the Bay during summer with perfect comfort, which could not have been done in the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The whole matter, therefore, seems to resolve itself into a question of the navigation of Hudson's Strait. On this point, although the amount of available evidence is far from being sufficient to set the matter at rest, we are IS THE Hudson's pay routi: n:.\sii;Li:? 193 at a<^r\- there to i of by riage of eg and i prove rth-west land as .'over, if is pro- Ota and )regoing hat the Hudson's tages to merican }stimate )ility of rmer is ahnost rhich is may, at :o show i of ice ;\vo out cajitain at little fwind." he year L washes on the ctor has 1 perfect aters of self into On this e is far we are singularly fortunate in having so valuable a stock of in- formation as that contained in the works of the early explorers and traders, such as Fox (1635), D^'l^bs (1744), Ellis (1748), Robson (1752), Umfreville (1790), Hcarne (1795), La Pcrouse (179'S), Chappell (1816), and others; while the captains of the vessels of the Hudson's l>ay Company and of various American whalers have been able more recently to give much corroborative evidence. Inquiry has shown that, since the discovery of the Bay in 1 6 10, vessels have entered it on at least 750 different voyages, and it is known that this does not cover all. The list includes British trooi)-shii)s, emigrant-ships, vessels of the French and English navies (the latter generally when convoying the Com})any's ships), some of them carry- ing 74 guns, as well as whalers and vessels bound on voyages of trade and discovery. For more than a century jiast the Company has regularly supplied its posts on the Hay by ships from London, which have always taken back the valuable fur produce of the i)revious year ; whilst a small vessel has been employed in the Bay itself. Formerly several of the Company's shi])s visited the Bay each year, Ijut at present only two do so, as there arc now railway facilities for getting home the furs which used formerly to go by water. As regards the earliest date at which ships may reasonably expect to find a clear i)assagc through the Strait, evidence is very conflicting. It is said that the Company's vessels are not accustomed to leave the Orkneys before the end of June, and Cai)tains Bishoj) and McPherson, both of whom have made many voyages for the Company, have both informed Air. Bell that they con- sider the I St of August as the earliest date at which a sailing ship should attempt to pass ; but in this they differ from several other individuals whose opinions carry con- siderable weight, notably from five whaling captains whose statements Mr. Bell quotes, and all of whom put the date nearer July i. One of these writes: — "The entrance to the Bay can be made from the ist to the 15th of July." Captain Wm. Kennedy, one of the searchers after Franklin, now residing near Winnipeg, writes: — "A residence of eight years on the shores of Ungava Bay and its vicinity, enables me to state that for four months, viz., July, p ■<■ \ ( If , : 194 MANITOHA DF.SCRIBED. ■ m ■■■•1 I ' ' t". "fl ', ' i r ■ ■)■ ' i'. ■. 1; ■y ( ' ' ' |.V' ff .1 :•, H $*{ ■ ■ August, September, and October, there is no difficulty in the navigation." It cannot be denied that tlie passage through the Strait from east to west is difficult for sailing- ships. Fifteen days (which may be taken as its average duration) is a long wliile to occupy in sailing 500 miles, being an average of only about 33 miles per day. Much evidence is available, all going to prove that the prevailing wind in the Strait during sunmier is nearly always north or north-west, and vessels entering the Strait are often compelled to put up with much tedious delay for want of a southerly or south-easterly breeze. On the other hand, the passage in the autumn through the Straits from west to east is generally sj^oken of as easy, the prevailing wind, which formerly had been foul, being then fliir, and the ice, which formerly obstructed the passage, having then very largely disappeared. The ships of the company usually pass out during October ; but apparently reliable evidence is not wanting leading one strongly to the belief that, even in an ordinary year, the voyage might be success- fully undertaken as late as November the 15th, — an opinion strongly held by Dr. Bell. Four voyages out of the Bay by whaling-ships, mentioned in " Our Northern Waters," occupied an average of only six days, and H.M.S. Rosamond^ in 1814, passed out through the Strait in three days when she had been twenty-five days going in. Indeed the navigation of the Strait from west to east seems usually to be so easy, that the question of the feasibility of establishing the Hudson's Bay route resolves itself very much into a question of the inward navigation of the Strait. As a rule a good deal of ice is met with when entering during July, especially upon the south side, where it is driven by the wind. In some years it might be found to be impossible for sailing-ships to enter at all (though the experience of the Hudson's Bay Company seems to preclude this) ; but, on the other hand, Captain Bishop states that " out of twenty-three voyages that he has made, only on six did he find perfectly open water and clear sailing on his way into the Bay." In all the evidence as yet available, there