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(^iMl-u . a^ NEWFOUNDLAND TO MANITOBA. WOBES BY W. FBASEB BAE. ^A^ESTWARD BY RAIL: a Journey to San Francisco and Back, and a Visit to the Mormons. NOTES ON ENGLAND. By H. Taine, D.C.L. Oxon. Translated, with a Biographical and Critical Introduction. WILKES, SHERIDAN, FOX: the Opposition under George III. ENGLISH PORTRAITS by Saintk-Beuve. Trans- lated, with a Biographical and Critical Introduction. COLUMBIA AND CANADA. Notes on the Great Bepublic and the New Dominion. QCISCO Oxon. ion. under 'rans- Great I / f^^.r MvL^c: INEWFOUNDLj 1 s If y jj) y Kngllth Milos «r — -fflL _»_ _iL Mvl.-f- ^1* Si NEWFOUNDLAND f y jj" « ♦ » 6ngllih Milos Aacun* Geogr £f»W. i-onrfon C 5L_-- NEWFOUNDLAND TO MANITOBA A GUIDE THROUGH CMADA'S MARITIME, MI«, AND PRAIRIE PROYINCES BY W. ERASER RAE REPRINTED, WITH LARGE ADDITIONS, FROM ^he ^Qlintes WITH THREE MAPS AND TWO ILLUSTRATIONS EonUon SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON CROWN BUILDINGS, 188. FLEET STREET 1881 lAll rights reserved] - ■^' ;^>vl.'r,f' l/Oi-miy i LONDON : PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, LIMITED, ST. JOHN'S SQUARE. n ^'S^H I\ ej^H pa: sp( of lai aci Ci frc Gr wt rec ga tra aM wl 'S Pr of an( Ur ex Ne of ma ret rec me Dc is Ca bir w th( PREFACE. I VISITED and described the Province of Manitoba and a part of the New West in the United States, as a Corre- spondent of The Times, during the summer and autumn of 1878. Last autumn and winter I visited Newfound- land, landed on the North American continent, journeyed across it from Halifax on the Atlantic Ocean to Eapid City on the Little Saskatchewan River, and athwart it from the Red River of the North in Manitoba to the Rio Grande in New Mexico. The letters written on the spot, which are reprinted in the following pages, have been recast, so as to embody the fresh particulars which I gathered, and the conclusions at which !^ arrived after traversing the Canadian Far West for the second time, while the contents of many pages are entirely new. The Province of British Columbia is the only important section of the Dominion which is not treated in this work. I propose reproducing in another volume my experiences and observations in those States and Territories of the Union which constitute the remarkable New West, extending from the Territory of Dakota to the Territory of New Mexico, and from the State of Kansas to the Territory of Wyoming. Whilst gratefully acknowledging my indebtedness to many Canadians for great courtesy and attention, I must return special thanks for the information and aid which I received from Mr. John Lowe, Secretary to the Depart- ment of Agriculture at Ottawa, and Mr. William Hespeler, Dominion Immigration Agent at Winnipeg. Mr. Hespeler is one of the many cultured Germans who have made Canada their home, who do credit to the country of their birth, and who render genuine and patriotic service to the land of their adoption. Eai Pro Eic Sir Dai Ees Wh Fire Lav Setl Con Inc] Res Vie' The Pub Leg The Ne'w Agr New Not( Coir Prin Min Frei Fish The The "01 Gol- CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. England's oldest colony. Earliest Notices of Newfoundland Products of the Island . Rich in Minerals . Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Mission Daniel discovers Silver . Result of Mineral Discoveries Whitboume's Account . First Colonists Laws of Charles I. Settlement Impeded Condition of the Fishermen . Increase of Pauperism . Responsible Government granted Views of the Islanders . The Capital of Newfoundland Public Buildings . Legislative Assembly The Soil and Climate Newfoundland Railway . Agricultural Prospects . Opposition to a Railway Newspaper Press . Notes on Newspapers Compulso^ Education . Principal Imports . Mines and Mining . French Claims Fish, Game, and Dogs . CHAPTER II. THE LAND OF THE " BLUE NOSES. The Founder of Nova Scotia The " National PoUcy " .... "Old Fossils" Gol-dMines PAGE 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 61 53 55 57 61 63 65 67 viii Contents. Nova Scotian Collieries . Scenery and Climate The Capital of Nova Scotia Halifax Hospitality Governor Archibald PAGE 69 71 73 75 77 CHAPTER III. THE PROVINCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK. The Puritans and New Brunswick 81 Foundation of St. John 83 New Denmark ......... 85 The St. John River 87 Churches in Fredericton 89 ^ Headquarters of the Intercolonial 91 > / A Forest on Fire 93 New Brunswick Land Laws 95 Cattle-Rearing 97 CHAPTER IV. PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. Oysters, Mackerel, and Lobsters 101 Yield and price of Potatoes 103 Highland Settlers 105 Subdivision of the Land 107 Landlords and Tenants 109 Settlement of the Land Question ^^^ Summerside 113 Charlottetown and its Suburbs 115 Governor John Ready's Administration . . . .117 CHAPTER V. INTERCOLONIAL, GRAND TRUNK, AND NORTHERN RAILWAYS. Intercolonial : Origin and Character 121 Workshops at Moncton ... ... 123 Scenery along the Line 125 Newcastle 127 Mr. Justice Henry 129 Mr. Hiokson's Management of Grand Trunk .... 131 Glut of Traffic 133 Muskoka Lakes 135 Future Prospects of Northern Railway 137 CHAPTER VI. ACROSS LAK.E SUPERIOR. The North Shore Route 139 A Landlord's Career 141 \\ i PAGE 69 71 73 75 77 Contents. RAILWAYS. 81 83 85 87 89 ^ 91») 93 95 97 101 103 105 107 109 111 113 115 117 121 123 125 127 129 131 133 135 137 139 141 Tempestuous Weather . The Bruce Mines . Homes for Indi.in Children Fishing in the Eapids . A Historic Ceremony Panegyric on Louis XIV. Michipicoten Island Discoveries of Coj^per Value of Native Copper Copper Mining Companies ^Mineral Riches Silver, Copper, and Iron Deposits CHAPTER VII. DUIUTU TO WINNIPEG. Mr. Proctor Knott's Speech Delights of Duluth Geographical Ignorance . Manufactures and Trade Land Speculators . A Hint to Emigrants CHAPTER VIII. ON THE RED lUVER OF THE NORTH. Course of the Re<3l River Mammoth Farms . By Water to Winnipeg . Lake Minnetonka . Stern Wheel Steamers , Onslaughts of Insects . Scenery on the Banks First View of Winnipeg CHAPTER IX. THE CITY OF WINNIPEG. University of Manitoba . Historical and Scientific Society PuMic Markets Fruit and Howers . A Journalistic Experiment Tlio Hudson Hay Company Mr. Brydgea . St. Boniface . Archbishop Tiicho . Advice to Eleci^jrs . A French Isewspaper . IX PAGE li3 145 147 149 151 153 155 157 1.59 161 163 165 169 171 173 175 177 179 181 183 185 187 189 191 193 195 199 •JOl 203 205 207 209 211 213 215 217 219 a Contents, w CHAPTER X. THE PROVINCE OF MANITOBA. Opinions about the Region Extent of the Province Farming in Manitoba Red River Farmers Prairie Grasses Grasshoppers Manitoba Homesteads CHAPTER XI. MENNONITES AND ICELANDERS IN MANITOBA. Mennonite Homes . Mennonite Doctrines and Habits Failings of the Mennonites Mennonite Exclusiveness New Iceland .... Discord among the Icelanders CHAPTER XII. THE NOHTH-WEST TERRITORIES. Western Roads . . . . Mudholes Prairie Hotels . . . . Royal Commissioners in Manitoba Journalism at Rapid City Successful Farmers Home of the Buffalo Sale of Intoxicants Prohibited CHAPTER XIII. THE CANADIAN FAR WEST. Western Winters . Climate, Soil, and Minerals . Sir George Simpson's Prophecy Canadian Pacific Railway Hudson Bay Route Rival Regions Perfect Wheat Plants The "Land of Misery" . A Terrestrial Paradino . Canada's Future . SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. Wi-'.DS IN NORTH AMERICA. Weeds in North America PAGE 221 223 225 227 229 231 233 237 s 239 .H 241 S 243 fl 245 ij^H 247 1 249 J , 251 ^1 253 ^H 255 M 257 MB 3. 259 «■ 261 n 263 JH 267 269 271 273 275 277 279 281 283 285 287 o. MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ^'^.N'V>V-V,X^X,,,,,^^,, 1. Map of Newfoundland . -• Do. Manitob/v . 3- Do. Dominion of Canada 4. Winnipeg as it was in 1870 . •5- Do. AS IT IS r.»Gi: Ft^ontispiece . 2,S3 . 29o . 1!>7 . 212 l~~z'J^ ■ iti [iii NEWFOUNDLAND TO MANITOBA. CHAPTER I. England's oldest colony. I. Newfocjndland was discovered in the reign of Henry the Seventh and incorporated with the EngUsh realm in the reign of Queen EHzabeth. It is an Island presenting many and marked con- trasts to the Fiji Islands which have been added to the British Empire in the reign of Queen Victoria. In Fiji every prospect pleases and man does the reverse, owing to a taste for eating his fellows. Nature often wears a rude and for- bidding aspect in Newfoundland ; the aborigines, on the other hand, were too mild and inoffensive to survive the invasion of savage Mic-Mac Indians and the effects of civilized vices imported by white men from Europe. |< '-■— ,^:; ;^3pr-v -. -. 2 England'' s Oldest Colony. Money is made in Fiji by growing and crusliing sugar-cane ; in Newfoundland fortunes liave been accumulated by catching and curing fish. The colonists of Eiji are envied for basking in summer weather all the year round, while the Newfoundlanders are pitied for having to sustain a struggle for existence amid the icy gales and fogs of the Northern Atlantic. If the lot of the latter were as sad as is commonly supposed, they would be pardon '^d for repining and complaining that it was intolerable. Though not more con- tented than other mortals or reluctant to exercise the truly British prerogative of grumbling, yet their grievances are not those for which Nature can fairly be held responsible. They are proud of their Island despite its fancied drawbacks, loving it with a devotion which nothing can impair. The intensity of a Newfoundlander's patriotism is a striking and admirable trait in his character. His patriotism is evidently as genuine as it is profound. Even new comers soon learn to vie with the native-born inliabitants in ex- tolling the Island's charms. Life in Newfound- land has many compensations and enjoyments which are unsuspected by a stranger. For many years after the month of June, 1497, when John Cabot discovered this Island, nothing was done by Englishmen to profit by its 1 1 1 1 I Earliest Notices of Neivfotindland. natural advantages. The earliest notices of it are to be found in the records of Henry the Seventh's privy purse expenses ; the first of these references is dated the 10th of August, 1497, and is to the effect that 10/. were given " to hym that found the new Isle ; " the last is dated 25th August 1505, and is a reward of 13«. 4^7. to Clays for going to Richmond " with wilde catts and popingays of the Newfound Island." Entries between these dates relate to two payments of 20Z. and one of 30/. made to merchants that had voyaged to Newfoundland, and to a reward of IZ. "to one that brought hawkes from the New- founded Island." It was not till 1540 that Englishmen sailing from the ports of Biddeford, Barnstable and Bristol systematically engaged in the Newfoundland fisheries. As early as 1504, the Portuguese had begun to catch cod there; fifteen years later, the crews of forty vessels belonging to Portuguese, Spaniards and French- men were thus employed. In 1578, England had 50 vessels, Portugal 50 and France and Spain 150 occupied in reaping the harvest of the sea in the North Atlantic. The value of Newfoundland as, a fishing station having been demonstrated, it was resolved to send colonists thither. The first essay towards carrying out this resolve was made by Mr. Robert B 2 Efigiand's Oldest Colony. w ! il Thome of Bristol, in 1527; the second, by Mr. Hore of London, a man whom Hakluyt describes as "of goodly stature and great courage and given to the study of Cosmography.*' Mr. Hore persuaded many gentlemen and others to join with him in an undertaking which Henry the Eighth regarded with approval. The party to the number of " about six score persons whereof thirty were gentlemen " embarked at Gravesend, towards the end of April 1530, m the Trinity and Minion, Before embarking, the entire party ** mustered in warlike manner and received the Sacrament.'* They returned home in October after visiting Newfoundland, getting a glimpse of the natives, observing that the land was covered with fir and pine trees, undergoing such great privations through lack of provisions that the strong killed the weak and ate their flesh. The survivors took forcible possession of a French ship and sailed in it to England. It is related by Hakluyt that Mr. Thomas Buts, one of the party, "was so changed in the voyage with hunger and misery " that his father and mother Sir William and Lady Buts, of Norfolk, "knew him not to be their son, until they found a secret mark which was a wart upon one of his knees." The subsequent action of the French crew, whom the English had shamefully used, gave Products of the Island. Mr. jribes and Hore ) join y the pty to hereof esend, bj and party ed the )ctober apse of covered L great lat the The French related of the e with mother "knew a secret lees." crew, d, gave Henry the Eighth an opportunity to display the better side of his character. Hakluyt records that these Frenchmen reached England certain months after "and made complaint to King Henry the Eighth : the King causing the matter to be examined, and finding the great distress of his subjects, and the causes of the dealing so with the French, was so moved with pity, that he punished not his subjects, but of his own purse made full and roj^al recompense unto the French." ' The most detailed account of Newfoundland as it appeared to the early visitors is contained in a letter of Mr. Anthony Parkhurst of Bristol to Mr. Kichard Hakluyt of the Middle Temple, dated 13th of November 1578. Parkhurst had made several voyages to the Island, and Hakluyt having applied to him for information, Parkhurst said in reply that he hoped Hakluyt would use his influence to induce men in power to help in christianizing Newfoundland or rather, as he phrases it, " to redeem the people of Newfound- land and those parts from out of the captivity of that spiritual Pharaoh, the devil.'' He gives a glowing picture of the Island. He says that the soil is good and fertile, that, in sundry places, he had '* sown wheat, barley, rye, oats, beans, peas, ' Hakluyt's Works, ed. 1810, vol. 3, pp. 168—170. i r,; i 6 England's Oldest Colony. and seeds of herbs, kernels, plumstones, nuts, all of which have prospered as m England. The country yieldeth many good treos of fruit, as filberts in some places, but in. all places cherry trees, and a kind of pear tree meet to graft on. As for roses they are as common as brambles here; strawberries, dewberries and raspberries, as common as grass. The timber is most fir, yet plenty of pineapple trees ; few of these two kinds meet to mast a ship of three score and ten [tons] ; but near Cape Breton, and to the South- ward, big and sufficient for any ship. There be also oaks and thorns, there is in all the country plenty of birch and alder, which be the meetest wood for cold, and also willow, which will serve for any other purposes. As touching the kinds of fish beside cod, there are herrings, salmons, thornebacke, plaice, or rather we should call them flounders, dog fish, and another most ex- cellent of taste called by us a cat, oysters and muscles, in which I have found pearls above forty in one muscle, and generally all have some, great or small. I heard of a Portugal that found one worth 300 ducats. There are also other kinds of shell fish, as limpets, cockles, wilks, lobsters and crabs ; also a fish like a smelt which cometli on shore, and another that hath the like property, called a squid." He calls the climate temperate and far pleasanter than might be supposed from the tales of *' foolish mariners." He depicts the land as being intersected with rivers and covered Rich ill Minerals. 7 in places with lakes full of fish: "There are plenty of bears everywhere, so that you may kill of them as oft as you list ; their flesh is as good as young beef, and hardly you may know the one from the other if it be powdered but two days. Of otters we may take like store. There are sea- gulls, murres, ducks, wild geese, and many other kind of birds store, too long to write, especially at one island named Penguin, where we may drive them on a plank into our ship, as many as shall lade her." Deer, hares, foxes and wolves abounded. In addition to possessing a fruitful soil, and many varieties of trees, animals and fish, the Island was believed by Parkhurat to be rich in minerals; he had found and brought home with him specimens of iron and copper ore. The foregoing particulars, which Parkhurst communicated to Hakluyt, were doubtless known to many persons and increased their desire to colonize the Island. In the year that Parkhurst's letter was written, Sir Humphrey Gilbert pro- cured Letters Patent from Queen Elizabeth autho- rizing him to search for and occupy unknown lands or places which were not in the occupation of the subjects of any Christian potentate. In those days, as at a later time, the natives of a country whoso skins were dark and who had never heard of Christ, were denied any rights 't-r-.KM -ri:i«.<.>'-A.A i 'MUtaas^- 8 England's Oldest Colony. Ml III! i which white-faced Christians were bound to respect. The Christians considered themselves justified in taking possession of the lands of these heathen barbarians on the plea that they would teach them to read the Bible and rescue them from the dominion of Satan. Sir Humphrey Gilbert's first attempt at ex- ploration failed after he had collected a fleet and persuaded many persons to join him. He returned to England without accomplishing anything, and with the loss of a vessel. Sir Walter Raleigh, his half-brother, who was associated with him in the enterprise,was to have accompanied him when he set out the second time, from Causet bay near Plymouth, on the 11th of June 1583 ; but Raleigh did not go and the vessel which he had fitted out put back to port shortly after sailing. However, Raleigh sent a letter to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, immediately before the latter sailed, containing a message from Queen Elizabeth to the effect that she wished him " as great good hap and safety to his ship as if she herself were there in person,'* this letter being accompanied with a jewel fi'om the Queen in the form of an anchor guided by a lady. A narrative of the expedition has been written by Captain Hayes, one of the few survivors. He says the fleet consisted of five vessels, the Delight, 120 tons burden, the Raleigh '' 4 lii Sir Humphrey Gilbert^ s Mission, 9 200 tons, the Golden Hind 40 tons, the Sivalloiv 40 tons, and the Squirrel 10 tons. The party- numbered about 260, ** among whom we had of every faculty good choice, as shipwrights, masons, carpenters, smiths and such like, requisite to such an action ; also mineral men and refiners. Besides, for solace of our people, and allurements of the savages, we were provided of music in good variety: not omitting the least toys, as morris dancers, hobby horses and Maylike con- ceits to delight the savage people, whom we intended to win by all fair means possible. And to that end we were indifferently furnished of all pretty haberdashery w^ares to barter with those simple people." Their first mischance, as has been stated, was that the Raleigh parted company soon after sailing, and put back ; their second was that the crew of the Swallow engaged in piracy. However, they reached the harbour of St. Johns, Newfoundland on the 3rd of August. The next day being Sunday, Sir Humphrey and his company went on shore under the escort of the English merchants, "who showed us their accustomed walks unto a place they call the Garden. But nothing appeared more than Nature itself without art, who con- fusedly hath brought forth roses abundantly, wild, but odoriferous and to sense very com- fortable. Also the like plenty of raspberries, which do grow in every place." On the following If n lO England* s Oldest Colony. i \ i>; i!H yt;i !il llj, day, Sir Humphrey Gilbert read his Letters Patent and took possession of the country in the Queen's name. A fortnight was spent in ex- ploring the country and in trying to communicate Avith the aborigines. It was found that there were no natives in the Southern part, and it was supposed that this arose f^om the south coast " being so much frequented by Christians." In the Northern part they found savages who were " altogether harmless." The country pleased them. They liked the climate ; they were struck with the abundance of fish and game and with the fine flowers which grew luxuriantly. Indeed, Captain Hayes ex- presses his thankfulness to God for having super- abundantly replenished the earth with creatures for the use of man, though man hath not used a fifth part of the same, and this consiaeration, in his opinion, " doth aggravate the fault and foolish sloth in many of our nation, choosing rather to live indirectly, and very miserably to live and die within this realm pestered with inhabitants, than to adventure as bccometh men, to obtain a habitation in those remote lands, in which Nature very prodigally doth minister unto men's en- deavours, and for art to work upon." Captain Hayes notes that there a)'e traces of minerals in many places, that iron is plentiful, and that lead Daniel Discovers Silver, II and copper are to bo met with. Sir Humphrey Gilbert's avowed desire was to discover silver or gold. " Amongst other charges given to inquire out the singularities of this country, the General (Sir Humphrey) was most curious in the search of metals, commanding the mineral man and refiner, especially to be diligent. The same was a Saxon born, honest and religious, named Daniel, who after search brought at first some sort of ore, seeming rather to be iron than other metal. The next time he found ore, which with no small show of contentment he delivered unto the General, using protestation, that if silver were the thing which might satisfy the General and his followers, there it was, advising him to seek no further : the peril whereof he undertook upon his life (as dear unto him as the Crown of England unto her Majesty, that I may use his own words) if it fell not out accordingly." Captain Hayes avows that he was sceptical about the value of the '* mineral man's " discovery, and adds Sir Humphrey was so thoroughly satisfied tliat he took pre- cautions to keep the discovery a secret lest the Portuguese and French, who were in force there, might seize the BelhjM freighted with the precious ore. The Del if/lit was lost soon after on Sal)le Island, the island on which the (;unard steamer Jh'ifannur grounded for a short time when (/harles Dickens crossed the Atlantic in 181-2. A man of letters, who was a passenger on board the DcHrjhf, stS^r^'- V i', 12 England s Oldest Colony. perished when that vessel was wrecked. This was Stephanas Parmenius, a learned Hungarian who, in the language of Captain Hayes, " of piety and zeal to good attempts, adventured in this action, minding to record in the Latin tongue, the gests and things worthy of remembrance, happening in this discovery, to the honour of our nation, the same being adorned with the eloquent style of this orator and rare poet of our time." The only record of the voyage, which this learned Hun- garian has left, is a Latin epistle written at St. Johns and addressed to Hakluyt who has turned it into English. "What impressed Parmenius the most was the incredible abundance of fish, " whereby great gain grows to them that travel to these parts : the hook is no sooner thrown out, but it is eftsoones drawn up with some goodly fish : the whole land is full of hills and woods. The trees for the most part are pines and of them some an/ very old, and some young : a great part of them being fallen by reason of their age, doth so hinder the eight of the land, and stop the way of those that seek to travel, that they can go no whither : all the grass here is long and tall, and little differeth from ours. It seemeth also that the nature of this soil is fit for corn : for I found certain blades and ears in a manner bearded, so that it appeareth that by manuring and sowing, they may easily be framed for the use of man : here arc in the woods bush berries or rather strawberries, growing up like trees, of great sweetness. Bears also appear h Result of Mineral Discovei'ies. This arian piety this ague, ance, >f our [^[uent The Hun- Johns t into 3t was great s : the cones 3 land ) most y old, being er the e that : all 'ereth ure of lades eareth jily be woods ng np ippear about the fishers' stages of the country, and are sometimes killed, but they seem to be white, as I conjectured by their skins, and somewhat less than ours." Another passenger whose loss was even more lamented was Daniel, " our Saxon refiner and dis- coverer of inestimable riches." Sir Humphrey Gilbert deeply mourned the loss of Daniel .and of the ore on board the DeligJtt as well as of his own notes and books. The discovery of ore had altered his opinion as regards Newfoundland and he intimated that, whereas he previously had a great pre- dilection for the southern part of the North American Continent, now he was wholly in favour of the northern. Had he been spared, it is probable thp^ the colonization of Virginia might not have taken place for a longer space of time. The failure of his expedition to Newfoundland directed all the thoughts and efforts of Sir Walter Raleigh and others towards effecting the settlement of Virginia. Sir Humphrey's confidence was so extreme that he believed he could persuade Queen Elizabeth to lend hira 10,000/. wherewith to pro- secute his enterprise the following spring. His hopes were destined to die with him and that speedily. Sir Humphrey Gilbert's death is one of the tragic episodes in the annals of adventure. He H EnglaiicTs Oldest Colony. r 'I' I M: 1 resolved to sail home in the Squirrel a cockle shell of 10 tons. He was entreated to leave that vessel and take passage in the Golden Hind, being urged to make the exchange on the ground that he ran great risk by remaining in the Squirrel. His admirable reply was " I will not forsake my little company going homeward, with whom I have passed so many storms and perils." Soon after he had thus spoken the wind blew a gah and tlie sea raged tnmultuously so that both vessels were in extreme peril. On the afternoon of Mon- day the 9th of September 1583, the Squirrel nearly foundered, but the vessel recovering. Sir Humph- rey was seen by those in the Golden Hind seated on the deck w^ith a book in his hand, and he was heard exclaiming, whenever the vessels ap- proached within speaking distance of each other, " we are as near to heaven by sea as by land." Captain Ha3^es adds : *' The same Monday night, about 12 of the clock, or not long after, the Squirrel being ahead of us in the Golden Hind^ sudderlly her lights were out, whereof as it were in a moment, we lost the sight, and withal our watch cryed, the General was cast away, whic^"* was too true." The tangible result of Sir Humphrey Gilbert's expedition was the formal addition of Newfound- land to the English realm. After he had read i Wliitbotirne' s Account. 15 30clde e tliat being d that 'uirrcL ike my liom I Soon a gale vessels ,f Mon- l nearly lumpli- l seated lie was dIs ap- 1 other, r land." f night, er, the Hindi it were hal our whic^^ jilbert's wfound- lad read h his Letters Patent ; " had delivered unto him (after the custom of England) a rod and a turf of soil," set up the arms of England, en- graved on lead, in a conspicuous place, there could be no dispute as to which European State had professed to have taken possession of the Island. He followed the ceremony of taking possession with an act of legislation, promulgating three Laws which were to take immediate effect, the first ordaining that the public exercise of re- ligion should be after the pattern of the Church of England ; the second enjoining the pains and penalties of high treason against the persons who should question or attack the Queen's title to the country; the third providing that " if any person shall utter words sounding to the dishonour of her Majesty, he should lose his ears, and have his ship and goods confiscate." Captain Richard Whitbourne, the author of the first book written about Newfoundland, was present on this occasion. He confirms the reports of other observers as to the fruitf ulness of the land. Fruits, flowers and herbs he saw growiug in great pro- fusion ; moreover, there was '* great store of deer's flesh in that country, and no want of ffood fish, good fowl, good fresh water, and storo of ■'.rTm'^-'»*M»T - ■i:i I ' f i6 England's Oldest Colony, wood. By which commodities people may live very pleasantly." He argued with great show of reason that such a country was well adapted for settlement. He held, not only that people could make new and comfortable homes for them- selves there, but rJso *' that by a plantation there and by that means only, the poor mis-believing inhabitants of that country may be reduced from barbarism to the knowledge of God and the light of his truth, and to a civil and regular kind of life and government." Both Captain Hayes and Captain "Whitbourne saw strange monsters during their visits to New- foundland. The latter minutely describes an animal which he fancies to be a merman or mer- maid, but which was probably a seal. The former thus describes a monster which bears a resemblance to that represented in the accounts of the sea serpent : " Upon Saturday in the after- noon the 31st of August [1583] we changed our course, and returned back for England, at which very instant, even in winding about, there passed along between us and towards the land which we now forsook a very lion to our seeming, in shape, hair and colour, not swimming after the manner of a beast by moving of his feet, but rather sliding upon the water with his whole body (excepting the legs) in sight, neither yet diving under, and again rising above the water, as the manner is.. I First Colonists. ^7 2ij live b sliow idapted people r tliem- m there elieving ed from he light kind of tbourne to New- •ibes an or mer- The bears a ounts of le after- ged our it which e passed rhich we n shape, manner r sliding scepting der, and inner is. of whales, dolphins, tunnies, porpoises and other fish ; but confidently showing himself above water without hiding, notwithstanding we presented ourselves in open view and gesture to amaze him, as all creatures will be commonly at a sudden gaze and sight of men. Thus he passed along turni? g his head to and fro, yawning and gaping wide, with ugly demonstration of long teeth, and glaring eyes, and to bid us a farewell (coming right against the Bind) he sent forth a horrible voice, roaring and bellowing as doth alien, which spectacle we all beheld so far as we were able to discern the same, as men prone to wonder at every strange thing, as this doubtless was, to see a lion in the O^ean sea, or fish in shape of a lion."2 The colonization of Newfoundland was one of Bacon's favourite projects ; he believed that the country was well suited for settlement and that the surrounding sea contained even mor.e precious treasure than that which was embedded in the mountains of Mexico .and Peru. He was a partner in a company which obtained an exten- sive grant of land in Newfoundland from James the First, and John Guy, a merchant of Bristol, was sent forth to found a colony at Conception Bay. He sailed from Bristol in IGIO with three ships filled with emigrants, established « llakluyt, vol. 3, p. 200. C ' f^KMiSfSS^-' V i I i8 England's Oldest Colony ■n fi;l|i i. himself and his followers at the apjDointed place and opened up an intercourse with the Indians. For some unexplained reason many of the colo- nists determined to return home, which they did in 1612. Eleven years later Sir Greorge Calvert obtained a large grant of land from the Xing which he styled the Province of Avalon. Here he built himself a house and settled with his family and several followers. A French settle- ment had been made not far distant and the rival settlers were on terms of enmity. Sir George Calvert built a fort to protect his settlement from the attacks of the French ; he became tired, how- ever, of the hostihties which he had to wage and returned with his family to England. He re- ceived from Charles the First a grant of land on the American Continent where he founded a highly successful colony, the land itself being now known as the State of Maryland. Lord Falkland sent a few colonists to Newfoundland from Ire- land in 1628 and a few more went from England under the supervision of Sir David Kirk in 1654 and with the sanction of the Parliament. Charles the First considered it his duty to issue a code of laws to govern the Newfoundland fishermen. According to this code any person accused of murder or theft of articles valued at 40 shillings was to be brought to England for f^' Lazvs of CJiai'lcs I. 19 tited place 3 Indians. the colo- li tliey did ^e Calvert tlie King on. Here [ witli his ich settle- d the rival \\v George ment from bired, how- ) wage and [. He re- of land on founded a being now d Falkland from Ire- VQ. England rk in 1654 it. iity to issue vfoundland my person lies valued llngland for trial; all persons were prohibited from casting ballast into harbours or destroying the stages used in drying and curing fish ; it was ordered that, according to ancient custom, the master of the ship which first entered the harbour at the begin- ning of the fishery should be Admiral, and exercise jurisdiction over the others and enjoy special privileges ; all persons were forbidden to deface or alter the distinguishing marks on boats, to purloin salt or other provision belonging to the fishing trade, to set fire to the woods of the country or work detriment to them by " rinding of the trees," to cast anchor where the hauling of bait might be hindered, to rob the nets of others, or take bait out of their boats and, lastly, it was enjoined that the ships' companies should assemble on Sundays and hear Divine service read to them, the prayers to be *' such as are in the Book of Common Prayer." In this summary of the laws which Charles issued, I have omitted the tenth Clause of the Commission which is in some respects the most noteworthy, being one of the earliest attempts made to suppress the sale not only of strong drink but also of tobacco. Its terms are : " That no person do set up any tavern for selling of wine, beer, or strong waters, cyder or tobacco, to entertain the fishermen ; because it is found that by such means they are debauched, c 2 '1 . J ii I 20 England's Oldest Colony, neglecting their labour, and poor ill-governed men not only spend most part of their shares before they come home upon which the life and mainte- nance of their wives and children depend, but are likewise hurtful in divers other ways, as, by neglecting and making themselves unfit for their labour, by purloining and stealing from their owners, and making unlawful shifts to supply their disorders, which disorders they frequently follow since these occasions have presented them- selves.'* Two hundred years elapsed after Charles the First gave these laws to Newfoundland before the people of the Island exercised the right of legis- lating for themselves. In that long interval the Islai_ders were treated as children who did not know what was good for them and their Island was regarded as nothing more than a fishing station. Indeed, the utmost efforts were used to prevent its becoming anything else. The wish of any person to settle and till the soil was thwarted in every possible way. The masters of vessels were strictly prohibited from carrying any settlers thither. It was supposed that, if the Island were covered with persons engaged in farming or cattle rearing, the fisheries would be neglected. This dread led to the issuing of the most iniquitous decree for which the Government of any civilized community can be held responsible. At the in- Settlement Impeded. 21 [•ned men es before i mainte- 1, but are 5, as, by , for their om their 30 supply requently ted them- larles the oefore the b of legis- terval the o did not 3ir Island a fishing re used to le wish of thwarted of vessels ly settlers land were ^ or cattle ed. Tiiis iniquitous y civilized A.t the in- stance, as was supposed, of Sir Josiah Child, a London merchant, a man accounted far more en- lightened than his contemporaries and one of the earliest writers on Political Economy, the Government of Charles the Second decreed the destruction of the colony, Sir John Berry being commissioned to burn down the houses in order that the settlers might be compelled to depart. This inhuman edict was modified through the representations made to the King by John Downing, a settler ; his Majesty being graciously pleased to command that the houses were to be allowed to remain. However, rigid steps were taken for hindering any person residing on the Island who was not directly engaged in the fisheries. Down to the year 1811, no house could be erected on the Island without the written permission of the Governor. Letters are extant showing that the Governors ordered the demolition of houses erected there without their consent and also that they forbade the cultivation of the soil. The following example of this almost incredible policy is to be found in a letter written in October, 1790, by Governor Milbanke to George HutcJiins : " I have considered your request respecting the alteration which you wish to make in your store- house near the waterside, and as it appears that 22 ii I ill "I ' I ^ii England'* s Oldest Colony, tlie alteration will not be in any ways injurious to the fishery, you have hereby permission to make it. As to Alexander Long's house, which has been built contrary to his Majesty's express com- mands, made known to the inhabitants of this place by my proclamation of the 13th of last October, it must and shall come down I shall embrace this opportunity of warning you against making an improper use of any other part of (what you are pleased to call) your ground, for you may rest assured that every house or other building erected upon it hereafter, without the permission — in writing — of the Governor for the time being — except such building and erection as shall be actually on purpose for the curing, salting, drying and husbanding of fish . . must unavoidably be taken down and removed, in obedience to his Majesty's said commands. And it may not be amiss at the same time to inform you, I am also directed not to a low any posses- sion as private property to be taken of, or any right of property whatever to be 'acknowledged in any land whatever which is not actually em- ployed in the fishery." The conduct of Governor Milbanke was not exceptional ; his successor Governor Waldegrave wrote in the same strain and acted in the same style. In a letter addressed to the sheriff in 1797, he says: "Your having suffered Thomas Nevan to put up what you are pleased to call a few sheds, is clearly an infraction of my orders ; m M p| ; ! f\' .11 Condition of the Fishermen, 23 arious to to make hicli has ■ess com- 5 of this L of last • • • • J> aing you ther part ground, liouse or , without aovernor ling and ) for the f fish . . Qoved, in Is. And o inform y posses- f, or any owledged ually em- was not ildegrave the same iheriff in Thomas to call a y orders ; you will therefore direct him to remove them immediately ; which, if not complied with, I desire that you will yourself see this order executed. You will take good care that Jeremiah Marroty and John Fitzgerald do not erect chimneys to their sheds, or even light fires in them of any kind." The parental despotism which interfered with the building of houses and the construction of chimneys naturally extended to the prices of provisions. Thus, Governor Edwards having issued a decree that the price of beef, veal and mutton was to be Is. per lb. and Luke Ryan having sold beef at \s. 3f?. a lb., the latter was fined 10/. for his offence. The boatkeepers at Harbour Grace, having complained of the mer- chants charging too much for provisions, the Governor ordered that the prices charged there should be the same as at St. Johns, notwithstand- ing that the extra carriage to Harbour Grace necessitated the imposition of a higher charge in order to reap a profit corresponding to that ob- tained at St. Johns. Governor Waldegrave recognized the fact that the fishermen had a hard struggle for subsistence. He describes the fishermen, in a letter to the Duke of Portland, as " a set of unfortunate beings, working like slaves, and hazarding their lives, when, at the expiration of their term (however successful their exertions), they find themselves not only without gain, but so T *.«■: I 24 England'' s Oldest Colony, VA' deeply indebted as forces them to emigrate, or drives them to despair." The foregoing remarks on the condition of the fishermen were elicited by a remonstrance from the merchants against the fishermen at Burin being suffered to emigrate. Many instances occur in the history of Newfound- land which prompt the inquiry whether an essen- tial difference existed between the relation of the fishermen to the merchants in that Island and that of the slaves to their masters in the "West India Islands and the Southern States of the Union ? The picture given of the condition of New- foundland at the end of the last century is not a pleasing one. The poorer classes were in great suffering and were naturally discontented with their hard lot. The richer classes displayed, ac- cording to Gcvernor AValdegrave, " an insolent idea of independence (which will some day show itself more forcibly) and a firm rr 'olution to oppose every measure of government which a Governor may think proper to propose for the general benefit of the Island." One of the reasons which made him think so was the refusal of the merchants to submit to taxation. The consump- tion of rum having increased to a great extent, the Governor estimated that a tax of sixpence a gallon levied upon the rum imported would \ I i Increase of Panperism. 25 defray the entire cost of the Government and that it would be fairer to do this than to call upon the Mother Country to bear the burden. When the merchants ■vrere sounded on the sub- ject, they expressed their sentiments in a letter which is a curiosity in its way. They stated that they would be " extremely concerned to see any species of taxes introduced into this Island, which would inevitably be burdensome and inconvenient to the trade and fishery in general, and we trust tliat in the wisdom of his Majesty's Ministers, no such innovation will take place." During his Administration an attempt was made to provide relief for the destitute, a fund being formed for the purpose by voluntary subscription. That plan afterwards gave place to a regular system of charity from funds raised by taxation. The demand for relief has gone on increasing at so rapid a rate as to suggest that something must be seriously wrong in the system which leads to such a result. Two generations after the intro- duction of the palliative which Governor Waldo- grave devised for the succour of the destitute, one- third of the public expenditure of the Colony was absorbed in pauper relief. The retention of the fisheries on the Banks of Newfoundland in British hands was for many years the great object of British statesmen. The 1 'I^ M )l:i 1 ( 26 England's Oldest Colony. elder Pitt, in ono of 1 s impassioned speeclies, declared those fisheries to be so valuable to the country that they must be preserved even though foreign soldiers had captured the Tower of London. Whatever tended to promote the fish- eries was favourably regarded by the Britisli Government, while any scheme for benefiting the people of Newfoundland was either regarded with mdifference or rejected as inopportune. In con- sequence of this the Islanders made but little progress ; their numbers were comparatively small ; the fixed population of the Island did not much exceed 10,000 at the beginning of the present century. During the winter season, when the fishery was over, it was deemed appropriate that the Governor should leave the Island. It w^as not till 1818 that Gove^'nor Pickmore broke through the established rule nnd lived ^here all the year round. Since then the Governor finds plenty to occupy himself in winter as well a." in summer, and the office itself has not only risen m dignity, but has also been illustrated by men of great capacity and distinction. The slowness with which this Colony made its way to the position which it now occupies cannot be better exemplified than by the fact tliat, not till 1807, was a newspaper publi.-hed there. Its modern history dates from 1855 when responsible *! k 1 '! m speeclies, ie to the n thouarh ower of the fish- i British iting the ded with In con- )ut little aratively I did not ' of the on, when 3ropriate and. It re broke i^here all ior finds d11 ar in ily risen y men of nade its cannot :liat, not U'C. Its ponsiblo i Responsible Government Granted, 27 Government was granted. Twenty- two years earlier a Representative Assembly was constituted. It is since the Colony has been truly self-govern- ing, that its progress has been most marked, and that its dissensions have been grown less serious and violent. Although a large part of the people from the earliest days belonged to the Church of Rome, it was not till 1784 that a Roman Catholic priest was permitted to discharge in public the duties of his sacred calling. Till 1875, the subject of religious teaching in public scliools was a constant source of discussion and bitter- ness. Xo system of general education meeting with approval, the young were prevented from having a fair start in life. Now, however, there is a national system of education oased on the plan of dividing the fund voted by the Legislative Assembly among the several bodies in proportion to their numbers, and thus the chief step has been taken to ensure that future genera- tions of Newfoundlanders will be wiser than their progenitors. Other changes and movements in the path of progress will be noted hereafter. II. Though St. Johns, the Capital of Newfoundland, is about 1000 miles nearer the United Kingdom than ill ) H! IP 28 England's Oldest Colony. New York, the means of communication are greater between Liverpool and New York than between Liverpool and St. Johns. An Allan steamer runs direct between Newfoundland and the United Kingdom every fortnight during nine months in the year, whiV passengers and letters are con- veyed by wa} of Halifax during the other three months. If le Government of Newfoundland did not pay the Allan Company a subsidy of 12,000/. the facilities for passing from the Island of Great Britain to the Island of Newfoundland would be even less than they are, while the postal arrangements would be as primitive as in the Jays of Queen Elizabeth. This constitutes one of the grievances, referred to at the outset, which gives the Islanders greater concern than the climate. It is held by them that the Mother Country ought at least to contribute something towards the mail service between the two Islands. I visited Newfoundland in the Allan liner Caspian, under the command of Captain Trocks, an experienced sailor and excellent man. The Caspian is one of three steamers which ply between Liverpool and Baltimore, touching at St. Johns and Halifax. Two thirds of my fellow- passengers were Newfoundlanders, all of whom were firmly of opinion that St. Johns was a city second to none, that the climate of the Island was } I I I- £\ V: 1 S > ■a .? ■; 1 M ' M 'm i '■;' ■4 1 ■ S i 1 y % 1 -i 1 ■i •i; 4 Viezas of the Islanders. 