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'. : , . ; ,, '■■ ■, ' - ■ - ■ -»^5iu -U,-;-. *\'iL'y V ■ ■ ^'''' "1 ; •■. .; •■.!^;;; '.--' H:'. ■ " ■ '. . a .' - ■ ""-"i "''.■,'-■.'- . ■ ■ t ■ '.»■ - ■-■vr-'?-v;.;-'\^>^i^^. ■ -' ■ \' ■■■■' "■■ •'^' ■■ ■^■"'..^-^^ /<-.. - • ' ■ ' > ■JVv^,';.''''-*.> ' • ' ' .,•. ■ .,:> Si' '■-•■- . ■ -^ ' >^':m.,,.' t :h ^ C /-• ■ . ■•.rr • > s^it. liliMMa liiirtii •■iMUWBBtiBk9Mlak>'B /- 1 *i;. '^E had fomo to the coiit'liisioii. Gad I our own eyes: for it imist In' contVsscil tind I, tliat {\w only way to tind out i that our virtuous attempts to prepare our auythiny about the Red River and Mani toba was to yo tliitlier aiul heholsult ? It worked like madness in tlie hrain. For how WHS it ])ossihlc. we reasoned, with the feehle incredulity of etl'ete P^astern minds, that the same country should he at once a fertile g-arden and a howlinti- wilder- ness; that it sliould he the hai)py Jiuntinfr ground of tlie Indians, and the home of a large and industrious ])oi)ulation ; that the climate should 1)(^ temi)erat«> and agree- ahle, Avhile the mercury was frozen in the bulh, and the wind hlowiiig at the rate of fifty miles an hour ^ Tliese things ])uz- zled us. When we turiu'd to our travelled ac- w settlers; some of them were "old" settlers who had heen on a , visit to the East, and were i-eturning. I They entered readily into conversation. It seemed to he a ])lcasure to them to talk— as, indeed, it is to all rational beings ' except Englishmen. Tliey were frank and connnunicative in regard to their ; ])ersonal history. They were also given j to large stories. It was sometimes a ter- j rible strain on the listener's imagination. On one occasion I nicautiously said to a : loquacious old genthMuan that I supposed ' they had some quite big farms out on the Red River. "Big farms!" said he. "Great Scott! Why, there's farms out there biggern the hull State o' Rhode Island. A man starts out in the morniu" to ])lough a fur- rer. and he ploughs right ahead till night, an' then camps out, an" ploughs back the ne.x' day. " The exi)ression of child-like innocence on Gad's face was sicklied o'er with a i)ale cast of thought, and he silently felt for i\w filter. We left St. Paul l)y the St. Paul, Min- neai)olis, and Manitoba Railway, and rode all night in a northwesterly direction across the State of Minnesota. About itttm THE RED RIVER OF THE NORTH. S(i;j daybreak we c-htup into tlie Red River Valley. Dismiss from your ini)i(l all the associations that ai'(^ failed iq) by Ibis word. Understand tbat in tlie West a valley is not necessarily "a lioUow be- tween liills or mountains." Tbat is a narrow Ea.stern eoneejition. As we look- ed out from tbe ear window for tbe first time upon Ibis famous valley, we saw a broad level ])lain eovereil witb sbort j;'rass, and lloodcul by tbe risin<^' sun witb red and jrolden ligbt. Doubtless tbere were bills somewbere in tbe world, Uut tbey w(>re invisible. Far away on tbe left a dim blue line of timber marked tbe course of tbe Red River, and anotber line far in front of us indicated tbe apjn-oaeb of a tributaxy stream. Tliis was all Ibat broke tbe lake -like expanse. We realized at once wbfit Ave bad beard before, tbat it was in fact a lake witbout any water in it. A few words will explain tbe cbaracter and probable formation of tbe Red River Valley. It is about tla-ee bundred miles long' and lifty miles wide — a Hat i>rairie. extending nortlnviird from Lal:e Traverse, in Minnesota, until it jjasses by a ji^entle slope beneatb tbe wat(M' of Lake Winni- \)^g. About tbirty miles nortb of tbe soutliern and bijjjber extremity of tbe val- ley tbe Red River comes meanderin<>' in from tbe east. It is a slusota. nuist bave ftn-merly contained a vastly larger body or water tban now Hows tbroug-b it. Tbis valley, beginning at Big 8ti)n(! Lak(>, is separated only by a sligbt bai'rier from Lake Traverse. Now iuiagine tbat a few tbousand years ago (be level of tbe continent was a little dif- ferent from wbat it is now. a few bundrcHl feet bigber at tbe nortb, and lower at tbe soutli, tben tbis banner would be over- come, and all tbe watin-s of tbe Wimiipeg Basin Avould flow soutliward tbrougb tbe Red River and Minnesota Valley into tbe Liihr Hi'i'jiuin ), V, ^ ^. MAI' OK UKI) KIVKIt VAI.I.KV. ]\Iississip])i. Tbe ])resent nortlnvard out- let tbrougb tbe Nelson RiA-er would be stop])ed. Tbere Avould be a migbty stream draining tbe Avbole central region of tbe continent into tbe Gulf of Mexico. Now imagine, again, tlint tbe continent is gradu- ^^^^^^i ^"^F mm ■■«■■■« SIM llAHPKirs NKW MONTHLY MACIAZiXK lll.ll.UINCS ON TlIK IIAI.UVMl'I.K KAKMS (TlllUn JSKCTION" ). ally (lepiessed at the novtii. anil clovati'd at the sduth — a cliaiiffo wliich wo know from obsi'i'vation is still continninK' alon;i' tiio sea-iMjast: the ivsnlt of such an oscilla- tion will bo to (iiniinish the slope and ve- locity of the more and more feeble. It will dof^eiicrate into a mere driblet. And