IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

1.25

■^|2^ 12.5

■50 ■■■ HlH

::i2.o

2.2

:!: 1^

U IIIIII.6

^^'"%%-

^;.

'^/ >

"■^

Photograpnic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. U580

(716) 873-4503

#.%

CIHM/ICMH

Microfiche

Series.

CIHM/ICMH
Collection de
microfiches.

Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de niicroreproductions historiques

Technical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notat tachniquaa at bibliographiquaa

Tha inatituta haa attamptad to obtain the baat
original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia
copy which may ba bibliographically unlqua,
which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha
raproduction, or which may aignificantly changa
tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow.

Colourad covart/
Couvartura da coulaur

□ Covars damagad/
Couvartura andommagia

1 I c

Covari rastorad and/or laminatad/
Couvartura raataurAa at/ou palllculAa

r~| Covar titia misting/

La titra da couvartura manqua

I I Colourad maps/

Cartas g^ographiques en couleur

Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/
Encra de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire)

I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/

Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur

Bound with other material/
R«li6 avec d'autres documents

Tight binding may c<iuse shadows or distortion
along interior margin/

La reliure serr6e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la
distortion le long de la marge intArieure

Blank leaves added during restoration may
appear within the text. Whenever possible, these
have been omitted from filming/
II se peut que certalnes pages blanches ajouttes
lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans la texte,
mais. lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont
pas 6ti filmAes.

The c
to th<

L'Institut a microfiimi la maiileur exemplaire
qu'il lui a At* poaalbia de aa procurer. Lea details
da cat exemplaire qui aont paut-Atre uniquaa du
point dii vue bibliographiqua, qui peuvent modifier
une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une
modification dans la mAthoda normala de filmaga
sont indiqute ci-deaaoua.

r~~1 Coloured pagea/

Pages de couleur

Pages damaged/
Pages endommagAes

□ Pages restoriMl and/or laminated/
Pages restaurAac et/ou pelliculAea

Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/
Pages dAcolorAes. tachatAea ou piquAes

□ Pages detached/
Pages d6tachAes

Showthrough/
Transparence

Quality of prir

Quality inAgale de I'lmpression

includes supplementery materit
Comprend du matAriel aupplAmantaira

Only edition available/
Seuie Mitlon diaponible

The!
possi
of thi
filmii

Origii
begir
the li
sion,
othei
first I
sion.
or illi

Fyj Showthrough/

I I Quality of print varies/

□ includes supplementery material/
C

I — I Only edition available/

The I
shall
TINU
whic

Mapt
diffei
entin
begir
right
requi
meth

Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata
slips, tissues, etc.. have been ref limed to
enaure the best possible image/
Lea pages totalament ou partiellement
obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata. une pelure,
etc., ont At A filmAes A nouveau de fapon A
obtenir la meilleure image possible.

Additional comments:/
Commentaires supplAmentaires:

This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/

Ce document est fllmA au iMux da rAduction indiquA ci-dessous.

10X 14X 18X 22X 26X aOX

12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X

1 — .

r«

l«tailt
M du
nodifiar
ir una
ilmaga

Tha copy filmad hare has baan raproducad thanks
to tha ganarosity of:

National Library of Canada

Tha 'magas appearing hara ara tha bast quality
possibia considering tha condition and legibility
of the original copy and in keeping with the
filming contract specifications.

L'exemplaire ifilmi fut reproduit grAce h la
g6n4rosit6 da:

Bibiiothiqua nationaia du Canada

Las images suivantes ont AtA reproduites avac la
plus grand soin, compta tenu de la condition at
da la nattetA de rexemplaira film6. et en
conformity avec les conditions du contrat de
filmaga.

Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed
beginning with the front cover and ending on
the last page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All
other original copies are filmed beginning on the
first page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, and ending on the last page with a printed
or illustrated impression.

Les exemplairas originaux dont la couvarture en
papier est imprimte sont filmAs en commenpant
par la premier plat et en terminant soit par la
darnijire page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par la second
plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires
originaux sont fiimis en commenpant par la
premiAre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par
la dernidre page qui comporte une telle
empreinte.

The last recorded frame on each microfiche
shall contain the symbol ^»> (meaning "CON-
TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"),
whichever applies.

Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la
darnlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le
cas: le symbole — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ", le
symbole V signifie "FIN".

Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at
different reduction ratios. Those too large to be
entirely included in one exposure are filmed
beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to
right and top to bottom, as many frames as
required. The following diagrams illustrate the
method:

Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre
fiim^s A des taux de rMuction diff6rents.
Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre
reproduit en un seul cliche, ii est film6 A partir
de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche d droite,
et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre
d'imagas ndcessaira. Les diagrammes suivants
illustrent la mdthoda.

errata

I to

I pelure,

on A

32X

: : "» /

: 3

Cm
<

OCEAX TO OCEAN

-M*. fk. ^^^

^^aubforb .^Ifiniiiq !i ^^x petition

jMn.>L'«i!

« /^ N ADA IN |ST^

ii\'

T]IK KK\'. <.n':()KGK M GKANT

«.K HALtKAX, V. 8.

1^1

N L V it U V: I ' A N I > f I E V X S E I > E I) T T 1 N

rLLUSTR/.-i'EU

TOR') NTT O?
f^KLFOKH lUUiTKERS;, PUi5LlSHEI{

KH77.

4f^

ji*.

y^'

l».u/>_.-

f^;

"f».

% Mi.

.»»•.. ■« ' *•

'■^ w

OCEAN TO OCEAK

^ ■^♦►■ x

S^mhiaxh Fleming's €^Mlon

THROUGH

CANADA IN 1872.

THE KEV. GEORGE M. GRANT,

OF HALIFAX, N. S.

ENLARGED AND REVISED EDITION.

ILLUSTRATED.

TORONTO I
BELFORD BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS.

1877.

^^!te^:afg^.

Eiiturt'd acfunliiig to Act of I'arliamcnt of Cuna^ia, in tlio Year 1877, by

i!K«>l{(JK M. (;ilANT,
In the Office of the Minister oi Affriciiltiire.

riUNTEn AND BTJSRKOTYrKI) HY

TiiK Globe Pkintino Comi-asy,

TORONTO.

BOt'XD BY

Hi'NTKR, Rusk & Co.,

TORONTO.

CONTENTS.

Co.,

CHAin'ER I.

Paoe

rNTROI)lv.TOKY i 1?

FROM HALIFAX, >OV°A SCOTIA, TO THUNDER DAY, LAKE SUPEUIOR,

CHAPTER II.

Halifax. — Jntcrcoloni.al Railway.— Moncton. — Miramichi.^ — Ecsti-
pouchc— Matai»cilia. — Cacouna. —Lord DuflTerin. — Riviere du
Loup. — Quebec. — Montreal. — Toronto. — CoUingwood. — A man
overboard. — Owen Sound. — Steamer Francrs Smith. — Provok-
ing delays. — Killarney. — Indians. — Pruce Mine.s. — Sault Ste.
Marie. — Lake Superior. — Sunset. — Full Moon.— Harbour of
(^largantua. — Tlio Botanist. — Michipic(*ten Island.— Ne]tigon
Bay. — Grand Scenery. — Sunday on Board. —Silver Islet. —
Prince Arthur's Landing 26

CHAPTER UI.

FROM TIIUNUEU BAY TO FORT OARRY.

Shebandowan Road.— ^Rich Vegetation. — Rivers Kamini8ti(|uia and
Matawan. — Shebandowan Lake. — Luggage. — P^i^iigrants. —
Canoe Train. — Irocjuois Indians. — Sir George Simpson's Guide.
— Lake Kashabowie. — The Height of Land. — Lac dea Mille
Lacs — Baril Portage and Lake.— First Night under Canvass. —
Lake Windigostigwan. — Indian Encampment. — Chief Black-
Bt(me's Wives. — The Medicine Man. — Lake Kaogassikok. —
Shooting Maligne Rapids. — Lake Nequaquon. — Loon Portage.
— Mud Portage. — American Portage. — Lake Nameukan.—
Rainy Lake. — Fort Francis. — Rainy River. — Hungry Hall. —
Slap-jacks. -Lake of the Woods. — The North- Wet Angle. — A
Tough Night. — Oak Point. — First glimpse of the Prairies. — Flo-
ral Treasures. — The Dawson Route. — Red River 41

CHAPTER IS^.

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA.

Extent. — Population. — Land Claims of Original Settlers. — Sale of
Lots in Winnipeg. — Hud.son's Bay Company. — Clergymen of
the Settlement. — Military Camp. — Archbishop Tache. — United
States Consul. — Conflicting opinions respecting the Fertile
Belt. — Our outfit for the Prairies, — Chief Commissioner Smith.
— Hudson's Bay Company. — Lieut. -Governor Archibald. — De-
parture from Silver Heights.^ White Horse Plains. — Rev. Mr.

IV, CONTENIH.

McDougal. — Portage la Prairie. — The T^ast Settlor. — Climato,
etc., of Miinitoltii, cnniitiiriMl with the ohU-r Provinces. — Sioux
IndiacH in war I'uint. - (Jcnoral rcnmrkH on Manitoba. -Knii<

S rants and the United States' Agents. — Treatment of the In-
ians 73

CHAPTKIl V.

FKOM MANITOn.\ TO' FOHT C.MlI/roN ON TIIK NOUTII HA.SKATCIIKWAN.

Fine Fertile Country— Tliewatrrciuestion. Duck Shooting. — Salt
Ijakes. — Camping on i\w Plains. — Fort Kllico. — Qu'Appelle v'^ al-
ley. -" Souzie." The Uivor Assiniboine. The Buffalo. Cold
Nights. -Hich Soil. - Lovely Country. — Little Touchwood Hills.
— Cause of Prairie Fires. — A Day of Host. — Prairie Uplands. —
Indian Family. -liulfalo SeuUs. — Desolate Tract. — Quill I^ake.
— Salt Water. Hroken Prairie.- Round Hill. -Prairie Fire. —
I^ich Black Soil.— Magnificent Panorama. — Break-neck Speed.
— The South Saskatchewan. Sweethearts and Wives. — Fort
Carlton. — Free Traders. — The Indians. — Crop Raising 108

CHAPTER VI.

ALOXO THE NORTH SA.SKAT("HEWAN TO EDMONTON'.

The Thickwood Hills.—TheSoil.— Slough of Despond.— Bears' Pad-
dling Lake. — Indian Mis8i(ms Result. — Pemmican. — Jack-fish
Lake. — The Crec. and Blaekfeet. — Change in Vegetation. — Re-
semblance to Ontario. — The Red deer Hills. — Rich Uplands
and Valleys.— Fort Pitt.— The Horse Guard.— Fresh BuflTalo
M«3ftt.- -Partially Wooded C-ountry.- C^ec Guests. — Shaganap-
pi. — Glorious View. — Our Longitude. — The Isothermal Lines.
— Scalping Raids. — The Flora. — Victoria Mission. — Indian
School. — Crops Raised. — A Lady Visitor. — Timber. — Horse
Hill. — Edmonton. — Coal. — Wh<at and other Crops. — Gold-
Washing. — Climate. — Soil. — Indian Races. — Water. — Fuel. —
Frosts 143

CHAPTER VII.

FROM FORT EDMONTON TO THE RIVER ATIIABASKA.

False Report. — Souzie's Farewell. — St. Albert Mission. — Bishop

Grandin. — Small-pox. — Great Mortality. — Indian Orphans. —

The Sisters of Charity. — Road to Lake St. Ann's. — Luxuriant

Vegetation. — Pelican. — Early Frosts. — Pack Horses. — Leaving

\ St. Ann's.— Indians. — Vapour Booths. — Thick Woods. — Pem-

A bina River. — Coal. — Ijobstick Camp. — Condemned Dogs. —

T Beaver Dams. — Murder. — Horse Lost. — A Birth -day. —No
Trail. — Muskegs. — Windfalls. — Beavers. — Traces of Old Trav-

•^ ellers. — Cooking Pemmican. — Crossing the McLeod. — Wretch-
ed Road. — Iroquois Indians. — Slow Progress. — Merits of Pem-
mican. — Bad Muskegs. — Un Beau Chemin. — A Mile an Hour.
— Plum-pudding Camp. — Ten Hours in the Saddle. — Athabaska
River. — The Rocky Mountains . — Bayonet Camp , , 1 8§

AN.

108

143

L8§

CONTENTS. ▼.

CHAPTER VTII.

THE IWK'KY MOUNTAINS.

Tho Flora. — Tho Mountains.—Prairie River. -fJrillcd Poavcr. —
Roche a Myette. — Rocho a Pcrdrix. Roche Roiulc. - Jasper
House. — Rocho Jac(|Ue8. — Ro<!ho Suette. — Roche lioHcho. —
First Night in the Mountains. CrosHiiiB tlie Atliahnska. —
Magnificent Mountain Scenery. — I'yraniiil Rock. — Jasper I^akc.
-^Snaring River. — Jaspsr Valley - We meet I'aciHi! Men. — Hy-
iu muck-a-inuck ! Hyiu iktaiis I — Old Henry House. — The
Caledr.tiian Valley. — A Rough Trail. — Desolate Camping
G«oun.;. -Good Cheer. -The Trail Party. —Yellow Head Pass.
— Nameless Mountain Peaks.— Sunday JJinner in "The Pass," 227

CHAPTER IX.

YELLOW HEAD PAS.H TO THE NORTH THOMP.SON RIVER.

Plants in Flower. — The Water-shed. -Entering British Columbia.
— Source of tho Fr<tser liivrr. — Yellow Head Lake. — Serrated
Peaks. — Benighted. — Moose Lake. — Milton and Cheadle. —
Relics of the Headless Indian, — Columbia River, — The Three
Mountain Ranges. — Horses Worn Out. — First Canyon of tho
Fraser. — The Grand Forks. — Changing Locomotion Power. —
Robsou's Peak. — Fine Tind)er. — Tete .Taune Cache. Glaciers.
— Countless Mountain Peaks. — A Good Trail. — Fording Canoe
River. — Snow Fence. — Camp River. — Albreila. — Mount Mil-
ton. — Rank Vegetation.— Rain. — A Box in V's Cache '')r S. F.
— The Red Pyramid. — John Glen. — The Forest. — Camp Chea-
dle 251

CHAPTER X.

ALONG THE NORTH THOMP.SON RIVER TO KAMLOOPS.

Breakfast by Moonlight. — The Bell-horse. — Mount Cheadle. — Blue
River and Mountains. — Goose Creek. — The Headless Indian. —
Porcupine Breakfast. — The Canyon. — Mule Train. — At Hell
Gate, meet Friends. — Gathering at Camp U. .and V, — Good
Cheer. — Still Water. — Round Prairie. — Exciting News two
months old. — Change in the Flora. — Bunch Grass. — Raft River.
— Clearwater. — Boat to Kamloops. — Assiniboine Bluff. — Last
Night under Canvass. — Siwash Houses. — Signs of Civilization.
— Stock Raising. — Wages in British Columbia. — Arid Aspect
of Country. — Darkness on the River. — Arrival at Kamloops. ... 275

CHAPTER XI.

FROM KAMLOOPS TO THE SEA.

Under a Roof again. — Kamloops Beef. — Sermon. — John Chinaman,
No Letters. — Lake Kamloops.— Savona's Ferry, — A Night Ride
to Ashcroft. — Farming Country.— Sage Brush.— ^Irrigation. —
A BrokeA Leg. — The Judge and the Miners.— (iold Mining.—.

▼I.

CONTENTS.

HiwashoH and Chinaincn.- Intliun (Jraves. — The Waggon Knad.
— CaiiyonH of tho ThoinpHon. — liig-l)UKH. — Lytton. — The Kush
tothe(ioI(l Mine«. OltHtarleH t(i Settlement. - KffectH of Un-
cdiu'ated Sahnon.— HoHton liar.- .lackuHS Mountain. — The Road
idonj^ the CanyonH. — (Jrand Sieiitry. — Su8i)cnHion Bridge. —
Spuzziiiii'H Creek.— Vale. — Lettern from Home.— Travelling by
Steam Again. — Steamer " Onward."- Hope.- -The .ludiciary
of Hritinh ("ohunhia. — New Westminnter.- Salmon.- -AsHaying
OHice. — Hurrard'H Inlet.— (Jrand Potlatch. — The "Sir James
DoughiH." -(Joueral KemarkH 295

CHAPTKH XTI.

TUB COA.ST, AND VANCOUVER'.S I.SLAND.

On the Waters of the Paeitic. — Bute fnlet. — V'aldes Island. — Tho
Fiords of British C'olumhia. —Wuddington Harbour. — (Jlaciers.
— Chilcoten Indians. — Massacre. — Tarty X. — S.ilmon. — Arran
Rapids. Seymour Narrows. — Men/ies' Bay. — Party Y. — The
Straits of (Jeorgia. — New Settlements on Vancouver's Island.
— Nanaimo. — Coal Mines. —Concert. — Mount Baker, — Pujet
Sound. — San Juan I.slund. — The Olympian Mountains. — Vic-
toria. — K8(iuimalt Harbour. — A Polyglot City. — The Last of
Terry. -The I'acilic Ocean.— Barclay Sound. — Alberni Inlet. —
Sunset on the Pacilic. — Peturn to Victoria. — The Past, Present,
and Future. — The Home-stretch. — The (ircat American Desert 322

CHAPTER XIII.

CONCLUSION.

Crossing and recrossing the Continent. — Writers on the North-west.
—Mineral Wealth behind Lake Superior.— The " I'Vrtile-belt. "
— Our Fellow Travellers. — The "Rainbow" of the North-west.
— Peace River. — Climate compared with Ontario. — Natural
Riches of the Country. — The Russia of America. — It« Army of
Construction. — The Pioneers. — Esprit do corps. — Hardships
and Hazards. — Mournful Death-roll. — The Work of Construc-
tion. — Vast Breadth of the Dominion. — Its Varied Features. —
Its Exhaustless Resources. — Its Constitution. — Its Queen 349

APPENDIX.

Delays in Constructing Canada Pacific & Intercolonial Railways. First
Link of the Canada Pacitic. — Yellow Head Pass. — Difficulties in
the Cascade Range. — Population required for local traffic. —
Causes of delay in settling the North-west. — The grasshoppers, — .
Utilization of water stretches. — Telegraphic Communication. —
Productiveness of Manitoba in 1876. — Surveys. — Red Deer and
Bow Rivers. — Place River as seen in 1875. — Water supply. —
Tieeless areas. — Indian Question. — Mounted Police. — Treaties. —
True Indian Policy, — Indian troubles in British Columbia. —
Character of the Indians oo Pacific Slope and Coast. — Progress... 369

}

'ff

)

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE.

Sluxiting tno Rapids Ki'ontispieco.

Sault Sto. Mario (from South Side) 19

Thunder Cape, entrance to Thunder Bay 20

Buffalo Skin Lodge and Rod River Carta 123

Fort Edmonton 171

Skull of the Headless Indian 276

The Ilamathco, below the defile 329

«'

169

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

THROUGH CANADA IN 1872.

CHAPTER I.

Introductory.

Travel a thousand miles up the St. Lawrence ; another thou-
sand on great lakes and a wilderness of lakelets and streams ;
a thousand miles across prairies and up the valley of the Sas-
katchewan ; and nearly a thousand through woods and over
great ranges of mountains, and you have travelled from Ocean
to Ocean through Canada. All this country is a single Colony
of the British Empire ; and this Colony is dreaming magnificent
dreams of a future when it shall be the Greater Britain, and
the highway across which the fabrics and products of Asia
shall be carried, to the Eastern as well as to the Western sides
of the Atlantic. Mountains were once thought to be effectual
barrriers against railways, but that day has gone by ; and, now
that trains run between San Francisco and New York, over
summits of eight thousand two hundred feet, why may they not
run between Victoria and Halifax, over a height of three thou
sand seven hundred feet 1 At any rate, a Canadian Pacific
Railway has been undertaken by the Dominion ; and, as this
book consists of notes made in connection with the survey, an
introductory chapter may be given to a brief history of the pro-
ject.

For more than a quarter of a century before the Atlantic was
connected by rail with the Pacific public attention had been
frequently called, especially in the great cities of the United

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

States, to the commercial advantage and the political necessity
of such connection ; but it was not till 1853 that the Secretary
of War was authorized by the President to employ topograph-
ical engineers and others " to make explorations and surveys,
and to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a
railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean."
From that time the United States Government sent a succes-
sion of well-equipped parties to explore the western half of the
Continent. The reports and surveys of these expeditions fill
thirteen large quarto volumes, richly embellished, stored with
valuable information concerning the country, and honestly
pointing out that, west of the Mississippi Valley, there were
vast extents of desert or semi-desert, and other difficulties so
formidable as to render the construction of a railroad well nigh
impracticable. Her Majesty's Government aware of this re-
sult, and aware, also, that there was a fertile belt of undefined
size, in the same longitude as the Great American Desert, but
north of the forty -ninth degree of latitude, organized an expe-
dition, under Captain Palliser, in 1857, to explore the country
between the west of Lake Superior and the Rocky Mountains;
and also " to ascertain whether any practicable pass or passes,
available for horses, existed across the Rockv Mountains with-
in British Territory, and south of that known to exist between
Mount Brown and Mount Hooker," known as the " Boat En-
campment Pass." It was unfortunate that the limitation ex-
pressed in this last clause, was imposed on Captain Palliser,
for it prevented him from exploring to the north of Boat En-
campment, and reporting upon the Yellow Head Pass, which
has since been found so favourable for the Railway and may
soon be used as the gateway through the mountains to British
Columbia and the Pacific. The difficulties presented by passes
further south, and by the Selkirk Mountains, led Palliser to
express an opinion upon the passage across the Mountains as
hasty and inaccurate as his opinior. about the possibility of con-

olitical necessity
at the Secretary
iploy topograph-
ms and surveys,
aiical route for a
Pacific Ocean."
Lit sent a succes-
tern half of the
e expeditions fill
bed, stored with
f, and honestly
,lley, there were
ler difficulties so
ail road well nigh
I ware of this re-
belt of undefined
•ican Desert, but
.'ganized an expe-
ilore the country
.ock'<' Mountains:
le pass or passes.
Mountains with-
L to exist between
is the " Boat En-
ihe limitation ex-
Captain Palliser,
lorth of Boat En-
Head Pass, which
Railway and may
jntains to British
•esented by passes
IS, led Palliser to
the Mountains as
possibility of con-

i/3

U
H

H
>-)

{

.l.j4i:.-4^^ I*/.

■ Ii«ii I , riij

(■ /-..■, .Mi

yadi.

;il i!i - ^^.'.wmitmm, iiit»*H>».^»>

<
en

'NTRODIJCTOIJV

''■t.on had ,„ade connection b tloon '' t '>" """ '"^ -"P^'
-'" .British Columbia, withon ; 1 ':,'''^'''r-'''--n WaL
i'e.T.to.y, l,e added :-... .so,, .„„ f ''™"S'' l^n'M States

«- whole, would never leadn l ^ °" "' "'« -""■y. -
foniVon. Canada, ac-o.,.;! ^ ^i- :,"- »'' ^-".nic: '
y ti-rongh British Teniton The ," ^•■'"''''■' "^^'"^ive-

'Of effecting s„ch an object '..„d L .■ ' '''"•''^^'' «""« ^y
»»t.-ono„,ical bonndaiv 1 no h-, , ""'"'""'"to choice of an

7-' al.'0 almost deban-ed hi f"" ^'""'^^ "' "'" «««»

«.« Pacific Coast on the wes' ' t""^ T ^''""'"^ "-^ss (ron
y opinion, is thelW.e«, J , ^^'''"^^^-^'-tothissweo,..
K--!way exploratory .„„C ' ?" ""^ ^'"""^'i-" Pacific
";ons, in Ottawa, in^h sIloflTzf'' '" t'", «""^<^ "^ «<>-
of the Yellow Head Pass o" e ';. oT, ' "'""•™"'"°"-
'"Cfic are shown; and as com , lie '" "W'~<^'' *» the

l«rt is to bo found in subseou 't " ""'""''' *° *'"' ««»"<" '
' W>tain Palliser's oxplorat Ire'tl^"'" '"" J°"'™'^ "^
)-.., from ,857 to ,860, we f "i""' "^ P^™" ^^ ^o„r
Maj-ty's Oovemment in a arle bC . '" T'""" ^-^ ^^-^
f of all similar literature The ! ' "'^"■'' ^'""•«'' '^e

i.an half a dozen copies in the Do "":• '"■""""''^' "<" '"o-
%.slative Library at Ottawa 3 tL V""- ^ ™''^ "' «'« ' '
"•"t-- They deserved a better Lef t' "'" '"°"" '» "he
•^orts of his associates. Lie. t Ln Bn T """""^"^ ''"^ ">«
iiourgean and Mr. S„l ;,,„ ^TJf^'''^"' ^- Hector, M. Z
-t.ng fiiots about the soil, f/e Tor? b 7'* ""'"' '""^ ■•"'--
the plains and the n.o„;ta^Is m I """' "'" "'« «"">«'«
'»' f «- expedition. On M, s .f"''""" ""^ "^ ''"'an-

"-•--''»-~-c:;s:;;;j;,;4--

OCEAN TO OCEAN,

i- I

had the charge of making the nia[)s, both geographical and geo-
logical ; and, whenever a side journey promised any result, no
matter how arduous or dangerous it might be. Dr. Hector
was always readv. His name is still revered in our North-
west, on account of l.is medical skill and his kindness to the
Indians, and most astonishing tales are still told of his trav-
elling feats in mid-winter among the mountains.

After i)rinting Captain Palliser's journal, Her Majesty's
Grovernment took no step to connect the East of British Am-
erica with the (/cntre and the West, or to open u[) the North-
west to emigratioii, although it had been clearly established
that we had a country there, extendin<j over manv decrees of
latitude and longitude, with a climate and soil equal to that of
Ontario. In the meantime, the peojjle of the United States,
with characteristic energ}', took up the work that was too for-
midable for their government. Public-spirited men, in Sacra-
mento and other parts of California, embarked their all in a
jiroject which would make their own rich State the link between
the old farthest East and the Western World on both sides of
the Atlantic. The work was commenced on the east and west
of the Ilocky Mountains. Congress granted extraordinary
liberal subsidies in lands and money, though in a half sceptical
spirit, and as much under the influence of Rings as of patriot-
ism. When the member for California was urging the scheme
with a zeal that showed that he honestly believed in it, Mr.
Lovejoy, of Illinois, could not help interjecting, *' Does the
honourable member really mean to tell me he believes that that
road will ever be built]" " Pass the Bill, and it will be con-
structed in ten years," was the ansvrer. In much less than the
time asked for it was constructed, and it is at this day as re-
markable a monument to the energy of our neighbours as the
triumphant conclusion of their civil war, or the re-building of
Chicago. Three great ranges of mountains had to be crossed,
at altitudes of eight thousand two hundred and forty, Hexen

^•fTal'iil^

INTRODUCTORY.

and geo-
•oaiilfc, no
v. Hoctor
in* North-
ess to tho

liis tmv-

MajcKty's
itisli Ani-
lie Nortli-
.stablished
Icgrees of
to that of
C(l States,
as too for-
in Sacra-
r all in a
k Ijetween
sides of
and west
iiordinary
sceptical
pati'iot-
;; scheme
u it, Mr.
Does the
that that
be con-
5 than the
ay as re-
irs as the
lilding of
e crossed,
ty, seven

thousand one hundred and fifty, and seven thousand feet ; snow
sheds and fences to be built along exposed parts, for miles, at
enormous expense ; the work, for more than a thousand miles,
to be carried on in a desert, which yielded neither wood, water
nor food of anv kind. No wonder that the scheme was
denounced as impracticable and a swindle. But its success has
vindicated the wisdom of its projectors ; and now no fewer than
four dilFerent lines are organized to connect the Atlantic States
with the Pacific, and to divide with the Union and Central
Pacific Railways, the enormous and increasing traffic they are
carrying.

While man was thus triumphing over all the obstacles of na-
ture in the Territory of the United Staiies, how was it that
nothing was attempted farther North in British America,
where a fertile belt stretches west to the base of the Rocky
Mountains, and wliere river-passes seem to offer natural high-
ways tlu'ough the mountains to the Ocean ? The North Am-
erican Colonies were isolated from each other ; the North-west
was kept under lock and key by the Hudson Bay Company ;
and though some ambitious speeches were made, some si)irited
pamphlets written, and Bulwer Lytton, in introducing the Bill
for the formation of Britisli Columbia as a Province, saw, in
vision, a line of loyal Provinces, from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, the time had not come for a consummation so devoutly
to be wishe.l. Had the old political state of things continued
in British America, nothing would have been done to this day.
But, in 18G7, the separate Colonies of Canada, New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia, became the Dominion of Canada ; in 1869
the Hudson Bay C-ompany's rights to the North-west were
bought up ; and, in 1871, British Columbia united itself to the
new Dominion ; and thus the whole mainland of British Am-
erica became one political State under the ajgis of the Empire.
One of the terms on which British Columbia joined the Domin-
ion was, that a railway should be constructed within ten years

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

from the Pacific to a point of junction with tlio existing railway
systems in tlie Provinces of (Jntario a:ul Quebec, and surveys
with this object in view were at once instituted.

Wliat did tliis preparatory survey-work in our case mean 1
It meant that we must do, in one or two years, what had been
done in the United States in fifty. To us the ground was all
new. Few of our public men had ever looked much beyond
the confinfis of tlieir particular Provinces ; our North-west, in
some parts of it, was less an unknown land to the people of the
States along the boundary line than to the people of the
Dominion ; and, in other parts, it was unknown to the whole
world. No white man is known to have crossed from the
Upper Ottawa to l^ake Superior or Lake Winnipeg.. There
were maps of the country, dotted with lakes and lacustrine
rivers here and there ; but these had been made up largely from
sketches, on bits of birch-bark or paper, and he verbal descrip-
tions of Indians, and the Indian has little or no conception of
scale or bearings. In drawing the picture of a lake, for in-
stance, when his sheet of paper was too narrow, he would
without warning, continue the lake up or down the side, and
naturally an erroneous idea of the surface of the country was
given. A lake was set down right in the path of what otherwise
was an eligible line, and, after great expense had been incurred,
it was found that there was no lake within thirty miles of the
poiiic. In a word, the country between Old Canada and lied
River was utterly unknown, except along the canoe routes
travelled by the Hudson Bay men north-west of Lake Superior.
Not many years since, a lecturer had to inform a Toronto
audience that he had discovered a great lake, called Nepigon, a
few miles to the north of Lake Superior. When so little was
known, the task was no light one. Engineers were sent out
into trackless, inhospitable regions, obliged to carry their pro-
visions on their backs over swamps, rocks, and barriers, of all
kinds, when the Indians failed them ; with instructions simply

,\ :

INTRODUCTORY.

to do their best to find out all they could, in as short a time as
possible.

Far different was it with our neighbours. They could afford
to spend, and they did spend, half a century on the preparatory
work. Their special surveys were aided and supplemented by
reports and maps extending back over a long course of years,
drawn up, as part of their duty, by the highly educated otHcers
of their regular army stationed at different posts in their
Territories. These reports, as well as the un'^+lficial narratives
of missionaries, hunters, and traders, were studied, both before
and after being pigeon-holed in Washington. The whole coun-
try had thus been gradually examined from every possible
point of view ; and, among other things, this thorough know-
ledge explains the success of the United States' Government in
all its treaty-making with Great ]3ritain, n^hen territcn'y was
concerned. The history of every such treaty between the two
Powers is the histo.'v of a contest between knowledge and
ignorance. The one Power always knew what it wanted. It
therefore presented, from the first step in the negotiation to
the last, a firm and a))parently consistent front. The other
had only a dim notion that right was on its side, and a notion,
equally dim, that the object in dispute was not worth contend-
ing for.

Was it wise, then, for the Dominion to undertake so gigantic
a public work at so early a stage in its history l It was wise,
because it was necessary. By uniting together, the British
Provinces had declared that their destiny was — not to ripen
and drop, one by one, into the arms of the Republic — but to
work out their own futuro as an integral and important part of
the grandest Empire in the world. They had reason for mak-
ing such an election. They believed that it was better for
themselves and for their neighbours ; better for the cause of
human liberty and true progress, that it should be so. But it
is not necessary to discuss the reasons. No outside power has

■4_k-

I I.

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

a right to pronounce \ipon them. The fact ih enough, that, on
this central point, the mind of IJritish America, from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, is fixed. But, to be united politically
and disunited phyHically, as the different parts of Prussia were
for many a long year, is an anomaly only to be endured so long
as it can not be helped ; and when, as in our case, the remedy
is in our own hands, it is wise to secure the material union as
soon as possible.

On the twentieth of July, 1871, British Columbia entered
the Dominion. On the same day surveying parties left Victo-
ria for various points of the Rocky Mountains, and from the
Ul)per (Ottawa westward, and all along the line surveys were
commenced. Their reports were laid before the Canadian
Flouse of Commons in April, 1872. In the summer of the same
year, Ifsandford Fleming, the Engineer in Chief, considered it
necessary to travel overland, to see the main features of the
country with his own eyes, and the writer of these pages ac-
companied him, as Secretary. The expedition started from
Toronto on July 16th, and on October 14th, it left Victoria,
Vancouver's Island, on the home stretch. During those three
months a diary was kept of the chief things we saw or heard,
and of tlie impressions which we formed respecting the coun-
try, as we journeyed from day to day and conversed with each
other on the subject. Our notes are presented to the public,
and are given almost as they were written so that others might
see, as far as possible, a photograph of what we saw and thought
from day to day. A more readable book could have been made
by omitting some things, colouring others, and grouping the
whole ; but the object was not to make a book. The expedi-
tion had special services to perform in connection with one of
the most gigantic public works ever undertaken in any country
by any people ; it was organized and conducted in a business-
like way, in order to get through without disaster or serious
difficulty ; it did not turn aside in search of adventures or of

INTRODUCTOrJY.

that, on
*om tlie
litically
jia were
so long
remedy
inion as

sport ; and therefore an exciting narrative of hair-breadth
escapes and thrilling descriptions of " men whose Iieadsdo ^row
benoatli thoii shoulder:} " need scarcely be expected.

entered

t Victo-

rom the

)'s were

anadian

he same

dered it

of the

ages ac-

ed from

ictoria,

ie three

heard,

e coun-

th eacli

public,

might

lought

a made

ing the

Bxpedi-

one of

ountry

siness-

Eerious

or of

CHAPTKR IT.

From lhiVif(i,K\ Xora Srot'nt, fn Thiiiuh'r Ihtji^ Luke Sappi'ior.

II:ilifii\. -IntvrculoMiiil Itnihvny. .Mdiiclon. — Miraiiiiclii. — MostiH:iiuchc.- MiUa|K<iUH. ■
(^iiolic . Muiitrt'iil. TDniiitii. CulliiiK-wootl. A Mivii Overboard. Owoii Su\uul.- -
StoiinuT /•'/■rt/iri'N iV»/ii7/(. — Delii.VH. Kllliirm-.v. Iiidiiuis. Hnn-u Miiios Suiilt Kt<'.
Miirit". Liiko Sii|iL'ri(ir. S>iMHct. Kiill Mikui, llarhoiircif (iiirn:iiiiliiii. Tlio lll'itiui-
int. — .Miclii|)iri>toii ImIiuuI. Nc|ii>^<iii IJiiy.— Onnul Six-iifiy Sumlu.v uii lloiird—
8ilvor iHlut. I'riiK'o Artliur's Laiuliiij,'.

iKt.July, 1872. — To-(liiy, tlircHs tVioiids iinst in Halifax, ami
agreed to traviil togetlier tlirou/^h the Doiniiiioii IVoin the Atlan-
tic to the Pacitic. All three hatl personal andbusiness mattei's
to ari'ange, recjuii'ing thetn to \oa\v. on different days, and reach
the Upper Province's by different routes. In these circnnT
stances it Wiis decided that Toronto should be the point of ren-
dezvous for the main journey to the Far West, and that the
day of mectini^ should be the loth of July. One proposed to
take the steamer from Halifax to Portland, and go thence by
the Grand 'J'runk Railway via Montreal ; another, to sail np
the Gulf of St. Lawrence from Pictou to Quebec ; and it was
the duty of the third — the chief of the party — to travel along
the line of the Intercolonial llailway. This narrative follows
the footstens of tluj Chief, when more than one path is taken,
lint, thoUj^n it was his duty to make a professional examination
of all the engineering works in [)rogress on the Intercolonial, —
the Eastern link of that great arterial highway which is to con-
nect, entirely through Canadian Territory, a Canadian Atlantic
port with a Canadian Pacific port, — the reader would scarcely
be interested in ari account of the culverts and bridges, built and
building, the comparative meiits of wooden and iron work, the
pile driving, the dredging, the excavating, the banking and

)

;

along

II AM FAX TO THUNDKll BAY.

blasting by over 10,000 workmen, Kcattored along 500 milcH of
road. The Iiitorcolonlal links, witli railH of Hteel. tho Pro-
vinces of Nova Scotia and New llniriswick with tlm l*rovinco
of Qiieboc ; tin* (irand Trunk unites (^>urboc and Ontario ; and
the Canadian racific ivailway is to connect tho latter with
Manitoba and Uritish Colinubia, as well aH with the varions
unborn Provinces which, in tho rajiid [)rogrcss of ovents. shall
spring uj) in tho intervening region. I hit th(! work of actual
railway construction is an old story ; and, if told at all, must
be served uj) at some other time in soukj other way. It has
now been told by Sandford Fleming, tho Kngine(!r-in chief, in
an interesting ami well written volume, *' Tlu^ Intercolonial ; a
Historical Sketch of tho fnception, I<ocation, Construction, and
Completion of the Line of Railway uniting the Liland and
Atlantic Provinces of the /dominion." Tho object of the pro-
sent narrative is to give an account of what was observed and
experienced in out-of-the-way places, over a vast extent of
Canada little known even to ( 'anadians. It will be sulhcient
for our purpose, theiofore, to begin at T\jronto, pa.ssing over all
that may at any time bo seen on tho line from Halifax to Truro,
and northerly across the C.^obequid ^Fountains to jNIoncton.
From Moncton, westward, there is much along the lino worthy
of description ; — the deep forests of New Brunswick, the noble
Miramichi river with its Railway bridging on a somewhat
gigantic scale, the magnificent highland scenery of the Baie
des Chaleurs, the Restigouche, and the wild mountain gorges of
the Matapodia. But, without delaying even to catch a forty or
fifty pound salmon in the Restigouche, we hasten on with the
Chief UJ) the shores of the great TSt. Lawrence. Passing the
cliffs of historic Quebec, wo cross the broad St. Lawrence by
that magnificent monument of early C?anadian enterprise and
triumph of engineering skill, the Victoria Bridge. Two days
are necessarily spent at Ottawa in making final arrangements,
and Toronto is reached at the time appointed for the rendezvous.

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

July 15th. — To-day, the various members of the overland
expedition met at the Queen's Hotel, the Chief, the Adjutant
General, the boys Frank and Hugh, the Doctor and the Secre-
tary, and arranged to leave by the first train to-morrow mo? n-
ing. On the Chief devolved all the labour of preparation. The
rest of us had little to do except to get ourselves photographed
in travelling costume.

July 16th. — Took train for Collingwood, which is about a
hundred miles due north from Toronto. The first half of tiie jour-
ney, or as far as Lake Siracoe, is through a fjiir and fertile land ;
too flat to bo picturesque, but sufKciently rolling for farming
purposes. Clumps of stately elms, with noble stems, shooting
high before their fan shape commences, relieve the monotony
of the scene. Here and there a field, dotted with huge pine
stumps, shows the character of the old crop. The forty or fifty
miles nearest Georgian Bay have been settled more recently,
but give as good promise to the settlers. Collingwood is an
instance of what a railway terminus does for a place. Before
the Northern Railway was built, an unbroken forest occupied
its site, and the red dear came down through the woods to drink
at the shore. Now, there is a thriving town of two or three
thousand people, with steam saw-mills, and huge rafts from the
North that almost till up its little harbour, with a grain eleva-
tor which lifts out of steam barges the corn from Chicago?
weighs it, and pours it into railway freight- waggons to be hurri-
ed down to Toronto, and there turned into bread or whiskey,
without a hand touching it in all its transportations or trans-
formations. Around the town the country is being opened up,
and the forest is gi^ ing way to pasture and corn-fields. West
of the town is a range of hills, about one thousand feet high?
originally thickly wooded to their summits, but now seamed
with roads and interspersed with clearings. Probably none of
us would have noticed them, though their beauty is enough to
attract passing attention, had they not been pointed out as the
highest mountains in the great Province of Ontario !

1 .\

Dverland
Adjutant
le Secre-
w mo? n-
n. The
graplied

about a
Lhejour-
le land ;
farming
(hooting
onotony
ge pine
or fifty
ocently,
d is an

Before
ecu pied
;o drink
r three
om the
1 eleva-
!hicago>
i hurri-
hiskey,

trans-
led uj),

West
t high?
seamed
lone of
ugli to
as the

HALIFAX TO THUNDER BAY

We reached Collingwood at midday, and were informed that
the steamer Frances Smith would start for Fort William, at
two P.M. Great was the bustle, accordingly, in getting the
baggage on board. In the hurry, the gangway was shoved out
of its place, and when one of the porters rushed on it with a
box, down it tilted, pitching him head first into the water be-
tween the pier and the steamer. We heard the splash, and ran,
with half a dozen others, just in time to see his boots kicking

frantically as they disappeared. " Oh it's that fool S ,"

laughed a bystander, "this is the second time he's tumbled in."
" He can't swim," yelled two or three, clutching at ropes that
were tied, trunks and other impossible life-preservers. In the

meantime >S rose, but, in rising, struck his head against a

heavy float that almost filled the narrow space, and at once sank
again, like a stone. He would have been drowned within six
feet of the wharf, but for a tall, strong fellow, who rushed
through the crowd, jumped, in, and caught him as he rose a

second time. S , like the fool he was said to be, returned

the kindness by half throttling his would-be deliverer ; but
other bystanders, springing on the float, got the two out. The
rescuer swung lightly on to the wharf, shook himself as if he
had been a Newfoundland dog, and walked off; nobody seemed
to notice him or to think that he deserved a word of praise. On
inquiring, we learned that he was a fisherman by name Alick
Clark, on his way to the Upper Lakes, who, last summer also
had jumped from the steamer's deck into Lake Superior, to save
a child that had fallen overboard. Knowing that (Janada had
no Humane Society's medal to bestow, one of our party ran to
thank him and quietly to offer a slight gratuity; but the plucky
fellow refused to take anything, on the plea that he was a good
swimmer and that his clothes hadn't been hurt.

At two o'clock, it being officially announced that the steamer
would not start until six, we strolled up to the town to buy
suits of duck, which were said to bo the only sure defence

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

ll.W

against mosquitoes of portentous size and power beyond Fort
William. Meeting the Eector or Rural Dean, our Chief, learn-
ing that he was to be a fellow-passenger, introduced the Doctor
to him. The Doctor has not usually a positively funereal aspect,
but the Hector assumed that he was the clergyman of the party
and a D.D., and cottoned to him at once. When we returned
to the steamer, and gathered round the tea table the Rector
nodded signiticantly in his direction : he, in dumb show, de-
clined the honor ; the Rector pantomimed again, and with more
decision of manner ; the Doctor blushed furiously, and looked
so very much as if an " aith would relieve him," that the Chief,
in compassion, passed round the cold beef without a grace. We
were very angry with him, as the wJiole party doubtless suffer-
ed in the Rector's estimation through his lack of resources.
The Doctor, however, was sensitive on the subject and threaten-
ed the secretary with a deprivation of sundry medical comforts,
if he did not in future attend to his own work.

At six o'clock it was officially announced that the steamer
would not start till midnight.

July 17th. — The Frances Smith left CoUingwood at 5.30
A.M. " We're all right now," exclaimed Hugh, and so the
passengers thought, but they counted without their host. We
steamed slowly round the Peninsula to Owen Sound, reaching
it about eleven o'clock.

Leith, a port six miles from Owen Sound, was reached at 6.30,
and we walked round the beach and had a swim, while two or
three men set to work leisurely to carry on board a few sticks
of wood from eight or ten cords piled on the wharf. Half a
dozen of the passengers volunteered help, and the Royal Mail
steamer got off tAvo hours after midnight.

An inauspicious beginning to our journey. Aided all the
way by steam, we were not much more than one hundred miles
in a direct line ft-om Toronto, forty-four hours after starting.
At this rate, when would we reach the R ocky Mountains 'I To

-' : »

HALIFAX TO THUNDER BAY.

nd Fort
f, leiirn-

Doctor

aspect,
le party
oturiied

Rector
low, de-
ith more

looked
e Chief,
;e. We
IS sufFer-
3S0urces.
lireateii-
oniforts,

steamer

at 5.30
so the
We
caching

at 6.30,
two or

7 sticks
Half a
1 Mail

all the
1 miles
arting.
'? To

make matters worse, the subordinatos seemed also to have
learned the trick of how not to do it. Seemingly the Frances
Smith wanted a liead, and, as the Scotch old maid lamented,
" its an unco' thing to gang through the warld withcot a heid."

June I8t^'. — To-day, our course was northerly through the
Georgian Bay towards the Great Manitoulin Island. This is-
land and some smaller ones strc tching in an almost continuous
line westward, in the direction of Lake Superior, form in con-
nection with the Saugeen Peninsula, the barrier of land that
separates the Georgian Bay from the mighty Tiake Huron.
These two great inland waters were one, long ago, when the
earth was younger, but the waters subsided, or Peninsula and
Islands rose, and the one sea became two. Successive terraces
on both sides of Owen Sound and on the different islands showed
the old lake beaches, each now fringed with a firmer, darker
escarpment than the stony or sandy fiats beneath, and marked
the different levels to which the waters had gradually subsided.

The day passed pleasantly, for, as progress was being made
in the right direction, all the passengers willingly enjoyed
themselves, while on the two })revious days they had only en-
joyed the Briton's privilege of grumbling. Crossing the calm
breadth of the bay, past Lonely Island, we soon entered the
Strait that extends for fifty miles between the Xorth shore and
Manitoulin. The contrast between the soft, rounded outlines
of the lower Silurian of Manitoulin, and rugged Laurentian
hills with their contorted sides and scarred foreheads on the
mainland opposite, was striking enough to justify the declara-
tion of a romantic fellow-j^assenger, *' Why, there's quite a
scenery here !" The entrance to the Strait has been called
Killarney, according to our custom of discarding musical ex-
pressive Indian names for ridiculously inappropriate European
ones. Killarney is a little Indian settlement, with one or two
Irish families to whom the place appears to owe very little
more than its name. 0\\ the wharf is an uushingled shanty or

OCEAN TO OCKAN,

the store, the entrepot for dry goods, hardware, groceries,
Indian work and everything else that the heart of man in
Killarney can desire.

The Indians i>ossessed, until lately, the whole of the Island
of Manitoulin as well as the adjoining Peninsula ; but, at a
grand poiv wow held with their chiefs by Sir Edmund Head
while he was Governor of Old Canada, it was agreed that they
should, for certain annuities and other considerations, surrender
all except tracts specially reserved for their permanent use.
Some two thousand are settled around those shores. They arc
of the great Ojibbeway or Chippewa nation, — the nation that
extends from the St. Lawrence to the Red River, where sec-
tions of them are called Salteaux and other names. \f est from
the Red River to the Rocky Mountains, extend the next great
nation of the Algonquin family, — the Crees. The languages of
these two nations are so much alike, that Indians of the one
nation can understand much of the s})eech of the other. The
structure is simple, there being about a hundred and fifty
monosyllabic radical roots, the greater number of v/hich are
common to Ojibbeway and Cree, and on these roots the lan-
guage has grown up. Most of the Ojibbeways on Manitoulin
are Christianized. At one point on the Island, where the
steamer called, we met Mr. Hurlburt, a Methodist Missionary —
a thoughtful, scholarly man — who has prepared, with infinite
pains, a grammar of the language, and who gave us much in-
teresting information. He honestly confessed that there was
little if any difi*erence in morals between the Christianized
Indians around him and the two or three hundred who remain
pagan; that, in fact, the pagans considered themselves superior,
and made the immorality of their Christian countrymen their
great plea against changing from the old religion.

July 19th. — This morning we entered a beautiful island-
studded bay, on the north shore of which is the settlement
round the Bruce and Wellington Copper Mines. The mines

•ocenes,
man in

Island
lit, at a
X Head
lat they
irrender
eat use.
Chey arc
ion that
lere sec-
'est from
3xt great
linages of
' the one
|er. The
nd fifty
hich are
the Ian-
mitoulin
ere the
onary —
infinite
uch in-
ere was
tianized
remain
superior,
jn their

island-

btlement

mines

^ p

. (

ItAMFAX TO TIUJNDKIJ I'.AY.

:\^

have hcv.n vory jnoductive, and give omployincut now to thipo
or four hundred men and boys, Avhoso l)ahitati()ns aio, as is
usually the case at mines, more shantii^s. One, a little larger
than tlu; otliors, in which the (laffer lives, is digiiiliod with th(^
title of '* Apsley House." From IIk; Uruce Mijies we sailed
westerly through a chaiiuc! almost as beautiful as where; tiie St.
Ijtnvrenoe runs through tli!> tiiousand islands. A silver streak
of sea, glittering in the warm sun, fdled with rounded islets of
old Huronian rock, that slo})ed gently into the water at one
point, or more abruptly at smother, and offered every variety
and convenience; that the heart of bather could desiie; low,
rugged, pine clad shores ; soft bays, hero and there, with r.andy
beeches; all that is retjuired to make; the; sciie one of perfect
beauty is a back-ground of high hills. Kverywlicre through
Ontario we miss the mountain forms, without which all scenery
is tame in the eyes of those who have once learned to see the
perpetual beauty that clothes the oveu'lasting hills.

St. Joseph, Sugar, and Neebish Tslands, now take tlie place
of ]\ranitoulin ; then we come to the Ste. AEarie River, which
leads u}) to Lake Superior, au<l forms the boundary line between
the Dominion and the Uniti^l States. At the Sault, or ra[)ids
of the river, there is a village on each side ; but as the canal is
on the United States side, the steamer crosses to .w throudi it
to the great Lake. Tin; canal has two locks, each three hun-
dred and fifty feet lung, seventy feet wide, twelve deep, and
with a lift of nine feet. It is well and solidly built. The
Federal Government has commcsnced the excavations for the
channel of another. Though the necessity for two canals on
the same side is not very apparent, still the United States Gov-
ernment, with its usual forethought, sees that the time will
soon come when they shall l)e needed. The commerce on Lake
Superior is increasing every year ; and it is desirable to have a
canal large enough for men-of-war and the largest steamers.
We walked along the bank and found, among the men engaged on

OCKAN TO or KAN.

the work, two or tlinxi ludiaiiH handling pick jind shovel as if
to the manner born, and probably earning the ordinary wages
of $'2.2^^ per day. 'i'h(^ rock is a loose and friable calciferous
sandstone, reddish colored, easily excavated. Hence the reason
why the Sanlt Ste. Marie, instead of being a leap, flows down
its eighteen i'eet of descent in a continuous rapid, wonderfully
little broktMi except over loose boulders. The water is wearing
away the rock every year. As it would be much easier to make
a. canal on the British side of the river, on(^ ought to be com-
menced withou delay. The most ordinary self-respect forbids
that the entrance to our North-west should bo wholly in the
hands of another J'ower, a Power that, during the Kiel distur-
bances at lied Kivoi-, shut the entrance against even our mer-
chant shi})s. In travelling from Ocean to Ocean through the
Dominion, four thousand miles were all our own. Across this
one mile, lialf-wuy on the great journey, every Canadian must
pass on sntt'erance. The cost of a canal on oiir side is estimated
by the Canal Commissioners, in a blue-book, dated February
2nd, 1871, at only .^550,000. Such a canal, and a Railway
from Nipigon, or Thunder Bay to Fort Garry, would give im-
mediate and direct steam comnumication to our North West
within our own territory.

At the western terminus of the canal, the Ste. Marie River
is again entered. Keeping to the north, or l^ritish side, we
come to the Point aux Pins, covered with the scrub pine {Finns
Banksiana) which extends away to the north from this latitude.
Roundinof the Point aux Pins, the river is two or three miles
wide ; and, a few miles further west, Cajjes Gros and Iroquois
tower up on each side. These bold warders, called by Agassiz
" the portals of Lake Superior," are over a thousand feet high ;
and rugged, primeval Laurentian ranges stretch away from
them as far back as the eye can reach. The sun is setting when
we enter the portals, and the scene is well worthy the approach
to the grandest lake on the globe. Overhead the sky is clear

V-.^.

cl U8 if
y wages
ciferous
3 reason
/H down
dcrfully
wearing
to make
be com-
, forbids
y in the
3I distur-
our mer-
augh the
•ross this
ian nuiat
estimated
Febrnary
Railway
jrive im-
ith West

ie River

side, we

le {Pinus

latitude.

iree miles

Iroquois

Agassiz
pet high ;

ay from
ing when

ipproach
is clear

HAUFAM 10 TlirXDEll RAV

and blue, but t]i(5 sun lias just emerged front liugc; clou ^.s which
are emptyin.'; tlicir buckets in the west. Immediately around is
a placid sea, with lialf a dozen steamers and thre«vmasted
schooners at dilferent points. And now i]\v clouds massed to-
* getlier rusli to meet us, as if in response to our rapid movement
towiii-ds tliem, and enve]o[)e us in a S([uall and liej-ce di-iving
rain, through whidi we se(! tlu; sun sc'tting, and lighting up
now with deep yellow and then witii eiimson glory tlu^ f>"ig-
ments of clouds left behind by the heavy columns, in ten
minutes the storm |)asscs o\er us to tlie east, our sky clears as
if by mngie, and wind and r.iin are at ai\ end. The sun sets, as
if sinking into an ocean ; at tlu; same moment the full moon
rises beliind us. nnd un<1ei- licr mellow liglit Liiko Superior is
entered.

Those who have never seen Superior get an inadequate, even
inaccurate idea, by hearing it spoken of as a * lake,' and to
those who have sailed over its vast extent th(^ word sounds
ludicrous. Though its water are fresh and crystal, Superior is
a sea. It breeds storms and rain and fogs, like the sea. It is
cold in mid-summer as the Atlantic. It is wild, masterful, and
dreaded as the Ulack Sea.

July 20th. — Sailed all night along the X. E. coast of the
great Lake, and in the morning, entered the land-locked harbour
of Gargantua.

Two or three days previously the Chief had noticed, among
the passengers, a gentleman out for his holidays on a botanical
excursion to Thunder Bay, and, won by his enthusiasm, had
engaged him to accompany the expedition. At whatever point
the steamer touched, the first man on shore was the Botanist,
scrambling over the rocks or diving into the woods, vasculum
in hand, stuffing it full of mosses, ferns, lichens, liverworts,
sedges, grasses and flowers, till recalled by the whistle that the
captain always obligingly sounded for him. Of course such an
enthusiast became known to all on board, especially to the

(K:KAN to (W'KAN,

I i

•i :

Hiiiloi's, wlio (l('sii;niit(Ml liiin ms • lIm' iiimu fliiil leathers j,'f)isH' or,
inoro ln'iolly, MIk^ litiy picker' or ' li.iyniiikcr.' TJiey regainlfd
liiiii, 1)('(;!UIH(H)|' his sciontitic riiiliii!;, with tlw i'OS|i(!ctfiil toleniiu'o
witli \vlii<'li fools ill I lie Miist ;ii(^ icLfjirdcd, jind would wait Jiii
oxti'ji iiiiiiiitc I'oi'liiin or liclp liiin on Uojinl, if ilu^ stcaiiicr woio,
cii.st looso IVoni tlie pier Itoforc he couhl sci'iiiiiblo up tlie side.

'IMiis luoiTiiiiLf th(! lii'st object iluii mot oui* cy(s, ou looking
out of the window of tlie state-rooin, was our Hotanist. on tlui
liighcst peak of the rugged hills that enclose the harl)Our of
Uargantua. Winv was pi-oof that we too Jiad time to go ashore,
and most of us huri-ied oil' for a rand)le along the beach, or for
a swim, oi- to climb one of the wooded rocky heights. Kvery
day sinct! leaving Toronto we had enjoyed oui- di[».

Half a do/(!n llshermen, Alick (Mark among them, had come
from C'ollingwood to fish in Superior for white-fish and salmon-
trout, and liaAing fixed on (largantua for summer liead-ipiarters,
they w(^r(! now getting out their luggage, nets, salt, barrels,
boats, i^c. We went ashore in one of their l)oats, and could
not help congratulating them hear lly on the beauty of the site
they had chosen. The harbour is a perfect oblong, land-locked
by hills three or four hundred feet high on every side except
the entrance and the upper end, wlun-e a beautiful beach slo[)ef
gradually back into a level of considerable extent. The beach
was covered witli the maritime vetch or wild pea in flower, and
beach grasses of various kinds. Our Botanist was in raptures
over sundry rare mosses, and beautiful specimens of Aspidium
fragrans, Woodsia hypeiborea, Cystopteris montana, and other
rare ferns, that he had gathered. The view from the summit
away to the north, he dfjscribed as a sea of rugged Laurcntian
hills covered with thick woods.

From Gargantua we steered direct for Michipicoten Island.
In the cozy harbour of this Island, the >S'. S. Manitoba lay
beached, having run agroui^d two or three days before, and a
little lug was doing its best to haul lier off the rock or out of

isH or,

vait iiii
['V woio
side,
looking
, on tlic
•bour of
asliorc,
I, or fov

jid cojuo
salmon-
[VI arte r«,
I barrels,
id could
lie site
-locked
except
sloped
e beach
v^er, and
iptures
pidium
d olhei-
summit
rentian

Island.
oba lay
, and a
out of

IIAIJKAX TO I'lllNDKK i;AV.

»7

tlio nnid. Kor tltr('(! Iiouis tin; Fiiiiti-r.< Shnth added In r rllbits
(o tliosc (»f tli»5 tu«(, but \vitli(Hit success, and bad to jj;ivo it up,
and leave her consort stranded. In the nieantiiiie some of tho
pass(!ngers went oil witli tlie llotanist to collect ferns and
mosses. I!*' led tlicui a rare cliase over rocks and tlu'ou;^li
woo«ls, being al\va\.-s on the looV out for tl)e places that piomised
the rarest kinds, <[iiitr indifrcrent to the toil or danger.
Scrambling, pulling, rubbing their sliins against the rocks, and
half bi"»!akintf their necks, they toiled painfullv after him, onlv
to Hud him on his knees before something of beauty that seem-
ed to th(>m litth; different from what tliey had passed by with
indiiference thousands of times. lUit if tliey could not l.ioiuistly
admire the moss, or bi']iev(^ that it was woi-tli going though so
much to get so little, they admired tju; enthusiasm, and it
proved so infectuous that, before^ many days, abnost every one
of the passeng<u's was bitten with • the grass mania,' or * hay-
fever,' and had Ix^gun to form collections.

July 21st. — Sunday morning dawned calm and clear. The
Rural Dean read a short service and preached. x\fter dinner
we entered Nepigon i»ay, probably the largest and safest, and
certainly the most beautiful, harbour on T.ake Superior. It is
-filiut ort' from the Lake bv half a dozen islands, of which the
largest is St. Ignace, — that seem to have been set on purpose to
act as break-waters against the mighty waves of the Lake, and
form a safe harbour ; while, inside, other islands are here and
there, as if for defence or to break the force of the waves of the
Bay itself; for it is a stretch of more than thirty miles from
the entrance to the point where Nepigon lliver discharges into
the Bay, in a fast flowing current, the waters of Nepigon Lake
which lies forty miles to the north. The counj^between the
Bay and the Lake having been found extremely unfavourable
for railway construction, it will probably be necessary to carry
the Canadian Pacific liailwav farther inland, but there must be
a branch line to Nepigon l>ay, which will (hen be the summer

iBMiiiW

OL'KAN TU ncKAN.

tenninuH for tho trallio from th(3 Wost, (unless Tliun<lor Way ^ots
the start of it) just ns Duluth is tljo terminus of the Northern
Piieitic.

Tin? scenery of Xe|)i;;i)u IWiy is of the ^'riuwK'st (h'scription.
There is nothing' like it elsewhere in Cnturio. Knteriui,' from
tho east we pass up a hroad straif, an<l can soon take our choice
of (lee[) and eapiirii)us channels, foruKsd l>y the KoM ridj^es of
tho islands that stud the Ihiy. I Mulls, froui three hundrcMl to
one thousan<l fe<!t lii,i;h, rise up from the waters, some of tluiui
hare froui lake; to summit, others ela 1 with m'raceful balsams.
On the mainland, slopin^^' and broken hills stietch far away, and
the deep shadows that rest on them hriiii,' out the most distant
in clear and full ndief. TImj time will come when the wealthy
men of our f(re;it North-west will have their summer residences
on these hills and shores ; nor could the lieart of man desire
more lovely sites. At the river is an old Hudson Hay station,
and the head-(piarters of several surveying parti(>s for the Can-
adian Pacific Railway. The Chief therefore has business liere,
and the Doctor also linds some ready to his han(\, for one of the
engineers in chai'ge is seriously ill ; but the captain can spare
only an hour, as he wishes to be out of tho l»ay by the western
channel, which is much narrower than the eastern, before
dark. We leave at 5. IK), and are in Lake Superior again at
8.30. The passengers being anxious for an evening service, tho
ca})tain and the Rural Dean re([ueste(i our secretary to conduct
it. He consented, and used, on the occasion, a form compiled
last year s})ecially for surveying parties. The scene wasunusul
and, perhaps, therefore all the more impressive. Our Secretary,
di'essed in grey homespun, read a service compiled by clergy-
men of the Uigu'ches of Rome, England, and Scotland ; no one
could tell wnicli part of it was Roman, which Anglican,
or which Scottish, and yet it was all Christian. The responses
were led by the Dean and the Doctor, and joined in heartily by
Ivonuinists, Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists and Presbyter.

ay KetH
M'tlioni

I iption.
i[f t Vol II

ilj'CS of

\vva\ to
if llicm
iilsiiins.
iiv, and
flistiiut
yoiiltliy
lidencos
I ilesiro
stiitiou,
lio Ciiii-
iS lioio,
of the
spare
esteni
before
liu at
ice, the
oiidiict
in piled
unusul
etary,
clergy-
no one
[jlican,
)onses
tily by
bvter.

HALIKAX TO TUl'NDKK MAY.

iauH. Tlio liyinns were, *'Kock of AcrcH " and " Mun of my Houl ;"
these, with the ^Ulloria pKfrt," were accompanied on a piano
by a youiig hidy who had acted for years as the leachir of a choir
in an Kpisi^opal Chapel, and she was supported ri^ht and left by
a Presbyterian and a l^aptist. The sermon was sliort, but, ac-
cording to the Doctor, woiiM ** have been better, if it had been
shorter ;" but all liuteneil attentively. The effect of tiie whole
was excellent ; when the service was over, many remained in
the saloon to sing, converse, or join in sacicnl music, and th<'
evening ])assed deligiitfully away. Tho. ice was brok<Mi ; ladies
and gentlemen, who had kept aloof all the week, addressed each
other freely, without waiting to be introduced, and all began
now to express sorrow that they were to |)art so soon, ft was
near the " wee sma* hour " l)efore the pleasant groups in the
saloon separated for the night.

At one A. M., wo arrived at Silver Island, — a little bit of
rock in a liay studded with islets. The most wondtM-ful vein
of silver in the world has been struck here. Last year, thirty
men took out from it $1,200,000; and competent judges say
that the mine is worth j)erhaps hundreds of milions. The
original $50 shares sell for $25,000. The company that works
it is chiefly a New York one, though it was held originally by
Montreal men, and was offered for sale in London for a trifle.
8uch a marvellous find as this has stimulated search in every
other direction around Lake Superior. Other veins have been
discovered, some of them paying well, and, of course, the pro-
bability is that there are many more undiscovered ; for not one
hundredth part of the mineral region of Lake Superior has been
examined vet, and it would be strange indeed if all the
minerals had been stumbled on at the outset. Those rocky
shores may turn out to be the richest part of the whole
Dominion.

The steamer arrived at Thunder l*ay early in the morning,
and so ended the first half of our journey from Toronto to P^ort

''"vmi I »

00 KAN TO OOEAX.

(rarry ; by rail ninoty-tbur inilos, hy steamboat five hundred
and thirty miles. The second half was to be by waggons and
canoes ; — waggons at the beginning and end ; and, in the
middle, canoes p.'iddled by Indians or tugged by steam hiunches
over a chain of lakes, extending like a net work in all direc-
tions along the watershed that sei)arates tlie basin of the great
Lakes and St. Lawrence from tlic vast Northein basin of Hud-
son's Bav. The unnecessary dclavs of the Franco' Smith on
this first part of our journey liad been provoking ; but the real
amari aliqidd was the Sault Ste. Marie Canal. The United
States own the southern shores of Superior, and have therefore
only done theii- duty in constructing a canal on their side of the
Ste. Marie River. The Dominion not only owns the northern
shores, but the easier access to its great North-west is by this
route ; a canal on its side is thus doubly necessary. The east-
ern key to t\v -thirds of the Dominion is meanv/hile in the
hands of another power ; and yet, if there ought to be only one
gateway into Lake Superior, nature has declared that it should
be on our side. So long ago as the end of the last century, a
rude canal, capable of floating large loaded canoes without
breaking bulk, existed on our side of the river.* The report
of a N. W. Navigation Comi)any in 1858 gives the length of a
ship canal around the Ste. Marie rapids on the Canadian side
as only 838 yards, while on the 0})posite side the length is a
mile and one-seventh. In the interests of peace and commerce,
because it would be a convenience to trade now, and may be
ere long an absolute national necessity, let us have our own
roadway across that short half mile. Canada can already boast
of the fiiiest ship canal system in the world ; this trifling addi-
tion would be the crowning wo)k, and complete her inland
water communication from the Ocean, westerly, across thirty
degrees of longitude to the far end of Lake Su[)erior.

{*) May :50th (1800), Friday, Sault Ste. Marie. Here the North- West Company have
another eslablisliiuoiit on the North side of tlie Rapid. " * ' Here tiie North -West
Conii)any have built locks, in order to take up loaded eanocs, that they may not be
under the neeessity of earryinn' them h\ land, to the liead of the Hapid, for the eurrent
» too strong to bestenuned by any craft. —Ilaiiiorn'n Jvornal,

• \

hundred
gons jiiid
I, in the

hiunclies
all direc-
thc great
1 of Hud-
Srnifh on
t the ical
e United
therefore
ide of the
nortliern
i bv this

ft/

The east-
lie in the
only one
it should
jntury, a
without
le report
igth of a
lian side
igtli is a
nimerce,
may be
our own
ly boast
iig addi-
inland
thirty

Iiaiiy have
(irtii-We.st
nvy not be
lie current

CHAITFJJ 111.

Front Tlivuder lUaj U) Fort Gnrri/.

Sliebiimidwai; .oad. Kii-li Vt'tiotntioii. — liivors Kaniinis'iiiuia and Matuwan. Siiclian-
(lowan Lake. -Eiui^rants. Canue liiun — Tmcuidis Indians. — Sir (ieorfie Simpson's
>;nidu. Lai\e Kaslialiow ic. 'i'lio Hoivlit (if Land. Lae <k's Millc Lais. Haril j/urt-
ugc and Lake. -First ,ii;.,'lil iiiider ran \ ass. — Lake Windi,','ii.sti,!;\\an. Indian encain]!-
ment. —Chief IJlatkbtone's \vi\t,s. -'J'lie .Mcdirine man. Lake Kai';,'-assikuk. Slmol.-
ins Jlali^'ne rapids. i.ai;e N\i|ua(pioii. Loon iM)rta;;e. Mnd porta'^e.— Anieric.in
))<)rtaf,'-e. Tiakc Nanicukan. l!iiin> Lake. I'or*. I'rancis. I!ain\' l{i\er. — Luxuriant
Vej^ctation. Hun<,'r.v Hall. Slap-jacks. Lake <>f tin; Woods. The North-West
Anf,'le.— A tou^tfh ni;,'ht. Oak point. — First y:Iiinpse of the prairies. Flond treas-
ures. —The Dawson route, lied Uiver.

July 22nd. — At 5 A.M , arrived at Prince Arthur's Landing,
Thunder Bay, a lino open harboui-, about four miles from the
mouth of th(; Kaniinisti(|uia river, with dark cliH's of basaltic
rock and island scenery second only to Ne])igon. Population
is Howing i'a])idly to these shori^s of Lake Su})erio)'. Alieady
more than a hundred stores, shanties, or houses are scattered
about * the Landing.' 'I'he chief business is silver mining, tind
prospecting for silver, coppei', gnlena, and other valuable min-
erals known to exist in the neighbourhood.

The engineer of the sur\'eying parties bei Vveeii Ottawa and
Red Kiver, and tlie assistant sui)erintendent of the DaAvson
Eoad to Fort Garrv met us at tlie LandinLj and invited us to
breakfast in their shanty. After bi-eakfast, our baggage was
})acked on a heavy waggon, and instructions were given to llit.'
driver to keep moving till he readied Shebandowan Lake, the
first of the chain to be traversed in canoes,

Shebandowan is forty-five miles from Lake Superior, about
800 feet higher, and near the summit or watershed of the dis
trict. At 10.30 A.M., we started for that ])oint, the Chief and
ihe Doctor in a buggy, tiic olhcis in a light wiiggon. Drove in

I !1

OCKAN TO OCEAN.

three hours to " fifteen-mile shanty " through a rolling country
with a steady upward incline, lightly wooded for the first ha!f
and more heavily for the latter half of the distance. The flora
is much the same as in our Eastern Provinces ; the soil light,
witli a surface-covering of peaty or sandy loam, and a subsoil
of clay, fairly fertile and capable of being easily cleared. The
vegetation is varied, wild fruit being especially- abundant, —
raspberries, currants, gooseberries, and tomatoes ; flowers like
the convolvulus, roses, a great profusion of asters, wild kallas,
water-lilies on the ponds, wild chives on the rocks in the streams,
and generally a rich vegetation. It is a good country for emi-
grants of the farmer class. The road, too, is first-rate, a great
point for the settler ; and a market is neai'. Whatever a set-
tler raises he can easily transport to the ready market that there
always is near mines. Miners are not particular about their
lodging, but good food and plenty of it they must have.

At the fifteen-mile shanty., we stopped for an hour and a half
to feed the horses and to dine. Bread, light and sweet as Paris
rolls, was baked in Dutch ovens, buried in the hot embers of a
huge fire outside, near the door. The Scotch boss of the shanty
accepted the shower of compliments on its quality v/ith the
canny admission that there were " waur bakers in the warld
than himsel.' "

We walked on for the next three or four miles till the
waggon overtook us. The soil became richer, the timber
heavier, and the whole vegetation more luxuriant. Six miles
from the fifteen mile shanty we crossed the Kaministiquia — a
broad and rapid river, which, at this point, is, by its own course
forty-five miles distant from where it falls into Lake Superior.
The valley of the river is acknowledged to be a splendid farm-
ing country. A squatter, who had pitched camp at the bridge
end last year, on his way to Red Uiver, and had remained in-
stead of going on because everything was so favourable, came
up to ha\e a talk with us, and to grunible, like a true Briton,

? country
first lia!f
The flora
oil light,
a subsoil
ed. The
indant, —
^vers like
Id kallas,
3 streams,
' for emi-
3, a great
er a set-
bhat there
(Out their

TQ.

ind a half
t as Paris
ibers of a
le shantv
^yith the
;lie warld

till the
3 timber
i)ix miles
iquia — a
n course
kiperior.
id farm-
e bridge

ined in-
le, came

Briton,

THUNT)ER BAY TO FORT OARKV.

that the Government wasn't doing more for him. Timothy was
growing to the height of four and five feet, on every vacant
spot, from chance seeds. A bushel and a-half of barley, which
seemed to be all that he had sown, was looking as if it could
take the prize at an Ontario Exhibition.

The soil, for the next Ave miles, was covered luxuriantly
with the vetch, or wild pea. The road led to the Matawan, —
a stream that runs out of Lake Shebandowan into the Kami-
nistiquia. Both rivers are crossed by capital bridges. The sta-
tion at the Matawan was in charge of a Mr. Aitken and his
family, from Glengarry. He had arrived exactly two months
ago, on the 22nd of Mjiy, and he had now oats and barley up,
potatoes in blossom, turnips, lettuce, parsnips, ciicumbers, etc.,
all looking healthy, and all growing on land that, sixty days
before, had been in part covered with undergrowth, stumps, and
tall trees, through which fires had run the year previous. Mr,
Aitken was in love with the country, and, what was of more
consequence, so was Mrs. Aitken, though she confessed to a
longing for some neighbours. They intended to make it their
future home, and said that thev had never seen land so well
suited for farming. Everything was prospering with them.
The very hens seemed to do better here than elsewhere. One
was pointed out with a brood of twenty strong healthy chickens
around her ; Guinea hens and turkeys looked thriving.

Everything about this part of the country, so far, has aston-
ished us. Our former ideas concerning it had been that it was
a barren desert ; that there was only a horse trail, and not
always that, to travel by ; that the mosquitoes were as big as
grasshop])ers, and bit through everything. Whereas-, it is a fair
and fertile land, undulating from the intervales of the river up
to hills and rocks flight hundred feet high. The road through it
is good enough for a king's highway, and the mosquitoes are
not more vicious than in the v/oods, and by the streams of the
Lower Provinces ; yet, not half a dozen settlers are on the road

*SWI

i I ;

i i

:< i

(X'KAN T(» (M'KAN.

for tlio iii'st Iwt'int/y-.siN inilos ; and for i\u; next twenty, not
lialf that ]iunib(.'r. How many coltais, small laniKU'.s, anrl
plougli l)oys in Britain, wonld rejoico to know that they conhl
get a hnndred acres of f'.iK'li land foi* one dollar an aei'e, money
down ; or at twenty cents per aci'o after live years' S(>ttlement
on it ! They could settle along tho high road, take their ])ro-
duce to a good market, and be independent landholders in five
years. This was the information about the price of land that
the settlers gave us. Wliy free grants are not offered, as in
other parts of Ontario oi' in ^Manitoba, it is im})0ssible to say.

Fi'om the Matawan to Nhebandowan lake was the next stage >
twenty miles long. Wo i)assed over most of it in the dark,
but could see, from tin; pom- timlier and other indications, that
the latter half wuh not at all as good as the hrst. The road
was heavy, var^dng Iststween corduroy, dee]) sraid, and rutty
and rooty stretches, over which the waggon joltinl frightfully.
So passed the first dii.y of our expedition, for we counted that
the journey only began at Thunder J>ay.

July 23rd. — Rose at sunrise, and found that the baggage waggon
had not arrived. An hour after it came in, and, along with it,
two young gentlemen, M . ... and Ij . . . with fi ca\ioe
and Indians on their way to Red River. They were travelling
for pleasure, and as they had been on the road all night, and
were tired, seedy and mosijuito-bitten, they represeiiUd \ery
fairly, in their own persons, the Anglo-Saxon idea of pleasure.
At 8 A. M., the baggage having been stowed in the canoes,
the Indians paddled out, and hooked on to a little steam tug,
kept on the lake for to^ving purposes ; a lino was formed, and
after a few preliminary })nifings, the start was made and we
proceeded along the lake. The mode of locomotion was, to us,
altogether new, and as charming as it was picturesque: The
tug led the way at the rate of seven knots, towing first a large,
barge with immigrants, second a five fathom canoe witli thre(>
of our party and seven Indians, third a four fathom canoe with

Tii'.iNni:!; r,.\v to i.^oirr caiji.'Y

woiity, not
riiHU'.s, nnd

tliey could
,ci'e, inoncy

scttloinont
! tlieir ])ro-
(loi's in five
f land that
crod, as in
)le to say.
next staj^oj
1 tlie dark,
itions, that
The road
, and rutty
frightrully.
funtod that

me \vai;<»on

ng with it,

itli a canoe

travelling

night, and

iiLi'd \ery

pleasure,

le canoes,

itcam tug,

nied, and

e and we

^as, to us,

[ue: The

•st a largo.

nth tlnxH?

iiioo with

two ot" us ;ind six Indians, t'ourtli yum) a>; uiiml)iM' three, tit'tii
.M . , and L . . . .'s (•;iiii-»'. \V(! glided along with a

delightful luotion, siiiijig on oui- baggage in the i»otlo;ns of Ihe
canoes. The morning was <lull :»nd. j-rev, and the sliorcs of the
lake looked steril(> and (ire swci)i, with abumlant indications of
niinenil wealth, (lold and silv<!i- I»ave been i'ound at Sljcban-
dowan aiid pros[)ecti])g parties are now searching all accessi-
ble spots.

Our Indians were !iO(iuois from ( 'aughnawaga near Montreal,
and a few native Ojibbeways. 'I'heir leader was Ignace Men-
tour, who Jiad been Sir (reorge Simpson's guide for fifteen
years ; and the steersman of his canoe was Louis, Avho had been
cook to Sir George on liis cxjjcditions, and looked every inch
the butler of a respectable Engjisli family ; we fell in love with
him and Ignace irom the first. Another of the Iroquois had
been one of the i)ai-ty which souglit for Franklin by going
down the McKenzie liiver to the -Vrctic Sea. Two old pupils
of Ignace, named respectively I'aptiste and Toma, were the
captains of the two smaller canoes. AH were sinewy, active,
good looking men. Ignace's hair was gray, but he was still as
strong as any of the young men ; he paddled in the bow of the
big canoe, leading the way, and <|uietly chewing tobacco tlie
whole time. In his young days lie had been a famous runner,
and had won foot races in everv town on both sides of the St.
Lawrence. These Irocpiois, and most of the Ojil)beways we
liave met, are men above the medium size, broad shouldered,
with straight features, intelligent faces, and graceful, because
natural, bearing.

At the west end of the lake we came to a camp of seventy or
eighty Ojibbeways — two-thirds of them children. They had.
been there for three weeks, of course doing nothing, and the
camp was very dirty. More wen; exjiected, and when all as-
sembled, a gi-and pow-wow would be held, and a Trinity
made between them and th(> Indian. Commissioner of the

' 1

^51-}

orKAN TO OCEAN.

Dominion. So at least they hoped and they declared them-
selves willing to cede, for a consideration, all their rights to
the land, that would hinder settlers from coming in. Poor
creatures ! not much use have they ever made of the land ; but
yet, in admitting the settler, they sign their own death war-
rants. Who, but ,they, have a right to tlie country ; and if a
man may do what he likes with his own, would they not be
justified in refusing to admit one of us to their lakes and woods,
and fighting us to the death on that issue 1

Tliree hours' steaming brought our flotilla to the west end of
the lake. A portage of three quarters of a mile intervenes
between it and Lake Kashaboiwe. The Indians emptied the
canoes in a trice ; two shouldered a canoe, weighing probably
three hundred pounds, and made off at a rapid trot across the
portage. The others loaded the waggon of the station with
the luggage, and carried on their backs, by a strap passed over
their foreheads, what the waggon could not take. This portage
strap is three or four inches broad in the middle, where it is
adjusted to the forehead ; its great advantage to the voyageur
is that it leaves him the free use of his arms in going through
the woods. A tug has been placed on Kashaboiwe, but as the
machinery was out of gear the Indians paddled over the lake
doing the ten miles of its length in two hours. The wood on
this lake is heavier than on Shebandowan : poplars, white
birch, red, white and scrub pine, all show well. The second
portage is between Kashaboiwe and Lac des Mille Lacs, and is
the Height of Land where the water begins to run north and
west instead of east and south. The lakes, after this, empty at
their west ends. At the east end of Lac des Mille Lacs, a
little stream three yards wide, that flows in a tortuous channel
with gentle current into the lake, eventually finds its way to
Hudson's Bay. The Height of Land is about a thousand feet
above Lake Superior.

We now entered Lac des Mille Lacs — a lovely lake twenty-

'fc-i

red them-
' riijhts to
in. Poor
land ; but
leath war-
; and if a
ley not be
md woods,

vefit end of
intervenes
nptied the
5 probably
across the
ation with
massed over
his portage
vhere it is
voyageur
g through
but as the
the lake
le wood on
rs, white
Ihe second
cs, and is
orth and
empty at
e Lacs, a
s channel
Its way to
sand feet

twenty-

THT^NDEH BAY TO FOUT OAP.HV. 47

two miles long ; its name explains its characteristic. As the
steam launch, stationed on it, happened unfortunately to be at
the west end, the Indians again paddled for about four miles,
when we met the lauch coming back ; it at once turned about
and took us in tow. After a smart shower the sky cleared, and
the sun shone on innumerable bavs, creeks, channels, headlands,
and islets, which are simply larger or smaller rocks of granite
covered with moss and wooded to the water's brink. Through
these labyrinths we threaded our way, often wondering that the
wrong passage was never taken, where there were so many ex-
actlv alike. An Indian on his own L'round or water is never
mistaken, and we went on as surely as if on a king's highway.
Fortunately, the fire-demon has not devastated the shores.
The timber, in some places, is heavy : pine, aspen, and birch
being the prevailing varieties. Every islet in the lake is
wooded down to the water's edjxe. Our Botanist exulted in his
holiday and looked forward with eager hope to the flora of the
plains. As wo drew near our third portage for the day, his
face clouded. *' Look at the ground burnt again." One asked
if it was the great waste of wood he referred to. " It's not
that, but, they have burned the very spot for botanizing over."
What is a site for shanty and clearing, compared to botany.

At the end of I^ac des Mille Lacs is Baril Portage, less
than a quarter of a mile long. No steamer has been put on
Baril lake; but the Indians paddled over its eight miles of length
in an hour and forty minutes. The bluffs around Baril are
bolder than those rising from the previous lakes, and the vegci-
tation very similar. We hurried over the next portage, and,
at the other end met tlie station-keeper, who had a comfortable
tent pitched for the emigrants, strewn with fragrant pine and
spruce branches.

It was impossible to avoid admiring the activity and cheer-
fulness with which our Indians worked. They would carry as
heavy a load as a Constantinople porter, at a rapid trot across

OCKAN TO OCKAN.

ilic jmrtagc, run bark tor unotliui' load witlioiil a iiiiiuito's luilt,
and HO on till all tlu; Itij^'^ai^i^ wms porhiged, and everything in
roadinosis loi- .siarliug on tlnMuixt lako. The canoos ■\vere always
their iirst car<?. As a jockc} ciierishcs his horso, and a .shep-
herd his collie, so do th(!y care for and actually love their canoe,

A i'n'v, was <juickly kindled, and search made for tlie eatables.
Wankets, and everything iK-edcsd for tin; night, when tlio dis-
covery was nuide that, though the colonel had his blankets and
the botanist his pair, a big package with the main supply had
been left behind, very probably as far back as the " Jftdght of
Land." The frizzling of the ham in the fiying pan, and the
delicious fragrance of the tea, made us forget the loss for the
time. We all sat around the fire, gipsy-like, enjoying our first
gipsy meal, and very soon after threw ourselves down on the
wat(n'-})roof, that covered the swoot-smelling floor of the tent,
and slept the sleep of the jnst.

July 20th. — The Chief awoke us in the grey misty dawn. It
took more than a little shaking to awaken the boys ; but the
botanist had gone off, no one knew when, in search of new
species. As we emerged from oui* tent, Louis and Baptiste
appeared from theirs, and kindled the fire. They next took
from a wallet scented soa}), brush and comb ; went down to the
stream, washed and made their toilettes, and then set to work
to prepare for breakfast. It never seemed to occur to our
Ojibbeways to wash, crop, or di-ess their hair. They let it
grow, at its own sweet will, all around their faces and down
their necks, lank and stiff, helping the growth with fish oil.
Every one of the Iroquois had good head of hair, thick, well
cropi)ed, and, though always black, cpiite like the hair of a
civilized man instead of a savage. Our Ojibbeways had silver
rings on their fingers, broad gaudy sashes and bedraggled
feathers bound round their felt hats. The Irocpiois dressed as
simply and neatly as blue jackets.

It had ))een chilly through the night, am the cold mist clung

THUNDER BAY TO FORT GARRY.

ito's halt,
ything "i
re nlsvayH
td a shep-
oiv canoe,
3 eatables.
311 tlic dis-
Liikots and
vipply had

■ }\v\o\\t of

111, and the
loss for the
iig onv first
own on the
)f tho tent,

y dawn. It
yii ; l)ut the
■ch of new
lI Baptiste
next took
[lown to the
,et to work
bcur to our
Thoy let it
and down
ith fish oil.
thick, well
be hair of a
had silver
bedraggled
dressed as

Id mist clung

heavily to tlio ground in the morning. Tlie air is colder than
tlie water from evening till morning. Hence the evening and
morning mists, which disappear an hour or two after sunrise,
rise and form into clouds, which sooner or later empty them-
selves back again on the land or lakes.

After breakfast we embaiked on the mist-covered river that
runs into Lake Windegoostigwan. The sun .soon cleared away
the mists and we gilded on pleasantly, down long reaches of
lake, and through narrow winding reedy passages, past curved
shores hidden by rank vegetation, and naked bluffs and islets
covered with clumps of [)ines. Not a word fell from the In-
dians' lips, as they paddled with all the ease and regularity of
machinery. The air was delightful, and all felt as if out on a
holiday. In three hours the fifteen miles of Windegoostigwan
were crossed, and we came to a portage nearly two miles long.
This detained us tiiree hours, as the waggon had to make two
trips from lake to lake, over a new road, with our luggap^e.

A man from Glengarry was in charge of the poi-tage ; he had
lived here all winter, and said that he preferred the winter
weather to that of the Eastern Provinces. Great as is the
summer rainfall, it is quite different in winter ; then the days
are clear and cloudless, and so sunny and pleasant that he was
accustomed to go about in his summer clothing, except in the
mornings and evenings. Three feet of snow fell in the woods
after Christmas, and continued dry and powdery till April
when it commenced to melt, and soon after the middle of May
it was all gone, and vegetation began to show itself at once.

At the west end of the portage is a small encampment of
Ojibbeways, around the wigwam of Blackstone, said to be their
most eloquent chief, and accordingly set down as a great rascal
by those who cannot conceive of Indians as having rights, or
tribal or patriotic feelings. He was absent, but we saw one of
his three wives sitting on a log, with two or three papooses
hanging round her neck, and his oldest son, a stout yt ung

jI • I

!! i

} \

If I

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

fellow, who could not spoak a word of Rn;:{lish or French, but
who managed to let us know that he was ill. The Doctor was
called, and he made out that the lad had a pain in his back, but,
not being able to diagnose more particularly, was at a loss what
to do for hiuL Our Ciiief suggested a bit of tobacco, but the
Doctor took no notice of the profane proposal ; luckily enough,
or the whole tribe would have been ill when the next Medicine-
man passed their way. Bhickstone's wife was not more comely
than any of the other Indian womou : that is she was dirty,
joyless-looking and jircmaturely old. All the hard work falls
to the lot of the women ; the husband hunts, fishes, paddles, or
does any other work that a gentleman feels he can do without
degradation ; his wife is something better than his dog, and
faithfully will he share with her his last morsel ; but it's only
a dog's life that she has.

Our next lake was Kaogassikok, sixteen miles long. The
shores of this, too, were lined with good-sized pine, white, red,
and scrub. To-day more larch and cedar shewed among the
birch and pine than yesterday. When the country is opened up,
all this timber will be very valuable, as sleepers and tics for
the Pacific Railway, and lumber, for building purposes, can be
obtained here in abundance, if nowhere nearer the plains.
Numbers of fine trees are now growing in the water ; for, by
damming up the outflow of the lakes to make the landing places,
the water level has been raised and the shore trees have thus
been submerged several feet. They will rot, in consequence*
and fall into the lakes sooner or later, and perhaps obstruct the
narrow channels. The timber gets heavier as we go on ; at the
west of Kaogassikok are scrub pines, three feet in diameter j
but, unfortunately, about one-third of them are punky or hol-
low. Here are two portages. Pine and Deux Rivieres, separated
by only two miles of water ; consequently much detention owing
to our magnificent quantities of baggage. Two Indians sufier-
ing from dysentery, applied for relief at Pine Portage, and

THUNDER UAV TO FOUP (JAnHV.

mch, hwt
)ctor was
lack, but,
loss what
), but the
y enough,
MetUcine-
,ro comely
was dirty,
^vork falls
saddles, or
lo without
; dog, and
it it's only

)-ig

The
[white, red,
lamong the
opened up,
nd tics for
scs, can be
Ihe plains.
IV ; for, by
ing places,
have thus
|risequence>
istruct the
[on; at the
diameter f
iky or hol-
;, separated
[tion owing
lans suffer-
•tage, and

r I

received it at tlio hands of tho Doctor : ho liiis iilroiuly had
about a dozen caso.-., oitiiui* of white or red men, since we left
Owen Sound. Our party have, thus far, received little at the
Doctor's iuinds, sundiy medical comforts always excepted.

After paddling over four miles of the next lake the Indians
advised camping, though the sun was more than an hour high.
As we had exj)oii(>nced the discomforts of camping in th«^ dark
the night Ix-fore, and as the nn^n were evidently tinMl, wi' landed
and ])itclied the t(mts on a rocky promontory at tho foot of a

wooded hill. Scarcely were our lires lighted, when M 's

canoe came up, and then another with a stray Indian, his wife,
papooses, dog — that looked half wolf, and all their traps. After
a good swim, we sat down to our evening meal, which Louis
had spread (m a clean tai)le-cloth on the sward. In front of us
was the smooth lake ; on the other side of it, two miles oft", the
sun was going down in the woods. Th(i country ahead broke
into knolls, looking in many parts like cultivated parks; mound
us the white tents and the ruddy fires, with Indians flitting
between, or busy about the canoes, gave animation to the scene
and made up a picture that will long live in the memory of
many of us.

The Indians never halt witiiout at once turning their canoes
upside down, and examining them. The seams and crevices in
the birch bark yield at any extra strain, and scratches are nuido
by submerged brushwood in some of the channels or the shallow
parts of the lakes. These crevices they carefully daub over
with resin, which is obtained from the red pine, till iJie bottom
of an old canoe becomes almost covered with a black resinous
coat. Of course, the more uniform the blackness, the harder
the service the canoe has seen.

The stray Indian pitched camp a hundred yards off from us ;
and, with true Indian dignity, did not come near to ask for
anything, though quite equal to take any jing that was oflered
or left behind.

I» —

OOKAN TO OUKAN.

July 25tli. — IFp hofbre lour A.M., and, after a cui) of hot
toa, that alwayH has a woudrouH tVa.i^rauoo in tho wildcu-noss,
.startod in (>xc'«'Mrnt spirits. Our (hrco (muocs hatl triiul a race
tho ni<,dit lu'lbri', over th«' last four miles of tho day's journey,
and they nMiewed it this niorniuiJ. 'rhe l)est crow was in the
five-fatholu hoat, of which l;;nace was captain, and Fiouis steers-
man. Tiie captains of the other two, I'.aptiste and Toma,
j)Ush(Ml their old master hard to-day; as one or th(! otiier stole
ahead, not a ^dance did l^Miace ^dve to either. Doggedly, Jind
with averted head, he du,i? his pa«ldle deopi-r in lh(! water, and
pe;,'i:;ed away with his sure, steady stroke, and thou;;h the
others, hy spurtin*;, t'oreed tluMuselves half a canoe len<j;th ahead
at times, they had not the stay of the older men, and every race
(Uided witlr lijnact^ leadint^. Then he would look up, and with
sunshine on his broad handsome face, throw a good huuiotired
Joke back, which tho others would catch up with ^reafc glee.
These races often broke the monotony of the day. " Up, up,"
or "hi, hi," would break smldeidy from one of the canoes that
had fallen bc^hind. Everyone answered with (juickoned stroke
that sent it abreast of the others. Then camo the tug of war.
The graceful, gondola shaped canoes cut through the water as
though impelled by steam. The Ijiij/alo or Ignace's canoe — •
so called fiom the fig\ne of an Indian with a gun standing be-
fore a buil'alo that he had painted on the bow — always led at tho
first ; but often the /Sfui, liaptiste's lighter craft, would shoot
ahead, and sometimes Toma's, the Jieairr, under the frantic
etforts of her crew, seconded by one or two of us snatching up
a paddle, would lead for a few miinites. The chivalry of our
Indians in the heat of the contest contrasted favourably with
that of ])rofessionals. No " foul " ever took place, though the
course often lay through narrow winding reedy channels. Once,
when Baptiste at such a place might have forced ahead by a
spurt, he slacked speed gracefully, let Ignace take the curve
and win. Another time, when neck and neck, he saw a heavy

TIirNOKIJ h.VV TO I'OKT (JAHHY.

J) of hoi
lilc.rnoHS,
(l a nu;c

iH in tlic
is steers-
»1 Toma,
til IT Ktolo
(<(llv, and
iter, and
;)\i^li tli«
•rill aliead
wavy race
and Nvitli
[mmourod
rcat gloe.
Ui>, up,"
moos that
(id stroke
g of war.
water as
canoe —
Inding be-
Icd at the
uld shoot
le frantic
ohing up
|ry of our
iiblv with
ough the
(Is. Once,
ead by a
Ithe curve
a heavy

line dragging at tlio stern and called Louis' attention to it. No
one ever oliargcil (li(( other willi iM-ing unfair, and no angry
word was ev(«r heard; in fact, the Fndians grow on us (h>y by (hiy^
It is easv to understand how an I'lii'dishtniUi, travellini' for weekH
together with an Indian guide, so often conti'aets a strong
friendship forhini; for Indian jiatienee. endtnanee, dignity, and
self control, aw. the very (|ualities to evoke fiiendsliip.

The sun rose bi'ight but was soon eloude(l. Ten good ndles
were made and then th(^ halt called Ibi- lircfakfast. at a beautiful
lieadland, just as it connnencitd to rain. Now w<! got so'ne
idea of what a rainy day in theses regions nuians. .After break-
fast we put on our water-proofs, <;overed up our baggage? and
moved ahead, under a (h?lug(! of rain that knew no intermission
for four hours. Most of tlie wat<;r-proofs proved to be delus-
ions ; they had not been made for these latiuuk's. The canoes
woidd have tilled, had we not kept bailing, but, withoiit a word
of comi»laint, the Indians stuck to tlujir paddles.

From tlu* lake we passed into the iMaligne river, and there
the current aided ns. In this short, but broad and rapid
stream, are six or sev(;n rapids, which must be shot or portaged
round ; we preferred the shooting, wherever it was practicable
for such large and d(!eply-laden canoes as ours.

To shoot rapids in a canoe is a pleasure that comparatively
few Englishmen have ever enjoyed, and no picture can give an
idea of what it is. There is a fascination in the motion, as of
poetry or music, which must be experienced to be understood.
The excitement is greater than when on board a steamer, be-
cause you are so much nearer the seething water, and the canoe
seems such a fragile thing to contend with the mad forces, into
the very thick of which it has to be steered. Where the stream
begins to de.scend, the water is an inclined plane, smooth and
shining as glare ice. Beyond that it breaks into curling, gleam-
ing rolls which end off in white, boiling caldrons, where the
water has broken on the rocks underneath. On the brink of

SBBUti

OCEAN TO OCKAN.