29 3 greater between steamer e United onths in are con- ler three )undland bsidy of e Island )undland he postal the Jays le of the ich gives climate. }ry ought the mail an liner Trocks, m. The hich ply ng at St. fellow- of whom i^as a city land was unequalled for salubrity and that the Island was as nearly perfect as any other spot on the earth's surface. When it was suggested that improve- ments might be possible, that the interior of the Island should be thoroughly explored, that its agricultural and mineral resources could be better developed, and that railways might prove of great service in these respects,' some of them scouted the very notion as superlatively absurd. It seems natural for Newfoundland to form part of the Dominion of Canada ; yet, when union was proposed, the opposition in the Island was ovevwhelming. Mr. Bennett, the Premier at that time, looked upon the scheme with genuine horror, and he laboured with mortifying success to convince his prejudiced fellows that Confedera- tion would be succeeded by increased taxation, their virtual enslavement and utter ruin. Many men have prospered exceedingly under the exist- ing Government in Newfoundland and they are apprehensive of the effects of any change and indisposed to hasten it. The rich merchants apparently consider that everything has been ordered for the best in the best of all islands, whilst tlio poor are too ip-norant to appreciate the changes which would prove boncticial and too inert to agitate for them. If money and know- ledge were more equally disseminated the aversion Ifl 1 * 30 Enoiand''s Oldest Colony, to now tilings and ideas would be less, while the desire to know more about the Island itself, and contribute towards its farther development would be far greater. Extraordinary though the state- ment may seem, it is literally true that the interior of Newfoundland, especially towards the northern side, is as undeveloped a region as the middle of Greenland, and the heart of Africa. When the weather is propitious the approach to the Island impresses every admirer of grand scenery. I was told that the spectacle was strik- ing ; the reality exceeded my anticipations. On either hand, as fa»' as the eye can reach, the rocks which rise from the sea to the height of several hundred feet, are moulded into fantastic forms by the incessant dashing against them of the Atlantic- waves. The masses of floating ice play a part in affecting the appearance of the rocks. Naviga- tion in the spring is rendered hazardous hero owing to icebergs and fields of ice. As the Caspian nears the land it is difficult to understand where the entrance occurs into the famous harbour of St. Johns ; it is not till the steamer is comparatively close in shore that a breach is seen in the rock bound coast, which is 220 fathoms wide at the inlet, and 95 at the opposite end of the Narrows where the harbour is reached, this harbour being a sheet of land-locked deep water, a mile and a quarter long 0^ The Capital of Nezufuandland. 31 liile tlie self, and t would e state- interior lorthern liddle of pproacli if grand as strik- ns. On he rocks : several brms by- Atlantic . part in Naviga- ►us liero Caspian d wlicro fur of St. irativel^^ jk bound ilet, and here the sheet of [•ter long- and one-third of a mile wide. AYitli the exception of Halifax, there is no finer harbour in this region of the world. In former days it was hard for a ship to run the gauntlet of forts which command the Narrows. If the old fortifications were re- paired and put into a proper state of defence no hostile force could pass or take them. St Johns has not inaptly been styled the Gibraltar of the Atlantic. The capital of Newfoundland is situated on the slope of a hill. Its population at the time of the last census was 30,574. This was in 1874, and and it showed an increase over the census taken in 1869 of seventeen liundi '3d persons. As there is much building going on, it may be assumed that the population of St Johns is increasing at a satisfactory rate. Though founded so long ago as the year 1572, the city has none of the marks of age. This modern look is due to the fact that the houses are all of recent date, having been erected Avithin the last 80 years. More than once the entire city has been swe^ t away by fire, and the last time this occurred the impression made was so profound that proper precautions are now observed to hinder a recurrence of the like calamity. In the lower streets, where an outbreak of fire would be most serious, as the flames would spread from them to the buildings in the upper n 32 England's Oldest Colony. I- streets, the erection of wooden structures is absolutely prohibited. Moreover an ample service of water, always available, has been provided for the extinction of a fire in any part of the city. At the water's level there are wharves which run round the Bay. They are lined with stores in which the process of extract- ing oil from seals is carried on, and with ware- houses in which cod are packed for exportation. Behind the wharves on the North side is Water Street, about a mile and a half long, wherein are the principal shops and merchant's warehouses, the post-office and the Custom House. This street has the uninviting ^.spect of similar streets in seaport towns, the services of a sca.venger being obviously required. The other streets are cleaner and they contain many neat houses of brick or wood. The most conspicuous edifice in St. Johns, when approached from the sea, is the Roman Catholic Cathedral. It is built of stone ; its form is that of a Latin cross; its extreme length is 237 feet; it has two towers which rise to the height of 138 feet. Internally it is richly orna- mented. Close at hand the Jhurch of England Cathedral is now in course of erection from the design of the late Sir Gilbert Scott. Its length is 120 feet, its width is 56 feet and its tower and % ares is ample bs been ny part ere are hey are extract- bli ware- ortation. s Water 3rein are rehouses, 3e. This ir streets 5ca.venger breets are houses of it. Johns, le Roman ) ; its form length is ise to the chly orna- of England from the Its length tower and Public Buildings. 33 spire are to be 130 feet high. The nave was finished and opened for divine service in 1852. At that time the cost was $200,000, and at least another $100,000 must be expended before the building is finished. When complete in all its parts, this Cathedral will be one of the grandest piles on this side of the Atlantic. There are other churches belonging either to the Roman Catholics or to members of the Church of Eng- land. The Wesleyan Methodists possess more than one church, and the Presbyterians who, though small in number, abound in intellect and wealth, have recently erected a very tasteful stone Church at a cost of $50,000. Among the public buildings which attract a stranger's notice is the Athenaeum, where lectures and concerts take place, and which has a library and reading- room for the use of the members; it is the property "»f a company and it is so admirably managed as to yield a dividend to its proprietors. St. Patrick's Hall, a more recent structure, is also used for public meetings. No public building is so noticeable at night as the Custom House owing to the large red light which shines from the upper part and serves as a beacon to vessels passing through the Narrows into the Bay. The Colonial Building or Parliament House D h m 34 England s Oldest Colony. X'" ft m ! m :1; and the Government House are the two largest public buildings. They are situate on the plateau which stretches for some distance inland from the upper part of the city. The view of the surrounding country is not unlike that from the elevated ground in South Devon and far more* picturesque than that which the stranger expects to find in an Island which has been depicted as barren and unattractive. The eye gazes upon cultivated fields, clumps of trees, villas encom- passed with gardens. The Colonial Building is surrounded by balsam poplars. The building is of white limestone imported from Cork ; it has a stone portico suppoi ced by pillars, the front re- sembling that of the British Museum in its general outline. In this Building the stafi" of some of the government departments is accommo- dated as well as the Legislative Assembly when that body is in session. The Upper House or Legislative Council numbers 15, the Lower one, or House of Assembly numbers 31. The rule in the British House of Commons is not observed in the Newfoundland House of Assembly, as to the relative positions of the Ministry and the Opposi- tion. At present the Newfoundland Opposition occupy seats to the right of the Speaker and the Ministry to the lefc. The Ministry may sit on either side ; the other members keep their seats irrespec- ai % 1 Legislative Assembly, 35 largest on the e inland 5W of the Erom the far more' [• expects picted as izes upon bs encom- uilding is luilding is : ; it has a front re- im in its le staff of \ accommo- mbly when House or Lower one, The rule in observed in y, as to the the Opposi- [ Opposition aker and the sit on either jats irrespec- tive of a change of Government. But the most comfortable seats are on the Speaker's left because a large fireplace is at that side of the Chamber. In Newfoundland politics, the party farther from the fire is the one which experiences the " Cold shade of Opposition." The acoustic properties of the Chamber are very bad owing, possibly, to the great height of the ceiling and to the intercepting effect of a large chandeHer. As it was found that the reporters of the Press could not hear the debates in the gallery set apart for for them at the end opposite to the Speaker, seats have been provided for them close to his chair, the members of the Assembly thinking it better that reporters should be admitted to the body of the Chamber than that their speeches should be unrecorded. The qualification for a seat in either House of Legislature is the posses- sion of an income not less than $400 or of property to the nett value of $2000. Every male person who has attained the age of 21 years and has occupied a dwelling-house for a year as tenant or proprietor is an elector. Votes are recorded openly in the old English fashion. The party lines were drawn between Protestants and Roman Catholics and, strange though it may seem, the Protestants being styled Conservatives, and the Roman Cathohcs, Liberals. It would D 2 "1 36 England's Oldest Colony. i < I \ \ have surprised the late Pope Pius the Ninth, who execrated the very epithet Liberal, to have learned that his devout adherents in Newfound- land gloried in applying it to each other. Happily, the days of bitter religious disputes have passed away in this Island. I have already stated that the question of appropriating the fund for edu- cating the people which was the chief subject of contention and source of animosity has been amicably adjusted by dividing the fund among the several religious denominations. Another question which also caused strife and ill-feeling, the right to control the burying-grounds, has been harmoniously settled by each body having pro- vided for itself a place for burying the dead. I noted a novelty in funerals ; this consisted in the coffia, which was borne exposed to sight on a vehicle shaped like a cart, being painted light blue. Government House divides with the Colonial Building the honoiri* of being the most important in the Island. It is one of the plain stone build- ings which Mr. Ruskin has characterized and denounced as huge boxes with holes in their sides, but which, though deficient in architectural beauty, are not lacking in comfort. The grounds about it are extensive and well laid out. Sir John Glover, the present occupant is one of the best I ri S( t( ^ n itb, wlio to tavc )W found- Happily, e passed ited that for edu- jubject of bas been id among Another eeling, the has been Lving pro- ) dead. I ted in the ight on a nted light le Colonial important tone build- erized and their sides, Liral beauty, unds about Sir John of the best The Soil and Climate, 3 7 Governors which the Colony has had ; he has taken great pains to make himself acquainted with the scenery and resources of the Island ; he has outstripped his predecessors in this respect and no native has a stronger faith than his as to its future capabilities. It is pleasant to be able to add that he enjoys the popularity among all classes which he richly merits. Before passing from these official buildings, I may state that the house of Sir William Whiteway, the present Prime Minister, which is not far distant from them, has a garden attached to it which charmed me ^rreatly. I was struck with the number and beauty of the flowers in all the private gardens, but this one impressed me the most. Among other familiar English flowers, I saw dahlias in fine condition and looking as if the climate agreed with them. The condi- tion of the gardens was a strong testimony not only to the care bestowed upon them, but also to the excellence of the climate. That the soil and climate of Newfoundland are really good is a statement which may be read with scepticism. The common opinion is unfavourable to both, and this opinion is based upon experience gained near the coast. It is a transparent absur- dity to take the climate of Paris as representing that of all France, to suppose that the fogs which sometimes visit London spread on all England, to 't'l \1 «h ^fe 1 ) 3« England's Oldest Colony. maintain that the weather which prevails in the city of ]^ew York is the same as that prevaiUng in San Francisco, and to fancy Berlin, the capital of the German empire, enjoying the natural advan- tages which have made the vine-clad slopes of the Rhine things of beauty and sources of wealth. Newfoundland is not very large, yet it is large enough to have a varied climate and a diversified soil. The Island is nearly the same size as England; its extreme length is 419 miles and, at the widest part its width is about 300 ; its coast-line extends over 2000 miles and its surface over 40,000,000. Mr. W. E. Cormack who traversed the Island from East to West in 1822, being the first white man who did so, has left a vivid picture of what he saw after he had penetrated the dense forest which intercepted his path westward and wlien standing on an eminence, he obtained a view of the interior : " What a contrast did this present to the conjec- tures entertained of Newfoundland ! The liitherto mysterious interior lay unfolded upon us — a bound- less scene — emerald surface — a vast basin. The eye strides again and again over a succession of northerly and southerly ranges of green plains, marbled with woods and lakes of every form and extent, a picture of all the luxurious scenes of national c\iltivation receding into invisibleness. . . The great externjil features of the eastern portion of the main body of the Island are seen from these n( n n AV e(i tl in isi Newfoundland Railway. 39 ? ! in the ling in )ital of advan- \ of the wealth. s large ersified ngland; 3 widest extends )00,000. md from lite man what he st which standing interior : e conjec- 3 hitherto -a bonnd- ;in. The ession of n plains, form and scenes of lenesa. . . ^n portion Tora these I commanding heights. Overland communication between the bays of the east, north and south Coasts, it appears, might easily be established. . . We descended into the bosom of the interior. The plains wliich shone so brilliantly are steppes or paranuas, composed of fine black compact peat mould, formed by the growth and decay of mosses. They are in the form of extensive gently undulat- ing beds, stretching northward and southward, with running waters and lakes, skirted with woods, lying between them. Their yellow green surfaces are sometimes uninterrupted by either tree, shrub, rock, or any irregularity, for more than ten miles. They are chequered everywhere upon the surface by deep beaten deer paths and are in reality mag- nificent natural deer parks, adorned with wood and water." Not till a few years ago was it determined to open up the interior of the Island by construct- ing a railway across it. A preliminary survey was made in 1868 at the instance and cost of Mr. Sandford Fleming, the eminent Canadian Engi- neer. In 1875, the Legislature passed an Act for a more extended survey. The reports of the Engineers confirmed all that had been previously written in praise of the Island, wliilc showing how easily it was to construct r-iilways there. Nearly the whole of tlje interior is undulating, is covered in parts with forest, is intersected with rivers and is strewn with lakes. One third is water. Tlio if m If 1 I fl 40 England^ s Oldest Colony. greater part of the soil is adapted for the growth of all kinds of vegetables, most kinds of grain and even tobacco. On the western side the soil is richer and the climate is finer than in the penin- sula of Avalon at the East. If the earliest settlement had rakeii place at the western shore the Island might now sustain a large population, living by the pursuit of agriculture alone. Mr. Alexander Murray, the Government Geolo- gist of Newfoundland, has carefully analyzed and summarized the reports of the railway engineers. This summary is the more valuable and instruc- tive because Mr. Murray is personally acquainted with a large portion of the ground passed over and able to estimate the statements made regard- ing it. He says, with regard to St. George's Bay on the west side, that it forms a convenient har- bour and terminus for the trade of the ndjacent mineral region. Twenty miles from the harbour there is a coal-field thirty miles long and ten miles broad. " That the Geological character of the country over a vast area, extended to the northward of Bonne Bay, gives promise of the presence of metallic ores, seems well assured ; that the Humber Valley contains marbles of nearly every shade of colour — some of the saccharine variety vieing in purity with the far-famed statuary of Carrara — is well known, and, finnlly, that there is nothing less thuu 1000 i^quare miles of country — ki\ I Agriadtiwal Prospects. 41 including the Humber Valley — scattered over the region, in every respect worthy of being reclaimed, I re-assert with confidence. . . As regards climate and the possibilities of agriculture being properly pursued, Newfoundland is not, by any means, so bad as has often been represented. True indeed it is that the eastern sea-board and this (St. Johns) immediate part of it, in particular, suffers much from the effects of the cold arctic currents which, ice-laden, pass along their shores ; but even here in St. Johns the drawbacks of a late spring are greatly compensated by the unusually long continuance of fine weather in the Fall, which allows barley and oats to ripen well as late as the middle or end of October ; and if we may be allowed to judge from the experience of those who have spent much time in the interior (among whom I am one) the rigours of the coast are to a great extent modified there, and fogs are exceed- ingly rare. . . Everyone, nowadays, appears ready to admit that the Bay of Notre Dame is destined to develope itself into a great mining region. Supposing, then, that there were some half a dozen such establishments as Tilt Cove and Betts (>ovc in Notre Dame Bay, the mining population alone would amount to many thousands of souls, to say nothing of horses, cattle and the like. . . There are, beyond all doubt, many places border- ing on the great Bay of Notre Dame where oats and barley, turnips and potatoes can bo cultivated as well as in any part of Nova Scotia and gi-ass crops can bo raised as well, if not better, as in the most favoured regions of the Dominion." :i.|i: I 'I llf ,li: 42 England^ s Oldest Colony. \ I II (I ! I i After exhaustive debates in the Newfoundland Legislature and acrimonious discussion in the Press an Act was passed on the 18th of April 1880 authorizing the construction of a narrow- guage railway across the Island with branches to the more important points at a total cost of $5,000,000. The ground upon which this legis- lative enactment are based may be found in a Report of the Joint Committee of the Legislative Council and Assembly. That Eeport sets forth that the future of the growing population of the Island is a matter of grave solicitude; that, though the yield of the fisheries has increased, this has not been in proportion to the increase in the population; that it has been proved how much can be gained by a further development of mining and agriculture, the mining industry having been very profitable and the most prosperous of the labouring people being the cultivators of land in the vicinity of St. Johns whore the conditions of fertility are far inferior to those in the interior and the Western side of the Island; that, if a railway were made, large tracts in the interior might be turned to such good account for grazing purposes, the Colony might xport cattle to England instead of importing Scotia. To the valid reasons hould be made is added the (' m why ay m Opposition to a Railway. 43 mdland in the f April larrow- iches to cost of is legis- id in a yislative bs forth L of the I ; that, creased, rease in ed how ment o^ industry e most 3ing the t. Johns ferior to e of the IQ tracts ch good y might nporting reasons Ided the curious fact that this Colony is the only one of like importance wherein no railway exists. The passage of an Act to make this railvYay did not end the opposition to the project. I was surprised to find men of intelligence and position disapproving of the railway and speaking with approval of the attack made by some excited women on the Surveyors. Looking over the files of the newspapers, I meet with many letters denouncing the whole matter as a dangerous innovation and treating this railway in the same terms with ;vhich railways were treated by English landowners and others when thev were first introduced into England. The burden of the strain is, what was good enough for our fathers is good enough for us ; that, if improve- ments are required they will come naturally in due course of time without any special legis- lation or taxation being necessary. One of the extreme opponents of the railway clenches his argument by stating that no return has yet been obtained for the money expended in making a, preliminary survey. With such a man the gods would argue in vain. An explanation of much that was said and done on this subject which seemed to me incomprehensible, occurs in a number of the Patriot and Terra Nova Herald. There it is written that " the sole opposition to I i n m 44 Ens^lancPs Oldest Colony. the Railroad has been created in the capital with the view of getting up a party cry. All the old shibboleths are dead. Party itself is dead or dying; and something iniust be started to give animation to the next General Election, and afford some chance for new aspirants to Legislative honours to become lawmakers." There is more method in the madness of such a party cry than is obvious at first sight. It is certain that the railway will not be finished for some years and, whilst under construction nothing will be so apparent as the fact of its cost. Even when finished, it will differ from nearly every railway if it should prove immediately remunerative. Thus the opponents will be able to refer to their opposition to it as to a fulfilled prophecy and may even succeed in getting people to elect them to the Legislature in order that they may cure the mischief which they have foretold. Mean- time, despite covert and open opposition the railway policy of Sir William Whiteway and the Administration of which he is the head, has triumphed. This spring the Government entered into a contract, which has been sanctioned by the Legislature for the construction of a narrow- guage line of three feet six inches from St. Johns to Hall's Bay on the north-east coast, the distances ii • i:!. ;al with tlie old iead or to give id afford sjislative is more ;ry than that the ars and, II be so 3n when railway nerative. to their lecy and ect them nay cure Mean- ition the way and lead, has ;d into a by the narrow- St. Johns Q distances Newspaper Press. 45 % being ivbout 340 miles. Branches are to run to Harbour Grace and Brigus. At a future day a branch may be made as far as St. George's Bay on the western shore. A New York Syndicate has undertaken the construction and working of tlie Hdc, the line to be constructed within five years and worked by the Company — conditionally on receiv- ing an annual subsidy of $180,000 for 35 years and a grant of land, consisting of every alternate sec- tion one mile long and eight miles deep along the Hne of railway. Unless the calculations made should prove entirely misleading the Newfound- land Railway Company ought to be profitable to its founders and beneficial to the Island in which it will supply intercommunication by rail. I should convey an erroneous impression if the foregoing remarks about the railway led any reader to suppose that I have formed a low estimate of the Newspaper Press of Newfound- land. These journals contain jDolish writing now and then, as is the case with journals in other places. YVhen the writing in them is the most extreme and severe in tone it is least easy to imagine that the writer is perfectly in earnest and that he is not intentionally resorting to exaggeration Certainly it was with a feeling of amusement that I read in a number of The News LetteVf to quote but a single instance out of n !■':■ li ill J 46 England's Oldest Colony. X. < , many, that certain figures respecting the public debt of the Colony " show the hopeless incapacity of the present Government to rise superior to the vulgar hankering for official place and salary." The strong language which is a character- istic of these newspapers, may be ix. perfect accord with the taste of their readers. In conse- quence of this habit, the writers express a great deal more than they really mean, having no in- tention, when they style a man a scoundrel who is robbing the public, to convey any other idea than that they disagree with his political opinions. Sixteen newspapers are published in the Colony ; my collection comprises thirteen of them. The oldest is the Royal Gazette, estab- lished in 1807, and having the motto "Fear God: honour the king." It contains a good selection of news as well as the official documents which are not light or very interesting reading. The Nevus Letter, which was the youngest at the time I made my collection, is " devoted to the interests of the Liberal party in Newfoundland." Th-' Patriot and Terra Nova Herald, which has been published for more than thirty years, prints its programme in a metrical and a prose form, the first being " Here shall the press the people's rights maintain, Una wed by influence and unbribed by gain ; am CGI exj itsi tiM j'l ^ e public capacity )r to the salary." laracter- perfect [n conse- is a great ng no in- idrel who ther idea political )lislied in tiirteen of ,te, estab- Fear God: selection nts wbicK ling. The it the time le interests Qd." Th" has been prints its form, the lintain, in; Notes on Newspapers. 47 Here patriot truth her glorious precepts draw, Pledged to religion, liberty and Law." The second being " Be just and fear not. Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy God's, thy country's and truth's." The importance of de- veloping the resources of the Island and the means for doing so are clearly apprehended and set forth by the conductors of this journal. The Evening Telegram is a sheet to which a writer signing himself " Au Revoir " contributes letters opposing all improvements, whether they relate to sanitary arrangements or railway communication, disparaging the politicians and professional classes and eulogizing the merchants as " the old pioneers of the country " and holding them up as the only persons whose wishes and interests ought to be considered and advanced. In The Morning Chronicle the policy of considering the good of the people at large is skilfully advocated and pungent letters have appeared in reply to the tirades of " Au Revoir." The North Star is another of the journals which treat patriotism as synonymous with the well-being of the whole community. The Times, which has been in existence for upwards of a generation, takes as its motto '* For the Queen, the Constitution and the people." The Newfoundlander; The Terra ^ova Advocate; The Public Ledger, and The fl rl f f i f P! ! l!l f 48 England's Oldest Colony. Tum'percince Journal are other journals published in St. Johns. At Harbour Grace, the next place in size to the capital, the people are enlightened and guided by the Standard, a large and well conducted sheet, while at two other " Outports," as all the towns save St. Johns are designated, The TwilUngcte Sun and The Garbonear Herald are quite as good newspapers as many published in the capital. Though the newspaper Press does credit to the Coiony, yet the credit would be greater still if a larger percentage of the people were able to profit by anv printed pages. According to the census of 1876, it appears that 20,758 children did not attend school and that 18,935 did, the figures for the corresponding cases in the census of 1869 being 16,249 and 18,813. This shows a slight advance, but there is still great room for progress. The reports for 1879 of the Inspectors of Public Schools exhibit an attendance at school of 15,315. These Reports are from Mr. M. J. Kelly, Superintendent of the Roman Catholic Schools, of the Rev. G. S. MiUigan and the Rev. Wilham Pilot, the former being Superintendent of the Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian, and the latter of the Church of England Schools. Mr. Kelly considers the schools under his supervision to ut in a satisfactory state. Both Mr. Milligan ■1 ' i ConpiUsory Education. 49 3lislied t place ^"htened > id well :ports," [ocnatea, Herald iiblislied at to the still if a to profit le census Q did not Lgures iov i of 1869 i a slight • progress, i of Public of 15,315. J. Kelly, c Schools, .y. "Wilham jnt of the terian, and lools. Mr. supervision Ir. Milligan and Mr. Pilot agree in thinking that, till atten- dance is made compulsory, a large number of children will grow up ignorant of the rudiments of education. Mr. Milligan holds that, while public opinion is growing in favour of educating all the children, yet that many persons will not send their children to school unless compelled by law to do so. He notes that the poorest parents are the most apathetic. He instances one case where the teacher was in fault ; saying that '* he was industrious, but that his education was defective." Another entry is to the effect that "at Perry's Cove, the day not being fine and the teacher aged, school was not open." He adds that this worthy old man has since retired from a position for which old age had long unfitted him. Mr Pilot is emphatic in condemning the practice of employing incompetent teachers, taking care to point out that the remedy is to pay adequate salaries in order to ensure good service. Like Mr. Milligan, he bewails the apathy and indifference of parents respecting their children's education, rightly attributing it to the fact that the parents are too ignorant themselves to appreciate the advantage of knowledge. His opinion is that " nothing short of compulsory attendance will bring about the consummation devoutly to be wished, viz., the general education of all." It is clear that the E ill if h < n • km Ird f ) ,1 1 1 I ?;!' :. f in IK 1 f 3 •1) J 50 England^s Oldest Colony. existing arrangement as to education is but pro- visional. Through its operation sectarian jealousy and strife have ceased. But, until all the children under twelve are obliged to attend school for a given time, it cannot be maintained that New- foundland enjoys all the benefits which flow from a comprehensive and thorough system of national education. Though the Island of Newfoundland is as large as England, the population numbers no more than 158,985 ; in Labrador which is united to it there are 2416 persons. In 1869 the total popu- lation was 146,536, so that the increase in New- foundland and Labrador between 1869 and 1876 was 14,836. Considering the nature and extent of the Island, the number of persons inhabiting it is absurdly small. The mass of the people find it hard to earn daily bread. Upwards of $100,000 are expended annually in relieving the poor. The misfortune of the people consists in the fishery being their only means of livelihood and that they do not seem disposed to embrace any others. Indeed they look with suspicion upon any harvest except that of the sea. They have a saying that an acre of the sea is worth a thousand acres of land. It has been proved that the Island abounds in excellent timber, that there is grazing-ground df R( in, lai eit w] Principal Imp07'ts, 51 »ut pro- lealousy children ►ol for a at New- ow from national 3 as large no more lited to it )tal popn- ,e in New- and 1876 md extent habiting it people find f $100,000 30or. The the fishery d and that ibrace any licion upon They have is worth a abounds in ,zing-ground sufficient for rearing thousands of cattle, that there is land enough to grow all the grain re- quired for home consumption and leave a large surplus for export. I have examined the Customs Returns for 1879 and I observe that the following articles, all of which might be produced in the Island, were imported to the extent specified : Flour 303,483 barrels; oatmeal 1884 barrels; meat and poultry to the value of $28,479 ; peas 4445 barrels ; salt 42,943 tons ; timber 341 tons ; potatoes 109,380 bushels ; other vegetables 24,428 bushels ; hay and straw 596 tons ; shingles 42,943 tons. These are some of the articles which ought to be produced in the Island and which might be exported in place of being im- ported. Among the curiosities of those returns is an entry among the exports of 27 gallons of Spanish red wine having been sent to Spain. This is a new version of sending coal to New- castle. If the Reformation had taken place at an earlier day and been universal, or had not the Church of Rome made a fish diet obligatory on many days in the year, it is doubtful whether the Newfound- land fisheries or those of the Cornish fisheries either, would have attained their present value. INext to the United Kingdom, the country to which Newfoundland exports the most is Brazil. E 2 m lit' ii'iif,ii 52 England* s Oldest Colony. \\ \ W, fl I subjoin the list whicli I accordance with the amounts The United Kingdom Brazil . Portugal Spain . The Dominion of Cana United States of America British West Indies Italy . Gibraltar Hamburg French West Indies Sicily . Sainte Pierre Mauritius Jersey . IVfadeira France have arranged in exported to each : — $2,067,636 1,383,819 713,571 584,427 316,630 268,018 231,848 131,493 84,840 49,139 40,46^ 12,012 8,903 8,671 8,199 7,101 2,148 By arranging the imports in the order of values, it will be seen that several countries, to which the exports are the largest, send the smiillest pro- portion of goods in return. The Dominion of Canada . . S?2,258,671 The Uniled Kingdom . . . 2,180,703 United States of America . . 2,140,345 r.ritish West Indies . . . 329,220 Spain 172,704 French West Indies . . . 101,738 Portugal 20,980 Jersey ...... 19,374 Sicily 11,417 Hamburg ..... 4,602 Franco ..... 605 Four places, Brazil, Gibraltar, Madeira, Mauritius, to which the exports amount to $1,484,440 send ( II Mines and Mining. 5 nothing back to Newfoundland. The result is that the value of the total exports is $5,918,924, while that of the imports is $7,261,002. Among the exports are 28,405 tons of copper ore valued at $511,290 and 11 12 J tons of regulus valued at $44,500. These are the results of mining at Betts Cove and Little Bay carried on by a company formed by Mr. Ellershausen of Nova Scotia. In the brief space of five years Newfoundland has risen to the sixth place among the copper-producing regions of the globe. Other minerals have been discovered in sufficient quanti- ties to justify their extraction ; these include gold and silver, nickel, lead and iron. Coal-beds of vast extent, though known to exist, have not yet been worked. It seems probable, however, that when the mineral deposits on the Island are systematically explored and made available it may become as famous and envied for its mines as for its fisheries. At present the merchants, who sire the capitalists of Newfoundland, give their atten- tion to the fisheries and neglect alike its mineral and agricultural resour'^es. A company has been formed for prosecuting copper-mining on an extensive scale. It is styled the Newfoundlnnd Consolidated Copper Mining Company and its originators arc citizens of the United States, the head office being in New York. ■A '■'* If fi ' < jr 'I 54 EnglancCs Oldest Colony. Mr. Ellershausen transferred to this company the properties over which he had control. Other properties have been acquired and the undertaking, as a whole, is gigantic. The capital is in keeping, being three million dollars. Should this company be as successful as its sanguine promoters antici- pate, a great impetus will be given to mining in Newfoundland. As the Island is peopled and if a railway be constructed to St. George's Bay, a question of in- ternational relations will have to be finally deter- mined. Between Newfoundland and the United States frequent disputes have arisen concerning the fisheries, but these are even less complicated and more easily settled than the chronic misun- derstanding with France ">n the same subject. The misunderstanding known as the Fortune Bay outrage has been dispelled by Great Britain paying 15,000/. in full of all demands for compen- sation from the New England fishermen who were maltreated by the Newfoundlanders. Other dif- ferences of opinion as to the true interpretation of clauses in the Treaty of Washington may get harmonized by diplomacy. That treaty is as note- worthy as other similar documents for the vagueness of its terms. This appears to be the great object of diplomatists. Just as plumbers seem to take care to leave some damaged pipes when they are calleil 'li F^'ench Claims. 55 ly the Other iking, aping, npany mtici- mg in ray be L of in- deter- United erning )licated misun- ect. Fortune Britain jompen- rho were bher dit- bation ot nay get as note- agueness object of take care ire called in to put the water supply to a house in good order and do so with the hope of being soon summoned to repair the mischief they have wrought, so diplo- matists continue to leave treaties in such a con- dition that controversy arises as to their precise purport and fresh negotiations have to be under- taken with a view to make terms intelligible and satisfactory to the persons affected. The treaty of Utrecht, which defines the rights of the French at the coast of Newfoundland, might be regarded as an exception to the rule, as it is as clear as any instrument of the kind. Yet it has been held by the French to confer rights which do not seem to have occurred to its framers. By that treaty the French enjoy the right, con- firmed by subsequent treaties, of fishing off the west coast of Newfoundland and of drying fish on the shore, concurrently with the subjects of the British Sovereign. This has been interpreted by French diplomatists to mean an exclusive right both to the fishery and to the occupation of the western shore. As Lord Palmerston observed, in a masterly despatch on the subject to Count Sebastiani in 18;58, a concurrent right of en- joyment cannot possibly mean an exclusive right to a particular privilege ; he added, " the claim put forward on the part of France is founded simply upon inference, and upon an assumed in- m ;'S I ijl- n !ilV li! 'w 111 56 England's Oldest Colony ^1 li terpretation of wor-ds." Yet the French have protested against mining operations on the plea that the land must be reserved for their exclusive use. The district about which this dispute exists is the favourite resort of persons who have im- perative reasons for disliking the police and who like this region because policemen are unknown in it. The points at issue between Frmce and this country concerning Newfoundland become more embarrassing as time passes away. In such a case as this, delay is unquestionably dangerous. The sooner a clear and definite understanding is arrived at the better for all parties. By a system of bounties the French have given their fishermen a practical monopoly of fishing on the Banks of Newfoundland ; not a single British vessel being able to compete with them. This they are free to do, but no valid authority has yet been shown by them for excluding British subjects from British soil. "When the matter is again dealt with, it would be wise if the statesmen of Newfoundland were represented on any commission which might be empowered to act ; the question immediately concerns them and it is one with which they are intimately acquainted. I have shown how much there is in Newfound- land to attract and enrich the woodman, the farmer and the minor, in addition to the original i Fish^ Game and Dogs. 57 attraction which has made it the great home of fishermen. It may yet be numbered among the spots to which invalids hasten in order to regain health by drinking mineral water. There are many mineral springs in the Island which only require puffing to be popular. A chalybeate spring at Logic Bay, near St. Johns, resembles the spring at Bath which used to be most in request when that place was the fashionable resort for all sorts and conditions of invalids. The seeker after sport will there find as good opportunities of gratifying his taste as he can in the hunting-grounds of the Far West. The rivers abound in salmon, the inland lakes teem with trout; cariboo are stiJl numerous and bears are often met w4th. Feathered game are plentiful. Anyone who desires to combine sport with profit can hunt wolves. Under an Act of the Legislature a reward of §12 is paid for the head of every wolf killed. Mosquitoes and other insects are even greater plagues than wolves, causing more annoyance and being less easily exterminated. On the other hand, the Island enjoys immunity from frogs, toads, lizards and all venomous reptiles. It has long been noted for its dogs. In the earlier days of its history there is frequent mention of wild cats and hawks being brought from Newfoundland to England. Later the Newfoundland dog grow into '■W I ■ i i i L 58 England^ s Oldest Colony. f .;:■ 1 iiil f i f 1 I ( i i^ yg^^ s repute and was deservedly prized. When the Prince of Wales visited the Island in 1861 a splendid dog of pure breed was presented to him which he appropriately named Cabot. The Islanders caimot make many such gifts now. They have innumerable dogs, but most of them are mongrels which no rational person would accept as a gift. The resources of " England's Oldest Colony " are greater; its soil and climate are far better; its natural attractions are more varied, than is commonly supposed. Among these I do not number the public debt of $1,240,990, bearing interest at the moderate rate of 4 per cent. Yet no independent st?te or self-governing colony has a debt which has been incurred fc more useful objects and which imposes so light and temporary a burden upon the community. In the statement of accounts for last yoar, the Auditor remarks that the public debt of the colony is " held solely by the people of Newfoundland." 'The Islanders ought to be prouder of this fact than of the many advantages which Nature has placed within their reach. versi earlj this 1 Mr. thai recol :i' • 1^ I tlie m a D him The They m are accept lony" )etter ; ;han is io not Dearing b. Yet colony - more rht and In the Auditor olony is adland." this fact ture has CHAPTER II. >» THE LAND OF THE '* BLUE NOSES. Tee Royal Province of Nova Scotia, as its in- habitants proudly style it, is familiar to readers of " Sam Slick" as the home of " the Blue Noses." The late Mr. Justice Haliburton, the author of " Sam Slick," was a member of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia when a young man, and he died, at an advanced age, a member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. He did not object to the nickname which the Yankees had given to his fellow-countrymen ; on the contrary lie thought it an honour to be "a Blue Nose." One of the most accomplished and estimable ot New England poets has embalmed in harmonious verse a sad and romantic episode in Nova Scotia's early history. Indeed, the legendary history of this Province has received a circulation through Mr. Longfellow's " Evangeline " far wider than that of its authentic and more prosaic records. I. . ,i. C il ' 'Jii; ^ 1 i' i m rl ' |i ;1 1 ■■ 5a 1 t ' ill 1 : ■ . , t i' ': t 1 . 