is, I believe, nothing to show that in most seasons the Strait is not open (even for sailing vessels) all the winter through, although this will very IS TMi: Hudson's hay kouti: ikasihi.e? 195 ulty in passage sailing- average miles, Much availing 3 north e often Aant of r hand, m west ig wind, md the ig then Dmpany reliable e belief success- opinion he Bay Vaters," H.M.S. n three Indeed : seems asibility elf very of the h when , where e found (though ;ems to Bishop s made, id clear ence as that in sailing ill very probably prove eventually not to be the rase. That it is not always so is clearly shown by the experience of the Hudson's Bay Company's shii)s which, for some cause or other, have occasionally had to winter in the Hay. Dobbs, writing in 1774, mentions the case of a vessel which, when passing out of the Strait late in the autumn, entered an inlet, for some purpose, and was there detained by the ice which, however, moved off in l)c( ember and allowed her to pass through the Strait at Christmas-time. Nor is evidence wanting to show that the time of year usually chosen for entering the Strait, is f^ir from being the best that might be selected. It is the opinion of Dr. Bell, Professor Hind, and others who have studied the subject, that late in June or early in July is the very worst possible period for passing through the Strait, inasmuch as the large mass of ice which 'J^c wind brings down Fox's Channel, is then passing out through the Strait and being dispersed. It is contended, with some show of reason, that if the attempt to enter the Bay were made in May or early in June, before the ice had become loosened and had begun to move, the passage through the Straits would be much more easily accomplished ; but on this point more evidence is wanted. Dr. John Rae, the celebrated Arctic explorer, in a lecture which he recently delivered before the Manitoba Historical Society, said that, although he had a very high idea as to the value of the route if practicable, much of what had been said about it did not agree with his own personal experience. He had passed through the Strait on three occasions, and on two of them had been very much hindered by ice. He feared there would be an average detention of four or five days on each voyage, though this might not apply to steamers. As it is only fair that both sides of the question should be stated, I will here quote some remarks which Dr. Rae has since written upon the subject. He says : " On my first voyage to Hudson's Bay we were stopped by ice for weeks on the outward trip, the floes being so closely packed that some ladies in one of the ships frequently walked a mile or two to the other vessel, took dinner, and returned without difficulty. The mouth of the Strait was completely blocked o 2 rn; 196 MANITOBA DESCRIBED. f IS; ' 1 r I,: •■: .!*.■, it on our attempting to get home, and we had to run into the Bay again. On one of my other two voyages home we met so much ice that a consultation was held by Captain Head and some of the Hudson's Bay Company's factors on board. Two of these latter pleaded strongly the necessity of running back into the Bay, but there was a majority against them and we squeezed through." For at least half a century past, according to Mr. Bell, the. Bay has been regularly visited by American whalers as well as by whaling vessels from Dundee and other Scotch ports. One of the reports of the Commissioner of Fisheries for the United States shows that an average of rather more than four whaling vessels a year visited the Bay between 1 86 1 and 1871, and that the average annual catch amounted in value to 1 24,000 dollars. Although Dr. Rae has ex- l)ressed the opinion that the whaling-season in the Bay- does not exceed two months, Mr. Bell is able to give some figures tending to prove that it is nearer four months. Dr. Bell has obtained from the officials of the Hudson's Bay Company in London a statement of the dates of arrival at and dei)arture from tlie various posts on the Bay of the Company's ships for many years past. The rigures may be found in the " Report of the Geological Survey of Canada" for 1879-80. The list shows that, between the years 1879 and 1880, York Factory was visited no less than 133 times. The names of the same vessels often appear many times in successive years. On one occasion (1850) four ships visited the fort ; on four occasions three, and on many occasions two. The earliest arrival took place on August 2nd, 1850. The average date of arrival appears to be about the end of August ; but six arrivals are recorded between September 20th and 30th, and one (the latest) on October 7th, 1836. The earliest date of sailing again for home is August 25th, 1829; but ten other sailings in August are recorded. The latest date for sailing was October 7th, 181 1 ; but eight other sailings in that month are recorded. On four occasions we are informed that vessels wintered in the Bay. The lists also show that, with one exception (1779), Moose Factory has been visited by a ship in every year since 1735, or for 147 years. One vessel came each year, and two vessels had to ' '^i ' ' li IS THE Hudson's day route teasuile? 