'^'1

the inf'lin'id [lane the motion is so rjuiot that you think the
canoe jjanses for an instant. Hw caj)tain is at the bow, — a
broader, stronger pa<Mle than usual in liis liand — liis eye kindl-
ing witli enthusiasm, and every nerve and fibre in liis body at
its utmost tension. T!ie steersman i^ at his post, and every
man is ready. They know that a false stroke, or too weak a
turn of the captain's wrist, at the critical moment, means death.
A })ush with the paddles, and, straight aiul swift as an arrow,
the canoe shoots right down into the mad vortex ; now into a
cross curreut tba.t wouhl twist her broadside round, but that
every man tights against it ; then she steei's right for a rock, to
which she is being rcsistlessly sucked, and on which it seems as
if she would bo (hushed to })ie^es ; but a rapid turn of the cap-
tain's padille at the right moment, and she rushes past the])lack
n\ass, riding gallantly as a race horse. The waves boil up at the
side, threatening to engulf her, but except a dash of spray or
the cap of a wave, nothing gets in, and as she speeds into the
cahii reach beyond, all draw long breaths and hope that another
rapid is near.

At eleven o'clock we reached Island Portage, having paddled
thirty-two miles — the best forenoon's woi'k since taking to the
canoes — in spite of the weather. Here a steam launch is
stationed ; and, though the engineer thought it a frightful day
to travel in, he got ready at our retpiest, but said that he could
not go four miles an hour as the rain would keep the boiler wet

the whole time. We dined with ]\1 's party, luider the

shelter of their npturneu canoe, on tea and the fattest of fat
jiork, which all ate with delight unspeakable, for every one had
in himself the right kind of sauce. The day, and our soaked
condition, suggested a little brandy as a specific ; but their bot.
t^e was exliausted, and, an hour before, they had i)assed round
the cork for each to .have a smell at. Such a case of potatoes
and point moved our pity, and the chief did what he could for
them. The Indians excited our admiration ; — soaked through)

THUNDER BAY TO FORT GARRY.

111 day
could
er wet
er the
of fat
lie had
soaked
ir bot.
round
Dtatoes
lid for
rough*

and over-woi-ked as they had been, the only word that we heard,
indicating that they were conscious of anything unusual, was
an exclamation from Baptistc, as he gave himself a shake, —
" Boys, wish I was in a tavern now, I'd get drunk in less than
tree hours, I guess."

At two o'clock, the steaia launch was ready. It towed us
the twenty-four miles of Lake Nequaquon in three and a quarter
hours.

Next came i iOon portage ; then ^Mddling for five miles ; then
Mud portage, worthy of its name ; another sliort paddle ; and
then American portage, at which we cam})ed for the night —
the sun having at last coine out and this being the best place
for pitching tents and the freest from mosquitoes. Tired enough
all hands were, and ready for sleep, for these portages are kill-
ing work. After taking a swim, we rigged lines before huge
fires, and hung up our wet things to dry, so that it was eleven
o'clock before anyone could lie down. The Doctor and Secretary
liad stow'xl their luggage in water-proof bags, kindly lent them
by ti.«e Colonel ; but the bags proved a fallacious as our '.^^ater-
proofs ! Part of the Botanist's valise was reduced to pulp, but
he was too eager in search of specimens to think of such a trifle,
and, while all the rest of us were busy washing and hanging
out to dry, he hunted through woods and marshes, and, though
he got little for his pains, was happy as a king.

Our cam})ing ground had been selected by the Indians with
their usual good taste. A rocky ciiinence, round two sides of
which a river poured in a roaring linn ; on the hill sombre
pines, underneath which th^ tents were pitched ; and lower
down a forest of white birch. More than one of the party
dreamed he was in Scotland, as he was lulled to sleep by the
thunder of the waterfall.

July 26tlu — Up again about three, A.jNL, and off within an
hour, down a sedgy river, with low swampy shores, into Lake
Numeukan. The sun rose bright, and continued to shine all

,4 .
£
1

! 1

V:t

'^ i

I
i 1

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

day ; but a pleasant breeze tempered its rays. At mid-dciy, the
thermometer stood at 80° in the shade, the hottest since leaving
Owen Sound. One day on Lake Superior it was down to 48°,
and the average at mid-day since we landed at Thunder Bay was
fi-om 55° to G0°.

After twelve miles pa«ldling, halted at a ])retty spot on an

islet fci' breakfast. Frank caught a large pickerel and M

shot a few pigeons, giving us a variety of courses at dinner.

M 's Indians tried a race with us to-day, and after a hard

struggle got ahead of Toraa and ]>aptiste, but Tgnace proudly
held his own and would not be beaten. However, among the
many tuiiis of the river, Toma, followed by Baptiste, circum-
vented their old master, by dashing thiough a passage over-
grown with weeds and reeds instead of taking the usual channel.
When Ignace turned the corner he saw the two young fellows
coolly waiting for him a hundred and fifty yards ahead. Thej
gave a sly laugh as he came up, but Ignace was too dignified to
tike the slightest notice. Baptiste was so pleased that he sang
us two Iroquois canoe songs.

Eighteen miles, broken by two short portages (for we took a
short-cut instead of the public route), brought us about mid-day
to Rainy Lake.

The engineer of the steam launch here promised to be ready
in two hours, and to land us at Fort Francis, at the west end of
Rainy Lake, forty-five miles on, by sundown. But in half an
hour the prospect did not look so bright, as, across the portage,
by the public route, canfiC a band of eighteen emigrants, men,
Vv^'omen and children, AvJiohad left Thunder Bay five days before
us, and whom we had passed this forenoon, when we took our
short cut. They had a great deal of baggage, and were terribly
tired. One old woman, eighty-five years of age, complained of
being ill, avid the doctor attended to her. As we had soup for
dinner, ho sent some over to her, and the prescription had a
good effect. While waiting here we took our half dried clothes

11 •*"

THUNDER BAY TO FORT GARRY.

-^'^y, the

leaving

I to 48°,

Bay was

)t on an

dinner.
' a hard
proudly
ong the
circum-
^e over-
channel.
f fellows
'. Ther
nified to
he sang

took a
lid-day

|e ready
end of
half an
)ortage,
|s, men,
before
)ok our
lerribly
Incd of
>up for
had a
jlothes

out of the bags, and, by hanging them on lines under the warm
sun, got them pretty well dried before starting.

At three P.M., at theory of '' All aboard," our flotilla formed
at once, — the steam launch towing two large barges with the
emigrants and their luggage, and the four canoes. The after-
noon was warm and sunny, and tbicre was a pleasant breeze on
the Lake. In half an hour every Indian was asleep in the
bottom of his canoe.

The shores of Rainy Lake are low, especially on the northern
side, and the timl)er is small ; the shores rocky, witli here and
there sandy beaches that have formed round little bays ; scenery
tame and monotonous, though ^he islets, in some parts, are
beautiful.

By nine o'clock, we had made only thirty miles. Our steamer
was small, the flotilla stretched out far and the wind was ahead.
We therefore determined to camp ; and, by the advice of the
engineer, steered for the north shore to what is called the
Fifteen ]Mile House from Fort Francis, said house being two
deserted log huts. Our botanist, learning that we would leave
before day-break, lighted an old j)ine branch and roamed about
with his torch to investigate the flora of the place. The others
visited the emigrants to whom the log-huts had been assigned,
or sat round rousing tires, smoking, or gathered bracken and
fragrant artemisia for the beds.

July 27th. — Had our breakfast before four A.M., and in less
than half an hour after, were en route for Fort Francis. Two
miles above the Fort the Lake ends and pours itself into Rainy
River, over a rapid which the emigrants' barges had not oars to
shoot. They were cast off", and we went on to the Fort and sent
men up to bring them down. The Fort is simply a Hudson's
Bay Company's trading post ; — the shop and the cottages of the
agent and employes in the form of a scpiare, siu'rounded by
stockades about ten feet high. From the Fort is a beautiful
view of the Chaudi^re Falls which have to be portaged round.

OCEAN [TO OCEAN.

I :

These are formed by the river, here nearly two hundred yards
wide, pouring over a granitei ridge in magnificent roaring cas-
cades. A sandy ])kiin of several acres, covered with rich grass
extends around the Fort, and wheat, barley, and potatoes are
raised ; but beyond tin's plain is marsh and then rock. A few
fine cattle, in splendid condition, were grazing upon the level*
On the potato leaves we found the Colorado Bug, that frightful
pest which seems to be moving fnither east every year.

Half a dozen wigwams were tenanted in the vicinitv of the
Fort, and there were scores of roofless polos, where, a fortnight
ago, had been high feasting for a few days. A thousand or
twelve hundred Ojibbeways had assembled to confer with Mr.
Simpson, the Dominion Indian Commissioner, as to the terms
on which they would allow free passage through, and settle-
ment in the country. No agreement had been come to, as their
terms were considered extravagant.

Justice, both to the Indians and to the emigrants who are in-
vited to make their home in this newly opened country, demands
that a settlement of the dilHculty be made as soon as possible.
It may be true that they are vain, lazy, dirty, and im^)rovideKt.
The few about Fort Francis did not impress us favourably.
They contrasted strikingly with our noble Iroquois. The men
were lounging about, lolling in their wigwams, i)laying cards in
the shade, or lying on their faces in the sun ; and, though not
one of them was doiuLC a hand's turn, it was a matter of some
difllculty to get four or five to* go with us to the North-west
Angle, to replace those who had come from Shebandowan and
whose engagement ended here. There were some attempts at
tawdry finery about them all. The men wore their hair plaited
into two or more long queues, which, when rolled up on the
head, looked well enough, but which usually hung down the
sides of the face, giving them an efieminate look, all the more
so because bits of silver or brass were twisted in or rinsed
round with the plaits. One young fellow that consented to

! I

THUNDER BAY TO FORT GARRY.

id yards
ing cas-
3h grass
;oes are
A few
le level*
'rightful

V of the
ortnight
isand or
rith Mr.
le terms
1 settlo-
, as their

lO are in-
lemands
lossible
evident,
urably.
he men
ards in
kigh not
)f some
l-th-west
ran and
[iipts at
I plaited
on the
Iwn the
more
ringed
ted to

paddle, had long streamers of bright ribbon flying from his felt
hat. Another poor looking creature had his face streaked over
with red ochre — to show how <jreat a brave he was. Some wore
blankets, folded loosely and gracefully about them, instead of
coats and trousers. Indeed, every one had some good clothes ;
the construction of the road being the cause of this, for all who
wish can get employment in one way or another in ooiinection
with it. At Fort Francis the hulls of two steamers, to be over
a hundred feet in length, for use on Rainy river and Lake of
the Woods, are now being built; and Indians who cannot work
at bringing in timber or at ship carpentering, can be employed
as voyageurs, or to improve the poi-tages, or to fish or hunt, or
in many other ways. But whatever the benefits that have
been conferred on them, or whatever their natural defects, they
have rights to this country, thoug'i they have never divided it
up into separate personal holdings. They did not do so, simply
because their idea was that the lar.l M'as free to all. Each tribe
har" its own ground, which extended over hundreds of miles,
and every man had a full right to all of that as far as he could
occupy it. Wherever he could walk, ride, or canoe, there the
land and the water were his. If he went to the land of another
tribe, the same rule held good. There he might be scalped as
an enemy, but he ran no risk of being punished as a trespasser.
And now n. foreisfn race is swarminc: over the countrv, to
mark out lines, to erect fences, and to say *' this is mine and not
yours," till not an inch shall be left the original owner. All
this may be i'levitable. But in the name of justice, and of the
sacred rights of property, is not the Indian entitled to liberal
and, if possible, permanent compensation ? What makes it
difficult to arrange a settlement with the Ojibbeways is, that
they have no chiefs who are authorized to treat for them.
This results from their scattered and dispersed sta'te as a nation.
The country they live in is poorly supplied with game, and pro-
duces but little of itself, and the Indian doss not farm. It is

:■
I

r 1

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

thus impossible fo)- thorn to live in hwino bodies. Thev wander
in groups and families from phice to place, often suffering the
extreme of hunger, and sometimes starved outright. Each
group lias generally one or more men of greater moral or
physical power than the rest, and these are its chiefs, chiefs who
have no hereditary rank, who have never been formally elected,
and who are quietly deposed when greater men than they rise
up. Their influence is indirect, undefined, wholly personal, and
confined to tlie particular group they live with. They can
scarcely speak for the group, and not at all for the nation.
When anything has to be done for the nation as a whole, there
is then no other way but for the nation to meet en masse.
Even then they elect no representative men, unless specially
requested. Those of greatest age, eloquence, or personal weight
speak for the others ; but decisions can be come to only by the
crowd. Of course they could jiot have existed, thus loosely
bound together, had they lived in large bodies, or being pressed
by powerful enemies. But they are merely families and groups
and their lands have no special attraction for other Indian
tribes. Neither can they be formidable as enemies to settlers
on this same account, should the worst come to the worst ; but
their feebleness makes it the more incumbent on the Govern-
ment of a Christian people to treat them not only justly but
generously.

After breakfast we paddled down the river, till overtaken by
the steam launch with the emigrants. The day was very warm;
when we landed, about twelve miles on, to dine, the thermom-
eter stood at 87 ® in the shade.

Rainy River is broad and beautiful ; flowing with an easy
current through a low-lying and evidently fertile country. For
the whole of its length — about eighty miles — it forms the
boundary between Canada and the United States. For the
first twenty-five miles, twenty or thirty feet above the present
beach or intervale, rises in terrace form another, evidently the

THUNDER BAY TO FORT GARRY.

V wander
ering the
it. Each
moral or
chiefs who
[y elected,
they rise
sonal, and
They can
le nation,
ole, there
en masse.
1 specially
lal weight
ily by the
us loosely
ng pressed
id groups
3r Indian
o settlers
orst ; but
) Govern-
ustly but

rtaken by
ry warm;
hermom-

an easy
ry. For
rms the

For the
} present

ntly the

old shore of the river, which extends far back like a prairie.
The richness of the soil is evident from the liixui*iance and va-
riety of the wild flowers. Much of the land could be cleared
almost as easily as prairie ; other parts are covered with pines,
elms, maples and nspens.

Thirty-five miles from Fort Francis we ran the Manitou
rapids and, five miles further on, the Sk'ilt, neither of them
formidable. A moderately powerful steamoi' could easily run
up as well as shoot them, lieyond the Sault we landed to take
in wood for the tug, and dinner for ourselves. The Botanist
came up to >is in a few minutes with wild pea and vetch vines
eight feet high, which grew so thickly, not far off, that it was
almost imposdble to pass through them . The land is a heavy
loam, — once the bed of tlie river, and the luxuriance of the
vegetation shows that it is of the best quality. He made a list
of the following plants while we halted, "and these," he truly
remarks " are only an index to the vast profusion of nature's
beauties in this region : —

Lilium Canadense,

" Philadelphicum,
Vicia Americana,
Calystegia spithamea,

" sepium,
Aralia hispida.
Lobelia Kalmii,
Similacina stellata,

Lathvrus venosus,

" ochroleucus,
Monarda fistulosa.
Viburnum pubescens.
Astragalus Canadensis,
Erysimum chieranthoides,
Asarum Canadensis,

Lopanthus anistatus."
Besides these tjjere were grass(?s and sedges in abundance and
many other species not worth nientioniifg. Enough was seen,
however, to satisfy the writer that Rainy River will yet sup-
port a large population, mainly composed of agriculturists.

On we swept, down the broad pleasant river, with its long
reaches, beautiful at night as they had been in the bright sun-
shine. At times a high wall of luxuriant wood rose on each
side, and stretched far ahead in curves that looked in the gloam-

•

H if

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

iiig like cultivated parks. Occasionally an islet divided the
river; and, at sucli places, a small Indian cam}) was usually
pitched. Of the sevonty-live miles of Rainy River, down which
wo sailed to-day, every mile seemed well adaj)t(;d for cultiva-
tion and the dwellings of men. At eleven o'clock the moon
rose; at ]ialf-})ast twelve we reached Hungry Hall, a post of
the If. \). Oompany and a village of wigwams, out of which all
the natives rushed, some of them clothed scantily and others
less than scait'ly, to greet the new comers, with " Ho ! Ho ! "
or " R'jou, li'jou." Baptiste urged us not to stop here, as the
InditJis of the placd were such thieves that they would " steal
'■;l.ie b ■]<B ifl'us." nnd spoke of good camping ground a mile and
a hai: further on. We took h.is iidvice, after getting a .supply
of liour, pork, and tea from the store.

Jul'' 28th. — This morning, for the first time since leaviuL'
Lake Superior, we enjoyed the luxury of a long sleej), and the
still greater luxury of an hour's dozing, that 'Condition between
sleeping and waking in which you are just enough awake to
know that you are not asleep.

At 8, 30, A.M., a distinguished visitor appeared, an old stately
looking Indian, a chief, we were informed, and the father of
Blackstone. He came with mily one attendant ; but two or
three canoes made their appearance about the same time, with
other Indians, squaws, and papooses who squatted in groups on
the banks at respectful distances. The old Indian canid up
with a " B'jou, B'jou," shook hands all round, and then drpwing
himself up — knife in one hand, big pipe in the other, the em-
blems of war and peace — commenced a long harangue. We
didn't understand a word ; but one of the men roughly inter-
preted, and the speaker's gestures were so expressive that the
drift of his meaning could be ea,silv followed. Pointing, with
outstretched arir.:5, north, south, east and west, he told us that
all the land had been his people's, and that he now, in their
name, asked for some return for our passage through it. Tho

., .rn),

THUNDER B^.y TO FORT GARRY.

ided tho
; iisuallv
,vn which
• oultiva-
he moon
I post of
wliioh all
id others

! Ho 1 "
•e, as the
Id " steal
L mile and
[ a suY)'ti/

e leaving
), and the
between
awake to

lid stately

1 father of

it two or

[me, with

groups on

came) up

drpwing

the em-

ue. We

dy inter-

Ithat the

[ng, with

us that

in their

lit. Tho

bearing and apoeoh were those of a born orator. He had good
straight features, a large Roman nose, square chin, and, as he
stood over six feet in his moccasins, his presence was most com-
manding. One great secret of impressive? gestictdation — the
free i)hiy of tho arm from the shoulder, instead of the crampe,d
motion from the elbow — he certainly knew. It was astonish-
ing with what dignity and force, long, rolling, musical sen-
tences poured from the li})S of one who woidd be carelessly
classed by most people as a savage, to whose views no regard
should bo paid. When ended, he took a seat on a hillock with
the dignity natural to every real Indian, and began to smoke
in perfect silence. He had said his say, and it was our turn
now. Without answering his speed:, which we could only have
done in a style far inferior to his, the Chief proposed that he
should have some breakiast. To show due respect to so great
an 0-ghe-mah, a newspaper was spread before him as a table-
cloth, and a plate of fried pork placed on it, with a huge slap-
jack or thick pancake made of flour and fat, one-sixth of
which was as much as any white man's stomach could digest.
A large pannikin of tea, a beverage the Indians are immoder-
ately fond of, was also brought, and, by signs, he was invited
to fall to. For some moments he made no movement, either
from otfended pride or expectation that we would join him, or,
more likely, only to show a gentleman-like indifference to tho
food. But the fat pork and the fragrant tea were irresistible.
Many . great man's dignity has been overcome by less. After
he had eaton about half, he summoned his attendant to sit be-
side him and eat, and to him too a pannikin of tea was brought.
We then told the old man that we had '.eard his words ; tnat
V were travellers carrying only enough food for ourselves, but
that we would bring his views to the notice of the Government,
and that his tribe would certainly receive justice, as it was the
desire of our Great Mother the Queen, that all her children —
red as well as white — should be well cared for. He ni once

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

■:.

•

asHcnted, though whether ho would have done so with equal
blandness had we given him no breakfast is questionable. He
was entitled to the breakfast and perhaps to something more ;
for as no treaty liad been made wo were certainly trespassers on
his domains.

At ten o'clock the steamer came along.

A few miles through long reaches of wide expanding sedge
and marsli brought us to the Lake of the Woods. An unbroken
sheet of water, ten miles square, called Tlie Traverse, is the
jfirst part of this Lake that has to be crossed ; but, as a thunder
storm seemed brewing behind us, the captain steered to the
north, behind a group of islets that fringe the shore. In half
an hour an inky belt of cloud stretched over us from north to
south, and, when it burst, the torrent was as if the lake had
turned upside down. The storm moved with us, as in a circle,
flashes of lightning coming simultaneously from opposite quar-
ters of the heavens. First we had the wind and rain on our
backs, then on the left, then in our faces, and then on the right.
The captain made for a little bay in an islet near at hand, and,
though the weather cleared, it looked threatening enough to
make him decide to put the steamer's lire out and wait. The
islet was merely a sand dune, covered with coarse grasses and
small willows, though in a storm tl ^e sand hills might be mis-
taken for formidable rocks. As there was not enough wood on
it for both parties, we gave it up to the crew and the emigrants,
and paddled to another a mile ahead. This islet was of gneis-
soid rock, and had a bold headland covered with good wood.
The botanist found the ash-leaved maple, the nettle tree, and
twenty-four kinds of wild flowers that he had not seen since
joining the expedition, and, of these, eight with which he was
unacquainted.

Scarcely were our canoes hauled up, when the Colonel came
along. His men had been so anxious to have all their party
together that they had paddled steadily at their hardest for

! ^

THUNDER BAY TO FORT GARRY.

(55

th equal
>le. Ho
5 more ;
lasers on

ng sedge
mbrokeii
io, is the
: thumler
id to the

In half
north to
lake had
1 a circle,
isite quar-
n on our
the right,
and, and,
[nough to
ait. The
[asses and

t bo mis-
wood on
ligrants,

[of gneis-

id wood.

[tree, and
sen since

|h he was

lel came
fsir party
L'dest for

ti :

seven hours. Louis at once sot to work to got dinner ; and, it
being Sunday, several delicacies were brought out in addition
to tiio standing dishes of pork, biscuit an»l tea. From the
Colonel's stores came MuUagatawny soup, Bologna sausage,
French mustard, Maruialadr, and, as evety one curried with
him an abundani, supply of " black sauce," we had a great
feast.

After dinner, all the party, except the j»agan Ojibbewaya,
assembled for divine service. The form compiled for the sur-
veying parties was read ; the " Veni Creator' sung in Troquois
by the IndiMUs ; and a short sermon preached. Although the
Iroquois understood but few words of English, they listtmed
most devoutly., and we ILstrned with as much attention to their
singing. To hear those children of tlie forest, on a lonely isle
in a lake that Indian tradition says is ever haunted by their
old deities, chantinij the hymn that for centuries hits been sun"
at the great Councils and in the high Catlitdrals of Christen-
dom, moved us deej^ly.

After tea, candles were lit in the tents, as this evening we
were not too tired to read. Our candlestick was a simple and
effective Indian contrivance. A stick of any length you desired
was slit at the top and then stuck in the ground. A bit of
birch-bark or paper was doubled ; in the fold the candle was
placed, and the ends were then inserted in the slit. The stick
thuf^. held the ends tight, and the candle upright. We spent a
quiet [)leasant evening, and about ten o'clock turned in.

July 29th. — There was a heavy sea on The Traverse;, and, as
the little steamer was not very sea- worthy, it was doubtful if she
would attempt the passage. But, while we were at breakfast,
she was announced as making in our direction. Orders were
at once given to take down the tents and embark the stores,
but the Indians showed some reluctance to move. They said
that it would be safer to trust to the paddles ; that the waves
in the middle of the traverse, would be heavy, and that, if the

fl:

r !

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

canoes were forced throiijj[h them, the bow or side would be
broken in. Wo overrultjd their doubts, vlth a show of con-
fidence, and stiirted at 7.30 A.M.

Instead of the long single lijie of canoes that had been formed
on previous days, they were now formed two abreast, and the
connecting lines of the first two were sliortened, and tied to the
middle bench of the big barge wliicii contained the emigrants*
luggage. This worked admirably, as the barge broke the
waves, and, in the comparatively smooth water immediately be-
hind her, the two canoes rode easily, the five-fathom one to
windward and a smaller one under her lee; close after the.se
came the other two canoes. The passage was made safely, and
the water for the rest of the day was only rippled slightly, as
we took a circuitous route through innumerable islets, instead
of the short and direct one over the unbroken part of the lake.
The forenoon was cold and cloudy, but occasionally the sun
shone cheerily out. All were thankiul for the clouds and cool-
ness, as they could note and enjoy the changing scenery, where-
as the day before yesterday, in coming down Rainy River, they
liad suffered from the rays of the sun beating down fiercely, and
reflected on every side from the water. To sit still in the
canoes and suffer headache and drowsiness was a heavy price
to jiay for the pleasure of a glowing sun. The Indians who
seemed able to do without sleep, if necessary, but willing to
take any qu:intity when they could get it, slept soundly in the
bottom of the canoes.

At mid-day we landed for dinner in a bay on a fire-swept
islet. The Colonel and the boys made the circuit of the islet
with their guns ; but saw nothing worth shooting at except a
solitary duck, which they did not get.

Lake of the Woods has been shorn of much of its beauty by
fires. The fires have also revealed the nakedness, as far as soil
is concerned, of its shores and islets which are low, hard, gneis-
soid rocks, covered with but poor timber even where it has <^en
spared.

THUNDKK HAY TO KoUT CAIUIY.

3 would be
ow of con-

>een formed
at, and the
I tied to the
emigrants*
broke the
ediately be-
lom one to
after these
safely, and
slightly, as
lets, instead
of the lake,
dlv the sun
ids and cool-
lery, where-
River, they
fiercely, and
jtill in the
heavy price
dians who
willing to
idly in the

lire-swept
)f the islet
^t except a

beauty by

far as soil

lard, gneis-

|t has '^en

In the afternoon a fnvotirable wind helped us on ; the barge
hoisted a snil, aud between wind and steam we made seven or
(jiglit miles ail hour. The tui,' stopped twice for wood ; but
such (lespatcli was shown that thotii^'li tlicre was neither wharf
noi- platform, and the tUL( had to bo held by boat hooks to the
rocks, and at the same time kept from dasljing :ig,iinst them,
tiie wiioh^ thing was done at each place in ten minutes.

The last eiirht or nine miles of the Lake, wliieh were to be
the last of onv jotirnoy by water, led uj) a long bay to what is
called the North-west Angl(% a point from wliieli a road has
been made to Fort (larry, so that travdleis by this route now
escape the terril)l(! portages of the \Vinni[>eg river and the
roundabout way by fiaki^ Winnipeg. The breeze eha.so<l us up
finely, and we congratulated ours(;lves on having started in the
morning, as the passagt; across The Traver.sc would have been
an impossibility with the afternoon's wind, 'i'lio land became
lower as we sailed west. Wv were approaching the Eastern
boundary of the great i)rairies, that extend to the west for the
next thousand miles. A vast expanse of reeds lined both sides
of the channel, and beyond these the wood looked poor and
scrubby. The Indians, howevei , assured us that the laud was
good, — indeed that it was the oidy lake of all that we had seen
that had any good land.

At sunset, the North-west Angle was reached. This point,
though far Xorth of the 49th degree — -the boundary line be-
tween the Dominion and the United States, is claimed by the
Republic, and their claim is sustained by an evident verbal
mistake in the Treaty that defines the boundary. '' North-
west " has been inserted instead of " South-M'cst." This is only
another instance in which the diplomatists of the Kmjure have
been outwitted by the superiu. i.:nowledge and unscrupulou.s-
ness of our neighbours. A glance at the map reveals to any
one the ugly jog in the boundary line here, and the absurdity of
the claim which now cannot be gainsaid.

OCE>N TO OCEAN.

As we rounded out of the Bay into a little creek, the Angle
i<pi)eared a place of importance in the eyes of travellers who
iiad not seen anything like a crowd in their last four hundred
milers of t'-avel. Fifty or sixty peo})le, chiefly Indians, crowded
about the landing i)lace, and the babble and bustle were to us
like a return to the world ; but, after having satisfied them-
selves with a good look at us, and a joyous boisterous greeting
to our Ojibbeways, whom they carried off to an Indian and
half-breed ball in th-^ neighbourhood, we were left alone in the
dirtiest, most desolate-looking, mosquito-haunted of all our
camping grounds. In such circumstances it was indispensable
to be jolly ; so Louis wis summoned and instructed to prepare
for supper everything good that our stores contained. The
result was a grand success, and the looks of the place improved
materially.

The chief received two letters at this point ; one O'oni Gov-
ernor Archibald inviting us to come direct to Government
House at Fort Garry ; another from the District Superintend-
ent of the road, putting his half-breed cook at our disposal. As
cook had taken advantage of his master's absence to treat and
be treated up to the hilarious point, his services, much to his
amazement, were quietly dispensed with. At 11 o'clock we
turned in under our canvas, having arranged that waggons
should be ready at 4 a. m.

July 30!.h. — Wake 1 at 4.30, by the sound of heavy rain,
Drank a cup of tea and were off in an hour on the hardest
day's journey that we had yet had. It was two o'clock the
folio win": morning when we got out of the wairgons for the
night's rest, having travelled eighty miles in the twenty hours.

Those eighty miles, between the North-west Angle ank Oak
Point, were through a country utterly uninteresting in appear-
ance. The first twenty miles are across a flat country, most of
it marshy, w.th a dense forest of scrub pine, spruce, tamarack,
andj here and therc^, aspens and white birch. On both sides of

THUNDER BAY TO FORT GARRY.

;k, the Angle
t'avellers who
four hundred
ians, crowded
ble were to us
\tisfied them-
rous greeting
n Indian and
b alone in the
id of all our
indispensable
;ed to prepare
itained. The
lace improved

)ne Ci'om Gov-

I Government

Superintend-

disposal. As

to treat and

much to his

1 o'clock we

lat waggons

heavy rain,
the hardest
o'clock the
^ons for the
kventy hours,
fjle ank Oak
ig in appear-
itrv, most of
e, tamarack,
3oth sides of

the road, and in the more open parts of the country, all kinds
of wild fruit grow luxuriantly ; strawberries, raspberries, black
and red currants, etc., and, as a consec^uenco, flocks of wild
pigeons and prairie hens are numerous. The pigeons rest calmly
on the branches of dead trees by the roadside, as if no shot had
ever been tired in their hearing. Great difficulties must have
been overcome in making this part of the road, and advantage
has been skilfully taken ot dry spots and ridgos of gravel or
sand, running in the same general direction as the road. All
this part of road has been corduroyed and covered over with
clay and sand, or gravel. The land h> loam with clay under-
neath, like prairie ; witli the prairie so near, it is not likely to
be soon cultivated ; btit the wood on it will be in immediate
demand.

The next section of the countrv is of a different character. It
is light and sandy, getting more and more so, every ten miles
further west. This change in the character of the soil afforded
a feast to our Uotanist. In the course of the day he came on
two or three distinct floras ; and althougli not many of the spe-
cies were new, and in general features the productions of the
heavy and the light soils were similar to those of like land far-
ther east in Ontario and the Lower Provinces, yet the luxuriance
and variety were amazing. He counted over four hundred dif-
ferent species in this one day's ride. Great was the astonish-
ment of our teamsters, when they saw him make a bound from
his seat on the waggon to the ground, and rush to plain, wood,
or marsh. At first, they all hauled up to see what was the matter.
It must be gold or silver he had found ; but when he came back
' triumphantly waving a flower or bunch of grass, they exclaimed,
*' Did you ever see the like of that V they looked angry or
amused, according as tliey were sober minded teamsters or the
reverse. The internal c:ichniuation of a Scotch lad, from the
kingdom of Fife, over the phenomenon, w;is so violent, that he
would have exploded had he not relieved himself by occasional

mtmss,

11:

'•

■

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

witticisms ; " Jock," ho cried to the teamste: ahead, " tell yon
man if he wants a load o* graiss, no' to fill the buggy noo, an'
a'll show him a fine place where we feed the horse." But when
one of us explained to the 8oot that all this was done in the in-
terests of science, and would end in something good for schools,
he ceased to jibe, thoiiifh hn could not altogether suppress a deep
hoarse rumblinix far down in his throat — like that of a distant
volcano, — -when the Professor would come back with an un-
usually largo armful of spoil. The bonny Scot was an emigrant
who haJ been a farm servant in Fife live years ago. He had
come to the Angle this spring, and was getting thirty dollars a
month and his board, as a common teamster. He was saving
four-fifths of his wages, and intended in a few months to buy a
good f\irm on the Red River among his countrymen, and settle
down as a Liiird for the rest of his life. How many ten
thousands of Scotch lads would follow his example if they only
knew how.

At our first station. White Birch river, thirty miles from the
Angle, the keeper of the Station was a very intelligent man, a
Scotchman, who had once been a soldier. He was studying
hard at the Cree and Ojibbeway languages, and gave us much
interesting information about the country and the Indians.
He attributed the failure of Mr. Simpson to make a treaty with
the Indians at Fort Francis, in great measure to the fact
that Indians from the United States had been instigated by
parties interested in the Northern Pacific Railway to come across
and inflame their countrymen on our side to make ])reposterous
demands. The story does not sound improbable to those who
know the extremes which Railway Kings and comp; nies in New
York, and elsewhere in the Republic, have gone to in push-
ing their own line and doing everything per fas atque nefas to
crush oi)position. It is a little remarkable that the Indians all
over the Dominion are anxious to make Treaties, and are easily
dealt with, except in the neighbourhood of the boundary line,

I .:

" tell yon
;y noo, an'

But when
i In the in-
lov schools,
ress a deep
f a distant
Lth an un-
1 emigrant
He had
)y dollars a
was saving
IS to buy a
, and settle

many ten
f they only

3S from the
;ent man, a
s studying
e us much
le Indians.
,reaty with
the fact
i gated by
ome across
eposterous
those who
ies in New
in push-
ite nefas to
[ndians all
are easily
idary line,

THUNDER BAY TO FORT GARRY.

Mr. Simpson, in his Report dated November, 1871, states that
he had no difficulty with the Indians in Manitoba Province, ex-
cept, near Pembina ; and there he says, " I found that the
Indians had misunderstood the advice given them by parties in
the settlement, well disposed towards the Treaty, or, as I have
some reason to believe, liad become unsettled by the represen-
tations made by persons in the vicinity of Pembina whose
interests lay elsewhere than in the Province of Manitoba ; for,
on my announcing my readiness to pay them, they demurred
at receiving their money until some further concession had been
made by me."

Seventeen miles further on — at White Mud river — we dined.
Had we known what was before us, some would have voted for
remaining all night.

The next stage was to Oak Point, thirty-three miles distant.
The first half was over an abominable road, and, as we had to
take on the same horses, they lagged sadly. The sun had set
before we arrived at Broken Head creek, half-way to Oak
Point. Hereabouts is the eastern boundary of Manitoba, and
we are not likely to forget the rough greeting the new Province
gave us. Clouds gathered, and, as the jaded horses toiled
heavily on, the rain poured down furiously and made the roads
worse. It was so dark that the teamsters couldn't see the horses ;
and, as neither of them had been over this part of the road be-
fore, they had to give the horses free rein to go where they
pleased, and — as they were dead beat — at the rate they pleased.
The black flies worried us, and we were all heavy with sleep.
The hours dragged miserably on, and the night seemed endless;
but, at length emerging from the wooded country into the prai-
rie, we saw the light of the station two miles ahead. Arriving
there wearied and soaked through, we came to what appeared
to be the only building — a half-finished store of the Hudson
Bay Company ; — entering the open door, barricaded with paint
pots, blocks of wood, tools, etc., we climbed up a shaky ladder

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

, I '

;

to the second story, threw ourselves down on the floor, and
slept heavily beside a crowd of teamsters whom no amount of
kicking could awake. That night-drive to Oak Point we made
a note of.

July 31st. — Awakened at 8 A. M., by hearing a voice ex-
claiming, " thirty-two new species already; it's a perfect floral
garden." Of course it was our botanist, with his arms full of
the treasures of the prairie. We looked ou } and beheld a sea of
green sj)rinkled with yellow, red, lilac, and white, extending all
round to the horizon. None of us had ever seen a prairie be-
fore, and, behold, the half had not been told us ! As you
cannot know what the ocean is without seeing it, neither can
you in imagination picture the prairie. The vast fertile
beautiful expanse suggests inexhaustible national wealth. Our
uppermost thought might be expressed in the words, " thank
God, the great North-west is a reality."

JO ^

Oak Point is thirty miles east from Fort Garry, and a straifi'ht
furrow could be run the whole distance, or north all the way
up to Lake Winnipeg. A little stream — the Seine — runs from
Oak Point into the Red River. The land along it, in sections
extending two miles into the prairie, is taken wp by the Fi-ench
half-breeds; all beyond is waiting for settlers.

After breakfast we started in our waggons for Fort Garry. Tall,
bright yellow flowers, as golden rods ; red, pink, and white
roses; asters, and an immense variety of composita3, thickly
bedded among the green grass, made up a bright and beautiful
carpet. Furtlier on, the flowers were fewer ; but everywhere
the herbage was luxuriant, admirable for pasturage, and, in
the hollows, tall enough for hay. Even where the marshes in-
tervened, the grass was all the thicker, taller and coarser, so
that an acre of marsh is counted as valuable to the settler as
an acre of prairie.

The road strikes right across the prairie, and, though simply
a trail made by the ordinary traffic, is an excellent carriage

}

I >'.

THUNDER BAY TO FORT GARRY.

or, and
ount of
^e made

3ice ex-
ct floral
i full of
a sea of
iding all
lirie be-
As you
ther can
t fertile
h. Our
" thank

straight
the way
'ins from
Isections
French

IT- Tall,
white
thickly
jautiful
-^where
md, in
shes in-
jser, so
Itler as

Isimply
irriago

road. Whenever the ruts get deep, carts and waggons strike
off a few feet, and m.ike another trail alongside ; and the old
one, if not used, is soon covered with now grasses. Immense
numbers of fat plover and snipe are in the marshes, and prairie
hens on the meadow land.

At ^ P. M., we reached the Rod River, a broad, deep,
muddy coloured stream, winding sluggishly and tortuously
through a land fat and level as Holland, till it empties itself
into the gi-eat lake Winnipeg. At a point below its junction with
the Assiniboine we crossed in a scow ; drove across the tongue
of land, formetl bv it and the Assiniboine coining from the west
into the village of Winnipeg, and from there to the Fort,
where the Government House is at present.

Thus we finished our journey, from Lake Superior to Red
River, by that Dawson road, of which all had previously heard
much, in terms of praise or disparagement. The total distance
is about live hundred and thirtv miles ; fortv-five at the begin-
ning and a hundred and ten at the end by land ; and three
hundred and eighty miles between, made up of a chain of some
twenty lakes and lacustrine rivers, separated from each other
by spits, ridges, or short traverses of land or granite rocks, that
have to be portaged across. Over those throe hundred and
eighty miles the only land suitable for agriculture is along Rainy
River, and, perhaps, around the Lake of the Woods. North
and south the country is a wilderness of lakes, or tarns on a
large scale, filling huge holes scooped out of primitive rock.
The scenery is picturesque, though rather monotonous, owing
to the absence of mountains; the mode of travelling, whether
the canoes are paddled or tugged, novel and delightful ; and, if
a tourist can afford a crew of Indians and three or four weeks'
time, he is certain to enjoy himself, the necessity of roughing
it adding zest to the pleasure.

The road has been proved on two occasions to be a military
necessity for the Dominion, until a railway is built farther buck

i )i,v~ttmamM.u,t

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

{ ;

from the boundary line. If Canada is to open up her North-
west to all the world for colonization, there must be a road for
troops, from the first : there are sufficient elements of disorder
to make preparedness a necessity. As long as we have a road
of our own, tlie United States would perhaps raise no objection
to Canadian volunteers passing through Minnesota ; were we
absolutely dependent, it might be otherwise.

In speaking of this Dawson road it is only fair to give full
credit for all that has been accomplished. Difficulties have
been overcome, insomuch that, whereas it took Colonel
Wolsiey's force nearly three months to reach Fort Garry from
Thunder Bay, a similar expedition could now do the journey in
two or three weeks.

But, as a route for trade, for ordinary travel or for emigrants
to go west, the Dawson road is far from satisfactory. Only by
building a hundred and fifty-five miles or so of railway at the
beginning and the end, and by overcoming the intervening
portages in such a way that bulk would not have to be broken,
could it be made to compete even with the present route by
Duluth and the railway thence to Pembina. The question,
then, is simply whether or not it is wise to do this, at an
expenditure of some millions on a road the gi'eater part of which
runs along the boundary line, after the Dominion has already
decided to build a direct line of railway to the North-west.
The station-masters and other agents on the road, as a rule, do
their utmost ; they have been well selected, and are spirited and
intelligent men ; but the task given them to do is greater than
the means given will permit. The road is composed of fifteen
or twenty independent pieces ; is it any wonder if these often
do not fit, especially as there cannot be unity of understanding
and of plan, for there is no telegraph along the route and it
would be extremely difficult to construct one.

^orth-
ad for
sorder
a road
jection
jre we

Lve full
'S have
Colonel
y from
rney in

igrants
)nly by
f at the
rvening

CHAITEE IV.

Province of M(ui'doho,

Extent. -Population.- Laud claims of ori!,nnal sottierr<. — Sale of Lots in Winiiipui,'. —
Hudson liay Conii)any. Clerg\ muu of the settlement.— .Military eamp. Arelibishop
TachC— United State Consul. — Conflietin;^ opinions respectiuf,'- the fertile Ik-lt.
Our outfit for the Prairies.- Chief Commissioner Smith. Ifudson's Bay Com-
pany. — Lieut.- (Jovernor Archibald. — Departure from Silver Iloijfhts. White
Horse Plains.— Rev. Mr. MeD<)uj,'al. Portaire la Prairie.- The last settler. -Cli-
mate, etc. of Manitoba compared with the older Provinces. Sioux Indians in war
paint. — General remarks on Manitoba. - Emljfrantsand the I'nitod States Agents.
Treatment of the Indiatis.

August 1st. — Fort Garry. — Tlie Province of Manitoba, in
which we now are, is the smallest Province in the Dominion,
being only three degrees of longitude, or one hundred and
thirty-five miles long, by one and a half degrees of latitude, or
a hundred and five miles broad ; but, as it is watered by two
magnificent rivers, and includes the southern ends of the two
great lakes, Winnipeg and Manitoba, which open up an im-
mense extent of inland navigation, and as almost every acre of
its soil is prairie, before many years it may ecpial some of the
larger Pi'ovinces in population. At present the population
numbers about fifteen thousand, of whom not more tlian two
thousand are pure whites. One-fifth cftlie number are Indians,
either living in houses or wanderers, one-thir<l English or
Scotch half-breed, i, and rather more than a third French half-
breeds. Order reigns in Manitolja, though wise ruling is still
required to keep the conflicting elements in their proper places.
By the legislation that made Manitoba a Province, nearly one-
sixth of the land was reserved for the half-breeds ; owing to
some de^ay in carrying out this stipulation, the Metis, last year,
got suspicious and restless, and the Fenians counted on this
when they invaded the Province from Pembina and plundered

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

! i

the Hudson's Bay Company's post noiir the line. As the half-
broeds live along the Red Jliver from Pembina nortli, the situa-
tion was full of danger ; had they joined the Fenians, the
frontier would have been at once moved up to Fort Garry.
Everyone can understand the serious consequences that would
have followed the slightest success on their part. Hap])ily the
danger was averted by pi'ompt action on the ]r vt of the
Governor. The whole poi)ulation rallied ar* ^lid - ;ti tv d the
Fenians, not being able to advance into the c<>u.uf.ry, vere dis-
persed by a company of United States regalu; , aft r being
compelled to disgorge their j)lunder. A battalion ot Ci-na-
dian militia, stationed at different points along Red River,
now keeps the peace and guarantees its permanence. The land
difficulty has been settled by faith being kept with the half-
breeds ; a treaty has been made with the Indians that extin-
guishes their claims to the land ; and, as the whole of the Pro-
vince has been surveyed, divided off into townships, sections
and sub-sections, emigrants as they come in can either get
accurate information in the Winnipeg Land-office as to where
it would be best for them to settle, or they can visit and then
describe the piece of land they wish to occupy. There is room
and to spare for all, after doing the fullest justice to the old
settlers. Even the one-sixth reserved for them cannot, in the
natvire of things, be permanently held by those among whom
it may now be divided. There ^"s no Jewish law preserving
to each family its inheritance forevei*. The French half-breeds
do not like farming, and they thei-efore make but poor farmers ;
and, as enterprising settlevs with a little capital come in, much
of the land is sure to change hands. The fact that land can be
bought from )tliers, as well as from the Government, will
quicken instead of retarding its sale.

After break fjxst this morning, we had an opportunity of con-
versing with several gentlemen who called at Government
House : the United States Consul, the Land Commissioner,

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA.

3eds

3rs;

uch

rill

ton-
mt
ler,

Officers of the Battalion, Dr. Sclniltz, and others. All spoke
in the higlic terms of the clii»vite, the land, and the prospects
cf the Piovii -e '^.nd of the 'sorth-wcst. No'^hing shows moie
conclusively Mie wondevAil progress of Manitoba and the settled
condition in. which it has emerged Troin the chaos of two or
thr'^e years ago, than the far that the Hudson's Bay Company
sold at auction, the other day, in building lots, thirteen acres of
the five hundred of their Reserve around Fort Garry, at the rate
of $7,000 pe?" acre. At half the rate, for the rest, the Hudson's
Bay Company will receive for this small reserve more than the
money payment of £300,000 stg., which Canada gave for the
whole territory ; and, if a few acres favourably situated bring
so much, what must be the value of the n^any millions of acres
transferred to the Dominion ? The j)olicy of the Company now
is exactly the opposite of what it used to be ; formerly all their
efforts were directed to keep the country a close preserve ;
now they are doing all in their power to open it up. The times
have changed and they have changed with them. And, regard-
ing them merely as a Company whose sole object has been and
is to look after their own interests and pay good dividends to
the shareholders, their present policy is as sagacious for to-day
as the former was for yesterday. While a fur trading Com-
pany with sovereign rights, they did not look beyond their own
proper work ; they attended to that, and, as a duty merely
incidental to it, governed half a continent in a paternal or semi-
patriaichal way, admirably suited to the tribes that roamed
over its vast expanses. But, as they can no longer be supreme,
it is their interest that the country should be opened up ; and
they are taking their place among new competitors, and pre-
paring to reap a large share of the fruits of the development.
For many a year to come they must be a great power in our
North-west.

To-day was spent in seeing men and things, the land and the
rivers, in and around Fort Garry. The Chief drove twenty

^hM

OCKAN TO OCiCAN.

miles down the Red Kiver, to the Stone Fort, the Governor
and the rest of the party accompanying him five miles to Kil-
donan, where they called on the Kev. Mr. Jilack. The farms
have a frontage of eight chains on the river, and run two miles
back, with the privilege of cutting hay on two miles more in
the rear. The j)eople are Highlanders from Sutheihiiid-shire,
and, they knew but little about scientific farming wlum they
settled: the excellence of the hin<l and their own thrifty habits
have stood them in good stead. They have all saved money,
though there was no niarket for produce, except what the
Hutlson's \ii\y Company recpiired, till within the last two or
three years. IVlr. Jilack has been their minister for twenty
years. All the original emigrants were Presbyterians, but as
no minister was sent to them from the Church of Scotland, the
missionaries of the Church of England attracted great numbei's
to their communion, by wisely adapting their service to Scot-
tisli tastes. Till recently, the Scottish version of the psalms
was sung in the Cathedral, and the afternoon service was alto-
gether on the Piesbyterian model. The missionaries, arch-
deacons, and bishops have been earnest evangelical men, sev-
eral of them Scotchmen too. It is, therefore, no wonder if even
Scottish dislike of prelacy gave way before such a combination.
There are now Methodist and Presbyterian clergymen in the
Province, as well as Roman Catholic and Ej)iscopal. They all
have missions to the Indians, and report that, while the great
majority of the Crees and other tribes to the north-west are
Christianized, the majority of the Ojil)beways around Fort
Garry and to the east are still i)agans. The Ojibbeway seems
to have more of tne gipsy in him than any of the other tribes,
and to cling more tenaciously to the customs, traditions, and
habits of life of his ancestors. It may be that the rivalry of the
Churches that lie sees at Red River, and the vices of the white
men that he finds it easy to pick up — drunkenness especially —
have something to do with the obstinacy of his paganism. The

PROVINCK OF MANITOBA.

)vernor
to Kil-
» farms
o inilos
inoi'o in
d-shiro,
on tliey
r habits
nionoy,
hat the
two or
twenty
;, l)iit as
iind, the
iiiunbers
to Scot-
i psalms
^as alto-
aich-
en, sev-
il" even
ination.
1 in the
:hey all
lie great
rest are
kl Fort
seems
tribes,
|ns, and
of the
white
^ially —
The

drunkenness of Winnipeg is notorious ; the clergy do all in
their jk A^er, by precept and example, to chock it, but they
accom})iish little. The Roman Catholic bishop and his priests,
all the Presbyterian and Methodist ministers, the P]piscopal
archdeacon and several of his clergy are teetotalers ; biit the
saloons of Winnipeg are stronger than the Churches.

In conversation with the archdeacon and Mr. Black, wo
learned that the various denominations were building or pre-
paring to build colleges. A common school H\stom of unsecta-
rian education has been established by the Local (Government,
one-twentiotli of the land reserved as a school endowment, and
power given to the townships to assess themselves ; but strange
to say, nothing has boon done to establish a common centre of
higher education. The little Province with its fifteen thousand
inhabitants will therefore soon rejoice in three or four denomi-
national Colleges.

We called on the Wesleyan minister and Archbishop Tache ;
but as both were from home, we went to the camp and saw the
battalion reviewed. After the review the Adjutant-General
complimented the men deservedly on the order and cleanliness
of the camp, the excellence of the galley, and their good con-
duct in their relations with the citizens. The men were smart,
stout, clean-looking soldiers, and went through various move-
ments with steadiness and activity. Many of them settle in
the country, as their term of service expires, free grants of land
being given to all who have served for a year.

August 2nd. — Archbishop Tache called this morning, and
delighted us with his polished manners and knowledge Mie
country, He does not think very highly of the Saskatchewan
valley as a future grain-producing country, diflfering in this
respect from ev>. ' '.er authority ; but he speaks in glowing
terms of the Red-deer liake and River which runs into the
Athabaska, sometimes called Lae la Biche, a better name, be-
cause there are innumerable " Red-deer" lakes. In that far

l!i

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

away country, fixtfndirit,' to the north of the Nortli 8;i.skat(;h«-
wan, (lie wheat crops of tlie mission have never sufFcred from
suiiiiiHsr frosts but oiioo. It certainly is one of tlio anomalies
of tlio North-west, that the way to avoid frosts is to ;:,'o fartlicr
north. To lioiir on the Maine day tlie U. »S. Consul and the
Arclihisliop speak about tlie fertile belt is almost like hearing
counsel for and aL,'aiust it. The (Jonsul V)elieves that the world
without the Saskatchewan would be but a poor afi'air ; the
Archbishop that the fertile belt must have been so called be-
cause it is not fertile. But how explain the Arclibishop's
opinions] The evidence he adduced in support of them sugj^ests
the exitjiination ; lu^ conliued himself to facts that had been
brought before him ; but his induction of facts was too liniitod.
It doubtless is true that at Lac la Bicho wheat is raised easily,
and that at the R. C, Missions, near the Saskatchewan, it suf-
fers from summer frosts ; but the only two R. C. settlements
that we heard of in the Saskatchewancountry.viz. : those at St.
All)ert*s and Lake St. Ann's, we vi3ited, and could easily under-
stand why they suffered. They are on the extreme north-west
of the fertile belt, at an altitude above sea-level of from 2000
to 2500 feet, and were selected by the half-breeds not with a
view to farming, for the French half-breed is no former, but
because of the abundance of white-fish in the lake, and stur^, on
in the river, and because they were convenient for buffalo hunt-
ing and trapping, as well as for other reasons. The substance
of the disputed matter seems to be this: every one else believes
in the fertile belt of the Saskatchewan; the Archbishop believes
that there is a belt farther north much more fertile.

At Fort Garry farewell greetings had to be exchanged with-
the Colonel and his son. Military duties required his presence
in the Province for ten days, and we could not wait. Horetski,
who had been sent on ahead to make the necessary arrangements
for the journey westward, joined us ; so that our party from
this date numbered six. A French half-breed, named Emilien,

PKOVINCK OF MAMTOHA.

"Jiiskatohe-

;i;i'od tVoin

f\nom:vUo&

il and the
ko hearing
t i]w world
aiVair ; the
called be-
j-clibiHliop's
cm suggests
t had been
too Uiuitcd.
■aised easily,
owan, it suf-
. settlements
those at St.
easily under-
|o north-west
,f from 2000
not with a
farmer, but
landstur^,-on
Ibulfalo hunt-
lie substance
else believes
Ishop believes

lUanged with

his presence

it. Horetski,

irrangements

ir party from

led Emilien,

liud been engaged to conduct us acro.ss tlu* plains as tar as Fort
(larloton, after the approved styh^ of i)rairio travel. Kmilicn'H
cavalcade for this purpose was, in our ignorant eyes, unncces-
sarily large and imposing ; but before many days we found that
everything was needed. The caravan is not more ne(Mled in
the East, across tne deserts, tlian it is in tins Wi^st, across the
fertile l)at un'ahabitrd |)rairies. F'rovisions for the whole
party and for the rtiturn journey of the nuui must b<5 carried —
unless you make frecpient dtilays to hunt. Your tents and
theirs, in other words, hoiisf ami furniture ; kitchen, larder and
pantry ; tool-ch(!st and s[)are axle-trees ; clotlies, blankets,
water-proofs, arms and ammunition, medicine-chest, books,
paj)er boxes for specimens to be collected on the way, and things
you never think of till you miss them, all are or may bo
recpiired.

Our caravan consisted of six Red lliver wooden carts, in
which were stowed the tents, baggage and provisions ; a hoj-se
to each cart, and three di'ivers, one of them the cook for the
j)arty, two buckboards, or light four-wheeled waggonettes, for
any of us to use when tired of the saddle ; saddle horses, and
two young fellows with Emilien to drive; along a pack of
eighteen horses, as a change of horses is required once or twice
a day when it is intended to travel steadily at the rate of two
l^lndred and tifty miles a week. The native horses are small,
except those that have been crossed with Yankee or Ontarian
breeds ; but, though small and of* on mean-looking, it is doubt-
ful if the best stall-fed horses coi Id keep up with them on a
long journey.

Emilien started from the Fort with his carts and bands of
horses at 10 A.M. We followed at mid-di>y, the Governor
accompanying us to Silver Heights, six miles up the Assini-
boine. This had been his own country residence, but is now
owned by D. A. Smith, Escj., M. P., the head of the H. K
Company in America. We met here Mr. Christie, late chief

:ii

]

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

factor at Edmonton, ^Ir. Hamilton, of Xorway House, Mr.
McTavish antl others from different i)arts of the great North-
west ; and received from Mr. Smith assistance and highland
^osmcalit}', of the same kind that eveiy traveller has experi-
enced, in crossing the continent, wherever there is an H. B. post.
A few words about this Hudson's Bay Compar.y may be
allowed here, not only because of the interest attaching to* it as
the last of the great English monopolies, but because, to this
day, it is all but impossible for a party to cross the country
from Fort Garry to the Pacific without its co-operation. Its
forts are the only statiors on that long route where horses can
bo exchanged, provisions bought, and information or guides
obtained. The Comjiany received its charter in the year 1670.
The objects declared in that charter were fur-trading and the
Christianizing of the Indians. The two objects may be con-
sidered incongruous in these days ; but liistory must testify that
the Company as a rule sought to benefit the Indians as well as
to look after its f vn interests. At first, aud for more than a
century, it displayed but little activity, though its profits were
enormous. Its operations were chiefly confined to the shores of
Hudson's Bay ; but in 1783, a rival Company called the North-
west, — consisting chiefly of Canadians — disputed their claims,
entered the field, and pushed operations so vigorously tl'at the
old Company was stirred into life and activity. A golden agfe
for the red man followed. Rival traders sought him 'out by
lake and river side ; planted posts to siiit every tiibe ; coaxed
and bribed him to have nothing to do with the oi)position shop ;
assured him that Thomas Codlin and not Short had always
been the friend of the Indian ; gave him his own price for
furs, and — what he liked much better — paid the price in rum.
Over a great part of North America the conflict raged hotly
for years, for the Territory over which the Hudson's Bay
Company claijned jurisdiction was the whole of 3iitish
America, — outside of the settled Eastern Provinces of Upper

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA.

louse, Mr.
eat Noi-th-

I highland
has experi-
H. B. post,
ay may be
ing to* it as
Luse, to this
bhe country
ation . Its

horses can

II or guides
! year 1670,
ing and the
uiy be con-
■j testify that
IS as well as
iiore than a
profits were
,he shores of
1 the North-
heir claims,

|sly that the
golden agft
him 'out by

ibe ; coaxed

isition shop ;
had always
11 price for

liice in rum.

raged hotly

dson's Bay

of 3iitish

Is of Upper

aiid Jjower (JanacUi, New !>runswiclc, and Nova 8cotia, — a
territory twenty-six hundred miles long and fourteen hunih'cd
broad. Tlie rival Companies armed their agents' sei'vants, and
half-breed voyagcms, and many a time the quarrel was fought
out in the old-fashioned way, in reinoto wildernesses, wliere
there were no Courts to interfere and no laws to ap})oal to.

In 1821 th(! two ('ompanies, tired of this expensive contest,
agreed to coalesce, and the presimt Hudson's Bay Coni[)any was
incoi'})orated. Sonu; details as to its constitution may be gleaned
from a work published in 181'.), untitled " Twenty-live years in
the Hudson's J3ay Territory," bv John McLean. The sliare-
holdeis elected a (governor and Committee to sit in London
and iej)rc.sent th ai. This body sent out a Uovernor to the
Territorv, who.se authority was absolute. He held a Council at
York Factory in Hudson's Bay, of such cnief factors and chief
traders as could be present ; but these gentlemen had the right
only to advise, they could not veto any measure of the (iov.
ernor. The vast territorv of the Conn»any was divided into
four departments, and rhosc dei)artments into districts. .Vt the
head of each departmentand district a chief factor or chief trader
generally presided, to whom all otliciaJs within its bounds were
am<ma')le. The discipline and etiquette maintaintnl were of the
strictest kind, and an esprk de corps existed between the 3,000
othcers — commibsioned and ^pon-coni missioned, voyageurs and
servants, suca as is only to be found in the army or in connec-
tion with an ancient and honour,. ble .service. Thf ( 'ompany
wisely idcntiti id the interests of its agents with its own, by
paying fcheni not in tixetl salaries, but with a certain shai-e
of the protits ; and the agents served it with Ji devotion and
[)ride honourable to all i)arties. The stock of the Company
was divided into an hundred shares, sixty of these belonging to
the ca|>italist><, and forty being divided among the chief factors
and chief traders.

The tirst territory lost by the ( omp-iny was two-thirds of

¥•< I

'I
Mil

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

that lying between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific.
Oresxon was lost to them when vielded in 184G to the United
States, aftei" the ten ye irs' joint occupancy ; and Vancouver's
Island and Jiritisli ( 't)luuil>i;>. Avhen tiiey were formed into
Provinces. The fertih^ plains along the Ptjd llivei*, the Assini-
boine, and the tNvo Saskatchewans ought to ha\>' been oj>ened
u}) by tiie Kmpij'e and formed into Colonies long a;^o : but their
leal value was not known. Tt was not the business of the
('om)iany to call attention to them as fitted foi' any othei- pur-
pose than to feed buffalo : for those plains were their hunting-
grounds, and their posts on them were kept up chiefly for the
purpose of suj)plying theii fai- northern posts with j)e!nmican
or preserved bulfalo-nieat. The ('om})any did what every other
cori)oration would have done, attended simply to its own busi-
ness. The more sagacious of its leading men knew that the end
was coming, as the country could not be ke})t under lock and
key much longcM-. They could not enforce their monopioly ; for
they had no autliority to enlist soldiers, they were not sure of
their leual ri'dits. and the tide of eniigratit)n was advanciuijr
nearer every day. Eight or nine years ago, when (governor
Dallas waG shown some goM washed from thi^ sand-bars of the
Saskatchewan, l;is remark was, " the beginning of the end has
come." (iold would bring minei's, nierciiants, farmers, and
free-trade, so that fur-bearing animals and mono})olies would
need to fall bi'.ck to the frozen north ; still, the end would have
been lonirev delaved had the British Provinces not united.
But, in 1869, the (Company's rights to all its remaining terri-
tories were bought up, under Imperial authority, by the Do-
minion of Canada, and, as a niono])oly and semi-sovereign
power, the Company ceased to exist.

To return to our diary. A walk in the garden at Silver
Heights was sutiicient to prove to us the wonderful richness of
the soil of the Assiniboine valley. The wealth of vegetation
and the size of the root crops astonished us, especially when

•5\

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA.

ho Pacific.
;lie Unitofl
'luicouvev's
)rme(l into
the Assiui-
?cn ()i»('iiecl
) . hut tlieii"
ness of the
othoi- jmr-
(ir hunting
ietly for the
1 pennnican
every other
ts own busi-
Ihat the cn<l
er lock and
onopoly ; for
not sure of
s advancing
3n (ilovernor
1-bars of the
the end has
irniers, and
polies wouhl
wouhl have
not united,
aining terri-
, by t!ie Uo-
Inii-sovereign

In at Silver
|l richness of
vegetation
3cially when

informed that no nutnurc had been used. The soil all along tlie
Assiniboine is either a dark or liglitcoloured loam, the vege-
table or sandy loam that our gardeners are anxious to fill their
pots with ; a soil capable of raising anything. After dinner
we said good-bye to the Governor, a statesman of whom even
oj)p()nents will hereaft(!r record that he deserved well of tlie
country, because on all great occasions he preferred country to
self or party, and of whose M^ork in Manitoba, we ought to say
and would say much more, were it not for the fact that we had
l)artakeri of his hospitality. Driving rapidly on for five or six
mihis, we overtook our cavalcade, which had made but indiffer-
ent progress on account of sundry leave-takings by the way.
The country along the road is partly settled, but, with few ex-
ceptions, the farmers do not farm. Till lately they had not
much inducement, for there was no market: but thev have
neither the knowledge nor the inclination to farm systemati-
cally ; and, in a few years, most of the present occupants will
be bougiit out and <>o west.

As s[)ecimens of what may be done here, the farm of one
Morgan was p-ointed out. He had ])Ougl)t it some years ago,
for .£;■>() ; and this year, he had already been offined £450 for
the potatoes growing on it. A Wesleyan missionary told us
that, last year, he had taken the aveiage of ten oood farmers
near Portage la Prairie, and found that their returns of wheat
were seventeen bushels to one, — and that on land whicli had
been yielding wheat for ten years back, and which would con-
tinue to yield it, on the same terms, for the next thirty or forty.

We drove on in the quiet, sunny afternoon, at a pleasant
rate, over a fine farming but unfarmed country, to the White
Hor.se Plains, and rested at " Lane's Post," about twentv-five
miles from Port (rariy. J.ane is a North of Ireland man, a
good fjirmer, and, like all such, enthusiastic in praise of the
country. '' What about wood and water I" we asked. '' Plenty
of both everywhere," was his answer. Wherever wells had

h I

il!

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

been dug on the jmiirio near to liis place, water had been found.
On the Assiniboine and tlie ('ro(>l<s running into it, or north
into Lake Manitoba, there was abundance of good timber ; and,
where none existed, if aspens were planted, they grew in five
years big enough for fence poles.

Our first evening on the prairie was like many another which
followed it. Tlu! sky was a clear soft un flecked blue, save all
around the horizon, Avhere pure white clouds of many shapes
and masses bordered it, like a great shield of which only the
rim is embossed. The air was sini'ularlv exhilarating, vet
sweet and warm, as in more southern latitudes. The road was
only the trail made by the ordinary ti-affic, but it formed never-
theless an excellent carriage road. Far away stretched the
level prairie, dotted with islets of aspens ; and the sun, in his
going down, di})))cd beneath it as he does beneath the sea.
.Soon after sunset, we reached our camping place for the night,
an open spot on the banks of the river, thii'ty-three miles from
Fort Garry, on the east side of Long Lake, with ])lenty of dry
wood for our fires, and good feed for the hoi'ses near at hand.
Hcarcely were our fires lighted when another tiaveller drove
up, the Rev. Mr. McDougal, Wesleyan missionary at Fort
Victoria near Edmonton. We cordially welcomed him to our
camp, and asked him to join our party. He was well known
to us by re))utation as a faithfid minister, and an intelligent
observer of Indian charactei*. He had been nine times over the
plains, and evidently knew the country better than our guides.
On this occasion, he was accom])nnied only by liis Cree servant
Souzie, which being interpreted is Joseph.

August Srd. — We found this morning that it was not so easy
to make an early f,t;;r{, wa'h i ])ack of horses as with canoes.
Two or three of the pac !. were sure to give trouble, and the
young fellows in chaigc I u/l at least half a^j hour's galloping
about, — which tl. •; di ii't .•••eein *"r- regr(>: much, — before all
were' brought togetner. Wute.ing, haru'-ising. saddling, and

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA.

»een found.
;, or north
fiber ; and,
ew in five

fther which
le, siive all
iiny shapes
h only the
rating, yet
le road was
•med never-
•etc'hed the
snn, in his
th the sea.
• the night,
miles from
enty of dry
ir at hand.
Her drove
y at Fort
lim to onr
»vell known
intelligent
les over the
our guides,
ee servant

not so easy

itli canoes.

le, and the
galloping
before all

Idling, and

(:
-■3

such like, all took time. To-d*iy the Chief and Secretary drove
on ahead twenty-seven mile, to Portage la Prairie. The rest
followed more slowly, and the whole party did not reunite for
the .second start of the dav till four P.IVI.

The road and the country v;ere much the same as 3^esterday.
We were crossing tlie comparatively narrow strip of land be-
tween the Assiniboine and Tiake Manitoba. Long Lake, or a
creek that is part of it, is near the road for the greater part of
the distance. It is difficult to get at the water of the lake,
because of the deep mire around the shores ; and so we took
the word of one of the settlers for it, that it is good tliough
warm. Water from a well by the roadside was g3od, and cold
as ice. All the land along this part of the Assiniboint, north
to what is called the " Ridge," for eight miles back has l^een
taken up, but a great part is in the hands of mc^n who do noi
understand the treasures they could take out of it ; and there
is abundance of the same kind of land farther back, for new
settlers. As we drove on in the early morning, prairie hens
and chickens rose out of the deep grass and ran across the road,
^dthin a few feet cf us ; while, on mounds of hay in a fiold
lately mown, sat hawks looking heavy and sated as if they had
eaten too many chickens for breakfast. On the branches of oaks
and aspens sat scores of pigeons, so unmoved at our approach that
they evidently had not been much shot at. We asked a farmer
who had recently settled, and was making his fortune at ten
times the rate he had done in Ontario, if he evci shot any of
the birds. " No," he contemptuously answered ; " he was too
busy ; the half-breeds did that sort of thing, raid did little else."
Day after day, he would have for dinner fried pork or bacon,
and tea, when lie could easily have had the most delicious and
wholesome varieties of food. He told us that, in the spring,
wild geese, wavies, and ducks could be shot in great numbers,
but he had eaten only goose in Manitoba.

Portage la Prairie; is the centre of what v\'ill soon be a

0(^EAM TO OCEAN.

' ii

I I

i i

ill

thriving settlement. On the way to the little village, we
passed, in less than ten miles, three camps of Sioux — each with
about twenty wigwams, — ran^^ed in oval or circular form. The
three camps probably numbered tliree hundi'ed souls. The men
wore handsonif^ fellows, and a few of the women were ])retty.
We did not see many of the women, however, as they kept to
the cann)s doing all the dirty work, while the men marched
about along the road, every one of them with a gun on his
shoulder. The Indian would carry his gun for a month, though
there was not the sli'/^tost chance of getting a shot at anything.
These Sioux fled here nine or ten years ago, afte • the terrible
IVIinnesota massacre, and here they have lived ever since. One
amiable-looking old woman was pointed out as having roasted
and eaten ten or twelve children. No demand was made for
their extradition, probably because they had been more sinned
against tlian sinning. Frightful stories are told of the treatment
of Indian by miners ; and tiiere are cora})aratively few tales of
Indian atrocities to balance them. When the Sioux entered
British territory they had with them old George III medals,
and they declared that their fathers had always considered
themselves British subjects and that they would not submit to
the rule of the '• long knives." They are and always have been
intensely loyal to their great mother, and during Kiel's rebel-
lion, were ready and anxious to fight for the Queen. We were
told that the United States authorities had offered pardon if
they would return to their own lands, for the Government at
Washington is desirous now to do justice to the Indians, though
its best efibrts are defeated by the cupidity and knaveiy of its
airents ; but the Sioux would not be charmed back. The
settlers all around the Portage speak favourably of the Sioux,
They are honest and harmless, willing to do a day's work for a
little food or powder, and giving little or no trouble to anybody.
Tlie Doctor at the portage entertained us hospitably. He
spoke highly of the healthiness of the climate, showing himself

^ilj

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA.

•illage, we
-each with
brm. The
The men
ere pretty,
ley kept to
'11 marched
[inn on his
ith, though
,t anything,
the terrible
unce. One
nna roasted
as made for
nore sinned
le treatment
few tales of
oux entered
III medals,
considered
t submit to
s have been
iel's rebel-
\Ve were
Id pardon if
ernment at
lans, though
liverv ot its
lack. The
the Sioux,
work for a
to anybody,
bably. He
linir himself

as an example. THoro s(M'ms notliing lucking in tliis country
but good industrious settlors.

At four P.M. wc started for the next post, Rat Creek, ten
mihs off. Th(^ sky was threatening, our, as \v(! always disre-
garded ap])eiU-ancos. no one pi-oposod a halt. On the open
])rairie. when just well away from the Hudson I'ay Company's
store, we saw tiiat wo worf in foi- a storui. Kvory form of boauty
was combined in tlio sky at this time. To the soutli it was such
l)bio as Titian loved to paint : Itluo. tliat thoso who have seen
only (lull Kui>lish skies say is now]i(»re to bo seen l)ut on canvas
or in heaven ; and tbo bbie was ltorflero»l to tlio west v.ith vast
V)i]lowy mountains of the fleociost wliite. Next to these and
right ahead of us and OAOihoad, was a swo-len black cloud,
along the uudor surface of whicli greyer masses woi-e eddying at
a terrific rato. Kxtonding from this, and all aiound the north
and east, the expanse was a dun-colourod mass livid with liijht
ning, and there, to the right, and behind us, torrents of rain
were ])ouring, and Hearing us every moment. The atmospliere
was charged with electricity on all sides, lightning rushed to-
wards the earth in straight and zi<j/a<; curi-cnts, and the thun-
der varied from the sharj) rattle of musketry to the roar of
artillery ; still there was no rain and but littl<3 wind. We
pressed on for a house, not far away ; Itut there was to be no
escape. With the suddenness of a tornado the wind struck us,
at first without rain — but so fierce that the horsi^s were forced
again and again ofl^' the track. And novr. with the wind came
I'ain— thick and furious, and then hail — hail mixed with angu-
lar lumps of ico from half an inch to an inch across, a blow on
the head from one of which was stunning. Our long lino of
horses oud carts was broken. Some of the poor creatures clung
to the I'oad, fighting desperately ; others wero driven into the
prairie, and, turning their backs to the storm, stood still oi*
moved sideways with cowering heads, their manes and long
tails floating wildly liko those of Highland shelties. It was a

:i!

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

picture for Rosa BonbfMir ; tlio storm clrivin;^ over the vast
treeless prairie, and the men and horses yiehling to or fighting
against it. In halt' an hotir wo got under the shelter of the log
house a mile distant ; but the fury of the storm wur past, and
in less than an hour the sun burst forth again, scattering the
the clouds, till not a blot was left in the sky, save fragments
of mist to the south and east.

Three miles farther on was the camping place. The bouses
of several settlers were to be seen on different parts of tlie
creek. One of them was pointed out as the big house of (Inint,
a Nova Scotian, and now the farthest west settler. We were
on the confines of the " Grtat Lone Land."

August 4th. — Enjoyed a long sleep this morniug. Had in-
tended to rest all day. but Kmilien refused. He had contracted
to do th "^urnev in so nianv davs, jind would do it in his own
Way : ami nis wav was to travel om all days alike. He agreed,
however, to make a short journey so that we might be able to
overtake him, though not starting till late in the afternoon.

At 10 a. m., we went over to ■ rrant's house to service. Mr,
McDougall and a resident <'slevan missionarv officiated.
About fifty i)eople were present, and in the afternoon a Sunday
School of thirty children was held in the same room. Some
of us dined at Grant's, and the rest with one of his neighbours
— McKenzie. Both these men seem to be model settlers.
They had done w^ell in Ontario, but the spirit of enterprise had
brought them to the new Province. One had come three years
«go, and the other only last year ; and now one had a hundred
and twenty aeres under wheat, barley and potatoes, and the
other fifty. In five 3'ears both will have probably three or four
hundred acres under the plough. There is no limit to the
amount they may bieak up except the limit imposed by the
lack of capital or their own moderation. This prairie land is
the place for steam ])loughs, reaping, mowing and threshing
machines. With such machinery one family can do the work

■m

If
If

■W

PROVINCE OF MANITOHA.

•r tho vast
ov fighting
1 of the log
H past, and
Ltering the
fra2;ments

(f. Had in-
i contracted
t in his own
He agreed,
lit be able to
"tornoon.
rvice. Mr.
officiated,
pn a Sunday
l)oni. Some
neighbours
lei settlers,
terprise had
three years
1 a hundred
)cs, and the
iree or four
imit to the
sed by the
liirie land is
threshing
the work

of a dozen men. It is no wonder that these .settlers spe^ik en-
thusiastically of the country. The great difficulties a farmer
encounters elsewhere are non-existent liere. To begin with,
he does not need to buv land, for a Imndred and sixty acres are
ffiven awav aratuitouslv bv the Uovernment to evtM-v bona fide
settler ; and one-third o( the f|unntitv is a farm large enough
for any one wlio would devote himself to a specialty, such as the
raising of beets, potatoes, or wheat. He does not need to usa
manure, foi-, so worthless is it considered, that th(^ Legislature
has had to pass a law prohibiting people from throwing it into
the rivers. He has not to buy guano, nor to makc^ compost
heaps. The land, if it hixs any fault, is naturally too rich. Hay
is so abundant that when threshing the grain at one end of tlie
vard, he burns the straw at the other end to get rid of it. He
does not need to clear tho land of trees, stumps or rocks. Very
little fencing is rerpdred, for he can enclose all his arable land
at once with one fence^ and ])astui'C is eommon and illimitable.
There is a good inarket all over ]\ranitoba for stock or pro-
duce of any kind, and if a settler is discontented he can sell
his stock and implements for tlieir fnll value to new comers.

And what of the Indians, the mostpiitoes, and the locusts I
Neither Crees nor Sioux have given tho.se settlers the slightest
trouble. The Sioux Jisk only for protection, and even before
(4overnor Archib:dd made the Treaty with the Salteaux and
(!rees by which they received a hundred and sdxty acres of land
per family of five, and three dollars per head every year for
their rights to the country, they molested no one. T*oor whites,
were they about in equal numbers, would give ten times as
much trouble as the poor Indians, though some of the braves
still paint ferociously and all carry guns. And the mosquitoes,
and the grasshoppers or locusts, no one eve-r spoke of, probably
because the former are no greater nuisance in Manitoba than in
Minnesota or Xova Scotia, and the latter have proved a plague
only two or three times in liulf a century. Every country has

'^'m

■.i

!'■

i' J

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

itH own ilrawhacks. Tlin ((nostioii must !il\vn.vs be, do tlie ad-
vantages inoi'(3 tliuii (^oiintt'ibalaiuo tlio dniwbachs ] Thus, in
rotuniing liomo tliroiigii California wo found tliat tlio wlieat
crop, tliis yoar, amounted to twenty millions of husliels. The
faniK^rs told us that, for the two preceding years, it had h(;en a
failun; owing to long continued «lrought, and that, on an aver-
age, they could only count on a go(jd crop every second year,
hut, so enormous was the yi»'ld then, that it paid them w(dl to
sow wheat. Take, too, the case of the great wheat-raising
8tat<! of what, as distinguished from the l*acitic, may l)e called
the Eastern States. Tlu^ wheat ci-op of Minnesota this yeai"
amouuU u> twenty millions of bushels. P)ut, uj) to 1857,
enough wheat was not raised in the State to supjdy the wants
of.tlie few thousands of lumbermen who tirst settled jMinnesota.
Flour had to be sent uj) the Mississippi from St. Louis, and the
imprsssion then was very general that one half of Minnssota
consited of lakes, sandhills, sandy prairies and wilderness, and
that the winters were so Ioiil,' and so cold in the other half that
farming coidd never be carried on profitably. Severe remarks
could be intide with tnith against Minnesota, but it is also the
truth that twenty years ago its [)opulation was five thousand,
and that now it is five hundred thousand. The soil of jVIinne-
sota is not equal in quality to the soil of Manitoba. Calcare-
ous soils arc usually fertile. And Manitoba has not only
abundant limestone everywhere, but every other element re-
quired to make soil unusually productive. Whereas, when you
sail up the Red River into Minnesota, the limestone disappears,
and the valley contracts to a narrow trough, only two or three
miles wide, beyond which the soil is often thin and poor. But,
notwithstanding all difHeulties, most of the emigrants to Min-
nesota are prospering. Jlundreds jf thousands of hardy Welsh-
men and Scandinavians poui-ed inxo the new State, secured land
under the Homestead Acts or bought it from Railway Com-
panies, lived frugally — shiefly on a bred and milk fare — for

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA.

», do r.ie nd-
{ Thus, in
.t tho wlieut
sh(!ls. Thn
, hud hoAm a
on an aver-
I'cond yeai'»
hvm wvW to
'heat-raising
ly he caUed
ta tliis year
\\i to 1857,
V tho wants
1 Minnesota,
ouis, and the
f Minnssota
derness, and
ler half that
ere remarks
t is also the
ve thousand,
I of Minne-
i\. CJalcare-
as not only
element re-
[\s, when you
disappears,
wo or three
poor. But,
nts to Min-
lardy Welsh-
ecnred land
I way Com-
k fare — for

the first few years, and they arc now well-to-do farm<'rs. Seeinj;
tiiat all the t.-onditions for prosperous settlement are more fa-
vourable in Manitoha, is it not easy to foresee a simih rly ra[»id
deve]o}mient, if those entrusted with its destinies and with the
rlestinies of our j^reat Noi th-west act with the energy .md puh
lie spirit of which our neighbours show so shining an example I
It is not hard to trace the sources of those alarming rumours,
that we heard so much of at a distance, concerning the soil and
climate of ^Manitoba. Our friends on l^at Creek gave us an
inkling of them. On their way from St. I'aul's, with their
teams and cattle, at every post they W(n( repeatedly warned
not to im}>overish their families by going to a cohl, locust-de-
voured, barren land, where there was no market and no freedom,
but to settle in Minnesota. Agents otfered them the best land
in the world, and when, witli liritisli stupidity, they .shut their
ears to all ten'ptations, obstacles were thrown in the way of
their going on, and coi-ts and charges so multi[>lied, that the
threatened impoverishment would liave Ijecome a fact before
they reached Afanitoba, had they not been resolute and trusted
entirely to their own resources. Kven when they arrived at
Winnip<ig the gauntlet had still to be run. In that saloon-
crowded village were certain touters and indefatigable sympa-
thizers with American institutions, men who had alwavs calcu-
lated that our North-west would dro[) like a ri[)e ])oar into the
lap of the Republic, who had been at the bottom of the half-
breed insurrection, and who are now bitterly disappointed to
see their old dream never likely to be more than a dream.
These worthies told Grant's party confidenriaily that they
had been years in the country, and had not once seen a good
crop. Who could doubt such disinterested testimony 1

But what of tlie terrible frost, the deep snow, and the long
winters] lliese must be stern realities. The answer of every
man and woman we spoke to, in town or country, was that the
winter was pleasanter than in Ontario, Quebec, or the Maritime

■ f ^

■,%

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

A*^

.^-

1.0

I.I

1^128 |2.5

|5o *^™ M^H

la lU |2.2
£ 1^

- 6"

1.8

L25 iU ill 1.6

Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80

(716) 872-4503

!>•

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

Provinces. There is no severe weather till the beginning of
December. The jiverago depth of snow from that time is two
feet, and there is no thaw till jMarch. The severitv of the in-
tervening months is lessened by the l)iiglit sun, the cloudless
skies, the stillness and dryness of the air. On iiccount of the
steady cold tlie snow is dry as meal, and the farmers' wives
said that " it was such an advantage that the children could
run about all winter, without getting their feet wet." They
could not say as much in Nova Scotia. This drynciis of the
snow is also an important fact ^us regards railway construction.
Let the rails be raised two or three feet above the level of the
prairie, and they are sure to be always clcav of snow. In fact
there is much less risk of snow blockades in the winter on our
western plains than in the older Provinces or in the North-
eastern States. In March, and even in April, tliere are some-
times heavy snow-storms. But the snow soon melts away. It
is what was intended for spring rain. Hay is needed in those
months more than in the winter, when the horses and even the
cattle can paw oft' the snow and eat the nutritive grasses un-
derneath ; whereas, in March and April a crust is often formed,
too hard for their hoofs to remove ; and the more hay that is
cut in the autumn the less risk from prairie fires, as well as the
better provision for the live stock.

This hopeful — even enthusiastic — language about Manitoba
may be discounted by some readers, in view of the locust
phigues that have retarded the prosperity of the Province sin^^e
1872. Our hopvS were founded not only on what we saw, but
on the descriptions of the settlers and on their brave and cheery
tone. They ignored rather than anticipated difficulties. They
had a pride in- the new land they had made their own, and faith
in its future. Everywhere, in conversation with them, we found
combined with this contidence, the rising of that national senti-
ment, that pride in their country, which is both a result and a
safe-guard of national dignity and independence, as distinguished

PROVINX'E OF MANITOBA.

beginning of
, time is two
tv of the in-
the cloudless
i?count of the
innei's' wives
liiUlreu could

wet." They
•ynCi^s of the

construction.
[3 level oi the
low. In fact
ivinter on our
11 the North-
ere are some-
olts away. It
icded in those

and even the
o grasses un-

often formed,
e hay that is

as well as the

out Manitoba
of the locust
^rovince sin».e

we saw, but

e and cheery
ulties. They
)wn, and faith
lem, we found

ational senti-
a result and a

distinguished

from a petty provincialism. This Great West will, in the
future, probably manifest this spirit more than even the East-
ern Provinces, and so be the very backbone of the Dominion ;
just as the ]>rairie States of the neighbouring republic are the
most strongly imbu^'d with patriotic sentiments. The sight,
the possession of these boundless sees of rich land stirs in one
that feeling of — shall we call it bumptiousness — that Western
men have been accused of displaying. It is easy to ridicule
and caricature the self sufficiency, but the fact is, a man out
West feels like a young giant, who cannot help indulging a
little tall talk, and in displays of his big limbs.

At 4 P.M., we prepared to follow our party, but at this
moment, a body of si.xty or eighty Sioux, nobh; looking fellows,
came sweeping across the prairie in all the glory of ptiint,
feathere, and Indian warlike magnificence. They had come
from Fort Ellice, had recently travelled the long road from Mis-
souri, and were now on their wav to Governor Archibald to ask
permission to live under the Ilriti.sh flag, and that small reserves
or allotments of land should be allowt.l them, as they were
determined to live no longer under the rule of " the long
knives." Some of them rode horses, others were in light bag-
gage-carts or on foot. All had guns and adornment of one kind
or another. A handsome brave came first, with a painted tin
horse a foot lon<j hanjjing from his neck down on his naked
brawny breast, skunk fur round his ankles, hawk's feathers on
his head, and a great bunch of sweet-smelling lilac bergamot
flowers on one arm. An Indian brave has the vanity of a child.
We went forward to address him, when he pointed to another
as 0-ghe-ma (or chief) ; and, as the band halted, the 0-ghe-ma
then came up with the usual " Ho, Ho ; B'jou, B'jou," and shook
hands all round with a dignity of manner that whites in the
new world must despair of ever attaining. His distinction was
a necklace of bears* claws, and mocassins belted with broad
stripes of porcupines' quills dyed a bright gold. Next to him

fjitr-

-Jsai.

*: I

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

came the medicine man, six feet three inches in height, gaunt
and wasted in aj)pearance, with only a single blanket to cover
his nakedness. Thej' would have liked a long poiv wow, but
we had time only for hasty greetings and a few kindly words
with thtiju.

It was late before we reached the tents, for Emilien had gone
on to "the three creeks," twenty-two miles from Rat Creek — or
" crick," as the word is universally pronounced in the North-
west. Every stream, two smalt to be dignified witli the name
of river, is a " crick."

In to-morrow morning's journey we are to pass out of the
Province of Manitoba. This, then is probably the best place
for a few additional words on it as a home for emigrants ; on the
subject of emigration generally ; and on the settlement of the
Indian ditiicultv in the Province.

How is it that the United States have risen so rapidly
from the condition of a fringe of provinces along the At-
lantic to that of a mighty nation spreading its arms across a
continent ? The question is one that the New Dominion
ought to ask, foi- the Dominion also aspires to greatness, and
believes that it has within its borders all the resources
required to make a nation materially great. A principal cause
of the rapid devcilopment of the United States is that it has
absoi^d. especially within the last quarter of a century, so many
millions of the population of the old world. It had a great
West, boundless expanses of fertile land, and had the wis-
dom to see that, while the soil is the great source of wealth,
untilled soil is valueless ; and that therefore every inducement
should be held out to the masses, overcrowded in Europe,
to seek homes within its borders. Each emigrant who landed
at Castle Garden represented the addition of hundreds of
dollars to the wealth of the country. He represented the
cultivation of some land and an increased value to more, addi-
tional imjiorts and exports, tuxes, and national strength. With

'w-

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA.

I height, gaunt
lankot to cover
; jyow wow, but
r kindly words

nilien had gone
Rat Creek— or
I in the North-
witli the name

pass out of the

the best place

igrants ; on the

btlernent of the

isen so rapidly

along the At-

arms across a

Tew Dominion

•

greatness, and

the resources
principal cause
s is that it has
ntury, so many
lit had a great
had the wis-
\ycq of wealth,
^ry inducement
3d in Europe,

int who landed
[>f hundreds of

^presented the
1 to more, addi-
Itrength. With

. 'i'i

■■£

the same apparent generosity, but with as cool a calculation of
profits as that which sent Stanley to discover Livingstone, free
grants of land were therefore offered to the whole world. Home-
stead laws provided that those farms should not bo liable to be
seized for debt. As it was necessarv that the emigrant should
be able to get easily to his farm and to send to market what he
raised, companies were chartered to build railways in every
direction, the State subsidising them with exemptions, money
bonuses, and enormous land grants. The ancient maxim had
been, ** settle up the country and the people will build railways
if they want them." The new and fc jtter maxim is, " build rail-
ways and the country will soon be settled." Tliese railway
corporations became the emigiation agents of the United States,
and well have they done tiie public work, while directly serving
their own interests. With the one aim of securing settlers,
whose labour on parts of their land would make the other parts
valuable, they organized, advertised, and worked emigration
schemes with a business-like thoroughness that has attracted
far less attention than it deserves. What a proud position the
United States, as a country, was thus made to occupy in the
eyes of the whole world ! *' Ho, every one tliat wants a farm,
come and take one," it cried aloud, and in every language. Poor
men toiling for a small daily wage in the old world, afraid of
hard times, sickness and old age. heard the cry, and loved the
land that loved them so well, and offered so fair. They came
in thousands and found, too, that it kept its word ; and then
they came in tens and hundreds of thousands, till now less
liberal offei-s have to be made, because most of the public do-
main that is worth an v thing has been absorbed. Those hard-
working masses prospered, and they raade the country great.
Some of them who had been rudely expatriated, who had left
their mother land with bitterness in their hearts, vowed
vengeance and bequeathed the vow to their children. Others
attributing their success to the new institutions, began to hate

*»»■««;*;;- J

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

the forms of government that they identified with their days of
penury and misery. Others were wiser, but their riterests
were bound up with their adopted country, and, when it came
to vhe question, they took sides against the okl and with the
new. Had the State hekl aloof, maintaining that any inter-
ference or expenditure on its part in connection with emigration
was inconsistent with political economy, that the tide of popu-
lation must be left to flow at its own sweet will, and railways
be built only where there was a demand ibr them, the great west
of the United States would not have been filled up for many
a year to come. And had the Imperial authorities thought
less about imaginary laws of political economy and more about
pressing practical necessities, millions, who are now in a strange
land bitter enemies of the British crown, would have been its
loyal subjects in loyal colonies.

The past is gone ; but it is not yet too late to do much. We
now stand on a more fiivourable vantage ground than before,
not only positively but comparatively, for our vast virgin'
prairies are thrown open, while there is but little good land
left in tlie United States available for settlement under the
homestead laws. The great lines of communication from the
sea-board are beginning to touch our North-west territory ; and,
if we act with the vigour and wisdom of which our neighboui's
have set the example, the ever-increasing current of emigration
from the old world must flow into Manitoba, and up the As-
siniboine and Saskatchewan rivers. _

We must act, to bring about such a result. It will not come
of itself. While we stand looking at the river, it flows past.
Labour is required to divert it into new channels, or it will flow
over the courses that have been made for it, or simply overflow
them. We are now able to oflfer better land, and on easier terms,
to immigrants than the United States or any of its mil way com-
panies offer, but they will continue to attract them if we fold
our arms while they work. They have many influences on their

PROVINCE OP MANITOBA.

th their days of
their riterests

I, when it came
d and with the

that any inter-
with emigration
he tide of popu-

II, and railways
n, the great west
[id up for many
liorities thought

and more about
now in a strange
Id have been its

to do much. We
^ind than before,
our vast virgin*
little good land
iment under the
lication from the
it territory ; and,
li our neighbour
snt of emigration
and up the As-

sido ; the gravitating force of numbers ; past success on a grand
scale; grooves worn smooth by the millions tramping westward ^
a vast army of agents paid in proportion to their succes ; every
principal railway station in Furope, and even in the Dominion,
pimered with their glowing advertisements ; floods of pam-
phli'ts in every language; arrangements pc^rfectcd to the minutest
details for forwarding the ignorant and helpless stranger from
New York ami Chicago to any point he desires; and perhaps a
comfortable log slianty ready for hini whon he gets there. They
offer great inducements to men to organise colonies ; advise
neighbours to club their resources and emigrate together, so that
one may help the other ; lay off village i)lats and draw beautiful
sketches of future cities ; and cheor the droo})ing s])irit of the
foreigner, when he is discouraged with difficulties that had not
been advertised, with brilliant pro[)hecies and an infusion of the
indomitable Yankee si)irit. They make the doubter believe
that it is better to pay their company from $5 to 815 an acre
for " the best land in the world," " rich in minerals," " no long
winters," accompanied with free passes over the railway, and
long credits, " one-tenth down, and the rest when it suits you,"
than to take up free grants elsewhere.

In all this business, for it is purely a business transaction,
though gilded with soft hues of buncombe, references to down-
trodden millions, American generosity, free institutions, and such
like, they have hitherto had no competitor; for, until our North-
west was opened up and proved to contain farms for the million,
we could not well com[)ete. What the mass of emigrants wanted
was prairie soil } land that they could plough at once without
the tedious and exhausting labour of years required in wood-
land farming, chopping, rolling, burninp;, grubbing, stumping,
and levelling. Such land the Dominion can now offer, and it is
therefore the great and immediate duty of the Government to
see that it be opened up, and brought within reach of the ordi-
nary class of settlers.

;£.y^^i»^^k>!0Hlim3!tm9,t.A^i...

100

OCEAN TO OCRAN.

To whiit point in tho Dominion should tlio eini<?rant turn his
eyes ? E.xch province pro'cnts Hpcciul inducomonts, hut no
part of Anu'ricii now ofVcrs .so many as Manitoba. Tho hmd
farther west an<l to the north-west is <MpiMlly ^ood, but, until
op(MUMl up by railway oi- stoaniboats, it i.s comparatively vtii^e-
less to (ho .settler; for there is little use in raisin;^ stock, wheat,
or potatoes, if they cannot bo conveyed to niarki^t. J>ut Mani-
tobe is now within reach of the emi<^rant, and there is a good
market in Winni[)ey. This little villajj;e is becoming a town;
houses are springing up in all directions with a rapiility known
only in the history of Western towns; and the demand for
provisions, stock, farm implements, and everything on which
labour is ex[)ended, is .so much greater than the 8up])ly, that
prices are enoi'mously high. The intending settler, therefore,
should bring in with him as much of what he may require as he
possibly can.%

Besides a rich soil, a healthy and — for the hardy populations
of northern and pinitral I:]urope — a jdcasant climate, law and
order, and all the advantages of British connection, Manitoba
otters other inducements to the emigrant.

The (jrov'ernment of the Dominion has opened the country for
settlement on the most liberal terms possible. Any person, the
subject of Her Majesty by birth or naturalization, who is the
head of a family or has attained the age of twenty-one years, is
entitled to be entered for one hundred and sixty acres, for the
purpose of securing a homestead right in respect thereof. To
secure this land he has only to make affidavit to tho aL jve ^ Ject,
and that he purjioses to be an actual settler. On filing this
affidavit with the land officer, and on payment to him of $10,
he is permitted to enter the land specified in his application.
Five years thereafter, on showing that he has resided on or cul-
tivated the land, he receives a patent for it ; or any time before
the expiration of the five years he can obtain the patent by
paying the pre-emption price of one dollar an acre. This farm,

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA.

101

L-e. This farm,

no matter liow vahmblc it may bccomp, nnd liis bonsft and fur-
nituro, barns, staMfs, fences, tools, and farm iinphunentH are
declared free from Heizuro for debt ; and in addition to the ex-
er ■■ 'on of all tiioso, thoro are also exempted, " one cow, two
oxen, one horse, four sheep, two pigs, and the food for the «ttmo
.or thirty days."

There are, and can be, no Indian wars or dilVicp.lticH in Mani-
toba. This is a matter of tlie utmost iiiipoitanco to the intend-
ing setth^r. When we returned from our expedition, the Chief
was interviewed at Ottawa by a deputation of the Russian sect
of Mennonites, who are lookin^^'out for the best place in America
for their constituents to settle in, and one of their first (lUestions
referred to this. He answered it by pulling a boy's knife out of
his j)Ockct, small bhide at one end cork-screw at the other, and
told them that that was the only weapon he had carried while
travelling from Ocean to Ocean ; adding that he had used only
one end of even so insignificant a weapon, and that end not so
often as he would have liked. -

As the mode of settling with the Indians adopted in Mani-
toba is based on the system that has been long tested in the older
provinces, and that will ppobably be extended to the whole of
the North-west, a few words on the general question may not
be out of place. There are three ways of dealing with the less
than half-million of red men still to be found on the continent
of America, each of which has been tried on a smaller or larger
scale. The first cannot be put more clearly or badly than it
was in a letter dated San Francisco, Sept. 1859, which went the
round of the American press, and received very general appro-
val. The writer, in the same sjjirit in which Roebuck con-
demned the British CTOvernment's shilly-shally policy towards
the Maories, condemned the Federal Government for not having
ordered a large military force to California when they got pos-
session of it, "with orders to hunt ard shoot down all the In-
dians from the Colorado to the Klaniath." Of course the ^vr i

■■-rmumiaiitm.