1 i I 1 6o The Land of the " Blue Noses^ Sir William Alexander, the founder" of Nova Scotia, was accounted a good poet in liis day. His verses please*^ Jam s 'he First, who called him " my philosop > "' poe t." He was a consummate courtier; he ellei in the art of persuading Princes to confer upoi; 'im substantial tokens of their favour. The Province of Nova Scotia was a gift to him from James the First. His son Charles made the further grant of the power to create Baronets to the number of 150 as a means of promoting the settlement of the Province. Each Barorot was to acquire 6000 acres of land in return for a payment of 150Z. A special privilege, which they much valued and which some of their contemporaries deservedly ridiculed, was to wear a yellow ribbon round their necks from which hung the badge of their order. This excited the jealously of the Irish and English Baronets who petitioned that they, too, might dis- play a similar token of their rank. Sir William Alexander did not find his Province or his order of Baronets so remunerative as the permission to coin base money. With the wealth thus acquired he built himself a fine house at Stirling. Sir William's wealth would have been greater >still if the people of Scotland would have consented to adopt in their churches the Metrical version of the Psalms made by James the First and re- The Founder of Nova Scotia. 6i Nova .His L him imate ading sns of was a ; son ver to means •vince. f land special wliicli iculed, necks This i^nglish ht dis- i^illiam order sion to cquired . Sir still if nted to sion of and re- vised by him. Charles the First ordered that the version should be used, but the people ob- jecting to it as decidedly as they did to Laud's Prayer Book, themonopolyof printing that version for thirty-one years, conferred upon Sir William Alexander, did not profit the " philosophical poet." He died bearing the title of Earl of Stirling without having effected anything else for Nova Scotia than to give it a name. Through great tribulation that Province has slowly attained it^ present condition as the chief among the Maritiire I^rovinces of the Dominion of Canada. When the Confederation of Canada was achieved in 1867, a strong protest was made by Nova Sco- tians against becoming members of the Dominion. The Hon. Joseph Howe, the soul and leader of the malcontents visited England and enlisted Mr. Bright' s powerful advocacy in appealing to Par- liament to detach Nova Scotia from the new Con- federation. The attempt failed ; Mr. Howe was pacified, after what were called 'better terms" had been offered to the Province and then he accepted oflBce in the Grovernment of the Do- minion. The controversy as to the advantage of Confederation has not yet lost all bitterness, or ceased to excite and divide the people of this Province. Superadded to it is the question of that ** National Policy" which Sir John Macdonald '1 1 f : , ':' •.Ml k 111 ;■ If, • i re. >4 H' i. i I I. Tt ! r 62 7";^^ Land of the " ^Z?^^ Noses." devised and to which the Dominion Parliament has given effect at the instance of his Administra- tion. " National Policy " is the old -fashioned " Protection to native industry " under a new form and with a new name. Some Nova Scotians declare that the evils of Confederation have been intensified by the effects of protection. Others are of opinion that the severe depression felt in business circles during the last few years is due to general causes affecting the entire commercial world. For six or seven years after Confedera- tion, the Province enjoyed extraordinary pros- perity. Large sums were then expended in con- structing railways, cutting canals, erecting public buildings throughout the Dominion, and this Province shared in the business activity which ensued when so much borrowed capital was put into circulation. Merchants and others lived up to their means ; sometimes they lived beyond them in the belief that the gains of the future would more than meet any liability they might incur, and thus, when the day of reckoning suddenly and Uxiexpectedly arrived, the reaction was the more disastrous because the expansion had been so extreme. It is a gross blunder to blame Con- federation for this. Nor would it be discreet to pronounce that the new panacea for making everybody rich and contented has utterly failed. ;:! His capi< land viewi The ^^ National Policy'' 63 ment stra- loned new (tians been Itliers :elt in is due lercial edera- pros- n con- public ^ this wbich as put red up i them wo aid incur, ily and le more )een so He Con- creet to making y failed. A protective policy ought to succeed for a time, and it will continue popular so long as the people at large are satisfied to pay the price. An indi- vidual who is rich enough can have any luxury which money will buy. Protection is a luxury which only a very wealthy or a very self-denying nation can afford to pay for. As yet the influence of the " National " or protective policy of Canada has had so slight an effect in this Province that although the Nova Scotians rail against it, they are influenced by their fears rather than by their actual experience. The most doleful and dispiriting account whicli I received as to the position and prospects of Nova Scotia was supplied by a Virginian gentle- man, who played a leading part in the tragedy of secession and who has made his home in Halifax. His h )art is in his native State but his money is invested in the capital of Nova Scotia, He assured me that the Nova Scotians had ceased to be loyal to the British Empire and would have no objec- tion to become citizens of the North American Republic. I failed to ascertain any ground for this conclusion ; but I heard that, house property having fallen in value, this gentleman's invested capital has been reduced for the moment. Should land and houses rise in price he may change his views. Despitf is dissatisfaction with the policy %\'\i VA '<■) \ i i ,:;,, tlH - ^(i 1 I I- \ II 'la. M, I * i r li 5':r 1 ,'■; ill ;i ': 64 T/ie Land of the ''Blue Noses ^ of the Government under which he had vohmtarily chosen to Hve, he had no fault to find with the Province as a place of abode ; on the contrary, he praised both the soil and climate in strong terms. Natives of the country deplored the emigration from it of young men to the United States. Com- munication between Halifax and Boston in Mas- sachusetts is frequent and the journey can be made for a small outlay. The temptation is extreme for young Nova Scotians, who are dissatisfied with their home prospects, to proceed to New England in order to begin life there under conditions which theyconsider more favourable. They are influenced by the feeling which causes the country bumpkin to quit his quiet English village and hasten to London where he hopes to find the streets paved with gold. Many Nova 3cotians learn by sad experience that, if they are better paid abroad, they must work harder and expend more than at home, and the numbers of the disenchanted and disappointed who return are said to balance the numbers who depart elate and over sanguine. Intelligent Nova Scotians whose opinions on other subjects would have commanded my respect, spoke concerning the Canadian Pacific Railway with a recklessness which astonished me. They laboured under the delusion that the construction of the Railway would either ruin the Dominion or I I: '' Old Fossils r 65 irily tlie r,lie rms. ition ^om- Mas- nade .e for with .nd in ^liicli piiced npkin en to paved sad Droad, lan at d and Lce the le. ns on espect, Railway They ruction nion or else that tlie operation of the railwj^y would benefit the Western Provinces exclusively. If a citizen of New York were to use similar language in reference to the Union Pacific Railway, his hearers would naturally conclude that he had lost his wits. The truth is that Halifax will profit by a railway through Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific just as New York city has profited by the railway between that city and San Francisco. The evidence which I have collected leads me to the conclusion that the Nova Scotians are too ready to grumble and are deficient in a patriotic faith ■ in the resources of Canada and in the capacity of her sons to develope them. In Halifax there are many men who are irreverently but not unaptly termed " old fossils." They have made enough money upon which to live in comfort. They hav3 invested it in non-speculative securities yielding them a moderate return. They have adequate capital wherewith to embark in any enter- prise, but they lack the requisite courage for sup- porting novel undertakings with their money, even though the chanc* of doubling their capital and in- come by so doing may not be slight. These men are foremost in complaining of capital and energy being lacking to develope Nova Scotia's resources. It has been proved to demonstration that the gold fields are as rich and as safe investments as the p 1 h\ i1 !. 1 1 ' ?i. \ ■; r«^i T^' 66 The Land of the " Blue Noses" 111 1 1 %l (■i ,.i' i (1: 'I'j coal pits from whi'^.h adventurous native and Englisli capitalists have derived large profits. The Nova Scotian capitalist hesitates to take shares in a gold-mine. When a gold-mine of undoubted richness is discovered and tested, it usually passes into the hands of a shrewd and enterprising United States capitalist, and when the Nova Scotians see him becoming rich by his venture they blame Confederation or the Govern- ment for marring the prosperity of their Province. After the discovery of gold in 1861 at Tangier River, forty miles to the eas^ of Halifax, there was an outburst of foolish spcrulation. When over-cautious men lose their heads, they are fre- quently guilty of inconceivable follies. Experience then taught the lesson that a gold-mine may ab- sorb more of the precious metal than it can ever yield, and that it is necessary to exercise judg- ment in choosing a mine and skill in working it, Th© Nova Scotians seem disposed to act like a boy who, having burned his fingers, refuses ever after to warm his hands at the fire. Instead of profiting, in a rational way, by what has occurred, their prevailing feeling now is to eschew mining altogether and let strangers step in and carry off the golden prizes. From the year that the extraction of gold began down to the present time, the total yield has been Vic "vvasl Prof woii in Gold-Mines. I': % and ofits. take le of id, it I and when by his )vern- ivince. angier , there When ire fre- srience lay ab- in ever 3 judg- king it. ) hke a es ever stead of curred, mining ;arry off d began las been 67 397,372 ounces. Last year 14,000 ounces were returned. The average earning of each miner has exceeded $600 annually ; the earning last year exceeded $700. These figures contrast most favourably with returns from other regions of this Continent where gold-mining is a re- munerative industry. Yet the room for improve- ment here is very great. The waste in extracting gold is enormous. It is indisputable that a yield of five pennyweights per ton is ample for paying the miner who uses the most improved machinery and follows the most modern processes. Gold- mines in Brazil and Australia, where the return is at that rate, pay large profits, yet in Nova Scotia the complaint is that no profit can be obtained unless the quartz yield ten pennyweights per ton, seven being a common yield and seven being found inadequate for profitable working. Mr. Selwyn, the Director of the Geological Surv':y of Canada who, for sixteen years before filling that oflice, filled an analogous one in Vic- toria, has shown how close are many of the ffeolo<]:ical resemblances between the Provinces of Victoria and Nova Scotia. He also shows how wasteful the system of mining is in the latter Province, many mines there wasting as much as would sulHce to return dividends of 10 per cent, in Victoria, and the machinery iu the Australian F 2 \:' » . I. . ' I m 68 The Land of the " BltLC Noses," , 'Mi I \ i" i| \l I f 11 mines doing nearly double as mucli work as that employed in the Nova Scotian. It is clear that skill and proper machinery are lacking. Were the Nova Scotian gold-mines properly developed they would take rank among the most remunera- tive, favourite and stable investments of the Province. The gold-bearing region of Nova Scotia extends over 3000 square miles. Coal and Iron are two products of which Nova Scotia possesses an abundance. The capital in- veyted in coal winning is estimated at$12,000,000 ; the number of pits worked is twenty-five. Pictou, which is the principal town in the coal district, is next in importance to Halifax. It is picturesquely situated on a point jutting into a land-locked harbour wherein hundreds of vessels can bo con- veniently moored. The passage from Northum- berland Straits into the harbour is only ' 200 yards across at the entrance. On either side the eye rests upon a stretch of fine land dotted with trees and divided into farms. The town of Pictou was founded in 1767 by some emigrants from Philadelphia. Five years afterwards thirty families arrived from the Scottish Highlands with the object of establishing a settlement, byt, being unable to agree with the first comers as to the right of ownership in the land, they went else- where.- Other families from Scotland arrived fra pa] nej tra aiitl Nova Scotian Collieries, 69 that tliat Vere 3ped lera- tlie ^ova Nova al in- ,000; ictou, ict, is ^quely ocked e con- thum- V200 de the d with wn of I errant s thirty- Is with , being to tho it else- arrived ' here at a later day, and the majority of the people still bear Scottish names and speak with the accent of their forefathers. Tho demand for Nova Scotian coal is greater now than in former years. The trade with the United States, which was almost extinct for a time, has revived again. I saw three United States vessels taking in cargoes, a sight which, as I was informed, was both un- usual and welcome. When the Reciprocity Treaty was in force. Nova Scotian coal was chiefly ex- ported to the United States ; since the imposition of a heavy import duty, that market has ceased to be the principal one. The coal-owners com- plain that the present Canadian tariff does not give them that monopoly of supplying the Western Provinces of the Dominion which they expected to have under the " National policy." The citizens of Ontario still buy coal imported from the United States, while the citizens of New England still buy coal imported from Nova Scotia. A protection tariff* cannot always subserve the design of its framers either by diverting all tradt> into a particular channel or in diffusing universal happi- ness. A sliort ride from South Pictou brings tlie traveller to New Glasgow, vvliicli resembles the ancient and tlourlsliing city on the banks of tho Clyde in being over-hung with smoke. Not fuj* ti I A ^9 70 The La7id of the ^^ Blue Noses^ '■■ I 1 distant are the Albion pits, from wliicli large quantities of coal have been taken for half a century, and which are expected to continue productive for many years to come. The seam there is thirty feet thick. At New Glasgow there are iron foundries, tanneries, a pottery and ship- building yards. The largest Nova Scotian ships have been built here. This industry was not brisk at the time of my visit ; I saw only one ship on the stocks. The demand for wooden vessels is falling off and, if the ship-builders here would regain their supremacy, they must build iron ships. They have so many faciUties for so doing that, by taking due advantage uf them, the iron vessels of Glasgow in Nova Scotia might be in as great request as those of Glasgow in Old Scotland. The Island of Cape Breton, another part of this Province Avliercin coal abounds, is about a mile from the mainland, being separated from it by the Gut of Canso. The scenery on this island, whicli attracts tourists qiut« as much as the coal-fields attract capitalists, is on a very gi-and scale. Readers of Horace Walpolc's writings will remember an amusing reference to tMs I'Lind. Walpole asserts that tlie Duke of Newcastle, the Prime Minister at the time, having N'ttvnt to 'lis sur^/rise that (/ape Breton Avas an I'Oiiiid, ho could not I'cst till he had comnmui- I stai nu] andl valll Th(i flaxi tlieil the ■( 5 Scenery and Climate. 71 cated the extraordinary fact to every member of the Cabinet. From Cape Breton at the north to Yarmouth at the south, this Province covers an area of nearly 22,000 square miles, out of which 3000 square miles are covered with lakes. It has a coast-line of 1200 miles and a large number of excellent harbours. Within the limits of the Province, which is about 300 miles long by from 100 to 50 in breadth, there are great varieties of soil and climate ; the temperature is 8° higher in the. western than in the eastern Counties. It has plenty of shaggy wood, but no mountains like those in Old Scotia. The height of the hills does not exceed 1000 feet. The richest and most picturesque part of the Province is the broad valley between Windsor and Annapolis, where the Acadians passed an existence which resembles the visions of the golden age. The historian of Nova Scotia, depicting their state in 1755, tells how these Acadians, to thr number of 18,000 tilled the fields, reaped crop<, and reared cattle and poultry in this liap ^ valley. Their ordinary drink was beer or cyder. They clad tli(naselves in garments spun from the flax which they cultivated or from the fleece of their sheep. They rarely went to law, accepting the decision of the elders in cases of dispute. I r^' I I lit 72 The Land of the " Blue Noses." I- M'i :.j:; I : f There was no permanent destitution among tht^m, the unfortunate being succoured by those richer in the wc "Id's goods. They lived as a large and happy family ; early marriages were the rule and the vices of great cities were unknown. The picture of these people before their expulsion makes their fate seem the more pitiful; but it may be that the picture is too highly coloured and that the Annapolis Valley has never been the scene of an earthly paradise. It is certainly a pleasant and fruitful land where the inhabitants have every reason to enjoy life. The soil is very fertile and admirably adapted for the gro'i^th of fruit trees. Indeed, the app'< s grown m the Annapolis Valley are very fine and arc highly prized by good judges. When the apple trees are in blossom, the prospect resembles that between Heide'ljerg and Frankfort in the spring time when the cherry trees are in blossom. It is a peculiarity of this Province to offer great variety of scenery and of means of livelihood. The farmer, gardener, miner and fisherman can all find profitable employment. The fisheries are very valuable ; the fish caught comprise cod, mackerel, shad, liake, herring and salmon ; the annual return from the fisheries is not much under a million sterling. Twenty thousand men are occupied in fishing. The land is specially well itf mmmm The Capital of Nova Scotia, n very th of n the lighly trees that great iliood. Ill can Iheries cod, the kinder in are well suited for the culture of such vegetables as pota- toes and turnips, and of such grains as wheat, barley, oats, rye, buckwheat and maize. The number of acres of good land is estimated at 10,000,000. Of these less than 2,000,000 are under cultivation. This large, fertile and salu- brious Province, wherein there is ample scope for millions of people, has less than 400,000 in- habitants. Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia. It has many natural advantages among which beauty of situation is the most striking and tlv'.t of possessing the finest harbour on thp coast is the most useful. It was founded on the 25th July 1749. .Not till the close of the American revolutionary war did it secure a large acces- sion of citizens. Then, however, it became a refuge for the United Empire Loyalist? who abandoned or were expelled from Jieir hcn^es in the United States. These men displayed great vigour and fortitude in promoting the interests of this Province. They gave an impetus to the capital which it has not quite lost or which, if lost is owing to the accident of their descendants not inheriting all tteir virtues and all their talents. My opinion is that the sluggishness of the generation now passing away will give place to greater energy in the generation which is '1 hi! \\ t i m 74 The Land of the " Blue Noses ^ '■■ : J i ' ■M growing up and that the new comers will revive the best traditions of Nova Scotia by working as strenuously to make it an ornament to the Dominion as their forefathers did to render it a K 1 Province. The capital of Nova Scotia is the only place in the Dominion where a British garrison is main- tained. It is the only city on the North American Continent where a Government dock- yard is kept up by the ITuited Emgdom. The dockyard covers fourteen acres. Men-of-war are always to be seen in the harbour, soldiers of all arms are to be seen in the streets and these things give liveliness to the scene. The citizens have sometimes reason to regret that soldiers are statioL^ d here. When a discontented private de- termines to do the utmost mischief with the least suffering to himself, he smashes the costly plate- glass windows in the principal shops. I once passed along a street where this wanton destruc- tion of property was perpetrated so quickly that no one could prevent it. The shopkeeper would get no compensation if the glass were uninsured. The soldier would probably be imprisoned for a time and then dismissed the service. However unwelcome the presence of the troops may some- times be, I am sure that a proposal to withdraw them altogether would not please everybody. As Hal reg Mar sailc the anc Willi T port fortia Halifax Hospitality, 75 i i a garrison town Halifax lias many charms for strangers, especially for citizens of the United States. Of late years many of these citizens spend the summer months here, the climate at that season being excellent and the sea-bathing being all that can be desired. If a large and well-appointed hotel were built at or near to the lovely North West Arm, which is the rural part of Halifax and where many charming villas are built, the influx of strangers would be greater than ever. The Halifax Hotel, though good and comfortable, does not meet the requirements of exacting visitors from the United States. Al- though the hotels are disappointing, no fault can be found with the Halifax Club. It is admirably managed. The building is commodious and the stranger who, like myself, is honoured by being temporarily allowed to use it, finds his stay in Halifax rendered far more agreeable, while his regret at leaving it is far more keen. What Marryat wrote in Pdev Simjjle is still true : " All sailors agree in asserting that Halifax is one of the most delightful ports in which a ship can anchor. Everybody is hospitable, cheerful, and willing to amuse and be amused." The Capital of Nova Scotia is not only a splendid port for commerce, but it is also one of the strongest fortified places in the world. The Duke of Kent, ■i ■' 1 1 1" ' ' !:l ii t , I I.; ■ f i I M ' ,s 1 .1. I 1l i El m 76 T/ie Land of the " Blue Noses!' the father of the Queen, planned the Citadel and laid its foundations. There is a belief that the ground upon which the Citadel stands is rich in gold quartz. If this be well founded, then the defenders of the Citadel have a twofold treasure to guard. The fortifications on the islands in the Bay are so well planned and executed that a hostile attack upon the city may be regarded with equanimity, because it can be repelled with certainty. Through the courtesy of Colonel Drayson, an officer of large experience and multi- farious accomplishments who was in command of the artillery at the time of my visit, I visited the fortifications and was permitted to inspect them in detail. Nothing that the science of war could suggest in the way of defence has been overlooked in their arrangement or neglected in their supervision. Everything is in perfect order and available at any moment. Should an enemy attack them, he will have a painfully warm re- ception and he will egregiously err if he should count upon finding the defenders napping. Visi- tors from the United States are shown whatever they want to see and they leave the place with the conviction that, if the hotels are not perfect, the fortifications are of the first class. The Provincial Legislature meets in Halifax. Close to the building where the Legislators Governor Archibald. 17 Lalifax. slators assemble is a large building containing the Government offices, the Post office, the City Library and the Provincial Museum, the latter being rich in the antiquities, Indian relics and mineral products of the Province. I ought not to omit to mention with well-deserved praise the public garden, which is not only extensive and stocked with curious plants, but which is kept with as much care as it is laid out with taste. Nor should I conclude without writing a few sentences ii^ eulogy of the present Lieutenant-Governor, Mr. Archibald, Vho occupies an official residence which has a gloomy look, but which is a com- modious and most agreeable house to live in. Mr. Archibald is a Nova Scotian and his ambition is centred in advancing the interest of his native Province. He has had long and varied ex- perience of public life and he has played his part in it most admirably. He filled the office of Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba at a crisis in the history of that far western member of the Dominion, and he there displayed great adminis- trative ability, solving the difficult problem of reconciling the Indians to their new Canadian rulers and concluding treaties with them which have proved as just to them as they have been serviceable to Canada. If his fellow-countrymen in Nova Scotia were imbued with his patriotic %: I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I L4 12.8 |2.5 150 ^^~ M^B Z Ul 12.0 .... ^ \25 III 1.4 M e pm % Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 VIST MAIN STMIT WtUTH.N.V. MSM (7U)I73.4S03 <\ u'^^O V : '■ I Is 1 , ll> 78 T/ie Lmid of the ** Blue Noses.'* spirit and were endowed with his capacity for deahng with problems in public affairs, the progress of their fine Province would be even more rapid and gratifying in the future than it has been in the past. That the " Royal Province ** has a great future I firmly believe. That " the Blue Noses *' have great opportunities as well as honourable traditions is quite certain. Their land offers many inducements to the capitalist and it is a tempting home for the emigrant. The capitalist, the mining engineer, the agri- culturist, the sportsman and the emigrant can all find within the ample and untenanted limits of Nova Scotia, an incomparable field wherein to realize the fondest desires of their hearts. it'. 'iK' i .( iiii im ) \ , i UJ \ 1 )} CHAPTER III. THE PROVINCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK. When St. John, the chief city of New Brunswick, was almost entirely destroyed by fire on the 20th of June, 1877, the loss sustained was greater proportionately than that caused by the great fire at Cliicago six years previously. About 13,000 New Brunswickers were then rendered homeless ; 1612 houses, covering an area of 200 acres, were destroyed in the brief space of nine hours ; the loss of property was estimated at $27,000,000. English philanthropists showed their usual and laudable alacrity in aiding the sufferers. Some of them also displayed discreditable ignorance about the situation of St. John and the nation- ality of its inhabitants. T remember an appeal earnestly made by one of them to the effect tliat the sad occasion was an admirable opportunity, not only for succouring the needy, but also for manifesting brotherly love and charity towards m II' s • ! ■[ > t •^ 'J! 1 >\ ii J i \i \ \' l.'>'^^^ \i: n 80 Tke Province of New Brunswick. 1 r.j m,\\ !f! 1 the citizens of the United States. Unfortunately, this is no isolated example of geographical igno- rance. Indeed, when Cobden expressed his opinion that young Englishmen should be in- structed in the history of Chicago, be might have added that they would be all the better for obtaining precise knowledge of the history and geography of Canada. This knowledge would prove quite as useful to them as that minute and exclusive acquaintance with Grecian history and literature which he assumed them to possess and which, as an intellectual possession, he may have undervalued. It is true that the people of New Brunswick are closely allied in race to their neighbours across the border. Many of the oldest and most respected New Brunswick families are descended from the Loyalists who were driven from the United States because they pertinaciously avowed their predilection for an ideal British Empire of which the North American Continent should form a part. No Province of the Dominion of Canada is less Yankee in sentiment than New Brunswick which is conterminous on the south-west with the State of Maine. Its inhabi- tants do not seem to have forgotten how the State of Maine was aggrandized at the expense of their Province in 1842, owing to whrt they I The Ptwitans and New Brunswick. 8i ely, jno- bave for and rould 3 and y and J and have iswick Across most ended m the vowed Ire of should lion )n of than the Inhabi- the W jnse of they believe to have been the sharp practice of Daniel Webster, then Secretary of State in Mr. Tyler's Administration . The Puritans of Massachusetts played a curious part in the early history of what is now New Brunswick but was then called Acadia. John Winthrop, then Governor of Massachusetts, assented to a request that New England ships and men should be employed in helping Latour, who held the fort which stood on the site of the principal city in the Province and who refused to surrender it, and resign his commission of Lieutenant-General to D'Aulnay whom tho King of France had sent to supersede him. The assistance rendered by the New Englanders proving effectual, D'Aulnay had to retire dis- comfited. This happened in 1643. Two years afterwards D'Aulnay renewed the attack during Latour's absence. The wife of Latour then dis- played the heroic qualities which the Countess of Derby afterwards did during the war between the English Parliament and Charles the First. Again, D'Aulnay was repulsed. A third time he made the attempt and, on this occasion, he succeeded through bribery in getting a footing in tho fort though vigorously opposed by Madame Latour at the head of fifty brave men. His revenge con- sisted in hanging tho whole garrison before tho li- ■ f ' » ! ; ffsnfr- i \ A I. i :^ '! /I '% f! i !l! 82 The Province of New Brunswick. eyes of the woman wlio liad manifested so mucli fortitude and bravery. The spectacle was more terrible to her than an assault of armed men ; she died of grief soon after. AVhen D'Aulnay felt himself strong enough to assert his rights, he accused the Government of Massachusetts with a breach of neutrality and demanded compensation. The latter replied that they had not directly interfered in the quarrel, having merely permitted Latour to hire ships and enlist men. The damages demanded were 8000/., yet the Commissioner who urged the claims of D'Aulnay said that if the Government acknow- ledged their guilt in the matter the damages might be reduced to a nominal amount. Ulti- mately the blame was transferred to Captain Hawkins and the volunteers who had taken part with Latour, and the Government consented " to send a small present to D'Aulnay in satisfaction of what Captain Hawkins and the others had done." Governor Winthrop in describing the transaction, enables us to understand that the " smartness " which is supposed to be a modern characteristic of New England was possessed and exercised by the early Puritans. The small present sent to D'Aulnay was " a very fair new sedan " which hud been taken in the West Indies and presented to the Governor, which was thf I.; Foundation of St. John, 83 lUCll nore ; slie rli to nt of and [that arrel, s and OOOL, ms oi know- mages Ulti- aptain part d "to 'action had the at the odern ed and small lir new Indies Ih was ig " worth forty or fifty pounds where it was made, but of no use to us.'" In 1650, Latour returned. D'Aulnay had died in the interval, leaving a widow who surrendered the fort to Latour and, three years afterwards, became his wife. Thus Latour not only regained possession of the fort but he became the husband of his rival's svife and lord of all his lands. This settlement occurred in 1663; in the following year it was abruptly terminated by Oliver Crom- well who sent a naval expedition against him with the result that he was ousted from office and Acadia was annexed to England. It was ceded to France again a few years later and it was re-acquired by England in 1745 ; a few years after this an English garrison under the com- mand of Colonel Moncton was established in the fort which, during a century, had been the subject of strife. A few settlers came hither from England in 1764; but the first settlement on a large scale and permanent basis was made by 5000 United Empire Loyalists who left the LTnited States in 1783 and, on the 18th of May in that year, founded the city of St. John. Several years later there was an influx of settlers from Ireland who have found their removal to the new country from the old one to be highly advan- ' Jolm Winthrop's "New England," vol. ii. p. '274. • G v^ 1 ! O 84 The Province of New Brunswick, \. I ,( I; ' 1 tageous. The least successful tillers of the soil appear to be the descendants of the Acadians who escaped expulsion from the country. Their farming is both slovenly and wasteful, consisting in exhausting a piece of land and then applying to the Government for a new piece whereon to recommence the same process. Many small colonies have settled in New Brunswick and have prosrered exceedingly. A small colony numbering 182 went thither from the North of England in 1837. The colonists had to fell trees before they could cultivate the land. According to a return compiled in the sixth year of their sojourn, the result of their labour was that they had taken from land originally covered with trees, 260 tons of hay and straw, and 1500 bushels of grain, potatoes and turnips. They appended to the return the fol- lowing remarks : " The climate of New Bruns- wick agrees well with ^he constitution of English- men ; the air is salubrious, and the water as pure and wholesome as any in the world. During the six years of our location there have occurred but two deaths, while there have been thirty-nine births without the presence of medical aid. Six years' experience have convinced us that not- withstanding the privations to wl ich new settlers are .exposed, diligence and perseverance must MMMVi mm'mm mmmmh New Denmark. 85 m soil lans heir ting ying n to New . A from mists ,e the a the their land Ly and is and le fol- iruns- iglish- |s pure ig the id but iy-nine Six it not- lettlers must }» ensure success. " In 1842, an attempt was made to found a small colony of Irish people where teetotal principles would be rigorously practised. The experiment was successful beyond expecta- tion. The colony, inchiding women and children, numbered 101. Thirty male members of it are credited at the end of the first year with having gathered from a spot, which had been a dense forest till they cleared it, 7276 bushels of grain, potatoes and turnips. Their labour had been rewarded with a total return, in crops and per- manent improvements, to the value of 2000/. Quite as interesting and significant as any of the foregoing examples is that of the Danish colony established within the last ten years about eight miles from Grand Falls in the western part of the Province. This place, formerly called Hellerup, is now known as New Denmavk. There it was that, in the year 1872, thirty-six Danes began to cut down the primeval forest. The toil was greater than they had counted upon, while the difficulties against which they contended seemed so great as to dishearten them. But they per- severed and they have now no reason to complain. Where trees covered the ground a few years ago, is now a tract of cleared land extending over 3000 acres and yielding large crops. The colony has grown from 36 to 500 persons and it is ^ m i' •'! iii. ^ y^'it' ^\:i If t ! 'i !■ t 86 The Province of New Brunswick, being recruited by frequent arrivals; as many as 120 immigrants arrived there from Denmark in 1879. Tlie extent of the settlement is such that there ax^e thirty- six miles of road running through it. The people are frugal and indus- trious, and are growing rich, because they have an annual surplus in excess of their own require- ments. A curious circumstance is ihat, whereas the Danes who arrived here were Lutherans, they adopted the service of the Church of England in the church whicL they built for themselves. All the facts which I have gleaned from official papers as to the prosperity of the New Brunswick farmers were verified in conversation with those whom I questioned as to their condition. They have many advantages over farmers in the Far West. The land yields as good a return, while the price obtained for the produce is higher owing to the proximity of a market. They have not to pay so much for what they buy, as the farmers must do who are far removed from the sea-board, while they receive more for what they have to sell than the farmers can do whose crops have to be carried to market hundreds of miles by rail. The area of the Province i^ 27,332 square miles, being greater than that of the Kingdoms of Belgium and Holland combined. Thirteen million of acres are available for cultivation. It is estimated that IS as 1^^ The St. jfohn River, 87 the land can support a population numbering four millions and a half. The actual population does not much exceed three hundred thousand ! The St. John River is the most notable fact in the Province of New Brunswick. It is a noble stream, affording, with its tributaries, 1300 miles of navigable waters, draining a region covering 17,000,000 acres, thereof 9,000,000 are within the Province, 2,000,000 in the Province of Quebec, and 6,000,000 in the State of Maine. The valley through which it flows is vdy beautiful, the scenery being quite as attractive as at the most lovely parts of the Hudson. The Indians gave it the name " Looshtook " because they were struck with its length, the word meaning " Long River.'* It winds through the Province for a distance of 250 miles ; as the Province is 190 miles long by 140 broad, it is obvious that the St. John River is a meandering stream. At the upper part of the stream are Grand Falls where the water descends 70 feet perpendicularly. Where it enters the harbour at the city of St. John another fall of a singular kind attracts the notice of strangers. When the tide is out and the water low, the water descends 17 feet. At high water, on the contrary, the fall, if I may thus phrase it, is in the opposite direction, the tide rising so high as to cause rapids up stream. I passed over the » i lidH % % \h ill iV (.wjr "I. 88 The Province of New Brunswick. 1 Mi) J n :;n IM^!' spot in a steamer during the twenty minutes this can be done when the tide is at its height, and I could scarcely realize that the spot was the same as that at which I had seen the river dashing down the rocks in a sheet of foam. . For some distance above the city of St. John the river is very wide and is studded with wooded islands. The view on either side is varied and most attractive over the whole eighty-six miles which intervene between that city and Fredericton, the Capital of the Province. The Lieutenant-Governor occupies an oflGicial residence at Fredericton which is imposing in appearance but which has a serious defect, judging from the statement which Dr. Botsford, a physician of St. John, made in a paper read before the Convention at Ottawa of the Canada Medical Association. Dr. Botsford said that Government House, which cost $100,000 to erect and from $5000 to $8000 annually to maintain, was so unhealthy that the persons who lived there did so at their peril. The sudden death of the late Lieutenant-Governor and the ill- health of the present one were attributable, in his opinion, to the sewage gas which pervades the edifice. It is clear, then, that the Governor of this Province runs quite as much risk as the leader of a forlorn hope. Let me hope, however, that Government House will be converted into a tmp^ Churches in Fi^eder'cton. 89 place, in which to enjoy life, from one in which to risk and lose it. A house of meeting for the Provincial Legislature is the most recent public building in Fredericton ; it has been erected to replace the one destroyed by fire. The new House of Assembly is a suostantial stone struc- ture. The Episcopal Cathedral is the building most conspicuous and best worthy of a visit. This Cathedral vies with that of Montreal as a fine example of Canadian ecclesiastical arcbitec- tiire. The loyal citizens take pleasure in in- forming a stranger that the altar-cloth is the one used at the coronation of William the Fourth. The Methodists have built a church with a spire still higher than that of the Cathedral and having a hand with an outstretched finger at the summit. Much of this structure is of wood, and it does not resist the action of the weather like the stone of which the Cathedral is built; thus, while the Methodists are entitled to boast of having the higher spire, they have also the obligation of paying largely to keep it in repair. The Uni- versity of New Brunswick, founded in 1800, is at Fredericton. An annual scholarship of $60 is awarded to one boy from each county in the Pro- vince as well as free tuition, and fifty-six scholar- ships, entitling the holder to free tuition, are appropriated for competition to any youth in the t \% ii ^ I !:. m ■Hi » 1 1 / h i !,.. f 1 ^H' ' ' ' ^ I ■ 1 ' '' 1 I. Ml ^^^Hi 'i , ■j i I <• ■1 1 i, 1 1 hi i; 1 ^ v^r 90 T/ie Province of New Brunswick. cities and counties. The Methodists founded a College at Sackville in 18G2 which is open to students of either sex, and the Roman Catholics maintain St. Joseph's College at Memramcook. The Post office, and other public buildings in Fredericton are of red brick ; several stores and warehouses ave built of the same material ; they have all a solid appearance and they belong to men who are enterprising and opulent. Trees line the streets and surround many of the buildings. Gardens are attached to most of the houses and the combination of foliage and flowers on every hand, and public buildings, shops and houses standing among gardens, produces a rural effect and makes the observer fancy that he is looking upon a large and finely-built country village. I have never seen a capital which seemed less like a city, or a city which had so pleasant reminders of the country. The river is half a mile wide here and the banks are too flat to be picturesque. Fish of various kinds abound iii the river. Sturgeon are specially plentiful. This fish used to be prized by royalty in England; it is not considered a delicacy here. Yet great zeal is shown in catching sturgeon because the business is profitable. I visited a station Avhero four men were engaged in fishing. They had caught twenty fish within twenty-four hours ; all these sturgeon ii "MtVIMPf^ Headquarters of the Intercolonial, 91 led a 311 to tiolics >k. igs in IS and they ng to es line dings. es and every houses . effect ooking ge. I ss like linders e wide 7esque. river, h used IS not zeal is usiness ur men twenty iurgeon were large, one of them measured six feet in length. The price paid for each, irrespective of size, is fifty cents. I was told that, when the fish reached Boston, which was their destination, they would fetch five doll.irs each. It is strange that the New Brunswickers have no relish for the fish, because it is good, though rather substantial eating. But a prejudice such as they entertain cannot be removed by argument, any more than the prejudice of the Iiish people against rabbits and of the Scottish people against eels. Moncton takes rank, after the Capital and St. John, as the most rising New Brunswick town. It is the headquarters of the Intercolonial Railway and the junction where the trains meet which run between Halifax and St. John and Halifax and Quebec. While St. John is situated not far from the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, Moncton is at the head of that extraordinary sheet of water which, as the tide flows and ebbs, rises and falls in certain places as much as sixty feet. So far from the sea as Moncton, the difference between low and high water is thirty feet, and the contrast is most striking between the vast expanse of almost dry ground when the tide is out and the area of water where the largest ships can float when the tide is at its height. The phenomena called the " bore,'* which is occasionally seen on n \\ X 11 I •if (' .i ll i *ar»«* rii li I '', 1 1 fj I ' ■il HI 'I t' 92 T/ie Province of New Brunswick, the Severn, is a common occu^ "ence at this part of the Bay of Fundy. A few years ago Moncton was a straggHng and quiet village. The old and the new are easily distinguishable, the town having recently grown in the opposite direction to that which it followed in its early days. When the 600 acres within which it stands are covered with buildings the place will have an imposing appearance, and the main street, which is a mile long, will not seem so different from the other streets. As the centx-e of a large agricultural district, Moncton has long been a place where much business was transacted and this accounts for the number of stores ap- pearing to be far in excess of what the inhabitants could support. The articles on sale in some of these stores are very varied. On a notice-board outside one of them a list of the goods kept began with Bibles and Prayer Books and ended with newspapers, but did not include the potatoes, turnips, cabbages and other vegetables which were the chief things to be seen indoors. Late in the evening of the first day I spent in Moncton, I gazed upon a sight grander than any which I had beheld elsewhere, unless I except a fire in the woods on the bank of the St. John River. I have seen a prairie ablaze and I have looked with wonder at the " tulcs " or gigantic ■»* mt in any !ept a Jolin have :antio A Forest on Fire. 93 bulrushes such as grow on the banks of the Nile, burning as far as the eye could reach along the left bank of the Sacramento Eiver in California, but this was the first time that I beheld the con- flagration of a forest. At first the fire seemed trifling, but the flames gradually rose in angry shape and spread in serried masses as tree after tree succumbed to the effects of an element which, in this case, was really a devouring one. Tho march of the fire was marked next morning by a space through the forest as clearly defined as if it had been wrought by machinery, and by hundreds of blackened trees which would never bud again. The sight of these bare and lifeless poles is a common one here; the poles are termed " ram-pikes.'