at last the great body of water will cut a new channel northward into Hud- son Bay. Tlie Nelson River, with its rocky channel and numerous rapids, bears all tlie marks of an outlet thus recently formed. Tills is but a roufi'h and hasty outline of the theory wiiich has been advanced by Geiu'val G. K. Wai-ren, of the United States Eug'ineer Corps, ami sup))ortod by him in a series of admirable repoi'ts. It may seem dry, but it oilers an explana- tion of two very important facts — the im- mens>^ fertility of tliis ancient lake bed, which is now called the Red River Valley, and the impossibility of a route from ^lan- itoba, throug'h the S'elson River and Hud- son Bay, to Enfjland. These facts have a direct bearinjj: on the conuneirial welfare of the United States, for they put the transportation of the products of the rich Northwest into the hands of our railways and steamboats. More than two-thirds (,f the Red River Valley lies in Minnesota and Dakota; tlie remainint;' third is in the British jtrovince of Manito1)a. Two railroads have been opened into the valley within the past six years— the St. Paul. Minm?- ajiolis, and Manitoba, which now runs parallel with the river to St. Vincent, on the British border, where it connects with the Pembina branch of the Canadian Pa- cific to Winnipcfr. and the Northern Pa- cilic, Avhich crosses the valley at riji^lit an {?les, and o])ens up the wonderfully fertile land lyinjTon the west side of the river, in Dakota. Into this territory a great tlood of innnigration is now i)Ouring. The rap- id influx began in 1877. In the last quar- ter of that year the govermnent land-of- fices disposed of more than 4U0,000 acres in Minnesota, ami during tlie same jieriod the railways sold over 500,000 acres. In all. over a million acres were taken uj) by settlers in tho.se three months, mo.stly in the Red River Valley. Since 1872 the Northern Pacific Railway has sold 800,000 acres of Red River lands. In the land districts traversed by this road the gov- ernment has assigiunl 1,;]2;5,41(5 acres in the year ending June oO, 1878, andl,J)04.G44 acres in the year (>iiding June 30, 1879. To- gether with the lands sold by the railway during the .same time, this makes the as- tounding total of 4,500,000 acres disposed of in two years. Embracing the same territory, present statistics show the fol- lowing: Present population, 61),()00; in- crease in ])ast year, 10. 1)00. Area in wiieat, 1870. 281,4:30 aci'i's: increase, 00,000. Area in other crops, 70,470; increase, 20,(')(5O. Total area in cultivation, .'3(50,000 ; increase. 1 l(;,()»;o. New breaking, 1S70. 133,()00. And now. if the intelligent reader has m I mmaikit-mmmtMtm TIIK HKD KIVKK' oK THE NoHTli. NOfi carefully skipped these stiitisties. we will I from tlie friyliteiied Puteli holders in con'iiiiie our Uiirrative of travel. Cussel- i AtMsterdiiiu, when they were ready to sell ton, in Dakota, on the Northern Paeifie. ! at any price, and j;eUiii\am IIAYIN(i US TilK I)AI.UVM1'I.K FAU.MS. houses that have si)riin whole force nu)ves forward to conqiu'r and exact rich tribute from the land. H(l(l IIAKPKKS NMW MONTHIA' MAUAZINK. \V(! rodo about ovtn* the farm with i\n\ COlU'tcOUH .Sll|)('l'illtlll(l<'llt <>r OIHl of Uio which makes men and horses hapjiy and live- ly 'vhcu tiicy inhale it. The hhu^ sky sijaiineda cloudless arch above us. lucre was not a feiu'c uor a hill to break tlie ])rairie leveh Southward we could see the timber-line of the Maple Kiver, but on the north the lioi-izou was smooth and unbroken — a slender rimof ciU'th meetiuy the sky. Tlu> reil barns and white houses of the divisions stood out hiyh and dis- tinct. There were broad stretches of the yolden-brown j^rass of the yet unbvoken ])rairies. vast liehls of |)alo yellow stubble from which the harvest hud already been <>athei'ed. and liero and there (ields in which the shocks wore still Htandin<>'. and thesteani-thr(>sher,Hio».sY)V(/H horreiuUini, /iifoniii'. iiKji'iLs. devoured the remnant of tile wheat. •Till' liy-wlicil wiili 11 iiu'lliiw niiinmii' tufiu'd, Wliilc cvi'i' risiiii; on its invstic .•itiiii', III llic dim iiiilit IVoin .iv:\\\ of li;ii'V('St, si'vcri'd Irom tlio I'lnn, ("liiiilpi'd iiiid I'cU oMT ill till' •iiiiuUy air." A little way oil' we sa\s iiy line of teams pushing- slowly aero. ,m> bouiid- less plain. Tiiey were jilou^i'liinj^'. It was a very dillerent sij^-ht from that ])lous'hin<>' which we have seen in the steep lu^lds of New Enh as best he can through the stony f^round: different, also, from that ploujTjh- in<'i 2ii u day. A record is kept by the foreman of the amount of wheat turned out by each thresher, by the driver of each wagon of the amount ot wheat loaded by him, and by the receiver at the elevator of the amount of wheat brought in by each team. All the farm machinery and the provisions are bought at lirst hands for Avholesale ])rices. Mules aiul horses are bought in St. Louis. Wheat is not stacked or stored, but sliii)ped tt) market as rai)idly as jxissible. Everything is regu- lated by an exact system, and this is what makes the farms a success. Brains and energy in the man who con- trols them and in those whom he choo.ses as his sul)ordinate oiIic;u's— this is the se- cret of the enormous ])rolits which have been made on the I)alryni]de farms. The cost of raising the lirst crop is about ^11 an acre; each subsecpiejit crop costs JJ^S. The averag(> yield for this year was about nineteen bushels to the acre. This could be st)ld at Fargo on (.)ctol)er 1 for SO cents a bushel. A brief calculation will give y(m f^4 20 i)er acre profit on the new land, and $7 20 for all the rest; or, say, .