SHkyiBiaut'if.'Jt,i

'-•»*W«,|j.U.V,

i! I

102

OCKAN TO OCEAN.

ter adds that such a method of dealing witli the Indians would
have been the clieapoHt, "and perlmps the most humane."
With !ej,'!U<l to this policy of no nonsense, thorouf^di-goinpf as
seHlshiiess itself, it is enough to say that no ('hristian nation
wouhl now toh(nit(5 it for an instant.

The second way is to insist that tliere is no Indian «|uestion.
Assume that the Indian must suhuiit to our wavs of liviiiir and
ourhiv/s because they are better than his; and that, as ho has
made no improvement on the hind, and has no legal title-deeds,
he can have no right to it that a civilized being is bound to
recognize. Let the emigrants, as they pour into the country,
shove the old lords of the soil buck ; hire them if they choose to
work ; j)unish them if they bieak the laws, and treat them as
poor whites have to be treated. Leave the struggle between the
two races entirely to the principle of natural selection, and let
the weaker go to the wall. This course has been practically
followed in many parts of America. It has led to frightful
atrocities on both sides, in wliich the superior vigour of the
civilized man has outmatched the native ferocity of the savage.
The Indian in such competition for existence, soon renlizing his
comparative weakness, had resource to the cunning that the
inferior naturally oi)poses to the strength of the superior. This
irritated even the well-disposed white, who got along honestly,
and believed that honesty was the best policy. It was no wonder
that, after a few exchanges of punishment and vengeance,
the conviction became general that the presence of the
Indian was inconsistent with public security ; that he was a
nuisance to be abated ; and that it was not wise to scrutinize
too closely, what was done by miners who had to look out for
themselves, or by the troops who had been called in to protect
settlers. The Indians had no newspapers to tell how miners
tried their rifles on an unoffending Indian at a distance, for the
pleasure of seeing the poor wretch jiim}) when the bnllet struck
him ; or how, if a band h^^d fine horses, a charge was trumped

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA.

103

'lii'iKtiiin nation

up against them, that the band might be broken up and the
hoi*ges stolen ; or how the innocent were indiscri minutely
slaughtered with the guilty ; or how tliey wore poiKoned by
traders with bad rum, and cheated till left without c;un, horse,
or blanket. This policy of giving to the simple chiidi ^n of the
forest and praiiie, the blessings of unlimited free-tiade, and
lidding them look after their own interests, has not been a suc-
cess. The frightful cruelties connected with it and the expense
it has entailed, has'e forced many to question whether the fire
and sword plan would not have been " cheaj)er and, perhaps,
more numane."

The third way, called sometimes the paternal, is to go down
to thu Indian level when dealing with them ; go at least half-
way down ; explain that, whether they wish it or not, immi-
grants will come into the country, and that the Government is
bound to seek the good of all the races under its sway, and do
justly by the white as well as by the red man ; offer to make a
treaty with them on the principles of allotting to them leserves
of land that no one can invade, and that thev themselves can-
not alienate, giving them an annual sum per family in the
shape of useful articles, establish ig schools among them and
encouraging missionary effort, and prohibiting the sale of in-
toxicating liquors to them. When thus approached, they are
generally reasonable in their demands ; and it is the testimony
of all competent authorities that, when a treaty is solemnly
made with them, that is according to Indian ideas of solemnity,
they keep it sacredly. They only break it when they believe
that the other side has broken faith first.

Such has been the policy of the old Canadas and of the Do-
minion, and it is now universally adopted in America. True,
the agents of the United States Government have often de-
feated its attempts to do justice and show mercy, by wholesale
frauds ; and the Indians, believing themselves deceived, have
risen with bursts of fury to take vengeance ; and, like all

mttmAi

104

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

children, if deceived once, they are very unwilling to b«lievA
you the next time. Genenil IFoward has therefore advised the
removal of many of tlm Indian agents, with the remark that
"when agents pay $15,000 for a ])osition, the salary of which
is only $1500, there nnist he HouK^tliing wrong." Hut this cor-
ruption of individual agents is a niere accident, an accident
that seems to be inseparable from the manugoment of |)ublic
affairs in the Republic. The groat thing is that the United
States Government has taken its stand (irmly on the ground
that the Indians are to be neither extern\inated nor abandoned
to themselves, but protected and helped. In a letter to George
H. Stewart, dated October 28th, 1872, President Grant writes
with his custonuiry directness and plainness of speech : "If
the present i)olicy towards the Indians can bo improvea in any
way, I will always be i-eady to receive suggestions on the sub-
ject ; but if any change is made, it must bo made on the side of
the civilization and christianization of the Indians. I do Dot
believe our Creator ever placed the different races of men on
this earth with the view of the stronger exerting all his ener-
gies in exterminating the weaker."

It may be said that, do what we like, the Indians as a race,
must eventually die out. It is not unlikely. Almost all the
Indians in the North-west are scrofulous. But on the other
hand, in the United States and in Canada, they exist, in not a
few cases, as christianized self-supporting communities, and have
multiplied and prospered. . These are beginning to ask for full
freedom. It was all right, they argue, to forbid us to sell our
lands, when we did not know their value, and to keep us as
wards when we could not take care of ourselves ; but it is
different now ; we are grown men ; and it is an injustice to
prevent us from making the most we can out of our own.

At all events, there are no Indian difficulties in our North-
west. For generations the H. B. Company governed the tribes
in a semi-paternal way, the big children often being rude and

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA.

lOA

noisy, sometimes plundering a fort, or even maltreating a factor,
but in the end always returning to their allegiance, as without
the Company, they could not get tea or tobncco. giuis or powder,
blankets or trinkets. "•

Since the transfer of the country to the Dominion the Indians,
except when operated on by foreign influences, have been anxi-
ous for treaties. In the year 1871, (iovernor Archibald made
a treaty at the Stone Fort or Lower Fort (iarry, with the
OjibV)ewayH and Swaui|)y Crecs, the only two tribes in his
Province, and a second treaty with the Indiiius further north,
as far as Lake Winnipegosis and Boren's lliver, and to the
west as far as Fort Fllico. This second tieaty comi)rises a
tract of country two or three times as large as Manitoba.
About four thousand Indians assembled on those occasions, and,
after a good deal of preliminary feasting, consulting, and pow
wovmig, arrangements were made with them. The objects
aimed at by the Governor and the Indian Commissioner were
to extinguish the Indian title to the land, and, >it the same
time, do substantial justice and give satisfaction to the Indians.

The treaty-making j)rocess is interesting, as illustrative of
several points in the Indian character. Though it took ten
days to make the first, yet, in the light lately thrown on the
difficulties of drawing up a treaty that shall express the same
thing to both parties, the time cannot be considered unreason-
ably long.

The Indians first elected chiefs and spokesmen to represent
them. On these being duly presented and invited to state
their views, they said that there was a cloud before them which
made things dark, and they did not wish to commence the pro-
ceedings till the cloud was dispersed. It was found that they
referred to four Swampies who were in prison for breach of
contract, and the tribe felt that it would be a violation of the
brotherly covenant to enter upon a friendly treaty, unless an
act of indemnity were passed in favour of the four. As they

I Uli

] f

..( i

106

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

begged their discharge un the plea of grace and not of right, the
Governor acceded to their petition ; and the Indians thereupon
declared that henceibrth they would never raise a voice against
the law being enforced.

The real business then commenced. Being told to state their
views on reserves and annuities, they did so very freely, and»
substantially, to the effect that about two-thirds of "fhe province
should be reserved for them. But when it was explained that
their great mother must do justly to all her children, " to those
of llic rising sun as well as to those of the setting sun," and that
it would not be fair to give much more than a good farm for
each family^ they assented. Fortunately the Governor could
point out to them a settlement of Christianized Ojibbeways
numbering some four hundred, between the Stone Fort and the
mouth of Red River, as a proof that Indians could live,
prosper, and provide like the white man. This mission was
established by Archdeacon Cochi-ane, and has now a full-
blooded Indian for its clergyman. Many of them have well-
built houses and well-tilled fields, with wheat, barley and
potatoes glowing, and giving promise of plenty for the coming
winter.

The Indians of this district form a parish of their own, called
St. P» ♦^^ ''s, and return a member to the House of Assembly;
they have the honour of being represented, by a gentleman who
has successively held the offices of Minister of Agriculture,
Provincial Secretary, and who is now Provincial Treasurer.

In the end, it was agreed that reserves should be allotted
sufficient to give one hundred and sixty acr3S to each family of
five ; that the Queen should maintain a school on each reserve
when the Indians required it ; ancj that no intoxicating liquors
be allowed to be introduced or sold within the bounds of the
reserves ; also, that each family of five should receive an
annuity of $15, in blankets, clothing, twine, or traps; and, as
a mark of Her Majesty's satisfaction with the good behaviour

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA.

107

of Her Indians, and as a seal to the treauy, or Indian luck-
penny, a present of $3 be given to each man, woman, and child.
Every one being satisfied, the treaty was signed, the big orna-
mented calunif t of peace smoked all round, and the Oovernor
then promised each chief a buggy, to his unbounded delight.

One important consequence of these Indians being pleased is
that the Indians farther west, having hoard the news, are all
anxious for treaties, and have been on their good behaviour
ever sin'ie.

^.:'':

CHAPTER V.

From Manitoba to Fort Carlton on the North Saskatchewan.

Fine fertile couHtrj'. -The water queBtioii.— Duclt shooting'. Salt Lakes.— Campiiigr on
tho plains.—Fort Ellicc. -Qu'aitpelle Valley. -" Soiizie"— The River Assiniboine.—
The Buffalo.— Cold niyhts. Rich soil. -Lovely Country.- Little Touchwood Hills.—
Cause of prairie fires.- A day of rest.— Prairie uplands. -Indian family.— Red
River Carts. — P.ufTalo skulls.- Desolate track. - Quill Lake. Salt water.— Broken
prairie.— Round hill. -Prairie fire.- Rich black soil. Red River Brigades.—
Magnificent Panorama. —Break-neck speed.— The South Saskatchewan,— Sweet"
hearts and wives. —Fort Carlton.— Free traders. The Indians.— Crop raising.

August 5tli. — Tliis morning it I'ained lioavily, anrl delayed us
a little ; but by the time we had our morning pannikin of tea,
the carts j)acked, and everything in its place, the weather cleared
up. We got away at 5 A.M., and rode sixteen miles before
breakfast, reaching Pine Creek, a favourite camping ground ;
still following up the course of the Assiniboine, though never
coming near enough to get a siglit of it, after leaving our first
camp from Fort Carry. Tho next stage was fourtean miles to
Bog Creek ; and after dinner, eleven miles more, ma'iing forty-
one for the day. Instead of the level prairie of the two pre-
ceding days and the black peaty loam, we had an undulotincr
and more wooded couatry, with soil of sandy loam of varying
degrees of richness. Here and there ridges of sand cJunes,
covered with vegetation, sloped to the south, having originally
drifted from the north, probably from the Riding Mountains, of
which they may bv. considered the outlying spurs. From the
top of any one of these a magnificent view can be had. At
our I'eet a park-like country stretched far out, studded with
young oaks ; vast expanses beyond, extending on the north to
the Riding Mountains, and on the south to the Tortoise Moun-
tain on the boundary line; a beautiful country c.\ tending
hundreds of square miles without a ettler, though there is less

7 .

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

109

bad land in the whole of it than there is in the peninsula of
Halifax, or within live or ten miles of any of our eastern
cities. TIjis almost entire absence of unproductive land is to
us very wonderful. If we except the narrow range of sand-
hills, there is actually none ; for the soil, even at their base, ia
a light sandy loam which would yield a good return to the
farmer. The soil about these hills is not equal to prairie. Its
flora is not that of the prairie. Both soil and flora are like
those of the Rice Lake plains, and the C-ounty of Simcoe in
Ontario, where excellent wheat crops are raised. The only
question, suggestive of a doubt, that came up was the old one
of " Is there plenty of water 1 " The rivers are few ; the
creeks small. Along their banks there is no difliculty, but
what of the intervening ground ] We had heard of wells sunk
in diff'ei-ent places, and good water found from four to fifty
feet down. But, yesterday, Grant informed us that a beauti-
ful stretch of prairie, immediately to the west of his location,
which had been taken up by a friend of his, had been aban-
doned because no water could be got. They had sunk wells in
three places, one of them to the depth of seventy-five feet, but
pierced only hard white clay. Grant believed that this stra-
tum of clay extended over a limited area, and that, under it,
water would be tapped if they went deep enough. But the
matter is of too great importance to be left to conjecture.
Test wells should be sunk by the Government in different
places ; and where there are saline or brackish lakes, or even
should the first water tapped prove saline, artesian wells might
be tried, so as to get to the fresh water beneath. Till it is
certain that good water can be easily had all over the prairie,
successful colonization on a large scale cannot be expected.
The general belief is that there is water enough ^everywhere.
There is an abundant rain fall, and the water does not form
little brooks and run off, but is absorbed by the rich, deep,
porous ground. Still the claims of our North-west on the at-

•■#i»84**-tf<li(Mv''J

:■'

.; i

110

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

tention of emigrants would be rendered all the stronger, were
they assured that the water supply was unfailing everywhere.
Up to this time the question has not been started, because
much of the land on the river-banks has not yet been taken
up. But it would l>e well to be prepared with an answer.

Nothincf could be more exhilarating than our rides across
the prairie, especially the morning ones. The weather, since
our arrival at Fort Garry, had been delightful, and we knew
that we had escaped the sultry heat of July, and were just at
the commencement of the two pleasantest months of the year.
The nights were so cool that the blanket was welcome, and in
the evenings and mornings we could enjoy the hot tea. The air
throughout the day was delicious, fresh, flower scented, health-
ful, and generally breezy, so that neither horse nor rider was
warm after a fifteen or twenty miles' ride. We ceased to won-
der thiit we had not heard of a case of sickness in the settlers'
families. Each day was like a new pic-nic. Even the short
terrihc thunder storm of the day before yesterday had been
enjoyed because of its grandeur. Grant told us that it was
the heaviest he had ever seen in the country, and that we had
felt its full force. Three miles away there had been no hail,

August 6th. — Up before four A.M., but were delayed some
time by the difficulty of lassoing the horses that were wanted.
The Doctor had, meanwhile, some shooting round the little
lake by which we had camped ; and getting some more on the
way, Terry the cook was enabled to serve up plover duck and
pigeons, with rice curry, for breakfast. Our morning's ride was
sixteen miles, and brought us to the Little Saskatchewan, — a
swift-flowing pebbly-bottomed stream, running south into the
Assiniboine. Its valley was about two miles wide and two
hundred and fifty feet deep. All the rivers of the North-west
have this peculiarity of wide valleys, and it constitutes a serious
difficulty in the way of railroad making; they must be crossed,
but regular bridging on so gigantic a scale is out of the ques-

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

Ill

tion. The hill sides sloping down into the valley or intervale
of the river are green and rounded, with clumps of trees, most
of them fire scorched, in the depressions.

"We hailed the sight of this fl \viiig stream with peculiar de-
light ; for it was the first thing that looked, to our eyes, like a
river in all the hundred and twenty miles since leaving the
Assiniboine. The creeks crossed on the way were sluggish and
had little water in them, and most of the swamps and lakelets
were dried up, and their bottom covered with rank coarse grass,
instead of the water that fills them in the spring. This morn-
ing, however, we passed several pretty- well-filled lakes, — plo-
ver and snij)e about most of them, — on the height of land from
which the ground slopes toward the little Saskntchowan.

Our second stage for the day was only eleven miles ; but the
next was fourteen, and we drove or rode along the winding
road at a rattling pace, reaching our cam})ing ground, at Salt
Lake, an hour before sunset. This lake is bitter or brackish,
but, on the opi»osite side of the road, there is good water ; and,
although the mosquitoes gave us a little trouble, we fared well
— as at all our camps. This was the first salt lake we had seen,
but farther on the way there are many such ; and grievous has
been the disappointment of weaiy travellers, on drawing near
to one of them and preparing to camp. The causes are proba-
bly local, for good water is found near, and, all around the
grass is luxuriant. A white crust forms on the dried up part
of the bottom and the shores are covered with saline plants,
chiefly reddish-coloured, thick, succulent samphire and sea-blite
growing together and extending over several acres of ground.
The following arc the principal plants: — Scir/ms marithnus, L.;
Salicornia herhacea, L.; Glaux maritima, L.; Suada maritima^
Dwnot, var. prostrata; Pall. Glj/cena (listane. These have a
wide range over the whole interior wherever salt lakes are
found."

A bathe in the little Saskatchewan before breakfast was our

112

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

ill

first good wash for two or three days, and we enjoyed it pro-
portionately. Our horses did their forty-one miles to-day,
seemingly with greater ease than they had any previous day's
work. !Most of them are of pure native breed ; some of them —
the largest — have been crossed with Canadian, and the swiftest
with Yankee breeds. In all our pack there are only two or
three bad hoi'ses ; none of them looked well at first, but,
though small and common looking, they are so patient, hardy
and companionable, that it is impossible for their riders to
avoid becoming attached to them. Hardly two of the saddles
provided for our party were alike. There was choice of English,
American, Mexican, and military, — the first being the favourite.
August 7th. — Made a good day's journey of forty-five miles,
from the Salt Lake to the junction of the Qu' Appelle and
Assiniboine rivers. The first stage was ten miles, to the Shoal
Lake — a large and beautiful sheet of water with pebbly or
sandy beach — a capital place for a halt or for camping. The
great requirements of such spots are wood, water, and feed for
the horses ; the traveller has to make his stages square with
the absence or presence of those essentials. If he can get a
hilly spot where there are few mosquitoes, and a sheet of water
large enough to bathe in, and a resort of game, so much the
better. Arrived at the ground, the grassiest and most level
spots, gently sloping, if possible, that the head may be higher
than the feet, are selected. The tents are pitched over these,
one tent being allotted to two persons, when comfort is desira-
ble, though sometimes a dozen crowd inside of one. A water-
proof is spread on the ground, and, over that, a blanket. Each
man has another blanket to pull over him, and he may be
sound asleep ten minutes after arriving at the ground, if he has
not to cook or wait for his supper. The horses need very little
attention ; the harness is taken off and they are turned loose —
the leaders or most turbulent ones being hobbled, /. e., their
fore feet are fettered with intertwined folds of shagannappi or

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

113

raw buffalo hide, so that they can only move about by a succession
of short jumps. Hobbling is the western substitute for tether-
ing. They find out, or are driven to the water, and, immedi-
ately after drinking begin grazing around ; next morning they
are ready for the road. A morning's swim and wash in Shoal
Lake was a luxury, and the Doctor had some good shooting at
loons, ducks, yellowlegs, and snipe.

Our second stage was twenty-one miles to Bird's Tail Creek,
a pretty little running stream, with valley nearly as wide, and
banks as high as the Little Saskatchewan. It is wonderful to
see the immense breadth of valley that insignificant creeks, in
land where they have not to cut their way through rocks, have
eroded in the course of ages.

At this creek, we were only twelve miles distant from Fort
Ellice. The true distance from Fort Garry, as measured bv
our odometer, is two hundred and fifteen miles. As our course
lay to the north of Fort Ellice, the Chief and two of the party
went on ahead to get provisions and a half dozen Government
horses that had been left to winter there, and to attend to some
business, while the rest followed the direct trail and struck the
edge of the plateau overlooking the Assiniboine, — which was
running south — ^just where the Qu'Appelle joined it from the
west. The view from this point is magnificent ; between two
and three hundred feet below, extending far to the south and
then winding to the east, was the valley of the Assiniboine, —
at least two miles wide.

Opposite us, the Qu'Appelle joined it, and both ran so slow-
ly, that the united river meandered through the intervale as
circuitously as the links of the Forth, cutting necks and pro-
montories of land that were almost islands, some of them soft
and grassy, and others covered with willows or timber. The
broad open valley of the Qu'Appelle stretched along to the
west, making a grand break in what would otherwise have
been an unbroken plateau of prairie. Three miles to the south

114

OLKAN Tu (;<ji<:an.

M :l

of this vallfty, and therefore opposite us but further down, two
or three small white huihlings on the edge of the plateau were
pointed out as Fort El lice. To the north of the QirAppelle,
the sun was dipping behind the woods far away on the edge of
the horizon, and throwing a mellow light on the vast expanse
which spread around in every direction. ' •

We descended to the intervale by a much-winding path, and
moved on to the crossing, three miles above the Fort, and im-
mediately above where the Qu'Appelle flows into the main
river. Scarcely had the tents been pitched and the fires lighted,
"when the Chief appeared bringing supplies of flour, pemmican,
dried meat, salt, etc., from Fort Ellice. He reported that there
were several parties of Indians about the Fort, who had emi-
grated two or three years p'^o from the United States, anxious
to settle in British territory. One of them, from Ohio, spoke
good English, and from him he had gained the information
about them.

This portion of our journey from Fort Garry to Fort Ellice,
we had accomplished in less than six days. The last stage had
been over the worst road — a road winding between broad hill-
sides strevvn with granite boulders, and lacking only brawling
streams and foaming fells to make it like Mofiatdale, and many
another similar dale in the south of Scotland. But here there
never had been bold moss troopers, and no Tales of the Borders
had ever been written: Crees, Sioux, and Ojibbeways may have
gone on the war path against each other, and hunted the buffii-
lo over the plains to the west, but there has been no Walter
Scott nor even Wilson to gather up and record their legends,
and hand down the fame of their braves. And there are no
sheep grazing on those rich hill-sides, and there was neither
■wigwam, steading, nor shieling on the last hundred and sixty
miles of road. Silence reigned everywhere, broken only by the
harsh cry of wild fowl rising from lakelets, or the grouse-like
whirr of the prairie hen on its short flight. We had seen but a

■ .1

MANITOBA TO FORT CAKLTON.

115

i seen but a

small part, aiul that by no moans the best of the land. Tlio trail
follows along the ridges, wlun-e there is a probability of its being
dry for most of the year, as it was not part of its object to
shew the fertility of the country or its suitableness for siittlers.
But we had seen enough to show that, ev('n east of Fort T^ilice,
there is room for a large population. Those great breadths of
unoccujiied land are calling ''ooine, plough, sow, and reap \\h."
The rich grass is destroyed by the autumn (ires, which a spark
kindles, and which destroy the woou, which formerly was of
larger size and much more abundant than now. This dc'struc-
tion of wood seriously afl't^cts the water supply. J.akes that
once had water all the year round aio now dry, except in the
spring time. But, wJien settlers come in, all this shall hv,
changed. The grass will be cut at the pro[)er time, and stacked
for the cattle, and then there shall not be the wide spr((ading
dried fuel to feed the fires, and give them ever increasing force.
Fields of ploughed land, interspersed here and there, shall set
bounds to the flames, and tourists and travellers will be less
likely to leave their camp-fires burning, when they know that
there are settlers near, whose property would be eudangered,
and who would not tolerate criminal carelessness on the part of
strangers.

8th August. — Being in the neighbourhood of a fort, and
having to re-arrange luggage and look after the new horses, we
did not get away till nine o'clock. An hour before, gi'eatly to
the surprise of Emilien, who had calculated on keeping in
advance the twenty-two miles lie had gained on Sunday, and
greatly to our delight, Mr. ^EcDougal drove up and rejoined us
with his man Souzie. Souzie had never been east before, and
the glories of Winnipeg had fairly dazzled him. He was going
home heavy laden with wonderful stories of all h'e had seen ; —
the crowd hearing Mr. Punshon preach and the collection taken
up at the close, the review of the battalion of militia, the splen-
dour of the village stores, the Red River Steamboat, the quan-

. I

1 ;» i .1

! ^
1

\Vi

116

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

titioa of rum, wero all niniizin^. When tho plato camo round
at th(^ church Souzio rcjoii-'oil, and was going to hol|» hinisolf,
hut, noticini; his niMijhhours put luonoy in, ho was so puzzlod
that ho lot it pass. Ho chuckled for many a (hiy at tiio sim-
plicity of tho \Viunip(';^'t;ors : —''Who (^vor before saw a plato
han<lcd round oxc«'pt to takc^ som(^thin<' from it?" Tho rovitsw
ox(!itcd his hiijht'st admiration: — "Wah, wah ! wondiu'ful ! I
hav(» soon a hundred men turned into on(?!"

Our first work this mornin<^ was to cross the Assinihoino.
Tho ford was only three foot deep, but tho bottom was of
shifting' sand, so that it did not do to lot tho horses stand still
while crossing. Tho bank on tho west side is boM, and tho
sand so <leep, that it is a heavy pull u[) to tho top. After
ascon«lin,i,', wo moved west for tho first few miles along tho
north bank of tho Qu'Apolle. Our liotanist went down to tho
intervale anil sand hills near tho stream, to inspt^ct tho flora,
and was rewarded by finding half-a-dozen new species. We
soon turiHul in a more northerly direction, thougli, had there
been a fortnight to spare, some of us would have gone a hun-
dred miles u[) tho Qu'Apelle, where we had b(;cn told yesterday
by a Scotch half-breed called Mackay, the butJ'alo were in
swarms. JMackay was on his way back to Fort Garry with the
spoils of his hunt. Ho had left home with his wife and seven
children and six carts, late in May, joined a party at Fort
Ellice and gone up to the high plains at the source of the
Qu'Appello, near the elbow of the South Saskatchewan, to obtain
hivS foml for the year in the way niost pleasing to a half-breed.
All had lived sumptuously while near the buffiilo, and when they
had dried enough meat to fill their carts, at the rate of ten
bufialoes to a cart, they parted company ; he and his wife and
family, with the meat and skins of sixty buffaloes, turned
homewards, to do little for the rest of the year, but enjoy
themselves. This is all very well when the buffalo are plenty ;
but as they get scarcer or move farther away, what is to be

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

117

done? A innn cjinnot 1)0 both ii lamtcr nn<l ii fiirmrr ; and,
thcrctbro, as tlm bnH'alo f^o west, ho nniHt tlio luilf hirods.

Hut, fascinatinuf as a butlalo-hunt HciMuod to us, doscrihod in
all tho ^lowini; lanj;ua^o and <,'(?.sticulatious of a succoHsful
liuntt'r, tlio tiino could not be; spa^'c^d, and ho wo joggod along
our road, hoping that wo might fall in with the lord of tho
prairios as far north as ('arlton or F'ort Pitt.

Tho firHt part of tho day's rido, like tho last part of tho
previous day's, was over th(! poorest ground we had seen — liglit
and sandy— -an«l yet the grass nowhere pre.sented the dried up,
crisp, biownisli look that is so often seen in the east(!rn pro-
vinc(^s at this time of tho year. Still the land about Fort
Ellice is not to be recommended.

Nine miles from the Assiniboino, we breakfasted beside a
spring in the marsh where the water is good, but where a bar-
rel or some such thing sunk in the ground would be desirable.
This is every traveller's business, and therefore is not done.
We are now in No-man's Land ; — where the Governor of
Manitoba has a nominal jurisdiction, but where there are no
taxes and no laws ; where every man does what is right in his
own eyes, and i)rays the gre, « Manitou to prosper him in his
horse-stealing or scalping expeditions.

. Our next stage was twenty-two miles to Broken Arm River
— a pretty little stream with the usual deep and broad valley.
The soil im{)roved as we travelled west. The grass was richer,
and much of the flora that had disappeared for the i)reviou8
twenty miles began to show again. On the banks of the river
there was time before tea to indulge in a great feast of rasp-
berries, as we camped early this evening, after having trav-
elled only thirty-one miles. The Botanist had found exactly
that number of new species, — the largest n amber by far on
any one day since leaving Fort Garry. The explanation is,
that he had botanized over the valleys of two rivers and
several varieties of soil.

'.Il

118

OCF.AS TO fX^KAN.

\\\fr\\H^. ^.)th. T.ast iii'^'lil tlu! tlnM'inomoU'i- fVlI to 31 ® , and
wo all siiircrcd froiii llic i-old, not Ix'iiii^ prrparrd for .such a
hikMcm c;liaii'^'<'. Tlicn? was heavv (low, as tluM'o always is on
l>niiri<'H, and at fotir oVdook, wlion we camn out of tho tontK,
shivering' a littlo, tlio cold w((^ grasH was cornfoitlcHS onouj?li ;
but a warm (Mip of tea around tlm caniji fire put all right. VV^o
wcMo on lior.schack hcforo Kunriso, and a trot of thirteen niilos,
t)vor a beautiful and sonu«what l>rok««n country. fitt'.Ml us for
breakfast. Mr. McDouufal told us that in the elevate<l part of
the (!ountry in which we were, extending north-west from Fort
r^llice, light frosts were not unusual in July or August. They
are not so heavy as seriou.sly to injm-e grain crops ; but still
they are an unpleasant feature in this section of tho country.
Tho general (h'struction of the trees by fires makes a recur-
rence of these frosts only too likely. If there were forests,
there would be a greater rainfall, less lieavy dews, and pro-
bably no frosts, lint it will be little use for tho government
to issue ]»roclaniations in refercnice to the extingui.shing of
camp fires, until there are settlors Iiere and there, who ^.vill see
to their observance for their own interest. Settlers will plant
trees, or give a chance of growing to those that sow themselves,
and prevent the spread of fires.

Our second stage for the day was sixteen miles over an excel-
lent road and through an undulating country that evoked spon-
taneous bursts of admiration from every one. The prairie was
broken into natural fields by rounded hillocks and ridges
crowned with clumi>s of aspens — too often fire-scathed. In the
hollows gi'ew tall rich grass which would never be mowed ;
everywhere else, even on the sandy ridges, was excellent
pasture.

We met a half-breed travelling, with dried meat and buffalo
skins, to Fort Garry, in his wooden cart covered with a cotton
roof, and he informed us that men were hunting, two days'
journey ahead, about the Touchwood Hills. This excited our

MANlTOliA TO INHJT < AIII/PoN.

11!>

moil to tlid lii;^li('Ht pitch, for tlio huflulo Imvo not como on tliiH
nnit<5 for iiiiiny V'^hih, iind cii^^or ho|K!H weiv ^'xchiin^ed timt W'l
might H(!« iiitd ^et Ji shot ni tlnMii. Wonchu'fiil HtorioH wore told
uf thti buiiiih)-huntH in tormor cluyH, and men hitherto taciturn,
jKM-hapH hocauw tlioy knew littlo Kn;(liHh, hc^^an oxphiinin^
volubly — j'kin^' out tlicir moanin;^ with cxjUTSHive ^n-Htitnihi-
tion — thu nature of a hnllalo hunt. Fine fellows all our half-
hreedn were as far as riding, huntini,', camping, dancing and
Hwch like were concerned ; tiiough they would have made hut
poor farm-servant.s. Two of them had belonged to Iliel'M body-
guard in the days of his little rebellion. The youngest was
Willie, a boy of sixtej^i who rode and lassoed and raged and
stormed ami swore on the slightest provocation bei,t(U' than any
of t.hem. H<^ looked part of the horse when on his back, and
never shirked the roughest work. We were horritietl at his
ready profanity, and the Doctor rowed him up about it ; but,
though they all liked the Doctor, for lio had physicked two or
thn^e of them successfully, and had even bound up the sore leg
of one of the horses better than they could, the j'vwing had no
erfect. The Secretary then tried his hand. Finding that
Willie believed in his father, an adventurous daring Scot who
had married a squaw, he accosted him one day when none of
the others were near, with : "Willie, would you like to hear me
yelling out your father's name, with shameful words among
strangers]" He looked up with a half-puzzled, half-defiant air,
and shook his head. "We)l, how can 1 like to hear you shout-
ing out bad language about my best friend I " A few more
words on that line, and Willie was converted. We heard no
more oaths from him exce[)t the mild ones : ** By George," " by
Jing " or "by Golly," and in sundry ingenious ways thereafter
he showed a sneaking fondness for the Secretary.

We rested to-day for dinner on a hillock beside two deej)
pools of water, and the Doctor made us capital soup from pre-
served tomatoes and mutton. Ten or eleven miles from our

uv>stts«:>ibu« ■■^^tuimmi'^

120

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

\\\

1 'I

(lining table brought us to the end of this section of wooded
country, wliere we had intended to camp for the night, but the
ponds were emi)ty and no halt could be made. We therefore
pushed on across a vast treeless plain, twenty iriiles wide, with
the knowledge that if there was no water in a marsh beside a
solitary tree four miles ahead, we would have to go oflf the road
for tive miles to get some, and, as the sun was setting, the
prosi)ect for the first time looked gloomy. Making rapidly for
the lonelv tree, enough water for ourselves and horses was
found, and with hurrahs from the united party, the tents were
pitched. Forty-two and a half miles the odometer shewed to
be our day's travel.

August 10th. — The night of the 8th having been so cold,
we divided out more blankets the following evening by dispen-*
sing with one tent, and sleeping three, instead of two, in each.
The precaution turned out to be unnecessary, though we kept
it up afterwards, for the nights were always cool. This feature
of cool nights after hot days is an agreeable surprise to those
who know how different it usually is in inland countries, or
wherever there is no sea breeze. It is one of the causes of
the liealthy appearance of the new settlers even in the summer
months. In the hottest season of the year the nights are cool,
and the dews abundant, except when the sky is covered with
clouds. No wonder that *;he grass keeps green.

Our morning's ride was across sixteen miles of the great plain,
four miles from the easterly edge of which we had camped. The
Secretary walked the distance and got to the breakfast-place
ten minutes after the mounted party. A morning's walk or
ride across such an open has a wonderfully exhilarating effect.
The air is so pure and bracing that little fatigue is felt, even
after unusual exertion ; seldom is a hair turned on horse or
man.

The plain was not an unbroken expanse but a succ^ ssion of
very shallow basins, enclosed in one large basin, itself shallow,

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

121

from the rim of wliich you could look across the whole,
whereas, at the bottom of one of the suuiller basins, the horizon
was exceedingly limited. No sound broke the stillness except
the chirp of the gopher, or prairie squirrel, running to his hole
in the gound. The character of the soil every few yards could
be seen from the fresh earth, that the moles had scarcelv fin-
ishod throwing up. It varied from the lichest of black peaty
loam, crumbled as if it had been worked bv a gardener's hand for
his pots, to a very light sandy soil. The ridges of the b'usins wej-e
often gravelly. Everywhere; the p:istu)age was excellent,
though it was tall enough for hay only in the depressions or
marshy spots.

Our two next stages carried us over twenty-five miles of a
lovely country, known as the Little Touchwood Hills ; aspens
were grouped on gentle slopes, or thrown in at the right points
of valley and plain, .so as to convey the idea of disltince and
every other effect that a landscape gardener could desire. Lake-
lets and pools, fringed with willows, glistened out at almost
every turn of the road, though unfortunately most were saline.
Only the manor-houses and some gently-flowing streams were
wanting, to make out a resemblance t-^ the most beautiful parts
of England. For generations, all this boundless extent of
beauty and wealth had been here, owned by England ; and yet
statesmen had been puzzling their heads over the " Condition
of England, the Poor, the Irish Famine, the Land and Labour,
and similar Questions," without once turning their eyes to a
land that offered a practical solution to them all. And the
beauty in former years had been still greater, for though the
fires have somehow been kept off this district for a few years,
it is not very lonar since both hardwood and evergreens as well
as willows and aspens, grew all over it ; and then, at every sea-
son of the year, it must have been beautiful. Of late years
fires have been frequent ; and they are so disastrous to the
whole of our North-west that energetic action should be taken

: J

122

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

to prevent them. Formerly, when the Hudson's Bay Company
was the only power in this Great Lone Land, it was alive to
the necessity of this, and very successful in impressing its
views on the Indians as well as on its own servants. Each
of its travellinf]j parties carried a spade with which the piece of
ground on which the fire was to be made was dug up, and as
the party moved off, earth thrown on the enibors extinguished
them. 1 5ut since miners, traders, tourists and others have en-
tered the country, there has been a very different state of
affairs. Some of the spring traders set fire to tlje grass round
their camps, that it may grow up the better and be fresh on
their return in autumn. The destruction of forests, the drying
' up of pools, and the extermination of game by roasting the
spring eggs, are all nothing compared to a little selfish advan-
tage. And the Indians and the Hudson's Bay parties seeing
this, have become nearly as reckless.

This afternoon we had some idea of the lovely aspect that this
country would soon assume, if jnotected from the fire-demon.
The trees grow up with great rapidity ; in five or six 3' ears the
aspens are thick enough for fencing purposes. There was good
sport near the lakes and clumps of trees, and Frank shot prairie-
hen, partridge and teal, for dinner and next day's breakfast.
As he was confined to the roadside, and had no dog, he had but
indifferent chances for a good bag. We had to push on to do
our forty-one miles, and could not wait for sportsmen. At sun-
set the camp was selected, by a pond in the middle of a plain,
away from the bush so as to avoid mosquitoes ; and as Emi-
lien was tired enough by this time, he agreed readiFy to the
proposal to rest on the following day.

August 11th. — Breakfast at 9 a.m., having allowed ourselves
the luxury of a long sleep on the Day of Rest. The water be-
side our camp was hard and brackish, scarcely drinkable, not
good even to wash with. It gave an unpleasant taste to the
tea, and even a dash of spirits did not neutralize its brackish-

ay Company-
was alive to
ipressing its
ants. Each
tlie piece of
up, and as
sxtingiiished
ers liave en-
ent state of
jrass round
be fresh on
, the drying
oasting the
fish advan-
irties seeiusf

3ct that this
fire-demou,
I 3' ears the
•e was good
hot prairie-
i breakfast,
he had but
jh on to do
1. At sun-
3f a plain,
L as Emi-
diry to the

i ourselves
! water be-
kable, not
aste to the
5 brackish-

<i -

-1

u
o

Q
O
►J

lid

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

123

G
O
J-!

•A

►J
<

ness. Here again the necessity of finding out the real state of
the water-supply of this country was forced on our attention.
Even if the pools do not dry up, the water in them at this time
of the year is only what is left of melted snow and the spring
ord summer rains, tainted with decayed vegetable matter, and
^lled with animalculas.

This was a grand day for horses and men. Most of the latter
rose early and !iad thcui- breakfasts and then went to sleep again;
others did not rise from under the carts and shake themselves
out of their buffalo blankets, till after ten o'clock. At 11:15
all assembled for service — Roman Catholics, Methodists, Epis-
copalians, and Presbyterians. The Secretary sat on a box in
front of the tents, with Frank by his side holding an umbrella
over both heads, as the sun shone fiercely. Tlie congregation,
thirteen in number, sat in the doors, or shade of the tents.
Mr. McDougal led the responses, and all joined in devoutly.
After the service had been read and hymns sung, a short ser-
mon was preached.

The advantages of resting on tlie I^ord's Day, on such expe-
ditions as this, and of uniting in some common form of worship,
are manifest. The physical rest is needed by man and beast.
All through the week there has been a rush ; the camp begins
to be astir at three in the morning, and from that hour till nine
or ten at night, there is constant high pressure. At the halt-
ing places, meals have to be cooked, baggage arranged and re-
arranged, horses looked to, harness mended, clothes washed or
dried, observations and notes taken, specimens collected, and
everything kept clean and trim ; rest is therefore impossible.
From four to six hours of sleep ore all that can be snatched.
The excitement keeps a mere tourist up, so that on Saturday
night he feels able to go ahead ; and possibly grudges what
seems the unnecessary loss of a day ; but if he insists on push-
ing on, the strain soon becomes too much, and he loses all the
benefit to his health that he had gained : and as the men have

•!,

124

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

lu,^

none of the excitement of novelty, they need the periodic rest
all the more. • .

But the great advantages of the day, to such a party, are lost
if each man is left the whole time to look after himself,as if there
was no common bond of union, and no sacredness about the
day. They then sleep or gamble, ramble or shoot, snare go-,
phers or prairie dogs, read or wriLe, eat and drink, are bene-
fitted as their horses are, but nothing more, perha[)S less.
There is a more excellent way, for the Sabbath was made for
the whole mar. Let the head of the party ask them to meet
for common prayer or some simple service, ever so short ; all
will come if they believe that they are welcome. The question,
what denomination are you of? need not be asked. The sing-
ing of a hymn will bring them round the tent or hillock where
the service is held. The kneeling together, the alternate
reading, a few earnest kindly words, do more than anything
else to awaken old blessed remembrances, to stir the better na-
ture of all, to heal up the little bitternesses and squabbles of
the week and gives each that sentiment of common brotherhood
that cements into one the whole party. They have been brought
into the presence of the Great Preserver and the rest of the day
and of the week is hallowed by that hour. Cut off from the
world of men, they are made to feel their dependence on Him
and on each other ; and master and man are all the better for
is.

The large body of Canadians that preceded Milton and Chea-
dle in their journey across these same plains ten years ago,
would hardly have held together, had it not been for their
observance of the Sunday rest. In an account of their ar-
duous expedition by this route to the Cariboo gold mines, one
of themselves gives this earnestly-worded testimony : — " The
fatigues of the journey wtre now beginning to have an injuri-
ous effect upon our animals, as well as upon the tempers and
dispositions of the men, and especially towards the end of the

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

125

Briodic rest

ty, are lost
r,as if there
about the
snare go-,
are bene-
haps less,
made for
5m to meet
short ; all
e question,
The sinor-
ock where
alternate
anything
better na-
iiabbles of
otherhood
n brought
of the day
from the
on Him
)etter for

nd Chea-
ears ago,
for their
heir ar-
nes, one
— " The
injuri-
>ers and
I of the
I

week were these effects more apparent, when frequent disa-
greements and petty disputes or quarrels of a more serious
kind would take place, when each was' ready to contradict the
other, and, at the slightest occasion or without any occasion,
to take offence. But to-morrow would be the Sabbath ; and
no wonder that its approach should be regarded with j)leasu-
rable anticipations, as furnishing an opportunity for restoring
the exhausted energies of both man and beast, for smoothing
down the asperities of our natures, and by allowing us time
for reflection, for regaining a just opinion of our duties to-
wards one another ; and the vigour with which our journey
would be prosecuted, and the cordiality and good feeling that
characterized our intercourse after our accustomed rest on the
first day of the week, are sufficient evidence to us that the law
of Ihe Sabbath is of physical as well as moral obligation, anii
that its precepts cannot be violated with impunity. We cer-
tainly have had much reason gratefully to adore that infinite
wisdom and goodness that provided for ns such rest." — All
which is sound common sense. Crede expartis !

Our Sunday dinner was a good one. Terry had time and
did his best. The Chief gave a little whiskey to the men, to
take the bad taste from the water and kill the animalcuhe ; and
Emilien took as kindly to resting as if he had never travelled
on Sundays in his life.

The afternoon was sultry and thundery. Heavy showers,
we could see, were falling ahead and all around, but although
the clouds threatened serious things, we got only a sprinkling,
and the evening cleared up with a glorious sunset.

After tea Mr. McDougal led our family worship. "We did
not ask the men to come, but the sound of the hymn brpught
them round, and they joined in the short service with devcut-
ness, Willie, who had done a good day's work in snaring fat
gophers, being particularly attentive. They were all thankful
for the rest of the day,

126

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

August 12th. — "The 12th " found us up early, as if near a
hi<^hland moor, and away from camp a few minutes after sun-
rise. Another delightful day ; sunny and breezy. First
stage, thirteen miles ; the second, sixteen ; and the third,
fourteen miles, or forty-three for the day ; every mile across a
country of unequalled beauty and fertility ; of swelling up-
lands enclosing in their hollows lakelets, the homes of snipe
plover and duck, fringed with tall reeds, and surrounded with
a belt of soft woods ; long reaches of rich lowlands with hill-
sides spreading gently away from them, on which we were
always imagining the houses of the owners ; avenues of whis-
pering trees through wljich we rode on, without ever coming to
lodge or gate.

Our first *'' spell "* was through the most beautiful country,
'Clmply because longest spared by lire. Many of the aspens
were from one to two feet in diameter. Most of the water was
fresh, but probably not very healthy, for the lakes or ponds
were shallow, and the water tainted by the annual deposition
of an enormous quantity of decomposed organic matter. In
summer when the water is low, it is difficult to get at it, be-
cause of the depth of the mire. When the buffalo ranged
through this country and came to ponds to drink, they often
sank so deep in the mud that they were unable to extricate
themselves, especially if the foremost were driven on by those
behind, or the hunter was pressing them. The harder the poor
beasts struggled, the deeper they sank ; till, resigning them-
selves to the inevitable, they were trampled over by others of
the herd. The old deeply indented trails of the herd, in the
direction of the saline lakes, are still visible. They used to
lick greedily the saline incrustations round the border, as they
do still when near such lakes. Like domestic cattle, they in-
stinctively understand the medicinal value of salt. From this

* The term " spell" is oomiuoiily used, all over the plains, to indicate the length of
Journey between meals or stopping-places ; the latter are sometimes called spelling,
places, by half-breeds and others.

I if near a

after sun-
zy. First

the third,
le aci'oss a
knelling up-
>a of snipe
nded with

with hill-
1 we were
!S of whis-

coming to

il country,

the aspens

water was

; or ponds

deposition

atter. In

at it, be-

lo ranged

hey often

extricate

by those

r the poor

ing them-

others of

d, in the

used to

L*, as they

they in-

'rom this

le length of
led spelUii(;<

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

127

point of view, it is doubtful if the saline lakes will prove a
serioiis disadvantage to the stock-raising farmer. In British
(Jolumbia and on tlio Pacific Coast generally, such lakes are
found, and the cattle that are accustomed to the water, receive
no injury from drinking it.

On our way to dinner, two hirgo white cranes rose swan-like
from a wet marsh near the road. Frank with his gun and
Willie with a stone made after them. The larger of the two
flew high, but Willie's stone brought down the other. As he
was seizing it, the big one, evidently the mother, attacked him,
but seeing the gun coming, flew up in time to save herself.
The young one was a beautiful bird, the extended wings measu-
ring over six feet from tip to tip. As soon as Willie had killed
his game, he rode ofl'in trium[)h with it slung across his shoul-
ders. In twenty minutes after his arrival at camp, he and his
mates had plucked, cooked and disposed of it, all uniting in
pronouncing the meat " first class."

After dinner a good chance of killing a brown bear was lost.
At a turn of the road he was surprised on a hillock, not twenty
yards distant from the buckboard that led our cavalcade. Had
the horsemen and guns been in front as usual, he could have
been shot at once ; but before they came up he was ofl^, at a
shambling but rai)id gait among the thickets, and there was not
time to give chase. This was a disappointment, for all of us
would have relished a bear-steak.

The low line of the Touchwood Hills had been visible in the
forenoon ; and, for the rest of the day's journey, we first skirted
them in a north westerly direction, and then turning directly
west, we gained the height bv a road so winding and an ascent
so easy, that there was no point at which we could look V>ack
and get an extended view of the ground travelled in the course
of the afternoon. It is almost inaccurate to call this section of
country by the name of Hills, little or big. It is simply a se-
ries of prairie uplands, from fifty to eighty miles wide, that

128

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

swell up in beautiful undulations from the lovol prairies on
each siflo. They hiive no decided summits Irom which the
ascent and the plain beyond can be seen ; but everywhere are
grassy or wooded rounded knolls, enclosing fields, with small
ponds in the windings, and larger ones in the lowest hollows.
The land everywhere is of the richest loam. Every acre that we
saw might be ploughed. Though not as well suited for steam-
ploughs as the open prairie, in many respects this seciion is
better adapted for f>M>ining purposes, being well wooded, well
watered, and with excellent natural drainage, not to speak of
its wonderful beauty. All that it lacks is a murmuring brook
or brawling burn ; but there is not one, partly because the trail
is along the watershed. On a j)arallel road farther north pass-
ing by Quill Lake, Mr. McDougal says that there are running
streams, and that the country is, of course, all the more beau-
tiful.

Our camp for the night was beside two lakelets near forks
where the road divides, one going northerly from our course to
the old Touchwood ^rading-post, fifteen miles distant.

So passed the 12th with us. If we had not sweet-scented
heather and Scotch grouse, we had duck and plover and prairie
hen ; and, beside the cheery camp-fires under a cloudless star-
lit-sky, we enjoyed our feast as heartily as any band of gypsies
or sportsmen on the moors.

August 13th. — Heavy rain this morning which ceased at
sunrise. Got off an hour after, and descended, in our first
stage of fourteen and a half miles, the western side of the
Touchwood Hills. This side is very much like the other ; the
descent to us was so imperceptible that nowhere could we see
far ahead or feel certain that we were descending, until the
most western upland was reached, and then, beneath and far
before us, stretched a seemingly endless sea of level prairie, a
mist on the horizon giving it still more the look of a sea.
Early in the morning we came upon two buffalo-teuts by the

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

120

irairies on
which the
i' where are
vith small
st hollows,
ere that we
I for steaiTi-
I section is
(ocled, well
io speak of
ring brook
ise the trail
north pass-
re running
more beau-
near forks
r course to
t.

eet-scented

xnd prairie

idless star-

of gypsies

ceased at
our first
ide of the

tlier ; the
aid we see

until the
th and far

prairie, a

of a sea.

ts by the

roadside. In those wore the first Indians we had fallen in with

since meeting

the Sioux at Rat Creek, with the exception
two or three tents at the crossing of the Assiniboino. They
were two families of Bungys (a section of the Salteaux or Qjib-
beway tribe) who had boon hunting buff*alo on the prairie to
the south-west. Tlioy had a good many skins ou their carts,
and th(^ women were engaged at the door of a tent chopping up
the fat and moit to make pemmican. Marchaud, our guide, at
once struck a trad(! with them, a ievv h.uidfuls of tea for sev-
eral pieces of dried l)uff'alo meat. The men seenujd willing that
he should take ns much as he liked, but the oldest squaw hag-
gled pertinaciously over each piece, and chuckled and grinned
horribly wlien she succeeded in snatching away from him the
last piece he was carrying ofl". She was the only ugly being in
their camp. The men had straight delicate features, with little
appearance of manly strength in their limbs ; hair nicely trim-
med and plaited. Two or three young girls were decidedly
pretty, and so were the pappooses. The whole part}' would
have been taken for good looking gypsies in England.

The road on this stage was the worst we had travelled over ;
so full of ruts and boulders that the axle of one of the carta
snapped, and as there was not time to make another, the cart
had to be abandoned by the road-side till Emilien's return froui
Carlton. It was a marvel )iow well those Ked River carts
stood out all the jolting they got. When any ])art broke be-
fore, a thong of shaganappi or buffalo raw-hide thong had uni-
ted the pieces. Shaganappi in this part of the world does all
that leather, cloth, rope, nails, glue, straps, cord, tape, and a
number of other articles are used for elsewhere. Without it
the Red River cart, which is simply a clumsy looking but re-
ally light box cart witli wheels six or seven feet in diameter,
and not a bit of iron about the whole concern, would be an im-
possibility. These small-bodied high-wheeled carts cross the
miry creeks, borne up by the grass roots, and on the ordinary

130

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

« »

trftil tlie liorsoH jog nlong with thorn at a Rtoady trot of four or
five inilos an hour. Onlinary carts wouhl stick hopelessly in
the mud at the crossings of the crcseks and marsh(3S, and travel
slowly on a good trail. A cart without an ounce of iron was
n cuiiosity to us at first, but we soon found that it was the
right thing in the right place.

After l)r(!ak fast wo ont(M('d on a plain that stretched out on
every side, hut tiie one we had left, to the horizon. This had
once been a favourite resort of the buffalo, and we passed in the
course of the day more than a score of skulls that were bleach-
ing on the ))rairie. All the other bones had been cho[)ped and
boiled by the Indian women for the oil in them. The Chief
picked up two or three of the best skulls to send as specimens
to Ottawa. Gnvit was Souzie's amazement at such an act. He
had b(!en amused at the Botanist gathei'ing floweis and grasses ;
but the idea of a great 0-ghe-ma coming hundreds of miles, to
carry home bones without any marrow in them, was inexplicable.
He went up to Frank and explained by gestures that they were
quite useless, and urged him to throw them out of the buck-
board, and when Frank shook his head he appealed to Mr. Mc-
Dougal to argue with us. All his efforts failing, he gave it up ;
but whenever his eyes caught sight of the skulls it was too much
for even Indian gravity, and off he would go into fits of laughing
at the folly of the white men.

Our second spell iv^as nineteen, and the third, nine miles
across this treeless desolate-looking prairie. Towards evening
the country became slightly broken and wooded, but we had to
camp on a spot where there was not enough wood to make the
firts for the night. Knowing this, Marchaud passed the word
to the men on horseback, two or three miles before arriving at
the camp. They dashed into the thicket, pitched some small
dead dry wood into the carts, and then each throwing an up-
rooted tree from fifteen to twenty-five feet long, and four to six
inches in diameter across his shoulders or on the pommel of his

MANITOBA TO PORT CATUTOK

131

f four or
L'lessly in
nd travel
iron was
t wtt8 the

id out on
This had
sed in the
•0 bloach-
i[>prd and
rhc Chief
specimens
1 act. He
d f^'rassea ;
miles, to
?xplicable.
they were
the biick-
) Mr. Mc-
ave it up ;
too much
laughing

ine miles
s evening
had to
make the
the word
riving at
me small
g an up-
our to six
ael of his

saddle, cantered ofl'with it, Sancho Panza like, as easily as if it
was only a long whip. Tlu^y had done this several times be-
fore, Willio generally picking out the biggest tree to carry. No
matter how unwieldy the load, they rode their horses firmly and
gracefully as ever.

The prairie crossed to-day extends north-easterly to Quill
Lake, the largest of the salt lakrs. Just on that account, and
because all th(i ponds on it are saline, clearly shown even where
dried u}) by the reddish samphire or white incrustations about
the edges, one or two test wells should be sunk here.

To-day we had two opi)ortunities of sending to iled Hiver
letters or telegrams for home, and — l(;st one should fail — availed
ourscilvesof both. Tying our packets with red tap(^, to give
them an oiiicial look and thus iin[iress I'osty with due care, and
sealing the commission with a [>lug of tobacco, we trusted our
venture with the comfortabh; feeling that we had re-established
our communications with the outer world. *

All day our men had been on the outlook for buffalo but
without result. Marchaud rode in advance, gun slung across
his shoulders, but although he scanned every corner of the hori-
zon eagerly, and galloped ahead or on either side to any over-
hanging lip of the plateau, no herd or solitary bull came within
his view. They were not far off, for fresh tracks were seen.
The tracks of former times are indented in the ground like old
furrows and run in parallel lines to the salt lakes, as if in those
days the prairie had been covered with wood, and the beasts
had made their way through in long files of thousands .

August 14th. — The thermometer fell below freezing point
last night, but the additional allowance of blankets kept us
warm enough. At sunrise there was a slight skiff of ice on
some water in a bucket ; and, in the course of the morning's
ride, we noticed some of the leaves of the more tender plants

* It is only fair to mention that both messengers, one of them a French, and the
other a Scotcli half-breed and parishioner of Mr. McDougal's, praved trusty. Everj'
letter or teleg'ram we sent from the plains reached home sooner than we had coimted on.

fk i -M

132

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

withered, but whether from the frost or bliglitj or natural de-
cay — they having reached maturity, — we could not determine.
The sun rose clear, and the day like its predecessors was
warm and bracing, the perfection of weather for travelling.
We had hitherto been on the height of land that divides the
streams running into the Assiniboine from those that run into
the Qu'Appelle, and this, in part, accounted for the absence of
creeks near our road. To-dav we got to a still higher eleva^
tion, the watershed of the South Saskatchewan, and found, in
consequence, that the grass and flowers were in an advanced
stage as compared with those farther east. The grass was grey
and ripe, and flowers, that were in bloom not far away, were
seeding here. The general upward slope of the plains between
Red River and Lake Winnepeg, and the Rocky Mountains, is
towards the west. The elevation at Fort Garrv is 700 feet, at
Fort Edmonton 2088 feet, and at the base of the Mountain
Chain 3000 feet above the sea. This rise of 2,300 feet is spread
*ver a thousand miles, but Captain Palliser marked three dis-
tinct steppes in this great plain. The fii-st springs from the
southern shore of the Lake of the Woods, and, tending to the
south-west, crosses the Red River well south of the boundary
line ; thence it runs irregularly in a north-westerly direction,
by the Riding Mountains towards Swan River, and thence to
the Saskatchewan — where the north and south branches unite.
The average altitude of this easterly steppe is from 800 to 900
feet above the sea level. The second or middle steppe, on
which we now are, extends west to the elbow of the South Sas-
katchewan, and thence northwards to the Eagle Hills, west of
Fort Carlton. Its mean altitude is 1608 feet. The third prai-
rie steppe extends to the mountains. Each of these steppes,
says Palliser, is marked by important changes in the composition
of the soil, and consequently in the character of the vegetation.*

^ For an exceedingly clear description of the boundaries of these three steppes, and
of the Western, Eastern and transverse watersheds of the whole area, see " Report of
the Geology and Resources of the region in the vicinity of tlie 4i)th parallel, by George
Mercer Dawson," p. 2—10.

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

133

were

Our first spell to f! ly was fifteen, and our second, twenty-
miles, to the Round Hill, over rolling or slightly broken prairie;
the loam was not so rich as usual and had a sandy subsoil.
Ridges and hillocks of gravel intersected or broke the ge. eral
level, so that, should the railway come in this direction, abun-
dant material for ballasting can be promised.

The prairie to-day had an upward slope till about one o'clock,
when it terminated in a range of grassy round hills. For the
next hour's travelling the road wound through these ; a suc-
ce^ion of knolls enclosing cup-like ba,sins, which in the heart
of the range contained water, fresh and saline. Wood also be-
gan to re-appear ; and, when we halted for dinner, at the height
of the range, the beauty that wood, water, and bold hill-sides
f^rive were blended in one spot, v/e were three oi" four hun-
dred feet above the prairie ; the scenery round us was bolder
than is to be found in any j)art of Ontario, and resembled that
of the Pentlands near Edinburgh. The hill at the foot of
which we camped rose abruptly from the rest, like the site of
an ancient fortalice. Horotski described it as a New Zealand
pah ; one hill like a wall riclosing another in its centre, and a
deep precipitous valley, that would have served admirably as a
moat, filled with thick wood and underbrush, between the two.
Climbing to the summit of the central hill, we found ourselves
in the middle of a circle, thiri}' to forty miles in diameter, en-
closing about a thousand square miles of beautiful country.
North and east it was undulating, studded with aspen groves
and shining with lakes. To the south and west was a level
prairie, with a sky line of hills to the south-west. To the
north-west — our diic^tion — a prairie fire, kindled probably by
embers that had been left carelessly behind at a camp, partly
liid the view. Masses of fiery smoke rose from the burning
grass and willows, and if there had been a strong wind, or the
grass less green and damp, the beauty of much of the fair scene
we were gazing on would soon have vanished, and a vast black-
ened surface alone been left.

134

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

ill

It was nearly 4 P.M. before we left the Hound Hill, and
then we passed between the remaining hills of the range,, and
gradually descended to the more level prairie beyond, through
a beautifid, boldly irregular country, with more open expanses
than in the Touchwood Hills, and more beautiful pools though
the wood was not so artistically grouped. Passing near the
tire, which was blazing fiercely along a line of a quarter of a
mile, we saw that it had commenced from a camping ground
near the roadside. Heavy clouds were gathering that w^ld
soon extinguish the flames. As there was the api)earance of a
terrific thunder storm, we hurried to a sheltered sjmt seven or
eight miles from Round Hill, and camped before sunsvt, just as
heavy drops commenced to ftill. The speed with which our ar-
rangements for the night were made astonished ourselves.
Every one did what he could ; and in five minutes the lior.ses
were unharnes&ed, tire tents pitched, the saddles and all perish-
able articles covered with waterproofs ; but, while exchanging
congratulations, the dense black clouds drove on to the south,
and, though thi; sky was a-fiame with lightning, the rain scarcely
touched lis.

August 1.5th. — Early in the morning raiu pattered on our
tents, but before day-light it had passed off, and we started
comfortably at our usual hour, a little after sunrise. Our aim
was to reach the south branch of the Saskatchewon, forty-six
miles away, before night ; the diF.tance was divided into three
spells of thirteen, seventeen and sixteen miles.

The scenery in the morning's ride was a continuation of that
of last night ; through a lovely country, well wooded, abound-
ing in lakelets, swelling into softly-rounded knolls, and occa-
sionally oi)ening out into a wide and fair landscape. The soil
was of rich loam and the vegetation correspondingly luxuriant ;
the Hora the same, and almost at the same stage as that we had
first seen on the prairie, a fortnight before, near Red River; —
the roses just going out of bloom ; the yellow marigolds and

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

135

ill, and
ige,. and
through
<piinse.s

though
ear the
er of a
grouud

w^ld
ce of a
Jven or
just as
our ar-
'selves.
horses
perish-
^anging
south,
iarcely

)u our
started
ir aim
rty-six
three

)f that
)ound-
occa-
e soil ■
riant ;
e had
er;—
3 and

golden-rods, the lilac bergamot, the white tansey, blue bells and
hare-bells, and asters of many colours and sizes, in all their
splendour. We were quite beyond the high and dry region ;
and again in a country that could easily be converted into an
earthly paradise.

We met or passed a great many teams and " brigades " to-
day ; traders going west, and half-breeds returning east with
carts well-laden with buffalo ckins and dried meat. A number
of Red River people club togethc- in the spring, and go west
to hunt the buffalo. Their united caravan is po[)ularly called a
brigade, and xevy picturesque is its appearance on the road or
round the camp-fire. The old men, the women and little chil-
dren are engaged on the expedition, and all help. The men
ride and the women drive the carts. The children make the
fires and do chores for the women. The men shoot buffalo; the
women dry the me:\t and make it into pemmican.

Hundreds of half-breeds often start together on these expedi-
tions with horses and carts, oxen and dogs, and remain out in
the plains for two months at a time. The discijjline maintained
by the half-breeds on these occasions is enough to prove what
formidable enemies they could be if they were determined to pre-
vent the settling of the country. They are all supplied with arms,
they shoot and ride well, and could find food and water where
regular troops would starve. Tliey elect their own captains and
policemen when out on the plains, set outposts, make camping
laws and laws for the hunt, and strictly enforce them by fines,
or the destruction of the clothes and gear of the offender, or by
expulsion from the band. When near a great herd of butt'alo,
the excitement becomes intense. The approach is made cauti-
ously, but not till the captain gives the word is the charge
made. Then like hounds slipped from the leash, in the hunt-
ers' dash, their horses quivering witli the; e\citemoiit of the
riders. Each man selects liis cow or bull, and unless his horse
trips in a mole or badger hole and throws him, he is taken

136

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

safely within a few yards of its flanks. Aim is seldom missed,
and the hunter dashes o(f instantly after another, and so on till
the herd is faraway. The half-breed would not exchange the
pleasure of one such " run " for a whole year's profitable farm
work. After the hunt the work of the women and children
be<^ins. They have to prepai-e the dried meat and [)emmican,
and dress the hides. And when the carts are well filled, the
band retmns homo.

Our breakfast i)lace was a neck of land between two lakes,
one of them sweet, the other bitter. The elevation of the two
seemed to be the same, but, on a closer look, the fresh lake was
seen to be the higher of the two, so that when full it would
overflow into the other. This was invariably the case, as far as
we saw, when two or more of such lakes were near each other.
The salt lakes had no outlet, tlu^ natural drainage passing off
only by absorption and eva[)oration.

The country between this first halt and the Saskatchewan
consisted of three successive basins ; each bounded by a low
ridge, less or more broken. Everywhere the ground was uneven,
not so well suited as the level for steam agriculttiral ira[)le-
ments, but the very country for stock raising or dairy farms.
The road was bad, and no wonder, according to the axiom that
good soil makes bad roads. The ruts were deep in black loam,
and rough with willow roots. Even when the vvheels sank to
the axles, they brought up not clay, but moist dripj-ing black
muck, that would gladden the eyes of a farmer.

Soon after dinner, we came to the last ridge, and before us
spread out a msignificent panorama. Fifteen miles further west
rolled the South Saskatchewan. We could not see the river,
but the blue plateau that formed our sky line was on the other
side of it. And those fifteen miles at our feet, stretching to an
indefinite horizon on the south, and bounded five miles away to
the north by Minitchenass or " the lumping hill of the woods,"
showed every variety of rolling plain, gentle upland, woodqd

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

137

knoll, and f»lcaming lake. Where huntlreds of homesteads
shall yet bo there is not one. Perhaps it is not to bo regretted
that there is so much good land in the world still unoccupied.
The intense saltnoss of many of the lakes was the only doubt-
ful feature in the landscape. One at our f(;et several miles long
had a shore of brightest red, sure sign of how it would taste.
All at the foot of the ridge with one exception are saline ; after
going on a few miles and mounting a slo})e, they are fresh.

The sun sot when we w<;r(; still five miles from the river.
Another axle had broken and heavy clouds threatened instant
rain. Some advised halting ; but the desire to see the Saskat-
chewan w.is too strong to be resisted, and we pushed on at a
rattling rate over the rutty uneven road. Never were buck-
boards tested more severely, and no carts but those of Red River
could have stood for ten minutes the bumps from hillock to
hillock, over boulders, roots and holes, as we dashed forward at
a break-neck rate. The last mile was down hill. The Doctor
and the Chief put their horses to the gallop, and only drew rein
when, right beneath, they saw the shining waters of the river.
The rest of us were scarcely a minute behind, and three rousing
cheers sent back the news to the carts. In twelve working
days, we had travelled five hundred and six miles, doing on this
last forty-six ; and the horses looked as fresh as at the beginning
of the journey ; a fact that establishes the nutritious proi)erties
of the gra;',ses, their only food on the way, as well as the
strength and hardihood of the breed.

The first thing the Chief saw to, after jjitching the tents, was
the preparation of a kettle of whiskey-toddy, of which all who
were not teetotallers received an e(jual share. The allowance
was not excessive after nearly a fortnight's work ; about three
half-pints to thirteen men, six of them old voyageurs ; but they
had been so abstemious on the road that it was quite enough,
and gr \at was the hilarity with which each one drank his mug-
full, pledging the Queen, sweethearts and wives, the Dominion

HbUBSSSi

138

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

I »!

'-■

and the Chief. It shakes a company together to share anything
in common ; and by this time we felt a personal interest in
every member of the party, and looked forward with rej^ret to
the farewells that would be exchanged to-morrow.

While at supper, rain began to fall, and it continued with
intermissions all night, but we slept soundly in our teuts, —
caring nothing, for were we not faring on in good style? A
month from Toronto and we were on the Saskatchewan.

August 16th. — A grey and chilly morning. There vvas some
delay in getting the scow, that is kept on the river by the Hud-
son's Bay Company, up from a point where it had been left, so
that we did not move from camp till 8 o'clock. This delay gave
the Botanist an hour or two to hunt for nev» species, which he
did with all diligence. He had been slightly cast down of late
by finding few new varieties. The flora of the five hundred
and thirty miles between the eastern verge of the prairie at
Oak Point and the Saskatchewan is wonderfully uniform. The
characteristic flowers and grasses are everywhere the same. We
expect, however, to meet with many varieties after crossing the
two Saskatchewans.

At this point of the river, where the scow is usually kept and
where a regular ferry is to be established next year, crossing is
an easy matter. When there was no scow, every party that
came along had to make a raft for their baggage, and a whole
day was lost. Our buckboard carts and Mr. McDougal's wag-
gons made two scow-loads, and the horses swam across. Some
were reluctant to go into the water, but they were forced on by
the men, who waded after them — shouting and throwin'g stones
— to the very brink of the channel. Once in there, they had
to swim. Some, ignorant of how to do it, struggled violently
against the full force of the current or to get back, when they
were stoi d in again. Others went quietly and cunningly with
the current, and got across at the very point the scow made.
The river for a few minutes looked alive with horses' heads, for

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

139

anything
terest in
rej^ret to

led with
tents, —
tyle] A
11.

vvas some
the Hiid-
n left, so
elay gave
which he
v^n of late
) hundred
prairie at
)rm. The
ime. We
)ssing the

kept and
rossing is
arty that

a whole
jal's wag-
s. Some
ced on by
rig stones

they had
violently
rhen they
ngly with
ow n"ide.
heads, for

thac was all that was seen of them from the shore. As the
water was lower and the force of the stream less than usual, all
got across with comparative ease. The river at this point is
from two hundred to two hundred and tifty yards wide. A
hand-level showed the west bank to be about a hundred and
seventy feet high, and the east somewhat higher. Groves of
aspens, balsams, poplars, and small white birch are on both
banks. The valley is about a mile wide, narrower therefore
than the valley of the Assiniboine or th(^ Qu'Appelle, though
the Saskatchewan is larger than the two put together. The
water now is of a milky grey colour, but very sweet to the
taste, especially to those who had not drunk of living water
for some days. A month hence Mr. McDougal says it will be
clear as crystal. In the spring it is discoloured by the turbid
torrents along its banks, composed of the melting snows and an
admixture of soil and sand ; and this colour is continued through
the summer, by the melted snow and ice and the debris borne
along with them from the Rocky Mountains, In August it
begins to get clear, and remains so till frozen, which usually
happens about the end of November.

Near the ferry an extensive reserve of land has been secured
for a French half-breed settlement. A number of families have
already come up from Fort Garry. We did not see them, as the
buffalo-magnet had drawn them away to the plains.

After crossing, most of us drove rapidly to Fort Carlton —
eighteen miles distant on the North Saskatchewan, — being
anxious to see a house and civilized ways and people again.
Mr. Clark, che agent, received us with customary Hudson's Bay
hospitality. The eighteen miles between the two rivers is a
plateau, not more at its highest than three hundred feet above
either stream. The soil looked rather light and sandy, but suf-
ficiently rich for profitable farming. There is capital duck-
shooting on lakes near the road. From the ancient bank of the
river, above the Fort, is a good view of the course of the north

wE^

ma ''

W'^

iJn 1

«»'

W-

140

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

stream. It is a noble river, rather broader, with higher banks
and a wider valley, than the south branch. The usual square
of four or five wooden buildings, surrounded by a liigh plank
fence, constitutes " the Fort," and having been intended for
defence against Indians only, it is of little consequence that it
is built on the low ground, so immediately under the ancient
bank of the river that you can loo'c down into the inclosure,
and almost throw a stone into it from a point on the bank.
Fifty miles down stream is the Prince Albert Presbyterian
Mission to the Crees, where there is also the nucleus of a thri-
ving Scotch settlement. Fifty miles farther down, in the same
north-easterly direction, the two Saskatchewans unite, and then
pursue their way with a magnificent volume of water — broken
only by one rapid of any consequence — to Lake Winnipeg.

We dined with Mr. Clark on pemmican, a strong but savoury
dish, not at all like " the dried chips and tallow" some Sybarites
have called it. There is pemmican and pemmican however,
and we were warned that what is made for ordinary fare needs
all the sauce that hunger supi)lies to make it palatable.

A few hours before our arrival, Mr. Clark had received in-
telligence from Edmondton, that Yankee free-traders from Belly
River had entered the country, and were selling rum to the
Indians in exchange for their horses. The worst consecjuences
were feared, as when the Indians have no horses they cannot
hunt. When they cannot hunt they are not ashamed to steal
horses, and horse-stealing leads to wai-s. The Crees and Black-
feet had been at peace for the last two or three years, but, if
the peace was once broken, the old thirst for scalps would revive
and the country be rendered insecure. Mr. Clark spoke bitterly
of the helplessness of the authorities, in consequence of having
had no force from the outset to back up the proclamations that
had been issued. Both traders and Indians, he said, were
learning the dangerous lesson that the Queen's orders could be
disregarded with impunity. Wc comforted him with the assu-

MANITOBA TO FORT CARLTON.

141

[j?her banks
isual square
liigh plank
iitended for
nee that it
the ancient
e inclosure,
I the bank,
resbyterian
s of a thri-
n the same
e, and then
?r — broken
nipeg.
ut savoury
3 Sybarites
1 however,
fare needs
le.

Bceived in-
"rom Belly
um to the
Lscqnences
ey cannot
d to steal
md Black-
's, but, if
lid revive
e bitterly
3f having
ions that
aid, were
could be
the assu-

rance that the Adjiitant-Glencral was coming up to repress all
disorders and see what was necessary to be done for the future
peace of the country.

Making allowances for the fe.irs of those who see no protec-
tion for life or property within five hundred or a thousand
miles of them, and for the exaggerated size to which rumours
swell in a country of such magnificent distances, where there
are no newspapers and no means of communication except
expresses, it is clear that if the government wishes to avoid
worrying, expensive, murderous dithculties with the Indians,
" something must be done." There must be law and order all
over our Northwest from the first. Three or four companies
of fifty men each, like those now in Manitoba, would be suffi-
cient for the purpose, if judiciously stationed. Ten times the
number may be required if there is long delay. The country
cannot afford repetitions of the Manitoba rebellion. The Crees
are anxious for a treaty. The Blackfeet should be dealt with
firmly and generously ; treaties made with both on the basis of
those agreed upon in the east ; a few simple laws for the pro-
tection of life and property explained to them, and their ob-
servance enforced ; small annuities allowed ; the spirit-traffic
prohibited, and schools and missionaries encouraged.

On asking Mr. Clark why there was no farm at Carlton, he
explained that the neighbourhood of a fort was the worst pos-
sible place for farm or garden ; that the Indians who come
about a fort from all quaiters, to trade and to see what they
can get, would, without the slightest intention of stealing, use
the fences for firewood, dig up the potatoes and turnips, and
let their horses get into the grain-fields. He had therefore
established a farm at the Prince Albert Mission, fifty miles
down the river. With regard to crops, barley and potatoes
were always sure, wheat generally a success, though threatened
by frosts or early drought, and never a total failure. This year,
he expected two I'lousand bushels of wheat from a sowing of a

142

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

hundred. Tho land at Carlton, and everywhere round, is the
same as at Prince Albert. Ita only fault is that it is rather
too rich.

After dinner, three or four hours were allowed for writing
letters homo, and making arrangements for the journey farther
west. Wo got some fresh hors(;s and provisions from Mr.
Clark ; said good-bye to Emilien, Marchand, Willie, L'l-uderick,
and Jerome ; and taking two of our old crew, T(U*ry and
Maxime, along witii two half-breeds and a hunch-backod Indian
from Carlton, crossed the North Saskatchewan before sunset.
In addition to Mr. McDougal, two Hudson's Bay officers joined
us — one of whom, Mr. JNIacaulay, had been long stationed at
Jasper House and Edmonton, and the other, Mr. King, far
north on the McKenzie Kiver. The scow took everything
across in two loads, and the horses swam the river ; but it was
after dark before the tents were pitched on the top of the hill,
and nearly midnight when we got to bed.

CHAPTER IV. ^

Along the North Saskati'heivan to Edmonton.

Tho Thlckwoo"! Hil's.— Tho soil. Slou-,'!! of despond. -Bears Paddlinif Lake -Indian
Missions-results.— Pemniinin. -Jack-fish Lake.— The Crces and Hlackfeet.— ChanjfO
In vojfotation.— llcscinhlanco to Ontario. Tho Uod-dcer Hills.— -Kich Uplands and
Valleys. — Fort I'itt. -The Horse Oiiard.- Fre.sh Huffalo meat.— Partially wooded
country.— Creo >f nests.— Courtesy to Indians.- Shaj,'anapi)i. — Mr. McDoupfal.—
Glorious view. — Our Longitude.— The Isothermal lines— Scalpinj,' raids.- Jaeta'a
bravery. — The flora.— Victoria Mission. — Indian selutttl. Crops raised.— A lady
visitor.— Tiinber. -Ilorso Hill. — Kdmonton. — Coal.— Wheat and other crops. —
Gold Wiishiny. —Climate.— Soil.— Indian Races.— Half-breeds.— Watcr.—Fuel.—
Frosts.

August 17th. — The distanco from Fort Garry to Edmonton
is nine hundred miles, and is usually regarded as consisting of
three jmrtions ; two hundred and fifteen miles to Fort ElHce on
the Assiniboine ; three hundred and nine more to Fort Carlton ;
and about three hundred and eighty up the North Saskatche-
wan to Edmonton. On this third part of the journey we were
now entering.

It rained this morning, but we rose early, as usual, and pre-
pared to start. There was a good deal of confusion and delay,
as Horetsky, who had employed the new men and made the
arrangements, had remained over night at the fort. The new
horses could not be found for some time ; and, wi^h one thing
and another, it was seven o'clock before vre got oflf on this stage
of our journey. The sky soon cleared and the day turned out
as sunny and breezy as any of its predecessors.

The road follows the upward course of the Sa.sltatchewan, but
as the river soon makes an almost semi-circular sweep, first
south and parallel to the South Saskatchewan, then northerly
as far as Fort Pitt, the road •' 'rikes across the chord of the arc,
over a broken and hilly coantry called the Thick wood Hills.

144

OCKAN TO OCR AN.

Lakes arc always in sight, — one of tluMii vnry largo ami very
salt — and extonsivo views of fhio pastiuc lands aro had fioin
ovory el(5vation. Tiio soil and its productions, greatly to the
disai)i)oiiitin('nt of our IJotanist, resoni))led what wo had every-

for tlio last fortui'dit. Tii

some places was
equally rich and dcci) ; but generally not quite as good. Every-
thing indicatcMl a cool and moist climate. There were few of
the prairie llowers, hut a great variety of grassos, of wild peas,
and beans, all green succulent herbage; a country better adapt-
ed for stock raising than for wheat. The road was rough with
rOots, stones, and occasionally deej) ruts, and so hilly that the
jog-trot had often to bo exchanged for a walk. Mr. Clark's
horses, with the exception of aspjin attached to a large waggon
of his own that ho had lent us, turned out to be miseiable
beasts ; stilf jointed or sore backed, and obstinately lifeless ; so
that wo would hav(; fared badly, h;id it not been for the six
government horses brought on from Fort Ellice, The two Carl-
ton half-breeds, employed to drive the carts or horses, were old
and stupid, incurable smokers anil talkers. The one called Le-
grace was dried up as a mummy ; the other fat Jind greasy,
popularly known among us as " Haroosh." Ho owed the name
to Terry, who, hearing him drive his red horse with frequent
howls of " Ho Rouge ! Ho Rouge !" took for granted that this
was the " Haroosh" famili \r to himself in early days, and the
proper north-west cry to lazy horses. Terry, accordingly, never
whacked his unfortunate white nag without yelling " Haroosh !"
The only acquisition to the party from Carlton, was the young
hunchbacked Indian called Keasis or the little bird.

Our breakfast-place was fifteen miles from camp, beside a
marsh or pool on the road, twenty feet wide, and so deep that
the water came into the buck-boards and up to the axles of the
carts. It is well enough named the Slough of Despond. Often
have carts stuck, and whole brigades come to grief in it. Why
the H. B. Company has never bridged it is a puzzle, except on

ALONG THK NORTH SASKATCIIKWAN.

145

and very

luul fiom
itly to the
liiid every-
[)l!icoH was
)il. Every-
Ri'o few of
wild peas,
tter adapt-
•oii;,'h with
y that the
[v. Clark's
ge waggon

miseiable
ifole.ss ; so
for the six
5 two Carl-
;, were old

called Le-
id greasy,

tlie name

[i frequent

that this

, and the

y\y, never
aroosh !"

he young

beside a
[deep that
ties of the
Often
It. Why
[except on

the princiido that no |)rivato company cares to do any work that
will be a public brnofit, for it has lost enough by it to build ten
bridges, Whor*; tliore is any considerable tralUc, nothing is so
expensive as a slough, a hole, or any serious obstrtuition on the
road.

Wo took dimicr fifteen miles finther on, besidt* a pretty little
running stream, and camped b(;ror(» sunset, after making only
eight miles more, bcsidt; Th(! IW^ars l*addling Lake, a good place
to stay over Sunday, as there is abund ince of wood, water and
pasture. Th(» lake is very shallow but has a fiiiu smdy bottom
and the Indians have often seen bears about its shores, enjoying
themselves in the water. Henco its name, a translation of
which is sufficient for us.

Every one from the Saskatchewan that we previously mot,
had spoken so enthusiastically of this river and of the great
country it waters, that we were somewhat disappointed with
what we had seen to day. True, we had })aHsed over only a
speck, and that so elevated that much could not bo looked for
from it. The soil a[)peared good, and the grasses were so thick
that thciy almost formed a sward ; but the largcu* wood had been
burnt, and willow bushes, scattered all round, indicated an in^
difierent sub-soil. Besides, we liad not got rid of the salt lakes.
Mr. McDougal, however, ridiculed our doubts : we had only to
go out of our road a little, to tind a rich and beautiful country,
extending north to the line of continuous forest, and to-morrow
and every successive day, as we journeyed west, would show
pretty much the same.

Faith in the future of the Saskatchewan and its fertile belt
is strong in the mind of almost every man who has lived on it,
and it is impossible to see even the little of the two great
branches of the river that we saw, without being convinced that
they are natural highways along which many steamers will soon
be plying, carrying to market the rich produce of the plains that
extend to the east, west, and north. When the tents were

"tdHii^ »

■tifjfe

' 1 >i \

146

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

pitched Souzie went down to the lake and shot four or five
ducks, as a contribution to our Sunday dinner. The night was
cool, as we had expected at the elevation ; but there was no
frost.

Augiist, 18th. -Took a much-needed long sleep, as usual on
Sunday mornings ; breakfasted at nine o'clock, and had service
at eleven, Mr. McDougal assisting. We think ourselves fortu-
nate in having fallen in with Mr. McDougal. He is thoroughly
acquainted with the country, a man of ready resources and an
obliging fellow traveller.

Widely different opinions have been expressed, about the
value of missionary work among the Indians, by the half dozen
persons we have hitherto met, who profess to be less or m'-re
acquainted with the subject. One gentleman's information was
veiy decided : — " The Protestant missionaries had made no
converts ; the Roman Catholic missionaries had made some,
and they were the greatest scoundrels unhung." Another v/as
equally emphatic on the other side. One witness was doubtful,
thinking that something could b<? said on both sides, and he was
therefore subjected to a little cross-examination : — *' Many of
the Indians are now professing Christians ; but, no doubt, some
of them are great hypocrites." Asked if there was not a share
of hyi)ocrisy in all of us, and if such a charge was not made
against Christians everywhere. Admitted that it was so. Pressed
on the point, whether the old child-like frankness on the part of
the Indian along with a rast fund of reserve on the part of the
trader, made conimercial transactions equally fair to both
parties ; admitted that it did not, and that thus the charge
of hypocrisy might be retorted in the wigwam on the trader,
or exi)lained in the store on the part of the Indian. Asked
a he could name any positive improvement in morality, that
had resulted from missionaries' labours. " Yes ; Christianized
Ciees would not steal your horses, — at least not openly —
wnen yoa were passing through their country." Well, you

ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

147

ir or five
night was
e was no

J usual on
[id service
ves fortu-
boroughly
ES and an

about the

lialf dozen

s or ni'-re

lation was

made no

ade soDie,

Lother v/as

doubtful,

nd he was

' Many of

ubt, some

ot a share

not made

. Pressed

he part of

)art of the

to both

le charge

he trader,

Asked

lity, that

istianized

openly —

IVell, you

)

could not say more for Christianized Englishmen, or Yan-
kees, if so much. Could he mention any other improvement ]
" Yes ; they had all been polygamists to as great an extent;
as they could afford (a new wife being bought for a horse
or a blanket) and they used to exchange wives to suit
each others' convenience ; but such practices among several
tribes had passed away, or were considered disreputable.''
Urged to remember what they were when he first went among
them, so a.« to say fairly if there was any other gain. " Yes ;
away to the north the Dogribs and other tribes on the Mc-
Kenzie, had a practice of strangling or smothering all their
infant daughters after the first ; even the mother would stuff a
handful of grass into the mouth of the poor little thing and
choke it ; now the practice was unknown." A decided gain for
the daughters. Any more. " Yes ; some of them did keep the
Lord's Day after a fashion, treated their women rather better,
were more comfortable, a little cleaner, sent their children to
school for a while, and — well, there had been improvement,
but after all, if you only knew how superstitious they still are,
how dirty, vicious, miserable, you wouM not consider them
much better than pagans.

The style of argument seemed ungenerous. Here were men,
self-exiled, toiling all their lives without prospect of earthly
promotion or reward, from the Blackfeet on the Bow River to
the Loocieux on the Yucan, from Winnipeg to where the Mc-
Kenzie empties into the Arctic sea ; among the Indians of the
lakes and the plains, and the still more degraded Indians of the
woods ; living, many of them, in frozen wildernesses, where the
year is made up of a six weeks* summer of West India heat,
six or seven weeks more of warm days and cold nights, and
nine months of stern and dreary winter ; and when they see
some results of their labour, some small im[)rovements strug-
gling to show themselves in spite of all the dismal surround-
ings, they find that the necessarily slow process has made men

; I

• li

■^ 'W

■

I F

■ t^

' *:

■ t

■i

148

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

forgot the raw material they liaJ to be,r,in upon ; they are
sneered at as making hypocrilus, ov are pointed only to what
remains to be done, because tlieir converts are not equal to the
descendants of fiity generations of Christian forefathers. It is
so easy to forget wliat once was, or to kick away the ladder by
whicli we ourselves have risen. Changes take place so imper-
ceptibly that even those living among them do not notice there
has been change, and they assume that nothing has been done,
when a great work is going on around them. ^Missionaries on
the i)lains say, that now there has been peace for the last two
or three years, they can call to mind only with an effort the
once familiar scenes of ])loodKheil, and the univer&al craving
for scalps.

The uniform policy of the Hudson's Bay Company was to
encourage missionary effort among the Indians. Their charter
bound tliem to this, and especially since 1820 they have done
so to a consider \b]e extent. Sir George Simpson always offered
the protection of the Company to missionaries, on condition
that they attended to their own business and did nothing preju-
dicial to the interests of the Company. When a missionary
was stationed near a Hudson's Bay Fort, he had the position
also of Chaplain to the Fort, free passage in and out of tlie
country by the Company's boats, and <£50 a year. For some
time tlie Anglican and tlie Roman Catholic were the only
Churches that entered on the work, perhaps because the Compa-
ny was most ready to invite and assist these. During the last
quarter of a century the Wesleyans also have worked in this
field with their usual energy. They have now nine missiona-
ries, and i'v is much to the credit of the two Protestant Churches,
that they do not interfei-e with the stations of one another*
The Presbyterians have only one mission, thai at Prince Albert,
and though in a prosperous state, its work is in a great measure
confined to a congregation of half-breed and white settlers.

A practical vindication both of the general dealings of the

ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

149

Company with the Indians and of nii.ssionaiy work among them
is the fact that the survey of tlie (.Smada Pacific Railway,
from the Upper Ottawa to the Pacific coast, has in no case
been interfered with. The engineers and others have been
welcomed ; and very often, the Indians liave proved extremely
serviceable. The contrast with the state of things on the other
side of the boundary line, — where surveys have been summarily
stopped, engineers killed, and whore every Indian scalp is esti-
mated to have cost the country $100,000, — is marked indeed.

Of course the missionarv work has another and altogether
higher aspect, from which it is only fair to look at it also. We
must judge it from its own as well as from the world's standpoint.
Christian men and women give their means, their labours, and
their lives to the heathen, not for social, political, or economical
results, though they believe that such results follow their suc-
cess, but for Christ's sake, because the heathen are their
brethren, dear to them because dear to their Lord. It is not
fair, thererefore, to leave the decision as to the value of their
labours wholly to men of the world, who judge only from the
lower point of view, — whose immediate interests may be injured,
or on whose passions a bridle may be ])ut by " the inpertinent
intermeddling " of missionaries, or who may bo bitterly opposed
to true Christianity — for it is not extravagant to suppose that
there have been such men. To preach the Gospel of the won-
derful love of God to a few degraded Indians, may seem a small
thing in the eyes of tourist or trader, in comparison with the
gospel of plenty of tobacco for peltries.

Far otherwise is it in the eyes of the missionary and his
Master; far otherwise when weighed in the balances of eternity.

August 19th. — Rose at 3 a. m., thanks to the Sunday rest,
and got away from camp before sunrise.

Our first spell was thirteen miles, over a rich undulating
country, little wooded, but, judging from the strong green
grasses and vetches, well suited either for stock-raising or

■■■^'■ ■ ■■■ w '— M ' n a

Mri^^sssm^i^j^

tlb

150

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

cereals. We breakfasted in a lovely hollow, watered by springs
of delicious water the banks lined with balsam, poplars from
one to two feet in diamater. The road here is about forty miles
from the river on account of the bend, to the south, that the
latter makes. The Thickwood Hills are not more thin two
hundred feet hifjh.

Terry gave us pemmican for breakfast, and, from this date,
pemmican was the staple of each meal. Though none of us
cared for it raw at first, we all liked it hot. Cooked for a few
minutes in a frying pan with a little water and flour, and a
dust of pej^per and salt, onions added if you have any, it is
called r^chaud, and a capital dish it is, looking like Rodney,
and tasting not very differently from well roasted beef. Pem-
mican and sun-dried thin flitches of buffalo meat are the great
food staples of the plains, so much so that when you hear peo-
ple speak of provisions, you may be sure that they simply mean
buffalo meat, either dried or as pemmican.

The second spell was twenty miles over round or sloping
hills, enclosing lakes aud affording good pasturige, though the
most of the land was sandy or gravelly and not up to the aver-
age. The country resembled the Cheviots and the south of
Scotland — two or three places reminding us of Drumlanrig.
The road followed the high lands where the streamlets or creeks
that flow into the Saskatchewan, take their rise. We crossed
one of these three times, and then halted beside it for dinner.
In the afternoon we followed along its course, through a suc-
cession of very pretty lakes, that are almost covered with wild
fowl, till it issued from the largest, Jack-fish Lake. We
should have crossed it there, but the water was too high, and
we had to follow down its left bank to a ford three miles to the
south. When within quarter of a mile of the ford, — the big
waggon and buck-boards going before, the carts following at
some distance, and the horses driven behind them, — the hump-
backed Indian galloped to the front, and pointed back. There

)

ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

151

' springs
irs from
ty miles
that the
h m two

lis date,
ne of us
ar a few
r, and a
nv, it is
Rodney,
Pem-
lie great
ear peo-
ly mean

* sloping
ugh the
le aver-
south of
nlanrig.
V creeks
crossed
dinner,
a suc-
I'h. wild
e. We
^h, and
s to the
-the big
wing at
hump-
There

was Souzie crossing the river in his light waggon, and the carts
and the horses following lead. They floundered across pretty
well, except the cart of Haroosh, which stuck in the mud.
Though angry at the check of the thing, it was thought best to
follow, and Souzie being recalled and rowed up for his impu-
dence, most of the articles that a wetting would damage, were
transferred from the buckboards to his waggon and sent safely
across. The big waggon, with the Chief and the Doctor mount-
ed on the highest pinnacle, followed ; but when near the other
side, its iron wheeh^' sank in the black muddy bottom, and the
horses, while struggling to extricate them, broke the whipple-
ti'ee and parts of the harness, leaving the wagjjon and contents
in the middle of the stream. Maxim e and Keasis rushed to
the rescue and untackled the horses. The Chief and the Doc-
tor, stripping from feet to waist jumped down into the water,
and putting their shoulders to the wheels wh'le the other two
pulled, amid cheers from the rest of us on the other side, and
countless bites irom the mosquitoes, shoved the big thing to the
bank. The buckboards followed, and then Greasy, who had
been left all the time in the middle of the stream, cudjrellinff
his horse, and yelling " Ho Rouge ! Ho Rouge !" supplicated
help, as his arm and throat had quite given out. He was told
to help himself, and to our great satisfaction, the old fellow had
to jump down into the water and shove his cart out. All got
safely across, nothing had been hurt, only Souzie looked woe-
begone for the night, and Greasy continued sulky for two days.
"We camped at once on the bank, though the mosquitoes, that
always haunt woods and streams, tormented our horses so much
that the poor brutes could not eat, but crowded round the smoke
of our fires, making the place look even piore like a gipsy en-
campment than usual.

The Jacknsh-lake River runs, through a beautiful park-like
country from this i)oint into the Saskatchewan, fifteen miles to
the south. It would be a good location for a missionary or

152

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

'■ ■

general settlement, for the lakes above are filled with jackfish or
pike, and with white fish, — the finest fresh water fish, perhaps,
in the world. There is also good water power, as the stream
descends about a hundred and fifty feet in the course of the
next fifteen miles, and the land is slightly rolling and of ex-
cellent quality. It is the favourite ground of a large mixed
band of Crees and Salteaux, who were away hunting bufialo.
On a little hill, near the stream, a great annual pow-wow is held
in the spring, by the heathen Orees and Salteaux who come
from long distances to have a high time. Their medicine men
who have still much influence among them, take the lead and
hold a revival meeting. All the old incantations and wild
dances are practised, and as the excitement gets up, they aban-
don themselves to the foulest licentiousness.

"We had driven forty-eight miles to-day, the longest journey
yet made. Except the first and last part, the land was appa-
rently not very good.

August 20th. — Instead of following up the right bank of the
stream to the main road near Jack-fish Lake, we struck a new
trail direct for Tortoise River, twenty-five miles distant. On
the way we saw a fine buck and two or three antelopes, but
they were too far off for a shot. In the spring, several varieties
of deer are abundant hereabouts, but at this season, most of
them are away with their young on the treeless piairies to the
south. . Halted on the road for breakfast ; but, to our disgust
the water was salt. A breakfast of dry bread and dry pemmi-
can was hurriedly made ; and we found that, on the plains,
any meal without tea, is as poor an afiair as bacon and beans
without the bacon.

At Tortoise River had a most reviving swim, and a long halt.
Beyond it is Horse Hill, so called from a fight between the
Crees and Blackfeet, forty years ago. The Crees were en-
camped near a thicket at the foot of the hill, and a party of
Blackfeet^ that had mad-e a successful raid far from their own

ickfish or
perhaps,
) stream
3 of the
d of ex-
e mixed
buffalo,
vv is held
10 come
ine men
Bad and
nd wild
y aban-

journey
s appa-

c of the
: a new
it. On
es, but
arieties
iiost of
i to the
disgust
pemmi-
plains,
I beans

ig halt.
Bn the
Bre en-
irty of
ir own

ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

153

borders, discovered them and charged. But the Crees were
prepared, and, a still larger body of them on the slope of the
hill, hidden by a ravine, swept round and drove their enemies
into the ravine ; and though many of the Bhickfeet escaped, all
their spoil was retaken and forty horses were killed ; an extra-
ordinary number, for the aim is always to capture the horses,
— horses and buffalo being the all-in-all to the Indians of the
plains. In their wars the Blackfeet often suffered from similar
haste and over-boldness. Not long ago, a party a hundred
strong, out raiding in the winter time, discovered a Cree camp
among the hills, and rushed on it ; but when they entered the
pass, a second and a third camp appeared on each side. Their
only hope was escape, and they dashed straight on, to find that
they had rushed into a deep hollow, the opposite rim of which
was topped high with snow-banks curling over in folds, so that
there was no possibility of mounting it. The Crees closed with
yells of triumph, and for once they had their will on their enemies
It was not a fight but a massacre. Seventy were killed in a
few minutes, and then the Crees, in a fit of generosity, or be-
cause they were glutted with blood, opened out and let the rest
go.