* They are utterly useless, being valueless as timber and merely cumbering the ground. The people of Moncton thought nothing of a sight which impressed me greatly. They care no more about the loss of a part of a forest by fire than the in- habitants of a coal district care about the ignition and loss of a pile of waste c*. al at the pit's mouth. One of them, however, sympathized with me. He had left Ireland thirty years ago and he had prospered in New Brunswick, and ho expressed his opinion that the folks in the ok' country Avould naturally regard tho destruction of o much valu- able timber as a serious calamity ; adding that I m i i i ^- *" 1' mi i \' l'!i i .1; «.. ir I I II* iljl wrr 96 The Province of New Brunswick, «' N year and ten acres within three years. After the house is built, the Government makes a present to the settler of $30. Moreover, he is protected against utter ruin by a law giving immunity to his property to the amount of $600, in the event of execution for debt. It is not easy for a visitor to the city of St. John to believe that nearly the whole of it was a blackened rui-^ a few years ago. A vacant charred space here and there proclaims in an unmistak- able fashion that a fire has swept a building away ; but the general aspect of the city is that of a prosperous place which has never been devastated by fire. Most of the buildings are new, but new buildings are what one expects to see on the North American Continent. Some of them, such as the banks of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, are effective specimens of architecture. The Custom House has an imposing aspect, resembling in several particulars the Louvre at Paris. The docks are spacious and filled with ships ; it is the boast of the citizens that St. John ranks after Glasgow in the amount of its registered shipping and is, in fact, the fourth port in the Empire. Churches abound. As the city is built on a series of eminences, the Churches and the Church spires are visible at every turn. In answer to my inquiry whether St. John were not a very pious city, the K\ t!smmmm«aBi^iism^^ii>SJ3S>^^ Cattle Rearing, 97 the jent iced yto vent ■ St. ras a irred stak- ,way ; of a jtated b new ^ the such wick, The abhng The is the after ipping mpire. series spires nquiry ty, the landlord of the hotel in which I stayed replied that I ought not to reckon the Churches as a guide to such a conclusion, because they were largely exceeded in uTimber by the " whisky- holes." I heard many lamentations about the prevalence of intemperance. Efforts are made to lessen it by prohibiting the sale of strong drink, in imitation of the system prevailing in the ad- joining State of Maine. The struggle is carried on with a bitterness which does not edify the spectator and which cannot produce lasting good, whatever the political issue may be. My own opinion is that, if half the energy and money ex- pended in this controversy with the effect of stirring up bad blood, were devoted to encouraging immigration the Province would gain enormously. A new industry dating from the year 1879 pro- mises to increase the wealth of the Province. This is the exportation of sheep and cattle to England. No part of the Dominion is better adapted than New Brunswick for rearing cattle and the proximity of the sea-board is a natural advantage of the first importance. Like Nova. Scotia it has been inadequately appreciated by the emigrants from the Old World ; indeed these two Maritime Provinces of Canada, which are among the oldest of any, are really less known than the younger which are more remote and far H i\ »i-'.'i u . f n 1 i' ii !!.i 98 77/^ Province of New Brunswick. more difficult of access. The emigrant who has resolved upon leaving the United Kingdom for Canada might go farther west than New Bruns- wick and fare worse than if he settled there. * CHAPTER IV. PEINCE EDWAED ISLAND. The Island now called Prince Edward was known as St. Johns Island till 1800. In that year its name was changed to commemorate the sojourn of the Queen's father in British North America. Till 1770 it formed a part of the Province of Nova Scotia. In 1873 it became a Province of the Dominion of Canada. Though the smallest member of the Dominion, its area being a little in excess of 2000 square miles, it has a population of 100,000, which is proportionately larger than that of any other Canadian territory of the like extent. The situation of Prince Edward Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence corresponds, in its relation to Canada, to that of the Isle of Wight in its relation to England. The climate is milder and more equable than on the mainland. The sea breeze tempers the summer heat, and renders the Islarid a pleasant place of resort during the H 2 iS K. \ w Ji : !i I'i < I* i ! ■■ ■::,i if II I* *' ill lOO Prince Edward Island. warm season. The sea-bathing on the north side is excellent, and of late years many persons, not from Canada only, but from the United States also, take up their abode here in the summer time and enjoy a dip in the Atlantic surf. Though the distance across the Straits of Northumberland between Cape Traverse, on the Island, and Cape Tourmentine, on the shore of New Brunswick, is 9 miles, and between the opposite end of the Island and Nova Scotia 15 miles, yet the journey over the route taken by the steamer occupies four to five hours. During the winter months communication with the mainland is maintained with difficulty, it being often an arduous feat to force a passage through the ice which fills the Straits. In spring, summer and autumn, steamers ply every other day between Point du Chene, in New Brunswick, and Summer- side, the second town of importance on the south coast of the Island, and between Pictou, in Nova Scotia, and Charlottetown, the capital of the Island. When beheld from the sea on a bright day, the Island looks very beautiful. Its cliffs are as red as those of South Devon, and the com- bination of red rocks, dark green woods, and green fields, dotted with white houses, is very pleasing to the eye. The coast is frequently in- dented with bays, running far inland, and swarm- ^MP w wnt ' » i iu;- i nr i iii >i '>:iii» . n i -B M P ^i!>p Oysters, Mackerel, and Lobsters, loi imer- ioutli ova tlie |riglit cliffs com- and very |ly in- rarm- ing with fisli. Shell-fish abound. Oysters are plentiful and good. They are in great request at Halifax and other cities on the mainland. The shells are longer and the contents are larger than those of English oysters, and also than those of the " Blue Points " which are highly prized in the United States. On the other hand, they resemble English oysters in taste more than those of the United States. The chief fishing industry is that of catching and curing mackerel, and tinning lobsters for ex- portation. There are nearly 50 factories in which lobster preserving is carried on, giving employ- ment to 2000 persons. Some of the factories treat from 10,000 to 15,000 lobsters a day. It was expected that 125,000 cases, each containing 48 tins lib. in weight, would be exported the season of my visit. The price paid to the fishermen for every lobster delivered at the factory is half a cent, and the present shipping price of each box holding 48 tins of lib., is S4 25c. ; in other words, nearly 43 lb. of lobster can be bought for export at a trifle over 16s. If I do not mistake, the retail price of a tin in England is 9«?., so the margin between 16s. paid here and the 30s. ob- tained for a case in England leaves a large per- centage out of which to defray incidental expenses and to gain a profit. I am told that lobster i W: iH ; I02 Prince Edward Island, I { i! i catching is forbidden by law during the month of August. The fishermen neither seem to care anything about a close time, nor to pay a willing respect to the law which decrees it. One of them told me that, in his opinion, lobsters were always in season, ai;id that he did not believe any one knew or would ever know when they spawned.' He adduced evidence to the effect that, at all periods, they presented the appearance of being in a condition to spawn. Yet there can be no doubt in the minds of rational men that lobsters can be exterminated, just as oysters have been in places, if the number taken from a given spot be in excess of the number produced. The cultivators of the soil thrive as well on Prince Edward Island as the harvesters of the sea. Oats, potatoes, and buckwheat are the most remunerative crops. Large quantities of oats are exported to Europe. Hay is exported to the West Indies ; oats, hay, eggs, fish, and other edibles are exported to Nova Scotia, New Bruns- wick, and Massachusetts. For several months in the year, a steamer which runs weekly between Charlottetown and Boston carries away many young islanders of both sexes, as well as the produce of the farms. The desire of the young men and women to visit Boston is as keen as the desire of young people in the rural sup mi Bui this yea pot? the pric I mmm . m mf m j i fi-0K:uH i mm > ksoi * nd )> F ^ are the tlier uns- nths ekly iway *vell of IS as ural Yield and Price of Potatoes. 103 districts of England to visit London. In both cases they consider that, when the capital of the country is reached, their fortunes are made. I asked some of the young islanders what was the special attraction of Boston. They replied that they had been told they could get high wages there. They did not know that if the wages they received were higher than those obtainable in the island, the price of what they had to buy was higher also. Besides, they had the inducement of being able to make the experiment at the low cost of $8, and they were sanguine that they would have no reason to regret the change. It was the change of life which most of them de- sired. They could not complain of anything save the monotony of existence ; the Island seemed far too contracted a world to them. Prince Edward Island has an established repu- tation for producing excellent potatoes. Neither in size nor quality can any potatoes be found of a superior kind. As many as three and a half milhon bushels are produced in a single year. But the main difficulty is to find a market for this useful and abundant article of food. A year ago it was possible to buy a bushel of potatoes for 10 cents. At the time of my visit the price had risen to 15 cents, though 25 is the price at which the seller obtains a handsome 1% !.5 Ll '1 ! t * 1 i I? il' y 1^1 m y ^ri 104 Prince Edward Island, \ 1 1 III: 'I t h i \ , 1" profit. Even at 25 cents, or one shilling, the price is extremely low from an English point of view, seeing that one penny a pound is accounted cheap by the purchasers of potatoes by retail. A bushel which sells in the Island for one shilling sterling would thus command five shillings in the London market. Last year, three steamers were freighted with potatoes from Prince Edward Island to England, but the result, unfortunately, was disastrous to the exporters. Whether the cause was imperfect packing or some other mis- take, certain it is that the potatoes arrived at their destination in so bad a condition that the parties who engaged in the venture lost money. I imderstand that the attempt will be renewed, and I hope that the issue may be more satisfactory. The f'st settlement of this Island on an exten- sive scale took place shortly after the beginning of the present century. It is not generally known, I think, that among the few sensible measures of Mr. Addington's much ridiculed Administration was one for encouraging settlers to make Prince Edward Island their home. Lord Selkirk stirred Mr. Addington to move in this matter. It was Lord Selkirk's desire to divert the stream of emigration to the British pos- sessions in North Am; rica. Ho induced 800 Highlanders to proceed to the Island in 1803. •WHV btlers iLord this livert pos- 800 .803. Highland Settlers. 105 They prospered exceedingly. The colony would have had many accessions had not war again broken out in Europe. When the war was draw- ing to a close in 1812, Lord Selkirk had set his heart upon what is now the Province of Manitoba, as the most eligible place for settlement ; he had become chairman of the Hudson Bay Company and he had bought a large tract of land in the North-west. Other Scottish families emigrated to the Island. The two parties were divided into hostile camps on the question of religious worship, the one being attached to the Roman Catholic form, and the other preferring the Presbyterian. Down to the present day there is enmity between the descendants of the two sets of immigrants from Scotland. The branch of the Church of England in the Island has also many adherents. The tendency in the Episcopal Church is towards the extreme form of Ritualism. There is now an end to the conflict which raged for a century between the tillers and pro- prietors of the soil in Prince Edward Island. From the date of its cession to England in 1763 down to 1875, statesmen were perplexed with a *' land question " there. At the outset the best mode in which to dispose of the land had received great consideration. It was surveyed in 17GG; two years before it had been granted to io6 Prince Edward Island. '■ r; lf« I il i Lord Egmont who was enamoured of tliat feudal system which, even in his day, was accounted foohshness by many peers. His scheme was to divide the Island into fifty baronies ; each baron was to erect a castle with a moat and drawbridge in genuine mediaaval fashion, he was to maintain a certain number of men-at-arms and do suit and service to the Lord Paramount. Upon the merchants of London hearing that the king had granted this Island to Lord Egmont they valued the gift at half a million sterling. When his scheme for dealing with it was published, the public laughed at him and doubted whether he possessed his senses as well as an island. Sanclio Panza cculd not have made a more absurd propo- sition about the Island of Barataria. Finding that he could not turr his grant to account Lord Egmont relinquished it, and the Board of Trade and Plantations devised a scheme of their own. According to this scheme, the Island was divided into ^1 townships of 20,000 acres each ; the proprietor of each township was to find a settler for every 200 acres, within ton years after entering into possession, and to pay a sum varying from six to two shillings yearly for each 100 acres held by him. The applicants for the land were so many, being far in excess of the quantity to be allotted, that it was resolved to put of ^■«i^ ..sa»-^[pi« -.1 . ' 'ii Subdivision of ike Land. 107 nt to d tlio ;]icmo tUc 10,000 1^) was hi ten opay jly for its for lof the [0 pvit lip the whole as prizes in a lottery, siibdi^dding ;the townships into lots of a half or a third. The prize-holders became the proprietors of the Island, with the exception of two toAvnships which had been reserved for the use of a fishing company. In a single day of the year 1767, 1,300,000 acres of land were appropriated to persons not many of whom had the intention either of settling on the Island or of inducing others to do so. The prizes were sold for cash ; many fetched as much as 1000/. at first ; but, the supply continuing, they ceased to have any value in the market. Very few of the proprietors fulfilled the con- ditions under which they obtained their lands. In only ten townships were the conditions com- plied with as to settling one person for every 200 acres, before the expiry of the time when the lands were to be forfeited in the event of all the conditions not being fulfilled. The quit rents remained unpaid. These proprietory were de- faulters to the Crown and at the same time exacting landlords. They declined to pay the rents for which they held their lands, but they insisted upon rents being paid to them by the tenants to whom they leased the lands. The scandal was so glaring that as far back as 1770 an agitation began in tlio Island for the forfeiture of estates to which the holders had ceased to \f\ % it io8 Prince Edward Island. f'' 1: 1' Si enjoy an indisputable title. Year after year the dissatisfaction waxed stronger. Nothing of a decisive kind was accomplished till 1853 when the Provincial Legislature passed an Act autho- rizing the Government to purchase such estates as might be offered for sale and to resell them, in portions, to the tenants. Between 1854 and 1871, thirteen estates, comprising 457,260 acres, were bought by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, acting for the Government, at a cost of $518,294. In every case of re-sale the sum obtained for each acre was larger than that paid, so that the redistribution of the estates was profitable to the Government as well as satis- factory to both tenants and landlords. The Act was permissive only. Like all permissive legis- lation this attempt to settle the " land question " was fundamentally weak. The best landlords readily disposed of their property, the worst or the most useless refused to come to terms. Thus the agitation throughout the Island did not abate and the call for a drastic measure grew louder and more general. In 18G0 another attempt was made to effect a settlement of the popular grievances by appointing a Commission to devise and enforce a measure for converting leasehold into freehold estates. The Commissioners consisted of the Hon. J. H. >a8^-^i«ii>ii» I III' i»«'«> ^J^^||^ Landlords and Tenants. 109 the rf a hen bho- iates liem, and ores, rown st of sum paid, J was satis- le Act legis- jtion " dlords rst or Thus abate llouder [ffect a )inting ieasure [states. J.H. Gray of New Brunswick, nominated by the British Government; the Hon. Josej. i Howe of Nova Scotia, nominated by the Legislature of Prince Edward Island, and the Hon. J. "W. Ritchie of Halifax, nominated by the proprietors. A Pro- vincial Act was passed giving the force of law to the Commissioners' award. On the award being published the proprietors raised a technical objec- tion to the manner in which provision was made for valuing the laud. The Commissioners had devolved the duty of valuing the land upon other persons, whereas they ought to have discharged it themselves. Hence it was that their Report and award which the Duke of Newcastle, then Secre- tary of State for the Colonies, pronounced " able and impai tidl " were invalidated and their labour led to no result. The people throughout the Island regarded this conduct on the part of the proprietors as betokening bad faith and a deter- mination to thwart a thorough and enduring settlement. Accordingly the agitation increased in strength and the demands of the tenants became more extreme as well as more menacing to social order. A " Tenant's League " was formed with the avowed purpose of resisting the payment of rents. The civil power, not being able to make head against the opposition to authority, a mili- tary force was despatched from Halifax to aid in I , m S \f •5 \ I lO Prince Edward Island. \ upholding and enforcing the law. Eents were collected at the point of the bayonet ; unless over- whelming force backed the demand, they were withheld. This lamentable and discreditable state of things lasted from 1865 till 1875 when the Land Purchase Act was passed. Under this Act the proprietor of any piece of land, or pieces of land amounting in the aggregate to 500 acres, who was in the receipt of rents, could be compelled to have his interest valued by a Commission and to have his propert}^ transferred to the Commissioner of Public Lands in exchange for the price fixed by the Com- mission and paid to him. No proprietor who culti- vated his own land was affected by the Act, pro- vided his estate did not exceed 1000 acres. The opposition of the proprietors to this Act was perti- nacious and vehement. A petition to the Crown praying that the Act might be disallowed, set forth that the Act embodied " a most unconsti- tutional principle," that it was utterly " destruc- tive to the rights and property " of the petitioners, that it reproduced to a considerable extent in one provision " the worst features of the Star Cham- ber," that it was an " act of open and sweeping confiscation " directed against persons " whose only crime was to possess land in Prince Edward Island." However, the Act was put in force, the Commission over which Mr. Childers presided as II in "I in I II mill r 1 I nnirii the led as Settlement of the Land Question. in representative of the Dominion of Canada, held its sittings and made its awards. Cases of dis- content were common, as was to be expected when the persons affected objected to the whole proceedings ; but cases of real hardship were rare and the Island has ceased to be the theatre of angry disputes respecting the tenure and treat- ment of land. The proprietors' loss has been the Island's gain. I found general satisfaction as to the result. I learnt also that, since the settle- ment of the la^id question and the transforma- tion of leasehold into freehold properties the area of land under cultivation has largely increased and that this salutary process is con- tinuing. I have since read the last report of Mr. Donald Ferguson, the Land Commissioner, which contains minute and satisfactory details as to the working of the Act. The following extract is instructive ; the passage which I print in italics I consider to be specially deserving of attention : — " The sums received at this office during the years 1877, 1878, and 1879 in payment of instal- ments, and interest on purchase-money, amount to 5jl 77,878 7Gc. A much larger sum would no doubt have been received were it not for the great depression in trade existing during that period, causing a decline in the prices usually receiv'ed l:.i! m 1 1 lift I .i»« : ^ :liii * 1 i ■ 1 IL li: 1, I i. i'^ It' .1 ? iiii i i I ■d t ' 112 Prince Edward Island, for agricultural products. Whilst some of the tenants are somewhat slow in meeting their instalments as they fall due, ilie majority are making commendable efforts in that direction, and the public sentiment in the Colony luill sustain the Department of Public Lands in firmly but pru^ dently enforcing payment of the balances remaining unpaid by the tenants^* A narrow guage railway, which runs from one end of thft Island to the other, is of great service in developing its agricultural resources. Farmers can get their produce carried quickly and cheaply to the port of shipment. The railway is not a very pleasant one to travel on. There are no mountains in the Island, yet there are plenty of undulations and, as the line is carried up one slope and down another and round sharp curves, the consequence is that the trains oscillate and jar to a great extent. A serious accident which occurred shortly before I journeyed on the railway, was attributed to the imperfect condition of the permanent way and the Dominion Govern- ment, who manage the line, were bitterly denounced for this by their political opponents. Their political supporters were quite as ready to maintain that the Government deserved thanks for having kept the line in excellent condition.. I could not find evidence of any other fault save Ki4a .r- • ,.-;£2S-^.. -■•-^ Summerside. T13 that of running trains at too great a speed over dangerous curves and high gradients. Shipbuilding used to be the great industry of this Island. A.s many as 100 vessels were on the stocks at one time in the several yards, some being of 1000 tons burden. The demand for wooden vessels having fallen off, the Islanders are the losers. At Summerside, I saw but one small vessel on the stocks ; it was thought a subject of congratulatory notice in the newspapers that another of 600 tons, which was about to be built, would give employment to some of the ship- wrights who had been for some time in enforced idleness. Timber of the best quality is so abundant, labour is so plentiful and there are so many facilities here for supplying wooden vessels of the highest class at the lowest price that, should a demand for them spring up again, the Islanders will have busy times. I fancy, how- ever, that wooden hulls are destined to diminish in number and to be superseded by iron ones. Summerside, the second largest town in the Island, is in communication by steamer with Point du Chene, in New Brunswick. The popu- lation is not much more than 3000. An attempt to make it a place of resort for summer tourists has failed for the present. This consisted in building a palatial hotel, called the Island Park 1 1 ) ■ i i ¥ 11 li Ul fl !:l' m II it t \r^ l! 114 Prince Edward Island. Hotel, on an island in tlie Bay. The Island covers 200 acres and tlie grounds in wliicli the hotel stands are beautifully laid out ; a steam ferry keeps up communication bet .yeen the hotel and Summerside. For a time the 600 rooms in the hotel were filled, but the visitors gradually departed without any intimation that they would return. The result has been a heavy loss to the proprietor of the hotel, which was closed when I saw it. Everything seemed in its favour. The situation was lovely ; a pleasanter spot on which to spend a few days or weeks it would be hard to find. But the sojourner in the Island Park Hotel found that it was less of a paradise than might have been supposed. I was told that the Island produces mosquitoes of a specially vicious and persevering character, and that these mos- quitoes did not rest till they had made the hotel too hot for its occupants. I have known cases of eyes being closed owing to mosquito stings, but I never before heard of mosquitoes shutting up a hotel. It is certain that the hotel was a failure and it is possible that the mosquitoes were unjustly blamed for a misfortune which might have been due to other causes. I did not sojourn on the Island where the hotel stands ; I cannot write from personal knowledge of its character as the hunting-ground for sanguinary insects, but I con< f[ ..jiwtwr-^rf ~ Chm'lottetown and its Suburbs. 115 were 1111 slit |>30urn tannot iter as Ibut I can say that I was untroubled by mosquitoes in Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown, the Capital, is the largest city in the Island and even it does not contain more than 10,000 inhabitants. Its situation is admirable, being built on a rising ground at the bottom of Hillsborough Bay and at the confluence of the rivers Hillsborough, York, and Elliot. From the upper part of the city the prospect is charming ; in the distance are the hills of Nova Scotia, between them and the Island lie the Straits of Northumberland and many sheets of water filling irregular indentations in the shore, as well as many small islands or promontories covered with trees. There are several important buildings in Charlottetown, the principal one being the Colonial Building, where the Government officials and the Legislature are accommodated. The suburbs contain neat villas, surrounded with flower- gardens tastefully laid out and well kept. In traversing this Island and visiting the private houses and living in the hotels, one is pleasantly reminded of the Old World ; there is not much bustle and there is much more comfort. Times do not appear to have changed materially since the Island was divided into three counties. Kings, Queens and Princes, and since the chief streets of its capital were traced and named I 2 A ;l* \.\\ Ii6 Prince Edward Island. 'A .1: i- \ ^ Kent, Dorchester, Grafton, Queen and Great George, The conductors of the newspapers are less disposed than the other Prince Edward Islanders to take life easily and quietly. They display much energy and fertility in personal attack and recrimination. The newspapers often contain specimens of the style of journalism typified by the Eatonsivill Gazette. Professional politicians, who are as active and unpopular here as they are in other parts of North America, frequently make public statements about each other's motives and conduct which the charitable stranger must hope are grossly exaggerated, if not wholly unfounded. Though the smallest Province of Canada, this one is not the least worthy of a \.^sit. The future of the Island will probably resembit; its past in all respects save the controversy concerning the land question, and also in the advance in wealth and population going on at an accelerated speed. It is possible that coal exists at a great depth, and it is known that a small quantity of iron ore exists, but the only natural wealth of the Island is in the trees which still remain and show how the whole country looked when it was entirely covered with forest, in the soil which is very fertile, in the game which is very plentiful and in the fish which swarm around the Island and fill its many rivers. Governor yohn Ready's Administration, 117 During several years of its early history, complaints were made as to the injury wrought by the rapacity and tyranny of the Governors sent from England. One of them, Governor Smith, was actually removed in 1813 for misconduct, in deference to the strong complaints of the inhabitants. Since the Island has enjoyed responsible government, that is since 1851, its rulers have not had the power, even if inspired with a wish to do, mischief. The pleasantest memories of bygone days are associated with Governor John Ready who dis- played a benevolent disposition and a sincere desire to promote the welfare of the people. It was in 1827, during his Administration, that the first Census was taken, the population being found to number 23,266. At the beginning of the century the number was 5000. The census of 1871 showed that the population had increased to 94,021 ; it is estimated that about 15,000 have been added to the people during the last ten years. These statistics prove a steady increase in population and there is no apparent reason why the progress should be speedily arrested. m After visiting the Maritime Provinces of Canada, I was struck with the advantage which they would derive from a legislative union. Before the Con- federation Act of 1867 was passed, it had been ii8 Prince Edward Island, ^^•^^''^■^ Ml ilii III vh^ \ I ■ 'ti-'l proposed to confederate the Maritime Provinces, but the jealousy and opposition of each was too great to be surmounted. Since becoming Pro- vinces of the Dominion, complaints are frequently made that they do not exercise so much influence at Ottawra as the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario. This grievance would be mitigated or removed if they joined their forces and acted as a unit. Their interests are identical ; a single Provincial Legislature could provide for their local affairs, while as a united body, they would command greater respect in the Dominion Parliament. Home rule has its advantages; but, when three legislatures exist in a population of 800,000, the cost of home rule is greater than the benefit. "Whether the Maritime Provinces make this change or whether they remain as they are, they will be the better appreciated in Europe, the more they are known, and the tourist who desires to see new places will find a trip through them both enjoyable and instructive. The time wasted by ambitious travellers in aimless journeys round tho world and in describing what they had imperfectly seen and understood, would be more advan- tageously expended, Avhilo literatui'e might have a lesser (puintity of rubbish added to it, if they leisurely traversed and truthfully described tho Maritime Provinces of Canada. wli |» l l ii -^'i]L"^ 'i g )i ■•tt^it:^ jes, too ?ro- Dtly 3nce ario. edif unit. ncial fairs, mand ment. three 0, the enefit. this they more to see both ed by id the fectly tdvan- havo a they )d the CHAPTER V. INTERCOLOXIAL, GRAND TRUNK, AND NORTHERN RAILWAYS. In 1838 the Earl of Durham strongly urged the British Government to construct a railway between Halifax and Quebec. In 187G the Inter- colonial Railway was completed and opened for traffic. When passengers were first enabled in 18G9 to travel by rail from New York to San Francisco, they rejoiced that this had been rendered possible. It was not remembered that the con- struction of a Pacific Railway was advocated by Joh^ Plumbe in 183G. The rule is for a great national undertaking to be delayed at least thirty J ears longer than is absolutely necessary. A generation often passes away before the project of a far-seeing man is carried into effect by the persons whom he has converted to his views and who, when they see the feasibility and success ci ... ] 1 I20 Intercolonial Railway. 1 . 1 !^ 1(1' the undertaking are ready enough to appropriate the credit which is his due. The first objection made to the Intercolonial Railway, while it was still the subject of considera- tion, was that it could not be constructed ; the second was that, if constructed, traffic over it would be suspended during the winter mont^hs ; the third and, in the opinion of most persons, the conclusive one was that, even if constructed, it could not possibly pay. The objections made in the United States to the Pacific Railway were of the same character and were equally conclusive. Engineering skill has overcome all natural obstacles in both cases. The trains on both lines run with regularity all the year round, and both are successful railway up J or takings. With re- gard to all such undertakingcj as gr^at trunk railw.iys or interoceanic cr.nals, the prophecies of failure are the only things connected with them which usually remain unfulfili'^d. The Intercolonial Railway is the most palpable result of Canadian Confederation. At a meeting held at Quebec in 1804 of the delegates from the Provinces which first constituted the Dominion of Canada it was resolved, and this resolution was .afterwards incorporated in the Imperial Act creating the Dominion, that " the general govern- ment shall secure, without delay, the completion - H ' ?'r ^ '«-->- sA:^ aiHB9ft Origin and Character. 121 it re- jcies )ablo )tiiie: the of )ii was Act rern- jtiou of the Intercolonial Railway from Riviere du Loup, through New Brunswick, to Truro, in Nova Scotia." In accordance with this resolution and with a capital of 3,000,000/. raised under Imperial guarantee, the construction of the railway was begun in 1809. Several surveys and plans for a railway had been made at an earlier day. The first scheme referred to a line, surveyed by Major Yule, R.E., which was to run from St. Andrew's in New Brunswick to Quebec and which a joint- stock Company was to construct with the sanction of the British Government. The International dispute as to the boundary between New Bruns- wick and the State of Maine caused the postpone- ment of this undertaking, and the Ashburt jii treaty under which certain territory, claimed and occupied by Great Britain, was ceded to the United States, caused the project to be abandoned. Several other plans for constructing a railway from the sea-board to Quebec through British territory were successively mooted, matured and laid aside. The great work was ultimately begun and completed, without half the difficulty which was expected and with more advantage to those primarily affected than had been imagined or foretold. Tliough not so gigantic a work as the Pacific Railway from Omaha to San Francisco, it is yet no trifling display of cngineerhig capacity. Its 122 Intercolonial Railway, Ih ! ,V \\v I : total length, including branches to Pictou and Shediac, is 713 miles. A more substantial line of rail is not to be found anywhere. The permanent way is in admirable condition; the rails are of steel ; the brid^res are of stone or iron ; the engines and carriage ire iiade of the best materials and on the latest ] odels in the Government workshops at Moncton. It is indisputable that the snowfall is very heavy and the cold is intense in winter throughout much of the country through which the line runs. A part of it passes along a tract 743 feet above the sea level. In the Meta^edia Valley the weather is fre([uently severe, yet the detention of a train owing to bad weather is rarer than in the Highlands of Scotland. This is largely due to the careful provision which has been made for all contingencies. Wherever the snow is likely to drift and bar the passage of a train, fences have been erected to keep it off the line ; where it might fill up a cutting, snow sheds have been built ; one of these sheds, which is upwards of a mile in length, cost $1,500,00C. In tbis case, however, the outlay has proved to be judicious economy. Only a short section of the line has baffled the efforts of the engineers to render it perfectly free from risk or irouble ; tbis consists of a vast slope composed of clay down which, in the spring-time, a heavy mass sometimes slides Workshops at Moncion. 12 and sweeps rails and eyerytliing else before it. Various remedies have been tried in vain. As the clay is of excellent quality and bricks are in demand, it might serve a double purpose to erect a brick- making machine and thus turn the erratic clay to useful account. During my visit to Moncton, the headquarters of the Railway, I had the privilege of inspecting the Company's workshops and offices under the guidance of Mr. Bruce, the Chief Clerk, who was in temporary charge during the absence of Mr. Pottinger, the Government Superintendent, to whom I had an introduction. I was impressed with the business-like way in which everything was t^rranged and executed- The workshops are on a large scale, consisting of three huge buildings which cover 70 acres ; as many as 2000 men being employed when the demand for making or repair- ing cars and locomotives is at its height. A proof of the care with which the line is managed is the fixct that carefully compiled Moteorological tables are kept at each station and forwarded at regular intervals to the head office, where they are filed for reference. This ii ly seem superfluous, yet it is an eminently sensible as well as a practi- cal arrangement. Should the ]\Ianager be called upon to make compensation for damage to goods in course of transit, it may happen that tlio I* I Ml I' I I i ^1 i 1 V % 11 1 w If '■y I r' !l El I •! |i -.1.1 "» 124 Ifitercolonial Railway. damago is entirely due to excessive heat or exces- sive cold or to a condition of the weather which exonerates the railway authorities from blame and from any liability to pay damages. By referring to the Meteorological tables on the given day at the place in question, the state of the weather can be ascertained and thus a dispute may be averted or settled. There can be no doubt that the Intercolonial Railway is excellently constructed and admirably managed. The Chief Clerk, Mr. Bruce, who readily afforded me all the information I desired and displayed a courtesy which I heartily acknow- ledge, and Mr. Pottinger, the Superintendent, whose praise I heard from many mouths and whose ability is demonstrated by his success, evidently do their duty without reproach. Yet I am not convinced that a great railway should be a Government undertaking. The temptation to appoint or promote railway officers for party ser- vices rather than for personal merit is hard to resist and it is not easy to satisfy the public that Government patronage is uninfluenced by political considerations. Whenever this line is a paying property the Canadian Government would show wisdom in leasing it for a term of years. They would then be able to count upon an annual return without running any risk. Hitherto the working ser- :d to that litical tying Isliow iThey )tuni toig Scenery alo7ig the Line, 125 expenses have been in excess of the receipts, but the days of deficits appear to be numbered. The rate of increase has been rapid and, with one exception, continuous. In 1876-7 the deficit ^ aS $307,000 ; in 1877-8, it was 8232,000 ; in 1878-9, it was $547,867 ; in 1879-80, it fell to $97,131. A profit has accrued at the time I write. This is the manner in which the prediction has been justified that the Intercolonial would never earn enough wherewith to pay for the grease on the axles of the wheels. The Intercolonial Railway is not only an in- valuable means of intercommunication between the Maritime and mid-Provinces of Canada, but it offers many attractions to tourists. From Hali- fax to Quebec the distance is 686 miles. After leaving Halifax the scenery begins to attract the beholder, nothing can be more charming than the chain of lakes with wooded islands nor can any- thing be more weird than the tract of country strewn with boulders, ivjout thirty miles along the way the Gold quartz mining district is reached. Ten miles further on is Shubenacadie on a river of that name which divides Nova Scotia into two parts and abounds in shad and salmon. I was told that the sunsets at Shubenacadie were gor- geous in the extreme. The statement was verified in my own experience ; never have I seen sunsets I ft' I' 5 i • 1 J t ;i 0* 11 1 1 / M|j I f i; I I't! 'Il •i S'!' h 126 Intercolonial Railway. elsewhere that presented so many marvellous and brilliant effects. Truro, a refreshment station, was a small village before the railway was made ; now it is a town of 5000 inhabitants. Ifc is sur- rounded by meadows and it has the benefit of the ocean breeze from the Bay of Fundy. At London- derry, a station further on, shipbuilding is the chief industry. Here the Acadian Charcoal Iron Company's works are situated ; these works have been acquired by English capitalists. The outlay upon them has been 300,00OZ. and they are ex- pected to yield, when in full operation, 20.000 tons of pig iron annually. The railway runs through the small settlement of Ishgonish, where rabbits are as plentiful as at Ostend. A local firm catches and tins these rabbits and exports them to England. The tins are labelled " Pre- served Hare." Purchasers of Nova Scotia pre- served hare ought to see that the contents of the tins tally with the label. The course of the line over the Cobequid Hills is very picturesque, the elevation reached being 600 feet, and the view both far and near being exceedingly beautiful. Where the level country is gained lies the village of Oxford, which is noted for its manufactu es of carpenters' tools and wooden boxes. After entering the Province of New Brunswick, the most notable place on the line is Dorchester on the left bank Newcastle. 127 of the Peticodiac River. Kear this place a mineral called " jet coal " is found in large quantities. It is as rich in gas as cannel coal. I pass over Moncton which I have already described and name Newcastle as next in order of note. It is the most important business place in New Bruns- wick after St. John. Like St. John it has been swept away by fire and rebuilt in a more attrac- tive style though not a more substantial manner, wood being principally u,sed instead of stone which is quite as abundant and nearly as cheap. The Miramichi river on which it is situated is one of the largest in the Province, being 220 miles long and having a width of 9 miles at its mouth. At Bathurst the sightseer, as well as the angler, will be repaid should he visit the Grand Falls on the Nequissiquit River. These Falls are 140 feet in heis:ht, and are sublime specimens of natural scener;y . On the banks of another river, the Tete- a-Gauche, is to be found the curious Wax-yielding plant, Myvch Conifeya ; candles made from i\\h wax are commonly used in the locality. Camp- bellton, which is 872 miles from Halifax is a place well known to the passengers who leave by the night express on Saturday, as they have to remain here all Sunday, the running of trains being for- bidden on Sunday in Canada. The attractions of Campbellton, which greatly resemble those of the 'I '1 ji I W f J ll' I1i 1-28 Intercolonial Railway. town in Scotland nfter which it was named, would be more appreciated if they were not seen under compulsion. From this point to Metapedia the first village in the Province of Quebec, the scenery is diversified and the places at which the tourist might halt are many. No finer fishing can be had a^xywhere than in the Restigouche and Meta^ pedia Rivers ; the valleys of both streams abound with game while the scenery is on as vast and im- posing a scale as in the Alps, while it has at times all the soft efiects which enchant the traveller in the Pyrenees. A pretty place in the Metapedia Valley bears the unpronounceable name of Assa- metquaghan. Shortly after this valley is left behind, the line nears the St. Lawrence, and runs at no great distance from it for upwards of 200 miles till entering the terminus at Point Levi opposite Quebec. Here the Intercolonial ends and the Grand Trunk begins. In the latter part of the journey there are many places which tempt a halt, chief among them is Cacouna the fashion- able watering-place of the Dominion. Here the visitors can amuse themselves by bathing, boat- ing, fishing and shooting. There are several large and well-managed hotels at Cacouna, which is not only a pleasant place of resort for the holiday- maker, but also enjoys the reputation of restoring health to invalids. Mr. yustice Henry. 129 irge I not lay- :ing I journeyed over the Intercolonial from St. John to Shediac, from Pictou to Halifax and from Halifax to Quebec. A piece of pleasant personal experience on the last journey deserves mention. This consisted in forming the acquaintance of Mr. Justice Henry, a Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada. He is a native of Nova Scotia and took a leading part in the affairs of that Province. He was an earnest advocate of the Intercolonial Railway and of the Canadian Confederation. In addition to being an active and a respected poli- tician, he distinguished himself as a law reformer ; it was at his suggestion and under his guidance that the Statutes of his native Province were re- vised, a work which was praised in the House of Lords by Lord Campbell, then Lord Chancellor. The reforms in legal procedure introduced by him are vast improvements on the old state of things. At a dinner given in his honour by the Bar of Nova Scotia in 1876, after his appointment as Justice of the Supreme Court and before hiy de- parture for Ottawa, the Lieutenant-Governor, Mr. Archibald, said " It is fair to say that on our smaller scale Mr. Justice Henry has had the honour of initiating in this Province something in the same line of policy which has lately been carried out in England. If his bill did not succeed at once, it, at all events, entitles him to be considered as one .1.': , 'I J^I'T t ■ f 130 !iM'' IP Grand Trunk Railway. of the earliest and oldest advocates in this country of a policy on the subject of judicial tribunals, which has, after a long struggle, prevailed in the Mother country." I was gratified to learn from Mr. Justice Henry that the Canadian Supreme Court is working satisfactorily and fully attaining the objects of its originators. The cost of litiga- tion is reduced, owing to appeals to the Privy Council occurring in exceptional cases only. The existence of the Supreme Court adds to, while gratifying national feeling in Canada. I have had the good fortune to become acquainted with several Canadian Judges and I have been impressed not only with their professional attainments, bub with their readiness to adapt themselves to changes of every kind and with their power of dealing with all matters as men of the world as well as trained lawyers. Among them Mr. Justice Henry is not the least notable. •\ w I I 11. The Grand Trunk Railway of Canada is a sadly familiar name in many an English household. When the line was projected its shares and bonds were considered so good and safe an investment that thrifty parents bought them as a provision for their wives and children. During its con- Mr. Hicksofi^s Matagemcnt. 