^130,000 gain on one crop. These figures I believe to be too small, rather than too large. But does this large farming pay for the country i It absorbs great tracts of land, and kee])S out smaller farmers. It om- ploys ti'amps, who vanish when the har- vest is over, instead of increasing the per- manent poi)ulation. It exhau.sts the land. The cultivation is very shallow. There is no rotation of crops. Everything is taken from the gromid ; nothing is return- ed tf) it. Even the straw is burned. The result of this is that the average crop from any given acre grows smallei' every year, and it is sim])ly a question of time iinder the ])resent system how long it will take to exhaust the land. A great numy lies have been told about N THK ItKI) KIVKU OK TIIK NOUTJI. H(»7 llll.MliSlKAl) ( l.AIM, UKI) UIVKI! VAl.l.KV. I tlie Red Kivt'i" rcj^'ioii — lies iJi'Dpoi'tioiiatc to tlie size of i\iv country. It may not l)(' out of pla('(^ lirrc to iiulicad' a fi'W of tliL'iii. Tlu- water of lliis region is not ^••00(1. Ill tlu> rivers it is muildy; in the wells it is alivaline. The nios(iuitoes are larye, vigorous, and active. For them, stoni' walls do not a prison malce, nnr ii'on l)ars a ca<4'e. They are a hurden; and so, in certain seasons, is tlu; <>'i'assho|)[)er. The climate is not mild. In fact, it is sometimes too cold for comfort, in spite of the i>rolection atl'orded hy the isothermal line. There is ii stranye i-eluetance on the part of the writers who descril)e this <'ouiitry to mention the liu'ures marked l)y the thermometer in winter. The in- hahitants also show a consunnnate skill in avoidinj^ the sul)ject. "Pretty cold here in winter, eh f' "Wa'al, ye-es; it's cold— hut he'lthyl"" " Much snow ;"" '"Wa'al, no; ye see, it mos'ly hlows away." '■ How low does the thermometer yo '.'^ " Wu'al, 1 dunno. Yc^ se(>, we live in- doors, an' so W(^ keep our'ji thar." Another ])oint on which the puhlic has been much deceived is the averaj^e yii'ld iH) a coi'd, and coal SIO a ton. Ovi'r ayainst all these disadvanta<;('s you may set the simple fact that wheat can be raised here more easily and more ])rolitably than anywhere else in the world. Here is a level i)lain. It does not need cleai'in.Lr. for there ai'e no trees ov stones; it does not need fencing, for there are but few cattle: and the herding laws must always all'ord strict and sulli- cient protection. All tliat it is necessary to do is to "break" the prairie sod to a depth of three or four inches in the sprin east side of the Red River, and went northward alony tiie valley. Everywhere we saw the sauK^ thin^^'s. The level, fertile land; the wooden towns that have spruiij^' u]) as if by nian'ic alonj.;- the railways; the a^t'ri- cultural machi lies staiulin<>- at every depot; wayons loaded Avith sacks of wheat; cars receiviii<>' their freiirhts of jjfrain from the elevators besitle the track — over all an air of prosperity and bustle which marks a new countrv. Some of the towns, like Hl(8 HARl'KirS NKW MONTIII.V MAdAZIXK. Kiirji'o ;iu(l Mn ii soi't of iimiii('ii)ul iifistocracy. ( )tli(M' towns have run down as rapidly as liicy once spranji' "P- Surely tliere is iiutliiiiy' s(i yiiastly as new ruins, a row of dilapidated shanties, or a liuye woodei) hotel ill which the want of custoin is sio-- iiiiied hy tiie need of paint and the decay of window-slnilters. " Tlic hull is (liity Mini Iniiaij Mini liiivc, .\imI iii'Vcr :i piicst i; that verso jihout lindiiifif liis warmest welcome in an inn. never travelled tliroufrh this vallev. ('aiidor compels me to record that we found a happy exception to all this in the little hot(d at IVmbiiia. J5le.ssin;is on you. Mrs. W 1 for under your re^iime we found rest and comfort. !