Not that the Blackfeet disdain to exercise strategy. Cunning
is natural to every Indian, in war and peace, in hunting and
trading. "We were told of a successful ambuscade of theirs at
the Round Hill so like a New Zealand pah, on the other side
of the Saskatchewan. A large body of Crees had camped by
one of the lakes near the open, Towai ds evening they espied a
buffalo grazing on the top of the inner hill. He fed so quietly,
that they were a little guspicious at first, but soon others em-
erged from the coppice in the dip between the two hills.
Hungry Crees could be suspicious no longer. They drew near
quietly, and were all ready to run the buffalo, when every
bush opened fire and a score of them dropped. The buffalo be-
came Blackfeet and turning the tables ran the Crees to some
purpose,

: (

i 1 '

154

OCEAN TO OCE-iN.

The characteristic of the Blackfeet braves, however, is daring.
Many a stirring tale of headlong valour they tell round their
camp tires, as, lonj:; ago in moated castles, bards sang the deeds
of knights-orrant, and fired the ))lood of the rising generation.
Such a story we heard of a chief calhid the Swan, once the
bravest of the brave, but now, tho' in the prime of life, dying of
consumption. Dressing himself one day in all his bravery, he
mounted his fleet horse and rode straight for the Cree camp. A
h'-ndred warriors were scattered about the tents, and in the
centre of the encampment two noted braves ^at gambling.
Right up to them th(^ S\van rode, scarcely challenged, as he
was alone, clapped his musket to the head of one and blew hi^j
brains out. In an instant the camp was up ; doz -is of strong
arms caught at the reckless foe, dozens of shots were fired, while
others rushed for their horses. But he knew his horse and,
dashing through the encampment like a bolt, made good his
escape, though chased by every man that could mount.

Many a story of this kind we heard from poor old mummy
Legrace, who boasted for himself in a dignified way that in his
time he had killed two Blackfeet, but how much is truth and
how much fiction, deponent saith not.

This afternoon we drove sixteen miles, from Tortoise River
to English River, another stream running south into the Saskat-
chewan, so called from the fact that an Englishman had been
drowned while crossing it in the spring time, when very in-
significant creeks are dangerous. The soil all the way was
sandy and mossy, except in patches or near eitlier river, where
it was excsllent ; the country was undulating and suited for
sheep grazing. At one point, the road ran within two or three
miles of the Saskatchewan, and a prominent hili o\\ the other
side was recognized by Souzie. " Ah ! " said he to his master,
"I Imow now where I am " ; and, on arriving at the camp, he
vent up to Frank and formally shook hands with him, to in-
dicate that he welcomed him to his country. He had established

A:.0NG the north SASKATCHEWAN.

155

i tlaring.
id their
e deeds
oration,
pice the
lying of
•Qvy, he
tmp. A

in the
mblinof,
as he
)lew hirj

strong
1, while
50 and,
ood hiy

nummy
bin his
th and

> River

^askat-
d been
5ry in-
ly was

where
ed for
' three
J other
laster,
np, he

to in-
dished

confidential relations with Frank from the first, taught him
Creo words, and told him long stories, ex'iilaining his meaning'
by ge^sticulations of fingers, hands, shoulders, mouth, and eyes,
so expressive tliat Frank understood as well as if all had boon
broad liOwlands.

A clump of tall pointed white and branching poplar spruce,
on the banks of English Pvivor, was the first variety from the
universal aspen or occasional balsam poplar, that we had seen
since leaving Fort Garry, with the exception of a few white
birches on the banks of the Saskatchewan. The aspen is the
characteristic tree, just as the buffalo is the characteristic animal
of our North-west ; the other trees have in great measure been
burnt out. Fortunately the aspen is good wood for carpenter
work ; good also for fuel, being kindled easily and burning with-
out si)arks.

In the course of the afternoon, the Little Bird having gone in
too extensively for pemmican became so ill that he gave out
altogether. This generally happens with the new men that are
picked np at the forts along the route. They are often half-
starved, except when employed, and then it takes them a week
to go through the surfeiting and sick stages before shaking
down into proper condition. Legrace and Haroosh were far
too old litinds to suffer any evil consequences, no matter what
the quantity they ate. One of us took the Little Bird's work,
and made him get into a buckboard where he lay prone, head
wrapped up in his blanket, till the camping ground was reached.
Then he stretched himself beside the fire, the picture of utter
wretchedness. The Doctor prescribed castor oil, and Terry put
the dose to his mouth. As the Little Bird took the first taste,
he looked np ; noticing the comical look about Terry's amorph-
ous mouth, he thought that a practical joke was being played at
his exi)ense, and with a gleam of fire in his eyes spit it out on
him. The Doctor had now to come up and with his most im-
pressive Muskeekee ohnyou (chief medicine man) air, intimate

-^cv

156

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

;1 -:\\

that the doso must l;e taken. The Little liird submitted, drank
it as if it were hemlock, and rolled liiinsclf up in his blanket to
die. But in the niorninri; he was all right again, though weak ;
and gratefully testified that castor oil was the most wonderful
medicine in the world.

August 21st. — Our destination to-day was Fort Pitt on the
Saskatchewan, but learning that a visit to it involved twelve or
fifteen miles additional travelling, as the main road keeps well
to the north of the river, it was decideil that Horctzky, and
Macaulay — one of the Hudson's I3ay otlicers that joined our
party at Cai-lton — should ride ahead to the Fort for supplies,
and meet us if possible in the evening at the guard. Every
station of the Hudson's Bay Comjjany has a guard, or judici-
ously selected spot, well sup})lied with good water, wood, pastur-
age, and shelter, where the horses are kept. From this depot
we expected to be furnished with fresh horses and men in place
of those brought from Carlton.

To-day's travel was through a hilly well-watered country.
The first spell brouught us to the base of the Bel Deer Hill,
close to a spring of cold clear water beside a grove. The
soil was a deep loam all the way. The grasses and flowers
resembled those of Ontario and the Lower Provinces rather
than the prairie flora. Such common wild fruits as cur-
rants, goose-berries, choke-cherries, tfec., were in abundance.
We seemed to ha\e taken leave of the prairie and its character-
istic flowers since crossing the North Saskatchewan. The road
from Carlton to Fort Pitt runs among the sandy hills, that
skirt the course of the river. The nearer the river the more
sandy the soil, and the less adapted for cereals, because of
droughts, and early frosts which are attributed to the heavy
mists that cling about the river banks.

After breakfast, the road ran through a still more broken
country and along a more elevated plateau. The windings of
the Bed Deer and its little tributaries have cut out, in the

"#i'L=J

ALONCJ THK NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

157

J, drank
liinket to
h weak ;
onderful

t on the
vvelveor
L'ps well
ky, and
ned our
applies,
Every
• judici-
pastnr-
s depot
n place

)iintry.
I- Hill,

The
lowers
rather

cur-
dance,
'acter-
B road
, that
more
ise of
leavy

oken
[?s of
the

course of ages, gi*eat vulloys and enormous "punch bowh," re-
sembling the heaviest parts of the south of Scotland, on the rich
grassy sides of which thousands of cattle or sheep ought to be
grazing to make the resemblance complete. At a point where
the plateau is about 400 feet above the level of ♦^he Saskatche-
wan, a round sugar-loaf hill rises abruptly from the road nearly
200 feet, called the Frenchman's Knoll, because long ago a
Frenchman had been killed here. We cantered or walked to
the top, and had a far extending view of level, undulating, and
hilly country. Most of the wood was small because of recent
fires, and it was all aspen, exc(;pt a few clumps of pines far
away. The sky line beyond the Saskatchewan was an elevated
range with distinct summits, several of which must have been
as high as the IVIountain behind Montreal. The ::;;iiallness and
sameness of the wood gave monotony to the view, which was
redeemed only by its vastness.

Near this, the trail to Fort Pitt branched off. Keeping the
main road for a mile, we halted for dinner ; then moved on,
first descending the long winding slopes of a hill to the south,
and afterwards going west, up a valley that must have been
formerly the bed of a river, or cut out by an overflow of the
Saskatchewan. In the course of the afternoon, we crossed
three clear streamlets running over soft black bottoms ; in spite
of this abundance of good water the lakelets in the lowest hol-
lows were saline. The soil everywhere was of the rich loam
that had become so familiar to our eyes ; uplands and valleys
equally good. The grasses were thick and short, almost form-
ing a sward ; green and juicy, though they had been exposed to
all the summer's heat. In the marshes the grass was from four
to six feet high, and of excellent quality for hay.

After crossing the last creek, a handsome young Indian came
galloping towards us, to say that Horetzky and Macauley were
already at the guard ahead, with Mr. Sinclair, the Hudson's
Bay agent at Fort Pitt. This was good news, for we had cal-

158

,t ,.

■ I

- i ;

I;:

OCEAN TO OCKAN.

ciilatccl on liiiving to wait Hevrral ]umv» for our two outriilera.
(iettiny to tlio guard before KUUHct, tents wcro at once pitcljeil.
Wo had ridden nioro than 40 niles, and our avant-couriers
about r)2, besides attc^ndin^ to all our commissions at the Fort.
This was tijo first guard we liad scon. They are usually at
a distance froni the; Forts, and it so happened that this one;, al-
thoiii^di ten miles from the Fort, was by the roadside. We could
not have seen a better specimen, for, on account of the grasses
being ho good, more horses are kept at Fort Pitt than at any
other post on the Saskatchewan. There are 300 now, and they
increase rai)idly, though the prairie W(dves destroy many of
the foals. All were in prime condition and some of them
very handsome. Not one in ten of th.ose horses had over got
a feed from man. Thoy cro})i)ed all their own food ; and sleek
and fat as they are now, they are etpially so in midwinter :
pawing oft' the dry sjiow they find the grasses abundant and suc-
culent beneath. Better witnesses to the suitableness of this
countiy for stock raising on an extensive scale, than those 300
horses, could not bo desired. When weak or sickly, or re-
turned from a trip, knocked up with hard driving and cudgel-
ling, for the half-breed looks upon cudgeling as an essential
and inevitable part of driving, they may be taken into the
barn at the Fort for a time and fed on hay, but not otherwise.
At the guard only one Indian is in charge of the whole herd.
The horses keep together and do not stray, so gregarious are
they. The chief difticulty in obtaining some for a journey is
to detach them from the pack. There is a thick grove of as-
pens where they take shelter in the coldest weather, and near
it is the tent of the keeper. His chief work seems to be mak-
ing little inclosures of green logs or sticks, and building fires
of green wood inside to smoke off the mosquitoes. Round
these fires the horses often stand in groups, enjoying the smoke
that keeps their active tormentors at a little distance. In con-
sidering this fact of horses feeding in the open all winter, it is

AT.0JTO THE NORTH SASKATOHKWAN.

159

woll to remombor tliat Fort I'itt is botwoou two und threo
hundrnd milcH fiirthor north tlmn Fort (Jarry.

After inspecting tlio horses, vv(; were taken into the keeper's
t(!nt to see how ho was housed. It was a roomy h)dj^e, called
a fourteen skin, because constructed of so many buflfalo hides
stretched and sewed to;,'(!ther ; the smallest lodges are made of
five or six, and the largest of from twenty to twenty-five skins.
The fire is in the centre, and the family sleep round the side,
each member having his or her appointed corner, that nobody
else ever dreams of (mcroaching upon. The smoke of the fire
dries the skins thoroughly, keeps out the mostpiitoes, and gives
the inmates sore eyes. We all pronounced it veiy comfortable,
but many people would j)robably prefer a house with more than
one room.

Mr. Sinclair .showed ns the utmost kindness, giving us good
advice, good horses, good men, and with no more show than if
lie had merely run down to the guard on his own busine.ss.
The kindness we appreciated most at the time, it must be con-
fessed, was a huge shoulder of fresh buffalo meat, some tongues,
and a bag of new potatoes. Terry was at once set to work on
the fresh meat, with orders to cook enough for twenty, with
a corresponding allowance of j)otatoes. None of us had ever
tasted fresh bufialo before, nor fresh meat of any kind since
leaving Red Hiver ; and as we had resolved not to go out of
our way to hunt, tliough Mr. Sinclair told us that buffalo were
in vast numbers twenty miles to the south of Fort Pitt, it was
only fair that our self-denial should be re])aid by a good sup-
per at the guard. And that supper was an event in our jour-
ney. Falling to with prairie appetites, each man disposed of
his three portions with ease. The prairie wolves were yelping
not far off", but nobody paid any attention to them. Tender
buffalo steak, ;md new potatoes in delicious gravy, absorbed
everyone's attention. The delights of the table when you are
in the best of health and keen-set are wonderful, as a junior

'^0>J^

rff

■i-l ':

160

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

member of the party remarked, handing in his plate for a
fourth or fifth helping, " man, what a lot more you v^an eat
when the things are good" ! ^retting out of the tent after supper
with an effort, a spectacle to gladden a philanthropist's heart
was presented round Terry's fire. Tlie men were cooking and
eating, laughing and joking, old Ilaroosh presiding as king of
the feast. He sat on a hillock, holding tit-bits to the fire on a
little wooden spit, for Terry's frying pan could not keep up to
him, and his grefisy face shone in the ruddy light. So they
continued till we went to bed. That they were at it all night
cannot be positively affirmed, but in the morning the first
sight that met Dur eyes was Ilaroosh in the same place and at-
titude, cooking and eating in a semi-comatose state.

August 22iid. — There was at least an hour's racing and chas-
iiig of the guard horses this morning, before our quota could be
caught; but, we got such good horses in exchange for our poor-
est that the delay was not grudged ; and three smart Indians,
Louis, Oheeman (the little fellow), and Kisanis (the old man),
instead of the Carlton three. We breakfasted at sunrise and
said good-bye to Mr. Sinclair at 7 o'clock. On account of the
lateness of the start, we divided the day's journey into two
spells, one of nineteen, and the other of twenty-one miles.

The country round the guard is fertile, and beautiful in out-
lin'^ ; Mr. Sinclair said that it would yield anything. At the
Fort and along the sandy banks oi the river, their crops often
suffered from Indians, droughts, and early frosts ; but it was
impossible to have their farm ten miles away from where they
lived.

Our first spelling -place to-day was Stony Lake ; after dinner
«ve crossed Frog Creek, Middle Creek, and Moose Cieek, and
camped on the banks of the last named.

This was one of our best days. Everything contributed to
make it supremely enjoyable. We had fresh spirited horses
under u«, a cloudless sky and bright sun above ; and an atmos-

>'!

■■^.

ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

161

IWO

inner
, and

phere exhilarating as some pure gentle stimulant. The country
was of varied beauty ; rich in soil, grasses, flowers, wood, and
water ; infinitely diversified in colour and outline. From ele-
vated points, far and wide reaches could be seen. Here was no
dreary monotonous prairie such as fancy had sometimes painted,
but a land to live in and enjoy life. Last but not the least im-
portant item, Terry had in liis cart new potatoes and buffalo
steak, good as any porter-house or London rump steak ; man
could want nothing more for animal enjoyment. In the fore-
noon, we rode up two or three hill-sides to get wider views.
With all the beauty of former days, there was now what we
had oftem cravr;d for, variety of wood. Clumps and groves of
tall white spruce in the gullies and valleys, and along lake
sides, branching poplars with occasional white birch and tama-
rack, mingled with the still prevailing aspen. The sombre
spruces were the greatest relief. They gave a deeper hue to
landscape, and their tall pointed heads broke the distant sky
line. Recent fires had desolated much of the country, but
there was enough of the old beauty left to show what it had
been and what it could soon be made. Sometimes our course
lay across a wide open^ or up or down a long bare slope ; some-
times through a forest where the trees were far enough aj)art
for easy riding, while a little beyond the wood seemed impene-
trably close. In the afternoon we crossed plateaux extending
between the different streams that meander to the south ; and
here the trail ran by what looked like well cultivated old clear-
ings, hemmed in at varying distances by graceful trees, through
the branches of which the waters of a lake, or the rough back
of a hill gleamed, while high uplands beyond gave a definite
horizon. The road was not very good in many places because
of the steep little hills near the creeks, or boulders, deep ruts
mole and badgyr holes ; but ten dollars a mile would put it in
good repair, and, as it was, our carts did their usual forty milefj
easily.

162

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

■I

M
V''

■ >i
I.

1 ri

After dinner we came on our first camp of Crees — a small
body, of five or six tents, that had not gone after the buffalo,
but had remained quietly beside some lakes, living on berries
and wild ducks. Two broad-backed healthy young squaws met
us first, coming up from a lake with half-a-dozen dogs. One
squaw had a bag, filled with ducks, on her neck, and the other
had tied her game around the back of a dog. Some of the men
came up to shake hands all round and to receive the plug of
tobacco they looked for. Others, manly looking fellows,
lounged round in dignified indifference, with blanket or buffalo
robe folded gracefully about them, — evidently knowing or
hoping that every attitude was noticed. Not a man was doing
a single hand's turn, and not a woman was idle. The women
wished to trade their ducks for tea or flour ; but if we stopped
the carts and opened the boxes there would be no getting away
from them that night, so the word was passed to push ahead.
We were not to be let off so easily. Eight or ten miles further
on, two elderly men on horseback — evidently Chiefs — overtook
us, and riding up to our Chief with all the grace of gentlemen
of the old regime, extended their hands. Being welcomed and
invited to ride on and camp with us, they bowed with an ease
and self-possession that any of us might have envied, and joined
our party. At the camp, the Chief treated them with great
civility, ordering pemmican, as they preferred it to fresh buffalo,
and handing them the fragrant tea they love so well ; not a
muscle of their faces moved, though their souls were rejoicing ;'
asyft smile when they first came upon us, and a more melancholy
smile in the morning when departing, were the only indications
of feeling that either gave. With the exception of the dull half-
opened Mongolian cross-eyes, they had all the appearance of
Italian gentlemen, and they were really handsome fellows, with
well cut refined features — handsomer than any of us, or even
than the young English trader, who " never allowed an Indian
to enter his rooms ; if a Chief came along, he might sit in the

small
'iiffalo,
berries
vs met
One
! other
lie men
plug of
'ellows,
buffalo

s doing
women
stopped
g away
L ahead,
further
ertook
itlemen
led and
an ease
I joined
h great
buffalo,

not a
oicing ;"
ancholy
ications
ill half-
ance of
vs, w^ith
3r even

Indian
b in the

ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

163

kitchen awhile." So far below the salt have the sons of the
soil to sit now. But " Rolling Mud " and the " Walker with
out-turned feet," as our two guests were called, were entitled to
move in the highest circles, as far as api)oarance and a perfect
nil admirari manner were concerned. They could be guaranteed
to look on, Avithout opening their eyes at a modern ball.

After supper, one of our party lolling lazily on a hillock,
happened to stretch out his long legs between tlie two and the
big open fire. In an undertone, the Chief called his attention
to the undesiijned rudeness. "Oh " said he " they'll never
mind." And certainly they smoked on and looked as tho' they
saw not. " They will not say anything, but they will mind and
not forget," q.iietly remarked Mr. McDougal. The long legs
were withdrawn.

Our Chief always treated the poorest Indian with perfect
courtesy. So as a i\Ae do the H. B. officials, and much of their
success in dealing with the Indians is due to this simple fact.
We Anglo-Saxons are apt ,to sneer at French politeness. I
verily believe that the chief reason why the French have often
succeeded better than ourselves with the North American
Indians was in virtue of that same politeness of theirs. The
average Briton seems incapable of understanding that " a nig-
ger " that is, any man whose skin is not white, has exactly the
same rights as, and perhaps finer feelings than, ho himself.
But prick the redskin and he'll bleed just as if ho were white
and a Christian.

In the afternoon's drive, the big Cai-lton waggon, drawn by
the span, broke down. The iron bolt, connecting the two fore
wheels with the shaft, broke in two. Sliaganappi had been
sufficient for every mishap hitherto, but this seemed too serious
a case for it ; but, with the ready help of Mr. McDougal, sliag-
anappi triumphed, and we were delayed only an hour. No
one ever seems non-plussed on tlie plains ; for every man is a
Jack c fall trades, and accustomed to makeshifts. When an

»-.^

164

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

axlo broke, tho men would liaul out a piece of white birch, shape
it into souiothin^' like tlic riglit thing, stick it in, tie it with
shaganajipi, and bo jogging on at tlie old rate, bcjfore a profos-
sional carriage builder could have made u[) his mind what was
best to bo done. Mr. McDougal in particular, was invalujible.
In every diiliculty we called upon hiiu and ho never failed us.
He would come up with his uniform solxu" [)leasant look, take
in tho bearings of tho whole case, and decide promptly what
was to be done. Ife was our dens rx niarhhia. Dear old fel-
low-traveller ! how often you are in our thoughts ! Your
memory is green in the heart of every one who ever travelled
with you.

Both j'osterday and to-day, the sasketoon berries, that are put
in the best of berry i)emmican, wim-o pointed out to us, and tho
creeper which the Indi;ins make into kinni-kinnick, when they
can't get the bark of the red willow to mix with their tobacco.
The sasketoon are simply what are known in Nova Scotia as
IndiiUi pears, and the kinni-kinnick creop«n' is our squaw-berry
plant.

Just as the sun was setting behind the Moose Mountain, we
had ascended the high ridge that rises from Middle Creek, and
were crossing the narrow plateau that separates it from Moose
Creek. Getting across tlie plateau to the edge of the descent
to Moose Creek, a glorious view oj^ened out in the glowing
twilight. To our immediate left, coming from the west, and
winding south and east, the Saskatchewan, not quite so broad
as at Carlton, but without any break or sand-bar, (lowed like a
mass of molten lead, between far extending hills, covered with
young aspens ; like the Rhine with its vine-clad slopes near
Biugen. Right beneath, was the deep rugged valley of Moose
Creek, broken into strange trans vei'se sections by its own action
and by swirling overflows of its great neighbour, and running
round north and north-west into the heart of the mountain that
fed it, and that formed our horizon. Crossing the creek we

h, shape
it with
I profos-
hiit was
iiluiihlo.
died us.
ok, take
\y what
old fol-
! Your
:,ravellcd

b are put
and the
iien they
tobacco.
:>cotia as
iw-beriy

tain, wo

eok, and

u Moose

; descent

glowing

est, and

so broad

ed like a

ed with

)es near

f Moose

n action

running

}ain that

reek we

tern

ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

165

cam pod on its bank. Our tents weio i)itc.'h(Ml and flics burning
brightly, long before the twilight had forsaken the west. Then
a mighty siijjper of buffalo steak for us, and limitless i)emmican
for our Cree visitors, rounded off one of the pleasantest days of
the expedition.

August 23rd. — Away fi-om camp before sunrise. The sun
usually rose and set in so cloudless a sky on the prairies that
the Chief had all along roughly determined the longitude of
our camps and the local time in a simple way that may as well
be mentioned. His watch ke[)t Montreal time, and he knew
that the longitude of Montreal was 73 ® 3.3'. Sunset last night
was at 0.34 p.m., and sunrise this mornmg at 7.2G a.m., by his
watch. That gave fourteen hours and eight minutes of sun-
light : the half of that added to the hour of sunrise made 2.30
p.m., on his watch, to be mid-day. We were thus two hours
aiul a half behind Montreal time, and as four minutes are equal
to a dc^gree of longitude, we learned that we were 37 '^ 30' we.st
ofeMontreal, cr in longitude 111 ® . At the same time we were
in latitude 54 ® , 350 miles north of the boundary line, and 700
miles north of Toronto. Yet the vegetation was of the same
general character as that of Ontario ; and Bishop Tache had
told us that at Lac la Biche, 100 miles further north, they had
their favourite wheat ground, where the wheat crop could always
be depended on. But we can go still farther north. Mr. King,
the second H. B. ofilcer who had joined our party at Carlton,
told us that he had never seen better wheat or root crops than
are raised at Fort Liard on the Liard river — a tributary of the
MacKenzie, in latitude GO ® . This testimony is confirmed by
Sir John Richardson who says " wheat is raised with profit at
Fort Liard, latitude 60 ® 5' North, longitude 122 ^ 3r vVest,
and four or five hundred feet above the sea." And numerous
authorities, from MacKenzie in 1787, whose name the great
river of the Arctic regions bears, down to H, B. officers and
miners of the present day, give similar testimony concerning
immense tracts along the Athabaska and the Peace rivers.

OCEAN TO OCKAN.

< I )

ll'

i; (

Tliore are several reasons why tlie isothermal lines should
extend so far north in this longitude, and why there should be
the same flora as farther south, though the summers are shorter.

The low altitude of the Rocky Mountains, as they run north,
permits the warm moisture-laden air of the Pacific to get across j
meeting then the colder currents from the north, refreshing
showers are emptied on the i)lains. These northern plains of
ours have also a comparatively low elevation, while farther
south in the United States, on the same longitude, the semi-
desert rainless plateaux are from five to eight thousand fet high.
Combined witli these reasons, another may be suggested, that
— the summer days being much longer as you go north — plants
get more of the sun, that is, more light and warmth within the
same period of growing weather. The summer days where we
are now, for instance, must be two hours longer than at To-
ronto.

But these and such like general reasons by no means deter-
mine the fitness of every section of the country for cereals.
Much land south of 5-i ® is unsuited for wheat because of
drought or early frosts. Probably this is so with much along
the banks of the Saskatchewan. It has been proved at any rate
that there is less or more risk, in places ; but those places are
as a rule adapted for stock-raising, and, in such a country as
this, cattle and sheep are as much needed as flour.

To-day we travelled 42 miles. The first spell, ten miles to
the Little Lake, was over a cold and moist soil as shown by
the more northern character of the vegetation. The ground was
profusely cov^ered with tlie low scrub birch, which is found every-
where in the extreme north. The second spell was fourteen
miles, over ground that improved as we journeyed west, across
Dog-rump Creek, up the opposite hill, and four miles farther
on to two beautiful lakes well stocked with wild fowl. The
creek gets its peculiar name from a blufl, projecting beyond a
bold ridge that bounds the valley to the west. A lively fancy

ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

167

1 should
oulcl be
shorter.
1 north,
across j
:reshing
lains of
farther
le semi-
et high,
id, that
— phmts
;hin the
here we
at To-

LS deter-
cereals.
ause of
ih along
uny rate
aces are
mtry as

niles to
own by
and was
d every-
burteen
I, across
I farther
■1. The
syond a
ly fancy

{

sees in the bhiff a resemblance to a dog's rump. Beavers had
built a dam a few days before across the creek below the road,
and in consequence tlie water was too deep for the buckboards.
Untackliug the horse we ran the buckboards across a slight
bridge of willow rods t^iat some good Samaritan had made for
foot passengers. The roati then wound up to the top of the
ridge and gained the i)latcau beyond, through an extremely pic-
turesque narrow steep pass. From the summit wo had a good
view of the creek meandering through valley and lake towards
the Saskatchewnn.

. At the second spelling-place we caught up to a large brigade
of Hudson's Bav carts, that had left Carlton for Edmonton a
week before us, heavily laden with stores. They were driven
by several of INIr. ^NrcDougal's people, half-breeds and Crees from
Victoria, an united family of husband, wife and half-a-dozen
young children being at the head of the brigade. The expense
of bringing anything into or sending anything out of the coun-
try by this old-fashioned way is enormous. The prime cost of
the articles is a bagatelle. Transport swallows up everything.
No wonder that the price of a po\md of tea, sugar, or salt is ex-
actly the same. The weight is the same, and the cost for
carriage the same, and that determines the price. One of the
Crees in this brigade, called Jack, was pointed out to us as
having in the last Indian war done a very plucky thing. A
company of Crees and half-breeds from Victoria were hunting
butFalo on the plains. Onci morning Jack and an old man were
left behind to bring up the kitchen and baggage carts, while the
main body started ahead for another cam}). Just as the main
bo('y got over the first ridge, a war-party of Blackfeet swooped
down on them with their usual terrific yells. They turned
campwards, from the mere instinct of flight, though knowing
that no relief could be there. The Blackfeet had just got up
to them, shot an I scalped the two hindmost, and would soon
have massacreed every oae, when Jack, who had heard the

168

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

yells, api>cared over tho ridge, and firing his gun at the eneiny,
shouted to an imaginary force bfhiiid liiin, ** hurrah ! here they
are boys ; we've caught them at last." The old man at the
same moment was seen hurrying up, and the Blackfeet imagin-
ing that they had fallen into a trap, turned tail and fled precip-
itately. With the best intention in the world, we voted Jack
the Victoria Cross.

The t'lird s[)ell was eight n mV:, ( \^er fine meadow lar.d,
covered vvith ricli pas 'i rage m; it >xtt; tided without break for
fifty miles to the north. On 'JiMi.ud the Doctor shot some
ducks for the pot. E^ery lakelet had .• I'iU'it one flock among
the reeds, or swimming about ; but not having a dog to bring
them out, it was unsatisfactory work shooting them, unless they
were close to the shore. A little after sunset, we camped near
the Hiding or Snake Lake.

As we were now only 110 to 120 miles from Edmonton, it
was proposed at supper that Horetzky should ride ahead with
our letters of introduction to Mr. Hardisty ; order pack-saddles,
secure a guide, and make as many arrangements as possible, for
our journey over the mountains. At Edmonton, or at any rate
at Lake St. Ann's, fifty miles farther west, wheels must be dis-
carded and everything carried on pack horses. A different out-
fit is required and as some of it has to be made to order, time
would be ^-Tained for the whole party if one got to the Fort
before the others. Macaulay v/ho had been away on a visit to
Scotland for the last twelve mouths, and whose wife and family
were at Edmonton, offered to accompany Horetzky. So it was
decided that after an early breakfast next morning, the two
should ride on rapidly, each taking two horses, a blanket, and
some pemmican.

August 24th. — Rose early, but as for the sake of Horetzky
aD.d Macaulay, breakfast was served before our first spell, it was
6 o'clock before we got away. Our two couriers preceded us by
half an hour, but expected to be at Edmonton a day and a half be-

ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

169

fore us. Passinc^ the Riding or — as it is called on Palliser's Map
— tho Snake Lake, the siiKill of deciyin;^ fish-offal explained the
o'^ect for which a nnniher of log shanties had been erected at
t.> points near its shores. Tho lake swarms with white-fish.
ScDn after, vo crossed the creek t' \t issues from the lake. The
cellar c" a do.scrted shanty by the roadside showed the character
rt* the soil; eighteen inches of black loim, and then successive
layers of tenacious clay, through the uppermost of which the
tissues of pli'nts extended.

The country now became more hilly ; the hill-sides covered
with heavy wood, and the hollows with marshes or lakelets.
Vegetation everywhere was wondtn-fuUy luxuriant. ,'L."^rs
re-appeared, but the general color was blue in place o^ ciie »;•-
mer yellow or lilac; mint, blue bells, a beautiful tal' liv kspur,
but princii)ally light and dark blr.3 asters. Our Bota;.' ;o was
disappointed to find that, amid such wealth of vegtv ^tion, there
were few new species. The same plants have kept .>y us for a
thousand miles. Mint and a saxifragaceous plant had accom-
panied us from Rainy Lake ; gentians, asters, castilia, anemones,
and golden rods from the eastern verge of the prairie.

W^ divided the day into two spells, — sixteen miles of the
richest soil and pasturage ; and twenty-four miles to Victoria
over a great deal of inferior ground. One large section of this
showed little but scrub birch. Another, ter. miles broad, near
Victoria, was a sandy ridge producing scrub pine, or as the peo-
ple here call it cypress, very like the country between Bathurst
and Miramichi, that was burnt over by the great Miramichi fire,
and where in the Lower Provinces the scrub pine is chiefly
found. The ground was literally covered with cranberries, bear-
berries, the uva ursi, and other creepers.

In the forenoon the water was in the lakes ; in the afternoon
in streams, all of which fortunately for us were bridged, rough-
ly indeed, but the worst bridge was a great improvement on
deep black quagmire. Pine, White Mud, and Smoking Lake

170

OrKAN TO OCEAN.

-■<

'!■

Croeks woro tlio su^jgostivo names of the chief streams, names
that we had heard before and probably wouhl hear again.
America lias been called the cotmtryof inventions, — but it can-
not invent names. In the North-west, there are half-a-dozen
" Red Deers," " White Muds," " Vermilions " ; next in popu-
larity to these come the names of members of the Royal
Family.

Tiio first part of the day was bright and pleasant ; but at
two o'clock heavy clouds gathered in the north-west. The wind
drifted the thickest masses completely to our right, while all to
the left the sky remained a clear bright blue. It thundered on
the right ; and then we could see the rain falling in half-a-dozen
different places while intervening districts escaped. At one
point, not very far from us, the rain must have been terrific,
' and right thankful were we that our course had not taken us
there, or we would have had Rat (Jreek over again. The central
mass of cloud hung over this point, and all at once seemed to
have the bottom knocked out of it, when a deluge either of rain
or hail — probably of both — descended, like a continuous pillar,
to the ground for a quarter of an hour, uniting the earth to the
clouds as if by a solid band. The end of the tail of this cloud
swept round over our heads, and gave us first a gust of wind,
and then a smart shower of rain and hail for two or three min-
utes. The sky cleared completely at 3 o'clock ; but, two hours
later, as wo crossed Smoking Lake Creek, and entered again on
good land, thundery clouds rose the second time from iV ' western
horizon, and soon covered the sun and sky before us. We were
now in the bounds of Mr. McDougal's old mission settlement ;
and at his word we " hustled up," or pushed our horses to their
utmost speed to reach a good campxiig ground before the storm
would burst. We got to the spot aimed at in time, our course
for two miles being up a rich valley that is now behind the north-
ern ridge or bank of the Saskatchewan, but that formerly,
when the river was higher, must have been one of its beds, the

^- 1

' '

i ;

■ i i

■1 i>

, ■ :

f I

a
w

M
O

y\M)N(} TIIK NOUTII SA8KAT(;HK\VAN.

171

?3
a
u

Cm
O

■

intervonin;^ ridge boinj,' then iin islan<l. Tlio Hcttloment and
Ifudson'H l>ay fort of Victoria in on the river slope of tluH
ridge, and thuH travellers, passing along the main trail up the
valley, might be in entire ignorance tiiat there was a settlement
near. When we rode up, however, two or three men were
making liay in the valley, and, hailing the sight as a sure sign
that civilized beings and dwellings must be not far off, we
camped at a spring beside them ; and, with a rapidity, that
astonished them and ourselves, had everything made tight be-
fore the rain commenced. After all the threatening the shower
did not amount to much. In half an liour tlie sky was clear
again and the Doctor and Mr. McDougal drove over to the fort, a
mile distant, for supplies, and to announce that there would bo
service in the church next day. They returned after dark with
beef, bread, and milk. Mr. Tait, the Hudson's Bay agent, had
no fresh meat ; but, hearing of our arrival, he with oriental
hospitality had ordered a young ox to be killed and a quarter
sent over for our use.

August 2.")th. — Another day of rest, and a long sleep to begin
it with. At 10 A. M. walked over the rid<'e to service, at Vic-
toria. Tiio church is also used as a school-room, the Mission
House, and Fort are all at the west end of the settlement. The
log-houses of the English and Scotch half-breeds, intermingled
with the tents of the Crees, extend in a line from this west end
along the bank of the river, each man having a frontage on the
river, and his grain planted in a little hollow that runs behind
the houses, beneath the main rise of the ridge. Most of their
hay they cut "ithe valley, on the other side of the ridge, where
we had campe<l.

The farming is on a very limited scale, as the men prefer
hunting buffalo, fishing, or freighting for the Company to
steady agricultui-al labour, and neither farming nor gardenTUg
can succeed well, when the seeds are merely thrown into the
ground in spring, and the ground is not looked at ag;i,in till

■«pipi«a>qwOTnp«H>v- j

172

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

i i;

i I

autumn, wlion ovTiy tiling is expected to be rij)c and ready for
ingatlicriiig. The settloniont is seven years old, and consists
now of between twenty and thii'ty families of half-breeds and
from ten to a liundred tents of Crees, according to the time of
the year, each tent housing on an average seven or eight souls.
It ows its origin to Mr. McDougal who selected the place as a
mission field because the Crees resorted to it ; and as a suitable
locality for a half-breed settlement, on account of its advantages
of soil, river, lakes abounding in fish and wild fowl, and near-
ness to the plains where the buffalo are always found. Last
year Mr. McDougal was removed to Edmonton, and the charge
of Victoria given to Mr. Campbell who had been conducting a
successful mission among the Stonies at Woodville to the south-
west. Mr. Campbell was at present on his way home from
Red River, wliere he had gone to attend the first Wesleyan
conference of Manitoba, and consequently there had been no
one attending to the mission fcr some weeks, except the school-
master. This removal of missionaries from one tribe or even
station, wliere they have gained the confidence of the Indians,
to anothei' locality, seems a mistake to outsiders. The personal
influence of the missionary is the only thing that can be counted
upon in work among heathen, or any rude and primitive people,
and personal influence can be gained only after a long inter-
course with them.

When we arrived at tlie church it was almost filled with
about eight}'' whites, half-breeds, and Crees. The men sat on
one side, the women on the other, and the children in a little
gallery or loft with the schoolmaster and monitors. The ser-
vice was in English, but some Cree hymns were sung, and Mr.
McDougal announced that there would be service in Cree in the
evening, through the medium of an interpreter. The conduct
of all preeent from first to last was most devout notwithbi/and-
ing that many present understood English imperfectly. The
children led the singing, and tnough there was lack of bass-

ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

173

voices on account of tho absence of tlie principal members of
the choir, it was singularly sweet and correct. Some of us were
moved more than we cared to show, when we heard the first
Cree hymn sung.

Service over, two of our party dined at the Mission House,
and the others at the Fort ; and, after a walk through the set-
tlement along the bank of the river, we returned to the church
to see the Sunday School. Mr. McKenzie, the toachor, was
about to leave for another mission, and his successor Mr. Sny-
der was also present. There were sixty names, forty of them
half-breeds, and twenty Indians, on the roll ; but only thirty-
two were present, as wliole faniilies were absent, freighting or
hunting. We examined the three advanced trlasses, numbering
twenty-one, of the biggest boys and girls. All read the JCnglish
Bible more or less iiuently ;aid with understanding, for they
answered every (piestion put to them. Their knowledge of
hymns was such as could be fotind only in a Methodist school ;
if any of us named a hymn in the collection, the tune was at
once raised and all joined in without books. The more ambi-
tious tunes were of course the favourites with the children.
i..e Indians delight in hymn singing, and the missionaries take
advantage of this, making it one great means of reaching their
hearts. Heathon Crees who come to Victoria only for a few
weeks send their children to the school ; they pick up some
hymns at any rate, and sing them when fuv away on the plains.
Mr. Snyder had been schoolmaster for the last few years at
White-fish Lake, a settlement of Crees fifty miles to the north,
where good work has been done. He liad eighty Cree children
at his school. When the Indians moved out to the plains to
hunt buffalo, the nuister would pack up his sj^elling books and
slates, and go oft' with them, setting up his establishment
wherever they halted. He spent from two to six months of the
year, teaching in this rotary style, — hunting half tho day, teach-
ing the other half. The Crees at White-fish Lake are all

jMPdRaii

li ■■!'*■

174

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

li'!'

! i

; H

i [i

■I

Christianized and value the school highly. They are beginning
to settle down to steady farming-work too, several families not
going to the plain.j now, but raising wheat, barley and potatoes
instead. At Victoria wheat has been sowed for seven successive
years, and was a failure only once, the cause then being an ex-
treme local drought. At White-fish Lako it has never been a
total failure. Victoria is on the most northerly bend of the
North Saskatchewan ; the plate-iu is very elevated ; and many
of the plants in the country round, have more of the sub-arctic
character than in any other part of the fertile belt ; so that we
were not surprised when told that there were generally light
frosts in July and August. Indeed Mr. McDougal had been
warned in planting the settlement, that he was choosing one of
the worst spots on the river. The future may show that he was
wiser than his friends.

In the evening, we went to church again ; more C^rees were
present than in the forenoon, but not so many of the lialf-breeds.
Mr. Tait acted as interpreter and also led the meeting, with
modesty and fervour, in prayer in Cree. It must be a great
advantage to a missionary to have such a man in charge of the
Fort.

We had seen enoi.gh to-day to convince us, more than all
the arguments in the world, that missionary labour among the
Indians is a reality, and that the positive language on the
other side is the language of ignorance, self-interest, or down-
right opposition to tiie Gospel The aims of traders and mis-
sionaries with regard to the Indians are different ; the formei'
wish that they should continue hunters, the latter that they
should tr.ke to steady employment. It is not wonderful then
that some traders should feel annoyed at what they regard as
a steady working against their interest. But, as the Indian
has no chance of existence except by conforming to civilized
ways, the sooner that the Government or the Christian people
awake to the necessity of establishing schools among every

•fei

ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

175

tribe the better. Little can be done with the okl, and it may be
two three or more generations before the old habits of a people
are changed ; but, by always taking h<^!d of the young, the
work can bo done. A mission without .icliools is a mistake,
almost a crime. And the ]M(^thodists deserve the praise of
having seen and vigorously acted on this, and they can point to
visible proofs of success in their Indian missions.

It is greatly to the credit of tJio Indians in British America,
that they have never injured or stolen from any missionary.
They have i)lundered posts, stri[)ped traders naked, and mur-
dered some who perhaps had given them cause; but even when
at war, the missionary is allowed to enter and speak in their
great councils and is everywhere treated with respect. Rever-
ence is a strong trait in the Indian character. His own lan-
guage supplies no words for i)rofane swearing ; if he wishes to
blaspheme, he must boi'row from the French or English, Is
not his dignity of speech and manner connected with this ven-
eration for Deity 1

We invited Mr. Tait and the schoolmasters to walk over the
ridge and have supper with us. Mrs. Cam[)bell also did us the
honour of coming, and, so for the first time, our camp was graced
with the presence of a lady. Her presence lighted up every-
thing, and had a very apj)reciable effect on our style of pas-
sing things round the table ; every one was as anxious to help
her to something as if she had been Her Majesty ii> person;
Terry, naturally and nationally the soul of politeness, was es-
pecially attentive. Rath(?r than let her put preserved peaches
on the plate beefsteak had been on, he removed the plate and
whipping out his pocket handkerchief, that had not been
washed since he left Fort Oarry, proceeded to clean it. Luckily
the Doctor noticed him in time to snatch the plate away, or —
but we must draw a veil over Terry as cook or table-maid ; in
no house is it wise to look too closely into how things are done
in the kitchen.

.ii

'/ .''•' , '

176

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

! ■;.

I i

Siii-^e tho commencement of our journey, Sundays had in-
variably been our most pleasant and profitable days, and this
was no exception. The kindness of every one at Victoria was
something not soon to bo forgotten. They welcomed us for
our own sakes, and for the end the expedition had in view, as
they had long prayed for tho opening up of the country. It
was in our favour also here as elsewhere that a Doctor was
with us. He visited and prescribed for all the sick in the
settlement, and finding in the Fort a medicine chest that had
been sent out as a present by Dr. Ray but had never been used,
he explained to Mr. Tait how and when to give the difiercnt
mcdic'nes, and wrote outgeneral directions that could be easily
understood and acted upon.

August 26th. — Rose ver}-- early, the Doctor acting as camp-
master and making every one fly around, so that we got off half
an hour before sunrise. The thermoinet(;r then stood at thirty
degrees, and heavy hoar-frof^t lay on the rich deep grass. A
dense fog rose as the frost exnaled in dew, and, the sun's rays
striking on this, formed a beautiful fog-bow that hung before us
during more than an hour's travelling. Passing up the valley
})arallel to the river, we then skirted the edge of the plateau
that bounded it on the north, going through tall heavy grass
and a country which seemed to possess every qualification for
stock-rai:;ing. The road showed the influence of recent rains
that, the Victoria settlers told us, had been so lieavy this Au-
gust as to have cou4)letely stopped haying operations. Every
marsh was a bog, every creek swollen, nd as good soil makes
bad roads, our progress was slow. Still by pegging away we
made forty -four miles in our three spells. The first was to the
Wassetcpo'v, (or opening in the bank) so called from the cleft
it has mado. "n the ridge, to get to the Saskatchewan. The
cleft, instead o! siiowing the usual broad rounded valley, is cut
sharp and tl>an asj if w'tL a knife, partly by the force of the
stream an<i puitly by iaud slides. We next passed successively

ALOXG THE '.ORTn SASKATCHEWAN.

177

Slicker, Vermilion find Deep Creeks, besides several smaller
ones, and camped at the last nimed. The road descended
twice to the Saskatchewan, which showed the same clayey
look as at Carlton, and ran with almost as g/eat a volume,
though more than three hundred miles nearer its source.
For thirty miles to-day the trail was through thick woods of
aspen, poi)lars, birch, tamarack, spruce and pine. Much of the
wood was good timber, froui one to two iect in diameter with
tall straight shafts, as thick fifty or sixty feet up as when five
or six feet from the ground. Tliere are occasionally alternate
sections of asper and spruce for half a mile or so; in one j)laco
the underbrush thick and green ; in another the soil so bare and
the trees so branchless, that movement in any direction is
easy.

Camped before sunset within ^Avent) seven miles of Edmon-
ton, and in honour of the event brought out our only bottle of
claret. As we had no ice, Terry siiouted "^o Souzie to bring
some cold water, but no Souzie ap[)earing he \aried the call to
" Pommican !" This brought Souzie, but great was his indigna-
tion when a bucket was {)ut into iiis hands, instead of the ri(;h
pemmican he was never tired of feasting 0'.. Terry had a de-
cidedly Irish contempt for Indians, half breeds, or coloured gen-
tlemen of any kind ; and Souzie was especially obrioxious, be-
cause of his magnificent appetite, and because wit^ Indian care-
lessness he often mislaid the belongings of the ) rty, " as if,"
remarked Terry confidentially to the Secretary, "I carried
tillygraph wires in my head."

August 27 th. — Ofi til is morning again before sunrise, and
breakfast fourteen miles from camp at a iitth teek near Horse
Hill, where the guard of Edmonton was formerly located. On
the way crossed a strong rapid-running stream -ailed Sturgeon
Creek, from which twenty-five pound fish are oken taken. V\''e
had left the thick woods last evening, and the country to-day
was open and elevated. Thirty miles to oui u f t the Beaver

J, i

ITS

OCEAN TO (JCEAN.

Hills, on the otlior side of the Saskatchewan, formed a bold
background of deep blue. Mr. McDougal pointed out a spot
near our breakfast spoiling place, where his predecessor had a
remarkable escape when travelling. ITe had intended to camp
on Horse Hill, but when within a mile of it, so furious a storm
came on that ho dismounted ami crouched for prot(;ction under
a bank with overuanging low willow hushes. When the storm
passed over, he rode on to the hill and found on the very spot
where ho intended to have camped, a horse that had just been
killed by the lightning.

At eleven o'clock, arrived at Edmonton and found that
Horetsky had made arrangements to enable us to start next day,
Mr. Hardisty, in the quiet business-like way, and with the
kindness that many atraveUer has exi)erienced before, had done
everything to forward orr views. We pitched tents on the
bank three quarters of a mile down the river from the Fort,
near Mr. McDougal's house and the new church he is building,
and had the whole party photographed ; tents, carts, buck-
boards, with Terry, seated on his pots and pans, mending his
pants and smoking the inevitable cutty, in the foreground.

The first great half of our journey from Fort Uarry, the prairie
as distinguished from the mountain part, was over. It had not
been all prairie or anytliing like it, and the second part would not
be all mountain. We would not discard our carts for another
fifty miles, and the mountains were still two hundred miles dis-
tant. But, Edmonton may be considered the end of the jour-
ney across the plains and the beginning of the woods, and is
the point at which to prepare for crossing the Rocky Mountains.
It is the headquarters of the Company's posts on the Saskat-
chewan, and here we were to take our leave of the great river
Up to this point it had been all plain sailing, but now we were
told to expect toil and trouble.

At Edmonton we looked with great interest for the section
of coal that crops out on the river bank. *J Is it coal or not, '

l»

ALONC; THK NOirni SASKATCHEWAN.

179

X bold
I spot
had a
I camp
storm
under
! storm
ry spot
;t been

id that
ixt day.
ith the
ad done
on the
Fort,
uiUUng,
,, buck-
ing his
id.

))rairie
id not
juld not
mother
es dis-
10 jour-
;ind is
untains.
Saskat-
at river
we were

section
or not,*

was the question, no matter wlictlior it was caHcd bituminous
shale or lignite. A bushel or two was brougl t uj) from tho
river side .at our request. Tryin-' it in tlie smid<ly, it burnt
W(>11 and gave a good lieat wlien tlie bellows was ap})licd, but it
would be very dithcult to kindle without the.bellows. It keeps
burning a long time and loavfs a great deal of dirt, dust and
a.sh, '' a*: the rate of two ton of aslios to one of coal." The sec-
tion ai, I'^duionton is three feet thick, and it crops out in several
places, with a conglonieratf^ beneath it tliat i-eseniblrs ironstcme
in nodules ; at the Pembina liver, seventy miles to the west,
there is n seam ten feet thick ; and Mr. llardisty informed us
that at the Rocky Mountain House, one luindred and forty
miles to the south-west, the seam is ten feet, the coal of a supe-
rior quality, and used regularly in the forge. Many other
seams are found over a wide extent of coMi'iy, and it is reason-
able to infer that several of these will y;e' 1 good fuel, for even
in the richest coal countries there is no such abundant outcrop
as here. What we tried was picked uj> from the river or from
the outcrop, and was hard, shaly an<l inferior as fuel ; but had
it not been very hard it would have crumbled away by ex))osure
to the rain, snow and frost, and its iace been covered iij) com-
pletely with earthy and vegetable matter, so that no traces of
its presence would have been left. .V little boring wouhl settle
the matter, for the beds are horizontal and not very dec^p.

The Company works a large farm at lldmonton, and with a
success that is encouraging, es[)eeially when it is remembered
that the methods are comparatively rude. They liave raised
wheat for thirty years, and it has failed only two or three times ;
barley and potatoes and turnips are sure crojis. The usual dif-
ficulties from the Indians cami»ing near a fort have been e.xpe-
rienced. A band of strange Indians come along, and, without
the slightest idea that they are doing anything objectionable,
use the fences for tint poles or fuel ; and their horses tlien
getting into the fiolds destroy much of the crop. But in spite

180

OCEAN to dCteAN.

of thoso and othor hiiulriincos, a thousand bushels of wheat are
usually stored from a sowing of a hundrisd ; and last year, two
liundrod and fifty kogs of potatoes (eight gallon kegs used instead
of hushcls) wei(! planted, and alxmt live thousand were dug.
The same land has been used for the farm for thirty years,
without any manure worth speaking of being i)ut on it. Part
is intervale and pait u)>land.

The n})lands do not yield such good cro[>s because there is a
slight infusion of alkali in the surface s©»il, wiiicli subsoil plougli-
ing would probably do away witli

In the evening the Secretary held Divine service in the ball
room of the Fort. About tifty men, most of them eini)loyed
about the post, were present. There were also some miners
who had recently arrived from Peace River, anc^ whose i^eports
of the Ominioa gold-mines were not very encoui-aging. The
njci who wash the Saskatchewan s;ind bars for gold make on an
average four dollars per day, but that does not satisfy them ;
five dollars a day is called wages. This year there are only
fifteen miners on the Saskatchewan.

Three or foiu intend starting to-morrow for the Red Deer, a
tributary of the Bow River, in some canyons of which heavier
Lrrains of gold than usual have been found.

On the North Saskatchewan the "old miners or washers ranu'e
up and down for about one hundred and thirty miles, Edmon-
ton being the central point of this distance. It was for a long
time sui)posed that all the gold in the Saskatchewan and the
other rivers — in the same longitude — came from the Rocky
Mountains, and these were diligently prospectt.'d near their
sources. But not a trace of gold has been found there, and it
is now thought probable that a stratum of gold-bearing quartz
extends across the country, some distance on the west side of
the mountains. Float silver is also found in soiue of the rivers,
but not in suliicient quantities to encourage prospecting.

This seems the proper place, before going on with our diary,

ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

181

cat are
ar, two
iiistearl
re dug.
y years,
Pai-t

)ve is a
l>lough-

thc ball
iiploved
minors
reptu'ts
g. Tho
ke on an
i them ;
ro only

Deer, a
lieavicr

;rs range

Eibnon-

)r a long

and the

Rocky

ir their

!, and it

g (juartz

b side of

e I'ivcrs,

»'

IV diary,

for somo grneral ohscrvations on tlie country, between the
Nortli-West Angh'! of thr Lake (»f the Woods and Kibnonton ;
particuhuly witli a view to its capabilities as a great tield for
colonization. We can speak ])Ositively only of what we saw,
and tliat includes a very narrow strip. All admit that the line
of our route does not show the best Innd, liowever mucli they
dill'cr MS to the (piantity that is availabh; for se*^tlement. Some
observers, h^ng resident in tlu; countiy, declare thi\t the fertile
belt practically means the whole distance ])etween the North
and South Stiskatchewan, and other vast regions to the east,
north, and west, especially a broad belt along the basis of the
liocky IMountains to the south of Kdinonton, two hundred
miles long by fifty broad, the home of tho Rlackfeet, and pro-
nounced by many to be the garden of the North-west. Others
maintain that, as far as the Saskatchewan country is concerned,
only a nari'ow belt along such rivers as the Battle, Vermilion,
and Red Deer can be cultivated with success. It is not neces-
sarv to decide between those views now. We know on the
authority of .Ca})talu Palliser, who crossed and re-crossed tlu!
]dains several times, tliat the central American desert does ex-
tend into British Territory forming a trijingle, having for its
base the forty -ninth ])avall(d from longitude 100 '■^ to 114 "^ W,,
with its r.pex reaching to the fifty- second parallel of latitude.
But the first emigrants will select land alon:'; the courses of
streams, especially the navigable rivers, and they will soon find
out all about the iiautervening districts.

Speaking generally of Manitoba and our North-west, along
the line we travelled, it is iiiipossiblc to doubt that it is one of
the finest i)asture countries in the woild, and that a great part
of it is well adapted for cereals. The climatological conditions
are favourable for both stock raising and grain producing. The
spring is nearly as early as in Ontario ; the summer is more
humid and therefore the grains, grasses, and root crops grow
better ; the autumn bright and cloudless, the very weather for

!•;

182

OCEAN Tn OCEAN.

!.-|

I !

luirvostini,' ; jind tin; wiiilcr lias less snow an '1 fnwernnow-storms
and tlK.ii^di, in niunv parts (-older, it is healthy and pleasant
because of the still di y ail', the cloudless sky, lUid briijiht sun.
The soil is almost everywhere a peaty or sandy loam restin;jf on
clay. Its only fault is tlnit it is too rich. Crop alter crop is
raised without fallow or manure.

As re;i;ard.5 the practical experience of farmers on the subject
there is litth) to appeal to, and that litth; is chieHy favourable.
Theoidv lar-^e settlement is about Red IJivei*. The farms there
are most inconveniently shaped, beinuf very narrow lon<^' stri[)s ;
none of tlie pcoph' were skilled farmer.s to bei^dn with, and, till
the last two or thi-ee years, they had no market excejit the II.
J^. Company. I5ut the Scotch farmers there are all making'
money now, and their testimony is uniformly in favour of the
country for farming purjioses.

The other settlements are few and far between, on the «!dges
of rivers or hikes, where wood and water are easily obtainable.
The [)opulation of these consists entirely of half-breeds, and
tlieir method of farming is uni(pie. They are farmers, hunters,
ii.shermen, voyageurs, all in one ; the soil is scratched, three
inches deef), eaily in May, some seed is thrown in, and then
the whole household go otl' to hunt the buffalo. They get back
abont the first of August, spend the month haying and harvest-
ing, and are olf to the fall hunt esirly in September. Some are
now so devoted to farming that thev onlv go to one hunt in the
year. It is astonishing that, though knowing so weP how not
to do it, they raise some wheat and a good deal of barley, oats
and potatoes. There is a great difference, however, between
the Scotch and French half-breeds. The Fi-ench who inter-
married with the Indians, often became as the Indians; just as
the Spaniards in Mexico and South America who intermarried
with the natives sank to their level. Th.e squftw was treated
as his wife. Her people became his people, but his God hei*
God. The children have Indian characteristics, the habits,

ALONG THK NOHTII SASKATCinnVAN.

18.3

weaknessoH, tinrl ill-rogulated passions of nomatls. Thoy excol
the Indian in strcni,'tli of l)o<ly and endurance. Thoy beat him
on his own fiohl of hnntini^, runninf^, riding, power of eating, or
when necessary of abstintnice ; witli tliese are united much of
Frencli vivacity, h)ve of anmseniont, hospitality, patience,
courtesy of manner, ard warmth of uH'cction. When a Scotch-
man married a s<iuaw, lier position, on the cimtrary, was fre-
(pi(!ntly not much higlier tlian a servant's. He was the supciior
])erson of the house. He continued Christian after his fashion,
she continu<;d pagan. Tlie granite of iiis nature resisted fusion
in sj)it(* of family and tribal inHiionces, the attrition of ail sur-
rounding circumstances, aiul the total abs(;ncf of civili/afion ;
and the wife was too comi»h't(!ly separated from him to be able
to raise herscdf to his level. The children of such a couple take
more after tlie fathef" than the motiier. As a rub? they are
shicwd, steady, and industrioii.s. A Scotch half-l>reed has
generally a field of wheat before or beliind his house, stacks,
barn, and provision for a year ahead, in iiis granary. The
Metis has a patch of potatoes or a little barley, ami in a year
of scarcity draws his belt tighter or starves. It is interesting
as on.il travels in the great North-west to noU), liow the two old
allies of the middle ages have left their marks on the whole of
this great country. The name of almost every river, creek,
mountain, or district is French or Scotch,

The climate and the soil are favourable ! What about water,
fuel, and the summer frosts, the thre(^ points next in import-
ance ?

A large population cannot be expected unless there is good
water in the form of rivers, lakes, springs, or wells. In many
parts of the prairies of the U. S., dependence is placed mainly
on rain water collected in cisterns ; but such a su[)ply is un-
wholesome, and to it may be attributed much of their prairie
sickness. In connection with this question of water, the exist-
ence of the numerous saline lakes, that has been again and again

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

US 1^

I li£ III 2.0

ll'-2^ll'-^ -^

►

P^.

Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

•c^\^

■^>.

■^

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. ]4580

(716) 872-4503

184

OCEAN TO cCEAN.

noted, forces itself on our attention ; the wonder is that former
observers have said so little about them. Palliser marks them
on his map in two places, but they are rt^ally the characteristic
feature of the country for hundreds of miles. In many parts
they so completely outnumber the fresh water lakes, that it is

"Water, water, everywhere
And not a drop to drink."

Some of them are from five two twenty miles long, others only
little pools. Some are so impregnated with salt that crystals of
sulphate of soda are foruied on the surface, and a thick white
incrustation is deposited round the shores. Others are brackish
or with a salt taste that is scarcely discernible. We noted
several facts about these lakes that may be stated. (1) That
they have no outlet. (2) That they are often side by side
with fresh water lakes, and that in these cases the latter occupy
the higher situation and their outflow consequently falls into
the former. (3) That a few feet away from their immediate
shores, on wiiich marine plants grow, the usual flora and grasses
of the country flourish. (4) That the tracks of the buffalo
show that the water is drunk by them, and horses drink it when
they cannot get fresh water, though it acts medicinally on
them.

Whence have they origin.ated ? Several theories may be
suggested. Here is one that explains all the facts so far as
known to us. Suppose that formerly a superabundant quan-
tity of alkali. le matter was diffused through the soil generally,
over our Northwest, as we know it is over a wide extent of the
American desert and in sections on the Pacific coast. We found
it so in some places where there are no lakes, and where it
could be carried off by rivers. On the bank of the Assiniboine
near Fort Ellice, similarly on the Saskatchewan near Edmonton,
and at other points it was observed. If it had once been gener-
ally diffused through the soil, what must have happened in the
course of centuries wherever there was an ordinary rainfall ?

ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN.

185

orraer
tliem

eristic
parts
tit it is

s only
tals of
white
rackish

> noted
That

yy side

occupy

Is into

n'ediate

grasses

buffalo

it when

ally on

nay be

> far as
t quan-
tierally,
t of the
e found
Iiere it
niboine
lonton,

I gener-

in the

linfain

The water, percolatincf tlirough the soil, would carry off the
alkaline matter into lakes and rivers, and it would be retained
only in those lakes that had no outlet. This theory explains
all the features of tlu; case, and starts no now difticulties. It
sug<:fests too, that the one great reason why the American
Desert must remain both descit and bitter is. that there is no
rainfall on it, whereas farther north in the same longitude there
is abundance of rain.

Apart from those saline lakes, is tliere a sutficient supply of
water? In brief we must ans\v*»r that, in many parts there is,
in others we do not know yet. Test wells must be sunk and
then we can speak positively.

The question of fuel is next in importance in a country where
the winters are severe, for corn cannot be grown for fuel in our
North-west as it has been on the prairies of Illinois. At piesent
there is little wood except along the rivers and creeks, and on
some of £lie hills, until we go back to the continuous forest on
the north, or to within two hundred miles of the Rocky INIoun-
tains. This scarcity of wood is of little consequence, if the vast
coal-measures, that extend from the Red Deer and Row Rivers
to the McKenzie, inove to contain good coal in large enough
seams to be worked with protit. Ry river or rail, coal can be
carried in all directions for every purpose ; and it is highly ])ro-
bable that we have the most extensive coal fields in the world.
The importance of definitely ascertaining the (puility of each
prominent seam is very great. Rut even though wood may not
be absolutely required for fuel, every encouragement for its
growth should be given. Wood is needed for many purposes,
and the plains would.be warmer in winter if they were not
treeless.

The remaining difficulty is the recurrence of summer frosts.
In many localities these are dreaded more than anything (?lse.
At one place in June or July, at another in August, sharp
frosts have nipped the grain, and sometimes even the potatoes.

■ t

186

OCKAN TO OCRAN.

At Edmonton, 2088 feet above the sea there is invariably a
nij^lit or two of frost Ix-tweon tlie lOtli and 20th of August. At
Victoria and Fort Pitt to tlio east, and still more so at the R.
C. mission of Lake St. Albert and Lake St. Ann to the west of
Edmonton, tlie grain has sufll'ered more or less frequently from
the same cause. Tins enemy is a serious one, for against it man
seems ])owerloss. lint admitting that tliere are frosts that
cannot be avoided, and tliat no imj)rovement will ensue on the
geniM-al cultivation of the land, the draining of bogs, and the
j)eoj)ling of the country, thei-e remain large and fertile tracts
free from tliem, and, where the frosts are frequent, other crops
than wheat can be raised, and the pasturage remains unrivalled.

It is only fair to the country to add, that the power of those
frosts to injure must be judged not by the thermometer, but by
actual experience. It is a remarkable fact, that frost which
would nip grain in many other countries is innocuoiis on the
Red River and Saskatchewan. Whatever the reason, and Mr.
Spence in a recent pamphlet on " Manitoba and the North-
west of the Dominion," has assigned several, — such as the dry-
ness of the atmosphere, the heat retaining character of the
soil, and the sudilen change of temperature that enables vigor-
ous plants to bear an atmosphere at 20 ® better than at 35 ®
when the latent heat of the earth and the ])lants has been
given off, — the fait is undoubted. Due regard to times and
seasons will also enable the farmer to escape very often the
daiigers peculiar to a locality. Thus, at Edmonton, if they
sow late and the wheat is in the milk when the frost comes, it
is injured. The remedy is to sow early.

Looking fairly at all the facts, admitting all the difficulties —
and what country has not drawbacks — it is impossible to avoid
the conclusion that we have a great and fertile North-west, a
thousand miles long and from one to four hundred miles broad,
capable of containing a population of millions. It is a fair
land; rich in furs and fish, in treasure, ^ of the forest, the field,

ALONG THK NOllTIl SASKATCHEWAN.

187

ariably a
jjust. At
t the R.
e west of
tly from
st it man
[osts that
|ue on the
and the
ile tracts
lier croj)S
nrivalled.
' of those
iv, but by
st which
is on the
I and Mr.
le North-
s the dry-
er of the
les vigor-
at 35 o
has been
imes and
often the
, if they
comes, it

and the mine ; seauKMl by navii^able rivers, interlaced by nu-
merous crcM'ks, and beautified with a thousand hik(!S ; broken
by swelling uplands, wooded hill-sides, and bold ridges ; and
protected on its t!Xi)Osod sides by a groat desert or by giant
mountains. The air is \nu'c, dry, and l)racing all the year round ;
giving promise of health and strength of body and length of
days. Here we have a home for our own suiplus poi)ulation
and for the stream of emiuration that runs from northern and
central E]uroi)e to America. Let it be opened up to the world
by rail and steamboat, and in an incredibly short time the
j)resent gap between Manitoba and lii-itish Columbia will be
filled up, and a continuous line of loyal Provinces extend from
the Atlantic to the Pacific.

culties —
to avoid
i-west, a
es broad,
is a fair
the field,

ClIAPTEPt VII.

From Fort Edmonton 1o the Rircr Athahni^rn.

I'lilsc Report.- Si Mizie's farewell. St. Albert Mission. Rislioj) (irandiii. -Small-pox. —
Great Mortality. Indian Orphans. — The Sisters of Cliarity. Uoad to Lake St.
Ann's- Luxuriant Ve;,'ctation. Pelican.— Early frosts. Pack horses, -Lcavins: St.
Ann's. Indians. Vajionr Uf)oths.- Thick woods.— Pcnihina I'iver.— Coal. • Lob-
Btiek Canij). Condemned doj;s. Heaver dams. .Murder. Horse lost. A Birth-day
-No trail. — Muskeirs. Windfalls. -Heavers.— Traces of old travellers. —Cooking
l)emmican. — Crossinjr tlie McLcod.- Wretched Hoad. Inxpinis Indians. Slow pro-
gress. - Merits of i)eninucan.- Had Miiske.!,'-s. I'n beau ehemin. -A mile an hour. -
Plum-puddin;; Camp— Ten hours in the saddle. Athabasca River. - Tlic Rockj-
Mountains. -Bayonet Camp.

August 28tli. — Tt is proverbially difficult to get away in a
hurry from a Hudson's Bay fort, especially if outfit is required ;
but, we were furthered, not only by the genuine kindness of
Mr. Hardisty but by a fsvlse alarm that quickened every one's
movements, and so we got off early in the afternoon.

A report reached Edmonton in the forenoon, that the Crees
and Blackfeet were fighting on the other side of the river, a re-
port based, as we afterwards learned, on no other ground than
that " some one " had heard shots fired, at wild duck, probably
enough. Where there are no newspapers to ferret out and
communicate the truth to every one, it is extraordinary what
wild stories are circulated ; and how readily they are believed,
though similar (m dih' have been found to be lies time and
again. As we would be detained with long pow-wo%vs, if either
party crossed the river, every one helped us to hurry off. We
had to say good-bye not only to the Indians wdio had come from
Fort Pitt, and to 'Mv, McDougal and the gentlemen of the Fort ;
but also to Horetskv and to our botanist, as the Chief had de-
cided to send these two on a separate expedition to Peace River,
by Fort Dunvegan, to report on the flora of that country, and
on the nature of the northern passes through the Ptocky Moun-

FORT EDMONTON TO ATHABASKA RIVER.

189

tains. Wc i)iirtod witli regret, for men get better acquainted
with each other on sliiplmaid, or in a niuntli's travel in a lone
himl, than they woiiUl under ordinary circumstances in a year.
Souzie was more sorry to part with Frank than with any of tlie
rest of us. lie had been teaching iiim Cree, and Frank liad got
the length of twenty-four words whicli he aired on every i)0s-
sible occasion, to his tutor's unbounded delight. Souzie mounted
his liorsc and waited jjatiently at the gate of the Fort for two
hours, without our knowledge. When Frank came out he rode
on with him for a mile to the lieight of a long slope ; then he
drew up and i)utting one hand on his heart, with a sorrowful
look, held out the other ; and, without a word, turned his horse
and rode slowly away.

Our number was now reduced to four. We were to drive out
fifty miles to Lake St. Ann's, and " pack " our travelling stores
and baifijfage on hoi'ses there ; taking with us three new men,
and the faithful Terry, to whose cookery we had beconjc accus-
tomed, as eels are said to get accustomed to skinning. Mr.
Hardisty kindly accompanied us ten miles out, to the guard at
Lake St. Albert, to see that we got good horses. Tlio road is
an excellent one, j)assing through a rolling prairie, dotted with
a great number of diied marshes on each side, from which im-
mense quantities of natural hay could be cut.

Crossing the same Sturgeon Iliver that we had crossed yester-
day morning on our way to Edmonton, a hill rose before us
crowned with the Cathedral Church of the mission, the house of
the Bishop, and the house of the Sisters of Charity ; while, up
and down the river extended the little houses and farms of the
settlers. We called on Bishop Grandin and found him at home,
with six or seven of his clergy who fortunately happene^o be
in from various missions. The Bishop is from old France. The
majority of the priests, and all the sistei-s, are French Canadians.
The Bishop and his staff received us witl; a hearty welcome,
showed us round the church, the school, the garden, and intra-

190

Ol'KAN TO 0(.'KAN.

duced us to tho sisters. TIio clnirch rpj»rosi'ntH an cxti jiordinary
amount of I.ibonr and ingonuity, when it is considered tliat there
is not a saw mill in the country, and tliat every phink had to bo
made with a wliip or liand saw. The altar is a beautitV.l i»ieco
of wood-work in tlie early Norman stylo, executed as a lahotir
of love by two of tho Fathers. The siioristy behind was tho
original log church and is still used for service in the winter.

This tit. Albert mission was formecl nbout nine years ago, by
a number of s(;ttlers removing from Lak(i St. Ann's in hope of
escaping the frosts which ha<l seveial times cut down their
grain. It grew rapidly, chiefly from St. Ann's and Red Iliver,
till two years ago, when it numbered noarly one thousanil, all
French half-breeds. Then came the small-pox that laged in
every Indian cauip, and, wherever men were assemlded, all up
and down the Saskatchewan. Three hundred died at St. Albert.
Men and women fled from their nearest and dearest. Tho
priests and the sist(n-s toiled ""Icli that devotechiess that is a
matter of course with them ; nursed the sick, shrived the dying,
and gathered many of the orphans into their house. The scourge
passed away, but the infant settlement had received a severe
blow from which it is only beginning to recover. M:iny are
the discouragements, material and moral, of the fathers in tlieir
labours. Their congregation is migratory, spends half the year
at home and the other half on the plains. The children are
sent to school only when they have no biiffalo to hunt, no pem-
mican to make, or no work of greater importance than edu^^a-
tion to set them at. TliO half-breed is religious, but he must
indulge his passions. It is a singular fact that not one of them
has ever become a priest, though several, Louis Kiel among the
nnmlir, have been educated at different missions, with a view
to the sacred otRce. The yoke of celibacy is too heavy ; and
fiddling, dancing, hunting, and a wild roving life have too many
charms.

The settlement now numbers seven hundred souls. The land

KOirr KDMOM'UN i(> Al'llABAMA KIVKH.

101

iionlinary

that there

had to bo

ititV.1 j»i(3C0

s a hibonr

ul was the

winter.

lis aj^'o, by

ill ]i()i)C of

lown their

Ivcd lliver,

uusaml, all

it rnged in

bled, all up

St. Albert.

I rest. The

ss that is a

d the dying,

The scourge

ed a severe

Many are

lers in tlieir

lalf the vear

children are

mt, no pem-

than edu'^a-

lut he must

one of them

il among the

with a view

heavy ; and

ve too many

5. The land

is good, but, on account of its elevation, and other local causes,
subject to sinnnier fiosts ; in sj>ite of thesif, cei'eals, an well as
root crops, succeed when can? is taken, fjust year they reaped
on tlu • '^sion farm twenty n.'turnsof wheat, eighi.een of bjiilcy,
sixteen of potatoes. Turnips, beets, carrots an<l such like vege-
tables, grow to an enormous si/.e. A serious drawback to the
people is that th«'y have no grist mill ; the Fathers could not
get them to give up the butfalo for a summer and build one on
the Sturgeon. They would begin it in tin* fall and finish it in
the spring; but the Hoods swept it away half-finished, and the
Fathers have no funds to try anything on a soIi<l and extensive
scale.

The sisters took us to see their orphanage. They have; twenty-
four children in it, chiefly girls ; two-thirds of the number half-
breeds, the rest Blaekfcet or Cn.'es who have bt'en picked up in
tents beside their dead parents, abandoned by the tiUm when
stricken with small-pox. The hair of the Indian l)oys and girls
was brown as often as black, and their complexions were as light
as those of the half-breeds. This would be the case with the
men and women also, if they ado])ted civilized habits. Sleeping
in the open air, with face often turned upward to a blazing sun,
would .soon blacken the skin of tlie fairest Euroi)can.

Last Sunday we noticed, in the congregation at Victoria,
that while some of the old Indians had skins almost as black
as negroes, the young men and women were comparatively
fair. The explanation is that the young Crees are taking to
civilized ways. Peoi)le at Fort Garry told us that when the
troops arrived under Colonel Wols(dy, some of them, who had
slept or rowed the boats bare-headed under the blazing sun, were
quite as dark-complexioned as average Indians. The gentle
Christian courtesy and lady-like manners of the sisters at the
mission charmed us, while the knowledge of the devoted lives
they lead must impress, with profound respect, Protestant and
Koman Catholic alike. Each one would have adorned a home

192

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

of her own, but sho had given up all for the sake of hor Lord
and H'\H litllo ones. After being entertained by the bisliop to
an excellent supper, and hearing tlio orplums sing, wo were
oblig(!(l to hurry away in order to CiUnp bcifore dark. The
Doctor remained behind for an hour to visit tineo or four who
were sick in their rooms, and arrang(! tlieir dispensary. Tak-
ing leave of Mr. Hardisty also, we drove on thre(; miles and
cam[)ed. Five of us o^-cupied one tent ; our own party of four
and Mr. Adams, the II. \l. agent at Lake St. Ann's, who was
returning from Edmonton to his j)ost.

August '2'Jth. — Some of the horses were missing th's morn-
ing, but an hour after sunrise all were found exce[)t Mr.
Adams' and another whose tracks were seen going in the St.
Ann's or homeward direction. Knowing tliat we would over-
take tlicm the start was made. Aftei* a third and fourth cros-
sing of the Sturgeon river, we halted for breakfast/. We then
crossed it for the fifth and last tinie, caught up to the two
horses quietly f(jeiling near the wayside, dined at mid-day, and
rode on in advance with Mr. Adams to St. Ann's, leaving the
two carts to follow more leisurely. We reached the post an
hour before sunset, having ridden nearly forty miles, though,
as we had presented the odometer to Mr. McDougal, our cal-
culations of distances were now necessarily only guess work.
The carts got in an hour after, and the tent was pitched and
the carts emptied for the last time. From St. Ann's the road
is only a horse-trail through the woods, so often lost in marshes
or hidden by windfalls that a snide is required. Tents, for
the sake of carrying as little weight as possible, were dis-
carded for the simple " lean to " ; and wheels for pack horses.
Our guide was Valad, a three-quarters Indian, and our pack-
ers — Brown, a Scotchman, and Beaupre, a French Canadian,
old ])ackers and miners, and both first-rate men. They said
that the whole of the next day would be required to arrange
the pack-saddles, but they were told that we must get away
from the post immediately after dinner.

hor Lord
l)iHhop to

wo were
M-k. The

four who
ry. Tiik-
luik'S iind
rty of four

who was

th's morn-
xce[)t Mr.
in the St.

ouUl over-
fourth cros-
We then

to the two
lid-day, and

leaving the
tlie post an
les, though,
jal, our cal-
fiuess work,
pitched and
n's the road
it in marshes
. Tents, for
e, were dis-
pack horses,
tid our pack-
ch Canadian,
I. They said
d to arrange
ust get away

FORT F.DMONTOy TO ATIIAHAsrA HFVKR.

id;;

The road travelled over to-day was througii a bt^autiful
country, hilly and wooded, creeks winding' round narrow val-
leys, and others that heaver dams had converted into marshes,
on which were jirowinj; ^reat masses of natui*al hav. The
vegetation on the hill-sides was most luxuriant. The grass
reached to the horses' necks, and the vetches, which the horses
snatched at greedily as they trotted past, were from four to
six fee*^ high. The Inst twelve miles of the tlay's journey re-
8emhlo«l a jjleasurn drive ; the first half amid tall woods
through which the sunlight glimmered, with rich green under-
brush of wild currant nioos(!l)(!rry and Indian pear, the ripe
fruit of which we plucked fioni our sadtllos. Through these our
road led down to the brink of Lake St. Ann's, a beautiful
sheet of water, stretchini; awav before us for miles, enlivened
with flocks of wild duck and pelican on the islets and pro-
montories that fring(!d it ; and then round the south-west side
of the lake, for the last six miles, to Mr. Adams' house. Mrs.
Adams had a grand supi>er ready for us in half an hour, and
we did full justice to the cream and butter, an \ the delicioas
white-fish of Lake St. Ann's. This fish (alhiis corerjonus) is
in size, shape and taste very likr Hie shad of the Bay of
Fundy ; but very unlike it in the num er and intricacy of its
bones. It is an infinite toil to eat shad ; with all possible care
little prickly bones escape notice and insinuate themselves into
the throat ; but with white-fish a man may abandon Iiimself
to the simple pleasure of eating. Lake St. Ann's is the great
storehouse of white-fish for this part of the country. It pro-
vides for all demands up to Edmonton. Last year thirty thou-
sand, averaging over three pounds each, were taken out and
frozen for winter use.

This was the worst place for summer frosts that we had yet
seen. A field of potatoes belonging to the priest was cut down
to the ground, and Mr. Adams pointed out barley that had
been nipped two or three times, but from which he still ex-
pected half a crop, 1 3

194

OCEAN TO OCEAX.

August 30tli. — " Packinf? " tlio liorsos was the order of tlie
day till two o'clock, and i>rown and ncan|)r6 showed themselves
experts at the work. A pack-saddle looks something like the
miniatiire wooden horse used in our back yards for sawing
sticks of conlwood. Woodi'n })ads suited to the shape of the
liorso's back, with two or three pli(;s of buffalo robe or blanket
underneath, prevent the cross legs and packs from hurting the
horse. All baggage, blankets, provisions, and utensils are
made up into portable bundles as nearly erpial in size and
weight us ])ossible. Each of the packers seizing a bundle
j)laces it on the side of the saddle, another bundle is jnit on the
top betw(!en the tv/o, where the log of wood to be sawed would
be placed, and then the tiiangular-shaped load is bound in one
by folds of shaganappi twisted firmly, but without a knot, after
u reirular fashion called the diamond hitch.

The articles which experience had shown to be not indis-
pensal>le or not required for the mountains were now discarded,
the object being to give as light loads as possible to the horses,
that they might travel the faster. A horse with a hundred-
weijLrht on his back can trot without racking himself: when he
has from one hundred and sixty to two hundred pounds he
must be content to walk. If the horse is at all restive and
breaks from the path, he crashes through dead wood and twists
through dry till he destroys the load, or is brought up all stand-
in" by trees, that there is no getting thi-ough.

In the Mexican and United States Rocky Mountains, where
a great deal of business has long been done with pack-horses,
the saddles are of a much su[)erior kind, called appara-hoes.
With those the horses cairy over three hundred pounds, and a
diy's journey is from twelve to fifteen niiles. As our object
was speed we dispensed with tent, extra clothing, tinned meat,
books, etc., and thus reduced the loads at the outset to a hun-
dred or a hundred and thirty pounds per horse. That weight
included food for thirty days for eight men, and everything
else that was absolutely necessary.

■r

of the

nselvcH

kc the

sawing

of the

tltinket

ing the

sils arc

izc and

bundle

t on the

d would

I in one

ot, after

ot inilis-
^scarded,
e horses,
liundrcd-
when he
)unds he
stive and
lid twists
ill stand-

19, where
ik-horses,
)ara-hoes.
ds, and a
»ur object
led meat,
,0 a h un-
it weight
irerything

FORT KOMONTON TO ATIlARASrA RIVFCn.

10ft

There was now before us u journey of five or six hundred
niil(!S, t]irou<,'h woods and nmrslies, torrents an<l mountain
passes ; for wo could not de[»eiid on j^'etting supplies of any
kintl or fresh horses on this side of Kaniloops ; tlioui,di there
were proljabiiities of omi* ukm tini( with parties of en^jineers
l>etwPL'n .Jasper Ilousi; and Vellow Head Tass.

Mr. Adams was of iulinite service in all these arran<,'ements.
The luxuries of whit'J-fish, fresh e^'^^s, cream, butter and young
pi^' bountifully si'rvcd up for us at his table, were duly appre-
ciated, but we value<l still more; liij^'liiy th(^ personal exertions,
made with as much simplicity and tliouLjIiHiilness as if he had
been preparing,' foi- his own journey. Jle was the last of the
Hudson's IJay ollic'(!rs that we would be indebted to till we got
to the J'acilic slojx!, and parting from his post was like parting
from the Company that has long been the mainstay of trav-
elleis, the only po.ssible medium of communication, and the
great re[»resentativu of civilization in the vast regions of the
North and North-west. From our meeting with tho chief
Commissioner at Silv(!r llfMghts until our departun; fiom St.
Ann's we had experienced the hospitality of its agents, and
had seen the same extended to all who claimed it, to the hungry
Indian, and the unfortunate minor, as well as to those who
bore letters of recommendation. It was on such a scale as be-
fitted a great English cor[)0''ation, the old monarchs and still
the greatest power in the country.

At two P. M. all was ready ; eight horses packed, eight
others saddled for riding, and a spare horse to follow. Mr,
Adams accompanied us a short distance ; but, as the line of
march had to be Indian file, we soon exchanged the undemon-
strative good-bye with him, and plunged into the forest. For
the first five miles the trail was so good that the horses kept at
their accustomed jog-trot, though some of them were evidently
unused to, and uneasy under their pack saddles. Valad rode
first, two pack horses followed, Brown next, and so on till the

r
.1

J^^

'•fil'v '!■

! I

; I

lor,

OCEAN TO OCKAN.

Cliief or some other of the party brouglit up the rear of the
long line on tlie seventeenth horse. If any of the pack-horses
deviated from the road into the bush, the man immediately
beliind had to bring him back. The loud calls to tlie obsti-
nately lazy or straying " lioiige," " Briin," " Sangri," " Billy,"
*' Bischo," varied with whacks almost af> loud on their backs,
were *^lie onlv sounds that broke the stillness of the forest ;
for conversation is impi^ssible with a man on horse-back in
front of or behinu you, and uhere is little game in these woods
except an occasional [)artridge. After the tii-st day, the horses
gave little trouble, as they all got accustomed to the style of
travelling, and recognized the wisdom of kee[)ing to the road.
Two or throe old hands at the work alwavs aimed at {jettinjj
one of their companions between them and a driver, so that
their companions might receive all the occasional whacks, and
they share the Ijenefit only of the loud calls '.nd objurgations ;
but the new ones soon got up to the trick, and their conten-
tions for precedence and [tlace were as keen as between a num-
ber of old dowag«;rs before going in to dinner. These old hands
carried tlieir burdens with a swinging, waddling motion that
eased their b:icks, and saved them many a rude jar.

In the coui"^' ^J the afternoon we passed one or two deserted
* ruts, and "sweating booths," but no Indians. Three miser-
s' '!•. i tarved-looking Stonies or Wood Indians had entered Mr.
AcLims* house while we were there, and, in accordance with
?n 'ifiabie Indian etiquette, shook hands all round, before
squatting on the kitchen floor and waiting for something to
Citt ; but with the exception of the few scattered round each
of the Company's posts, who, iis a rule, are invalids or idlers,
we had not seen an Indian since leaving the Assiniboine, ex-
cei)t the suiall camp near Moose-Creek and the Crees at Vic-
toria. That they were butialo hunting, or that their principal
settlements are off the line of the main road does not give the
whole truth. The Indians are dying out before the white man.

FORT EDMONTON TO ATHABASCA RIVER.

197

Now that the Hudson's Bay monopoly is gone, " free traders,"
chiefly from the soutli, are coming in, plentifully sui>i)lied with
a poisonous stuff, rum in nauie, but in reality a compound of
tobacco, vitriol, bluestone and water. This is com[)leting
the work that scrofula and epidenucs and the causes that
bring about scrofula and epidemics were already doing too
surely : for an Indian will ))art witli horse and gun, blanket
and wife for rum. There is law in abundance forbidding the
sale of intoxicating licpior to Indians, but law, without force to
execute law, is laughed at by rowdies from Belly River and
elsewhere.

The sweating booths referred to should have been explained
before. They are the great natural luxury of the Indian, and
are to be found wherever Indians live even for a week. There
was scarcely a day this month that we did not pass the rude
slight frames. At first we mistook them for small tents. They
are made in a few minutes of willow wands or branches, bent
so as to form a circular enclosure, with room for one or two
inside ; the buffalo robe is spread over the frame work so as to
exclude the aii' as much as possible, and whoever wants a Rus-
sian bath crawls into the round dark hole. A friend outside
heats large stones to the highest point attainable, and passes
them and a bucket of water in. The insiders jiour the water on
the stones, steam is generated, and, on they go pouring water
and enjoying the delight of a vapour bath, till they are almost
insensible. Doctor Hector thought the practice an excellent
one, as regards cleanliness, health and pleasure; but the Indians
carry it to an extreme tliat utterly enervates tl't'm. Their
medicino-men enlist it in aid of their superstitions. It is when
under the influence of the bath, that they become inspired ;
and they take one or two laymen in with them, that these may
hear their oracular sayings, and be aole to announce to the
tribe where there is a chance of stealing horses or of doing some
other notable deed with good prospect of success. It is easy to

; '

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

see, too, what a capital opportunity the medicine-man has, when
thus inspired to gratify his private malice or vengeance, or any
desire. Many a raid and many a deed of darkness has been
started in the sweating booth.

The first five miles of tlie road, this afternoon, was a broad
easy trail, through open woods which showed fine timber of
spruce, aspen, and po[)lar, some of the spruce being over two
feet in diameter ; but had we formed from it any conclusion as
to our probable rate of speed, the next four miles would have
undeceived us. Crashins: throufjh windfalls or stoerinc: amid
thick woods round them, leading our horses across yielding
morasses or stumbling over roots and into holes, with all oiir
freshness we scarcely made two miles an hour, and that with an
expenditure of wind and limb that would soon have exhausted
horse and man. But the road again improved a little, and by
6.30 p. M., we had accomplished about twelve miles, and reached
a lake called Chain of lakes, or Lac des lies, out of which the
Sturgeon river flows before it runs into Lake St. Ann's. In
an open ground near the lake, covered thick with vetches, a
sim])le lean-to or screen for the whole company was constructed.
In the morning all decided that the lean to was a preferable
home to the round or closed tents we had hitherto used. You
require for the former only a large cotton sheet in addition to
what the forest supi)lies at any time. Two pairs of cross-])oles
are stuck in the ground, as far apart as you wish your lodging
place for the night to be long ; a ridge pole connects these, and
then half-a-dozen or more poles are placed slanting against the
ridge pole. Cover the sloping frame with your cotton sheet, or
in its abscLce, birch bark, and your house is made. The ends
are open and so is the front, but the back is covered, and that,
of course, is where the wind comes from. The ventilation is
perfect, and as your fire is made immediately in front, there is
no lack of warmth.

From this date the whole party had one tent of this desciip-

FORT EDMONTON TO ATHABASCA RIVER.

199

when

>r any

been

tion to sleep under, and one table to eat from. The days were
getting shorter, the horses could not go fast, and time had to be
economised in every possible way.

August 31st. — As packing eight horses takes twice as long
as harnessing twico the number, it was 6.30 P.IM., before we
started. Hereafter, and for the same reason — the time needed
to pack and unpack, — only one halt and two spells per day
were to be made.

Six hours' travel at an average rate of three miles an hrur,
brought us to the Pembina river. The road was through thick
woods and along the Chain of lakes, with an ujnvard incline
until we came to the watershed between the Saskatcliowan, and
the rivers running north-east into the McKenzie and through
it into the Arctic sea. The country then opened, and we could
see before us four or five miles to a ridge, on the other side of
which the guide said was the Pembina. The timber became
smaller as we advanced, till in the open it was poor and scrubby,
and the land here and over the drive to the Pembina looked
cold and hungry, with occasional good spots. In the neighbour-
hood of coal the land is usually poor, and we had been told
that the banks of the river showed abundant indication of coal
for sixty miles up and down from where the trail strikes.
After passing the Chain of lakes the road led along a small
round lake that em[)ties on the other side ; and, soon after,
over a ridge from which a fine ampitheatre of hills, formed by
a bend of the river beneath, opened out before us, in,the valley
of which we saw the broad shallow Pembina flowing away to
the north. The under-brush on the hill-sides had decided
autumn tints, the red and yellow showing early frosts. The
top of the opposite bank was a bold face of sandstone, with
what looked like enormous clusters of swallows' nests runninz
alonsr the upper part ; underneath the sandstone, clay that had
been bui'nt by the spontaneous combustion of the coal beneath,
ash and burnt pieces of shale like red and white pottery on the

200

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

surface, half hidden by vegetation ; and down at the water's
ed2;e a horizontal bed of coal. We forded the river which is
about a hundred yards M'ide, and looking back saw on the east
side a seam of coal about ten feet thick, whereas on the west
side to which we had crossed only about four feet showed above
the water. Pick in hand the Chief made for the coal, and find-
ing a large square lump that had been carried down by the
river, he broke some pieces from it to make a tire. In appear-
ance it was much superior to the Edmonton seam ; instead of
the dull half-burnt look, it had a clean, glassy fracture like
cannel coal. Carrying a number of pieces in our hands we
proceeded to make a fire and had the satisfaction of seeing them
burn, and of cooking our pemmican with the mineral fuel. It
was evidently coal, equal for fuel, we considered, to inferior
Cape Breton kinds, burning slugi^ishly, and leaving a consider-
able quantity of grey .and reddish ash, but giving out a good
lieat. Beaupr6, who all this while had been washing sand from
the river in his shovel for gold, and finding at the rate of half
a cent's worth per shovel full, was amazed at our eagerness, or
that there should have been any doubt about its being coal.
He .ind his mates when mining on different rivei-s, had been in
the habit of making fires with it whenever they wished the
fire to burn all night ; and Brown said, that the exposure of
coal on Pembina was a mere nothing compared to that on the
Brazeau or North Fork of the North Saskatchewan ; that there
were seams eighteen feet thick there ; tliat in one canyon was
a wall of seam on seam as perpendicular as if it had been
plumbed, and so hard that the weather had no efiect on it ; and
that on all the rivers, for some distance east of Edmonton, and
west to the Rocky Mountains, are abundant showings of coal.
This is perhaps the proper place to mention that on our return
to the east, Ex-Governor Archibald presented the Secretary
with a little box full that had been sent him as a sample from
Edmonton ; the sample was exactly like what we picked up in
the Pembina and tried with the results just stated.

FOUT EDMONTON TO ATHABASCA illVER.

201

water's
hich is
the east
le west
cl above
nd find-
by the
appoar-
tead of
ire like
nds we
ig thein
lel. It
inferior
ansider-
a good
nd from
of half
less, or
g coal,
.leen in
ed the
ure of
on the
; there
|on was
been
t ; and
n, and
f coal,
return
retary
from
up in

The Secretary submitted it to Professor Lawson of Dalhousie
College, Halifax, for analysis, and received a letter of which the
following is an extract, and may be regarded as settling the
question more favourably than we coiiUl have hoped for :

" My analysis of your coal is by no means Jisr'ourai,'in<^ : —

Combustible matter 97.835 p. c.

Inorganic Ash - - - 2,1 ({5 p. c.

Total ^ 100.003

"The proportion of sulphur, chlorine, and other obnoxious impurities,
" is quite small. The coal burns with a tlame, and also forms a red cinder,
" but is a slow burner ; and, althou';^!! the absolute amount of asli is so
** small, yet a inuch larger amount of apparent ash will be left in the grate
*' from imperfect combustion. Yet, if we vi(!w tlii-j as a surface sample —
**and such are invariably of inferior ([uality, — I think it olft'rs great eii-
"courageraent, for the percentage of ash is less than the avera'^^e of the
"best marketable coals in Britain. Of course this analysis of a very small
*' sample can only be regarded as"a probable iu'lication, not a demonstra-
" tion, of the nature of the extcusive beds of coal or bituminous shale
"described in your letter."

The simple fact is that the coal depo.sits of the North-west
are so enormous in quantity that the poojde were unwilling to
believe that the quality could be good.

Here then is fuel for the future inhabitants of the plains,
near water communication for forwarding it in different direc-
tions.

Captain Palliser also reports the existence of iron ore near
several coal seams.

After dinner we rode on for three and a half Jmurs to a good
camping ground on the Lobstick river, about eleven miles from
the Pembina ; and had the horses watered and everything made
snug for Sunday before sunset.

On the way several creeks had to be crossed, or valleys where
creeks had run till beavers dammed them up, and, as all had
high steep banks, the work was heavy on the horses. But the
road so far had agreeably disappointed us. It was not at all so

202

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

bad as travellers' tales had represented ; and we felt confident
that in another week Jasper House would not be far off, unless
the roads became very much worse, instead of fifteen days bein^
required as everyone at Edmonton and St. Ann's had said. So,
after a talk with Browr; and Beaui)r(3 about their mining and
Blackfeet experiences, we threw ouiselves down on a fraf'rant
grassy bed, a little tired, but in good spirits and glad enough
that we were not to be ^lled early in the morning.

Sei)tember 1st. — When we looked out at our wide open
door, between six and seven o'clock, a good fire was blazing,
and by it sat Valad smoking. He might have been sitting
there for centuries, so perfect was the repose of form and fea-
ture.

Brown enquired if he had seen the horses and the answer
was a wave of the hand, first in one direction and then in an-
other, not only enough to say that he had, but also where they
were, without disturbing any of us who might be asleep.

He looked more like a dignified Italian gentleman than an
obscure Indian guide. With the lazy movements peculiar to
Sunday moi'ning in a camp, one after another of his bed-fellows
shook himself out of his blanket. We had now time to look
around, and see what kind of a place we were camping on. A
bluff had sto})ped the course of the stream on its way east,
and made it swing round to tlie south. On the bluff, just at
the elbow, our tent was pitched. A rich grassy intervale along
the river, and vetches in a little vallev on the other side of our
camp, gave good feed for the horses. On the opposite bank of
the stream, and a little ahead, stood three " lobstick " spruce
trees in a clump. From these probably the stream gets its
name. A lobstick is the Indian or half-breed monument to a
friend or to a man he delights to honour. Selecting a tall
spruce or some other conspicuous tree, he cuts ofi' all the mid-
dle br".nch( s, leaving the head and feet of the tree clothed and
the body naked, and then writes your name or initials at the

:•■ t

FORT EDMONTON TO ATHABASCA RIVKK.

203

root. That is your lobstick, and you are expected to feel
highly flattered, and to make a liandsonio present in return to
the noble fellow or fellows who have erected such a pillar in
your honour.

There is an old superstition that your health and length of
days will correspond to your lobstick's. As this belief ])roved
inconvenient in some cases it has been quietly dropped, but
the custom still Hourishes and is greatly favoured by the half-
brer ds.

Whether siu^h a simple way of getting up a monument is not
preferable to piling brick upon brick to the height of a tree, to
show how highly you honour a hero, is a (piestion that might
bear discussion.

At morning service the whole party attended. We took for
granted that all could jom in common prayer, and hear with
profit the simplest truths of Christianity. With none of our
former crews had we been on such friendlv terms as with this
one. The relation seemed more like that of a family than of
master and servant.