197 ;oth, winter there. The earliest date of arrival recorded is July 2ist, 1745, there being only two other arrivals in July (1742 and 1749), while the latest arrival took place on September 25th, 181 1. The earliest date of sailing re- corded is August 4th, 1742, while the latest is October loth, 181 1 ; though there have been five other sailings in that month. Of the earliest seventeen sailings (up to 1752), all but two seem to have been in August ; but since that year there have been only four sailings in August. The foregoing figures show a regularity of navigation which is really surprising ; and the immunity from the loss of its ships which the Company has enjoyed is none the less so. It is, I believe, a fact that the Company has never lost more than two of its own vessels. These were the Prince of Wales and the Fri?ice ArtJmr, which went ashore together, on Mansfield Island, in 1864. No lives ^ -'■ o„,i tVip grj-eater portioii of the cargo was even- ' ''^'^ "'-'^MVlcnt occurred ing the ; of t is : to hips >■//)', aiost Of forty-nine whaUng vo^.^j,_ lind, only four resulted in the loss of the snip. v^...-ously enough, although the wintering of the Company's vessels in the Bay is by no means usual, both this year and last a ship has been obliged to do so. Judging from the evidence which has now been brought forward, it is not, I think, too much to expect that, although in some years accidents may occur such as that which took place in the St. Lawrence in 1870, when a loss of one million dollars is said to have been sustained by the freezing-in of the outward-bound shipping, still, in the course of a few years, we shall see large ocean-steamers pushing their way into the Bay, discharging their cargoes on the wharves of the towns which have grown up around p ii-V V. ^ •. : ■ .' 4! I I*.'- '• .11 r. }:■ !/-; '^, ijv , '^ 'i , . > S"* r; Ik .1 i ■ .»■ " ,] > .., '■ V ' 196 MANITOBA DESCRIBED. on our attempting to get liome, and we had to run into the ]>ay again. On one of my other two voyages home we met so much ice that a consultation was held by Captain Head and some of the Hudson's Bay Company's factors on board. 'J'wo of these latter pleaded strongly the necessity of running back into the Bay, but there was a majority against them and we squeezed through." lor at least half a century past, according to Mr. Bell, the. Bay has been regularly visited by American whalers as well as by whaling vessels from Dundee and other Scotch ])orts. One of the reports of the Commissioner of Fisheries for the United States shows that an averaoje of rather more than four whaling vessels a year visited the Bay between 1 86 1 and 187 1, and that the average annual catch amounted in value to 124,000 dollars. Although Dr. Rae has ex- r1 fV Ti^ rAt~\inir\n f n n f* fli o xi'n o 1 1 m rr c anc-r^fx i-r* i\^ « Ttr,, E It R A T U M. On p. 196, lino 25, read " 1789," instead of dc fig B8 an Bl Su be "■ '" *""' '""' ■'^' ^'^^^^ ■■ ^'8^'." instead of " 187Si." no often appear nuuiy umes m successive years. On one occasion (1850) four ships visited the fort ; on four occasions three, and on many occasions two. The earliest arrival took place on August 2nd, 1850. The average date of arrival ai)pears to be about the end of August ; but six arrivals are recorded between September 20th and 30th, and one (the latest) on October 7th, 1836. The earliest date of sailing again for home is August 25th, 1829; but ten other sailings in August are recorded. The latest date for sailing was October 7th, 181 1 ; but eight other sailings in that month are recorded. On four occasions we are informed that vessels wintered in the Bay. The lists also show that, with one exception (1779), Moose Factory has been visited by a ship in every year since 1735, or for 147 years. One vessel oanie each year, and two vessels had to IS THE Hudson's hay route feasidlk? 197 winter there. The earliest date of arrival recorded is July 2ist, 1745, there being only two other arrivals in July (1742 and 1749), while the latest arrival took place on September 25th, 181 1. The earliest date of sailing re- corded is August 4th, 1742, while the latest is October loth, 181 1 ; though there have been five other sailings in that month. Of the earliest seventeen sailings (up to 1752), all but two seern to have been in August ; but since that year there have been only four sailings in August. The foregoing figures show a regularity of navigation which is really surprising ; and the immunity from the loss of its ships which the Company has enjoyed is none the less so. It is, I believe, a fact that the Company has never lost more than two of its own vessels. These were the Prince of Wales and the Prince Arthur^ which went ashore together, on Mansfield Island, in 1864. No lives were lost, and the greater portion of the cargo was even- tually saved. As it is recorded that the accident occurred at ten o'clock " one lovely moonlight night, the sea being quite calm " ; that the vessels had studding-sails set at the time ; and that, a short time previously, " the captains of the respective ships had been interchanging visits," it is very probable that no difficulties of navigation were to blame. It is quite possible that several chartered ships of the Company have been lost (as, for instance, the Kittys about 1850, and the Grahame, in 1852) ; but the most surprising thing is that more have not been wrecked. Of forty-nine whaling voyages referred to by Professor Hind, only four resulted in the loss of the ship. Curiously