• was your nim- hle needle iilso, () most excellent house- wife, tiiat I'cpaired a disfressiny ac<"ident to my only pair (d" coi'duroys, and enabled me a^aiu to appear without disji'racc in the company of ( ivilized men. Pembina is an ancient settlement. It was one of th(> lirst tradinji' posts esttd)- lished in tiiis roffiou. The tame Indians still haunt the i)lace. There is ti I'^nilod States military jxist on th(> western hank of the IJed Kivei', and a viila^ic of a few IniiKb'cd iiih!d)itanls ahout lialf a mile away. Pembina has hut small chance of yrowinji' to any i;reat size, for there are live towns laid out here within a circle of as many miles; and St. Vincent in ]SIin- nesotii and Emerson in ^lanitoba. both on the eastern i)ank of the lied Piver. have already outstri])ped their older neiyhhor. Every th in. (Initlv spciil llir iiiii>i cai'c wrrc hi^ li.iic i (riiiiiiiiilc and iii(l('scriliiil>l<' : a liiiiidlc ol and liis lcv>. Ih' was I'ulluwcd hy twitj i'a;j^i«'d licddiiiij;. a ;^ini, an asi'. Init pules, cai'Is drawn liy pnnifs uMldlliic and di'- a canvas cnvt'i-. ctiokinj:" iilrnsils, a liulValu spniidcnl appciii'anci', Hcsidc' llnni wan dcri'd two dtlici' ponies cipially angular, two s([iiaws witli pappoosc. slim;;' at tlicii- ItiU'Us, and a yi)iin;;('i" )»i'avi' less i)ic'liii'- i'S((iic llian till' pali'iarf'li. 'I'licy lialtrd sldn. a li.ihy, and st Acral puppies, 'riicsi' last wci'c tlif onl.s provisions visii)ic; and the Mol)l(' in-avi' indiiatcd tiial iiiiirss liis white ln'ollier would lielp liini. lie and his oll'spi'iny must endui'e the panics of Inin VIKW W I'K.MHINA i'UOM TUK KKD ItlVKIi. near us. iiiul Avliile Gad was sketcliiiii^' the fipi and the faniii_>. 1 ventni'ed to make 11 eloser insiu-ctioii of the carts. Tile Ked River cart is .s7// f/c//f'r/.s .• it is an epitome of the history and description of a i)oculiar country. It is built on the model of the Normandy i)easant's cart, and ti'lls us at once that its inventors were of French descent. It is simply a liyht box with a ])air of shafts, mounted upon an axle connectinn' two enormous wlieels. There is no <'oncessiou made to the avcn-- sion of the human frame to sudden vio- lent chanji'es of h;vel ; there is no weak- ness of luxury about this vehicle. The wheels are broad in tin; felloes, so as nt)t to cut throujrh the prairie sod. They are lonu' in the s[)okes, so as to pass safely throuji'ii fords and nuid-holes. They are vei'.v nuicli dished. ,so tliat they can be strapped tojicther, and ii riiwhide stretch- ed over tliem to make :i boat. The whole cart is made of wood; tliere is not a l)it of iron iiI)out it, so that, if anything' breaks, the material to repair it is easily found. The uxh's are never yreasod, and they fur- nish an incessant answer to the old conun- drum. ■■ What makes more noise than a pi;:' luider a re is a lar^i'c settlement of Kussian Mennonites. The history of these ])»■(! le is full of inter est. The.v are named after 3Ieniio Sim ons. who was a Romish ])riest in Fries- land ab(jut the mi,ddle of the sixtetMitli century. He was not a man of hi^i'li '.irth or education, but he seems to have had yreat naluial stren;^'th of mind and character. IIi' became convinced of the necessit,v of reformation in the Church. moi-e ])articular!,v as i'e<;ai'ds the ])urity of life of Christians, and their se])aration from the world. He entered vi;i'orousl,v into the work of preaching;' and teachin^i' his doctrines, and the result of his Avork was the formation of a sect of IJaptist (,)uakers in Holland and North (lei'inany who bore the name of ^lennonites. They were ]teaceat)le and industrious citizens, willinn' lo ('ontribute money for the sup- ))ort of ^i'overnment oven in Avar, but pos- ilivelv refusing to take an oath or to bear -Ill llAill'KKS \K\V :\|()XTIILV M.\( iAZI NK MKXNnMTI-: IKMSKS arms. In the course of time tlicy hccimic at the tinu' wiieii linttons \v(>re lii'st introduced into treneral use. The stricter .Meiinonites rer^arded them as a. worldly innovation, and, adhei'in^' to the u>e of hooks and eves, wei'e called ■■ l[ooki'i's." in distinction tVoni the more lax hrethren. who were called ■".Hutton- I'l's." The tirst Mennonites came to this country anionu' the Dutch settlers of New ^'ork; there was a Mennonite church hnilt near l*liiladelj)hia in KIM!, and the present nunil)er ol' the sect in the I'nited States is estimated at C.O.IMM). The Uus- siau Mennonites are more I'eci'iit innui- urants. They were oriuiually inhahit- auts of West Prussia, and emigrated to i\ussia in the latter part of the eiii'hteeidh century, having;' olitaincd a promise from the Em])eror I'.inl that they should not he called upon for military service. This pi'omise was I'evoked hy the present Em- peroi'. and they were informed that they must prepai'e for army duty in ISM. oi- else leave the country. ijar;ic numiiers of them decided to come to .