The weather was beautiful. Last night it clouded up and in
the early morning there was a liglit drizzle of lain, but not
enough to wet the grass as much as if there had been the ordi-
nary heavy dew of a clear night. The forenoon was cool enough
to keep the black flies away, but they came out with the sun and
the mosquitoes in the afternoon. At sunset the black flies van-
ish, but the mosquitoes keep buzzing round till the night is suf-
ficiently cold to drive them oti' to the woods; this usually hap-
pens about nine o'clock. The nights were so cold, though there
was no frost, that we usually ke[)t our clothes on, in addition to
the double blanket. Our bag or boots served for pillow, and
none of us was ever troubled with wakefulness, or comi)laiued
in the morning that there had been a crumpled rose leaf under
blanket or pillow.

There was little to mark this Sunday except the pleasant

204

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

peaceful enjoyment of it. The niurmui Ing of the river over its
pebbly bed was the only sound that broke the Sabbath still-
ness. The rest was peculiarly {grateful after the week's hurry
and changes ; and the horses looked as well pleased with it as
we. They ate till they could eat no more : and then they affec-
tionately switched or licked the flies off one another, or strolled
up to the camp to get into the smoke of the fire. Had they
been able to speak, they would certainly have given thanks for
the institution of a day of rest for beast as well as man.

We had one source of annoyance however. Two stray dogs
had joined our party uninvited, a brown one at Edmonton, and*
a black at St. Ann's. They had been hooted, ])elted and driven
back, but after going on a mile or two further we would see
them slinking after us again. Pemmican could not be si)ared,
as we had sufficient for our own want only, and to-day they
looked particularly hungry. What was to be done with them?
Go back they would not. To take them to Kaniloops was out
of the question. To let them die of starvation would be inhu-
man. There seemed nothing for it but to shoot or drown them,
and though each and all of us promptly declined the part of
executioner, their prospf^cts looked so gloomy that Frank, who
had pleaded for them all along, resolved to try and lu'ovide for
them outside of our regular supplies. Getting permission to do
what he could, he rigged a fishing line, and persuaded Brown
and Valad to take a gun and try for beaver or duck. While
all three were away, the brown was caught in the act of stealing
pemmican. This aggravated their case, but, though all con-
demned, none would shoot. The hunters too came back empty
handed, except with a pan-full of cranberries that Brown had
picked, and that he stewed in a few minutes into a delicious
jam. The dogs puzzled us, so we postponed further considera-
tion of the problem till next day.

Instead of the usual three meals of pemmican, bread and tea,
we had only two to-day, and a simple lunch at one o'clock. At

FORT EDMONTON TO ATHABASCA RIVKR

205

over its
til still-
s hurry
:li it as
2y affec-

strolled
rid they

iiks for

ay dogs
on, and'

driven
mid see
spared,
ay they
1 them ]
rvas cut
je inhu-
n them,
l)art of
ik, who
vide for
)n to do
Brown

While
steal insr
ill eon-
; empty
\vn had
elicious
isidera-

md tea,
k. At

BIX, dinner was served with all the delicacies we could muster.
3]crry-pem!nican, pork and cranberry jam mado a feast so
delicious that no one thought of the dogs.

September 2nd. — Up at four and away at half-past five, or
twenty minutes after suniiso. Another bright and siiiiny day,
though the woods were so thick in some places that at one
o'clock the dew was still on the grass.

Our first spell was six hours long. We crossed the Lobstick
a little above our camp, and followed up its course without see-
ing it again to Chip Lake, from which it Hows. The road ran
througli a fertile undulntiug country at first, then through in-
ferior land which forest fires had desolated. There were few
flowers or berries and no large trees. The dogs roused a great
many partridges, but no one felt disposed to follow them into
the bush, lirown shot a fine fat one from the saddle with his
revolver and divided it between the dogs, so that they had a
meal and therefore a respite for another day.

Our ])rogress was so slow, averaging two miles an houi', that
we were all dreadfully tired. The trail was not bad in itself,
with the exception of a few small morasses, some of black muck,
and others of a tenacious clay, bnh at every four or five yards a
tree, or two or three branches were lying across, as firndy set
by having been trodden on as if placed in position, and they
prevented the horses from getting into a trot. These obstacles
were not lecent windfalls. They had evidently been there for
years, and an expenditure of ten dollars a mile would clear morit
of them away. But the H. B. Company could hardly be ex-
pected to make a road for free-traders to Jasper House, and as
it is everybody's business, not a hand is put to the work. Our
dining place was at a small creek that runs into Chip Lake, a
lake half as big as St. Ann's that the thick woods prevented
our seeing. The ground was plentifully covered with creepers
that yielded blueberries smaller and more pungent than those
in the Eastern Provinces.

^ '

206

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

A littlo after two P. M., wtj crosHod the creek, and wound up
the opposite liill-side into a broken well-wooded country, the
liollows in which were furrowed with beaver dams. After an
hour of this we reached a liill top, from wliicli m. jL,'reat extent of
tliickly wooded country op^-ned out, first level and then with an
undulaliui,' upward slope to the watershed of the McLeod. The
horizon far beyond this slope in a due westernly direction was
bounded by dim mountains, that we hiiiled with a shout as the
long sought Rocky Mountains, but Bcjauprr checked tli(^ cheer
by calling back that tiiey were only the foot hills between the
McLeod and the Athabasca. At any rate they were the out-
Hers of the Rocky Mountains, and in exactly a month f.om our
saying goodbye to Governor Archibald at Silver Heights we
had our first glimpse of them.

The road now descended to lower ground, and passed over
the beds of old creeks destroyed by beavers. Had it not been
for half-decayed logs lying across the path, the horses could
have trotted the whole way. As it was, they made fully four
miles an hour, in the afternoon spell of three and-a-quarter
hours. Before five o'clock we came to a beautiful sti-oam, and
Valad advised camping, but the Chief, learning that there was
a suitable place with good water and feed four miles farther on
gave the word to continue the march. This ground, like much
gone over in the moi-ning, consisted of dry marsh, or sandy and
gravelly ridges covered with scrub pine. It was part of the
level region we had seen from the hill-top, and it iiad a deci-
dedly poverty-stricken look. In an hour we had reached the
cam})ing [)lace and prepared our lodging for the night, well
pleased with the progress that had been made duiing the day.
The spare horse, however, which as usual had been left to him-
self to follow in his own way, was missing. Terry, who had
brought up the rear, had seen him lounging and looking back,
when within a mile of the camp. Beauprd at once staited in
pursuit, bridle in hand, but returned at dusk without him.

.>.»-^~<«*ny)«g|P|pr ,

FORT EDMONTON TO ATHABASCA RIVER.

207

wound up

in try, the

After an

extent of

n with jin

AlOil Tlio

iction was
^ut as tlie"
tli(i cheer
iweon tlie
3 the out.
f.'om our
siglits we

ssed over
not been
•S6\s could
Cully four
a-quurter
earn, and
here was
iirther on
ike much
indy and
-rt of the
[I a deci-
ched the
^ht, well
the day.
t to him-
who had
ng back,
;arted in
out him.

■¥>•

He had seen him near the crock we had crossed at five
o'clock, evidently on his way home, or in a state of bewilder-
ment, not knowing where ho was going. J>(!au[uc had tried to
drive him into camp, but he plunged into the woods and
refused to be driven back ; so J Jean pre, afraid of losing the trail
in the darkness, returned. As the horse could not well bo
spared, Valad M'as asked to go after him early next morning,
try his luck and catch u\) to us before dark, while he went on
under the guidance of Beaupre for the day.

The evenings were getting long now, and, after our slow and
tedious journeying, it was pleasant to sit in the open tent be-
fore a great pine lire and talk about the work of the day, the
prospects of to-morrow, and hear some story of wild westoi-n
life from the men. lirown gave us the particulars of the hor-
rible nuissacre of the Peigan Indians by Colonel Uaker, the
kindly views of it taken by the Montana citizens, and their
memorial to Washington in his favour when he was threatened
with court-martial. Brown and Beaupre themselves judged the
massacre from a miner's standpoint.

But none of their stories of lawless and cruel deeds roused in
us such indignation as what the. told concerning villainies done
recently in our own North-west. Perhaps the worst had hap-
pened only three weeks before our arrival at Edmonton, within
one hundred yards of the Fort. A young M6tis of eighteen
summers, son of a well known hunter called Kiskowassis (or
"day child," born in the day) had murdered his wife, to whom
he had been married only a few months and who was enceinte.
Last year he had slashed a woman with his knife in the wrist
and made her a cripple for life. That was a small affair. But,
having gone to the plains and formed an intimacy with another
girl, he wanted to get rid of his wife. Luring h.r down to the
river side, so that suspicion might fall on a party of Blackfeet
camped on the other side, he stabbed but only wounded her,
and she fled up the hill, he chasing and striking at her.

**r»^*tN(?i%mr<^*^jj(BP ,

■SI

208

OCKAN TO OCKAN.

Somo of tlio niftckfrot on tlio opposite bank cried mnvoyOf
vinnoi/n (inunlor), l)ut tliere was no one near to help the poor
creature, and soon a surer blow stretched lier dead. This
was too serious to he altog(!ther passisd ov(U*, so her brothel's
l)ron)ptly called on Kiskowassis about it. Charley — tlie mur-
derer — was not at home, but Kiskowassis a(,'knowled^ed that he
had fjone too i'ar, antl profFeued two horses that he extolled
lii;.j)dy, the one as a hunter and the other as a carter, in atone-
ment, '{'he elder brother went out and came back in a few
minutes, sayini; : "They'll' pretty good horses, I guess we'd
better take them." And thus the affair was amical)ly settled;
at the sanu! price, as far as law on the Saskatchewan is con-
cerned, ( 'harley may go on and have his six wives more easily
than Henry the eighth. An undo of Charley, on the plains
two months ago, shot a man who had offended him ; and Beau-
pre extolled the whole family as " very brave." Charley luul
tried to enlist lieaupre last year in a promising enterprise of
killing some Surse(>s who owned good horses ; but lieaupre was
not brave enough. There is a young brother, aged fourteen,
who JJeaupre says is sure to beat even Charley : " Ho is bound
to steal a horse this very summer from the Blackfeet."

We asked Brown why at any rate the miners did not lynch
Charley, since no one else acted. He said that there was such
a proposal, but it was decided that as they were strangers en-
joyir'j the "protection" of the country, it would not be seemly
to interfere.

Sei)tember 3rd. — Awoke at four A.M., and found the fire
burning brightly and Valad away in pursuit of the missing
horse. Partly owing to his absence the start was an hour
Liter than yesterday's. Leaving his saddle and some bread and
pemmican on a tree we moved on. The trail was a continua-
tion of che illow and alder marsh of last evening, but in-
stead of being dry it was swampy, and the travelling heavy.
The brown dog caught a musk-rat that made a meal for the
two, and gave them another day's respite.

Koirr KDMONTON TO ATlfAllASCA WWVM.

200

bound

For th(i first eight or ton miloH tho road was almost wholly
Hwainp, till a cruok was crossed that runs into (.'hip or liutlalo
Lake, and from it by tho Lobstiek into the Pembina. Tiie wa-
ter-shed of tho McL<M)d th(!n rose in a long broken richly. '
clothed slope. Iti tivo hours from camp, at an avijragc rate of
throe miles an hour, Hoot Ilivor that runs into the McLeo<l
was reached. The trail, which at no time was better than a
bridle path, was so heavily encumbered in places with fallen
timber that no trace of it could be seen. A rough path lui'l to
bo broken round each obstacle, and sometimes iSeaupte had
ditliculty in linding the trail again. Indian pears and mooso-
berries — the largest we had .seen — grow along th(5 hill-side, in
such quantities that you could often till your hand by leaning
from tho saddle, as tho horse bruslunl past the bushes. We
lialted two hours and a half at Hoot River, and, as there was a
birth-day at home, slap-jacks mixed with berry pemmican wore
made as a substitute for plumpudding, and, at dinner, the Chief
produced a pint bottio of Noyt^au, which had been stored for
some great occasion, and Minnie's health was drunk in three
tablo-apoonfuls a piece. Just as dinner was over, Vulad made
his appearance. He had a haid day of it following the track
of the horse, but came up to him at our yesterday's dining
place, moving quietly home-wards. Three times he turned
him, but the horse always got away ))y dashing into the brush.
Valad then went ahead and set a wooden trap on the road, but
the horse avoided it, and Valad gave up the chase. On his
way back he found that tiie squirrels had eaten his breakfast.
Shouldering his saddle, he followed our trail, and rejoined uS
at two P.M., having walked forty-one miles and eaten nothing.
His moccasins had been cut with the stumps and thorns ; but,
though footsore in consequence, he made light of it and went to
work with his usual promptness. Beaupre had been looking
for half an hour, but quite in vain, among &he long grass and
shrubs, for a bit that had dropped off one of the bridles.

■n

■h

210

OCEAN TO OCKAN.

I i

i !

^t .

" We're all right now" was his judicious remark, when Valad
appeared, " the old man will smell it if he can't see it."

Our afternoon spell was heavy work ; crossing a branch of
the Root lliver, we came on a barren swamp, burned ov^r so
thoroughly that there was not a trace of water nor of the trail
for two miles ; the once heavily-timbered slopes all round had
been devastated. On our right a forest of bare poles, looking
in the distance like a white cloud, clung to the hiM-side. Dead
logs, poles, brunches, strewed the ground so abundantly that the
horses could pick ineir steps but slowly. After the barren,
came the last ascent, and so gradual was it that we did not
know when we were at the top, and then instead of a rapid de-
scent to the McLeod, stiff marsh succeeded thjit got stiffer every
mile. The sun set before we got through half of the marsh, but
at one spot, a dry ridge intervening with good water near
Valad advised camping. In answer to our cpiestion, " how far
off is the McLeod stilH" he pointed to the sky saying "the sun
will be over more than half qf that again before we see it."
This settled the question, though in a disap})ointing way, as it
put an end to the hope of getting to Jasper's this week. Three
of the horses, too, were a little lame, and things did not look
quite as bright as when we started in the morning.

September 4th. — The three lame horses were looked at imme-
diately after breakfast. The cause of lameness in all three
cases was, that sharp strong stops or splinters had run into or
just above their unshod hoofs ; we half wondered that some of
them had not pulled their hoofs off, in struggling to extricate
them from tough and sharp fibrous roots. The splinters were
easily extracted from two, and, the third horse, allowing no one
neai' his hind leg, was managed dexterously by Valad. Passing
one end of his shaganappi lasso twice round nis neck, he made
two turns of the other end round his body, and gradually slipped
those turns down over his hind legs, and tightened thi3m.
Tightening the rope at h.s nrok now, the horse resisted, but his

FORT KDMONTON To ATMAI'.ASCA l.'IVEK.

211

en Val.acl
tt."

branch of

(jd ov^r so

f the trail

round had

H, looking

de. Dead

[\y that the

he barren,

we did not

a rapid de-

tifler every

marsh, but

v'ater near

, " how far

ij " the sun

we see it."

way, as it

ek. Three

1 not look

id at irame-
n all three
run into or
at some of
extricate
nters were
dng no one
1. Passing
:, he made
ally slipped
3ned thiim,
bod, but his

legs being tied, his own struf/glos with a little sliove threw him
and when tlirown he lay quiet as a lamb.

It had rained during the niglit, and the morning was cloudy.
At 9 a.m. the rain camo on again, after we liad been two hours
on the road, if the expression is allowable when there was no
road. The rain made travelling across the muskeg still
more difficult and uncomfortable. In six hours and a quarter
we fought through ten miles, six or seven of thoni being simply
over a continuous muskeg covered with windfalls. The horses
stumbled over roots and timber to sink into thick layers of
quaking Aoss, and sometimes through these to the springs
underneath. The greater part of tiie ground bore tall bcauti
fully shaped spruce and poplar, chiefly si)ruce, from one to three
feet in diameter.

After crossing a little creek, the trail improved somewhat till
it led to the ancient bank of the McLeod, at the foot of which
yawned a deep pool with a bottom of tenacious clay, that had to
be struggled through somehow. The horses sinking almost to
their bellies, floundered in the mud at a fearful rate, with such
effects on our clothes as mav be conceived ; fortunatelv by this
time we were quite indifferent on the subject of appearances.
The river was only a hundred yards from this, but the trail led
for half a mile up through a wooded intervale to the crossing.
A little cieek seamed the intervale, and the first open spot was
strewed with as many cliips as would furnish a carpenter's shop,
beside several logs, two of them stripped of their bark and
others cut iiito junks for transi)ortation. We had disturbed a
colony of beavers in their work of building a dam across the
creek and of laying in their wintei" su})i)lies.

The sight of the McLeod was a relief, for we had found the
way to it a hard road to travel, as the Oa.iadians who preceded
Milton and Cheadle evidently had. The Chief came upon their
testimony chalked with red keil on a large spruce tree in the
swamp, five or six miles to the eas^ of the river. Only the fol-
lowing words and half-words could be made out : —

212

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

•X-

•x-

■H-

■X-

-X-

■it

■x-

August 10th, 1802, * * * ^ * *

East Till)urv * * * *

* * * and * * -i^

* ri()l)LTt (kMl])l) * *
^ ■)(■ * * -X -X- -X- -x-

* * * for Cariboo "^"

* a liard road to travel.

Poor f«!llo\vs ! some of them found tlio North Tlionip.ion a
IiarcUn- road.

The McL(;od heads inside of tlic first rani^o of the Rocky
Mountains. Wliere wo crossed, it is a hcautil'id stream about
110 yards wide, running north-easterly with a rapid current
over a pebbly bed. Its breadth is not much greater than the
Pembina, but it ha'5 three times the volume of water. At this
season of the year, it can be ford(Kl at almost any point wlu.'ro
there is a little rapid, the water in sr.ch ])laces not coming uj)
to the horses' necks. Crossing, we came upon a few acres of
})rairie, to the rich vetches on which the horses abandoried
themselves as eagerly as our })art3' did to tiie rrcJiaihl and tea
that Terry hurried up. Importunately too, the rain ceased,
though the sky did not clear, and Yalad made a big fire at
which we dried ourselves partially, ih'own advised that, as
this was a good j)lace, some provisions should be cacheed for
those of the partv who were to return from Jas})er's ; and
Valad, selecting a site in the grecni wood, he and Beaupre went
off to it from the opposite direction, with about twenty-
five pounds of pemmican and ilour tied up, first in canvass
and then in oil-skin, as the wolverine — most dreaded ])lun-
derer of caches — dislikes the smell of oil. Selecting two suitable
pine trees in the thick wood, they skinned (barked) them to
})revent animals from climbing; then })lacinga pole between the
two, some eigliteen feet from the ground, they hung a St.
Andrew's Cross of two small sticks from the pole, and susjjcnd-
ed their bag from the end of one, that tin; least movement or
even puff of wind would set it swinging. Such a cache Valad

FORT KDMONTON TO ATHABASCA RIVKR.

213

iii[).;()n a

.Rf)cky
in iil)out

cuiTont
than tho

At tJiis
nt where
ining u])

' ilCl'CS oi'

hanJoned
I. and tea
1 1 ceased,
lig fire at
I tliat, as
iclioed for
er's ; and
I pre went
twenty-
\ canvass
led ]»lun-
j snitaWe
) til em to
t\veen the
iig a St.
. suspend-
ement or
she Valad

guaranteed against hird and beast of whatever kind. "And
now," I'eaiipn' simuned np, '' if no oik* fiii'ls that, we will hv, in
good luck ; but if somebody tinds it, we will be in bad luck;
that's all."

Our coiu'sefrom this point was to be uj) the McLeod for near-
ly scv(Mity miles of very bad road. As we liad liad enough of
that f(^r one day, we listened eagerly to Beaupre saying that it
was ])ossible to dodge the first eight miles by creeping along the
shore of the river, and crossing and recrossing wherever the
banks coiik.^ down too close to ])ermit travelling. Though Valad
didn't know this way and iJeaupri' himself had not tried the
crossings, having on a former occasion made the trip uj) the river
in a canoe, and not by the shore, it was decided to try. A
pleasant change on the forenoon's journey it jiroved to be, and
quite a success; for we arrived at tlie pro))osed camping ground,
after four crossings, before sunset. The river was low and the
shore wide, consisting of rough pebbly stretches or sand bars,
covered, near the bank, with wild onions, s:ind grasses, and
creepers. l>eaupre said that the sand would yield gold at the
rate of a cent a shovelful, but that would 'dve only •'^2 or $3
per day. Where the banks came near the river in bold bluffs,
they showed sections chiefly of difffu-ent kinds of clay and sand-
stone separated b}' black slate. No coal beds appeared except
a four-inch seam that looked like coal, but may have been only
a roof of sh;tlo to the coal beneath.

At the camp a roaring fire of pine logs was soon kindled, and
a line hung along one side for our wet clothes ; but the steady
drizzling rain recommenced and continued all night. We
warmed ourselves at any rate, and turned in as comfortably as
the circumstances permitted.

September 5th. — It rained steadily through the night and was
drizzling in the morning. Though it hurts the horses' backs to
saddle them when wet, there was no alternative, and so after
getting ready with great deliberation, in hopes that it would
clear up, we moved away at 7.30 A.M.

jSi-

214

OCEAN TO Of'EAX.

Our tirst spell was the hardest work of the journey, so far,
with tlie least to show for it. Wo made about five miles, ami
it took as many hours to make the distance. The road followed
the u})ward course of the McLeod, crossing the necks of land
formed by tho, doublings of tlie river. Tliese so called jiortages
were the worst part of the road, tliough it was all so bad that it
is invidious to make comparisons. The country was either bog
or barren — both bad, — for the whole had recently been burned
over, and every wind had blown down its share of the burnt
trees. Theie was no regular trail. Each successive party
that travelled this v/av, seemed to have tiled to make a new one
in vain efforts to escape the difficulties. Valad went ahead, axe
in hand, and between natural selections and a judicious use of
the axe, made a passag(j; but it looked so tangled and beset, that
the horses often thought they could do better ; off they would
go, with a swing, among the bare poles, for about two yards
before their [)acks got interlaced with the tough s[)ruce. Th(!n
came the tug ; if the trees would not give, the packs had to, and
there was a delay of half an hour to tie them on again. We
often wondered that the packs came off so seldom ; but Brown
understood his business ; besides the trees had been burnt, and
some of them were uprooted or broken with comparative ease.
Of course the recent rains had not impro\ed the going. Beaupre
said that it had not been worse last summer, after the spring
frosts had come out and the spring rains gone in. Take it all
in all, the road was hopelessly bad, — deserving all the hard
things that had been said of it, — and called for a large stock of
the Mark Tapley spirit, especially wlien, by wandering from the
trail, the horses got mired in muskegs or stuck between trees,
or when the blackened tough s})ruce branches, bent forward by
a pack liorse,swung back viciously in the face of the unfortunate
driver.

The road could only have been worse by the trees being
larger ; but then it would have been simply impassable, for the

FOIIT KDMONTON TO ATHABASCA mVER.

215

sy, so far,
liles, and
followed
of land
l)ort!i<^os
ad that it
ither boir
n burned
lie burnt
VQ party
I new one
head, axe
us use of
eset, that
ey would
wo yards
e. Then
id to, and
\in. We
it Brown
urnt, and
tive ease.
Beau pre
le spring
ake it all
the hard
! stock of
from the
)en trees,
I'ward by
fortunate

es being
s, for the

windfalls would have barricaded it couiplotely. The prospect,
too, was dismal and desolate looking eno\ii,di for Avcunus or
the richest coal fields : notiiing but a forest, apparently endless,
of bhickeued poles on all sides. Only when an angle or bend
of the I'iver came into view, was there any relief for the eye.

Towards midday, when every one's thoughts were on penimi-
can, " ho," " ho," was hoard ahead, and two Indians api)eared
holding out hands to Valad. They had h;ft Jasper's four days
ago, and wore bound for iMlmonton, trusting to tlunr guns or
the berries to su})ply them with food on the way. The offer of
a j)emmican dinner turned them back with us for a (piarter of
a mile, to a little creek where the halt had to be called, though
there was but poor feed for the horses among the blackened
trees. The Indians had no dog, and were glad to take the
black — as he would bo useful in treeing jiartridges — back to
Mr. Adams'. They promised also to drive home the spare
horse if they could track him. We wrote a note by them to
Mr. Adams, telling him what commissions we had entrusted
them with. These Indians had straighter features and a man-
lier cast of countenance than the ordinary Wood-Indians. On
inquiry, we learned that they were Iroquois from Smoking
River, to the north of Jasper's, whei'e a small colony has been
settled for fifty years back. Their ancestors had been in the
employment of the North-west Fur Company, and on its amal-
gamation with the Hudson's Bay, had settled on Smoking
River, on account of the abundance of fur-bearing animals and
of large game, such as buffalo, elk, brown and grizzly bears,
then in that quarter.

After dinner, the march Avas resumed at the mile per hour
rate. More discouraging was the fact that scarcely two-thirds
of that modest speed was progress ; for the trail twisted like a
ship tacking, so that at times we were actually progressing
backwards. In struggling across creeks the difference between
the Lowland Scot ;ind the Frenchman came out amusingly.

216

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

.11 il

Hi ''I

I: : I

Brown continued imperturbable, no matter how the horses
went. Beaupr6, the mildest mannered man living when things
went smoothly, could not stand the sight of a horse floundering
in the mud. Down into the gully he would rush to lift him out
by the tail. Of course he got si)attered and perhaps kicked for
his pains. This made him worse, and he had to let out his ex-
citement on the horse, frripping the ti;il with his left hand, as
the brute struggled up the opposite hill, swaying him from side
to side as if he had been tied to it, ho whipped with his right ;
Srtcr^-ing furiously, till he reached the top. Then feeling that
he had done his part, he would let go and subside again into
his mildest manners.

Towards evening the road improved so that the luxury of a
smart walk was indulged in — with occasional breaks— for an
hour or two. When we camped, the tally for the day was
twelve miles, representing perhaps an air line of six or eight,
for ten hours' hard work. A bath in the McLeod, and a change
of socks followed by supper, put us all right, although the hope
of seeing Jasper's before next Wednesday had completely van-
ished.

September 6th. — It rained last night, bat the morning gave
signs of a fair day. Renewed the march at 6,45 a.m. Yesterday's
experiences were also renewed, except that the road as well as the
day was better — enabling us to make two miles an hour. The
road kept closer to the river, revealing many a beautiful bend or
long reach. The timber was larger and less of it burnt. Poplar,
Cottonwood, and spruce, chiefly the latter, predominated. The
opposite bank had escaped fires. Before noon, we got a glimpse
of the mountains away to the south, and soon after reached a
lovely bit of open prairie covered with vetches, honey-suckle,
and rose-bushes out of flower. Here, the McLeod sweeps away
to the south and then back to the north, and the trail instead
of following its long circuit cuts across the loop. This portage
is twenty miles long, and a muskeg in the middle — on one or

ho liorses

len things

oiindering

ft him out

kicked for

out his ex-

t hand, as

from side

his right ;

deling that

again into

uxury of a
cs — for an
day was
K or eight,
d a change
h the hope
letely van-

rning gave
festerday's
well as the
lOur. The
iiil bend or
it. Poplar,
ited. The
; a glimpse
reached a
ley-suckle,
eeps away
ail instead
is portage
on one or

FORT EDMONTON TO ATHABASCA RIVER.

217

the other side of which we would have to camp to-niu;ht — is the
worst on the road to Jasjier's. Ifaltod for dinner at the bend
of the river, having travelled nine of ten miles, Frank promis-
ing us some fish, from a trouty looking stream hard by, as a
change from the everlasting ])ommican. Not that any one was
tired of ])emuiici»u. All joined in its ])raises as the right food
for a journoy, and wondei-ed why tlio (JovonmuMit had never
used it in war time. It must be e(|nal or supoiior to the famous
Prussian sausage, judging of the latter as we needs must, with-
out having lived on it for a mouth. As an army marches on
its stomaeli, condensed food is an imjmrtant object for tin- com-
missariat to consider, es))ecially when, as in the case of the
British Army, long expeditions are frequently necessary. Pem-
mican is good and palatable uncooked and cooked, though most
prefer it in the rrcJimid form. It has numerous other recom-
mendations for campaign diet. Ft kee])s sound for twenty or
thirty years, is wholesome and strengthening, portable, and
needs no medicine to correct a tri-daily use of it. Two pounds
weight, with '» read and tea, we found enough for the dinner of
eight hungry men. A big weighing a hundred pounds is only
the size of an oi'dinary pillow, two feet long, one and a half
wide, and six inches thick. Such a bag then would supply
three good meals to a hundred and thirty men. Could the same
be said of equal bulk of pork 1 But as Terry indignantly re-
marked : " The British Gauvirmint won't di-ame of pimmican
till the Prooshians find it out."

Frank came back to dinner with one small trout though
Beau})re said that he and his mate last summer had caught an
hundred in two hours, some of them ten pounds in weight.
Perforce we dined on pemmican, and liked it better than ever.

The sun now shone out, making the day warm and pleasant,
as September usually is in America. At 2 p.m. got into line
again to cross the long portage. The coui'se »vas westerly, by
the banks of the stream called the Medicine, at the mouth of

218

OCKAK TO (V'KAN.

^:1 ^v

.:'<i

';4

>» I

which wo had dinod. A fjrcat part of the road was compara-
tively free i'vom fallen timber, so that we enjoyed the novelty
of a trot, and, except near two creeks that ran into the Medi-
cine, — free from the still worse obstruction of muskegs. An
hour before sunset, the Medicine itself had to be crossed, and
on the other side of it was the bad muskeg. Beaupre drew a
long fac(; when he saw the rivei", for the recent rains had made
it turbid and swollen to an unusual height, and this argued ill
for the state of the ground on the other side. For the first
mile, however, we got on well enough, as the road took advan-
tage of a ridge for two-thirds of that distance ; but then came
the dreaded sj)ot. It look(Hl no worse than the rest, but the
danger was unseen. Deep holes formed by springs abounded
underneath the soft thick moss, in which horses would sink to
their necks. The task was to find a line of sure ground, and
by avoiding Scylla not to fall into Charybdis. As Valad with
Indian, and Biown with Scotch caution were trying the ground
all round, r)eau[)r6, leading his horse by the bridle dashed in
close to the swollen liver, at a most unlikely spot, exclaiming :
" I'll chance it, any way." The words were only out of his lips
when he fell into a j)Ool up to his middle ; but undismayed, he
scrambled ont, and keeping close to beds of willow and alder,
actually found a way so good that the rest followed him. Only
one pack-horse sank so hopelessly deep, into a hole, that he had
to be unpacked and lifted out, Beaupre hoisting by the tail with
a mighty hoist — for the man had the strength of a giant. An
hour after sunset, we arrived at an ascent where it was possi-
ble to camp, though the bare blackened half-burnt poles all
round gave a cheerless aspect to the scene. All were too tired
to be critical ; thankful besides that the Worst was over, and
that to-morrow, according to Valad there would be " un beau
chemin."

To-day we had travelled twenty miles, representing probably
fourteen on the map. As more could not have been done, no

VOUT KHMoKTON TO ATHABASCA lllVKR.

210

Ir compara-
|he novelty

•

the Medi-
Ikogs. An
[ossed, and
\iv(i drew a
liiid made
argued ill
|or the first
look ad van-
then came
!.st, but the
■i abounded
uld sink to
round, and
/^alad with
the ground
e dashed in
(xclainiinfj :
t of his lips
smayed, he
and alder,
him. Only
hat he had
le tail with
i^iant. An
was possi-
; I)oles all
e too tired
over, and
" un beau

g probably
done, no

one grumbled, though all devoutly longed for a more modern
rate of speed. C'rossing muskegs, it is impossible to hurry
horses, and when fallen timber cannot be jumj)ed or soambled
over, a single tree on the path may necessitate a detour of tifty
yards to make five. How the heavily laden pack-horses of the
Hudson's Hay Company get along such a road, is rather a
puzzle.

September 7tli. — Away from cam}) at 0:45 A.M. ; and in
less than two hours came again in view of the IVIcLeod ; — nar-

I rower and much more like the child of the mountains than at

the first crossing, Instead cf sand bars as there, ridges and
masses of rounded stones and boulders are strewn aloniir its
shores, or piled up with drifted trees and rubbish in tlie shall-
ower })arts of its bed. The trail led up stream near the bank,
descending headlong to the river two or three times, and then
ascending precijiitous blull's that tested the horses' wind severe-
ly. From these summits, views of a section of the Rocky
Mountains, sixty or seventy miles away to the south-west, re-
warded our exertions, and were the only thing that justilied
Valad's phrase of " beau ehemin." The deep sides of the moun-
tains and two or three of the summits were white with snow,
and under the rays of the sun one ])art looked gi-een and glacier-
like. We should have crossed and then recrossed the McLeod
hereabouts to escape the worst part of the road, but Valad, to
his intense mortification, missed the point where the trail led
off to the ford. There was nothing left therefore but to keep
pegging away at the rate of a mile an hour, up and down hill,
through thick underbrush of willows and as})ens that had sprung
up round the burnt spruce and cotton-wood, which still reared
aloft their tall blackened shafts.

At 1 o'clock, we dined beside the river on the usual breakfast
and supper fare, having travelled twelve or thirteen miles in
six hours and a ({uarter. Muskegs and windfalls delayed us
most, the former being always near creeks, and worse than the

': hi

*ll

I 4

i I

■I

220

Of'RAN TO OCEAN.

latttjr, TIki oiilv liaid yioiiiul was on tlio sainlv or rn'o-vollv
riilijcs s('|»!iiMtiii,\' tli(f intoi-vcniug vnlloys, jiiid on those, wind-
fulls li.'id uccuniulat(3(l from your to yoai', so that the trail in
many ))lu('os was bnried out of sii(lit. Whilo at dinner olouds
_','atliorcd in the wost and (|uic'kly ovorspi'oud tho whoh; sky.
Tills hnrriod our movomonts, hut the rain was on--wit]i
thunder and liL,ditninj^ — in ton minutes. After the fust smart
shower, a lull followed which tin; njen look advantnf'O of to
]»ack the liorses, drying liicir backs as well as possible before
j)uttin<,' on the saddles.

A little after .'? P. M., we were on the march and on rather a
better roa<l. Heavy thunder showers broken by gleams of
suTdi,L!;ht dispelling the leaden clouds from time to time, gave a
sky of wonderful grandeur and colour. The river and the
finely wooded hilly country beyond, for hereabouts too the op-
])Osito banks had esca])ed the I'avages of fire — ]irobably because
there was no trail and no travelling on that side, displayed
themselves in r"\agnificent panoramic views from every bluff we
climbed, while far to tho \vest and south-west beyond the hills,
masses of clouds concealing the mountains but assuming the
forms and almost tho solidity of the mountains, made an hori-
zon worthy of the whole sky and of the foregro<ind. At sunset
■we descended for the last time to the river, and skirting it for
two miles or crossing to long islets where the current divided
itself, reached a beautiful prairie and camped under the shade
of a group of spruce and pojdars. This was the point Valad
had aimed for, as a good place for the Sunday rest', chiefly because
of the feed ; and here we were to take leave of the McLeod, and
cross to the Athabasca — •

'* No nioro by thoc our steps shall he
For ever and for ever,"

or at least until there is a better road. From the watershed of
the McLeod to this point was less than eighty miles, and to get
over that distance had occupied four and a half days of the

iiriiiiiimniij-iiMfni

I'OKT KD.MONTON To A'lIIAT.ASCA IIINKI!

' or fjmvoUy
tlicHc, wind-
tlio truil in
linnor cloufl.s
' wliol(! ,skv,
s on — with
^ first smart
fintn^'o of to
'S.sihlc before

I on i-athor a
y ^'loanis of
tinio, ffiive a
vor and tlie

too tllO 0])-

iildy l)ocause
le, displayetl
very blnff we
ikI tlie liills,
ssuming tlie
iide an hori-
.At Kunset
iitin<r it for
wnt divided
V the sliade
point Valad
iefly because
^IcLeod, and

^aterslied of
, and to get
Jays of the

liaidt'st travelling. Tlw; tally of tlie we(!k was 120 miles, and
every one was satislied with it because more could not have
bf(cn done. And when, on the only occasion in the week on
which spirits were used, tlu! whole party gathereil rouud (lie
camp-tire after sujjper to have tlui Saturday ni^jht toasts of
" wives and sweethearts" and ''the iJoininion and the Kaili-oad,"
immediately after " th(^ (^)u(ien," tlu^ universal fceiinn- was of
thankful content that W(! had got on without casualties, and
that to-morrow w.as Sundav. The men beluLj without water-
])roofs had not an inelj of dry clothing on them, but they dried
themselves at the big tire as if it was the jolliest thing in tlui
■world to be wet. Valad, under the influence of a glass of the
mildest toddy, relaxed from his Indian gravity and taciturnity,
and smiled and talked bonignantly. " When with gentlemen"
he was j)leased to inform us, " he was treated like a gentleman ;
but when with others he had a hard time of it." Poor Valad !
what a lonely joyless life he livcjd, yet he did his duty like a
man, and bore himself with the dignity of a man who lived close
to and learned the lessons of nature. Some will blame us for
giving toddy to an Indian, or for taking it ourselves, and per-
haps more severely for not su|)pressing all mention of the; fact.
Our only ansv/er is that a little did us good and we were thank-
ful for tli(! good, and that the one merit this diary aspires to is
to be a frank and truthful narrative. It would have been mean
to have left Vahul out ; and to show an Indian that it was
possible to be temperate in all things, possible to use a stimu-
lant withouo abusing it, seemed to us on the whole a betteu*
lesson to enforce i)ractically, than to have preached an abstin-
ence that he would have misunderstood.

Sei)tember 8tli. — Another day of rest, with nothing to
chronicle save our ordinary Sunday routine. But no, — this is
doing great injustice to the Doctor who eclipsed all his former
efforts, in the way of providing medical comforts, by concocting
a plum-pudding for dinner. The Doctor's presci-ipiions smelleu

*)•)•)

OCKAN TO (MKAX.

'I i\

of tlio phiirnuicoiuiiia as littlo as |)ossil)I<'. WaK nn oM woman
that lio iiKjt on th(! way conndainiii^' oi" " a wakcncss I" Seiul
her a j)aunikiii of hot kou|>. Were Vahid's Ic^'s iiitlainrd hy
rubbing all day against Imh coai'se trowsors in tho Haddlo ]
Make liiin a prosont of a |»air of Hoft flannel drawers. Was a
good Father at the niissitjn in failing health i Katt(Mi him up
with rich diet, even on fast days. Ami finally, were wo all
desirous of celebrating a birth-day, and did the thought make
us a littlo homesick, the only sickness that our own party ever
Hufferod from ] (iet \\\) a plum-pudding for dinner.

Jiut how I We had neither bag, suet, nor j)lums. l>ut wo
had bony pemmican, and j)emmican in its own Vuw. is equal to
Bhaganapi)i. It contained buffalo fat that would do for suet,
and bonies that would do for plums. Only genius could have
united plum-pudding and b(!rry pemmican in one mental act.
Terry contributed a bag, and when tlu^ contribution was
inspected rather (hiintily, he explained that it was the sugar
bag, wliich might bo used, as there was very little sugar left for
it to hold. Pemmican, Hour and water, baking soda, sugar and
salt were siircly sullicient ingredients ; as a last touch the
Doctor searched the medicine-chest, but in vain, for tincture of
ginger to give a flavour, and in default of that, suggested
chlorodyne, but the (.'hief i)romptly negatived tho suggestion,
on the ground that if we a^.e the pudding the chlorodyne might
be required a few hours after.

At 3 p.m. the bag was put in the pot, and dinner was ordered
to be at 5. At the aj)pointed hour everytliing else was ready ;
the usual pirce de resistance of pemmican, flanked for Sunday
garnishing by two reindeer tongues. But as we gathered round,
it was announced that the pudding was a failure ; that it would
not unite; that buff\ilo fat was not eqmil in cohesive power to
suet, and that instead of a pudding it would be only boiled
pemmican. The Doctor might have been knocked down with a
feather ; Frank was loud and savagci in his lame ntatious : but

:,-- II i^WM

KoJlT KhMoNToN TO A rilAliASrA IJIVKK.

003

•> «# 4f

«)M woniau

ss /" Send

iitlaniod by

Ik' s.uMlo ]

•s. Was a

11 iiiin u|>

«'i*o wo all

'iiLjlit make

party over

J)Ut wo

is eijual to

l«) for suet,

L'ould have

iKuital act.

)utioii was

the sugar

igar Icl't for

, sugar and

touch the

tincture of

, suj^gested

suggestion,

lyno might

vas ordered
was readv :
'or Sunday
3red round,
at it would
[3 power to
:)nly boiled
3wn with a
tions : but

tl.o Chief advised "nioro boiling," as an infallil !»» KpeciMc in such
cases, r\n<l that dinner be proceeded with. The additional half
hour act(!d like a charm. With f»»ar ai'd tn-nilding the Doctor
wont to the ])ot ; anxious heads bent down with his ; tenderly
was the bag lifte<l out and slit, and a joyous sliout conveyed the
intelligenc(! tliat it was a sticcess — that at any rate it ha<l the
Hha|)e of a pudding. Ihown, who had been scoHing, was silenced ;
and the J doctor coiK[uered liim completely by helping him to a
doubh portion. How good that pudding was I A teaspoonful
of brandy on a spiinkling of sugar made sauce ; and then^ was
not one of the party who did not hold out his plate for '' nior«%"
though, as th(^ Doctor Ix'longed to tlu^ oithodox s<'hool of nunli-
cinc, the iir.st helping had been no homceopathic dose. To have
been pei-fect the pudding diould have had more boiling ; but no
one dared hint a fault, for was not the dish empty \ Wo at
once named the i)lace Plum Tudding Camp, and Ih'own was en-
gaged on the spot to nuikc^ a better if he could at th(; Yellow
Head Pass Camp.

In all res})ects save weather the day was as pleasant as our
former Sundays ; but gusts of wind blew the smoke of the tire
into the tent, and the grass was too thoroughly soaked with rain
for pleasant walking. The sun struggled to come out, but
scarcely succeeded, and towards evening a cold rain, that would
be snow on the mountains, set in. Valad had pitched a sepa-
rate camp for himself under a grove of })ines, that sheltered him
beautifully from the wind and rain. So cozy was it that during
the day one after another resorted thither, for a pipe or a quiet
read, when eyes could no longer endure the big tent's smoke.

The usual morning and evening services were attended by
all. Each time that we united as one body in worship, our
thoughts were raised from earth, and the bond that united us
became stronger.

September 9th. — Up very early this morning, but it was 7
before we said goodbye to Plum Pudding Camji an<l the ^fcLeod

K't

■i« »■

'^t \'\

2'2i

OOKAN TO OCKAN.

river. In packing liorses, t]io more haste the less speed Any
twist of the shaganapi)i omitted is sure to avenge itself at the
most inconvenient place. And as none but I3rown and Beaupro
could do this work, it took a long time.

The night had been cold, and the grass in the morning was
crisp with frost, but the sun rose bright and soon dissolved the
hoar into dew. We started in high spirits, under the warm rays
of the sun, with good hopes of soon seeing the Athabaska. The
trail to it leads up an intervale of the McLeod for a mile, and
then crosses a hilly portage thirteen miles long. The i)ortage
consists of ridges of gravel intermixed with clay, suj)i)orting a
growth of })ines and spruce large enough for railway or building
purposes. At the bottom of each lidge is a creek of clear cold
water, running over black muck or whitish clay. Half way
across, a lake that emi)ties into the Athabaska lies under the
shadow of the Foot Hills ; and from this point successive steep
descents lead to streams running in dee[> valleys over pebbly
beds, and thiough the woods glim[)ses are had of blue wooded
heights on the other side of the Athabaska. Instead of going
directly west to the river, the trail winds more to the south,
ascending the river at a distance from it, and we thus missed
the large alluvial flat a little north called Le Grand Bas-fond,
where is the only gcod grass for miles. At 1 o'clock we got our
first sight of the Athabasca, from a high bluff, and beyond it to
the south-west, fifty miles ofl', but seemingly close at hand, the
liocky Mountains covered with snow. It was time to halt,
but the pasture under the pines and spruces was so scant that
it would have been a mockerv to turn the horses loose. We
resolved therefore to keep moving and make only one spell for
the day. For two hours longer the patient creatures toiled on,
as willingly as when fresh ; the trail winding for five or six
miles up and down the steep banks of the river, and crossing
several mountain strej.ms, and for the next five going along a
smooth terrace of shingle, now a hundred feet above the river,

PonT EDMONTON TO ATHABASCA IJIVF.R,

225

Ded. Any
lelf at the
id Beau pre

)rning was
ssolved the
! warm rays
)aska. The
i mile, and
?he portage
u])porting a
or building
3f clear cold
Half way
s under the
^essive steep
over pebbly
blue wooded
ad of going
.o the south,
thus missed
id Bas-fond,
c we got our
beyond it to
at hand, the
time 'm halt,
so scant that
loose. We
one spell for
res toiled on,
five or six
and crossing
going along a
3ve the river,

but once its bed. Here the trail was j-o good that, with few in-
terruptions the jog trot was maintained. At length on a burnt
tract, rich heavy buncli-grass — enough for tiie niglit — showed,
and the trail dosceuilin'' to anothiu' bouch oiilv ten feet above *
the present bod of the river, we camped on the lower and drove
the horses back to tlie U[)[)er terrace after watering tluMn. In
ii continuous marcli of ten liours about twenty-five miles luid
been tvavelh'd.

Valul sho(>k his head when he saw the white peaks and the
river. He had never known the former so covered with snow,
nor the latter so swollen at this season of the year. There must
have been severe weather in the mountains, with the jji'cbable
consequence for us, that instead of fording we would have to
construct a raft opposite Jasper House.

The Athabasca at this earlv point of its course is nearlv as
largo as the Saskatchewan at Edmonton, of the same clay
colour, and running with a more rapid current. It varies in
breadth according as it is liemmed in by clitFs of sandstones,
shales, and clay ; or as its shores expand into intervales or broad
terraces rising one above the other. These successive ten aces
are marked very distinctly in several places on both sides of the
stream. Dr. Hector measured their lieights with the aneroid
at Le Grand Bas-fond, and found that the three lowest and most
distinctly marked were fifteen, a liundred, ind two hinidred
and ten feet above tlie alluvial bottom of the valley, while one
still higher, not so miiformly distinct, was three hundred and
seventy feet. These terraces are covered with spruce and pine.

From the terrace above our cam[), the mountains seemed
immediately beyond the wood on the o[>posite side of the river.
They towered up in a grand silver-tip])ed line closing the west-
ei'n lioi'izon so hiiih up, that the sun always sets here more than
half an hour sooner than on the j)lains.

At length we had come to the bases of the Rocky Mountains,
and the sight of them was sufficient reward for all the toil of
the preceding fortniglit. If)

IWt«f*W«»>!* •»«•*'

Ij K
'it

11 >, '

226

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

While hacking with his axe at brush on the caraping ground,
just where our heads woukl lie, Brown struck something metallic
tliat blunted the edge of the axe. Feeling with his hand he
di'ew out from near the root of a young spruce tree, an ancient
sworJ bayonet, the brazen hilt and steel blade in excellent
preservation, but the leather scabbard half eaten as if by the
teeth of some animal. It seemed strange in this vast and silent
forest wilderness thus to come upon a relic that told, probably,
of the old days when the two rival fur companies armed their
agents to the teeth, and when bloody contests often took place
between them. Brown i)resented the treasure trove to the
Chief, for his museum, as a memento of the Athabasca, and
from it, this our forty-fourth camp, since leaving Thunder Bay,
received the name of Bayonet Camp.

To-night we rest under the protection of the Rocky Moun-
tains.

tig gronncl,
112 metallic
lis hand he
an aricient
n excellent
IS if by the
it and silent
d, probably,
armed their
n took place
trove to the
liabasca, and
linnder Bay,

locky Moun-

CHAPTER VIII.

The Rocky Mountains.

The Flora. -The Mountains.— Prairie River. Grilled Reaver.- Roche ;\ Myette. —Roche
a Perdrix.— Roche Ronde. -Jas])cr House. —Roche Jacques.— Koche Suctte. -Roche
Rusche. -First night in the Mountains. -Crossii!, the Atliahasca. — M-.t<,nuficert
Mountain Scenery. - Pyramid Rock. Jasper Lake. Snarin;,' River. — Jasper Valley.
— V/e meet Pacific men.— Hyiumuck-a-nuick I Hyiu iktahsI-Old Henry House.—
The Caledonian \ alloy, a Rouyh Trail. Desolate Camjiini? Ground. -Good Cheer.
The Trail Party. Vcilow Head Pass. -Nameless Mountain Peaks. -Sunday
Dinner in " The Pass."

September lOtli. — Tlie Atliabasca fell six inches during the
night. Got away from camp at 7:30 A.M., and for two hours
had a delightful ride to Prairie Kiver. The trail ran along a
terrace of shingle or alluvial flats, and was free from fallen
timber and muskegs. IMost of the flowers were out of blossom,
but in the spring and summer these open meadow-like places
must be gay with anemones, roses, vetches, and a great variety
of compositie — none now in bloom, except a light-blue aster
that had accompanied us from the North Saskatchewan, and all
the way through the wooded country. The burnt ground
shewed a brilliant crimson flower from which red ink is made,
and which we had seen on the Matawan.

Few, however, thought of plants to-day or of anything but
the mountains that stood in massive grandeur, thirty miles
ahead, but on account of the morning light, in which every
point came out clear, seemingly just on the other side of each
new patch of wood or bit of prairie before us.

They rose bold and abrupt five or six thousand feet from the
wooded country at their feet, — the western verge of the plains,
the elevation of which v»ras over three thousand feet additional
above the sea, — and formed in long unbroken line across our
path, save where cleft in the centre down to their very feet, by

■■■-■(

'■1 ;

j •

;^^ i

>
f

*?'

228

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

the chasm that the Athabasca, long ago forced, or found for it-
self. " There are no Rocky Mountains" has been the remark
of many a disappointed traveller by the Union and Central
Pacific Kailways. The remark will never be made by those
who travel on the Canadian Pacific ; tliere was no ambiguity
about these being mountains, nor about where they commenced.
The line was defined, and the scarp as clear, as if tliey had been
hewn and chiselled for a fortification. The summits on one side
of the Athabasca were serrated, looking sharp as the teeth of a
saw ; on the other, the Koche a Myette, immediately behind
the first line, reared a great solid unbroken cube, two thousand
feet high, a " forcihead bare," twenty times liigher than Ben
An's ; and, before and beyond it, away to the south and west,
extended ranges with bold summits and sides scoo})ed d(^ep, and
corrics far down, where formerly the wood bufialo, and the elk,
and now the moose, bighorn, and bear find shelter. There was
nothing fantastic about ihe mountain forms. Everything was
imposing. And these too were ours, an inhei'itance as precious,
if not as plentiful in corn and milk, as the rich plains they
guarded. For mountains elevate the mind, and give an inspi-
ration of courage and dignity to the hardy races who own them
and who breathe their atmosphere.

For the strengl"h of the hills we bless thee
Our God, our fathers' Cod.
Thou hast made our spirits mighty
With the toui'h of the mountain sod.

The scene had its effect on the wlioJe party. As we wound
in Indian file along the sinuous trail, that led across grassy bas-
fonds under the shadow of the mountains that were still a day's
journey distant, not a word was heard, nor a cry to the horses
for the first half-hour. Yalad led the way, clad friar-like in
blue hooded capote which he wore all regardless of the fact that
the sun was shining ; Brown next, in rugged miner costuma
half-leathern half-wollen, and Beaupr^ in the same with a

TFIE ROCKY MOrXTAIXS.

229

nd for it-
e remark
I Central

by those
imbiguity
inmonced.

had been
>n one side
teeth of a
ily behind
) thousand

than Ben

and west,
I d(>ep, and
nd the elk,

There was
y thing was
as precious,
plains they

e an inspi-
) own them

3 we wound
grassy bas-
still a day's
) the horses
fiiar-like in
the fact that
iier costums
arae with a

touch of colour added; tlie Chief and t)ie Doctor in their yellow
moose-hide jackets ; oven Terry, who of late invariably brought
up the rear, ceased to howl " git out o* that " to the unfortunate
animal he sat upon, dropped his stick, and put his pipe in his
waistcoat pocket. He had seen Vesuvius, the Himalayas antl
the Hill of Howth, but they were " nan thin to this." Before
I us, at times, a grove of dark green spruce, and beyond the som-

bre wood, the infinitely more sombre grey of the mountains ;
I where the wood had been burnt, the bare blackened poles

^ seemed to be only a screen hung before, half revealing, half

J concealing, what was beyond. The mountains dwarfed and re-

lieved everything else. There was less snow than had apj)eared
\ yesterday, the explanation being that the first and least eleva-

ted mountain range only was before us now that we were near,
whereas, when at a greater distance, many of the higher sum-
mits beyond had been visible.

Soon after crossing Prairie River, the trail led away to the
east from the Athabasca among windfalls of the worst kind, or
muskegs, and up and down steep banks. Little progress was
made for the next two hours, but the mountain air told so on
our appetites that at midday a halt of an hour and a half was
imperatively demanded, although it had to be on the borders of
a swamp among blackened poles.

After dinner we resumed the march and soon crossed another
Prairie River, formed apparently by thi union of three stream-
lets, winding by different valleys down a wooded range that lies
at the foot of the mountains, and extends east by north for some
distance. The view of the mountains all this afternoon more
than made up for the difficulties of the road. Instead of being
clearly outlined, cold, and grey as in the morning, they ap-
peared indistinct through a warm deep blue haze ; we had come
nearer, but they seemed to have removed further back.

When on the other side of Prairie River, the wooded range
from which it flowed was on our left, and the high wooded hills

\n^

Hi .

J!'i

230

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

beyond the Athabasca on our right. Woods and hills in front
closed up the lower part of the gorge from which the Athabasca
issued, and completely divided the Rocky Mountains into two
ranges, right and left ; thus an amphitheatre of mountains
closed round while we were making for the open that yawned
right in front.

At 4.30 P.M., the order was given to camp ; Frank and
Valad went off to hunt, and the Chief and the Secretarv to
climb a hill and note the surrounding country. Bear and fresh
moose tracks were seen by the latter two, and fresh otter trails
leading down into the river. On their return thev fell in with
Frank cari-ying a beaver; he and Valad had fired ot two and
shot one. The Doctor in their absence had fished in primitive
style, with a tent pole and twine and a hook baited with pem-
mican, and had caught two fine trout. Having this varied pro-
vision, supper without I'Schand was unanimously decreed, and
Valad set to work on the beaver and Terry on the fish. In
fifteen minutes Valad had the animal skinned, boned, the whole
of the meat stretched out in one piece on a brander of sticks
/- and exposed to the fire to grill ; the tail on another stick, and
the liver on a third. "We waited impatiently for supper, the
Secretary making toast of Terry's under-done l^read to keep
himself from murmuring. In due time everything was ready,
and the five who had never tasted beaver, prepared themselves
to sit in judgment. The' verdict was favourable throughout;
the meat tender, though dry, the liver a delicious morsel, and
the tail superior to moose-muffie. Within an hour after that
beaver had been industriouslv at work on his dam, he formed
part of the interior economy of eight different stomachs, and
scarcely a scrap was left to show what he once had been. More
sudden and coirt^lete metamorphosis is not in Ovid. The trout
were excellent, so that it may be understood that a straight meal
was made. In honour of the event of the evening, this, our
forty -fifth, was named Beaver Camp.

THE ROCKY MOUxVTAINS.

231

3 in front
Lthabasca
I into two
lountains
yawned

rank and
n"etary to
and fresh
,ter trails
ill in with
two and
primitive
^vitli pem-
,'aried pro-
;reed, and
) fish. In
the whole
of sticks
stick, and
upper, the
\ to keep
^^as ready,
;liemselves
roughout ;
orael, and
after that
he formed
iiachs, and
Ben. More
The trout
•aiufht meal
I, this, our

[

Having lost an hour and a half of sunlight to-day, we made
arrangements to start early to-morrow for a long spell.

This was to bo our last night on the plains. To-morrow
night we would be in the embrace of the mountains.

September 11th. — Away this morning at 6.15 a. m., and
halted at 1 p. m., after crossing the Riviere de Violon or Fiddle
river, when fairly inside the first range. It was a grand morn-
ing for mountain scenery. For the first three hours the trail
continued at some distance east from the valley of the Atha-
basca, among wooded hills, now ascending, now descending,
but on the whole with an upward slope, across creeks where
the ground was invariably boggy, over fallen timber, where
infinite patience was required on the part of horse and man.
Suddenly it opened out on a lakelet, and right in front, a semi-
circle of five glorious mountains appeared ; a high wooded hill
and Roche i\ Perdrix on our left, Roche a Myette beyond,
Roche Ronde in front, and a iiiountain above Lac Brule on our
right. For half a mile down from their summits, no tree,
shrub, or plant covered the nakedness of the three that the old
trappers had thought worthy of names ; and a clothing of vege-
tation would have marred their massive grandeur. The first
three were so near and towered up so bold that their full forms,
even to the long shadows on them, were reflected clearly in the
lakelet, next to the rushes and spruce of its own shores. Here
is scene for a grand picture equal to Hill's painting of the Yo
Semite Valley. A little forther on, another lakelet reflected
the mountains to the right, showing not only the massive grey
and blue of the limestone, but red and green colourings among
the shales that separated the strata of limestone. The road
now descended rapidly from the summit of the wooded hill that
we had so slowly gained, to the valley of the A:habasca. As
it wound from point to point among the tall dark green spruces,
and over rose bushes and vetches, the soft blue of the moun-
tains gleamed through everywhere, and when the woods parted,

S )

■ I
^ li

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

the mif^hty column of Rocho u Perdrix towered a mile above
our heads, scuds of clouds kissini,' its snowy summit, and each
plication and an,i,de of the difl'ercnt strata ii)> its f,Mant sides was
boldly an I cleaily revealed. We were enteriuL,' the magnifi-
cent Jasper ])oitals of- tlu! liocky ^Fountains by a quiet path
winding betwecMi groves of trees and rich lawns like an English
gentleman's park.

Crossing a brook divided into half a dozen l)ro()klets by wil-
lows, the country opened a litth; and the base and inner side
of Roche a Perdrix were revealed ; but, it M'as still an amphi
theatre of mountains that oi)ened out before us, and Roche a
Myette seemed as far off !is ever. Soon the Riviere de Violon
was heard brawling round the base of Roche a Perdrix and
rushing on like a true mountain torrent to the Athabasca. We
stopped to drink to the Queen out of its clear ice-cold waters,
and halted for dinner in a grove on the other side of it, thor-
oughly excited and awed by the grand forms that had begirt
our path for the last three hours. We could sympathise with
the enthusiast, who returned home after years of absence, and
when asked what he had as an equivalent for so much lost
time, — answered : "I have seen the Rocky Mountains."

After dinner, a short walk enabled us to take bearings. The
valley of the Athabasca from two to five miles wide, according
as a sandy bas-fond or intervale along its shore varied in width,
extended up to the west and south, guarded on each side by
giant forms. We had come inside the range, and it was no
longer an amphitheatre of hills, but a valley ever opening, and
at each turn revealing new forms,, that was now before us.
Roche Ronde was to our right, its stratification as distinct as
the leaves of a half opened book. The mass of the rock was
limestone, and what at a distance had been only peculiarly bold
and rugged outlines, were now seen to be the different angles
and contortions of the strata. And such contortions ! One
high mass twisting up the sides in serpc "itine folds ; another

THE KULKY MOl'NTAINS.

233

bent in great wavin:,' lines, like ])otrifi('(l billows, Tlie colour-
ing, too, was all that artist could desire. Not only the dark
green of the spruce in the con-ies, which turniMl into black when
far up, but autumn tints of red and i^'old as hi^^h as vegetation
had climbed on the hill sides ; and ai)ov(^ that, streaks and
patches of yellow, green, rusty red, and black, relieving the
grey mass of limestone ; whih; up the valley, every shade of
blue came ot'.t accordin'' as the hills were near or far awav, and
summits hoary with suow bounded the hori/on.

There was a delay of three hours at dinner, because the
horses, as if allured by the genii of the mountains, had wan-
dered more than a mile up the valh^y ; but at four o'clock all
was in order again and the march resumed. A wooded hill
that threw itself out between lioches a IVidrix and a My-
ette had first to be rounded. This hill narrowed the valley,
and forced the trail near the river. When fairly round it,
Roche a Myette came full into view, and the trail led along its
base.

Myette is the characteristic mountain of the Jasper valley. '
There are others as high, but its grand baie forehead is recog-
nized everywhere. It is five thousand eight hundred feet above
the valley, or over nine thousand feet above the sea. Doctor
Hector with the agent in charge of Jasper House climbed to a
sharp peak far above any vegetation, three thousand five hun-
dred feet above the valley, but the great cubical block which
formed the top towered more than two thousand feet higher.
A hunter who has given his name to the mountain, is the only
one that ever ascended this cube. Ho made the ascent from
the south side, every other being absolutely inaccessible. Doc-
tor Hector gives the following descri[)tion of the composition of
Myette : " It is composed of a mass of strata, which have at

one time formed the trough of a huge plication, viz. :

It.
(a) Hard compoct blue limestone and sliale, with nodules of )

. -. ( 2,000

iron pyntes ) '

£*■' ■ E!

234

(^CKAN TO (X'KAN.

(h) Foasil slialoa !ilinf)flt l)la('k

((') Hard grey Hivmlstoin)

{(l) SlialoH tiiward.i the iipjxir part with groen and red blotches
(c) C'herty liiuei^tone and coarse Handstono ol scared by timber

ft.

300

100
500

3,000

Tlio ridgo wo had ascended is foniKMl of clicrty litnostono and
ca))iHMl by yellow shales with beds of black sandstone forming
the; highest point."

The vi(;ws this afternoon from every new ])oint were wonder-
fully striking, liOoking back on lloche a Perdrix it assumed
more massive )>roportions than when we were immediately
beneath. A huge shoulder stretched up the valley, one side
covered with bare i)oles gn^y as itself, and the other with sombre
firs. From it the gi'cat sujnmit upreared itself so consjncuously
that it filled th(> back ground and closed tlie mouth of the valley.
Valad in grave tones told the story of his old })artner — an un-
fortunate half-bre(!d — who, when hunting bighorn on its pre-
cipitous slopes, twenty-two years ago, was carried over one of
them on a snow-slide and dashed in pieces.

A good photographer would make a name and perhaps a
fortune, if he came up here and took views. At every step
we longed for a camera. On the opposite side of the river a
valley opened to the north, along the sides of which rose moun-
tain after mountain with the clearly defined outlines that the
secondary formation of the rocks gives to them. On the «ame
side the Range from Roche Ronde was continued further up the
Athabasca by a hump-shaped rock, and then by a vast mass,
like a quadrilateral rampart, with only two sides of the square
visible, the sides furrowed deep, but the line of the summit un-
broken. At the base of this — Roche Suette — is Jasper's House,
and opposite Roche Jacque's showed as great a mass, with two
snow-clad peaks, while the horizon beyond seemed a continuous
bank of snow on mountain ranges. But the most wonderful
object was Roclie a Myette, right above us on our left. That

ft.

300

100

mo
3,000

bono and
forminif

wonder-
isH limed
lodiately
)ii(3 side
1 sombre
iciioiisly
e valley,
-an un-
its pre-
r one of

n-liaps a
3ry step

river a
;e moiin-
:hat the
lie same
r uj) the
it mass,
! square
mit iin-

House,

ith two

tinuoiis

nderful

That

THE KOUKV MOUNTAINS.

!35

imposinjij spliiuxdiko head with tiie swollini,' Filizahothan rufTof
sandstom; an<l shalos Jiiound tlie nock, save on one aide wliero
a corru<,'at(Ml mass of party-c(jloiirod strata twisted like a coil
of sci'pcnts from far down nearly half wny up the head, haunted
us for days. Mi^dity must have l)een the forces tliat uju-eartMl
and s!iap(!(l sucli a monuniont. Vertical strata wen; pih'd on
horizontal, and horizontal ai^ain on tin; vortical, as it" nature
had detcrininod to Ituild a tower tliat would reach to the skies.
As we |)assed this old warder of the valley, the sun was settin<»
behind iloche Siu^tte. A warm south -W(!st wind as it came in
contact with the; snowy summit formed lieavy clouds, that threw
lorn,' black shadows, and threateneil rain ; l)ut tlu; wind carried
them past to em[)ty their buckets on the woods and prairies.

It was time to cami), but whore ? Tiie Chief, IJeaupre, and
Brown rode ahead to see if the river was foidable. Tlse rest
followed, goiuLj down to the bank and crossinj; to an island
formed by a slew of the river, to Jivoid a steep rock, the trail
along which was tit only for chamois or bighorn. Here wo
were soon joined by the three who had ridden ahead, and who
brought back word that the Athabasca looked ugly, but was
still subsiding, and might be fordable in the morning. It
was decided to camp on the spot, and send the horses back a
mile for feed. The resources of the island would not admit of
our light cotton sheet being stretched as an overhead shelter,
so we selected the lee side of a dwarf asj)en thicket, and spread
our blankets on the gravel ; a good fire bcnng made in front to
cook our supper and keep our feet warm through Lhe night.
Some of us sat up late, watching the play of tlie moonlight on
the black clouds that drifted about her troubled face, as she
hung over Roche Jacques ; and then w^e stretched ourselves
out to sleep, on our rough but enviable couch, rejoicing in the
open sky for a canopy, and in the circle of great mountains that
formed the walls of our indescribably magniticent bed chamber.
It had been a day long to be jmenibered. Only one mishap

23rt

orKAN 'Hi (H'KAN.

liiul o<vun«Ml ; tlu' rijiofs biii,' ^'ot a cimisIi nujiiin.si ii r«)('k. imd
his (IuhU, timt Ih'M u di-op of I)i;mtly ciin'riilly urcscrMMl for IIm^
noxt |»lmn jMnldiiii,', was brokcii. Il \v;is Ii.uil. l>iit un mi cnjh*-
ditioit like ^IiIh (lie most soi'ious Iohs(<s ari< (al\(>ii calmly and mtou
forgotten.

S«»|)<(Mm1»m* 2nd. Wo slcut soundly our llisl ni-^lil in (ho
inoiinlains, and t\l'\i'\' a dip in (lie Alluibisca .ind iMeakt'iist,
Valntj went oil' on liorsc hack to 1 ry (lie lords. Tliou'^li tlu^
rivor lia<l rnllcn six in( lies sincc^ last nii,dil. lie Cound it still too
(loop tor pMok liorsos, and (lion^ was notliiinj; lor it l>ut to ooji-
Htruct a raft, -a work of soino dilliculty wlicn there is no author
and only on(» ax«> to cut down tiie wood. \\'c Iwid time now to
take a ;,'ood vi«'w from our Ishind ('amp. liOokiiiL,' forward,
Hoeho Jaoipies cIoscmI tin* hori/on on the left ; to his li^dit and
further u)) tho river, the IVramid Ivock haired the way. a
graceful otmioal shaped mountain like Schiehallion, hut <;ran(h<r,
his front-face a mass of snow. Hetwoon tln^so two our road lay
after crossini^ tho river. Opposite the ciunp to the north, the
hump of Hocho l\ llosche, stood out jironiinently ; separated
from it by tho Indian Siiiike iJivor, ami two or three miles
further up slresun, the peat wall of JJocho Suotto, at the foot
of whicli .lasper House is situattvl. blocked the western way.

Tho foronoon looked as if it meant rain. Sunri.se in;ildi'(| witli
fire the tojis of tho mountains ; but tho li_i>;ht soon died away.
Clouds and mists gathered round l^ochos Jacques and Suetto,
but huni:j there instead of cominc; down, and the white face of
the Pyramid Kock, that divided the two, stood out clear and
untouched by the rolling vajunir.

The Cliief made some ])oncil sketches, while tho men w(>nt np
stream a mile to a suitable ])art of the river and worked hard
preparing a raft till 10.30 A.M., by which time they had
enough logs for the purpose cut and carried down to the bank.
Returning to cam}) for an early dinner of tea and cold pemmi-
can, they then packed the horses, carried everything up to the

Tin: l{(M'KV MoiINTAINN.

237

raft mid iiiipHckol tlir o. Kiftcni or Hixtr-pn Iocjh Vioiiiul to-
^t'llirr l>y (luce st loiii^' nnsspoIrM, imd tini nidi lo null witli
folds of i(»|H', cuiiipoMrd t.lic nift. |ttttw*'*>M tlic «!i'OHSp(»|rH a
niiitilM'rof siiiiillcr uiii>H wcK! Iiiid, to h«'|-v(; foi- ii tloor and k<>0{)
tli<' Iiii;l,'ii;^'(< from <^i'{{'\\\'^ wi-f. Tim ('liirfaiid tin' two iMickci'H
\v(!i<< IIm'ii left to iiiiiiia}^'«' tlic raft, and (lio rest Htii|»|»('d to tlio
iiiidillc Mild rode i'.crosH (*<'iilaiir liUr diivin;^ iH'lorn tliciiitlio
unsaddled juick lioiMcH. At llic crossing tl:,- river is di\id(!(l
hy Hand bars into tlirn- pails, and at two of tliese tlio wat(?r
niiulicd to llir )ionini<-| ot' tlio saddle. All ^ot ov(!r safuly,
tiioui;li tlicrc was Home <liin;^'er on aenonnt of the str<'n;,'tli of tlio
current; and the raft f(»llowed, after a delay causiMJ hy the
weii,dit of the <'mi-;.,'o necessitating; the addition of two hi^ Io<(H to
niaki! tin? ship lloat, lightly eiioUL^di. A ride (tf two miles took
us to .Jasper's, wher(! we arrived exactly fifte(!n <lays after l(;av-
in;^' i'ldmontoii, two of them days o rest and a third lost hy tho
obstruction of the Athal)asca. J t is hardly fair to speak of it
as lost howc^ver, for there was no point- at. which tin; delay of a
day was ho litlh^ iinaccreptalths to us. Tin; mountains of tho
»raHp(;r valley would have repaid us for a weok's (hjtention.
This station is now all l)ut abandoned by tlie Hudson's Hay
Cy. [t was formerly of consid(Mabl(; ini|)ortanc(!, not only from
the numlier of furdiearin;,' animals around, but because it waH
the c(Mitr(^ of a ivifular lino of communication betwoou Norway
liouso and lOdmonton on tho oik! side, and tho Columbia Dis-
trict and l<\jit Vancouver on the otlnfr. An a^'(;nt and three or
four men wen; tlaui stationed at it all the year round. Even in
Dr. Hector's time the house must have b(!en of a somewhat pre-
tentious order, for lie speaks of it as " conHtructed after the
Swiss style, with overhani^ing roofs and trellised j)orticoes."
Now there are only two log houses, tlie largest prop})ed up be-
fore and behind with rough shores, as if to prevent it being
blown away into the river or back into the mountain gorges.
The houses are untenanted, locked and shuttered. Twice a year

238

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

lit

i. •

an aiient coinos upfi-om Edmonton to trade with tlie Indians of
the sunounding country and carry back tlie furs.

The (Jhief expected to meet at this point, or to hear some
tidings of one of his parties that had been instructed to explore
from the l^acilic side of the mountains in the direction of tlie
Jasper valley. As no trace of any recent visit could be found,
we moved on uj) the Athabasca ; the trail leading along the
sandy beach of Lake Jasper for two miles to a little opening
on tlu; hill side above, where as there was a species of small
bunch gi-ass growing, and no one knew of feed farther on, camp
was i)itched for the night.

Our four miles' travel to-day on the west bank of the river was
a succession of magnificent mountain views. After crossing the
Atlial)asca the valley of Kocky River, which runs into it, oppo-
site Jasper iIon.se, open 't extending away to the south-
east, bordered on both hiu, •. by ranges of serrated bare peaks,
while seemingly in the veiy cMtre rose a wooded conical hill.
Round J 11 these, masses of mist were enfolding themselves, and
the sun shining at the same time brought out the nearest in
clear relief.

Jasper House itself is one of the best ))laces for seeing to
advantage the mountains up and down the valley. It is situ-
ated on a pretty glade that slopes gently "^o the Athabasca,
sufficiently large and open to command a view in eveiy direc-
tion, lloche a ^Myette, distant five or six miles, is half con-
cealed by intervening heights and is here less conspicuous than
elsewhere even vdien seen from greater distances, but a gleam
of sunlight brightens his great face and nuxkes even it look
lightsome. A score of miles to the south, the Pyramid Kock
gracefully uplifts its snowy face and shuts In the valley, the
space between being filled by the mountains of Kocky Iliver
and the great shoulders of Roche Jacques. Looking westerly,
and behind the House, is Suette, his rampart rising cold, stem,
and grey above his Turrowed sides. Other peaks overhang the

THK ROCKY MOUNTAINS,

239

iiJians of

car some
o ex])Iore
yii of tJio

»t' found,
^on(r the

opening
of small
>n, camp

i ver was
«.sing tlie
it, oppo-
e soiith-
e peaks,
cal liiJJ.
ves, and
arest in

seing to
is situ-
abasca,
Y tlirec-
If con-
is than
gleam
it look
I Kock
-y, the
Kiver
sterly,
steia,
ng the

valley to the north, and between them deep wooded valleys are
dark as night. Separated from these by the Snake Indian
River, the true proportions of lioche a Bosche are seen for the
fii'st time. Away to the south the masses of snow on the T*y ra-
ni id speak of coming winter.

There is a wonderful combination of beauty about these
mountains. Clreat masses of boldly detined ban; rock are united
to the beauty that \ariety of form, colour, a»ul vegetation give.
A noble river wich many tributaries, each detining a distinct
range, and a beautiful lake ten miles long, embosojned three
thousand three hundred feet abo^•e the sea, among mountains
twice as high, olfer innumerable scenes, seldom to be found
within the same compass, to the artist.

Valad informed us that the winter in this quarter is wonder-
fully mild, considering the height and latitude ; that the Atha-
b?^ca seldom if ever freezes here, and that wild ducks remain
all the year instead of migrating south, as birds farther east
invariably do. The lake freezes, but there is so little snow that
travellers prefer fording the river to trusting to the glare ice.

Our tent was i)itched among firs on a slope? above Lake
Jasper. Gusts of wind came from every point in the compass,
and blew about the sparks in a way dangerous to the blankets,
but before we were well asleep rain began to fall and dispelled
all apprehensions on the score of fire.

September 13th. — The rain that had been brewing yesterday
came down last night in torrents. One awakened to find the
boots .at his head full of water ; the feet of another, the head of
a third, the shoulders of a fourth, were in pools according to the
form of the ground, or the precautions that each had taken
before turning in. The clouds wore lifting, however, and
promised a fine day, and nobody cared for a little wetting, but
everybody cared very mush, when the Chief announced that
the flour bag was getting so light that it might be necessary to
allowance the bread rations. That struck home, though there
was abundance of pemmican and tea.

ill

240

OCEAN TO OCKAN.

l-j. \

ill

^i I

i\ £

The trail led along Lake Jasper and was ko good vhat we
made the west end of the lake, which is ten miles long, in two
hours. Practically we were now without a guide ; for Valad
had not been beyond Jasper House for twenty years, and twice
before dinner he missed the trail. p]very mile we advanced
revealed new features. Roche .Jacques rises on the opposite
side of tiie lake, and one deep valley in his sides would be bright
as an autumn garden, up to the line of snow ; the next, sombre
with firs. Each of tliose valleys is seamed transversely by a
numbr;r of streamlets, that divide it into a succession of [>lateaux
rising higher and higher till the wall of steep Ixire rock is
reached.

But there is no sharp line dividing vegetation from the naked
rock. A belt ofhardt?r rock intervening breaks the forest ; one
or two hundred feet above, the trees may reappear in a long thin
streak along the side of the mountain, like a regiment i i line, or in
a dense grove, like a column ; and a different stratification above
stops them again. The same change of strata probably accounts
for the absence of snow from belts which have snow above and
beneath them ; far away these bare belts look like highways
winding round the mountain. Behind, Myette reared his head
over us, seemingly as near as ever ; the Pyramid Mountain
supported by a great rampart of rock, from whim his lofty head
rose gracefully, still closed the view ; and a cluster of snow
clad peaks surrounded him at a respectful 'distance. From
time to time we passed through woods growing along the sides
of burns rushing down into the lake. The woods prepared us
for fresh prospects beyond, so that the eye had a perpetual
feast.

At one point the trail led up some steep rocks, and from
these charming views of the lake and the mountains were had.
T -wards the west end, a lakelet, separated from lake Jasper by
two low narrow pine clad ridges, presented in its dark green
waters, that reflected the forest, a striking contrast to the light
sunny grey of the larger lake reflecting the gky.

THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

241

:oocl 'hat we
Jong, in two
'; for Valad
I's, and twice
we advanced
tJie opposite
lid be bright
loxt, sombre
versely by a
1 of plateaux
>are rock is

"1 the naked
forest; one
1 a Jong thin
' iline, or in
ation above
'ly accounts
' above and
• higliwajs
3cl Iiis head
Mountain
ioftj head
1" of snow
'^- From
? the sides
•epared us
pei-petual

and from
were had.
Jasper by
I'k green
the light

Rounding the lake, the trail was encumbered with fallen
timber, and from this point to the halting place for dinner at
two o'clock \ye travelled slowly, doing altogether not more than
eighteen or nineteen miles in the seven and a quarter hours.
At the end of Lake Jasper, a strath, from two to tive miles
wide, which may still be called the Jasper Valley, bends to the
south. Our tirst look ui) this valley showed new lines of
mountains on both sides, closed at the head by a great mountain
so white with snow that it looked like a sheet suspended from
the heavens. That, Valad said, was " La montagne de la grande
traverse," adding that the road to the Columbia country up the
formidable Athabasca Pass, lay along its south-ectstern base,
while our road would turn west up the valley of the River
Myette. He mentioned the old local titles of the mountains
on this side, but every passer-by thinks that he has a right to
give his own and his friends' names to them over again.

In going through the woods we saw several broken traps.
This was a famous place in the olden times for trappers, and
on that account a foaming torrent that comes down between
Pyramid Rock and three great crags to the north, like Salis-
bury Crags, Edinburgh, on a large scale, is called Snaring
River.

Some of the timber here is three feet in diameter, chiefly fir,
but near Snaring River a growth of small pines has sprung up
on burnt ground.

This torrent will be remembered by us because of the danger
in crossing it, and because beside it we found the first traces of
one of the parties we expected to meet in the Jasper valley. It
is a foaming mountain torrent, with a bed full of large round
boulders which it piles along its banks, or hurls down its bed to
the Athabasca. These make the footing so precarious that if a
horse falls, there is little hope for him or his rider. Valad
crossed first. As the water came up to his horse's shoulder, and
the horse stumbled several times, it was evidently risky. Just at

242

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

wlio had

(lowi

look foi

moment, iirown
ttiiother ford, callod out tliat lie saw footprints of men an<l houses.
Off went the Chief, and at the same moment Valad screamed
across the torrent that white men had just been there. All
followed the Chief, and Valad came back at a lower crossing.
The traces of three men and three shod horses (showing
that they did not belong to Indians) were clearly made out
going down in the direction of the Athabaska ; but though
guns were fired as a signal, no resi)onse was heard ; and the
word was passed to cross at the lower ford, Beauprc took
some pemmican in his pocket, as a precaution, in case all hands
but himself were lost ; notwithstanding the omen, we reached the
other side safely, and pushed across a pine flat, and then a
quaking bog like Chatmoss to a little lake, with treacherous
quicksands on its shore and in its bed. On tlie other side is an
extensive sandy bas-fond where we halted for dinner, sorely
regretting that the men who were on their way to Jasper's for
the very purpose of meeting us, had missed us by being on a
different trail or on no trail, for as the old one had been burnt
over, neither [)arty had found it. But the packs weje scarcely
off the horses' backs when a 8hiiswap Indian rode u}* the bank
so quietly, that he was in our midst before we saw him, and
after the usual hand-shaking, delivered a slip of pa])er to the
Chief Hurrah ! it was from Mobei-ly, and st.'ited that he had
just struck fresh tracks and had sent back this Indian to learn
who we were. Valad spoke to the Indian in Cree, and Beau-
pre in French, but he was from the Pacific side and only shook
his head in answer. Brown then tried him in Chinook, a bar-
barous lingo of one or two hundred words, first introduced by
the Hudson's Bay agents, for common use among themselves
and the Pacific" Indians ; and generally spoken now all through
Oregon, B. Columbia, and the north, by whites, Chinese, In-
dians', and all nationalities. The Shuswap's fiice brightened^
and he answered in Chinook to the effect that Moberly was five

TIIK IMM'KY MOI NTAIN<.

2[:'>

to look foi"
and liowses,

screamed
Here. All
V crossing.

(showini?

made out
"it tliouijh
and the
uprc took
3 all hands
eached the
id then a
■eacherous
side is an
or, sorely
isper's for
^eing on a
een burnt
e scarcely
the bank
liini, and
cr to the
at he had
I to learn
nd Beau-
ily shook
'k, a bar-
iliiced by
eniselves
through
lese, In-
?htened
was five

or six niil(!S back : tluit tliey had come three; days' journey from
their big camp, whcire there were lots of men and horses.
])iown asked if they had enough to eat at tlie camp; " Oii I h)-
iu, muck a muck ! hy-iu iktahs 1" " J^otsof grub, lots of good
things" — was the nsady answer. He was offered souu? pemmi-
can and took it, but said that he had n(;ver seen such food
before. A note was at once sijnt back to Moberly that wo
would move on, and that he would probably overtake xia on the ^
morrow.

After dinner the march was n^sumed for seven miles up the
valley. On the east side a succession of [)(>aks resembling (!ach
other with the exception of one — lloclie a Honhomme — hemtned
us in : while on the west, with lines of stratification parallel to
lines on the east side, the solid rampart at the base of the Py
ramid rose so steep and high, that the snowy summit behind
could not be seen. T'le valley still averaged from two to five
miles wide, though horizontal distances are so dv»arfed by the
towering altitude of the naked massive rocks on both sides, that
it seemed to be scarcely one fourth of that width. What a sin-
gularly easy 0{)ening into the mountains, formed by some great
convulsion that had cleft them asunder, ciuslu-d and })iled them
up on each side like cakes of ice, much in the same way as may
be seen in winter on the St. Lawrence or any of our rivers, on
a comparatively microscopic scale, in ice-shoves 1 The Atha-
basca finding so i)lain a course had taken it, gradually shaped
and finished the valley, and strewn the bas-fonds, which cross-
torrents f»om the hills have seamed and brokcni up. It looks
as if nature had united all her forces to make this the natural
highway into the heart of the Rocky mountains.

Myette and all liis companions of the first range, that had
become yo familiar to us in the last few days, were completely
hidden by the turn of the Athabasca ; and the mountains ahoad,
that had shown at the bend, were also hidden from view ; but
at sunset we came to another bend that the river makes again

'hi

.. 'i

244

OCEAN Tt) OCEAN.

to the west, and L(( (f>'((n<fr Dionfaipn' de Ik traverHe, caiiu^ inlly
out ill his snowy raiinont, and {\w Pvniinid pcciicd over iho
<^r(>at. wall, tliat tjiiils his body and (lows down o\«'r his tret, to
s(Hi onr hacks. Wo (ni'ncd with tho lixcr jind, al'tcr .i^^oin;^' an-
otluM' niilo (MU'tunhorcd with t'allcn iinilxM-, ('ani|it'd on a terraces
overlooking;' the i'i\dr and suntauided on all sidos with snow-
caj)|)t'd nionntains. As this was to ho our last ni^^^ht liy the
Athabasi'a, and perhaps the last on tin; eastciai slopo ol'.tho
mountains, we named this eamp, the l'orty-oiu;htli IVonj Lake
SupiM'ior, .Vthahasea."

Septeml)ei- 14th. — The trail this niorninLj Ie<l aloni,' the Atha-
basca for sexH'n miles, to where the Aly(>tte runs into it. opj)osite
the old llcnrv House. Witli the e.\c(M)tion ot" a ditlicultv soon
after startin^j^, caused by tlu^ disajtpearanoe of the trail nt'ar tho
river, and the forcing a path through thii-k Inush till wc found
it again, the road was excellent ; passing for four oi- li\ c miles
over beautiful little " }>rairies," wliich had not Ixmmi touched as
yet by the frost, and on which bunch grass grew, and for the
ifext two or three miles through pines, si) well apart iVom one
another that it was easy to I'ide in any direction. The day was
warm and sunny, and the black Hies that had left us for a w(M'k
reappeared here. This vall(\v, which seemed as beautiful on
the other side of the river, is so completely sheltered, that the
winter in it must be very mild.

The highest mountains that we had yet seen, showed this
morniui.! awav to the south in the direction of the Athabasca
Pass, and " the Committee's Punch Powl." This Pass is seven
thonsand feet high, and snow lies on its summit all the year
ronnd, but onr road led westward up the ^Tyette ; and, as the
Athabasca here swee])s away to the south, under the name of
"\Vhirl})ool river, the tui'n shut out from \i(nv for th(^ rest of
onr journey, both the valley and the mountains of the Whirl-
pool.

With the Myette bad roads began again. Just as they com-

I ir f^aMTtiiw

"*^'C^-'

TTTE T^OrKY MOUNT ATXS.

245

!»!(' fiilly

(<'<'f, to

tciTacn

I siiow-

l)y (lie

<>r,llM'

II liiiko

' Atlia-
')>|)u.sil,o
( y Nooii
I'ar tlio
' foiiiul
! miles
Ih'iI MS
for tlio
in one
>y \sas
I wock
fill on
.•it tlio

1 tliis

Lbiisca

so von

year

S thii

no of
3St of
'hirl-

com-

mioiu'cmI, ]\rol)orly cau^^'Iit u|) to us, liavini; liddon on in advance
of liis 111(11. He Imd left Victoria, V^uicoiivor's Island, for tliG
r'olniiil)ia, iia\iiii,' oi<^'ani/,od hw^c j)ro/isi()n-traiiis in tlio spring
on ))a(;l< liorsos, and brou^dit tlioiii on over incnidiblo dilHcul-
tios to " l>oat i'liicainjiniont," at tlio most northerly bond of tho
Colnnibia. l''roin Uoat Kncam'iriuMit tlioy w(!rc to cross to tho
AdiMbasca i'ass and move on uO tin; .fasjtor valloy, to afford
autumn and wintor sup|)li(!S to i'lo pai'tios oporatin^^ from that
oontr(>. lie lilnisolf had crossed in advance direct to the lake
on the other side of (he: Yellow Ifoad l*ass, whore ho met one
of the |)atties under his command, making; a trail in the direc-
tion of the I*ass from the west. Ilearinir nothiiii; about us
from them, he had loaded thro(^ horses with flour and bacon,
and com(i on to meet us ; but by takinuj the river trail from
Snaring llivor, he had missed us ycistenhiy. Except the two
Irocpiois on the MacLeod, his was the first face we had seen
since leaving Sc. Ann's, and to moot him was like re-opening
communication with the world, although we, and not he, had
the latest news to give, — I low welcome he was, we need not
say !

The first five miles up the Caledonian valley, as the valley of
the Myettc is called in the old maps and in Dr. Hector's jour-
nals, we made in about three hours, and a little after midday
halted for <Unnev. Fallen timber was the principal cause of the
slow rate, though the steep sharp rocks hurt the horses so much,
that they had to tread softly and slowly. The rocks are hard
rough sandstone, with a slaty or a peculiar pebbly fracture.
The trail so far was scarcely worthy of the bad name travellers
liad gi\on to it, and we began to imagine that the remaining
fifteen miles to the Yellow Head Pass could be made before
nightfall. Moberly quietly said that it was a fond imagination,
and that if the next five miles wore irot over by dark he would
be satisfied, as it had taken him a whole day to make seven
miles on his way down. Myette has such unpretending portals,

M ^.

246

fX'KAN TO OCEAN.

JLV*

. -k

fe'

■'!

' 1

' ]

especially when compared with th(! magnificent ranges about the
Athabasca, it's current is so quit^t near the mouth, and the
valley so short that no one would forecast any formidable diffi-
culties, in ascending it to the Pass. But tiio afternoon })i oved
that the valley is worthy of its old name Caledonian, if the name
was meant to suggest the thistle or the " wha' daur meddle wi'
me!"

The Myette has a wonderful volume of water for its short
course ft ruslu^s down a narrow valley fed at every coiner b}''
foaming lells from the iiill-si<les, and by sevv.;i'al large tril'rtai ies.
A short way up from its mouth it becomes simply a series of rap-
ids or mad currents, hurling along boulders, trees and deb-
rr o:' all kinds. Tiie valley at first is uninteresting, l.)u*- five
niih's up and for much of the rest of the way, is picturesque,
two prominent mountains, that rise ri'jht above the Pass and
the lake at the summit, closing it in at its head.

Moberly's three men and horses came up as we were rising
from dinner, and they passed on ahead, axes in hand, to im-
prove the trail a little. It certainly needed all the improve-
ment it got, and a good deal more than they could give in an
iifternoor. Long swamps that reminded us of the muskegs on
the McLcod, covered with an under-brush of scrub birch, and
tough willows eight to ten feet high, that slapped our laces, and
defiled our clothing with foul-smelling marsh mud, had to be
floundered through. Alternating with these, intervenlBd the
fiicc of a pieci[)ice, the rocky bed and sides of the river, or fallen
timber stumps and bhvckened poles, to climb, scramble over, or
dod<;e. No wonder that Milton and Cheadle bade adieu to the
unkindly Myette with immense satisfiction. We had to cross
and rocross the river or parts of it seven or eight times in the
course of the afternoon, for the train sought low levels and
avoided ascending the blufifs and walls of I'ugged rock that rise
sheer fr-om the water. The middle ten miles of the Caledonian
valley present formidable difficulties for a road of any kind.

I. ^

THE ROCKY Nfoi'S^rAIKS.

247

Four liours' liard 'vork took i\s over Kvo miles, and by that
time every one was heartily sick of it, and full of longing to
reach Moberly's camp. As wo stumbled about on a patch re-
cently burnt over, one of his Indians, whom he had thoughtfully
sent back, met and guided us to a desolate looking spot, the
best camping ground he had been able to find. Some little
grass had sprung up on the blackened soil, and no one was dis-
posed to be particular. Supper was left in the hands of Tim —
Moberly's Indian cook — and he prepaied a variety of delicacies
that made up for all other deficiencies ; brend light as Parisian
rolls, Columbia flour being as different from Red Kiver as Tim's
baking from Terry's ; delicious Java coffee, sweetened with
sugar from the Sandwich Islands, that now supply great part
of the Pacific coast with sugar ; and crisp bacon, almost as great
a luxury to us as pemmican to Moberly's men. All the hard-
ships of the afternoon weie forgotten as the aroma of the coffee
steamed up our nostrils, and when Tim announced that he had
oatmeal enough to make porridge for breakfast, our luck in
meeting him was declared to be wonderful, and Caledonia Camp
was voted the jolliest of our forty-nine. An hour after,
the united party gathered round the kettle to drink the three
Saturday night toasts, with three times three and one cheer
more.

Consulting Moberly about the progi'amme for next day, he
advised that we should move on in the morning four»miles to
the last recrossing of the river, and rest there for the day, for
the two leasons, that by so doing we would get good feed for
the horses, jind probably fall in with the camp of his trail
makers, who worked in advance of the surveying party. Both
reasons were so good that the advice was taker, nem. con.

September 15. — Had the promised porridge for breakfast,
aud found it quite up to our anticipations. Left the Caledonia
Camp at eight a.m. for our Sabbath day's journey. As every
one needed rest and was tired of the Myette and its swamps,

248

OCEAN TO OOKAN.

' ''

willows and rocks, tho sight of the crossing wiis li.iilcd with
gouural joy, and all tho more wIkmi those in tVont calh^d out
that there; was a fnish tiail on the other side. Sure enoutrh. as
MolxM'ly hiul expected, the trail party had reached the river,
and tluur canij) was only a ([uarter ot' a mile otl'. Our diflicul-
ties liatl come to an end, we supposed, for there would be a rea-
KoiiaUly good trail now all tho way to Kamloops; and the North
Thonij)son canyons ne(;d no longer be dreaded. Th(! conclusion
proved to be somewhat hasty, but it cheenid us at the time.
We rode up to the camp, and gave and leceived hearty greet-
ings. An old-countryman named McCord was at tlie head of
the trail jiarty. I le had pitched tents for the Sunday rest on a
gentle incline beside the river, which llowed without rajdds all
the way from our last cjimp. We had been at the entrance of
the Yellow Flead Pass then, for though the actual summit is six
miles farther west than where we met McCord, there was little
of a rise from our last night's camp. The two mountains that
we had seen from near the bottom of the valley, closing its head,
now appeared as the southern peaks of a noble ridge that
bounded the pass to the north. The nearer to us of the two
was almost conical and the other resembled the frustum of a
cone, 8errated into a number of peaks, like a cross-cut saw, the
big teeth in the centre and the small ones at the ends. These
two mountains on which the snow rests the wliole vear are still
nameless. As to the most jn'ominent points on the Canadian
Pacific Railway, we would suggest that the statesmen who have
been most identified with the project should have the honour of
giving names to them.

After a hearty lunch, on pork and beans — favourite dish of
miners and axemen — divine service was held. The congregation
consisted of twenty-one men, including English, Scotch, Irish,
Indians from both sides of the Rocky Mountains, and represen-
tatives of all the six provinces of the Dominion. We joined in
singing Old Hundred and in common prayer, and a sermon was

Tino KOOKY MOUNTAINS.

L>iO

!iil('(l with
ciiUvd out
'noti^r},^ as

thn river,

ir (lifllcul-

1 bo a rea-

tho North

'onclusiou

the tiiuo.

I'ty greet-

e liead of

I'eat on a

iaj)i(ls all

trance of

in it is six

^vas little

ains that

its head,

dge that

the two

;um of a

saw, the

Tiiese

are still

anadian

ho have

mour of

dish of
'egation
I, Irish,
presen-
ined in
on was

then preached - not vi'vy short on tlie plea tliat tin; lUMJority of
the congregation h.id not lienrd a sermon for three months.
As usual the worship had tht; effe.-t of awakening liaHowed
associiitions, and making us fee' united in a common sacrcid
]'\\\\ fn I lie evening all hiinds of their own accord gailiered
round our tent to sli.n'e in th(^ family worship.

I\Ic(V)i'd had Sfdected his camping giounil judiciously, (food
W()(wl, watcn", and jtasture in his iiume<liate neighl)ourhood ; a
beautiful slope covered with tall spruce, amid which the tents
were scattt.-red ; an open meadow and low woodcij hills to the
noi'thwest rouPid which the low line of the j)ass winding in the
sanie directi(»n, could easily l>e made out ; and the hori/on,
bounded by a bold ridge whi(di threw out its two great peaks to
ovei'hang the pa^is. This was one of the most picturesfjue .-.jjots
in the (/aledonlan Valley, combining a soft lowland and wood-
land V)eauty, with st(!rn rocky masses, capped with eternal
snow. We M'ere 3,700 f(!et above the sea, but the air was soft
and warm. Kven at night it was oidy pleasantly cool. We
were all delightecl with this our first view of tho. Yellow Head
Pass. Instead of conti-acted canyon or savage torrent raging
among beetling preci[)ices as we had half f(»are(l, the Pass is
really a ])leasant o))en meadow. So easy an ingress into the
heart of the Rocky Mountains as that by the Jasper Valley, and
so favourable a jiass as the Yellow Head could hardly have
been hoped for.