131 1: ; 1 struction the interest on the bonds was punctually paid. It is now difficult to credit that the Fourth Preference Bonds were once quoted at upwards of 70?. each in the Stock Exchange official list. After the opening of the Victoria Bridge, when the interest on the bonds was to be paid out of earnings, many an English family was reduced to poverty, no surplus having accrued wherewith to meet the interest on all the bonds and to divide something among the shareholders. Writing on " Railways ; their Cost and Profits " in the WcsU minster Bevieiu for October 1862, 1 stated that the Grand Trunk Railway was perhaps the most un- successful undertaking of the time : " it has been made fifty years too soon for pro:it, but not a day too soon for the Province." This prediction has as good a prospect of being verified as any prediction about the future of a railway. The receipts are now increasing so largely that bondholders who despaired of their lot are now receiving a return, and the case of the shareholders iias ceased to be absolutely hopeless. This pleasing transformation is due, both to the progressive improvement in traffic, and to the great organizing and administra- tive ability of the General Manager, Mr. Hickson, whose policy has been ably carried into effect by his assistant Mr. Drinkwater and a well- selected and an efficient staff. K 2 I J'* \K' '•.a I; if' II ! i i! 132 Grmid Trunk Raihuay, The traveller bound West from the citj of Quebec can now journey over the Grand Trunk as far as Chicago. By securing a direct through line to the great city of Illinois, the Manager and Directors of the Grand Trunk have displayed as much judgment as boldness. Moreover, the Inter- colonial acts as a feeder to their line, so that the connexion by rail is unbroken between Halifax on the Atlantic and Chicago on Lake Michigan. A feeder to the Grand Trunk of great value is now in course of construction. It starts from Sher- brooke and runs through New Brunswick till it joins the railway in that Province which now runs to St. John. The saving in distance between the sea- board and Montreal over this line will be 200 miles, and the result may be to make St. John a still more dangerous rival to Halifax. It is possible also that the Intercolonial may be injurious^ Tiffected, yet of this I am very doubtful. The local traffic on the Intercolonial will not be di- minished, and this is quite as remunerative as the through traffic. Indeed, there is ample room for both lines. When this new route is open the Grand Trunk will have three termini on the Atlantic, one at Portland in Maine, a second at Halifax in Nova Scotia and a third at St. John in Now Brunswick. When the Canadian Pacific Railway is finished, the Grand Trunk will form Glut of Traffic. 133 isty 'he di- Itlio for Ithe Itlio at in ifio rill an important and profitable link in the iron road which will then pass across British Territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. It is eleven years since I first travelled over the Grand Trunk Railway ; on my last journey I could scarcely fancy that the line was the same, so com- plete had been the improvement in the interval. At the date of my earliest trip over the Grand Trunk, the chance of arriving at the appointed hour was very slight ; the probabihty of a break- down, if not of a serious accident, being very great, the oscillation and jumping of the cars being intolerable. Now, the trains run with remarkable punctuality and with a smoothness equal to that on the best railway in England or elsewhere; acci- dents have happily become very rare. It seems to me that there is as much goods and passenger traffic on the line as can be accommodated ; the pressure on the rolling stock is specially severe between Montreal and Toronto. Another line of rails may yet have to bo added between these two places. I think, however, that the struggles of the Grand Trunk as a commercial undertaking are nearing their close and that the long expected period of prosperity is about t(? begin. Everything that can bo done by skilful manngement to make the lino remunerative has been carefully attended to, and the shareholders f I ;i I t I 'l»^i; i' i i !1. 134 Non'thcryi Railway. may ye^ find that tlieir patience lias not been tried in vain, and that the sanguine expectations which they once cherished about future profits were premature rather than baseless. HI. While the Grand Trunk runs west beyond Toronto, another line, the Northern, running in a north-westerly direction, connects that city with Collingwood on Georgian Bay. The distance between the two places is 95 miles. At Allandaie a branch runs to the Muskoka district, that pic- turesque region of wood and water which bears many resemblances to the Highlands of Scotland. The total length of the Northern with its branches is 1G7 miles. It has been under the management of Colonel Cumberland since 1859. Befijre his advent, the prospect of the line becom- ing remunerative was very slight. A great change for the better has now taken place, the vigour and ability of Colonel Cumberland having altered the prospects of the railway. Not only is the line in an admirable state for transporting goods and passengers, but its stations are models of neatness and good taste. The sight of a pretty garden at a station is common enough in England, but it is \ Mnskoka Lakes, 135 t is so rare in Canada and the United States that the flowers, grass and shrubbery at the stations on the Northern Railway impress a stranger as ex- ceedingly effective. The country through which the Northern Rail- way runs after leaving Toronto is well adapted for farming. The Vale of Aurora is a district in which good grain is grown and horses and sheep of the best kinds are reared. Beyond the village of Aurora is Newmarket which is noted for manu- factures. Half-way between Toronto and Col- lingwood is the Holland River Marsh, a spot where snipe and wild duck abound and where there is also excellent fishing. At AUandale, the junction for the Muskoka branch, the prospect is lovely. This place and Barrie are on Kempenf eldt Bay in Lake Simcoe. This Lake as well as the Lakes in the Muskoka district are not like the huge inland seas which entirely upset the ideas of Lakes formed by visitors to the north of England, the Highlands of Scotland and to Switzerland. The sheets of water in this part of Canada while seldom too vast to be embraced at a single glance, are exquisite in their surroundings. It is fifteen years since the Muskoka district was thrown open for settlement and free grants of land were made to those persons who should fix their homes there. The influx of settlers has if! J \ S I ^ > Northern Railway, been considerable ; tlie inhabitants numbered 300 in 1861 ; tliey now number about 10,000. Many persons have been disappointed because the land is of small value for the agriculturist, though furnishing a beautiful prospect to the tourist. The settler naturally prefers fine soil to fine scenery. Moreover, the country was in a wild state when the first settlers went thither and was not so easily farmed as in the west, where the prairie is ready for the plough. But the early failures of a few have been the exceptions and the country is now becoming filled with industrious and thriving families. Year after year it is grow- ing in favour as a place of summer resort, being to Ontario what the Highlands are to England. All this brings tri.ffic to the Northern Railway. Collingwood is the most important station on the line, being the place of departure and arrival of the steamers which ply between this town and Duluth at the head of Lake Superior. Other lines of steamers run between Collingwood and Chicago. As the West becomes more populous and the surplus of products increases in amount, the trade on the Northern Lakes must grow in a corresponding ratio and this increase will add more trafl&c to the Northern Railway. It stands fourth, in the extent of its traffic, among Canadian lines of rail. As the line whereby north-western hough Future Prospects. 137 Ontario will be developed and which will profit, m turn, by such development, it stands first. Possessing a virtual monopoly of an important tract of country, the Northern should attain a high place among the most successful Canadian Railways. 11 .f' -■^\ I J ! m I. CHAPTER VI. ACROSS LAKE SUPERIOR. The traveller bound for the Canadian Far West, who crosses the Atlantic in an Allan liner, reaches Toronto by rail after landing at Halifax, Rimouski or Quebec. Unless he shall have made up his mind before leaving home as to the route which he will take in order to arrive at Manitoba, he finds at Toronto that three courses are open to him and that each has its professed advantage or special temptation. First, he may proceed to "Winnipeg by rail. If he travel night and da}^ he is at his journey's end in three days and a half. Second, he may proceed to Sarnia on Lake Huron over the Grand Trunk Railway, embark there in a steamer for Duluth, at the head of Lake Superior, where he takes the train for Winnipeg. Third, ho may proceed to Colling- wood on Georgian Bay over the Northern of Canada Railway, where a steamer will carry him Uing- rn of liitn \ The North Shore Route. 139 to Duluth whence he continues his journey as in the second case. The time occupied in the third of these cases is four days and a half, being one day shorter than by the Sarnia route and one day longer than the direct route by rail. In addition to the Jiaving in time, the third route has the advantage over the second that the voyage is made along the North Shore of Lake Superior where the scenery is bolder and more varied than on the South. During five months out of the twelve, Lake Superior is closed to navigation; the open season begins at the end of April and closes at the end of November. As the boats were running, I determined to cross the Lake and, after careful consideration, I elected to start from Collingwood in order to enjoy the attractions of the North Shore route. Five hours after leaving Toronto on a Thurs- day forenoon, I reached Collingwood and I looked for the C'dy of Winnipeg, the steamer which was advertised to leave the wharf shortly after the arrival of the train. I looked in vain. The steamer did not get to Collingwood on her return trip till Saturday evening, having })een detained owing to boisterous weather and having been so much injured that she had to be docked for repairs. On Sunday evening the Frances Smith, another steamer of the same line, reached J pi I \\ 140 Across Lake Stiperior, CoUingwood and her Captain reported that he had encountered a gale on the upward trip which jeopardized the vessel's safety and did some damage to her. After being temporarily re- paired, she started for Duluth on Monday night. I was not sorry to leave CoUingwood, having grown tired of waiting there four days for a steamer which might appear at any mo- ment. In other circumstances I might have liked CoUingwood better. The town is of recent date. It stands upon what was formerly a cedar swamp. Its advance in importance has been rapid. The population numbers 4000. CoUingwood is ad- mirably situated for the purposes of commerce ; the greater part of Ontario's trade with the Upper Lakes must pass through it. The soil iu the immediate vicinity is poor, yet certain vege- tables and fruits flourish there, the vield of exc€'llent plums being very large. Small though CoUingwood be, it is yet rich enough to support two weekly newspapers and one daily. There are many attractive villas in the neighbourhood where the prosperous merchants reside. There is an Episcopalian, a Methodist and a Roman Catholic Church and two Presbyterian Churches. In the two principal hotels the traveller is hciu.sed at a very moderate charge. At one of them I that lie ) which i some rily re- ■ night, having 5 for a y mo- D liked at date. swamp. [. The is ad- TTierce ; th the soil in vege- eld of hough |upport lliere rliood There Oman grebes. Lctu&ed bem I A Landlord s Career. 141 obtained a comfortable room and excellent food for the small sum of §1 a day. The proprietor of the hotel told me an inte- resting story of his struggles with fortune. Born in the North of Ireland, he came to Canada at an early age. He migrated to Collingwood, where he followed the trade of a shoemaker. Being a skilful workman he was able to save a little money and to employ men to execute the orders he received. He had p.s many as eight men in his employment and h^ct plenty of business when he was obliged to suspend payment owing to the bad debts which he made. Then he became hotel keeper, prospered in that capacity and paid all his old creditors in full, the sum required for the purpose being $2500. Soon afterwards his hotel was burnt down ; he was uninsured and lost every- thing except a good name and credit. On the strength of his credit he borrowed money, where- with to buy the site on which his hotel had stood, and to erect a new building. He has now paid off all his liabilities and is independent. He ascribes his success in life to working hard and minding his own business. He told me that his feeling for Ireland was as warm as ever, but that he felt ashamed of many Irishmen. He spoke highly of the neighbouring country as a place where farmers can prosper. There are many 1 1 ; i- 142 Across Lake Superior. \\y farms of lOOacreswitli substantial house and offices which can be bought for $7000. In several cases farms ar3 for sale because the possessors have not inherited their fathers' virtues as well as their acres. Taking life easily and giving to pleasure the energy which ought to be expended in their fields, these young men find that they have to raise money by mortgaging their land, and are often obliged to part with the land because they cannot meet tho interest on the mortgages. The Frances Smith is a paddle steamer. For sea-going purposes a steamer propelled by paddles is inferior to one propelled by a scr^w, but the former commonly affords superior accommodation to passengers. I had a better furnished and more spacious state-room in the Frances Smith than is to be found on the best Atlantic liners. I cannot imagine anything more enjoyable in fine summer weather than a trip in such a steamer. But when the equinoctial gales are blowing and Lake Superior is a raging sea, a steamer like this is neither comfortable nor staunch. If the engines brcke down the vessel would be at the mercv of the waves. On a screw steamer sail can bb carried which might prove serviceable in the event of damage to the machinery. The voyage was tedious owing to stormy weather. Leaving Colling wood on Mon- d offices i\ cases lave not as tlieir aleasure in tlieir I to raise re often f cannot jr. For lied by L by a superior 1 better in the lie best lof more a trip dnoctial raging ible nor vessel On a miglit to the dng to Mon- Tempestuotis Weather. 143 day night we did not reach Dulutli till the suc- ceeding Monday morning, though we were due on the previous Thursday night. Captain Robertson, who has had seven years' experience of navigating Lake Superior, had never seen a worse season ; this does not prove much, however, for the Cap- tains of steamships always appear to think that the present bad weather is unprecedented. This is their mode of flattering passengers ; the latter are rather proud of hearing that their experience of the weather is altogether exceptional and that their survival is almost miraculous. However, the Captain of the Frances Smith demonstrated that he considered the weather very bad, for, rather than face the gale blowing in Georgian Bay, he remained twelve hours in the sheltered harbour of Owen Sound. Another steamer which left CoUingwood for Chicago soon after we started, was driven on an island in Georgian Bay and became a total wreck. The Captain of our steamer had the greater reason for caution because the boat was obviously over-laden. There were several horses and fifty head of cattle on board ; cargo was piled in every spot where space could be found; ample provision seemed to have been made for causing what would have been misnamed an accident. Though the weather was unpropitious for full I 144 Across I ake Superior. Vk enjoyment of the scenery, yet I saw enough to lead me to concur in the praise lavished upon it. As many as ten thousand islands or islets have been counted in Georgian Bay and this figure is believed to be far under the mark. Many are wooded ; they differ in shape and they give a variety tp the landscape which is exceedingly charming. The steamer was a whole day thread- ing its course among this maze of islets. Killarney on the north shore is the fourth stopping-place after leaving CoUingwood; it is a village con- sisting of about twenty houses and a church. The land is very poor in the neighbourhood ; the laurentian formation is conspicuous, the out- cropping of bare rock being more frequent than patches of soil. The people are Indians and Half- Breeds who live by catching fish and gathermg fruit. They had many tubs of freshly caught white fish and salmon trout and barrels of cran- berries for sale, the latter costing $5 each. Specimens of Indian embroidery were in a store over which was a sign " Indian Works." As a few of the houses were new, I inferred that the village of Killarney was flourishing. A very different impression was produced by the sight of the Bruce mines. This was once a busy settlement; now it is in decay; many of the houses are empty and the church seems The Brtice Mines, 145 If iigli to pon it. s have jure is ny are give a jdingly ]hread- Uarney g-place ;e con- jliurcli. id; the 16 out- it than Half- iiermg caught cran- each. 1 store As a at the ed by )iice a my of seems falling into ruin. The copper-mines around which the settlement had gathered belong to an English Company. At one time they were very remunerative. A gentleman who had managed one of the principal mines told me that, if copper were to fetch 16tL a pound again all these mines would return large dividends, but that, at the present price of copper, they must be worked at a heavy loss. The works are stopped and the machinery is not only idle, but it is deteriorating rapidly. However, the English Company is so fortunate as to possess in addition to unproduc- tive mines, 6500 acres of good farming land, for which there is a demand ; the capital sunk in the mines may be partly replaced from their sale. The Bruce mines are 307 miles from Colling- wood. After leaving them the steamer enters the St. Mary's Kiver, connecting Lake Superior with Lake Huron ; it is about sixty miles long. For a great part of its course it bears no resemblance to a stream, being rather a series of shallow lakes, among which Bear Lake and St. George's Lake are the most important. At the outlet of tbe latter the Neebish Kapids attract attention, chiefly because the current is so much less sluggish there than at other parts. The St. Mary's Eiver is meandering as well as shallow ; at parts the space between the banks is narrow and the banks them- 1 i': I 1 ) i , ^.1 ( % M ' I II' i: 146 Across Lake Superior. selves are very picturesque. When I saw them, their rocky sides were not only tinted with many colours but their summits were crowned with trees glowing in the gorgeous tints of a Canadian autumn. On the northern side there is an Indian reservation whereon an Indian tribe, under the rule of Chief Francis, lives by fishing and farming. In physique the chief strikingly resembles the great Duke of Wellington and in character lie is quite as shrewd. He resists all encroachrner cs on his domain. The Quebec and Lake Superior Mining Company discovered a silver-mine to which access could be had only through the Indian reservation. Chief Francis refused to allow the Company's servants to exercise the right of way which they claimed on the technical ground that the land was unfenced. When the Indians understood the nature of the claim, they lost no time in surrounding the land with fences of the strangest and most primitive kind and thus check-mated the Company. Chief Francis stands upon his legal right, and he will neither surrender his title to the land nor sell any of it. The Canadian Government respect his title, and there is no likelihood of Chief Francis having to make any change against his will. He knows that a treaty with Indians is always scrupulously respected wherever the British flag floats. I Homes f 07' Indian Children. H7 A little way further up the river, at Sault Ste. Marie, on the Canadian side, is the Shingwauk Home established six years ago by members of the Church of England in Canada for the training of young Indian boys. Two years ago the Wawanosh Home was estabhshed for training Indian girls. There is accommodation for eighty boys and thirty girls. The Government gives a small subsidy to the Homes, but voluntary contributions are their chief support. As is common with charitable institutions these two labour under the drawback of poverty. I am assured that both have been appreciated by the Indians, who are glad to send their children to be educated and, I may add, civilized there. A little monthly paper printed at the Boys' Home called the Algoma Missionary Neiva and Sliinrjiimuh Journal gives information about missionary progress among the Indians. The profits from the sale go to the support of the Home ; the yearly subscription is only 85 cents. Moreover, any one who desires to support a boy or girl, including clothing, can do so by paying $75 a year. The purposes and wants of these Homes only require to be generally known for their prosperity to be assured. It is through sucli agencies that the Indians of Canada will not only remain peaceful dwellers in the land, but are prepared and disposed to exercise the privileges of L 2 ■III 'ill 148 Across Lake Superior, citizensliip to whicli they are entitled, under Canadian law, whenever they choose to comply with the requisite formalities. On the Michigan side the land is good and well-cultivated. The most comfortable looking house and the best laid grounds belong to Mr. Church who has accumulated a fortune by making raspberry jam. He settled here when this part of the State was unpeopled by white men and he employed Indians to gather the wild raspberries which grow in profusion. He made them into jam which he forwarded for sale in the more settled and civilized parts of tho United States. His jam grew into favour with the public and he became very rich. At Sault Ste. Marie the steamer passes through a canal into Lake Superior. This canal is a fine example of engineering skill, but it will soon be superseded by a still finer example. The second canal is an admirable piece of work, every part being built of the most durable materials. Vessels drawing sixteen feet of water will be able to pass through the new canal. It is not creditable to Canada that no such canal has been made on her side of tho rapids. The natural difficulties are far less there, while the advantages of a canal through Canadian territory are obvious. As a spectacle, the Rapids are very striking. Fishing in the Rapids, 149 For the distance of a mile the waters of Lake Superior rush down over shelving rocks ; at intervals in the descent, islets, covered with trees, form obstacles to the hurrying waters which eddy and foam around them. In the eddies white fish lie and feed till they fall a prey to the Indian fisherman. It is nearly two centuries and a half since the Sault Ste. Marie was first visited by white men. In 1641, two Jesuit missionaries. Fathers Raymbault and Jorgues, pushed their explorations as far as this place. They then found an Indian village of two thousand persons on the spot where a small United States city now stands. For centuries the Chippewa Indians had made this a place of abode, living on the white fish that swarm in the Rapids. The mode of fishing is unlike any which I ever saw practised. Two Indians stand upright at either end of a canoe and force it up the swift running stream. One attends to keeping the canoe's head up stream while the other watches for a fish ; on seeing one he scoops it out with a small net attached to a pole six feet long. The pole, with the net attached, is not easily handled on land ; when a fish weigliing from ten to fifteen pounds is in it, the phy- sical exertion required to raise the net must bo great. There is a knack in this as in all other feats ; but it is one which none but Indians are ^ m \^ I50 Across Lake S2ipcrior. (' I known to acquire. The Indians get 2 cents a pound for the fish they catch, which are packed in ice and sent to Detroit. The fish caught in the Kapids are better eating than those caught above or below them, the flesh being firmer and the taste being more delicate. I never enjoyed a greater delicacy than a piece of white fish which I ate within half an hour after t!ie fish had been swimming in the water. Another new sensation I did not covet. This consists in running the Eapids in a canoe. Adventurous and curious persons can have their desire gratified by Indians in exchange for $5. The first step is the payment which is enforced before-hand, the next is to ^ spend a couple of minutes in breathless excitement, as the canoe spins down the foaming water, and to be drenched by the spray through which the canoe passes, the final conclusion being that the game is not worth the cost. When one looks at these Rapids where fishing has been prosecuted in the same fashion for centuries, one is not so greatly struck with the little change in this respect which has taken place, as with the greatness of other changes. Powerful Indian tribes, whom the first white man laboured to conciliate before essaying their con- version, have passed away leaving only names behind. The Jesuit Fathers who visited this spot A Historic Ceremony. 151 and would have less difficulty in recognizing it again if they could return to earth, than in realizing the transformation in the position of that great French nation which they admirably represented and devotedly served in the wilds of western Canada. Few scenes ia French colonial history are so memorable as that of which this place was the theatre on the 14th of June, 1671. A grand council then assembled, in which fourteen Indian tribes were represented, where the Rev. Claude Dablon, Superior of the Lake Missions, Fathers Gabriel Druillettes, Claude AlloUez, and Louis Andre represented the Church, and where M. Daumont de St. Lusson with fifteen of his followers represented the Govei-nment of Louis the Four- teenth. A large cross was blessed by Father Dablon and erected on a hill, while the Frenchmen, with bare heads, sang the Vexilla Regis. Near the cross a post was fixed in the ground and to it was fastened a metal plate on which the royal arms were engraved; the Exaudkit was sung and a prayer oflfered for the King during this part of the ceremony. Then Daumont do St. Lusson stood forth with upraised sword in one hand and a clod of earth in the other and said in a loud voice : *' In the name of the most high, mighty, and renowned monarch Louis, Fourteenth of that name, most Christian King of France and Navarre, I take possession of this phice, Sainte Marie du .' -'.I ''f 152 Across Lake Superior. I ; Saut, as also of Lakes Huron and Superior, tlie Island of Manatoulin, and all countries, rivers, lakes, and streams contiguous and adjacent thereunto; both those which have been discovered and those wh ich may be discovered hereafter, in all their length and breavith, bounded on the one side by the seas cf the North and of the "West, and on the other by the South Sea : declaring to the nations thereof that from this time forth they are vassals of his Majesty, bound to obey his laws and follow his customs : promising to them on his part all succour and protection against the incursions and invasions of their enemies : declaring to all other potentates, princes, sovereigns, states and republics, — to them and to their subjects, — that they cannot and are not to seize and settle upon any parts of the aforesaid countries, save only under the good pleasure of his most Christian Majesty, and of him who will govern on his behalf; and this on pain of incurring his resentment and the efforts of his arms. Long live the King." ' After the representative of the King had performed his oflBcial duty. Father Alloiicz harangued the Indians about the ceremonies which they had witnessed, impressing upon them that they should w^orship Christ upon the Cross, and honour and obey the King, who, he told them, had no equal upon earth. M'tny fulsome panegyrics were passed upon Louis during his ' Tranplated and quoted by ^Fr. Parknian in his adniiraLle work "The Discovery of tho Great West," pp. 41-2. Panegyric on Louis XIV, 15. lifetime, but none surpassed this one. The Indians were cold that when Louis goes to war all his chiefs raise armies. " When he attacks, he is more fearful than thunder. The earth trembles, and the air and the sea are on fire from the dis- charge of his cannon. He has been seen in the midst of his squadrons covered with the blood of his enemies ; so many of them has he put to the sword that he does not number their scalps, but merely the rivers of blood which he has caused to flow. He carries such a number of captives with him that he does not value them, but lets them go where they please, to show that he does not fear them. Nobody dares make war on him. All nations beyond the sea have sued for Peace with great submission. They come from every quarter of the globe and listen to him and admire him. It is he who decides upon the affairs of the world. What shall I say of his riches ? You think your- selves very rich when you have ten or twelve sacks of corn, and hatchets, and kettles and other things of the kind. He has more cities than you have men, which are scattered over a space of more tlian five hundred leagues. In each city there are shops containing hatchets enoagh to cut all your wood, kettles enough to cook all your cariboo and sugar enough to fill all your wigwams. His house extends fui'therthan from here to the Sault, is higher than the tallest of your trees, and contains more people than the largest of your settlements ever contained.'* It is doubtful whether the Indians to whom Father Alloiiez recounted the feats and niaguifi- 154 Across Lake Superior, ' ! w m cence of the great Louis were so much impressed by the recital as they were by Lake Superior. The Lak the^^ worshipped. It was the source of their c .!' M-od and it represented to them the might and T'!y;n\;.;"y of the ocean. No other sheet of fresh water on Jie globe is larger or more wonderful. Its extreme length is 355 miles and its breadth 160 ; it covers an area of 32,000 square miles. The surface of the Lake is 627 feet above the sea level ; parts of its bed are several hundred feet below it ; hence it is one of the deepest depressions on the earth's face. The largest and deepest, it is also the coldest body of water in the world, the temperature not rising above 35° Fahrenheit when the summer is at its height. The most skilful and the boldest swimmer may abandon all hope should he have to swim any distance for his life in Lake Superior. The sailor has to exercise the utmost caution when navi- gating a vessel upon it. Fogs are frequent and they obscure the air in the twinkling of an eye. Without any warning the wind often begins to blow furiously, and lashes the placid bosom of the Lake into tumultuous waves. The Atlantic during a gale is not a grander or a more sublime spec- tacle, and the navigation of the Atlantic is never a greater test of seamanship than that of Lake Superior when a storm is raging. Michipicoten Island. 155 Michipicoten Island, distant about a hun- dred miles from Sault Ste. Marie, is the first regular stopping-place after entering the Lake. The Island rises 800 feet above the water ; it is richly wooded, the principal trees being maple, birch, spruce, cedar, balsam and mountain ash. The climate is more temperate than on the aa - land. It is probable that the Island may 3cc a favourite place of resort during the ni. mer months on account of the extreme salubrity j: the air. The soil, which is a rich vegetable mt 'A riixed with sand, is very well fitted for growing root crops. Beautiful agates are found along the beach. The visitors who busy themselves in searching for agates are generally disappointed, as the keeper of the lighthouse has forestalled them in gathering the finest specimens. Those persons who buy agates instead of trying to pick them ap, may amuse themselves profitably by fi 'hing, as speckled trout abound close in shore and can easily be caught. The Jesuit Fathers who werethe earliest explorers of this region of the Continent have left on record many interesting particulars about the mineral riches which a bound on the shores of Lake Superior, as well as on the islands in it. Father Dablon, in his Chronicle for 1G69-70, thus refers to the Island of Michipicoten : " After entering the Lake the first place met with containing copper is an island rfi m i! . I I ) I 156 Across Lake Stiperior. abont forty or fifty leagues from the Sault, towards the North Shore, opposite a place called Missipi- cooatong (Michipicoten.) The savages relate that it is a floating island, being sometimes near and and at others afar off. A long time ago four savages landed there, having lost their way in a fog, with which the island is frequently sur- rounded. It was previous to their acquaintance with the French, and they knew nothing of the use of kettles and hatchets. In cooking their meals, as is usual among the savages, by heating stones and casting them into a birch-bark pail containing water, they found that they were almost all copper. After having completed their meal, they hastened to re-embark, for they were afraid of the lynxes and hares, which here grow to the size of dogs. They took with them copper stones and plates, but had hardly left the shore before they heard a loud voice exclaiming in an angry tone *who are the thieves that carry off the cradles and the toys of my children ? ' They were very much surprised at the sound, not knowing whence it came. One said it was the thunder ; another that it was a certain goblin called Missibizi, thc^ spirit of the waters, like Neptune among the heathen ; another that it came from theMemogoris- sioois, who are marine men, living constantly under the water, like the Tritons and Syrens, having long hair reaching to the waist, and one of the savages asserted that he had actually seen such a being. At any rate, this extraordinary voice produced such fear that one of them died before landing ; shortly after, two others died, and one alone reached home, towards Missipi- ate that ear and go four vay in a tly sur- lintance ^ of the ig their heating irk pail jy were ;ed their icy were grow to 3r stones I before a angry cradles 3re very whence another 3izi, th(i ng the nogoris- ly under ino^ long; savages 3ing. At sd such shortly d home, Discoveries of Copper. ^57 who, after having related what had happened, also died. Since that time, the savages have not dared to visit the Island, or even to steer in that direction." Father Dablon concludes by saying that it is commonly believed by the savages that the Island contains an abundance of copper. He also gives a rational explanation of the phenomena which so terrified the savages as to make them shun the spot. The heated stones containing copper which they put into their birch-bark pail may have poisoned the meat and caused ths deaths of the eaters; the supernatural voice may have been an echo of their own, while the apparent vanishing and reappearance of the Island may have been due to fleeting fogs. It is noteworthy that, while the existence of minerals was known to the savages who lived near Lake Superior and was made known by the first European explorers of that Lake and its vicinity, the working of the mineral deposits was not begun there dll nearly two centuries later. Stransrer still it was ascertained that a race far older than the savages with whom the Jesuit Fathers conversed, a race of which little more is now known than that it existed, must have been extracting copper from the mines at Lake Su- perior lor before Columbus set forth to discover a new w .d. These people are supposed to be Mr i5« Across Lake Superior. Mound Builders ; in the Mounds which are their only memorials, copper ornaments have been found. The Indians inhabiting the country had no know- ledge of mining and no skill in working metals. In the winter of 1847-8 a most curious dis- covery was made at the place on the South Shore of the Lake, near the Ontonagan River, where the Minnesota mine is situated. There Mr. Knapp discovered the remains of old workings, and found a mass of native copper, ten feet long, three feet wide, nearly two feet thick, and weighing six tons. The earth has been carefully excavated on all sides, but the metallic mass proved too heavy to be removed. In the vicinity were stone hammers, copper knives and chisels and wooden bowls for balint; out water. Had not the copper been de- posited here in its native or pure state these ancient people could not have mined it. Yet their operations, though rude, were most ingenious and they were a people which had made a greater step in the direction of civilization than the Indians who succeeded and supplanted them. "While the citizens of the United States have carried on Copper-mining at Lake Superior with great energy and to their pecuniary advantage, the copper deposits of the like nature on the Canadian side have remained almost untouched. The magnitude :>f the mining operations in this I'll !^ Value of Native Copper. 159 e their found, know- ils. lus dis- L Shore where Knapp i found fee feet LX tons. on all 3avy to mmers, >wls for een de- 3 these et their ous and greater Indians 3S have or with antage, on the ouched. in this part of the United States may be understood when I add that the amount of metal extracted since their beginning is 300,000 tons in weight and valued at §140,000,000. Several mines have yielded profits which may be literally termed fabulous. The shareholders in the Calumet and Hecla, for instance, receive dividends at the rate of half a million sterling annually on an original capital of forty thousand pounds sterling, the market price of the original capital being '.bout five millions. Indeed, the tales about the yield of the gold mines of California and Australia, of the silver mines on the Comstock lode and at Leadville are not more wonderful than the authentic story of the Copper-mines of Lake Superior. The purity of the Lake Superior native Copper is remarkable, being as great as that of the same metal found in Japan and in Siberia. The metal is pronounced to be chemically pure, leaving no residuum when dissolved in pure nitric acid, giving no precipitate when the nitric acid solution is heated v ith ammonia, containing no trace of arsenic or other volatile metal. For electric purposes it is preferred to any other owing to its superior conductivity ; hence it commands a higher price in the market and hence, too, the process of mining this native Copper is more remunera- tive than that of mining the sulphurets of Copper. 1 ^ 4 ■ I , . ■ ; i ■] ii.'i, i i6o Across Lake Superior. M^ I When I visited the Island of Michipicoten I learned that its mineral treasures are attracting the attention of capitalists. In addition to de- posits of native Copper, resembling those on the South Shore of the Lake, deposits of silver and nickel have been found. AVith a supineness which it is difficult to understand and scarcely possible to justify, the Canadians allow strangers to reap the profits which the mines in this part of their territory can easily be made to yield. I was told that a company formed in the United States had acquired several acres of land on this Island where they were mining for native Copper and that their preliminary operations had been eminently satisfactory. Still better results were anticipated by the Quebec and Lake Superior Mining Company which had acquired ten square miles of land on the Island. I was unaware at the time of my visit to the Island that the share- holders in that Company were indisposed to furnish the cajiital wherewith to erect machinery, so as to profit by the explorations which demon- st"ated that their property was as rich in native (/opper as other remunerative properties on the United States side of the Lake. Several months later I returned to England where I learned that a Company called the Michipicoten Native Copper Company had been formed, that Mr. W. \V. Stuart, Copper Mining Companies. i6i oten I •acting to de- on the '^er and \ whicli )0ssible to reap )f tlieir i^as told States on tbis Copper id been Its were uperior square ware at e sliare- osed to chinery, demon- [n native on tlio mouths nod that Coppor . Stuart, the Chairman of the Quebec and Lake Superior Mining Company, having purchased the majority of the shares, had transferred his interest in ten square miles of the Island of Michipicoten to the English Company for a sum of 50,000/. in fully paid up shai'es, these shares not to rank for dividend till the subscribers of money had received all their capital back out of profits. I was im- pressed with the stories which I heard on the spot and read about the mineral riches of Michipico- ten Island. I was also struck with the unusually favourable terms on which the English Company had acquired a property there, and I thought I should not act foolishly in becoming a share- holder in a Company which not only promised so much, as is the rule in mining companies, but which appeared likely to be one of the companies which supplement promise with performance. Other Companies will doubtless be formed to bring to the surface and divide among shareholders the riches which lie below the surface of Michipicoten. Nor is the mineral wealth confined to the islands in the Lake. The North Shore also is rich in copper and silver ; an English company, tlie Lake Suj)erior Native Copper Company, is now working a property at Maimainse, in Batchewaung Bay, whei'e the Copper in the ore a?nounts to 61i per cent, while, in addition, the ore contains M -■^w ■'•r- 162 Across Lake Superior. silver to the value of 36 ounces per ton. Silver Islet was the next place at which the Frances Smith stopped. The passage from Michipicoten Island to that spot was made in most disagree- able circumstances. A storm of thunder and lightning raged for five hours ; seldom have I seen so much and such vivid lightning ; never have I seen rain fall so heavily ; the water descended in sheets. The storm began at 6 o'clock in the evening ; early on the following morning the rain ceased, the wind lulled and the sea gradually went down. A dense fog covered the water. About 8 o'clock in the morning while looking towards the bow, I heard the roar of surf and I saw rocks not far distant on the port side. Captain Robert- son, who was on the look-out, at once ordered the engines to be reversed, and the steamer began to go astern in time to prevent any mischief. A delav of a few minutes would have rendered a catastrophe unavoidable. It is improbable that any one would have survived to tell the tale had the vessel first struck upon the rocks and then gone tlown in the deep, icy cold water. The coolness and rapidity with wliich Captain Robertson acted were appi-eciated by the passengers. It was with a tinge of incre(hility, liowever, that they heard him avow \iL liad expected to meet with rocks at the very place where they loomed ominously through the fog. i,;. Mineral Riches. 163 Silver i^rances picoten sagree- ,er and 3 1 seen [• have I jnded in in the the rain ally went About P towards saw rocks V Uobert- 'dered the . began to ^chief. A endered a bable that le tale had then gone [e coolness •tson acted was witli a heard him at the very agh tUefog. \ A few years ago a Montreal Company was seeking for silver on an Islet about a mile from the mainland. Having discovered that the rock was rich in silver the Company sold the property to a few citizens of the United States. These gentlemen have since then taken silver out of this small rock to the value of two million dollars. The Islet is a mass of rich silver ore ; it is esti- mated that eighteen million dollars' worth of silver may yet bo extracted from it. The searcli for silver on other islands, such as Isle Royale, Pie Island, McKellars Island, as well as on the luainlaud is actively pursued by many persons who have made valuable discoveries. Indeed, the prevailing opinion is that the mineral deposits around Lake Superior and on the islands in it are extensive and rich beyond calculation. After leiiving Silver Islet the steamer enters Thunder Bay, a sheet of water twenty miles in diameter, girded with lofty lieights and guarded at its entrance by Thunder Cape, a rugged rocky lieadland rising 1:550 feet above the sin-face of the Lake. The cliffs of Thunder Cape extend in unbroken surface for a distance of s(*ven miles. When the tempest howls around this mass of rock the echoes reverberate like claps of tliuuc.'er. The Indians believe*! the noise to be the voice of the Great Spirit, Nana-bijoo, speaking to them Sf 2 \^' l|t| 1 64 Across Lake Superior, U! ' I from out of his dwelling in the clouds. The ex- planation of the tradition is that a volcano at the summit, now extinct, once belched forth fire and lava. A grander or more impressive spectacle than that presented at this spot it is scarcely pos- sible to imagine. Prince Arthur's Landing is a town on the mainland at which the steamer calls, and here the cattle, which had suffered much during the voyage and had caused the passengers no slight discomfort, are sent on shore. The town itself dates from the time that Sir Garnet Wolseley started from this place at the head of the Red River Expedition to suppress Louis Riel's re- bellion in Manitoba. Prince j^rthur's Landing is a Lake port of the Canadian Pacific Railway, com- peting with Fort William to the South as the terminus of the line. The town has a thousand inhabitants. It supports two weekly newspapers, one being the Thunder Bay Sentin'il^ the other the North Shore Miner. The purpose of the latter is to chronicle the prospects and progress of mining in this region. It contains highly eulogistic articles on the mineral wealth of the Islands in the Lake and of the mainland. The great demand is for capital. Lamentations are indulged in as to the indifference of Canadian capitalists to the development of the riches which are buried underground, and tlie remai-k is made that " the ! Silver^ Copper, and Iron Deposits. 