\nu'rica. Kansas and Minnesota have rect'ived con- sidei'ahlc colonies, and ahoul TdUd hav(> come to Mauitoha. where the jiovermnent has reserved ."iOO.IMKl acres for their settle- ments. It was a. lieautiful mornin;;' when we set out on a "" |H'airie yacht." hehind a pair of fpiicU' stepi)ini:' ho)'ses. to visit the ^^en- nonite Reserve. Our road lay alon^;- the north iiank of the Pend)ina Rivei'. skirt- JULT the edii'c of the timher, and occasittn- ally cuttin;;' across a point of woods which ran out into (ho open praii'ie. We passed many thi'ifty-lookiny farms, where tluj men were still workinji" at the remnant of the luu'vest. At Snuiread and melons, and I'aise their own tohacker ; and when a crowd on "em comes in here to drink, each man steps u\) and drinks, and /xii/s far liis oicii liiliior." Such conduct as this, of course, is suh- versive of the very IJrst principle of Amer- ican society, which rccou'uizes " treat inii" asthe true medium of fi'iendly intercoui'se. A \'v\v miles farther on we found the farm village of Blumenoi't. It is not th»^ larji'cst of ihe villages on this reservt', hut it will serve as a tyj)e of the i-est. The hifi'li-road was simply a A\ell-worn waj^'on track over the hare plain. An irreuiilar line of a dozen low thatched houses on each side of the road and a steam saw mill made up the village. The farms ra- diate from this centre. I'^very man cul- tivates his o\\ n land, and Ihe four and- twenty fannlies have the advantaiie of living' close tojicther, and making com- mon front a;i'ai list the hardship and lone- liness of frontier life. Each village has its head-man, ur Svliulz — its .school-nias- id .i.--.;.A^ m odsAvliich ^V e passci t of eniiiiiii oui U'l'C t 11 )\)vd For ii as a tVon- inaiiy ti'i-- rtlu']\I('ii- d liow he ft t'iiouij,li : wliiti': l)ut I'V. They aiut raise 11 a. crowx •I , cacli mail 'or his oicii fSC. IS s ub- U' of Aiucr- •' ti'catiiii;"' lltcl'COUl'SC. I'oiiml the t is not tlui •est'i'vi", liut rost. The •orii wa^'oii 11 irn'^iilai- [ houses oil steam saw- le farms ra- •y man ciil- e fouraiid- Ivaiita.iie of akinu' eom- ip and lone- viila«i'e lias scliool-mas- TllK Ul'A) 1JIVK.K OK TlIK NORTH. SU ter — who teaches in (Jermaii: and if tlie villaLie is too small for a (liiireli. the I'turrcr coiik^s over from some larj^'er town to preaeli at stated times. Tl le miMi e.xpresseil some anxiety to know if Sitlinji' i^iill Avere eomiiin' to ;i\ak<' war in Manitol)a. Thov had heard tliat le was mareliini!' wi MX 1 1 i>r. til f ives Wl We sal on the steps of the mill, talicii til some of the vilhii;'ers. and eatiiii;' a | much to attack JMiierson our '1' tiioiisaiii lev seemec reliev ed to hear liiat he was maiiv w;iter-iiieioii, wiiii'h was passed around ' hiiiuh'ed mih's to the west iroi n man to iikiu for each to cut off a lice with iiis ])ockel-kiiife Tile :\[en- iioiiite (ierman is a liarliaroiis dialed; it has not been improved by ninety years" sojdurii in Kiissia. })Ul il served as a medium of communication. Tliev told us that their vilhiLi'e had been unfortu- nate; tiiat tiiev had b(>eii forced to move ol them. On the otlier si(h' of tlie road 1 saw a clav till eslllli -Ii oor between some wlieat stacks, and an old man drivinu' a team of horses over it to tread out tlie u'laiii. The method w, .-< old-fashioned enou^'li to 1) ipiite a novelty. 1 went over to uatcli it, and thus chanced to make the ac([uaiiit- ance of the propi'ietor of the st.acks and \ MKNNO.MIK INTKUKIIi. twice on act'ount of tlie wetness of the land. The present situation seemed to )(> better. Tl lev like the couiitr\ better than R ussia. Hut one o f tl le men, wUo had not yet taken up his allotment of land, complained greatly that iiiidi r the le could u'et He thought of yoiiiji" to America i/. c. the new law. made tlii^ summer, I onlv eiuiitv acres of homesti Llnited Stat est. w lievi' he could yet one Jhit how ked. we as liuiidre(' and si.xty acres. about the oath of alleji'iance He sliru!,;ii'ed liis shouldei's and ji'riniied, from which we concluded thai he must )e a Hiitt oner ol lie joosiM' stamp. the horses. He was a pleasant, talkative old man, who had come from liussia with in a year, and was Just be«:innin.L;' to niaki' I home for liinise lis was Ins first roj) and he thoiit^lit it would averai over twentv bushels to the acre Tl iree ir four barefooted jiirls. ruddy and strong. were briisl iiuii' u)) the i I'rain as the hor.ses trod it out, and winnowing it was i»ictures(pie. and 1 callc make a sketch sistanee and worldly ])ros- pei'ity ! Wiiy do they always <;'oto;i'ethei" i After a while Brolher Peters asked us to fro home with him, and see his hou.se, wliicli was hut a few yards away from the threshin<^--tloor. It was l)uilt of log's, plastered with clay, and thatched Avitli straw. The chimney was a square liole in the roof. The inside of the house was rough, but comfortable, or at least it mig'ht be made .so. The floor was made of clay. Peters was particular to im])r(>ss upon us that the house was not linished; lie had bou in the reliiiements of decoi'ative art, and fret i>ur.selves because a coh)r does not harmonize or a line is out t)f symmetry. It is. after all, only a (piestion of what kind of veneer we shall use to cover the frame-work of life. The men and women of the frontier touch the solid facts of ex- istence. They have to face the ])roblem — (jireii. (I prairie and a pile of hiinber, how to make a house i As we sat there in that rude room talk- ing with the old Russian, putHng away ([uietly at a ))ipe of the peace-making In- dian weed, we seemed to have entered quite into the circle of his domestic life. In one corner of tlie room sat the- old HauHfrau c(md)ing