Dinner was ordered for six o'clock and l>rown set to work on
his pemmican plum pudding. It had to be made so large, that
at six o'clock it required at least another hour's boiling. For-
tunately McCord's cook, in ignorance of what Brown was about,
had prepared at his fire a gerniine old fashioned })lum-pudding;
and full justice was done to this, till the pemmican one was
ready, tt was then proposed to kee)) it for breakfast, but the
Dr. was impatient to put Rrown's skill to the proof, and an
hour after dinner, all gathered around our tent, to try the

(

2ftO

OCKaN to 0(JKAN,

socon<l puddinj,' and docidn on lirown's n»|mtation. Terry in
pn^parin^ th(! saiicc; had nsod KaH instead of sni,'ar, and the Dr.
was accused of havinij put liini up to the mistake to spoil the
dish ; hut the pu<ldinf,' was a decided success, tliou«^h eaten
un<h!r tlie fjreat disadvantage of no one l)ein<; very hungry.
Alto;^ether tliis was a great day. The pleasure of meeting
friends, of biOieving that our diOicuIties were practically at an
end, the establishment of communication with the Pacific
parties, the beauty or the [)rospect, the general good ftselini,', the
quiet Sunday nnst, tlie common worship, all contributcsd to
lieighten our enjoyment ; and to make us rise from our second
plum pudding with the plough boy's sentiment in our liearts if
not on our lips : " I'm fu,' and as thankfu'."

■

Tony in
1111(1 tlio Dr.
to spoil the
on«,'h oaten
sry liuup^ry.
of mooting
iciilly at an
tli(5 Pacific
fo<'lin^', the
lilmtod to
our socond
iir hearts if

CHAITKK IX.

Yellow Head Pans to the Xorth Thompson River.

Plants in (li>\v(T. Tlie wntor-sliod. Knterini,' Jlritish Cnlunihia. S(HirctM»f tho Fnwcr
Uivor. Vullow Ilfiul I^aku. Sorruti'd IViiks. IJciiiu'litud. Mixiho Luko. Milton
and Chcudle. Uclii'H of tin- lliiidlfss Indiiin.— ('olimibiii Itivrr. The two .MoimUiin
RantJri!H. HorHos worn out. — First can.von of tlio Frasor.— The (Jriind Forks.—
Chiin;,'inf^ locomotion I KiwtT. Itolison's I'uiik. Fine tiniliur. — Tute Jiinnu cuulio. —
tihitiors. (JonntloHH Mouiitaiii IViks. A Lfood tniil.— Fonlin;,' Cunoe Uiscr. Snow
fence. Camp River. - Alhreda.— Mount Milton. Rank vej^etation. — Ruin. A
box in V'a caclie for S. F.— The Red ryniniid.— Jolin Olen.- Tlie Forest. — Cunip
Cheadlc.

Septombor 16. — Our aim to-day was to roach IVIoose Lake
whore Mohun's party was surveying, Tlu; distances given us
were : si.K miles to the summit of the Pass, six thence to Yellow
Head Ijakc, four along the Lake, and fourteen to Moose Lake.
These we found to be correct excei)t the last which is more like
sixteen than fourteen, and unfortunatcsly Mohun's party was
near the west end of Moose Lake, and this added eight more,
so that instead of thirty, we had to do forty. Besides, not hav-
ing been informed that the second half of the trail was by far
the worst, no extra time was allowed for it, and hence we had
five hours of night travelling that knocked u}) horses and men,
more than a double day's ordinary work would have done. The
day began well and ought to have ended well, but :nt:tead of
that, it will always be associated in our minds with the drive
to Oak Point from the North-west Angle on July 30th. Worse
cannot be said of it.

The first half of the day was more like a pleasure trip
than work. The h-.i miles to the summit were almost a
continuous level, the trail following the now smooth-flow-
ing Myette till the main branch turned north, and then

!i!

' /.^

252

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

. .1

a small bi-ancli till it too was left among the hills.
A f(!\v iiiiimtcs after, the sound of a rivulet running in the
opposite (lirecfion over a reci }tebl)ly bottom was heard.
We had left tin; Myette flowing to the Arctic Ocean, and now
canu; u}K)n this, one of the sources of the Fraser h.urrying to the
PaciHc. At the summit, Moberly welcomed ns into British
( !oluml)ia, for we were at length out of " No-man's land," and
had entered the western province of our Dominion, Round the
rivvdet runn* ig west, the ])arty gathered, and drank from its
waters to the Queen and the Dominion. No incline could be
more gentle than this from the Atlantic and Arctic to the Pa-
cific slope. The /oad wound round wooded banks, a meadow
with lieavy marsh grass extending to the opposite hill. There
had been little or no frost near the summit, and flowers were in
bloom that wo had seen a month ago farther e.'vSt. The flora
was of the same character on botli sides of the summit ; eight or
nine kinds of wild berries, vetches, astervS, wild honey-suckle,
Src. Good timber, the bark of which looked like ]'.endock, but
tliat the men called pine, cover(>d the ground for the next few
miles to Yellow Head Lake. This beautiful sheet of water,
clear and sj)arkling up to its firm i)ebbly beach, expanding and
contracting as its shores recede or send out promontories, was
called Covvdung Lake formei'ly, but ought to bear the same
name as th'* Pass. Towards the w(>storn end where we halted
for dinner, its woods have been marred by fires that have swept
the hill sides, but wherever these have kept off, its beauty is
equal to, though of a diflerent kind from, Lake Jasper. Low
wooded hills intersected with soft green and flowery glades rise
in broken undulations from its siiores. Above and behind the
hiils on the south side, towers a huge pinnacile of rock, the snow
on whose summit is generally concealed by clouds or mist. On
the north, the two mountains that we had seen yesterday?
bounding the pass on that side, and which had been hidden all
the forenoon by the woods at thtdr base, through which the trail

■~t-

; the hills,
niiiiig in the

was heurd.
an, and now
rryini,' to the
into British
's land," and
1. Ilonnd the
ank from its
ino conld be
c to the Pa-
s, a nioadow
hill. There
wers were in
t. The flora
mit ; eight or
honey-suckle,
endoek, but
he next few
et of water,
l)an(lijig and
)ntories, was
ar the same
e we halted
t have swept
ts beauty is
is})er. Low

glades rise

bujjind the
ck, the snow
r mist. On

yesterday?
I hidden all
icli the trail

YELLOW HEAD PASS TO ^UllTll TllOMP.-^ON lUVLU. 253

runs, now looked out from right over our heads ; riven masses
of stratiflod rock, in a slightly curved line, forming a gigantic
cross-cut saw. Through the Pass, slate croppoil out in several
places, and l)oulders of gianite strewed the ground, but granite
was not observed i/t nif/i. i'robably, slat(! is what gold miners
term the bed rock, and Prown unC\ l>('iuii)re ])ointed out (piartz
veins that they liad no doubt were ^old-lx'aring.

After dinner the trail, from the nature of the soil, was so
rough that tlu; horses could go only at a walk of three miles an
hour. It ran either among masses of bouhhu-s, or through new
woods, where tlu; trees and willows had been cut away, but
their sharp stumjis remained. It was dark before w(! reached
the east end of Moose Lake, and if all our party had been to-
gether, we would certainly have camped beside one of tin; many
ti'ibutaries of the Fras(;r, that run down from the mountains on
both sides, after it emerges from Yellow Head Lake, and make
it a dee}) strong river before it is fifteen miles long. One of
thos'^' mciuntain feeders that we crossed was an hundi'cd feet
wide, and so deej) and rapid in two places, th-.it the liorses
waded across with ditHculty. Our comi)any, however, was un.
fortunately separated into three parts, and no concerted action
could be taken. Moberly and the Doctor had ridden ahead to
find Mohun's Camp and have suj)per ready ; tin; pack-horses
followed three or four miles behind them ; and the Chief,
Frank, and the Secretarv were far in the rear, botanisini; and
sketching. Every hour we expected to get to the Camj), but
the road seemed endless. In the dense dark woods, the moon's
light was very feeble, and as the horses were (lon(i out. we
walked before or behind the poor brutes, stuml)ling over loose
boulders, tripped up by the short sharj) stum[)S and rootlets,
mired in deep moss springs, wearied with climbing the
steep ascents of the lake's sides, knee-sore with jolts in d(!.scend-
ing, dizzy and stupid from sheer fatigue and want of sleej*. A
druzling rain had fallen in sh(t\vera most of the afternoon, and

t ■

254

OCKAN TO OCEAN.

il?

11.

it continued at intervals tlirougli the night ; but our exertions
heated us so much that our clothes be(;anie as wet, on acrount
of tlie ■wateri)roofs not allowing pers})iration to evaporate, as if
we had been thrown into the lake ; and thinking it less injuri-
ous to get wet from without than from within, we took oft" the
waterproofs, and let the >/hole discomfort of the rain be added
to the other discomforts of the night. The only consolation
was that the full moon shone out occasionally from rifts in the
clouds, and enabled us to pick a few steps and avoid some difli-
culties. At those times the lake ap})earetl at our feet, glimmer-
ing through the dark firs, and shut in two or three miles be-
yond by precipitous mountains, down whose sides white torrents
were foaming, the noise of one or another of which sounded in-
cessantly in our ears till the sound became hateful.

At length the camp-fire glimmered in the distance. But to
crown this disastrous day, there was no feed about Mohun's
camp, and his horses had left a few days previously for Tete
Jaune Cache. His men had a raft made on which to transport
their luggage .and instruments up to the east end of the lake, as
their first work for to-morrow. They had completed the survey
along the west end and centre. Our poor horses most of which
had now travelled eleven hundred miles, and required rest or a
different kind of work, had had a killing day of it, and there
was no grass for them. Reflecting on the situation was not
pleasant, but a good supper of corned-beef and beans made us
forget our own fatigue, After supper, at 2 p.m., wrapping diy
blankets round our wet clothes, and spreading waterproofs over
the place where there were fewest pools of water, we went in
willingly for sweet sleep.

The Doctor had completely forgotten his fatigue before our
arrival under the influence of a ]>resent of the spoon and fishing
line of Milton and Cheadle's " Headless Indian." One of the
packers had found the skeleton, and had also found the head
lying under a fallen tree, a hunched and fifty yards from the

in' exertions

on accoiint

[)orato, as if

less iiijuri-

book oft' the

in be added

consolation

I rifts in the

d some difli-

et, glimmer-

ie miles be-

hite torrents

sounded in-

ice. But to
)ut Mohun's
isly for Tote
to transport

the lake, as
I the survey
ast of which
ed rest or a
b, and there
ion was not
ns made us
raj)})ing dry
rproofs over

we went in

) before our

and fishing

One of the

id the head

Is from the

YELLOW HKAD PASS TO NOllTH TIloMrsoN lUVEH. 2/)5

body. As the body could not have walked away and sat down
minus the h^ad, the explanation of the packers was that
Cheadle's Assinil)oine on his unsuccessful hunt for mime had
killed and eaten the Shuswaj), and tui-ned the aff*air into a
mystery by hiding tlie head. Poor Mr. 0'i>., of whom we
heard enough at Edmonton to i)rove that his ])ortraiture is
faithfully given in " the North-west Passage by land," will ac-
cept this solution of the mystery if no one else will. The Doc-
tor put the old horn spoon, and the fishing line — a strong
native hemj) line, among his choicest treasures, and took minute
notes of the position of the grave that he might dig up the
head.

The two descriptions in Milton and Cheadle that have been
generally considered apocry})hal, and that have discredited the
whole book to many readers, are those concerning Mr. O'B.,
and the headless Indian. Not only did we find both verified,
but the accounts of the country and the tale of their own diffi-
culties are as truthfully and simply given as it was possible for
men who travelled in a strange country, chiefly in quest of ad-
ventures that they intended to publish, .and who naturally
wished to get items with colour for their book. The pluck that
made them conceive, and the vastly greater pluck that enabled
them to pull through such an expedition was of the truest
British kind. They were more indebted than they perhaps
knew as far as " Slaughter Camp," to the trail of the Canadians
who had preceded them, on their way to Cariboo ; but from
that point, down the frightful and unexi)lored valley of the
North Thompson, the journey had to be faced on their own
totally inadequate resources. Had they but known it, they
were beaten as completely as by the rules of war the liritish
troops were at Waterloo. They should have submitted to the
inevitable and starved. But luckily for themselves and for
their ^aders they did not know it ; and thanks to Mrs. Assini-
boine, and their own iutelligent hardihood that kept them from

J L

I !: 1

256

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

1^ y\

k i;.

giving in, tliey succeeded where by all the laws of i)robabilities
they ought to have disastrously failed.

We had now crossed the first range of the Rocky Mountains,
and were on the Pacific slope, on the banks of the river that
runs into the Pacific Ocean. One or two of our party seemed
to tiink that difficulties were therefore ; at an end ; that all that
had to be done now was to follow the Fraser to its mouth, as
so great a river would be sure to find the easiest course to the
sea. A i^arfcy of gentlemen ignorant of the geogra[)hy of the
country, and deserted by their guides in endeavouring to cross
the Rocky Mountains a few years ago, farther south, argued
similarly when they struck the Columbia River. " So great a
river cannot go wrong : its cours ; niu-st be the best ; let us fol-
low it to the sea." And they did follow its northerly sweep
round the Kootanie or Selkirk mountains, for one or two hun-
dred miles, till inextricably entangled among fallen timber,
and cedar swamps, they resolvcid to kill tiieir horses, make
rafts or canoes, and ti'ust to the river. Had they carried this
plan out, they would have perished, for no raft or canoe can
get through the terrible canyons of the Columbia. But for-
tunately two Suswap Indians came upon theni at this juncture,
and though not speaking a word that they knew, made them
understand by signs, that their only safety was in retracing
their steps, and by getting round the headwaters of the Colum-
bia, reach Fort Colville by the Kootanie Pass.

Just as the Columbia has to sweep round the Selkirk group,
so in a similar way far north or north-west, the Fraser loops
round the Gold Mountains. Those two groups may be con-
sidered one, with a gap or long break between the northern
bend of the Columbia and the point called Tete Jaune Cache,
where the Fraser has to turn to the north. It is evident then
that the true coiirse for a traveller, from Yellow Head Pass to
the west, since he cannot cross the (rold Mountains, \yhich
stretch in line across his direct path, is to turn south-east a

ibabilities

ountains,
ivor that
y^ seemed
it all that
nouth, as
He to the
ly of the
; to cross
1, argued
>o great a
let us fol-
•ly sweep
two hun-
i timber,
ies, make
rried this
anoe can
But for-
juncture,
ade them
retracing
le Colum-

rk group,
Eiser loops
y be con-
northern
tie Cache,
lent then
d -Pass to
lis, which
ith-east a

YELLOW HEAD PASS TO XOllTlI THOMrsoX RIVKIJ. -57

little, try for a road by this gap, and overcome the Gold Moun-
tains by Hanking them.

The reader must understand that besides intervening groups
and spurs with distinct names, and important enough to be
often considered distinct ranges, there are two main mountain
chains that have to be traversetl in going to the Pacific, — the
Rocky .NFoiintains })roper and the Coast Chain or Cascades.
Tliose two run apparently parallel to each other, but they really
converge towards the nortli till they ultimately become one
chain. " Tlie distance between the axis of the two chains on
the line of the Union and Central Pacific Railways is about 900
miles, while on the lines surveyed for the Canadian Pacific it
varies from 300 to 400 miles." With regard to a passage over
or through these great ranges, the railway in the United Stiites
has to climb to plateaux that are nearly as high as the summits.
On Canadian territory the mountains themselves are higher
than in the south, but they are cloven by river passes. We
have seen how easy is the passage from the east through the
Rocky Mountains proper by the valleys of the Athabasca and
Mvotte. The average height of the mountains above the sea is
nine thousand feet ; but the height of the Yellow Head Pass
is only three thousand seven hundred feet. On each side of the
valleys the mountains act as natural snow-sheds.

Is there a similar [lass through the Cascades ? Passes in
abundance, but unfortunately not one like the Yellow Head.
We can get to the (Jascades only by a long detour north or
south, and the neanu' we get the more formidable they look.
And first, how to reach them ] VVo follow the Fraser from the
Yellow Head Pass, to Tete Jaune Cache. There we ex[)ect to
see the Gold range stretching in unbroken line before lu:, forc-
ing the Fraser far to the north, and us somewhat to the south-
east and then the south. Oh ! for a direct cut through to the
Cariboo gold fields like that which the Athabasca cleaves the
Rocky Mountains with I In the mean time our course from

2:)8

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

1 1

lii'
ill

ill •<•

ill

}

IIP

■i;

S'l

f' '

i i

i ■

] 1

■

Tcte Janne Cachft, will be to slip in between the Gold anrl Sel-
kirk groups till we strike the North Thompson, and continue
the flanking process, by going down its banks southerly till we
get toKamloops at the junction of the North and South Thomp-
son, whore wo can recommence our westerly course, along the
conij)aratively low lying fertile plateau, extending between the
western slope of the first chain and the (cascades. West of this
plateau we rejoin the Fraser, and accompany it through the
Cascades to the Sea.

September 17. — We are now in the heart of the Rocky
Mountains, nearly a day's journey on from Yellow Head Pass,
with jaded horses, and a trail so heavy that fresh horses cannot
be expected to average more than twenty miles of travel per
day.

This morning the consequences of last night's toil and
trouble showed i)lainly by a multitude of signs. Breakfasted
at D A. M., started from Moose Lake Camp at midday, and
ciawhul ahead about four miles, the horses lifting their feet so
spiritlessly that at every step we feared they would give out.
At an open glade here, tlie feed was pretty good, though
crop])ed close by the dozen horned cattle, kept for the purpose
of furnishing fresh beef for Mohun's party, and it was decided
that it would be wise to camp.

The delay was not lost time, however vexatious the mis-
management that necessitated it. The chief had to receive re-
ports about all that had been done by the engineers in this
quarter, inspect the line of survey and the drawings that had
been made ; and give instructions not only for Moberly's par-
ties, but through him for others. Besides, we needed a long
night's rest, and a big fire to dry our clothes and blankets be-
fore going farther. For assurances were volunteered all round
that we had a full fortnight of no holiday travel before reach-
ing Kamloops.

Mohun accompanied us until we should fall in with the pack-

YELLOW HEAD PASS TO NORTH THOMPSON RIVER. 259

i and Sel-
. continue
ly till we
Ji Thomp-
along the
bvvcen the
est of this
rough the

ihe Rocky-
Lead Pass,
ies cannot
travel per

toil and
reakfasted
dday, and
eir feet so
I give out.
I, though
e purpose
iis decided

the mis-
receive re-
rs in this
; that had
lerly's par-
led a long
mkets be-
[ all round
ore reach -

1 the pack-

train on its way up from the Cache, in dfder to arrange about
an exchange of our jaded and unshod horses for others fresh
and shod.

Moose Lake that wc struck last night, is a beautiful sheet of
water, ton or eleven miles long, by three wide. It receives the
Frasor, already a deep strong liver fully a hundred and fifty
feet witle, and also drains high mountains that enclose it on the
north and south. The survey for the railway is proceeding along
the north side, where the bluffs though high appeared not so sheer
as on the south. Tlie hillsides and the country beyond sup-
port a growth of splendid spruce, black-})ino, and Douglas fir,
some of the spruce the finest we had ever seen. 80 far in our
descent from the Pass, the difliculties in the way of railroad
construction are not formidable nor the grades likely to be
heavy. Still the work that the surveyors are engaged on re-
quires a patience and forethought that few who ride in Pull-
man cars on the road in after years will ever ap[)reciate.

September 18th. — Away from camp at 8 o'clock. Soon after,
struck the Fraser, rushing green and foaming through a narrow
valley, closed in by high steep rocks wooded beneath,
and bare from half-way up. As we advanced, a change in the
vegetation, marking the Pacific slo[)e, began to show distinctly.
The lighter green of cypress mingled with the darker woods till
it predominated — ■white birch and small maples also coming in.
Our jaded hoi'ses walked qui)tly along, at the two-and-a-half
miles per hour step, on a trail iieavy at the best, across moun-
tain streams rushing down to join the Fraser, the worst of them
roughly bri.lged with logs and spruce boughs ; around precipi-
tous bluffs and hills, and through nnul-holes sprinkled heavily
with boulders. Frequently we came on the stakes of the sur-
veying party who had used the trail wIkm-c there was but one
possible couise for any r,)ad. After travelling nine miles Mo-
han invited us to tie our horses to the trees, and go down two
hundred yards to see the first canyon of the Fraser. A canyon

260

OCEAN To (k;i:an.

i' I

is simply a mountiiin ^Jforyc in wiiicli the river i.s oV)ligO(l to con-
tnict itself, by liigh rocks closing it in on both sides. A river,
liowever, is not needed to form a canyon ; for walled rocks,
enclosing a narrow waterlen?) valley constitute a canyon. At
this first canyon, the i-oeks ("losed in the riv^er for some hnndred
yards to a width of eight feet, so that a man conld jump across.
Down this narrow [)assage the w!;ole of Mii water of the river
rushed — a irsisLless curi;i'l, .liofin;^ in j.eat green m.issea
from ledge to ledge, smashing a- aii.i. nui iiitting rocks, eddying
round stony barricu's, till it got throu.^h tlu . ^>,g gate-way. In
some cases thesis canyons are merely rocks neai the stream ; in
others they are bluil's extending far l)ack, or perhaps one greut
blulF that had formerly sti'etched across the river's bed, and had
been riven asundc^r. In either case they present formidable
obstacles to railroad construction.

A mile beyond, we came to the Grand Fork of the Fraser,
where the main stream rciceives from the north- east a tributary
important enough to be often considered its source. It flows in
three great divisions, through a meadow two miles wide, from
round the liases of Eobson's Peak — the monarch of the moun-
tains hereabouts— and his only less mighty satellites whose
pyramidal forms cluster in his rear. A mile from the first di-
vision we ctinie to the second, and found the first section of
Mohun's pack-ti;iin in the act of crossing it towards us. The
first section consisted of horses ; the second — of mules led by a
bell hoi'se — under the su[)ervision of Leitch, the chief packer,
followed a iri^e behind. A general halt was called, and I.eitcli
sent for. No dilliculty was found in making new arrangements.
He gave us four fresh })ack horses, five saddle horses, and two
packers, tind took all our horses, and Brown, Beaupreand Valad
to help him — Valad being specially entrusted with the duty of
taking back six horses of the Hudson's Bay that were aTiong
ours. This was an entire reorganization, and again Terry was
tlie only one of the old set that remained with us. He wished

(1 to con-
A river,
jd rocks,
on. At
iiuiulrcd
p across,
the river
i\ masses
, eddying
vay. Ill
leum ; in
)ne greitt
and hud
rmidable

3 Fraser,
tributary
b flows in
de, from
10 moun-
3S whose
e first di-
ection of
IS. The
; led by a
if packer,
id I-eitch
igements.
and two
.nd Valad
le duty of
re aTiong
'erry was
Fe wished

YELLOW IIKAI) PASS TO NoKTH TIloMPSoN IllVKH. '201

to go on to Cariboo to make his fortune at the mines tliere. A
vision of '^;old nuggets, jd'cked Uj> ns easily i's dianu)ii(ls and
rubies in 'rizona, more tlian any sentimental attachment to us
was at th*^ root of lii" steadfastness. IJui it griev<5d all to part
from the 'ther .hree, and \h<!y seemed equally reluctant to turn
thei» ba' Ics on us. IJeaupro's only consolation was that he would
get pemmican again, tor lie declared that lift; without pemmican
was nothing but vanity ; and we had made the huge mistake of
exchanging our pemmican with McC/ord for ])ork. The next
day and eveiy day aftf^r we rued the bargain, l)ut it was too
late. Beaupre and Valad had suffered grievously in body from
the change, and for an entire; day had been almost usciless, Tht
Doctor was reduced practically to two meals a day, for he cou^'?
not stand fat pork three times. Indeed ud, with the single ex-
ception of Brown, lamented at every nujal, as they picked d ''•-
cately at the coarse ])ork, the folly of foisaking that which had
been so true a stand-by for three weeks. The (*liief gave
Brown and Beaupre letters to Moberly, the latter having
retui-ned to the Jas[)er valley two days ago. Valad made his
adieus, and received the gratuity that the Chief gave him, with
a dignity that only an Indian or a gentleman of the old school
could manifest. And so exeunt Brown, Beaupr6 and Valad.

It was only two P.M. when Leitch came up; but his hoi'ses
had been travelling all day, and as we were in a good place for
feed, he advised that camp should be [)itched, and no movement
onward made till the morrow. This was agreed to, the more
readily because the Chief had further instructions to write and
send back by Mohun, and because the clouds that had been
floating over the tops of the hills all day, and obscuring the
lofty glacier cone of Robson's Peak, began to close in and em})ty
themselves. Looking west down the valley of the Fraser the
narrow pass suddenly tilled with rolling billows of mist. On
they came, curling over the rocky summits, rolling down to the
forests, enveloping everything in their fleecy mantles. Out of

2G2

OCKA;' TO OCEAN.

,;- i

u n

tlunri came j^roat ^nists of wind that nearly blew away our fires
and tents ; and after the ^Mists, the rain in smart showers.
Once or twice the sun broke throu^jh, ievealiii,f,' tlu^ hill sides,
all th( ii- autumn tints fresh and glistening after the rain, aud
the line of their summits near and bold against the sky ; all,
except llobHon's Peak which showed its huge shoulders covered
with masses of snow, but on whose high head clouds ever
rested.

September 10th. — It rained during the nigiit, and the morn-
ing looked grey and heavy with clouds ; but the sun shone
before eleven o'clock, and the day turned out the finest since
crossing the Yellow Head Pass. At 7.30 A.M. got off from
the camp, giving a last cheer to P>rown, ]jeaupre .and Vala<l ;
and casting manv alongin;: look behind to see if Kobson's Peak
would show its bright head to us. But only the snow-ribbod
giant sides were visible, for the clouds still rested far down
from the summit. Three miles from camp, beside the river, at
a place called Mountain view, his great comi)anions stood out
from around him ; but he remained hidden, and reluctantly we
had to go on, without being as fortunate as Milton and Cheadle.

Our new horses were in [)rime condition ; but the road for
the first eleven miles was extremely ditlicult ; and last night's
rain had made it worse. The trail follows down the Frusor to
Tete Jaune Cache, when it leaves the river and turns south-east
to go to the North Thompson, at right angles to the main Cv>urse
we bad followed since entering the Caledonian Valley. The
Fraser at the samo point changes its westerly for a nortlierly
course, rushing like a race horse, for hundreds of miles north,
when it sweeps round and comes south to receive the united
waters of the North and South Thompson, before cutting
through the Cascade Range and cmi)tying into the ocean.
Tute Jaune Cache is thus a great centre point. Fi-om it the
valley of the Fraser extends to the north, and the same valley
extends south by the banks of the Cr^inberry and of the Canoe

nil- fires
iliovvors.
II sides,
lin, !Ui«l
\V ; all,
covered
lis ev(;r

(i niorii-

i shone
!st since
)ir from

Valad ;
I's P(>ak
/-ribbed
r down
[iver, at
:ood out
ntly we
Jheadle.
I'oad for

ni,i,dit'.s
I'asoi' to
nth-east
1 L.^nrse
^ The
•rtJierly
i north,

united
cnttinjj

ocean.
I it the
! valley
5 Canoe

YELLOW IIKAD I'ASS T(; NOHTK THOMI'SON UIVKK. 263

Rivers to the head of the C-ohunbia, — a continuous valUiy bcin;^
thus formed parallel to the Rocky Mouutains, and ae[)arating
th. n from the (toKI and Selkirk groups.

Our tirst spcill to-day was (eleven miles over a road so heavy
that it cost our fresh horses three and a half hours' touf,di work.
Tlie trail hugged the banks of the river closely, passing through
timb(!r of the finest kind — spruce, hemlock, cedar (a dilfercnt
variety fron> ^he white or red ce<lar in the easteiii provinces)
white birch and Douglas fir. An old lro(iuois hunter, known
in his time as Tcte Jaune or Yellow Head, probably from tho
noticeable fact in an Indian of his hair being light coloured, had
wisely selected this central point for cacheing all the furs ho got
in the course of a season on the Pacific slope, before setting out
with them to trade at Jas[>er House. He ha': given his sobri-
quet forever, not only to the Cache, but to the pass and the
lake at the summit. At the Cache, lofty, glacier clothed moun-
tains rise in all directions up and down the valley of the Fra-
ser, the Cranberry, and the Canoe — enough peaks to hand down
to posterity the names of all aspiring travellers and their
friends for the next century. The Gold Mountains form in un-
broken line right across our path, forbidding any further pro-
gress west, and forcing us to go south-east to flank them, as
they force the Fraser to the north. To our great comfort there
is stationed at the Cache a large boat of the C. P. K. S. Into it
were })itrhed saddles and packs, and we rowed ourselves across
while the horses swam. The Fraser, at this early stage of its
course, is as broad and strong as the Athabasca below tlu; Jasper
valley. As the jiacks were ofi' the horses, we halted for dinner,
and at one o'clock were on o'lr way again, hustling at a great
rate to make np for the slow progress of the Lv. "» days. Jack
and Joe, our new packers, proved to be no idlers. The one was
a Ne\ - r,s wicker who had sjient years among the Rocky
Mountains, chiefly in the United States ; the other an Ontari-
an, settled in British Columbia, — both sharp active fellows,

264

OCK.W TO OCKAN.

knowing a good deal of Imnifin and still nioro of hor.so nature.

Our second .sjiell waH twciif y niilcs, soiith-<'jiHt and south to
the crossing of tlio Canoo Hivor. Tho trail hero was in ox-
collcnt condition, and for tho great part of tho way h ^'Uggy
miglit have hocn driven on it. A sandy ridgo liko ahog's-back
runs up tlio east side of tho vallov of tho Cranherrv, and tho
trail is along it's top. 'J'his valley is tho connecting link be-
tween tho Fraser and Oanoo rivers. The valley of the Canoo is
another and larger link, extending to IJoat one inipment ; at tho
northern end of the valley of the Columbia, JJefore uh, as we
journeyed .soiith with a little easting, snowy peaks rose on each
side of the valley, dwarfing it in appearance to an extremely
narrow width ; while right ahead a great mountain mass that
marked the beginning of the main valley of the Canoe, seemed
to close our way. The trees struggled far up the si(bis, fighting
a battle with the bare rocks and the snows, — the highest trees
heavily dusted with last night's snowfall. Cro.ssing a little
stream called the McLennan tb.-.t issues from a i)ass in the side
hills, we rounded Ch-anberry Lake and saw the valley of the
Canoe stretching far up in the direction we had been going,
while our road was across the river and up the dividing line S.
S. W. to Albreda Lake and River.

Although only five o'clock, the sun was now setting 1 -^hind
the mountains to the west from -which the Canoe issues, and the
road was heavy with recent rainfall, boulders and mudholes,
so that there was no use of pushing on much farther. At
the Crossing of the Canoe, there was a raft on the other side,
but as the river had fallen two feet in the course of the day, we
tried the ford and found it quite practicable, — the water not
coming much higher than the horses' shoulders ; so that the
Crossing which had so nearly cost Lord Milton and Mrs.
Assiniboine their lives did not delay us ten minutes.

The rapidity with which these mountain torrents increase or
decrease in depth is an astonishing feature to those who hav

hlinrjry

YELLOW IIKAI) PASS TO NoUTII TII(»>!PS(>N l;iVi:i{. 265

been accustomed only to lowland rivers. A wnini day melts
the snows liii,di up, and there is an incrrase in depth by tha
afternoon of troin six inches to two or three fret. A cold iiJLjht
succeeds, and <lown tlu; stream falls l»y nxirnin;,'. That the
Canoe had fallen during' the; tlay was proof that thou^di warm
in the valiey, the air was cold in tho mountains. The hi«;h
mountains not only prot(!ct the valh'ys fiom much of th<! cold,
but also from nnich of tho snow. They act as natural snow
fences. As tho sun had now disappenred, thoui^h his li;j;ht still
shone on the double ranije of hi<,di peaks stretchini; away down
the Canoe, camp was pitched on the other sid(; of the river,
Jack and Joe provini* themselv(»s as oxpcsditious and oblicfini^as
Brown and I'eaupn'. ft was amusinpf to listen to tin; slang
terms of the Pacific that f^arnished their talk. " Spell " wo
found had ci-ossed the mountains, and " spell iuLC place" and a
" good sj)ell " were as common on the one side as the other.
But Jack's call to his horses was new to us. " Git." the abbre-
viated form of our "get up" and Terry's " git uj) out o' that,"
was the only cry ever addressed to them, and the .sound of it
would quicken their walk into a trot when no other words in
the language would have the slightest efiect. This transatlan-
tic scntentionsness and love of abbreviations, from which come
their ** Sabre cuts of Saxon speech," characterized all their con-
versation. Without intending the faintest disrespect, they ad-
dressed the Doctor always as " Doc." " Cood morning. Doc,"
meant no more than "good morning, n\v lord" would mean.
Even the grandeur o! the mountains did not secure to them
their name in full. " They call them * the llockies,' " said Jack,
jerking his head in their direction, with an air that indicated
that no further information was rcipiirod about such things.
Every adjective and article that could in any way be dispensed
with was rejected from their English ; and if syllables could be
lopped off long words so as to bring them down to one syllable,
the axe was unsparingly applied. San Francisco was always

2GG

OCKAN TO OCEAN.

< I . It*

i- I

" Frisco," and Oa})taiii — a name applied indiscriminately to
every stranger- -never longer than "Cap."

September 20tli, — Up early this morning and, after breakfast
on bread an'l pork — very unlike Irish pork — for not a solitary
Litreak of lean relieved the fat, got away before the sun had
looked out over the mountains. From our ca^ap a singular
radiation of valleys could be observed. That of iiie Canoe ran
almost north and south, inclining more to the west u[) stream.
Between the west and south, the valley of one of its tributaries-
joined it. Along this tributary, called the Camp liiver— from
the fact of one of the surveying parties wintering on it last year
— our course was to be to-day. Between the east and north
the valley of the Craiiberry, along which we had travelled yes-
terday afternoon, extended away to the Fraser.

Our aim to-day was to reach the North Thompson. Between
our camp and it, thirty-three milt! of bad road had to be
travelled.

Broad gravel benches, supporting a growth of small black
pines, rose one > bove another like terraces, the highest attaining
a height of four or tix'e hundred feet. Up these the trail led,
heading across to Camp Biver. Similar benches of sand or
gravel, or of sand mixed 'vifch boulders, are a characteristic of
all the rivers of British Columbiii. They are distinctly detiaed
as the successive banks of the smallest as well as of the largest
rivers. Those along the Canoe show that a much greater vol-
ume of water once flowed over or rested in the valley. It may
be that the Columbia. b(3fore the present canyons through which
it now runs to the south were riveia, Howed thus far qv farther
north.

It seemed to us a great mistake that the old Indian trail had
not been abandoned liei'c, and a new trail made. The terraces
are so steep and higli, and the descent en the other side to the
valley of (./am[) lUver so sudden, that the only explanr -ion we
could suggest of the trail facing up and down instead of round-

- "• -■^■^•— '^BaiiaiMB

YELLOW Ifl-IAL) PASS TO NORTH THOMPSON lUVKil. 267

ing tl]-^!!!, was that Tete Jamie had first made it when cliasing
a chamois or bi'jjliorn, and tliat he and all others thoroafttM*,
McCord's party included, were too conservative, to look for
another ;md l)etter way.

At the summit of the divide, C*amp River flows o])posito ways
from the two ends of a sluggish lak(\ the part that runs down
to the Thompson assuming the name of tlie Alhreda. The
valley is narrow and closed in at its south-west en<l by the
great mass of ]\rount Milton which fronted us the whole dav.
This mountain that Dr. Cheadle selected to bear the name of
his fellow traveller is a mass of snow-clad peaks that feed the
little All)reda with scores of torrents, ice-cold and green colour-
ed, and > ~.ake it into a river of considerable magnitude before
it flows into the Thompson. It is on tiie south of the Albreda
and not on the north as stated ^ v them, and the trail winds
round its right or north side, leaving it on the left. Soon
after entering the valley of Cam[) lliver we saw it before us,
toweling high above the hills that enclosed the narrow vallev,
and seeming to bar our further pj-ogress to the south and south-
Vv'est. A seixii-circle of five peaks, enclosing a snowy bosom,
forms the left side ; and, next to these, four much higher rise,
the highest and largest in the centre showing a broad front of
snow like a tield inclined down till hidden by a forest of" dark
firs on a range of lower hills. Our road which at first was up a
na^'row fire-desolated stony valley, led next round the base of
these lower hills, and from the difference of soil and of eleva-
tion, changed from a succession of bare, stony ridges, into a suc-
cesi ion of mud-holes and torrents — bridged, fortunately for us,
by the trail party — till we came to the lirst crossing of the
Albreda. The timber here was of the largest size, but many of
the noblest lo(jking cedars w(>re evidently not of nuich worth
from internal decay. It was after sunset when we passed (>ver
the wooded slopes and along the banks of the river, and as the
dark forest opened here and there, one white p(;ak after an-

208

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

other came out tlirougli a broad rift in the wooded liills. The
underbrush consisted chiefly of a great vajiety of ferns of all
sizes, from the tiniest to clusters six feet high, or of the broad
aralea wliich so mouo})olized all light and moisture where it
grew that there w'as no chance for grass. In f:ome inarslies a
water lily, with leaves three feet long, in seed at this season,
hid the water as completely as the aralea the ground. Every-
thing on the Pacific slo[)e is on a large scale, — the mountains,
the timber, the leaves, the ferns, and the expectations of the
people.

It was still eight miles to the crossing of the Thompson.
Since starting in the morning we had halted only once, yet had
made barely twenty-tive miles. But as the fast gathering dark-
ness, twice as deep because of the forest, compelled it, our tifty-
fiftli camp from Lake Superior was pitched beside tin- Albreda.

September 21st. — Up this morning at 4.30, in the dark, and
on tbe road two hours later. The days were now so short, be-
cause of the season of the year and the mountain-limited hori-
zon, that as it was impossible to travel on tlie trail after night-
fall, the most had to be made of the sunlight.

The trail for tiie first eight miles was as bad as well could be,
although a great amount of honest work had been expended on
it. Before McCord had come through, it must have been sim-
ply imi)assable except for an Indian on foot, — worse than when
Milton and Cheadle forced through with their one pack-horse. ^t
the rate of three miles a day ; for tlie large Canadian party had
immediately preceded them, whereas no one attempted to follow
in their steps till McLellan in 1871, and in the intervening
nine years much of the trail had been buried out of sight, or
hopelessl}'- blocked up by masses of timber, torrents, landslides,
or dehn'o. Our horses, however, proved equal to the work.
Even when their feet entangled in a network of fibrous ro:.L^.
or sunk eighteen inches in a mixture of bog and clay, they
would make galh'nt attempts at trotting ; and by slipping over

I : f ?r . . i. mm m

YELLOW nE\D PASS TO XORTli TIIOMPSOX RIVKR. 2G9

rocks, jumping fallen trees, breasting precipitous ascents with a
rush, and recklessly dashing down the hills, the r;ight miles to
the crossing of the Thompson were made in three hours.

The early morning was dark and lowering, and at eight
o'clock a drizzle commenced which continued all the forenoon.
Struggling through sombre woods and heavy underbrush, every
spray of which discliarges its little accunndation of rain on the
weary traveller as he passes on, is disheartening and exhausting
work. The influence of the rain on men and horses is most
de[)ressing. The riders get as fatigued as the horses ; for
jum})ing on and olf at the bogs, precipices, and boulder slides
thirty or forty times a day is as tiresome as a circus ])erform-
ance must be to the actors.

We crossed the Thompson at a point where it divides into
three, the smallest of the three sections being bridged with long
logs, the two others broad and only belly deep, as Jack phrased
it. Riding down tlio west side, too wet and tired to notice
anything, the men in advance passed a blazed tree with a piece
of paper pinned to the blaze ; but the Secretary, being on foot,
turned aside to look ; and read, —

"In Y's Cache

There is a box for 8. Fleming

or ^L .Smith."

He at once called out the good news, and Vs Cache in the
shape of a small log shanty was found hard by. Jack unroofed
it in a trice and jumped in ; and among other things, stored for
different engineering parties, was the box. A stone broke it
open, and as Jack handed out the contents, one by one, a gen-
eral sliout announced their nature. — -Candles and canned meats ;
good. " Hooray," from the rear ! Two bottles of Worcester
sauce and a bottlo of brandy ! better ; sauce for the fat pork
and for the plum-pudding next Sunday. Half a dozen of Bass'
Pale Ale, with the familiar face of the red pyramid brand !
Three times ihree and one cheer more ! After this crowning

270

OCEAN TO OOEAK.

! ■■i

t I

if" "

mercy, more cauued meats, jauis, nnd a few bottles of claret
evoked but faint a|)plaiise. The wine and jams were put back
again for Mr. Smith. Four bottles of the ale, a can of the pre-
served beef, and another of peaches were opened on the spot,
and Terry ])roducing bread from the kitchen sack, an im-
promptu lunch was eaten round the Cache, and V's health
(bunk as enthu.siastically as if he had been the greatest bene-
factor of liis species. As the ffna/f, we de))Osited the empty
botth'S and cans at the foot of the blazed tre(>, and wrote

" (iratefully I'ocL'ivod
The al)0\'c ;
Vide itifra. "

On one side, " Cod Idoss V !" and on the other, " >SV y/.v Dtonu-
7uentuui, despice" and decoi-ating tlie })aper with red and blue
pencil marks as elaborately as time and our limited resources
permitted, we rod(^ off with Uiervy hearts, the rain ceasing and
the sun shining out at the same time as if to 1)e in unison with
our feelings. Is it necessary here to implore the ascetic and
the dignitied reader to be a little kind to this ebullition on our
part. It was childish, perhaps, but then what were we but
babes in the wood I Circumstalices alter cases ; and our cir-
cumstances were ])e('uliar. We would have gushed over a mere
acquaintance, had he come upon us in that inhospitable valley,
those melancholy woods, undf^r those I'ainj skies. I'robably we
might have ffillen on the neck and wept over an old fi'iend. Is
it wonderful that the red [)yramid looked so kindly, and touched
a cliord in our hearts ?

Two miles farther on, the sound of a bell was heard. Jack
said that it ni'i^-.t be the bell-horse of another pack-train ; but
in a few minuteb a Holitary traveller, walking beside his two
laden horses, emerg--; f-om the woods phead. He tuined out
to be one John On— a n\in( r on his wa , to prospect for gold
on hitherto uut;ici! ni'Vaniains and aand-bars. Here was a
specimen of An^vhj-Suvon self-reliant ii.dividualism more strik-

gold

strik-

YELLOW IIKAD PASS TO XOIITII TIIOMPSO.n RIVER. 271

ing tlian that picturefl by Qiiinot of tlie Arnnricaii rsottlor, with-
out priost or captain at his head, going out into tho deep woods
or virgin hinds of tho new continent to find and found a liome.
Jolin Glen calculated that there was as good gold in the moun-
tains as had yet conic out of them, and tli.tt he might strike a
new bar or gulch that would i)an out as richly as Williams
Creek, ( -ariboo ; so puttint; blankets and bacon, flour and frying-
pan, shining ]rickaxe and shovel on his horses, and sticking
revolver and knife in his waist, off he started frowi Kamloops
to seek fresh fields and pastures new. N >thi?ig to him was
lack of company or of iiews[)apers ; sho'-t days ai.d a)>])roach of
winter; seas of mountains and grassless valleys, e(pially inhos-
pitable ; risk of sickness and certainty of storms ; slow and
exhausting travel through marsh and muskeg, a'^ross roaring
mountain torrents and miles of fallen timber ; lonely days and
lonely nights ; — if ho found gold ho would be repaid. Pros-
pecting was his business, and he went about it in Hi.n])le matter
of-course style, a^j if he w^ere doing business on 'change. John
Glen was to ;is a tyjncal man, the mo(h'rn mis'.ionary, tho
martyr for gold, the advance guard of the arn\v of material
progress. And who will deny or make light of his virtue, his
faith, such as it was ? His self-reliance was sublime. Com
pared to his, how small the daiing and pluck of even Milto
and Cheadle ! God save thee, John Glen ! and give thee tl
reward !

Glen was more than a moral to us. He brought the Chi* a
letter from the Hudson BayagiHit at Kamloops, of date A' .rust
24th, informing him that our personal luggage from Toi .)nto
via San Francisco had arrived, and would be kept for us. This
was another bit of jjood fortune to mark the day.

In ho})es of getting to Cranberry marsh, twenty-two miles
down from the crossing, we ])ushed on without giving the houses
any )-est except the lunch half-hour at V's Cache; but the ro .ds
were so heavy that when within four miles of the marsh the

070

ij I -J

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

packers advised camping. The horses continued to go with
si)irit ; hut tlie long strain was telling on them, and they had
to be our first consideration. The road had seemed to us — if
not to the horses — to improve from V's Cache ; but it was still
a hard road to travel, the valley of the Thom})Son being almost
as bad as the valley of the Albreda. In our eighteen miles
along it to-day, there was i ot a mile of level. It was constant
u}) and down, as if we were riding over billows. Even where
the ground was low, the cradle hills were high enough to make
the road. undulating. The valley of the Thomi)Son is very
narrow for a stream of its magnitude ; in fact it is a mountain
gorge rather than a valley. Only at rare intervals is there a
bit of flat or meaelow or even marsh alonij its banks. High
wooded hills rise on each side ; and, beyond these, a higher
range of snowy i)eaks, one or another of the highest of which
peeps over the woods at turns of tlie river, or when the forest
through which you are toiling opens a little to enable you to
see. The forest is of the grandest kind — not only the living
but the dead. Everywhere around lie the pi'ostrate forms of
old giants, in every stage of decay, some of them six to eight
feet througli, and an hundred and lifty to two hundred feet in
length. Scarcely half-hiding these are broad-leaved plants and
ferns in infinite variety, while the branchless columnal shafts of
more modern cedars tower far up among the dark branches of
spruce and hemlock, dwarfing the horse and his rider, that creep
along across their interlaced roots and the mouldering bones of
their great predecessors.

It was not five o'clock when we camped ; but the sun had set
in the narrow valley, and it w;is quite dark before the horses
had boon driven to the nearest feed, and the tent put in order
for the night. Terry set to work as usual to hurry up the tea ;
but to his and our dismay there was no tea kettle. It had
fallen by the way from tlie pm'k to which it was tied. Jack
was sure he had seen it on, four miles back ; but as " Nulla

with
ey had

us — if
ras still

almost
[1 miles
onstant

1 where
:o make
is very
ountain
there a

High
I higher
)f which
le forest
I you to
e living
forms of
to eight
I feet in
ants and
shafts of
inches of
lat creep
bones of

n had set

le horses

in order

the tea ;

It had

d. Jack

" Nulla

YELLOW HEAD PASS TO NORTH THOMPSON RIVEi;. 1^73

vestl'fia retrorsnm" was our motto, wiiatever tlie loss sustained,
no one proposed to turn back and look for it; and our only
otlier pot — the on'.; used for pork and porridge Ijoiliug and all
other ])urposes — was laid under rcrpiiisition for the tea. The
two frying pans had also iiad their iiaudles twisted olV ; but Joe
tied the two handles together avid made a pair of pinclujrs out
of tliem that would lift onc^ ; and Terry notelied a crooked stick
and mule a hiiidle for th.s oth'r. Su[)per was prei>ared with
these extemporised utensils. T'he Doctor and Fi-ank fried slap-
jacks and then boiled canned goose in the one pan. Terry fried
pork in the other ; and boiled dried ap[)les in the pot b(;fore
making the tea in it. The Chief and the Secretary assisted
with bland smiles ;.:r<l words of encou'-agement, and by tl/i'ow-
ing a few chips on the lire occasionally : and a jolly supper,
betwe(ui the open tent and the roai-ing lire, was the grand
finale.

Septembei- 22nd.— The first meal this morning, tliert> being
only one pot, was a plate of porridge, eaten after a dip in the
ice-cold Thomj)Son. Two hours after Terry announced ih'jtuiier
a la fonrchette. The Doctor and Frank roused themselves from
their second sleep to enjoy it ; but Jack was absent. Not
taking kindly to the porridge, he had gone oft' without saying a
word, in search of the missing kettle, and service was posti)oned
till his return.

Looking round at the site of our camji, we could see nothing
on our own side of the river but a willow thicket, and the
dense forest rising beyond. On the other side, and up stream
a snow-clad, round topped mountain looked over the^^lower
hills. Four or five miles down stream a* lofty })yramid showed
us its snowy face, with a twin peak a little to the south, and a
great shoulder also snow-coverei.1, extending farther beyond in
the same direction. This '* biceps Parnassus" we inferred was
Mount Cheadle, and in honour of the man the camp was dubbed
Camp Cheadle.

274

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

111 '■

IP • *

«, 't

^11:11 :-l

: j I

Before mid-day Jack rctiirnecl in triumph with the tea kettle
— which he had found loss than four miles back — slung across
his shouhhirs. A cup of tea was at once made in it for him as
1-eward. The Dr. now prepared the pudding, and when it was
deposited in the pot for its three hours' boil, the bell was rung
for divine service.

Just as the Secretary commenced, the pot to the dismay of
every one tumbled over. Half-a-dozen hands were instinctively
stretciied out, but Terry put it right, with the cooliess of a
veteran, and the service proceeded with no more trouble,
except that gusts of wind blew the smoke into our eyes, making
Jack in particular weep enough togiatify any preacher.

Dinner was ordered for four o'clock, and it need hardJy be
sai<1: the [luddiiig was a success. It rolled from the bag on to
.'hu pictte, in the most approved fashion of oblong or rotund
puddings. liii Dr. garnished it with six ferns for the six Pro-
vinces of the Dominion. The Chief produced Vs brandy,
poured some over the pudding and applying a match, it was set
on the table in a blaze o' blue light, that gladdened every one
with old memories.

Before sunset, the wind had blown away the clouds and the
snowy mist that had been lalling up on the mountains. When
it was dark the stars came out in a clear sky, promising fine
weather on the morrow. After some general talk and calcula-
tions as to whether we could get to Kamloops for next Sunday,
in which hope weighed down the heaviest improbabilities, all
gathered round the hearthstone fire for family worship. It was
the time that we always felt most solemnized; thankful to God
for Ids goodness to us, praying His mercy for our far away
homes, and drawn to one another by the thougtit that we were
in tlie wilderness, with common needs, and entirely dependent
on God and each other.

bea kettle
ng across
>r him as
en it was

was rung

lisniay of
inctively
Less of a
trouble,
i, making
sr.

iard;y be
aag on to
V rotuiid
! six Pro-
1 brandy,
t was set
svery one

3 and the
1. When
ising fine
i calcula-

Sunday,
lities, all
K It was
-il to God
far away

we were
ependent

it ^

t I

■ I .'t.

Ml t

SiKFLf- OF THK IIEAIX.KSS INDIAN.

. ClIAT'TKR X.

AJonfi the North Thnmimm Uiver fn Knwlonps.

Breakfast by Moonliffht.— The Bell-horse. — Mount Cheadlo. Blue River and Mountainn,
-Goose Creek, — The Hciullcss Iinlinn. -Porciipitic Breakfust. The Canyon.— Mule
Train.— At Hell Cato, iiiecl friuiids. -(.Jatlicrin;,' at Canii'S V. and V. - (iixiil ilieer. —
Still water. - Hound I'rairie. F.xcitinf^ news two months old.— Chan),'p inthu Flora.
— Bunch Crass. — Baft Uiver. Clearwater. — Boat to Kamlnops.— Assmihoine Islutl.
— I.asf ni.;ht under canvass. Si wash Houses. Siu^ns "f CiviIi/,;ition. Stock Bui^.i.tf.
— \Vaj,^i;s in British Columbia.- Arid aspict of country. Darkness im the Biver. —
Arrisal at IxandoHps.

Septombor 2.3r(l. — Jack rose tliis morning at 3 a.m., and marie
up tlio firo by kicking the ombers tog'ither and ]>iling on moro
wood. In a (piarter of an lioui* after, all hands were up — fokl-
ing blanket:^ and } aeking. We breakfasted by moonliiiht, and
woukl liave been off at once, but two of the horse.s iiad waii(k>red,
and it was some time before they were found. Jack tracked
them to an ish\nd in the river, and had to wade across for them.

Tliis was the first occasion on wliich anv of the horses had
strayed even a short distance from the bell. They had ulways
kept within sound of it on the journey and during the night.
The bell is hung round the neck of the most willing horse of
the pack, and from that moment he takes the lead. Till he
moves on, it is almost impossible to force any of the <)thers for-
ward. If you keep back your horse foi- a mile or two when on
the march, and then give him the rein, he dashes on in frantic
eagerness to catch u}) to the rest. Get hold of the bell-horse
when you want to start in the morning, and ring the bell and
soon all the others in the pack gather round.

We had never seen the gregariousness of horses so strongly
exhibited as in the case of those Pacific pick-trains. And the
mule shows the sentiment or instinct still more stronrdv. A
bell-horse is put at the head of the mule train, and the mules

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-S)

V^fe

1.0

I.I

3^128 1 25

■^ 1^ 12.2

" lis llll|^

1.8

1.25 ||||U III 1.6

'> '>

Hiotographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

c^^

•> "^^

.«>

276

OCEAN To OCEAN.

follow him and pay him the most devoted loyalty. If a strange
dog comes up barking, or any other hostile looking brute, the
mules often rush furiously at the enemy, and trample him under
foot, to shield their sovereign from danger or even from insult.
Altogether the bell-horse was a novelty to us, though his uses
are so thoroughly understood here, that Jack and Joe were
astonished at our asking any questions about so well established
an institution.

The night had been frosty, and the ground in the morning
was quite hard, but after we had been on the road for an hour,
the sun rose from behind Mount Cheadle, and warmed the air
somewhat, though it continued cold enough all day to make
walking preferable to riding. For the first four miles the road
was similar to Saturday's. We then came to a mountain stream,
towards the mouth of which the view opened and showed us
Mount Cheadle rising stately and beautiful from the opposite
bank of the Thompson. What had seemed yesterday a great
shoulder stretching to the south was now seen to be a distinct
hill, but in addition to the cone or pyramid with the twin heads
of Mount Cheadle, a third and lower peak to the north-ea.st
appeared. Beyond the stream is Cranberry marsh. The trail
here goes along the beach for a short distance, and then turns
into the woods and hills, giving us a repetition of Saturday's
experiences. Eight miles from camp we crossed another and
larger stream on the other side of which the valley widened
and the country beyond opened. The landscai^e was softer and
the wild myrtle and the garden waxberry mixed with the ruder
plants that had held entire possession of the ground farther up.
Eight miles more brought us to open meadows along the banks
of the river, overgrown in part by willows and alders, and in
part covered with marsh grass. Here a halt of two hours for
dinner was called. We had travelled about sixteen miles in five
hours, and iiad only ten more to travel, to reach GJoose Creek,
where camp was to be pitched for the night. It was expedient

ALONG THE NORTH THOMPSON KIVER.

277

to get there as early as ]x>S8ible, that the hoi'ses might have a
good feed, for there would be no grass along to-morrow's road,
which was said to be the worst between Yellow Head Pass and
Kamloops.

During the last two or three days the river had fallen very
much, and at our halting place it was eight or nine feet below
its high water mark. The valley was wide enough to enable us
for the first time to see on both sides the summits of the moun-
tains that enclosed it. At this point they are remarkably
varied. A broad deep cleft in the heavily timbered hills on
the west side of the river, showed an undulating line of snowy
peaks, rising either from or behind the wooded range ; and the
opposite side was closed in nearer the river by a number of sep-
arate mountains, from four to six thousand feet high, that folded
in upon or rose behind one another.

The afternoon drive was along a level, for the next six or
seven miles to Blue River, where our jjrogress was slow from
the stubs or short sharp stumps of the alders, that dotted and
sometimes completely filled up the trail. Blue River gets its
name from the deep soft blue of the distant hills, which are seen
from its mouth well up into the gap through which it runs. A
raft is kept on this river for the use of the survey. We made
use of the Cache or shanty on the bank, opening it for a small
supply of beans and of soap. A diligent search was made for
coffee but without result.

The timber here is small and much of it has been destroyed
by fires. After crossing the river, the trail winds round a bluff
that extends boldly to the Thompson. Timber that had fallen
down the steep face across the trail delayed us several times.
Frank shot a large porcupine as it was climbing a tree, and
pitched it on the kitchen pack to be tried as food. Three miles
more brought us to Goose Creek where we camped an hour
before sunset. This was the spot the Doctor had been told to
examine for the bones of the headless Indian, and therefore as

278

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

soon as ho had unsaddled his horse, lie selected a shingle shaped
stick, and, without saying a word, set off on his exploration
with all the mystery and deliberation of a resurrectionist. In
a few minutes he came on a bit of board with the following in-
scription pencilled on it : —

" Here lie the remains of the 'Headless Indian,' discovered by Lord
" xMilton and Dr. Cheadle, A.D. 18()3. At this spot we found an old
"tin kettle, a knife, a spoon, and rtsliing line ; and 150 yards np the
' ' bank of river we also found the skull, which was sought for in vain by
♦* the above gentlemen.

"T. Party, C. P. 11. S.
••June 5th, 1872;"

Scratching the ground with his wooden spade the Dr. was
soon in possession of the skull, and of the rusty scalping knife
that had been thrown in beside it, and finding the old kettle
near, he appropriated it too, and deposited all three with his
baggage as triumphantly as if he had rifled an Egyptian tomb.
Terry did not like the proceedings at all, and could only be re-
conciled to them on the plea that thoy might lead to the disco-
very of the murderers ; for nothing would persuade him that
the man's head had dropped off, and been carried to a distance
by the wind or some beast. He had seen heads broken, or cut
off, but he had never heard before — and neither had we as far
as that goes — of a head rolling off; and therefore concluded
that " there had been some bad work here."

Frank and Jack skinned the porcui)ine, and prepared it for
cooking. A leg being spitted and broiled before the fire as a
test morsel, was pronounced superior to beaver ; and the car-
cass was consigned to Terry, who decided to cut it up, parboil,
and fry it for breakfast.

September 24th. — There was no need to look at the thermom-
eter when we got up to know that there had been frost. Every
one felt it through the capote and pair of blankets in which he
was wrapped. The (^hi(if rose at midnight and renewed the
fii-e. Frank then got up and curled himself into a ball within

ALONG THE NORTH THOMPSON RIVER.

279

a few inches of the red ombers. At 3 A.AF. all rose jjrowlinpf,
stflinpinjsr their cold feet, linfrerinf; about the fire, li<rhtinp pipes,
and considering whether washing the face wasn't a superstitious
rule to be occasionally honoured in the breach rather than the
observance. Everything was done slowly. It was nearly sun-
rise before any one even thought of looking at the thermometer,
which then indicated i7 ° : not so very low, but we had been
sleeping practically in th<'» open air, and in a cold wind with
rather light covering. Three-quarters of an hour wore spent in
cooking the porcupine ; and as it did not come up to our expec-
tations, frori inherent defects or Terry's cooking, very little of
the meat was eaten ; and no one proposing to carry a piece in
his pocket for lunch, it was left behind, — the only thing in the
shape of food that had been wasted by us on the journey.

At 6.15 we were on the march, expecting a heavy dny's work,
as the road lay over the Great Canyon that had all but de-
feated Milton and Cheadle's utmost efforts, and past the " porte
d' enfer " of the Assiniboine. The first three miles after cross-
ing the Creek were partly round and partly over a heavy bluff;
and the next five along the river, which ran like a mill-race
between high hills. These hills on our side afforded sj)ace for
the road either along their bases, or on the first bench above.
The next ten or twelve miles were to be through the dreaded
canyon ; a pass as much more formidable than Killiekrankie as
the Thompson is gieater than the Garry. While climbing the
first bluff near the entrance to the canvon, the bell-horse of a
pack-train was heard ahead. Fortunately there was space for
us to draw aside and let the train pass. It was on its way up
to Tcte Jaune Cache with sup))lifc;'5, and consisted of fifty-two
mules led by a bell-horse, and driven by four or five men, repre-
senting as many different nationalities. Most of the mules
were, with the exception of the long ears, wonderfully graceful
creatures ; and though laden with an average weight of three
hundred pounds, stepped out over rocks and roots firmly and

280

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

lightly as if their loads were notliing. This was the first train
that had ever passed throii^di the canyon vithont losinj]f at least
one animal. The horse or mtilo puts its foot on a piece of in-
nocent-looking moss ; undcrnoath the moss there happens to ho
a wet stone over which he slips ; at the same moment, his broad
un wieldly pack strikes a^'ainst a rock, outjutting from the bluff,
and as there is no room for him to recover himself, over he
goes into the roarini; Thompson, and that's the last seen of him
unless brought up by a tree halfway down the precipice. Two
months before a m\ile fell over in this way. The packfrs went
down to the river side to look for him, but as there was no
trace to be seen, resumed their march. Five days after, another
train passing near the spot heard the braying of a mule, and
guided by the noise looked, and found that he had fallen on a
broad rock half way down, where he had lain for some time
stunned. Struggling to his feet, fortunately for him the appa-
raho got entangled round the rock, and held him fast till he
was relieved by the men of the train from Lis razor bridge over
the flood. This was a more wonderful deliverance than that
of Bucephalus when abandoned by Mr. O'B.

For several miles, the river here is one long rapid, dashing
over hidden and half-hidden rocks scattered over every part of
its bed. The great point of danger is reached at " Hell Gate."
A huge arch had once stretched across the present channel, and
had been rifted asunder, leaving a [)assage for the river not
more than thirty feet wide. The rock looked as if it had re-
cently parted, a depression on the one side exactly fitting into
an overhanging rock opjiosite, looking as if a counter convuL
sion might groove and tongue the two together again. Through
this passage the river raged, and the whole force of the current
ran under the overhanging black rock, so near its roof that at
high water the river is forced back. From this point the can-
yon continues for six or seven miles down, at one point the
opposing rocks being only fifteen feet apart. The river there

ALONG THE NORTH THOMPSON RIVER.

281

boils and spurts up as if ejected from beneath out of a hjdrau.
lie pipe.

Half a mile below Hell Gate, a bell was again heard ahead.
This to oJir great delight belonged to a mule train accompanying
Mr. Marcus Smith — the deputy of the Engineer-in- Chief on the
Pacific side. Our pack-horses were sent on while ve halted to
exchange greetings and news. Mr. Smith was on his way to
Tete Jaune Cache to try and find a pass across the Gold range.
He had spent the greater part of the summer on the Pacific
coast, in the Cascades, and the Chilcoten district in order to
find a practicable line for the railway from Bute Inlet through
to Tete Jaune Cache. After a long consultation and a lunch of
bread and cheese — cheese produced by Smith and eaten so freely
by us who had not tasted any for two months, that Smith rue-
fully declared our lunch to be " cheese — and bread," the Chief
advised him to return with us to Kamloops, as it was too late
in the season to adventure into the heart of the Gold range
from the east side. Tlie two parties accordingly became one.

Following up our pack-horses, we came in the course of the
next few miles to the bottom of the canyon, and all at once to
a totally different aspect of the river and road. The river ceases
to descend rapidly for the next twelve miles, and the valley
opens out to a breadth of two or three miles. The road runs
along this level ; but, though a great improvement on the
breakneck hills we had been going up and down all day, the
clumps of willow and alder stubs and roots kejjt the horses from
venturing on much beyond a walk, — except the Secretary's, a
mad brute called the fool which dashed on after the bell at such
a rate that the rest of the party in following more slowly
looked round *o j)ick up the remains. The river here, as if
exhausted with its furious racing, subsides into a smooth broad
lake-like appearance, calmly reflecting everything on its banks.
Hence the name of this district — *• Stillwater." Four miles
along this brought us to our men unpacking the horses at the

282

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

point agreed on in the moi nin^^. Half a mile ahead, they said,
were the tents of the U. and V. jiarties who had been surveying
all summer between Kamloops and Ttte Jaune Cache. They
had met at this central point, the work on both sections ^ *ig
just finished. Going on to their camp, we found Mr. woun
Trutch, the engineer in charge of both parcies, and oiu riend
V. Their encampment seemed to ua a great affair, unaccus-
tomed as we had been for weeks to new faces. Each party
consisted in all of sixteen or eighteen men, with two Indians, —
one the cook's slavey, and the other — slavey to the officer in
charge, and general messenger. Besides the two prrties there
was a third in charge of the pack train, so that the valley was
alive with men and mules ; all busy packing up to start for
Kamloops in the morning. Most cordial were the greetings on
both sides. They at once set to work to prepare supper for us,
though they had had their own already, and men were sent back to
bring our tent down beside their encampment. The latest news
Wcto '^^agoily asked and given. The news that delighted us most
was the victory of the Canadian team at Wimbledon in the
competition for the Rajah of Kolapore's cup against eight
picked shots of the United Kingdom. The names of the eight
were read out, and a sjjecial cheer given for Shand of Halifax,
who scored highest.

A mighty supper was soon announced. Never were men in
better condition for the table. Beefsteak, bacon, stuffed heart,
loaf bread, and a bottle of claret ; a second course of fried slices
of the remains of a plum-pudding, seusonevt with blueberry-jam
made by themselve.'i, a feast the memory of which shall long
gladden us ! There was so much to talk and hear about, such
a murmur of voices, the pleasant light of so many fires, the pros-
pect of a warm, sound sleep, and of more rapid journeying here-
after, that tliere was nothing wanting to make our happiness
complete, except letters from home, and those were at Kapi-
loops, jiot far away,

ALONG THE NORTH THOMPSON RIVEK.

289

September 25tli. — Rose refreshed, and as ready for a High-
land breakfast as if we liad not eaten an Enj:;lish dinne.- laHt
night. It was arranged that Mr. Trutcli shouhl accompany us
to Kamloops, V. remaining behind to bring on everytliing, and
that at the Clearwater River, sixty-two miles distant, we .should
take the .survey boat and go down tlie Thompson for the
remaining seventy-tliree miles to Kamloops.

As the Chief had letters to write to different parties, it was
nine o'clock before we got away from the i)leasant Stillwater
Camp. Our pack-horses had gone on two liours before with
instructions to camp at Round Prairie, twenty-five miles from
Stillwater.

Soon after starting, we caught up to the beef-cattle and the
pack-train of mules that had gone in advance with U's camp.
As the trail is nairow, and mules resent being passed on the
road — occasionally flinging their heels back into the face of the
too eager horse — it took some time and engineering to get
ahead ; but when this was accomplished we moved at a rapi«l
walk, breaking now and then into a trot. From the canyon to
Clearwater the trail steadily improved. Our moining journey
was for ten miles along the grassy or willow covered meadow
on the west .side of the Thom[)son's Stillwater. The river looked
like a long lake. The sand over the trail and the debris strewn
around showed that, in some years at any rate, the river over-
flowed the low meadow.

' We halted for lunch at the south end of the Stillwater, for-
tunately coming on U's advance party, who supi)lied us with
some bread, while the Doctor produced two boxes of sardines
he had prudently *' packed." One of the men gave Mr. Trutch
a pair of willow grouse he had shot the day before. British
Columbia boasts of having seven or eight varieties of the grouse
kind, the most abundant being the sage hen, the blue grouse,
the ptarmigan, and the spruce partridge or fool-hen, that is
oftener knocked over with a stick than shot,

284

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

After its long repose the Thompson now begins to brawl and
prepare for another rush down hill. Its height above sea level
at the bottom of the canyon is 2,000 feet, and at Kamloops
1,250. It falls more than two-thirds of this 750 feet of differ-
ence in the forty-five miles immediately above Clearwater. In
the seventy-three miles below Clearwater the fall is only 240
feet. The meadow now ceased, and th(^ valh^y contracted ag?.in.
We could easily understand the dismay with which Milton and
Cheadle beheld such a prospect. The valh^y had operied below
Mount Cheadle as if the long imprisonment of the river, and
with it their own, was coming to an end ; but the Great Can-
y6n had hedged it in again more firndy than ever. Next at
Stillwater, and down for twelve or fourteen milles, everything
looked as if the river^ wearied with its long course between high
overhanging h:lls, was at last about to emerge into an open
country of farms and settlements ; but again the hills closed in,
and the apparently interminable narrow valley recommenced.

There was no gloom, however, in our party. No matter what
the road, the country or the weather, everything was on pur
side ; fair trail, friendly faces, commissariat all right, and the
prospect of a post office before the end of the week. The day
was warm and sunny ; the climate altogether different from the
rainy skies and cold nights higher up the slope ; and wo were
assured that an hundred miles farther down stream, no rain
ever fell except an occasional sto rm or a few drops from high
passing clouds — an assurance more welcome to us than to in-
tending settlers.

The aspect of the hills too was changing. They were lower and
more btoken,' with undulating spaces between, giving promise
of escape to the imprisoned traveller, sooner or later. Distinctly
defined benches extended at different points along the blanks,
and on these the trail was comparatively level. About 4 p.m.
we came to a bit of open called Round Prairie, and found the
men unpacking for the night, as there was no other good place
for the horses nearer thau sixteen miles off.

ALONG THE NORTH THOMPSON RIVER.

289

This had been the easiest day's journey since entering the
mountains, for though we had travelled twenty-four miles, there
was no fatigue, so tfiat it was really like one of the pic-nic days
of the plains. The early camping gave another chance to road
the papers, of which every one took advantage, devouring with
avidity papers nearly two months old.

September 2Gth. — It rained heavily this morning, and the
start from camp was made with the delays and discomforts that
rain produces. The cotton tent weighs thrice ns much as when
dry. The ends of the blankets, clothes, some of the food, the
shaganaj)pi, etc., get wet. The packs are heavier and the horses*
backs are wet ; and it is always a question whether or not
water-proofs do the ridci-s any good. This morning one of the
pack-horses could not be found. Everything had to be pUcked
on the three others ; Jack remained behind to look for the
fourth, and soon found the poor brute sheltered from the rain,
in a thicket near where the bell had been.

The country to*day res(}ml)le(^ that of yesterday ; but even
where it 0|)ened out, the steady drizzle and the heavy mists on
the hills hid everything. Cedars had entirely disappeared, and
the spruce and pines were comparatively small. The aralea
gave place to a smaller leaved trailer with a red berry like the
raspberry ; and a dark- green i>rickly-leaved bush like English
holly, called the Oregon grape, and several grasses and plants
new to us covered the ground.

Six miles from camp we came to Mad River, a violent moun-
tain affluent of the Thompson, crossed by a good bridge ; and
ten miles fiirther on to Pea Vine Prairie, where as the rain
ceased and enough blue sky " to make a pair of breeches "
showed, the halt for dinner was called. Here we saw for the
first time the celebrated bunch-grass, which has no superior as
feed for horses or cattle ; especially for the latter, as the beef
that has been fed on it is peculiarly juicy and tender. The
name explains its character as a grass. It consists of small

286

OCKAN TO OCRAN.

narrow bl;i<l(53 — ton to iifty of thnm growing in a hunch from
aix to (!it,'lit(5on inoht's high, and tho hunohos so closo together
in phioos that at a distance thoy appear to form a sward. The
bhides are green in spring and summer, Imt at this season they
arc russet grey, apparently witliered and tastek»ss, hut the
avidity witli whicii tli(» iiorses cropped tliem, turning aside from
green and succuhMit marsh grass and even vetches, showed that
the virtue of the huncli-grass had not been lost.

The clouds now rolled up like curtains from the hills, and
the sun breaking out revealed the river, thi-eo or four hundred
feet below, with an intervale on each side that made the valley
at least two miles acioss to the high banks that enclosed it.
Tliere was a bend in the river to the west, so that we sjiw not
only a little up and down, which is usually all that can be seen
on the North Thomi)Son, but round the corner ; a wide extent
of landscape of varied beauty and soft outlines. The hills
were wooded, and tho summits of the hi!,diest dusted with the
recent snow, that had been rain-fall in the valley. Autumn
hues of birch, cottcnwood, and poplar blended with the dark fir
and pine, giving the variety and warmth of colour that we had
for many days been strangers to, and which was therefore ap-
preciated all the more. The fiice of the bank on which we
stood presented a singular appearance. It was of whitish clay
mixed with sand, the front hard as cement by the action of the
weather ; there had been successive slides of the bank behind
in different years, but the old front had remained firm, and
was now standing out along the face, away from the bank, in
pyramidal or grotesque forms, like the trap of basalt rocks,
npires, and columns along the east coast of Skye, springing from
debris at the base. Similar strange forms of cemented whitish
clay are to be found in several places on the Eraser.

As Smith and Trutch now messed with us, the different cooks
contributed to the common stock and to the cooking, with the
two advantages of greater variety to the table, and greater speed

ALONG TIIR NORTH THOMPSON RIVER.

from
pother
The
ti tlioy
lit the
e from
III that

Is, and
II ml red
valley
sed it.
tiw not
be seen
extent
e hills
ith the
.utumn
lark fir
we had
ore ap-
ich we
sh clay
1 of the
behind
m, and
ank, in
rocks,
ig from
whitish

t cooks
rith the
3r speed

in the preparation. After a short Inilt at Pea Vino we got into
the 8)uMlo ag.iin, ami niado ton miles before sunset ; the trail
leading across sandy benches intersected by nnnierous little
creeks, the descent to whicli was g(!nerally so direct that every
one h 111 to dismount, botli for the down and the up hill stretch.
Camp for the night was pitched at one of these creeks, twelve
miles to the north of the Clearwater, and Frank who had
become quite an adept at constructing camp fires, built np a
mighty one, at which wo dried w(>t clothes and blankets. Our
camp presented a lively scene at night. Great fires before each
tent lit up the dark forest, and tlirew gleams of light about,
that made the surrounding darkness all the more intense.
Through the branches of the pines, the kindly stars — the only
spectators — looked down on groups flitting from tent to tent
or cumbered al)Out the many things that have to be cared for
even in the wilderness, cooking, mending, drying, ovcrhanling
baggage, piling wood on the fire, planning for the morrow, or
taking notes. How like a lot of gypsies we were in outward
appearance, and how naturally every one took to the wild life !
A longing for home and for rest would steal over ns if we were
quiet for a time, but a genuine love for camp life, for its freedom
and rude happiness, for the earth as a couch and the sky for a
canopy, and the wide world for a bed-room, possessed us all ;
and we knew that, in after days, memory would return, to
dwell fondly over many an old cami)ing ground by lake or river
side, on the plains, in the woods, and among the mountains.

September 27th. — Six miles travel like yesterday's brought
us this morning to Raft River, a broad stream, whose ice-cold
pellucid waters indicated that it ran from glaciers, or through
hard basalt or trap rock that yielded it no tribute of clay to
bring down ; and six miles more along gravelly benches to the
Clearwater, whose name is intended to express a similar char-
acter, and the diflference between itself and the clay coloured
Thompl^on it empties into. The Clearwater is so large a stream

288

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

: 1

that after its junction, the Thompson becomes clearer from the
admixture. At the junction there is a depot of the C.P.R. Sur-
vey, with a man in charge, and a three ton boat used to bring
up supplies from Kamloops, which we had arranged with V. to
take down, leaving Jack and Joe to bring along the horses, at a
leisurely pace. From Clearwater to Kamloops by the trail is
between seventy and eighty miles, and by the river probably
ninety. Aided by the current we hoped to row this in a day
and a half, and so got to Kamloops on Saturday night. V. had
given us four men to row the l;)oat, and as she lay at the river
bank, the loads were taken from the horses* backs, and thrown
in without (iifticulty.

After dining in front of the shanty, we said good-bye to Jack
and Joe, anl gave ourselves up to tlie sixth lot of men we had
journeyed with since leaving Fort Garry, and the fourth variety
of locomotion ; tlie faithful Terry still cleaving to the party,
and really seeming to get fond of us, from force of habit, and
the contrast of his own long tcmure of service with the short
periods of all the others.

At two P.M., twelve got into the boat ; our five, the crew,
Smith, Trutch, and his man Johnston, who was to steer and
help Terry. Up to two o'clock the day had been cloudy and
cold, but the sun now came out, and we could enjoy the luxury
of sitting in comfort, talking or reading, knowing too that no
delay was occasioned by the comfort. The oars were clumsy
but the men worked with a will, and the current was so strong
that the boat moved down at the rate of five or six miles an
hour, so that after four and a half hours, Trutch advised camp-
ing, though there was still half an hour's twilight, for at the
same rate we would easily reach Kamloops on the morrow.

In this part of its course the river did not seem materially
larger, or difierent from what it was much farther up. It still
ran between high rugged hills, that closed in as canyons at inter-
vals. Its course was still through a gorge rather than a valley.

ALONG THE NORTH THOMPSON RIVER.

289

from the
>.R. Siir-
to bi-ing
ith V.' to
rses, at a
B trail is
probably
in a day
V. had
the river
i thrown

3 to Jack
we had
h variety
he party,
abit, and
he short

he crew,
teer and
udy and
e luxury
that no
cluiDHy
10 strong
miles an
id camp-
r at the
row.
ateriallv
It still
at inter-
a valley.

Any expanse was as often up on a high terrace, that had once
been its bed, as down along its present banks. Seventeen
miles from the Clearwater we passed the Assiniboine's bluff, a
huge protuberance of slate that needs only a similar rock on
the other side to make it a formidable canyon. At some points
the forms of the hills varied so much that the scene was pictur-
esque and striking, but tliese hills are merely outliers, and
not high enough to impress, or to do away with the feeling of
monotony.

Our crew were expert in managing a boat and in putting up
a tent. Before dark everything was secured, and we lay down
for the last time in this expedition — in our lean to — sub Jove
frigido. This — our Thompson River Camp — was the sixtieth
from Lake Superior, and as we wrnpi>ed the blankets round us,
a regretful feeling that it would probably be the last, stole into
every one's mind.

September 28th. — Raining this morning again, but as there
were no horses to pack, it was of less consequence. By 7:30
the boat was unmoored and we were rowing down the river,
having fifty-two miles by the survey line and probably sixty- ,
five by the river to make before night. Behind and above us
the clouds were heavy, but we soon passed through the rainy
region to the clearer skies that are generally in the neighbour-
hood of Kamloops. For the tirst half of our way the river
scenery was very similar to that of yesterday, excejit that the
flats along the banks were broader and more fertile, and the
hills covered more abundantly with bunch grass. A few fami-
lies of Siwashes, as Indians on the Pacific slope are called, in
barbarous Chinook, — probably from Sauvages, are scattered
here and there along the flats. Their miserable little tents
looked like salmon smoking establishments ; for as the salmon
don't get this far up the river till August and Se})tember, the
Siwashes catch and dry them for winter use very late iu the
year. .

290

OCEAN TO OCEAN,

Small pox has reduced the number of Siwashes in this part of
the country to the merest handful. A sight of one of their
winter residences is a sufficient explanation of the destructive-
ness of any epidemic that gets in amongst them. A deep and
wide hole is dug in the ground, a strong pole with cross sticks
like an upright ladder stuck in the centre, and then the house
is built up with logs, in conical form, from the ground to near
the top of the pole, space enough being left for the smoke and
the inmates to get out. Robinson Crusoe-like they use the
ladder, and go in and out of the house during the winter by the
chimney. As this is an inconvenient mode of egress, they go
out as seldom as possible ; and as the dogs live with the family,
the filth that soon accumulates can easily be estimated, and so
can the consequence, should one of them be attacked with fever
or small pox. They boast that these houses are " terrible
warm," and when the smoke and heat reach suffocation point,
their remedy is to rush up the ladder into the air, and roll
themselves in the snow for a few minutes. In spring they
emerge from their hibernation into open or tent life ; and in
the autumn they generally ^nd it easier to build a new house
or bottle to shut themselves up in, than to clean out the old
one. This practice accounts for the great number of cellar-like
depressions along the banks of the river ; the sites of former
dwellings resembling the sad mementoes of old clans to be seen
in many a glen in the Highlands of Scotland, and suggesting at
the first view that the population in former years had been very
large. But as one Siwash family may have dug out a dozen
residences in as many years, the number of houses is no crite-
rion of what the tribe numbered at any time.

For the first ten or fifteen miles of to-day's course, the river
ran rcther sluggishly. The current then became stronger, and
as it cut for several miles through a range of high hills that had
once stretched across its bed, there was a series of rapids power-
ful enough to help us on noticeably. The valley here became a

ALONG THE NORTH THOMPSON RIVKR.

291

lis part of
of their
structive-
deep and
)ss sticks
}he house
I to near
loke and
r use the
;er by the
, they go
e family,
1, and so
ith fever
' terrible
Dn point,
and roll
ing they
; and in
w house
the old
;llar-like
• former
' be seen
Bsting at
3en very
a dozen
10 crite-

le river
;er, and
hat had
power-
jcame a

gorge again. Emerging from the range at mid-day, Trutch
pointed out blue hills in the horizon, apparently forty or fifty
miles ahead, as beyond Kamloops. We halted for twenty min-
utes to take a cold lunch, and then moved on.

An hour before sunset we came to the first sign of settlers, —
a fence run across the intervale from the river to the mountain,
to hinder the cattle from strayin?^. Between this point and
Kamloops there are ten or eleven farms — " ranches" as they are
called on the Pacific slope — all of them taken up since Milton
and Cheadle's time. The first building was a saw-mill about
fifteen miles from Kamloops, the proprietor of which was
busy sa^ving boards to roof in his own mill, to begin with.
Small log cabins of the new settlers, each with an enclosure for
cattle called "the corral" close to it, next gladdened our eyes,
so long unused to seeing any abodes of men. For all time the
names and technical expressions on the Pacific coast aie likely
to show that settlement proceeded from the south and not
across the mountains. But such Californian terms as ranch,
corral and others from the lips of Scotchmen sounded strangely
in our ears at first.

Stock raising is the chief occupation of the farmers here ; for
though the ground produces the best cereals and vegetables,
irrigation is required as in the fertile plains and valleys of Cali-
fornia ; and the simplest method of irrigating — even where a
stream runs through the farm — is expensive in a country where
farm labourers and herdmen get from $30 to $75 a month and
their board ; and where stock raising pays so well on account
of the excellence of the natural grass. Common labourers on
the roads in British Columbia get $50 a month, about $20 of
which they pay for board; and teamsters and packers from
$100 to $150.

The farmers who have settled on the North or South Thomp-
son are making money ; and beef commands higher prices every
year. As there are very few white women most of the settlers

292

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

livo with squaws — or Klootchmen as they are called on the
Pacific ; and little agricultiu al progress or advance of any kind
can be expected until immigration brings in women accustomed
to dairy and regular f;irm-work, to be wives for white men.

The ranches taken u]) are near little creeks that sui)ply water
to irrigate them. In the valley of the South T]iom})son are
large extents of excellent land, ready for the plough, that will
not be settled on till it is proved tiiat water can be profitably
raised from the river, or be had from wells in suiliuient quan-
tity. Neither way has yet been tried, simply because all the
land along the creeks has not yet been taken up, and tliere has
been no necessity for experimenting.

As we drew n' ;\rer Kamloops, characteristics of a dilferent
climate could be noted with increasing distinctness. A milder
atmosphere, softer skies, easy rolling hills ; but the total absence
of underbrush and the dry grey grass everywhere covering the
ground were the most striking difi^erences to us, accustomed so
long to the broad-leaved underbrush and dark-gveen foliage of
the humid upper country. We had clearly left the high rainy,
and entered the lower arid, region. The clouds from the Pacific
are intercepted by the Cascades, and only those that soar like
soap-bubbles over their summits pass on to the east. These
float ovei" the intervening country till they come to a region
high enough to intercept them. Thus it is that while clouds
hang over Kamloops and its neighbourhood, little rain or snow
falls. The only timber in the district is a knotty red i>ine, and
as the trees grow widely apart, and the bunch-grass underneath
is clean, unmixed with weeds and shrubs, and uniform in colour,
the country has a well-ke})t park-like appearance, though there
is too little of fresh green and too many signs of aridity for
beauty.

The North Thompson runs smoothly for ten miles above
Kamloops, after ri})pling over a sudden descent, and making a
sharp bend round to the north-west and back again to the south*

;d on the
any kind
:;custonied
! men.
ply water
iipson are
tliat will
profitably
^nt quan-
ie all the
til ere has

dilFerent
A milder
il absence
ering the
itemed so
foliage of
gh rainy,
he Pacific

soar like
b. These

a region
le clouds
1 or snow
pine, and
iderneath
in colour,
gh there
iditv for

es above
iiaking a
he south'

ALONG THE NORTH THOMPSON RIVER.

293

In the afternoon a slight breeze had sprung up, and a tent was
hoisfed for a sail : but tlie wind shifted so froquently that more
was lost than gained by it, and at sunset we took it down and
trusted to 'he heavy oars. We had only four or five miles to
make when it became so dark that the shoals ahead could not
b^seen ; and as none of the crew knew this part of the river^
the steering became mere guess-work, and the Doctor as the
lucky man was put at the helm. We grounded three or four
times, but as the boat was flat-bottomed, and the bed of the
river hard and gravelly, she was easily shoved off. The delays
were provoking, all the more because there might be many of
them ; but about 8 o'clock, the waters of the South Thompson,
running east and west, gleamed in the darkness at right angles
to our course. The North branch, though the largest, runs
into the South branch. A quarter of a mile down stream from
the junction is Fort Kamloops.

The boat was hauled in to the bank ; and Trutch went up to
the Fort. Mr. Tait, the agent, at once came down, and with a
genuine H. B., which is equivolent to a Highland, welcome,
invited us to take up our quarters with him. Gladly accepting
the hospitable offer, we were soon seated in a comfortable room
beside a glowing fire. We were at Kamloops ! beside a Post
Office, and a waggon road ; and in the adjoining room, the
half dozen heads of families resident in or near Kamloops were
holding a meeting with the Provincial Superintendent of Edu-
cation, to discuss the best means of establishing a school. Sure-
ly we had returned to civilization and the ways of men !

Were we to judge from what we have seen of the country
along the Fraser and Thompson rivers, the conclusion would be
forced on us that British Columbia can never be an agricultural
country. We have not visited, however, the Okanagan and
Nicola Districts, or the Chilcoten Plains ; and we have heard

.ij

294

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

good accounts of the fertility of the former, and the rich park
like scenery of extensive tracts in the latter. But the greater
part of the mainland is, " a sea of mountains " ; and the Pro-
vince will have to depend mainly on its rich grazing resources,
its valuable timber, its fisheries, and minerals, for any large
increase of poj)ulation. The part of the country lying between
the western sloi)e of the Rocky Mountains and the Cascades is
an elovatc'd plateau " varying in breadth but probably av-
eraging over one hundred and twenty miles," and in length ex-
tending from the boundary line north to Chilcoten lake. This
extensive intervening plateau or series of pleateaux is ex,
tremely valuable as a stock-raising country, and with the aid of
irrigation would produce great quantities of cereals.

The indications are that it once was submerged under water,
with the hill tops then showing as islands, and with the long
line of the Cascades separating the great elevated lake from the
sea. In process of time clefts riven in the Cascades made ways
for the waters to escape. By these clefts the Fraser, the Ho
mathco, the Skeena, and the Bella Coula now run in deep
gorges through granite and gneissic or trap and basalt rocks to
the sea. Originally the waters emptied by a series of falls the
magnificence of which it is scarcely possible to conceive. The
successive subsidences of the water are now shown by the high
benches of gravel and silt along the river valleys, and on ac-
count of the great depth cut down by the rivers, there are no
bottom lands or meadows worth speaking of. As a general rule,
with only a few exceptions, all the water channels are found in
deep gorges, and for this reason the great rivers of the Province
cannot overflow their banks. They must be content with rising
higher up the steep hill-sides, between which, for the greater
part of their course, they are pent.

ich park
le greater

the Pro-
resources,
iny large

between
iscades is
•ably av-
Jngth ex-
ke. This
IX is ex.
the aid of

3r water,
the lonsr
from the
ade ways
the Ho
in deep
rocks to
falls the
^e. The
the high
I on ac-
'■ are no
ral rule,
found in
'rovince
;h rising
greater

CHAMER XI.

From Kamloops to the Sea.

Under a roof again.— Kamloops Beef. --Sermon. —John Chinaman. — No letters. —Lake
Kamloojw.— Savona's Ferry.— A niyht ride to Ashcroft.— Farming countrj*. — Sage
brush.— Irrigation.— A broken leg.— The Judge and the miners.— Odd mining. —
Siwashea and Chinamen.— Indian graves.— The waggon road. —Canyons of the
Thompson. -Big-bugs.— Lytton.— The nish to the gold mines.- Eflects of unedu-
cated Salmon. —Boston Bar.— Jackass Mountain.— The road along the Canyons. —
Sir James Douglas. -Grand scenery.— Suspension Bridge.— Simzzum's Creek. —
Yale.— Letters from home.— Travelling by steam again.— Steamer "Onward." —
Hope.— The judiciary of British Columbia. — New Westminster. — Salmon. —Assay-
ingofficc.—Burrard '8 Inlet.— Grand Potlatch.—The "Sir James Douglas."— Oene
ral remarks.

September 29th. — A long sleep in real beds under a rafted
roof, and a dip in the Thompson prepared lis for such a break-
fast as we never expect to eat again. Turtle soup out of a gold
spoon is meagre fare compared to Kamloop's beef. After a few
samples at breakfast, we were willing to subscribe to all that
had ever been said in favour of bunch-grass as feed for the cat.
tie of kings. Mealy potatoes, eggs, and other luxuries that need
not be mentioned, lest those who never knew want should scorn
our simple annals, explained satisfactorily the process by which
Dr. Cheadle added forty-one pounds to his weight in a three
week's stay at Kamloops. The dip was a pleasure too and not
merely the duty it had sometimes been felt. Though the
branches of the river are united, the currents of the two keep
distinct for several miles down ; and the Fort being on the
south side, we bathed in the South branch, which is so much
warmer than the North that in summer, people who are anx-
ious for cold water often cross in a canoe to the other side for a
bucketful.

Soon after breakfast, people began to assemble for the public
worship that had been intimated immediately on our arrival.

296

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

The service was held in the dining room of the fort. About
thitty attended : — our own party, several gentlemen from other
parts of the Province, the seven or eight inhabitants of Kara-
loops, and four or five farmers from the neighbourhood. Mr.
Tait's two little girls represented the female population of the
place ; for the three or four white women of the settlement
were either absent from home or otherwise unable to attend ;
and the men who lived with Klootchmen did not bring them to
church. It may seem wonderful that these prosperous farmers
should not have white wives ; but the remoteness of the place
must be ren.embpred, and they say, too, that the Victoria girls
are unwilling to give up the pic-nics and gaieties of the capital
for farm life and hard work in the interior. Of course there
are no servant girls at Kamloops. A young Chinaman, answer-
ing to the .'ommon name of John, was cook and maid of all
work at the fort ; and he did the work in a quiet, pleasant,
thorough way, that made us wish to steal him for our own use.
Lunch at one, and dinner at five o'clock came in not too
rapid succession, though a walk to the nearest hill-top was all
that even the most energetic of the party took in the interval.
From the hill-top is a magnificent view of the country around
Kamloops : the North Thompson valley for twenty miles up ;
the South Thompson extending to the east, and the united
stream running west for seven miles, when it expands into a
beautiful sheet of water, eighteen miles long, called Kamloops
Lake. The hills in the neighbourhood have the clean, cultiva-
ted, park-like appearance that we noticed yesterd.ay ; and several
farms on the flats, at the junction of the two branches, gave a
look of life and field work, to which, as well as to the universal
i^oft mellow colouring imparted by the bunch grass, our eyes
had long been unaccustomed. Ten miles away among the hills,
on the opposite or north side of the Thompson, is the guard,
with the four or five hundred horses of the fort, which, had time
allowed, we would have visited, to compare the horses with

FROM CAMLOOPS TO THE SEA.

297

About
om other
)f Kam-
(l, Mr.
n of the
ttlcment
attend ;
them to
farmers
he place
ria girls
5 capital
ie there
answer-
id of all
•leasant,
wn use.
not too
was all
nterval.
around
les up ;
united
into a
nil oops
iultiva-
several
gave a
iversal
r eyes
B hills,
^uard,
d time
1 with

those of the pljiins. One keeper anffices for the guard, for the
horses cluster in bands round their own stiillions, and give no
troiible except when some, being required for use or sale, have
to be separated from the rest. On such occasions, the whole
guard has to be corralled or penned, and the selection made. It
would bo impossible for a thief to steal one excei)t by corralling
the band. Last year the Company was offered !? 12,000 for
their Kamloo; : collection of horses. The offer was not accepted,
but it gives us an idea of the value of animals that cost their
owners only the pay of one keeper.

Our Sunday dinner was again crowned witli a pommican
plum-pudding. The Doctor had fraternized with John and
prepared it as a surprise. Nothing can be said concerning its
excellence more forcible than that ic stood the test of being
eaten after Kamloops beef. Few guessed the ingredients of the
pudding, but all praised it as Jiaving a peculiar flavour.

Dinner was scarcely over when peoj)le began to assemble for
the evening service that had been announced in the forenoon.
It was rough, mighty rough, on some of the party round the
table, this sudden transition from material to spiritual food.
The Doctor looked beseechingly at the Secretary, and formed
on his lips witliout syllabling it a word that could easily V>e in-
terpreted "short !" But he, with callous indifference, preached
for nearly an hour, because the congregation was larger than
in the morning, and would not get a sermon again for six
months.

September 30. — On Saturday night our disa])pointment had
been intense on learning that there were no letters or papers for
us. All grumbled, and one threatened to leave out the last
half of the weekly toast of sweethearts and wives ; but hearing
that the paymaster of the Canada Pacific Railway Survey had
left Victoria for up country, we comforted ourselves with the
hope of meeting him with the budget in his pocket at Cache
Creek, where the Kamloops road joins the Cariboo waggon road
or at Ashcroft six m!iles farther down the Thompson.

298

OCRAN TO OCEAN.

Aslicroft is fifty-five miles from Kamloops, and if we were to
get there to-night, an early start was necessary. But the pro-
verbial difliculty of getting away in a hurry from a Hudson
Bay fort held good. New arrangements require to be made ;
men taken on or paid off; horses or boat, and baggage to be
seen to ; instructions to be left ; and all the time loafers and
interviewers are in the way. We took advantage of odd
minutes to be weighed, and a table giving our respective
weights at Toronto and Kamloops is enough to prove that the
expedition had not told severely on our physique.

The Chief
The Doctor -
Frank - •
The Secretary

Or a sum total

At Kamloops, Sept. 30.
177 lbs.
187 '•
160 "
160

Weight at Toronto, July 16.
174 lbs.
184 ••
142 "
142 ••

for the four, of 42 lbs. gain.

The order for the day was to row d )wn twenty-five miles to
Savona's ferry at the foot of Kamloops Lake, and there take
horses to Ashcroft.

It was 8 o'clock before a start from the fort was effected, and
a head wind springing up soon after, our rate of progress was
slow. The river gradually expands into the Lake, and the
scenery would be exceedingly beautiful were it not for the grey
and arid or California look thai vegetation presents. The hills
are diversified in form and colouring, as they are in age ; some
heavy bluffs of trap L,nd basalt jutting out into the lake, inter-
mingled with carboniferous rocks ; and beyond them elevated
plateaux, composed of a silt of mingled sand and clay, retreat in
more or less distinctly defined terraces. These plateaux again
have been broken and twisted by small streams and side waters.
On those broken narrow winding plateaux, and the hill sides
that bound them, is abundant grazing for ten times the number
of cattle or sheep now seen on them.