165 he ex- at the ire and ectacle ly pos- liT is a sr calls, I mucli isengers he town Volseley the Red ieVs re- bnding is ay, com- Li as the thousand ^spapers, otlier the 3 latter is ►f mining eulogistic slands in t demand ged in as sts to the •e b\iried that " the American capitalist is the one on whom we must depend for the development of our rich resources. There are no Canadians who have the push and stamina sufficient for the purpose." A Frenchman, Baron de Guichainville, who has taken up his abode at Prince Arthur's Landing, is labouring to induce his countrj^men to invest money in a fish-canning establishment there and also in various mining enterprises. In addition to the deposits of silver and copper which have excited much attention and enriched many persons, this region abounds in vast deposits of iron ore which may prove as remunerative when extracted and smelted as mines of silver or gold. Not far from Prince Arthur's Landing stands Fort William, an older settlement on the Kami- nistiquia River where the Hudson Bay Company have long had a trading-post. The rivalry bo *^ ween the inhabitants of the two places is extren In each place it seems to be an article < faith that the rival must speedily decay and at the one which remains will increase rapidly iu wealth and population. There is ample room ; oppor- tunity for both. After a ten hours' sail through scenery of great beauty and variety, the head of Lake Superior is reached and the steamer is moored at the wharf of Duluth, the ambitious city which it was supposed would rival Ch. jgo in >;r 1 66 Across Lake Superior. quickness of growth, which is one of the best puffed cities on the North American Continent and which is styled by its self-satisfied and grandiloquent inhabitants, "the Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas." e best itinent d and Jity of CHAPTEK VII. DULUTH TO WINNTPEG. Twenty years ago a few enterprising n^id sanguine men settled on t^ site of Duluth an<^ lesolved to found a city which should excite the astonishment and admiration of mankind. They were also prompted by the desire to eclipse the city at the head of Lake Superior which then seemed destined to become a place of importance. They partially succeeded in their project. It is ui^quostionable that Duluth has thriven more i . .pidl}- than Superior city with w'hich it has maintained a constant rivalry from the outset. Yet the stranger whose expectations are very moderate will be the least disappointed with Duluth. Eleven churches and a few houses scattered upon a hillside are all that meets the eye when the city is approached from the Lake. There is a main street in it contain- ing stores and hotels; there are side streets con- taining many unoccupied building-sites; there W •a^TM iwiUMM m-Tm i^^-J^-* - T ' . 1 ^ ^. — »■ i68 Duluth to Winnipeg, Ri ■ ( are said to be 5000 people in the city, yet nothing is visible which produces a stronger impression on a new-comer than that made on the least observant stranger by the sight of other preten- tious and quite as populous cities in the United States or Canada. It must be apparent, however, to the careful observer that Duluth possesses natural advantages which almost justify the hopes and boasts of its founders. This city is the natural depot for traffic by way of the Lakes to the interior of the Continent. The opening of new railways to the west has had the effect of increasing that traffic and su(3h increase must coutinue to benefit Duluth. Cairo on the Mississippi, the *' Eden " where Martin Chuzzlewit nearly lost his life, is com- monly supposed to have been more cleverly and justly ridiculed in its younger days than any other city in the United States. Quite as much ridicule has been cast upon Duluth and nothing has served it so well. None of the advantages which this city owes to Nature have helped to make it so attractive as the speech in the United States Congress which Mr. Proctor Knott, a representative of Kentucky, delivered in February, 1871, a speech which was designed to scout its pretensions and to make it the laughing-stock of the country. Whenever the conductors of Duluth m Mr, Proctor Knotty Speech. 169 )tliing ession J least ►reten- Jnited wever, ssesses i hopes is the akes to ling of ffect of e must where IS com- rly and an any IS much nothing antages Iped to B United ;^nott, a ebruary, cout its ■stock of f Duluth newspapers are at loss for something wherewith to fill and enliven their columns, a condition of things which appears to be not infrequent, they reprint Mr. Proctor Knott's speech and, when- ever the citizens have nothing better to do, which appears to be a common occurrence also, they re- read it with unconcealed satisfaction. Mr. Knott made for himself a reputation for oratory by this one speech, resembling that which was made in the House of Commons by the member who was not quite accurately nick-named " Single Speech " Hamilton. Mr. Knott's effort is a striking example of that mock heroic vein which is sup- posed to be the forte of "Western orators. It made him and Duluth the subject of general talk and celebrity, if it did not confer upon both lasting fame. It was directed against an application for a grant of land from the national domain which he fancied would advance the growth and foster the prosperity of Duluth. A few extracts will show the character of a speech which produced a more lasting impression than hundreds which have been addressed to Congress in our day and which no sane person would dream of reprinting from the volumes in which they are consigned to oblivion at a large cost to the country. After a laboured introduction Mr. Knott said : " Years ago, when I first heard that there was somewhere in the vast i • i,,l 170 Dtiluth to Winnipeg. X III terra incognita, somewhere in the bleak regions of the Northwest, a stream of water known to the nomadic inhabitants of the neighbourhood as the river St. Croix, I became satisfied that the con- struction of a railway from that raging torrent to some point in the civilized world was essential to the happiness and prosperity of the American people, if not absolutely indispensable to the per- petuity of republican institutions on this Continent. I felt instinctively that the boundless resources of that prolific region of sand and pine shrubbery would never be fully developed without a railway coDstructed and equipped at the expense of the Government, and perhaps not then. . . .Who will have the hardihood to rise in his seat on this floor and assert that, excepting the pine bushes, the entire region would not produce vegetation enough in ten years to fatten a grasshopper ? . . . I had been satisfied for years that if there was any por- tion of the habitable globe absolutely in a suffering condition for want of a railroad, it was the teem- ing pine barrens of the St. Croix. At what particular point on that noble stream such a road should be commenced I knew was immaterial, and so it seems to have been considered by the draughtsman of this bill. It might be up at the spring, or down at the foot-log, or the water- gate or the fish-dam, or anywhere on the bank, no matter where. But in what direction it should run or where it should terminate were always in my mind questions of the most painful perplexity. . . I was utterly at a loss to determine where the terminus of this great and indispensable road Delights of Ditluth. 171 1 •] ions of to the as tlie le con- rent to itial to nerican he per- atinent. irces of rubbery- railway s of the . Who on this shes, the L enough . I had my por- suffering le teem- ^.t what jh a road material, id by the ip at the le water- bank, no ould run ys in my exity. . . yhere the ible road should be, until I accidentally overheard some gentleman the other day mention the name of 'Duluth.' Duluth ! the word fell upon my ear with peculiar and indescribable charm, like the gentle murmur of a low fountain stealing forth in the midst of roses, or the soft sweet accents of an angel's whisper in the bright joyous dream of sleeping innocence. Duluth ! 'Twas the name for which my soul had panted for years, as a hart panteth for the water-brooks. But where was Duluth ? Never, in my limited reading, had my vision been gladdened by seeing the celestial word in print. And I felt a profound humiliation in my ignorance that its dulcet syllables had never before ravished my delighted ear. I was certain that the draughtsman of this bill had never heard of it, or it would have been designated as one of the termini of this road. . . . Yet, sir, had it not been for this map kindly furnished me by the Legisla- ture of Minnesota, I might have gone down to my obscure and humble grave in an agony of despair, because I could nowhere find Duluth. . . . The fact is, sir, that Duluth is pre-eminently a central place, for I have been told by gentlemen who have been so reckless of their personal safety as to ven- ture away in those awful regions where Duluth is supposed to be, that it is so exactly in the centre of the visible universe that the sky comes down at precisely the same distance all around it. . . . Then, sir, there is the climate of Duluth, unques- tionably the most salubrious and dehghtful to be found anywhere on the Lord's earth. Now, I have always been under the impression, as I ii'li .'I :H ! sAl IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 121 ■10 |Z5 ^= 1^ Uli 12.2 I.I It * Z as, 12.0 Wtab I: I 1.25 IIU 111.6 =sss II ^^ II ^m ^ 6" ► <^ ^14 > Photographic Sdeices Corporation ^y^ "H^rS 33 WIST MAIN STRUT uffMTH.N.Y. 14SM (n*)t/a*4S03 fif ^'4^ ^j^^^ ^^^ ^&? I/. %^ . :\ \ ■'•li 172 Duhith to Winnipeg, presume other gentlemen have, that in the region around Lake Superior, it was cold enough for at least nine months in a year to freeze the smoke- stack oft" a locomotive. But I see it represented on this map that Duluth is situated exactly half- way between the latitudes of Paris and Venice, so that gentlemen who have inhaled the exhilarating airs of the one or basked in the golden sunlight of the other, may see at a glance that Duluth must be a place of untold delights, a terrestrial paradise fanned by the balmy zephyrs of an eternal spring, clothed with gorgeous sheen of ever- blooming flowers and vocal with silver melody of Nature's choicest songsters. . . . Sir, I might stand here for hours and hours, and expatiate upon the gorgeous prospects of Duluth, as de- picted on this map. But human life is far too short and the time of this House far too valuable to allow me to linger longer upon the delightful theme. I think every gentleman on this floor is as well satisfied as I am that Duluth is destined to become the commercial metropolis of the Uni- verse, and that this road should be built at once. . . . Nevertheless, sir, it grieves my soul to be compelled to say that I cannot vote for the grant of lands provided for in this bill. . . . These lands, which I am asked to give away, alas, are not mine to bestow 1 My relation to them is simply that of trustee to an express trust. And shall I ever betray that trust ? Never, sir ! Rather perish Duluth 1 Perish the paragon of cities ! Rather let the freezing cyclones of the bleak Northwest bury it for ever beneath the eddying Geographical Ignorance, "^n le region ;li for at B smoke- )resented ;tly half- Venice, so lilarating sunlight t Duluth errestrial an eternal of ever- nelody of I might expatiate bh, as de- is far too valuable delightful is floor is s destined E the Uni- b at once, oul to be the grant . These alas, are thera is ust. And ever, sir ! aragon of f the bleak e eddying sands of the St. Croix." The speech from which the foregoing extracts are taken has been pro- nounced " the most amusing speech ever made in the American Congress;" it gave its author a reputation which he has not adequately sustained. But the most curious thing is the ignorance of geography shown in it ; if a foreigner had made half the number of blunders with which Mr. Knott is chargeable, he would be held up to scorn in hundreds of newspapers throughout the Union, and pronounced a being unworthy to live. If Mr. Knott had spoken about the St. Louis River, his remarks would have had some cogency ; if the St. Croix River were to swallow up Duluth it would have to begin by making a journey across Lake Superior. Intending to ban Duluth, Mr. Knott succeeded in blessing it most effectively. The bill which was thrown out, owing to his speech, was opposed by the friends of Duluth, and was supported by the friends of Superior City, of which it was the rival. Indeed, to repeat what I have said and to do so in the grateful words of a Duluth newspaper, Mr. Proctor Knott's speech " gave Duluth the best advertisement she ever had." For a year before, and for three years after this speech was dehvered, the city was in a state of feverish activity. In the spring of 1870, every I «< ' !| . H.n,i,i» ■ * t -j— 174 Diiluth to Winnipeg. I'll II I' I '1 f J ill i \i III \ boat that arrived swarmed with passengers and every stage-coach was over-crowded. A railway was in construction to St. Paul, the capital of the State and Mr. Jay Cooke had projected the Northern Pacific railway which .vas to run from Lake Superior to Paget Sound on the Pacific. Mr. Jay Cooko suspended payment in 1873 and a panic spread to Duluth from the financial centres of the United States ; real property fell to one- fourth of its former price and then, as an eye- witness wrote, " for a few months, there was as much of a stampede from Duluth as there had formerly been of a rush to the place." A worse fate than being buried " beneath the eddying sands of the St. Croix River" was reserved for ** the Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas." In the days of its prosperity, money had been bor- rowed and expended in a reckless fashion : when the panic subsided, the citizens who remained behind, found themselves face to face with municipal bankruptcy. Not till 1879 was a com- promise effected whereby the creditors agreed to cancel one-fourth of the amount due to them. The most significant sign of the depression then prevailing in Duluth, and the circumstance most deplored by many citizens, was the pubHcation of the newspapers once a week instead of every day. There are two weeklies now, The Tribune Manufactures and Trade. 175 ^ers and railway al of the ;ted the ^un from Pacific. 73 and a I centres II to one- 3 an eye- •e was as :here had meath the s reserved eas." In been bor- lon : when remained :ace with as a com- agreed to to them, ision then lance most lublication of every |/ic Tribune and The Lake Superior News. Should the revival in trade ccixtiuue, a daily newspaper, that neces- sary of existence according to western ideas, may again be reissued here. Certainly, the confidence in the city'sfuture which had vanished,has returned in full measure and speculation in land is renewed in the old style. During my visit I learned that pieces of land which could s'^arcely be sold for $500 six months before were then easily saleable at $1500. Several sawmills and a blast furnace are in active operation ; an industry paying those who take part in it very well is collecting the sand on the shore of the Lake and despatching it to glass- making Tforks, where it is in demand. There is a large elevator for the transhipment of grain and there are well-built docks for the accommodation of shipping. Indeed, Duluth is not only doing a large trade now, but has made full provision for future expansion. The additional traffic carried over the Northern Pacific Railway when its construction was resumed benefited the trade of this place, while the emi- gration to Manitoba has had the like effect. The Canadian Government have erected a home for the emigrants who halt here on their way to Manitoba. It is under the intelligent and atten- tive supervision of Mr. Grahame, the Canadian i , 1^ t; \ij H 'I' [/■ fi r, a m . I Duluth to Winnipeg, Emigration Agent. He told me that the immi- grants are often very exacting and are generally very dirty and that those among them who were most stinted in their means and living before they left home, develope the most luxurious tastes after crossing the ocean. An express train starts once daily from Duluth for Winnipeg. It is not long since the passengers who started for the same destination could not travel farther by rail than Fisher's Landing, on Red Lako River, the average time taken being a week. Now, the journey between the *' Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas " and the Capital of Manitoba can be made in twenty-seven hours. The scenery is very beautiful on part of the line skirting the left bank of the river St. Louis. The " Dalles of the St. Louis " are as striking as those of the Columbia River, though on a smailei* scale. Within the space of four miles the river descends 400 feet, passing ove** serrated rocks which are enclosed between high banks, the ap- pearance being that of a series of small and long drawn out cataracts surging downwards. At Glyndon the passengers for Manitoba change to the St. Paul and Manitoba line, while those for the Northern Pacific continue their journey west- wards. There is a second change at St. Vincent, the frontier city between Canada and the United Land Speculators. ^77 3 immi- 3iiera\iy 10 "were oretTaey s tastes 1 Dulutli issengers could not ading, on Q being a 5 »* Zenitli he Capital >ven hours. of the line St. Louis, striking as n a smaUei- js the river jated rocks ,ks, the ap- lU and long •ds. itoba change Inle those ior lurney west- St. Vincent, the United States, to the Pembina branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway. I have made this trip several times without finding many things worthy of record and I have been quite as unfortunate after having spent a night at Glyndon. Yet emigrants who pass over the line are kept in a state of pleasing excitement from the time they quit Canadian territory till the time they re-enter it. Land agents and speculators are accustoiped to travel backwards and forwards in order to persuade the emigrants to make their new homes in the United States. These persons commonly assume the characters of disappointed Englishmen who, hav- ing tried Manitoba, left it in disgust, and have found a genuine Eden on United States soil. As the profits of these agents are not small when they manage to sell the land belonging to the Company with which they are connected, they are naturally disposed to make representations of greater strength than trustworthiness in order to effect sales. I can write from personal experience in this matter. It was erroneously thought by a worthy gentleman that I was on the way to settle in Manitoba and might be induced to settle in Minne- sota instead. He told me that many English families were expected to arrive and take up their abodes on the prairie lands of Northern Minne- N M. ,, 1 . .i N r 178 Duluth to Winnipeg, I * H sota and that the representative of an English Company was in negotiation with the St. Paul and Manitoba railway company for 56,000,000 acres. There had been a slight hitch in the nego- tiations, but my informant added ** I guess that will be fixed." He explained that the gentleman desired the Company to let him have the land at $4 an acre and to insert in the deed of sale that the price paid was $8. This gentleman could then make sales in England at a professedly slight advance upon what he had actually paid, while his real profit would V e more than double. I was ..ognizant of a flagrant case in which ignorant persons in England had been made to pay $25 an acre for Minnesota land which could have been bought on the spot for less than $4. I found that the gentleman who was negotiating with the St. Paul and Manitoba Railway for 56,000,000 and who was said to have 170 families waiting to be transported thither from England in the following spring bore the same name as the one who had disposed of land in another part of the country at an enormous profit to himself. I learned also that a second Englishman who was very active in recommending Minnesota as the best place to which his countrymen could emigrate, had been trying to establish a land Company, but had failed owing to insisting not only upon a large li , I A Hint to Emigrants. 1 79 BnglisTa it. Paul 000,000 ae nego- less that ^ntleman land at sale tbat an could dly sliglit aid, while e. I was ignorant ay $25 an have been I found with the 16,000,000 IS waiting |nd in the as the one art of the imself. I |n who was ita as the emigrate, ipany, but iponalarge commission, but upon a double commission. I do not question the advantage of choosing Minnesota as a place of residence. It may be quite true, as is alleged, that the land in the North-western part of that State is superior to that in the South- west of Manitoba, even though an imaginary line is the only separation between them. The soil may be affected in some occult way by the nation- ality of the flag flying over it. Yet, after assuming for the sake of argument, the truth of everything that I have heard in favour of this part of the Continent, I still maintain that no folly can be greater than buying land here on the representa- tions of a third party, and that those purchasers of land will have least reason to repent them of their bargains who enter into no contract and make no payment till they have seen the land with their own eyes. h . , II ( U > I N 2 . J. (< CHAPTER VIII. ON THE BED RIVER OF THE NORTH. Although the trip to Manitoba by rail through United States territory is generally uninteresting, yet the trip by water is sometimes diversified by incident. The railway attracts all the passengers in winter; but the steamers on the Red River of the North are eagerly patronized during the summer time. Having made the trip all the way by rail and partly by rail and partly by water, I can ajffirm from experience that, by journeying partly by rail and partly by water, an adequate notion can be formed of the country and its insects, while much more can be learned about the people. Besides, the Red River is a stream of sufficient volume and importance to deserve notice. Com- pared with the Mississippi, the Red River of the North appears insignificant. Nevertheless, as ics length from Elbow Lake, in which it rises, to Lake Winnipeg into which it flows, is 900 miles, it merits a place among the great rivers of the world. I. il throagli Qteresting, ersified by passengers Red River zed during trip all the iy by water, ' journeying an adequate jd its insects, the people, of sufficient jtice. Com- jBiver of the iheless, as its ;ises, to Lake dies, it merits world. Course of the Red River. i8r Two Red Rivers are numbered among the notable streams of the North American Continent. One of them rises in the Territory of New Mexico, flows through the States of Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana, and, joiningthe Mississippi,helps to swell the volume of the mighty flood which the Father of Waters pours into the Gulf of Mexico. The other, which is known as the Red River of the North, rises in Elbow Lake, in the State of Minnesota. Its source is not far distant from Lake Itaska, which is the fountain-head of the Mississippi. Though that river's course is southward and the course of the Mississippi is northward when both streams first issue from their parent lakes, yet they soon follow the direction which they keep till their race is run. The Red River, in its northerly progress, divides the Territory of Dakota from the State of Minnesota; it enters the Canadian Province of Manitoba at Fort Pembina ; it passes by the city of Winnipeg, the capital of that Province, where it 13 joined by the Assineboine, flowing from the west ; it enters Lake Winnipeg, whence it issues under the name of Nelson River ; and, finally, it finds its level and a last resting-place in the icy waters of Hudson's Bay. The valley bearing the same name through which it runs is still more remarkable than the Red River itself. For a space which is 400 miles in length by 70 in breadth, that h- ■■*••?' 1 8 2 On the Red River of the North. l!7 I ' il m y \ '•' valley is the finest wheat-growing tract on the continent of North America, if not on the habitable globe. Farming on a scale unparalleled except in California is prosecuted in the Red River Valley. This dates from the year 1875, when several capitaUsts bought vast tracts of land there. Mr. B. P. Cheney, of Boston, and Mr. Oliver Dairy mple, of St. Paul, purchased 5000 acres of which 3500 were under cultivation in 1879. In 1877 they harvested 42,000 bushels of wheat, 6000 of oats, and 3000 of barley. The machinery on this farm comprises 40 ploughs, 16 seeders, 40 harrows, 16 harvesters, 3 steam thrashing machines, and 3 portable steam-engines. As many as a hundred men are employed at the busiest season. Mr. Cass has a farm of 6000 acres, nearly the whole of which is sown with wheat. Large though these farms are, yet they seem small in comparison with that belonging to Mr. William Dalrymple ; it covers 30 square miles. The area sown with wheat in 1878 was 20,900 acres; the yield was 250,000 bushels. Seventy-five reaping and binding machines were used to harvest the crop, the work being done at the rate of 1000 acres a day. This farm is managed on the plan of a factory. It is divided into sections of 2000 acres, over each of which an overseer is placed ; v.. ; Mammoth Farms, 183 lie carries out the orders of Mr. Dalrymple just as a Brigadier-General carries out the orders of the Commander-in-Chief of an army. Comfortable dwellings are provided for the overseers, while there is a boarding-house for the accommodation of the farm-labourers. Each section has its granary, stables, machine-shop, and engine-house. Indeed, the vast estate is really divided into a number of separate farms, each complete in itself, and all subject to a common head. Four hundred and fifty labourers and upwards of three hundred horses and mules are employed on this farm ; three bookkeepers are required to register the accounts, and two cashiers to receive and disburse the money. Indeed the whole arrangements are designed to assimilate the production of grain to the operations of a manufactory. The idyllic side of farming has no place here. The farmer is a capitalist ; the farm-labourer is called a " hand " and treated as one. Advocates of spade-husbandry will see nothing to admire in this wholesale method of cultivating the soil, and they will maintain that if this system should grow in favour, the day must arrive when, in the United States as in certain European countries, there will be a perma- nent and rigid separation between the tillers of the soil and its owners. However, while land continues as plentiful and as easily acquired in I ^;i i m '. '4 ■MiV i P''l' ^Ti II 1 84 On the Red River of the North, North America as it was in Europe during the Middle Ages, when the existing large estates were formed in England, the citizens of the United States will disregard gloomy forebodings and will continue to lavish their admiration upon a success- ful capitahst like Mr. Dalrymple. His farm is a common topic of glorification among the citizens of the new North-West, and of admiring envy among the dwellers in less fertile parts of the land. My present purpose is not to linger and describe what may be observed on the Red River within the United States, but to journey along it to the Canadian Province of Manitoba. That river is the silent highway of intercourse between the citizens of the Union and the citizens of the British Empire. A few years ago an Indian canoe was the only kind of boat which traversed its surface. Now steam vessels pass backwards and forwards between St. Vincent, a station of the St. Paul and Manitoba Railway and the capital ot Canada's Prairie Province. There has been a settlement of British subjects on this river since the year 1812. Then the Earl of Selkirk, chair- man of the Hudson's Bay Company, induced Highlanders, who could not live in comfort on their native heath, to seek a new home in the heart of the North American Continent. Nearly half a century after this settlement was formed, li V By Water to Winnipeg, ■85 Dr. Rae, the famous Arctic explorer, informed a Select Committee of the House of CommoiiS that about two months were required to journey from Toronto, in Upper Canada, to the Red River Settle- ment in Rupert's Land. The Earl of Southesk, who went to hunt in the Hudson's Bay Territory in 1859, saw a steamer on the Red River for the first time. In 1862 the late Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle experienced on the Red River a pain- ful foretaste of the perils which had to be faced and surmounted before they could begin their toilsome journey across the North- Western Wil- derness. Finding that the steamer sailed but once a fortnight, and not caring to wait for it, they started down the rapid stream in a canoe, and endured extraordinary hardships before they reached Fort Garry. Eight years latter Captain Butler was commissioned by Colonel (now Sir Garnet) Wolseley, the chief of the expedition which was sent to suppress Riel's rebellion, to proceed to Winnipeg through the United States. He passed along the Red Eiver in the steamer Inter- 7iatlonal, and suffered by the way as others have done before and since. The tale of his misery is graphically told in ** The Great Lone Land." The inconvenience of this route caused the Government of Canada to devise another within the limits of the Dominion. This was known i I •^r^<»'» j i ^j w> ^ V 1 86 On the Red River of the North. I il! as the Dawson route. A traveller over it, who started from Thunder Bay, on Lake Su^ orior, reached Fort Garry in the course of three weeks. The Red River expedition, under Sir Garnet Wolseley, which first passed over this part of the country, took three months to make the same trip. As the Dawson route proved unre- munerative to its promoters, it has long ceased to be a regular pathway for traffic and travel between the provinces of Ontario and Manitoba. The traveller who started from the capital of the former province for that of the latter either went to Chicago by rail, thence by another line of railway to St. Paul and Fisher's Landing, where he stepped on board a steamer which carried him to his destination, or else he took the train to the shore of Lake Superior, where he embarked in a steamer for Duluth ; thence he proceeded by rail to Fisher's Landing, and by steamer to Winnipeg. But, whichever route was chosen, the time occu- pied was not less than 11 days, so that Manitoba remained as far apart from the Eastern Provinces of the Dominion as Canada is from England. My first trip to Manitoba was made by rail from St. Paul to Fisher's Landing, thence by water to Winnipeg. Since then the landing-place has 1)0011 changed to St. Vincent, thus saving the tedious navigation of Red Lake River. Lake Minnetonka. 187 it, wlio 3u^ ^rior, (6 weeks, r Garnet i part of nake the v^ed unre- ng ceased md travel Manitoba, tal of the ither went ler line of ing, where irried him rain to the xked in a .ed by rail Winnipeg, time occu- Manitoba Provinces England, ly rail from by water ■place has saving the a In the spring, when the river is in flood, the 500 miles which separate the two places can be traversed in 48 hours. In the autumn the river is very low and then the passage is very tedious. The return voyage which I made occupied five days and nights. The first part of the journey northwards is easy and pleasant. Leaving the capital of Minnesota by the St. Paul and Manitoba Railway at 5 o'clock in the evening, the passenger reaches Fisher's Landing shortly l)efore noon the following day. Twenty-five miles from the starting-place a stoppage is made at Wayzata, on Lake Minnetonka. This Lake is one of the natural attractions of the State of Minnesota, ; it excites even greater admiration than the falls of Minnehaha, wiiich owe much of their popularity to Mr. Longfellow's poetry. The Lake consists of a series of bays, each of which is a lake in miniature, and many are studded with wooded islands. There are 25 of these bays. The Lake is navigable for a length of 17 miles. In olden time it was the favourite haunt Oi. Dakota Indians ; they encamped on its margin or on one of its islands. They caught fish in the lake, gathered wild fruits on the islands, hunted deer and other game in the surrounding forests, an'--.»■■. 208 The City of Winnipeg. I a H V n.4 the thriving suburb of St. Boniface, I must devote a few sentences to the Company which was once supreme and which is still a power in Winnipeg. There was a time not very long ago when no per- son could buy, sell, or reside here without leave from the Governor of Assineboia, the old name for this Province. The Hudson Bay Company had then an actual monopoly of the country and exercised an exclusive jurisdiction over it. It had not been disputed in a court of law that the charter conferred on the Company by Charles II. gave them all the authority to which they laid v?laim, neither could it be denied that the attempt to keep a fertile region vaster than Europe as the hunfing-ground of savages and a breeding-place for wild beasts, was opposed to the spirit of the age. The monopoly ended in 1869, when the Company surrendered its claims to Ca .da in return for 300,000Z. in cash, the retention of land round the trading- stations estimated at 50,000 acres, and of one-twentieth part of the remainder of the land. Thus the Hudson Bay Company became the largest possessor of landed property in the world. In past times no company could well be more prosperous than this one ; the proprietors received enormous returns for their investments ; the divi- dends were sometimes as high as 300 per cent. t MY devote s once Qnipeg. no per- ut leave [d name Company itry and V it. It that the harles H- they laid le attempt ope as the ding-P^ace irit of the ^-hen the Ca .da m ion oi land at 50,000 remainder Company >d property \q\\ be more tors received [ts; thedivi- ^00 per cent. T/ie Hudson Bay Company, 209 Not even the East India Company in its palmiest day was a greater financial success than this great fur company of the North- West. And just as the East India Company had among its servants men of genius like Clive and Hastings, so was the Hud- son Bay Company served by men whose ability was not inferior to that of the conquerors and rulers of the East. The factors who conducted the Company's trade were proud of their position and did their utmost to uphold it. Once a year they met at Norway-house, reviewed the operations of the previous year, planned those of the following year, and carefully scrutinized each other's per- formances. The factor who had been weighed in the balance and found wanting was excluded from acting with his colleagues. Indeed, merit was then the indispensable qualification for the ad- vancement of a Hudson Bay Company's servant. In treating the Indians of the North- West, the policy of that Company has been both humane and exemplary. No one, indeed, who has studied the subject and who has had the good fortune to enjoy the acquaintance of the pioneers of civilization in the North- West can refrain from praising the servants of the Hudson Bay Com- pany in the strongest terms. Though that Com- pany is as ably served as of old, yet its excep- tional prosperity is a thing of the past. The i! liJ ^'.'ii 'W ■In 'i\ m I. !ii ji 210 T/ie City of Winnipeg. I i I fur trade must dwindle in importance as tlic settlers cover the region where the desultory efforts of wild Indians to kill wild animals alone checked their multiplication. The Company must look for its future profits from the sale of land. It is difficult for any body which has certain tradi- tions, and which has prospered by observing them, to forget them altogether and begin an entirely new career, and this is the difficulty with which the Hudson Bay Company have been confronted. Fort Garry, the original post of the Hudson Bay Company, was at the southern end of Main- street. A large store adjoins it, in which all the articles can be purchased which are required either by the simple savage or the exacting white man. Next to the store is the Governor's resi- dence, now occupied by the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province. Formerly this store was the only place where the Red River settlers, for several miles round Fort Garry, could make purchases, or where they could dispose of their produce. Even now the articles sold here are as good and quite as cheap as in the Winnipeg shops ; in making ihis statement, I do so from experience, having been a customer both to the store and to some of the shops. Now, if the Company desired that their store shouhl be able to cope most thoroughly with rival establishments the obvious course was to i'i Mr. Brydges. 211 as tlie isultory la alone iiy must of land, lin tradi- ng tliem, entirely til whicli ifronted. ) Hudson of Main- ch all the s required ting white nor's resi- ■Governor |e was the for several rchases, or .ce. Even and quite in making ce, having to some of lesircd that thorovighly )urso was to promote settlement in its vicinity. This was not done ; on the contrary, the chief business part of the Ciuy was driven northward. Five hundred acres of land at Fort Garry remained the property of the Company at the transfer of its dominion to Canada in 1869. Instead of selling this land to the highest bidder, a price was set on it far in excess of the sum for which land equally good could be bought elsewhere. Hence it is that, instead of the neighbourhood of the Fort and store being covered with dweUings, it lay waste, while dwellings covered the opposite end of Main- street, nearly two miles distant. A change has taken place in the conduct of the Company's business which is likely to redeem all the errors once committed. Mr. Brydges, who had been Manager of the Grand Trunk and Super- intendent of the Intercolonial Railway, was ap- pointed Commissioner for the sale of the Company's land. He has brought his large business-know- ledge and tact to bear upon the matter with the best results. There are still changes to bo effected in the management of the Company's affairs before they can be said to be conducted in the most efficient manner. Nevertheless, so much luis been done in the right direction that tlie financial success of the Company ought to be far greater in the future than in recent years. About V 2 \\ ■% .t •' ,' *l' i i 1 i i' < I 212 The City of Winnipeg. the value of their property there Ci i be no ques- tion. To use a phrase common in the United States, " there are millions in it." But prudent management both in London and Winnipeg is required to extract the millions from it. I: I II. It is time, for the sake of variety, to pass across the river to the interesting suburb of this city. A few minutes spent in a ferry-boat, and then the passenger sets foot in St. Boniface. The change between any part of the English and French coast is very great ; crossing the Straits of Dover and landing in France is like entering a new world. Much the same effect is produced on him who leaves Ottawa, passes through the suburb of Edin- burgh, crosses the river, and enters Hull. This is not only a change from the Province of Ontario to that of Quebec, but it is also a change from an English to a French speaking locality, Such a contrast may also be perceived, botii in the oldest and youngest States in the North American Union. Wlien the river is crossed which separates New York from Hobokon, (me passes from an English to a Gorman speaking city ; indeed, there are shops in Hobokeii where German is under- I ' 3 ques- United prudent lipeg is iss across s city. A ^ then tlie le change encli coast Dover and lew world, bim wlio b oC Ediri- This is of Ontario ge from an Such a btn in the American ch separates ,ca from an mdced, there nu is under- Ill ' I I I ! l.| . , Ml SL Boniface. 213 stood better than English. In Chicas^o and Mil- waukee there are quarters where German is the prevailing speech, and in St. Paul there are quarters where Norse is the only tongue fluently spoken. But none of these cases is so curious as that of St. Boniface. In the cities of the United States, though the people may speak a foreign tongue, there is yet no external token of the popu- iation being foreign. On the western side of the Red River, the wayfarer who looks at the street- corners sees such truly British names as Alfred, Gladstone, and Macfarlane ; on the eastern side he sees Rue St. Boniface, Rue St. Joseph, Rue du Moulin, while he hears the passers-by converse in the French language. It is not so much the fact that French is s^^oken, as that everything looks so French which renders this suburb of the city of Winnipeg unlike any other which I have seen in any city on the continent of North America or of Europe. The settlement of French half-breeds at St. Boniface dates from the year 1818. Since then it has been the Roman Catholic mission centre of the North-West. Bishop Provencher laboured here as a priest from 1818 till his death as bishop in 1853. His successor, Archbishop Tache, has spent the greater part of a long life as a missionery priest among the Indians. Archbishop Tach^'s work f .♦ \k / 214 . The City of Winnipeg. UW I \\i i| I I i^U entitled *' Twenty Years of Missions in the Nortli- West of America " is not only an interesting record of personal experience, but till recently it has been the only trustworthy guide to that obscure region. He is very popular, and his great authority over the half-breeds and the Indians is exercised with much discretion. He chiefly con- tributed to allay the irritation which occasioned and succeeded the rebellion headed by Louis Riel ; and, though he was said to have rather straiiied his powers as a mediator by promising an absolu- tion to the rebel leaders which the Canadian Government did not intend to accord, yet he un- questionably acted in good faith and with a suc- cess proving that his interpretation of the mission which he undertook was justified by events. The most conspicuous buildings in the suburb of St. Boniface are connected with the church of which Archbishop Tache is a worthy representa- tive. First in importance is the Cathedral, a stone building in simple Gothic style, and one of the best edifices of the kind in the North- West. Its organ is one of the finest in the country ; it was a gift to the Archbishop from his friends in Quebec on the 25th anniversary of his accession to episcopal rank. The inteiior of the Cathedral is principally remarkable for the absence of the tawdry decorations which so often ofFend the eye Archbishop Tachd, 215 :Nort\i- >resting lently it to that lis great idians is efly con- •casioned ais Kiel ; • straiiied ,n absolu- Canadian ^et he un- ith a suc- tie mission jnts. ihe suburb church of -epresenta- ral, a stone one of the West. Its ry ; it was friends in accession to Cathedral ;ence of the fend the eye in such places. The Archbishop's palace is close to the Cathedral, and is also built of stone. It is a plain, comfortable dwelling-place, with a well- kept garden in front, filled with flowering plants and trees. I had the pleasure of conversing with the Archbishop and of learning his views with regard to the settlement of the country. He has that polish of manner which seems to be the inheritance of most persons whose mother-tongue is French. Though no longer young and though much of his life has been passed among hardships which render a man old before his time, yet he has the look of a man much younger than his years. He is a living witness to the salubrity of the climate, having been here upwards of 30 years ; his predecessor, Bishop Provencher, lived long enough to show that residence near the Red River was conducive to longevity. Archbishop Tache has a strong faith in the progress of this region of the country and in its adaptability for ssettlement. Some parts further westward he considers too poor for cultivation, but he admits there is ample space and attraction for millions to take up their abodes and prosper. The task of civilizing the Indians he holds to be much less difficult than is commonly supposed, and the success which the missionaries of his Church have had among the Indian tribes betweca III %, t 11 : ^!.i*.»* W»U.^' 2l6 The City of Winnipeg, the Red River and the Rocky Mountains is strongly in favour of the sanguine views entertained by the Archbishop. His own exertions to promote edu- cation are worthy of high praise and have yielded good fruit. Several educational and charitable institutions over which he exercises supemsion are within a short distance of his palace. First there is the College of St. Boniface, where the students number between (lO and 70 ; secondly, there is St. Boniface Academy for the education of girls, where the teachers are Sisters of Charity ; thirdly, there is the Convent of St. Boniface, where orphans and destitute old women are cared for and supported by the Sisters ; and, fourthly, there is a hospital in connexion with the convent for the relief of the sick. Having read some extracts from the pastoral letter issued by Archbishop Tache at the time of the last general election in Canada, I was desirous of seeing the document itself, and, on stating this, the Archbishop kindly presented a copy to me. I shall translate a few passages from it in order to show the kind of advice which is given to electors by this excellent representative of the Catholic Church in the Canadian West. Fe begins by claiming for priests, r,s citizens, the duty to take part in elections and the right to do so in virtue of their education and sacred office. rongly by tbe ,te edu- yielded Laritable ). First lere the iecondly, jducation Charity ; Lce, where ed for and y, there is it for the e extracts Archbishop election in 5 document bop kindly ,slate a few ae kind of [is excellent |rch va. the . jj citizens, Ithe right to jacred office. Advice to Electors. 