her scanty locks. The eldest daughter was very busy with some household work, while the litth^ grandchild played on the iloor beside the work-bench. In the middle of the room was the dinner table; ])resently three or four girls came in from their work, and we were cordially asked to sit down with them to their Veaperbrod of black bread, mehms. and coffee. When we went away the old man invoked many blessings on us, and we promised to send him a coi)y of Harper's Magazine. Here's a givet- ing to you. Peters. May you have jSelnreiiisgliiek ! It was a dull rainy evening when we bade farewell to Pendnna, and Avere fer- ried across the shallow muddy riA'^er to St. Vincent. I sui)pose it is called the Red River because the Avater is of a whity-brown color. At the raihvay sta- tion confusion reigned. A lai'ge party of \4 \ X: r STKEKT VIKW l.N tlJV OK wlN.NU'Ki;. - - ■^->--=l'. ..A. ii.Ufcll ,>,. THE KED RIVER OK THE NORTH. si:; t'l's in c'it- Ve dabbl(> iirt, and does Jiot yninu'try. of Avliut cover iJie id women u'ts of ex- )roljlem — f hiinber, oom talk- iiip' away lakiiif,'' Iii- e eiitei'ed icstic life, t the- old ly locks. I)usy Avitli the little beside the the room V three or woric, and lowii with ick bread, vent away ?ssiugs on ni a copy s a greet- ,-ou have when we Avere fer- y river to called the r is of a ihvay sta- le party of V f*^ *..**» f H^r^'LA '^' ---.vT STEAMBOAT LANDING O.N TIIK UKD lilVKR. immio-ranls liad just arrived witli throuft-h tickets l)y tlie steamboat liiK? to Winni- ])e<>". But owing to the lowness of the water, and an accident wliicii occurred a few weeks before, there was no boat ready to go down tiie river. The \y,n'ty must go on by rail, and the ollicers of the brancli lino from St. Vincent to St. Boni- face, opposite Winnipeg, refused to make any allow;' nee for tlie steand)oat tickets. Des))aii' ruled in the crowded, murky car into whicli we wei-e ])acked. Many of the ])(>or imniigriuits could ill alt'ord the addi- tional cost. We had to pay s;j 25 for rid- ing over .sixty-tive miles of wretclied track at the rate of ten inih>s an hour. Th'» I'oad-bed is so rough that wIumi they run at higher s))ecd, the engine bell is rung by tlie oscillation. Long after midnight we were landed in the mud at St. Boniface. Here we fell into the hands of the custcmi-house Pliil- istines. Never have I seen courtesy and intelligence so successfully concealed un- der a veil of rude stupidity. (}ad stood by in the cold damp gloom, and gave vig- orous expression to Iiis feelings in four ditt'erent languages, while the otiicer of customs ])loughed througli our carefully ])acked ti-unk, upsetting our gun trap- jiings. and sniffing at paint tuhes, until at la.st he concluded to detain the luggage on suspicion, and we went oil' wearily to lind our way across tlii^ river to Winni- jieg. We ai'rived liually at the (so-call- ed) "best hotel in town." May a kind fortune preserve us from tlu; worst I Morning light revealed to us the me- tro])olis of the Northwest. We saw a broad main street bordered with higji wooden sidewalks, and rows of sho]>s of every shane and size. Some were rude wooden shanties; others were tnie build- ings of yellow bx'ick. High over all tow- ered the handsome spire of the Knox Church. Several saw and grist mills sent up ince.s.sant pull's of white .steam into the clear air. The street was full of bustle and life. There were wagons of all de.scri})tions standing before the stores. Long lines of Red River carts were load- ing with freight for the interior. The sidewalks were tilled with a miscellane- ous crowd of peojile: German ])easants, the women in dark blue gowns and head kerchiefs, the men marked by their little tlat ca])s: French half-breeds, with ,iaun- ty buckskin jackets, many-colored scarfs around tlunr waists, and their black hair shining with oil; Indians, dark, solemn, gaunt, stalking along in blanket and moc- casins; Scotch and English jieople. look- ing as they do all the world ov^er, but liere, perhaps, a little quicker and more eiuM'getic. The middle of the street, though there liad lieen but a single night of rain, was a vast <'xpanse of mud — mud so tenacious that the wheels of the wag- ons driving through it were almost as large as mill-wheels: and when we dared mm mm ■■^■PfiPPXPPPi ... ..