enough, although the wintering of the Company's vessels in the Bay is by no means usual, both this year and last a ship has been obliged to do so. Judging from the evidence which has now been brought forward, it is not, I think, too much to expect that, although in some years accidents may occur such as that which took place in the St. Lawrence in 1870, when a loss of one million dollars is said to have been sustained by the freezing-in of the outward-bo^ uid shipping, still, in the course of a few years, we shall see large ocean-steamers pushing their way into the Bay, discharging their cargoes on the wharves of the towns which have grown up around i I ■ .1 t;^ 1^ ' ;'i ''mi 198 MANIT0I3A DESCRIBED. the sites of York Factory and Fort Churchill, loading again for the English markets with the various commodities which the North-west will undoubtedly produce before long, and send by rail to the very shores of the Bay. All this one may, with confidence, expect to take place with nearly as much regularity as the same thing now takes j)lace in the St. Lawrence during a great portion of each year ; although, comparatively, it is but a few years since it was declared impossible to navigate that river with steam- ships, and several were actually lost in proving that a large fleet of splendid ocean-steamers might sail, every summer, between Liverpool and Montreal, with a punctuality almost equal to that of the express trains between London and Brighton. But, although the existing evidence may be sufficiently strong to warrant us in this belief, yet it cannot be denied that, without still more conclusive evidence, the actual commencement of the construction of the railroad by which all this is to be made possible, would be rash in the extreme. The Dominion Government, clearly recognising this fact, conscious that the future greatness of Canada will be worked out in the North-west, and that it will be greatly influenced by clear proof or disproof of the feasi- bility of the new route, came, last February (1884), to the very wise decision of granting 100,000 dols., in order to purchase, equip, and despatch a steamer for the purpose of making further investigations.* The project is one which, although it has been under discussion some six or * On February 21 last, Mr. Staveley II ill, having put a question to Mr. Campbell- Bannerman in the House of Commons, as to whether one or more vessels of the Royal Navy could not be placed in Hudson's Strait for the purpose of making observations, was told that, although the members of the Government ** fully appreciated the importance of the subject, they were not prepared to offer any assistance," being in possession of information showing that the Strait is not free "for secure navigation for more than an average of seven or eight weeks in the year." Those who remember that about the same time the old Arctic exploring vessel A/cr^ was presented to the Government of the United States, will be inclined to think this decision rather shabby. It is quite true that the A/eri was put to a very good use — the search for Lieut. Greely ; but when she might have been of so great a service to one of our own colonies the gift appears a rather untimely one. IS THE HUDSON'S BAY ROUTE FEASIBLE? 199 for seven years, was not realised until the departure of the steam-whaler Neptune^ from Halifax, Nova Scotia, under Lieutenant Gordon, on the 22nd of July last. The plan of the expedition was to leave seven observing parties at various spots on the shores of the Bay and Strait, — three on each side of the latter, and one at Fort Churchill, on the former, — and then to return. The Neptune arrived home again in October, and the preliminary report of her commander shows that the programme was satisfactorily carried out, except that two attempts to land a i)arty on Resolution Island, at the mouth of the Strait, failed, the steamer striking on some sunken rocks, and only getting oft' after serious injury to her keel : so that this part of the project was given up. In one place the water is spoken of as being " alive with cod." Heavy ice was met with when half-way through the Strait, in August; and the passage is said to have been unusually obstructed this year. I .-u- tenant Gordon states that, from his own opinion and from other evidence, he has come to the conclusion that navi- gation of the Strait is possible for one hundred days per annum, and probably longer ; but that the vessels used would need some extra strengthening. The ship will again leave, tor the purpose of bringing home the parties, early next spring ; and on her return we shall have acquired a most valuable series of observations which, though it may not settle the question, will at least go far towards doing so. The facts already brought forv;ard will lose none of their force when it is remembered that, although what has been rJ.ready done has been accomplished in spite of a total absence of reliable charts, lights, and buoys, the cata- strophes have been exceedingly few. Nor must it be forgotten that the vessels in which the earlier voyages were so successfully made, were of a description which no one would dream of employing now. They were small, and must have been rudely constructed. For instance, the Discovery^ which was making her fifth voyage into those waters when she entered the Bay, under Capt. 13ylot, in 1615, was a vessel of only fifty-five tons ; while the Charles^ in which Captain Fox discovered the channel v/hich is named after him, in 1631, was of only thirty tons. Even now, however, the " good wine has been kept until the last " ; 200 MANITOBA DESCRIBED. It. K,.: ' If if-..