217 He sets forth the importance of the elections on account of the results which may follow, and the necessity of having a well-constituted Legislature. He insists on the value of every vote in a Legisla- tive Assembly, seeing that a single vote may turn the scale for good or evil, and he contends that this consideration ought to be borne in mind in choosing representatives. He controverts the generally prevailing view that any man is fitted to be a legislator, saying that to represent one's fellow-countrymen, to undertake the preservation of the interests of one's country, and to become a legislator are such very difficult and important duties that one is often surprised at the ease with which certain persons set up as candidates and solicit the votes of electors. A proper candidate ought to possess common sense, a thing which the Archbishop holds to be rarer than is commonly supposed, and of which the absence is almost in- variably marked h^ ignorance of the precept there is " a time to keep silence," adding, " Discretion in speech is so charactistic of prudence that we are assured in Solomon's Proverbs that even a fool when he holdeth his peace is counted wise, and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding." He thinks it imperative that a good member of Parliament should be a well- instructed man, " it being possible to be a worthy i Wi -A f i III: •- fm-*"'^ i^'wr'-'^T ■ ' (i 218 T/ie City of Winnipeg. 'f f/ ». ■I !: !:1 'I '11 I •H ..'i i J ! man without instruction, but not a good legislator." Equally necessary is it to be an honest man, to be received in good society, to be sober and God- fearing in order to merit being sent to Parliament. The Archbishop remarks that these considerations prove that the requisite Parliamentary qualifica- tions are not possessed by all men, and then he goes on to shov^ what are the duties incumbent on electors. The first is to pray for enlightenment, the second to consult wise and discreet persons, to avoid being influenced by passion or personal in- terest, to widen the sphere of their contemplation, and to consider the public weal. He warns them against the curses of elections, which are lying, drunkenness, venality, and violence, and he implores them to allow the result to be achieved in opposition to their wishes rather than to gain an electoral triumph through perjury, calumny, or falsehood. He denounces bribery as a crime which stains both parties, both the briber and the bribed being bad citizens, traitors to duty and honour. He styles a member who owes his election to corruption as an intruder in Parliament. He charges the electors not to commit any acts of violence and ^o refrain from copying the bad example m this respect which had been set else- where, adding, " Above all show yourselves Christians, and you cannot fail to be good citizens." r* A French Newspaper. 219 slator." .n, tobe Qd God- liament. Lerations [^ualifica- l then he mbent on itenment, .ersons, to ;rsonal in- emplation, arns them are lying, >, and he achieved in to gain an alnmny, or as a crime ber and the duty and owes his Parham<^nt. b any acts of ing the bad >een set else- yourselves Dod citizens." He concludes by forbidding the holding of political meetings at the churvh doors on Sundays and by desiring that such gatherings should be held on weekdays only. The foregoing summary of this pastoral letter not only shows the opinions which the Archbishop inculcates, but it justifies me in asserting that if other dignitaries of his Church displayed the same tact and good taste there would never be any cause for protesting against priestly interference at elections. Before leaving St. Boniface, I must note that this suburb of Winnipeg promises to thrive even better in the future than it has hitherto done. The terminus of the Pembina branch of the St. Paul and Pacific Railway is here, and this has given an impetus to building. A newspaper in French, called Le MetiSf is published weekly. It is the only French journal published in the Cana- dian North-West and taking cognizance of the wishes and wants of the large class there which preserves the use of the French language. There is no part of Canada ^vhere speech is more diver- sified than in the Province of Manitoba, nor is there any in which the ordinary routine of existence is more varied. :ii' i! 5 !t .m i ''fi n ft. 8 I: ■,i ■ % i-< ■-"•«r-'™»rw<;i«*i*?^W»"*"'»»'^ ■; : CHAPTER X. THE PilOVISCE OF MANITOBA. The surprise which I felt on first walking along the streets of Winnipeg and seeing so many tokens of progress and civilization was increased when I journeyed through the Province of which Winnipeg is the capital. I had read that the country was totally unfit for settlement. I had read that it Avas pre-eminently adapted for farming and that no other part of the Continent was a more desirable place of abode. Indeed, few regions of the world have been the subjects of greater controversy than Manitoba, the Prairie Province of Canada. It has had many indiscreet eulogists and as many unscrupulous defamers. If the former are right, the Province must be an Earthly Paradise; if the latter set forth the whole truth, it must be the counterpart of Dante's Inferno. Though the discussion as to the ad- vantages or drawbacks of this place has been cing along r so many 5 increased ce of wliicl^ ,d that the jnt. I Taad dapted iov e Continent [e. Indeed, :lie subjects I, the Prairie ly indiscreet ls defamers. must be an ^t forth tbe ,rt of Dante's to tbe ad- ^ce has been Opinions about the Region. 221 specially keen and persistent of late years, yet the difference of opinion concerning it is of old date. Since the Hudson Bay Company received their charter from Charles the Second in 1670, doubts have been expressed and uncertainty has pre- vailed as to the character of the region out of which this Province has been carved. The matter was carefully investigated by a Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1749 and again in 1857. Mr. Gladstone was a member of the Committee which sat in 1857 and he was not so ready as some of his colleagues to conclude that the officers of the Hudson Bay Company were justified in maintaining that the entire Canadian North West was unsuited for settlers and had been evidently designed by Providence to be a perpetual breeding-ground of wild beasts and a congenial habitation for wild Indians. Sir George Simpson, who had been Governor of the Hudson Bay Company's territory during thirty-seven years and who had traversed every part of it, emphatically assured the Committee that the region now known as Manitoba was cursed with a poor soil, a variable and inhos- pitable climate and disastrous and frequent inundations. The Right Hon. Edward Ellice, speaking on behalf of the governing body of the Company in England, confidently asserted that "i .'{ it, 'I i. v-t I „ 222 The Province ^f Manitoba. 1,1 M\ Vll i the Red River district was no place for settlers aad that the State of Minnesota, now so prospe- rous, was no place for them either. Sir John Richardson, the famous Arctic explorer, agreed with the officers of the Company in pronouncing the land utterly worthless for settlement ; and he declared that he could not understand why any one should go thither except to prosecute the fur trade. He made a statement which caused an impression on his hearers but which seems very strange to me. It was to the effect that the vine does not grow naturally on the North American Continent to the north of 43 degrees of latitude. Now, I have eaten and plucked grapes on the banks of the Red River to the north of the 49th parallel of latitude, and I have drunk wine made from wild grapes grown on the Assiniboine River at thc3 50th parallel. When men of experience and eminence like Mr. Ellice and Sir John Richardson made such extraordinary mistakes as to matters of fact relating to this part of the country, it is not to be wondered at if they grievously erred in matters of opinion. In truth, many of the facts and opinions current about Manitoba have been either palpable fictions, or absurd blunders. The Province of Manitoba occupies the centre of North America, being equidistant from the •^ % settlers prospe- , agreed louncing ; and he why any e the to aused an ems very b the vine American f latitude. les on the [ the 49th ine made ,oine River experience Sir John mistakes as ,art of the at if they In truth, •rent about ftctions, or the centre it from the Extent of the Province, 223 pole and the equator, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Its area when formed into a Province was 14,310 square miles; since then its boundaries have been extended and it now covers 120,000 square miles. In Canada the Provinces of Quebec and British Columbia are the only tw^o covering a larger area than Manitoba, while in the Union two States only, Texas and California, are A'aster than it. Yet Manitoba covers but a J:raction of the Canadian Far West, there being ample space therein out of which to carve fifteen other Provinces of the like extent. Its peculi- arity and advantage consist in the fact that settlement there is of an old enough date to enable its capacity for producing food and affording pleasant homes to the landless to have been thoroughly tested. When I visited it in 1878 for the first time the novelty of the scene fell short of my expectation. I had been accus- tomed, in common with many other persons, to regard it not only as outlandish and inaccessible, but as a region where life must be spent under even less favourable conditions than in those remote parts of the Far West with which I was accjuainted. With a feeling of am'izenn^nt, then, 1 discovered throughout Manitoba innumerable indications of a long-settled and well-governed country. Many of the farms which I visited had w ^;i ) I ! w r' % ' 224 The Province of Manitoba. an antiquated look which produceu a striking impression. I had expected them to resemble other Prairie farms, which appear as if they had just been established, or were on the point of being abandoned, everything about them being unsub- stantial and unfinished. The rude dwelling-houses seem intended to serve a temporary purpose. No trim gardens give evidence of long residence and the expenditure of leisure time. An unenclosed plot of ground, in which cabbages or potatoes are struggling for existence among a mass of weeds, is the only attempt at gardening to be seen on a new prairie farm. The fields bear testimony to the haste with which the settler has striven to grow and garner a crop. He has sown the seed before the land has been wholly reclaimed from its wilderness state, caring nothing about appear- ances so long as he can harvest a quantity of grain sufficient to repay his outlay and to leave him a surplus wherewith to feed himself and his family. Tidiness is not the forte of a prairie farmer. In Manitoba, however, many prairie farms have as finished and comfortable a look as any in Great Britain. An enclosed garden, filled with flowers and vegetables and free from weeds, is attached to most of them ; the fields are in excellent con- dition ; the dwelling-house seems built to last Farming in Manitoba. 225 triking jseinble ley Taad of being ^ unsub- g.bouses )se. ^o ence and aenclosed batoes are of weeds, seen on a itimony to striven to In the seed imed from )ut appear- quantity of id to leave ,elf and Ui^ 3f a prairie e farms bave any in Great svitb flowers is attacbed .xellont con- built to last and to afford a comfortable shelter; an air pre- vails which can best be rendered by the epithet home-like. This was not what I had come so far to see. Yet, if I had pondered more carefully the history of the country, it is precisely what I ought to have expected. It is a common but an entire mistake to regard Manitoba as a region of the globe in which farming is an ex- periment. The truth is that farming has been practised there on a considerable scale and with remarkable success since the year 1812. At the beginning of this century the problem of how to deal with the poorer Highlanders caused much anxiety to philanthropists and statesmen. The semi-patriarchal state in which the Highland clans had lived was a thing of the past, and there appeared to be no place for the members of those clans in the new state of things. Sliortly after the bloody suppression of the re- bellion of 1745, many Highlanders emio rated to North Amorica. Expatriated Highlanders con- stituted the bono and marrow of the colony which General Oglctliorpo conducted across tlie AtUuitic in order to found what is now the State of Georgia. Others had clioson North (/arolina as their dwelling-place, and, siding witli Congress in tlio war of Independence, lliey proved tliemselves sturdy and djiuntlos.s soldiers in battle. iT'-,' I ill --* -^^■•'f-..T ■;:Se-*--i» — ^— — ~*^ 230 The Province of Manitoba. II I u ■A \ !;';! violence of the thunderstorms appalled him. I was not surprised to hear him say this. I have had some experience of thunderstorms and I am prepared to maintain that those of Manitoba are so terrific as to be beyond all rivalry. In Ontario the flashes of lightning are more vivid and the peals of thunder are far more resonant than in England, but a Manitoba thunderstorm is to one in Ontario what one in Ontario is to one in England. "When Manitoba is visited with such a storm the rain falls as if the windows of heaven were open, the thunder crashes as if the celestial combat imagined by Milton were at its height, the lightning fills the air with sheets of dazzling brightness athwart which dart tongues of flame. The air is so charged with electricity that the simplest operation reveals its presence. It can be made manifest by merely combing one's hair. At times it appears in a startling fashion. The Earl of Soathesk records in the narrative of his travels here that, when about to wrap himself in a fur robe, "a white sheet of electrical flame blazed into his face, for a moment illuminating the whole tent." The Manitoba farmer who reaps fabulously large crops can afford to bear the discomforts of occasional thunderstorms of exceptional violence. When locusts, or grasshoppers as they are here Grasshoppers. 231 him. I I have nd I am itoba are L Ontario an^ the b than in 'm is to to one in ith such a of heaven e celestial ts height, )f dazzling s of flame, that the e. It can one's hair, lion. The itive of his himself in ical flame [luminating fabulously comforts of ml violence, ley are here called, visit the country they cause greater un- easiness because they occasion far greater loss than all the thunderstorms. This plague is not peculiar to Manitoba ; it is dreaded by farmers in the Western States from Minnesota to Colorado. At Denver, the capital of Colorado, I once saw a flight of grasshoppers, resembling a scintillating brown cloud, pass over the city, and many were the speculations among the onlookers as to the part of the State on which it would descend and work destruction. The settlers in Manitoba have suffered less from this pest than their neighbours in the United States. Since the first settlers came here in 1812 the grasshoppers have ap- peared thirteen times, whereas they have visited the State of Minnesota six times since 1855 ; in the former case the visitations having been thir- teen during sixty-eight years and in the latter, six during twenty-five years. The Indians wel- come grasshoppers ; they catch, roast and eat them and pronounce them very good. Happily for the farmers, who prefer bushels of grain upon which they can live, to bushels of grasshoppers which devour their crops, the voracious insects are not regular visitors. As many as thirty-five years have elapsed between their successive appearances. Moreover, the farmers are better able now to ward off their ravages than they were ni bygone days. ■■% ''.I I I i-i/ !'■ ^/ '-.. :^i^:st- mmmmm 232 T/ie Province of Maiiitoba, 'IM l( '',' 1 r ■■ i; I .)■ I :fH ^ ? Grasshoppers are an infliction wliich is not very freq^ient nor very greatly feared ; the spring floods are annual torments for which no remedy has yet been adopted. They cause the farmer much annoyance and serious loss. The deposit left upon the land which has been inundated fre- quently lessens its fertility for a season. There is a remedy which would cure all this, or better still which would prevent the mischief altogether. A liofhtninfy-rod oruards the farmer's house and barns from injury by the electric fluid. A proper and general system of drainage would shield his fields from the destT*oying flood when the snow melts in the spring and the streams are swollen to a great height. The Government of the Province have a comprehensive scheme of drainage in contemplation. If it weie carried out and if it proved eflectual, the wealth of the Province would be vastly augmented, the waste now produced by the floods being incalculable. The Eed Eiver cart is a relic of Manitoba in the old time which is destined to follow the buffalo and be seen no more. Indeed, it cannot outlast the buffalo, because buffalo hide is one of the chief materials used in its construction. The cart is entirely made of wood and buffalo hide, no metal being employed or required in its construc- tion. It was an ingemous device of the first settlers who, having no iron at their disposal, had li is not lie spring o remedy 16 farmer tie deposit dated f re- Q. There or better iltogether. liouse and A proper shield liis the snow swollen to e Province rainage in it and if it race would roduced by itoba in the the buffalo mot outlast one of the ;tion. The alo hide, no :s construc- of the first isposal, had it ■ :!■ lyi^i. im [ 1 1 ENLARGED MAP OF MANITOBA SHEWING NEW TOWNS. VILLAGES & POST OFFICES. ^WHTLS HOUMTMN ^< M .# M,., i.ii, ^ .Ml. 1 i< U'l. '...'I- lEN LISBURY y CIMUi vVV iRfCK lotto %■ PAK POINT PMiSTiNEVfitAOSTOME _fi005IOEl porY COLOENi STREAt i\\\ '—- • tOAKLANO ^wooo CLAmMY£Mf£Q«'8 Dmyoitr iVICTORIA >BERON \PETNEL •/FAIRVIEV^t WEUINCTDN [BOURNE ROCKWOOO fa 'POINT RCE LA PRAIRIE WINNIPEG^ E;.KIRK HSCRE^ ^^^/^COOHS CRIEN OUNO lUBROli ^^at iiNOIAN FORD TREHERNE ^HOLLAND ST vit/(l iUNNYSi rMPTO URIR CREEK lim BEAC0N6FIEL0 , v CAMPBGiLVIIAE TOBACCO CREEK RI6DELI. LORNE siVuAthev^ r, K-- i ^ r^. 8TLE0T IIAMI «OCK Iht^t IIVERVIUE CLEAR SPDINC »IIAT RIVER .— — ""Treston CRYSTAL ) rR»'*l. innmr^MOUNTAiN city LETEUIER • SINA _ ^"^•^taODERVILLE KMNOMITE SESirTLEHIENTS of ^^RNAUO l>SI, s#i««»,«r^i \ MENNONITE fmouNum BREEN RIBOC IIOCEVILLE. WEST LYNNE EMCRtOri ^li>' I iM]J. I.ill.':'l. I '-^■■■5? - .- « * i » . ; J;'^.__^ ; - --^-M^^SfimitiiiismmS^ ■ U f;t. ' '. (. 3M \iV% ■ ' » :, I I I'li 1,; GRAND VALlE.V.LYMPTei imiCMCK BNAND(^^^ ENLARGED MAP MAN ITO SHEWING NEW TOWNS. & POST OFFICES. '•v»Tir OONC IIVCNVCiU CliAR SPlIM \llAT RIVER TLEMSmS Unauo BRCEN met RIOGCVIUI . IMCMON il 'f! Manitoba Homesteads. 00 ^Mi |UI8 ELKIRK OUNDI mLLlM It Ci»K ITTt vt;.LC CLEAR SPlMCl w tivm MMOMtTE TLEMfrTS uo AREEN RItOl XlOGEVlUl. CKtOM to contrive to dispense with it. Such a cart costs $10 ; it is light as well as cheap, and a heavier load can be drawn in it by an ox over the soft prairie than in •< < fi' 1 ! 244 Mennonites and Icelanders in Manitoba. of tlie people speaking two languages is the chief, if not the only distinction between them and other Canadians. Every year the possibility of remaining a class apart is more difficult owing to the increase of intercommunication. The present generation of Mennonites may practise all the exclusive rules to which they have been accustomed and their ignorance of English will render it easier for them to resist any external influence which might cause them to modify or alter their views and habits. Their children will assuredly succumb to these influences. They are learning English and they will acquire ideas which must alter their mode of life. Moreover, the Mennonites are making money more rapidly than they ever did before and the sons of rich parents may cease to labour with their hands as their forefathers have done for genera- tions. It is to be hoped, however, that they will preserve some of their simple tastes and all their domestic virtues. The Mennonites have taught the Canadians many lessons, and they have learned much in return. The progress of their community deserves to be watched with interest. As tillers of the soil they have no superiors. As pioneers in subjugation of the wilderness they cannot be rivalled. Their gospel of labour is sound and profitable doctrine for settlers in the Far West, and it is their merit to practise it with diligence ioba. the chief, md other •emaining e increase reneration Lisive rules and their T for them light cause md habits, h to these h and they eir mode of iking money )re and the ir with their for genera- |iat they will aid all their have taught Ihave learned r community As tillers of s pioneers in cannot be sound and ,e Far West, ith diligence New Iceland. 245 and zeal. As Lord Dufferin remarked in an admirable speech delivered when visiting their reservation, they are useful recruits and comrades in a contest waged with Nature where no blood is shed or misery wrought. Yet the war " is one of ambition, for we intend to annex territory, but neither blazing villages nor devastated fields will mark our ruthless track ; our battalion will march across the illimitable plains which stretch before us as sunshine steals athwart the ocean ; .'le rolling prairie will blossom in our wake, and corn and peace and plenty will spring where we have trod." II. Fifty-six miles northward of Winnipeg is Gimli, the Capital of New Iceland. The territory set apart for the Icelanders covers 27,000 acres ; the population did not much exceed 1029 at the close of 1879 ; about 500 Icelanders of both sexes were scattered over the Pro\'ince, the men working on farms, the women as domestic servants. Lord Dufferin was an enthusiastic advocate of immi- gration into Canada from Iceland. He had learned from personal observation how hard life was in Iceland itself, the people there existing as he phrased it *' amid the snows and ashes of an li' tj I' .1 1 l>l :.-.S!hL^^. 246 Me7inonites and Icelanders in Manitoba. arctic volcano." ThePrst Icelandic settlement in Canada was made in 1875 near Burnt River in Victoria County, Ontario. The spot reminded tlie Icelanders of their native land far too well, the chief product of the locality being rock. It was then resolved to offer them a tract of land in the Far West on the shore of Lake Winnipeg, provided that they would remove thither and induce their countrymen to join them. The removal was effected the following year and as many as 2000 took up their abode near Lake Winnipeg, an inland sea as long as England and not less abundantlj?- stocked with fish than the salt ocean around Iceland. Immediately after arriving, small-pox broke out among them and they were subjected to a species of quarantine ; they com- plained of being kept too strictly isolated and that intercourse with the rest of the world was forbidden them long after all risk of contagion had ceased. Perhaps no settlers in the Far West have had more difficulties to surmount than these Icelanders; certainly, none have found anything so strange and unlike what they had seen before. As Lord Dufferin justly remarked, the business of the Canadian settlers is to fell wood, plough fields, make roads ; these Icelanders, however, had nev(T seen in their native isle, a tree, a cornfield or a itoba. Discord among the Icelanders. 247 Dlement in River in fiinded the 3 well, the tc. It was [and in the r, provided iduce their moval was ny as 2000 nnipeg, an d not less 3 salt ocean I' arriving, I they were they com- solated and world was ntagion had >st have had (Icelanders; strange and As Lord ness of the ough fields, n', had never ornficld or a road, and they were ignorant of the very elements of agriculture. It is highly creditable to them that they have learned very (juickly how to cultivate the soil, the neat gardens round their comfortable houses being pleasing tokens of their progress. They have been successful in rearing cattle and tliey have now added beef to their dietary ; formerly they lived entirely on fish, vegetables and bread. I am not sanguine, however, about the hopes of the promoters of the settle- ment being realized. Immigration from Iceland does not continue. For a time the desire of the Icelanders to persuade their brethren at home to join them was so marked that Mr. Lowe, Secretjiry to the Department of Agriculture, informed a Committee of the Dominion House of Commons, *' almost every settler in New Iceland appears to be an immigration agent." The great clianges which these Icelanders have undergone appears to have created in their minds a longing for further changes and fresh wandering. Some of them have proceeded to the United States and those who remain are not satisfied with their lot. They are a good-tempered and harmless race, they make excellent servants, but they ai)i)ear lacking in the (|ualities which constitute successful colonists. Ml li H ijg-i-sirafi CHAPTER XII. m T ii ! 1 ('' THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES. ** Go west, young man, and grow up with the country," was the pithy, sensible and often- quoted advice which Horace Greeley gave to such of his countrymen as were unable to get suitable employment in the Eastern States of the Union. The result has been to people the Western States with mou who find it easier to grow ricli there than in the place of their birtli. What the younger citizens of the United States have been doing for many years back, the young (^anadians are domg now. They, too, have a Far West which is as rich in golden opportunities as that Avhich used to be regarded as the most favoured part of the North American Continent. Lai'ge ,^ and important though Manitoba undoubtedly is, there is a ^region beyond it still larger and still more attractive. Many ])ersons fancy that Mani- toba is far enough Avest, yet others regard it as on ai lllt^' Western Roads. 249 with the nd often- ve to sucb et suitable bl)C Union. ,eni States rich there What tlie have been Canadians Fur West ies as that it favoured nt. Larj^e ubtedly is, Y and still that Mani- ird it as ou the threshold of the new and marvellous country for which they are bound, and they treat it as a mere halting-place in their journey towards the setting sun. When the Canadian Pacific Railway is finished and open for traffic the journey westward through Manitoba will be an easy one. At present it is tedious and trying. During a part of the year there is communication l)y v/ater between Winni- peg and Portage la Prairie, 70 miles to the west, and it is also possible to go in a steamer as far as Battleford, the Capital of the North- West. But the more general mode of travel, and the one which will be followed till the railway can be used is for travellers thither to start in a light spring- waggon, carrying a tent and other encumbrances in view of the probable necessity of having to camp out. The traveller and the emigrant do not require long experience of Mimitoba to thoroughly understand its greatest drawback, the absence of good roads. The word road has seldom a place in the language of the people, the common ex- pression to designate the pathway between two places being " trail." It may be said, indeed, that each traveller makes his own road. If he bo aware of the direction which he ought to follow, ho e] looses the part of the prairie where the ground is best fitted for driving. Nothing is i i.i 250 The No7'-th- West Territories. m\\ m\ tW" easier ttan to drive over the stoneless and springing turf of the virgin prairie and, if the traffic be not too great, an excellent** trail*' is made by the passage of successive vehicles. But, when the traffic is heavy and continuous and holes are formed in which water settles and the soft mould resembles a mass of tenacious mud, then following the ** trail " is a weariness to the flesh of man and beast. The roads of Manitoba must have much in common with the famous roads in the Highlands before the advent of General Wade. Wlien England was supposed to be the land of mirth and song, the persons who regard those bj^gone days with regret would feel themselves disenchanted if they were suddenly transplanted to the gold age of their dreams. EngUsh roads were then in much the same state as those in Manitoba now. The Slough of Despond through which Bunyan makes Christian struggle at the beginning of his heavenward pil- grimage to the Celestial City, was doubtless copied from something which he had seen near Bedford. No clearer or more accurate representation of a Mr.iitoba "slew" has ever been furnished than t'i:)l' which Bunyan wrote by way ot illustrating chf oi.stacles whic^ Christian had to face and ,»uTao\)nt a,, the outset of his journey. Christian : I I ii MudJioles. 251 ;less and ad, if the = trail" is les. But, and holes d tlie soft mud, then bo the flesh litoba must Qous roads of General 36 the land who regard would teel sre suddenly leir dreams, same state Slough of ces Cliristian Lvenward pil- btless copied ear Bedford, entation of a rnished than )f illustrating to face and Y. Christian had but one to cross, whereas the pilgrims bound for the Canadian North-West have to cross hundreds. The stoutest-hearted emigrant who has resolved to settle on the Stiskatchewan River and who has begun what he considers the last stage of his journey at the Capital of Manitoba, has felt his courage and confidence fail him long before he has reached the first town of importance. Between Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie the mudholes are so many and so difficult to cross that, if tliej^ had intercepted Christian's path, he would inevitably have returned in despair to the City of Destruction. Many emigrants have seen them and turned back in dismay. Some explorers of the land have done likewif-e. One of the latter warned me against making an attempt which must end in failure, if not in the fractur.! of my neck. It is simply impossible to depict the diffi- culties caused by those "mudholes ;" as difficult is it to persuade the new comer that the " nuid " Avhicli he regards with horror and disgust is the finest alluvial soil which can be found anywhere. It is no uncommon occurrence for a train of freight waggons, bound westward, to be detained several days in the " mudholes " which intersect the beaten path a few miles to the west of Winni- peg. The emigrants who have surmounted these obstacles to their progress and who remain con- • I »'i ( J : I 252 The North' IVest T'^rritories. I! m riiJ' /jl ''ir. '1 .1 fident of ultimate success are the persons who not only deserve success but reap it. An emigrant who has made up his mind to seek a new home in Manitoba can easily prepare himself, before leaving home, for what he must encounter on the way to his homestead in the Canadian Far West. Let him practise crossing a newly- ploughed field for hours together with a horse and cart and pitching a tent at the end of his journey. Let him arrange so that there are fre- quent ponds in the field, these ponds being at least five hundred yards in width, having an average depth of fjiir feet and a muddy bottom. If he be not dishearten d bj' exercise of thio kind he is well (pialifiedfor starting on a trip to the Can^idian Far West during the wet season. He may b e agreeably surprised at other seasons by finding the roads in ti very different 3 be idlieiswell .n-dian Far e agreeably he roads in itumn tbey .inootli as a the winter en the hard y vehicle in as easily as prepared to far less un- at night in >ng the iniry ll Pfairie Hotels. 25 paths over which thirty miles are all that can be conveniently passed between sunrise and sunset, but the accommodation at the few stopping-places on the beaten track is quite as great a trial to the fastidious wayfarers. These prairie hotels are the rude log-houses erected by settlers who add to their incomes by entertaining travellers. They are commonly 18 feet long by 16 fee^: wide and are divided horizontally into two parts. On the ground floor is the place where the family and the visitors sit and take the meals which are cooked in a stove at the one end, the stove serving tb'. double purpose of heating tho house and affording the requisite fjicilities for cooking. In the upper story the occupants of the house pass the night. The food is plain and simple enough to satisfy the greatest foe to high living, consisting of fried salt pork, bread, potatoes and tea. Eggs and milk are luxuries rarely obtainable. Why the settlers do not rear poultry or keep cows is a question which I cannot answer. A few of them add to their incomes, not only by entertaining the strangers who present themselves, but also by levying a toil upon their vehicles. If a stream near their dwellings bo difficult to ford, or if the " trail" be in good condition over tlieir land, tluy constriict p« rude bridge across the stream and iuake the persons who use it or who pass over ^' ' 1 254 The North' West Territories. .. ti ( ■ their land pay 25 cents each. I found that some of these astute men put as much as §50 weekly into their pockets by so acting. The emigrants curse these imposts, but they have either to pay them or f^'^bp '' to serious inconvenience. The Govern- ment ought to see that the roads are kept in better order and that they are free to all who pass over them. I was told that the Provincial Govern- ment are awakening to their duty in this respect. li they give effect to their praiseworthy intentions, many a settler who has to travel over the prairie to his homestead, and to whom every dollar is precious, will grumble less about a matter which ought never to have formed one of his troubles. AYhen I left Winnipeg for the Far West, the first pkce at which I halted for the night was Whitehorse Plains where Mr. House combines farming with innkeepiug. He has been twenty years in the country and he likes it \ery much. He regrets the good old days when game was plentiful, life was easy, -v/hen the settlers were few in number and hunters were in the majority. The road between Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie, the first place of any importance on the Western road and about 70 miles distant from the Capital, is worse than in any other part of the count ly I have visited. The j^opulation of Portage is 1200. It is the most westerly place Royal Commissioners in Manitoba. 255 ; some of ekly into Qts curse J tbem or Goverii- 5 kept in wlio pass il Govern- is respect. intentions, tlie prairie y dollar is itter wliicli troubles. West, tlie night was |e combines iccn twenty very mucli. game was jttlers were |ie majority. Portage la Lnce on tlie astaut from ftlier part of jpnlation of isterly piace visited by Mr. Peil and Mr. Reade, the represen- tatives of the Royal Commission on Agriculture, during their scamper through Manitoba. I found that these gentlemen had made a deep impression upon those with whom they came into contact. It was admitted that, if they saw but little of the country, they were assiduous in rigorously questioning everybody they met. Both gentle- men expressed themselves greatly struck with what they saw and both admitted that Manitoba was a wonderful land. Mr. Reade embodied his feelings as a British farmer in terms which were certainly emphatic. Being asked what be thought of the country, he replied that he re- garded it in the same light that a lamb does the butcher. It is impossible to view the vast ex- panse of land covered with crops of wheat and of a still larger area of as good land still unculti- vated without arriving at the conclusion that the Manitoba farmers, who pay no rent, arc dangerous rivals to British farmers Avho both pay rent and obtain a far smaller return for thoir lal)our. The average yield of wheat here is thirty-five bushels an acre. If the land were farmed with as much care as is the rule in Great Britain, the yield could be nearly doubled. The Hudson Bay Company have a store at the western division of Portage, under the care of If 5 1 ■A 2^6 The North- West Territories. iw Mr. Gigot. I found liim a well-informed and mo«5t courteous gentleman of German origin. I learned from him tliat the supply of furs has not yet fallen off. He told me that some wild animals are more plentiful now than before the arrival of so many settlers ; he explained this by saying that these animals have always been more numerous in particular years and that the last two years are remarkable in this respect. More- over, the hunters use more effectual weapons for killing them than in bygone days, so that tlie return is necessarily larger. It is obvious, how- ever, that the fur-bearing animals which still abound here must disappear before the advance of civilization. I shall not mention in detail all the places at which I halted during the ten days that I journeyed through the North-West Territory. The farthest point I reached was Rapid City which, by the devious route I followed, is 200 miles to the west of Winnipeg. The weather was very bad during a part of the time and those persons who have traversed the prairie in an open waggon when snow or rain is falling will not wonder that I curtailed my journey. I could not, then, visit the young and aspiring city of Gladstone in the township of Palestine, of which I saw a plan representing it to possess many fine buildings ' nl yoiirnalism at Rapid City. 257 med and origin. I s bas not ome wild betore the 3d this by been more it tbe last ,ct. More- reapons for 50 tbat tTie vious, bow- wbicb still tbe advance he places at [ays tbat I rritory. Tbe City wbicb, iOO miles to 3r was very ose persons jopen waggon wonder tbat iben, visit tbe jstone in tbe saw a plan Lne buildings 1 and parks, but which, like other young prairie cities, doubtless looks most attractive on paper. Not far from it is the township of Beaconsfield which is less advanced than jrladstone city. In Beaconsfield there are only a few shanties and a post-office, whereas Gladstone has a population large enough to support a weekly journal, the Gladstone News. Rapid City is situated on the Little Saskat- chewan River and seems destined to grow in size and importance, being the centre of a splendid agricultural district. It was two years old at the time of my visit. I counted 54 houses and a saw mill, and I was told that the population numbered 400. A weekly journal the Bajnd City Enterprise, after a life of six months, had just ceased to appear and the citizens were occupied in devising measures for supplying a successor to it. A young Canadian journalist arrived at the same time as myself, his purpose being to make an arrangement with the citizens. It was agreed that lie should receive a bonus of $500, an office rent free and a lot of land in a good situation, in the event of his publishing a journal for twelve months. The citizens were well pleased with the success of the Show of the Rapid City Agricultural Society, the first which had been held and one which they were glad to think was far better than iW ■ m 'I K IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4. // // ^^ ,<^4fe ZA 1.0 I.I Ui|2^ |2.5 ui Hi US. 12.0 us 11.25 iU 1.6 v:^ v^ v: 7 ^ Photographic Sciences Corporation as WIST MAIN STRUT WIUTH.N.Y. MSM I'r' ,' I :i I 1 ! 258 The North' West Territories, the first held in the City of Winnipeg. A thousand visitors came to see the sight and the articles exhibited were highly creditable. They com- prised all those commonly seen at Agricultural Exhibitions and some which would not be found at such an Exhibition in England. The latter consisted of articles manufactured in the locality and of needlework, prizes being offered for the best set of horse-shoes and the best pair of gentle- man's or lady's boots, for the best panel door and window sash and the best pair of woollen socks and mitts, for the best rug or mat and the best sack of flour. All varieties of needlework, from plain sewing to the most elaborate em- broidery, figured in the prize list. I thought it perfectly sensible to encourage local skill in all the cases where it can be turned to profitable account. When the railway is open the articles which have now to be made on the spot, will be made by machinery, and though brought from a distance, will be sold at a lower price than hand- made goods produced at home. It does credit to the managers of the Show that they offered a special prize to the Indians for the best display^ of agricultural products. The land in the vicinity of Rapid City is rolling prairie interspersed with small lakts ; the soil is lighter than that of Manitoba, yet it is not less if I Successful Fainners. 259 ousand articles ^ com- jultural } found e latter locality the best gentle- lel door woollen and the dlework, •ate em- lought it :ill in all profitable 3 articles will be it from a lan hand- credit to offered a 3t display, J is rolling the soil is a not less productive. Three miles to the South- West is " the English Reserve," a tract of land covering 12 miles square and chiefly occupied by immi- grants from England. I visited some of the farms and I conversed with many of the settlers. Several had emigrated with too little capital, others had done so under the delusion that a knowledge of farming was not essential, and both those who had too little money and too little practical knowledge had found their task very severe. But I heard no other complaint than one to the effect that the country was too thinly peopled. All the practical farmers had done well, having reaped large crops and obtained good prices for their produce. The wheat was pro- nounced by an expert who accompanied me to be the finest he had ever seen. An Ontario farmer, who had been here a year only, was enchanted with the country. His seed sown in a shallow furrow on the wild prairie had yielded a vast increase. The root crops surprised him most of all, potatoes grown on the prairie sod averaging 2 lbs. in weight and turnips from 15 to 20 lbs. each. Some of the farms were very charming. One of 320 acres, obtained at the cost of 33/. by a Hereford- shire farmer who had left England owing to the failure of his crops in 1879, was everything that any one could desire. A small lake lay in front 6 2 26o The North- West Territories. of the house; a few trees grew close at hand, about twenty acres had been sown with wheat, a smaller portion had been devoted to root crops. ^^ small patch before the door had been sown with flower seeds brought by his daughter from the old home, and the sight of the flowers was as delightful to my eye as the large yields of grain and vegetables. More luxuriant mignonette I never saw before ; the flowers were gigantic and the delicious perfume was not impaired by the size of the plants. I was so struck with these flowers as to carry away specimens, being con- vinced that they were as curious as any specimens of agricultural products and quite as striking testimonies to the goodness of the soil and climate. If the settler in Manitoba be not con- tented, he has but to migrate to the North- West Territories in order to find a still better farming country. There is plenty of room for all comers in these Territories; they v^over more than two and a half million square miles. A low estimate of the finest land available for settlement shows that there is ample room here for a population three times larger than that of the British Isles. The Hon. David Laird, Governor of the North- West Territories, was on a tour of inspection during my visit, and I had the gratification of much personal intercourse with him. He is a II Home of the Buffalo, 261 b hand, srlieat, a ■j crops, n sown er from i was as of grain )nette 1 ntic and I by the ith these )ing con- pecimens striking soil and not con- )rth-West r farming ill comers than two estimate lent shows population ish Isles. ;he North- inspection fication of Ho is a native of Prince Edward Island ; he admits that the fertile soil and pleasant climate of his island home are quite matched by those of the great country over which he is now placed in authority. He even thinks that Battleford, the capital of these Territories, is healthier than that of any other part of Canada. Though the attention of the world has been concentrated on this region owing to its reputed value for grain producing, yet, in Governor Laird's opinion, the region is even better adapted for rearing cattle. He de- scribed a tract of country not far from the base of the Rocky Mountains which has long been the home of the buffalo, and which is unrivalled for stock rearing; it is 360 miles long by 100 broad; it is covered with rich grasses, and the climate is so temperate that cattle can remain all the winter in the open air with impunity. Underneath the soil, throughout the whole of this tract, there are beds of lignite of the best quality, the lignite burning nearly as well as ordinary coal. I was pleased to learn that the Indians are giving no further trouble than to make appeals for food when the season is unusually inclement. Some of these Indians are setting an excellent example to their brethren. When Governor Laird went to Battleford in 1877 he found a body of Crees, numbering 000, encamped there. He 262 Tlie North- West Territoi'ies. persuaded tliem to lea^e a place where they had no right to remain, and to settle on a spot to the south which belonged to them. The Rev. Mr. Clark, a Church of England missionary, was labouring among these Crees. He had gained their confidence, and he induced them to begin cultivating the soil. He showed them how to set to work, and in 1878 they had good crops of potatoes. In 1879 they had crops of various sorts of vegetables and of some kinds of grain sufficient to provide for their wants, and leave them a surplus to sell. Other Indians are copying what the Crees have done, and it is probable that the experiment so successfully begun on a small scale will prove of inestimable benefit to the Indians as a body. They must cultivate the soil, be fed by the Government or starve. Year after year buffalo are growing scarcer. Once the Indians become habituated to tilling the soil, they will give even less trouble than they now do to the Canadian Government. Out of consideration for the Indians and in continuance of the policy of the Hudson Bay Company, the sale and manufacture of intoxicants are absolutely prohibited throughout the North- West Territories. The Governor-General of the Dominion is alone empowered to give a licence for manufacturing intoxicants there, while the ii Sale of Intoxicants Prohibited. 