^ ^ \x . . ^ H14 HAKl'EKS NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. ■ K- THAT MV HO.MKSTKAI), l)K I.AKK WlNMl'tU ; IM to cross it. we canic out on llic otlxT sick' with iinifli tlillic'iilty, aiid tVct of elephant- ine proportions. The city of Winnipeji-. wliidi eij^ht yoars a<>'o was notliiny more than a chis- ter of htmses about the liiidson I'.ay Com- pany's fort, now contains over seven thousand inhabitants. It is the distrib- ntinu" centre i'or a larg-e reyion, a ])laee of g'reat l)usiness activity, and so situated in relation to the back country and tli(> facili- ties for transportation that it is sometimes called ""the Bleeder's I'aradise." It is ])uilt on a clay bank at the junction of the Assiniboine with the Ked Kiver. Tlie na- ture of soil is such that it is diUicult to find a o-ood foundation for a house, and many of the larji'er ])uildini»'s liave settled and cracked. W(> had the driest time of the year for our visit, but in the course of or.r excur- sions about the town we were impressed l)y the s'eneral wetness of the land. In fact, it Avas very forcibly brouu'ht home to our consciousness, for we almost succeed- ed in ])f)y often look dry. bnt they have no bottom. When a Win- nipejrs'i'i" S'''fs lii^ waa'on stuck in one of them, he loosens the traces and lets the horses scramide out : and (lien. i)ullinji' oH' his clothes, so im- ])as.sable. and conA'(\vances so d<'ar, that it was diflicult to yo outside of AVinni- ])eu-. and in consequence many ])eo])le who liad come to setth^ in tli<> province went back discouraii'ed. This year on(> hun- dred and forty ^lennonite families Avere forced to remove* from the Red l^iver Ee- .serA'e because th(> land Avas too Avet to cultivate. Professor Hind. Avhose report is standard authority, says: "TJie coun- try possessin<;' a in(>an ehn^ation of 100 feet a.bove Lak(> Winni])ea'. . . . may be estimated at 70,0(Kt square miles, of Avhich nine-tenths are lake, marsh, or surface rock of Silurian orD(>vonian age." Alonjr the banks of the Red River and the Assiniboine the land is somewhat drier and better, but it is all taken u]) by the so-called Settlement Belt, Avhich is ex- ])i'essly excei)ted from the homestead pro- A'isions of the Dominion Lands Act. As a result of all this, most of the innnigrants are forced to go further Avest. to Portage la Prairie or l)eyond, where the land is high- er and not in need of drainage. Still fur- ther away, in the Northwest Tei'ritory, along the Little Sa.skatchewan and the Big- Saskatchewan, the country is rejjort- THE KEJ) KIVER OF THE NORTH. SI 5 il iiult'od no 11 of tho year \'e a fail' cle- s Avlio have 1 tlio spring' it as bcinp; nder wator. aWcv Valloy inundation. \vcr<^ so im- o dear, that of Winni- ' ])oo])lo who ovincc wejit 11" on(> liun- iniilios wer(> d Rivor Re- too wot to vhos(» v(>|)or1 "TJio fonn- ition of 100 . . . . niiiy 1h' Ics. of which or surface xixc" Alonp- •er and tlic i(>what drier n u]) l)y the hicli is e\- inestead pro- ids Act. As iiuniifi'rants to Portaji'c hi land is liiyh- -. Still fur- it Territory. an and the ry is rejiort- ed to 1)0 most fertile. Rut the inuniroducf s. For although at present they can sell their wheat and pota- toes to th(^ new-coiiUM'S who have not yet arrived at the jn'oducing stag'e, yet tho time must come when the produc- tion will increase and innni- {i'ration decrease until the local market is oversujipliod, and then farminji' will he neither amusin<;' nor proiitable. The Canadian Pacilic Railway will, of coursi-. remove this difliculty: init it is hard to say where il will run or how soon it will he linisluMl. The hojK's of th(> ])eople are set upon the completion of this road, and thus fur they seem to tinil no trouble in liviii;:' on hopes aiul fjrowino- fat withal. The immift-ration into Manitoba has 1)een astonishinjily rai)id. Two causes lia-ve recently o])erated to check it. A {jreat deal of the best laiulin tho ])rovince is excepted from the homesl(>nd provisions of the Land Ac! by acomplicateil system of reserves. For instance, a belt of li vi> miles on either side of the ])ro]iosed riiilway line is only open to ))urchiisers nt sIk dol- lars an iicre. The second iind still great- er obsti is the law i)assed in July last, practically limitinji' the homestead ji'raut to eift-hty acres. It is al)surd to supjjo.se that settlers will content lliomselves with this amount when they can j^'ot 1(50 acres of e([ually g'ood land under similar condi- tions l)y sim])ly crossins" the imaji'inary line which divides tho British Possessions from the United States. In the liofht of these facts it was anuisinp; to read a quo- tation from a speech made in September KPlM (iAIll'.V. last, at an a<;'ricu]tural dinnei'. by Lord Beaconsiield. in which he •.•ravely stated that neai'ly all of the larg'est land-holders in the extreme western States of America had sold out their farms and w Canadian territory. As an oii'ort of the Oriental iuuio'ination. tliis was excellent: but as history, it was amazinyly incoi-rect. The innnigTants into ^lanitoba. with the exception of the ^lennonitos. have been almost without ex- ception British subjects, and a veiy larfje majority of them have come iVom the ju'ovince of ()ntario. Large numl)ei's. being dissatisli(>d. have rocrossed tho line, ands(>tfled in Dakota and Minnesota. In l'eml)ina County alone the number of Canadians is reckoned at one-lialf of the ]K)])u]ation. The most interesting object in Winni- peg- — ])(>rhaps we may say the only thing- which has anything- of the picturesque about it — is Fort Garry, the head-quarters of " the (lovei-nor and company of adven- turei's of England trading- into Hudson's