While rounding the great bluff on the south side of the Lake,

FROM CAMI.OOPS TO THE SKA.

299

e were to
t the pro-
Hudson
be made ;
age to be
ifers and
of odd
espective
that the

, Sept. 30.

miles to
lere take

Jted, and
ress was
and the
the grey
:'he hills

3 ; some

e, inter-
5levated
treat in
K again
waters.
11 sides
lumber

) Lake,

the wind — which generally blows directly either up or down
stream — blew so freshly up that the boat made little or no
headway. We landed at midday, resolving to take to the
horses if they could bo soon on the other side of the bluff, and
leave Terry in the boat to look after the lujjfgago. Fortunately
Mr. Tait had accompanied Jack (who had made a forced march
from Clearwater, arriving at Kamloops on Sunday afternoon),
and noticing that the wind kept the boat back, they waited for
us in a little cove beyond the blufi', nine miles from the ferry.
We gladly mounted into the saddle again, and in an hour and
a half reached tlie end of the lake, where the Thompson issues
from it as a broad dec}) noble-looking river. Ferrying across,
a council was held at Savona's to decide what was to be done.
It would be sunset before refreshment could be taken ; and it
looked a little Dick Tur})in-ish to start at such an hour for a
thirty mile ride over a new road in a cloudy moonless night.
Learning, however, that the Governor had been on his way to
Kamloops to meet us, but had turned back to Ashcroft on
hearing that we would probably be there to-night, our usual
word " Vorwiirts" was given. A jolly-looking Boniface and
Mr. Boniface hurried up a capital supper of Kamloops beef and
vegetables, coftee and cake ; and promised one " that would
make the hair curl " to any who could remain over night.
Such a temptation, aided by a variety of circumstances, in-
duced Smith to remain ; but at 6 o'clock the rest of us were
in the saddle.

Four hours after, we reached Cache Creek, having rested only
ten minutes on the way at the house of a French Canadian set-
tler. The road followed the course of the Thompson, except
for the last six or eight miles, when it turned a little northerly
up the valley of th. creek that runs into the Buonaparte, a
tributary of the Thompson. There are good farms along the
road, but night and the fact that it was after harvest made it
necessary to accept the testimony of others on the point. The

' ■.!

300

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

ground is a Randy loam, and will produoo anytliin':^ if ii'rij»at«d,
jin<l )intliin^ without irri!j;ation. At (-ar'lin f'lvok tlio hotcd was
full, aH it f(<'n«!rally is, l»oratiso at a junction of st'voml loadR.
TIh.to wa« a lottor for uh from tho (»overnor, and his trap wait-
iTi'^ to tako UH on to Ashcroft. Aftor waitini; a littlo at (.'acho
Crt'ok to give tho j^octor time to oxauiino a pationt, wo got
into tho trap, and reachod Atiheroft IFotol at 11 o'clock, and in
half an hour after wore in IkmI. Tho Governor had taken up
hiH quarters at Senator (-'ornwall's, liard hy, and would sen us in
the morning.

October 1st. — After breakfast, a decision had to he come to
with regard to our future movements in iiritish (.'olumbia. The
Governor, not ex[)ecting our arrival so soon, had concluded that
we would not he able to take tho steamer to San Francisco till
the 27th inst. He had aranged to accompany us to Bute Inlet
on the 11th, and advised us to visit in the interval tho Upper
Fraser river and Cariboo. It was important, however, that we
should leave Victoria a fortnight earlier, if at all ])Ossible, and
that necessitated our going on directly to New Westminster.
No special object would be served by the Chief visiting Cari-
boo. The Governor, therefore, very kindly waived his own
wishes, and telegraphed to Victoria for a steamer to meet us on
Saturday at Burrard'o Inlet.

We had now to wait a day at Ashcroft for an express to
Yale, where the steamer to Mew Westminster connects with
the stage coach from Cariboo. Nothing would be gained by
going on at once, for there would have to be delay at Yale, if
not here. We therefore spent the day in seeing the country,
and in the evening dined at Senator Cornwall's.

The country about Ashcroft is sparsely peopled, and men
accustomed to the rich grassy plains on the other side of the
mountains, might wonder at first sight that it is peopled at all.
In appearance, it is little better than a vast sand and gravel
pit, bounded by broken hills, bald and arid except on a few

FROM CAMLOOPS TO THE SEA.

301

>tf'I was
111 ioihIh.
ai) wait-
t Caclm

wo pot
, ftnd in

ikon lip
iOf) U8 in

como to
ia. The
led that
isco till
to Inlet
Uppor
that we
jIo, and
iiinster.
ig Cari-
lis own
t us on

>ress to
s with
ned by
L^ale, if
luntiy,

1 men
of the
at all.
gravel
a few

gnmniits that support a Kcarty growth of Rcrub pinea. The
cattlo had oaton off ail tho bunch-pmss within three or four
niiioH of tho road, an<l a poor Hub.stituto for it chictly in tho
shapo of a blui.sli weotl or hlinib, callod sa«,'e ^n\HH or .sa;;o buHh
has takon its plaoo. Tlio tatth' oat thiH roadily, and faro well
on it in winter ; but it prows thinly, dotting rather tiian cov-
erinp tho sandy soil, and pivinp a }ioppor and salt look to tho
near hill-sides. This j)"K)r looking land however is no nioro a
desert than are tho rich valleys of Calitbrnia. lake tliein, it
will grow anything, if inigated. Unlbrtunatoly the clouds
pass and repass, driving forward only to sail high uj), and be-
yond to tho mountains, or to eddy baek ; but oven with this
great drawback, and the high i)rice of labour, and tho lack of
capital, farnung pays well. There is abundance of water in
the Thompson to irrigate all those arid slo[)e8.

At lunch to-day a lumberer from tho other side of tho liver
came in and onqnirod for tho Doctor. A log had fallon on a
Chinaman em[)loyc, and broken his log. As there was no Dr-
within a hundred miles, +he emi)loyer had como over to tele-
graph for a druggist 30 miles off, as the nearest ai)proach to a
regular practitioner. "John," he said, '* was a wonderful
Chinaman ; ho would as lief live with him as with u white
man." The Doctor went at once on tho errand of mercv, and
having to extemporise everything required for setting the leg,
it was eight o'clock at night before he got back. Ho rej)orted
the patient to have exhibited the greatest fortitude, and to be
doing well.

All the domestic servants we had seen as yet were China-
men. They are paid from $20 to $45 a month, but as servant
girls ask nearly as much, John is usually preferred. Though
all gamble and most smoke opium, such vices do not materially
interfere with t'leir luties as servants. They are bowling out
not only the cooks and servant girls, but the washer- women on
the Pacific coast, and we must look to thorn as the future

302

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

»l

navvies and miners of our West. There are 18,000 of them in
San Francisco out of a population of 160,000 ; 60,000 ir Cali-
fornia, and about 100,000 altogether on the Pacific side of
North America. It would have been diflicult to build, and it
would now be difficult to work the Union Pacific Railway
without them. Is it wonderful then that there should be a
prejudice against them in the breasts of the white working-
classes they are su] planting ? The true-blue Briton of last
century hated the French, because " they were all slaves and
wore wooden shoes." Why should not the Yankee or Irish
labourer hate the Chinese, when they not only wear wooden
shoes, but are the best of workmen, cleanly, orderly, patient,
industrious and above all cheap ?

This evening we met Judge O'Reilly, whose praises had been
often sung by Brown and Beaupr6, in contrast with judges on
the other side of the boundary line. " There isn't the gold in
British Columbia that would bribe Judge O'Reilly," was their
emphatic endorsement of his dealings with the miners. They
described him, arriving as the representative of British law and
order, at Kootanie, immediately after thousands had flocked to
the newly discovered gold mines there. Assembling them, he
said that order must and would be kept ; and advised them not
to display their revolvers unnecessarily, " for, boys, if there's
shooting in Kootanie, there will be hanging." Such a speech
was after the miners' own heart, and after it there were no
disturbances in Kootanie.

The judge in his turn praised the miners, as manly, law
abiding fellows. He never had the least difficulty in preserving
order among the thousands gathered from all quarters of the
earth, though the available force at his back usually consisted
of two constables.

Left this morning for Lytton, forty-eight miles down stream,
in an express, as the mail waggon ^rom Cariboo was sure to be
full of passengers at this season of ihe year. The waggon road

of them in
30 i- Cali-
fic side of
lild, and it
c Railway
ould be a
J vvorkinfif-

on of last
slaves and
e or Irish
ar wooden
y, patient,

5 had been
judges on
lie gold in
was their
rs. They
h law and
flocked to
them, he

them not
if there's

a speech
3 were no

nly, law

reserving

s of the

consisted

I stream,
lire to be
gon road

FROM CAM LOOPS TO THE SEA.

303

on which we travelled is the principal public work of British
Columbia ; constructed as a government work with great energy
soon after the discovery of the Cariboo gold mines. It was a
very creditable undertaking, for most formidable engineering
diflSculties had to be overcome at the Canyons of the Fraser
and the Thompson, and the expense to an infant colony was
necessarily heavy. The waggon road is an enduring monument
to Sir James Douglas — the fii-st (Governor of the Province— a
man worthy to rank with those Tvoman generals and governors
who were the gi'eat road-makers of the old world.

Before its construction there was only a trail to Cariboo, along
which the gold hunters toiled night and day, driving pack-horses
that carried their blankets and provisions, or if too poor to afford
horse or mule, packing everything on their own backs. Men
have been known to start from Yale on foot, for the gold fields,
with 150 lbs. weight on their backs, and when they got to their
destination, their difficulties only commenced. Gold was and is
found in every sandbar of the river and in every creek ; but it
had to be found in large quantities to enable a man to live. A
pound of flour cost a dollar and a half, and everything else sold
at proportional pri es. The gold was in largest quantities near
the bed rock, and this was generally covered with a deposit of
silt from five to forty feet thick, containing but little of the
precious metal near the surface. The country presented every
obstacle to prospecting. Range upon range ol stern hills wooded
from base to summit, through which a way could be forced
only with incredible toil, and at the daily risk of starvation ; it
is little wonder that the way to Cariboo, and the country itself
proved to be the grave of many an adventurous gold seeker. A
few made fortunes, in a week or a month, which as a rule they
dissipated in less than a year ; hundreds gathered moderately
large sums, which they took away to s])end elsewhere ; thousands
made wages ] and tens of thousands, nothing. It had been the
same in Calif jrnia, when gold was discovered there ', but then

304

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

I I

I- 1

1 (

the masses who were unsuccessful could not get out of the
country, and tliey had — fortunately for themselves — to hire out
as farm servants and herdmen. In British Columbia they
could get back to Oi'egon and California, and back they went,
poorei" than they had come, but leaving the Province little the
better for their visit.

At various points on the river, all- down tlie road, miners are
still to be found. These are cliiefly Siwashes and Chinese, who
take up abandoned claims, and wash the sand over again, being
satisfied with smaller wages than what contents a white man.
Their tastes are simple and their expenses moderate. None of
them dream of going to the wayside hotels, and paying a dollar
for every meal, a dollar for a bed, a dollar for a bottle of ale,
or twenty cents for a drink. The Cinnam;ui cultivates vege-
tables beside his claim ; these anti his bag of rice suffice for
him, greatly to the indignation of the orthodox miner. The
Si wash catches salmon in his scoop net from every eddy of the
river, and his wife carries them up to the house and makes his
winter's food. These two classes of the population, the one
representing an ancient civilization, the other scattered nomads
with almost no tribal relationships, resemble each other in ap-
pearance so much that it would be difficult to distinguish them,
were it not for the long tail or queue into which the Chinaman
braids his hair, and which he often folds at the back of his
head, instead of letting it hang down his back. The Pacific
Indian is Mongolian in size and complexion, in the shape of
the face, and the eyes. He has neither the strength of limb,
the manly bearing, nor the dignity so characteristic of the In-
dians on the east side of the Rocky Mountains, but he is quite
as intelligent, and takes more readily to civilized ways.

Salmon are the staple of the Siwash's food, and these are so
abundant that they generally sell them for ten to twenty- five
cents apiece ; and ten cents in British Columbia is equivalent
to a penny elsewhere, for there is no smaller coin than the ten

FROM CAMLOOPS TO THE SEA.

305

i out of the
— to hire out
lumbia they
k they went,
lice little the

i, miners are
Jhinese, who
again, being
I white man.
te. None of
ying a dollar
bottle of ale,
tivates vege-
le suffice for
miner. The
' eddy of the
lid makes his
ion, the one
:ered nomads

other in ap-
ngnish them,
lie Chinaman

back of his

The Pacific
the shape of
igth of limb,
ic of the In-
it he is quite
ways.

these are so
twenty five
is equivalent
than the ten

cent piece in the Province. Servant* here and on the Fraser
river would probably bargain as they used to bargain when
hiring in Scotland, that they were not to be expected to eat
salmon oftener than four times a week, if there was the slight-
est necessity of their making any stipulation. But masters and
mistresses know their places too well to dream of imposing
that or any other condition on them. We passed several Chi-
namen travelling along the road, each man carrying all his
worldly goods suspended from the ends of a j)ole slung across
one of his shoulders. So habituated are they to this style of
carrying weight, that when they possess only one bundle, incon-
venient to divide, they are said to tie a stone to the other end
of the pole to balance the load. Whether this is meant as a
joke or not, I shall leave as a puzzle to my readers.

Next to the bold and varied scenery, the chief objects of
interest to a stranger travelling down the Thompson and
the Fraser, especially after entering the Cascade range, are
the Indian graves. Whatever these poor people can accoai-
plish in the way oi architecture or art, is reserved for their
dead. A house better than they live in is built, or a good tent
erected, and in it are placed the valuables of the deceased, —
his gun, blanket, food ; in front hang scalps, or bright shawls,
and white flags ; his canoe is placed outside, and beside it the
hide of his horse or mule over a wooden skeleton ; rude painted
images representing the man, woman, or family, as the case
may be, are ranged in front. It is an article of faith with them
that no Indian ever desecrated op robbed a grave; and this is
probable enough, for seldom has an Indian been known to steal
or disturb even the cache of another, though the cache of dried
salmon on the Pacific slope is usually hung on a tree by the way-
side. The provincial law very properly imposes severe penal-
ties on those who violate Indian graves ; but that the tempta-
tion may not be too strong, the canoe is generally riddled, and
the lock of the gun taken off, before being deposited beside the

306

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

'i iti!

! i

ii'!

I i

dead. All those possessions so valuable in the eyes of a Siwash
are left exposed to the winds of heaven and the beasts of the
forest, and the age of the grave can be read in the condition in
which you find them.

Driving for three hours over a country resembling that round
Ashcroft, we came to Cook's Bridge, where the Thompson is
crossed, and soon alter to the foot hills of the Cascade range.
Everywhere the soil looked poor and arid ; yet everywhere that
cultivation was attempted, it produced cereals, roots, and fruits
of the best kind. Tomatoes, water and musk melons ripened
in the open air ; and no farmer has fewer than fifty head of
cattle, while some have ten times as many. Now, however, we
were about to enter another rainy region, and the heavy mists
resting on the hill-tops ahead, were the first indications of the
change. The river's narrowness about Ashcroft had astonished
us ; but here it contracted still more, looking smaller than
either its North or South branch away up at Kamloops. What
it is forced to lack in breadth it makes up in depth. As the
rocky outliers of the mountains cannot be levelled into mead-
ows, the river has to dam itself up their sides or dig a deeper
ditch. The road followed its course, winding along the bases
of the hills, or combing over the canyons, while far down, so
immediately under us, that a stone could be dropped into the
deep water, the river lay, like a green serpent, now at peace,
and now rearing a crested head to pierce deeper into the over-
lapping barriers before it.

Towards sunsetting, cold i^in with strong gusts of wind came
on ; and as the road was often only a narrow ledge, cut out of
the side of a precipice, we were thankful when the driver point,
ed out a hill in front, as the one on the other side of which was
our resting place, the village of Lytton, at the junction of the
Thompson with the Fraser.

We soon saw the lights of the village, and drove up to a
house, the mean outside of which gave little promise of the

FROM CAMLOOPS TO THE SEA.

307

of a Siwasii
easts of the
iondition in

y that round
'hompson is
icade range,
ywhere that
s, and fruits
ons ripened
fty head of
lowever, we
tieavy mists
ions of the
i astonished
mailer than
)ops. What
bh. As the
into mead-
ig a deeper
^ the bases
ir down, so
ed into the
•w at peace,
to the over-

f wind came
cut out of
Iriver point-
f which was
tion of the

ve up to a
aise of the

good things for the inner man, in the dining room. M. Hautier,
a Frenchman, and his pretty little Flamand wife, kept the
house, and had comfortable rooms prepared for us, and a petit
gout de mouton for supper.

October, 3rd. — The village of Lytton can scarcely be consi-
dered worthy of its aristocratic name. A single row of frail un-
painted sheds or log shanties, the littleness and rickettineas of
which are all the more striking from the two noble rivers that
meet here and the lofty hills that enclose the two valleys, is the
sum total of Lytton. Its population of perhaps an hundred
souls is made up of Canadians, British, Yankees, French, China-
men, Sivvashes, half-breeds ; all religions and no religion.

To judge by the outside appearance of the village, there must
be something rotten in its state. No sign of progress j itie use
of paint or whitewash considered a sin ; though perhaps, (^ven
whitewash would be too good for such tumble down little huts.
But go into the hotel, and all is changed. The inside is as dif-
ferent from what the outside would lead you to expect, as if it
was the house of a rich Jew, in the middle ages. All the com-
forts of the Saut-market are to be had, and everyone, inside
and outside the house, appears able to pay for them. A dirty
looking miner calls for drinks all round, at twenty-five or fifty
cents a drink, and considers himself half insulted if ony one in
the room declines the friendly invitation. " Go through the
form so as not to give offence," whispered a gentleman to the
Doctor, as he saw him backing away from the freely [troffered
claret, champagne and brandy. The meat, fish, vegetables, and
sweets on the table are all excellent, and well cooked. There
are no poor men in the Province, and no such thing as bad
living known. The explanation of this contrast, huts in which
the tenants live like fighting cocks — is that none of the people
came here to stay. They came to make money and then return
home. Therefore it is not worth their while to build good
houses or furnish them expensively ; but they can afford to live

I i

I !

! »

368

OCEAN TO OCfiAN.

well, and the gold miner's maxim is eat, drink, and be merry,
for to-morrow we die.

Tliir state of things has been the millstone round the neck of
British (/olumbia. The discovery of gold in 1858, on the Fra-
ser, brought the first rush of people to the mainland, and re-
sulted in the formation of the colony. All California was deli-
rious. Thirty thousand men left the States for the Fraser, or,
as it was more popularly called, " the Crazy River." The rush
to Pike's Peak was nothing to the rush for Victoria. But in the
course of the next two or three years, the thousands died or
drifted back again, and only the tens remained. Then, in 18C2
the Cariboo mines were discovered, -ind the second rush was
greater than the fi^st; but again, not an emigration of sober,
steady householders, whose aim was to establish homes, and live
by their own industry, but of fever-heated adventurers from all
parts of the world — men without a country and without a home.
San Francisco was deserted for a time. Thousands sold their
lots there, and bought others in Victoria or claims in Cariboo.
Cariboo was four hundred miles from the sea, and there was no
road but an old Indian trail, winding up and down mountains
and precipices, across deep gorges and rivers, through thick
woods without game ; but the obstacles that would have stopped
an army were laughed at by miners. Of course the wave soon
spent itself.

From that day, until recently, the colony has been going
back, or as some gloomily say, getting into its normal condition.
Within the last ten years, millions of dollars in solid gold have
been taken out of the colony. No one thought of remaining in
it except to make a fortune ; no one was interested in its poli'
tical life ; no one of the thousands of foreign immigrants became
a subject of the Crown. It was a mere finger-joint separated
from its own body. But all this is now changing. With Con-
federation came the dawn of a brighter future ; and, although
British Columbia may never have the population of California

I I

FROM CAMLOOPS TO THE SEA.

309

id be merry,

. the neck of
on the Fra-
me!, and re-
lia was deli-
3 Fraser, or,
Tlie rush
But in the
nds died or
len, in 1862
id rush was '
on of sober,
nes, and live
ers from all
lOut a home.
s sold their
in Cariboo.
;here w^as no
u mountains
irough thick
lave stopped
e wave soon

been going
al condition,
id gold have
•emaining in
1 in its poli*
ants became
it separated

With Con-
id, although
f California

or Oregon, an orderly development is commencing that will soon
make it rank as a valuable Province of the Dominion. It has
the prospect of being no longer a dissevered limb, but of being
connected by iron, as well as sympathetic, bands with its trunk ;
and it is already receiving the pulses of the larger life. Had the
Columbia River, instead of the 49th i)arallel been made its
Southern boundary line, i.e., had it received its natural and
rightful boundary instead of a purely artificial one, it could
compete with California in cereals as well as in gold mining.
But in this, as in every case of disputed lines in America, U.S.
diplomatists knew the value of what they claimed, and British
diplomatists did not. Every one in the Province believes that
they lost the Columbia, because the salmon in it would not take
a fly. At the time of the dispute, when the Secretary for "War
was using brave words in the House of Commons, the brother
of the Prime Minister happened to be stationed on the Pacific
coast, and fished in the Columbia without success, because the
salmon were too uneducated to rise to a fly. He wrote home
that " there was no use making a fuss abouc the country for it
wasn't worth a ." And so the worthless region, now con-
sidered the most valuable on the Pacific, was gracefully given
up. And why not, when it was the privately if not publicly
announced aim of a school of British politicians to get rid of
the whole of British America, and thus gradually work out
Benjamin Franklin's problem of how " a great nation may be
made into a very little one." But enough of this. We still
have more good land than we know what to do with.

Our first spell to-day was thirty-two miles down the Fraser
from Lytton to Boston Bar, once a sand-bar celebrated for its
rich gold deposits, and still rich enough to be washed by China-
men and even a few not over-ambitious whitea. Tne road for
the first ten or eleven miles ran chiefly across broken gravelly
benches ; and then over, or when possible, around canyons that
overhung the river. The highest of these was Jackass Mouu-

t )

i i

310

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

tain, a huge bluff of pudding stone, probably so called because

before the wagpjon-road was made, the old Indian path must

have been strewn with the carcases of gold seekers' mules. The

road now is at an elevation of seven or eight hundred feet above

the river ; and a thousand feet higher up may be seen a bridge

at one time only two feet wide, stretched, like a spider's web,

across a deep gulch on the old trail. Many a miner, in 1862,

had crawled across this on his hands and knees, with heavy

packs on his shoulders, well knowing that if he slipped, there

was nothing to save him from rolling and pitching over sheer

perpendicular rocks, from point to point, for eighteen hundred

feet into the Fraser.

" Had you seen these roads before they were made,
You would lift up your hands and bless General Wade,"

is a couplet well known to every tourist in the Highlands of
Scotland. Sir James Douglas is the General Wade of British
Columbia, and his name should be on the mile-stones of its
waggon-road. The boast of the Colonists that no country in the
world with so small a population and revenue f v^er constructed
such good roads through so difficult a country is quite legiti-
mate ; and no one but a man possessed of great administrative
ability and iron will could have done the work.

The waggon road, in many places, had to be hewed sideways
out of the rock, or cloven through it, or built up with log or
mason work in the hollows ; and the cribbing is now so much
out of repair, that one could not help feeling uneasy. The
heavy rain last night had brought down boulders on it from
the rocks above and lor aned the soil at its outward edge, leav-
ing but little film ground for the waggon between the mountain
and the edge of the bank. The slightest carelessness or reck-
lessness in driving would have hurled the whole of us into the
deep muddy torrent that rolled along swiftly at the bottom of
the gorge. But the ribands were in the hands of a steady New
Brunswicker, who had been on the road since it was built, in

FROM CAMLOOPS TO THE SEA.

311

lied because
path must

imiles. The
Jcl feet above
een a bridrre
pider's web,

or, in 1862,

with heavy
ipped, there
? over s])ecr
!en hundred

^ade,"

righlands of
e of British
tones of its
imtry in the
constructed
quite legiti-
aiinistrative

sd sideways
with log or
)w so much
easy. The
on it from
edge, leav-
3 mountain
3SS or reck-
us into the
! bottom of
teady New
ts built, in

summer and winter, day-light and dark, storm and shine, and
who had never once misood time or come to grief in any way.
Steve and a brother Now Brunawicker, who drove the mail-
coach, were now, as they deserved to be, partners in the con-
cern. Better whips there are not ; and we cordially recom-
mend tourists who wish to travel over a road far more grand
and picturesque than the celebrated Cornice between Genoa and
Nice, to trust themselves to either of them.

We dined at Boston Bar ; and by one o'clock were on the
road again, hoping to get over the remaining twenty-four miles
to Yale before dark. The scenery all the way was of the same
frightfully grand character as it had been for most of the fore-
noon, with the exception of a small patch of open ground here
and there, cultivated by an enterprising settler, and on which
fruits and roots of the finest kinds grow readily. Eleven miles
from Yale we crossed to the west side of the Fraser over a
pretty suspension bridge, and, a mile beyond had to halt. A
gang of men were busy rebuilding the bridge over a strong
mountain torrent, called Spuzzum's Creek, from a patriarchal
Siwash chief of that ilk, who had gathered a colony around him
near the bridge, in decent looking huts superior to those of the
town of Lytton ; and as only the stringers had been laid, there
seemed nothing for it but to camp, or cross on foot and walk to
Yale through a thick drizzle which has commenced. Several
of the huge freight waggons used in British Columbia, each
drawn by twelve or sixteen oxen, and fully a hundred pack
mules had come on before us, to cross ; but having been told
that there was no chance, their drivers had unharnessed, or
unpacked them, and were idling about. Steve, however,
was equal to the occasion. He offered ten dollars if the men
would stop their work and place loose planks across the string-
ers. The bargain was struck, and in an hour the job was done.
Steve unharnessed his horses and walked them across, and the
men dragged after him not only his waggon, but also the

II Hi'

I', i

I i i

312

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

mail coach which hy tliis timo had canQ:h up to us. A
number of Siwa.slies wore cn<,'af:fO(l on tho hridj^o, and scemod to
work on a footinpf of e(Hiality with tho wljitcs, with tho grand
exception tliat thoir waj^oH wore only $20 a month, while tho
whites got from $40 to $00 and their hoard. The general re-
port was that the Siwash was a good fellow, olxHlient and in-
dustrious as long as he had a mind to work, if li(|Uor could bo
kept from him ; but that licjuor made him mad. He coidd
neither resist it nor stand it. Again we were strtick with tho
Asiatic cast of countenance ; and some of them were handsomer,
from having decidedly straighter noses, than any Chinaman wo
saw. But the Fraser and liilloet In<lians are said to be tho
best in tho Province, the best featured and tho moat indus-
trious.

It was not quite dark when we saw tho lights of Yale. Our
first resort was to the Post Office armed with authority from tho
Governor to open the Kamloops bag. No difficulty was made,
and in it were found letters and papers for everyone of the party
out the Secretary. Unfortunate man ! Never did Briton look
more like pariah than he as he sat looking gloomily at the
others.

October 4th. — At Yale, we said good bye to horses. Hence-
forth, steam, the nineteenth century horse, would carry us down
the river, along the coast, and across the continent homewards.
Canoe and barge, buck-board and cart, saddle and pack-horse,
buggy and express waggon belonged to the past of the expedi-
tion.

To-day the steamer Onward, that runs twice a week down
the Fraser from Yale, was to take us to New Westminster, the
Capital of British Columbia previous to its union in 1866 with
Vancouver's Island. There, another steamer connects for Vic-
toria, but our intention was to examine some of the harbours
on the mainland before crossing to Vancouver's Island. The
Onward's usual hour of starting is 7 A.M., but she delajred

FROM CAMLOOPS TO THE SEA.

313

to U8. A

nd Hoemod to
th tho grand
til, while tho
' poiKnal re-
ienfc and in-
ner could bo
He could
ick with tho
handsomer,
hinanian wo
d to be tho
most indus-

Yalo. Our
ity from tho
T was made,
:)f tlie party
Rriton look
mily at tho

s. Hence-
ry us down
lomewards.
pack-horse,
:lie expedi-

eek down
inster, the
1866 with
;s for Vic-
harbours
nd. The
3 delayed

to-day till noon to oblige several grntlemen who liad come up
the river as far as Hope, to examine a now silver lead discov-
ered in the mountains seven inilcH ba<;k from that settlement,
and who wIsImmI to got back to Victoria this wet^k. Tim delay
gave us time to walk round Yah; and up the river. The vil-
lage itself has a neat, chvm, tliiiving appearance, as if its
inhabitants had settled down to live in the country. Tho scen-
ery in tho neighbourhood is of tho grandest kind, varying with
every bend of tho rivijr. Hills rise in gradual woocIimI slopes
for five, six or eight hundred f(?ot ; and above, bald rocks shoot
up plumb for ton or twelve hundred fecst higher. The valley is
narrow, affording but little room for the farmei'.

The steamer started at noon, and nine houi-s after reached
New Westminster, distant 1)5 miles. The current is so strong
that she could run down in six hours, while it takes two days
to work uj). None of tho stopping places are of much impor-
tance, though one or two are reported to bo growing, especially
the agricultural .settlement of Sunuiss, which is beginning to
supply New Westminster and Victoria with V>cef cattle. A
little more work on that lino is what tho Province needs most ;
for at present, instead of keeping her gold within her own bor-
ders, she lias to export it all to buy tho necessaries of life.

Soon after passing Hope, where every one got 8i)ecimens of
the new silver mine, the Fraser turns from its southerly to a
south-westerly and then a westerly, course ; and tho valley begins
to broaden and give some room and verge for farms, T^ut tho
good land near the river does not amount to much. The Fraser
has gold in its sandbars, and salmon by the hundred thousand in
its pools and channels ; but spite of its great length and force,
the mountains between which it forces its way are too powerful
for it to accomplish the usual work of rivers. It cannot over-
flow, no matter how immense the volume of water it rolls
down to the sea; it can only rise higher up the sides of its rocky
barriers. We could see the high water mark twenty five feet
ftbove the present level.

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

On board tho Onward wo mot Ohiof Jiistioo Bop^bio, anotbov
namo hold in profound rosppct by tho minors, SiwaslioH, find all
others among whom lio lias doult out juHtico. Jud£»o Lyncli
has nevor boon requirod in British Cohnnbia, bocause Chirf
JuHtico Iicgbie did Ids duty, and nuiintainod tlio dignity of liis
Court as eflfoctually as if it had boon hold in Old Wostminstor.
It is a grand sight to a rightly constitutod mind whon two or
throo policemon soatter a stroot mob. It must liavo boor? a
grandor to soo a Hritish Judgo backed l)y one or two conftablcs
maintaining order at tho gold mines among the tag-rag and bob-
tail, tho rough and tumble, fovor-heated classes of miners,
gamblers, claim jumpers, and cutthroats who congregate at
such places. For *' tho yellow fever" seizes upon the most
daring and the most abandoned of humanity, the strongest and
the weakest. And whore there is no previously settled popu-
lation to enforce order, what can be expected round every rich
creek and gulch but a miniature Norfolk Island without the
keepers? In such communities, especially at the outset, justice
or even a little more than justice is true mercy. That Scotch
Lord Braxfield who gleefully told an unfortunate wretch that
"he would be nane the waur o'a little hanging," would have
been a very guardian angel '" California in 1849. It is a
proud thought to us that British America has proved herself a
worthy daughter of the Old Mother in her judiciary ; that in
nj Province has a judge ever been accused as corriipted or
corruptible. In British Columbia the difficulties in the way of
preserving order were greatest, yet the laws have always been
respected and enforced, and two or three constables proved
sufficient for every emergency. The results have been simply
marvellous. The Times Cariboo correspondent could write in
1862 : — " As to security of life, I consider it just as safe here
as in England." Every week for the last nine years the mail
coach has carried a box or boxes of gold dust from Cariboo with
no defender but Stove or his partner; and though running

FROM CAMLOOPS TO THE SEA.

315

'pMo, another
aslic'H, and nil
Judfiio Lynch
)ooau8o Chief
lipnify of liis
WestininHter.
when two or
have hf'or n
vo conrtabh'S
-ragnndbol).
I of miners,
5ngregate at
)n the most
trongest and
jettled popu-

I every rich
without the

II tset, justice
Tliat Scotch
wretch that
would have
9. It is a
3d herself a
ly; that in
irrupted or

the way of
Iways been n
>les proved
een simply
d write in
s safe here
s the mail
iriboo with
h rujming

through a country roamed over by tho lawless of every nation,
where ambuscades could be planmul at every turn, whore for
long stretches there is neither house nor shanty, it has never
been plundered nor even attacked. Tliough comparisons are
odious, tliey ought to be mad(! sometimes. It is almost impos-
sible to take up a newspaper, published on the other side of the
line, witliout reading accounts of violent deeds in the gold tields
or of mail-coaches {tlunder<!d. One fact that came under our
own notice is sulUcic^ntlv illustrative. On our return, t»i0 train
stojjped for an hour at Ogden, in tho Utah Territory. Tho first
thing that attract(!d our attention was a series of i)lacar(ls on
tho railway station describing four different cases of highway
robbery in tho territory that month, and offering rewards
varying from hundreds to thousands of dollars for the discovery
of the highwa) men.

They tell many good stories in British Columbia of the Chief
Justice's dignity on the Bench, and the terror he inspires. Tho
last we heard ought to be true. He sternly told a witness who
hesitated considerably, that ho believed he was prevaricating.
— ** And h-liow can a fellow h-help prevaricating who has l-lost
his front teeth ]" was the half-frightened response of the poor
man, expecting nothing less than an order for his instant exe-
cution.

On our arrival at New Westminster several gentlemen of the
place waited on the Chief to offer him a public dinner. He felt
obliged to decline, with thanks for the courtesy ; and after
making arrangements to start for Burrard's Inlet in the moin-
ing, we turned into our berths in preference to going to an
hotel.

October 15th. — The programme for the day was to drive nine
miles across the spit of land, on one side of which is New
Westminster, to Burrard's Inlet ; see as much of the inlet as
possible ; and Avhen the steamer that the Governor had tele-
graphed for arrived, proceed in her to Bute Inlet, visiting on

\'-i

316

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

the way the surveying parties who had been at work all sum-
mer on the coast. Several New Westminster gentlemen ac-
companied us to Burrard's Inlet ; and as the member for the
district, the senior member for Victoria, and a senator from
Cariboo were in town, the Chief invited them to join us in our
coasting trip to the north.

As this enlargement of the ])arty occasioned an hour's delay,
there wa-s time to look round New Westminster, before starting.
The population of the little town is less than a thousand, but
the importance of a town in America is not estimated so much
by its population, as by its position and the extent of country
it supplies. New Westminster is the only town on the delta
of the Fraser, and as the delta may be said to extend east and
west from Sumass to the sea, and from Boundary Bay on the
south to Burrard's Inlet on the north, or over sixty miles in
length by twenty in breadth, a district including much land fit
for agriculture, the population and importance of the country
and town are sure to increase. Its being near the mouth of the
Fraser, a river seven hundred miles long, does not help it much,
not only because the Fraser drains comparatively little land
adapted for cultivation, but because the entrance is intricate on
account of the tortuous channel and shifting shoals that extend
out for some distance into the Gulf of Georgia. The excellent
harbour of Burrard's Inlet, nine miles to the north, will there-
fore be generally preferred for shipping purposes. This has
been already proved to a certain extent. The New Westmin-
ster proprietors of a large steam saw-mill finding Burrard's
Inlet the fitter port for their shipments of lumber, transferred
the machinery and set up their mill on the north side of the
Inlet ; so that now little or nothing is exported from New
Westminster, except fish and cattle from the neighbouring set-
tlements. A practically unlimited quantity of fish ought to be
exported ; for salmon go'up the Fraser from the sea in count ■
Jess numbers. They are said to be inferiox Ir* quality to those

FROM CAMLOOPS TO THE SEA

317

work all sura-
gent 1cm en ac-
lember for the
senator from
join us in our

1 hour's delay,
efore starting,
thousand, but
lated so much
it of country
on the delta
;end east and
r Bay on the
ixty miles in
much land fit
the country
mouth of the
help it much,
ly little land
s intricate on
i that extend
Hie excellent
I, will there-
s. This has
w "VVestmin-
ig Burrard's
, transferred
side of the
1 from New
bouring set-
ought to bo
'a in count •
ity to those

of the Atlantic coast, though we did not think so, and they
would probably be quite as good for canning. The firat trade
we saw this morning was a Klootchman selling four salmon for
twenty-five cents ; and that in a country where twenty-five are
less valuable than ten cents in the Eastern Provinces. A
sturgeon in the fish market weighed over 300 lbs. They aie
sometimes caught from six to nine hundred w^ught, and the
flavour of this fish is considered by many superior to kialmon.
But the Province is young, and requires capital and exterprise
before it can compete on a largo scale with the fish-curing estab-
lishments on the Cohmibia River.

We paid a visit to the assaying office, and the agent in charge
explained the process by practical illustrations. TVhere there
is no assay oflice, the miner in selling his gold is at ^^lie mercy
of itinerant dealers. Now he takes his precious dust or nug-
gest to the office, where it is fused into ingots and the exact
market value of each ingot stamped on it for a quarter per
cent, or $1 for $400. The New Westminster office assayed
last year of the products of the Fraser mines $100,000. The
Cariboo office of course does a much more extensive business.

At ll» A.M. the united party started for Burrard's Inlet, and
arrived in two hours. A lover of ferns would be charmed with
this bit of road, so surprising a variety can be gathered, especi-
ally near the Inlet. Many, such as the shield, the winter, the
rock, uhe lady fern and the bracken, are similar to those found
in the Atlantic provinces, but other varieties were altogether
new to us.*

A steamer, so diminutive and toy-like that each man stepped
on board tenderly for fear of upsetting or breaking her, was in
Waiting to take us across the Inlet to the large saw-mill of

* A small collection chiefly made about Burrard's Inlet, includes the following
varieties, besides two new ones that we could not make out : — Polypodium vulgare ; P.
Dryopterls ; Asplenium Trichomanes ; Allosorus crispus ; Cystopteris montana ; C.
fragilis; Pteris Aquilina ; Blechnum boreale ; Polystichum acrostichoides ; P. Lonchitis;
Lastrea dilatata ; Botrychium Virginicum ; B. Lunariu ; B. lunarioidea.

I '<

1 1

)

318

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

Messrs. Moody, Diety and Nelson, Thirteen million feet of
lumber were exported last year from this, and about as much
from another mill on the south side of the inlet owned by a
company. All the lumber is the famous Douglas Fir. Logs
four to five feet in diameter W3re being hauled up and sawed
by two circular saws, the one placed vertically over the other,
as it is easier to work on such huge subjects with two ordinary
sized than with one very large saw. The workmen represented
the various nationalities scattered everywhere along the Pacific
coast, Whites, Chinese, Siwashes and Kanakas or Sandwich
Islanders.

The aborigines work well till they save enough money to live
on for some time, and then they go up to the boss and frankly
say that they are lazy and don't want to work longer. They
are too unsophisticated to sham sickness, or to strike. Another
habit of the richer ones, which to the Anglo-Saxon mind borders
on insanity, is that of giving universal backshish or gifts to the
whole t)'ibe, without expecting any return save an increased
popularity that may lead to their election as Tyhees or chiefs
when vacancies occur. An old fellow, big George, was pointed
out to us as having worked industriously at the mill for years
till he had saved $2,000. Instead of putting this in a Savings
Bank, he had spent it all on stoi'es for a grand " Potlatch,"
summoning Siwashes from far and near to come, eat, drink,
dance, hi merry, and receive gifts. Nearly a thousand assem-
bled ; the festivities lasted a week ; and everyone got something,
either a blanket, musket, bag of flour, box of apples, or tea and
sugar. When the fun was over, big Geo.'ge, now pennyless,
returned to the mill to carry slabs at $20 a month. His repu-
tation mounted to an extraordinary height because of so mag'
nificent a potlatch, and he stood a good chance of the Tyhee-
ship ; but two rivals. Supple Jack and Old Jim, were preparing
to outdo him ; and if Siwashes are at all like civilized beings*
the " popularis aura " shall fill their sails before long.

/\ •

nil] ion feet of
bout as much
it owned by a
IS Fir. Logs
up and sawed
.^er the other,

two ordinary
n represented
ng the Pacific

or Sandwich

money to live
3 and frankly
onger. They
ke. Another
mind borders
or gifts to the
an increased
lees or chiefs
, was pointed
nill for years
1 in a Savings
I "Potlatch,"
, eat, drink,
usand assem-
ot something,
es, or tea and
w pennyless,
1. His repu-
e of so mag"
^f the Tyhee-
ere preparing
ilized beings*
3ng.

FROM CAMLOOPS TO THE SEA.

319

Very naturally Siwashes measure all excellence by the grub
or gifts they get. It is said that when a Bishop lately visited
a tribe that one of his missionaries had laboured among for
some time, they all gathered to meet him, being told that he
was " hyass Tyhee " or great chief of the praying men. The
Bisliop addressed them at great length, and apparently with
effect, but when done, a grave and reverend fellow rose and
snuffed out iiis lordship with half a dozen words, which in ver-
nacular Chinook, are even more emphatic than in any slang
English they can be rendered into, " lots of gab ; no grub, no
gilts ; all gammon." A delightful gentleman to convert, cer-
tainly !

The workmen at the mill live in comfortable little houses,
perched on rocks at the foot of a lofty wooded hill overhanging
the shore. There is no soil except what has been made on the
beach from chips and sawdust. Round the nearest point is a
small tract diligently cultivated by a few Chinamen. The men
have a large reading-room with a harmonium, and a well
selected library. No intoxicating liquors can be sold on the
premises. Their pay is good and they save money. The man-
ager of the mill on the other side of the Inlet told us that he
would give |200 a month to any competent overseer we v^ould
send him.

The woods all round these shores are well stocked with deer.
The usual way of hunting is to send the dogs into the woods,
and drive the deer down into the harbour, where they are at
the mercy of the sportsman. The overseer informed us that in
this way he could shoot a deer any day within two hours.

After lunch, we embarked on a large steamer belonging to
the mill for a sail round the Inlet. At this moment, the Sir
James Douglas, the steamer the Governor had telegraphed for,
arrived from Victoria. The captain came on board to put him-
self at the orders of the Chief, and it was arranged to start with
him as soon after midnight as possible. In the meantime he
proceeded with us down the Inlet.

320

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

Burrard's Inlet is naturally divided into three divisions, that
are really three distinct harbours. The saw-mills are on the
opposite shores of the middle one. This middle harbour
narrows at both extremities, and an outer and a further inner
hai'bour are thus made. We had time to visit only the outer
and the midcUe, both safe and capacious harbours, with easy
entrance and good anchorage. At seven P.M. we got back to
the mill, and after dinner said good-bye to the New West-
minster gentlemen who had kindly accompanied us. The little
cabin of the Si?' James Douglas was to be our dining and sleep-
ing room for the next week, our last week, for after it the
home stretch would begin.

j I

The little that we saw of the mainland of British Columbia
does not warrant us to say much about it as a field for emi-
grants. There can be no reasonable doubt that it can support
in comfort a much larger population than it now has. The re-
sources of the colony are considerable, but all its industries are
in their infancy, cramped from want of capital^ and obliged to
compete with the immense and consolidated establishments of
similar industries on the other side of the boundary line. Its
distance from the countries that supply emigrants, and the ex-
pense of travelling from place to place, on account of the
magnificent distances within the Province itself, are great draw-
backs. But on the other hand, the high price paid for labour,
the ready market for all products of the soil, and the healthiness
of the climate are iramense attractions to the ordinary class of
emigrants. While lumbering, mining, and the fisheries ofier
the richest prizes to men of capital and experience, mechanics
and the labouring classes can command such wages that the
economy of a few years puts them in the position of small
capitalists. Farm labourers especially ought to be able to buy

livisions, that
Is are on the
(Idle harbour
further inner
►nly the outer
ITS, with easy
,^e got back to
) New West-
is. The little
ling and sleep-
r after it the

FROM CAMLOOPS TO THE SEA.

321

Ltish Columbia
field for emi-
it can support

has. The re-
industries are
and obliged to
ablishments of
lary line. Its
ts, and the ex-
ccount of the
ire great draw-
aid for labour,
the healthiness
dinary class of

fisheries offer
ice, mechanics
v^ages that the
iition of small
be able to buy

and stock good farms of their own out of the savings of four or
five years ; and then they are comfortable and independent for
life. We heard the province styled the poor man's paradise ;
and as 10 per cent is given everywhere, with undoubted
security, for the use of money, the rich man has no reason to
be dissatisfied.

I il

CHAPTEE XII.

The Coast, and Vancouver's Island.

On the waters of the Pacific— Bute Inlet.— Valdcs Island.— The Fiords of British Coluni.
bia.- Waddinyrton Harbour.— Glaciers.- Chilcotcn Indians.- -Massacre.— Party X. —
Salmon. — Arran Kapids. — Seymour Narrows. — Menzies Bay.— Party Y. — The
Straits of Georgia.— New settlements on Vancouver's Island. — Nanainio. — Coal
mines.— Mount Baker. — Pujet Sound. -San Juan Island.— The Olympian Mountains.
—Victoria.— Esquimau Harbour.— A Polyglot City .—The last of Terry.— The Pacific
Ocean. —Barclay Sound.— Alberni Inlet.- Sunset on the Pacific.^Rcturn to Victoria.
—The Past, Present, an'' Future.— The Home-stretch .—The great American Desert.

October 6tli. — Before any of us came on deck this morning,
the good Sir James Douglas had steamed out of Burrard's Inlet,
and past the lofty mountiuns that enclose the deep fiords of
Howe Sound and Jervis Inlet, into the middle of the Straits of
Georgia. Our first sight was of the Island of Texada on our
right, and the bold outline of Vancouver's Island farther away
on our left.

After breakfast, divine service was held in the cabin. On
those inland waters of the Pacific that folded themselves round
rocky mountain and wooded island, we, who had come four
thousand miles from the Atlantic, united our voices in common
prayer with fellow subjects who call these shores of the vaster
Ocean of the West, their home. Again, all found that prostration
before Him, who is our Father, and also King of Nations, not
only evokes the deepest feelings of the human heart, but purifies
them. The tie of a common nationality, especially if the nation
has a great history, is holy. The aim of our work was to bind
our country more firmly together, and this thought elevated the
work ; while worshipping together made us feel more power-
fully than any amount of feastin^ and toasting the flag that
inhabitants of the same Dominion, subjects of the same

I \i

THE COAST AND VANCOUVER'S ISLAND.

323

id.

lords of British Colum.
Massacre.— Party X. —
3aj.- Party Y.— The
and. — Naiiainio. — Coal
c Olympian Mountains,
of Terry.— The Pacific
c— Return to Victoria,
rreat American Desert.

:k this morning,
Burrard's Inlet,
e deep fiords of
of the Straits of
f Texada on our
nd farther away

the cabin. On
hemselves round

had come four
oices in common
res of the vaster
[ that prostration

of Nations, not
eart, but purifies
illy if the nation
,^ork was to bind
ght elevated the
eel more power-
ng the flag that
s of the same

Sovereign, and heirs of the same destinies, must ever be
brothers.

Towards mid-day, our course took us out of tlio Straits of
Georgia, north-easterly up into Bute Inlet, another of those
wonderful fiords of unknown depth that seam this part of the
Pacific coast. The chart makes it 40 fathoms deep, with a
mark over the figures signifying that the naval surveyors had
sounded to that depth without finding bottom.

The object of going up this Inlet, the proposed terminus for
the Hallway, was to enable the Chief to got such a birds-eye
view of it as ho had already obtained of the prairie and the
mountain country, and at the same time to meet two parties of
the Survey, who had been at work in this quarter all summer.

On the question of which is the best western terminus, there
are two great parties in British Columbia, one advocating the
mainland, the other Vancouver's Island. On the mainland,
Burrard's Inlet is the favourite. If a harbour on Vancouver's
Island be chosen, then the railway must eventually cross to the
shores of Bute Inlet. The advocates of the Island termini — •
Victoria, Esquimalt, and Alberni, — asserted that it was a
simple matter to cross the Straits of Georgia to the mouth of
Bute Inlet by Valdes Island, which on the map does seem to
block them up almost completely ; then, that the line could be
made along the shore of the Inlet to the mouth of the Homathco
River, and up its course, through the Cascades, to the Chilcoten
plains. Two main routes had therefore to be surveyed : one,
from the mouth of the Fraser River, and up the Thompson ;
the other, from Vancouver's Island across to Bute Inlet, and,
up th^ Homathco to the upper Fraser, whence the line could
be carried to Fort George or the North Thompson valley, if no
direct passage across tl^e Gold-range to the Canoe River, or
Tete Jaune Cache could be found.

A short time after the latter survey was commenced, the
engineer reported that Valdes Island, although represented on

324

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

I' !

the charts as one, really consisted of a group of three islands.
The naval surveyoi's had seen channels piercing into Valdes
Island, but had not followed them up, their brisiness being to
lay down the soundings only along the through cliannels, and
Valdes Island, not having been explored, had always been con-
sidered an unit. The discovery of the true state of the case
complicated the question, and necessittited a hydrograi)hic
survey of four or five instead of two Narrows. Tiiis was work
for one party, the line up Bute Inlet being assigned to another,
and up the llomathco through the Cascades to a third.

On board tlie Sir James Douglas we had the member for
New Westminster, a zealous advocate of Burrard's Inlet, and
the member for Victoria — a true believer in an Island terminus.
To a student of human nature it was amusing to notice with
what difl'orent eyes each looked at or refused to look at the
difficulties of the rival routes. The former gazed exultingly on
the high bluffs and unbroken line of mountains, that rose sheer
from the waters of Bute Inlet. But his sarcasms were invaria-
bly met by a counter reference to the canyons of the Fraser
and the Thompson.

There was not one of us who had ever seen anything like
the Inlet we steamed up this afternoon. The inlets which cut
deep into this coast, from the straits of Fuca northward for
twelve degrees of latitude, probably resemble the fiords of Nor-
way, but none of our party could speak of those from personal
observation.

It is a singular fact that, while there is not a single opening
in the coast for seven hundred miles north of San Francisco,
except the bad harbour of Astoria at the mouth of the Colum-
bia river, the next seven or eight hundred miles should be
broken by innumerable inlets. The case is paralleled on the
Atlantic side of North America. From Florida to Maine there
are very few good ports, while north of Maine, embracing the
coast of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia there are scores.

three islands.
g into Valdes
in ess being to
cliannels, and
rays been con-
o of tlie case
liydrograi)liic
]'liis was work
(h1 to another,
tliird.

e member for
I's Inlet, and
and terminus.
,o notice with
to look at the
exultingly on
hat rose sheer
were invaria-
of the Fraser

anything like
lets which cut
lorthward for
fiords of Nor-
froni personal

single opening
a,n Francisco,
)f the Colum-
les should be
-lleled on the
3 Maine there
embracing the
re are scores.

THE COAST AND VANCOUVER'S ISLAND.

325

The openings in the iron-bound coast of Nova Scotia are not
unlike those on the Pacific side, excej)t that on the Atlantic the
indentations do not cut so deep into the land, and the shores
are low.

Up into the very heart of the Cascade rango through a
natural [)assage, which could not have been formed by the
ocean, for the coast is protected here from its erosions by Van-
couver's Island, we sailed to-day for forty miles, over water
almost as deep under our keel as the snow-capped mountains
that hemmed tlie passage were high above our heads. The
Inlet varies in breadth' from one to two-and-a-half miles, and
i'i i' the greater part of its length a ship may sail close enough
.0 the shore for a man to jum}) to the rocks.

A mist, followed by a drizzling rain, came on early in the
afternoon, and hid the summits of the mountains, but the gleam
of scores of white cataracts could be seen ; and, like furrows
amid the dark spruce, the clean sides of the rocks in long
straight lines showed where avalanches had swept everything
before them into the deep waters below. Half way np the
Inlet we saw a tent on the shore. A whistle brought its tenant
out to us in a canoe ; he proved to be a commissary who had
preceded X party a few miles, in order to make necessary ar-
rangements for their advance. An hour after, we passed camp
X., but as the mist had thickened and our captain had never
been in these waters before, he stenmed on without stopping,
for Waddington harbour at the head of the Inlet. This point he
reached after dark, and at once sent a boat's crew ahead to
sound for an anchoring place. After some delay, between seven
and eight P.M., the boatswain held up a lantern in the boat to
indicate where soundings had been found. Steaming up to the
light the anchor was let go in twenty-five fathoms, quarter of a
mile from the shore and from the head of the Inlet.

October 7th. — A magnificent view awaited those early on
deck this morning. Nearly two hours were spent in weighing

326

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

anchor, and tlinn tlio .stuaiiun' wont i'omi>l the harbour to enable
us to see it on all sidos. Rain had fallen steadily through the
night, and, now that it had ceased, mist clouds hung about the
great masses of rock that on all sides rose perpendicular into
the region of eternal snow. Here and there, rifts in the mist,
as it was broken by projecting peaks, revealed mountain sides
curtained with glaciers. The only sound which broke the awful
stillness was the muffled thunder of cataracts, multiplied by last
night's rain, gleaming far up among the scanty pines, washing
down the slij)pery rocks in broad white bands, or leaping from
bluff to bluff an hundred feet at a time, for more than a thou-
sand feet down to the sea. We were at the head of Bute Inlet.
The salt sea water could cut no deeper into the range that
guards the westei'n side of our continent. The mountains stood
firm except where the Homathco cuts its way through, in a
deep gorge, sentinelled on each side by snow-clad warders.

By this water-highway the late Mr. Waddington had urged
the Government of British Columbia to make their road to
Cariboo. On their adopting the Fraser River route, he organ-
ized a private company and began construction of Bute Inlet
Road, so convinced was he, that its superiority would attract
the travel between Cariboo and the outside world, and that a
toll on goods carried over it would repay the Company. His
project was a steamer from Victoria to the head of Bute Inlet,
and a waggon road thence up the Homathco to Cariboo ;
the distance being 175 miles less this way than by the Fraser,
After spending $60,000 on surveys and on trail making, his
men were murdered in 18G4 by a tribe of Indians to whom pro-
vocation had been given. The Government secured the arrest
of the murderers, and had thera hung up at Quesnel mouth j
but, from that day, the Coast and Chilcotin Indians have been
regarded as dangerous and blood thirsty. The C. P. R. parties
who travelled the country this year, had no trouble however.;
and Mr. Smith reports that the Chilcotins are the manliest and
most intelligent Siwashes he has seen in the Pi'ovince.

THE COAST AND VANCOUVEU'S ISLAND.

327

Diir to enable
■ til rough ihe
tig about the
ii'licular into
in the mist,
ountain sides
oke the awful
ipliod l»v last
nes, washing
leaping from
than a thou-
of Bute Inlet,
e range that
)uiitains stood
through, in a
warders,
on had urged
their road to
ite, he organ-
)f Bute Inlet
would attract
, and that a
•mpany. His
f Bute Inlet,
to Cariboo ;
r the Fraser.
making, his
to whom pro-
ved the arrest
esnel mouth •
IS have been
P. R. parties
ble however.;
manliest and
ince.

From the doscrii>tion that Mr. Smith gave us of the scenery
on the Homathco, wo would fain have landed and gone at least
a few miles up the river : but time did not permit. lie
had worked up from the head of the Inlet through the (.'ascadcs
in July last, overcoming by sheer determination not to be ]»ea-
ten — all ditliculties of forest, canyons, tornuits, and Indians ;
getting surveys at great risk of neck and limb, by fellinc: trees
across deep chasms from one to two hundred feet wide, and let-
ting men down by ropes to the foot of high clilfs. The follow-
ing extracts from one cf his private letters to the Chief give
more vivid pictures than any plate can, of scenes up the river.
Here is what he says of the canyons, 31 miles from the head of
the Inlet, and immediately above the rope ferry used by Mr.
Waddington : — " I commenced the survey of the canyon, follow-
ing the river on the new trail commenced by Waddington, as
far as it went, — about half a mile, — when it terminated at an
inaccessible bluflf on which blasting had been commenced. The
scene here is awfully sublime. The towering rocks, thousands
of feet high ; serrated and broken by dark chasms — far above
these again the snow-clad peaks, connected by huge glaciers ;
out of which issued torrents that fell in cascades ; and in a deep
gorge beneath a mountain torrent — whirling, boiling, roaring,
and huge boulders always in motion, muttering, groaning like
troubled spirits, and ever and anon striking on the rocks*
making a report like the booming of distant artillery. But
with all this wildness, there is the fresh beauty of vegetat'^'n.
Wherever there i? a crevice, to the base of the snow-clad peaks
were clumps of evergreen trees, and lower down wherever a
handful of soil could rest it was" si)rinkled with wild flowers
amongst which bloomed the sweet lily of the valley."

After getting through " the core of the Cascade range," he
came upon " the murderers' camp, where thirteen of Wadding-
ton's r^en were murdered eight years ago. The spot looks as if
it lipa never before been visited by man since the massacre.

ill II

III}

i 1

;

328

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

The number of tents could bo counted by the cedar bark form-
ing the beds. Strewcjl around were various toola, — a bhick-
HUiith's anvil, Hledge-hanimers, crowbars, grindstone, vice, picks,
and half a dozen shovels carefully |)laccd ngainst a tree ready
for the morrow's work ; also pieces of clothing, amongst which
were at least one pair of woman's boots — too surely indicating
the source of the trouble." This last clause suggests the origin
of more than one " Indian atrocity." It's always a fair ques-
tion to ask : " Who struck the first blow V

The forenoon was spent by us in coasting down the northerly
side of the Inlet until we came to camp X. After inspecting
their work we proceeded on our way down, Mr. Gamsby, the
engineer in charge, accompanying us. He reported that the
Indians, far from giving any trouble, had been of material
assistance in many ways, acting as servants or messengers, and
selling deer, wild fowl, and fish, at moderate prices. He pointed
out a stream, running into the Inlet on the east side, at the
mouth of which, on a recent visit, he had seen hundreds of
thousands of dead salmon strewn along the shore ; while thou-
sands of crows, kites, vultures, and eagles filled the air. In
similar places, such sights must have been common when white
men first came to the country. These Pacific waters swarm
with fish, that struggle up brawling streamlets to spawn, in
spite of rapids, cascades, rocks, and shallows. No wonder that
people, who have only eaten salmon caught inland, say that the
Pacific varieties are inferior. They were good when they
entered the river's mouth ; but, when caught a few hundred
miles up the Fraser, often the head is bruised by rocks and
falls, and the scales, fins, and even the tail rubbed or worked
off. No wonder that half of them perish by the way, and that
none return to the sea. It is asserted everywhere in British
Columbia, that none of the salmon entering the Fraser river,
and even the smaller streams, ever return to the sea.

We were struck with the beauty of Gamsby's canoe, and

<1hi' bark form-
)ols,-— a hlack-
>no, vice, i)ick8,
it a tree ready
Linongst which
ely indicating
ests the origin
^s a fair ques-

the northerly
ter inspecting

Gamsby, the
I'ted that the
I of material
ssengers, and
I. He pointed
fc side, at the

hundreds of
; while thoii-

the air. In

when white
aters swarm
o spawn, in
wonder that
say that the

when they
3W hundred
rocks and
i or worked
ly, and that
in British
raser river,

canoe, and

II •

•i

O
C3

i&s^^iiilyiS

THE COAST AND VANCOUVER'S ISLAND.

329

U
H

.J
U

indeed of all the Indians' canoes jn this coast. Each is a model
of architectural grace, although the lines reminded us of Chinese
or Japanese rather than of British models. The canoes are
generally made out of a single lavge log, formerly scooped out
M'ith chisel and stone mallet, gi.nlet, from bird's bone, and
muscle shell or stone adze. After scooping out the log, iliey
used to steam it in the following primitive manner : Fill it
with water, throw in heated stones to make the water boil, and
at the same time build a bark-tire round tlie outside. TV.e
wood gives several inches, until the central part of the canoe
is made broader at the top, and the requisite curvature secured
to its sides. Light cross pieces are inserted from side to side
to improve the form ; outside and inside are then painted ;
ornamented figure-head and raised stern piece set on ; and the
canoe is complete.

By midday the mouth of Bute Inlet Wiis gained, but instead
of returning in the direction of Burrard's Inlet, we ran through
Arran Rapids in order to pass round the north side of Valdes*
Inland. At every turn, the beautiful views which an archi-
pelago affords, met our eyes. The islands of every possible
variety of form, were wooded from lofty summits to the brink
of deep channels. At one time we were in cross-roads where
four different channels opened out, north, .south, cast, and west ;
soon after in a narrow winding strait, or s^.hooting swiftly
thro\igh tidal ra})ids, or in a broad bay where snowy peaks could
be seen behind thegreeu foothills. After passing through Seymour
Narrows, where, if there is to be a continuous line from an Island
terminus, the bridge between Valdes' and Vancouver must be built,
we rounded into a beautiful land-locked harbour, called Menzies
Bay, and cast the anchor for the night. Between the Narrows
and the Bay, the tents of Y. party were picturesquely pitched ,
on an open easy slope, under the shadow of the forest. A
whistle from thr er brought Mr. MichauJ on board, and,

after dinner all i . * off to his encampment, the Chief to in-

aoi

330

OCEAN TO OCEAK.

i *;l

spect plans, the rest tr see the camp. As compared with the
others, Y. party has been lu clover from the beginning of
their work. They were near Victoria, had a monthly mail,
and could renew their supplies as they ran out. Their store-
house filled with bags of flour, flitches of bacon, pork, molasses,
split peas, beans, pickles, and a keg of beer, suggested good
cheer ; while any day, they could buy from the Indians a deer,
weighing from 120 to 160 lbs., for one or two dollars; and
salmon, trout, wild-geese, duck, or mallard, for trifling sums.
They had no deer-meat in camp to day, but they generously
presented us with two wild geese, each weighing ten or eleven
lbs.

October 8th. — Our programme for the day was to reach
Nanaimo Coal Mines as soon as possible, for the steamer's
bunkers needed replenishing, and we wished to see something
of the mines, which promise to be of more benefit to British
Columbia than the gold-fields. Accordingly at 4 a.m. the
anchor was weighed.

We were now getting into waters familiar to our captain ;
for strange as it may appear, not one on board with the exception
of Mr. Smith, had ever been up Bute Inlet or round Valdes
Island befoie this trip. Nothing shows more clearly the imper-
fectly developed con'lition of the Province than such a fact.
Her representative men, those most likely to be best acquainted
with her resources, know little beyond their own neighbour-
hood or the line of their one waggon-road. Distances are so
great, the means of communication so limited, and the
mountainous character of the country renders travelling so
difficult, that the dwellers in the few towns and settlements
have hitherto seen but little of the Province as a whole.

When we appeared on deck about 7 o'clock, the steamer was
Turning down the Straits of Georgiji, over a rippling, sunlit
sea. The lofty Beaufort range, on our right, rose grandly in
the clear air, every snowy peak distinct from it neighV)our, and

THE COAST AND VANCOUVER'S ISLAND.

331

ired with the
I beginning of
nonthly mail,
Their store-
)ork, niolassea,
iiggested good

ndians a deer,
dollars ; and

trifling sums,
ley generously
r ten or eleven

was to reach

the steamer's

see something

Bfit to British

at 4 a.m. the

our captain ;
h the exception

round Yaldes
irly the imper-
m such a fact.
)est acquainted
wn neighbour-
istances are so
ted, and the
i travelling so
id settlements

1 whole.

he steamer was
ppling, sunlit
ose grandly in
leighbour, and

the blue sky high above the highest. Victoria, and the twin
peaks Albert Edward and Alexandra, ranging from 6,000 to
over 7,000 feet in height, were the most prominent ; but the
noble serrated range as a whole, more than sej)arate peaks,
caught the eye. The smaller Islands to the left were hidden
by a fog-bank that gradually lilted. Then stood out, not only
islet after islet in all their varied outline, but also the long
line of the Cascade range behind. Yesterday had been charming
from 10 o'clock, when the sun pierced through the mists ; but
to-day was all white. A soft warm breeze fanned us, and every
mile disclosed new features of scenery, to which snow-clad
mountain ranges, wooded planes, and a summer sea enfolding
countless promontories and islands, contributed their different
forms of beauty. The islands are composed of strata of sandstone
and conglomerate ; the sandstone at the bottom worn at the
water line into caves and hollows ; the conglomerate above
forming lofty cliffs that are wooded to the summit and over-
hang winding inlets and straits most temi)ting to a yachtsman.
From the southern point of Yakles Island down to Nanaimo, a
considerable area of low lying and undulating land extenda
between the central mountain range of Vancouver's Island and
the Straits of Georgia, well adapted ibr farming puri)oses. At
two points, Comox and Nanoose, settlements have been formed
within the last few years, but where there is one settlement
there ought to be twenty, if the island is to raise its own grain
and hay, and to cease sending out of the country all its wealth.
There is little or no immigration to Vancouver's Island, and little
has been done to induce it, or to smooth the way for those who
arrive. When an immigrant reaches the country, he finds it diffi-
cult to obtain information as to where there is L'ood land to take
up; and how is it possible for him to go out among a sea of moun-
tains to search for a farm 1 The island should be thoroughly sur
veyed according to the simple system long practised in the
United States, and lately adopted in Manitoba ; the amount of

^-'-'r"

!!i

332

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

good land known, divided into sections and subsections, and
numbered ; so that, on arriving at Victoria, the immigrant
could go into the Crown Land office, learn what land was pre-
empted, and where it would be expedient for him to settle.
There are many obstacles in the way of immigrants reaching
this distant colony, and tlierefore special efforts are required to
bring them, and to keep them when they come ; for, until there
is a large agricultural population, the wealth of the country
must continue to be drained out of it, to buy the necessaries of
life and every other article of consumption, from Oregon, Cali-
fornia, Great Britain, and elsewhere.

We were sorry at not being able to visit Coraox. Testimony
was unanimous concerning the good quality of the land, the
accessibility to markets, and the prosperity of the settlers,
notwithstanding the short time they have been in the country.

By noon we had left the Beaufort range behind, and Mount
Arrowsmith came into view ; while far ahead on the mainland,
and south of the 49th parallel, what looked a dim white pyramid
rising to the skies, or a %\'^hite cloud resting upon the horizon,
was pointed out to us by the Captain as Mount Baker. Soon
after we rounded into the northern horn of Nanaimo harbour,
called Departure Bay, and drew alongside the pier, where a
lately organized Company is shipping coal from a new seam
that has been opened, three miles back from the point of ship-
ment.

Landing, and leaving the steamer to coal, most of us walked
by a trail to Nanaimo through +he woods, along a channel that
connects Departure Bay with the old mines. The channel,
w^hich is an excellent roadstead, is between the mainland of
Vancouver and a little island called Newcastle, on the inner
side of which another excellent coal mine, within ten feet of
navigable water, has just been opened. There are two seams
at Newcastle, averaging three feet each, and separated by three
feet of fire clay, which, as the miners proceed, becomes thinner,

•«»

bsections, and
he immigrant
land was pre-
lim to settle,
'ants reaching
re required to
ibr, until there
)f the country
necessaries of
I Oregon, Cali-

X. Testimony
the land, the
f the settlers,
in the country,
id, and Mount
the mainland,
white pyramid
n the horizon.
Baker. Soon
laimo harbour,
pier, where a
n a new seam
I point of ship-
it of us walked
a channel that
The channel,
e mainland of
on the inner
hin ten feet of
are two seams
irated by three
comes thinner.

THE COAST AND VANCOUVER'S ISLAND.

333

the coal seams becoming thicker. From this convergence it is
supposed that the clay will soon give out, and the two seams of
coal unite into one. Near this Newcastle mine is a quarry of
light-coloured freestone of excellent quality, which is sure to be
of immense service and value in the near future. There is no
such freestone quarried on the Pacific coast ; and its con-
venience for shipping makes it doubly valuable.

At Nanaimo proper is a population of seven or eight hun-
dred souls, — all depending on the old or Douglas mine. The
manager informed us that they would probably ship fifty thousand
tons this season, while last year they shij)ped less than thirty
thousand ; and that, next year, they would be in a position to
ship an hundred thousand or more. Tliey could give employ-
ment to fifty or sixty additional men at once, at wages averaging
from two to three dollars a day. A new seam, nine feet thick,
!iad lately been discovered below the old one ; and we went
down the shaft three hundred feet to see it. The coal was of
the same excellent quality as that of the old mine, which is the
best for gas or steam purposes on the Pacific coast. But the
miners had come upon a fault in the seam, caused by the dislo-
cation of the strata, immediately above and below, intruding a
tough conglomerate rock that tliey were now cutting away in
the hope of its soon giving out. The coal measures, which
these few seams now worked represent, extend over the whole
eastern coast of Vancouver Island, and, like those on the east
of the Rocky Mountains, are cretaceous or of tertiary age. They
are considered as valuable as if they were carboniferous.

It is provoking to know that the agricultural settlements in
the neighbourhood, which, though small, are the most extensive
on the island, are not able to supply the present population of
Nanaimo with food; and that no steps are taken to bring in
new settlers, thoufjjh there is abundance of good land all round.
If this state of things continues, even though the mining popu-
lation of Vancouver's Island increase ten fold in as many years,

334

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

most of the wealth will be sent out of the county, as was the
gold of Cariboo, and the country in the end be as poor as ever.

Nanairao does not look like a coal mining place. The houses
are much above the average of miners' residences in Britain or
in Nova Scotia. They are scattered about, often in picturesque
situations, with gardens, and not in long, mean, soot-covered
rows, laid out with the idea that men v/ho see nothing of
beauty underground cannot be expected to appreciate it above.
The view of the Cascades range, on the other side of the Straits,
is almost equal to the view of the long semi-circular line of the
Alps fron Milan. At sunset, when warmed with the roseate
light, or, a little later, when a deep soft blue has displaced the
couleur de rose, the beauty contrasts painfully with the ash
heaps and tenements of a mining village. Though not a be-
liever in the "God made the country; man made the town"
sentiment, the contrast irresistibly suggests the words.

October, 9th. — Another day of glorious weather; such
weather as Vancouver's Island has, almost without interrup-
tion^ from March till October or November ; warm enough for
enjoyment, and cool enough for exercise. Our course was
down the Gulf of Georgia to Victoria ; past the agricultural
districts of Cowichan and Saanich on the Vancouver side, and
the various islands that line the mainland on our left. Mount
Baker was the great feature in the landscape all day. We
could hardly help feeling envious that the United States instead
of ourselves possessed so glorious a landmard ; especially as it
still bears the name of the British Naval Officer in Caj)t. Van-
couver's ship who first saw it, and is in the country that was
formally taken possession of for the British Crown in 1792, and
that had been, up to 1846, held by a British Company. Indeed,
it is difficult to conceive of any plausible excuse that the United
States could have brought forward, in claiming the country
round Puget's Sound. They knew its value, and the British
Premier, not only did not, but his brother had said that the

THE COAST AND VANCOUVER'S ISLAND.

335

ity, as was the
IS poor as ever.
ce. The houses
es in Britain or
n in picturesque
an, soot-covered
see nothing of
.reciate it above,
le of the Straits,
•cuhir line of the
,vith the roseate
las displaced the
ly with the ash
hough not a be-
made the town"
Le words.

weather ; such
without interrup-
warm enough for
Oar course was
the agricultural
ncouver side, and
our left. Mount
iape all day. We
ted States instead
especially as it
icer in Capt. Van-
country that was
Irownin 1792, and
:!ompany. Indeed,
ise that the United
iming the country
le, and the J3ritish
had said that the

whole country was not worth much ; for the saur.on wouldn't
take a fly.

On the fourth of April, 1792, the birthday of King George
III., after whom he had named the Straits of Georgia, Captain
Vancouver took formal possession for His Majesty of all the
waters ')f Puget Sound, and of the coast north and south
along which he had sailed. All the prominent capes, points,
harbours, straits, mountains, bear to this day the names of his
lieutenants and friends, just as ho named them on his great
voyage. He changed nothing. As the old Portuguese navi-
gator, Juan de Fuca, had discovered the Straits of Fuca, his
name was honourably preserved, and as Vancouver met a
Spanish Squadron that had been sent out to give up Nootka
and other Spanish claims on tlie coast of Great Britain, he
adopted the names that the Dons had given to any channels or
islands, such as Valdez, Texada, Straits of Melasjiina, etc.
Puget Sound he named from his second lieutenant ; Mount
Baker from his third ; Cape Mudge from the first ; Mount
Rainer from Rear Adniiral Rainer ; Capes Grey and Atkin-
son, Burrard, Jervis, and Bute Inlets, Fort Discovery, John-
stone's Channel, and a hundred others, were all alikft named
by him ; and if Britain had no right to those south of the
49th parallel, she had no right to those farther north.

Still more astonishing : in 1846 when Britain yielded the
Columbia River and the whole Pacific side of the continent
up to the 49th parallel, not a single citizen of the United
States had settled to the north of the Columbia. Swarms
from the Western States had flocked into Oregon in the ten
preceding years of joint occupation, and so the Government at
Washington might plead the will of the settlers against the
Imperial rights of Britain ; but that plea could have carried
them, at the farthest, only to Astoria. If Oregon had to be
ceded, the Columbia River should have been the boundary.

It may be said that all this is a reviving of dead issues, out

(If

M:i

336

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

of place and useless now. But the history of the past throws
light on the |)resont, and is a beacon for the future. Had the
San Juan dilliculty been viewed, not merely in the light of the
literal wording of the Treaty of 184G, but in the light of all the
facts, the decision of the Enii)eror of Germany must have been
different.

B(?fore noon we entered the ITaro Strait that separates San
Juan from Vancouver's Island. i>etween the northern part of
the JIaro (liaunc: and Vanco\ivcr's Island, are several islets
and two narrow channehs, that ships going to Victoria may
take. South of these, there is nothing l»ctweon San Juan and
the southern extremity of Vancouver, but the Haro Strait, six
or seven miles wi<lo. L is theieforo evident that while San
Juan would be us(?!ess to Britain for military pui'})0ses, its pos-
session by the United States is a menace to us ; for it com-
mands the entrance to British waters^ British shores, a British
river, and British Province. There is a hill on San Juan
about a thousand feet high, a battery on which would com-
mand the whole Strait.

The sail down the Straits of Haro was all that a pleasure
party on board a steam yacht could have desired. On the
mainland, the long line of the Cascades or Coast range broken
by i\\e. Delta of the Fraser extended to tlic south, — though
dwarfed into comparative insignificance by the mighty mass of
Mount Baker, rising up in the midst. Farther south, the line
swept round the deep gulf of Puget Sound, th ai north-westerly
and away as fa^ west as the entrance of tiie Straits of Fuca,
under the name of the Olympian range, When under the lee
of San Juan the snowy pyramid of Mount Baker looked out on
us over the Island, while far to the sout's ia the back ground of
the Olympian range, the dim form of Mount Rainer was seen
lifting itself up in the sky. Rounding the southern point of
Vancouver's Island, we came to the spit of land that is cut into
by the harbour of Vicooria and four miles further west by the

THR COAST AND VANCOUVER'S ISLAND.

387

5 past throwH
ire. Had the
le light of the
i<rht of all the
list have been

separates San
irtheni part of
I several islets
Victoria may
San Juan and
laro Strait, six
that while San
lU'poses, its pos-
us; for it cora-
ihores, a British
1 on San Juan
ich would com-

that a pleasure
■sired. On the
,st range broken
south,— though
mighty mass of
r south, the line
11 north-westerly
Straits of Tuca,
en under the lee
_er looked out on
e back ground of
Rainer was seen
onthern point of
d that is cut into
'ther west by the

mucli sin)erior harbour of Ksquinialt. We steamed first ihto
Victoria to g(;t letters and telegrams, and proceeded iiuinedi-
atoly to Esquiinalt, returning by land, over a good macadamized
road.

The liarbour of Victoria has a narrow entrances, is small, in^
conveniently shaped, and accommodates only vessels of eigiiteen
feet drauglit of water ; but as Esijuimalt is near enough to
serve as an additional harbour, Victoria does not siifJer. Ksqui-
nialt liarbour is a gem ; not very large, but the anchorage is
exceUent, and it has all the other requisites of a tirst-chiss liar-
bour ; and in the Royal Roads outside, along the coast as far as
Race Rocks, any number of ships can ride safely. In ""^squi-
malt, one U, S. and four British men-of-war hiy, two of the
latter having been just paid oil*. Not Es<(uimalt, but the for-
eign port of Valparaiso is th(> headcpiarters of the J^icitio
squadron. Esquimalt is our own, our interests aie alon^' the
coast, coal is near, China and Japan only fifteen days distant
and the Admiral could be in daily communication when neces-
sary with the Home authorities. The only reasons assigned on
the other side are that British (Jommercial interests in South
America are par-amount, and that sailors dcs(3rt at Esquimalt
and get off easily to the States. The same reasons ought to bo
conclusive against Halifax as the head-quarters of the Nortli
American squadron, and in favour of adopting Rio or some
other South American port in its stead.

The terms of confederation with the Dominion included a
guarantee of the interest on XI 00,000 stg. for ten years from
the completion of the work, for a first-class Graving Dock at
Esquimalt, and the Provincial Government has taken steps to
comm jnce its construction.

On our return to Victoria in the afternoon, one of the first
persons we met in the street was Terry. Having no further
need of his services, we had parted with him last week at New
Westminster. He had gone on to Victoria direct and had

338

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

I I

monopolized tlie lionizing intended for the whole party ; had
been interviewed about our marvellous north-west passage by
land, with results as given in the newspapers, that spoke quite as
much for Terry's imagination as for liis memory. Ho had conjured
up a Canyon on the Canoe River twenty miles long, where no
Canyon is or ever had been ; had described us as galloping down
the Yellow Head Pass till arrested by the sight of quartz
boulders gleaming with gold, and rocks so rich that Brown and
Beauprc had deserted to go back and mine ; and, with many
another fact or fancy equally readable, made the hearts of re-
porters glad. Drinks had been the reward, and the conse-
quences to Terry proved serious. For on the first day after
being paid in full at the office in Victoria for his long trip, he
had been plundered of every dollar. He was now looking
round for work ; and before we left Victoria, hired as general
servant on board a ship going north. Thus disappeared Terry
into space. Should any one in future wish to engage him, we
hereby certify him as a good servant, a good tailor, a good
cobbler, and indeed anything but a good cook, the post which,
unfortunately for us, he filled. But even of cookery he knows
something ; for he engaged with us as cook in order that he
might learn the business ; and he experimented on us long
enough to learn the rudiments. In his own words, " he never
liked being boss ; but could be understrapper to any one," and
such a man is a treasure in America.

A walk through the streets of Victoria showed the little
capital to be a small polyglot copy of the world. Its population
is less than 5,000 ; but almost every nationality is repre-
sented. Greek fishermen. Kanaka sailors, Jewish and Scotch
merchants, Chinese washermen, French, German and Yan-
kee restaurant-keepers, English and Canadian officeholders
and butchers, negro waiters and sweeps, Australian farmers and
other varieties of the race, rub against each other, apparently
in the most friendly way. The sign-boards tell their own tale :

TFIE COAST AND VAXOOUVER'S ISLAND.

339

lo party ; bad
oat passage by
1 fipoke quite as
Ic had conjured

long, where no
galloping down

ight of quartz
bUat Brown and
,nd, with many
he hearts of re-

and the conse-
e tirst day after

his long trip, he
was now looking

hired as general
isappcared Terry
p engage him, we
od tailor, a good
:, the post which,

cookery he knows
in order that he

ented on us long

words, " he never
to any one," and

showed the little
Id. Its population
[tionality is repre-
[jewish and Scotch
[German and Yan-
ladian ofticeholders
Itralian farmers and
L other, apparently
[tell their own tale :

" Own Shing, washing and ironing ;" " Sam Hang," ditto ;
" Kwong Tai & Co., cigar store ;" " Magasin Francais ;" Teu-
tonic Hall, lager beer;" "Scotch ICouse;" " Adolphic " and
" San FranciHco " saloons ; " Oriental " and " New England "
restaurants ; " What Cheer Market," and " Play mo off at ten-
pins," are found within gunshot, interspersed with more com-
mon-place signs.

The senior member for the citv had invited several gentlemen
to dine with us at the Colonial Hotel at 5 o'clock. A better
dinner could not be served in INIontreal. We were only sorry
that we had to leave at 7, to go on board the Sir James DoiKjlas
and proceed to Alberni Channel, one of the proposed termini
on the west coast of Vancouver's Island. But time was
precious, as the San Francisco «ceamer was expected to bo in
every hour. Parting with Mr. Smith, and adding the second
member for Victoria to our number, we went down to our little
steamer and started on this, our last expedition.

October 10th, — The distance between Victoria and the Paci-
fic by the Straits of Fuca is sixty miles. The Sir James Doug-
las made that by midnight, and then turned north for the
spacious Archipelago of Barclay's sound, from the head of
which Alberni Canal, or to use the modern word Channel, a
deep narrow fiord like those on the main land, cuts its way up
into the interior of Vancouver's Island. Barclay sound has
three entrances, separated from each other by groups of islets
and rocks, and as the nearest is the best for ships from the
south, the Captain intended to run up by it into Alberni. The

•

weather during the night was so favourable that he over-ran
his distance, and never having been in the sound before, he
waited for daylight to compare the coast with the charts.
Those who came early on deck had thus an opportunity of see-
ing the Pacific breaking on the iron shores of Vancouver.
Away behind us the great ocean stretched unbroken to Japan
and China, sleeping peacefully — under the morning light that

340

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

I if

was Rhining over the moiintainH to tho east — with no motion
save a si. w voluptuous roll of long billows that socm(Ml gentle
enough to ho stayed by a child's hand. I5ut to know thoir
strength, even in a calm, turn and look where these same bil-
lows meet the headlands. Over the first tlu^y break with a
heavy roar; and then, as if amazed to be resisted, they gather
up tlioir forces and rush with a lon;^' wild leap, like white-maned
war-horses charging, among the inner breakers, to meet tho
fate that a gallant sliip would meet if it mistook the entrance
to the sound. When a gale is blowing from the west, the surf
must be tremendous, for there is nothing to break the roll of
tho Pacilie for 2,000 miles ; but the entrances into the Sound
are wide, and one or two lighthouses would obviate all risk.
The most prominent mark about the southern entrance at
present is Ship Island, probably so called from a number of bare
trees on it like the masts of a ship. IJeyond the coast line a
bold range of serrated mountains runs along tho centre of the
island, like a backbone, north and south, into the heart of which
Alberni Channel pierces.

Passing up the sound, several canoes with from two to half-a-
dozen Indians in each hailed ns with friendly shouts. They
are squat in shape, dirtier, more savage, with a more decided
cross-eye than the Indians on the mainland. In all probability
this side of America was peopled from Asia, and not necessarily
round by Behring's Straits and the Aleutian Islands. Even in
this century Japanese junks, dismasted in a typhoon or other-
wise disabled, after drifting for months about the North Pacific
have stranded on the American continent or been encountered
by whaling ships, and the survivors of the crews rescued, in
cases where all had not perished of hunger.

There are two or three trading posts and several Indian
villages on Barclay Sound. The traders come to the posts in
schooners at certain seasons of the year, and trade for peltries,
seal-oil, and fish The scenery along the sound and up the

THE COAST AND VANCOUVRU'S ISLAND.

341

with no motion
, Hccmod gentle
to know their
those same bil-
iV break with a
t(Ml, they gather
ike white-maned
n-H, to meet the
ok the entrance
he west, the surf
n'oak the roll of
into the Hound
obviate all risk,
lern entrance at
a number of bare
I the coast line a
the centre of the
ihe heart of which

•rom two to half-a-
aiy shouts. They
th a more decided

In all probability
md not necessarily

Islands. Even in
I typhoon or other-
it the North Pacific
)r been encountered
B crews rescued, in

and several Indian

;ome to the posts in

,d trade for peltries,

sound and up the

channel n'SciiiblcH Ihito Inlet, except that the hills do not rise
Ko slieer and IiIljIi from the water and the wooil is l)ettor.
There are also largt'i- extents of open alluvial ground at tlm
mouths of the streams that run into the sea, and along the
valleys between the hills that they drain. At the head of
Alborni is the Suinass, a river of considerable size that drains
large lakes in the interior and is said to bo bordered l)y exten-
sive tracts ot fo'tile soil. At its mouth is enough good land
for several farms, but there are no settlers. An English
Company formerly worked saw mills at this point, from
which in 1(SG2 over eight million f(;ot of lumber were ex-
ported. The working of the mills has been abandonc^d, as
the speculation did not pay, and the premisiis are now
going to ruin. A walk round showed us one reason at least
of the failure. Too much monej had been sunk in house,
orchard, outhouses, and other fixtures aud iraproveir.ents thao
yielded no return. No sane man would have started on such a
scale with liis own money. It was a sorry spectacle to see so
many good buildings doorless and windowloss, falling into
decay or broken up by the Siwashes for wood to burn. In a
country whose lumbering interests require development it is
too bad that capitalists should be deteried by such an example.

Alberni harbour offers such decided advantages as a terminus
that it may prove a formidable rival even to Escpiimalt.

After a bath in the harbour, the water being wonderfully
warm for the time of year, we steamed out into the Ocean
again, and got back in time to see a glorious sunset on the
Pacific. The twilight continued for an hour after ; a band of
carmine that shaded into orange and, higher up, into mauve,
lingering so long over the horizon that we ceased to look at it,
and only when turning into our berths, noticed that it had
given way to the universal deep blue of the night sky. The
sea was smooth and the night calm and beautiful as the pre-
ceding ; and in consequence we were at the wharf in Victoria

342

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

Fl ' il

!|!

harbour betv/een four and fivo A. M., to the astonishment of
the citizens who had not expectea us back till the afternoon or
next day.

Octol)er ilth t.> 14th. — It had been assumed that the Prince
Alfred steamer -would leave Victoria for San Francisco on the
twelfth ; but her day was changed to the fourteenth as she had
to go to Nanaimo to coal. We had thus three days to spend
in Victoria instead of one, and so great was the hospitality of
the people that three months might have been spent enjoyably.
Various as are the nationalities and religions represented in
Victoria, the people are wonderfully fused, and there is a
general spirit of mutual toleration, kin«hiess, and active good
will that makes it a pleasant town to live in. Like the whole
colony it is a jioor man's paradise. Everyone seems to have
j)lenty of money ; anc. every kind of labour receives enormous
prices. There is no cpj)per currency, and the smallest silver
piece is what is called "a bit"; the ten cent and the English
sixpence, though of different values, being alike called bits, and
given to children or put in church-door plates (there are no
beggars) as cents or coppers ar..^ in other countries. This
absence of small coins has much to do with the general cost of
living, and tlie indifference to smiill profits characteristic of all
classes here. The merest trifle coses a bit ; and though there
are 25 rnd 50 cent pieces in currency, yet, if anything is worth
more than a bit, with a lofty indifference to the intermediate
coins, jbhe price is generally made a dollar. Emigrants on
landing, and men with fixed incomes, are the chief sufferers
from this state of things ; for as mechanics, labourers, and
servants are paid accordingly, they like it, and speak with
intensest scorn of the unfortunates who would divide a bit be-
cause they perhai)s think it too much to give for a paper of
pins or an apple. "John" who comes across the Pacific to
make money and then return to the flowery land doesn't heed
their scorn ; and so, most of it was reserved before Confedera-

stonisliment of
,e afternoon or

ihat the Prince
ranciaco on the
nith as she had

(lays to spend
s hospitality of
pent enjoyably.

represented in
and there is a
,nd active good
Like the whole

seems to have
ceives enormous
. smallest silver
md the English
e called bits, and
es (there are no
jountries. This
^e general cost of
aracteristic of all
and though there
anything is worth

the intermediate
\ Emigrants on
he chief sufferei-s
3S, labourers, and
•, and speak with
Id divide a bit be-
give for a paper of
•OSS the Pacific to

land doesn't heed

before Confedera-

TIIE COAST AND VANCOUVER'S ISLAND.

343

tion for canny Canadians who received the flattering appella-
tion of North American Chinamen ; Californians being as well
supplied with gold and as lavish with it as the Victorians
themselves.

All this was "" ory well in the halcyon days of the young
Province, when gold-dust was accounted as nothing; when
miners who had been six montlis in Cariboo wouhl come down
to the capital and call for all the cliampagne in an hotel to wash
their feet ; eat XIO notes as pills, or as a sandwicli with a slice
of pork, or light their pi[)es with them ; and when town lots
commanded higher prices for the moment than in 'Frisco, liut
the tide turned ; the gold flowed out of the country to buy the
chamfiagne, and more necessary articles, instead of being spread
abroad among resident farmers, or manufacturers ; Cariboo
yielded less abundant harvests ; and the inflated j)rosperity of
Victoria collapsed. Lots that had been bought at from )i? 10,000
to $25,000 have been sold since, it is said, for $500 ; the 15,000
people who lived around the city in tents have taken flight, like
wild geese, to more southern climates ; and the then reputed
millionaires are now content with a modest business. The
virus, however, is still in the blood of the Victorians. They
half expect that the good old times, when every man got rich
without efibrt on his part, will come again ; that some*:hing
will turn up ; new mines or the railway being now the jhief
objects of reliance, to make business brisk. This delusion
which belongs to the gambling rather than the true trading
spirit, retards the growth of the city ; for it makes men hold on
to house and business lots, or demand sums for them far
beyond their value. Groat part of the four miles between
Esquimalt and Victoria is owned by a company called
"the Puget Sound." This land is held at prices too high
for settlers or gardeners to buy, and thus it is that the
suburbs do not present the cultivated a])pearance that might
have been expected from the soil and fine climate. High prices

344

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

ill

for land and for everything else in and around the town, and
extreme difficulty of obtaining Information about good Lind
elsewhere ; what condition of affairs could })e more discouraging
for emigrants or intending settlers 1

An infusion of new blood is required. At present the classes
that ought to come are servant girls, labourers, mechanics,
miners, farm-servants, and such like, for these would get remu-
nerative employment at once ; and, gradually, land would be
taken up, and money be difiused in so many hands that there
would be a healthy flow instead of the j)resent comparative
stagiuition and universal waiting for better times.

In looking at Victoria and the surrounding coast the situation
is so commanding that it is difficult to avoid speculating a little
as to its probable future. The island is at the end of the west
and the beginning of the east. Behind it, over the mountains,
stretch the virgin plains of our North-west, extending to the
Great Lakes. Fronting it are the most ancient civilizations
and the densest masses of humanity on the surface of the
globe. With such a position, the harbours, minerals, fish, and
timber of this colony become important. If the ''golden gate"
be one passage-way between the Old World and the New, the
straits of Fuca and its harbours, the channels of Vancouver's
Island and the inlets of the mainland are many. To our rail-
way terminus will converge the products of Australia and
Polynesia, as well as of China and Japan ; and all that the
busy millions of Great Britain need can be sent to them across
their own territory, independently of the changing phases of the
Eastern question.

Let there be a line of communication from the Pacific to the
St. Lawrence through a succession of loyal Provinces bound up
■with the Empire by ever-multiplying and tightening links, and
the future of the Fatherland and of the Great Empire of which
she will then be only the chief part is secured. With such a
consummation in view, should not he be considered an enemy to

THE COASr AND VANCOUVER'S ISLAND.

345

the town, and
,ut good l;^nd
e discouraging

sent the classes
?rs, mechanics,
ould get remu-
land would be
mds that there
lit comparative

:S.

ast the situation
3culating a little

end of the west
: the mountains,
xtending to the
lent civilizations
surface of the
inerals, fish, and
te '' golden gate"
nd the New, the
Is of Vancouver's
,ny. To our rail-
Df Australia and

and all that the
lit to them across
Lgiiig phases oi the

the Pacific to the
rovinces bound up
htening links, and
t Empire of which
•ed. With such a
sidered an enemy to

the Common-weal wlio would dissever the western or American
portion of so great an Empire from its foundation, from its cap-
ital and centre, simply because a belt of ocean intervenes ; a
belt too that is becoming less of an obstacle every year. For in
a few years we shall have a railway with but one break fiom the
Pacific const to the extreme easterly side of Newfoundland, and
thence daily steanicrs will cross the Atlantic in a hundred
hours. Canada will be as near London as Scotland and Ireland
were forty years ago. It will be easier to uiake the journey
from Victoria to London than it was to make it from the North
of Scotland at the beginning of the century. These results,
however marvellous, will be due to steam alone. How much
nearer to the core of the Empire may not Canada be considered
with the means of instantaneous telegraphic communication ex-
tended to every part of the Dominion 1

But it would be unworthy of our past to think in this con-
nection only of material progress and national consolidation and
security. Loftier have ever been the aims of our forefathers.
It is not enough for us to allow Chinamen to come to our shores
merely that, while living, they may do our rough work cheaply,
repelled the while fi'om us by injustice and insult, and that
when dead a Company may clear money by carrying their bod-
ies back to their own land. A nation to be great must have
great thoughts ; must be inspired with lofty ideals ; must have
men and women willing to work and wait and war for an idea.
To be a light to the dark places of the earth ; to rule inferior
races mercifully and justly ; to infuse into them a higher life;
to give them the good news that makes men blessed and free,
believing that as the race is one, reason one, and conscience
one, then is one Gospel for and unto all ; nothing less than this
was the thought — deeply felt if sometimes inarticulately ex-
pressed — of our great ancestors in the brave days of Old. And
it is ours also. By the possession of British Columbia and
Vancouver's Island we look across into the very eyes of four

mmfms

SI:

346

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

hundred millions of heathen, a people eager to learn, acute to
investigate, and whom the struggle for existence in thronged
centres has made tolerant, patient, and hardy. C^an we do
nothing but trade with them 1

October 14th. — To-day we left Esquimalt by the Prince
Alfred on the home stretch, friends on the wharf giving us kind-
ly parting cheers. A delightful voyage of four days down the
coast brought us to San Francisco ; a wonderful city for its age,
thougli not equal to Melbourne, the only other city in the
world it ought to be compared with. Doubtless it is a fine
thing to escape frost and snow; but some people would endure
all the snow-storms of Quebec or Winnipeg rather than one
sand-storm in Frisco.

On Saturday morning, Oct. 16th, we breakfasted at the Lick
House, San Francisco. On Saturday the 26th we breakfasted
at home in Ottawa.

And how does the country crossed by the Union and Central
Pacific Railways compare with our own North-west, has been
asked us since our return ? Comparisons are odious and there-
fore the answer shall be as brief as possible. The Pacific slope
excepted, for there is nothing in British Columbia to compare
with the fertile valleys of California, everything is so completely
in our favour that there is no comparison except the old racing
one of " Eclipse first and the rest nowhere.' ' California itself,
though its yield of wheat in favourable years is marvellous, is
not a country to rear a healthy and hardy race. There is no
summer or autumn rain-fall ; the air is without its due propor-
tion of moisture ; and the lack^of moisture is supplied by dust.
The people look weary, and used up. In the course of a gener-
ation or two, unless a constant infusion of fresh blood renews
their strength, the influences of climate must tell disastrously
not only on their physique but on their whole spirit and life.