- for there is one fiict which, though more encouraging than most of the foregoing, has not yet been mentioned. It is this : C/p to last year ^ all the voyages ever made into the Bay had beefi accomplished in sailing-ships. It is quite possible that, on one or two occasions, steamers may have entered the Bay, especially as the Hudson's Bay Company has run steamers to Ungava Bay, on the south side of the Strait ; but, as yet, I have not been able to learn that any have done so, with the exception of the Neptune, just alluded to. The significance of this fact can hardly be rated too high. The advantages possessed by a steamer over a sailing-ship, when navigating ice, are so immense and so clearly obvious as scarcely to need pointing out. Many sentences illustrative of this are to be found in the works already referred to. Some of the Company's captains have admitted that a steamer could probably enter the Bay something like a month earlier, and leave a full month later, than is at present done. Captain Kennedy writes : " I believe that steamers might get through as early as June, and as late as November." l)r. Bell, who, through lack of wind, was nineteen days in passing out through the Strait on board the Company's ship. Ocean Nyinph^ in the early part of October, 1880, states that a steamer could have made the passage in thirty- six, or, at most, forty-eight hours. Many travellers, both early and recent, express the belief that, on the north side of the Strait, there will nearly always be found, between the shore and the ice which has been driven away from it by the wind, a channel which sailing-ships could utilise with a favourable wind. Steamers could, of course, pass at all times, if this is the case. Dr. Bell, speaking of the Straits, says: " We do not know aivthing to the contrary of their being navigable for steamers the whole year round." This, however, is another point on which more conclusive evidence is wanting. The whole question of the feasibility of the Hudson's Bay route gains much interest from a comparison with what has been, and is being, done on the other side of the world towards opening-up a trade with the northern parts of Europe and Asia through the bays and rivers opening, like Hudson's Bay, on to the Polar Sea. Since the famous IS THE Hudson's i;av route feasible? 201 voyage of the Fega, in 1879, attempts have l)een made to open water communication with the districts drained by the rivers Obi and Yenesei, through the Kara Sea ; and, al- though much buccess has not as yet attended those efforts, it should be remembered that the most southerly entrance to the Kara Sea is some 350 miles further north than any part of Hudson's Strait, The case of Archangel, which, like Forts York and Churchill, lies upon a large inland sea, might, at first sight, seem very similar, but examination shows considerable difference in favour of the latter. Not only does Archangel lie over 500 miles to the north of York Factory, but vessels, in leaving it for any other Eu- ropean port, have to sail nearly 500 miles north of any part of Hudson's Bay or Strait. Yet here, although the harbour is only open from June to October, we have a city of over 20,000 inhabitants, which number would grow rapidly larger were it not for the total want of railway communi- cation with every other place. Ten years ago (in 1874), its exports were valued at ;j^ 1,23 4, 3 90, and it was visited by 472 vessels, of which 62 were steamers and 220 coast- ing ships. Hitherto I have only discussed this question from one point of view — that of navigation ; and I think the results warrant the belief that, if the Hudson's Bay route is never established, it will not be on account of any mere diffi- culties of navigation. The doubt as to whether a railroad to the shores of the Bay could ever be made a sound com- mercial concern is often enlarged upon by pessimists, and I will next examine this point. That the mechanical diffi- culties of construction are not great has been already stated ; but the question of its paying when constructed is another matter. Although it seems probable that the navigation will be open for more than four months in the year, it is not yet safe to count confidently on a longer period. The question, therefore, may be asked : Would the traffic, during those four months, be sufficient to make the line pay, when it might have to lie idle the rest of the year? Facts are not wanting to show that the country to be traversed is, to some extent at least, capable of develop- ment. At present it is practically uninhabited, and there would, consequently, be no local traffic at first; but the R 1, W ' I' ;:; ' <' 1 ' .'"i )> / i'il^i \t , (. .,.. I'i' , " 202 MANITOBA DESCRIBED. existence of the line would, in time, probably create some. Dr. Bell says that valuable timber is found in some parts,, and logs of spruce and pine would, almost certainly, be available for export. To say nothing of the fur-trade, which has become so inseparably connected with the name of the Bay, the salmon and