Bay." II stands well up above the swift, muddy current of the Assinil)oine. Seen from the op))osite bank of tho river in the lingering: glow of an amber twilight, there 810 HARPERS NEW :M()NTIILY MAGAZINE. K* 'i' ASt^INlHOINK ItlVKl!. is ail air of antiquity and voniance about the rough gray wall, pieroecl by a low gate- way, and flanked by rude turrets which lean as if they had heard of Pisa, and were trying to introduce the graces oi civiliza- tion into the wilderness. Here the blue banner of the Hudson Bay Coni])any has floated for many years above the little quadrangle where the white man and the red man have met to barter the jn-oducts of Europe for the skins of the wild north land. '■' Pro jjelle cutcni." skin for skin, is the motto of the Company, and many a poor fellow has paid for his gains in |)el- try by losing his own seal)) at last. Mill- ions of skins have been gathered from the lonely forest and the frozen waste into these low dark store-houses. Ship-loads of cloth and beads and jjowder and lire- water have passed over these battered counters to civilize the Indian. Here the Governor of the Com])any (mce ruled over the land of Assiniboia. Here the half - breeds gathered themselves in 186!) to resist the authority of the Canadian govern- ment. It was the dream of their leader. Louis Riel, to found a nation of mixed races, and that sensational love of liberty which runs in the Gallic blood spoke in its native lan- guage and after its an- cient fashion here in this far wilderness. It sounds like an echo of Paris to read the deliv- erances of the Comite Ned io tut I des Metis ih' la liin'cre Rouge which were issued from this gray old fort. But at last the power of Great Britain ari'ived on the scene in the shape of a military force, which Colonel Wolseley, now of Zulu fame, had led across the swamps and through the trackless forests be- tween Winnipeg and Montreal. The nation of mixed races vanished into thin air, and the province of Manitoba came into substantial being. This was in the smnmcr of 1870, and since then the old fort has fallen into the hum- drum of a mere connnercial life. The Red River at Winnipeg is about a hundred yards wide. The gray and rug- ged Cathedral of St. Boniface still stands on the eastei'n bank, and the bells of the Roman mission still ''call from their tur- rets twain. " But the ' ' voyageur" no lon- ger sweeps along the current and hears their far-oft" vesper chiming. Twenty years ago the first steamboat puffed its way down the river, and the silent-gliding canoe fleets have vanished. There is noth- ing of hardship or adventure about a voy age on the Red River now, and it was sim- ply in the interest of physical comfort, and for the sake of variety, that we chose to leave Winnipeg by water. The Mhi )tesofa was run up alongside ()f the steep bank (fut un- der water she was only a lliil-iioat with a (li'auglit of two feel. A liuge "kick-be- liiiid" wlieel extended completely across the stern, and mad(> the boat shake as if with the palsy when we turned out from the bank and headed up stream. The riv- er flowed with a still, nuiddy current, be- tween high banks covered with bushes and small limber. Here and there we saw a clearing- and some tumble-down cabins, llie homes of the hall-breeds. They are a strange race, in whose veins the blood of England, Scotland, and France is min- gled with that of the Indian tribes. They are social, fond of excitement, gifted with great physical strength and emliu'ance. but without the uioi-al (pialities of pa- tience, industry, and order. In olden times they wei'e the caiioe-men aiul sledge- drivers of the Hudson l>ay ("ompany. We saw Iheir clmnsv dug-outs moored along the river-l)anks, anil the numerous set lines indicated that they preferred tiie easiest pi>ssible way of lishing. Flock's of wild duck' and plovei' Mew before us as we steanu'd slowly against the curi'(>nt, pass- ing around sharp curve's in the river, ami almost doubling on our course. King- Ushers perched motionless on the over- 1 anging branches, or swe|)t swiftly i)ast with their sharp ciiir-r-r-ing cry. The i)oat struck on many a stone and sand- bar: but with a, convulsiv(> shiver that made all the wood-work crack, and a tre- memlous splashing of thegrt.'at wheel, she scraped safely over. Then the dusk gath- ered on the stre.im and on the brown woods, and the light faded in the clear sky, until the moon came swiuuuing over the tree-tojjs, anil all was silver bright as we tloatetl on, ever rounding new points onlv to see the same curve of watiT. the sauH' motionless banks, strelehing away before us. .\t sunrise we looked out upon the same pictui-e, and at noon our voyage was ended at St. \'incent, The chronicle rirh and sombre. Flocks of prairie-<'hiclceus went wliirling away be- fore us, with their clucking note that sounds like derisive laughter. High up in the ail- a long Ih/ck t)f wild-geese was moving swiftly across the sky. Over all hiuig the mellow haze of ln