263 Lieutenant-Governor of the Territories may issue a licence allowing them to be sold or kept, under the condition of making an annual return to the Minister of the Interior of the licences issued and of the quantity and nature of the intoxicants to which they refer, that return to be laid before Parliament. Owing to attempts to defeat the operation of such an Act the definition of intoxi- cants is made to include every conceivable form of intoxicating beverage or solid substance, the words of the Act being : " The expression * intoxi- cating liquor' shall mean and include all spirits, strong waters, spirituous liquors, wines, fer- mented or compounded liquors or intoxicating fluids; and the expression * intoxicant' shall include opium or any preparation thereof, and any other intoxicating drug or substance, and tobacco or tea mixed, compounded or impregnated with opium, or with any other intoxicating drug, spirit or substance, a:nd whether the same or any of them be liquid or solid." Though not himself a total abstainer on principle, the Governor has become one during his term of oflBce on the ground that he could not well enforce the Act if he made himself an exception to its provisions. He is beset with applications for licences ; indeed, the enforcement of the law against the use of intoxicants gives him more annoyance and labour than any other of his duties. He thinks the pro- hibitive system works well on the whole. Whether 1i 264 The North- West Territories. W it can be upheld when the country is more densely populated remains to be seen. The newly-arrived settlers complain bitterly about the Act. An English farmer's wife told me that she missed her glass of beer at dinner more than anything else, and that if she could enjoy it again, she would nob regret having left her old home. At present, the Governing body of the North- West Territories is nominated by the Governor- General in Council ; provision is made, however, for the nominated being transformed into an elected body. Whenever any district of 1000 square miles contains a population of not less than 1000 adults, exclusive of aliens or unenfran- chized Indians, the Lieutenant-Governor may pro- claim it an Electoral District and desire the people to return a representative. Should the number of adults rise to 2000 then a second representa- tive may be returned. When the Council shall consist of 21 elected members then it shall cease to be a Council and will become the Legislative Assembly of the North- West Territories. This transformation is now in progress and, when it is completed, it will be seen whether the people desire to continue the prohibitions as to intoxicants which are now imposed upon them by the Dominion Parliament. i> I li densely -arrived jt. An ssed her ing else, ould nob e North- overnor- however, into an of 1000 not less menfran- may pro- he people 5 number spresenta- ncil shall hall cease legislative es. This when it is le people itoxicants Dominion CHAPTER XIII. THE CANADIAN FAR WEST. It is a misfortune that the most widely-read descriptions of the vast and sparsely peopled region of Canada, extending from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains, chiefly relate to its appear- ance in the winter season. Hence the notion prevails that the " Great Lone Land " is an illimit- able wilderness, covered with snow and intersected with frozen riyers over which people journey on sledges drawn by unruly dogs. All countries in the temperate zone have their winter, yet it pro- duces a misleading impression to depict them as if the winter state were the normal one. I have seen snow lying thickly in sunny Provence and in the Riviera along the Mediterranean which is supposed to be an Earthly Paradise, and I have felt the cold more keenly there than I have done when Fahrenheit's thermometer indicated 20° below zero in the coldest part of the North I 'if' \l 266 The Canadian Far West. American Continent. A lesson soon learnt, and not rapidly forgotten by the visitor to the part of North America where the winters are most severe, is that the position of mercury in a thermometer is no criterion of the cold experienced. So long as the air is still, any person warmly clad is almost insensible to cold. When the tempera- ture is at the lowest point in Manitoba, it is the rule for the air to be absolutely still. At Pau, in the Pyrenees, the thermometer frequently falls far lower in winter than at Nice on the Mediter- ranean; but, as the atmosphere is so calm at Pau that, for days or weeks together, not a breath of wind stirs the withered leaves on the trees, the sensation of cold is much less than in the warmer but more agitated air of Nice. During a Canadian winter, the sky is clear and the sun shines brightly day after day, and hence, though the mercury may be very low and the indicated cold very great, the feeling is one not of depression but of exhilaration, and the fact of the cold seems to be forgotten. Admiral Sir George Back told a Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1857, that at Fort Reliance, near the Arctic Ocean, he had seen Fahrenheit's thermometer indicate 70° below zero. Being asked as to the effect of the extreme cold on himself and his party, he replied, " I cannot say Westeim Winters, 267 pnt, and 3 part of it severe, mometer So long clad is tempera- ,, it is the .t Pau, in ntly falls Mediter- » calm at jr, not a es on the s than in of Nice, clear and md hence, V and the IS one not ;he fact of imiral Sir tee of the 't Reliance, ahrenheit's '0. Being ae cold on cannot say that our health was affected differently to what it would be in any other extreme cold ; perhaps the appetite was considerably increased.'* Professor H. Y. Hind, being questioned on the subject of climate by a Committee of the Dominion House of Commons in 1878, said, ** The winter cold of Manitoba is greater than the winter cold on the coast of Labrador. But it is a dry uniform cold, and it is very far less inconvenient to the senses, or in any other way, than the moist cold of Labrador." Professor Brvce of the University of I/'anitoba, gives the following cor- roborative testimony: " The winters of the North- West, upon the whole, are agreeable and singularly steady. The mocassin is dry and comfortable throughout, and no thaw, strictly speaking, takes place till spring, no matter how mild the weather may be. The snow, though shallow, wears well, and differs greatly from eastern snow. Its flake is dry and hard, and its gritty consistence re- sembles white slippery sand more than anything else. Generally speaking, the further west the shallower the snow, and the rule obtains even into the heart of the Rocky Mountains. In south-eastern Ontario the winter is milder, no doubt, than at Red River; but the soil of the North-West beats the soil of Ontario out of comparison; and after all, who would care to exchange the crisp, sparkliug, exhilarating winter of Manitoba for the rawness of Essex in South Ontario ? " n :| I 268 The Canadian Far West, A common mistake is to assume that what applies to one part of the Canadian Far West is true of the whole. No man can speak of the whole from personal knowledge. A great part has not even been explored. The extent of this territory is so vast that the mind cannot form a clear conception of it from statistics. To say that its area is 2,764,340 square miles is merely to set forth large figures. A clearer and more striking idea of the enormous expanse may be formed when I add that it is seven hundred thousand square miles larger than the German Empire, France, Spain, Italy and Russia in Europe put together. These countries support a population exceeding 180,000,000. In the Canadian Far West, the population, including Indians, is probably under 200,000. It is not thought an extravagant estimate to put the future popu- lation of this territory, when it shall have been I'endered easily accessible, and when its advan- tages have exercised their full effect in attracting settlers, at nearly 100,000,000. Sanguine ob- servers maintain that the country can support a population of twice that amount. A territory so vast is exposed to varied natural conditions. The fauna and flora differ in different places ; the soil is not everywhere the same, and the climate is as diverse as the soil. I \ Climate y Soil and Minerals. !69 ;H( 11 hat what • West is ik of the rreat part nt of this Dt form a 'o say that rely to set e striking be formed thousand n Empire, lurope put population ladian Far ndians, is hought an ture popu- have been its advan- a attracting nguine ob- support a ried natural differ in ywhere the as the soil. Every hundred miles to the west of Winnipeg there is an increase in the temperature and, when the part is reached where tbe warm wind from the Pacific — the Chinook as it is called locally — makes its influence felt, the change in tbe climate is very marked. There the snowfall is light. Indeed, at the summit of the Yellow Head pass through the Rocky Mountains, snow melts as it falls. In the grazing-ground at the eastern base of these mountains cattle remain out all winter, finding their own food. Everything necessary for the sustenance of man is provided in this region. Farming or cattle-rearing is not the only industry by which wealth may be ac- quired. There is ample scope for the miner and even for the manufacturer. Beds of lignite and ironstone extend over hundreds of miles, so that a little enterprise is alone wanted for the esta- blishment of iron foundries and factories of all^ kinds at the base of the Rocky Mountains. I cannot too often repeat that farmers act unwisely in going to the fertile West, unless they can get iheir produce conveyed to market at a low price. If the price of grain be very low at New York or Liverpool, the farmer who is at the furthest point from either place is at the greatest disadvantage. The price which he obtains for his grain is lessened by the cost of carrying it to I ii .!■■ ii: 270 The Canadian Far West. market, while his own outlay in growing it will be as great as that of a farmer who is within easy reach of the place of sale. It is certain that, if the Canadian Far West be peopled in pro- portion to its capacity, and if the population grow wheat to the extent that is possible, then the conveyance of this surplus to market will be the most important problem to solve. Farmers have found in the United States that, by settling too far West, the cost of transport eats up all the profit which they would make by growing grain if the market were nearer at hand. The Canadian Far West cannot be fully peopled until it is more accessible to immigrants; hence it is that the Canadian Pacific Railway is imperatively necessary. Upon that railway the agricultural population must chiefly depend for transporting their produce to market. There is room and there will be employment for a second trunk line two hundred miles to the north of the * one now in coi^e of construction. An inde- pendent line, the South Western, is to run three hundred miles west of Winnipeg, between the boundary -line and the Canadian Pacific, opening up the rich country in what is called the Turtle Mountain district. I have journeyed over several hundred miles of the Canadian Pacific between Winnipeg and Fi Sir George Simpson^ s Prophecy. 271 ng it will is within 'tain that, i in pro- )opulation ible, then :et will be Farmers )y settling up all the ^ing grain be fully amigrants ; Railway is ailway the depend for There is 3r a second )rth of the An inde- run three 3tween the ic, opening the Turtle ed miles of jnipeg and Thunder Bay and I was impressed with the advantage of the line for developing local, as well as for accommodating through trafl&c. This part of the country has attracted less notice of late than the Western prairie land. It is a region of lakes and wood, interspersed with tracts of fertile soil where crops could be grown, and expanses of meadow whereon cattle could be reared. In several parts mineral discoveries of importance have been made. I saw specimens of gold quartz taken from an island in one of the lakes. I was told that an abundance of quartz equally rich had been found ; if it be true that quantities of quartz rich in visible gold are obtainable, then gold mining will become a most remunerative industry here. This, added to its other advantages, will lead to the peopling of the region between Lake Superior and Winnipeg quite as rapidly as that of the agricultural region farther west. It may be that the prophecy made by Sir George Simpson in 1841, after he had been twenty years (governor of the Hudson Bay territory, may be speedily fulfilled, a prophecy which, it is fair to add, he stated in 1857 was made in a fit of enthusiasm. Writing about Rainy River which connects the Lake of that name with the Lake of the Woods, Sir George stated : — " From Port Frances downwards, a stretch of nearly one 272 The Canadian Far West. hundred miles, it is not interrupted by a single impediment, while yet the current is not strong enough aterially to retard an ascending traveller. Nor are the banks less favourable to agriculture than the waters themselves to navigation, resembling, in some measure, those of the Thames near Richmond. From the very brink of the river, there rises a gentle slope of greensward, crowned in many places with a plentiful growth of birch, poplar, beech, elm and oak. Is it too much for the eye of philanthropy to discern, through the vista of futurity, this noble stream, connecting, as it does, the fertile shores of two spacious lakes, with crowded steamboats on its bo^om, and populous towns on its borders ? " The impression made upon me when I passed over nearly a hundred miles of the line to the AVest of Winnipeg was that there, too, local traffic would be developed. The total length of line required to connect the present Canadian railways with the Pacific ocean is 2G27 miles. The struggle over the choice of routes, and over the way in which to carry out the undertaking, has been protracted and severe. A Syndicate has been entrusted with the execution of the gigantic work. The conditions under which the Syndicate enters upon its labours were thus set forth in the Dominion Parliament by Sir Charles Tupper, Minister of Railways : *' For that portion w Canadian Pacific Railwa 2/3 a single t strong icending vourable .elves to [•e, tliose tlie very slope Q>i with a , elm and Lanthropy rity, tliis he fertile crowded towns on n I passed lie to the too, local length of Canadian G27 miles. 3, and over dertaking, Syndicate ion of the wbich the e thus set ir Charles hat portion 1 of the line from Fort William to Selkirk, 410 miles, the Pembina branch, 85 miles, and that portion from Kamloops to Burrard Inlet, 217 miles — all of which, amounting to 712 miles when the line is completed, is to be handed over as the property of the Company. The total amount expended and to be expended by the Govern- ment, including everything, is 28 million dollars. For the construction of the road from Lake Nipissing to Fort William, 650 miles, and from Selkirk to Kamloops, 1350 miles— 2000 miles in all — the Grovernment have agreed to pay, in addition to the 28 millions, 25 million dollars and 25 million acres of land; making a total subsidy, in cash, of 53 millions, and in land estimating the 25 million acres at the same rate that I have estimated the land under the contract of 1873, and under the estimate of the Act of 1874, one dollar an acre, of 25 million dollars, or a total amount to be expended by Canada for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Eailway of 78 million dollars." While the Canadian Pacific Railway will shorten the journey between Liverpool and Yokohama or Hong Kong, and while it will both link together the Prc^n'nces of the Dominion and aid in deve- loping their resources, it will not entirely solve the problem of transporting agricultural produce at the cheapest rate from the Canadian Far West to Europe. In the United States the route by way of the Mississippi has an enormous advantage T I' w II,: ■\, 11 2 74 The Canadian Far West. over any other; wheat can be carried from St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota, down the Missis- sippi in barges to New Orleans, where it is trans- ferred to steamers bound for Glasgow, at 38 cents a bushel. It ought to be possible to sell this wheat on arriving at its destination at a lower price than the prevailing one. With the great river as a silent and easy highway, the farmers in the Mississippi Valley can successfully compete with farmers in other parts of the Union. In the important matter of water-carriage the farmer in the Canadian Far "West has unrivalled advantages. The navigable rivers cover a dis- tance of 11,000 miles, of which 4000 only have as yet been turned to account. The distance from Winnipeg to the mouth of the St. Lawrence is 2500 miles, and the transit of bulky articles over this intervening space would be costly. But, if instead of choosing the route of the St. Lawrence as the outlet to the Atlantic, the route by Hudson Bay be chosen, then Winnipeg may be brought within two days' journey by rail and water from the sea. For two centuries the Hudson Bay Company sent their stores into what is now the Canadian Far West, and took their furs out of it in sailing ships which plied between England and the Bay. The Nelson River connects Lake Winnipeg with i; b( Hudson Bay Route, 275 fom St. Missis- Ls trans- 38 cents is wbeat rice tlian ivcr as a s in tlie )ete witlv •riage tlie iinrivalled rer a dis- ly have as ance from Lwrence is iicles over But, if Lawrence )y Hudson )e brought crater from Company Canadian t in sailing id the Bay. inipeg with r. Hudson Bay ; it is a vast stream, draining an area of 360,000 square miles, and is six miles wide at its mouth. There are impediments to the continuous navigation of the river by large vessels, but these have not hindered canoes being used for the pur- pose. It is proposed, however, to make a railway over the 370 miles which intervene between the lower part of Lake Winnipeg and the mouth of the Nelson River. Grain could be stored at Port Nelson and conveyed to England in steamers during the season of navigation. Professor Hind considers " the head of tide- water in Nelson River may yet become the seat of the Archangel of Central British America, and the great and ancient Russian northern port — at one time the sole outlet of that vast empire — find its parallel in Hudson Bay." The water-route by Nelson or Hayes River from Hudson Bay to the interior has proved available for the purposes of trade since the incorporation of the Company in 1670. In 1846 the route was used to convey troops and found suitable. A force consisting of a wing of the 6th Foot, a detachment of Artillery and a detachment of Royal Engineers, with one 9-pounder and three 6-pounders and numbering 18 officers, 329 men, 17 women and 19 children, made the journey by boat from Hudson Bay to Red River in about 30 days. Colonel Crofton, who was in command, T 2 2 76 The Canadian Far West. made the journey in seven days' less time. The current being strong, it takes far longer to make the journey up stream; including stoppages it has been made down stream, in loaded boats, within nine days. If steam launches were substi- tuted for the boats propelled by hand, the time would be decreased. But it is proposed to dispense with the river altogether, and to make a narrow gauge railway from the northern end of Lake Winnipeg to Hudson Bay and a charter has been granted for such a railway. There is a difference of opinion whether Fort Churchill may not be a preferable port to Port Nelson. But there is agreement as to the feasibility of reopening com- munication between England and the Canadian Far West by way of Hudson Bay. It is true that the navigation of Hudson Bay is only open for steamers during five months in each year, yet, during that time, it would be easy to export all the produce which may be destined for the markets of Europe, and to import all the goods which might be required in exchange. The distance from Port Nelson to Liverpool is nearly a hundred miles less than from New York. It is estimated that when steamers shall ply between Hudson Bay and the Mersey, the Clyde or the Thames, it will be possible to sell Mani- toba wheat in the United Kingdom at 28^. a quarter and to do so at as large a profit as that Rival Regions. 277 me. The r to make ppages it ed boats, 3re substi- the time o dispense a narrow L of Lake r has been difference ay not be lit there is ening corn- Canadian son Bay is months in lid be easy >e destined ort all the exchange, liverpool is New York, shall ply the Clyde sell Mani- at 28s. a Dfit as that now obtained from the sale of United States wheat at 48s. Should that day arrive the British farmer must renounce growing wheat ; he can barely hold his own now with his rival in the United States ; he cannot possibly compete here- after with his brother in Manitoba. It may then be found that the desperate struggle in progress between farmers in this country and their com- petitors across the Atlantic will arise between the farmers on the opposite sides of the boundary- line in North America. The Manitoba farmer will hereafter be able to defy rivalry in the markets of Europe. No question is more fiercely debated than the relative advantages of different parts of the North American Continent. If a stranger to the country listened to the evidence adduced in favour of a particular State in the Union, or a particular Province of Canada to the exclusion of anj other State or Province, he would think that a conclusive case had been made out. Should he listen to the statements made about all of them, he will be either completely puzzled or remarkably acute in sifting and weighing facts. Instead of giving my own conclusion concerning the Canadian Far West as a place for settlers, I shall cite the conclusion of a thoroughly competent and impartial investigator, who has long studied the matter on the spot and who is justly regarded as 278 The Canadian Far West. an authority. This is Mr. J. W. Taylor, the United States Consul at Winnipeg, who has served his country there since 1870. Like all his countrymen, he is a firm believer in the great destiny reserved for the United States, yet his patriotism has not blinded him to the attractions and resources of the part of the Canadian Dominion wherem he resides. Mr. Taylor's opinion, enunciated in many speeches and writings, is that the North American Continent is divisible into three zones, the southern being the Cotton-growing zone, the mid-zone being specially adapted for the growth of Indian corn, and the northern for the production of wheat. He holds that the mid-zone extends to Southern Minnesota: he stated in a public speech "that three-fourths of the wheat-producing belt would be north of the International boundary." In a letter to the Fioneer Press of Saint Paul, he gave the following reasons, among others, upon which he based his conclusion: "In 1871, Mr. Archi- bald, the well-known proprietor of the Dun das Mills, in Southern Minnesota, visited Manitoba. He remarked that the spring wheat in his vicinity was deteriorating — softeningj and he sought a change of seed, to restore its flinty texture. He timed his visit to Winnipeg with the harvest and found the quality of grain he desired, but the yield astonished him. ' Look,' said he, with a Perfect Wheat Plants, 279 lylor, the who has Like all the great s, yet his attractions Canadian in many American e southern zone bein^ dian corn, of wheat. D Southern icch "that belt would 7 )> In a il, he gave ipon which !ir. Archi- he Dundas Manitoba, his vicinity sought a tture. He arvest and d, but the he, with a head of wheat in his hand ; * we have had an ex- cellent harvest in Minnesota, but I never saw more than two well-formed grains in each group or cluster, forming a row, but here the rule is three grains in each cluster. That's the difference between twenty and thirty bushels per acre.' More recently, Professor Maccoun, the botanist of the Pacific Railway Survey, has shown me two heads of wheat, one from Prince Albert, a settle- ment near the forks of the Saskatchewan, latitude 53 degrees, longitude 106 degrees, and another from Fort Vermillion, on Peace River, latitude 59 degrees, longitude 116 degrees, and from each cluster of the two I separated five well-formed grains, with a correspondmg length of the head. Here was the perfection of the wheat plant, attained according to the well-known physical law, near the most northern limit of its successful growth. Permit me another illustration on the testimony of Professor Maccoun. When at a Hudson Bay post of the region in question — either Fort McMurray, in latitude 57 degrees, or Fort VermilHon in latitude 59 degrees, and about the longitude of Great Salt Lake, an employee of the post invited him to inspect a strange plant in his garden, grown from a few seeds never before seen in that locality. He found cucumber vines plan^ 'd in April in the open ground, and with the fruit ripened on the 20th of August." There is a physical cause why wheat grown in the northern region of Manitoba should be su- perior to that grown in the United States to the 28o The Canadian Far West. south of it. The nearer the northerly limit at which wheat will grow, the finer is its quality. At the northern limit of its growth on this Continent, not only is the soil adapted for it, but the duration of sunshine is longest there when the ears are ripening. From the 15th of June till the 1st of July nearly two hours more daylight prevail in northern Manitoba than in the State of Ohio. It is not heat alone which is required to bring the wheat plant to perfection even in places where the soil is best adapted for its growth. This is true of all grain as well as of all vegetables. Other conditions being present, the greater the amount of solar light the better the result. Now, wheat grown in the Canadian North-West is grown under incomparable advantages with re- spect to the length of sunlight ; hence, that wheat is of the hardest description, is adapted for pro- ducing the very finest flour and is certain to prove the most remunerative crop. The acreage suited for the growth of wheat in this region is large enough to furnish bread for the whole of Europe. 11. The facts which can ])e adduced in support of the Canadian Far West being second to no part of the Northern American Continent cannot be gainsaid. It does not follow, however, that every The " Land of Misery!' 281 y limit is its )wth on d for it, Te when of June daylight State of uired to in places growth, ^etables. jater the t. Now, West is with re- at wheat for pro- to prove re suited is large Europe. ipport of no part annot be lat every settler there is entirely happy. Many settlers have failed to profit by their opportunities. Some have expected too much; others are unsuccessful be- cause they do too little. There is no royal road to fortune in any new land. In the fairest spot on the earth the hardest worker will reap the richest harvest, while the idler will be unable to earn a living. Last year, the iVew; Yorh Herald gave publicity to letters from settlers in Manitoba who complained that the country was utterly un- fitted for cultivation. That enterprising journal thereupon dubbed it the ** Land of Misery." If the early settlers in Virginia and New England had been men of the same calibre as these grumblers, they would never have developed the resources of Virginia or made New England the home of a prosperous community. The first comers in any undeveloped country are like the first occupants of a new house. The house may be well built, yet it lacks innumerable appliances which render it a comfortable dwelling. The next tenants find it far better fitted for occupation than their predecessors, and every succeeding dweller in it profits by something which has been added to render it more habitable. So with land which may be capable of growing crops and feed- ing millions, but which, in its virgin state, is little better than a desert. The next generation will \h •'* 282 The Canadian Far West. find the Canadian Far "West a very different country from what it is to-day. Marshes will have been drained, roads will have been made, railways will be in operation ; the soil will yield more abundantly, and the labour of living will be lightened. When its inhabitants hereafter read that it was once styled the *' Land of Misery," they will marvel at the credulity, or the ignorance which dictated the phrase. Eulogy from those personally interested, cannot permanently render a tract of country, which is naturally unsuitable for human beings, a pleasant land wherein to dwell, nor will depreciation on the part of the envious or uninformed hinder a tract, possessing every advantage which Nature can confer, from being appreciated and developed. Unless the Canadian Far West possess all the charms which retain as well as attract settlers, it will relapse into a wilderness over which the savage will again roam and the wild beast multiply. I have no apprehension as to its future. My opinion is based upon what I have beheld. I admit that persons who implicitly trust the fascinating tales circulated by specu- lators in land maybe grievously disappointed. It is as hazardous to buy land anywhere without personal inspection, as it is for a person who has no special knowledge of horseflesh or art to rely A TerresU'ial Paradise. 28 upon the assurance of a speculator in horses or pictures. In North America, it is easier to buy land than to sell it. The risk is diminished when the purchaser of land in the Canadian Far West deals with respectable and responsible bodies like the Hudson Bay Company or the Pacific Railway Syndicate, yet in all cases, the purchaser ought to examine his bargain before paying his money. He will display both shrewdness and prudence should he visit the Homestead of 160 acres, which he obtains as a free grant from the Government, before occupying it. The predominant feeling in my breast as I traversed a part of what the late Earl Beacon sfield termed the " illimitable wilderness " of Western Canada was deep regret that such a region should remain untenanted by busy men. There, year after year the summer sun floods with warmth millions of acres where beautiful prairie flowers bloom and wither, and nutritious grasses spring up and decay. The snows of winter cover the earth with a garment which, though apparently a cold shroud, is really a warm mantle. Game breeds and dies without yielding food to more than a few hunters. Fish spawn and fill the lakes and rivers without being utilized to vary or constitute the sub- sistence of more than a few Indians. When I thought of the millions of people who might be fed and rear 284 The Canadian Far West. families on the untrodden prairies, and enjoy tlie game and the fish which abound, it saddened me to contemplate the neglect with which Nature's banquet was treated. And the sadness deepened when I reflected how many landless millions in Europe were struggling for the necessaries of life, or were longing to be the possessors of land which they might call their own, whilst food was easily procurable here by all who might desire it, and land could be had for the asking by all comers. I have seen a large part of the North American Continent. I have marvelled at the enterprise which has converted so much of it from a wilderness into a garden. No other tract can so easily undergo the same transformation as the Canadian Far West. I cannot believe that it will long remain unappreciated and unpeopled. The result of the settlement of the Canadian Far West will be of paramount importance in shaping the destiny of Canada. Many persons speculate as to the future of the Dominion. The theme is a tempting one, but its adequate discus- sion is not easy. Confederation dates from the year 1867; the Dominion, as now constituted, dates from the accession of Prince Edward Island in 1873. The settlement of Manitoba, the con- struction of the Pacific Railway, the opening of steam navigation through Hudson Bay to Europe, Canada s Future. 28^ are elements of the greatest moment in determin- ing the destiny of Canada, and several years must yet elapse before the influence of these elements is apparent. Men for whom I have the highest respect have pronounced incorporation with the United States to be Canada's inevitable fate. In such a matter as this I hold prediction to be wholly vain. It would not be hard to frame a plausible argument to tho effect that the " manifest destiny " of Switzerland was to be absorbed by adjacent and more powei ful countries ; yet the Swiss entertain no doubt about preserving their in- dependence and they consiuer that they are fully warranted in so doing. It is clear to my mind that the future of Canada is in the hands of the Cana- dians. Upon them rests the responsibility, and with them is the opportunity of shaping the issues which determine their destiny. A heavier responsibility or a grander opportunity never fell to the lot of a people. Should they fail in making Canada what it may become, the fault wi.l bo their own and not that of their magnificent Far West which, in all physical advantages and [)otentialities, cannot easily be matched and cannot anywhere be sur- passed. SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. WEEDS IN NORTH AMERFCA. i All visitors to North America must have marvelled at the luxuriance of the weeds along every roadside. Their number is very great and they are often very beautiful. I wished to write something about them when I met with the following article in the Union Advocate of Newcastle, New Brunswick. I think that the readers of this volume will approve of my reprinting the article, and thus enabling them to share in the pleasure with which I perused it and to obtain the information of which it is full. *' The walker makes the acquaintance of all the weeds. They are travellers like himself, the tramps of the vegetable world. They are going east, west, north, south ; they walk, they fly, they swim, they steal a ride, they travel by rail, by flood, by wind ; they go underground, and they go above, across lots and by the liighway. But, like other tramps, they find it safest by the higliway ; in the fields they are intercepted and cut off, but Weeds in North America. ■-'ii larvelled 'oadside. ire often Qg about jle in the wick. I approve enabling perused it is full. )f all the ielf, the re going fly, they rail, by they go 3ut, like igliway ; , off, init on the public road, every boy, every passing herd of sheep or cows gives them a lift. " Ours is a very weedy country because it is a roomy country. Weeds love a wide margin, and they find it here. You shall see more weeds in one day's travel in this country than in a week's journey in Europe. Our culture of the soil is not so close and thorough, our occupancy not so entire and exclusive. The weeds take up with the farmers' leavings, and find good fare. One may see a large slice taken from a field by elecam- pane, or by teasel, or by milk-weed ; whole pas- tures given up to white-weed, golden-rod, wild carrots, or ox-eye daisies ; meadows overrun with bear-weed, and sheep pastures nearly ruined by St. John's wort or the Canada thistle. Our farms are so large and our husbandry so loose that we do not mind these things. By and by we shall clean them out. W( eds seem to thrive here as in no other country. When Sir Joseph Hooker landed in New England a few years ago, he was surprised to find how the European plants flourished there. He found the wild chicory grow- ing far more luxuriantly than he had ever seen it elsewhere, ' forming a tangled mass of stems and branches, studded with torquoise blue blossoms, and covering acres of ground.' This is one of the weeds that Emerson puts in his bouquet, in his ' Humble-boc ' — * Succory to match the sky.' " Is there not something in our soil and climate 288 Weeds in North America. exceptionally favourable to weeds — something harsh, ungenial, sharp-toothed that is akin to them ? How woody and rank and fibrous many varieties become, lasting the whole season, and standing up stark and stiff through the deep winter snows — dessicated, preserved by our dry air ! Do nettles and thistles bite so sharply in any other country ? To know how sharply they bite, of a dry August or September day, take a turn at raking and binding oats with a sprinkling of blind nettles in them. A sprinkling of wasps and hornets would not be much worse. *' Yet it is a fact that all our more pernicious weeds, like our vermin, are of Old World origin. They hold up their heads and assert themselves here, and take their fill of riot and licence ; they are avenged for their long years of repression by the stern hand of European agriculture. Until I searched through the botanies I was not aware to what extent we were indebted to Europe for those vegetable Ishmaelites. We have hardly a weed we can call our own ; I recall but three that are at all noxious or troublesome, viz. : milk-weed, rag- weed, and golden-rod : but who would miss the latter from our fields and highways ? 'Along the roadside, like the flowers of gold That tawny Incas for their gardens wrought, Heavy with sunshine droops the golden- rod,' sings Whittier. In Europe our golden-rod is cultivated in the flower-gardens, as well it might be. The native species is found mainly m the woods, and is much less showy than ours. Weeds in North America. 289 aething ikin to s many on, and le deep our dry larply in ply they r, take a 3rinkling of wasps lernicious Id origin, lemselves ice; they ression by Until I aware to for those weed we are at all [eed, rag- miss the ;old ight, Irod,' len-rod is it might ily m the irs. " Our milk- weed is tenacious of life ; its roots lie deep, as if to get away from the plough, but it seldom infests cultivation crops. Then its stalk is so full of milk and its pod so full of silk that one car lot but ascribe good intentions to it, if it doos sometimes overrun the meadow. * In dusty pods the milk- weed Its hidden silk has spun.' sings ' H. H.' in her * September.' " Of our rag-weed not uch can be set down that is complimentary, except that its name in the botany is Ambrosia, food of the gods. I^ .uust be the food of the gods if of anything, for, so far as I have observed, nothing terrestrial eats it, not even billygoats. Asthmatic people dread it, and the gardener makes short work of it. It is about the only one of our weeds that follows the plough and the harrow, and except that it is easily de- stroyed I would suspect it to be an immigrant from the Old World. Our fleabane is a trouble- some weed at times, but good husbandry makes short work of it. "But all the other outlaws of the ftirm and garden come to us from over the seas ; and what a long list it is : — The common thistle, The Canada thistle, Elecampane, Plantain, lUirdock, Motherwort, Wild carrot, Stramonium, Yellow dock, Ox-oye daisy, (/amoniile, Catnip^ Gill, l>lue-wcod, The mullein. Stick-weed, u 290 Weed^ in North America. Hound's-tongue, Henbane, Pig-weed, Quitch grass, Nightshade, Buttercup, Dandelion, Shepherd's purse, Wild mustard, St. John's wort, Chickweed, Purslane, Mallow, Darnel, Poison hemlock. Hop clover, Yarrow, Wild radish, Wild parsnip. Chicory, Live-for-ever, Toad-flax, Sheep-sorrel, and others less noxious. To offset this hst we have given Europe the vilest of all weeds, a parasite that sucks up human blood, tobacco. Now if they catch the Colorado beetle of us, it will go far towards paying them off for the rats and the mice, and for other pests in our houses. " The most attractive and pretty of the British weeds, as the common daisy, of which the poets have made so much, larkspur, which is a preti^y cornfield weed, and the scarlet field-poppy which flowers all summer, and is so taking amid the ripening grain, have not immigrated to our shore. Like a certain sweet rusticity and charm of European rural life, they do not thrive readily under our skies. Our fleabane {Erigeron Cana- densis) has become a common roadside weed in England, and a few other of our native less known plants have gained a foothold in the Old World. ** Poke-weed is a native American, and what a lusty, royal plant it is I It never invades culti- vated fields, but hovers about the borders and I a iinr»0 — «,_..^- Weeds in North America. 291 list we parasite Now if , will go and the s British he poets a pretty ly which .mid the ir shore, larm of readily m weed in tive less the Old what a les culti- lers and looks over the fences like a painted Indian sachem. Thoreau coveted its strong purple stalks for a cane, and the robins eat its dark crimson-juiced berries. " It is commonly believed that the mullein is indigenous to this country, for have we not heard that it is cultivated in European gardens, and christened the American velvet plant. Yet it too seems to have come over with the pilgrims, and is most abundant in the older parts of the country. It abounds throughout Europe and Asia, and had its economic uses with the ancients. The Greeks made lamp-wicks of its dried leaves, and the Homans dipped its dried stalk in tallow for funeral torches. It affects dry uplands in this country, and as it takes two years to mature, it is not a troublesome weed in cultivated crops. The first year it sits low upon the ground in its coarse flannel and makes ready; if the plough comes along now its career is ended ; tl second season it starts upward its tall stalk, which in late summer is thickly set with small yellow flowers, and in fall is charged with myriads of fine black seeds. ' As full as a dry mullein stalk of seeds ' is equivalent to saying, ' as numerous as the sands upon the seashore.' " Perhaps the most notable thing about the weeds that have come to us from the Old World when compared with our native species, is their persistence, not to say pugnacity. They fight for the soil ; they plant colonies here and there and will not be rooted out. Our native weeds u 2 If 292 Weeds in North America. are for the most part shy and harmless, and re- treat before cultivation, but the European outlaws follow man like vermin ; they hang to his coat skirts, his sheep transport them in their wool, and his cow and horse in tail and mane. As I have before said, it is as with the rats and mice. The American rat is in the woods and is rarely ever seen by woodmen, and the native mouse barely hovers upon the outskirts of civilization ; while the Old World species defy our traps and our poison, and have usurped the land. So with the weeds. Take the thistles, for instance ; the common and abundant one everywhere, in fields and along highways, is the European species, while the native thistle is much more shy, and is not at all troublesome ; indeed, I am not certain that T have ever seen it. The Canada thistle, too, which came to us by way of Canada, what a pest, what a usurper, what a defier of the plough and harrow ! I know of but one effectual way to treat it; to put on a pair of buckskin gloves, and pull up every plant that shows itself; this will effect a radical cure in two summers. Of course the plough or the scythe, if not allowed to rest more than a month at a time, will finally conquer it. " Or take the common St. John's wort (Hyperi- cum perforatum), how has it established itself in oijr fields and become a most pernicious weed, very difficult to extirpate, while the native species are quite rare, and seldom or never Weeds in North Afueriea. 293 nd re- atlaws s coat ol, and I have . The ly ever I barely ; while nd our ^ith the e; the in fields species, ^, and is J certain 3tle, too, t a pest, ugh and way to gloves, elf; this ers. Of allowed ill finally {Hyperi- { itself m )us weed, e native or never invade cultivated fields, being mostly in wet and rocky places. Of Old World origin, too, is the curled leaf dock (Bumex Crispus) that is so annoying about one's garden and home meadows, its long tapering root cli^jging to the soil with such tenacity, that I have pulled upon it till I could see stars without budofinof it ; it has more lives than a cat, making a shift to live when pulled up and laid on top of the ground in the burning summer sun. Our native docks are mostly found in swamps, or near them, anc are harmless. " Purslane, commonly called * pusley,' and which has given rise to the saying * as mean as pusley' — of course is not American. A good sample of our native purslane is the Claytonia, or spring beauty, a shy, delicate plant, that opens its rose-coloured flowers in the moist sunny places in the woods or along their borders, so early in the season. " There are few more obnoxious weeds in culti- vated ground than sheep-sorrel, also an Old World plant, while our native wood-sorrel, with its white, delicately-veined flowers, or the variety with yellow-flowers, is quite harmless. The same is true of the mallow, the vetch, or tare and other plants. "Weeds have this virtue : they are not easily discouraged ; they never lose heart entirely ; they die game. If they cannot have the best they will take up with the poorest : if fortune is unkind to 294 Weeds in North America, them to-day, they hope for better luck to-morrow ; if they cannot lord it over a corn-hill, they will sit humbly at its foot and accept what comes ; in all cases they make the most of their oppor- tunities." THE END. UTow ; y will omes ; Dppor- •( r 85 80 75 70 <$^ w OF THE n\ IVORKMCTOKV { ■* '""X*' " NOOOU Umerjoij. •• *'* /^Aom 5* .X ITMUL ^^ (a t ormdtmvimi cityT ■*/»«• SrrtO' V! >f > '^^^'^""^i^^UMmAy ^.^ Ba WMHINOT lOO 83 fto 80 }■ . i I ':l. 1 i 1 'i, ,;!- 1 ?' ' \ 1 r m Hci' 1 1 Ih " LONDON' : PRINTED IIY GILBEKT AND KlVINGrON, LIMITED, ST. John's squakk. _.^