other fisheries are said to be excel- lent, while game of various kinds is in fair abundance. The region in question is also stated to be rich in minerals, but the extent of those riches is not yet known. A good au- thority has written : *' Minerals may, however, become ia the future the greatest of the resources of Hudson's Bay." Gold, silver, and copper are a few among the many. Fur- thermore, Dr. Bell has given it as his opinion that a con- siderable area south of James's Bay will eventually become available for agriculture ; and, although this belief may be rather too sanguine, it is significant as showing the country to be better than some might imagine it. In connexion with this branch of the subject, there is. still to be mentioned one other great obstacle to the utility of the route. As has been already said, the rivers probably close in November; and, if the rivers are closed so that vessels are unable to approach wharves later than this date, the possibilities of the Strait being navigable all winter is of but little value. The autumn is a busy time in the North-west, and I think it is pretty certain that only a small portion of the year's grain crop could be got out before the closing of the harbours ; consequently it would require storing till the following spring. Dr. Bell's opinion, is, that "it would be better to store it and take it out the next year by the short route, than to bring it by one in- volving a long land-carriage." The same objection, how- ever, applies with even greater force to Archangel as a port, ai d yet it is certain that that place has succeeded ia securing an extensive trade. There will, doubtless, be some inclined to say that, upon the evidence produced, I have founded hopes more san- guine than facts warrant ; but I maintain that the proper course is to hope for the best until the worst is clearly shown to predominate. Those who, at the present day, are inclined to believe in the hopelessness of establishing. a commercial route to Europe z'id Hudson's Bay, would do- au- THE JOURNEY HOME. 20^. well to remember that no small portion of the history of America is but a history of the accomplishment of things which, but a few years before, had been generally regarded as "impossible"; and those who are able to look but a few short years into the future will, I think, be able to perceive that the establishment of the so-called " Hudson's Bay- Route " is one of these possible " impossibilities." CHAPTER XV. THE JOURNEY HOME. upon san- Droper learly day, ishing Id do.. r i m After a few days in Winnijjeg, during which time I re- ceived the greatest kindness from the various Government officials and others upon whom I called, I left the city early one morning by the train bound eastward for Port Arthur. Of the twenty-four hours spent " on board " this train I have none but pleasant recollections to record. Although it is true I had been told that the country passed through was rocky and well wooded, I had not at all grasped the real facts of the case, and was, therefore, not a little surprised at seeing scenery which, by comparison with that of Western Manitoba, may certainly be described as grand. For the first twenty-five miles or so there were numerous poplar-bluffs, with signs of cultivation between. Then commenced a dense, unbroken forest of spruce, tamarack,, and poplar, extending mile after mile along each side of the track. As a rule, the trees are small and of little value, but doubtless finer trees grow further away from the line. In many places, that blackening and devouring demon of destruction, the Fire — started, doubtless, by a spark from the engine, or perhaps sometimes intentionally, — had rushed through the dense forest-growth, killing and prostrating thousands of slender young trees, and laying bare the ground beneath. At a station bearing the immortal name of Darwin, the 204 MAMTOHA DF.SCKIIiEF). \f:.y \i • K - first rocks were scon — merely some low, rounded, f,'lacier- scraped hummocks, of a reddisii colour, rising but little above the surface of the ground. As the train moved east from tiiis place, the amount of rock visii)le became greater every mile, but in general ai)pearance it was always the same. There was no loose </t'/^n's of stones and boulders ; no rugged, weather-worn crags or i)eaks ; nothing but low mounds everywhere swelling up above the surface of the ground among the pines, sometimes even to the height of 20 ft., but everywhere smoothed, scarped, and rounded by the action of the mighty glaciers which swe[)t over them in long-i)ast ages. Still further, and the aspect of the country changed again, becoming even rockier than before. 