THE COAST -AND VANCOUVER'S ISLAND.

347

jam, acute to

e in thronged

C^an we do

,y the Prince
giving us kind-
days down the
city for its age,
ler city in the
ess it is a fine
. would endure
ither than one

sted at the Lick
I we breakfasted

aion and Central
h-west, has been
)dious and there-
The Pacific slope
mbia to compare
a is so completely
.pt the old racing

California itself,

is marvellous, is
•ace. There is no
lit its due propor-

supplied by dust.

course of a gener-
resh blood renews

t tell disastrously
ole spirit and life.

Are Anglo-Saxons secure from falling into the same sleepy and
unprogressive state, that the energetic Spaniards, who first
settled the country, soon sank into I

But when we leave California and travel from twelve to
fifteen hundred miles, through Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, and
Eastern Nebraska, tlie contrast witli our North-west is startling.
Certainly population has been attracted to various points over
this vast region. The Mormons with infinite toil and patience,
have made the deserts of Utah bring forth food for man and
beast, but they are deserts nothwithstanding, and yield nothing
unless carefully irrigated ; and the mean houses of logs or adobd
— or sun-dried clay oricks, — and the unintelligent careworn
countenances of the people do not testify very eloquently in
favour of Utah. The State of Nevada is rich in minerals,
especially in silver ; and the railway has been the means of
developing these to a great extent, while the export of the
bullion supplies to tlie railway a considerable local traffic. Along
the Humboldt, and in side valleys, large herds of stock are fed ;
and in parts of Wyoming and Eastern Nebraska stock raising
is carried on with profit. But what a country to live in !
Everywhere it has a uniform dry, dusty, what an Australian
writer would call " God-forsaken " look. For more than a
thousand miles not a tree or shrub except sage-brush or grease-
wood, relieves the desolation. And yet this is the country that
guide books describe as if it were the garden of the Lord, and
to which they summon the millions of Europe. ' As we sat in
the railway train and read the description of the land we were
passing through ; read of boundless tracts of the finest pasturage
in the world ; of free soil on which anything and everything
could be raised, of slopes that would yet be clad with vines and
bear the rarest fruits ; and then looked out of the window and
saw limitless stretches of desert or semi-desert, high, arid,
alkaline plateaux, dotted scantily with miserable sage-brush,
hundreds of miles without a blade of grass, a soil composed of

>*l

348

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

disintegrated lava, and liard clay, or disintegrated granite or
sandstone, or a conglomerate of the two, we could hcvrdly believe
our eyes. The American desert is a reality. It is unfit for the
growth of cereals or to support in any way a farming population,
because of its elevation, its lack of rain, and the miserable qua-
lity, or to speak more correctly, the absence of soil. The
enterprise that ran the ])ony express, that constructed telegraphs
and a line of Railway across such a country is wonderful ; but
not half so wonderful as the faith that sees in such a desert an
earthly paradise, or the assurance that publishes its vision of
what ought to be, for a picture of what is, or the courage that
volunteers the sacrifice of any number of foreigners to prove the
sincerity of its faith.

In a word, after reaching the summit of the first range of
mountains, from the Pacific, the Railway in the United States
has to cross more than a thousand miles of desert or semi-
desert. According to the evidence of our senses, whatever
guide-books may say to the contrary, we discovered on the home
stretch that the great west of the United States practically
ceases with the valley of the Missouri and of its tributary, the
Platte.

d granite or
ua-clly believe
unfit for the
cf population,
niserable qua-
of soil. The
;ted telegraphs
onderful ; but
ch a desert an
s its vision of
i courage that
rs to prove the

first range of
United States
iesert or semi-
inses, whatever
ired on the home
\les practically
ts tributary, the

CHAPTEE XTTI.

Our Country.

Crossing and rc-crosshig the Continent.— Writers on the North-west.— Mineral wealth
behind Lake Superior.— The "Fertile Belt." Our follow travellers.- The " Rain-
bow" of the North-west.— Peace Kivcr.— Climate compared with Ontario.— Natural
riches of the Country.— The Russia of America.— Its army of construction.— The
pioneers.— Esprit de corps. — Hardships and hfizards.— Mournful dcath-roU. — The
work of construction.— Vast breadth of the Dominion.— Its varied features.— Its
exhaustless resources. — Its Constitution. — Its (iueen.

The preceding chapters are transcribed — almost verbally —
from a Diary that was written from day to day on our journey
from ocean, ocean-ward. The Diary was kept under difficul-
ties. Notes had to be taken, sometimes in the bottoui of a
canoe and sometimes leaning against a stump or a tree ; on
horseback in fine weather, under a cart when it was raining or
when the sun's rays were fierce ; at night, in the tent, by the
light of the camp-fire in front ; in a crowded wayside inn, or on
the deck of a steamer in motion.

As may be seen by a reference to the Itinerary in the Ap-
pendix, our Diary commenced at Halifax on the Atlantic coast
on July 1st, the sixth anniversary of the birth-day of the Do-
minion, and closed at Victoria on the Pacific coast on October
11th. The aggregate distance travelled by one mode of loco-
motion or another was more than five thousand miles, a great
part of it over comparatively unknown, and th^^refore supposed
to be dangerous country. We recrossed the Contirent to our
starting point by rail, the Secretary arriving at Halifax on No-
vember 2nd, having thus accomplished the round trip of nine
or ten thousand miles in four months. None of us suffered
from Indians, wild beasts, the weather, or any of the hardsliips
incidental to travel in a new and lone land. Every one was

-*il

rmm

350

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

llfN

physically better on his return than when ho had set out. And
yet there had been no playing on the road. We cannot charge
ourselves with having lost an hour on the way ; and Manii'
bans, Hudson's Bay Officers, and British Columbians all i;^
formed us that we made better time between Lake Superio •
and the Pacific than ever had been made before.

It • onlv faij to the public to add that the vv iter of the
Diarj 'n>n ill tl) or nci hinge" our North-west before accom-
pany -n^r '■!e v!\pedition. To find out something about the real
extent and resio -ces of our Dominion; to know whether we
had room and verge for an Empire or were doomed to be merely
a cluster of Atlantic Provinces, f nding to the west in a fertile
but comparatively insignificant peninsula in Lake Huron, was
the object that attracted a busy man from his ordinary work,
on what friends called an absurd and perilous enterprise. All
that is claimed for the preceding chapters is, that they record
truthfully what we saw and heard. And having read since the
works of Professor Hind, Archbishop Tache, Captain Palliser
and others, we find, that though these contain the results of
much more minute and extended enquiries and scientific infor-
mation which renders them permanently valuable, they bring
forward nothing to make us modify our own conclusions, or to
lessen the impression as to the value of our North-west, that
the sight of it produced in our minds.

We are satisfied that the ruggsd and hitherto unknown
countrj' extending from the Upper Ottawa to the Red River of
the North, is not, as it has always been represented on maps
executed by our neighbours, and copied by ourselves, imprac-
ticable for a Railway ; but entirely the re verse ; that those vast
regions of Laurentian and Huronian rocks once pronounced
worthless, are rich in minerals ; and that in the iron back-
ground to the basin of the St. Lawrence, hitherto considered
valuable only for its lumber, great centres of mining and manu-
facturing industry, shall in the near future spring into existence.

i»r^

OUR COUNTRY.

351

Ret out. And

cannot cliarg«

iind Manit',-

mbians all in-

Lake Supcrio •

vv iter of the
before accom-
about the real
w whether we
3d to be merely
irest in a fertile
ke Huron, was
ordinary work,
mterpriso. All
hat they record
f read since the
I^aptain Palliser
Q the results of
scientific infor-
a,ble, they bring
inclusions, or to
STorth-west, that

iherto unknown
^he Red River of
3sented on maps
urselves, imprac-
; that those vast
once pronounced
n the iron back-
herto considered
lining and manu-
nw into existence.

Beyond these apparently wilderness regions we came uj)on
the fertile belt, an immense tract of the finest land in the world,
bounded on the west by coal formations so extensive that er"
o*her coal fields are small in comparison. Concerning '^■m
central part of th.; Continent, we have testified that which v-o
have seen, ar.d as a summary it is sufficient to quote Hind's
e^'phatic words. Vol. II., p. 234 :

" It is a physical reality of the highest importance to the interests of
" British Nortli America that a continuous belt, rich in water, woods and
"pasturage can be settled antl cultivated from a few miles west of the
** Lake of the Woods, to the passes of the Ro<^.ky Mountains ; and any
" line of communication, whether by waj^ujoi. .'Oi< ' mv railroad, passing
" through it, will eventually enjoy the great ^'iva;- t,i of being fed by an
"agricultural population, from one extremil y Lht other."

Concerning the country from the niio* ^t^ins to the sea, it is
unnecessary to add anything here, '"ho mountains in British
Columbia certainly offer obstructions to Railway construction ;
but these obstacles are not insuperable, and, once overcome, we
reach the Canadian Islands in the Pacific, Vancouver and
Queen Charlotte, — in many respects the counter parts of Great
Britain and Ireland, the western outposts of Europe, — rich in
coal, bituminous and anthracite, and almost every variety of
mineral wealth, in lumber, fish, and soil, and blessed with one of
the most delightful climates in the world.

And now we might take farewell of the reader who has
accompanied us on our long journey, but before dv>. dg so, it
seems not unfitting to add a few words concerning the routes
of our fellow-travellers who parted from us at Forts Garry and
Edmonton ; concerning those men whom we found engaged on
the survey and the general impressions left on our minds by
all that we saw and experienced.

The Colonel spent t^n days in Manitoba. Leaving Fort
Garry, he travelled rapidly to Edmonton by the same trail that
we had taken, in the hope of overtaking us before we had left

f I

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

for the mountains. Finding on liis arrival that wo had started
seven days previously, he decided to proceed 145 miles south-
west to the Rocky Mountain House ; thence through the coun-
try of the Blackfeet, to cross the mountains by North Cootenay
Pass ; and thence into Washington Territory, U.S., and via
Olympia to Victoria. He accomplished the journey successfully,
though detained for two or three days by a snow-storm at the
foot of the mountains; but as the delay enabled him to shoot a
large grizzly boar that ap})roached within a few yards ot his
camp, he had no reason to regret it much. His southerly
march from Edmonton gave him the opportunity of seeing the
western curve of the fertile belt — tlie rainbow of the North-
west — and he speaks of it, especially of that portion through the
Blackfeet country, extending for about 300 miles along the
eastern bases of the llocky Mountains towards the international
boundary line, with a varying breadth of from 25 to 80 miles,
as the future garden of the Dominion ; magnificent in regard
to scenery, with soil of surpassing richness ; and in respect of
climate, with an average temperature during the winter months,
15 ® higher than that of the western portion of the Province of
Ontario. |

We are now able to speak concerning the northwestern
curve of the fertile belt as positively as of the district to the
south which the Colonel traversed. At Edmonton, the Chief sent
Botanist and Horetzky r'^^'th wards, with instructions to proceed
by Forts Assiniboine and Dunvegan and across the Rocky
Mountains by Peace River, the one to make then for the Upper
Fraser, and the other to go still farther north and reach the sea
by the Skeena or Nasse River. They also succeeded in their
journey ; and their reports more than confirm the statements of
previous writers with regard to the extraordinary fertility of
immense prairies along the Peace River, the salubrity, and the
comparative mildness of the climate. It is quite cjc uiat
exceptional climatic causes are at work along the eastern flank

OITR COUNTRY.

353

vo had started
) milo« south-
,a;^li tho coun-
3rtli Cootenay
U.B., and via
ey successfully,
vv-storm at the

h'un to shoot a
3W yards ot hi«

His southerly
ty of seeing the
rtr of the North-
tion through the
miles along the
the international
a 25 to 80 miles,
uficent in regard
and in respect of
le winter months,
of the Province of

the northwestern
,lie district to the
ton, the Chief sent
actions to proceed
across the Rocky
then for the Upper
K and reach the sea

succeeded in their

ni the statements of

Drdinary fertility of

,e salubrity, and the

is quite civ... uiat
na the eastern flank

of the 'ii,ocky !^^ountains, north as well as south of Edmonton.
Whether the chief cause be warm moist winds from the Pacific
or a steady current of warm air under the lee of tlie mountains,
analogous in the atmosphere to the Gulf stieani in the ocean,
or whatever the cause, our knowledge is too imperfect to enable -
us to say. But tlie salient facts are undoubted. At Fort Dun-
vegan, six degrees nortli of Fort (rarry, and nearly tliiiteen
north of Toronto, the winters are milder than at Fort Garry ;
and as for the seven months, from April to October, tlie period
of cultivation, according to tables that have been carefully com-
piled, Dunvegan and Toi-onto do not vary more than about half
a degree in mean temperature, whilo as compared with Halifax,
N.S., the difference is 1 '^ 09 in favour of Dunvegan. Our two
fellow-travellers assured us al^o that they had seen nothing be-
tween the Red Ri'.er and Edmonton to compare with the
fertility of soil and the beauty of the country about Peace River.
They struck the mighty stream below Dunvegan and sailed on
it up into the very heart of the Rocky Mountains, through a
charming country, rich in soil, wood, water, and coal, in salt
thatcan be gathered fit for the table, from the sides of springs witli
as much ease as sand from the seashore ; in bituminous foun-
tains into which Sir Alexander McKenzie and Harmon both
say that " a pole of twenty feet in length may be plunged,
without the least resistance, and without finding bottom," and
in every othe" production that is essential to tlie material pros-
perity of a country.

The following extract from the Journal of our Botaii ".t gives
a graphic description of what Peace River itself is : — " This
" afternoon we passed through the most enchanting and sublime
" E^^f^nery. The right banl^ of the river was clothed with wood-
" spruce, birch and aspen, except where too steep, or where there
" had been landslides. In many places the bank rose from the
" shore to the height of from 300 to GOO feet. Sandstone cliffs
" 300 feet high often showed, especially above Green Is bind.

!|i

■iil!:

OCEAN TO OCEWl.

'"''* ""^"^ " , • ,ht l.ut inatoivd of wood,

..The left bank was ^» high as *''« ^ ' J,,;,!,, ,uvays revealed
.. grassy slopes met the ^';<'- ' ^ „j „,t , ,„sHag.. UuougU the
..Lu,lstone. lu l-Ucos the uvu hai l^ ^^_^^ ,,„eut md.

., ...istone to the ^^l>«^; / fj 1, f.U iVo.n WuW to bank
.. „.lc.l little mevease. Pl.c u _^ _^^ ,^^y „,,„al cut

.. was fully COO yards w.de, and look ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^,^

-. Uy aiauts tUrougl. a ■"»""'"",,, „,,,„t, in a la.'^e boat be

.. of rouv miles an hour, -S'"-' J;*: „Ued by a no.cu.east

.,on,in, to the Hudson's Bay coy., im

, o - n .1 :,. ^.Uror and tiie

1 " . 1 ^f +liiq river anu tne

•• tLn we ..emcmber ^-^::::X:X:^--^. -"-
ricl.est ,.a,-t of the -"- 'T ^^^^^^ ,„^,, „,., about .t may
north of Lake Ont.u.o, the 1 ugua « ^^^^^^m,, But

Bound exaggerated because the J t. ^.^^.^^^^^^ ^^^ ,,

the facts have been long on recoub^ ^ y ^^^^.^^^ ^^, ,„eh

inacocssibUity of the count! y. In H
entries as the followrng :-- ,j,^ .^ „^^,.^ -,„ the ice xn the

" Peace llivor, Api" i°>
,. nver broke ui.." * „ „lains are all on fire. We luvve

. May C.-The surrounding plams a ^^^^^„

„ ,,,„ Jl our potatoes, and sowe - of^ = ^^^ ^ ^^ .^^, ^,

'. July 21.-We have >'-\^^l' ,„„„try."
uis the finest that I eve. >--^ "^^^'l„,^^ J be cold, we have
.. October 0.-AS the veath. be, ^^^^ ^^ ,,, ^o be
.< taken our vegetables out of the g

.. very productive." following entry : ^ ,

Another year we have the toUo = ^les out of the

.October 3.-We »-- Js ^f ^o Itoe; the produce of one
.< ground. We have 1 bushe «f 1 ^^^ ^^^,^^.^^^_ ^,,i,y, etc.,

..bushel planted the last spnn„.

' have produced well.

. April 30th i. shown W *' ;7;,,„. i,„,.i„g that ,»r.oJ, 3S year

Hon at 0''-»»'';*''S;„„; latest days of oponinj.
the earliest mi M«> ""

OUR COUNTRY.

2'>5

Bad of wood,
rays revealed
I, tlu-ougU the
current indi-
bauk to bank,
ghty canal cut
,ed at the rf.te
I largo boat be
\,y a noLtu-east

3 river and the
thousand miles
otl about it may
countable. But
lilliculty was the
Journal are such

,ng the ice in the

nfire. We have
crarden seeds."
y° and I think it

be cold, we have
ich we fiud to be

.tables out of the

the produce of one

a-nips, barley, etc.,

. time of opcnintJ of naviga-
1, as years, Apni

In tlio journal of a IIudHon's Bay Chief-factor |)ul)li.she(l last
year by Malcolm McLood, Ottawa, is the following extract con-
cerning the; climate of Dunvegan, from the records of the cele -
brated traveller and aHtrononuu' — Mr. David Th<jiiipson :

" Only twice in the month of May, 1803, — on the 'Jnil and
" 14th, did the thermometer fall to 30 ® . Frost did not occur
" in the fall till the 27th September."

" It freezes," says Mr. Uussell, " much later in May in
** Canada ; and at Montreal, for seven years out of the last
nine, the first frost occurred between 24th August and IGth
"September."

In Halifax, N. S., the writer has seen a lively snow-storm on
the Queen's birthday ; and almost every year there is frost
early in June.

Similar quotations could be given from other writers, but
they are unnecessary. We know that we have a great North-
west, a country like old Canada — not suited for lotus-eaters to
live in, but titted to rear a healthy and hardy race. The late
Hon. W. H. Soward understood this when he declared that
" vigorous, perennial, ever-growing Canada would be a llussia
behind the United States." Our future is grander than even
that conceived by Mr. Seward, because the elements that deter-
mine it are other than those considered by him. Wo shall be
more than an American Russia, because the separation from
Great Britain to which he invites us is not involved in our
manifest destiny. We believe that union is better than dis-
union, that loyalty is a better guarantee for true growth than
•estlessness or rebellion, that building up is worthier work than
pulling down. The ties that bind us to the Fatherland must
be multiplied, the connection made closer and politically com-
plete. Her traditions, her forms, her mom1 elevation, her
historic grandeur shall be ours forever. And if wo sL;u'e her
glory, we shall not shrink even at the oulsol from shar'iig her
responsibilities.

iUiilMWyilHirikai

'<!i(

35G

OCl.VN TO OCEAN.

A great future beckons us as a people onward. To reach it,
God grant to us purity and faith, deliverance from the lusL o^
personal aggrandizement, imity, and invincible steadfastness of
purpose. The battlos we have to fight are those of [)eace, but
they are not the less serious and they are surely nobler than
those of war. The victories we require to gain over all forms
of political corrui)tioVi, the selfisli spirit of separation, and those
gi'cat material obstacles in the conquest of which the spirit of
patriotism is sti-engthened. It is a standing army of engineers,
axemen and brawny labourers that we require, men who will
not only give a fair day's work for a fair day's wage, but whose
work shall be ennobled by the thought that they are in the
service jof their country, and labouring for its consolidation.
Why should there not be a high esprit de corps among men w\ j
are doing the country's work, as well as among those who do
its ws^-fare? And why should the country grudge its honours
to servants on whose faithfulness so much depends 1 " There
is many a red-coat who is no soldier," said the Duke of WeU
lington. Conversely, there are true soldiers who wear only a
red shirt.

Tliis thought leads us to make mention Oi the men who have
been engaged for the last two years in connection with the
Canadian Pacific ilailway Survey, the pioneers of the great
army that must be engaged on the construction of the work and
on whom has devolved the heavy labour that commonly falls to
the lot of an advance-guard. On our journey we mex, several
of the surveying parties, and could form some estimaio of the
vrork they had to do. We could see that continuous la )our for
one or two years in solitary wilderness or mountain gjrges as
surveyor, transit-man, leveller, rodman, commissary, or even
packer, is a totally different tlii)';;: from taking a trip across the
continent for the first time, when the perpetual novelty, the
spice of romance, the i-isks and pleasures atone for all discom-
forts. Ifere are one or two instances of the spirit that ani-
mates the body.

OUR COUNTRY.

357

To reach it,
m tlio lu£u of
beadfastness of
I of peace, but
ly nobler than
over all forras
blon, an(l those
3I1 the spirit of
V of endneers,
, men who will
■iiixe, but whose
they are in the
i consolidation,
mong men w\ J
<r those who do
,dge its honours
•ends] ''There

Duke of Vv^eU
'ho wear only a

3 men who have
cction with the
•a of the great
of the work and
nnmonly falls to
we met several
estimaie of the
luous la )our for
lutain gjrges as
lissary, or even
a trip across the
ual novelty, the
e for all discora-
spirit that ani-

The gentleman now at the head of party X. had commenced
work in charge of another }>arty between Lake Superior and
the Upper Ottawa. He remained out during tlie whole summer
and winter in that trackless rugged region, |»reviously untrodden
by white men, and rarely visited by Indians. After a severe
winter campaign, he com],)leted the diilicult and liazardous
service entrusted to liim. On liis return in the spring he was
told that it was desirable that he should go to British Columbia
without delay ; and, though lie had not spent two weeks with
his family in as many years, he started at once.

Near the end of the year just closed the ( 'liief was called upon
to send a party to ex[)lore the section of country between the
North Saskatchewan, above Edmonton, and the Jasper valley.
It was deemed advisable to examine this wild and wooded
district in the winter season, on account of the numerous
morasses ai muskegs which rendered it next to impassable at
any other season. The party most available for this service
had been engaged during the summer and winter of 1871 and
the whole of 1872 in the lake region east of Manitoba, and had
returned to Fort Garry after completing satisfactorily their
arduous work. The CJjief asked, by telegra})h, the Engineer in
charge if he was [prepared to start at short notice for the Rocky
Mountains on a prolonged service. Almost immediately after
sending this message, the following telegram was received from
the gentleman referred to : " ^lay I have leave of absence to
return home for a few weeks on urgf.'ut [)iivate business ?" This
was at once followed by another : " Your message received.
I withdraw my application for leave. I am prepared to stait
for the liocky Mountains with my party. I'lease send instru>
tions." It was evident that the first two telegrams had crossed.
The members of party M., notwithstanding what they had gone
through, away from friends and the comforts of society, were
ready to undertake a march of a thousand miles still farther
away, in the dead of a Canadian winter.

t i

358

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

And what was the journey'? They knew that it implied
hardships such as Captain Bntler encountered, and which he so
graphically <lescribes in " Tlie Great Lone Land." They knew
that it meant a great deal more. The journey over, they were
only at the beginning of their work, and the work would be
infinitely more trying than the journey itself.

Tliese are only two instances out of many of that " Ready,
aye, Keady" spirit, which the British people rightly honour as
the hii.',hest quality in their soldiers, from the lowest to the
highest grades. With respect to the ordinary everyday work
that has to be done, our own little experience gave us some idea
of its discomforts. Among the mountains, there is hardly a day
without rain, except when it snows. Leather gives way under
the alternate rotting and grinding processes that swamps and
rocks subject it to. Mocassins keep out the Avet about as well as
an extra pair of socks. Clothes are patched and re-patched until
lock, stock and barrel are changed. At night you lie down wet,
lucky if the blanket is dry. In the morning you rise to a rough
breakftist of tea, pork and beans. When relations at home are
just enjoying the sweet half-hour's sleep before getting up, you
are off into the dark silent woods, or clambering up precipices
to which the mists ever cling, or on the rocky banks of some
roaring river, getting back to camp at night tired and hungry,
but still thankful if a good day's work has been accomplished.
And this same thing goes on from week to week, — working,
eating, sleeping. Books are scarco, for they are too'bulky to
carry ; no newspapers and no news — unless fragments from
three to six months old, strangely metamorphosed by Packers
and Indians, can be dignified by the name of news. Nothing
occurs to break the monotony save rheumatism, festered hands
or feet, a touch of sickness, perhaps scurvy, if the campaign
has been long ; the ari-ival of a pack-train with supplies, or
some such interesting event as the following, which we found
duly chronicled on a blazed tree, between Moose Lake and
Tete Jaune Cache: —

OUR COUNTRY.

359

,t it implied
[ winch he so
They knew
er, they were
)rk would ho

hat "Ready,
itly honour as
lowest to the
everyday work
^e us some idea
is hardly a day
Lves way under
it swamps and
about as well as
re-patched until
QU lie down wet,
u rise to a rough
ons at home are
getting up, you
^g up precipices

banks of some
red and hungry,
en accomplished,
week,— working,
are too' bulky to

fragments from

losed by Packers

' news. Nothing

[11, festered hands

if the campaign

with supplies, or
which we found

Moose Lake and

" BIRTH."
" Monday, 5th August 1872.

" This morning at about 5 o'clock ' Aunt Polly,* bell-maro
" to the Nth. Thompson trail party's pack-train, was safely de.
" livered of a P)ay Colt, with three white legs and wliite star on
" forehead. This wonderful proger.y of a C. P. R. Survey's
" pack-train is in future to be known to the racing community
" of the Pacific slope, as Rocky Mountain Ned."

The Sunday rest and the next meal, are almost tlie only
pleasures looked forward to ; and the enjoyment of eating
arises, generally, not from the delicacies or variety of the fare ;
for even fat pork, porridge, bread and coffee, need all the zest
that hard work and mountain air can suj>ply, in order to bo
thoroughly enjoyed three times a day, week in and week out.

In addition to all the extraordinary discomforts attending
this class of Avork there are the dangers to life, inseparable from
the great extent of the work undertaken, and the ra])iflity with
Avhich it was begun and pushed forward ; — extensive fires in the
forest ; the risks of starvation or the risk of drowning, while
endeavouring to make the passage of lakes and rivers in a frail
canoe or on a raft.

This survey work implies more than hardships and hazards.
Already it has connected with its history a mournful death-
roll. At the outset, some tribes of Indians were exjiected to
give trouble. On the contrary, they have for the most part
been friendly and lielpful. "When nearly a thousand men were
engaged directly or indirectly on the work, and scattered over
pathless regions over a whole continent, it would not have been
wonderful had suj)plies failed to reach some parties, and death
by starvation occurred. In no case has such a disaster yet hap-
pened. But there are forces that can neither be organized nor
bribed. Fourteen men have been destroyed by the elements i
seven by fire, and seven by water; destroyed so completely that
no trace has been found of the bodies of ten,

- t"'-'»rfw— ,

III' I -
ill!' '

■■■>M\

I!!

li!!!'

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

One party, — seven in number, — engaged in carrying pro-
visions nortli of Lfike Superior, was surprised by the wide-
spiead forest fires tliat raged over the west in the autumn of
1871. The body of only one of its number could be discovered.

In the spring of 1872, a party that had finished its work well,
after an arduous winter cam})iiign far up the Ottawa beyond
Lake Temiscamivng, prepared to return home. The gentleman
in charge and one of his jissistants separated from the rest, to
take on board their canoe two others who had been previously
left at a side post prostrated with scurvy. The four were
known to have started down tlie liver. That was the last seen
of them, though the uptui'ued canoe was found, and it told its
own tale of an upset, by rock or rapid or awkward movement
of the sick men, into ice-cold lake or river.

In the Autumn of 1872, three others, on their way to begin
tiiei'' winter's work, were shipwrecked and drowned in thu
Georgian Bay,

All those men died in the service of their country as tru^y as
if they had been killed in battle. Some of them have left be-
hind wives and little children, aged parents, young brothers or
sisters, who were de})endent on them for support. Have not
those a claim on the country that ouglit not to be disregarded ]

That this work is too seldom looked at from any other save
the wages point of view, is our excuse for putting the real state
of the case warmly. Who are the men whose divSciplined en-
thusiasm enables them to manifest the self-sacrifice we have
alluded to? Many of them are men of good birth and educa-
tion, who have chosen the profession of Engineering as one in
which their talents can be made in a marked degree subservient
to the material pi'osperity of mar kind. Others have chosen it
because of its supposed freedom from routine, and the prospect
It is tho' ght to offer of novelty, adventure, and such a roving
life as every young Briton or Canadian, with any of the old
blood J a his veins, longs for.

OUR CO JNTL'Y.

361

irrying pro-
y the wide-
3 aii'Aimnof
R cliscovored.
ts work well,
tawa beyond
e (ventleman
the rest, to
jn previously
he four were
s the last seen
nd it told its
^id movement

. way to begiu
lowned in thu

itvy as trv^y as
m have left be-
Ling brothers or
,ort. Have not
be disregarded]
any other save
x(f the real state

disciplined en-
acrifice we have
birth and educa-
,eering as one m

^ree subservient
.s have chosen it
and the prospect
[id such a roving
h any of the old

And what wages do the; o men receive? Simply their pay
by the month ! They do not know \v^ethor they will have the
satisfaction — that every man interested in liis work lias the
right to look forward to — of seeing tlioir work finished by them-
selves. Even after the })reliminary surveys are comi^eted, and
the work placed under contract, tlie tenure of oftice is insecure.
Sometimes a clamour is raised against the presumed extrava-
gance of the Government, when tlic newspapers have notJiing
more stirring to write about, or when some reporter fancies he
has notireceived due attention. At other times, souie unprin-
cipled'contractors cons? -ire to effect the removU of men, whoso
only fault is that thoy have performed tlieir duty faithfully.
From these or other siu.ilar causes, engineers in the public ser-
vice are sometimes anjusily sacrificed. And, if remonstrance
is made, the answer ih ready . " They received their pay for the
time they were employed, an<l ethers, quite as competent, are
ready and willing to take their places." Yes, ind the same
might be said of the officers and mtu of the British army, but
they are treated very differf^ntly. The work of one of the
military expeditions, such as the Aby sinian or lied River,
which have shed such lustic (»n the British name, is not more
arduous. The heaviest part of a soldier's duty on such expedi-
tions, it is well known, is the long laboi )us marching. The
work of engineers on the survey is a ■ istant march ; their
shelter, even in the depth of winter, of ii only canvass ; they
have sometimes to carry their food for h,ng distances, through
swamps and over fallen trees, on their i>acks ; and run all the
risks incidental to such a life, withou medical assistance, with-
out notice from the press, without t!it' prospect of [)lun(ler or
promotion, ribands or pensions. To be sure there is the work
of construction only, and the world lias always gi' en greater
prominence to the work of destruction.

To construct is " the duty that lies n'^n rest us." " We there-
fore will rise up and build," Our young Dominion in grap-

i I'- ,

362

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

ml I
m

pling with so great .a work has resolutely considei-ed it from a
national and not a strictly financial point of view ; knowing
that whether it pays directly or not, it is sure to pay indirectly.
Other young countries have had to spend, through long years,
their strength and substance to purchase freedom or the right
to exist. Our lot i:, a happier one. Pi-otected "against infec-
tion and the hand of war " by the might of Britain, we have
but to go forward, to open up for our children and the world
what God has given into our possession, bind it together, con-
solidate it, and hiy the foundations of an enduring future.

Looking back over the vasl breadth of the Dominion when
our journeyings were ended, it rolled out before us like a
panorama, varied and magnificent enough to stir the dullest
spirit into patriotic emotion. For nearly 1,000 miles by rail-
way between different points east of Lake Huron ; 2,185 miles
by horses, including coaches, waggons, pack, and saddle-horses ;
1,687 miles in steamers in the basin of the St. Lawrence and
on Pacific waters, and 485 miles in canoes or row-boats ; we had
travelled in all 5,300 miles between Halifax and Victoria, over
a country with features and resources more varied than even
our modes of locomotion.

From the sea-pastures and coal-fields of Nova Scotia and the
forests of New Brunswick, almost from historic Louisburg up
the St. Lawrence to historic Quebec ; through the great Province
of Ontario, and on lakes that are seas ; by copper and silver
mines so rich as to recall stories of the Arabian Nights, though
only the rim of the land has been explored ; on the chain of
lakes, where the Ojibbeway is at home in his canoe, to the
plains, where the Cree is equally at home on his horse ; through
the prairie Province of Manitoba, and rolling meaxlows and
park-like country, out of which a dozen Manitobas shall be
carved in the next quarter of a century ; along the banks of

A full-fed river winding slow
By herds upon an endless plain,

* If

OUR COUNTRY,

363

red it from a
Bw; knowing
av indirectly.
\i long years,
11 or tlie riglit
'against infec-
Ltain, we have
and the worhl
together, con-
ng future,
lominion when
fore us like a
^tir the dullest
miles by rail-
on ; 2,185 miles
,(1 saddle-horses ;
b. Lawrence and
w-boats ; we had
ad Victoria, over
varied than even

vra Scotia and the
vie Louisburg up
l^e great Province
,opper and silver
m Nights, though
; on the chain of
his canoe, to the
Jiishorse; through

ling meadows and
lanitobas shall be
3ng the banks of

full-fed from the exhaustless glaciers of the Rocky Mountains,
and watering " the great lone land ;" over illimitable coal
measur3a and deep woods ; on to the mountains, which open
their gates, more widely than to our wealthier neighbours, to
lead us to the Pacific ; down deep gorges filled with mighty
timber, beside rivers whose ancient deposits are gold beds, sands
like those of Pactolus and channels choked with fi.sh ; on to
the many harl»ours of mainland and island, that look right
across to the old Eastern Thule " with its rosy pearls and
golden-roofed palaces," and open their arms to welcome the
sv*arming millions of Cathay ; over all this we had travelled,
and it was all our own.

" Wliere's the crowd that v. ould not dare
To fight for such a land ?"

Thank God, we have a country. It is not our poverty of land
or sea, of wood or mine that sha^'i f/er urge us to be traitors.
But the destiny of a country tlcvaids not on its material
resources. It depends on the character of its people. Here,
too, is full ground for confidence. We in ever^'thing " are
sprung of earth's first blood, have titles manifold." We come
of a race that never counted the number of its foes, nor the
number of its friends, when freedom, loyalty, or God was con-
cerned.

Two courses are possible, though it is almost an insult to say
there are two, for the one requires us to be false to our tradi-
tions and history, to our future, and to ourselves. A third
course has been hinted at ; but only dreamers would seriously
propose " Independence " to four millions of people, face to
face with forty millions. Some one may have even a foui-th to
propose. The Abbe Sieyes had a cabinet filled with pigeon-
holes, in each of which was a cut-and-dried Constitution for
France. Doctrinaires fancy that at any time they can say, " go
to, let us make a Constitution," and that they can fit it on a
natioi; as readily as new coats on their backs. There never was

36^^

OCEAN TO 0(JJUN.

¥h li

^1 •.
a profounfler mistako. A nation grows, atid its ConHtitution

must grow with it. Tiie nation cannot lio pnlled up by the
roots, — cannot be dissociated from its ]>ast, without (hmgcr to
its highest interests. Loyalty is essential to its fulfilment of
a distinctive mission, — essential to its true glory. Only one
course therefon; is possible for us, consistent witli tlie self-respect
that alone gains the res[)ect of others ; to seek, in the consolid-
ation of the Em|)ire, a common Tmptuial citizenship, with
connnon responsibilities, and a common inheritance.

With childish impatienct^ and intolerance of thought on tho
subject, we are sometimes told that a Kei)ublican form of Gov-
ernment and Republican institutions, are tlie same as our own.
But they are not ours. Besides, they are not the same. They
are not the same in themselves; ; they are not the same in their
effects on character. And, as ve are the chtldren even more
than we are the fathers and framers of our national institutions,
our first duty is to hold ftist those political forms, the inliuences
of which on national character have been proved by the tests of
time and comparison to be the most ennobling. Republicanism
is one-sided. Despotism is other-sided. The true form should
combine and harmonize both sides.

The favourite principle of Robertson of Brighton, that the
whole truth in the realm of the moral and spiritual consists in
the union of two truths that are contrary but not contradictory,
applies also to the social and political. What two contrary
truths then lie at the basis of a complete National Constitu-
tion 1 First, that the will of tho people is the will of God.
Secondly, that the will of God must be the will of the people.
That the people are the ultimate fountain of all power is one
truth. That Government is of God, and should be strong,
stable, and above the people, is another. In other words,
the elements of liberty and of authority should both be rep-
resented. A republic is professedly based only on the first.
lu consequence, all appeals aie made to that which is lowest in

OUn COUNTRY.

3G5

Constitution
ed np ^>y tho
)ut (liingcr to

fuliilmcnt of
•y. Only one
blie self-iH^f*pR(''t
n the consolid-
izenslii]), with

neo.

thought on the
m form of Gov-
,me as our own.
he same. They
he same in their
dren even more
Diial institutions,
^g,, tlie iniluences
ed by the tests of
llepublicanism
true form should

_ighton, that the
[ritual consists in
not contradictory,
hat two contrary
National Constitu-
t\ie will of God.
,vill of the people.
,f iill power is one
should be strong,
In other words,
ould both be rep-
only on the first,
which is lowest in

our nature, for such appeals are made to the greatest number
and are nnst likely to be immediately successful. The charac-
ter of pu))lic men and the national character deteriorate.
Neither elevation of sentiment, nor refinement of manners is
cultivated. Still more fatal conse(piences, the very ark of the
nation is carried periodically into licady fights ; for the time
being, the citizen has no country ; he lias only his party, and
the unity of the country is constantly imperilled.

On the other hand, a despotism is based entirely on the
element of authority. To unite those elements in due propor-
tions, has been and is the aim of every true statesman. Let
the history of liberty and i)ro^ress, of the development of
human character to all its rightful issues, testify where they
have been more wisely blended than in the British Constitu-
tion.

We have a fixed centre of autliority and government, a foun-
tain of honour above us that all reverence, from which a thou*
sand gracious influences come down to every rank ; and, along
with that immovable centra, representative institutions, so
elastic that they respoud wi'^hin their own sphere to every
breath of popular sentiment, instead of a cast-iron yoke for four
years. In harmony with this central part of our constitution,
we have an independent judiciary instead of judges — too often
the creatures of wealthy adventurers or the echoes of fleeting
popular sentiment. More valuable than the direct advantages,
are the subtle indirect influences that flow from our unbroken
connection with the old land, those living and life-giving
forces that determine the tone and mould the character of a
people. Ours are the old history, the graves of forefathers, the
flag they died for, the names "to which a thousand memories
call," the Queen whose virtues transmute the principle of loyalty
into a personal affection.

! }

— ' ■"•"•^imri

3G6

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

I Ijf

IliJiii

iiiill'

# 1

irfi

ii '

SANDFORD FLEMING'S OVERLAND EXPEDITION.

ITHsTEK.A.I^'Y'.

Journey from Halifax, on the North Atlantic, to Victoria, on
the North Pacific, between July 1 and Oct. 11, 1872.

DATS.

DeSIQ.VATIO.N of I'liACK!! UY THE WAY.

Ehtimatkd miles trav'd.

LAND.

WATER.

TOTAL.

1872

Frnm Halifax, alonp the
route of the Intcruoloiiial
Kailv'ay, under constnio-
tion aii(l partly in opera-
tion, to UiviOre du Loup.

From Riviero du I^oup along
the Grand Trunk, St. Law-
rence it Ottawa and Nor-
thern Hallways to Colliuj,'-
woud.

FromCollinnrwortd by stcaTU-
er throiiirh the 6eorj,'ian
Bay, Lake Huron and Lake
Supia-ior to Thunder Bay.

From Thunder Bay along
the Dawson route* to Fort
Garry. *Canip No. 1.

2.
" 3.
" 4.
•♦« 5.
•♦ 6.
" 7.
" 8.
« 9.
10.

To Truro

50
V.)

45'

110

45
100
135

50
115
1.50
100

00
35
61
GO
90
8
70

July 1.

" Moneton

" Miramichi

" Bithurnt

" Met;ipelia

" Bimouski

—

" Hiv. du Loud

July 9.

" Quebec

" Montreal

120
KiG
10(3
275
94

622

" Ottawa

" Toronto

16.

' ' C'ollinjjwood

" Owen Sound

827

* ' K illarne V

" Bruce Mines

" SaultSt. Mario

" Miehipicoten Island
" Nei)i;.!'on .

" Thunder Bay.. . '. .

22.

23.
24.

" Shebandowan

" ]3ri;le l*orta'j;e

. ■ • t

695

25.

" Camp ]j,'nace

2G.

" American Bortagc.
" Rainy Lake

27.

28.

" H: i<,'rv Hall

29.

" Island Camp

29.

" Northwest Angle..

30.

" Oak Point.

80
30

31.

" Government House

539

Carried Forward.,

2,683

*Caraps numbered from Lake Superior.

5:PEmTioN.

bo Victoria, on

HMATBD MILK9 TRAV'D.

WATER. ITOTAL

OCEAN TO OCEAN.
ITINERARY -Continued.

367

DATK.

1872

Aug'. 1.

3.
4.
f..
«.
7.

10.

11.

12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

DesION'ATIOX 01' I'liACKS BV TUB WAY.

From Fort Cfurry to Stone
Fort ami Imck.

P'rom Fort Ourry
to Furl Elllcu. ■

Ciiinp.

No. U.

" 12.

" 13,

" 14.

" l;-),

" 1»J.

Urotiiflit furwanl
To Governmt'iit House

From Fort Ell ice to
Fort Curlton.

1 1

17.
Isi,

1!).

20.

21.
■lit

2:1
24.

17. Froiii Fort Carlton " 25.

18. to Fort Pitt. " "
m " 2(1.
20.1 " 27.
21. " 28.

22.
23.
24.
25.
20.
27,

28.
2,).
80.
31.
Sept, 1.

9.
10.
11,

From Fort Pitt to
Fort lidmonton.

20.
30.
31.

32.
33.

rom Fort Edmon-

34.

ton to Jasper

35.

Ilouae.

30.

37.

38.

30.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

Ai!

" White Ilorso Plains

" Kat Cr.-ek

" 'I'hree Creeks

" Camp Assiuil)iiine..

" Salt Lake

" Ciu'Appelle

" Broken Arm River.

" Lonely Tree

" Little Toiiehwooil. .

" Touelnvood

" l^nill Lake I'lain.

" Itonnd Hill

" S. iiaskatchewan.
" Fort Carlton

" liears Paddling La.

" .Tack-fHh River..
" Eni,'lisli River.. .
" Fort Pitt Guard.

" -Moose Creek

" Snake Lake

" Vietoria Mis.sion.

Deep Crenk

Fort Edmonton.

St. Albert

St. Anus'

Round Lake... .
Lobst k Creek.

Valad's Camp

Camp Minnie

MeLc )d River Camp

Indian Camp

Mu.ske:; Camp

Plum Puddinj,' C'mp

it . I u

Bayonetle Camp. . .
Reaver Camp..
Island Camp

Khiim.ntki) milks trav'r.

LASU.

37
24
40
41

43
41

1 t

43
42
43
40
IS

38
II

48
41
40

40
42

44
27

30
12
20

WATER.

20
23
17
12
20
21

25
17
20

TOTAL.

2,083
40

220

307

167

193

278

Carried Forward 3,888

'l>i.stance3 between Fort Garry and Edmonton were measured by " Odometer."

IMAGE EVALUATrON
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

U^|28 |2.5

|io "^" M^H

^ lis llliiM

1.8

1.25 |U 1.6

< 6"

.'^

^7.

'^ >

''W

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

''^^#^"

V ^/^

^ ^.^

t/i

;

MMi

368

OCEATT TO OCEAN.
ITINERAR y. -Continued.

1,1

DATE.

Drsiosation of places by tub way.

Estimated miles trav'd.

LAND.

WATER.

TOTAL.

1872

Camp

From Jftspor No. 47.

House to Vol low " 48.

Head Pass. '* 4i».

" 50.

From Yellow Head " 51.
Pass to Kam- " 52.
loops. " 53.

" M.

" 55.

" 50.

" ru.

" 58.
" C>'X
" CO.
" 01.
•• (i2.

From Kamloops to Now
Westmiiistor.

Proin New Westminster to
Victoria. <))i lH)ard the
steamer "Sir James Doug-
lag."

From Victoria to Alberni,
Aarclaay Soinul and back
Str. "Sir James Douglas."

Brought forward.

■1

a
1

8
1

3,888

Sopt 12.
13.
14.
15.

10.
17.

To Ja8])er Lake

31
25
26

23
24
24
26
12

25
60

485

" Athahaska Camp. . .
"Caledonian Valley..
" Yellow Head Can'ip.

" Moose I^ake Camp.
" Herd Camp

—

18.

" Camp Fraser

19.

'' Canoe Iliver

20.

" Albreda Camp

21.
22.
23.
24.

" Camp Cheadle,

" Headless Indian

" Camp v.-

—

25.

" Round Prairie

26.
27.
28.

" Bunch Grass Camp.
' ' Cam]) Thompson , . .
" Kamloops

....

29.

" Kamloo|)s

48
56

190

80
100

150
150

1687

333

30.

" Cornwalls

Oct 1.
2.

<<
" Lvtton

—

" Yale

4.
5.

" New Westminster. . .
" Burrard Inlet

....

253

«.

" Waddington Harbor
" Seymour Narrows. .

" Nanaimo

" Victoria

10.

" Pacific Ocean

490

11.

(1 <<

Total Mileage

957

2185

300
5,314

SXJ JDwdC IS/I A. I^^ST.

Milea.

Distance travelled by Railway 957

" Horsjcs, including waggon, pack and saddle horses 2,186

" Steamers -on St. Lawrence and Pacific waters 1,687

'• Canoes or row-boats 485

From Halifax to Victoria )
betweeo July Istand Oct. lltb. )

.Totiil miles 6,314

IMATBD MILES TRAV'd.

S-D.

WATER. 1

POTAL.

c«

—

3,888

. 26

L 12

• • • 1

333

....

253

190
80

100
80

. 150
. 150

490
300

■ ■"■ ■■

- ' '

2185' 1687' 4851 5,314

Miles.

957
2,185

3 horses

ers.

1,687

485

il miles

6,314

APPENDIX.

Delays in Constructiny Canada raoifio & Intercolonial Kail ways— First Link of the Can*
ada Pacific- -Yellow Head rus.s - DilHcultics in the Cascaf!c ran{,'e— Population re-
quired for local trattic -Causes of delay in settlinj^ the North-west— The >,'nusshop-
l)er8— Utilization of water stretches Telej^raphie Communication Productiveness
of Manitoha in 1876 -Surveys Hcd Deer and IJow Rivers- Place River as seen inl875
—Water supi)ly— Treeless areas Indian (|uestion Mounted Police— Treaties -True
Indian iM)licy— Indian trouhles in Rritish Columbia— Character of the Indians on
Pacific Slope and Coast— Progress.

The last chapter of Ocean to Ocean explains why the writer
accompanied the expedition to which he acted the part of ^oc
retary, and how it came to pass that the book was written.
The Dominion is now four years older. Our North-west is not
the almost unknown country it then was. True, the work of
colonization and of building a railway from Lake Nipissing to
the Pacific has not proceeded at the lightning express rate that
was prophesied ; but neither the prophecy nor its failure is to
be wondered at. In 1867, public men and the press joined in
affirming that trains would run from Halifax to Montreal in
three years ; and the ^Maritime Provinces took action on the
strength of the anticipation. But though the Intercolonial
Railway is only five hundred miles long, and passes through a
country which has been partially settled for one or two genera-
tions, and runs near the o^/en sea, it was not completed till
1876. Need we wonder much should three decades instead of
one pass away before the Canada Pacific is opened for through-
traffic ] However, during the last four years considerable
progress has been made ; and in giving to the public a second
edition of Ocean to Ocean, an appendix is called for, to show
where we now stand.

The settlement of the North-west, on which the success of

370

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

! I

the pfreat exterprise depends, cannot proceed rapidly until ac-
cess by rail is given to the outside world of intending emigrants.
The average emigrant is a poor man. He is likely therefore to
have a large family. He carries his household goods with him.
That he be taken from his old to his proposed new home at the
smallest possible expense and with few changes and breakings
of bulk is simply indispensable. In 1872, every one expected
that the desired result would be in a measure attained by the
completion of the railway from St. Paul's, Minnesota, to the
Boundary Line. A well informed London Times correspondent
wrote that " 1873 will certainly see the railway track at Fort
Garry, and that thus will be opened the rich Canadian territory
of Manitoba and the fertile valley of the Saskatchewan." But
this certainly depended on the willingness of the Dutch bond-
holders to advance more money without prospect of immediate
repayment, and was dissipated by their determination not to
do so, to which determination they stil! resolutely adhere. The
terminus of the track remains where it was ; and emigrants
have still to travel on foot or in their waggons for two or three
hundred miles over the prairie, or betake themselves to the Red
River boats in order to reach Winnipeg. Possibly the first great
link of the Canada Pacific Railway, extending from Thunder
Bay on Lake Superior to the crossing of the Red River may
be built before there is communication by rail through Minne-
sota ; and as giving direct access to Manitoba through our own
territory and affording the most direct outlet for surplus fartn
produce are objects of paramount importance, the construction
of this link four hundred and fourteen miles long — is being en-
ergetically proceeded with. Its course is well to the north of
the Dawson road which our party canoed over ; by a shorter
route ; and through a country much more favourable than was
at one time thought possible. Works of construction, except
about Rat Portage or the crossing of the Winnipeg River, will i
be light, and what is of even more importance — remarkably

APPENinX.

371

idly until ac-
Ing emigrants,
y therefore to
oods with him.
,w home at the

and breakings

one expected
attained by the
innesota,to the
a correspondent
,y track at Fort
madian territory
ttchewan." But
the Dutch bond-
ict of immediate
,rmination not to
tely adhere. The
,s ; and emigrants
s for two or three
^selves to the Bed

iibly the first great
ng from Thunder
le Red River may
il through Minne-
, through our own
,t for surplus fatm
. the construction
;\ong-iB being en-
well to the north ot
,ver ; by a shorter
Favourable than was

construction, except
/innipeg River, will
rtance-remarkably

easy ascending gradients have been secured. " The more this
portion of the railway can be made to convey cheaply the pro-
ducts of the soil to the navigation of the St. Lawrence, the
more will the field be extended within which fanning opera-
tions can be carried on with profit on the fertile i>lains. The
information obtained suggests that it will be i)0ssible to secure
maximum easterly ascending gradients between Manitoba and
Lake Superior within the limit of twenty-six feet to the mile,
a maximum not half so great as that which obtains on the ma-
jority of the railways of the Continent." (Progress Report,
1874).

Respecting the line as a whole and the character of the diffi-
culties to be overcome, the Chief Engineer's statements are
equally satisfactory. He reports that " the practicability of
establishing railway communication across the Continent
wholly within the limits of the Dominion is no longer matter
of doubt. It may indeed bo now accepted as a certainty that
a route has been found, generally possessing favourable en-
gineering features, with the excej)tion of a short section ap-
proaching the Pacific coast ; which route, taking its entire
length, including the exceptional section alluded to, will on the
average show lighter work, and will require less costly struc-
tures than have been necessary on many of the railways now
in operation in the Dominion." The Yellow Head has been
definitely determined upon as the best pass through the first
range of [the Rocky Mountains. By it "a railway can be
carried from the North Saskatchewan to the central plateau of
British Columbia with gradients as light as those on railways
in Ontario, and with works of construction scarcely heavier
than on the Intercolonial line. We are thus enabled to project
a satisfactory route from the railway system of the Atlantic
Provinces to a point within about two hundred miles of the
Pacific tide water." The character of the climate about the
eastern approach to the Yellow Head Pass may be judged from

I I

f I

372

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

the fact given in the Report that one hundred horses and mules
engaged on the survey, nearly starved when they reached t e
Jasper v.:lley, were turned out in mid-winter to shift for them-
selves, not a single death occurred, and they all resumed work
in March in fair condition. The extraordinary significance of
this fact will be ajipreciated when it is remembered that the
Jasjper valley is 3,300 feet above the level of the sea or very
nearly as high as the Pass, and about ten degrees of latitude
farther north than Toronto.

All this is extremely satisfactory ; but the difficulties on the
last two hundred miles referred to — the western end of the
Canada Pacific Railway — are sufticient of themscilves to make
the undertaking a formidable one for a riclier country than
Canada. An army of engineers has been employed among the
mountains of British Columbia since 1871; the Cascades have
been pierced by seven lines of survey; every attempt has been
made to wrest from them the secret of an easy passage to the
ocean ; but, though the outlook has more than once been prom-
ising, the attempts have failed. There is no direct, and no easy
pass. On any one of the projected lines construction will in-
volve enormous outlay. It is understood that the route that
the Government favours is to follow the Fraser River from
Tote Jeaune Cache to Fort George and thence to strike across
to the head of Bute Inlet. As Lord Dufferin has pointed out,
this means that eventually the railway must be carried down
tl\e bold rocky shores of the Inlet, across to Vancouver's
Island, and on to Esquimalt.

Once built, the diflliculty of operating the railway in winter
will be found just where construction threatens to be most diffi-
cult — the western-.slopes of the two grept mountain chains in
British Columbia. " Except in these localities, it will have on
an average considerably less snow than existing railways have
to contend with."

By the time it is built, let us trust that a population shall

•f '■'!

APPENDIX.

373

S3 and m\ilea

reachod t 6
Xt for them-
uiined work
gnificance of
,ed that the

sea or very
s of hititudo

nilties on the
n end of the
Ives to make
country than
ed among the
Cascades have
smpt has been
lassage to the
Lee been prom-
ct, and no easy
notion will in-
,he route that
?r Kiver from
, strike across
is pointed out,
[e carried down
;o Vancouver's

llway in winter
\o be most diffi-
Itain chains in
[it will have on
railways have

Population shall

have entered our North-west sufficiently large to ensure enough
traffic to pay working exi)onses. The prospect is good ; but
should the j>ros[)oct not bo realized, the Canada I'acific — irre-
spective of the cost of construction — would be a white elephant
of portentous dimensions to (.-anada. At present the Dominion
has a popuhition of about 900 for every mile of railway con-
structed, and that is found to be anything but a paying aver-
age. ]^ut even on that basis, our North-west should have a
population of one and a (juarter to one and a half millions by
the time the line is opened from the Pacific to Lake Superior.
Of course the safe policy would be, not to begin construction
from the Pacific side till a million of i)eople had actually set-
tled in the North west ; and it is a question whether more lib-
eral terms might not be offered to British Columbia than have
yet been suggested to obtain the delay. It cannot be the true
interest of any member of the body that the body should suffer
and even run the risk of destruction. But if such delay is
impossible, it is clear that the speedy completion of the link
between Thunder Bay and Red River, and a vigorous coloniza-
tion policy constitute the key to the position.

In view of the obligations which Canada has assumed, obli-
gations that no party dreams of repudiating though there may
be legitimate differences of opinion as to the mode in which
they should be fulfilled, the question of paramount importance
is — what are the capabilities of the NoT'th-west for settlement ?
On this point, what has been proved in the course of the past
four years ? Have the views then taken by the author after
a rapid ride across the country been borne out by the ex-
periences of settlers and explorers 1 Have the difficulties in
the way of colonization on a large scale lecome greater or less
as they were approached ?

These questions can be easily answered. I have alluded to
one cause or delay that has operated against a more speedy set-
tlement of Manitoba. Another, the grasshopper plague — has

|i • :i

374

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

proved to bo a more serious drawb«,ck than the settlers in 1872
contemplated. But, this excepted, all reasonable expectations
then entertained have been fulfilled. Tiiis Appendix is not
intended to serve as a guide book for emigrants. To those who
wish a recent and readable book of that kind, Hamilton's
" Prairie Province " is recommended. All that can be done
here is to give a few facts and conclusions in the way of a gen-
eral review.

The grasshopp(irs are dreaded in all the border States and
Territories of America as the locusts were by the Jews in the
days of Joel the prophet. Their first appearance in the Red
River valley, of which we ha\ j any account, was in the year
1818. The S( otch settlers, brou<fht out under the auspices of
the Earl of Selkirk, suffered severely from their ravages in
1818, 1819 and 1820. Thirty-six years elapsed before their
next invasion ; and that was followed by a six years' respite-
From 1867 to 1870, r.^d fro-.. 1873 to 1875, they did much
damage. This year Manitoba has been entirely free from their
ravages ; and the people generally believe that they have en-
tered on another period of exemption, and that should the pests
re-appear, the settlers will be sufficiently numerous and well
organized to stamp them out. Those who are desirous of learn-
ing about the grasshoppers, their origin, range, flight, swarm-
ing, and the best means of prevention to be adopted by the set-
tlers attacked, I would refer to Mr. G. M. Dawson's Report in
connection with the British North America Boundary Commis-
sion (p. 304-31 1). No scientific work of such permanent vaiue
as this Report has been presented to the Government of the
Dominion so far as known to me. While the Report is valu-
able as a contribution to the Natural History — especially the
geology — of America, the lucid style and the concluding chap-
ters on the capabilities of the country with reference to settle-
ment, make it interesting to the general reader. Mr. Dawson
concludes that Manitoba from its more northerly position and

APPEiNDlX.

375

lers in 1872
jxpectations

.ndix is not

Co those who

Hamilton's

can be done
jvay of a gen-

ir States and
Jews in the
3 in the Red
3 in the year
he auspices of
2iv ravages in
d before their
years' respite-
they did mnch
1 free from their
they have en"
shouid the pests
erous and well
esirous of learn-
3, flight, swarm-
jpted by the set-
^son's Report in
imdary Commis-
permanent vaiue
rernment of the
Report is valu-
y^__especially the
concluding chap-
•erence to settle-
or. Mr. Dawson
lerly position and

proximity to the great forest regions appears to be le'm liable to
wide-spiead vihitationa of the grasshoppers than the regions fur-
ther south, and that — as in those more exposed regions much
ho '>een done to limit or prevent their ravages- they can bo
su<,wonsfully fought in Manitoba when population has increased
, .d the settlers have learned to combine against tlie common
enemy. It is also satisfactory to know that the North Saskat-
chewan country is not subject to their visitations.

While everyone now assigns to the grasshoppers their due
weight, other obstacles, once dreaded, have become less
formidable as they were approached. Notwithstanding fears
and the declarations of authorities that neither the Ke I River
nor the Saskatchewan could be utilized for steam navigation,
steamers do navigate both rivers. The business done by the
Red River Steamboats is so lucrative that one trip to Winni-
peg has been known to repay the owners the whole cost of the
vessel. The practicability also of direct steam navigation from
the City of Winnipeg to the north of Lake Winnipeg, a dis-
tance of 360 miles, has been demonstrated, and different trips
have been made from above the Grand Rapids at the mouth of
the Saskatchewan for 800 miles to Fort Edmonton. It is now
certain that the Saskatchewan and Lakes Winnepegosis and
Manitoba can be utilized for traffic and intercourse by means
of small steamers ; that the Mossy Portage — four miles long —
between Cedar Lake on the Saskatchewan and Lake Winne-
pegosis, and Meadow Portage — o^ie and a-half miles long —
between Lakes Winnepegosis and Manitoba, could be easily
improved, and the Channels at Coal and Tobin's Rapids be
deepened at small expense. The extent of ihe water system
immediately available is indeed marvellous.

Again, notwithstanding the declared opinion of a high
authority that a telegraph line could not be constructed because
there was not a sufficient supply of wood for posts on the plains,
there is now telegraphic communication from Lake Superior to

37(5

OCEAN To OCEAN.

\«!t

Winnipog and thonco to tho Ihihoh of thn Rocky Mountains,
This difUcuIty, too, ih Holvod in the good old fjiHliion, solvitur
amhiihiudo.

In liSr)!), tlio Kilinburufh /irricir proved conoliiHivcly that the
|>iojK)Hal to form the Ilcd liivrr and SuHkatchowan country
into a ('rowa Oohmy was a wild and wicked notion ; that luiil-
HtoneH, luiliauH, frtmt.s (»arly and late, want of wood and water,
rooks, hogs, and such like anienitie.s inad(5 .settlement impoHsihlo.
The answer is tluit in spite of the dilhcultiea in the way of
getting to tlie country, and in sjute of the unexpected vivacity
of the grasshoppers, tho popidation of the Ked River Valley
hjiH increased in four y<;ars from 12,000 to 40,000, and tho
popidation of Winnipeg from 700 to about 7,000. With regard
to tho hoalthfulness of the climate, tl.o phNisantness of th(^ long
winters, and the fertility of the soil, travellers and residents
liave borne unvarying testimon}'. For the production of
cereals, pulse, and root crops, and as a stock-raising country,
there seems to be no better anywKere. The yield for 1870 is
the best proof. A summary in the Toronto Daily Globe of a
minute account in the Manitoba Free Prcsti gives the following
averages for the I^rovince as a whole : Wheat, 32jl bushels
per acre; barley, 42^; oats, 51; peas, 32; pota'^oes, 229;
turnips, GG2^. Such is the result, although the unusually
severe and late rains damaged the crops, and other drawbacks
peculiar to the season operated to lower the average. On newly
broken-up ground where the old sod had never rotted, the yield
was small ; and many of the settlers had to sow old and
decayed seed because of the grasshoi)per ravages the preceding
year. The signiticance of an average like 32|- bushels of wheat
to the acre will be best understood in the light of the following
rough calculation by Mr. Dawson : "As a measure of the
possible agricultural capacity of this great valley, take one-half
of the entire area, or 3,400 square miles equalling 2,176,000
acres, and for simj)licity of calculation, let it be supposed to be

APPENDIX,

377

J Mountains,
lion, Holrihir

\\^^y tluit the
■wan country
>n ; tluit liail-
)(1 ami wator,
nt inii>oHsiV)lo.
n the way of
oct»'(l vivacity
River Valley
,000, and tho
With roj^ard
3SH ot* th(^ long
anil roHiclenta
production of
lining country,
ad for 1870 is
lilj/ Globe of a
3 the foP.owing
t. ?>'!} bushels
pota*.oes, 229 ;
he unusually
hor drawbacks
<yo. On newly
otted, the yield
sow old and
t the preceding
ushels of wheat
,f the following
iieasure of the
^, take one-half
lling 2,176,000
supposed to be

sown ontirnly in wluMit. Th(Mi, at the rate of 17 bushels per
acre — wliioli acNioriling to I'rof. Tiiotnas, is tlui average? yield for
lVIinn(!S(>tu tli(? crop of the llcfl IMvor Valley would aiiiounfc
to 4O,!t!>L',O0() buHJielH," (p. 27S). The totiil crop of lVTanitol)a
for 187(1 is: wheat, 4H0,<K)() buHJieJs ; ImHey, 17:^000; oats,
;J80,()00 ; pens, 15,000 ; otlujr grains, 5,000 ; potuto.jM, .M;0,0()0 ;
tu"nij)s and oilier roots, 700,000.

With respe(rfc to tlie vast country beyond that Xorth-Wjjst of
which Manitoba is only tho thicshohl, we have much more
definite information than we had, and every ycsar adds to our
Rtoro. iJeside the township surv((ys which have already ox-
t(Mi<l(Ml far beyond the f^rovine^e, a sp(H'ial survey of iiieridians
and ba.'ies is also going on. The lines ar(^ laid down northerly
and wcst(n-ly, and the work is int(!nd(!d to extend to I'eaco
liiver. Tin; objects of \]\(\ survey are to estal)lish a practieablo
ground work for the extension of township surveys at any point
along tho lin(! of railway where they may be rcicpiired, to facil-
itate the locution of tho land grant along the line of raiiway,
to obtain a systematic knowledge of the resources of the
country, and to furnish inibrmation as to geograi)hic position
and toj)ograpliy rccpiived for the ace \'ate mapping of tlu; north-
west. With this last object in view, the position of the bases
and moi'idians in the series are being definitely checked from
time to time by means of a continuous triangulation carried on
over the most favourable belt of country that can be found»
under the personal direction of Mr, Lindsay Russel. The
astronomic station on the 49th parallel at rend)ina has been
adopted as the point of departure for this triangulation.

Descri[)tive extracts from the Reports of Township surveys
in Manitoba and the North- West T(U'ritory extending to Fort
Ellice have been published. These Reports mention the nature
of the surface of each township surveyed, the kind and ([uality
of the soil and timber, the supply of water afforded by lakes,
streams, springs, and wells, with such other information as the

!,. 1.

378

OCRAX TO OCEIAN.

l:i

intending settlor roquires most. Hundreds of townships in
ro;^ular Huocesj^iou hnvo boon thus described by the surveyors,
and scarcely a Koor(5 arc; declared unfit tor settlement. The land
is usually i)ronounce<l "of good (juality" or "the finest quality,*
"sandy loam," "deej) dry loam," or "good black loam," "level,"
'"rolling" or "undulating i)rairie," "excellent," "very rich," or
"first-class."

Still further west than the valley of the Assiniboine, settle-
ments are springing into existonco, especially on the banks and
ut the confluence of rivers. The half breeds are selling their
farms on the lied River, moving west and establishing them-
selves on the Qu'Appelle, the Saskatchewan and its tributaries,
and as far away as Peac«^ lliver. These hardy bois-brules will
always be the advance guard of the great army of regular
immigrants. Our old fellow-traveller, the much lamented Rev.
George McDougal, writing in October 1875 de.scribes in simple
glowing language the fertility of the prairie from the lower Sas-
katchewan south-westerly to within sight of the Rocky Moun-
tains, over which he himself had just travelled as a messenger
of peace from the Government to the Indians. Writing from
near the confluence of the Red Deer and Bow Rivers, he says :
"A great change has come over the scene in the last fifteen
months; men of business had found it to their interest to estab-
lish themselves on the banks of our beautiful river. A stock
raiser from across the mount;;iins had arrived with several hun-
dred head of cattle. And now on the very hills where two
years ago I saw herds of buffalo, the domestic cattle gently
graze, requiring neither shelter nor /odder from their master all
the year rounds Concerning the country that extends from
the lower Saskatchewan north-westerly to Peace River, Prof.
Maconn is even more emphatic. In his Report (1873) he
asserts that "the prairie country extends all the way from the
lower Saskatchewan by Lac La Biche across the Athabaska to
Slave Lake, and thence to the mountains. Here then is a strip

APPFNDIX.

.379

wnahips in

surveyors,

. The land

38t quality/

level,"

" it

3ry rich," or

)oine, settle-
le banks and
selling their
lishing them-
8 tributaries,
ns-hruUs will
ly of regular
imented Kev.
ibes in simple
bhe lower Sas-
Rocky Moun-
s a messenger
Writing from
irers, he says :
le last fifteen
erest to estab-
ver. A stock
h several hun-
Is where two
cattle gently
heir master all
extends from
e River, Prof.
Drt (1873) he
way from the
Athabaska to
then is a strip

of country over 000 miles in length, and at least 100 in breadth,
containing an area of G0,()0() s(|uan! miles, whicli lias a climute
no way inf«!rior to that of Kdmonton. . . . H(5giir(ling the
quality of the soil throughotit tin; entire region, my notci-book
is unvarying in its testimony. J took every opportunity to
examine the soil and always found it deep and fertile."

But it was only after Mr. Maconn visited I*eaee River in
1875, wlien he had time to explon; the country fully, that
his evidence regarding that far Northdund becom(5S posi-
tively wonderful. The entire district along Peace lliver for a
distance of 7G0 miles, in a belt of 150 miles witle on each
side, or an area of 252,000,000 acres, is as suitable for the cul-
tivation of grain as Ontario. Besides the peculiar excellence
of the country for cereals, ho had found thousands of acres of
crystallized salt, so pure that it was used in its natural state
by the H. B. Company. Coal abounde*! in the richest veins,
and was interstratitiod with hemalite or iron ore yiehling fifty
per cent. Thousands of acres of coal oil fields were found.
The tar lying on the surface of the ground was ankle <leep.
Miles and miles of the purest gypsum beds cropped out of the
river banks. No wonder that he considers Peace lliver to be
the richest part of Canada. While such facts liave been given
as resi)ecting the valley of the Red River and Assiniboine, of
the Saskatchewan and its tributaries, and even of the great
Peace River, in what was formerly considered the far, foreign
North, the testimony concerning our Southern boundary is
more favourable than was expected. All along the 49th par-
allel of latitude, between the Red River valley and the bases
of the Rocky Mountains, the country was believed to be only
a treeless, rainless desert, a continuation of the great Ameri-
can desert, extending in a triangular shape well into our North-
West. Mr. G. M. Dawson in his Report describes the three
prairie steppes along the boundary line (p. 269-300) and
shows that most of the first, and much of the second is good.

m' P'l; i

liiffii;.";. 1* t^i

380 OCFAN TO OCEAN.

Even with regard to the third steppe he says : " The explora-
tions in connection with the Boundary Survey have served to
shew that this country, formerly considered almost absolutely
desert, is not — with the exception of a limited area — of this
character ; that a part of it may be of future importance agri-
culturally, and that a great area is well suited for pastoral
occupation and stock farming." Of course he believes that the
progre?" of settlements will be from the valley of the Red
River to the Saskatchewan, following that to its head, and
that the great pastoral area of the plains south of the Fertile
Belt will be entered from the North.

Another matter that pressed itself on our attention four
years ago, was the apparent absence of fresh water in many
extensive districts. This difficulty, too, has been solved. " It
is found that there are few regions whei'e ordinary wells of
moderate depth do not succeed in finding ample supplies of
water ; and this not only far removed from the rivers, but in
their immediate vicinity, though the water level of the stream
may be considerably lower than that of the bottom of the well.
The rather impervious nature of the prairie sub-soil renders
it pi obable that these wells are supplied either by intercalated
coarser layers, or, — as appears to be more likely — by water
circulating in fissures ; which, formed originally by the crack-
ing of the soil at the surface, often penetrate its homogeneous
mass to a considerable depth." In the vicinity of the City of
Winnipeg boring has been extensively carried out ; water is
reached at an average depth of fifty feet, and it rises to within
a few feet of the surfiice. The general section met with is
thus stated :

Black Loam „-.. about 4 feet.

Yellow mud and sand -- "6"

Blue mud and alkali " 30 "

Limestone concrete, resembling the bed of a
river, and carrying water -----

The explora-
Eive served to
,st absolutely
area — of this
lortance agri-
[ for pastoral
lieves that the
y of the Red
its head, and
of the Fertile

attention four
/ater in many
jn solved. " I*
linary wells of
pie supplies of
. rivers, but in
;1 of the stream
;om of the well.
5ub-soil renders
by intercalated
i^ely— by water
ly by the crack-
ts homogeneous
r of the City of
d out ; water is
t rises to within
ion met with is

about 4 feet.
u 6 "
" 30 "
a

APPENDIX.

381

Wherever there is alkali in the soil the well is tubed round to
prevent infiltration.

Another difficulty to which we called attention — the exist,
ence of great areas of treeless prairie, can be solved slowly but
surely, as has been done in Minnesota and elsewhere by the
exertions of settlers, encouraged by Government. The late
Minister of the Interior devoted sjiecial attention to this sub-
ject, and as he has been appointed (Governor of the North'
West, he will be in a position to encourage the systematic
planting of trees, and to prevent or limit the prairie or forest
fires that have been hitherto so d(!structive. The good effects
of extensive tree-planting on the soil and on the climate can
be hardly over-estimated. Professor Maconn says : " One
consequence of trees being planted will be a greater rain-fall,
and as a consequence of greater rain-fall, the salts in
the soil will be dissolved and carried off from the surface
and salt plants disappear. This is no fancy sketch, as
it is a fact in physical geography that to clothe the land with
trees gives a greater rain-fall, and takes away the saic. Any
person acquainted with the history of Palestine and North
Africa, knows that what were the most fruitful countries in
the world two thousand years ago are now barren saline
wastes. The cause is well known. The trees were cut down,
none were planted in their place, the sun evaporated the rain
before it had time to percolate the soil, salts accumulated, and
in the course of time the land was given up to perpetual bar-
renness." This subject also is exhaustively discussed in Mr.
Dawson's Report (p. 311 to 324).

The Indian question is the only remaining one upon which
anything need be said, and it deserves a chapter or a volume
to itself. Since Ocean to Ocean was written there have been
two Indian wars in the United States, one with the Modocs
and another with the Sioux. Captain Jack and Sitting Bull
have shown what loss and expense a handful of savages can

382

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

( ■ :: ;(.!

inflict on a great nation, and we should give heed to the lesson.
When our neighbour's house is on fire it becomes us to be on
the alert. Other facts indicate how deeply the honour and the
interest of the Dominion is involved in preserving undisturbed
our traditional friendly relations with the Indian tribes on
both sides of the Rocky Mountains. Here is one fact that
points a moral : — During the two years that the Boundary
Commission was doing its work, the scientific men engaged by
the U. S. Government required the protection of a large mili-
tary force, whereas the British Canadian party engaged on the
other side of the line had no escort and were never disturbed !

The first steps taken by the Dominion Government to pro-
tect the Indians from ill-treatment and from whiskey, were in
1873, when Acts were passed for the establishment of the
Mounted Police Force, and prohibiting the introduction of in-
toxicating liquors into the Territories. These Acts and the
action consequent upon them, have been attended with the
happiest results. Order reigns throughout the North-west.
The fact that men charged with the murder z" Indians have
been brought a thousand miles across the great lone land and
lodged in the Winnipeg prison to await their trial, shows the
length of the arm of Canada, and that the life of the Indian
is as sacred in the eye of the law as the life of any other sub-
ject of the Queen. The trading posts and forts, establibhed
by outlaws and desperadoes from the Western States on the
Bow and BeUy Rivers, that were demoralizing the Indians,
have been completely broken up. Some of the border rufiians
and whiskey traders have been caught, fined or imprisoned, and
their stock of buffalo robes — when they had such — confiscated.
Others have recrossed the line, disgusted with British institu-
tions. The Assistant Commissioner in charge at Fort Mac-
Leod reports " the complete stoppage of the whiskey trade
throughout the whole of thit section of the country, and that
the drunken riots which in former years were almost of daily

APPENDIX.

383

) the lesson.

s to be on

our and the

undisturbed

tn tribes on

ne fact that

^e Boundary

1 engaged by

a hirge miU-

1 erased on the

jr disturbed 1

iment to pro-

skey, were in

iiment of the

)duction of in-
Acts and the

tided with the

le North-west.
Indians have

b lone land and

rial, shows the
of the Indian
any other sub-

)rts, establit-hed
States on the
ng the Indians,
border ruffians
imprisoned, and
^cli — confiscated.
British institu-
ge at Tort Mac-
l whiskey trade
)untry, and that
almost of daUy

occurrence, were now entirely at an end." He reports that
the Indians — Blackfeet, Assiniboines and Crees — are very in-
telligent men, very hospitable, and very friendly ; and that
they appreciate highly the boon conferred on them by the Gov-
ernment in establishing the Force among thorn. " Their de-
light is unbounded when I tell them that I expect to remain
with them always." The Force is usually stationed at Forts
Pelly, Carlton, Edmonton, Walsh and MacLeod.

Up to 1872 only two treaties had been made with the Indi-
ans in our North-Avest. By the first the Indian title was ex-
tinguished in Manitoba ; and in a wide region north and west
of the Province, by the second. Partly in consequence of more
favourable terras subsequently granted to Indians elsewhere,
and partly in consequence of the non-fulfilment of what were
known as " Outside Promises," the Indians included in those
treaties became dissatisfied. A memorandum containing cer-
tain understandings, it seems, had been appended to the origi-
nal draft of the treaty, and this had not been sanctioned. But
the Indians never forget. They felt that they had been cheated.
The Government wisely adjusted the difficulty by directing that
the memorandum should be considered part of the Treaties.
The annual payment to each Indian included under them was
raised from $3 to $5 ; a further aimual payment of $20 allowed
to each Chief; and a suit of clothing every three years to each
Chief and Herdman.

Since 1872, five other treaties have been made by Governor
Morris with different tribes of Indians. In October, 1873,
Treaty No. Ill was made at the north-west angle of the Lake
of the Woods with the Salteaux tribe of the Ojibbeways, by
which the country between Ontario and Manitoba — now form-
ing the Territory of Kewatin — was ceded. In September, 1874,
Treaty No IV was made at Qu'Appelle Lakes with the Crees,
Salteaux. and mixed breeds, by which 75,000 square miles
were ceded. In September, 1875, Treaty No. V was male at

384

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

Behren's River and at Norway House with the Saltaux and
Swampy Cree tribes, extinguishing their title to the territory
all round Lake Winnipeg. And this year treaties have been
made with the Plain Crees at Fort Pitt, by which the Indian
title over the remainder of the North-west, except the country
of the Blackfeet, has been extinguished. The Blackfeet are
to be dealt with next year, when Governor Morris' exjiferience
of Treaty-making ought to be sufficient to qualify him for deal-
ing even with the Eastern question. The Blackfeet have
always taken rank as perhaps the boldest and bravest tribe
in America, and it was therefore thought that they would
give trouble sooner or later; but wc have learned that they
desire our frendshi}) and protection. Keep whiskey from
them, and they keep the peace.

What is the secret of our wonderful success in dealing with
the xndians 1 It can be told in very few words. We acknow-
ledge their title and right to the land, and a treaty once made
with them we keep it. Lord Dufferin has pointed out what is
involved in our acknowledgment that the original title to the
land exists in the Indian tribes and communities. '* Before we
touch an acre, we make a treaty with the chiefs representing
the bands we are dealing with, and having agreed upon and
paid the stipulated price . . . we enter into possession, but
not until then do we consider that we are entitled to deal with
an acre." It is well that this should be clearly understood, be-
cause the Indians themselves have no manner of doubt on the
subject. At the North-west Angle, chief after chief said to the
Governor : " This is what we think, that the Great Spirit has
planted us on this ground where we are, as you were where you
came from. We think that where we are is our property."
And they have wonderfully English notions about all that the
possession of the land involves ; that the land includes the
buildings on it,and that trespass is not allowable. When Mr. Daw_
son, one of the Commissioners, at the outset of the negotiations

APPENDIX.

385

alfcaux and
e territory
1 have been
the Indian
the country
lackfeet are
3' exi^ferience
him for deal-
ackfeet liave
bravest tribe
b they would
led that they
Arhiskey from

dealing with
We acknow-
,ty once made
Led out what is
nal title to the
'« Before we
representing
L-eed upon and
. possession, but
edto deal with
understood, be-
f doubt on the
chief said to the
Great Spiut has
were where you
, our property."
.out all that the
nd includes the
When Mr. Daw.
the negotiations,

told them how desirable it was for them to have a treaty, they
answered him very plainly, that there were other matters that
ought to be settled first ; that promises had been made to them
when the road was built that had not been fulfilled ; and that
they regarded, therefore, all the liouses on the line, and all the
big boats on the waters as theirs, till they were recompensed for
them. The only answer his Honour could give to them was
to fall back on first principles that would make the hair of
an English Squire or Judge stand on end — " wood and water "
he assured them, " were the gift of the Great Spirit, and were
made alike for the good both of the white and red man." Being
well assured that the land is theirs, they demand compensation
for it as a right. And who will question their right 1 Those
vast rolling prairies, those gently sloping or bold broken hills,
those sparkling lakes covered with wild fowl and stocked with
fish, are theirs by inheritance and by possession. They did not,
after the fashion of white men divide their property up into
separate estates. Had they done so, no one would have ques-
tioned their title. But that the country that has always yielded
them support is their own and not ours, they fairly and rightly
believe. The tribe holds the land and the wood and the water
for common use. And it is only fair that, before arranging to
run our railroads through it, or inviting European emigrants to
go ir and take possession, we should meet the Indians in
friendly council, buy their rights and extinguish their title.
They are ready to meet us half-way. Though brave and proud,
they are willing to admit our superiority. Though few in num-
ber, and every year becoming fewer, they would be formidable
as enemies, for they are magnificent horsemen, and could sup-
port themselves on the great plains where ordinary troops
would starve. Though born hunters, and almost as fond of a
bufialo run as of fire-water, they are, under missionary influ-
ence, betaking themselves in some places to agriculture and
stock-raising, and their most intelligent men see that it is nec-

£ ;H

iffilPi'iii II iiii

386

^OCEAN TO OCEAN.

es^ary for them to abandon their nomad for a settled life if
they are to exist alongside of white men. Hitherto the buffalo
has been to them what the potato was to the Irish before the
great famine. The buffalo has been more ; house, clothing,
harness-leather, cordage, thread, as well as food. But the
buffalo is beginning to be a less certain element. The buffalo
disappears before civilization, and Chippewa, Cree and Black-
foot must be civilized, or they too will disappear.

Some people smile at the notion of treaties with a few thou-
sand half-naked, painted savages. And to him who sees only
the ludicrous in anything different from his own use and wont,
the scene may ajjper.r a travesty of treaty-making. Any in-
fringement on his rights would be a serious matter. But how
can anything be important to an Indian 1 My friend, the In-
dian is a man, and Grod has implanted the sense of justice in
the breasts of all men. To the Indian his land or fishing
ground is as important as it would be to you, and the memory
of his fathers may be as sacred. Said the Lac Seul Chief at
North-west Angle : " We do not wish that any one should
smile at our affairs, as we think our country is a large matter
to us."

Something more than ipaking a treaty is needed. It must
be kept to the letter and in the spirit. I am not aware that the
Indians ever broke a treaty that was fairly and solemnly made.
They believe in the sanctity of an oath ; and to a Christian
nation, a treaty made with true believers, heretics, or pagans,
with mosque-goers or church-goers, should be equally binding.
The words of Mawedopinias, who with Pou-wa-say, had car-
ried on the negotiations that resulted in the North-west Angle
Treaty, show that their eyes are open when they treat with us,
and that their covenants are meant to be sacred. The busi-
ness haying been completed, he stepped up to the Governor
and said : " Now you see me stand before you all ; what has
been done here to-day has been done operly before the Great

mmf

n^fimmmt*

APPENDIX.

387

ttled life if
the buffalo

before the
B, clothing,
But the
Ihe buffalo

and Black-

1 a few thou-
ho sees only
se and wont,
ig. Any in-
5r. But how
lend, the In-
of justice in
,nd or fishing
d the memory
Seul Chief at
ny one should
I large matter

.ded. It iiaust
aware that the
solemnly made,
to a Christian
tics, or pagans,
equally binding.
ya-say, had car*
orth-west Angle
ey treat with us,
cred. Thebusi-
;o the Governor
d all; what has
before the Great

Spirit, and before the nation, and I hope that I may never
hear anyone say that this treaty has been done secretly ; and
now, in closing this Council, I take off my glove, and in giv-
ing you ray hand, I deliver you over my birth-right and lands ;
and in taking your hand I hold fast all the promises you
have made, and I hope they will last as long as the sun goes
round and the water flows, as you have said." The Governor
took his hand and said : " I accept your hand, and with it the
lands, and will keep all my promises in the firm belief that the
treaty now to be signed will bind the Red man and the White
together as friends forever." The copy of the treaty was then
prepared and duly signed. The hereditary Chieftain, who is
said to have seen a hundred summers, was brought forward to
sign it first. The Governor handed him the pen. He hesi-
tated and said that he expected to have been paid the money.
** Take my hand," said the Governor, at the same time extend-
ing it, " see, it is full of money." He looked in his face, took
the offered hand, and signed the treaty.

To break a treaty made with these old lords and sons of the
soil would be worse than to break one made with a nation
able to resent a breach of faith.

The speech of the Governor-General to the people of Vic-
toria last September made known to all Canada that there is
one Province in the Dominion where the Indians feel them-
selves aggrieved ; because the fundamental principle of British
and Canadian policy had been ignored by the Provincial Gov-
ernment in its dealings with them. " In British Columbia,
except iu a few cases under the jurisdiction of the H. B, Com-
pany, or under the auspices of Sir James Douglas, the Gov-
ernment assumed that the fee-simple of as well as the sover-
eignty over the land resided in the Queen. Hence interfe-
rences with the prescriptive rights of the Indians, and dissat-
isfaction on their part." The annual reports of the Depart-
ment of the l4terior have been full of this subject for several

•)

388

OCEAN TO OCEAN.

years past, but the gravity of the situation has not been un-
derstood by the public. How very grave it is, one declaration
of Mr. Powell, the Indian Commissioner, shows : " If," he
reports, " there has not been an Indian war, it is not because
there has been no injustice to tlie Indians, but because the In-
dians have not been sufficiently united." He also reports that
the Indian bands at Nicola and Okanagan Lakes whollv de-
clincd to accept any presents in the summer of 1(S74, lest by
so doing they should be thought to waive their claims for com-
pensation for the injustice done them in relation to the land
grants.

What makes this worse and worse is that the Indians of
British Columbia greatly outnumber the white population,
that they contribute to a very narked extent to the financial
prosperi^v of the Province, and that they have made astonish-
ing progr(;ss wherever pains have been taken to teach them
anything useful. The following table, taken from Commis-
sioner Powell's Report, gives a comparative statement of their
exports for 1874 and 1875 of fish, fish oil and furs :

1874.

Fish $09,665 00

Oil 44,453 00

Furs 307,625 00

Cranberries 2,011 00

1875.

Fish $114,170 00

Oil 19,816 00

Furs 411,810 00

Cranberries 3,568 00

1423,754 00 $549,364 00

Nearly the whole of the above exports are contributed by
Indians. Mr. Lindeau, the Commissioner of the Mainland
Division of the Province, writes in his last Report that the
Chief of the Lower Fraser Indians addressed him at a recent
interview in the following language : " You told us that our
Great Mother the Queen was good and powerful, and we be.
lieved you. We know that she has only to speak to this Gov-
ernment and our lands must be fixed (defined) ; we wonder why
our Great Mother does not speak. We want you to tell her

APPENDIX.

389

t been un-
tied avation

. "If," he
not because
Ause the In-
reports that
I wholly (le-
874, lest by
lims for com-

to the land

le Indians of
,e population,
tlie financial
iiade astonish-
■o teach them
from Commis-
ement of their
.irs :

1875.
. $114,170 00
19,816 00
411,810 00
3,568 00

$549,364 00
contributed by
[ the Mainland
Report that the
him at a recent
told us that our
-rful, and we be.
.eak to this Gov-
. we wonder why
t you to tQll hei*

what we have said. We were promised 80 acres of land to
each family, and now we are treated like children and put off
with 20 acres, which is not enough if we are to do like the
white men. Shall we be obliged to turn to our old ways 1 "
The Chief spoke in a tone of deep earnestness. He is a re-
markably intelligent, clever man. The comfortable appearance
of the dwellings of his tribe, and the neat and substantial
church erected and finished by himself at his own village speak
well for his industry and skill. The Indians of British Colum-
bia, as a rule, are sober, industrious, self-reliant, and law-abid-
ing. They labour in the saw-mills, the logging camp, the field,
the store, in fact in every department where labour is required,
and are fairly remunerated.

Lord Dufferin has paid a just tribute to the wonderful suc-
cess of the Rev. Mr. Duncan at Metlakatlah — a man whom
the Church of England may well class with the Sehvyns and
Pattesons, — " of the neat Indian maidens in his school, as
modest and as well dressed as any clergyman's daughters in
any English parish," and " of scenes of primitive peace and
innocence, of idyllic beauty and material comfort " in an In-
dian community under the administration of a judicious and
devoted Christian missionar3^ A gentleman who cannot speak
like His Excellency, but who has had a longer acquaintance
with the Indians of British Columbia, and who has employed
hundreds of them on surveys and other work, writes me as
follows concerning the Nicola Lake, and Thompson and Lower
Fraser Indians, many of Tv^hom are under the missionary care
of the Rev. Mr. Good : '' They are a most promising commu-
nity, and doubtless much is due to Mr. Good's teaching. They
are not only regular in their devotional exercises, but industri-
ous, honest, sober, and tidy in their persons and dress. And
they are the most spirited Indians I have yet met in B. C. It
was one of their Chiefs who refused the presents of the Com-
missioner, for fear that b^ accepting them he might prejudice

390

OCEAN TO OCJAN.

': fl«

,:!.:

( '^m

the claims of his tribe for lands which they believed had been
unjustly taken from them and sold by the Local Government ;
and one of \nn Klootchmen knocked a cigar out of his hand,
which ho had acoe})ted, and crushed it with her foot." To
plunder such people of their land, village sites, fishing stations,
burial grounds, or favourite resorts, would be a blunder as well
as a crime. The policy that has succeeded in all the other
Provinces and Territories of the Dominion must bo applied to
British Columbia, and in no Province are wo likely to see more
splendid results.

The brief review that has been now given is enough to show
that progress is being made in connection with the great work
of the Colonization of the North-west and the construction of
the work that is to bind all Canada together with links of steel
from Ocean to Ocean, and that there are good grounds for hop-
ing that — as difficulties are cleared out of the way, the progress
shall be at an increasingly rapid rate. Four years is not a loag
period in the history of a country ; and to hasten surely, it is
necessary to hasten slowly. The present rate is rapid enough
to satisfy reasonable expectations. And the writer believes
that the growth of true national feeling throughout every part
of our wide-extended glorious Dominion — unattended possibly
with as many ebullitions of sentiment as some would like —
more than corresponds to the material progress we are making,
and that every Canadian, while legitimately cherishing pride in
the past and present, may look forward confidently to the future
of his country.

THE END,

N"M>«P"*~'«"'^«ipiWS«IWWf*«w>*Mmrai«N««««B*«fii<fl«i

had been
-ernment ;
his hard,
foot." To
2 stations,
[\er as well
the other
applied to
to see more

icrh to show
great work
struction of
inks of steel
mds for hop-
the progress
is not aloxig
surely, it is
rapid enough
iter believes
lit every part
ided possibly
would like—
e are making,
shing pride in
jr to the future

Oanadian Copyright Edition ,

THE CRUISE

H. M. S. CHALLENGER.

Scenes in Many Lands and Voyages in

Many Seas.

BY W. J. J. SPRY, R. N.

One Volume, Demy 8vo., with Map and Numerous

Illustrations, ($2.50.

The Cruise of the " Challenqer." — The Belfords have in press an
interesting popular account of the cruise of the British ship " Challenger,"
written by an officer of the expediiion, and Pkofusely Illustrated with
Wood Enoravinos. The volume compiled by William J. J. Spry,
from his daily journals, forms a concise, readable and continuous narra*
tive of this celebrated voyage.

Altogether, Mr. Spry's resume of all that he hoard and Witnessed, while
accompanying the " Challenger" in her great vtjyage, forms a narrative
that can not fail to interest a large audience of readers that is usually at-
tracted by a simple volume of travel. He has avoided all technicalities.
Those who have once begun to read this volume will not fail to go
to the end.

For Sale by all Booksellers, or maPed post-paid on
receipt of price by

BELPORD BROS.. Publishers,

60 Tork Street, Toronto.

I I

' 1

■ff

■B 'I

111

^'■"il''

CANADIAN TRAVEL.

)

The Wild North Land

Being tlio Story of a Winter Journey with Dogs across
Northern North America. •

By major W. T. BUTLER, C. B.

With Illustrations and Route Map,

Post 8vo., Cloth, $2.00.

'•' It must not 1>o h)ii>im)ho<1 that Captain Itiitlor undertook thin Imttlc with Winter
and the WustoH for the nienifoolliardy purposu of oiuiountoririi,' danifer for the salco of
(lanuror. » « ' < The inahi niotivu of IiIh expedition was to uiaku hlniHulf and tho
world acquainted witli tlio ^eotfraphy, the phyHioal roHourccs, and tlie habitaltilityof a
territory alnioHt aH niucsh unknown to tliu people of Kn^land and of Canada as (h the
heart of Middle Africa. His volnino shows us llio niaffnillecnt heritapfe we ik)8S088 in
the Nforth-West. A thousaiul blue books with their Hterootyjicd otHcial phrasooloify
would not furnish the pjople of Canada witli such a eoinpleto narrative of the mani-
fold elcmentH of natural j,'reatness an<l promise which are within our ynwp i»> the 'Wild
North Land." TormUo Globe.

•'One of the freshest and most sparklinK books of adventure we have seen for some
time. « * » The interest of the narrative never flays." — The Oraphie.

Canada on the Pacific.

Being an account of a Journey from Edmonton to the Pacific hy the
Peace Kiver Valley ; and of a VVintcr Voyage p.long the \Ve.stern Coast of
the Dominion, with remarks on the physical features of tho Pacific Rail-
way Route, and Notices of the Indian Tribes of British Columbia. By
Charles Horetzky. With two Maps.

Crown 8 vo, Cloth, $1.00.

" Besides its special interest for tho cny;ineer, the geologiou, ethnologist and states-
man, its exciting incidents of travel and vivid description of tlie wonderful majestic
scenery throujjli which tlie writer passed must have a charm for all readers.— London
(Ont.) Advertiser.

" Altogether there is a valuable store of timely information gathered within the
covers of tlie book which, combined with the attractions of a traveller's tale of the
sights and wonders of a primeval solitude, should secure for it an extended circulation
in Canadian homes. — Kingston Whig,

"It is well fitted to otuivey to the reader a good idea of that part of the Dominion
which the author calls " Canada on th Pacific." — Toronto Leader.

DAWSON BROS., Publishers,

Montreal.

lL.

)

jaiid

Dogs across
C.B.

e Map.

I battle with Winter

ni^er for the Hftko of

iiiko himself luul the

till) hiibitiibllltv of a

of (liiniida lis Is the

iritii^e wo possess in

ntHcial phnisoology

arrativo of the mftni-

ur gmsp In the 'Wild

iQ have seen for some
le Graphic.

ific.

he Pacific by the
; Western Coast of
I' the Pacific Rail*
ih (Jolurabia. By

ethnologist and states-
lie wonderful majestic
r all readers.— London

in gathered within the

traveller's tale of the

in extended circulation

it part of the Dominion
er.

hers,
lontreal.

'^'^

■B

ffl

11!

ill

hoTtt

'-1

l« .1 f ^ ^ -l l.ll t .I.J III, .^..—^. ^ ..it.. ,__^..^_

:ii_„^23:z-~zzi:

3S*-j«(C-l«ti»nc1ic!.«Br»cflacjwa«rJl«T}«i.a»j^-iBC;Mt-;^»^^

''■'./■;

/'i^

fci.T:

?'>*>#!

4 — _j 1 i — f-

;v3-<

- % ^ife;?^, If'^;/ -iNT 'r\ ''r^-)l -r< w^r

LAKE SUPi

*-*-"' — ' ''-111, • ■*■"-

'i'

^3W^

>i.

-T'

mmf^

fi SHEWING ITHE ROUTE TRAVERSl

REDUCED & L

; OCl

i 1 B>

„.^ I BELFORD BRC

~.^rfi^«2'

i.'/Vf •OCHTFnFOKCOniTHL'CTlON

LINE Ot men 7I0I» in /'iKJfeSS

I ivLs Of svnuErsuMexuoHATiohs
MAoe Aw If* PKoepess

H0U7E or OUR PART)

mmh^^

'^^i

^^;S?oJ&:,

M-'-^"^.'^

.^ '*</•*.■■'■■•

M "<

••V

f--^r^^

^vf

TTgrr

P":

W :r :()^

■ ■ >«:

.>•"■

»=ac:

mr. h)Ji-

i\<l itU

V^f^ov THE DOMINION a. C4yv^

LAKE SUPERIORand THE PACIFIC OCEAnT;

lEWINGJrHE ROUTE TRAVERSED BY WSANDFORD FLEMJNCCE. AND IaRTV, !872'

REOUCtD & LITHOBY ROLPH SMITH a CTO ACCOMPANY

1 ftff;

l/W"