'J'he isolated hum- mocks disapjieared, and the whole surface of the ground came to be formed of unchanging Laurentian rocks, rising in i^laces, sinking in others, but always smoothed and rounded in outline, as though a heavy ocean-swell had suddenly been turned to stone. In no case did the rocks attain any great height — not even in the region around the Lake of the Woods, which was the most broken and diver- sified district we passed through. Even the pines, though they covered the country, seemed to have a difiiculty in growing, and many, as though in desperation, had grasped the rocks so firmly with their knotted roots as to suggest to the beholder the idea of a huge octopus seizing its prey. Innumerable little lakes, of all imaginable shapes and sizes, were dotted about in all directions : their extraordinary number was really most astonishing. Prof. Hind estimates the proportion of water to land in the district as one to two ; yet there are very few large lakes or rivers, the water being distributed in " countless thousands " of tiny lakelets and rushing streams. About mid-day we arrived at, and crossed, the northern arm of the Lake of the Woods. Surely no spot on earth was evermore appropriately named than this ! Surrounded on every side by a dense and almost unbroken forest of pine, which extends in every direction for full one hundred miles ; with the islands which lie scattered over its surface also densely wooded, and with pines innumerable mirrored on the smooth surfaces of the many long, straggling arms rilK JOURNKY IIOML. 205 which the lake throws out f.ir int(j tlic i)rinKCval forest, as if more effectually to strengthen its connexion with its highly-descriptive name, " The Lake of the Woods" rould hardly have received any more a])i)roi)riate title. Some of the scenery of the region surrounding it is fine and wild. Iwerywhere extends the solid, red, prim;eval rock : except where the fire has devastated the forest the suiface is always more or less densely covered with wood ; myriads of lakes and lakelets arc strewn around in all directions, some long, some narrow, some winding in shape, all teeming with fish, and fdled with a cold, dear, black- looking water, which forces upon the mind the idea of its profound depth. The track passes along the edge of many such lakes, while it crosses the narrow arms of others by means of causeways, roughly formed by throwing in pieces of blasted rock. It is said that when some of these causeways were being constructed, the amount of material swallowed up showed many, even of the narrowest arms, to have a surprising de[)th. It can hardly be said, how- ever, that the scenery is very beautiful. It lacks that variety and ruggedness, those i)eaks and precipices which form the beauty of mountainous districts ; but, at the same time, the rounded rocks, the dark forests, the still lakes, and rushing streams all combine to give to the scenery of this region a certain grandeur of its own, in spite of its presenting a somewhat stern, silent, and for- bidding asi)ect. In years to come the attractions of the region around the Lake of the Woods will draw towards it many tourists and holiday-keepers, and I think it would be a most excellent thing if the Dominion (lovernment were to reserve a sufficiently large area of it from sale or settlement as a public park for the benefit of the people of Canada. The United States, more than ten years ago, set aside an area of 3,575 square miles, containing the unequalled wonders lying around the Yellowstone Lake, as a National Park, and (juite recently the Government of New South Wales has followed suit in establishing a public pleasure-ground, 56 square miles in extent, at Illawarra. Rat Portage and Kcewatin arc two rising towns, lying close together on the shore of the lake, in the debatable 206 MANITOHA DKSCKIBKD. If pjround l)Ctwccn Ontario and Manitoba. Lumbering appears to l)c tlie sole occupation of the inhabitants of tlicsc two i)laccs : there scorns to be absolutely nothing else going on. Logs fill every stream and pond around the towns ; saw-mills abound ; sawn lumber is piled everywhere ; and numbers of houses arc daily being built for the accommodation of more lumber-men. It is claimed (I know not with how much truth) that Rat Portage possesses the finest water-i)ower in the world, and that the place will some day come to be one of the great milling centres of North America. I was a good deal amused at the stations we passed. Almost without excei)tion they were small buildings, set close beside the line among the stumps of the felled trees, and usually without the slightest sign of cultivation or civilisation around, not even to the extent of a visible road leading up through the forest. Sometimes a few shanties were to be seen ; but what anybody's object could be in getting out at such places, I was (juite unable to imagine ; yet at most of the stations there were mysterious parties who seemed to have business of some kind on hand. Between Winnipeg and Port Arthur, a distance of 435 miles, with the exception of Selkirk, Keewatin, and Rat Portage, I did not see any place which, by the greatest stretch of courtesy, could have been called a village ; yet on this journey the train stopped, I suppose, at something like fifty stations. A stranger might well ask, " Why, within a few miles of the city of Winnipeg, should the country change so sud- denly from open prairie to dense forest ? " The answer, however, is not difficult to give : the fires which rage upon the prairies usually travel eastwards before a westerly or north-westerly wind ; but they are completely stopped in their onward progress when they reach that impassable barrier formed by Lakes Winnipeg, Winnipegosis, and Manitoba, as well as by the Red River ; and it is to these friendly, protecting pieces of water, together with the many lakes in the forest itself, that we are indebted for the vast forests to the east. Excepting only the transition from sea to land, I have never, in any part of the world, seen a ^change of physical characteristics so sudden or so striking Tlin JOUKNKY IIOMK. 207 ^s that from fertile prairies to rocks and forests, in tlie neigh- bourhood of the city of Winnipeg. In numberless jjlaces, however, fires, started by the railway, by Indians, or by the ■carelessness of white men, have caused much destruction ; and, although the amount of forest now devastated is as nothing compared with that still unburnt, every precaution should be taken to prevent the firing of the forests in the future. Our cousins across the Atlantic are the jjossessors of domains so vast and so naturally rich that they are slow to learn the lessons they are now being taught as to the needless destruction of those riches. They have exter- minated the buffalo ; they have im[)overished much of their ijoil by perpetual wheat-crojiijing ; and they are the losers to a still greater extent through not having taken greater pains to preserve those magnificent forests which were once so extensive in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ontario, and elsewhere. When once a fire gets hold upon the forest, with a high wind behind its back, there is absolutely no stopping it. It rushes onwards, ever widening, ever de- stroying. Such fires have been known to continue burning for weeks, and even months, trees of all sorts, old and young, being, of course, totally destroyed by thousands ; till now the cry begins to be heard that the supply of good timber is becoming exhausted. And well it may 1 I imagine that the forests of America suffer more every year from the ravages of fire than they do from the attacks of the lumbermen in ten. It matters litde in what direction one travels, the same thing may be seen almost everywhere — splendid forests of pine, blackened, and half or quite de- stroyed by fire, often to be succeeded, in after- years, by a growth of less valuable trees. I know of no scene much more depressing, or more hideously repulsive, than that of a forest which has been devastated by the fire-demon. One sees, in fact, a battle-field, on which a fierce though un- equal conflict has been waged between the works of animate Nature and a relentless fiend who gives no quarter, feels no mercy, and against whose resistless and insatiable fury it is useless to contend. Some of the victims, stark and black, still remain standing, with their knotted arms twisted as though in agony ; while others have fallen headlong to the ground, where their seared and rotting carcases long 208 MANITOBA DESCRIBED. 1'^^ |!T' i * i !. f ■ remain to disfigure the green covering with which, after a year or two, Nature attempts to hide the traces of her defeat. To the past prevalence of these forest fires must be attri- buted the small size o* the trees in the forest between Winnipeg and Lake Superior, as well as the dense growth of the latter, which has recently been mentioned. After a forest has been destroyed, a dense growth of young trees springs up. As these trees grow, the stronger kill the weaker, t'U, in an old forest, the trees are all of good size, are not clustered thickly together, and there is very little undergrowth. Night fell when but half our journey was completed ;. but a fcllow-trav^eller, who knew the route v ell, told me that for the whole stretch of 400 miles there was no break in the forest. When morning broke, we were passinc;: along the banks of the Kaministiquia, — an impetuous river, rush- ing along between banks thickly covered with pines, — and were rapidly ncaring Fort William, an old post of the Hudson's Bay Company, that has formed the nucleus of Port Arthur, which place we reached after a journey of just twenty-four hours. The train, running up the middle of the principal street of the town, with desperate clanging of the engine-bell, as usual, came at last to a standstill near the large wharfs which form the principal mainstay of the place. Here, — that is, in the street, — we and our luggage were bundled out to await the starting of a steamer down the lake. After an ocean voyage during which absolutely nothing was experienced to break the dreary monotony except three days and nights of rather heavy rolling, we reached Liver- pool, and I, shortly afterwards, my home, — where it is now necessary for me to bid adieu to my indulgent readers, expressing only the hope that what has been herein written will afibrd guidance to some, at least, of those in search of reliable information concerning Manitoba — a country which,, I am confident, has before it no inconsiderable future. WVMAN AND SONS, TKINTER:;, GK12AT (JLEEN STIJEliT, LONDON, W.C. ^1- ich, after a :es of her ist l)c attri- t between ise growth . After a )ung trees r kill the good size, very httle Dmpleted ;. , told me ; no break s'ma along iver, rush- nes, — and St of the lucleus of iey of just die of the ing of the still near ay of the r luggage ner down y nothing :ept three led Liver- it is now t readers, in written search of try which,, ture. 4, w.c. g S LT P E \ B-i.y<''^>\ y. *"*.., \X /Ttali ASUS ion lOO BA Longitude West iixnu (A<i*<«iwicii »• Ijt '•' flcn-lliP"' -^ ■'"¥'^(^3-1^' A"!'* '' II V* <""fst«l/i Ed EW" Jfc. L.l»e^" bo-*^' .-(o^V !fft»*" Bio."' ,1,i<i"V' tiitv \ Ue*' .^ Pd"^^ yi ^i «i»m>*/ II ''"?^ ri»V^ y' X \ \ V ^11 • <''.. 'v .A ff^- ■-■■. ". \ 4- opi"' fif.--' ■^ /" fto